Thursday, November 29, 2012

Thought for Thursday: Different Jackets

Disclaimer: This post will be mostly me discussing the job of a librarian II, or supervising librarian, just to get it out in the open.  In other words, very librarian-centric, dear readers. 

Now, judging by the title, you might think about the near arsenal of jackets present in my closet (and yes, one of them is an actual denim jacket).  However, I'm not referring to those jackets that I wear to the library depending on the weather or building temperature.  I'm talking about the "wearing of different jackets" in the same sense of "wearing different hats" in which I have to act in accordance to a particular situation, typically at work. 

When I first started my job, I was a librarian I, basically a reference librarian that assists patrons with reference questions, maintaining a clean and neat collection, and working together within the Adult Reference Department to keep the library running smoothly.  Being the meeting room coordinator, I had to wear the "inquisitor/negotiation jacket" when outside organizations and groups needed to use the library's meeting rooms or conference rooms.  There was a lot of information to have on hand with each group, and if something was left out, I had to find out the information even if it meant hunting down the contact person.  I found that I often wore the "enforcer jacket" when working with some groups that required meeting rooms or even library audiovisual equipment.  And believe me, enforcing the library's policy wasn't always easy, but luckily I was backed by my branch manager.

Over the summer, I received a promotion to a librarian II, or a supervising librarian, position, but I didn't really start feeling like a supervisor until these past few months.  The number of jackets I've worn in the latter half of the year has grown exponentially.  I've worn the "interviewing jacket" when finding suitable candidates to work with the department, the "arbitration jacket" when deciding on candidates to fill open positions in the department, the "instructor jacket" when training and informing the new library assistants, and the "mediator jacket" when smoothing out snafus.  And that's just for starters. 

When it concerns my new library assistants, my most-oft worn jacket is that of the supervising librarian.  For the most part, I try to act as their confidant and the instructor that they can come to with any questions that might arise throughout the time they are scheduled at the library.  Presenting a warm personality definitely helps with giving them the confidence that they can visit me without thinking they are "bothering" me, even though they usually start their questions off with, "I'm sorry to bother you with this question, but..."  It's the fact that there is a "but" in that opening statement that makes me feel I've been training them right. 

Although I've started my climb up the biblioladder, I still maintain my student's jacket.  This jacket has definitely helped me grow as a supervisor in more times than I can recall.  I think it's due to the librarians that I look up to as I continue down the path of library and information science.  My branch manager is a wellspring of information and is always teaching me new means of addressing concerns, guiding my coworkers, and helping my library assistants to succeed.  I'm not sure where I'd be without my branch manager as a mentor, and I plan on keeping my student's jacket as there is always much to learn even as I climb higher on the biblioladder. 

All in all, while I wear a colorful variety of jackets in the library, it's those that aren't visible to the naked eye that I try to maintain and strengthen over my career as a librarian.

Monday, November 26, 2012

Top Ten Tuesday (56): Most Anticipated Books For 2013


Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week a new Top Ten list will be posted by one of the bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish. Everyone is welcome to join, just make sure to link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so everyone can check out other blogger lists. Have fun!

Top Ten Most Anticipated Books For 2013

1) Awaken by Meg Cabot (May 2013)
2) Everbound by Brodi Ashton (January 2013) 
3) Scarlet by Marissa Meyer (February 2013)
4) Solstice by P.J. Hoover (June 2013)
5) Emerald Green by Kerstin Gier (2013)

6) Ashes on the Waves by Mary Lindsey (June 2013) 
7) Chantress by Amy Butler Greenfield (May 2013)
8) The Sweet Dead Life by Joy Preble (May 2013)
9) Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black (February 2013)
10) The Archived by Victoria Schwab (January 2013)

Post-Thanksgiving Holiday

(Image belongs to Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary)

First off, I hope all of you were able to have an excellent and filling Thanksgiving holiday.  And if you did go shopping or were working on Black Friday, I hope all went well without any snafus.  

Well, it's been one of those weekends where despite having 5 days off from work, I was still uber-busy because my folks were in town for the holiday and my beau was working on Black Friday.  It's been a fun time but also rather exhausting, and I'll be happy for the schedule to get back to normal.  

Here's what I've been reading over the holidays, and I hope to finish it this week:

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

What I plan to read next:

Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff

OR

The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson

OR

Soulless: The Manga Volume 2 by Gail Carriger and REM

What were all of you reading over the holidays?  ^_^

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

OPAL Trailer Reveal!




No one is like Daemon Black.

When he set out to prove his feelings for me, he wasn’t fooling around. Doubting him isn’t something I’ll do again, and now that we’ve made it through the rough patches, well... There’s a lot of spontaneous combustion going on.

