Thanks to everyone that recommended reading Crusie's Welcome to Temptation! Seriously a wonderful and hilarious read. (I foolishly believed that since I had already read Faking It, that reading Temptation out of sequence would be annoying.)

This is why I'm not allowed to live in my head anymore.

I was driven to stories about Christian martyrs in the church library and reading the encyclopedia.

Me too! Except instead of Christian martyrs, it was books on the lives and deaths of all the saints...and I'm not even Catholic! Also, loved the dictionary (unabridged Oxford English, of course).

I'm horrified at these tales of book limits at the library! That would never work in my family -- we would always take out huge stacks of books at a time, and then return them late. I swear the local public library balanced their budget on my parents' late fees.

I work at a University library and patrons occasionally ask if there is a limit to the number of books they can check out. I believe the system has an inherent limit of 9999, but as far as I know it has never been tested, even by the most pack-rattish of the faculty.

I'm horrified at these tales of book limits at the library!

When I was a kid, the library had a limit of 5 books at a time for kids. (As far as I know, still does.) But when they realized I was bringing books back every 2 or 3 days -- and when my Mom complained about having to go back to the library so frequently, which I think was the kicker -- they let me take 10 at a time.

I also must admit, I've never stepped foot in a library. I either purchase the books I want to read or they're loaned by friends. The library seems this scary, disgusting place where people bend the spines on books and sneeze on and dog-ear the pages and generally don't take good care of the books for the next reader. Most of the books are donations, too; It's like a graveyard for all the books no one wants. And then, I have this nightmare that the books will start coming for me, begging me to take them home and rescue them from this horrible place. Scary, scary, scary!

I'd also probably get really mad when I see some of the books in the library and wonder how anyone could give up such a wonderful book. I think it might be safer for the universe if I just stay away. It's like I'm a bibliophobe as well as a bibliophile.

Then again, since I've never actually been to the library, I'm sure it's not as bad as I imagine.

I've never stepped foot in a library.

Buh?

I love the library! It's where the books live! And you can take them home with you! For free!

I read my parents odd assortment of outdated best-sellers such as . . . Forever Amber.

!!!!!!!!!!!

Ginger wins. Although FA is pretty tame by today's standards.

(And I remember reading some Harold Robbins as a teenager. Especially one very, very steamy scene in The Betsy.)

(EtA mark notin' that I'm quotin'.)

Yeah...and they do buy new ones...not as many as I want, but the library is like my crackhouse so this is not possible.

They took my library card away. When I like something, I don't want to give it back. And I form an irrational attachment to the actual physical book I read the first time. No, I don't want a shiny new one of my own, I want this one.

It's cheaper to buy my own.