Lose Time Chatting: The Library-When Good Books Go Back

Posted August 2, 2013 by Lauren in discussion, Lose Time Chatting / 29 Comments

When Good Books Go Back

Ok firstly, I just want to let everyone know that my first installment of my organization feature will be this coming week. I had a post drafted for tomorrow, went to final edit it and deleted a major part of it. I have no idea how to get it back, I tried to restore my previous drafts but it autosaved the new updated one? I’m not sure… I am not a WordPress genius lol. I have it almost finished again but I don’t want to leave anything out so I’ll be posting it next week instead 🙂

NOW… this is my new discussion feature, Lose Time Chatting(HAH, names are not my forte… seriously). I’m not sure if it will be a weekly thing going forward or what. I’m just going to have one for now whenever I feel like I have something to say 🙂 Which brings me to this weeks topic, because it JUST HAPPENED TO ME…. “The Library: When Good Books Go Back”.

Ohemgee. I seriously have a massive, ridiculous obsession with the library. I only recently got my library card (May) and I instantly became addicted. I was loving reading books that I was iffy on buying because I wasn’t sure if I would like them FOR FREE. I immediately went through my TBR(the night I got the card) and placed every single book that I “needed” on hold. Then I went onto my libraries Overdrive service and made a wish list for every single book that was available in e-book that I wanted to read. And audio book. Then requested holds. Do you see the potential disaster here?

My books started coming in droves… SO MANY BOOKS. I couldn’t even choose(and lets not forget my physical TBR pile is enough to bury you alive if it collapsed.) but I COULD NOT STOP GETTING THEM.

Let’s paint a little picture here… I currently have 4 digital items on hold; and this:

Library Books

Yes, my dear friends… that is what my hoarding tendencies have done. It’s a mini bookish disaster. I am certain I am not capable of reading all of these books by the time they go back. Do you know why I am certain?

Because I sadly have had to return so many wonderful books because they are on hold with others, or they are ebooks and they automatically go back. It’s a sad, sad day when it happens. Today I had to part ways with The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler at page 127. I almost cried a little. And I just placed myself back on the hold list, with 50 other people. I need to finish this book… like NOW.

It’s a never ending cycle that I fear I will never stop. The library is just way to0 appealing for bookworms like me. I need ALL the books… even though I can’t read them. There is a small thrill in picking up my holds, especially when I’ve placed them on hold so far in advance that I’m the first one to read the copy. Ahhh… my nerves. (And yes, I am fully aware that I am putting myself through this torture… it’s a very strange habit).

And so my question:

Does anyone else have this problem at the library? Do you borrow too many books? Are you able to get them read in time? How do you limit yourself?

Discussion time friends 🙂 What are your thoughts???

Lauren

29 responses to “Lose Time Chatting: The Library-When Good Books Go Back

  1. hahha… this is too funny. honestly… my issue is that i don’t go to the library enough! it’s terrible. i blame it on the fact that i have germ issues. seriously… at least if i borrow a book from a friend i don’t have to wonder who caused a stain on a page. i mean….. it could be anything? am i touching a mark caused by a piece of buttery popcorn? was it a sneeze? or was it something else? or the random hair that is quite short and makes you wonder if it is actually a pube?? yeah, not normal. but this is what i deal with.
    i need to go more. i do. encourage me. bahahha

    • BAHAHAHA… Betty I FEEL THE SAME WAY ABOUT HAIRS! I shake the book out of it’s not new(over the balcony). See… your not so weird 😛 Luckily most of the books I’ve picked up are brand spanking new and I’m the first one 🙂 I will encourage you, it’s so addictive once you start!

      • I’m gunna make an effort to go to the library and scope out the selection this week. Oh… another reason the library creeps me out— last year they had bed bugs and had to shut down for a few weeks!! I mean, seriously… ewwww! The funny thing is that we are in a really nice area– so when we moved here I was thinking… YES!! A NICE LIBRARY!! but then THAT happened and I’m totally paranoid!

  2. I moved to this town like 5 years ago and have been considering getting a library card. Walked in there various times but decided against it. Main reason is that the ebooks will not fit my Kindle because they have a different format.
    This January I got an email from a Dutch organization that is busy with promoting libraries and stuff and they wanted to do a trial on e-book lending and you could sign up and be a free member and read for free for half a year. So I got signed up and never went to get a book because I still had enough books around and simply did not get around to it.

    I know for sure that IF I got a library card I would end up the same way as you did.I hope all the people lined up for The Book of Broken Hearts will read fast so you can finish it soon.

    • Oh snap, that sucks that the format is different 🙁 I use an android tablet so I can get the Overdrive app right on there so that’s a bonus. It’s probably better off if you stay away lol. If you have a big TBR this will do nothing to lessen the load 😛

      I am almost resigned to buying TBOBH now 🙂 I just… need it lol. Have you read it?

  3. OH NO GET THE BOOK OF BROKEN HEARTS BACK STAT!!! Haha.
    No, it’s totally hard! You know, back in the day before I inundated myself with purchased books and ARCs and egalleys, I was ALL over the library and I always felt SO BAD when I had to return books without finishing them or worse yet, being in the middle and they had to go. Then eventually I just bought way too many books and had to catch up on my own! Haha!
    I don’t blame you. I can’t offer any good advice, but I certainly know the feeling!!!

