Tag: sparklingLibrarian

A Change this way Comes!

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It’s been a year. A long year. A fun year!

We’ve discussed the importance of diversity in literature!

We’ve looked at some of my favorite books!

We’ve looked at the way books shape our lives!

We’ve looked at some silly mistakes I’ve made!!

And now it’s time for a change.

My time as a librarian came to an end at the end of October. I’m now a barista at a local coffees shop. I just needed a change. Something new.

But the last year, getting to write as the Sparkling Librarian has been so rewarding! Thank you so much for allowing me the honor of writing to you all. It has truly been my privilege to know that someone is reading what I write, and I have not taken that responsibility lightly.

So a change! I’m starting a different blog. As much as I’ve loved this, it’s time to move on. To make a clean break. So as of January 1, 2020 you can find me at my new site!

Sparkly Musings of Illogical Proportions

This is a dream I’ve had for quite awhile. I’ve had the name picked out since back in 2018 and it’s finally coming true. I’ll continue to write about books, but this new blog will allow me to share more of my deep thoughts. More of the things that challenge me. More of … well more of me. My love of books is just one small part of me- so here’s to new beginnings.

I promise there will still be sparkles. I hope you’ll join me on my new adventure, but regardless- thank you for honoring me with your attention this past year.

Keep Sparkling,

B

Valuing the “other”

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Being different is awesome! I totally love how different I am from other people. I make weird faces, I dress is outlandish outfits. It’s awesome. But sometimes it feels like it’s not always appreciated by those who are looking for diversity.

Diversity in Literature is a huge topic. This is one of the most argued topics in YA literature right now. Diversity. It’s a big word. But does “Diversity” mean that we ignore some topics in order to cover “diverse” topics? I’d like to propose that we need to look beyond “diversity” to “otherness”.

It doesn’t matter who you are or what you look like, at some point in your life you will be the “other”. Whether you are a Caucasian male or a Hispanic female or a Spanish Catholic or an Irish Protestant, at some point you will be the “other” in a situation. As an unmarried woman, I have found myself often in the “other” category when I am with my married friends. When I am with my friends who are still in college, I am the “other”. When I am with my male friends, I am the “other”. I bet you’ve recognized yourself as the “other” a time or two.

Being the “other” can put you in a position of great power or great victimization. You get to choose. You can feel sorry for yourself because you don’t fit in. You can wallow in your feelings of not being “enough”. Or you can choose differently- You can choose to see that you have a unique perspective and that perspective is needed. You get to choose what you offer to the world.

But there is power in realizing that you are not the only person who has ever felt like an “other”. There is always someone in a group that feels like an “other”.

I recently attended a bridal shower for someone very dear to me. I was trying to get someone’s attention. I addressed them by name, there wasn’t anyone around to distract them but they very pointedly walked away from me and towards someone else. I know they heard me, and yet they ignored me. They put me in the place of being the “other”. The unwanted, the unseen.

The way we respond to the presence of another person is powerful. We can choose to affirm their presence and show them they are wanted. Or, we can ignore their presence and let them know that we do not value what they have to say or what they want to share.

If you’ve read my blog before, you know I love Brene’ Brown. She wrote a blog about Toni Morrison’s talk on Oprah. Brene Brown shared how Morrison talked about your initial reaction when your child walks in the room. Does your face light up? Does your face reflect your desire to have that person’s presence in your life? Or do you look to criticize? Do you look at them and immediately flick your eyes off to the side so you won’t have to interact?

Ignoring a person or shutting them down shuts down their spirit. I felt so little when I was ignored at the bridal shower. I felt so unvalued and unwanted. But the truth is, it doesn’t matter what that person thought of me. It doesn’t matter if they want my opinion. So I was the “other” in this situation- so what. The bride saw me and her face lit up. She showed me that my presence was wanted. She did as Morrison suggested and affirmed my presence by reflecting her delight in me on her face.

