When I was a kid wandering into Waldenbooks or Barnes & Noble or (even better) a local used book store, one of the hardest decisions to make was always “Which of these books will I take home?” I was constantly limited by my allowance or by the patience my parents had on any given day for my aimless wandering through the shelves.  

The library was different, though. There, I was limited only by the confines of the collections and the amount of books I could physically carry home. And whatever book I didn’t get today I could get next week, or the week after that.  

They say that you shouldn’t go to the grocery store when you haven’t eaten – the library is my grocery store, and I am always hungry. My appetite for literature far outstrips my available time, but like a child facing down a towering slice of cake, I’m determined not to give up.  

For me, having a lot of books around is like having a full fridge. I don’t always know what I’m going to be hungry for. I might have time to cook something elaborate, or I might just want to grab a quick bite before heading out the door. Sometimes I want something sweet, sometimes I want something savory (and sometimes I just want to eat a handful of shredded cheese directly from the bag). 

Even as an adult, the sense of wonder persists. The library is a place of abundance, a game of supermarket sweep that’s open to everyone. Every time I grab a cart of returns to place them back on the shelves, I find something new I want to take home.  

Most importantly, if I’ve grabbed something I don’t like, if my eyes were too big for my stomach or I tried a bite of a book and it was not to my taste, I’m not out anything. In the same way that the St. Louis Zoo being free (tax supported!) meant that I could take my son when he was a toddler and leave guilt-free if he had a melt-down, my library card gives me the freedom to try anything I have a passing interest in without a fear of overcommitting.  

People often ask us for recommendations for a new book, or how to find something different if they’re in a reading rut. And as much as I LOVE giving recommendations, truly my best tip for finding new and unexpected delights – whether it’s a new genre or a new favorite author – is to select books with reckless abandon. Cool cover? I’m checking it out. Interesting title? I’m checking it out. The limit for O’Fallon library card holders is 75 items at once, so why not take something interesting home today?