21 Bookish Gift Ideas

So today I'm grumpy because getting all those presents for the holidays can be really daunting.  I'm the type of person who likes to go "all out" - but in a very specific way.  If you've ever seen the show Parks and Recreation then you know Leslie Knope likes to "win" gift giving occasions, and I am definitely the same way.  (Though... nowhere close to the degree Leslie wins.  She's kind of amazing.)  But I don't like to just get a gift, and I don't get friends and family a ton of stuff - I like to pick out something special, something that I think the recipient will really, really like.  I was looking for cool presents and I found a lot, so I thought I'd share them.  There are a lot of bookish gift lists out there, but a lot of times they have too much, or stuff I don't really want, so I wanted to curate my own list.  (This also, by the way, might be a great list for anyone getting me a gift.  Wink wink, husband and mother.  Ha.)

Top 5 Tuesday: Books on My Christmas Wishlist

So today I'm not grumpy because it's almost Christmas time, which means a break from work and a chance to spend time with my family and friends.  It's my daughter's first Christmas, so I am super excited!  I mean obviously she doesn't care at all, but everyone's going to fawn over her and I get to take pictures, so it all works out, right?

Today I am participating in Top 5 Tuesday, hosted by Bionic Book Worm.  I'm trying to be more social with this blog, so I figured I could do a few tags and memes and things.  But I love lists!  And today's theme is Top 5 Books on my Christmas Wishlist!  I get uncomfortable when people get me gifts, to be honest, so I do have an Amazon wishlist, but it's more for me to remember stuff I need and I don't keep it updated.  But!  There have been so many great books coming out this year and due to a lot of money troubles this year I haven't been able to buy many, so I could immediately think of several books I wanted.  So here we go!  

Space Opera by Catherynne Valente

So I have wanted this book since the moment I saw it.  First, the cover looks great - neon and jazzy and fun, right?  Secondly, look at that tag line.  "In space, everyone can hear you sing."  It's American Idol in space, basically, but since it's Valente, you know the writing is going to be lush and rich and fantastic, too.

Circe by Madeline Miller

I read The Song of Achilles by Miller when it came out (whenever that was, ha) and absolutely loved it.  The writing was just...  mmm, so nice.  So I've been looking forward to this since I heard about it.  And one of our book clubs at work read it and people seemed to enjoy it, so I am really, really pumped about reading it.

The Merry Spinster by Mallory Ortberg

This is a collection of stories - or "tales of everyday horror" - with a fairy tale bent, which is kind of my jam.  I did this book for a new releases book talk at work when it first came out, but I never got a chance to read it all for myself!  Kind of reminiscent of The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter, I think, which I'm totally on board with.

Middlemarch by George Eliot

I have never read Middlemarch and I've always meant to.  I'd even wanted to in October for a Victorian literature readathon, but things got away from me.  This is the only book on the list where I want a specific edition, as well (see the picture, it's the Penguin clothbound classics), mostly because it looks so nice and who doesn't want a little shine on their shelves?  I love classics as much as I love contemporary literature (I really just like books in general, okay), so if I ever need something to read and nothing jumps out at me, I like to go back to a classic I haven't read yet.

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

This is a book I've already read, but it's also one I would like to own.  (I like fairy tales a lot.  Did I mention that?  Look out in the new year for a big series I'm doing about fairy tale readalikes.)  If you want to read a little of what I thought of it, you can do so here.  It was very enjoyable, and it's something that I would probably read again, and I like the cover, so this is an obviously-I-want-to-own for me!




Well there you have it!  Top 5 books on my wishlist.  Let me know what you're asking for this year!

Why I Don't Use a TBR

So today I'm grumpy because I realized that while the term is useful, I don't actually have or use any sort of TBR.   I like the idea of it, in theory, but I don't have a list, really, or even a stack.  When I talk about it, I use "TBR" in basically the same way I'd mean the "Want to Read" shelf on Goodreads.  It's just a place to throw books that sound interesting, that I might one day - in the near or far future - think about picking up and reading.  So when I say "Oh that's on my TBR" or "I have a huge TBR!" or anything like that, all that really means is that I think the book sounds interesting.  Maybe I'll read it one day!

