plan B

Inevitably, it happened. There was a flaw in my plan and someone elbowed their way through it, carrying the book I was reading, and walked on out the library door with it.

You'll have to read my last post to make complete sense of the sentence above, but that will only take you a couple of minutes, so I'll wait..... Yes, a couple of weeks ago, someone borrowed the copy of Real Life, by Brandon Taylor, that I was reading my way through at the library. When I discovered it was missing from the T section on its usual shelf I hunted high and low, across all the display shelves where I had found it once before, but to no avail. It was gone, someone had borrowed it. I checked the on-line catalogue. Yep. It was confirmed. It was out on a three week loan. Damn.

Still, I had a Plan B, in the form of about ten thousand other books I could pick up instead. I had promised myself to read a Zadie Smith in this very situation, but there was only one of hers on the shelf and it wasn't one I was drawn to. So I reached, instead, for Bable by R.F. Kuang. A Pullman'esque, steam punky vibed, fantasy novel set in a Victorian era, post-apocalyptic Oxford. What? I asked myself, what is not to love about that concept? I devoured a couple of chapters on my first sitting.

I now find myself in a quandary. Real Life was due back yesterday (it could have been renewed of course) so when I arrive in the library next week, which book to I pick up? It's a good problem to have.




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