Why we MUST Buy Books (Not Just Borrow)
We just made a lot of purchases in the book fair yesterday, nearly all for my kids. Maybe this was the wrong time to insist my daughter change her library book, but she'd had it for three weeks already.
I questioned her, asking if she'd read it. She said yes, but added that she wanted to keep reading it. I asked if she'd read it all the way to the end. She said yes, but she had to read it many more times--at least twenty times!
The book is Virgilio Almario's The Paradise of Animals from Adarna, my publisher. I pointed out we could look at the book the next time we went there, maybe even buy it if she liked it so much. I explained that even if there was no deadline for returning their library books, it was not good to keep them too long as they were books for sharing, and besides, there were many more books she could read! She agreed to return it after reading it one more time.
My daughter clearly takes after her parents and my parents. She is not content to borrow a book and read it to the end. If she likes it, she must own it.
And she summed up the reason why. We feel the need to constantly revisit those books that we love. I find comfort myself from knowing I have the book and can look at it anytime I want. Even owning the electronic version doesn't give me this comfort. I need to be able to see it and touch it.
It's hard for us to let go of any book we really liked. Libraries for people like us are more a means to sample books. Chances are, if it's in print and we like it, we will buy it.
Our family is fortunate in having access to several good school libraries. But I'm this isn't going to save me as much money on buying books as I thought.
I questioned her, asking if she'd read it. She said yes, but added that she wanted to keep reading it. I asked if she'd read it all the way to the end. She said yes, but she had to read it many more times--at least twenty times!
The book is Virgilio Almario's The Paradise of Animals from Adarna, my publisher. I pointed out we could look at the book the next time we went there, maybe even buy it if she liked it so much. I explained that even if there was no deadline for returning their library books, it was not good to keep them too long as they were books for sharing, and besides, there were many more books she could read! She agreed to return it after reading it one more time.
My daughter clearly takes after her parents and my parents. She is not content to borrow a book and read it to the end. If she likes it, she must own it.
And she summed up the reason why. We feel the need to constantly revisit those books that we love. I find comfort myself from knowing I have the book and can look at it anytime I want. Even owning the electronic version doesn't give me this comfort. I need to be able to see it and touch it.
It's hard for us to let go of any book we really liked. Libraries for people like us are more a means to sample books. Chances are, if it's in print and we like it, we will buy it.
Our family is fortunate in having access to several good school libraries. But I'm this isn't going to save me as much money on buying books as I thought.
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