One Day

Livejournal is down for the moment so I'm resorting to pen this here on the semi-professional blog. I just finished One Day by David Nicholls, about Dexter Mayhew and Emma Morley. These are two people who meet in college on the day of their graduation and proceed to have a one night fling. Not sure where or what their future may turn out to be, they resolve to move past the sexual attraction and just stay friends. For the next twenty years the book chronicles their separate and sometimes joined lives on the day they met, July 15th, from 1988 to 2008. There are pitfalls and passions in both their lives and their relationships orbit and sometimes split off completely. The book also follows their relationships with others and failed attempts at finding themselves and a career before they find themselves settled doing what they always loved (in Emma's case) or what they least expected (in Dexter's). Between Dexter's addiction to drugs and alcohol and Emma's lack of self confidence the book does plod along in a dreary tone a lot but then there are touching and surprising moments such as Dexter and Emma's romance coming to a flourish in Paris or Dexter's mother passing from cancer and how this affects him and his relationship with Emma. It's a very beautiful read and for the first time the book club I'm a part of will be pairing the book with the film that's set to come out in a few weeks.

One Day trailer.

I really, really loved this book. Partly because it was so beautifully and realistically written that I could hear the snarkiness in Emma's voice and also the pained arrogance in Dexter's, but also because their story is very painful to read at some parts and hilarious at others.

Some of the best lines include:

"I think you're scared of being happy, Emma. I think you think that the natural way of things is for your life to be grim and grey and dour and to hate your job, what where you live, not to have success or money or God forbid a boyfriend (and a quick discersion here--that whole self-deprecating thing about being unattractive is getting pretty boring I tell you). In fact I'll go further and say that I think you actually get a kick out of being disappointed and under-achieving, because it's easier isn't it? Failure and unhappiness are easier because you can make a joke out of it. Is this annoying you? I bet it is. Well it's only just started.

Well I think you deserve more. You are smart and funny and kind (too kind if you ask me) and by far the cleverest person I know. And (am drinking more beer here - deep breath) you are also a VERY ATTRACTIVE WOMAN. And (more beer) yes I do mean 'sexy' as well, thought I feel a bit sick writing it down. Well I'm not going to scribble it out because it's politically incorrect to call someone 'sexy' because is is also TRUE. You're gorgeous, you old hag, and if I could give you just one gift ever for the rest of your life it would be this. Confidence. The gift of Confidence. Either that or a scented candle.

I know from your letters and from seeing you after your play that you feel a little bit lost right now about what to do with your life, a bit rudderless and oarless and aimless but that' okay that's alright because we're all meant to be like that at twenty-four. In fact our whole generation is like that. I read an article about it, it's because we never fought in a war or watched too much television or something. Anyway, the only people with oars and rudders and aims are dreary bores and squares and careerists like Tilly-blood-Kilick or Callum O'Neill and his refurbished computers. I certainly don't have a master plan I know you think I've got it all sorted out but I haven't I worry too I just don't worry about the dole and housing benefit and the future of the Labour Party and where I"m going to be in twenty years' time and how Mr. Mandela is adjusting to freedom"

More than I can say about most adult books, since most of what I read is serial and fluff these days. I was very excited to pick up and read this book and even finished it last night after I had gotten home at two a. m. Overall very touching, sad, moving, and laughable. READ IT!

Oh, and if Dexter had a song it would probably be "Mess I Made" by Parachute.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7qdlVkgiz0&ob=av2e

Saving the Board Meeting, one pixel at a time

This past week part of my job description was to have dinner with the new employees and their branch managers before attending the BOT (Board of Trustees) meeting, where we would introduce ourselves to the board. I left the library at 5:30pm with my manager, Jessica, and we proceeded to Eggspectations where we met with a few girls I had seen before at orientation and the Deputy Director, John Huddy. I ordered a coffee, which he made fun of me for, and immediately regretted my decision. Normally I can stand coffee in the summer, but it was just too hot. Between the LOTR banter from one end of the table and John having a beverage fight with the woman in front of me (Branch Manager of the Sterling Library) it was a very enjoyable dinner. I hadn't expected my superiors to act upper-crust and professional, but it was a delight to hear my branch manager admonishing the table, "The Director's visit is next week! Remember, no swearing!"

