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November 5th, 2007

09:38 am - Are You Writing? First things first: book titles.  I think "The Gospel According to the Simpsons" sums it up.  And I won't quote excerpts from "Guys and Sex."  Swedish author.  'Nuff said.  Then there's "Financial Flight School" which is kind of confusing.  Am I trying to fly an airplane or balance my checkbook?  Or both? November is National Novel Writing Month and I am now officially a Wrimo.  Sounds almost dirty.  A very simple goal: write 50,000 words of a novel between November 1 and 30.  It is November 5.  I have 1,810 words.  It could be a long and quite depressing month.  I'm not even entirely sure what my project is about, this does not bode well for me.  First line: "My grandmother has an imaginary boyfriend named Horace."  I actually heard my buddy Becky say that in class.  Anyway, the novel is not about Horace, this much I do know. Anyway, for anyone out there who is writing, I can be found at http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/246855.  I sure could use friends.  Current Mood: optimistic Tags: nanowrimo

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September 27th, 2007

08:40 pm - evil librarians from someplace 5 People Who Died During Sex and 100 other terribly tasteless lists I don't know what's funnier...that title or the staff's reaction to it.  One person says at least they died happy, another says not happy, frustrated.  And everyone put it on hold.  Everyone except me...I'm reading Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians.  How can I put down a book whose jacket flap starts with "A HERO with an incredible talent...for breaking things.  A life-or-death MISSION...to rescue a bag of sand.  A fearsome THREAT from the powerful secret network that rules the world...the evil librarians."  I could write more...and there's more of the jacket flap to write...but I need to go read now. To the person who told me I write like a second-grader, I'm sorry I deleted your comment...having trouble pressing buttons.  Thanks for reading and commenting.  Next time around, if I have the patience for it, we'll do banned books and why people sometimes sound like idiots.  Including me.  I know we'll all look forward to that. Current Mood: amused

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September 16th, 2007

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September 12th, 2007

10:10 pm - nature calling First of all, and this is so off topic it isn't even funny, but one brief venting moment: WHY ARE WE NOT PLAYING ADAM JONES MORE?!?!  Just hit one out, we have only won 2 games in the last 17, why are we stuck in our old ways?  Definition of insanity... Okay, on to books.  There are a few subjects that unfortunately are part of a librarian's existence, and this is one of them.  No, I'm not talking about censorship.  Or sex, though the past few postings could make you think that's what we're surrounded by.  No, I'm talking about the toilet training books. Toilet training books, like the thing they describe, are an unfortunate necessity, but surely they can also be, I don't know, worthy of the paper they are printed on.  Once Upon a Potty, for example, is a decent book that tackles this subject well.  I still want to wash my hands after touching it, but I can freely agree that toilet training books are an essential.  I just think there has to be a limit.  I don't have kids, so maybe it really doesn't matter how well written they are (or aren't), but please, some could really not be more horrible.  Like the one that came across my desk this week: "Tinkle, Tinkle, Little Tot: Songs & Rhymes for Toilet Training" by, among other people, a man with the unfortunate name of Robert Pottle (he never had a chance). Being a camp person, I'm ordinarily all for the make up new names to a song genre.  Take Me Out of the Bathtub and its sequel I'm Still Here in the Bathtub are great examples (and their creators have others, the best of which is the Christmas one).  But this...this goes too far.  Perhaps you need examples. Hush little darling Don't you fret Let's clean up Your pants are wet. Oh, that's not so bad.  There are several to the tune of the Hokey Pokey, one of which is called The Pee Pee Dance, or this gem ("The Tushy Pushy"): You pull your undies down You take the potty out You sit your bottom down And you push the poopy out You do the tushy pushy Till the poop is in the pot That's what it's all about. And I may never be able to sing The Itsy Bitsy Spider after this: An itsy-bitsy poo-poo Was floating in the bowl I wiped my bum with paper and flushed it down the hole I washed my hands with soap Then I walked right out the door And I'll return again When I have to poop some more. I don't want to talk about this anymore. Next time: child star of the '80s either proves she's a genius or reinforces more sterotypes than Barbie, I can't decide. Current Mood: amused

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September 10th, 2007

01:27 pm - sad news Just found out from my blogroll that while I was at camp this weekend Madeline L'Engle died at the age of 88.  I don't know why losing an author feels like losing a friend, but for some reason this feels like Meg from A Wrinkle in Time has died.  I know she'll be there when I go to visit her again (as I do regularly), but what a loss to those of us who work in books.  Current Mood: thankful

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01:07 pm - something in the water Come to think of it, I hope it isn't the water. A series of books came across my desk.  The Flu and Pneumonia Update (yeah, thanks for that), The Diabetes Update, etc.  Here's an excerpt from the back of a real winner in the series: "Jeffrey was feeling tired and sort of sick--like he was coming down with something.  He noticed a strange rash on his face.  Then the rash developed on his back and chest.  Was it acne?  Was it chicken pox?  Jeffrey was diagnosed with syphilis."  --The STD Update Of course, right after that came books appropriate to syphilis: Medieval Life and The Dark Ages. This all may have been caused by books like Prom Night (part of the Making Out series), Behaving Badly, Playing With Boys, and Getting Lost With Boys.  And, of course, when all is said and done it can all be summed up by a book now on my new bookshelf: Ugh!  Icky, Sticky, Gross Stuff in the Hospital. Yeah.  I know. Current Mood: lazy