I admire people who make a list and stick to it, even irregularly, because I just can't do that.  Even if I did bother to make a list - which I'm sure I have at some point - as soon as I see another interesting book, whether it's on the list or not, chances are I might just put everything else down and read that until I finish it.  That happens a lot.  I tend to start several books at once, because if I can't just sit and read something straight through (and I absolutely cannot, that is an extremely rare luxury in my life nowadays), then often I'll put it down for awhile before picking it up again - and in the interim pick up something else.

So here's why I've decided a TBR is not for me, and why I'm not going to stress about it!

As long as I'm reading, does it matter which books? 

Obviously this is not going to be true or work for everyone, but for me I've decided that as long as I'm reading, I'm just going to enjoy it!  Instead of feeling guilty for not reading a book I've been meaning to, instead of putting off a book that looks really interesting just to read one only because I've meant to for awhile, and instead of not reading because I've got so many books to read I just can't choose, I'm going to simply pick up a book whenever the urge hits me.  (Obviously there are some exceptions to this, though, like when I have to read a book for work!)

One less list to keep up with!

Admittedly, this is not exactly a great reason...  But it still does make a difference to me!  I like making lists of what I've read, and what sounds interesting - but I can barely remember to add books to my Goodreads "Want to Read" shelf, which as I mentioned, is really just a catchall for any book that looks interesting to me.  Having to keep track of a list on top of that of books I actually intend to read?  That's too much work.  Never underestimate how lazy I am, because...  yeah, really lazy.  So, so lazy.

No pressure.

I've definitely seen people in online book communities talking about the pressure they sometimes feel to read.  It's hard enough if you want to read current books to stay relevant with discussions and reviews (which is not something that I bother with to be totally honest), so I hate to see people adding more pressure to themselves with a list they have to follow.  Especially if the list is mostly arbitrary.  Now, if a TBR helps you and alleviates pressure or keeps you from feeling it, then that is perfect!  But if you do feel pressured to read what's on your list and you don't want to?  Then I say toss that TBR out!

I might actually turn my library books in on time?!

I have a bad habit of renewing my books the maximum number of times because I tell myself over and over again that eventually - maybe even soon - I'm going to read them.  I put them on my TBR, so I'm going to read them.  Right?  Right?!  Well I was hoarding books, basically - and since I work at the library and was surrounded my books all the time, my bad habit was only getting fed.  So that definitely played a big part in my decision to just throw my TBR out.  Since I've gotten better at actually updating my GoodReads and keeping track of books I want to read, I no longer feel pressure to keep books when there's no chance I'll have time to read them.  Instead of keeping an overflowing TBR shelf (which was my favored method - and no, it did not work at all), now I just put the title on my list and then I can bring the book back.  Hopefully I'll actually read all those books.  You know...  One day...

So for me, a TBR just doesn't work!  I think it works for a lot of people, and that's awesome.  I've seen a lot of very cool ways to utilize a TBR list, and some people who like to just pull a book at random from the list when they want something to read.  But it just made me feel bad and I wanted to read books that weren't on the list, and it was getting bigger and bigger and way out of hand, so I just threw it out.  And that works great for me!

What's your preferred method: TBR or no?  Do you have an actual TBR list or, more like me, just use the "want to read" shelf on GoodReads?  And if you do use a TBR, how do you use it, what does it look like?

Let me know!   And happy reading!

5 Shakespeare Adaptions

"Hell is empty, and all the devils are here." Or so says Ariel in William Shakespeare's The Tempest.  Maybe that's a little dramatic?  Maybe... ?  At any rate, I'm grumpy!  Again!  I need a good remedy for it.  And since there's a Shakespeare quote for just about everything (he's come up with a lot of common phrases) why not Shakespeare adaptions?  I'm mostly grumpy because I can't do a "top 5" of anything because that implies decisions and ratings and how could I possibly list the definitive 5 of anything?  So think of this, not as the best Shakespeare adaptions, but as five I think you ought to read because you might enjoy them.

