Monday, June 9, 2008

Library Blues & Choking Melville

Our library is....quaint...if quaint means "insert Dueling Banjos here." It's old. They use a green screen system for the card catalog. It's just not pretty. Ironically, this podunk library has one of the best Buffy/Manga/Teen sections and kids area I've seen. My kids enjoy going there.

The library shut down for remodeling. For. A. Year. Guys, send oxygen cause I'm hyperventilating. A year! Sure, we can go to other libraries in our county, none of which are remotely close to us.

The book drop is still open for people like me who checked things out on the last weekend they were open.

The library system has a pretty good video selection. We've had "Charmed" Season 3 on our Blockbuster queue for 2 years. I decided to check the library's green screen catalog and "Boom," "Charmed" Season 3 is at another one of the libraries and they will bring it to my library for my use. Sweet. One disc at a time, and it's only a 2-day check-out, but I can continue to go on-line and renew them, for free. Once I'm done, I order another one from the other library.

I still had disc 5 of 6 when the library closed. I forgot to renew it on-line. I owe $2 for 2 days. I can't pay the fine, because...closed library. I returned the disc in the book drop. I can't get disc 6 because...$2 fine. I can't pay the fine cause....closed library. Are we seeing a vicious cycle here? I can't get disc 6. Prue DIES in disc 6! Hello? I NEED disc 6.

I'm pretty sure I can pay the fine at another library in another city in the county, but I need to research where they are and also see if I need to go to that town for anything else because I am not wasting gas for a $2 fine.

I also had "Moby Dick," which by the way is KILLING ME. DEAR GOD HERMAN! What the Heck? Who put this on the classics list? Cause I got to tell you, hearing about the intricacies of the whaling business is BORING.

So, I can't renew "Moby Dick" because I owe $2. I had to return it, unfinished. Yes, can you tell I'm crushed?

Anyone got $2, and another $60 for a full tank of gas?

2 comments:

Lisa said...

Well, different tastes for different people....

I read Moby Dick in three days. I loved every minute of it!

On the other hand, I'm one of the few people in the universe who thought the Harry Potter books were dreck.

Kaaren said...

Hey Lisa,

I liked "War & Peace" and LOVED "Crime and Punishment." "Moby Dick" is killing me though. If it were only about the ship, Ahab, Ishmael, etc. I'd be ok. It's the ...superfluous whaling stuff that's driving me bonkers.

This is actually the first Melville I read. I read Hemingway (blanking on the name - the one with the bomb installer in Spain....damn. For Whom the Bell Tolls?) anyway, I did not like it. Then I read The Old Man and the Sea, and loved it.