We each have our people. Our people who love us and want us around. If you don’t have those people in your life, please let me know! I want to be one of your people! I’d be happy to show you just how delighted I am by your presence. But decide that the voice of your people matter more than the voice of those trying to keep you as the “other”.

Let’s go delight in “others” this week!

Keep Sparkling

B

Brene’ Brown is my #vulnerabilitygoals

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Brene’ Brown is one of my favorite writers. I don’t agree 100% with everything she writes but EVERY TIME I read something she’s written, whether a book or a blog post, I’m inspired or challenged. She makes me want to be better.

Brene’ is never afraid to admit her failings. She openly talks of her mistakes and her desire to grow. She is vulnerable. She is fearless, or so she seems.

In one of her blog posts she talks about lovelessness. She quotes Bell Hooks book, “All About Love”.

“Taught to believe that the mind, not the heart, is the seat of learning, many of us believe that to speak of love with any emotional intensity means we will be perceived as weak and irrational. And it is especially hard to speak of love when what we have to say calls attention to the fact that lovelessness is more common than love, that many of us are not sure what we mean when we talk of love or how to express love.

Everyone wants to know more about love. We want to know what it means to love, what we can do in our everyday lives to love and be loved. We want to know how to seduce those among us who remain wedded to lovelessness and open the door to their hearts to let love enter. The strength of our desire does not change the power of our cultural uncertainty.

Everywhere we learn that love is important, and yet we are bombarded by its failure. In the realm of the political, among the religious, in our families, and in our romantic lives, we see little indication that love informs decisions, strengthens our understanding of community, or keeps us together. This bleak picture in no way alters the nature of our longing. We still hope that love will prevail. We still believe in love’s promise.”

So love. It’s important. But I’m not sure it’s as important as lovelessness. When I look at our current society I see a trend of lovelessness. With more mass shootings, racists comments, “us vs. them” mentality, and bullying on the rise, loveslessness is becoming an even greater epidemic.

So let’s do something about it. Let’s love. Love doesn’t mean I just agree with your every action but I believe love means that I treat you with respect and dignity even when I disagree with you. Love means I go out of my way to attempt to understand where you are coming from, because you matter. Love means work. Love means humility. Love means I put you first.

So let’s choose love. I challenge you to go out and find someone to love this week. Find someone who needs encouraged. Find someone who is different than you. Attempt to understand them. Attempt to meet in the middle.

Keep Sparkling,

B

Praise or Criticism, which is more important?

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I can be very critical of books. I pursued a degree in Secondary Education: English. (That’s not quite where I ended up as I’ve mentioned in these blogs before)

I spent HOURS learning how to critique books and examine if they would be useful in a classroom setting.I spent HOURS discussing whether or not a book had value or merit. I spent HOURS figuring out what symbolism there might be in a passage or a re-occuring theme. And I will be honest in admitting, it has made me quite critical of many books that I read. Even though in most classes we decided that almost every book has merit- I struggle to appreciate someone’s writing that doesn’t have much polish. I struggle to believe that “everyone is a writer” when I spent hours working on learning how to write more proficiently.

The idea that someone could waltz in off the street with no training and do what I do is not something I agree with. Nevertheless, there are THOUSANDS of self-published books and THOUSANDS of writers who are getting published with no training. And that’s great! Honestly, it is. But I still approach every book I read with a critical eye.

I ask myself, “what is this book trying to sell me? Is this making a political statement? (But aren’t most statements political these days?) Is this trying to persuade me to think differently? Does this book make me question some of my hard and fast standards? Does this book make me want to be a better person?” Usually at least one of these questions is addressed. I find myself loving less and less books. (That being said I do enjoy a good “beach read” every now and again) I might like a book but I have a harder time putting my “B Loves this book” stamp of approval on things, than I used to.

So when it comes to reading a book, what matters more? To praise the things they did well or criticize the things they need to improve on?

Book reviewers tend to fall on one side of this road or the other. I tend to look for things to criticize and if there aren’t very many, then I can recommend the book. If it is overflowing with things to criticize, then I don’t recommend it. But what are my criteria?