Digital Studies: Information, Librarianship, Digital Communities

So today I'm grumpy because I couldn't think of a better title for this post.  Lately I've been talking about books a lot, but another of my passions is, of course, librarianship and libraries in general.  This is because I'm a librarian, so not only do I have something of a vested interest in the field, it's also something I deal with all day every day while I'm at work.

I was browsing for something - I can't remember the specific thing - and I got on to the Library of Congress site and happened to see a link for an application for the Kluge Fellowship in Digital Studies.  This "provides an opportunity for scholars to examine the impact of the digital revolution on society, culture, and international relations" using the vast array of resources from LoC at their disposal.  So why would I, a humble public librarian already out of school, care?  Well first off, um that's really cool, and a fellowship at the Library of Congress is just, in its own right, pretty neat.  I found out about it way too late to ever apply (the deadline is 12/6), though even if I had known in time, I'm not a scholar.  I'd be way out of my depth. 

But I'm interested because there's always a little voice in the back of my head that wants to be a scholar, that wants to be involved in academia - and this same sinister little voice is telling me that really, shouldn't I go back and get a PhD?  (No.  No I shouldn't.)  I do think about it sometimes, to be honest.  I enjoy school, and I really love doing research.  I'd even like to teach.  But first, would I get accepted into a program for PhD candidacy?  My immediate guess is no.  My master's program - which was great, and I loved - was excellent and practical and gave me a portfolio showcasing skills and projects... but not research papers.  I think I did one traditional research paper in three years (about health information seeking online).  I can make a simple website, and do simple data analysis in R, for example, but I don't really have a stellar writing sample.  Not only that, but I also live nowhere near a university offering a program, so I'd have to find one, get accepted, and then move -  which means uprooting my family, so my husband would have to find a job, and I'd need at least a little income, too.  Not to mention how I'd pay for school, which I do not have a plan for at all.  So!  Obviously not in the cards right now.

Which is fine.  Maybe one day, if that little voice doesn't go away first.  I would honestly love to teach, and I've worked in a library for five years, so I have at least a little experience to offer and I'll only get more.  But as I said... I'm interested.  Choosing a school to get your PhD is important because you want faculty working on your research interests.  This is obviously less vital in library science since much of the work is theoretical or could be done anywhere, but examining the impact of the "digital revolution" is totally my jam!  I mentioned that my one, lonely little research paper was on information seeking, but I also did work with digital libraries as well as information organization.  I'm super interested in digital communities and how people build communities online, especially use of language - how it differs from platform to platform, how we use tags and communicate in communities inside specific platforms.  I mean obviously there's been research done, so I'd need something meaningful to contribute anyway, but still.  That's super interesting to me!

So if you too are interested and qualified and have already been working on applying to this fellowship...  I wish you well!  Go get it!  Go propose some "deep, empirically-grounded" ideas for research and understanding!

For some people, getting access to the Library of Congress like that would be a dream.  My personal dream is to work at the Folger Shakespeare Library, which incidentally, has a position open.........

Read-a-Likes: The Woman in the Window and Final Girls

Today I'm grumpy because the noir-inspired The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn had tons of references to classic movies and I don't think I've seen a single one of them. 

All the Movies Mentioned in The Woman in the Window

This is a list of all the movies (approximately, I may have missed one or two, but I tried to be fairly thorough) from the A.J. Finn novel The Woman in the Window.

