just hanging around

I rediscovered the library recently. Part of my efforts to spend less. If I borrow books I supposedly will not need to buy them. To date I have reborrowed and reborrowed until I can reborrow no more, hungrily scanned a chapter or two, scribbled random notes and, in the interests of possession, wanted to buy around half of my borrowings. Mixed success there I would say.

Today a book was due, one I was particularly reluctant to give up but had to, since I had reached the outer limits of loan extension. I returned it and picked up the book I had on hold. Tasmania might be small and cut off from the rest of the world, but believe me, the State Library is awesome. I can find any library book in any tiny library anywhere in the state, put a hold on it, and three days later it turns up in my local library ready to be collected. Fantastic. Not so fantastic that I am 65th in line to borrow Margaret Atwood's The Year of the Flood, but you know, I'll get there eventually... I mean, I've moved up one place already.

So while I am waiting, waiting I decided I should prepare myself by reading Oryx and Crake. To be honest, I don't know much about either story, but I like Margaret Atwood (try The Blind Assassin) and with 65 people waiting The Year of the Flood must be good, and Oryx and Crake is apparently the first part of the story, so it makes sense to read it first and get things the right way around.

Book duly in hand, along with Girligami and a title pitched at helping me live green, I set off on the long walk home, weaving my way through my favourite luscious parks as I went. Passing through Princes Square I felt myself rather overwhelmed with longing to sit and linger under the trees and read a book, but I reminded myself I did not have time and kept on goi...

What? Don't have time?

Ha. It is for this very reason I quit my job - to have time to sit in the park and read. So I did. I pulled out my book, sat on a bench between the fountain and flower beds, and read.

Not for long, because one wouldn't want to, you know, enjoy things too much, or let the guard down, or forget that life wasn't meant to be easy. But enough to laugh and feel happy and be in the moment.

And the book was rather fine as well. I'm looking forward to it.