NOTICE: (Updated March 5, 2010)

Beginning December 19, 2009, Books 'N Border Collies will be posting but only intermittently while I pursue personal goals. I plan to share some reading I'm doing, but there will be no reviews. I will, however, be sharing my exploration of vegetarian cooking and the cookbooks and websites I use to educate myself. I hope you enjoy it!

Lezlie



Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Fun With The Dewey Decimal System


My car needed some work yesterday. I say "some" like it was no big deal, but the fact is that it was enough to make me pretty sure that pizza was the only thing that would ever make me smile again. Pizza and the library. So Peter, bless his heart, came to pick me up and took me out for pizza and to the library while we waited for my car to get done.

Left to my own devices, my reading choices are overwhelmingly fiction. For this library trip, I decided to use my time to explore some potential reads for the Dewey Decimal System Reading Challenge. I wanted to randomly wander the numbers, see what I'd been missing and what might look interesting in the categories I still need to fill in.

I realize I am a product of a misspent youth and an irresponsible young adulthood. I know I have a lot of intellectual catching up to do, and the library is a great place to do just that. But I had no idea that just casually browsing the non-fiction shelves of that educational mecca could literally cause anxiety attacks in a naturally curious mind! Believe it or not, I had never done that before. My forays into that area were specifically directed. I was looking for a particular topic. Random exploration opened up a thousand new doors that I never knew I wanted to go through. How will I possibly get to them all?!?! I must try to find a way! I was so excited when I left there, the ugly final bill for my car repairs hardly phased me at all. Just pay it already! I need my vehicle to get back to the library! :-)



13 comments:

Literary Feline said...

That is such a great feeling, isn't it? I am glad the visit to the library tempered that nasty bill for your car. Libraries have a way of doing that. :-)

Lisa said...

Sorry about the car. We've had a spate here lately in which we've had car trouble quite often. I had to laugh -- I know that feeling of anxiety when you browse those shelves and realize it would take a 1000 lifetimes to read them all. If only, we could...

Ladytink_534 said...

As a kid, I was never really sure what to read and avoided the "adult" section quite a lot then I discovered that all those non-fiction books I liked reading at the school library were over there. Now whenever I start going to a new library I make sure I know where every last subject is even though I mostly just place holds through the online system.

Enjoy your new finds and don't let the variety overwhelm you!

Lezlie said...

Literary Feline ~ Oh, yeah. Pizza and books are very capable of tempering many ills. :-)

Lisa ~ My car hardly ever has problems, even at almost 140,000 miles. What actually makes me sad is that I *love* this car, and I don't like to be reminded that it won't run forever. And Saturn doesn't make this model anymore. :-(

Ladytink ~ Thanks! It's times like these I wish I could speed read, but, alas, that skill eludes me. Bummer. I guess I'll have to quit my job to make time . . . There I go fantasizing out loud again! :-)

Lezlie

Eva said...

I love randomly browsing nonfic! I find I'm much more drawn to random nonfic books that fiction. But sometimes I do have to take deep breaths in order to avoid the 'so many books, so little time' panic attacks!

Darlene said...

This post had me smiling. Pizza and the library to take away the agony of getting the car fixed-perfect. They have a way of helping for sure. Have fun exploring all those new avenues at the library. I know you'll give it your best shot.

Kim L said...

Well how nice that your trip to library made you feel better! I have taken to wandering through sections of the library to search for my books for this challenge and it always fascinates me the variety of topics that I can read about.

Carrie K. said...

Thank you for updating my link in your sidebar, Lezlie!

Lezlie said...

Eva ~ I'll be doing more of it, that's for sure! I'm always fascinated by the array you bring home from your library. I thought you might be able to relate to my anxiety! :-)

Dar ~ I already have a Learning Plan Project idea brewing to help me out. Once I have the details hammered out and some of my other books finished, I'll be sure to post about it! (Pizza can fix anything for me. Too bad it doesn't get along with my digestive system. I had the worst stomach ache the next day!)

Kim ~ Thanks! The Dewey Decimal System Challenge has probably been the most eye-opening challenge for me. It sounds like you're having as much fun with it as I am!

Carrie ~ No problem! I want to make sure others can find you, too! :-)

Lezlie

Rebecca Reid said...

I've found the joy of browsing too. It is so much fun. And yes, there are so many books just waiting to be read...I can't wait to get to them sometimes!

Lezlie said...

Rebecca ~ That's how we end up with all those books we're in the middle of. :-) Life's short, I say we browse all we want!

Lezlie

Belle | MsBookish said...

I've never done that before, either. I have enough trouble when I'm searching a particular subject and happen to glance over to the next topic :) One of these days, I'm going to have to make a trip out to the library specifically to browse like you did!

Lezlie said...

Belle ~ Oh, you should!! You'll have so much fun! Make sure you have a lot of time though. Or, on second thought, maybe set a time limit or you could be there all day! :-)

Lezlie