Return Your Books Without Refuse
Libraries are having two issues. First, patrons aren't returning books. Second, when the books are returned, they often come with a variety of junk inside them. An Arizona librarian reports everything from cash to toilet paper to muscle relaxants to a check for $10,000.00.
Many libraries will keep the personal items to return to the patron but few patrons do return them. So if you've used a photograph for a bookmark and have since lost it, you may want to check with the library's lost and found.
I recently borrowed Valerie Bertinelli’s Losing It from my local library. Aside from her misadventures with Eddie Van Halen, Ms. Bertinelli details her experiences with comfort eating and yo-yo dieting. I have dealt with similar issues the past ten years and wholly related to her struggle. I empathized even more with the previous reader who had left cheddar cheese potato chip crumbs scattered between several pages…
One library book I borrowed had pencilled in spelling corrections throughout. Though since these were merely corrections from the American spellings to the English it hardly seemed worth it. However, partway through they became a bit more critical – “How does she know this?” “Isn’t that the other sister?”. I think it was a Linda Howard. Very amusing.
Ah, well, think about working at a Half Price Books. Your local one got a dead mouse in a buy the other day. Ewwwww.
Ooph, the things that people put in and around books.