This is not a lending library

But I think the value of having a major chain bookstore like Borders or Barnes & Chernobyl is using it as one.

To wit: this afternoon, Colleen had to work. Rather than hang out in the Political Science Department or visit the University Library or lounge around alone and bored in her apartment, I opted to start in on reading some of the books I've added to my list of books I want.

Problem is, I neither own the books on my list, nor have the financial wherewithal to purchase them.

I suppose that a library might have a lot of them, at least the literary works. But I don't have a valid library card for anywhere in the Chicago area, and while I could probably procure one, I didn't feel like going to that trouble.

And that's where your local chain bookstore comes into play.

Chain bookstores are OK. They have a big selection and seats, but a lot of their shelves are stocked with pretty run-of-the-mill or trendy selections. Admittedly, titles vary according to local tastes, which is why you can encounter shelves of books by folks like Naomi Klein, Eric Schlosser and Molly Ivins here in strongly liberal Evanston, whereas an O.C. branch of the same chain wouldn't probably have most of those titles, what with all the room needed for the latest trash by Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, et al.

And that's not to mention the ambience, or lack thereof, that these places exude. You don't get a nice, eclectic selection like you might find at a small, independent, or politically oriented store. Nor do you have such colorful characters minding the store. Plus, the ubiquity of pseudo-hip in-store coffeeshops (Starbucks -- egads!) effectively kills any cool.

But chain booksellers are great when you want to read a book but don't want to buy it.

To be fair, I would've loved to have bought many of the books on my list. However, again, I don't have the monetary resources required to obtain these titles without facing criminal prosecution (or ending up in a bread line).

So I opted to spend a couple of hours this afternoon sitting in the local Borders, reading The Assault, a 1982 novel by Dutch author Harry Mulisch about the life of a Dutchman whose parents and brothers are innocent victims of Nazi vengeance near the end of the Second World War. It was pretty good. Not quite on par with Kundera or some of the other contemporary authors I hold in the highest regard, but interesting in the psychology it concerns. I managed to read roughly the first half of it before departing. While I didn't enjoy stopping midway and contemplated buying the book to finish from the comfort of my own home (or girlfriend's apartment), having such a cliffhanger should ensure that I make it out to a bookstore in the O.C. when I'm back there as of Sunday.

Besides, it would've spelled defeat for me to ultimately buy the book when I could just finish reading it for free.

So, while I'm home for two and a half weeks, I plan on making liberal use of this public library concept. In between finishing my last two grad school applications and revising my thesis to submit for publication, I'll finish reading The Assault, then perhaps move onto Siegfried, another Mulisch novel. Maybe I'll follow that up with some Chomsky, or some other nonfiction political work. I also have half a mind to read Coulter's Slander or some other rightist work, mainly so conservatives can't accuse me of only getting one side of the story. Of course, I'd be a fool to blow my own cash on that, which makes the chain bookstore library excellent for the purpose.

If only they would let me take the books home without paying for them.

I swear I'd return them.

Maybe.