Musing Monday...Climbing Back on The Blogland Horse.

Perhaps a few of you notice my absence on my blog this week....perhaps not. :-)
Afraid I was under the weather, yes again, and not really up to writing a review or reading yours. Or actually turning on my computer, which accounts for the hundreds of unread e-mails and the almost countless Google Reader entries. I may have to clear my Reader and start from scratch. But today the fury has calmed down, so let's see if we can get back in the blogland swing....sounds like a country dance!...and check out this weeks question from Rebecca at Just One More Page.

Where do you keep any books borrowed from friends or the library? Do they live with your own collection, or do you keep them separate? Do you monitor them in anyway.

I am not as organized person as I wish I was. I try, usually for about a week at New Years to bring order to my pile of confusion, with little success. So in my dreams, I would have my books all organized. A neat stack here of reading or next to be read. A neat stack of library books, in order due back. In reality, you have seen the pictures of the piles. But books from the library, a resource I have have only started using again in recent months, I try to keep better control of. Because I am cheap and hate to pay the fines.

For me the key is limit the number. I actually try to keep the number of books I have out at any one time to two, maybe three max. Then, even I can remember where they are and pretty much when they are due. Right now, I have two by the front door and one, not yet finished, on my bedside table. This question was, in fact, very helpful, because it reminded me to renew online the one due tomorrow so I can finish the other and return them all together.

The problem is many of the books I want, I find have to be placed on hold and received from other branches. Then there is no way of knowing when the book will come in. I might have several on hold and get none...then they all arrive the same day and I am above my anti-confusion level of three. In that case I find it safest, fine wise, to leave the pile on the dining room table, where they can't be missed or lost. Read one, replace it there. A grand plan...unless you actually want to use the table to eat it.
Do I monitor them in any way? Oh, I wish that I could. Some sort of implant or electronic device. It would have saved me from several terrible library book incidents in my checked past.

Borrowing from others is another matter. I don't do it often...and I don't really like to do it. I take the responsibility of having another's book too seriously. I am afraid of damaging it or losing it. I have to read it at once and return it as soon as possible.

Oddly, it seems not everyone has such issues with books they might borrow. :-)

---