well….my book to be precise.

We went out yesterday to run some errands. About 15 minutes into our trip, we relized we forgot something, but were not far from home, so we decided to stop and get it. After running in to get it, Catherine returns to the car and says “you are not going to be happy”. I ask why, and am informed that he “got hold of your book”. So I go inside and find a dog with a wagging tale that is “so happy to see me”. Catherine had already picked up the evidence and I grabbed it off the table and yell at the dog.

He had gotten hold of, and promptly torn up, my copy of The Thirteenth Tale. I am about 90 pages into the book, and just starting to get my teeth into it. Now, the good news is, I did not pay for this copy. The down side is, getting another copy through bookmooch will be a herculean task.

I was mad. So I took what was left of the book and kicked it across the parking lot to the trash can. This was actually quite fulfilling. We left home to complete our errands with me in a bad mood that I kept commenting on everything in a negative way. It was not a nice car ride. I decided, with out talking or telling anyone, to stop at the library and hope I could get lucky and find another copy.

I walk into the library, hit the kiosk, and it says AVAILABLE. I head over to the stacks….and nothing! Either it has been checked in and not shelved or someone is browsing it and there is no way for me to walk around and see. Could you see that “Pardon me, I see you are looking through a book I am already reading that my dog just ate. I feel that gives me priority. Thanks”. So I head over to the library desk, to ask if it is in the “to be shelved” area. Someone is already asking the librarian a question and I impatiently wait my turn and notice the NEW FICTION shelves next to the desk. And a light bulb turns on - dimly - maybe it is here. So I look - and I find!

I then go to the check out and place the book, only to realize that Catherine has the library card. They kindly look it up and then inform me of a $5.70 overdue charge. UGH. The worst part is that these are for books from over the summer. Catherine is very bad at returning books to libraries. After being in academics for so long as a grad student and/or faculty member she is used to taking a book out for months at a time with no issues. The rest of us get our 2 or 3 weeks depending on the library.

In the end, I had a copy of the book to read. An upgraded on at that, as the prior was book club edition. The library is a publisher’s edition. Downside is now I cannot swap it back on Bookmooch - a guaranteed trade.

And through the rest of the evening I continued to find pieces of pages 82 through 127 through out my living room.