Overdue library books: My public confession
My name is Amanda, and I have a problem with overdue library books.
Those who know me in real life often already know this fact, but I feel I have to confess it a bit more publicly to try to solve this problem once and for all. All my life, I’ve had problems returning books to libraries on time. There is a library in Osaka which, I’m sure, has my picture on the wall (with a caption saying “dangerous book-stealing foreigner” in polite Japanese). A rather embarrassing overdue library book situation arose in Germany when I realised my mother-in-law - we’d redirected our mail to her - would soon receive an overdue notice for Irvine Welsh’s book Porno
The dumb thing is that I have enough books from other sources to keep me well-enough stocked for reading, but I just can’t resist libraries. If I go to my local public library, usually my plan is to grab a DVD or two - they have a great variety of foreign films and they’re free, so why not take advantage of them - but you know, it’s really hard just to walk to the DVD racks and ignore all those lovely shelves of books behind them, so inevitably I come away with three or four extra books to read. And then it’s sometimes hard to get them back before the due date, and although online renewal makes that easier, my current library won’t let me renew books more than once, so then … well, you know how it goes. If you’re like me, anyway.
I’m always trying to turn over a new library-borrowing leaf. I’ve been pretty good, really, since I returned to Perth, because there’s a fine of 25 cents per day per book for overdues. Plus they email me three days before my books are due to remind me (just another reason why my soul was built for the internet age). I did have to pay a $2 fine yesterday, but that’s not my fault - the library was installing a new computer system and their automatic reminder system failed so I didn’t realise my book was overdue until they physically sent me a rather demanding overdue notice.
There are worse problems to have - I could be addicted to drugs, for example, but I’m not - but I hereby promise to try to improve my overdue library book situation.
I wonder if any other writers out there have library book problems … and if so, will you confess?
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Comments
Aaron, it’s wonderful to hear that I am not alone here. I can totally relate to borrowing more books despite knowing there’s a pile at home waiting for me already …
I still have trouble turning my back on a book I’ve started, but your way is very likely the right way. It’s crazy because I would never watch a movie that didn’t grab me in the first ten minutes, even though it would only take two hours out of my life, but I’ll often spend several more hours to finish a book that I don’t really like - I’m always optimistic that it’ll work out better.
Anyway thanks for the confession and the tips!
[...] thought about this quite often, but more deeply when I read Aaron’s comment on my overdue library book confessions post. Quite sensibly, he had this to say about his large pile of library books: If it doesn’t [...]
[...] might remember my frank confession about my difficulties in returning library books by the due date. If you don’t remember, [...]
I used to do that, a lot. I can’t tell you how many times I had to dig deep and come up with cash to get back to my favorite addiction.
I’m so bad, I’ll have a stack of books sitting to be read, return one and come out with 2 or 3 more, knowing I’ve got 5 or 6 waiting at home.
Two things I did to stop late fees: 1. entering all due dates, immediately (often while standing at the counter) into my smartphone then syncing to Outlook.
I then have two reminders when they are due and I can add in the titles of the books when I get back to my desktop as a reminder of the books I’ve read.
2: Because I have so many, I am far less forgiving in reading. If it doesn’t “hook” me in the first 10 pages, it goes in the pile to be returned early. I don’t suffer books any longer, there are too many other good books to push myself to read something that isn’t any good or takes to long to get started.
If I set a book down because it starts to drag, don’t like the direction, any number of reasons, that’s another reason it gets an early return.
I still have late fees, but they are never more than a dollar or two since I’ve implemented this method. It’s usually because I am getting and returning books at least once a week, I forget that I didn’t already return something.
My late fees are always for the books I didn’t care to finish reading for some reason :s