Local Reading

I love books. Beautiful cover designs, perfect typesetting, pages that make you want to touch them, spines that crackle a bit when you open them.

But I'm also a voracious reader who loves a great story. I daydream about owning a Kindle and downloading all the wonderful words out there into my own little sweaty palms. And reading on it after buying all organic vegetables at the farmer's market and packing my beautiful, perfectly behaved children into the automatically opening doors of our sleek and modern minivan that is fully stocked with DVD and music players with unbelievably wonderful movies and songs.

Uh... where was I?

So the books. The stories. I love them. But -- and this is a huge but -- I have neither the money, the space, nor the interest in buying them. Because what do I do with them after I've read them? I stick them on a shelf and rarely read them again. Of course I have favorites, like The Poisonwood Bible (which I've read 800 times and listened to on CD at least twice), my feminist theory, the Harry Potter series, the Mayfair Witches series, and lots of poetry and short stories. But if I'm not going to consume something over and over again, why own it?

So began my lifestyle as a library patron and advocate (local reading, as I like to call it). I love going to the library every week or every other week to pick up another set of books to enjoy. I've also begun buying books that I love or think others will love and donating them to our small little town library. It makes me feel like a real patron of the arts and supports my theory that people should share the things they love with others.

In that vein, I'd like to share my thoughts with you about the library reads I stumble upon. I hope to compel you to visit your own library and see what you find. And maybe you'll discover some new and wonderful storytellers who make you want to read (more). Without further ado:

"Local Reading" Reviews:
The Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker