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I LOVE THIS SO MUCH, LAURA! (So much I have to yell.)

It's wonderful to hear your voice -- and so brave of you to do this even though it's not your usual medium. I really enjoyed this... episode? (What is the correct term here?) Also sharing your internet lists -- my holds list ballooned.

It's been a long time since I read The Autobiography of Red, but it's stunning. I love anything Anne Carson writes but I think an argument can be made that Red is her masterpiece (at least thus far).

I could write a whole post -- or have a long conversation -- about my library habits but basically I put a million things on hold, so much so that I long outgrew the holds shelf at my library and now have an entire bin underneath, just me and the daycares in my small town 😂 I don't really manage my list -- I just let them come. I get to many of them, and some go back, and some I put on hold again. It's an evolving process.

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Oh, that makes me so happy to hear! Thank you so much for your SHOUTING ENTHUSIASM, it really makes me smile and I'm so glad you enjoyed the...episode? Let's go with that.

And I'm really glad to hear your endorsement of the Autobiography of Red! It's been on my list forever and I finally got around to checking it out in an attempt to make a dent in my backlist TBR. Hahahahahaha.

I love that you just let your holds come in and out! I struggle with the feeling that once I check something out I need to read it before I return it, but with the amount of things I'm always putting on hold, I know that's not realistic. I'm trying to lean into the idea that library books come and go as they're meant to and I don't need to feel any pressure about it.

My system only allows for 20 holds at a time, so I have this elaborate system where I always have 20 holds, most of them suspended, and when new ones come in, I active one or add a new one to the list. It works for the most part--I guess I'm grateful for the limits (though I do like the idea of a bin!)

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20! How do you even survive? My system limit for holds is 75. The max number of books you can check out is 100, which they will override for you if need be (ask me how I know 😉)

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Haha, I'm a little jealous of that, and also absolutely terrified of what would happen if I could place 75 holds! I think the limit for checkouts at my library is 50, but I've never reached it.

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While I am an insane library user, I can't get to 75 holds (or 100 checkouts) all on my own -- both my kids contribute. (They do have their own library cards now, since they can both write their names, but using the catalog is still years beyond them.)

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Ha, that make sense! I can see how holds could escalate very quickly with kids. (Especially knowing how many books my nephews check out, although it's mostly ebooks.)

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