Catching Up

I didn't blog for September. My bad, y'all. 

Once I realized it was October, I thought I would just wait, and do a nice, thought-out, two-month blog post, because it really had been a diverse list, and I was going to try a few more things, and I thought I could write about Genres and whether or not libraries should genrify their collections, and how this all tied in with my discoveries about myself as a reader and I could hazard a guess as to whether genrified libraries would have made me a better/more voracious reader as a child and teen. But then Halloween passed and now here we are and ^that's all I've got on the subject of genres at the moment.

I'm just going to be really honest and say that I am in a slump. Fall is not my season. I've been looking back at things I've written in years past, Sept-Nov. (blog posts, facebook posts, journal entries, etc.) and it's kind of a recurring theme. I get stressed out when things from the new school year start kicking into high gear, and I get crabby when the weather gets cold and it gets dark early. I'd love to be witty and/or interesting and/or insightful but all I've got is a list of books, lots of snark and a little residual anxiety. And since you probably are only interested in the first item on that list, I've got the books I've read recently listed below. The list is surprisingly longer than it felt when I was reading. My progress has felt ridiculously slow these past few weeks. I'm out of my groove, y'all. 

Anyway, here goes (with some brief parenthetical asides): 

9/1 Being a Girl, by Hayley Long (really a cute, brief, no-nonsense guide to growing up)

9/1 The Diary of Melanie Martin, by Carol Weston (as far as kid diary books go, I can't complain)

9/3 Ava & Pip, by Carol Weston (just a cute, cute, story about sisterhood and palindromes)

9/6 Re Jane, by Patricia Park (totally underwhelming Jane Eyre retelling)

9/11 The Casual Vacancy, by J.K. Rowling (stick with Harry Potter)

9/17 Kitchen, by Banana Yoshimoto (probably the first book I've read by an author with the same name as a fruit)

9/20 In the Time of the Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez (it took me forever but I made it. also I thought it was a true story so that was a trip)

9/23 Cold Sassy Tree, by Olive Ann Burns (I have so many mixed feelings on this one I don't even know where to begin. let me know if you've read it because seriously I need some secondary opinions)

9/24 Of Mess and Moxie, by Jen Hatmaker (I stayed up until 4am to finish this one)

9/29 Go Set a Watchman, by Harper Lee (hmm. yeah editing is a good thing.)

10/1 We Are Okay, by Nina LaCour (honestly I liked it but don't see why everyone is so obsessed with it)

10/6 Forever, by Judy Blume (this is actually a first-time read! Somehow I never made it past Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, in the Judy Blume repertoire as a kid)

10/8 Radium Girls, by Kate Moore (seriously, their lives were trainwrecks. go read about it)

10/11 The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro (damn. this guy won the Nobel for a reason)

10/27 By Book or By Crook, by Eva Gates (cozy mystery about a librarian who lives in a lighthouse. pretty self-explanatory)

10/28 Spell It Out, by David Crystal (the history of English spelling might sound boring, but for real this was one of the most fascinating books I've read in awhile)

So there you have it, folks. That's all I can crank out for now. We'll see how November goes.

Mid-Year Mixed Bag

okay okay okay, I know August isn't technically "mid-year," but I'm going with it.

This month I finished my internship, turned in my final assignment for my online class, worked my last four days as a library GRA, packed all of my earthly belongings into a u-haul, moved to Dallas, started a new job as a real librarian, bought a washer and dryer like a real adult, and assembled approximately 86 pieces of IKEA furniture. Oh, and read eight books. 

Actually, it was eight books and one screenplay, from six different sources, in three formats. 

I checked out a ton of books from the UT Library before I moved and read a few of them --

Penelopiad, which I loved.

O Pioneers, which I also loved (to my own surprise).

Ready Player One, which I really had to force myself to finish.

and Rebecca, which took me over two weeks to finish and honestly I was unimpressed. 

These were all hard copies. 

I (finally!) got the audiobook of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows from Austin Public Library, so I listened to that this month. I have to admit it was weird to know that I've gone through the whole series in a year...that I was listening to the first HP while unpacking boxes in the Finley House, and listened to the seventh unpacking my apartment.