But even he can’t protect his family from the danger of trying to free those they love.

After everything, I’m no longer the same Katy. I’m different... And I’m not sure what that will mean in the end. When each step we take in discovering the truth puts us in the path of the secret organization responsible for torturing and testing hybrids, the more I realize there is no end to what I’m capable of. The death of someone close still lingers, help comes from the most unlikely source, and friends will become the deadliest of enemies, but we won’t turn back. Even if the outcome will shatter our worlds forever.

Together we’re stronger... and they know it.

 USA TODAY Bestselling author, Jennifer L. Armentrout, lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing, she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell, Loki. Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She also writes adult romance under the name J. Lynn. 
Find Jennifer on: Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Website | Blog

Top Ten Tuesday: Books/Authors I'm Thankful For


Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week a new Top Ten list will be posted by one of the bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish. Everyone is welcome to join, just make sure to link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so everyone can check out other blogger lists. Have fun!

Top Ten Books/Authors I'm Thankful For

1) Maggie Stiefvater - This is one awesome lady that I'm so happy to have had the chance to meet in person this year.  Her books never cease to make me smile, and I look forward to reading more from her. ^_^

2) Maria V. Snyder - I was SO thrilled to hear that there will be 3 more books featuring Yelena, Valek, Ari, and Janco from the Study books!  If you want to see a unique fantasy world, look no further than this lady's work. 

3) Natsuki Takaya - Creator of one of the best manga series, Fruits Basket, I'm thankful she's a talented artist and mangaka. 

4) Harper Lee - While she might have been a "one-hit wonder", that one hit was more than just a hit.  To Kill a Mockingbird was one of the novels I read and truly appreciated in high school, so I'm thankful Lee brought Atticus and Scout into our lives. 


5) Charles M. Schultz - Who wouldn't be thankful for the man who brought the world the Peanuts gang?  With the holiday season, it makes me nostalgic for the old Charlie Brown comics. 

6) The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson - With one of the most realistic and phenomenal heroines featured in the story, I'm thankful that Elisa is a true heroine that readers can look up to and admire.

7) Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr - I'm thankful this book brought me out of a serious reading slump with it's fast pace and endearing characters.  I cannot wait until its sequel is released.

8) Black Unicorn by Tanith Lee - While this is the only series I've read by Tanith Lee, I'm thankful that I found a book that made me see unicorns in an entirely different light.

9) Dreaming Anastasia by Joy Preble - In a world filled with various renditions of Greek myths (usually the same myth *cough*Hades&Persephone*cough*), I'm thankful for Joy Preble breaking out of that mold and bring readers blended Russian folklore and history.

10) Watership Down by Richard Adams - I know, I can't seem to get away from this novel, but it's been one of my favorites ever since I read it back in 7th grade... 4 times.  But I'm still thankful that I found this classic novel after watching the animated film in 3rd grade (terrifying for 9-year-olds but a very memorable story).  It left that much of an impression on me, and it's a novel I will always recommend to anyone.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Review: Carnival of Souls

Title:  Carnival of Souls
Author:  Melissa Marr
Pages:  306
Genre:  Young Adult Fantasy
Publisher:  HarperCollins
Obtained:  Purchased at Signing
Purchase:  Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository
Summary:  In a city of daimons, rigid class lines separate the powerful from the power-hungry. And at the heart of The City is the Carnival of Souls, where both murder and pleasure are offered up for sale. Once in a generation, the carnival hosts a deadly competition that allows every daimon a chance to join the ruling elite. Without the competition, Aya and Kaleb would both face bleak futures--if for different reasons. For each of them, fighting to the death is the only way to try to live.

All Mallory knows of The City is that her father--and every other witch there--fled it for a life in exile in the human world. Instead of a typical teenage life full of friends and maybe even a little romance, Mallory scans quiet streets for threats, hides herself away, and trains to be lethal. She knows it's only a matter of time until a daimon finds her and her father, so she readies herself for the inevitable. While Mallory possesses little knowledge of The City, every inhabitant of The City knows of her. There are plans for Mallory, and soon she, too, will be drawn into the decadence and danger that is the Carnival of Souls.

The Dish:  This is my first novel by Melissa Marr, and in all honesty, it's one of my absolutely favorite books read this year.  In two different worlds, the lives of Mallory, Kaleb, Aya, and other characters are intertwined into a story that sucks readers in, bringing them to the edge of their seats and wanting to know the outcome of everyone's actions.

