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.
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!)
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?
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?
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