Youth Desk Shift : 5-8 pm

Answered
- Do you have a pencil sharpener?
     - Is it supposed to sound like that?
     - Oh, can you just do it for me?
- How many books can I check out?
- Is there a play area for kids?
- Do you have the movie "The Witches"? because the last time we were here the libarrian said that it was checked out and I've been waiting forever to see it! I love the book too! (all in one very long breath :) )
- Where are the chess pieces?
- Star Wars books, Junie B. Jones books, Narutu books and Shel Silverstein - ALLATTHESAMETIME
     - kiddo couldn't go upstairs for the poetry, so I called up to have the Ref Desk person try to grab the book, but she was on the phone so I went up myself. Got up there and she asked if I just called - yup - she'd tried calling back. Got back downstairs, and the kiddos were all like YOURPHONERANGandYOUMISSEDIT!! :)
- help with getting credit report for free
- Me: Please don't run. Kid: I'm sorry, I'm just going to go back and walk. (and he did :) )
-

Eavesdropped
- First of all, I'm a girl... not a boy... (and as far as I can tell, this was the end of the conversation)
-


Observed
- Remember how we thought Atlas (a Teddy Roosevelt Terrier) smelled like Fritos? Well, apparently *all* TRT's smell like Fritos... (saw a post that someone else's TRT smelled like them while sleeping)
- YS desk is not my fav because patrons can stand RIGHT behind you and look over your shoulder... makes searching harder :-/
- It's 7:35pm... my kid is on their way to bed... why aren't these kids? :)

Book Review: Rapture (Fallen #4) by Lauren Kate

Finally got to finish up this Young Adult series by Lauren Kate. By the end, I sort of knew what was going to happen, but this series was very well written and would be engaging for audiences of many age groups.

The Color War by Jodi Picoult

I had to laugh when people were upset at the length/depth of this story... It's a short story people! :) But, I see where Picoult could expand it into a longer story. I wanted to know more about the characters!

The Heavens Rise by Christopher Rice

This was the first of Christopher Rice's books I've read, and although I know this is also his first in the supernatural style - I will be reading more of his work. Similar to his mother (Anne Rice) in poetic description, Christopher Rice is a master at his craft! Very well written, engaging and not at all predictable.

The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley

I did not realize when I started this one that it was the second in a series, but it can easily be read as a stand alone. Well written and very engaging characters - 4 stars!

Post a day: FAIL. But, it is still a goal to write more and post at least regularly.

Born Digital, Projects Need Attention to Survive by Jennifer Howard

http://chronicle.com/article/Born-Digital-Projects-Need/143799

How much is HISTORY worth?

http://www.buzzfeed.com/leonoraepstein/how-much-is-an-original-american-girl-doll-worth



I have an original Felicity, an original Josephina (though, she's not retired...) and I just bought Molly for Ava (for when she's older...) Lucky I paid 'regular' price for her... this really is sad. I know we talked about this when I said I was buying Molly for Ava... these historical stories are being lost among the crap (sorry) they're putting out today. I knew it was going to go downhill when Pleasant sold out to Mattel... but at least it took a little while. When *was* the last historical doll introduced anyway? Answer: 2007. AND, they come out with a new "Girl of Today" every year...

A poem a day... my way!

I have always been interested in doing a post-a-day, especially after seeing the great stuff that friends have posted (on Facebook) Most have done pictures, but I thought it would be good for me to try to do a bit of original writing each day. So far, I've posted a few 'throwbacks,' but when I write new stuff, I plan to post it here too.

Here are my new ones so far:

Day 1 -
π poem

I'll try to
write
the wrongs of you
and
to become what's true

Day 3 - 
a quick
π poem

Life and death,
Live.
Creep up quickly,
Say:
Nothing is sacred.

Day 6 - 
(new

π

poem)

I can write
a
million volumes
in
the middle of the
night, but I cannot remember
one come
morning's light. Pen, record
my thoughts now.

So, what's a

π

  poem?

I don't know who originated this form, but I first heard about it on Beckett's Facebook page. Beckett is Anne Rice's assistant, and an author as well - and a great follow on FB :) It's form is, of course, similar to haiku, but instead of the 5-7-5 syllable scheme, it follows the digits of pi. (3.14159...) So in theory, this poem could go on forever! :)

I hope you enjoy this year's posts. As I said, I'll only replicate my FB updates here when the material is new, or previously not on my blog.

Happy New Year!

Book review: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

Another party to which I've come late, but having read Lisa See's Shanghai Girls series - I knew I would enjoy this one, and I did!

In See's sweeping multi-generational way, this book covers many aspects of rural Chinese life. The tradition of foot binding and concept of "mother love" were very well portrayed and very interesting to me. Even though they're seen as "worthless branches of a tree," women's stories are the ones that garner the most interest, I think, because the readers come to know not only the woman's true worth, but also can try to understand the harsh environments in which they're forced to live.

