Misadventures of the Monster Librarian

Haven't posted a picture of Hemingway in a while...My little kitten isn't so little anymore.

We turn to things to cheer us up, tried and tested talismans against our cases of the mean reds. For sadness we might listen to country music and bake, to remember a past boy/girlfriend we may listen to our soundtracks; for Luisa Weiss she turns to food. Weiss' book was sitting on my bedside table, next in line to be read, when my best friend K came for a visit. She picked it up and was about 2 chapters into it by the time I was showered and ready to head out for my (our) first party in Sticks. By the time K was heading back to Michigan at the end of the weekend, she'd bought the book for her Kindle, and checked in with me every so often to see where I was at in the story. K made Luisa's meatballs for her birthday party a couple weekends ago; it just felt right to be discussing Luisa's book as we took turns stirring her recipe into existence...as though we were conjuring her to us for the party... Weiss' My Berlin Kitchen: A Love Story (with Recipes) is (as the t...

It's growing...this news was passed along from Kent State through one of the many listservs that I am signed up to: "School of Library and Information Science to Double Its Space with Expansion The School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) is currently undergoing a 14,000-square-foot renovation to expand and double its space for teaching, research and student services. The remodeling is being completed in two phases. Phase 1 involves the full renovation of the former Audio Visual Services space in the University Library (14,000 square feet), and Phase 2 involves the renovation of the existing SLIS space (approximately 12,000 square feet). The construction began in December 2012 and will be completed in mid- June 2013 . Read more at http://www.kent.edu/slis/news/newsdetail.cfm?newsitem=DFB22756-A565-6EFD-FF2BD998BB9C9D08 "

There are so many good things about living in a small town: you know your neighbors, people are friendly, costs are cheaper, you can breathe in the sweet country air, etc., etc., but something we're definitely lacking around here is culture and great cuisine! I've been jonesing something fierce for sushi, so, of course, it was my Saturday night dinner suggestion. I was at my bestie K's house, helping her set-up for her birthday shindig, when we decided to get take-out. Our little dinner party consisted of K and her hubby Joe, my bro A3, sis in law Dayna, niece Savannah, and friend Melissa; there we sat, digging into California rolls, spicy tuna, seaweed salad, Michigan rolls, and baby octopus, food from this great little Asian grocery/take-out place, Noble Fish. Everything was so damn delicious! I loved the communal feel of our impromptu dinner; leaning toward each other, stabbing rolls of sushi, swabbing at the ball of pea green wasabi, doling out soy sauce packets to ...

I recently wrote an email to the owners of a locally owned AMAZING chocolate shop, asking if they would donate to our Library for a program featuring chocolate. I didn't hear back right away, which was good since I hadn't advertised it yet...until I DID HEAR BACK! And then all of a sudden I only had two weeks to promote our chocolate bake off, and that same amount of time to get people signed up and get local "celebrity judges." So, I sent info to our local paper and radio station, and advertised it on Facebook and Twitter, and advertised it on our roadside sign, and you know what? We had 9 people sign up! And judges were secured. And the day of 25 people came to sample the most decadently delicious desserts! And people LOVED it!  I asked if there would be interest in making this a yearly event and the decision was unanimous! And now I am imagining next year's event with double the amount of people...hopefully... And now, before you move onto the pi...

Whether or not you believe in Ash Wednesday, or God, or whatever, I think this is a wonderful sentiment. A dear friend has been sending this along for close to 10 years now and I look for it every year, and I too pass it along to others who look forward to it too. Like a mantra it's worked it's way into me and is something I think of at times, especially these past few years as I've moved and struggled with feeling terribly alone--like a prayer, this has given me strength and hope.  "...It was Mr. Gold who counted time and eventually spoke first. 'Jacob, where do you find the strength to carry on in life?' 'Life is often heavy only because we attempt to carry it,' said Jacob.  'But, I do find a strength in the ashes.' 'In the ashes?' asked Mr. Gold. 'Yes,' said Jacob, with a confirmation that seemed to have traveled a great distance. 'You see, Mr. Gold, each of us is alone.  Each of us is in the g...

This is my favorite page "Like fish deep in the ocean, you called salt water home. You swam inside the salty sea of your mother's womb. Salt still flows through your veins, your sweat, and your tears. The sea within you is as salty as the ocean."   We recently received our copy of You are Stardust , by Elin Kelsey, illus. by Soyeon Kim and I fell in love with it! Kelsey's story is beautiful, reassuring us that we are all made up of greatness in the things around us-- this story will have children thinking about the inter-connectedness of people and their surrounding world. The prose is simple and lovely, yet woven in such a way that, when combined with the illustrations, really gets the imagination going (no matter how old the reader!) The story, paired with Soyeon Kim's GORGEOUS collages, make this picture book a stand out in its class! I love love love this book! Ages: Preschool and up