Ironic that I’m posting the day after Library Shelfie Day that looks to be the fourth Wednesday of January because yesterday was the day I should have taken a library shelfie! I was damn proud of spending a few days finishing up weeding nonfiction after having done a cursory weed of fiction about a month ago and the other section of nonfiction at the beginning of the year.
The work of actually deleting them from the system and moving them to free carts, teacher classrooms, donations, and new life in another library pales in comparison to the backbreaking (and knee burning) of the weeding itself. Plus of course the feeling of levity when the torn or yellowed pages, smashed spines, and seriously outdated books get tossed because no one needs to that on their shelf. It dulls the shine of the wonderful books on the shelves, so I’m glad they’re shining again.
Yet, like a tale or soap opera entitled “Ourshelves” it’s like laundry at home– the minute I think I’m done, there’s more to do. And in this case– the elegance of pristine shelves with all of the books sitting upright, sitting *just right* on the shelf, nothing backward or tipped over– will all be over as soon as students are back in full force on Monday. Do I wish it could last a few days? Of course, but then I wouldn’t be recognizing that the reason they’re messy is that they’re being used.
On November 24, 2023, I posted Over this next year that explained a challenge I was embarking on to read forty books that had affected me since I was turning forty. Challenge complete.
Pacing myself throughout the year, I listened to some of the books and read others but I did purchase a few of the titles that I hadn’t previously owned. As I read each one, I flipped it to show my progress over the year.
Ultimately, a few of them will not remain on my shelf because that’s the thing about rereading books, it’s not always the same the second time around. But I’m glad for it because it shows I’m not the same person. Tastes and interest shift in books the same that it does with food or decorating or clothing. That’s to be celebrated and one of the reasons I wanted to undertake the reflective practice of rereading because I rarely reread and prefer to remember the feelings about the books rather than the content. What I learned:
Mood as a literary device is important to me a reader. The books that remain impactful are a direct result of the book’s atmosphere such as The Virgin Suicides, The Girl From the Other Side, and Mudbound.
Nonfiction, especially food memoir, literally takes the cake. Read: Crying in H Mart and Dessert Can Save the World. But books about food are right next to them like Chicken Every Sunday, First Bite, and Lessons in Chemistry.
The classics on my list didn’t hold their own unfortunately. Sorry Brave New World, The Catcher in the Rye, and Jane Eyre. But neither did the epic first book in the Mayfair Chronicles The Witching Hour, though I heart Anne Rice forever and always.
Strong, whip smart, sassy, or otherwise memorable characters are hard to forget. Benny from Circle of Friends, Naomi from Out of Darkness, Maddie from A Northern Light, Lena from Between Shades of Gray, Anne from Anne of Green Gables, Melinda from Speak, Carey from If You Find Me, Charlotte from The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, and Hazel from Anatomy: A Love Story.
Significantrelationships tug at my heartstrings which is why I carry a torch for all of the creatures in The House In the Cerulean Sea and Saga; the dystopian community in The Giver, Werther opining in The Sorrows of Young Werther, the ultimate friendship trio in The Serpent King, and the whole crux of what Turkle stands for in Reclaiming Conversation. And as long as there will be star-crossed lovers, there will be Edward and Bella from Twilight.
Innovative formatting or a unique approach to storytelling keep me thinking about a book long after I’ve finished it. Think The Lovely Bones‘ from beyond the grave, mental illness in Challenger Deep, Long Way Down‘s mystery elevator, Crank‘s verse, The Vagina Monologues‘ well, monologues, Milk and Honey‘s Instagrammable poetry and illustrations, the library in The Midnight Library, and Calvin and Hobbes‘ daily and Sunday strips.
Picture books say so much without having to say much at all. This is where pictures speak a thousand words and the author creates the write words to allow the pictures to shine which is why Farmhouse and My First Day by Quang and Lien were on my list. Both I’ve gifted several times over.
