san diego (12-26yo us residents, not the whole collection just commonly banned books)
these cards (part of the books unbanned initiative) get you access to each library’s complete libby/overdrive collection (unless otherwise mentioned), no hoopla/kanopy/physical copies included.
ebook collections are expensive to maintain (many american libraries have annual fees for non-residents because of this) but because of an uptick in book banning (particularly brutal in mississippi last summer) larger libraries have opened their doors more, which is very kind of them!
i’ve used my seattle card for the last several months and their libby collection has about three times the books that my local library does, which is wonderful for accessing more niche titles or skipping a waiting list. would love to hear of similar ebook initiatives internationally!
i use library extension (firefox/safari/chrome compatible) to check all my collections (+ the internet archive) at once, works for several different countries highly recommend it.
spotify seems to be offering 15hrs/month of audiobook listening to premium subscribers and while that does seem useful if you’re already paying and are after a new release with a long library waitlist, libraries are better for everything else.
For the first time in my life, a non filthy thought in the shower:
Think about all the fan fiction you’ve read — all the hours of entertainment, or something to ease your boredom or to soothe your sleepless night.
All you’ve learned from it — either a writing skill, a new vocabulary word, a new structure or something about interpersonal relationships, or how to deal with hard times in your life.
And all the fic that you remember — your very favorite, some that you still recall scenes from, some that still make you smile or make you ache.
All the fic you have saved on your phone to reread over and over again.
Writers: YOU write that. YOU DO. You write something so extraordinary, something so real but also something so filthy and fun and the perfect way to soothe a frayed mind or just enjoy for pure pleasure — YOU WRITE THAT.
Isn’t that incredible to think of your stories being those above things for someone?
Because they are (for me, for one, but others too) — and we are so lucky you share it with us.
Also — how amazing it is to know that all the things you cherish about fic, you’ve given as a gift to others? ❤️
ALT
ALT