The perils of working at the library

Working at the library

I've volunteered at our small local library for several years and I
enjoy my 'backroom task" of covering newly arrived books to prepare
them for circulation. I share the task with another volunteer. I
cover hard bound and soft cover books while she takes care of
paperbacks and repairs. There is one major drawback to those lovely
hours of work which is that I see the new books before anyone else in
the community and generally have first dibs.

Uh-oh, temptation is not something I need. My to-read stacks of books
is totteringly high. I've become a junkie with the Amazon resellers
and find it impossible to attend a booksale without making a
purchase. Or two. Or three. Once a week my powers of restraint are
sorely tested as I fondle new volumes and am enticed by quotes,
reviews, and colorful bindings.

Today was an excellent example. There was an inviting book of native
American legends, an alluring manual of trees and shrubs. I was lured
by an illustrated cookbook - assuredly full of mouthwatering recipes
I'd never try. And I found myself fascinated by Over the Edge: Death
in the Grand Canyon, a book about fatal mishaps in Grand Canyon.
Easier to resist were several SciFi novels with lurid covers. One
wonders at the prevalence of imagined planets where the population is
dressed like Neanderthals but the women all look like plastic-
surgeonized harlots carrying spears.

I returned home empty-handed to resume reading in my private library,
safe (this week) from temptation. That Grand Canyon book is on my
list though. Someday....