How gorgeous are these hot pink poinsettias we saw at Lowe's?!
My week: I got a job!!!! Finally! I'll be working part-time at the Air Force base library where I worked last time we were stationed here in Hawaii. After almost six months with no openings at the public library or the base library, I was about to give up and start looking into non-library job options. What a relief!
In other news, we put up our exterior Christmas lights this week, and we went to the beach one afternoon -- which was actually not very fun at all. We've been having unusually gray, rainy, windy weather and the wind was so miserable that I had to go sit in the car while Jarrod was surfing. It was Jarrod's week to work five 12-hour shifts, so I spent a lot of time reading, knitting and cleaning.
Reading: I read the last few pages of "The Christmas Town" by Donna VanLiere (good for anyone who, like me, enjoys cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies) but I actually didn't finish any other books this week, which is a bummer this close to the end of the year when I want to fit in as many reads as I can!
I tried and failed to get into "Nevernight" by Jay Kristoff, which wasted a couple days. In all that time I only managed to read 40 or so pages; it was taking me about three times longer to read than a typical book -- which made me not want to pick it up at all -- and the writing (super overdone, in my opinion) was making me cringe. Not to mention the virginity-losing sex scene that opens the book actually made me chuckle out loud. (There was something about the guy quivering like a newborn colt... What a bizarre analogy!) I sifted through the Goodreads reviews and it seems like readers are in two camps: those, like me, who gave up because the writing was so tough to plod through and those who powered on and ended up loving it. I wish I could say I'd give it another chance at some point, but in all honesty I probably won't. Too many books, not enough time and all that...
I abandoned "Nevernight" in favor of "The Masked City," book two in Genevieve Cogman's super-fun Invisible Library series. I read and enjoyed the first book a couple months ago and I'd been really excited to read the second installment, but I'm apparently just not in a reading mood. Maybe I need a break from fantasy -- counting "Nevernight," this is the third fantasy novel I've read in a row.
Knitting: I should be done with my Gilmore Girls MKAL cowl now, but partway through the final clue I did something pretty rash: I decided to rip it all out and start over. I didn't like the shape it was turning out to be (the fun/problem with the "m" in MKAL -- mystery!). The yarn in the kit that accompanied the pattern is so gorgeous that I didn't want to waste it on something I didn't love. I'll write more about it on Wednesday in my Yarn Along post.
Watching: Chugging away on "Gilmore Girls" season 7. We also started watching the new HBO sci-fi show "Westworld," about a futuristic theme park set up in Old West style and manned by extremely human-like robots. And I watched two Hallmark Christmas movies this week, my first of the season.
Listening to: Christmas music!
Blogging:
Monday Musings
Monday Musings
Holiday Gift Guide: Books to Buy For All the Readers on Your List (includes a huge Certified Guy-Friendly section!)
Yarn Along: Gilmore Girls MKAL Cowl
Turning the Page on November 2016
Book Review: The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
I Judge Books By Their Covers: "Sweetbitter"
Yarn Along: Gilmore Girls MKAL Cowl
Turning the Page on November 2016
Book Review: The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
I Judge Books By Their Covers: "Sweetbitter"
Looking forward to: Cutting down our Christmas tree this weekend! Here on Oahu the only Christmas tree farm is a little different -- it's full of Norfolk pines, which grow naturally in Hawaii but are kind of wacky-looking for a Christmas tree. Much more fun than buying a traditional tree that's been brought over on a container ship from the Mainland, though!
I'm linking up with Kathryn of Book Date for It's Monday! What Are You Reading?
Congrats on your new job, work in a a library would be the perfect job! Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI do love your festive book picture. Masked City has a goregous cover, it sounds like a fun and light read - just right for this time of the year.
Have a lovely week,
Mrs B's Book Reviews
Thank you! My last two jobs were at libraries and I loved it. I'd have happily stayed at my most recent library for a long time, but being military we only get to live in a place for three years.
DeleteI'm happy that you found a job and that you found a job you love! You must post a picture of your Christmas tree. It sounds intriguing.
ReplyDeletehttps://readerbuzz.blogspot.com/2016/12/a-week-in-which-i-continue-to-madly.html
Thank you, Deb! I hope I love working at this library again as much as I did last time around. I'll definitely post some tree pictures next Monday!
DeleteCongratulation on finding a library job!
ReplyDeleteI second the wish to see your Christmas tree - I love to see unusual trees.
Happy reading!
Thank you so much! I promise to post pictures of our Christmas tree next Monday! :)
DeletePlease post some pics of your tree after it's decorated. I'd love to see it. We only did a real tree our first year of marriage - they became a problem once we had dogs in the house and to be honest, I was finding pine needles in our apartment 6 months after the holiday so it kind of set me off. I love the real ones though. I analogy you mentioned in Nevernight definitely has me curious now - how odd. Congrats on the job - I had a feeling you would get it. I still need to read the second and third books in the Invisible Library series but like you, I really enjoyed the first one!