I decided I wanted to go see The Glass Castle, but should probably read it first, so I got the eBook from my school's library and read it in one sitting last weekend (it was a page-turner!). 

Of course, I was only here about four days before I had gotten a Dallas Public Library card and used it promptly to check out The Speed of Life, because my library is having the author, Carol Weston, come visit our school tomorrow. 

The screenplay, Carol, was available online for free, and The Secret Life of Bees I already owned (it was a re-read). 

All I have to say is, if you're not checking out books from four different libraries simultaneously, are you even a librarian? 

I will also share a recent librarian success: going to Barnes and Noble to buy a jigsaw puzzle and NOT BUYING ANY BOOKS, but coming home and putting the interesting titles on hold.

But I'll also share a recent librarian failure: I somehow lost a (second!!) library book, and had to pay to replace it. That was awkward.

And, fun fact, I did move library books to Dallas. You can decide if that's a success or failure amongst yourselves. All I have to say is, they're not due until January so WHY NOT?

gifs in July

so July went by really quickly and I am too lazy to actually write anything about any of the books I read, so here are some gifs. also I can do this and not feel bad about it because I've never done it before and it's a worthwhile experiment in the blogging process.

that feeling when a book you're excited to check off your TBR turns out to be really serious and sad (The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down)

Me after (finally) reading The Catcher in the Rye

Me trying to read the book club books (The Best Man and I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You) in time for our actual meetings

How I imagine Daniel feels trying to win over Natasha in The Sun is Also a Star

Me trying to understand The Unbearable Lightness of Being

My response to yet another romanticized Italy story (Love and Gelato)

How I picture Harper Lee and Truman Capote in Tru and Nelle

Me after reading Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

and lastly, me when people are surprised by how many books I read in a month

What Summer Reading Slump?

What did I do in June? Read, mostly. That and use lots of acronyms.

No, seriously. I read e-books online at work (almost) every morning (Anne series). I listened to audiobooks as I rode the bus to and from work (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince). And then I got home from work and my internship and just read plain old regular books while I was cooking, while I was eating, while I should have been doing homework, and while I was falling asleep (everything else, except In Cold Blood, because being murdered in your bed isn’t exactly what you want to read right as you lay in bed at night). I heard Angie Thomas speak and had her sign my book (!!) before she went to the ALA (American Library Association) conference, which I missed. But I followed as much as I could on Twitter, thanks to #alaac17, seeing tons of pictures of exciting awards and author talks and workshops and ARCs (Advanced Reading Copies). I read tons of picture books while I was planning my weekly ST (storytime). I’ve been having a total blast helping out with SRP (Summer Reading Program) as part of my internship, and learning more about ECRR2 (Every Child Ready to Read, v.2) -- practices that help librarians serve our youngest patrons better. And then I got used to throwing all these letters around and got lazy so the Middle Grade Graphic Novels I was reading became MG GNs and Anne of Green Gables became AOGG and To Kill a Mockingbird became TKAM. So if you want to talk to me now you have to keep up with basically just reading my mind and filling in whole words. JK (that means just kidding and it was the last acronym I’ll use in this post paragraph). Back to the books.

So this was one of the best nights of my life

A patron asked if we had any books like Rollergirl, which I not only hadn’t read, but hadn’t heard of, so I requested eight MG GNs from the library and knocked out one a day until I felt like I would be able to answer the question the next time. (for the record, I think Telegemeier’s stuff is alright -- I do love the Babysitter’s Club!! -- but my personal favorites in the stack were El Deafo and, actually, Rollergirl).

I stayed in the MG/YA track, reading Dumplin’ and Ramona Blue because I’d heard good things recently (verdict: fun, quick, reads; didn’t love either). The beginning of June was also abuzz with mixed reviews of “Anne with an E,” and since I didn’t really like Anne of Green Gables as a kid, I thought I’d give it a second chance. All I can say is that I’ve read through Anne of the Island now AND HOW ARE SHE AND GILBERT NOT MARRIED YET?! Not sure I’m invested enough to make it to the wedding, honestly. Also I realize that it was a different time and different lifestyle but seriously what human woman is proposed to that many times? I could actually see much value in AOGG this time around, but I am a little over it now.

