Absenteeism

Well it has been a while since I’ve posted anything.  I’ve had lot’s of family stuff going on.  Unfortunately my Grandmother passed away in late July.  Then I had my gorgeous nephew’s first birthday, then Grandma’s funeral, and to top it all off I quietly turned 29 (meaning next year it is 30!).  Also I started back at TAFE and had some annual leave, which was so busy I barely had time to relax.

During this time I finished Jane Eyre and read the blog entries for the first 3 “Wheel of Time” books on Leigh Butler’s Wheel of Time Re-Read.

I also read:

• How to read a novel : a user’s guide by John Sutherland;
• The Eyre affair by Jasper Fforde; and
• The surgeon of Crowthorne : a tale of murder, madness and the Oxford Dictionary by Simon Winchester.

Oh, and I finally got around to putting together those Ikea bookshelves I bought last year.  Now I just have to unpack all those boxes of books!

 

The Wheel of Time

“The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend.  Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again.  In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose in the Mountains of Mist.  The wind was not the beginning.  There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time.  But it was a beginning.”

For the uninitiated “the Wheel of Time” (WOT) is an epic fantasy series by Robert Jordan, which was left unfinished when he passed away in 2007.  Author Brandon Sanderson is using Jordan’s extensive notes to complete the series.  Jordan wrote 11 out of the (originally proposed) 12 novels, before he died.  Leaving Sanderson with the daunting task to finish the series.  The final volume in the series, A memory of light, has now become 3 novels (due to its size), the first of which will be published in November this year, titled The gathering storm.

I first discovered the WOT in 1996 when I was in year 10 (age 15 or 16) after I convinced one of the guys who I travelled on the school bus with to lend me his copy of The eye of the world.  I was instantly hooked.  As soon as I could I bought my own copies of the first few books in the series (living in a small country town, more than 100 kms from the nearest bookstore, it was took awhile), and eagerly awaited each new release.  Before the release of each new book, I would diligently re-read the entire series.  So I have read the first few books more than half-a-dozen times.  With the upcoming release of the 12th book, I am contemplating the daunting task of re-reading the first 11 novels.  Saying this, I have discovered that Tor.com are hosting Leigh Butler’s Wheel of Time Re-Read Posts, where she is summarising each chapter and making comments.  I know this could be cheating, but I may just read through these instead of attempting my own re-read, depending on the posts.  I’ll let you know what I think, and whether I’ll go on to re-read the books myself (I probably will).

 

Year of No New Books

Sometime last December I was on my way home on the train and picked up a copy of Good Weekend, which someone had kindly left on the seat.  Good Weekend is a magazine insert in the Saturday edition of The Sydney Morning Herald.  This particular issue (December 19-21,2008) was subtitled The Summer Reading Issue.  The article in this issue which particularly struck me was “Once upon a time…” by Caroline Baum.

The introduction reads:

“When Caroline Baum declared 2008 her Year of No New Books, the many unread volumes on her shelves got a chance to strut their stuff.  Here she reflects on gems she’d long overlooked (and new titles she couldn’t resist).”

She finishes the article:

“There are still plenty of unread books on the shelves, waiting for me to be ready for them.  The discoveries I made this year have tempted me to extend this resolution into 2009.  Reading, at least, should remain recession-proof.”

Now most women have a weakness for shoes or maybe handbags, mine, however, is books.  I love going to a bookstore, browsing the shelves, and discovering something new to read.  I anticipate the arrival of a new book in a series, much like a child does a birthday or Christmas.  All in all, I love buying books, new books (for some reason I can’t really “do” second hand books).

After reading Baum’s article, I realised that I probably purchased 1 book a week (on average) in 2008.  Many of which I hadn’t yet read.  With all the economic gloom and doom, and the fact the company I worked for (and still do) was (and still is) in some financial difficulty, the prospect of losing my job at any moment was forefront in my mind.  So I decided to attempt Baum’s challenge and make my New Year’s resolution not to buy any books for 1 year.

I knew it would be difficult, but I thought there was no way I would be left with nothing to read, with the following repository’s of books close at hand:

• My extensive collection of books, of which about 10% I haven’t read;
• My youngest sister, who is an English teacher, moved in with me around the time I read the article, bringing with her her collection of books;
• Also I am a member of 2 public libraries in my local area; and
• I am a member of the TAFE library.

Therefore I had lot’s of books at my disposal, without having to open my wallet (except to show my library card!).  I made my last purchasing visit to Borders just before the new year, and told my friends and family about my resolution, all of whom thought I would not last a month!  I had received a $50 book voucher as a Christmas present, and as this was a gift, I decided the rules of my challenge would allow me to use this (for when the cravings got too much) without breaking my resolution.

Now halfway through the year, how have I fared?  Well, at times it has been extremely difficult, especially as I am always tempted into bookstores by the enticing aroma of paper and ink, however I have been very strong, and have not yet purchased a book for myself (I have purchased books as gifts for others, which although a guilty pleasure, does not count!).  I did, however, use my gift voucher in May to buy The sewing book by Alison Smith, after I purchased myself a sewing machine.

