Tuesday, February 26, 2008

books books boooooookssss

My computer keeps freezing, my internet is manky, and it is midnight.

We'll see how this goes.

One of the challenges living here is simply finding books I really want to read. Few English language books go by in the first place. Fewer still are ones I am REALLY hungry for, some aren't to my taste, whatever, blah blah blah...but this is now the fifth year of finding it tough to get great books, we had the same problem on the boat...and it is bugging me a bit. When I am in Toronto and have the enormous resources of the phenomenal Toronto Public Library behind me, I have too much work. If anyone from TO wants to whine about the library system there; I ain't listening. It is simply world class. I miss it horribly; along with long (read reasonable and useful) opening hours, cranberry juice, cranberry sauce, whole grain bread and coleslaw, though I could make that.

That said, it isn't snowing here, I don't have to work too hard, we live near the sea and the mountains, and BCN, I don't have to drive or commute ( I am embarrassed to admit how long I listened to the traffic report after I started working at home...I just LOVED it that I wasn't in it), we're challenged and have too many things that we want to do, and we are all together for lunch every day.

All told, ignore the whine up top. I think it is part of why I read blogs (when my internet and computer aren't freaking out): the dearth of appealing reading material.

8 comments:

Miss Kim said...

Guess what we found this week?? Cranberry juice--- in the farmacy!! Who would have guessed---but it is sort of logical isn't it?

For books, I always bring an extra suitcase (a carry-on)whenever we travel because I can never have enough!

Lynda said...

I miss the big Sydney libraries too. More for Miss 6 tht loved to take home an armload of books every week - our trip to the library was the treat before I did the grocery shopping on Saturdays. Oh and I so get 'listening to the traffic report' - working from a home office I used to listen to SWR3 a local German radio station and would get a chuckle from the traffic reports too!

elPadawan said...

buy books online... Or I know that for some libraries, when you're a "good customer", they'll be more likely to buy a book just so that you can read it. I know that the one in the city where I grew up was like that. As a public library, it was in their interest to get people and kids to read, so if there was a book they didn't have that you were looking for, they'd get it for you within a month. ;)

Hula Girl at Heart said...

Now I'm feeling guilty for taking so long to read the 16,000 books I currently have checked out from my wonderful local library. I feel compelled to exercise my freedom to read.

Beth said...

List some of the books you're interested in reading - if you have any in mind. Otherwise, I'll just send what I think you might like. Which you may not like.

(And don't say, "No, no, no..." Think in terms of you saving my hands!)

oreneta said...

Kim, you've given me an idea, now I just need to source the Spanish or Catalan name for cranberries...

Lynda, my kids used to come back from the library with so many books I would bring one of thoes Babushka carts, or a stroller with me to haul them all....no more..life is a trade off.

elPadawan, I do buy online, see the post above, but I cannot really justify the cost, especially when the kids have a harder time getting books they want to read, and I really want to feed their habit....the library here will order books for me from any library in Catalonia, but the computer is out of the 70s, and all but unusable as a search tool, you need to know what book you want before hand, and as the selection of English language books is so limited...that said the library ladies are lovely and could help maybe...

The To PL allows you 50 books out at a time for three weeks at a go...you can renew twice. I frequently found myself at the limit...*sigh*

Beth hon, you're on..but only one or two if you buy them used...that cream wasn't that pricey, did it work?

oreneta said...

Ohh, sorry, Beth, can I think for a day about titles??

Anonymous said...

I must shamefacedly admit, I do not take advantage of the library. I have many good books in my home to read, and don't take advantage of those either. I did take advantage of reading a bloggers first 12 chapters of her book. It is so weird reading a fiction, knowing it really is an autobiography and getting to meet and visit with the person. I cherish the opportunity.