Out of the Past
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Les Diaboliques
The Fallen Idol
Ministry of Fear
The 39 Steps
Double Indemnity
Gaslight
Saboteur
The Big Clock
Thin Man
Song of the Thin Man
(all the Thin Man movies referenced obliquely in the exchange about the two above)
Le Boucher
Dark Passage
Niagara
Charade
Sudden Fear!
Wait Until Dark
The Vanishing
Frantic
Side Effects
Casablanca
Star Wars
Night and the City
Whirlpool
Murder, My Sweet
Night Must Fall
Laura
Vertigo
The Third Man
Rififi
Spellbound
Dead Calm
Rebecca
Strangers on a Train
Wicker Man
Rope
North by Northwest
The Lady Vanishes
The Addams Family (not clear from context if the movie or the old TV show is meant)
The Outlaw
Hot Blood
Shadow of a Doubt
Rear Window
Signs
Midnight Lace
Foreign Correspondent
23 Paces to Baker Street
Rosemary's Baby

I might add in links to IMDB or Wikipedia for those interested, but for now if you're looking for a movie (lots of old suspensey ones here) check one out!

Book Review: The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

So today I'm grumpy because I haven't had time to read as much as I would have liked lately and my TBR is not so much a list as it is a huge, amorphous mass of book titles lurking in the back of my mind.  I have picked up a few things here and there, though, and one of my most recent finishes was The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle.

Books to Talk About Over Thanksgiving (Instead of Politics)

So today I'm grumpy because there's always a bit of traditional advice that crops up around the holidays that says to hold your tongue whenever someone brings up politics in order to avoid a fight.  This is not bad advice by any means and I don't think wanting a peaceful dinner is a bad impulse.  But I'm also very bad at holding my tongue, especially about things I have a Moral Stance on (those big, sticky, serious issues), and if someone says something I find objectionable then I can't stop myself from voicing an opinion.  I don't start fights (but sometimes I try to finish them).

Food Book Series for Thanksgiving

So today I'm grumpy because my house is a wreck and I still have to clean it up before hosting our first Thanksgiving at the new place!  It's exciting, but cleaning - or doing... anything, really - with an adorable and very much attention-craving seven month old baby is... Difficult.  To say the least! 

Banned Book Week

Today I'm grumpy because... I bet you thought I forgot banned book week!

As a reference librarian I don't actually get to do much for Banned Books Week (not that we do all that much to begin with anyway, but), but I try to remember it!  We have a display up, so if I see an empty space I try to grab a book to put there.  And of course I have my own mental list of banned books to recommend should anyone ask.  I get... excited when people ask for book recommendations.

Fun Fact: I'm like a rabid wolverine when it comes to reader's advisory, but instead of killing prey much bigger than myself I recommend books from genres I don't often read.  Sadly, my excitement does sometimes lead to excessive salivation.

So what is banned books week? (Asked no one.  Shh, dear reader, just listen to the librarian.)  Banned books are books that have been targeted as unfit to appear in libraries and schools.  The week - which began in the early 80s - celebrates these books, as well as freedom of ideas more generally.  ALA has more info here, as well as a list of frequently challenged books.  Most of the challenges come to school libraries and classrooms (though public libraries will have books challenged, as well) and the most common reason for a challenge is because of sexual content.  Like...  a lot of books are challenged because of sexual content.  If you're interested, here is a graphic from ALA about the top ten most challenged books from 2017.  Challenged does not mean the book was removed - it only means someone wanted the book to be removed.  (If it's actually removed, then it's a "banned" book.)

If you've never read any of these, why not pick one up!  Be a rebel - read something that somebody somewhere thought you shouldn't.  (The Hate U Give, for instance, which is being made into a movie.)   I had planned a very lengthy rant on There is a lot of talk around censorship, what constitutes censorship, and what's harmful enough to warrant some sort of action - but the week is already over, and so many other - wiser - voices have already chimed in.  There was a recent article in the Washington Post asking do we need banned books week anymore?  And I've made a lot of the same arguments as the librarian interviewed.  I mean, it's definitely about the books, but what might be useful is to shift focus from books specifically to intellectual freedom more generally. 

