Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends discussion

I thought i would beat Ann to the punch today to announce a dilemma -- The Girl Who Played with Fire and South of Broad are both available for pickup! (along with 2 others). And I have The Given Day A Novel (the audio) and Gone Tomorrow on the TBR!! See you in a month, LOL.

Carol:
I was just about to head over to the library site to figure out my Library Saturday strategy. I have a DVD to pick up (The Beales of Grey Gardens) and have two due this weekend that aren't ready to go back yet (oops!)
I am enjoying Roadside Crosses , but haven't been motivated to read much this week except for listening to Angela's Ashes. Frank McCort (who reads the audio as you know) had a wonderful voice.
I have hight hopes of getting my turn at The Girl Who Played with Fire soon. Good luck with your due dates!
Carol/Bonadie wrote: "I thought i would beat Ann to the punch today to announce a dilemma -- The Girl Who Played with Fire and South of Broad are both available for pickup! (along with 2 others) And I have The Given Day A Novel (the audio) and Gone Tomorrow on the TBR!! See you in a month, LOL.
..."

I got careless about keeping track of my library due dates and suddenly I have a book overdue for 35 cents. I know it's a small fine, but I so enjoy keeping my borrowings up to date and not incurring a fine. Well, I'll start over again with a good record as soon as I get this fine paid. NJ

Nancy wrote: "I got careless about keeping track of my library due dates and suddenly I have a book overdue for 35 cents. I know it's a small fine, but I so enjoy keeping my borrowings up to date and not incurr..."

NJ, NJ!! Next thing we know you'll be as much of a library scofflaw as Ms. Carol!! LOL

Melodie wrote: "
NJ, NJ!! Next thing we know you'll be as much of a library scofflaw as Ms. Carol!! LOL ..."

uh, excuse me, I thought we all agreed on the view that overdue fines were merely our way of giving much needed financial support to our libraries, LOL.

Don't pay her any attention Nancy!

Carol:
Exactly!
My current fine of ninety cents will buy something I am sure! ...when I pay it later. :)
I probably will add to it this week and will settle up next week. I picked up the hardback of Sara Paretsky's (stand alone) Bleeding Kansas too while at the library today. I missed some of the details of the first of the book while walking and listening to the playaway so want to review what I missed. I am enjoying it so far.

Carol/Bonadie wrote: "uh, excuse me, I thought we all agreed on the view that overdue fines were merely our way of giving much needed financial support to our libraries, LOL...."

Nancy Jane:
Never fear, a thirty-five cent library fine won't ruin your reputation!

Nancy wrote: "I got careless about keeping track of my library due dates and suddenly I have a book overdue for 35 cents. I know it's a small fine, but I so enjoy keeping my borrowings up to date and not incurring a fine. Well, I'll start over again with a good record as soon as I get this fine paid. NJ
"

I actually had to pay to replace books a couple of times.

Once I was so scatter-brained that I put a library book in the mail box instead of the library drop box across the street. I realized what I'd done when I found myself about to put the mail in the library drop box. Crossed wires. So sorry. I no longer use library drop boxes. I return books when the library is open. Library employees prefer this too.

The other time that I had to pay to replace a book was when a water bottle spilled on it. I've gotten more conscious of water bottles since then.

What matters is that I paid to replace the books. If you do that, you don't have a bad record.

Shomeret

Shomeret:
I had to pay to replace a book once too; it was actually checked out for my Mom and she took it to my brother's house and it never made it back. They looked for it but it is still a mystery as to what happened to it. I can see how easy it would be to drop the wrong thing in the wrong box. Too bad the post office didn't return it for you!
Shomeret wrote: "I actually had to pay to replace books a couple of times.

Once I was so scatter-brained that I put a library book in the mail box instead of the library drop box across the street. I realized w..."

This is certainly an interesting discussion. I paid for a book once when we lost it in school, when I was teaching first grade. When I paid for it, they had me promise that if I found the book I would bring it back and they would refund the payment because they really preferred to have the book. I did find it about a year later, --a child had read it and put it on the classroom library shelf with other books and we didn't notice that. By then I would rather have kept the book, but "a promise made is a debt unpaid," so I took the book back and got the refund.
NJ

Nancy Jane:
I was told the same thing and still have the receipt in my wallet in case it is found. After more than five years I think that is a dream.

