Administrators sam_webmaster Posted January 21, 2017 Administrators Share Posted January 21, 2017 Marine returns book he borrowed – nearly four decades late ITHACA, N.Y. — In 1978, Bob James – on a Led Zeppelin-inspired whim – checked out a copy of “The Hobbit” by J.R.R. Tolkien from his local library. He was a big fan of the Zeppelin song “Ramble On”, which contains several references to the classic fantasy novel. “I just went over to the library and checked it out,” he said. Earlier this week, James finally got around to returning the book – 38 years late. But instead of being angry, Tompkins County Library Director Susan Currie said the story of why the book was so late convinced her to waive any late fees. It turns out that James had joined the Marines shortly after checking out the book and was deployed overseas for years. His trusty copy of the Hobbit traveled the globe with him, and was read by dozens if not more other Marines. “I had a nice book and there was at times a line (of people wanting to read it) saying ‘I’m next, I’m next,” James recalled. He believes the book was on at least eight different ships in the Western Pacific over the years. Finally, decades later, James took it back to the library, with its original library book plate still intact. The copy is in such good shape, library officials said they only needed to add a digital bar code to it before putting it back in circulation. Currie said the fact James shared the book with so many fellow Marines and sailors means the library did it’s job, even if the method was a bit unorthodox. “That is the best ambassador for the library we could possibly have,” she said. http://wqad.com/2017/01/20/327121/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reswati Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Thanks for sharing this funny story Samwise Webmaster. It seems that the book liked to travel just like Bilbo himself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluecongo Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 There and back again....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dark Lord Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Fellowship of the book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigled Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Not surprising that everybody wanted to read it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Only Way To Fly Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Ha! Got a bit choked up reading that..... Very cool indeed 10 hours ago, sam_webmaster said: “That is the best ambassador for the library we could possibly have,” she said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dark Lord Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 One book to rule them all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvlz2 Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Neat story! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xolo1974 Posted February 14, 2017 Share Posted February 14, 2017 On 22/01/2017 at 11:07 PM, The Dark Lord said: One book to rule them all. One book to bring them all and in the darkness bind them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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