ReplyDeleteBarb, I'm actually super anxious for you to try "Nevernight" because I want to know if you have the same problem as me! I hope, though, that I didn't give you too many preconceived notions. I wonder if I'd have noticed the writing as much if I hadn't seen so many Goodreads reviews mentioning it? Maybe if it were a different time of year when I'm not craving lighter reading and trying to end out the year with as many books as I can, I would've persevered. So maybe you should wait til after the new year to start it!
DeleteI actually have zero problem with artificial trees. I feel bad cutting down a real tree, needles are a pain, disposing of it is a pain... but my husband's motto is real tree or no tree! I'll definitely post photos next week!
Congrats on the new job! I threw a fantasy book back on the stack this week and chose something contemporary. I might be a little burned out on fantasy right now too. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Kathy!
DeleteI think I'm craving contemporary too. I have "Maybe in Another Life" by Taylor Jenkins Reid in my library stack and it's calling my name. Regardless of holds and due dates, I think that's what I'll pick up next.
Great news about the job. I hate when I have the time to read, but can't get into any book. I hope you find your next great read soon. Girl Who Reads
ReplyDeleteI know... I feel like it's the prime time to cram in as many reads as I can before I start working. I think after I finish "The Masked City" I'm going to go in a completely different genre direction for my next book!
DeleteThanks for the music rec! And think Norfolk pines would make a great Christmas tree. :)
ReplyDeleteI love that song even though it's not technically Christmas music. It's on an album with other Christmas music, so that's good enough for me! ;)
DeleteOne great thing about Norfolk pines is that they don't really shed their needles. The tough part is decorating them (without buying all new ornaments) so they don't look too strange. There's usually like a foot-wide gap between some of the boughs!
Oh, congratulations on your library job! That's pretty much my dream job, if I ever go back into the workforce instead of freelancing from home.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to hearing about your knitting; I'll try to stop by later this week. I have never done a MKAL, in part because I really want to know what it's going to look like before I start. I guess I'm not a "fearless" knitter! (to use the Yarn Harlot's phrase.)
I hope you find a fantasy book, or any book, that gets you excited. It's so discouraging when you keep trying books and can't really get into them.
Sounds like you're enjoying getting into the holiday spirit. Have fun cutting down your tree!
Thanks, Lark! After deciding journalism wasn't for me I spent a while trying to figure out what I might want to to instead (that is also portable, since we move every three years), and it seems like the library career field is the one I'm sticking with! It's not a perfect job and there are plenty of downsides (just trust me here) but overall I love it!
DeleteI plowed on and finally got "The Masked City" done -- I'm not a skimmer but I ended up skimming the final half. It just wasn't floating my boat like the first installment did, but I didn't want to abandon it. I'm about to start something TOTALLY different, "Maybe in Another Life" by Taylor Jenkins Reid, and hopefully that'll be the change of pace I need to rejuvenate my reading mojo!
This is maybe the sixth or seventh MKAL I've done and I'm discovering that maybe I like them better in theory than in actual practice. I love the anticipation of the next clue and the fun of sharing my progress in the Ravelry group and looking at everyone else's WIPs... but it kinda sucks when the project doesn't turn out to be what you were hoping for. (Not to say that's the case with this one -- after getting rid of the point, I think I'm going to love it.)
Congrats on your job! Having gone through unemployment before, I know how excited you are to get back to working!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Amy! I'm thrilled that I'll be working again soon. As much as I mostly enjoy the military lifestyle, moving every three years means a fresh job search every three years -- and that's NEVER fun.
DeleteCongratulations on your job! I'm so happy for you! I'm very curious what it's like to work in a military base library and how that compares to other libraries. I've worked in public, academic, and a couple of special libraries and although I love public libraries the most I'm always curious about the experience working in different kinds of libraries.
ReplyDeleteThank you! There are definitely some disparities between the two, but for the most part I don't think the base library is probably THAT much different from a small public library.
DeleteThe biggest difference for me was that when I worked at the base library many of us were sort of jacks-of-all-trades: shelvers, circ clerks, children's librarians, reference librarians, computer help, book coverers and repairers, etc. all rolled into one. Moving to a public library was a big change for me because everything was SO rigidly compartmentalized -- partly, I think, because of union rules. For instance, circulation clerks were not *technically* allowed to go show a patron where a book was in the stacks -- that's a reference duty. But at the base library, all the "library aides" do everything! (That's something I'm excited to get back to.)
Another hugely noticeable difference for me is funding. I think my Ohio library district was comparatively well-off for a public library system, but the base library doesn't have nearly as much to work with. When I worked there last time we'd have to save the edges of Avery label sheets to use as "tape" in hidden places when covering new books so we could conserve actual tape!
Also, the patrons at the base library are a lot nicer; it's partly just the military atmosphere and community, and partly, I think, because the base library (here, anyway) doesn't charge typical late fees.
Another difference is that a large number of patrons at my public library were coming in to use the computer and/or check out DVDs and video games. At the base library, it's more book-related checkouts and military in uniform coming in during the day to use the scanner and copier to do paperwork for their travel vouchers and stuff.
Whew, apparently I could go on and on! Really, though, like I said, where it counts they're not all that different. :)
I sort of like the idea of working in a library small enough to do all the things. (Well, I'd hate to have to do story times, but all the other stuff is fine.) It sounds great!
Delete