Entry FeedGrowing up, I used to love the libraries. I am not sure bookstores were quite as prolific when I was kid, before Chapters, but I always loved to read and loved the feel of books.
One of my dreams as a girl was to grow up and have a house with a library; a separate room with floor to ceiling shelves filled with every book imaginable. I wasn't looking for first editions, or hard cover - just books that I had read and loved.
There are books the I love, and reread over and over. Often I lend these out, never to get them back. I think that I have purchased at least three copies of both, The Princess Bride and Not Wanted on the Voyage, yet I currently don't have a single copy of either of these. I am actually so in love with reading, that I don't even care.
Some books I read just once, and gladly give them away. I am not emotionally attached to all books, just those amazing ones that I can read 10 times and still find something delightful and new.
My Chapters bills were getting out of hand, and I decided that I no longer had the funds to read a book a day and dispose of it. So I discovered the Toronto Public Libraries website. I used to love ordering from Chapters online - getting brown card board boxes filled with something new and great to read. The first books which I ever ordered from Chapters were the second and third Harry Potter books, over 10 years ago.
If you go to the Toronto Public Libraries website, you can place "holds" on books - just like ordering from Chapters (except that you have to pick them up!) I get an email when the book is in, and I have 7 days to swing by the library to get it. Then I have three weeks to read it. AMAZING! Of course if the book is popular, I may need to wait awhile. And for some book club books, if the wait is long, I end up buying it anyway. However, thanks to the library, there are always at least 3 books on my night table waiting to be read.
This year when I opened my renewal envelop from Chapters for my iRewards, I had to laugh. iRewards memberships now cost $25, and according to the wonderful Chapters marketing department, last year with iRewards I saved $17.98!!! Wow - they should really pull all the letters where people spent more on iRewards membership than they saved.
This year, I've already saved $25 by NOT buying the iRewards. Membership at the Toronto Public Libraries - FREE! Oh, and they have GREAT NEW DVDs TOO! We are lucky here in this city - our libraries are actually some of the most used libraries in the world. Next time you need a book, give it a try.