Happy National Bookmobile Day!

This week is National Library Week. And today is National Bookmobile Day.

Before moving to the middle of nowhere, I never thought twice about bookmobiles. But since the closest library is almost an hour away, I am so grateful for the bookmobile that stops in our tiny town every other week.

Our bookmobile librarian knows everyone who visits her little library on wheels. She drives a huge vehicle over small windy roads that make some people uncomfortable driving in small cars. Once when I asked if the library had a certain book, she researched it for me and when she couldn't find it, she sent me some alternatives that she thought would interest me with a personal note.

My almost two year old daughter loves visiting the bookmobile. The board books are in a little bin on the floor and she knows right where to find them. When we step into the bookmobile out of the cold, she pulls off her hat and coat and makes herself at home. She'd even take off her boots if I let her.

The bookmobile is also a place where we actually get to meet and see some of our neighbors during the freezing months when everyone is stuck inside all day.

Few people have the need for a bookmobile, but for those of us who need it, it is a huge blessing.

Bookmobile and TBR

I had two requests for moving to the middle of nowhere: 1) we had to have high speed Internet, and 2) we needed to be in a reasonable distance of a library.

Well, I got one out of two. The closest library is an hour away--on a long, windy road that is hazardous at any time, but especially dangerous in wintertime.

Since we live too far to go to the library, the library comes to us via the Fort Vancouver Regional Library Bookmobile! It comes every two weeks (except when weather or road conditions make it too risky). We also qualify for books by mail because of how remote we are. Which I'm sure I'll take advantage of when it's too cold to walk down to the Post Office (where the bookmobile parks) with my toddler.

When we got inside, Ivy walked right up to the bin of board books and picked some out. This made me happy to have the bookmobile. But I'll be honest, there really wasn't anything there that I would normally choose to read. I grabbed a couple of books anyway, because I didn't want to leave empty-handed. I can request books that I'm interested in, so hopefully I'll be getting some stuff I've been wanting to read soon. It's definitely nice to have a library card again.

With my limited library options, I've decided to attack my To Be Read list of books that I own but have never read. We have tons of space for my 800+ books, but I only have one bookcase, so I have to be choosy about what goes on it and what stays in boxes. I can never fit my lists of favorites or all the books that make me look smart on the one bookcase, so instead of agonizing over what to allow on my shelf, I am putting up all the books I've meant to read but have never gotten around to.

I'm excited about some of the books. (I have a confession--I've never read a Jane Austen book. But I own them, so I'm going to read them now.) Other books terrify me: Why exactly did I ever think I'd read Don Quixote? or The Poems of Virgil? Desperate times call for desperate reading.