Vacation reading

Preparing for vacation has many pleasurable aspects...deciding what to see and do, scoping out great places to eat, trying to find the perfect mix of clothes to meet all your needs and still fit in a carry-on bag....but the most pleasurable part has to be choosing which books to bring! This is especially true when you are taking a cruise and you have days at sea that must be filled. Back in the days before the kindle this was a nail biting process that I would spend DAYS trying to resolve, and unfortunately for Dale, the resolution usually involved packing 15 books for a 4 day trip. Now I spend days sending sample chapters to my kindle and debating the merits of "themed" reading while on a trip.
There seem to be five schools of thought on vacation reading:

• Geographical reading - reading stories that take place where you are headed, or by authors from your destination spot
• Shared experience reading - reading stories in which the main character is having the same experience you are
• Fluff, fluff and more fluff - vacation reading should be a vacation for your mind as well
• All the stuff I've been meaning to read - just packing your TBR pile, regardless of how serious the books may be, or if they are related in any way
• The potpourri -- trying to ensure that you have a nice mix to fit any mood.

I usually start out aiming for a mix of the first and second, but when it comes down to it I generally end up at the third :D, if I can find fluff that relates to my trip, all the better. For this trip so far I've chosen the following:

1. Tasha Alexander's Tears of Pearl
2. R.T. Raichev's The Hunt for Sonya Dufrette
3. Charles Finch's The September Society
4. Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol
5. And I think I will re-read Willa Cather's Shadows on the Rock for a little local flavor.

So, do you have a preference when choosing your travel reading?

The Future of Reading

As a librarian I often get asked if I'm worried about the future of reading. My answer to this question is a resounding NO! It seems that every day a report is released bemoaning the death of reading. At the same time, a plethora of reports are released documenting increased access and participation online. I don't see how both views can be accurate. Finally, today I read a blog post that gets to the heart of the matter. The future of reading is not a container issue!

How we read is not as important as the fact that we are reading. Does it truly matter if I read the latest Dan Brown novel on paper, or on my kindle? Is it somehow not reading if I choose to read my local paper online instead of getting a print subscription? I can't see how it does. As a bookbinder I am not enamored with the majority of popular books that you can buy in a bookstore. They are quickly made with cheap materials using binding techniques that will not hold up to normal use, let alone hard use. As a physical object there is little art to be found in your local Borders. This is not to say that there aren't some books that are enhanced by the physical medium of a book, or that illustration are not more enjoyable in print sometimes. For example, Amy Stewart's Wicked Plants is very much more enjoyable because of the "marginalia" and illustrations included in the book, but my latest cozy mystery read, I'll take it on my kindle, if you please.

The point is that it is not reading that is being threatened, it is our definition of what it means to be reading and how we access reading material. The concept of reading is a fluid, evolving idea; just as the concept of what it means to be literate and how we interact with text is constantly changing. (For a nice survey of the history of reading, check out Alberto Manguel's book.) So, no, I'm not worried about the future of reading, but I am excited to see what it looks like.

The Inspiration Business

Brian Mathews recently wrote an opinion piece for Library Journal about Librarians and the shift from being gatekeepers to well...muses, or as he put it "we became purveyors, interpreters, teachers and guides." I have to say, I wholeheartedly agree with Mr. Mathews, though I think I'll be a muse instead of clerk in the inspiration business.

If you were like me, you entered library school with a romanticized idea of what it meant to be a librarian. On my most imaginative days I dreamed of a place where I would be surrounded by beautiful books, and interesting factoids. A place where I would be called upon to introduce the uninitiated to that consuming quest for the right bit of information and where I could be witness to the moments...you know, the moments when someone has stumbled upon that life changing string of words that may look innocent to you or I but is just what that person need to find meaning. I quickly realized that the day to day execution of the dream job didn't always add up to the perfect image in my head. The thing is, I think it can. It is this very shift into being part of the service industry that gives us the freedom and responsibility to BE THAT LIBRARIAN!

As a profession we seem to fumbling a bit to find our place in a world where the gates have been torn down and our previous business model is no longer relevant. Part of the problem seems to be an intense desire to divine what the future of librarianship is going to be. I'm not suggesting that we quit planning for the future, or that just let nature run it's course and hope for the best, but we can't be so focused on what we're GOING to be that we forget to be. What I am suggesting is this: being an inspiration to others, inspires us to find new, and innovative ways to be better muses. It's rewarding, it has a real impact on our communities and it forces us to really LISTEN and RESPOND to our patrons, thereby making us relevant to them here and now. So here is the question...have you been someone's muse today?

92 days 2 hrs. and 45 min

92 days 2 hrs. and 45 min. That is how long I have to wait until I am finally on the ocean again. The first time I went on a cruise I hated it. We were on Carnival and it was like 5 days of MTV beach party with alcohol being shoved in my face at 30 second intervals. Not that I have a problem with music or alcohol, but I'm a girl who needs her silence for a minimum of an hr. a day. To say the least, I was miserable. Then last year was my 30th birthday, and I really wanted to go to Alaska. I figured the only way I was ever going to get my darling husband anywhere NEAR Alaska was by boat, so I decided to give cruising another try. It was perfect!

We went with Norwegian Cruise Lines, because I don't deal well with regimented schedules. It was a night and day experience from Carnival. There was plenty to keep us occupied, yet it was still possible to find quite space and each boat has a nice library space, which is highly important :P . In fact, I loved it so much that when a friend of mine and I wanted a girls weekend, I cajoled her into taking a 3 day cruise to the Bahamas (pirates were definitely a theme).

When it came time to plan our vacation this year, I once again, turned to Norwegian to see if there was anything we would like to do and found this great trip from Boston to Quebec City. Like the Alaskan Cruise, for the majority of the trip we will be close to land which results is awesome landscapes. Vacationing by boat seems to fulfill this need in me for sea air and brisk breezes, not to mention I don't really have to plan a thing, other then getting to port and choosing predefined packages. It's incredibly relaxing NOT to have to be the vacation activities director.

So for another year, the urge to drop everything, buy a boat and sail off into the sunset will be soothed. Let's face it we'd need to learn to sail and start eating seafood before that would really be feasible :D.

p.s. the awesome painting above can be found at www.artmagick.com.

Comfort Reading

After lunch today, I did my normal stop at Borders for a delicious Americano to get me through the afternoon sleepiness. While I was walking in I noticed that they had "Edgar Allen Poe: Complete Tales & Poems" for $7.99. It's not a great edition and I can find all of them online for free, but I couldn't help but get it. As crazy as it sounds, reading Poe is very comforting to me. He has the ability to suck you into his world, whether it's a short story or a poem. Often, when I'm frustrated or uninspired, I just need to step outside my world for a minute to "realign." Poe is perfect for that. His work is usually short, thought provoking and completely outside of my day to day life.

I first fell in love with Poe's writing in high school, so he has been a constant in my adult life. It's familar, enveloping and all things comfort should be, except for, you know, the fact that most of it's pretty creepy :D . And so, Edgar will sit on my office bookshelf, next to my owls to comfort and inspire me.

What's your comfort read?