I’m the type of person who can spend hours in a bookstore or library, and if I could I would live there. Just imagine being surrounded by all of those books all of the time…it would be a dream come true.

Maybe someplace like this: the Library of the Franckesche Stiftungen, Halle, Germany, refurbished to look as it did in 1746./ http://imgur.com/r/bookporn/D5hHW

However, that is still just a dream, and as much as I love my local library (and there are multiple branches throughout Philly), nothing annoys me more than searching the database and 1) having to put something on hold, or 2) not finding what I’m looking for. Especially, when it’s a book I might not necessarily want to buy.

While waiting for a book to become available isn’t the worst thing, it can be particularly annoying if you’re reading the book as a part of a book club or need it by a certain date for any other reason.

So what are we books lovers to do?

Why, borrow books from your library on your Kindle Fire (or other e-reader). Yes, this is possible and one of the best ideas ever. I just signed up for the ability to do this and there’s no turning back.

When I downloaded the first book (of many I can assure you), When I was Puerto Rican by Esmeraldo Santiago, I felt like I did when I first opened my Kindle Fire box – like a whole new world was at my fingertips (again).

The great thing is the Overdrive Digital Library lets you set how long you want to borrow the book for: 7 days, 14 days, or 21 days. I’ve set my default borrowing period for the longest – 21 days – because I like having a little flexibility with my reading schedule. Especially, since I usually read multiple books at the same time.

Yesterday, I downloaded a second book, Create Dangerously: the immigrant artist at work by Edwidge Danticat, and I can see myself borrowing a book this way at least once per month. It will really depend on if the book I want is available in eBook format or not, and if it’s available in physical form at the library (with no waiting periods that is).

You should definitely check with your local library to see if they have this option available for you.