Tag Archives: books

27 before 27: Birthday Goals Update

Last year, I posted my 26 27 before 27 goals. And it’s almost my birthday, ya’ll.  I thought it’d be fun to see how well I did. Admittedly, I lost the original paper these goals were written on, so I haven’t looked at them in a while. Luckily, I saved it here and shared it with you lovely folks! Here’s the update:

26 27 before 27

  1. Travel to a new city: New Orleans and Philadelphia
  2. Try a new cuisine: Israeli
  3. Read a “classic” novel: I re-read the Great Gatsby. It counts!
  4. Make a new friend: Amber
  5. Learn to make a vintage cocktail: Tom Collins… gross
  6. Implement “do nothing” Sundays: I don’t think this will ever happen.
  7. Sleep under the stars: At Drew & Jordan’s wedding
  8. Print out old pictures: Noooope.
  9. Buy a new pair of jeans: I hate jean shopping.
  10. Go on an unplanned adventure: My whole life is an unplanned adventure at this point!
  11. Send a letter: Sent it with a package. It counts, right?
  12. Connect with an old friend: Lauren
  13. Throw a party: Doing this (again) on Monday!
  14. Take a night-time stroll: Do this all the time with George, of course!
  15. Live without regret: Done.
  16. Forgive often: Working on it, always.
  17. Visit the farmers’ market: I visited the one in Raleigh. It counts.
  18. Bake for a friend: Easter
  19. Play in the ocean: I touched the ocean last time I was at the beach. The water is still super cold here!
  20. Visit the antique store in Williamston: Never open.
  21. See a movie alone: Not at the theatre, but I have watched a few alone.
  22. Speak up for myself: On many occasions, still needs work.
  23. Learn to shoot a handgun: Just need to take the class now.
  24. Get a massage: Bah, I never make time to schedule these!
  25. Hug George daily: My welcome home hugs are the best!
  26. Laugh often
  27. Worry less!: Work in progress!!!

Tomorrow I’ll share my new birthday goals.

Do you make birthday goals? What do they include?

love,
melanie

The Biggest Before and After EVER!

librarybefore2

The old library shelving

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beforelibrary

We had our reference section sitting on our study carrels for 6 months because the shelving collapsed when we tried to move it : /

 

I’ve been absent ’round these parts because… (dun, dun, dun!) I’ve had a huge project at work (whomp, whomp). But this is no ordinary project. Last year, I wrote a request to the senior leadership team at my school to fund new library shelving. The old shelving was falling apart. Literally. The furniture in the library was all original to the school, so it has been there since 1969! After much fighting, scraping and the occasional tear, we got the go ahead for new shelving!

Today I am happy to bring you the biggest “Before and After” this blog has ever seen!

AFTER!

AFTER!

I no longer feel like I might get assaulted when I re-shelve books!

I no longer feel like I might get assaulted when I re-shelve books!

Our new bright, airy stacks!

It has been a long process. We weeded 6,000 books from the collection. We researched and designed shelves. And we physically moved and re-shelved 24,000 books.

I am tired. My body hurts. I didn’t know being a librarian often involves so much physical labor. I actually soaked in Epsom salts last night. I am an old lady, but a happy old lady who knows that hard work pays off.

love,
melanie

Famous Last Words Friday

lastwords2Happy Friday! Can you smell the weekend yet? I can! It smells like freshly-baked bread and freshly-laundered sheets.

Can you guess the novel these famous last words belong to? Leave your guesses in the comments! This week I’ve got a brand new copy of A Moment in the Sun by John Sayles for the first correct guess.

love,
melanie

Book Review: The Memory Keeper’s Daughter

A few patrons of the library recommended that I read, The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards. Ya’ll know I haven’t been much of an adult fiction person lately– young adult is more of my bag– but I was feeling a bit whimsical, so I thought I’d give this book a try.

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter spans almost a quarter of a century and follows the lives of the Henry family. The book opens on a rare, snowy Kentucky night in 1964. Mrs. Norah Henry is pregnant and goes into labor. The roads are treacherous from the storm, so Norah’s husband, Dr. David Henry, an orthopedic surgeon, must deliver the child at his practice with the help of his nurse, Caroline.

