WEBVTT - Stop by the library

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to make a trip to your local library.

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<v Speaker 1>It may have been a while since you've gone, but

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<v Speaker 1>this is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to

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<v Speaker 1>bring some serendipity into your life. Libraries are great resources,

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<v Speaker 1>but many people aren't in the habit of using them,

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<v Speaker 1>even people who were probably stopped when many libraries closed

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<v Speaker 1>during the worst early days of the COVID pandemic. These days,

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<v Speaker 1>places are slowly opening back up, so it might be

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<v Speaker 1>worth checking your branches hours and putting a note on

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<v Speaker 1>your calendar to stop by. Why well, when people are

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<v Speaker 1>out and about less and seeing fewer people, as is

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<v Speaker 1>the case for many of us these days, it can

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<v Speaker 1>be harder to bring new information into our lives. We

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<v Speaker 1>go to the same websites that we always do. The

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<v Speaker 1>algorithms of social media show us a lot of the

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<v Speaker 1>same stuff that we've liked before. A visit to the

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<v Speaker 1>library can change that quickly. I walked to my local

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<v Speaker 1>branch the other day and noticed all sorts of flyers

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<v Speaker 1>on the bulletin board. These brought a vast number of

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<v Speaker 1>virtual events to my attention, and advertised local exhibits too,

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<v Speaker 1>Whether I go to any of these or not, it

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<v Speaker 1>was interesting to think about horticulture and art and music

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<v Speaker 1>and tutoring programs for a few minutes. Inside the library,

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<v Speaker 1>the librarians had arranged new releases on the front wall.

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<v Speaker 1>It wasn't so much that I was interested in any

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<v Speaker 1>titles in particular, but I noticed that I was immediately

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<v Speaker 1>drawn to titles that I had seen before for some reason,

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<v Speaker 1>usually that I had a review copy or a friend

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<v Speaker 1>had written about the book. I realized that familiarity breeds affection,

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<v Speaker 1>a point that I wound up using as a newsletter topic.

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<v Speaker 1>So here I was barely past the front door, and

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<v Speaker 1>I already had a new idea. Then perusing the stacks

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<v Speaker 1>can trigger all sorts of insights too. I wound up

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<v Speaker 1>grabbing a number of titles that struck my fancy for

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<v Speaker 1>some reason or another. In the coming days, I'll be

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<v Speaker 1>learning about distant swimming, nineteen forties baseball, and some random

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<v Speaker 1>aspects of interior decorating. Well. I've recommended buying more books

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<v Speaker 1>in a previous episode of Before Breakfast. The fact that

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<v Speaker 1>the library books are free. Makes it even easier to

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<v Speaker 1>take a chance on stuff that I probably wouldn't shell

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<v Speaker 1>out twenty dollars for If it's useless, will oh well.

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<v Speaker 1>All I'm really out is a few minutes to read

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<v Speaker 1>a few pages and say nope, not for me, and

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<v Speaker 1>the time to return the books. Since most libraries have

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<v Speaker 1>almost improbable limits on how many items you can check

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<v Speaker 1>out at any given time. I mean we're talking like

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<v Speaker 1>a hundred titles here, you can really relish the randomness.

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<v Speaker 1>And this randomness is altogether a good thing. As more

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<v Speaker 1>of us are working from home and generally venturing out less,

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<v Speaker 1>we have far less randomness in our lives. So much

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<v Speaker 1>of the information that finds us in the modern world

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<v Speaker 1>is already perfectly tailored to our known interests. Algorithms know

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<v Speaker 1>what headlines were most likely to click on. I get

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<v Speaker 1>emails from design sights with the sorts of kitchens and

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<v Speaker 1>bathrooms that I've already looked at. We can work closely

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<v Speaker 1>with our existing colleagues when working from home, but we're

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<v Speaker 1>not meeting new people at conferences or networking events. It

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<v Speaker 1>becomes much of the same old, same old. A quick

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<v Speaker 1>step by the library can change this all up. It's

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<v Speaker 1>free and probably doesn't need to take more than half

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<v Speaker 1>an hour. My guess is that that's as good a

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<v Speaker 1>use of a lunch hour as anything else. We could

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<v Speaker 1>all use some more ideas and some more randomness in

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<v Speaker 1>our lives, or if nothing else, we could get a

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<v Speaker 1>few good stories too, So why not stop by the

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<v Speaker 1>library this week. I'm pretty sure that you will find

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<v Speaker 1>it time well spent. In the meantime. This is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

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<v Speaker 1>our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.

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<v Speaker 1>You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.

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<v Speaker 1>Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the number four, then

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<v Speaker 1>Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me an

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<v Speaker 1>email at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot

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<v Speaker 1>com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio. For

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