A Disappointing Read
I was very proud of myself. I saw that Alexander McCall Smith had written a modernized version of Jane Austen's Emma ; I can't remember where. I went home from wherever I was and opened the public library's new and improved website to find that there were 26 copies ordered, 5 copies in large type, and that I was the first person to put any one of them on hold. Three days later, an email arrived. My book was ready to be read. All I had to do was get myself to the branch and pick it up. I finished the Anne Perry Christmas story I was devouring and found my book on the Reserve Shelf. It was brand new. I was the first patron to open the binding of the large type edition. It was thrilling. I am not exaggerating. There's a wonderful frisson I feel every time I open a new book. The fact that I wasn't paying for the book made it all the sweeter. (Yes, I pay taxes for the library and I donate to The Friends of the Library, but no funds ...