new digs

Out of nowhere I decided to try out a new place. I'm jumping on the bandwagon (is there a bandwagon? Someone tell me there is because I don't want to walk the whole way, I've got bruises, man) and can now be found at the new & improved garish & tweed.

I've managed to import all my archives except, mysteriously, July. And my blogroll is not what it should be, and I'm still messing around with looks and adding my flickr link and all that good stuff. But it has categories. Which is really what won me over. And using my own photo as a header is a Piece of Cake (which sounds really good - pumpkin bundt cake, in particular, although we really have about eight limes which need using up).

smiling in her sleep

smiling in her sleep
Originally uploaded by jessmonster.

why I belong in a library

Reason #2182: I'm excited about the fact that I use a typewriter in my new job. It's newish as typewriters go, but still has a delightful clunk and gives me the opportunity to mess up many labels in the process of getting one right.

Reason #834: When I look at the library catalog online (which, can we just pause for a minute to think about how stupendous an online catalog is?) I wish I were on one of the staff computers so I can check to see when a hold went in transit and whether or not I can expect it to arrive today. I also wish I could view circ stats from home.

Reason #85713: I shelf-read compulsively. I spent my last 10 minutes of Officially Working in Children's last week flipping through our paperback mysteries and setting things in order. Pulling out the j-fiction and the young teen and the scifi that mysteriously ended up there, putting them back in alphabetical order. Even on my way to lunch I'm scanning the shelves for something out of place. It's like reading shampoo bottles, I just can't stop myself.

Reading: The Thin Place. Which I'm enjoying muchly but abandoned for a day while I speed-read through How I Live Now (the 2005 Printz medalist). It's the sort of story that could just have easily had a more conventional, historical setting but instead is a sort of near-future type thing. The plot didn't really depend on that element, but it added a neat layer of suspense. Because if it had been set in WWII Britain, rather than near-future Britain with hypothetical war going on, we would've know How It Ended. But a fictional war? Anything Could Happen. But Meg Rosoff doesn't take it in any fantastical directions, it's very grounded. And the cover is spiffy. Although it's one of those titles where they did something totally different for the paperback.

Regarding Daddy Long Legs

Dear Anne,

Upon receiving the recommendation to read Daddy Long Legs, I immediately placed it on hold at my local library. I spent several delightful (and at times tearful) hours with the contents of its pages. According to my notes, I finished it on April 18, 2006. Shortly thereafter, I purchased a copy for myself. Rather than attempting to justify the fact that I did not blog about reading or purchasing such a lovely book, I will merely take the advice of Sunday's sermon and say, "I'm sorry. Forgive me. I love you. (And your book recommendations*)."

Guilelessly,

Jessmonster/Library Girl.

*Naturally, that bit wasn't part of the sermon.

I'm sorry. Forgive me. I love you.

Mollie is curled up under my desk with her head resting on my sewing basket and her eyes gazing longingly at me. I have financial matters to sort and letters to write and schedules to rearrange and I lack the ability to motivate myself. If someone offered me a slice of bacon I would take it, gladly. I've developed a mild addiction to Grey's Anatomy. Unfortunately I know a spoiler from season two. Two more months.

I'm thinking about painting my room. Maybe a sagey green. Maybe a cool blue. It's small and gets no direct sunlight - just light bouncing off the white wall opposite my window that is my only view. There's too much empty wall space and if I hang more pictures it will just look cluttered. And the living room/dining room/kitchen are all warm glowy colors, so some contrast would be pleasant. But I don't want it to feel dark.

I just finished The Goose Girl. Ever since Beauty (I always feel the need to link to the same cover that I read/own) I've had a soft spot for good fairy tale retellings. Not that I particularly recall the story of the goose girl from Grimm, but a delightful read nonetheless. I read Princess Academy by the same author as TGG for the mock Newbery (horrible, horrible title, fun read) and I think she does better with the fairy tale structure. The plot got a little thin in PA, although she has a lovely sense of imagery and language and imagined details. Anyway, recommended for all you fairy tale types.