How to Make Friends at Work

A new feature of the blog called "My Life!  Starring: Social Anxiety"

HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS AT WORK

• Step One: See everyone else having conversations together.
  This step is very important because to really feel like an outsider, excluded from your workplace's culture, you need to first observe everyone else participating in it.  If you can accidentally overhear a conversation about a shared interest that you don't feel comfortable participating in, even better!
• Step Two: Envy them.  Decide you want to join.
  After successful completion of step one, the seeds for envy should already be there, so this step should be simple: just let the anxiety do its work!  A little courage helps, as well, to make up your mind that you finally want to take the plunge to join in.
• Step Three: Fail.
  This step can be accomplished in one of three ways.  One: just don't try at all.  If your anxiety is too bad, or if you only tell yourself your anxiety is too bad, or if you intend to try but keep putting it off - whatever the cause, whether because of yourself or some outside force stopping you from trying, it all counts.  Two: try a little, whether that be pushing yourself or staying in your comfort zone, but don't get many positive results from your efforts.  Three: really push yourself and try hard, making a concerted effort to be friendly with everyone and try to contribute more to small talk and casual conversation, maybe even initiating a few conversations, but still fail and possibly be mocked or ignored.  (At which point, congratulations!  You have possibly found one of the most anxiety-inducing workplaces ever for someone with social anxiety and a desire to interact with other humans.  What a great place for a real strain on your mental health!)
• Step Four: Retreat. 
  Make sure to replay every conversation you ever have wondering if you said enough, or if people don't like, or if you tried too hard and it showed.  A successful step four will probably include a dip in self-esteem and several weeks wondering what went wrong, and possibly increasing the desire to fit in and make friends.
• OPTIONAL Step Five: Read even more than you already do, so you can pretend you have friends in your books.

First Finish of the Week

So I had a lot of down time at work Tuesday.  Like... a lot for the first half of the day, because I was fighting with the homework computers down in the children's department, which meant I was either waiting for something to install/restart/update, or later on the phone with a technician trying to figure out why this software wasn't installing on one specific computer.  Which meant that, while maybe not the most professional use of my time, I did get some reading done.

I hesitate to say that simply because, well.  I don't get to read just because I work in a library.  That is very frowned upon, and it's not like there's time in the day anyway.  It's actually become sort of a default preface for librarians when people talk about or ask us about our jobs - no, we don't get to read all day, yep it's great to be around all those books!  (Which is very true and very much not at the same time, because some people are not the most careful with library books.  Don't love being around the books that come back smelling strongly of smoke.)  So much so, in fact, that's it's coming back around the other side with some librarians afraid to even talk about their love of books and reading, and others outspoken about loving books and having that be a reason they became a librarian.  Which is a long way to say that no, we don't read all day because it's a job and we're working, but yeah, a lot of us in the public sector probably wanted to work in libraries because we love books so much.

But!  All of that to say!  I had a special case today when I had to be in front of the computer but there was nothing to do other than wait, so I did get to read a little.  I also have to take two breaks every day because I'm still breast feeding and I have to pump, so I read then, too.  (Have to do something to take my mind off what I am subjecting myself to.  For the love of my child, but still!  It ain't fun.)  So why is this relevant?

Because I finished Turtles All the Way Down!

I actually went and ate lunch in my car so I could listen to my audiobook (on a disc, in my CD player, I'm very hip to the times) but I wound up being unable to stop thinking about Turtles so I read a good chunk of it, and then managed to finish the last bit of it on my last break.

I chose this for my "orange" challenge, mostly because I was a bit desperate for something orange (yeah, yeah, The Martian, but I needed a full seven books for my TBR, okay?), I had had it in the back of my mind for awhile that I wanted to read it, and it was available to check out as an e-book through the library.  (I might not get to read at work, but I take every advantage of finding books to read later, that's for sure.)  It was a quick read, and pretty enjoyable.  I definitely didn't love it.  It was the kind of book that even while I only kind of liked it, it did stick with me.  I found it to be a vivid, compelling portrait of a young woman struggling with anxiety and intrusive, spiralling thoughts, but I was disappointed by it and would rate it 3 out of 5 stars.