And let’s just say I ripped a page right out of The Power of Moments to create this personal challenge, which is why I’ve relished this project over this last year; celebrating book love by reading Book Love, which was a gift from a friend. I couldn’t have asked for a more fulfilling opportunity and urge others to find a moment to reflect on your own reading journey– whether it’s been a few months or years or a lifetime.
At a recent fortieth birthday party, the conversation turned to audiobooks while we sat down to eat. This particular conversation included my husband, my cousin’s husband, my dad and myself.
If you had told me as a teenager that I’d be talking to my dad about audiobooks when I was an adult, I’d call you crazy. But here he is, a semi-retired technician who was gifted a pair of Shokz bone conduction headphones by my husband and me recently and all I hear from my mom is that he loves his headphones and that he’s basically always listening to an audiobook now. What someone can do with a little extra time and a good pair of headphones– listen to audiobooks of course.
My cousin’s husband is an avid reader and a collector of presidential biographies and autobiographies. He’s an audiobook listener now more than ever and that’s because of his audiobook subscription. What someone can do with a specialized interest and a subscription– listen to audiobooks of course.
My husband, a casual reader more of magazines and avid consumer of YouTube videos and podcasts about food, health, and fitness, is now incorporating audiobooks into his routine, generally on his drives each day for work. Yes, he still has his radio programs that he has to listen to, but when those aren’t on, he’s got an audiobook on deck. The last few he’s read included one that our sons are reading for English class and a series of books written by a commentator he’s regularly listened to for years. What someone can do with wanting to learn deeply about a topic (or connect with another person reading the same book) and a free library card– listen to audiobooks of course.
And here I am. A high school librarian who thought I’d never listen to an audiobook while working out and now almost exclusively listen to an audiobook on walks and runs, who listens to most books at 1.5x speed, who will listen to just about anything as an audiobook EXCEPT a book originally formatted as a comic or graphic novel, who uses audiobooks as a way to squeeze in more reading especially if it’s in the car, folding laundry, or baking. What someone can do with an endless TBR pile– listen to audiobooks of course.
With June arriving with the flip of the calendar today, I decided to rally and do a post a day for the month of June of “six sensational” books on various themes, topics, situations, or characters. What better way to kick of the post Memorial Day unofficial start to summer than six sensational summer camp stories!
Upstaged by Robin Easter: A new graphic novel out that celebrates theater camp but also the realistic side of friendships and crushes.
The Firefly Summer by Morgan Matson: An adventurous middle grade about discovering the other side of a family that she didn’t know much about.
Give Me a Sign by Anna Sortino: This YA romance featuring a Deaf character, cute lifeguards, and finding out who you are.
Summer Vamp by Violet Chan Karim: Instead of culinary camp, she’s at vamp camp? Ooops. But turns out Maya’s enjoying herself enough to stay.
You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron: A thriller of a story featuring all that’s the best about 80s slasher movies and the last “campers” of the summer season.
Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol: The humorous memoir of Brosgol’s is made sweeter by some of the local connections to the area I live in.
I wish I was here to give you a gushing event recap of our author visit today, but instead, I’m going to share a reminder that there are things that are out of our control and we have to roll with them. Yesterday, life had other plans instead of an author visit.
With an unfortunate medical emergency, our author’s relative reached out that they were not able to be at our school and that when better, would reschedule. It was a hard hit after all as the last few details had been put in place including the event setup of chairs from our maintenance staff and school secretary making the 15-minute reminder announcements for students to head to the library.
It might be a dirty word in education, the word “pivot”, but that’s exactly what happened. We pivoted. We still had the students who were invited to the special-invitation lunch down to talk about their books and reading in general because the food had been pre-ordered. We reopened the library. Students still came to grab the books. Staff and students came to express their sadness and disappointment. We told them that the option to reschedule will be our next big announcement and we’ll welcome the author back since so many students had been reading the books or were excited about meeting an author even if their classes weren’t and they were reading them independently. It still stings just a little. Yet it was out of our control entirely.
