Hi !

If you felt my absence in your inbox on Thursday, then I'm actually kind of tickled you were thinking of me!

Honestly, I didn't really put it together that it was even Thursday until about 11:15pm at night, at which point I actually did open my laptop and write about 95% of this email to you when I though it could use a photo to anchor Act 3. I took a picture on my phone, sent it to my laptop, and without thinking dragged it right on to the browser window.

The photo took over the tab, erasing the entirety of my unsaved email. It was almost midnight. I closed my laptop, sent out a frustrated tweet, and finished my book. As a result, I failed to send on schedule. Now I reflexively hit 'save' all the time in my browser and am finally getting to my attempt #2 on email #5. Lesson learned.

Moving forward, still trying to get an email sent within the calendar week window (I did really try to talk myself into waiting until next Thursday and saying, 'oh you expected this EVERY Thursday?' - only time will tell if that would've been the right move), how are you doing? Do you have a good answer to that question yet?

My state is officially 'shut down' until May 15th. It was April 31st before that. And it was April 15th before that. Things 'shut down' in NY starting on March 14th, but they probably should've been shut down as early as March 1st - of course it's easy to say that now.

The biggest change in my little area outside of Ithaca NY is that I was one of just a few people shopping at the grocery store wearing a mask as of two weeks ago. When I went yesterday, everyone had a mask on. That feels like progress.

Also shut down? The Library. If you're like me, you've already gone through all of the books in the house - planning out your future reads. I also bit the bullet and placed my first order from Bookshop.org, so now we have more children's books in the house - given they get the most turnover.

But anyone lucky enough to have renewed their library card (as I did back in January) should be taking advantage of this time to check out ebooks. I've borrowed and read 115 ebooks from the NYPL in the last six years. That's more than $1000 in my pocket to spend on print books (which I've done several times over in the same time period).

If you're not doing this, Check It Out:

act one

Spent a week in a dusty library

Waiting for some words to jump at me

French Navy, Camera Obscura

in my twenties I got back into reading for pleasure (working in publishing, living in New York, and having a 2 hr subway commute does that to an English major no longer burnt out on his workload). I was consistently reading 40-50 books a year and buying at least twice that.

I don’t know why it took me so long to get a New York Public Library card but as soon as I borrowed and read a new/popular ebook for FREE on my Kindle over Christmas last year, I was hooked. I can have 13 ebooks checked out (for FREE) to read on my Kindle/iPhone/iPad at a time.

It’s easy to borrow an ebook on your Kindle (my father refuses to pay for ebooks or apps and even he has figured this out on his own) but people have asked HOW easy, so here it is:

First, get a library card (which I hope you can dig up and find right now). Here’s how you do it in New York City when the libraries reopen. In most cases, even if you get it mailed to you, you have to activate it in person at a library branch. Do it. Then you’ll never have to go back. If you already have an active library card then you’re already able to borrow.

Once you have a library card number & pin ID then you have access. Download the Overdrive app or go to Overdrive.com to create an account, find your local library, and then sign into your library. Do this once, have it remember your login info, and you’ll breeze through this process going forward.

Once you’re logged on and browsing your library site, you should be surprised how many wonderful, recent, and popular books you were about to buy are on there and available. Here's the many library ebooks I've read so far.

If it’s TOO popular and the library has already loaned out all of their licenses (the bigger the branch the more licenses/copies of each title are available - exactly like physical print copies) then you can place a HOLD on it and you’ll get an email when it’s available to borrow. If there’s no hold (and you can search for only available books too), then you’re ready to borrow.

Click Borrow, then Download, then select the format you want: ePub (which can be read in your browser or in the Overdrive app) or Kindle (if it’s available as an option). If you select Kindle, it’ll send you to Amazon where you’ll log into your account, download the title for free, and it’ll be available in your Kindle library (for your e-ink reader or in the Kindle app).

And here’s the trick. Usually you get 14 days before the book is pulled back from the app and “returned” but if you download a bunch of titles to your e-ink Kindle and then Turn On Airplane Mode, then there’s no way for the ebooks to be pulled back and removed after 14 days. Load up a few and don’t sync your Kindle until you’re done reading them all!

People that borrow more are also most likely to keep buying the same number of books they were going to anyway. These library ebooks are reading bonuses. Don’t feel bad for reading at your own pace, after 14 days the ebook licenses bounce back to the library for someone else to borrow. Meanwhile, you can also borrow audiobooks the same way - so you can load up ahead of your next road trip (whenever those can happen again).

Don't feel bad about getting publishers and authors paid. Libraries have budget to pay for these ebooks, and the data from recommendations/holds/borrows drives this demand directly. Any author would rather more people read their book and people are more likely to take a chance on a book they get for free - then they'll be so blown away they'll become huge advocates for it.

Plus it keeps me reading more, no matter how many ebooks I have downloaded to my Kindle in airplane mode - if a new ebook comes off hold that I want more, the 14 day clock starts ticking to get me through my current read so I can sync and get to that new one (like just happened with Lily King's Writers & Lovers).

act two

The month upstate has come and gone so quickly that I hadn't even realized that this was already the longest I've ever been away from NYC since I moved there in 2006. It's certainly not what I had planned when we signed the 30-year mortgage contract last year and I can't wait to return and rebuild and resume.

But with NYC in my mind, I read two companion pieces (short and worthwhile) which hit home, whether you're still in the City or left for whatever reason.

The New York You Once Knew Is Gone. The One You Loved Remains. by Glynnis MacNicol

and

I Left New York for Greener Pastures — and a Puppy. by Meghan Daum

act three

The most amazing thing has been reading to my toddler daughter every night until she's defeated by heavy eyelids. My parents hung on to all these incredible 1960s Harper "Beginner Books" imprint hardcovers that my uncle read back then, then were read to me in the 80s, and I now read to my daughter.

So many of these books I have not thought about or seen or remembered for over three decades now. But once I crack the cover and read through them, over and over again now, everything comes rushing back to me. Like opening a time capsule and being blasted in the face by nostalgia - it's lovely magic.

I can't imagine anyone else has a deep connection to No More Monsters for Me! but the second I saw that cover, it all came rushing back to me - I could instantly recall the illustrations and the story, sad for sure, but I certainly didn't pick up on the single mother element of the book when I was a kid and so now it's hitting on a different level.

I implore everyone to find a book from their childhood and reacquaint yourself with your past self. What a trip.

*and yes, this was the photo that was my undoing late Thursday night, thanks for noticing.

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It rains or snows almost every day - we prefer the snow, because it's prettier.

Work is picking up, lots more to share soon. Hope you're staying safe and taking care of each other.

I may as well ask every week: what are you reading?

Thanks for sticking around. I'm so glad you're here, that we're all here, and we can talk about books. Until next week...

Staying Socially Distant - Peter

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Miss last week's email? Here it is to read (or forward) again.

Did someone forward this email to you and you want to sign up to get them (every Thursday) directly?

Here's where you can do that. Thanks for the vote of confidence!