As the year-end lists will start to roll out here, I figured we would kick it off with my favorite blogs to write from this past year:
- My year of a book a day
- Trifecta
- Reporting for duty
- 24in48 whirlwind
- Peanut butter finds its jelly, again
Category Archives: Miscellaneous
The 31 Days of December: Blogs in the rearview
The 31 Days of December: All the books
As the year comes to a close and I share my year-end lists like everyone else from my favorite blog post topics to my favorite books published this year, there’s also the year-end review of your reading in general which Goodreads conveniently packages up for users to review and share. One thing is apparent- it is not humanly possible to read all the books. It isn’t- simply because of the number of books published, life, reading habits, and everything in between.
This post had me laughing yesterday and prompted this topic:
Truly, I think that will be me haunting a library and reading all the books. It also reminds me of a Twilight Zone episode that a fellow reader and colleague was shocked I had never seen which I was able to watch; the episode was called “Time Enough at Last”- I could also relate.
So yes, I want to read all the books. Yet I know I can’t. But I also make sure that I’m enjoying what I’m reading, more so than ever which I’ve done better with after hearing Nancy Pearl speak many years ago. There are simply too many books, so why waste your time on a bad one? And you have your favorite authors and your favorite subjects so you make as much room as you can. You prioritize reading but you can’t let it take over your life in ways that feel daunting. It’s not another chore. It’s a hobby, it’s a pastime, it’s an education.
As we roll into a new year and you think about whether to set a reading goal, do a challenge, or simply read for enjoyment, remember it’s not always about all the books, but as many as you can fit in and around your beautiful life. Preferably with a cup of tea.
The 31 Days of December: Dial a librarian
Taking advantage of being alone in the house on Saturday, I wrapped a few last presents to put under the tree while listening to an audiobook. As I looked over, I saw a chat message in one of my social media apps light up with a message. It was a coworker who was looking for a few book recommendations for his significant other.
What I liked about his plea, with a mea culpa of waiting until the last minute, was that he recognized that it was overwhelming to be in a bookstore and want to purchase a book for someone but that there’s too much. The paradox of choice. When I go into a bookstore, I know what I’m looking for. I’m usually never browsing because I spend my work days browsing professional magazines, blogs, publisher emails, etc. So I cannot relate to my coworker because even when I’m purchasing for others, I usually have titles, topics, or authors already in mind.
He was resourceful– he dialed a librarian. What expertise do you have that others would dial you up?
The 31 Days of December: Food & romance
December brings up the New Years Eve kiss and new romantic possibilities but also food. So what’s not to love about books that are romances featuring food? Nothing, the answer is nothing, these are the best kinds of books. Here are a few of recently-read favorites:
Whether it’s turning a girl from a Grinch to a happy elf with hot cocoa or a indulging in a magical pastry in the fantastically delightful cafe, I’m a sucker whether it’s near the holidays or not. I find them indulgent and lighthearted in ways that a book on serial killers and body snatching can’t compare. When you look at my reading history, you’ll often see a one pop up every handful of books as a way to find delight and joy from the experiences of the characters. It’s especially delicious when the author can capture the senses in their writing and provide a wraparound experience.
The 31 days of December: Kickoff!
Let’s call this a year-end month-long sprint. I kind of like doing these blogging spurts and might make this a thing, who knows?! Either way, I’m calling this the 31 days of December and today is the kickoff.
New post each day!
Is there something you’d like to see throughout the month? Of course I will definitely be doing my top 10 posts which I do every year. I’ll also be highlighting some topics I’ve ruminated on since the beginning of the school year that I haven’t sat down to actually write about like hosting an intern this fall, student borrowing and reading habits, and school library life. I’ve also got a few odes to authors planned. But seriously readers, is there something you’d want to read about here? Let me know in the comments.
And so since a kickoff (like the closing) should always be a bit flashier, I’m going to share the thing I built this Monday. Our library book tree.
It was on hiatus for the last two years but it’s back this year and it looks more beautiful than ever. It’s pretty to look at, cooler to see in person, and the competition gets fierce the last week before the holiday break when students get to guess how many books it took to build.
Who am I?
I was never someone who read more than one book at a time.
Now I’m the person who has a graphic novel on my tablet through Hoopla, an audiobook to listen to through Libby, a book sitting on the kitchenette table in my office during lunch, and an eReader or a print book that travels around with me in my work bag and purse with the added Netgalley shelf app newly downloaded to my phone.
With this kind of access, I am definitely not reading one book at a time anymore.
Who am I?
“My librarian”
It’s no surprise that as a school librarian you can find me in my school library. But as a reader, it shouldn’t surprise you that you can also find me at my public library and the indie bookstore too.
