Confession #17...Brain function is essential

This really isn't a confession, rather an experience I had this morning at the library.

A woman walked up with a young man, probably early 20s.

Me: How can I help you?

Patron:  Where is level four?

Me: Level four? This library doesn't have a level four.

Patron: I need books on a level four.

Me: Are you looking for children's books? (There are some adult books on an easier reading level and I wanted to make sure I took her to the right place)

Patron: Yes

Me: Let me show you where they are.

We walk over to the JE (juvenile early reader) section.

Me: Here are the books. They are alphabetized by author, but on the spines of most of the books, it indicates what reading level this is.

Patron: My son needs to read books as part of his therapy. He had a brain injury and his therapist said reading this books will help develop the part of the brain that was injured.

Me (to male patron): Did you have any favorite books as a kid?

Patron: I really liked Dr. Seuss

Me: Well, Dr. Seuss is awesome. He is still one of my favorites. Here are his books. You might want to also look at these non-fiction books. I have found that non fiction is easier to understand because the vocabulary is recognizable and basic.

Patron: Thank you. We will look at these.

Me: Please let me know if you need some further suggestions or if I can help with anything else.

WOW! Love helping people! Isn't this the best job in the world!!!!!!!!!

Confession #16...I REALLY like new books

I have too many books. It's just a fact. One can say that there are never too many books, but since I am moving in the next few months, I began packing them up.  The last time I moved, I had 27 boxes of books. Now, these are not small boxes. These are the large Barnes & Noble boxes that can hold 40 big hardcovers, 100 paperbacks and let's not even get started on how many picture books they can hold! They also are really heavy, because I pack them full.

Why do I have so many books? Have I read them all?

In my previous life as a bookseller, I spent hundreds of dollars a month on books. Most of them, I haven't read, but they were the type of books I wanted on my bookshelves to impress the hoards of people who come to my home. At such a great bargain ($9.99 minus 30% plus tax), I found some gems. Some, after reading were donated or in most cases, put behind other books I liked. (Yes, I have to double stack my bookshelves)

I have read the majority of them. Some I haven't read yet, but plan to. They ARE on my to-read list.

However, in the past few months I have been re-evaluating my purchasing habits. Why do I buy the books I do? Also, for some reason, I have more money in savings than I had in the past. It's not because I am working more, rather, I am not buying as many books. Which can be a good thing and a bad thing.

My friends and family will tell you I rarely give a gift that is not a book. For Christmas, I choose (1) book that I really liked and give it to everyone. Yup, (1) book. It makes remembering who gets what easier. My 8 year old and 10 year old nieces love to get books but my 12 year old niece does not. The boys are ambivalent. So, since I am clearly not cutting down on how many books I give as gifts, it must be that I am not buying myself new books.

And there's the confession...I REALLY like new books, but I don't want to buy them. Before, if it looked mildly interesting, I would buy it, read it and if I didn't like it, donate it or hide it. Now, I have to have fallen in love with the book to buy. It has to be something I want to read again and again and again. I don't even buy as many book sale books for the library as I used to.

I am still reading as much as I did, if not more now.  As of right now, I only have (9) books checked out and (5) e-books. My pile next to my bed is much shorter than I was just a month ago. I have (3) audio books on my phone that I plug into the speaker in my office so I can listen and read.

Want to know the last book I purchased?

I can't wait until the next book comes out in October. I haven't read this yet, but plan to while on vacation this summer. It looks really good on my bookshelf (I haven't packed up that shelf yet).

So, any suggestions on what I should read? I have a long to-read list on goodreads, but I am always looking for good recommendations. Who knows? I may like it enough to go and buy it!

Confession #15...I am addicted...to Good Reads

One of the best and worst things about being a librarian is that you are surrounded by books all day long. It's not a strange environment for me to be in. Let's face it, I worked for a bookstore for almost 15 years and was surrounded by them all day long. I survived just fine.

A few years ago, I stumbled upon this fabulous website...goodreads. Now I could finally get rid of all the pieces of paper I had laying around the house with book suggestions on them. I could put them in one place and shazam! They were all together.

The great thing about it, is that I get suggestions from friends, books they are reading, they have loved, they want to read. My eyes look over them and think "Hey, I want to read that book too!"

