A few more questions popped up . . .
How far do you travel for church?
Our church is in the village ten miles from us, so that's not a big deal. But our larger parish (we're Catholic) is an interesting one. There are three churches in our parish that have a regular schedule of weekly services. To get to all three on Sunday morning, our priest drives a total of 100 miles. Every Sunday. Plus various midweek services at different churches, although he doesn't go to all three any day but Sunday.
There are also at least three "mission" churches, which means they don't have enough of a congregation to have weekly services. Instead, those mission churches have once-a-month services, and also some special occasion ones, like Christmas Eve. Those mission churches are even more remote, but so incredible to visit. We go sometimes just because they're so old and beautiful.
On the days the priest celebrates Mass at those churches, he drives over 100 miles just to get to one.
Obviously, this assignment for priests is not for the faint of heart. Or the hater of driving.
What about midweek church activities?
There are no midweek church activities, because there aren't enough parishioners for committees, groups, meetings, and so on. Calvin was the only child at our church to receive his First Communion this year, and will probably be the only one until Jack does his in a couple of years. So no religious education or anything. We essentially homeschool that.
HomeSundayschool? Whatever.
Oh wait. I think our priest is doing an online Bible study class, but I've never participated in it.
Can you get to a library, or will they mail you books? Or are you on your own?
Well. Buckle up, Kit, because I have MANY WORDS on this subject.
Books are very important to our family. We are readers (well, all of us that can read so far, anyway). My first job as a teenager was as a library page. I am a Library Person without doubt, and visiting libraries had always been a regular part of our lives. Until we moved here.
The library situation here is complicated. There are three small cities, all 90 miles from us in different directions, that have small libraries. However, we don't really use them anymore. Those cities all have different services. So, for instance, we might make our Town Visit one month to the city that has the mechanic, but then the next month we might have to go to the city that has the dentist. This means we can't reliably check out and return books.
There is also the issue that A. almost always goes alone to do all the Town Visits, because the kids and I don't really want to do the drive. And when we DID go with him, it takes so long to do all the errands, visiting a library is just one more thing that makes the trip way too long.
So. The brick and mortar libraries aren't really an option. Which leaves us with what the library system calls "Rural Services."
There are two of those. One is the bookmobile. This is an RV with bookshelves in the back that drives all over rural New Mexico, bringing books to people. They just started up again after COVID, and last month was the first month patrons were allowed to go inside the bookmobile.
I appreciate the service, but it's not entirely satisfactory. For one thing, the selection in the actual bookmobile is necessarily limited, and is mostly current fiction of the sort I don't really care for. It is possible to request books from their larger collection and they'll bring them, but you have to know what you want. Also, they don't seem to have reciprocal agreements with any other libraries and their collections, so it's still pretty limited.
For another thing, the bookmobile only comes once a month to the village near us, and stays for just one hour. So if you miss that window, you're out of luck until the next month.
During the pandemic, when the bookmobile wasn't running, I was also able to sign up for Books by Mail. This is a state program out of Albuquerque that, as you could have guessed, mails books right to you. They come in a zippered nylon bag with a return card, so when you're done, you just put them back in the bag and mail them back.
This is a great idea, but the problem with this is the same as with the bookmobile: limited selection. They don't offer books from the larger Albuquerque system, instead maintaining their own small collection. Again, you have to know what you want, and I often can't find what I want. They do have a pretty good selection of New Mexico-specific things--I got quite a few books about native plants for Cubby, for example--but they're pretty lacking in fiction. That we want to read, anyway.
I have used all of these resources in the past, and now I mostly just get a few things from the Books by Mail and buy other books used on Amazon or Thriftbooks. Keeping track of books from so many sources was too hard and stressful. Now I have too many books in the house, of course, with more all the time, but at least I don't have to worry about losing them or returning them to the wrong entity.
Maybe I should start my own lending library.
Okay, I'm all caught up on my answers! Unless you've thought of more questions. I'll be standing by . . .
11 comments:
"Mostly current fiction of the sort I don't really care for."
When we were growing up, we were not allowed to say we didn't like something or, heaven forbid, hate something. Especially regarding food. We were trained to say, "I don't care for Brussels sprouts." (Probably the only food all five children disliked.) My husband now uses this term, too. For all its utility, I don't see it used many places.
I find the YA section in our library has things more in line with what I want to read.
Less sex , drugs, and violence.
Or it used to be.
I read a lot of country living books. Carla Emory is a good 'bible' reference for almost all things country.
I enjoy reading others experiences in country living. The Foxfire books are good.
Earlier this morning, I was catching up on your blog. That picture of the two older boys sitting on the couch with books really stuck in my mind, to the point that I need to come back and comment! It was so refreshing to see kids on the couch with a BOOK rather than a computer game. You can't wait till a child learns to read and then hand them books. No, it starts when they are babies, by exposing them to picture books. You know that I have followed your blog since before Cubby came along. You have done an amazing job of raising those kids and teaching them good values. Keep up the good work with your family!
Sherry: Thank you. That was very kind.
I am a voracious reader with no library. Nearest real bookstore is about 90 minutes away. I eventually had to accept e-books as a solution. I grumped for a long time as they just aren't real books. I eventually was just so grateful for the option.
Check if any of your library options use overdrive or similar service.
https://company.overdrive.com/2021/04/26/introducing-new-databases-streaming-media-services/
I know you aren't into electronics but it may be worth investing in readers or cheap phones for e-reading as the kids grow. The phones/readers just need access to wi-fi so no extra monthly fees. Lots of free e-books on Amazon too.
My favorite library is 36 miles doorstep to doorstep, and we often borrow between 40 and 50 books. But thank goodness they allow two months' worth of renewals because even at that relatively close distance, we don't always get there within the four weeks of initial checkout.
The school library is open three hours every other week over summer, which may be satisfactory for some readers, but not mine, lol. Likely not yours, either.
I hate to say it, but I also endorse Overdrive. I hated reading on the kindle until I was forced to give up my reading light because of a sleeping baby in the room. But it has grown on me. https://nm.overdrive.com/support/members ... Clovis Carver is where I got my first library card and I know more or less where it is in my house :)
I love that your family has such devote readers. My dad's goddaughter just turned 7 today and due to some medical issues during her development she is unable to read and we don't think she should be moving on to 2nd grade because she has yet to grasp the ability to read the most basic things. But of course with covid none of the schools are holding children back. We are very worried about her. I think you are so fortunate to have children that can read so easily and have found a love for it. Do your children have access to the school library at all during the summers? Some of the local schools here in MN offer the school library books once a week during the summers so that the kids can have access to those resources as well!!
Lindsay: Our school is too small to have a dedicated library. There are shelves of books in the entryway of the school that we borrow freely from, but they've read most of the ones they're interested in already.
We have a not very close library with not very many books (period. Even fewer that I would want to read). But we do have a statewide library system where I can order books and then pick them up at my local library. This is a godsend for us. As it is, I've been buying old, out of date, and/or out of print books for years, and have way too many cardboard boxes of books in the attic. It's a little (haha) hard to find the one I want sometimes, but it's worth it.
I've had a lot of luck looking for used books online at Abebooks; you might try them.
I strongly recommend Paperback Swap dot com. It has a small membership fee ($20 annually), and it's simple to use. I've been on the site for at least ten years, maybe more. It's handier than a library, with only a few costs (postage, packaging). Amigo found audio books for himself through PBS years ago, and I've found children's books for my classroom and books of all kinds for myself. There's a Wish List feature, too. Check it out!
Daisy: Thanks for the recommendation! I'll check it out.
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