- Even though the library got rid of overdue fines a year ago, and they quarantine books for 7 days when you return them, I’m still paranoid about returning books by their due date and not one. day. late. (Ha, if I was really anxious I would return them 7 days prior to their due date!)
- I’m glad that interlibrary loan is back – I’m getting a lot of new books in print form that I couldn’t get from my library or electronically on Libby. However, there was something nice about only being able to read things on my Kindle, and not having a physical stack of books taunting me to read them. When the libraries were closed I actually went through my TBR (To Be Read list) to think about what I wanted to read. Now I prioritize what I have in print and what I get from Libby.
Apollo and the book return bucket
- Has anyone ever asked their library to purchase a book? Is that something I can do? Or should I just buy it myself? (I would, I just don’t tend to reread things, and don’t see the point of buying books to read once…)
- Isn’t it the best feeling when you see a friend on Goodreads add a book you just read to their TBR? Or a book you marked on your TBR to theirs? Or a book you told them about to their TBR? It’s so nice to have people value your opinion. And that leads me to…
On the most current episode of Currently Reading, the hosts talked about how they are “book bossy” – they give out book recommendations, and are bossy about it. For example, one host said if they were in the airport (back in the day, I’m sure) and saw someone in the bookstore in desperate need for a book for their flight, they’d pick out a stack for them. Or if they saw someone with a “bad” book, they’d tell them to put that back and read something better instead.
Ha, that makes it sound like they are only bossy to strangers. That’s not the case! People ask them for recommendations. They read tons of books a year and are completely qualified to be book bossy! I’ve been reading quite a few of their recommendations, and they’re good at it!
Something they said was interesting to me though – they don’t like being book “bossed” themselves, in certain situations. Like if someone casually mentions a book to them, they might look in to it/add it to their TBR, but if someone pressures them and says “you have to read this and I want to hear about it on the show!” they are less likely to. Their inner rebel comes out. Which I get, when someone tells me I have to do something, my first thought is, “no, I don’t.” And we won’t even get in to the fact that many people think everyone should love what they do, even though that’s not how the world works.
Wait, that is what I wanted to get in to. We’ve all encountered that person who wants to tell everyone what to do. Be bossy about whatever. I wonder… do they like being bossed around and being told what to do? Have they ever stopped to think that people have different interests, and how opposed they would be to someone telling them what to read, watch, eat, how to exercise, live, etc.?
I don’t think so. They just boss boss boss. Ugh. Golden Rule and all that.
I’ve said this before, but there are people out there who if they recommend something to me, I know I am probably not going to like it. And there is nothing wrong with that unless 1. they are being a pushy a-hole, or 2. I am being an a-hole to them about their recommendation. I can listen to their recommendation and be kind, even though I am now going to put that on my “never” list. On Currently Reading, they call it your “evil book twin” (the person who has a completely opposite book taste from you) and say everyone needs one, because it helps you discover even more of what you like and don’t like (or something like that, it’s been a long time since I listened to that episode). (Your regular book twin is someone who loves most of the same books as you. Mine is probably Amy!)
Anyway, them saying they love to be book bossy then mentioning they don’t always love being book bossed in return reminded me of (non-book related) bossy/pushy people I know in real life, and how funny (not really, eyeroll) it is that they love to boss but usually don’t listen to your recommendations. Once I realize that it is the kind of person I am around, and they only want to be listened to, I tend to just be quiet (and avoid them in the future). I’m not pushy about things as it is, but it’s really not fun to be bossed around and told what to do with your free time. (Again, thinking of non-book related people in real life – not the people on this podcast!)
You most definitely can request that your library buy a book. Doesn’t necessarily mean they will buy it, but if they get multiple requests, that would make them more likely to buy it.
I am going to try to figure out how to do that! I want to read this book that came out in May and I am surprised I can’t find it anywhere on their system!
I have asked my library to buy a book, but only e-books. There’s an easy way to do it on Overdrive, but Libby doesn’t have the functionality yet, womp. But every time I’ve asked them to buy an e-book, they do!
I realllllly can’t be around bossy people. I don’t have a very aggressive personality so they just make me go quiet and not give my opinion. I also don’t like being around people who are complaining about something but every time you try to give an option to get out of whatever situation they’re fussing about, they have a countering opinion on why they can’t do that. Ugh. I need to just let people vent without trying to offer solutions, though. That’s something I need to work on!