Here are a few of the things I consider when looking at a book.

  • Does the book correctly represent the culture it is portraying?
  • Do the characters have depth or are they very stereotypical?
  • Is there a compelling conflict/problem?
  • Is the writing of a professional caliber or does it feel like a first draft?
  • Is the writer’s voice concurrent throughout the whole book or are there sections where it feels like someone else wrote it?
  • Do I feel compelled to keep reading or am I drudging my way through needless details

But on the subject of praise, a recent SLJ article commented on how important praise is to a writer.

“I hope people will realize that just one reader’s- any reader’s- glorious praise of a book holds incredible value for that title and its author.” -Lalitha Nataraj

But you can look on Goodreads and see thousands of great reviews of books that don’t correctly represent a culture and are very stereotypical.

So what’s more important? Neither. We need both. But let’s be aware of what we are handing to our kids (as well as ourselves) to read and let’s be aware of what we are teaching our children through what they are reading. Let’s look to diversify their interests and diversify their world, not reinforce the walls they see.

Keep Sparkling,

B

What if you’re not “normal”?

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Awhile back someone said something to me along these lines, “Where are all the books for ‘normal’ kids? Why does everyone have to be from a broken home or have mental illness?” They commented that the books they read growing up were about kids going out and having fun.

To which I could retort, “That’s what these books are about! Just because these characters have complex backstories and greater problems than saving up to buy some candy doesn’t mean they aren’t just ‘kids being kids’.”

But looking back at the books I read as a child, the ones I wanted to read and re-read were the books with more complex problems. I loved Junie B. Jones. She was always getting into trouble and doing ridiculous things! But her books weren’t the ones I re-read. I loved re-reading books like “The Tale of Despereaux”. These characters had complex problems. I loved books like, “The Two Princesses of Bamarre” where they had to save the kingdom. Neither of these books include, according to that person’s definition, “normal” kids.

Let’s look at some statistics.

According to the Child Mind Institute about 23% of children in the U.S. have some sort of mental illness. It’s common knowledge that 50% of marriages end in divorce, meaning that 50% of the children in our schools are likely from a broken home. The National Survey of Children’s Health reports that nearly 35 million children have experienced childhood trauma.

I wonder if any book you read contains “normal” children. So I went hunting through what is considered “classic” children’s literature.

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson. Jess obviously is suffering from the lack of attention from his parents. Leslie has an overactive imagination. They create a complex world all of their own. Leslie’s home life is definitely not “normal” with parents who are in and out of involvement, eccentric, and scattered. Some would argue that Jess’ parents are not “normal” because they are so over stressed and struggling financially. Survey says- not “normal” kids.

Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. The Pevensie kids are in the midst of a war. They are sent to the country away from their parents. They travel to a magical world where they fight a witch and all of her scary minions. Survey says- not “normal” kids.

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Alice runs away from her family by falling down a rabbit hole. She encounters talking animals, has to run away from a queen who wants to cut her head off, and talks nonsense with the characters. Survey says- not a “normal” kid.

But isn’t that the point? No one wants to be normal! We wall want to be unique and an individual. I want to read about kids doing exciting things. I want to read about possibilities. None of us are “normal” and classic children’s literature is filled with characters who aren’t “normal”. Let’s celebrate the differences and all the fun that comes from being with people who are different than us! Let’s enjoy the fact that none of us are normal!

Keep Sparkling,

B

In Memory

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Recently I received some sad news. The Children’s Librarian that I had known for the totality of my childhood had passed away. She was an incredible woman. She loved books and she loved children.

When I had the chance to go to the viewing I could have gone with the rest of the staff at the library but I chose to go by myself. This was a private thing for me. A private grief. For you see, she is the reason I’m a librarian today. I didn’t want to share my thoughts and feelings with the world on this but perhaps it is helping me process my own grief and helping me to see how I became the woman I am today.

