I have just written a review of my five favourite books and was surprised to get comments back saying that people had never heard of most them. I thought this was a bit sad. Personally I probably read a lot of different authors. Most of these i have read as a result of recommendations by friends, reviews in the paper or simply because they looked interesting in the library.

I have always been a member of a library since I was a child. I think that Libraries are the best place to go and browse for books. You are able to spend time reading the synopses to get a feel for the story before you take it out and if you don’t like it you can always return it unread.

I live in the UK and each area generally has its own Library which you join by taking a bill with your name and address on and filling out a simple form. If you are under 16 your parents may need to do this for you. You can then borrow a large number of books, CDs and Videos too. Books are free but there is a charge for CDs and Videos. You are penalised if you are late returning all three.

If you live in India you need to find your nearest lending library. Most of these are privately owned businesses and the quality of material available can vary immensely. Therefor shop around. These places will charge you for the books that you take often on a fixed period basis say per day/ per three days etc. You will usually also have to pay a deposit when you join. The amount varies from library to library. If you read a lot this can get quite expensive but worth it.

In Bombay there is the excellent British Council Library which I think I’m still officially a member of but it is no where near where I live so don’t go there. If it is convenient try and join it as it is very good. There is also the excellent Rajesh Library on Linking Road in Santacruz West.

Most Libraries are organised alphabetically and some may keep books of a certain genre together in different areas so it is good to get a feel for your own Library. Almost all will have a separate children’s section. There will also be areas where returned books are kept prior to being put back on the shelf and where new books are kept. Many of them in the UK and in India also keep books in regional languages.

When I go in to my Library I look at these areas first as you get to see what books are popular or new as these may never be on the shelves for long. After that I wander around and generally see if theres a book by an author I like that is interesting or if there is something I just like the look of. This way I probably read a far larger variety then I normally would.

Currently I am trying to borrow at least one old classic when I go. That way I read things that I wouldn’t normally read. As a child my father made me borrow classic comics which were the classics in comic form. I am now trying to read some of the originals.

Apart from learning about new authors the main benefits of being a member of Library for someone like me is that if I wasn’t a member of one my house would be overflowing with them. We have enough of them as they are.

It is also cheap as borrowing books is a lot cheaper than buying them particularly for those books which you may never want to pick up again.

At the end of the day Libraries are fun places. I would certainly recommend that people join one if you are not already members.