1. I can request books I want any time of day, and they get delivered to my little neighborhood branch. For free!
2. They usually have most of the books I want. It's true, if you go to the actual library to find books, the good ones won't be on the shelves. That's why # 1 is so important. Sometimes when I am waiting at the airport, I make lists of all the books that I'd love to read, because the airport book shops only keep the best-sellers and new ones. Then I take my list home and request them all. For free! Sometimes I do the same thing at Barnes and Noble.
3. I could probably homeschool my kids entirely using only library books and the internet. Seriously I could.
4. My library people are very nice. That's why I smile cheerfully every time I pay my bill. It turns out the library is only free if you bring your books back on time.
5. I can renew online. (But I rarely do, which is why I smile cheerfully at the librarians so often.)
6. They have summer reading programs for adults! You just write simple reviews of books or music you've checked out, and they draw winners each week. I have won certificates to Village Books, Katie's Cupcakes and Rocket Donuts. What's not to love about that?!
7. Summer reading program for kids too, of course, teens too. (Along with the other usuals that my kids do - Barnes and Noble, Borders, Village Books (my favorite of all the challenges), and Launching Success. The C Shop offers free snow cones on Wednesday afternoons if you show them a library book you are reading - we heart this one too. :) During the school year we do Pizza Hut's Book It too, for free pizzas each month.
8. I love that I can get cookbooks from the library to try new recipes without the clutter/commitment of buying one. Again, requesting is the best way to go about this to get the good ones.
9. The librarians have been really helpful in helping me find suitable books for Jenson (dyslexic) that have crisp font, and they have tons of audio books which are great for Jenson too.
10. They have great kits - for starting your own book club and kit boxes for preschool kids. They also have Tumblebooks to download and e-books. (Right now they work for Nooks, but soon kindles will also be compatible).
* And I just have to say... see this photo above? Those top two books in the stack are incredible! Chris Cleave is an amazing writer. I highly recommend! There is a movie version of Incendiary too (Netflix instant), but watch it only after you read the book, you'll be surprised at how it differs from the book. Great summer reading books!
Added -- I should clarify the Little Bee and Incendiary books both have some graphic/adult content, as does the movie, definitely an R rating. I didn't find it all to be totally gratuitous in the books, and really overall enjoyed the unraveling of the stories in both books. That's all, just don't want to offend anyone by mistake, I should have mentioned that right away, sorry!
We're about to start Mr. Popper's Penguins, just in time to see the movie after. My kids' all-time favorite read alouds are the Little House books. I agree with them! Do you read to your kids? What are your favorite read-alouds?
Happy Summer Reading!
Shawn - Thanks for the great book suggestions. And I always look forward to your summer reading program lists. My kids do them all and love the great treats!
Posted by: Rachel Oscarson | 06/17/2011 at 11:39 AM
We LOVE the library too! My kids (ages 4 & 2) love storytime, and then picking out books, DVDs and audio CDs. Lately my 4-year-old has loved picking out audio picture books to "read" in the car. I love hearing her turn the pages along with the little "ding" of the audio.
Posted by: Deanna | 06/18/2011 at 05:10 PM
Hey, is someone planning a trip to Maui?
Posted by: renee @ FIMBY | 06/20/2011 at 05:40 AM
Hi Shawn! I just stumbled upon your blog!! How fun! We love our library too... I love hearing that you smile when you pay the librarian. I have been letting our fines stack up, but now I can't wait to go pay them with a smile!! Thanks!
Posted by: Tara | 06/21/2011 at 07:23 AM