Last time I visited my local library, someone asked me for a recommendation. Today while browsing around Geraldine Brooks* a girl down the aisle from me [...]]]> I promise not to start documenting every trip to the public library because… what better way to lose readers? But I had to write a follow-up post, just this once.

Last time I visited my local library, someone asked me for a recommendation. Today while browsing around Geraldine Brooks* a girl down the aisle from me wiggled a book and said, “This is a good one.”

I swear, I have never had random people talk to me in the library before. And now twice! In a row! So what is it? Do I suddenly look friendly and approachable? Am I losing my steely city face (which never really stopped tourists from asking directions) to suburb life? To top off all the weirdness, I find I kind of like these chatty strangers.

I did consider the recommended book, but when I added it to my pile, I noticed the spine was bright pink, and all the other books I picked out today were black. So I put the cheerful book back on the shelf for another day.

* Author note: I have not read anything by Brooks yet, but she is a fascinating interview and dedicated her latest book to hero-librarians. What’s not to like?

I must have looked like I knew what I was doing, a pile of books under one arm and inspecting the “new books” section with the other, because [...]]]> I was efficiently making the rounds at my neighborhood public library—off-duty, incognito and librarian glasses long gone (lost, sadly)—when a total stranger asked me for a book recommendation.

I must have looked like I knew what I was doing, a pile of books under one arm and inspecting the “new books” section with the other, because a woman walked up to me and said, “I’m trying to get back into reading. Do you have any recommendations? Nothing too heavy.”

Always smooth under pressure (ha!), I immediately drew a blank. All I could think of were the depressing historical fiction books I read where the main character dies at the end (which is all I ever read, according to Matt), or books about the paranormal. And I was not about to recommend some cheesy vampire book to this lady.

The blank mind became stress, and I think my face turned red. The future of this woman’s reading depended on me! If I failed, she would never return to the public library!

I stumbled though a few authors before landing on Jennifer Cruise. She’s safe, not too fluffy chick lit with engaging dialog and unusual characters. Good for someone who isn’t in the swing of things. I spelled out Crusie’s name, then rushed to check out my pile of books and pay my massive fine.

I have since reviewed my LibraryThing catalog, and feel a little better about drawing a blank. I have not read anything “light” in the last year; even the Young Adult and brain-candy books did not have cheerful plot lines. (Aside from Trixie Belden, which I didn’t finish because the perkiness was too much to bear, but I like having her on my bookshelf.)

I think I should start using the tag “sad ending” and see what kind of statistics I come up with. And, when I see that what I read is 95% depressing, I’ll shoot for some cheerful books so I can hold conversations with normal people.

How does one knock out a little Pride & Prejudice (or Dracula or Frankenstein—I’m testing all three) every [...]]]> When my day’s research is all 9/11 lawsuits and Virginia Tech fallout, without a presidential candidate spousal spat to lighten things up, it’s a relief to open Google Reader at lunch and check in with the Bennett family.

How does one knock out a little Pride & Prejudice (or Dracula or Frankenstein—I’m testing all three) every day without lugging heavy hardbacks to and from work? Via the newish DailyLit (found via LibrarianInBlack).

Pick from over 500 titles (and growing), and receive daily installments in your email or feed reader, no registration required. You can make installments longer or shorter, and if you want more than one per day you can click on the day’s link to add it. Installments land exactly when you tell them to, daily or weekdays only, any time of day.

I am something of a customer service connoisseur, and was impressed by the support. When I stopped receiving chapters last week, “Albert” was efficient and helpful, and my problem was resolved within hours.

I’m not sure I could read most fiction this way, it’s too scattered and disjointed a method for absorbing a new book. But if I’m reading a book that’s an old friend, this is perfect. I’ll be completely sold when they add A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

If this is still too much, this entertaining website came across Popgadget tonight. I like how “Harry Potter” dominates the tag cloud. If there’s a short version of Harry Potter out there, it can be found here.

I’m unfamiliar with the web comic xkcd, but Advantages to Dating Librarians has been circulating the library blogosphere for a few days, and has [...]]]> They are few and far between, but good librarian jokes do make it into the comics. Pearls Before Swine, Dilbert, and Frazz have had a few good runs, and there’s always Unshelved.

I’m unfamiliar with the web comic xkcd, but Advantages to Dating Librarians has been circulating the library blogosphere for a few days, and has already graced Beth’s blog.

For those of you who haven’t seen it, be sure to take a look—book people, librarians, and nerds (plus the extra-special who are all three) should find it amusing.

And while you’re at it, be sure to hover over the image: “Don’t expect any leniency on late fees, though.”

