Saturday, July 24, 2010

Library Girl

In all my excitement about owning an RV and traveling all around the country with My Marine, I only had one big concern. Books! It sounds crazy, I know! The problem is that I have always been a library girl. I got my first library card from the Handley Library in Winchester when I was five years old. My parents took my brother and me to the library every 3 weeks like clockwork, we all got a large pile of books and plowed through them with glee. As a result of this early training in frugality, I very rarely buy books. There are three reasons for this, one of the reasons is that once I have read a book I'm done, I'm not the type to read and reread the same book over and over again. There are way to many books in the world for me to limit myself to stories I already know. Secondly is the expense, why would I pay for a book when the local library will let me borrow it for free?? I feel so lucky to live in a country that is blanketed with free libraries! Thirdly is the clutter. While I love books and love perusing shelves of books, I really don't want to have a houseful of them. I have always preferred small houses and right now I'm sharing living quarters with Mama and My Marine so we have enough furniture and "stuff"; that it is a blessing that I haven't bought every book I ever loved and toted them around with me.


But how can I be a library girl when I will have no fixed address and won't be in the same place for very long? This was a real concern for me and I brought it up to Joseph and everyone else that I discussed our travel plans with. Finally I asked my dad about it. He and his wife have owned a motorhome for several years now and he is also a reader and a library user, so I knew he'd have already faced the same issue. He had an immediate answer. Yard sales! Well of course! Used books. Once I started thinking about it, I realized that yard sales would be just one option, most libraries have used book shelves where they sell off duplicate copies of books, and there were also thrift stores, not to mention actual used book stores.


Since this revelation I have bought books at the Waynesboro Library, the Smith Mountain Lake Library and the Goodwill Store in Bedford. I have also been given piles of books by my dad and my friend Gramarg. I now have a lovely shelf full of books in Rallye Girl, at least 30 books and I have invested less than $20! The best part is that when I am done with them, I can trade them out for others or leave them in campgrounds or coffee shops for others to enjoy. This makes me supremely happy!


5 comments:

  1. Didn't there use to be a website where you stamped the inside of the book and people could check it in and pass it on. That sounds like the kind of thing you'd get into, like book letterboxing.

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  2. It is called Bookcrossing.com and I have released books into the wild through them before. I may very well do it again! :)

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  3. Gee, your family only went to the library every 3 weeks?!?!?! I can't imagine a week passing without a visit to our library, but then, we go to the Clarke County Branch, which is ever so much more family-oriented than the main branch of HRL. We've been regular patrons of the Berryville library for over 18 years now. I can't imagine how poor we'd be if we'd had to buy every book we've read. LOL You go girl!

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  4. Mary, believe you me, we walked out of there with a STACK of books each every time! I haven't been to Handley in quite a while as I was living out of the area, but that library card is now 40 years old and I still have it!!!!

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  5. I always like to leave a good book for the next person to find when I travel. I can't bear to let a good book go un-read. It's like leaving a puppy without a family. Books are for sharing. I am so glad that you found a solution!

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