Book review: The Wolf Gift by Anne Rice

I'm late in reading this, primarily because Anne Rice had fallen off my radar in the past few years. I LOVED LOVED LOVED her vampire chronicles and her Mayfair Witches, but never really got into her more Christian writings of late. I did have the chance to meet her and her son Christopher at Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Arizona last month

(photo to come)

For this signing event, I purchased her newest novel The Wolves of Midwinter, knowing it was the second in a series. I'd originally intended to get the ebook of The  Wolf Gift through OverDrive, but at the store, I just couldn't resist having her sign it too :)

To quote Alan Cheuse from The Boston Globe: "I want to howl at the moon over this... Rice's style [is] as solid an engaging as anything she has written since her early vampire chronicle fiction." I TOTALLY agree :) One of the reasons I wasn't as drawn in by her Christian fiction was that I felt it lacked the poetic style of her earlier writing - and that was what I loved about her as an author. With The Wolf Gift, this style returns for me as a reader and with a whole new mythology to create, she's got a lot of options! Looking forward to more from my (once again) favorite author!

Book review: My Enemy's Cradle by Sara Young

My, oh my, do I love OverDrive and my library! I checked this book out through my public library's OverDrive app and read it on in my internet browser. I wouldn't say that this book is a departure from what I usually read, but it is a book I hadn't heard of prior to checking it out. This novel is set during World War II, in the Netherlands and Germany, and follows the story of Cyrla. Cyrla is a Jewish girl who is sent to live with her Dutch aunt, uncle and cousin by her father who rightly thinks the lives of Jews will be increasingly tested. Her cousin, Anneke, falls in love with a German solider and she becomes pregnant. Anneke's father plans to send her to a Lebensborn, but she takes her own life while trying to abort her baby. At the same time, sanctions on Jews are increasing and Cyrla suddenly finds herself in danger. To save her, Cyrla's aunt decides to make it seem as though Cyrla was the one who died, therefore giving her the ability to take on her cousin's identity and escape. This was a very quick read, but good. I think the author did her research, and really let readers into a world that I knew very little about. Stories of Dutch Jews are interesting to me - and I've read a lot about Anne Frank and Miep Gies (the woman who helped hide the Frank family) The Lebensborn were a portion of WWII/German history that I didn't know much about though. I would recommend this novel for a quick read, but still well-researched and well-written.

Just a quick note to let you all know about a great site to purchase photography and art!
Fine Art America
Here are some beautiful scenes from Hawai'i - just to get you going! hawaii photos

ebook review: A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin

Yes, I know - I'm very far behind! :) But, even after watching the show - I wanted to read this one cover-to-cover. A friend of mine made an great point about the show while watching the first season: if you hadn't read the books, you wouldn't know what was going on half the time... and that is so true. While excellent, the show often forgets to tell you the back stories (I thinking... Onion Knight) or people's names before they're killed, only to later refer to them by name... so it's really quite necessary to read these fantastic novels for yourself!

So, I read this one in my internet browser. I love that feature of OverDrive... you can bookmark the site and it will update your spot automatically!

What to say about A Clash of Kings? It's masterful... the world Martin created is so well envisioned and so well delivered - how can you not love it?

My favorite part about these novels is how Martin makes you love even the bad guy... (okay, I don't love Cersei and Joffrey is just ridiculous, but I do love Tyrion!) But... who's the bad guy? Martin creates such developed characters that it is not easy to pin them down. Here, in this completely fabricated world, are REAL people who have flaws and merits and real feelings... No more clear-cut, black and white lines!

I'm already on the list for A Storm of Swords!

It's been a year

Wow. How sad. It was exactly a year ago I last posted to this blog. Right, cuz apparently I had *more* time to do this when I had a three-week-old... now that she's over a year (and sleeping less :) ) we'll see how this goes...

I really wanted to get back into this because I want to start reviewing books again. I've had a NetGalley account for, oh - three years? and have never actually downloaded a galley so it was time to remedy that situation...

Stay tuned! :)

Fun stuff from Reddit

This is really cool! Combines the fun of serendipity in the stacks with the practicality of digital books!
----------

Digital library in Bucharest Metro station (X-post /r/futurology)

http://www.reddit.com/tb/10ttol

McSweeney's does it again! :)