As of today, I have 1,063 books on my to-read list! 1,063!!!!! I read 216 books last year. That means, at my present rate of reading, I will get through this list in 5.315 years! Years! 1,940 days! AND that's not in addition to any books I choose to add to the list!

I am not going to figure out the hours because math was never my strong subject. But over 5 years!!!!!

In my defense, I recently purged this list. It used to have almost 1,500 books on it. I even deleted all of the duplicates I had on the list (there were only 30 so it wasn't as dramatic as I am making it sound). I just realized there were lots of books I wasn't interested in reading anymore. I discovered there were about 100 I had in fact read and forgot to update.

I recently broke off my "professional" reading from my personal reading. I found I had a hard time keeping track, so, I simply created an alter ego, who is very stingy with her stars and doesn't write actual reviews. I only add books I can give 3 stars to. I started doing this thanks to a friend of mine. She didn't add any books that she couldn't give at least 4 stars to. Her reasoning was this...she is a writer and someday she may end up sitting next to another author and she doesn't want them to think that she didn't like their book. I guess it could be rather awkward.

Anywhoo, to make a long story short. I am addicted to goodreads. Plain and simple.

If you want to check out my profile, I am listed as Angie the Librarian.

Confession #14...I cheat...

Today at the library I had a patron come in looking for a specific article in a magazine from 6 years ago.

I tried to use the library's resources and found myself getting frustrated that I couldn't find what I was looking for. I looked for about 5 minutes with no luck.

What to do? Oh what to do?

So, I cheated.

I logged onto Emporia and accessed the William Allen White library on campus.

I found the magazine he was looking for and with just a few keystrokes, found the exact article he was looking for.

I printed it out and sent him on his merry way.

Best use of library resources? Probably not, but the patron was happy and that's all that really matters to me.

Confession #13...What is Yu-Gi-Oh and why are grown men playing it...

I love to read kids books. I can talk mysteries, humor, adventure and especially fantasy. I like most books I have read and love quite a few. There are some I haven't liked quite as much, which usually means I was distracted while trying to read it and couldn't get into the story/experience/etc.

However, there is an enigma that continues to elude me...what is Yu-Gi-Oh? This whole phenomenon is something I don't understand. I've googled it so I have a basic idea, something like an offshoot of Pokemon, which believe me, is a whole different concept I don't understand, but I digress...

So, the Donkey Kong of this generation? I thought that was Mario Kart. (Sidenote: my 6 year old nephew smokes me at Mario Kart on a regular basis...so much so, I have quit playing with him)

Anyway, back to Yu-Gi-Oh. I still don't get it. Anime? Cartoon? What's the draw of this?

The library where I am working today is having a Yu-Gi-Oh tournament. To be honest, I thought there would be a few kids, swapping cards (at least I think they are cards, they have big, huge, binders with clear plastic sheets that look to be the size of baseball card holders). I walked in the room, because the lights were being weird, and I was slightly taken aback by what I observed.

This tournament was not just kids, but teenagers and adults. I assume these men are parents, although some of them looked like they had just crawled out of their mother's basements...not really, but you know what I am talking about...AND their leader looked to be about 22 years old. What is a 22 year old doing in a library on a Saturday afternoon playing cards with kids and grown men?

So, if anyone knows what this mystical thing is, please feel free to share your vast knowledge and understanding with me.

Please.

And on that note, how is Ninjago pronounced? Nin-jah-go? Nen-yahhhh-goooo? I give up.

Confession #12...I will uphold copyright laws...

Today I had this question from a patron...

Patron: How do I burn a cd?

Me: You need to have a cd burner. The library computers don't have them.

Patron: Can you burn cd's on the library computers?

Me: Um, no.

Patron: Huh. Why not (as he glances at the 10 cd's he has sitting next to him)

Me: Well, sir, it is against copyright to "burn" cd's and the library computers don't have CD burners.

Pause.

Me: Anything else I can help you with?

Patron: No.

Addition to confession #11...

A librarian friend just sent this to me...

I give credit to librarianproblems.com for this content...

Some One Asks, do you have to have a degree to be a librarian?