I suppose at our fifteenth in-person author visit, maybe there’s a statistical probably that it would happen. Life happens. It gets in the way of carefully laid plans. We pivot.
Look for a new post in the next few months where we celebrate the coming of our author, we know we’ll be ready!
What does a school librarian whose love language is baking desserts do on the eve of an author visit?
Bake.
We’ll have an invite-only lunch with a small group of students nominated by their teachers to attend. While the fare is typical for teens– pizza and a salad– I wanted to add a homemade treat. But because I couldn’t decide on chocolate chip cookies, brownies, or Oreos, I found a recipe in which the cupcake includes all three. Win, win, win.
I’ll fangirl about our author, students, and activities tomorrow….
After school last week, as a student was walking into the bathroom in the library, he said
Wait, Mrs. Abdul, do you, like, get sick of staying in the library all day?
He’s a library regular that uses the library more for relaxation and connecting with friends than schoolwork. So it was even weirder question because he doesn’t normally engage me in conversation aside from coming and going or when I have to address he or his friends’ behavior.
I paused for a minute– unsure what he was really getting at but then I responded
I like being in the library! But, (pauses) I can leave the library when I want to… like, I meet teachers in their classes and can walk around the building. I’m not stuck here. But there’s no place I’d rather be. I like what we’ve built in the library, we work hard to make it a place that people want to be.
I wasn’t sure if he thought I couldn’t leave the library or that it was boring being in the library all day. I can honestly say that it’s never a dull moment in the library! He seemed content with my answer and went about his business but I had a chuckle at the question.
The library is the best place to be if I had to be trapped, that’s for sure!
A trend I’ve noticed in my high school library over the last few months is buddy reading. Generally two girls, they come in looking for a book they can both read together. They might meander around the shelves picking up books and putting them down or asking for recommendations, but either way, they want the opportunity to connect with one another through literature.
This is easy to accomplish in our library. As a large high school, one of our collection development goals is to purchase multiple copies of many popular, well-written, and influential stories that could be used in the classroom, recommended during booktalks, and for times like these where friends are reading together. There’s nothing more frustrating during readers advisory to be talking up a book as we walk to the bookshelves, only to find it checked out. There are titles that always hit right with teens.
Book clubs are used for socialization more than deep literary conversation, so I have been excitedly encouraged by this newfound trend in our library. What better way to get to know your friend than reading and discussing literature?
Below are some of the favorites I recommend or have spotted friends reading together.
1.25x— It may be the reader or it may be the book, but we have to add a little pep in the step of the book.
1.50x— A sweet spot for an avid reader who not only likes to get pulled into a book’s orbit but also knows there are too many books and too little time on this earth (or there’s a deadline to finish the material).
1.75x— It’s probably the book because it’s not the best, but it’s also not the worst so we’ll stick it out and get through this together… just a little faster.
2.00x— I want to meet the person whose listening comprehension skills are this refined as to revel in a book while doubling it’s listening speed.
About this time, the tags for book trees (a lit up tree made from books) or Jolabokaflod, the Icelandic book flood, come fast and furious. As they should because they’re traditions just like building a gingerbread house is for my family and making pierogies on Christmas Eve.
As for book traditions, there is one that I’ve done for years. On the last day of school, I take our boys to the indie bookstore and let them buy whatever they want– they’re reasonable and bookish, so it all works out. It’s a way to celebrate another school year gone by and usher in summer reading outside.
I have a tradition for the end of one year and the beginning of another. It’s simple but ‘a thing’. By December I’ve usually picked my last book of the year and the first book I’ll read in the new year– usually to end and begin on a high note– selecting a type of book that I traditionally enjoy or have heard all good things about.
And while I don’t have one for the winter itself as a family, I might try to build a tradition in the vein of Jolabokaflod though it’s complicated by the fact that we are at family’s on Christmas Eve. But it can be whatever we make it. I think I’ll take some recommendations over the next month and see what we come up with.
