The Unexpected Joys of Libby

Being born in the late 1900s, as Gen Z (or is it Gen Alpha?) would say, I learned to read the old fashioned way: physical books. And I loved them since I could hold them in my pudgy baby hands. My parents read to me every night (and my brother though they don't remember) until I memorized every book on my ever expanding shelf. When my younger brother came home from the hospital, I plopped down next to him and 'read' my favorites to him for hours and hours and hours.

It's not hard to see that I have been a lover of the physical medium of books since before I could remember. When I moved to Portland, I went to the holy shrine for all book nerds: Powell's Books. I went to graduate school for book publishing and made friends with book nerds - who I am proud to say are friends even more than a decade after we graduated.

Okay, so what?

Like I said, I was born in the late 1900s and at that time and for a long while, books were the only way to really read. Books on tape was a thing for older folks or maybe those with disabilities but wasn't really something I considered when I thought about books growing up. I loved to curl up with a physical book on a couch or on my commute to and from work. But technology was changing all of that while I wasn't looking.

With computer, internet, microphones and editing software more and more readily available to the public, Books on Tape became audiobooks and the cost to produce a audio copy of a book became cheaper and easier to store and distribute with the advent of smartphones. I would squint at folks who prefered audiobooks- what do you mean you don't have a physical copy of the book?? What about the feel of the pages? The book smell?

But between my apartment moves and my commute shrinking down to 15 minutes only a handful of times a week and adopting a dog durning the height of the pandemic (who is happily still my constant companion; dog tax below), I found myself only picking up physical copies of books when I was on vacation, or had a long plane ride.

For the first time in my life, I simply didn't really have time to commit to sitting down and reading. Added to that, I started trying to actually accomadate with my ADHD, rather than shoving it down and ignoring it. And then Spotify offered several hours of Audioboks and I tried with a book I'd previously read and loved: Gideon the Ninth (I also am going to write a blog post- maybe even a series on this quartet but oh man I have so many thoughts). And I suddenly understood. But Spotify has limits on how many hours you can listen for free and their "top up" is ridiculously expensive.

And then I remembered Libby A free app that links to your local library (or any library) and lets you borrow audiobooks, books (audio and digital), magazines. Suddenly, I was adding books to my hold shelf (and I will say sometimes there can be a bit of a wait but it's free!).

Since I started with using the app in March, I've read seven books, including a few new authors that I may not have tried out had the books not been available for free including a newer series by T. Kingfisher The Saint of Steel. I have been a sucker for fantasy since childhood and this "new" cozy fantasy trend is another facet of delight. In a similar vein to Legends and Lattes, these stories center on slice of life with fantasy elements, with lower stakes and often a focus on romance. Paladin's Grace and Pladin's Strength, the first two in the series, follow the paladins of the Saint of Steel- a god of righteous warriors who sends his faithful into a berserking fury against the unholy. And then one day, the god dies and the paladins are set adrift without a god to guide them. Now, they must forge their own paths. I think I described it thusly to a friend: "Himbo Paladins who drink 'respect women juice' hunt a creepy serial killer and fall in love with strong, independant women."

I absolutley want to get into the nitty gritty of these books, but I've only read the first two. The fourth has only just been published and I am waiting for the third, Paladin's Hope, to come available on my Libby.

Happy reading! and please let me know your thoughts on Cosy Fantasy, Libby, how cute my dog is, how cute I was!