I picked up Wonderstruck and Mockingbird from the library distribution shelf and took them home on a whim and am quite glad I did, as each provided an afternoon of enjoyment.

I also reread To Kill a Mockingbird this month for Teen Book Club. I remembered less that I thought and it took more time to finish than I thought, so a surprise all around. I suppose that’s what happens when you realize that book you “just reread” hasn’t actually been opened in SIX YEARS because that’s how long it’s been since you were a freshman in college. Between that and Harry Potter’s 20th birthday, I am basically feeling ancient. I have to use the abbreviations to keep up with the youth.

As aforementioned, I read In Cold Blood, which was a total thriller, an absolute page-turner, and utterly fascinating. I also found Big Little Lies a great page-turner: less creepy, more surprising.

I think I’ll watch the mini-series this weekend. I’m also interested in the In Cold Blood movie and “Anne with an E,” at least for an episode, just to try it, at least.

In which case, I should probably sign off. I’d say BRB, except I won’t be back until next month.

In that case: TTYL!

May Reads

Um, how is already June 1^st?! I cannot even handle 2017, y’all. And these next eight weeks are going to. be. cray. Just, you know, work, an online class, and doing my Capstone so I can be graduated in August. Time flies. Hopefully I’ll have some time to read (for fun!) in June and July, but we’ll see. I felt like I had to take advantage of my few short weeks of free time in May, just in case!

I read Their Eyes Were Watching God the first week of May, which has been on my list for about a year and a half, and just so happened to be the last book on my Modern American Novel syllabus. Y’all. It was so good. I was so hooked, so into it, literally gasping in the library, to the dismay of the other people in the silent study area. My bad on that one.

I read Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life, which I picked up at a Half-Price Books back in December for $5 because I like the phrase “ordinary life,” before Amy Krouse Rosenthal wrote that viral NYT Modern Love piece and I finally realized who she was, even though I’ve read her books and (obviously) own a few of them. Of course I didn’t read it then, when I could’ve written her, as she mentions her own author correspondence with such affection; I could’ve said that I, too, think that an item’s minute size makes it cute, regardless of what it is, or that I also believe in hunger prevention, because who knows if that party will have snacks, and who wants to be grumpy at a snack-less party some dim-witted person held at dinnertime? So instead I have to content myself with the knowledge that had I read it in December, before I knew who she was, I might not have written to her then either, and even if I had, she might not have responded, so either way all I have is my agreements with certain entries.

I then started an essay collection by Anne Fadiman, At Large and At Small, which I picked up (also at Half-Price Books) because I so loved her collection Ex Libris. I took a break from it, though, to read Wonder in two days, which I wholeheartedly loved. (although the book is not perfect, and an excellent critical perspective can be found here). I finished the essay collection and then read The Taliban Shuffle while recuperating from nasal surgery, during which I felt another author connection, because Kim Barker mentions her own deviated septum and using her very limited vacation days to go back to America specifically for surgery. Obviously the whole foreign-correspondent, journalist-in-a-war-zone, meet-for-tea-with-the-Taliban thing wasn’t as relatable, but I still enjoyed the book.

 And then. THEN I got the email: my hold at the library for The Hate U Give had finally come in!! I swear I was number 300 on the list when I requested it; clearly some people decided just to buy the book instead. Anyway I *almost* didn’t go out with my friends that night because I wanted to read it, instead, but decided just to shorten my evening instead and stayed up until 3 in the morning finishing it. I don’t really know what to tell people beside “READ IT” without giving away spoilers or talking for ten minutes straight, so just read it, please. It is timely, honest, and moving. Atypically, I both laughed out loud and cried actual tears reading this book – often just within a chapter or two.

And then I needed a little pick-me-up, so I read Me and Marvin Gardens over the holiday weekend, which is a lovely little chapter book about friendship, discovery, and caring for the earth. I look forward to talking about in Tween Book Club at the library! Happy summer, all!

Poems & Peace

So. I did not really read this month. I’ve been in a bit of a slump. And, as I’ve been traveling almost every weekend this month, I didn’t even write down any of the books I did read, so April is really kind of a blur.