Open Letters: An Open Letter to the Look That Slowly Forms On Your Face When I Tell You I Am a Librarian by Becca Cahil:
Dear Look That Slowly Forms On Your Face When I Tell You I Am a Librarian:
The raised eyebrows and intake of breath fool no one. As a librarian, I am well aware that most people do not find my job an interesting topic of conversation at a neighborhood barbecue, music festival or, to use a more keenly relevant example, the cocktail party we both attended last Friday night.
I believe that those four minutes we spent together, both holding a glass of shiraz in one hand and crumpled up napkins in the other, created a camaraderie that allow me to offer a few delicate suggestions. While at no time did your lips actually curl downward into a grimace, the frozen, dare I say stricken, look you chose to accompany my declaration of career halted our conversation before it even began.
It’s true that reactions to my occupation tend to fall into two camps. The first group registers immediate delight with a laugh and smile and a squealed “I love librarians!” followed by a request for assistance finding a favorite childhood book that had pictures of cats or rabbits and probably had a blue cover, or maybe red. That I can’t help them (because my job involves database administration and website creation, not children’s books) doesn’t seem to dampen their enthusiasm, because they had a great librarian in school once.
Members of the other camp (this means you) pause just a bit too long. Their faces blank out, and maybe their heads lurch back just a touch as the eyes search for something or someone else to latch onto. This is not so bad. I too have stood next to a woman at a party and had absolutely no idea what follow up question would be appropriate. What do you ask someone who did something unpronounceable for a municipal water system? Blanking out is a known risk at cocktail parties and schmoozing events of all types and is not in itself a reason for despair.
It’s what happens next that, to me, is unforgivable. It’s when your eyes light up ever so slightly, that bemused, faraway look coalesces, and you turn to me and say:
“How ‘bout that Dewey Decimal System?”
At that moment, you look so proud of yourself. You believe you have found a clever way out of cocktail party purgatory. You look almost hopeful, as if the conversation has been saved. But let me explain to your smug visage what has just happened: you have ruined it for everyone.
Because now I have two options: I can spend a few minutes boring both of us by explaining how that system has been superseded in academic libraries by the Library of Congress system and how I never learned Dewey because I am not a public or school librarian (thereby confirming that, indeed, librarians have no sense of humor) or I can laugh as if I have never heard that comment before and say “I know, right? It’s really confusing.” Then one of us can scramble around for a follow-up. In either case your face blanks out again, and it is only a matter of seconds before one of us makes a desperate excuse and runs off to get more canapés.
Next time, might I suggest a smile and a simple “How do you enjoy your work?”
All the best,

Becca

Extra #libday post for your enjoyment

Just thought today would be worth chronicling even if unofficially for the Library Day in the Life Project since it's the first time I've acted as Circulation Supervisor at my library.

2pm - 6pm: ILL business as usual. The "circ supervisor" portion of my day will start at 6 since I will be responsible for closing the library (at 9:45pm) One highlight though - since it's Library Week, my office mates and I went and made a READ poster!

6:00 pm - headed up to the circ area to get acquainted and hear any updates from my predecessor.

6:10 pm - Still responsible for ILL requests and the Office Email account while I'm up here, so diving into that!

7:30 pm - the student working the ID check (at the front door of the library) is working a double shift, so he requested I watch the desk while he took a break
     - note to self, I should be trained on what to do at the ID Check... :-/

7:45 pm - back in the circ supervisor's office and back to ILL work.

8:30 pm - I'll probably regret this, and I really can't believe I'm saying it ... but... Could someone please request something so I have something to do? :)
     - note, probably shouldn't have posted this as a status on Facebook, I have some very *ahem* helpful    friends :)

9:30 pm - Okay gotta do some announcing and light flashing and locking up now. Have a good night!

Some of our snorkeling photos from Hawaii this year!

Andrew's first time snorkeling was a success!

Day Eight - Separate but Equal

Good evening!

Not much else happened last night, so I didn't bother you with another post. But, here are some pictures from dinner and a few flowers for good measure - always need more of those!

Today, the B.Montross/Erdmann/Chalmers contingent left the hotel right after breakfast and headed back towards Hawi and a few more National Parks, while the H.Montross/Lorandos portion of our group opted for more relaxation and fun in the sun.

Andrew and I headed to the lagoon and rented snorkel equipment again. We started with an hour, but quickly upgraded to the half-day rate (actually only double the hour rate, or two hours for "free") and hit the water. I've been getting lots of photos on the underwater cameras, but unfortunately I need to wait to put them up until we get home. Hopefully, I'll be able to get a CD of them instead of prints - then I can get them online easier!

After the rest of our folk got back to the hotel, around 3:45, we thought we'd head in to Kona and hit up Hilo Hattie's again, since Mom still hadn't been there or gotten a chance to set her pearls. Unfortunately, the store closes at 7 pm and due primarily to the fact that it takes a while for a restaurant to serve 7 people - we missed them.

But, dinner was good. We ate someplace new - which is always a treat!

Back to the hotel, tomorrow is our last full day. We thought we'd try to head to Hilo - but honestly, my family tends not to relax much on vacations and I'm happy Andrew's teaching me how to do that! We may stay on the leeward side and try to get to the petroglyph fields and maybe even (gasp!) the lagoon again! :)

Good night unto you all!