It has been another month of learning and exploring the library universe. If you are new to this saga of exploration of the US public library system, I am only reading from libraries this year.
It took some time, but I have finally joined my local libraries and linked the cards with my Libby account. I am a member for four libraries. Between these four, I am able to find almost everything I want to read. Which gives up to 80 books to borrow and 80 holds. I decided to let my Delaware library membership close, because the selection wasn’t the best. Leading up to this reading challenge, I had to reactivate my Houston Public Library card. It took about an hour or so to get my log in and link it with Libby.
- Lone Star Digital Library
- Houston Public Library
- Pikes Peak Library District
- Department of Defense Library
If you do not move around as often as I do, it may not be possible to have four library cards. My Lone Star and Houston library cards are held in my home state of Texas. I joined the other two library in Colorado. I have researched libraries in the US that have an annual membership you can pay to join, but it didn’t seem worth it. If you are thinking of paying to join a library, consider KindleUnlimited, Scribd, or a similar reading platform. Personally, I think they have more flexible reading “rules” than libraries.
Books I have on hold
As of the end of February I have 22 books on hold. I have a wait time from 2 week to “unknown.” I listed the books below by wait time.
- Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
- Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (audiobook)
- Graceling by Kristin Cashore
- Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller
- When the Reckoning Comes by LaTanya McQueen
- Renegades by Marissa Meyer
- Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim
- Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Saenz
- Gilded by Marissa Meyer
- Fable by Adrienne Young
- A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
- A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos
- Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune
- Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie
- The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
- Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen
- Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sanez
- Little Thieves by Margaret Owen
- The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab
- Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood (20+ weeks)
- The Grace Year by Kim Liggett (unknown wait)
- To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo (unknown wait LOL)
What have I learned this month?
- I have learned more about the Libby app (thanks to twitter)! There are little bells and whistles that are not necessary to know, but make reading strictly from libraries easier.
- I discovered that book one in a series most likely has a long wait, but the following books do not. I have a small list of first books in a series to request.
- Requesting books once a month works best for me. I look at my TBR and request those that have a long hold. Some titles are available to read right away, which is always a nice treat, but rare.
- Reading popular titles sucks. There is almost always a very long wait.
- Browsing through a library’s e-collections is impressive on Libby. I love that you can see if a book is available across all of your library cards, and if it is, what the wait time is.
- Overdrive will stop working soon. I knew this day would come. According to a very helpful librarian, the app will stop working this month.
- Hold times are estimated wait times. It depends if the reader returns the book earlier or keeps the book for the entire loan time…or at least that is my theory.
- You can delay a book while it is on hold to deliver at a later date!
I got most of my current loans around the middle of February. I currently have 12 books! I am excited to finally have something to read, but a little overwhelmed getting so many books at once. Looking ahead to March, I am going to max out my holds and enjoy the books as they become available.
Do you have any library reading tips let me know below or tweet me @litlemonbooks!
A Year Without Books 2022 Reading Challenge
Lit Lemon Books 
I enjoyed SIx Crimson Cranes and Under the Whispering Door. i hope you get to read them soon.
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I just got Six Crimson Cranes!
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I’m in the UK and the library system in my county started using Libby last year. But we can’t access the whole library collection through this app – all it offers is the ability to borrow audio books, e books and magazines. On a desktop the pages jump around too much to enjoy – I can’t imagine what it’s like trying to read on a mobile.
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I have not tried to use Libby or any library platform on a desktop. When I tried to use one webpage for a library it was not user friendly so I did not try again. I have noticed some libraries in the US do not offer a full digital catalog either, it is really hit or miss. 😦 I use the libby app to find and borrow books, but I end the ebook itself to my kindle. I struggle to read for long period on my phone, such a tiny screen!
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I’ll have to dig into Libby a little more – I tried reading a magazine on the desktop yesterday and it was awful – you couldn’t navigate to a particular page, you just had to go one by one
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Eeek! That sounds about right. The only e-reading platform I found “easier” to navigate was the kindle reading app for desktop. It was a little wonky, but worked like I needed it to.
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