I know I read a YA novel called The Big Crunch because the author, Pete Hautman, was coming to the Children’s Book Festival. I also re-read Because of Winn-Dixie because I could. not. wait. to see Kate DiCamillo and just wanted to be reminded of how awesome she is and how awesome her books are. Also in prep for the festival I read a tall stack of picture books by Andrea Davis Pinkney, plus her free-verse work The Red Pencil. And since I enjoyed The Crossover so much, I read Kwame Alexander’s Booked on the plane to Mississippi.

It’s rather fitting, actually, that I read those books in free verse, since April is National Poetry Month. I revisited some T.S. Eliot, too, reading and re-reading “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” and going back to some of my favorite passages in The Four Quartets. And twice this month Timehop reminded me of how much I absolutely adore George Herbert.

So, on this last day of National Poetry Month, I’ll leave you with a little poem of his (Love III) that I especially enjoy:

Love bade me welcome. Yet my soul drew back

                              Guilty of dust and sin.

But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slack

                             From my first entrance in,

Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning,

                             If I lacked any thing.

A guest, I answered, worthy to be here:

                             Love said, You shall be he.

I the unkind, ungrateful? Ah my dear,

                             I cannot look on thee.

Love took my hand, and smiling did reply,

                             Who made the eyes but I?

Truth Lord, but I have marred them: let my shame

                             Go where it doth deserve.

And know you not, says Love, who bore the blame?

                             My dear, then I will serve.

You must sit down, says Love, and taste my meat:

                             So I did sit and eat.

I don’t know if this is everything I read this month, or what all I did, said, and thought. But April was abundant in other ways: from celebrating my sister’s birthday at the beginning of the month, to three glorious days at USM for the Children’s Book Fest eating and talking and listening and learning and so. much. laughing. through Easter all the way to a whirlwind 48 hour trip back to The Abbey filled to the brim with friendship and overflowing with joy.

My guilty soul saw the end of Lent and experienced a Love that is beautiful, ridiculous, and holy. Love that gives Life, Joy, and Peace. I joined many friends around many tables this month, in different places and for different reasons, but at each and every one we feasted in the glorious, wondrous, mystery of Love.

Surprises and Slam Dunks

I think it’s only fitting that I closed out my March reading with Kwame Alexander’s The Crossover. Not usually one for basketball, I didn’t participate in March Madness (not even a book bracket!), and I wasn’t sure what I’d think of the book. Actually, I do know. I thought it would be, as a Newbery winner, worthwhile, but ultimately something I wouldn’t be terribly interested in, or be able to relate to, or want to read again. Well Kwame Alexander did a crossover on me because I honest-to-goodness was crying through the last few pages. (it was probably not the best book to bring to read at work, but hey! I didn’t know that was going to happen). I can’t describe it or what makes it work; you’ll have to read it for yourself. Its fresh free verse bounces, spins, and swishes – and mesmerizes with every step. (plus: it’s a quick read).

I had a few other surprises in this month’s line-up…

Red Harvest, one of the first hard-boiled detective novels that I had a hard time taking seriously, regardless of how innovative it is (but it was enjoyable nonetheless).

Sanctuary, which was both disturbing and confusing, and Absalom, Absalom, which I do not regret to tell you I did not finish.

The Conjure-Man Dies, another mystery, but set in Harlem, which I had never heard of but fascinated me from start to finish.

Disquiet Time, an essay collection about quirky, confusing, unsettling, and surprising passages in the Bible, which was a nice reflection over Spring Break.

also over Spring Break: In Defense of Food, which convinced I am probably going to die soon unless I start eating less cereal. But everyone should read it, as it is excellent, and we should probably stop obsessing over nutrition and just eat regular, whole food (cereal doesn’t count, apparently). 

And finally, in prep for my upcoming return to the Kaigler Children’s Book Festival, I read Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo and a whole stack of books illustrated by Bryan Collier. I have about 60 more books out from the library to read in between now and Tuesday, which isn’t going to happen, but I still have hope!

So it wasn’t a bracket, but it was a bit of madness! And I’m happy to say that I think all of my reads this month were totally worth it – a slam dunk, perhaps?