    • OMG BRITTANY I KNOW! It’s a bloody disaster honestly, I think I’m just going to buy it. I was in the middle… and my heart, the romance… oh snap lol.

      I just needed to know I was not alone lol. AND NOW I DONT 🙂

  4. OMG I AM THE EXACT SAME. I always have a ton of books on hold and for some reason they always come at once so I’ll have 8+ books out all the time. I do read them on time because I have this weird thing where if I’ve checked it out before, I can’t ever check it out again, so I make sure I get them all read before they’re due.

    • I need to do that too Rachel! I’m going to try so hard with this physical stack, ebooks I feel less bad about, but the actual physical books? I feel AWFUL! Especially when I’ve waited so long for a lot of them to come in lol. I’m glad I’m not the only one with 8+ books out always 😛

  5. Haha, you are SO not alone. I have Library Issues as well. I HAVE gotten better about not requesting anything of late (aside from some books that are on order; I have 7 of those, but not all of them have been released yet, so it will be a while before they get to me), and actually only have TWO books checked out. It helps that I’ve been borrowing not-so-recent books, and have been able to renew. The other fabulous thing is that my library system allows SIX renewals, so you can keep them for over a month if you need to. That definitely helps me get through them before I ultimately have to send them back. But there have been plenty that I’ve checked out and either never got to read at all OR just didn’t finish. I keep track of them with my “re-request-from-library” shelf on Goodreads, which currently has 9 books on it. I also don’t borrow e-books from the library, because I KNOW I’m not going to be able to keep up with those, and the checkout period for e-books is much shorter than regular books.

    Anyway, all of this is just to say that I definitely have the same problem! At least the library – and those books – will still be waiting for us when we DO finally have the time to read them, right?

    • Merin, I knew if anyone shared this problem with me it would be you! You always have such lovely library book hauls <3 It's incredibly sad because just after this post I went and put a ton of books on hold for September, lol. I'll never learn. That is absolutely amazing that your library has six renewals. Mine has 2 renewals and each lending period is 21 days. So really it's a long time for NORMAL people who don't have some form of library book borrowing compulsion lmao. Thanks so much for the suggestion, I just made a re request from library shelf haha. That will help me keep track of them much better 🙂

      • Our lending period is 2 weeks, so we don’t get to keep them for quite as long. It used to be 3 renewals, but they upped it sometime last year. I was so excited, because it meant I could hang on to books that I wasn’t going to read for even longer. 😛 We also get a three-day grace period before the book actually registers as overdue, which is also nice.

        Right now I have Twenty Boy Summer checked out and am hoping to get to it soon. I’ve already renewed it once, and haven’t even cracked it open yet!

        • OMG. So envious of your library system. It is fantastic. Ours is like the night of close at the time of close 🙁

          I can’t wait to see what you think of Twenty Boy Summer! That was one of the ebooks that had to go back(BAHAH, seriously) and I want to read it so badly! And… if it makes you feel any better, I also renew before I’ve even touched them lol.

  6. I could have related to this post years ago when I was living in LA, but now that I am in Belize (for a little while longer), my library glory days are over. The library system here is primitive and never up-to-date. A library is three houses down from where I am right now, but I can bet you that the most recent books there are Harry Potter. Yes, that is how bad it is. I cannot wait to bask in library awesomeness soon! 😀

    • OMG, that is awful 🙁 Well I mean I love Harry Potter but gosh, the last one came out so long ago!!! I am excited for you to experience it again soon 🙂

  7. If there’s one thing I dreaded in doing, that’s going to the library. Our library here in the city is so primitive that it’s a miracle to see some Agatha Christie or Victoria Holts there. The shelves are mostly occupied by dissertation papers and encyclopedias which are already past their normal lifetime.
    I can however relate to your problem. Although I don’t borrow books, I am on the verge of joining those team of book hoarders who buy a lot of books more than they can manage to read. Not to mention that I am already drowning from ARCs and Goodreads read-to-review books. I know I’m eating more than I can chew. *hammers head with a stone*

    • Oh that’s a shame the library isn’t better 🙁 I know what you mean about ARCs and review books though… gosh they are so appealing when you get them, but then there is the small fact o f TIME lol.

  8. I don’t get THAT many books and I’ve always avoided eBooks because they confuse me so much. I think you’ll have to give me a hand there. But even so, I do end up returning many books that I borrow. Which saddens me because in a perfect world, I would be able to get through every book. And why isn’t this world perfect? I want it to be. I’ve returned The Night Circus twice because I couldn’t finish it and now every time I see a glowing review for the book, I want to rip my hair out. Eventually though. Eventually I WILL get to it.

  9. This post speaks to my soul. Like seriously. This is my life. I pretty recently re-discovered the library also and its become a problem. New books appear on hold for me every other day and I can’t read them fast enough. It’s such a situation. But I can’t stop even though I know I should. Its an addiction. My husband yells at me bc my library books are taking over the apartment. Great post! Loved this topic!

    • I’m so glad I have found someone like ME!! 🙂 If it’s not enough with over flowing OWNED tbr’s… the library adds a whole other element 😛 It’s my goal this fall though to only borrow the ebooks from Overdrive… plus it’s much easier to hide from the boyfriend 🙂

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