Okay, I’m going to guess that if you like books so much that you’d read an author’s newsletter, that you are a bonafide, incurable, possibly-in-need-of-intervention book addict.

Me too. Words are my crack and I don’t see any hope for a cure.

Unfortunately, like most addictions, I’d have to start robbing convenience stores to keep up with my cravings.

Which is why I LOVE libraries!!!

 

Seriously, the wheel is a pretty handy invention and fire isn’t too shabby either, but I swear I think libraries are THE best invention humans have ever come up with.

I mean come on…FREE BOOKS!!! I’m shaking with the thought of all those shelves, all those pages, all those words, tasty tasty words….

Sorry, where was I?

Oh yeah, free books.

Now, I’m aware many of you prefer ebooks and can’t be bothered lugging around dead tree pulp bound together with a bit of glue, but if you haven’t checked out (see what I did there?) your library in a while, you might want to give it a gander because they’re offering so much more than books these days!

 

I know not all libraries have the same offerings or may have these programs under different names, but here’s a short run down of what my local library has for junkies like me, and I’ll bet yours has something similar…

Overdrive – An ebook and audiobook lending platform. It’ amazing, you check out the book and download it straight to your device in two clicks. For those of you who’ve only dealt with audiobooks in CD format, this is AMAZING. Overdrive also now runs through the Libby app (which is a bit clunky).

Hoopla – OMG! I might just swoon. This app/service allows a limited number of checkouts each month, so you have to choose wisely. And there’s so much to choose from. Movies, music, and (squeee!!!) comic books/graphic novels. Even on my ancient iPad, this app runs crazy smooth and I burn through my checkouts every month.

Online Resources – Through their website, my local library offers services such as searching through scientific journals, researching purchases in Consumer Reports, and scouring the records of genealogical archives.

RB Digital – Want a stack of magazines for your next road trip? This app provides oodles of titles that you can download. These aren’t back issues from 2008; these are current magazines like Travel & Leisure, National Geographic, Sports Illustrated, The New Yorker, and more. Well, there’s back issues too.

Cultural Passes & Events – Thanks to my local library, I’m able to go to various attractions around the Portland area for FREE. The Japanese Garden, the Evergreen Air & Space Museum, Pittock Mansion, and more for the sweet price of $0. Libraries also offer weekly/monthly events such as author talks, garden classes, movie nights, and book-related fun for the kiddos.

Okay, I’m going to stop there. No wait, one more thing. Every June, my local library has a used book sale and I always make sure to keep a little stash of cash in my pockets for this event.

This year was no different and you can see the new friends I brought home if you head back to the newsletter and click on the next story.

USE THIS IN FINN POST: The books are cheap to begin with, but on the second day everything gets marked down to half price, and on the final day, for $5 you get as many books as you can fit into a bag.