I think my evil book twin is Sarah from Sarah’s Book Shelves, haha. It’s very rare for me to love a book she raved about, and I usually love the books she hated! (Like, I know she abandoned The Heir Affair early on and I am DEVOURING it. She also raved about a thriller that I thought was the worst thriller I’ve ever read, haha.) There are exceptions, of course, like Beyond the Point, but I watch her “abandoned” reads very closely for a rec I might like. 😉
Ooo! I wish they had that in Libby! I think I am going to ask the next time I go in for holds how to do it! An e-book would be fine!!!!
You are good about letting me vent without offering solutions! <3 It's annoying when it's someone whining to you about the same thing over and over and over and you are like, dude, you have done zilch about this! I am sick of hearing about it! I get that! (But at the same time I hate when I want to vent about work and someone is like "get a new job." Um... can I not vent?!)
Oh yes! I think she is! I know we've talked about it but I have to say again, We Wish You Luck was so MEH. And she just kept raving about it! BLAH!!!!! That is too funny you look at her abandoned list, but I think that is what they were getting at in that episode - that is a good way to use your evil book twin! I wonder if we are anyone's evil book twins 😉
You absolutely can request a library buy books. Often their online service has a means by which to do it. If not, find an email or form on the library website. They won’t always do it, but you can try. And you’ll create a relationship with your librarians at the same time. They used to rely on me to learn about new comics and music and look forward to my requests.
Thanks for sharing your experience with it! That is awesome that they got your comic and music requests. I have not been able to find a form, so I think I am going to ask the next time I go in to get my holds 🙂
Interesting discussion! I think most people don’t like to be told they HAVE to do something someone else thinks is great, be it read a certain book or something else… I think I am sometimes pushy about stuff I am enthusiastic about but hopefully not TOO pushy and not too often, LOL!
I have never thought about requesting my library buy a certain book, that is a good idea!
Good point – does anyone actually like that? Ha. I do know a few people who absolutely need a coach telling them what to do but it’s different when you ask for the input! Ha, you have never come off as too pushy to me. What do you think you are pushy about?
I am going to try the next time I’m in to get holds!
I think I can be pushy about things I am excited about, like my exercise program…which manifests in sharing links to the workouts, and regrettably, talking a friend of mine into signing up to it with me last fall, and then she ended up not doing any of it, which made me feel guilty. 🙁
Ahh, I see what you mean! Do you think you were pushy or are they the type would never do the workout anyway? 😉
She was dealing with a lot of stuff at the time, and she just never got into it. If the circumstances had been different maybe she would have done it.
See, so you don’t need to feel like you were too pushy <3
This is interesting to me in the context of books specifically, because I’ve found that since I stopped going to the physical library (not due to COVID, due to laziness. I haven’t been to an actual library branch since…like early 2017? Late 2016? It’s been a VERY long time.) I really appreciate being “book bossed.” In fact, almost every single book I’ve read in 2020 has been from a recommendation from someone–either your blog, or another blog I read that regularly recommends books, or my mom (plus a couple anti-racism books that…the world in general seemed to be recommending in May/June). I think the only book I’ve read that no one recommended to me all year was Crazy Rich Asians. I don’t find the browsing experience on Libby to be as enjoyable as the browsing experience in a physical library, where my usual plan of attack was to pick a letter of the alphabet in the fiction section and walk up and down the aisles with books written by authors with a last name starting with that letter and pick whatever book(s) struck my fancy. That’s not nearly as feasible on Libby, so I much prefer someone telling me what to read rather than trying to find something on my own!
I like being book bossed too 🙂 It’s fun to get recommendations from different sources and read a large variety of books. And I agree that browsing on Libby is weird. I miss going in to the library and in to the new books section. Your “pick a letter” method from your library-visiting days sounds fun, too 🙂
So do you mostly read books on your Libby app? Or do you sometimes buy the book or have it passed to you?
I am almost exclusively a Libby user. Sometimes if a book comes highly recommended and I can’t find it on Libby, I’ll buy it in the Kindle app, but I much prefer Libby. I’m a much more effective reader when I have a deadline 😛 Plus I don’t frequently re-read books, so I’m not all that inclined to invest in them, unless it’s something that makes more sense to have as a physical copy (like a cookbook).
I get that – I am not a re-reader either. And I want to read a book before I decide if I want a personal copy, and I almost always want a digital copy (there are a few I’ve highlighted up though – the hard copies).