Ooooohhhh... Ahhhhhh...

Wow.

One of the perks of working in higher education, specifically in the library of a community college, is that one has BILLIONS of books, research journals, published articles, and various types of media at one's fingertips. Best part? It is all FREE.

I could patronize Barnes and Noble, spend my paychecks at Amazon, or even peruse Books-a-Million for hours on end. But I have a system that sends books to me. And if I don't like it, I can send it back, all at no cost. If I should happen upon a book or some sort of media that I truly enjoy, I can then hop on Amazon.com, half.com, etc, and buy sed media for my own collection, and have it sent to me.

Anywho, I happened upon a reference to Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking in another reading, and remembered that it was on my list of books to read.

So, being the frugal reader that I am, I hopped on the statewide library catalog and located the title. Occasionally a member library or two has an "audio" copy of the book available for lending. Such was the case for this particular book. The Gardner-Harvey Library of Miami University Middletown, Middletown, OH, not only had an audio copy, but it was also listed as AVAILABLE in the catalog.

Now, if you have ever attempted to borrow from a statewide system (or even regional system) the word AVAILABLE is an almost magical phrase. It means that with some certainty, the item is on the shelf, and that someone on the other end would be able to go to the shelf, pull it off, pack it up and send it to me. ME! And all I have to do is ask.

I begin to feel a bit giddy.

So I complete the form, receive the confirmation that my request had been submitted, and wait.

When I returned from lunch 2 days later, having forgotten that I had requested the item, I found what looked to be a VHS tape box on my desk. The title was The Year of Magical Thinking.

Hmmm... I did not know that I had ordered a video tape of the title. I did not even know that a video of the book existed (to my knowledge, it does not.) I began running through the televisions in my house, and wondered if any had a VCR hooked up.

Eventually, I opened the box. I almost sent it back without doing so, expecting to find a VHS tape that was almost useless in the world of DVD's.

To my surprise, I did not find a VHS tape. Instead, I found this lovely little contraption.

Sidebar: I am the Gadget Girl. My boss said I am the closest thing to a girl geek that he has ever met. I LOVE gadgets, electronics, and little things intended to make life easier.

I was SO excited! A book on tape of the 21st century! All I had to do was insert an AAA battery, plug in my headphones, and off we go. It even has a lanyard which I can use to hang the device around my neck.

Coolest thing since sliced bread? Very well could be.