The Board Meeting was everything I expected it to be:  informative, professional, and by the book. There was a recently appointed head of the board who was adjusting to all the procedures involved and wanting to make sure she had every procedure correct. In between the microphones and recorder breaking this was a harried but enjoyable experience. Unexpectedly I was called to step in during a momentous occasion as the head of the Board and representatives from the Middleburg Advisory Board were signing a document ensuing the expansion of the Middleburg Library. "This is a photo op!" someone hailed and then there was a scramble  to find a camera in the room. When the first few people turned out their smart phones I volunteered, "I have an actual camera!" "Who on earth carries a camera with them?" John Huddy asked. "The same type of person who has a dinosaur phone," I rebutted good-naturedly. This alludes to a previous comment John made earlier in the night where he saw me look at my phone for the time and he said comically, "1995 called, they want their phone back." After tripping over microphone wire I managed to get pictures of both parties signing the document on my little digital camera.

This is why I never leave my house without my camera. You never know when it will help make a good impression in front of your superiors.

A Feast of Crows

Tony, a co-worker who is also filed under the heading of my last entry "serendipitous meetings" [more on this later] inspired me to write about Aldous Huxley's children's book The Crows of Pearblossom. Huxley wrote this story for his niece in 1944. This is a very interesting book since it was not only penned by the famous author of A Brave New World but also because of its illustrations.

The Crows of Pearblossom, illustrated by Sophie Blackall, tells the tale of two crows who nest in a cottonwood tree at Pearblossom, with a tenant, Rattlesnake, living below them. This tenancy causes some issue when Rattlesnake comes up to the crows' nest every day and eats however many eggs she hatches that day. Distraught, and accusing her husband of being insensitive to her plight of losing her children, Mrs. Crow (Amelia) suggests that her husband, (Abraham) kill the snake. We he retorts, "Somehow, I don't feel that's a very good idea . . . Your ideas are seldom good," Mrs. Crow angrily tosses the accusation that her husband is afraid. Adamantly he claims is he not and goes to his friend owl in search of an idea to take care of the snake. Together they concoct a scheme of baking two clay eggs and using them as decoys for the snake. Their plan is successful despite Mrs. Crow's misgivings about not killing the snake. Once Mr. Rattlesnake realizes his mistake he so tightly wound around tree branches to help ease his tummyache that he cannot unwind himself. Mrs. Crow proceeds to give him "a very long lecture on the wickedness of eating other people's eggs". There is a happy ending to the tale with Mrs. Crow's abundant brood providing enough diapers that she puts the snake to use as a clothesline to dry them on.

My first instinct with this book that I didn't like it, despite Tony's enthusiasm. I have several reasons for this:

Context: The story itself is dark and filled with the husband and wife insulting each other, bickering crows if you will at every turn, "Abraham, you talk too much. Keep your beak shut and do exactly what I do."/ "Amelia, you talk too much. Keep your beak shut and get out of your nest." The language of the book in this instance is very negative. Also, the vocabulary of the book is very far advanced for the K-3 group, "wickedness", "negelected", "impatient", "vile", "irrigated", etc. Thirdly, there are hidden jokes and adult (not mature) content within the book that the children' won't pick up on. For example, Mr. Crow is portrayed to be a slight crow with striped pants, tiny glasses, and pocket protector, for his job as "assistant manager at the pharmacy" (I'm quoting directly from the book here). And Mr. Owl apologizes to Mr. Crow when he comes to visit because he works the night shift and is in his bedroom slippers. You can ascertain from this fact owls are nocturnal but I don't believe most kindergartenders would pick up on it. I could go on to say what when Mr. Owl and Mr. Crow come to visit Mrs. Crow she is in bed and her hair is in rollers and  Rattlesnake who lives downstairs has argyle socks under his bed and dentures in a cup on his bedside table, implying that he is old. Overall they add a very sardonic humor to the story, especially when coupled with the language but I don't think it's very translatable to this age group that the book is aiming for.

Art: The artwork is brilling on some pages while falling flat on others. On one page Blackall has Mr. Owl and Mr. Crow standing over the chimney waiting for the clay eggs to bake. The entire text of the page is filled within a speech bubble made up with smoke from the chimney. Blackall also does some amazing contrasts with colors such as black and yellow to make the crows stand out. They're drawn with toucan shaped heads and a beady black eye sticking out. Not very kid friendly if you ask me. Furthermore, most of the illustrations use very dull colors and aren't very eye catching for young children.