I just started Kalpana's Dream this morning and I can't remember who recommended it or where I heard about it. Anyone want to fess up?

blah blah friday

I suppose I have a case of the Fridays. The work-tomorrow Fridays. Not that I can really complain since (ahem) I'll have next Saturday off, and half of the Saturdays for ever and ever until the world ends or my schedule changes again (I give it a year, tops).

I trained for my new job this morning and I couldn't. stop. yawning. Slightly embarrassing. Linking records in cataloging. Thrilling stuff. Although it was kind of fun to wield the power of the barcode and the pencil - noting call number and author, purchase date and price in the book. In other words, writing in a library book. Awesome power and responsibility.

Then I did my holds sweep - pick up mine from children's (where my basket is still rather inconveniently but sentimentally located - I'm hoping no one notices and moves it because I need excuses to wander through children's now) and Kate's and Jeff's from the shelf behind the circ desk. I run quite the operation with all the to-ing and fro-ing of other people's library books.

Did I mention that I'm part of a book club? We're very casual. So casual that we barely discuss the books. Our first selection was Maniac Magee. Our second is The Phantom Tollbooth. (I have never read it. I need to erase this embarrassing fact from my life.) We have a Wednesday night 'meet after work and get some food and beer' ritual and one night Brooke suggested becoming a book club. And does that sound like something I'd pass up?

In other news, today I am a complete space cadet. I came home from training, but on the kettle, sat down at my laptop, and proceeded to completely forget that the stove was on. Kate discovered the smoking kettle after an unfortunate period of time. Time to go to the store, I suppose. Hmm, and maybe I should get some new sheets while I'm at it...

In book news, I'm reading Headlong, which is hilarious and profoundly irritating all at once. I'm lapping up the art history stuff, and it's cracking me up, but there is something so repellent about watching people making horrible mistakes. Even if they're funny mistakes and it's a farce. Makes me feel ill. But now I have to see how it ends.

turning black and white and yellow

IMG_2340.JPG
Originally uploaded by joe.

Really, you've got to check out this kid's photos. His captions are the main reason I keep him around as a brother.

the man himself

DSCN2937
Originally uploaded by jessmonster.

If you buy it you lite it

DSCN2931
Originally uploaded by jessmonster.

How I spent my Independence Day
by jessmonster

hug point

And now, just to make beege jealous, a shot of the Oregon coast.  

bookish

Lazy Cow just did a half-yearly reading roundup, which coincided nicely with my updated tally of how many books I've read this year.

January-June 2006:

children's fiction: 38
children's non-fiction: 5
adult fiction: 19
adult non-fiction: 3

Out of those 74 books, 9 were rereads.

I didn't break them down into more categories like Miss Lazy Cow, but it's very tempting to go back through the list one more time. I should really keep track of who recommended a book or how I heard about it, or maybe the year of publication so I can keep track of new titles vs. older titles.

I think there were only a couple of titles that I started and ditched...A History of Love is the only one that comes to mind.

I just found Nina's Newbery, which is "A compendium of comments for Mock Newbery discussions" and consequently right up my alley. She's got a Powell's wishlist going of suggestions for the mock Newbery (here go my google results for "mock newbery" again!) and, as you might remember, mock Newbery lists are a perfect motivator for me and my reading habits. Time for me to get to work. It's also particularly useful now that I won't be spending as much time in the children's library (sob). I shall now be forced to check out and read adult fiction because that's what I'll be exposed to every day. But never fear, my love of children's lit shall only grow stronger in the face of adversity!

Let's see, out of those six months of reading, 6 titles were Newbery Medal winners and 7 were honor books. One was a Printz medalist. In my lifetime, I've read 43 Newbery winners. So about half, I guess? 1922-2006. Eighty-four years.