Tom's Favorite Things : @GlenPubLib + @waterfi
If you’ve read some of my other posts, one of the themes you may catch onto is that I love reading. Fiction, non-fiction. Auto-biographies, business books. It doesn’t matter - I can’t stop reading.
Thanks to the internet tracking everything, I found that in the past 5 years, I’ve read nearly 500 books.
That’s close to 2 books a week.
When I graduated from Northwestern, this voracious hobby started to get expensive. My shelves started filling up with books that I mostly would never revisit.
Then came two things that forever changed my habit.
A New Spin on a Great Technology
I’m a proud owner of the first-generation Kindle. The idea that you could have hundreds of books on a small tablet was mind-blowing. I’ve since continued to upgrade these devices without question.
About 3 years ago, I stumbled upon a combination that made this incredible technology even better.
A Waterproof Kindle.
You CAN try this at home!
Not only did this find have the best parts of the newest Kindle (insane battery life, adjustable brightness, a beautiful display), but to boot- waterproof. At first I was totally skeptical. Water + electronics don’t mix well ever.
I took a deep breath and decided to go for it. Submerging it under water, hoping for the best...and it totally performed. No problems, no destruction.
It just...worked.
With this newest tool in my arsenal I could take my Kindle to the beach or pool. Wash it down if it got dirty. Game changer.
Going Old School
For some reason as I was spending hundreds of dollars to buy hardcover books and books for my Kindle. I forgot about the best resource any city has- the public library.
When we moved to Glenview I got a notification our library and I thought I’d go in and give it a look-see. This temple to literature didn’t let me down. Combined with a gorgeous new facility, the Glenview Public Library also offers an incredible link between new technology and books.
On the simple side, the catalog is fully online and in an app. From those platforms you can reserve books, order books from other nearby village libraries, renew, pay fines and a ton of other services. There is also access to a wealth of online tools for research and reading.
On the more advanced side, I can find and download books to my Kindle. For Free.
Suddenly, I could fill my device with books and sample new materials instantly, in the comfort of my home. I build a wish list and at 2 am can just click and instantly get a book. Unreal.
For any bibliophile, I would strongly suggest checking out the Kindle (bonus points for waterproof!) and your local public library. You will be in heaven!