Overall The Crows of Pearblossom would make a very good art book on someone's coffee table right up there with The Gashcumbly Tinies, but I don't see this book being read very much except by older readers with a very unique sense of humor.

Library Journal does the book justice I think with their review, which you can find here.

[pictures taken from http://blommi.com/the-crows-of-pearblossom-childrens-picture-book-review/]

How Close We Are

It continues to amaze me about the serendipitous encounters of library assistants, archivists, school library media specialists, and librarians new and veteran across the world, particularly the unexpected ones. This past July 4th I was in DC behind the Lincoln Memorial attending a Parks Police Friends & Family get together with a friend from college and her parents. Another family they knew came over and sat with us, the Gallaghers. They had a daughter, Jessica, and all it took was for my friend's mother to point at each of us and say, "Librarian" *pause, pointing to me* "Librarian" and then she walked away, leaving us befuddled finding one our own in a crowd so large. I learned Jessica's backstory throughout the evening. She had just returned from ALA in New Orleans and said that while it was a lovely experience, a lot of the poster sessions were boring and simplified. She spoke of a library from Kentucky who had come to give a presentation about the positive correlation between young adults and food and how this would impact libraries. Jessica seemed to find it obvious that teenagers liked food and couldn't believe the librarians had received funding to come all the way to New Orleans to tell us something we already knew. I thought back at that point back to past visits to my alma mater, where the main campus library was now home to a Starbucks, though there was a second in another dining hall about a five minute walk from the library. I believe there is some merit to studies such as these if anything so we can see how food in the library impacts attendance vs. damage to the materials. In my experience as a library page I saw patrons sneak and blatantly each food in the open in the library. I'm fairly certain we have a policy in the library expressly forbidding food, but people tend to hide in the back of the stacks or in the YA section to eat it.

But I digress...

The more I hung out with Jessica the more I realized that she was a funky, eclectic, and imaginative girl: the best qualities I admire in library ladies. I did also learn that instead of labeling herself an archivist at ALA she wrote "Photo Librarian" on her badge so she wouldn't be badgered by the Archivists exclusively. Her background is in a archives and her past experience includes working as a photo archivist for a Brazilian fashion agency and now she's doing freelance research for authors writing books on LBJ, JFK, and the sex scandal therein.

The rest of the Fourth was spectacular, including the fireworks and how fast we managed to get my friend, her family, my boyfriend, myself, and his Dad out of DC and home (under an hour). I suppose the moral of this blog entry is, you never know when you may be talking to nerd/librarian/archivist/book geek/etc.

We're everywhere, and we're going to stay that way.

Huge News

It is with great pride and excitement that I announce my new position as a Library Assistant for the Ashburn Library in Loudoun County, but also the revitalization of this blog!

My start date is July 7th and I just went through my last shift as a Library Page for the Prince William County Public Library System. Everyone on the circulation, youth services, information, and management staff wished me luck on my journey and it was with a heavy heart that I left them. I don't regret my decision accepting another offer a county away but someday I'd like to return to Prince William County work.

My new position is split between working the Circulation Desk and work the Info Desk for the Youth Services department. Now if only I can remember not to tell patrons to search for a book under the last name of the book's main character instead of the author! There is a possibility that I will be responsible for planning storytimes as well as adult programs. I'm being stationed in the largest library in the county so I'm very excited! It is indeed a new beginning for me and I look forward to jumping in with great vigor!

I have a to-do list and a to-read list a mile long. Here it is abridged:

1. Find out about reciprocal borrowing privileges between Loudoun and Prince William County.
2. Join ALA, PLA, & YALSA again.

My to read list on my book shelf currently consists of the following titles:

1. Laurell K. Hamilton - Hit List
2. Jodi Picoult - Harvesting the Heart
3. Ned Vizzini - It's Kind of a Funny Story
4. Yvonne Woon - Dead Beautiful
5. Sarah Dessen - What Happened to Goodbye

The one thing I will miss the most about working for Prince William County Libraries (besides the wonderful staff I've gotten to know over the last year) is the benefit of being on staff grants me absolutely zero fines and late fees.


As How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying would say, "Onward and Upward!"