The plot was nonexistent other than a very forced side story about a missing billionaire.  Which is how the whole thing starts and it's what brings the characters together (the main character Aza and the love interest, Davis), but it goes nowhere and feels almost pointless.  And I hate to say this - I mean I genuinely feel kind of guilty saying this - but it just... wasn't a good story because of Aza.  If it had just been a long, introspective ramble about her, and what she was going through, without any additional trappings I think I would have liked it more, but because there was the frame of a story there I started looking for a story to be told, for the parts of a story, and they weren't really there.  Aza didn't have motivation to do anything, really, and she didn't really experience a lot of character growth¹.  That in and of itself isn't bad, obviously, and it's not even that it's something I wouldn't want to read.  The problem is the plot isn't strong enough to combine with the whole introspective ramblings on consciousness - it feels almost like an after thought.

One thing I did like - that the negative reviews on goodreads were pretty vocally against - was Davis and his astronomy and his poetry and all the quotations.  Look.  Just look, everybody.  Is it pretentious?  Are the teens over articulate?  (Frequent complaints I see lobbied against, like.  Every John Green book, to be honest.)  A better question is: does that matter?  The people I see complaining about that are adults - and the books aren't written for you (or me, I know).  They're for teens, and - just using an example pulled out of the blue here - teen me?  Sensitive, shy, nose-always-in-a-book me?  Who thought she wasn't smart enough for poetry, who doubted herself, who wasn't sure when it was okay to like "adult" things like Shakespeare and Keats beyond the context of school, who wasn't sure if she had the life experience to understand those lovely words and wasn't sure she ever would?  I would have loved it, I imagine.  I mean, I think it's okay to romanticize teen dialog of all things, I'm sure there are lots of young people who eat this up.  Because it is lovely in a lot of places, even if it isn't realistic.  So ends my daily "get off my lawn" rant.  It is pretentious, sure, but I honestly don't mind.

So meh.  My overall impression was: it was okay.  I liked it.

¹Okay you could probably fight me on this one because of that confrontation with Daisy, but still.  That is incidental to the larger plot, really.

Contemporary-a-Thon TBR!

So!  At the very last minute I decided to participate in the Contemporary-A-Thon!  Which is a readathon for contemporary books.  Find the hosts on YouTube - their announcement videos for the challenge are here, here, and here.  Can I do it?  Probably not!  Is that going to stop me?  No!

A readathon, for those who don't know, is exactly what it says on the tin: an excuse to read - a lot - over a set period of time.  This readathon lasts from September 17 (today) through September 23.  There are seven challenges.  This is a chance for many to read 7 in 7 days, though of course you can double up on the challenges and use one book for more than one.  I'm going to try to read seven, though with a full time job, and a five month old baby, and with the Spider-Man game burning a hole in our PS4, well, uh.  Let's just say I don't have a lot of confidence I'll get it done!  Luckily a lot of my books cover more than one category, so I'm fairly confident I can still complete the challenge.

So what will I be reading?

1. Orange on the cover  -  Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
I've actually wanted to read this one for awhile, so I figured now was a perfect excuse.

2. Dark/Taboo/Spooky - Lethal White by Robert Galbraith
This is only coming out the 18th and I was going to read it anyway, so of course I had to put it on my list!  I'm pretty sure I'll finish this one in a day.  (It can also count as my 5-star prediction read as well.)  It counts as dark because it's a mystery - according to a synopsis, someone reports a murder he witnessed as a child.  I don't know anything else about it, but I enjoyed the rest of the series so I'm excited!

3. Diverse - Pride by Ibi Zoboi
This is also coming out the 18th so whether or not I get to read it depends on if anyone else puts a hold on it at the library.

4. Non-traditional format - The Martian by Andy Weir (on audiobook)
I've been sort of intending to read this one for awhile, as well, and since I decided to read an audiobook for my "non-traditional format" (I almost never read audiobooks), I figured I'd read something I might not normally pick up as well.  This also counts as orange if I need it to, as well.

5. Initials on the Cover - Hope Never Dies by Andrew Shaffer
H D M: Hope Never Dies: an Obama-Biden Mystery

6. New to You Author - The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory
I had tried to start this before - got it from work - but I had to return it before I could read it.  I believe this is Guillory's first novel, so definitely new!

