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Borrowing heavily

In college I was a professional slacker, and I managed to avoid spending much time in the university library for about three and a half years. So it makes sense that it took me close to nine years of living in San Francisco to learn to love our public library.

For years I'd drop into the stately Main Branch downtown from time to time, but these days I visit our local branch at least weekly. I reserve everything online and have it delivered there. I have checked out novels, non-fiction, cookbooks, quilting books and travel guides. I got on the wait list for Harry Potter 7 in the spring and had it in my hands the morning it was released. I've borrowed audiobooks for the 7-hour drive to visit family in Southern California.

But my most recent discovery has been that the library has quite a music collection. I've been borrowing lots of CDs. Unfortunately, most of them are pretty badly damaged. The Bob Dylan 2-CD set I picked up today had only one disc. (And the booklet reeks of cigarette smoke.) I suppose you get what you pay for.

I thought it would be a kick to start a flickr group featuring items we've found inside library books -- you know, the ticket stubs, receipts and other life scraps that people use as bookmarks, and then leave there when they return the book. (Of course, someone has already done it.) So far we have collected a receipt from a car wash, an expense-check stub from a church, and a post-it note listing several anti-depressant drugs.

I was at our local branch today picking up some items I had reserved. Glancing through the new non-fiction, I saw a book Dave had recently checked out and returned. It was one of the featured titles standing up on top of the shelves. He never finished the book, and I could see a tiny hint of a bookmark sticking up from around page 60. Incredulously, I pulled out a boarding-pass stub from a flight Dave took to LA a few weeks ago.

I guess returning a book should be like leaving a hotel room: check thoroughly for personal belongings.

My hand is much better. I took off the huge fiberglass splint because it was seriously getting in the way. I got a smaller splint at a drug store; it provides a little protection to the tender part of my palm. I still haven't decided whether I'm going to ride the century I had planned for Saturday. I'll know if I can put any pressure on it after I do a spin class tonight.

October 18, 2007 4:26 PM