There can never be too many books

© 2012 Lydia Hinshaw

 ORMOND BEACH, FL -- This is a good time of life, because I have plenty of time.

 Time to work out.  Time to rest.

 Time to read.

 I came home in early October to discover that my local library now has Kindle books available for borrowing.  I bought my house, in part, because it was three blocks from this library.  Now I don't even have to walk there.

 Now I don't even have to be in the same area code as my library to borrow books.  Next summer in Montana I will be able to check out books from the Volusia County Public Library on my computer and have them instantly downloaded into my Kindle.

 And so for three months I have been fighting an avalanche of books.  The number of Kindle books available is not huge, so some books I still have to reserve in print.  Almost all books I want, solid or vapor versions, require waiting lists.

 A month ago, the latest John Grisham book had a Kindle waiting list of 72 library patrons for seven electronic copies.  Fortunately, I got on the list when the number was still in the teens.

 Everywhere I learn of books I'd like to read, in reviews in the Wall Street Journal, in interviews on NPR, on Amazon best-seller lists.

 Anyhow, I go through book on my computer and reserve them in whichever format is available. The two computer programs don't talk to each other, so it is possible to reserve a real book and an e-book at the same time, and see which one becomes available first.

 And so last Saturday, I reached the top of the waiting list for the same book in hardcover and Kindle editions on the same day.

  Of course, while I was home downloading the Kindle edition, Prince Charming happened to be at the library where he spotted my hardcover book on the waiting-for-pickup shelf.

 Since everyone who works at the library knows us, he was able to check out the book on his card.

 And once I have my hands on the books, I need to get through them as quickly as possible, because I am inching toward the tops of waiting lists for more titles.

 It's a good time to love reading.