Several weeks ago, I strode into my indie bookstore while doing errands: I needed to pick up a few books that had been set aside by a bookseller and preorder the eighth volume of Witch Hat Atelier, a delightful adventure manga featuring the upbeat and hardworking Coco.
The minute I crossed the threshold I saw a coworker who paused as I did to greet each other. And what he said next, was worthy of a blog post exploring the topic. He said to the employees behind the counter: “This is my librarian.” Now, I know I am one of the librarians at our high school, yes. But I have also spent several sessions talking to him about his own daughter’s reading and needing recommendations and books to bring home to her, which I have obliged every time. A librarian is like a personal shopper, you can have one of your own who can help guide your choices and select what is best. So when he said that, it felt more personal rather than simply what my profession was. And it felt good. It means I do my job well.
And then I thought, if I’m a librarian, can I have a librarian too? Then I thought, everyone is my librarian because I take recommendations from professional magazines and book websites, bookish Instagram hashtags, and former students.
For the readers out there, who is your librarian and what’s your story with your relationship with them?
For the librarians out there, are you your own librarian curating your reading materials or do you have someone else who is also your librarian?
What identities do you have where you would be considered someone’s something?
National Book Lovers Day: 5 photos
Pass up the opportunity to go back through the photo archives and share my favorite bookish pictures? Never! A story in five pictures. Share your favorite bookish photos too!
Big Macanudo feelings
Liniers is an Argentine cartoonist who creates the Macanudo comic strip.
Several years ago the local newspaper began printing it in the comics section and I was instantly hooked because a frequently-used character is Henrietta who has a sidekick cat named Fellini and also a teddy bear named Mandelbaum. She is a reader and the comics featuring her usually feature her reading (in bed, in nature) and pondering the world of books and mining the depths of her imagination. Last week’s hit me, as it would with many readers, hard with its snapshot of our relationship with reading.
Simply, it’s all about the feelings.
I read plenty. I also know plenty of readers and in discussing books find that their ability to remember details (like the plot) are much stronger than mine. I usually remember the details that resonated with me and always always the feeling when I finished it; awestruck, quiet, emotional, frustrated, and the list goes on.
Coincidentally, I’ve been engaged in work with my school district through Yale’s RULER, which is a systemic approach to social emotional learning that begins with the staff and then works its way down to the students. What I’ve learned is that I don’t know much about emotions. And like one participate shared yesterday, the kids are actually better at it than the adults are. I’m learning every day to be able to be that “emotional scientist” takes work especially in being able to appropriately name the actual emotion that you might be feeling at a specific moment. It’s hard work but I’m here for it.
Somehow I think Henrietta is a pretty good judge, as her little girl self, with feeling her feelings especially when they come to books. I would like to think that she, like me, has bookshelves upon bookshelves that are there for very specific reasons because they elicited very specific feelings from them. The Virgin Suicides by Eugenides? Epic sadness with a twinge of desperation and longing. Challenger Deep by Shusterman? Deeply moved by Caden’s internal struggle.
Are you like Henrietta and me and remember the feelings from the books stronger or are you the type of reader that remembers the plot, setting, and characters primary and the feelings secondary?
I got a hobby
A while back I saw this Instagram post from NPR with the needlepoint “get a hobby” and the subsequent explanation that research shows that providing opportunities for meaningful hobbies improves mental health including “strengthening our sense of connection, identity, and our autonomy.” I saved it because I knew I wanted to address this in a post.
It also goes hand-in-hand with one particular professional book study I’m running at my high school for staff using Sir Ken Robinson’s The Element, which discusses finding your passions and your tribes of people within these passions whether they end up being something you get paid to do or that are simply hobbies or intelligences you have and use.
While some of my hobbies are quite evident (reading, for instance) others are generally traditional like baking. I also carve out time to visit old cemeteries for the history and information they provide about the past. And I’ll always return to what Professor Iwasaki shared in that Instagram post about how it strengthens our sense of identity.
I am a reader.
I am a baker.
I am a cemetery-enthusiast.
And in plenty of reading I’ve done lately about being less distractible or creating new/better habits or any of the other myriad of social psychology and self-help that I enjoy learning from, usually also goes back to identity. What are you? I am…
And I can show you the ways that I am a reader based on my holds list at the library, my TBR pile sitting behind me, my accoutrements for reading including book weights and page holders for my thumb, plus accessories like my “reading is sexy” button and t-shirts. It is because I carve out time every day to read. My social media handle is related to books and I have a public Instagram just for sharing about books (and dresses). I am dress-obsessed, too. But back to books, it’s that I have a ready-made book recommendation should someone need one, always. And I can always talk about them. Simply, it is part of my identity.
I’d love to know from readers, what identities do you have built from the hobbies you love?
