It’s August, which is a new month. This summer has been a bit crazy for me and I wasn’t watching when the last month. July caught me by surprise and I did not deploy my new-month process. I have felt that lack all month, and I am ready for the new month of August now.

I know I’m not the only one with needs. I have systems set up. Yes, I’m talking about books.

I see people on social media talking about their books and I see the pictures of the stacks of books they buy from book stores. Sometimes I take a note of books from their stack I want to read myself.

But I am also judging them.

Book readers will often congratulate themselves on being smarter because of this habit. Sure, books are a great way to learn things—things I don’t know, stuff that will make my life better and me more successful.

I shake my head at these readers and book addicts. They ought to be clued into the price difference between buying first release hardback and the slouchy bargain paperback. That’s money. That’s money that could be spent on more books.

But even that is a rookie mistake. I guard my stash and keep the supply of book flowing. The true hookup is the

LIBRARY CARD

How did these readers enter the labyrinth? Were they really so richy rich to have a sufficient supply of reading material from a bookstore?

When it comes to product, a commercial bookstore can’t keep up with a library for inventory. It takes that Dewey Decimal tag to keep track of the kind of catalog I need.

If I need a book, I do not need it tomorrow. I need it the moment the last book is done. And I need it to fill a certain longing and itch that my heart and curiosity hold in that precise moment.

There are narrative micronutrients needed from certain genres and authors that must be consumed as the hunger appears. Nothing else will do.

I have lists. I have virtual stacks of things to read when the moment comes. I take this seriously. Anytime a book is mentioned in another book it goes on the list. YouTube videos and podcasts are great sources. Conversations with friends; a standard question when I meet someone new “What are you reading?”

If my list gets to single digits it’s moment of anxiety, I will scramble to get more in the queue.

The new month process is to review the library card apps on my phone and make sure I tap out the limits for the month. The Hoopla app lets me get 8 books. The Libby app lets me check out more, but they have a long waiting lists. I’ve got a set of cards that I can rotate through.

As a last option, I can purchase the book. I have to exhaust the library possibilities first, which involves keeping the balance of genre types to feed the need.

Thing is, life can come at me and I might discover an unpredicted hunger for a particular reading experience. I might find that a mystery I was reading cannot be tolerated after all, requiring a palate cleanser. Certain characters can do that, or poor narrative consistency.

I might not be the only one with these kinds of book needs. But I am the only one who can properly treat and address it. This month I have executed my library systems effectively, and it is a calming realization that I’ve done what I can.

I want to be stockpiled for the rest of the summer. It’s been uncomfortably unpredictable so far.