As a child I didn’t have many friends. There weren’t kids in my neighborhood to play with. There weren’t people inviting me over all the time. But there were books.

When I was in first grade my parents taught me the route to the library on my bike and I got my first library card. My summers were filled up with getting HUGE piles of books from the library, taking them home, reading all day, and going back two days later to return them for more books.

My mother used to make me play outside for an hour a day and I dreaded it, until I started taking books outside to read. These books were my world. I was no longer lonely as I read about the children in Wayside School. I was no longer lonely as I read and reread the Arthur books and imagined myself as one of his friends. The Berenstain Bears chapter books were new worlds to me! I could be a detective and someone who was bravely exploring new things!

These books saved me from my loneliness. And these books never would have made it to me if it weren’t for this woman at the library. She was always glad to see me. She called me by name. She handed me books into new worlds. She invited me to come to the programming. She let me know I was wanted. I could sit and read or talk to her, and talk I did- that poor woman, but I was never unwanted. I was never a burden to her.

I had never really considered it before she passed away but I think she’s a big part of the reason I’m a book lover today. I think she’s the reason childhood wasn’t so lonely and so hard. She helped me to see the bigger world and helped me to find the place I belonged in it.

So thank you my dear librarian. Thank you for the legacy you left for me. Thank you for allowing me to step into a position you once held and continue on your legacy. Thank you for saving me from my own loneliness.

You will be forever missed.

Keep Sparkling,

B

Don’t go into a Bookstore with me

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I LOVE bookstores!

Barnes and Noble is my favorite place to visit! I could spend HOURS browsing through the stacks! Reading bits of poetry. A chapter here and there. Browsing the biographies! I love it!

But it is dangerous for anyone else to go into a bookstore with me because…. I will want to tell them all about my favorite books!

Recently I had a girls night out with a friend. We went to the mall, browsed, had coffee, had dinner, and, you guessed it, went to BARNES AND NOBLE!

Now we both love books and bookstores so this should be a good fit. And it was, mostly. Except, every time I saw a book I loved I picked it up and did a book talk right then and there! In the middle of the store! She heard all about my favorites! She’s so lucky!

And then I had to grab my phone and pull out my goodreads app to add all the new books I wanted to read. And then I had to pull out my librarian Instagram and post all the books I’m fangirling over on my Insta story!

And then the most tragic thing ever happened. I heard an employee describing a book I’ve read to a customer and…. they were butchering it!

They were super underselling it! This book is amazing! Why were they making it sound like a drudgery to read??? There was no inflection in their voice! There was no excitement! Come on! This book is awesome! I love this book! Why are they sounding so boring about everything???? I knew I could do better.

And so after the employee walked away I sidled up to the person. They didn’t know me. I think they were trying to buy a book for their daughter. I told them I couldn’t help over hearing, told them I was a Teen Librarian, and asked them about the person they were buying the book for.

The customer ended up leaving with three books and a smile on their face. They bought two for their daughter and a copy for themselves. 🙂 You’re welcome Barnes & Noble 😉

So it’s dangerous being in a bookstore with me, but it’s really just because I love books so much! So go enjoy your own local bookstore today!

Keep Sparkling,

B

The Way You Lead Matters

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You. Yes you. Right there. Reading this. You are a leader.

How does that make you feel? When I was in school there was a great uptick in this idea.

Now if you were me in much of my life you’d go, “No I’m not. I have no one following me. I’m not in a position of power. I’m a small cog. I have no influence. I don’t want to be a leader!” And for a long time I was mad at the teaching that “everyone is a leader”.

There are people who naturally have this ability to get others on board with their ideas. They naturally get people to follow them without even trying. That is leadership! I agree that many people are leaders, but I am not one of them. I can plan things and talk to people and do lots of work, but often no one comes, or no one agrees, or no one likes it. And that’s okay! I am okay with the fact that I am not in leadership. But I do have the ability to lead.

I’d like to suggest we reframe our thinking and perhaps consider a change of verbiage.

