le library

i like the libraries. alot. i guess it started from when i was a kid, when we would go to library every week. back then, it was to immediately rush for unread issues of Asterix & Obelix, and to a lesser extent, Tin Tin.  Later on came the crime novels, and then, oh joy, the library brought in graphic novels.

you can also watch movies at the library, and of course my very first movie there was an Asterix & Obelix movie.  rather disappointing though, because i had not expected Asterix to have such a whiny voice.  it was only later that i realized it was originally a French comic, translated/dubbed into English.

and now my love affair with the library has been renewed, thanks to this innocuous junk mail that i very nearly deleted.  thanks to the eReads portal, you can borrow and read on your browser.  you can also download books to read offline, which i really like.  the good thing is that you dont have to worry about fines because the books will automatically expire once they reach their due date.  so now you can browse from the comfort of your home, without having to even step into the library and lug all the books home!

you are however still restricted to a limited number of books that you can borrow, which is ok since you can only read so many within 21 days anyway.  for those books that you like but cant borrow because they are borrowed or because you cant borrow anymore, you can add them onto your wishlist or place a hold for them.  the only downside to the wishlist is that there is no sorting function, so once you have many books on your wishlist, it can become rather cumbersome.

one of my most intriguing reads thus far was a book on gambling.

it starts off plain enough.  guy/gal in need of money, goes to casino, wins at the beginning ( i dont know why but they always win at the start) and then loses it all.  loan sharks inevitably come into the picture.  somewhere along the way, their boyfriend/wife is cheated.    yes, the families always suffer.

but then the stories get more chilling.  black magic, suicide, fingers being hacked off, stealing from old women, beating up parents.  oh gosh. gambling is really a black hole that makes people do crazy things.

ok back to how awesome the library is.  did know they run the SURE (Source, Understand, Research, Evaluate) website, as well as a nifty Facebook page?  they regularly churn out bite sized information which consist of interesting facts that also help clear up common misconceptions.  we certainly need alot of such facts, given that there are many devious spiders spinning webs of lies on the internet nowadays.