I have several thousand books, not counting the ones on our shelves. Don't expect me to remember each one.
Mostly, I get several emails a day from Amazon about additional books I could buy in Kindle electronic format. That is the sort of book which can pop up in a Kindle reader or a device with Kindle software within 5 minutes of ordering it without a sound. The range of books is very good and so are the prices. But my head is getting older and I often have to look at the listing on the Amazon site to see if I have a book I am interested in.
I was accidentally scratched by the edge of a library card as a youngster and caught bibliomania. Chomping at the bit for books, I was taken to the downtown branch of the Baltimore public library where I demonstrated that I could write my name. They gave me a library card and I have spent plenty of time in libraries since then.
I have spent good money on too many books without reading them so I limited myself to acquisition only on Mondays. If I run into an interesting title, I can list it and make a decision next Monday about getting it. One good tool for cutting down on book expenses is the app called Libby. On Monday, I can set Libby on my iPad to show me what is available in non-fiction books. The other day, I saw "Waking Up" by Sam Harris. I borrowed it and read a bit here and there. "Here and there" is my favorite method for getting a taste. I liked the taste and borrowed the book.
Kindle software tells me in multiple places how much of the book I have read. It also collects notes I make of especially valuable sentences I find. I noticed that the program did not say 0%. I looked in the file of what I have purchased and found that I had purchased the book and read some of it in 2014. It is really quite good and I am an even more discerning reader than I was 7 years ago.