You see for there to be a leader, that means that there have to be followers. In this idea of a “leader” it automatically elevates someone above others. So I wonder if you can “lead” without being a “leader”.

According to the OED (my favorite Dictionary!) A leader is “The person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country “. As opposed to the definition of lead, “Show (someone or something) the way to a destination by going in front of or beside them”.

What is the difference there and why is it important? Well a leader “commands” as opposed to when you lead you have the ability to go “beside them”. So the way you lead matters. Are you going ahead of those that are following you or are you coming along beside them?

I recently explained the difference between friendship and journeying together to some people in my life. You see friendship often comes with the idea of giving out advice. And advice is wonderful! But sometimes your friends don’t need advice. Sometimes they just need to be heard. Sometimes they just need someone to come alongside them.

This is journeying together. Sometimes people need to take all the time it takes them to process their emotions. Sometimes people aren’t happy. Look at Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh!

Eeyore is obviously suffering from some depression but his friends don’t insist that he become happy all the sudden. They don’t insist he change. They accept that he’s at a hard point in life. They don’t stop asking him to join them. They don’t ignore him. They come alongside and choose to enjoy Eeyore regardless.

Look at Samwise Gamgee at the end of Lord of the Rings. Frodo is tired and Sam knows he can’t carry the ring, but he somehow finds the strength to carry Frodo all the way up the mountain. He carries him to where he needs to be and even when Frodo struggles to do the right thing, Sam encourages him.

In fact look at the entire fellowship. They are committed to something greater than themselves. They are all willing to give things up, not so Frodo will change but so that they can support and encourage him.

This is what needs to change in the idea of leadership. It’s not always about changing those that work under you. It’s not always about just making them come around to your ideas. Sometimes it’s about coming alongside when someone makes a mistake and walking them gently through what needs to change. Sometimes it’s about understanding that this person is obviously having a hard day and they may need some grace today.

Let’s change the way we lead. Let’s not stand in front and demand, let’s come alongside and help.

For me that may mean that the kid who only wants to read Diary of a Wimpy Kid, I let him when he’s at the library. He may be forced to read all sorts of things he doesn’t enjoy at school and even though I know there are other books that are wonderful, he’s happy reading Wimpy Kid. That doesn’t mean I never suggest another book to him, but I don’t force it down his throat. I don’t MAKE him read something else. I come alongside and ask about reading at school. I start to hear his heart about why he doesn’t like those other books. I honor him by hearing what is going on. I make myself a safe person.

Let’s look at leading instead of leadership. Let’s not put ourselves up high and say, “well I’m in charge so I have the best ideas!” Let’s ask others for their ideas and, here’s the hard part, actually consider them and try some of the ideas! Just because we may be the person in charge, doesn’t mean we’re always right.

Keep Sparkling,

B

Religious depiction in YA Literature

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Diveristy in YA gets a lot of hype and I totally understand that! We need Diverse authors! We need diverse characters! But diversity is about inclusion, not exclusion.

“These days it’s relatively easy for teens to find genre fiction that includes characters who are queer or people of color, or realistic fiction where such characters are depicted in well-rounded ways, not framed simply in relation to their marginalized identities.”- Laura Simeon- Kirkus YA edictor

I hadn’t thought much about this in regards to religion until I read an article in the September 2019 Kirkus.

“Religion in Mainstream YA titles seems to be conspicuous either in its absence or as the focal point of a problem- typically a young person struggling against oppression … There are a number of young adults for whom religion is a positive parts of their lives, to a greater or lesser degree, not a a huge source of angst. For these young people, faith offers a framework for doing good in the world, answering important existential questions, and feeling connected to family and community, among other things.” – Laura Simeon- Kirkus YA editor

Hmmmm. You mean we can have characters that are religious and not have them completely turn away from their religion? You mean we can have books with characters who are religious but don’t define themselves by it? You mean we can have books about characters who practice their religion and actually appreciate that part of their life? Yes. Yes, and yes.