7. 5-Star Prediction - Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli
This one looks cute and I've heard good things about it.  This one is my last to read, so I'm not sure I'll get to it.  I think I'll enjoy it if I do, though!

If you're also doing contemporaryathon let me know!  And let me know what you thought if you read any of these.  Wish me luck!  My goal is all seven, but if I read three I'll still feel pretty good about it.  I'll be posting my progress here and on goodreads when I get the chance!

Book Talk: Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik (Book 31)

Today I'm grumpy because this book wasn't longer, because there wasn't more to read, and because I already finished it!  And I don't own it so I don't get to read it again!

The book was Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik, and I really, really enjoyed it.

Book 30!

Today I'm grumpy because writing spoiler free book reviews can be very frustrating!  I will try my best to avoid spoilers, but if I do include any they will be clearly labelled or hidden or what have you.  To be totally honest spoilers don't usually bother me and I don't really go out of my way to avoid them.  But!  For instances where the spoilers would ruin a big twist, or where knowing something beforehand takes all the fun out of the experience (for a mystery, thriller, et cetera), I hate spoilers!  So this book, book 30, is one of those instances because the final twist surprised me - which almost never happens - and I really think that the book would be ruined (or if not ruined pretty disappointing) if you knew what happened in advance.

So!  Here is the 30th book I read this year: The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager. 

Book 27, 28, 29 of 2018

Today I'm grumpy because instead of reading the books in my TBR pile - or the books I have checked out already from the library - I keep finding new books to read!  Here are the last three I finished.

I enjoy YA books even now as an adult, but this book sort of drove home the point that... it wasn't really meant for me. I didn't dislike it, but it definitely wasn't one of my favorites, either.  The book was There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins.

Currently Reading #1

Today I'm grumpy about my own bad habit of starting so many books at once!

It's really a by-product of working at a library, because often when I see an interesting book I'll flip through it, or pick it up and start reading on my break, or take it home and read it...  Which, as you might imagine, means that a lot of times I have way too many books on my plate.  Right now, I'm reading four books, and I have a fifth one to start and finish by next Tuesday the 31st. (this month's book club book.  Which maybe I shouldn't have mentioned I haven't started... ?  I'm really more responsible than I seem.  Probably.)

So what am I reading?

Library Love

Today I'm grumpy because some people still don't realize the value libraries hold in their communities!

I'm talking of course about the article in Forbes (no longer available, last I checked) that suggested replacing libraries with Amazon stores to save taxpayers money.  The backlash online was quick and pointed and my grumpiness dissipated to see so many people - librarians and otherwise - defending libraries.  As a librarian I of course have a vested interest in keeping libraries open (you know, to keep my job and all that fun stuff), but I became a librarian because I believe in the importance of what we do.  There have many countless points made, and if you search twitter alone just in the last few days you'll find argument after argument defending the benefit of libraries.

So I won't rehash any of that.  I don't go into the many services we offer besides books - like free wi-fi and public computers, meeting rooms, and programming for all ages - but I will talk about a lot of what I did just yesterday.

• Found a book on psychology for a patron going back to school
• Helped a patron fill out an online W4 for their new job
• Looked up keto diet cookbooks
• Researched an old photograph with just a last name on the back and found the photographer most likely to have taken it in 1939
• Worked on my curriculum for a How to Use MS Word class I'll be teaching that we'll offer free to patrons
• Showed a patron how to use Novelist to find other books they might like
• Helped a patron print out important insurance documents
• Assisted with job applications
• Helped print out pay stubs (at least four different patrons)
• Reshelved books and straightened shelves to help patrons find materials
• Showed someone where are periodicals are
• Worked on my weeding list to help keep our collection up to date and relevant to the community's needs

So yes, it is true that libraries cost taxpayers money.  But we offer services to the community free of charge because of that.  We're a place kids can go during the summer.   Librarians are trained to help with research - and a lot of us like doing it, and we like helping!  And as one of those taxpayers, I am happy and proud that I help keep the library going.

Digital Audiobooks! They're There!

Today I'm grumpy because I forgot that digital audiobooks, uh... exist.

