Bad Habits: The Library

While I will not deny the fact that I bite my fingernails (I actually would if I could but this bad habit is much to obvious for others to notice) I am not here to talk about this particular one.

The first step to recovery is admitting that I have a problem. I check out too many books for me to actually read.

Yet I wish to interject that my habit has most certainly been down lately my problem is that fact that I go to the library after school. I used to do this in middle school because the public library was directly across the street and while I got out at 2:30 pm my mother was not able to pick me up until sometimes 5:30 pm. So I spent quite a bit of time at the public library. Everyday I would fill my backpack up to the brim with books and my arms too. I was reading more back then because after I cut out that silly thing called homework from my life I found that I had quite a bit of time on my hands. I don't recall ever leaving my room during that time of my life. Huh.

I shared a room with my mom and while we had the biggest room in the apartment it really was not that big.

At one point I had over 50 books checked out at once with all of them due extremely close to one another. And then I changed schools. Not because I was bad or anything but because I was fourteen and needed to start high school. And my bad habit simply faded away because it could not be fed. For a while I became a voracious book buyer but that is another story.

I recently moved again and this time I am a twenty minute walk to the library (I timed myself). After school I walk by the library everyday after taking public transportation from school to home again and I can't bring myself to just walk by it. I have to go in. And look at books, read, use the facilities, sit in their very comfy teen section, and check out some books.

When I get home I have a special secret area that I read all my books practically all of the time. It is a magical fairy land.

I call it my room. My mom calls it a pigsty.

Yet I can't stop getting more books. I think it is a case of The Prayer of a Selfish Child by Shel Silverstein.

Now I lay me down to sleep

I pray the Lord my soul to keep

If I should die before I wake

I pray the Lord my toys to break

So none of the other kids can use 'em

 When I find a book that I like at the library I can't leave it there because what if someone else checks it out. When I get back it will be gone because everyone wants that specific book. They are all waiting for me to walk away from it so that they can fight over who gets to check it out. It may seem pretty quiet in here but it is only to lull me into a false sense of security. So I check out the book and a few others.

Before you say anything, I do realize that I am a bit paranoid.

My biggest problem is being able to bring them all the books back because I really do want to read them all and you can only renew books if no one has them on hold after you. After a while I start to hope that I won't like a book or two so that I can have a higher chance of reading them all. Good thing I don't have any aversions to renewing my books or I would be in big trouble. Even better is that I can renew them online. That has really brought down my late fees. In fact it is so low that I don't have them anymore. *knock on wood three times*

So do you find yourself checking out more books than you can realistically read? Or do you buy books more often and not have to worry about any of this?