Reading is a lost art form of sorts and much more stimulating to the mind. We would all do better to spend some free time in reading. The public library is a good, cost effective resource like it or not.
Yep, that's a part of my property taxes that I don't particularly mind parting with. I'm there weekly. Between my local selection, and inter-library loan, there's very little that I don't have access to.
I just finished "Biggest Brother" - it's a biography of Richard Winters (the company commander in Band of Brothers). It was an excellent study in leadership, and a good story as well.
Some stories just don't need embellishing.
Besides the library I scour the internet for free I-books. You can find most classics for free. Once you read a few you suddenly realize why they are called the classics.