My wishlist of books continues to grow (and grow), and I know come 2010 I will hit all the bookstores with my credit card, for an instant hit!  My friends and family can hardly believe how well I am doing, and I must say, neither can I.  And I am enjoying the challenge, much to my surprise, as like Baum I am discovering gems I had long overlooked, and reading books that I told myself I would one day get around to.

A Year of No New Books.  Try it.  I dare you! Or maybe try A Month of No New Books.  Hopefully it will open your eyes to a new literary world, and help you to keep your wallet closed!

References
Baum, Caroline.  “Once upon a time… .” in Good Weekend, December 19-21, 2008 :  19-21.  Issued free in The Sydney Morning Herald, December 20, 2008.

 

2008 Reading List (or the year of the vampire)

I have added a page with the books I read in 2008, which you can find here.

I only managed 32 books.  I have found in recent years that I am reading less, due to other commitments such as work, study and sleep!

So my theme for 2008 was probably vampires, with 14 of the books I read being about the blood-sucking creatures.  Stephenie Meyer’s Eclipse started off the year, I had read the first two novels in her “Twilight” series in 2007.  I then reread all the books on the release  of Breaking dawn towards the end of 2008.

I then discovered The rest falls away, the first novel in “the Gardella vampire chronicles”, a series by Colleen Gleason, about a 19th century vampire slayer.  As Gleason says on her website:

I’ve always been a fan of historical romances, including Jane Austen’s wonderful Pride and Prejudice, but at the same time I found myself intrigued by contemporary characters like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Sydney Bristow of Alias.

Gleason uses these ideas to create a fantastic series, successfully fusing historical and supernatural genres, and providing a strong female lead character.

I also discovered Charlaine Harris’ vampire series “the Sookie Stackhouse novels”, also know as  “the Southern vampire mysteries”, on which the HBO television series True Blood is based.  In the first novel Dead until dark, we are introduced to a world where vampires have come out of the closet (or coffin!), due to the Japanese discovering a method for synthesising human blood.  I read the first four novels in the series and am looking forward to getting my hands on the rest.  I have yet to see True Blood, which stars Anna Paquin, as it is only shown on pay tv (cable) in Australia, however the dvd was released yesterday, so am hoping to get my hands on it over the weekend.

In 2007 I read the first of Katie MacAlister’s “Dark One’s” novels: A girl’s guide to vampires, so continuing my vampire theme in 2008, I followed up with the second novel in the series: Sex and the single vampire.  From the titles you could probably guess that MacAlister’s books fit into the paranormal romance genre (read: lots of raunchy scenes with supernatural beings!).

I rounded off the year by revisiting Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which I first read when I was 12, and which is often seen as being the first work of literature which introduced vampires to a wide audience.

In 2009 I have continued my love affair with all things vampire!

 

Currrently Reading – Jane Eyre

Last week I started reading Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, after having finished Wuthering Heights by, her sister, Emily Brontë, neither of which I has previously read.  I am making an effort to read some of the “Classics” which for one reason or another I have skipped over until now.

I am over halfway through Jane Eyre, and I am enjoying it much more than Wuthering Heights, which I struggled with, however, I wish I had some French to assist me with the conversations which involve Adèle, the little French girl to whom Jane is governess.  It really can be limiting being monolingual! 

It is easy see why Charlotte thoroughly revised and edited Emily’s Wuthering Heights after she passed away, for its second edition, as their styles are so different.

 

Book Stuff

I have started my Book Stuff page which you can find here.  My aim is to provide links to book related sites and articles, and other book stuff. 

I have also put up my 2009 Reading List, which will be updated over the course of the year.  I am trying to write reviews for most of the books I read, although I am not sure whether I am very good at it.  Being a prolific reader doesn’t make you a good writer!

 

Assessmentsssss

Well this is my final week of TAFE before the end of the semester. 

Tonight I have an in-class assessment for Obtain Information, basically a written test on inter-library lending and copyright, then a practical test using Libraries Australia Document Delivery (LA Doc Del).

Tomorrow night I need to hand in my website for Website Design (must finish it first!) and we then have a practical test where we have to modify a webpage using html, as directed.

Last, but not least, Thursday night is a cataloguing assessment where we will be required to catalogue 3 items in MARC21 using the program LexWin .  There will be:  
                               ~ one monograph;
                               ~ one serial; and
                               ~ a choice of either a sound recording or a video recording.

Then I have 4 weeks off, before starting Stage 3.

 

The first post

Welcome to The Library Files! 

This blog is going to be about the Diploma of Library and Information Services, which I am currently studying,  as well as useful library resources, links etc, and books – what I’m reading, wishlist.  And probably more besides.

Each of the subjects in my course will eventually have it’s own page, which will be useful for future students of library science, or any one who is interested in the workings of libraries.

Disclaimer:  I currently do not work in a library, nor ever have, (except for being a library monitor when I was in high school), but I do want to work in a library – hence why I am studying Library and Information Services.