When I lived in Houston, I had grand plans about being a library regular and so well-read on many subjects. But, with planning a massive move and day-to-day care of our place, the pace of the freeways and sidestreets, and a Hallmark movie here or there, it just never panned out.

Now that a large library is just minutes away, reading important books like “Bachelor Nation, The Sordid Truth About America’s Guilty Pleasure” is easy. If anyone should have a question about how this reality tv series works, I’m your ticket to inside info.

Tricks to cleaning your house quickly? I’m your new bestie.

One thing I did test (#because scientist) was if Vudu could transform an old library DVD into HDX high definition online streaming. Turns out, the answer is “yes, if the movie is old and not Disney.

I can check out 5 DVDs at a time, put them into our external DVD and CD reader that is connected to our laptop and the Vudu digital app. Of 6 DVDs so far, 1 worked (Singin’ in the Rain) for $5.00 to own instead of the regular $14.00 to-own price online. I’ll probably go through the library’s entire collection just for fun even though the movies are not alphabetically organised in the strict sense. “All M’s about in this area here.”

As in Houston, the library is a happening place. Look one direction, past the giant T Rex head, to see kids watching summer fun films, another to see a young man enjoying music via headphones in the quiet room, to the center to see the volunteers happily helping people find things, get cards, and chat a little. All that’s missing is a little espresso machine…

Checking out is a breeze. I just swipe my card on the scanner, put in my PIN, and stack all my items on the reader. Everything lists digitally and prints out with due dates in a few seconds like magic.

I can’t imagine the need for a PIN…Just imagine the guy in maximum security prison: “I’m in for…stealing library stuff.” He might get pummeled in the yard…

I’m hooked. My card is even good at 2 more libraries I haven’t even seen yet and works great on the Libby app (check out digital books etc for free and better than old Overdrive app).

In addition, there are coupons to see local sites for free, voter info, and community service info.

What a great place!