The background stories and development of all of the characters from Mallory and Kaleb to Aya, Belias, and even Zevi was by far one of the best parts of reading Carnival of Souls.  There was so much going on with all of these characters, I couldn't help becoming close to each of them, and I can see how much readers would definitely enjoy getting to know them.  With all of the layers possessed by the main characters, even those that readers might question their motives earlier in the story will soon have the same readers cheering for them in later chapters.

While reading I couldn't help breezing through the pages without needing any breaks, and this was probably due to the pacing and various changes between character perspectives.  I was a little surprised that the majority of the story took place in The City with Kaleb and Aya; the summary led me to believe it would be more in the human realm with Mallory.  However, the transitions between the two worlds were flawless, and I found the setting of The City to be darkly exciting in contrast to the "safe world" Mallory's father tried to mold for her in the human/witch world.

I think most readers will enjoy the camaraderie of the characters, the intense life of The City, and seeing the prejudices among both Daimons and Witches begin to break down within just one small group.  It is with much anticipation and a pounding heart that I await the next part of Carnival of Souls.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Top Ten Tuesday (54): Books I'd Want on a Deserted Island


Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week a new Top Ten list will be posted by one of the bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish. Everyone is welcome to join, just make sure to link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so everyone can check out other blogger lists. Have fun!

Top Ten Books I'd Want on a Deserted Island
(In no particular order)


1) Watership Down by Richard Adams - I've read my copy seven times already in it's lifetime, and I just cannot part with it or get tired of it. 
2) Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater - While my copy is now signed, this is an important book because it was the first book my beau and I read together. Plus, if the island gets TOO hot, the temperatures in Maggie Stiefvater's werewolf novel should help cool me down.
3) The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson - With what heroine Elisa goes through in the second part of the novel, it will help readers in how to survive on a deserted island (even if she was in a desert).
4) Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr - This one is on the list ONLY if it's compiled with its sequel so the story is complete.  It was an amazing read, and I would be thrilled to have it with me on a deserted island.
5) Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs - You need humor to get you through a trying time, and what better book to have than one that also takes place on an island? (Also, only if it's compiled with the sequel, Goddess Boot Camp.)


6) Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff - I've been eagerly anticipating reading this book, and there's no way I won't take it with me to a deserted island so I can finally read it.
7) A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness - This book has been an intimidating addition to my TBR shelf, and I figure there should be no better time to read it than while on a deserted island.
8) D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths - One way to not get bored is by having variety, and a compendium of stories or myths on hand is definitely varied enough for me.
9) Fateful by Claudia Gray - While I haven't read this novel involving werewolves on the Titanic, I figure it will put things in perspective while I'm on the deserted island.
10) Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick - I had to sneak in a picture book without it being a graphic novel. ;)

Honorable Mentions: 
The Study Series (Poison Study, Magic Study, and Fire Study) by Maria V. Snyder (including the unpublished new additions to the series)
The Edelstein Trilogy (Ruby Red, Sapphire Blue, and Emerald Green) by Kerstin Gier
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

Monday, November 5, 2012

Top Ten Tuesday (53): Anticipated Books TBR In Fall


Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week a new Top Ten list will be posted by one of the bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish. Everyone is welcome to join, just make sure to link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so everyone can check out other blogger lists. Have fun!

Top Ten Anticipated Books TBR In Fall
(In no particular order)


1) The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater - After attending the signing in late October and hearing what is in store in her next series, I'm really excited to read this one.

2) Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr - The song that inspired her to write this novel is remarkable.  It's also inspiring me to read my copy soon.

3) The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson - Reading The Girl of Fire and Thorns brought back a lot of memories of my initial love of fantasy books, and I anticipate the sequel will, too.

4) Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff - With everything I've heard, I'm so glad there's a copy waiting on my shelves to read soon.

5) Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout - This one has me so curious about what more will happen to Katy especially when it involves Daimon Black. (Also, I'm really hoping that Houston wins the Release Party for Opal!)


6) Alchemystic by Anton Strout - Most of the reviews I've read have been really positive, and I must read my birthday present from my beau soon. :)

7) Sapphire Blue by Kerstin Gier - While this one isn't on my shelves currently (like the others), it won't be long before I have it on hand to continue Gwen's thrilling, time-traveling story.

8) Luminosity by Stephanie Thomas - I managed to work up the courage to request an ARC of this anticipated read, and I cannot wait to read it. 

9) Wolf Moon by Charles de Lint - I know it's after Halloween, but this is a werewolf book I've been wanting to read for awhile now. 

10) Goddess Boot Camp by Tera Lynn Childs - It's about time I read the sequel to the hilarious Oh. My. Gods. 
 
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