In recent years the number of books that I've been reading had taken a nosedive, especially in comparison to when I was a kid still in school, back then I had habitually gobbled down books from my school and local libraries. That's not to say that I don't read, in fact, I probably consume a similar amount of non-book materials such as web articles and podcasts.
That changed recently when I discovered that my city library was hooked up to a system called Overdrive, which allows you to check out eBooks and Audio Books from the library. On top of this is another app that connects to Overdrive called Libby, which you can use as a web app or phone app, and allows you to read/listen to your library loans wherever you are.
This has also helped me discover that my library has a much larger range of books I'd like to read than I previously thought, which has been quite a boon in these recent months, given I have indoors more than usual (avoiding a certain virus).
I've been able to use Libby to consume a lot more books than I previously was, though I've been listening to audiobooks more than reading eBooks, which falls quite in line with my previous habit of podcast consumption. Indeed it's been a delight to discover how many books are available in audiobook form, allowing me to listen to them while I do mundane chores or activities that require no brainpower. I'm still not sure how much information I lose from listening compared to actually reading an ebook (or how much I lose reading an ebook compared to a regular book) but I think retention of information is mostly down to things like note-taking more than the exact format you consume the information in ("learning types" aside..).
To motivate me further to keep reading, to remember to keep updating this site, and to help me keep a track of what I'm actually reading, I've created a new page on this site to show what books I've read, and how I rated them.
Anyway, to sum this up, go check out if your local library supports Overdrive/Libby, you might find it makes it easy for you to reconnect with your old friend the library.