Nancy wrote: "This is certainly an interesting discussion. I paid for a book once when we lost it in school, when I was teaching first grade. When I paid for it, they had me promise that if I found the book I would bring it back and they would refund the payment because they really preferred to have the book. ..."

Shomeret wrote: "I actually had to pay to replace books a couple of times.
i've had to replace two library books this summer. the dog knocked my arm and i spilled water on one (finger lickin' fifteen) and a week later i put another one face down on a table that was wet..lol

Ann wrote: "Carol:
Exactly!
My current fine of ninety cents will buy something I am sure! ...when I pay it later. :)..."

LOL. And I'm sure my overdueness of The Scarecrow will finance..... something!

Shomeret wrote: "I no longer use library drop boxes. I return books when the library is open. Library employees prefer this too...."

Shom, do they prefer it because it's easier to retrieve the books, or for some other reason?

I used to bypass the inside drop built into the counter and take them with me to the counter until I got a snippy librarian who said I should put them in the inside drop slot. I guess she was busy that day and would rather just check out books, but really, she could have just set them aside for later.

Carol/Bonadie wrote: "Shomeret wrote: "I no longer use library drop boxes. I return books when the library is open. Library employees prefer this too...."

Shom, do they prefer it because it's easier to retrieve the boo..."

Oh, I should have clarified. It's the outdoor drop box that I no longer use. Library employees prefer the indoor drop box unless they aren't busy. The problem with the outdoor drop box is that they need to be checked in at the beginning of the day. This makes things very difficult if there's a great number of them. Since my city's libraries are now closed on Mondays, they have a large volume of books to check in from the outdoor drop on Tuesdays because so many people used that drop on Sunday and Monday. So they're trying to check in books, but they're also trying to deal with patrons that want to check out books, and they have no opportunity to get anything shelved.

If you return the books in the indoor drop box when the library is open, the work flow is more even and easier for staff to handle. People then return books over the course of the day and it isn't overwhelming.

Shomeret

I seldom use the outdoor drop box at the library, but I think it's not as much a problem in our little town as what you described, Shom. I've been more busy than usual lately, so I returned my week overdue book by way of the drop. Then I had a book due on Monday that had to be renewed but I couldn't renew by Internet because I had an outstanding fine. I had one more book to return, so I put my whopping fine of 35 cents into an envelope with my name and the words, payment for fine, on it, put it in the book and dropped it off in the outdoor drop when the library was closed. Then on Monday, I went online, after the library opened, and checked my account and saw that my fine was paid, my slate clean again, and I could renew the outstanding book. I get books for a friend in a nursing home and she won't be finished with that book until Friday, so I wanted to renew it. By the way, our fine is five cents a day for overdue books. How does that compare with your libraries? NJ

Just wanted to let everyone know, that I'm back from the two week roadtrip. Had a great time, no problems with the bike, except Hubby lost his key, good thing I carry a spare. Called our dealer from the road, they had a new set of keys for us when we got back. The key is a round key that locks the forks, saddlebags and tour pack. We did more mileage than what was originally planned: instead of 3,811 miles we did 4,037. Will post comments and link to pics later.
Lorraine

Lorraine, with a lock like that, it's REALLY a good thing you carry a spare. That could cause quite a problem if you couldn't get to your "stuff," in addition to not being able to drive the bike. Welcome back.
NJ

Nancy Jane:
Our library fine for a book is ten cents a day with a $5 maximum. DVD's are a $1 a day with a $10 maximum.
Note to Dan - I only know about the maximums from reading the info on the library site! :)

Nancy wrote: " By the way, our fine is five cents a day for overdue books. How does that compare with your libraries? NJ "

Lorraine:
Woo Hoo Welcome back! Can't wait to get the trip report!!

Brakedrum wrote: "Just wanted to let everyone know, that I'm back from the two week roadtrip. Had a great time, no problems with the bike, except Hubby lost his key, good thing I carry a spare. Called our dealer fr..."

Shomeret wrote: The other time that I had to pay to replace a book was when a water bottle spilled on it. I've gotten more conscious of water bottles since then.

What matters is that I paid to replace the books. If you do that, you don't have a bad record.

Your record for that offense was definitely "exsponged."

Daniel wrote: "What matters is that I paid to replace the books. If you do that, you don't have a bad record.

Your record for that offense was definitely "exsponged." .."

You were reaching on that one, Dan!! :-)

Nancy wrote: "By the way, our fine is five cents a day for overdue books. How does that compare with your libraries? NJ ..."