Month Two, Take Two, Two Days Late...

I spent February, the so-called month of love, revisiting some literary loves of my own. I re-read The Great Gatsby and The Sun Also Rises for my class, which I thought would be kind quick and easy, but as it turns out I was an idiot young the last time I read them so this run was basically like reading them for the first time. The good news is that I still love them both. I’m still working my way through the audiobooks of Harry Potter; I finished Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire this month and was shocked at how much I had forgotten. My experience with these re-reads inspires me to re-read more, if it wasn’t for my never-ending stacks and lists to books to read for the first time!

I also read In Our Time and Winesburg, Ohio for class: short story collections by Ernest Hemingway and Sherwood Anderson, respectively, that I totally loved. I don’t read short stories often, and forget how much I enjoy the genre. Anderson, in particular, reminds me of Flannery O’Connor, which honestly seems unfair, since he wrote first – but I read O’Connor first, so, it is what it is. The Hemingway, on the other hand, was fascinating, since In Our Time is his first published collection and really lays the groundwork for all of his later, longer, titles.

I diversified my list this month with Difficult Conversations, a fascinating read about how we discuss what matters most, and how we often go wrong. I got it from the library in order to read it for my Management class, but will definitely be purchasing it. It’s the kind of hands-on, practical-application book you’ll want to refer back to again and again as you practice the skills in day-to-day life.

Lastly, I was inspired by the documentary Holy Hell on Netflix to do some more reading on cults, so I got Prophet’s Prey from the library and read the e-book at work. I’d read a few books and articles about the FLDS before, but Sam Brower’s book covered more time and activity than anything I’d encountered prior to it. I look forward to watching the documentary of the same name in the near future.

I’m still on a quest to find a book that isn’t depressing, and now that Lent has begun I’m a little doubtful I’ll encounter one soon, but you never know! I might have to break up my required readings with some more light-hearted titles…

A Year in Reading (Take Two)

How has the first month of the year already passed? So much has happened in those short 31 days.

I kicked off the New Year spending a few days re-reading the first four books in A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room, The Wide Window and The Miserable Mill. I’m quite sure I’ve read them all three or four times already, but I wanted to have them fresh on the mind when I watched the new Netflix series so I could be appropriately disappointed and/or impressed. (Verdict: it was okay. I found the first four episodes better than episodes 5-8).

I stayed on the children’s book kick for another week, reading The Magician’s Elephant and Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo. I’m hoping to meet her at a conference in April, and I hadn’t read these two of her titles yet. I liked them both, but Raymie Nightingale better; they’re both sad.

Throughout the month I made my way through The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander’s in-depth, well-researched, incredibly convincing and convicting book tracing the development of America’s caste system from slavery to today’s mass incarceration. And since this was a month of book-movie comparisons, I have to mention Ava Duvernay's documentary 13th to pair with this book. They don't tell quite the same story, but their stories fit hand-in-hand. If you don't have time to read the book, stream the movie. It's on Netflix and you won't regret it.

I really tried to cheer things up at the end of the month, reading another kid’s book, but Penny from Heaven was sad too! Then of course I wanted to see the new Scorsese film so I re-read Silence, which I think actually broke my heart more this time, which I didn’t know was possible. (Verdict: the movie was amazing and everyone should see it, even though it’s over 2 ½ hours long). And then for class I read The American, which was hilarious at first and I was totally loving it, and then in the second half there were about 18 plot twists and I ended up devastated (minor spoilers there? Sorry about that.).

So: maybe it’s just the luck of the draw, maybe it’s my projection of life’s general state of affairs onto whatever story I’m reading, and most likely it just has a lot to do with my taste in books… I’d say here’s hoping for more cheerful reads to come, but I’m in a class on the Modern American Novel now, with Hemingway, Faulkner and Fitzgerald in my future, so probably not.

Maybe by the time May rolls around I’ll read something with a cheery ending. Until then, I hope y’all enjoy hearing about Modern American Novels, because that’s all I’ll be doing this semester!