Unexpectedly, Norah delivers twins. The first child, a boy, is healthy. The second child, a girl, is born with Down syndrome. In a split second decision that changes everyone’s life, David tells Caroline to take the girl to an institution and tells Norah that the child passed away. Since Norah was under the influence of laughing gas, as was typical of the birthing process in the ’60s, she has little recollection of the birth.

Caroline drives the baby to the institution, but can’t bring herself to leave the child. So, the story of the next 25 years of the family’s life begins.

The premise of The Memory Keeper’s Daughter is a fascinating one. Very few fiction books I am familiar with address Down syndrome before current times. In the not-so-far-away past, Down syndrome and mental disabilities were viewed as a death sentence– this book sheds light on this unpleasant part of the past.

The characters of the story are rich and unforgettable, but the language of the book can be overly descriptive. It took me weeks to get through the 400 page novel and at times, I must admit to skipping through the flourishing, mundane details.

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter is worth a read for those that enjoy realism, historical fiction and books about chromosomal conditions.

Did you read The Memory Keeper’s Daughter? Did you enjoy it? Let me know in the comments.

love,
melanie

Books to Give as Wedding Gifts

Photography property of Corey Balazowich. Discovered via Flickr.

Photography property of Corey Balazowich. Discovered via Flickr.

It is upon us! Wedding season! For many of you wedding season has already begun, but for George and I, the majority of our wedding activities are beginning this weekend. The dresses, and devotions, and drinks will kick off with a trip to a friends’ wedding in West Virginia. Then, we’ve got two more weddings in September and our own wedding in December.

Questions always arise about a gift when one is playing the role of wedding guest. The majority of the weddings we will be attending do not have a registry– which can be a blessing or a curse. The idea of a gifting on such a momentous occasion has inflicted a little bit of worry in my mind, but going registry-less can also be exciting. It gives the chance to show-case talents or give the people what they really want– CASH.

With registry-less weddings, I like to give a thoughtful book with money inside. Picking out books is my talent. And yes, I’m spoiling the surprise. Oops! Here’s some of my tips and favorite books for wedding gift-giving.

1. If the couple is going somewhere exotic on their honeymoon, a phrase or guide book is a helpful and entertaining choice. For our friends who were going to Italy on their honeymoon, we got them a Dirty Italian phrase book stuffed with cash. I hope they stunned the Italians with their knowledge and dirty-word skills.

2. I think marriage help or marriage advice books are way too personal to give at a wedding. Those types of books may even send the wrong message to the happy couple. But a book of other people’s love letters? Well, that just sounds divine.

3. Have the bride and groom expressed interest in learning a new skill or do they have a collective hobby? Now would be a great time to give a book on canning, gardening, or homemaking skills– if your couple is into that sort of thing. I particularly like Canning for a New Generation: Bold, Fresh Flavors for the Modern Pantry. It’s filled with hi-res pictures and makes canning look surprisingly hip.

4. Does your couple like fiction? Classic love stories like this illustrated Bronte Sisters collection would be fitting. Personally, I would prefer a few lovely classic novels to start a personal library in our home together. I’ve been swooning over this classic novels box set for over a year and would love to receive it as a wedding gift. Hint, Hint!

Do you have any tips about wedding gift giving? Have you ever given a book as a wedding gift? Let me know in the comments!

love,
melanie

Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: Audio Edition Review

Last week I took an unexpected trip to visit a few relatives in Kentucky. It was a long car ride, but visiting my family was overdue. During the 12 hour drive, George and I listened to David Sedaris’Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary. Or rather, I listened to it and George endured it. Audiobooks aren’t really his thing.

Anyway, if you are a David Sedaris fan, like I am, don’t start this book (or audiobook) with expectations of side-splitting personal memoirs. This book is a real departure from the David Sedaris I know and love. No stories of childhood angst lie within these pages. Instead, this book told modern fables of wood land and barn yard creatures.

Often the short story format works far better than the novel format for audiobooks and this recording was no exception. The book was read by four different folks: Sedaris, Elaine Stritch, Dylan Baker and Siân Phillips. By far, Elaine Stritch was my favorite of the voice actors. She is brilliant as Jack Donaghy’s vile mother on 30 Rock and it was so refreshing to hear someone with a non-voice actor voice read. Does that make sense?