Nancy Jane, our fine is up to 10 cents per day for regular books.

Library Saturday for August 29th. Where did the summer go!
I have two to pick up today. One audio The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman and hardback The Devil's Punchbowl byGreg Iles.
Before I get to those new books I will need to finish listening to Blood Brothers (Nora Roberts) and The Way Home (George P. Pelecanos) which are my current "top of the heap" reads. It is hard to leave Blood Brothers over the weekend when I spend less time in the car;

Ann wrote: "Before I get to those new books I will need to finish listening to Blood Brothers (Nora Roberts) and The Way Home (George P. Pelecanos) which are my current "top of the heap" reads...."

Have you read or listened to any of THE WAY HOME yet, Ann? Will be interested to see what you think of it. I saw on NBC news the other night that it is one of the books the Pres took with him on vacation!

Well I joined a fall challenge here on goodreads, this site can be addicting LOL< glad to be here though>

so you want to see what I have on my shelf, take a gander at my profile, quite a list and very varied, I MUST stay out the rut I found myself in last time.

Teresa:
So right -- no reading ruts or slumps allowed! We have you and Nancy in NJ back on the right track again!

Teresa wrote: "Well I joined a fall challenge here on goodreads, this site can be addicting LOL
so you want to see what I have on my shelf, take a gander at my profile, quite a list and very varied, I MUST stay out the rut I found myself in last time. ..."

Ann wrote: "Library Saturday for August 29th. Where did the summer go!
I have two to pick up today. One audio The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman and hardback The Devil's Pu..."</i>

I finally got to pick up [book:The Language of Bees at the library, but the copy I got is large print so it looks like a BFB. It will be hard to judge how many pages I need to read in order to get it back on time in this format.

Shomeret

Shomeret:
I picked up The Language of Bees off the new book shelf at the library last week, but haven't gotten to it yet. I had my eye on it on Net Library audio but hadn't been able to maneuver the tbr to accomodate listening to it in the time alloted for a downloaded audio book.
I know what you mean about a large print version being a big fat book in appearance. Good luck with your free time for reading between library scool sessions. I really look forward to this installment in the Mary Russell series. I have usually listened to them which is a challenge these days with fewer and fewer audio books on CD showing up in the library catalog.

Shomeret wrote: "I finally got to pick up The Language of Bees at the library, but the copy I got is large print so it looks like a BFB. It will be hard to judge how many pages I need to read in order to get it back on time in this format."

Melodie:
That is interesting about the President's having The Way Home in his tbr stack on vacation! I am just getting into it (page 54) and I am finding it compelling so far. I'll let you know more soon!

Melodie wrote: "Have you read or listened to any of THE WAY HOME yet, Ann? Will be interested to see what you think of it. I saw on NBC news the other night that it is one of the books the Pres took with him on vacation! i>

Ann wrote: "Shomeret:

I know what you mean about a large print version being a big fat book in appearance. ..."

I got the LP version of Barbara Walters' Audition A Memoir, and it does indeed look like a BFB. Fast reading, though.

Carol/Bonadie wrote: "Ann wrote: "Shomeret:

I know what you mean about a large print version being a big fat book in appearance. ..."

I got the LP version of Barbara Walters' Audition A Memoir, and it ..."

The LP edition of The Language of Bees was also a quick read. I started it after midnight on the 30th and finished it on the 31st.

Shomeret

Library Saturday dawned today with an unexpected book to pick up ... The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane. I could have let it stay on the hold shelf until next week, but decided to grab it while I was out. I am not sure when I will get to it.
Currently ahead of it with sooner due dates:The Scarecrow, The Devil's Punchbowl (which may get the squeeze), The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Language of Bees

I do not see how you all juggle those library due dates. Can you keep books out longer than two weeks?

Gail:
Except for some Audio downloads and DVD movie which have shorter borrowing periods, we can keep books out for three weeks, and then can renew twice for a total of nine weeks if there are no holds. It can get a bit "fun" in the juggling. ;)

Gail/Ladyvolz wrote: "I do not see how you all juggle those library due dates. Can you keep books out longer than two weeks?"

as a side note, all readers and book lovers should be up in arms about this

http://libwww.freelibrary.org/closing/ Philly library system ALL of it is closing Oct 1 Yep they are locking the doors to the library

Kind of like when schools cut the football team first to get parents up in arms. This is not what I would want my city to be known for.