Titles and Top Picks: A Year-End Review

It feels like I just started this project, tracking my books one-by-one in my new notebook as something I thought might be fun. But, looking at those crinkly pages covered in scribbles and scrawls shows that I’ve definitely come a long way since Jan. 6 (my first entry).

I did go back and count – I’ve read 108 books this year, of varying lengths and genres, and via different mediums. I’ve read books that have been on my list for years, as well as ones I’d never heard of and more I certainly thought I’d never pick up. I discovered my love for memoirs, and even found a decent amount of YA that I actually like. I read because of class, because I wanted to meet the author, because a friend or family member recommended it, because I chanced upon it at the library, or because of book club. But mostly, I read because I wanted to read. This was my first full year of not being an English major, and you know that whole concept about how choice and agency directly impacts children’s literacy and desire for reading for the better? I’m pretty sure it’s true for adults, too.

I’ve tried to provide a brief recommendation of my top 15 books for 2016 down below! They’re my “Top” books because they all had the highest ratings – I know the system is flawed, but I had to choose somehow!

Anyway, I gave the following 12 titles 4.5 stars –

Yes Please: Amy Poehler is hilarious and fantastic, as is her book. She has more of a life than just being Leslie Knope, apparently.

Brown Girl Dreaming: Jacqueline Woodson recounts her childhood in free verse, and it will change your life.

Feathers: I’m tempted to say this is Woodson’s best work. It’s a beautiful portrayal of love, resilience and hope.

Counting by 7’s: Holly Goldberg Sloan wrote a book about a middle-school genius who suffers an immense tragedy but somehow pieces together a family, and it almost made me cry.

The Violent Bear It Away: Flannery O’Connor blew my mind with her brilliant, engaging novel about family, prophecy, and baptism.

We Should All Be Feminists: This is an essay published as a small book similar to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TEDTalk of the same name. Every single person must read this. It will take you about thirty minutes.

Reading Picture Books To With Children: Megan Dowd Lambert explains her “Whole Book Approach” to open-ended exploration of picture books with children, which I found quite inspiring.

Crazy Busy: Kevin DeYoung points past our busyness to the state of our restless souls, urging us toward balanced lives.

The Supper of the Lamb: Fr. Robert Capon made me fall even more in love with food all while dishing out wise, hard-hitting insights on our bodies and souls in light of the eternal feast.

Another Brooklyn: Woodson’s most recent book – an ode to friendship, childhood, memory, and Brooklyn.

The Voyage Out: Virginia Woolf’s seminal novel and coming-of-age story that nevertheless contains layered characters, beautiful prose, and a solid dose of tragedy.

Fierce Convictions: Karen Swallow Prior has written an intricately detailed and incredibly comprehensive biography of Hannah More, who most people have never heard of but who was actually a total badass – as much as one could be in 17^th/18^th century England. Did I mention it’s also wonderfully cohesive and super inspiring? Because it’s that too.

You may have picked up on this over the past year, but I’m kind of a tough critic. Or I’m just really opinionated. I’m fine with either, honestly. The point is, I only gave three books a solid 5 stars, so if you wanted to start small, I’d start with these.

A Woman’s Place: Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In showed us how women work, and it changed my life. But Katelyn Beaty’s book shows us why women work, along with how and why it looks different for each of us, and I love her for it with my whole heart.

Liturgy of the Ordinary: If you are a human with a body who does things like brush your teeth, sit in traffic, send emails or eat food, you need to read Tish Harrison Warren’s book about our daily liturgies and how they reflect worship on Sundays and God with us. Read it. As soon as possible.

A Room of One’s Own: I finally read this from beginning to end, and the bottom line is that Virginia Woolf just makes my heart happy, with her lyrical, quotable, writing and incisive insights. It’s Story and Argument all in one, a compelling must-read.

I’m glad to have my progress documented over the past year, and I’m looking forward to continuing my reading in 2017. I started four books this year that I never finished – two of which I’d like to go back to. I also started listening to all of the Harry Potter books on audio, so I’d like to finish that (books 4-7) this year. I’m also probably going to re-read all of the Series of Unfortunate Events books because I can’t go into the Netflix series unprepared. Plus my reading list, plus my two recommendations from friends, plus a tall stack of borrowed books.

Now I just need a new notebook…