RSS

Fueled by audiobooks

Last year I was training for a 15K in the summer which would lead to running my first half marathon in the fall. Eight years ago I would have laughed at you if you told me I was going to be a runner. And seven years ago, I would have laughed (as I did my friends and colleagues) if you told me you listened to audiobooks while running. Because I was decidedly *not* a runner, I could only imagine getting pumped up to run with music.

Fast forward to last year’s training and I couldn’t imagine running WITHOUT an audiobook. I’m sure there were mornings where I ran farther because I didn’t want to stop reading. And even now, now that we’re also dog owners again, the daily walks also include audiobooks if I’m not walking with another family member in addition to any running I do. Here are a few of the memorable audiobook runs and walks.

This was my first ever audiobook run. You can never go wrong with Steve Sheinkin’s nonfiction.

My first Colleen Hoover book was this audiobook while running. Spicy!

Nugent’s Little Cruelties was so complicated, deliciously messy, and screwed up (in all the best ways) that I remember my eyes bugging out a little while I was running. What was I listening to?!?!

Beautiful storytelling and a vivid setting combined to immerse me in a mystery that absolutely took me to another time and place. I definitely ran longer than I had planned to keep reading.

This poetry collection includes nature sounds while the the multiple narrators share the poetry and while you’re actually walking in nature, it was captivating.

When books are memoirs, you need to have an audiobook narrated by the author. This one was not only perfectly executed as an audiobook, but it also spoke to me on a deeper level that I ended up buying the book to own in addition to listening to it a second time.

 

Save money, use your library

Our library system ran an expedition, the second iteration in a handful of years to promote all of the thirty-six libraries in the system. After the expedition finished, they did a Library Love event to bring the libraries back together, give out some awards, provide recognition for the staff who put the activity together, and allow fellow library lovers a chance to have fun and connect.

At the event, the staff had a station where you could pose with the dollar amount you saved by borrowing from the library using a standard dollar amount per book, but that didn’t include your digital borrowing.

I know I read a lot of books, so to know that I have the public library, in addition to my job as a school librarian, saves me quite a lot of money. In this photo from September, my borrowing totaled over $42,000. That’s a car. It’s a salary. It’s a lot of groceries (well not as much anymore).

I know there are libraries whose digital borrowing receipts include “you saved X dollars by borrowing these items”, which I also love.

We should continue to celebrate what public libraries do from hosting events and community gatherings, to still the thing as old as time– lending books. Thank you to people like Benjamin Franklin and Andrew Carnegie, all the librarians and library staff, and communities that support their libraries!

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on November 19, 2023 in Events, Miscellaneous

 

Romance, romantasy, & cuteness

In a recent professional development, the portmanteau romantasy was dropped and in the last 48 hours I’ve used it and seen it used in publisher emails. With the publication of certain new titles that are making book nerds swoon, it has officially entered the lexicon heavily. Then there are the romance titles which have been heavily requested for the last several years. And happy love stories that lay on the cuteness. Here’s a short list of some favorites in the three categories:

  • A First Time for Everything by Santat– cuteness
  • You Bet Your Heart by Parker– romance
  • Always Never by Lafebre– romance
  • Julieta and the Romeos by Andreu– romance
  • Horimiya by Hero– romance
  • The Princess and the Grilled Cheese by Muniz– cuteness
  • Ryan and Avery by Levithan– romance
  • Fangs by Andersen– romantasy
  • Check & Mate by Hazelwood– romance
  • Crumbs by Stirling– romantasy
 

New book smell

Finally the boxes arrived! We had a teaser box come the day before- the final box of the order arriving before the first set of boxes were shipped. Of all of the books in the boxes, I’ve been looking for one in particular– volume three of Fangirl: The Graphic Novel who has had an eager reader asking daily about when it will arrive. So my first free moment today, I started tearing into the nine boxes. Can you guess which box had the book in it? You’re right, the LAST box I opened.

Knowing that we have a set of ninth grade classes coming in tomorrow for their second round of books for independent reading, I wanted to try to get as many stickered as possible so we can lend as many as we can. Simply because nothing beats that new book smell.

Among the newly published, repurchases, and additional copies– some of my favorites that I spied in the boxes include:

  • Anatomy by Dana Schwartz
  • Promise Boys by Nick Brooks
  • The Hate U Give and On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
  • Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
  • Death Note volumes 1-13 by Tsugumi Ohba
  • The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson AND Carrie by Stephen King
  • Always Isn’t Forever by J.C. Cervantes
 
 

Forecasting

I don’t have a crystal ball and I don’t have visions, but I do have my friend and co-presenter Stacey, dozens of books read, and lists to forecast for the upcoming Youth Media Awards.

Last night I spent several hours with librarians, reading teachers, and other specialists talking about the Youth Media Awards and putting together predictions. It included a Kahoot to open, a break for dinner, then a K-12 discussion of books to put on our radars or preliminary thoughts of titles that have been read from the group. It was a good, bookish night that even after a day of work is uplifting and enriching.

We’ll follow up virtually in January to discuss the winners, honors, and losers.

What’s on your list?

 

Manga they’re thankful for

Yesterday during Japanese Culture Club, after the opening “what’s your favorite Thanksgiving dish?” and general announcements, we wanted to share out our favorite manga- manga we’re most thankful for. These were just a few–

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on November 15, 2023 in Adult, Manga

 

Waiting for new books like…

A hiccup in putting in our first big book order of the year put us about a week behind. I’ve had a student checking almost daily for the shipment to arrive after I confirmed that the book she’s waiting for is in the stacks of boxes that will arrive.

This is us, waiting for new books…

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on November 14, 2023 in Miscellaneous

 

Six from Sunday

Sunday is for housework, so there’s always an audiobook playing whether a new one, middle of one, or finishing one up. So first was finishing up the audiobook If You Still Recognize Me by Cynthia So, a YA featuring GLTBQ characters, friendship estrangement, and Cantonese culture.

The second was finishing a short story collection I recently borrowed from the public library called Night of the Living Queers edited by Shelly Page and Alex Brown, a few weeks past spooky season, however it was still a smart read featuring GLBTQ characters and all sorts of creepiness.

Third was finishing a nonfiction title recommended by a colleague in a recent professional development session called Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All by Tom Kelley and David Kelley. Inspiring and thought-provoking.

Fourth was Deb Caletti’s newest Plan A which I wanted to get through ahead of professional development session I’m going to be running in the next few days as it’s a timely read on abortion for a teen audience.

In between halves for my son’s indoor soccer team, I threw in a short read, my fifth– a WhoHQ title that was just delivered– What Do We Know About the Winchester House? by Emma Carlson Berne to which I could safely answer before I read it… nothing! But now I know something.

And I started a sixth before bed: Kate Pearsall’s Bittersweet in the Hollow with the gorgeous cover and intimidating quote “beware the forest”.

 

Companions to reading

If I’m reading, there are only a few things that I need…

  1. Tea
  2. Book accessories like a book weight, bookmark, or beanie for my eReader
  3. A refill on my tea
  4. Bluetooth headphones if I’m listening to a book while running or walking the dog
  5. Post-its and a possible writing utensil
 
Leave a comment

Posted by on November 12, 2023 in Miscellaneous

 

Veterans Day

A visual booklist of nonfiction books to read on a day like Veterans Day.