Tag Archives: just for fun

Books

Reading at parties isn’t rude – it’s expected!

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CORI Middle School ReadingWe gather together, sit without speaking to each other, and read the books we brought. Or we meet at a bar, drink a lovely beverage, and read our books. Or we gather in a park (maybe Munsinger Clemens Gardens ??) and quietly read our books?

For how many library people does that sound like a FANTASTIC event??? Lots of us!!

And apparently this is a hot new trend!

From a PLA blog by Gretchen Kaser: “According to a recent Forbes article,[1] my thinking may not be so off-base. Megy Karydes describes Silent Reading Parties, live lit, and library bars as a growing trend of sharing literature with friends without the stress and “homework” of a traditional book club. Silent Reading Parties, coined by Christopher Frizelle in 2010, involve gathering in a bar or other locale to read in companionable silence. There is no assigned reading, and the meetings are open to all. Silent Book Club tracks upcoming parties around the world.”

Is this something you want to try in your library??? Or would you like CMLE to set up a reading party for all of us to attend?? It could be fun!

Books, General

Ben & Jerry’s Book Pairings

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Sounds good!

While books on their own are great, books plus snacks definitely equals a happier experience!

This article from Book Riot has an impressive list of Ben & Jerry’s flavors that the author has tried, and then she matches the flavor with a fitting book.

For example:

Empower Mint – I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai

Chocolate Therapy – Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich

Triple Caramel Chunk – The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

Spectacular Speculoos Cookie Core – Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson

If you’re more of a dessert beverage person, check out this article from Abe Books that features several different book and wine pairings – and then the author’s favorite books about wine, too! And not to leave out beer drinkers – enjoy this list from Buzzfeed that recommends books to go with your beer.

Books, CMLE, General

Happy Reading! Join us in our Goodreads groups!

New month, new books!

If you’ve been reading along each month with our Goodreads book groups, we hope you have been enjoying the selections, and learning great things to help further your professional life! If you are just joining us, fantastic! Here are the books we are reading for the month of February:

For the CMLE Librarian Professionals group, we are reading People Skills: How to Assert Yourself, Listen to Others, and Resolve Conflicts by Robert Bolton.

This book addresses several different communication problems and offers solutions, in order to build more meaningful relationships. We will learn how to listen better and how to handle ourselves effectively during conflict!

For our CMLE Librarians Enjoying Books group, we continue with our theme of books about librarians with this mystery: Books Can Be Deceiving by Jenn McKinlay

Read about the mystery taking place at the Briar Creek Public Library when a body is found and the librarian’s friend is named as a suspect!

Happy February reading!

CMLE, General

Warning: Don’t Eat Library Paste!

Those of us old enough to remember the glory days of actually using paste also remember the illicit thrill of sneaking tastes of it! Teachers and librarians were quick to stop it, usually exclaiming about the danger of eating paste. (Think about the stories of the danger of eating pop rocks and soda – it’s not real, but deliciously scary in the abstract!)

Did this poor man really die from eating library paste?? We have no way of knowing the reality. And while it seems really unlikely…maybe it could be a warning to patrons today who may be determined to do dangerous things in a library! (“Don’t send money to a Nigerian prince! You didn’t win the Irish Sweepstakes! The deposed head of an unnamed nation does not need you to hold his money! Look at this guy who died of eating library paste, and know we are here to look out for you!”)

CMLE, General

Libraries and Pop Culture: A Natural Partnership!

https://www.pinterest.com/kayedacus/architecture-libraries-studies-offices/

We have already established that library people are extremely cool, and naturally other people have taken notice of that! Libraries and library people are represented prolifically in popular culture. Last week we talked about libraries in the comics. And we are also well represented across all types of pop culture: books, movies, games, TV shows.

Pop culture is not just for fun (though, of course that would be fine!); there are many academic areas of study looking at aspects of pop culture. The Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association holds annual conferences for people involved in pop culture scholarship from across the country, as well as smaller regional conferences.

Of course, they have a section just for Libraries, Archives, and Museums! (Disclaimer: I have presented twice at their annual conferences. And it was fantastic!!)

One of my studies looked at the images of library people in pop culture, to see what kind of images people in our profession were identifying with as part of their own professional image. If you would like to build up your own reference collection of library pop culture images, here are some of their suggestions (not in any order): Continue reading Libraries and Pop Culture: A Natural Partnership! →