Local retailer Propper Topper released tee-shirts today to support the library restoration, and that they have the best design ever. Who can [...]]]> About a month ago, there were two major fires in town. The huge blaze at Eastern Market hogged the news, but D.C. librarians know there was a greater loss at the Georgetown Public Library.

Local retailer Propper Topper released tee-shirts today to support the library restoration, and that they have the best design ever. Who can resist Harold and his Purple Crayon? Not me. Tomorrow at lunch I’ll be making the half-mile trek from work to PT to buy mine.

Update: If you don’t know who Harold is, click here. I thought everyone knew about Harold, but apparently I’m MARRIED to someone who was unaware of the purple crayon literary genius.

If you are a Dilbert fan or a flailing creative looking for a humble-but-inspiring pep talk, the video [...]]]> I had the privilege of seeing Scott Adams speak yesterday morning at SLA’s closing session. He is an exceptional speaker, especially considering his voice problems (the original blog entry is gone, so this links to the Slashdot blurb).

If you are a Dilbert fan or a flailing creative looking for a humble-but-inspiring pep talk, the video should be posted here soon.

Some of my favorite quotes/concepts from the talk (and I’m quoting roughly here):

On submitting Dilbert for syndication: “I thought I might as well try, because at least I would be failing at a higher level.”

On drawing controversial comics: “I can’t get some pictures out of my head until I draw them.” (I love that–I feel the same way about words.)

And, most importantly, an audience member asked: “Why did Dilbert date a librarian? And who broke up with who?”

Adams answered: “Well, the first part is obviously because librarians are HOT, so second obviously she broke up with him.”

I agreed in January to present with a co-worker at SLA. I had never been to [...]]]> I think everyone who knows me is aware of my fear of speaking in front of people. I’ve made bits of progress over the last few years, presenting in front of groups of 20 (classmates, then co-workers) without excessive nervousness.

I agreed in January to present with a co-worker at SLA. I had never been to this particular conference, but knew thousands (more than 5,000 this year) attended and could potentially watch my presentation.

In the beginning I had doubts (that had a tendency to turn into panicked insomnia), but as more information surfaced the fear subsided. My presentation partner is as extroverted as I am introverted, we were scheduled for the last time slot of the conference, and our session was given a boring title. I guessed, correctly as it turned out, that I would have a relatively small audience.

What really changed my perspective was a quote from this blog entry Matt sent me: “many shy people are actually good presenters, more comfortable speaking to a group than to one person at a time.”

It got me thinking: while in a room full of strangers, would I rather struggle to make small talk or have a script in hand? Turns out, my answer to that question is the latter, though I know many introverts who would choose the former.

So the panic subsided, but I still had my faithful stress dreams featuring deadly tornadoes. And take a look at the first thing I saw upon exiting the plane in Denver:

Was this a good or a bad sign? I think neither, just life mocking me.

All I know is that the guy who watched me take that picture probably thought I was the lamest tourist on record.

In the end, things went just fine. Because I didn’t throw up or faint in front of the audience, I automatically met my goals. Then exceeded them. (Isn’t being a pessimist great? It’s so easy to succeed!) I annunciated clearly, didn’t speak too fast, and didn’t lose my place. The only thing that caught me off guard–I had no idea I would forget to breathe. That will be my goal next time. Breathing.

Now I feel like finals week just ended, that lingering “don’t I need to be studying?” feeling that gets in the way of relaxing for the first time in weeks. And I’ve already volunteered to do it again–under an interesting title, to get a possibly bigger audience. It’s going to get easier from here on out.

For those that want proof I really did it, the pictures are up in the photo album.

[Note for non-librarians: that stands for Special Libraries Association, not Symbionese Liberation Army. Yes, someone did ask me to clarify once, and no, I do not endorse Wikipedia for anything but the very beginning stages of research.]

I think I got the last room in town. [...]]]> I’ve made it to downtown Denver for the annual SLA conference.

[Note for non-librarians: that stands for Special Libraries Association, not Symbionese Liberation Army. Yes, someone did ask me to clarify once, and no, I do not endorse Wikipedia for anything but the very beginning stages of research.]

I think I got the last room in town. This is a big one, as library conferences go–literally thousands of librarians (and Al Gore and Scott Adams) have descended on Denver over the last 24 hours. Librarians are a funny group en masse–you can recognize them by the matching tote bags and name tags they display everywhere they go (I would assume Gore and Adams do not carry a tote).

If you are a librarian, spend a significant amount of time with librarians, or just like to see footage of the Seattle Public Library, watch this “documentary” on library conferences: March of the Librarians.

If you are not a librarian, you might want to skip it. It’s a long four minutes and fifty-eight seconds. And it will leave you confused and slightly uneasy. Oh wait–it left me uneasy.