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March 12, 2013

Not long ago, the Library was closed for two weekdays. The next week there was another storm and the Library was closed yet again. I got cabin fever. I was tired of being stuck inside. The books I had checked out from the Library no longer interested me. Then I thought of a solution. I used my Android tablet to open the free OverDrive Media Console app. From there, I went to OverDrive—where a vast selection of choices was waiting to be downloaded.

I took a look at the new eBook additions. The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis was available for download. This is an Oprah’s Book Club selection that I had been meaning to read. Ah, it felt good to check out a book without having to leave my house.

I decided to explore nonfiction eBooks. I spotted Beyond Beauty: Hunting the Wild Blue Poppy by Bill Terry. Terry and his wife went on an expedition to Tibet to hunt for various plants that could survive the harsh elements on the roof of the world. The book includes beautiful pictures of plants they found, as well as other sites they saw on their journey. It also provides insight about a culture that is facing much adversity as the native Tibetans cope with Chinese immigrants who wish to impose a different way of life on the region.

I now had a fiction book and an informative and serious nonfiction book. I felt I needed one more book to round out my exploratory venture. The Real Life Downton Abbey: How Life Was Really Lived in Stately Homes a Century Ago by Jacky Hyams caught my eye. This season of PBS’s Downton Abbey series is over, and I have been suffering from withdrawal. I downloaded the book, but haven’t yet explored what it contains.

I made a cup of hot chocolate and began to read. It felt nice to be making choices on books that didn’t cost me money. And I wouldn’t have to pay late fees. This could be a win-win situation. However, I need to provide a caveat: After reading an eBook for several hours, I tried to go to sleep. Instead, I stayed awake for a very long time. I did some research and discovered that some people are sensitive to the emitted light that many screens give off. Some eReaders, like the Kindle, utilize reflected light in the same way as normal paper so that this is not an issue.

Because I don’t have a Kindle, I needed a solution for what to "read" later in the evening. What about audiobooks? The next day, I quickly found three: Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil by Tom Mueller; The Kitchen Counter Cooking School: How a Few Simple Lessons Transformed Nine Culinary Novices into Fearless Home Cooks by Kathleen Flinn; and Meditations for Happiness: Rewire Your Brain for Lasting Contentment and Peace by Rick Hanson.

I sat in my easy chair and started listening to Extra Virginity. I usually cook with olive oil and was interested in what I could glean from this selection. Unfortunately, because I didn’t get much sleep the night before, I fell asleep and missed several chapters. A solution is built into the OverDrive software. There is a sleep timer for audiobooks. Problem solved.

Now that Spring will soon be here, I shouldn’t have to worry about weather keeping me trapped inside my house. But, there are the dreaded spring allergies that tend to plague me. Also, the price of gas seems to keep rising, so not driving to the Library could save me money. I plan to visit the Library online as often as possible.

~Bev F.
Parkville Branch