This was an incredibly embarrassing twitter exchange with a friend in which I, lamenting that I couldn't finish my audiobook until I had access to a CD player, complained that audiobooks weren't my cup of tea for that very reason.  And to be honest, I do prefer reading over listening because of my own concentration issues - but that's an entirely different post.  Of course, my friend then reminded me that I can listen to audiobooks on my phone.  With headphones or earbuds.  Whenever I have an opportunity, which is in much greater supply than my access to CD players.

I felt silly because.  Well, that's obvious, I can't believe I didn't think of that.  (Pretty clear that I do not listen to audiobooks on my phone.)  But what made it even worse - and honestly kind of embarrassing for me - is that the library where I work does offer audiobooks digitally.  We have apps!  And I recommend them to patrons all the time.  Anytime someone's looking for an audiobook on our shelves I'll suggest trying the app, as well.  Anytime I sign someone up for a library card I go offer all the digital services we have.  I help people set up their phones and tablets with the audiobook app.  But apparently I don't use it enough to remember it outside of work!  Oops.

I feel like I can redeem myself a little because I do check out e-books frequently, but this just goes to show that maybe I should take more time to actually use what I'm recommending...

(For anyone interested, it was The Death of Mrs. Westaway that I was listening to.  Yes, on CD.  The audiobook was fantastic - I mentioned it briefly in my entry about the book.  I absolutely recommend it!)

Book 26 of 2018

So this is the 3rd book by Ruth Ware I've read (The Woman in Cabin 10 and In a Dark Dark Wood) and I was a little worried - because to be honest, I'd enjoyed both of the others very much, right up until the end.  In a Dark Dark Wood particularly had me reeled in - I checked out from the library where I work and I'd read a large chunk of it on my break and during lunch, and as soon as I got in my car to leave for the day I pulled it out intending to read a chapter or so and I wound up finishing the whole thing and going home late.  So there was no question of how readable, or how enthralling it was, but the ending really disappointed me.  And of course, because I had enjoyed so much of the majority of the book, that disappointment was even keener than it would have been otherwise.  Much of what I remember from the book is colored by that frustration.

So I was excited by this book because it sounded precisely like the sort of thing I love (secrets and a big English manor house), but I was wary, too.  So how was it?

Another Book Club Day!

I've always wanted to start a book club with friends, but for whatever reason things have just never worked out that way for me.  I'd toyed with the idea of joining a book club as well, but I felt way too anxious about it and I wasn't sure how to go about finding one anyway.  Until I was hired for my current job (I'm a librarian) and suddenly I was going to be in charge of running an already established book club.  By myself.

I was extremely nervous, and even going to a few meetings while the previous club leader (who was retiring) didn't really help my apprehension when it was finally my turn to do it alone.  The first few sessions were a little lackluster, I admit, but I eventually got the hang of things and I really enjoy book club days now, and I think the ladies in the club do, too!

Today was a book club day and despite a lot of the struggles I had with the book, I thought the discussion went well.  It's taken some time to draw some of our members out, but everyone is pretty comfortable now so usually we have a productive discussion with most - or all - of the members contributing.  The book we read was My Dear Hamilton by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie, about the life of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton. 

The consensus was that we enjoyed it, though for me, at least, it was a struggle to read.  It was a good book, but I made a mistake choosing it: firstly because it was around 600 pages long, and that's going to take a good chunk of time to get through no matter what; but secondly I have a three month old at home, which made reading an already somewhat daunting book an even more formidable task!

How bad is it to admit I skimmed a bit in the middle?  Any time the book dragged, I couldn't help but look at my progress and think There's how much more?!  I like historical fiction but I don't love it, and trying to read through it while holding a crying baby dampened the enjoyment somewhat.  The worst part is, of course, that I did it to myself - I'm the one who chooses the books for book club!  And this time I didn't bother checking the length.  I also only finished the book at about seven this morning, reading to go for the book club at ten!

I haven't written a review of the book, but I might do that sometime in the near future. 

Until then - or whenever I'm back - happy reading!