My Mom isn't much of a book reader. She apparently used to be, before three kids, working her way through college, a full time job, and taking care of a household sucked up all her time. What she has always done though is read the newspaper. Every day, without fail, every section, all of it. She is also "one of those" who clips out newspaper articles and sends them to people. Oh, like her daughters. I can always count on her sending me any clippings that have anything to do with librarians, libraries, romance novels, or books in general. However, every so often she joins the 21st century, finds the article online and e-mails it to me. Which is what she did last night. And behold! The most wonderful blog fodder ever!Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the dormant Bookmobile for the Kalamazoo Public Library. The 1994 Venture Farber Specialty Vehicle has 119,000 miles on it and is currently for sale for the bargain price of $19,000, or any reasonable offer.
Like many libraries across the country, KPL is shuttering it's bookmobile due to declining demand for the service and a craptastic budget. Mom thinks I should buy it to put my TBR Mountain Range on wheels. Frankly, I'm thinking the So. Cal. Bloggers should buy it. Just think of the possibilities! We could be like a traveling band of book gypsies! Like the romance genre equivalent to the ice cream man! It could be like Travels With Charley minus the dog! Like Smokey And The Bandit, but instead of bootlegging Coors beer we could be transporting romance novels over state and county lines!
I wonder, does the Bookmobile come with a CB radio?
Frankly, I think the idea has merit, although when I told My Man about it he seemed less than enthusiastic. Some nonsense about "where would we keep it?" and thinking $19,000 could be better spent on something other than an old Bookmobile. Personally? I think he lacks vision.
The So. Cal. Bloggers traveling the country spreading the lurve of romance novels. A totally kick-ass idea if I do say so myself. Sort of like in this clip from one of my favorite South Park episodes. Um, back when South Park was still funny. Here the boys hop on board the Booktastic Bus and discover the wonder of...romance novels. That could be us. But with more swearing, and less "chicken loving" (seriously, this whole episode is warped, which is probably why it's one of my personal favorites).
19 comments:
He lacks vision. What we need is a big piggy bank, a gas card, and a bookmobile of tastee cakes.
Road trip!
LOL, Wendy. If the So Cal bloggers bought it, you could each have it for a period of time :) Combine all of your TBR pile, store it in it and share it. It'd definitively be worth it :)
I really like the idea. If you ever venture south, I would hop on board. And btw, my mom also likes to read the paper and then point out the really important stuff. Like wedding announcements of people I went to high school with.
Could it be like Travels with Charley without the utter boredom? (And I love Steinbeck!)
Lisabea: Oh hell yeah! There would be tastee cakes!
Nath: We'd have to figure out where to park the darn thing. Hmmmm, Rosie has a decent sized yard.....
Elizabeth: Oh heavens, I get that too. "Did you go to schoool with so-and-so? They're getting married or had a baby or sprouted a second head..." LOL
Carrie: Well obviously it would be less boring! I mean, all the So. Cal. Bloggers would be on board :) How could that be anything other than spectacularly awesome?
Watching paint dry would be more exciting that Travels with Charley. By comparison, the SoCal bloggers in a used bookmobile would be like Cirque de Soleil dodging cannon fire.
Sounds like a great idea for the So Cal bloggers. Book party on wheels!
Hey, set up a Paypal account and I'll chip in $50 towards it. I don't make enough to chip in more then that.
You know what would be awesome? If the Friends could use it as a mobile bookstore! You know the Costa Mesa Friends are trying to raise enough to build an entire new library. Think how much more they could sell if they could bring the books to the customers?
Total win!
We need something like this in my neck of the woods.
And here I thought my mom was the only one that read every single word of the paper, every single day. She doesn’t understand how I can only get the Sunday edition.
Love the bookmobile. Whenever it would come around I would talk to the driver and ask how I could be a Bookmobile driver. I must have drove her nuts!
Not sure I could swing the $19000 and I would have to explain it to dh. He’s pretty laid back about what I buy but might question that. LOL
I like your So. Cal Bloggers idea. You guys would be the ultimate bloggers. Book Bloggers on Wheels. Like Meals on Wheel but with books. :)
I think it's sad that the bookmobile is going by the wayside. Ours is for sale, also. I have such fond memories of the bookmobile. My gf and I used to go to the local grocery store where it was parked and we'd get a big bag of books. Then we'd go to her house, spread a big blanket out under the tree and spend the afternoon reading.
Wow - this reminds me of all the time I spent in the bookmobile back when I was a kid. Every Tuesday and Thursday it would park for a couple of hours on the next street over from me. I loved Tuesdays and Thursdays. That's where I discovered the Freddy the Pig books.
To have a whole bookmobile filled with romance books. The mind boggles. And think of it - traveling around from city to city - meeting bloggers all over North America. What a way to spend a retirement!!
Carrie: While we're juggling :)
Jami: Heck, yeah - there's an idea! The Friends could park at the grocery store, local mini-mall, at the park....dang, all kinds of places! Wonder how much gas would run them though....
Ames: We'll drive up to Canada and pick you up :)
Leslie: Gah, most weeks I don't even manage to get the Sunday paper. I'm bad!
Goddess: When I was a kid, we lived fairly close to town - and every library I've ever worked at didn't have one - so I've been deprived of the Bookmobile experience. So many people have such fond memories, I can't help but feel like there's a piece of my library life that's missing :(
Kristie: I'm just not quite sure what we would live on. Can bloggers live on books alone? Sooner or later I'm thinking we'd have to eat. Oh and put gas in the Bookmobile! LOL
Nice space!I'm following you. =) My book home is at Ruz's Bookshelves
Clipping newspaper articles must be such a mom thing because my mom does it to me all the time! I mean, even when I lived at home she did it, but now that I moved out of state, it's increased. Recipes, library stuff, financial advice she thinks I should follow, I get it all (and toss most of it though I don't tell her that.)
I. AM. SO. THERE.
Shotgun!
I love the books the South Park boys pick up. Obviously, our books have already been loaded on the bus. ;-)
Hi Ruz! Thanks for swinging by!
Sarah: My Mom is notorious for it. I don't recall her doing it while I was still at home, but man the minute I left for college, the letters and newspaper articles started arriving. This was pre-widespread-email, and I always got AT LEAST 2 letters a week from Mom. And yes, I saved every single one of them. They're buried in a foot locker here at the Bat Cave :)
Renee: Yes, but we shall have to add more books. We'll have no choice in the matter. Lori & Holly will have read everything already on the South Park bus in about a week :)
I think you should do it - you and the "ladies who blog" can all chip in money! :)
Not that I'm an expert on IRS matters but since donations to the Friends is tax deductable, I bet the Friends who pay for the gas on the days they need it could deduct that from their taxes.
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