Recently a library patron stopped by to tell me that the e-book choices in Freading are no more desirable than those in our NEIBORS Overdrive e-book program. I know. I’m so sorry. Authors and book publishers are still arguing about how they should be fairly compensated for their work. I understand, everyone wants to be paid well for what they do. Meanwhile, the whole industry has left libraries in the lurch. As soon as it is figured out and everyone is happy, we will have the newest and the best available in e-book format. Meanwhile, we have a great selection in regular, old, hard cover books. If you have been frustrated with what the library has to offer in e-books, don’t forget that whatever it is you want or need, we can almost always provide it one way or another in an old-fashioned book.
The discussion that I described led into another one with a couple of library patrons: How often we are disappointed in books. It’s one thing if we have checked a book out from the library shelves. It’s altogether different if we have paid for a book either in e-book or real-book format. One reader told us how she had been tricked by an Amazon ad. Amazon’s glowing report of a certain book led her to believe that it would be the perfect choice for her to use when she next reported to her book club. The book arrived into her Kindle. She read a few pages and realized that the premise of the book was not what she had been led to believe. Now she will report to her book club that she was disappointed and unhappy with her selection. Folks, Amazon and every other bookseller wants to SELL you something. Don’t believe their commercials that are masked as book reviews. If all those automobile insurance ads on tv were true, State Farm would be paying me for the privilege of providing my with car insurance. Save hundreds of dollars per year? Hah! The amount they say they will save me is more than I pay in the first place. As with anything else, book -buyer beware!
Those conversations led us to thinking that there should be a method for Humboldt readers to tell one another about what they are reading. Share what books you liked, and share what books what disappointed you. There are some rather formulaic systems designed just for this. Good Reads is one of them. But, we wanted a place just for us. I created a Humboldt Reads! Facebook page. You can find it at www.facebook.com. Just type in Humboldt Reads! in the search box. This page is about three hours old and has six “friends” already. Join us. We will have fun!


Photo is a collection of pie birds loaned to the library by Candis Drechsler and Sharon Strutzberg