Getting My Library On

Today I had the perfect morning. After lazing around at home with my peeps, drinking some coffee and playing with my favorite toddler, I got to go to the library for their monthly used book sale-- by myself-- with the windows down and bluegrass on the radio. Ah, life is good.

Ben and I are horrible library patrons. We inevitably rack up library fines, which wasn't a big deal in Somerville, where we could usually barter our way out of library dues, but around here, Fairfax County takes its library dues seriously, and there is no bartering involved. So I love the used book sale, because for the price of a couple month's library fines, I can actually purchase several books-- to keep!

I scored big with several national geographic childrens' books with pictures of animals (baby animals, pets, and dining animals) for our animal-crazed toddler. I found a novel for Ben, many cookbooks, a few books for friends/family, and, much to my surprise, several very cool women's spirituality books. I was surprised. Given the fact that I don't hear much about women's spirituality in my church or in my community, I sort of assume that it's pretty fringe. But there were like dozens of amazing books about women's spirituality (a book about starting a women's circle, a book about exploring the feminine face of God, a copy of Dance of the Dissident Daughter, and Cloister Walk, which I've been wanting to read, along with several old-school books about women in the bible from the 70s which were too theologically retro for my tastes).

So, I'm wondering, why are all of the women's spirituality books on the shelves of the library's used book sale? Is it because a lot of women are getting interested in women's spirituality? Is it because a lot of women interested in women's spirituality donate to libraries? Is it because a lot of women bought these women's spirituality books and decided they were total crap so gave them away? Or, as Ben speculated, is it because one woman with a large collection of women's spirituality books donated her stuff to the library? I'm thinking about it, but in the mean time very happy that regardless of the reason, I am the beneficiary of all of these wonderful books that have already started enriching my understanding of the divine.