About Time

A funny thing happened to me a couple of days ago.  I was at the library with my dad and my little sister.  Dad went to look at the shelf where the holds are kept and came back to me with a book that had been reserved for me.  It was A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (the author of the quote along the top of the page, yes). 

I completely could not remember ever ordering this book.  I was holding it thinking What on earth is this doing here?  How on earth did it get here?  Why is it in my name?  What on earth?  What the heck?  It was evidently very confusing for me. 

A crazy thought fled across my mind that my friend had somehow hijacked my library card or memorised my card number and so ordered it in my name, which also made no sense.  And then it clicked. 

My friend has recommended this book to me a long time ago.  It was so popular at the time due to the HBO series adaptation that has recently started playing, and the amount of holds placed on the one copy had been in the hundreds.  So I, having calculated that it would take about half a year to finally get to me if each person read it quickly and returned it before it was due, also placed a hold on it.  It was more in jest than anything else. 

Now, months and months later, the hold arrives and I have it in my hands and I'm thinking finally Oh my goodness.  It actually came.