Hello 2009!

I've been keeping a list of every book I've read since January 2001. I tally up the number at the end of each year. Last night, just before bed, I tallied up how many books I read in 2008 and it came to-- get ready-- ninety-three. That is a lot. Granted, some were children's books and some were audio books, but still. I feel quite accomplished!
Highlights from my list for 2008:
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris (audio book)
The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
Last Exit to Brooklyn by Hubert Selby, Jr.
Triangle by Katharine Weber
500 Handmade Books: Inspiring Interpretations of a Timeless Form juried by Steve Miller
The Host by Stephenie Meyer
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
The Glass-Blowers by Daphne Du Maurier
Bliss by Lauren Myracle
Black Seconds by Karin Fossum
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

And onto resolutions for the New Year... I'd definitely like to get back to making books. I'd like to make a book a day, however small and simple the binding. I'd also like to take a photo a day. I don't know yet. I feel like making a resolution is just a promise to break it. We'll see.

Ex libris,

Marissa

Coolness discovered.

So I was reading through all the back issues of American Libraries Direct that are emailed to me weekly and I found this cool blog of a librarian up in Massachusetts. It's witty and I think the guy (yes, an actual male librarian) is pretty cute. So I thought I'd pass along the coolness. I like librarian blogs because I can relate to them. You may not, but give this one a look-see just once, just for kicks.

Ex libris,

Marissa

Schooled.

I'm done with my first semester of library school! All in all, it went well. I got my grade back for Intro to Information Technology-- A minus. I'm still waiting on my grade for Foundations of Librarianship, but I was more concerned about the other class. Next semester I'm taking a course in cataloging. But in the meantime, I'm on school break! I'm reading for pleasure! I'm currently engrossed in Murder in the Marais by Cara Black. A change for me-- I usually read Scandinavian crime fiction. In fact, I did a display table at work featuring Scandinavian crime fiction. But this mystery is set in France and I'm liking it a lot. I'm going to try and cram in as much pleasure reading as possible from now until January 26, which is the first day of spring semester.

More on Cara Black and her mysteries set in Paris.

Ex libris,

Marissa

UPDATE: My grade for Foundations of Librarianship-- A plus.

Rule of 50 and other Pearls of wisdom.

I had to write a biographical sketch for school on a figure in the library world, and I chose Nancy Pearl. What a cool woman. Nancy was the director of the Seattle Public Library and has written books on reader's advisory. She calls herself a promiscuous reader and I think that is a noble form of promiscuity. Her rule of 50 is such: Give a book 50 pages and if you don't like it, don't continue. If you are over the age of 50, subtract your age from 100 and that is how many pages you should read before deciding to continue. I like this idea. I also think that if you've had a library book out for months and months and haven't been reading it, it's obviously not engaging you, so return it. I have many books begun but they're jut sitting there with their bookmarks in them. I'm in school, but I've had these books out since waaaaay before then, so I can't use that as an excuse. Even reading a page a day is doable, but I'm just not. So I will be reading more promiscuously from now on.

Also, Nancy is the model for novelty store Archie McPhee's librarian action figure. I myself own the deluxe model.

More about Nancy Pearl.

Ex libris,

Marissa

Excellent service, that monorail kitteh.

I got this on I Can Has Cheezburger and, although I am more of a dog person, I love the lolcats. Especially library-related ones.

Ex libris,

Marissa