Overall, I didn’t love this collection as much as some of Sedaris’ previous work. I did enjoy the tales of the creatures withdownright human qualities. The animals were prejudice, mean, dull, and of course, entertaining. I would definitely recommend the audio format to anyone interested in the book.

It just wasn’t my favorite David Sedaris piece. If you’ve never read his work, I’d recommend reading Dress your Family in Corduroy and Denim or Me Talk Pretty One Day first.

Have you read Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk yet? What did you think?

love,
melanie

 

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood

Am I the only one who didn’t love Persepolis? There were aspects of the book that I appreciate, but overall I give it a big, fat meh. I appreciated the portrayal of a girl living in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. The Islamic Revolution is a topic rarely discussed in Western literature. I also appreciated the accessibility of the graphic novel format. This book could easily fit into a high school World History course. I just didn’t love it, ya know?

I didn’t like the main character, Marji. Although she and her family had their fair share of struggles, their hardships seemed much less severe than the realities of their neighbors and friends. Their family is rather well-to-do and I would have appreciated a story of those who experienced the harsher realities of a revolution. Does that make me a bad person? I’ve never experienced the harsher realities of war or a revolution myself. Am I a hypocritical critic?

I know this is her memoir, and Marji lost her uncle and many people she loved which is insanely awful. To me, Marji just gave off that spoiled teen vibe– something I can’t stand and one of the reasons I did not become a YA librarian. (I suppose in some ways the spoiled teen vibe was rightful, she was a young teenager during the novel– I just hate it!)

I also wasn’t crazy about the graphics. The drawings were a little simplistic for my taste, but one could argue they represented the simplicity of childhood and all that jazz.

This book was often compared to Maus. Maus was better. I still might read the second book in the series, Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return. I wasn’t happy with the ending.

Did you read Persepolis? What did you think?

love,
melanie

 

 

Love Friday: June 15th

Today I’m keeping it short and sweet. I’ll be in professional development at work all day. Ugh. And quite frankly, I’m exhausted. I’ve had very little time to do any internet souring this week. But I did stumble on the best flowchart I’ve seen in a long time via Teach.com.

I think I even discovered a few new books!

Have a beautiful and restful weekend, ya’ll.

love,
melanie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Death Comes to Pemberley

Sometimes I think I’m the only book-lover in the world who has luke-warm feelings towards Pride and Prejudice. I know, I know, it’s a sin. Don’t shoot me, but I’ve always thought Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy were snotty, boring and terribly pretentious. I need a heroine with… excuse my expression… balls! I’d take Hester Prynne over Elizabeth Bennet any day.

I always feel guilty about my dislike of Pride and Prejudice, and I guilt myself into reading mash-up P and P novels in the hopes that Elizabeth will grow on me. She never does. My taste is appalling. I know.

When we got the audiobook of Death Comes to Pemberley at the library, I felt obliged to pop it into my car stereo. Alas, if I didn’t listen to this book in audio format, I don’t think I would have finished it. The best part for me about the experience was listening to the glorious accent of the narrator, Rosalyn Landor.

Ms. Landor had a fabulously matriarchal British accent. She might just be the real-life Mary Poppins. AND she had different voices for each one of the characters!

Unfortunately, Ms. Landor was the best part of the novel. The characters I found dull, and the plot, although it involved a murder, had me dozing off at the wheel.

Although this book was a total flop for me, I’ll definitely be on the lookout for audio books narrated by Rosalyn Landor in the future.

Did you read Death Comes to Pemberley? What did you think?

love,
melanie

Love Books: Ray Bradbury

I was terribly sad to hear of Ray Bradbury’s passing on Tuesday. Although the man was 91 and lived a rich and full life (presumably), I’m still sad to hear of a great author’s passing. As with most the passing of other famous folk, I always seem to learn something new about the person post-modem.

I was delighted to learn that Mr. Bradbury was such an outspoken advocate for libraries. He even wrote Fahrenheit 451 in a library!

After watching this video, I felt such a kinship to Mr. Bradbury. We both love libraries and books and cats and life. And isn’t that what it’s all about?

Rest in peace, Mr. Bradbury. You will live forever in the pages of your novels.

love,
melanie