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August 25th, 2007

07:23 pm - I remembered the list! Plus I have more.  I am now back to my random book titles (not necessarily recommendations) and yes, everyone's writing about sex. The Good, the Bad, and the Slimy: the Secret Life of Microbes Phooey! (a children's picture book.  How do you draw phooey?) Orgasms: how to have them, give them, and keep them coming (written by a man) The Complete Idiot's Guide to Amazing Sex, Third Edition (noticing a trend?  Question: if they were so good at the first two editions, why do they need a third?) Teacher and the Rockbots (on a children's CD, you can't even make that up) The Word Eater ...and while we are at that The Incredible Book Eating Boy The Exceptional Seven Percent: The Nine Secrets of the World's Happiest Couples (OK, I have a lot of questions about this one.  First of all, if there are nine secrets why doesn't everyone just do that?  And how do you, oh wise book author know them?  Are you among the seven percent?  Who's keeping these stats?  Are we grading on the curve?  And lastly, what do the other 93 percent of us do?  Oh, my God, I am so screwed.) Current Mood: hungry

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August 23rd, 2007

09:13 pm - left my list on my desk ...so today we're doing favorite teen books (and a few for kids) with random names.  These are books I love and not (just) for the randomness, expressiveness, or just bravery of their titles Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison  The sequels are pretty good too, but better in the UK where the US book Away Laughing on a Fast Camel is actually called...And That's When it Came off in My Hand.  Big Knickers, Furry Shorts, Boy Entrancers, they just have more fun over there.  Love (Luuuuurve) is a Many Trousered Thing did actually show up on my desk today Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan...adorable Drawing a Blank: Or How I Tried to Solve a Mystery, End a Feud, and Land the Girl of My Dreams by Ehrenhaft  I mean, he goes to *Scotland* The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Caralyn Mackler.  Excellent read, shouldn't be judged by its cover (but maybe by its title). From the Bellybutton of the Moon and Other Summer Poems because poetry is good for your heart.  Did YOU know that the word Mexico means from the bellybutton of the moon? ...and the picture book choice for this list?  Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems.  Speaks for itself.  If you don't have rugrats and therefore haven't read this, do yourself a favor.  Go into Borders (or better yet your public library) and look at the thing...it will make you smile. Picture book runner-up Ish by Peter Reynolds.  I think this particular post is blog-ish. Current Mood: moody Tags: ..

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August 22nd, 2007

08:16 pm - new directions and some comic relief Okay, so things have changed since I last updated this blog, which I don't think anyone is reading anymore.  I am no longer a student and this is no longer required!  :)  But I've wanted for a long time to keep track of the random book titles that come across my path, and this seemed perfect.  So for me (and anyone else who's reading), here's some favorites in the world of random: The Big Book of Masturbation (from angst to zest) Virginity or Death! and other social issues of our time by Katha Polliet The Dangerous Book of Boy Stuff The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl This is titles only, I'm not recommending books, I'm not doing a book blog or any insider information.  The only thing a book has to do to make this list is have a random title.  If I like the book, more's the better, but most of them I will not have read. More to come... Current Mood: aggravated

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May 26th, 2007

09:16 pm - the buck stops...here So it's the end of the quarter and graduation fast approaches and I'm trying to wrap up library school with some sense of academic...something...but the truth of the matter is over the last week or so my mind has begun transitioning from being a student to being a librarian.  Which I think is actually a good thing, because I did not do this when I graduated college the first time and went into the world still being a student, which causes much confusion. My job thus far is tiring and overwhelming.  I'm so excited to be there, but summer reading is coming, I'm juggling schedules, and I walk away feeling disorganized...which is not a good feeling.  So when I feel that way I take a cart and I wander into the stacks and weed and just learn my collection a little bit.  This helps me feel sane and like I may be able to actually answer questions...maybe.  And, frankly, it's a tiny building and there's always weeding to do. One of the pages mentioned to me today that there was no room to put graphic novels away, so I was back over in the teen section, weeding and reassigning books to bigger branches and trying to balance the needs of a burgeoning collection in teen books and graphic novels with a tiny building that didn't have enough shelf space before this format went big.  And my teen paperbacks were a MESS.  You can so tell it's a holiday weekend, they had just been picked over like you wouldn't believe.  So I figured while I was over there I'd straighten a bit and see if there were ratty ones that needed to go away.  And as I'm doing this, I catch a glimpse of Meg Rosoff's How I Live Now. I love that book.  If you haven't read it, you should pick it up.  It's the story of an American named Daisy who is visiting her family in England when it is taken over by terrorists, and she and her cousins have to live through a twenty-first century war without the advice or help of adults.  It's an absolutely gorgeous book. Early on, Daisy develops a relationship with her cousin that becomes sexual.  It's actually fairly innocent and kind of romantic, but it tends to be the book's most controversial part, for obvious reasons.  As I'm looking at this book in my young adult section at my library, it occurs to me that a challenge of this book, or any like it could happen in my library at any time.  And I am the one who will be there to defend How I Live Now and Am I Blue? and The Golden Compass and any number of other books on my library's shelf. I've always had someone to pass the buck to.  A form to give them to fill out, a manager to call.  And I still do, that hasn't entirely changed.  I was looking over the list of resources the members of my class would use to respond to challenges, and Bethany is so right about using co-workers and the expertise around you.  And I have nothing but respect for the building manager, branch assistants, managing librarian, reference librarian, and youth services librarians who are my co-workers.  But in my little building, I am the one they will ask.  I am the one who the phone call will get referred to in the branch when there's questions about the youth services collection.  I'm the one who wears the nametag that says youth services librarian and will sit at the desk in the children's room (assuming they ever build one).  Back when I was a page, a library assistant, and an intern, I referred these questions to the librarian with collection management responsibilities, and now I am her. Which makes me so grateful.  For this class.  For the community of librarians who back each other up and support and defend each other.  For the youth services librarians in my department who staff Pierce County's 17 branch libraries and are never more than a "help!" away.  Because the buck stops with me, but it also doesn't.  It's what I always liked about libraries so much.  The community part. Current Mood: hopeful

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