Get a virtual library card

At my sister’s insistence, I finally got my first virtual library card as an adult, and I can honestly say I will probably never buy a book, ebook, or audiobook again! Unless, of course, I want to display a book on my shelf…

I was originally concerned the virtual experience and catalog would not be satisfactory, but with apps like Libby that is not an issue. Nearly everything I wanted was available as an ebook or audiobook, and the best part, you can send the ebooks to your Kindle!

I’ve had it for about a month or two now, and in that time I’ve gotten through around 10 books, way more than I normally would. I think this is for two reasons:

1. Cost
2. Motivation

Cost. Books can be expensive, especially if I wanted to do the book-audiobook combo, which caused me to pass up books I wasn’t absolutely sure I would read. With a library card, they are effectively free¹, so borrow away!

Motivation. When I bought a book, I had effectively forever to read it, which translates to…I’m never going to read it. With a library card, I had a return date. This deadline forced me to actually read the book before it goes away.

Overall, I think getting a virtual library card has been a huge success. If I had to give one con, it’s that if you, like me, enjoy reading and listening to books at the same time, it can be hard sometimes to borrow the ebook and audiobook at the same time if there are different wait times. Luckily, you can defer items to get them to line up better.

Happy borrowing!