Frazz by Jef Mallett for February 15, 2020

Oh, so now the villain is going to be reading online, like we are doing right now???

The “villain” connection is lost on me.

With us in storytelling, the only "better villain” is a reformed one.

A library I frequented in Colorado Springs had a small snack bar in it.

“My” library is great to hang out in. It will be moving to a new building, though.

I drive by a library every day, as it’s down the street from my home. It seems like there’s always a lot of people in there, including teenagers.

I’m going to the library later today. There’s a free Shakespeare reading.

They also have art exhibitions and show movies. I saw “Some Like It Hot” at a library last month. It’s considered a great comedy, and I had never seen it.

Think of all the trees and ink and energy saved if we borrowed books from the library, and didn’t need to own them. Especially when only read once.

Borders – long gone. Barnes & Noble holding on. I really miss them and the other large stores. Something both soothing and uplifting about walking among high shelves filled with possibilities. A sad commentary on a skill that used to be listed among the fine arts. Fortunately, there are still a few independents and second hand stores.

I haven’t hung out in a library since they became a source of computers and internet for so many folks, and got noisier and more crowded. I don’t begrudge the computer users at all — I can find plenty of quieter places to hang out. It’s just a reason why some adults don’t hang out in libraries like they used to.

But now that the library has a good selection of ebooks, I’m actually borrowing more than ever. I always hated the possibility of having to make a special trip to return a book on time, anyway.

Sounds like someone’s not familiar with Google Scholar and the push to make academic research open access.

You know the median number of books read by adults in the USA? It’s zero.

So, to quote one of my favorite authors: “Read to children. Vote. And never buy anything from a man who’s selling fear.” —Mary Doria Russell (1950- ), American science-fiction writer

I don’t need to hang out in the library unless I’m using reference books. However, I am in there at least every few days to check out books, CDs, and DVDs in addition to the digital formats I can get from library website. I am also able to attend concerts, movies and art exhibits. Amazon is only able to sell me a very few books by my favorite authors.

Mallett’s Blog PostsFrazz14 hrs ·

The fact that Frazz itself is but a Google search away, and that we’re all looking at it and reading this commentary online, is just the tip of the hypocrisyberg. I don’t visit my library or any library nearly often enough, nor do I hang out in them (or cafes, for that matter) often enough.

Hey. All writing is autobiography. And sometimes you chronicle the experience, and sometimes you chronicle the guilt and confusion.

“People like us”?

As long as you’re reading books, does it really matter if they come from a bookstore or a library?

4 years later and Google is the villain.