Reasons people still own books

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It is moving season here at the Delaware County District Library. I can count on two hands the amount of coworkers who either bought or sold a house this summer.

I am also lumped into that group. As I have spent my entire summer packing, I realized something – I own a lot of books. I tried to categorize them as I packed, but it became so tedious and so many things overlapped that, in the end, I just gave up and threw everything in a box with no rhyme or reason.

People own books for many different reasons. Many of mine have been signed by the author, and though they may never be “worth something,” they still have significant personal value.

Others were classics from my childhood or my husband’s home growing up, and we hope to pass them along to our children as part of the “one day” box. “One day” the kids will be old enough to understand these. “One day” we’ll be able to make the art craft we envisioned out of those gorgeous end papers.

I have an entire box of books that I haven’t even read yet, but I’ve picked up from our library Advanced Reader Copy box or from a Friends of the Library sale. Those are also a “one day” box. “One day” I’ll actually read them.

Thankfully, we have a Friends of the Library group who love to give life to old books or help you when you realize you’ve accumulated too many books. The Friends take donations year-round at every Delaware Library location. Whether you’ve closed an estate, downsized, or just outgrown some old favorites, you can drop off your books (and more – DVDs, board games, etc.) and know that they will find a new set of hands to love them at the next Bargain Book Sale.

The next Bargain Book Sale takes place this weekend at the Orange Branch Library. It will be today (Saturday) from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and tomorrow (Sunday) from 12 to 3 p.m.

If you miss this weekend, the next sale on the Friends’ calendar is a Fall Art Sale Oct. 11-13 at the Delaware Main Library. The group has already received a beautiful metal sculpture donated by Mac Worthington of Ostrander. This is one shopping trip that I will be very interested in, as we have some new walls to decorate in our home.

Of course, one of the greatest benefits of being a library patron is being able to take home books when you want to read them and bring them back when you’re finished. No clutter. No overflowing book shelves. However, I haven’t seen that reality in a book lovers’ home yet.

Here are some of the newest titles on our library shelves:

• “The Gone Dead” by Chanelle Benz. Billie James has just inherited a ramshackle home in the Mississippi Delta from her father, a respected (if underrated) African American poet who died when she was four. When she visits, she learns of the mysteries surrounding the night of his death.This slow-burning debut novel is steeped in Southern Gothic atmosphere.

• “You’ve Been Volunteered: A Class Mom Novel” by Laurie Gelman. Starring sassy, sarcastic, relatable Jen Dixon, who is once again class mom (this time for her son’s 3rd-grade class) – and now is apparently in charge of the safety patrol. This follow-up to Gelman’s “Class Mom” novel in 2017 will appease lovers of irreverent tales of harried parenthood like Maria Semple’s “Today Will Be Different” or Bunmi Laditan’s “Confessions of a Domestic Failure.”

• “The Lager Queen of Minnesota” by J. Ryan Stradal. Featuring sisters Helen and Edith, who haven’t spoken since an inheritance came between them, and Edith’s granddaughter Diana, who brings them back together. Add in beer and beer-making, though you could be a teetotaler, and enjoy this heartwarming story and its complicated, relatable female protagonists.

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By Nicole Fowles

Glad You Asked

If you have a question that you would like to see answered in this column, mail it to Nicole Fowles, Delaware County District Library, 84 E. Winter St., Delaware, OH 43015, or call us at 740-362-3861. You can also email your questions by visiting the library’s web site at www.delawarelibrary.org or directly to Nicole at [email protected]. No matter how you contact us, we’re always glad you asked!

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