If this picture had a soundtrack, it would be Waterloo by ABBA

One of the many perks and also major disadvantages of working at a library is that you get first crack at the book sale books. I have to admit I’m terrible at saying no to a pretty book. They wave their alluring covers at me and fan interesting blurbs in my direction and the next thing I know, I’m at home, with a entire box of books going “What happened?”

Because of this, in my house we have what I call “the wall of shame.” It’s the entire front wall of our front room and it’s covered in waist-high bookshelves full of…books…I…haven’t…read…yet. It’s even better because the wall of shame is in the only sunny area in our house which means almost every plant I own is there. When I water them, I tend to overfill them (which I do shamefully, ha ha, often) and they drip on the books below.

You’d think that there would be an easy fix to the wall of shame: read the books and re-donate the non water-damaged ones back to the library. Easier said than done. Despite my best efforts, the wall of shame never seems to get smaller. However, I’ve been making a concerted effort lately to read it down by grabbing the first book I lay my hand on and trying it. This had led to such interesting finds as The wizard heir : [a novel] by Cinda Williams Chima–a teen book that was actually pretty good, although you really need to read The Warrior Heir first–and The Dark One by Ronda Thompson, which has a horrific cover but is actually a pretty good Regency/werewolf mashup if you can have such a thing.

The point is, I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in having a wall of shame.  Ok, yours may be a bookcase or a closet or a table of shame, but if you go to libraries, eventually you get a bunch of books that you haven’t read that sit there and taunt you.

*Cue superhero/Olympics/empowering music* UDPL’s Adult Summer Reading Club to the rescue! Did you know that UDPL has a summer reading club for adults? You don’t have to read books from a specific list or even books you got at the library. It’s possibly the laziest reading club ever: we use the tagline, “We’re rewarding you for the reading you’re already doing.” For every book you read, you fill out a very short review and put it in the prize entry box at the Information Desk and that acts as your prize drawing for Barnes & Noble gift certificates. Our weekly prizes are $25 and our grand prize is a $100 gift certificate!

So, let this be your inspiration. Read down your pile of shame today and get chances to win great prizes at the same time! Sign up today at the front desk.