I’ve seen a push to include practicing and nominal Muslims in literature and I think that’s great. (If you don’t believe me, check out a past article I wrote) But once again- we can’t include at the expense of excluding others.

Simeon brings up a great point in her article that yes, there are publishing companies who are publishing their YA lit in hopes of “preaching” or “teaching” their particular religion. And, in my not so humble opinion, that’s okay. If that’s what the publishing house wants to do, great! Go right ahead! There are many people who are looking for that type of literature and I’m glad someone can provide it to them.

But let’s stop viewing religion as a bad thing, okay? Do I practice my own particular religion? yes. Do I condemn those who practice a different religion? No. Do I believe my religion is the right one? yes. But don’t we all? We all believe that we know what the right way of believing is- but this should never stop us from hearing about someone who believes differently than we do and this should never be a cop-out to make religion the “bad guy” in a story, or in life.

Let’s look at a few examples of some books I can appreciate that depict faith without it being the “bad guy” or the overwhelming topic of the book.

There’s something about Sweetie by Sandhya Menon. In this sequel to “When Dimple met Rishi” Menon takes on Rishi’s younger brother, Ashish, and his aversion to all things regarding Indian culture. Ashish ends up in an arranged relationship and learns to appreciate some of the Indian culture. The book is much more about his relationship with Sweetie than about religion but I want to commend Menon for her depiction of Sweetie. Sweetie is religious. She appreciates going to the temple and appreciates some of the religious aspects of her life. It’s not her overwhelming personality trait, but it is present. Menon shows this in a very respectful and natural way.

The Merchant’s Daughter- Melanie Dickerson. Melanie Dickerson has written a series of fairy tale re-tellings entitled “The Hagenheim Series”. Each story is set in Medieval times. This is the second book in the series and is loosely based on the Beauty and the Beast storyline. It features a wonderful heroine who is willing the do tough things to save her family. She also holds firm to her faith. It isn’t preachy and isn’t a part of every chapter but it is sprinkled throughout. Her Christian faith is real and true and, just as in Menon’s book, her religion makes her strive to do better in her life. Her faith is genuine.

Choosing up Sides by John H. Ritter. Luke Bledsoe has always been different because he is left-handed, and his preacher of a father has done everything he can to change Luke to the “correct” way of doing things. Now this book does have a lot of religion that is painted as the bad guy BUT Luke realizes something near the end of the book. He realizes that the Bible has things to say that are true and that his father hasn’t looked at the whole Bible. There’s also a wonderful moment when Luke says that he can’t imagine Jesus doing what his father did. That’s the point. Luke still has his faith in religion but it is his own journey to what he believes, not a cookie-cutter version of what others believe.

So there are books out there that do this well. That allow well-rounded characters who have faith. But we need to step away from religion as the “villain” in YA lit. Let’s not sell our teens short by ignoring fully fleshed out characters that have depth.

Keep Sparkling,

B

Take a Break

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As I wrote that title, I had some very specific lyrics from Hamilton go through my head, “Take a Break. Runaway with us for the summer let’s go upstate.” And Hamilton responds, “I can’t stop until I get this plan through congress.”

Hamilton take a break? Never! How is he going to get anywhere if he stops working?

How are you going to get anywhere if you stop working!

This was me this morning. I needed coffee in an IV. I had so much work to do! But I didn’t want to get out of bed. I need a break. Not motivation a break, and I asked myself

And the answer is (drumroll please) NEVER! But I need it.

So I decided. I’m taking tomorrow. Tomorrow is my day to rest. My day to take care of me. My day to make sure that what I want to happen, happens. And that’s okay. It’s okay to take care of yourself. If you aren’t taking care of yourself, you can’t take care of other people. So go do that this weekend. Take care of yourself. Take a break from everyone else. Take a break from the chaos and the stress and breathe. Eat some ice cream. Take a walk by yourself. Listen to the song you love on repeat for an hour. Take care of you. Take a break. You deserve it.

Keep Sparkling

B