This is very disturbing news. I can't imagine having no library to help us get the books we want.

Teresa:
A City with a great library is a great city, the alternative is almost unbelievable -- that a city could come to this point. Our library recently cut hours but in a way to not cut out needed services. I hope the legislation passes to return them to their senses and to the library.

Barry wrote: "Kind of like when schools cut the football team first to get parents up in arms. This is not what I would want my city to be known for."

Teresa in Ohio wrote: "as a side note, all readers and book lovers should be up in arms about this
http://libwww.freelibrary.org/closing/ Philly library system ALL of it is closing Oct 1 Yep they are locking the doors to the library..."

The branch library where I pick up the books I reserve on-line has cut its days and hours from 7 days and usually 10AM-8PM to 4 days from 11AM to 3PM. Doesn't affect me too much, but I'm sure it's tough for people who work full time or those who want to use the computers.

Dan:
That is extreme. I understand the need for belt tightening and cuts. I suppose you can be glad they are still open when they are.

Daniel wrote: "The branch library where I pick up the books I reserve on-line has cut its days and hours from 7 days and usually 10AM-8PM to 4 days from 11AM to 3PM. Doesn't affect me too much, but I'm sure it's tough for people who work full time or those who want to use the computers. ..."

Daniel wrote: "The branch library where I pick up the books I reserve on-line has cut its days and hours from 7 days and usually 10AM-8PM to 4 days from 11AM to 3PM. Doesn't affect me too much, but I'm sure it's..."

Where I live, suburb of Ft. Worth, there are no cutbacks and the tax rate stayed the same. In Ft. Worth, they chose to close the city water parks and leave the libraries open, although they did consider closing some branches, but in the end, they scratched that idea.

That is such a shame! The tougher the economy gets, the MORE people NEED their Libray services! Let's hope it will turn around soon............

Donna in Southern Maryland

as a side note, all readers and book lovers should be up in arms about this

http://libwww.freelibrary.org/closing/ Philly library system ALL of it is closing Oct 1 Yep they are locking the doors to the library

Update: Check the website now, the state has reversed the decision and will keep the Philly library open.

Mary/Quite Contrary wrote: "as a side note, all readers and book lovers should be up in arms about this

http://libwww.freelibrary.org/closing/ Philly library system ALL of it is closing Oct 1 Yep they are locking the door..."

THank you I know they were bombarding the capital house with letters, emails, etc from CHILDREN this city system is struggling and MOST kids were using the library for research purposes.

Mine got cut too ESPECIALLY irks us since we PASSED a tax levy for more money for the libraires so they took away our state money. We have NO sunday hours near us and now book fines are 10 cents. BUt the worse thing is only deliveries 3 days a week and a cut in the pages who pull the books for request. Takes twoo weeks or more to get books that are on the shelves

Teresa:
That is a shame that books that are actually there are not accessible in a timely manner.
I am afraid that many of the cuts have affected the collections themselves too, not just hours of operation or staff cuts.
Articles I have read in the past talk about how libraries find it very difficult to get back what they lost in their catalog when cut backs affect the quantity or breadth of purchases for any length of time.
Teresa in Ohio wrote: "Mine got cut too ESPECIALLY irks us since we PASSED a tax levy for more money for the libraires so they took away our state money. We have NO sunday hours near us and now book fines are 10 cents. BUt the worse thing is only deliveries 3 days a week and a cut in the pages who pull the books for request. Takes twoo weeks or more to get books that are on the shelves "

I'm actually at the Library with my laptop using the wifi! I have a whole stack waiting for me. Why is it that books seem to come in clumps!?










Toughest choice is where to start!

Donna in SOuthern Maryland

How fun, Donna!
I was at the library today and picked up John Connolly's The Lovers A Thriller, an unusual title for another Charlie Parker story. To my chagrin, I had to return The Devil's Punchbowl unread to get another time. Now I am thinking about getting it on audio from audible.com later. I hate when I don't have time to read a book I had on hold for several weeks. The clumps definitely make it hard to not let them back up on us!

Donna in Southern Maryland wrote: "I'm actually at the Library with my laptop using the wifi! I have a whole stack waiting for me. Why is it that books seem to come in clumps!?
Toughest choice is where to start! "

I seem to recall The Lovers to be a chilling book in Parker's best tradition.

Barry:
I expect nothing less! :)
Barry wrote: " I seem to recall The Lovers to be a chilling book in Parker's best tradition."