My (Work) Desk

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I was leaving work today and realized that I have a weird desk. I mean, a really weird desk. It screams public librarian. I’ve always enjoyed blog posts where people reveal their work spaces, so I thought i’d show off mine. Today – work desk. Tomorrow – home writing desk.

Great, right? Okay, so I’ll explain –

Top row – random papers, balloons, felt pieces (for penguin craft), cup, pens (including my awesome Wimpy Kid pencil-topper), flag (from the citizenship classes I teach) ball, box of pencils (for craft), tissues, lots of books*, nerdfighter bookmark, hand sanitizer (because some books returned are just gross), library mug, paper hedgehog, crown (for being an Employee of the Year finalist), files, paper strong man (because who DOESN’T have a paper strong man on their desk?)

Bottom row – Multiple Flat Ponces**, calendar, laptop, rest of penguin craft, juggling balls (for circus program – made out of balloons and rice), Wimpy Kid diary (also for upcoming program.)

As you can see, my desk primarily acts as a resting place for craft supplies and program preparation. It’s crowded and messy most of the time. It’s colorful and crazy. And man, I love it.

* – My favorite book there is Huck Finn. A girl donated it, and it’s all annotated with her notes. But these aren’t “this is symbolic because,” notes, oh no…they’re “OMG HE IS AWFUL” notes. And I feel like THAT’S how you should read a book. She’s relating to it, responding to it. And it’s awesome.

** – My library is celebrating Florida’s 500th birthday with many programs and crafts and promotional materials. One thing we have is Flat Ponce de Leon. We’ve already given him a tour of the library. My co-worker and I are now giving him new clothes, because WHY NOT?

RTW: Best Book of January

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This week’s Road Trip Wednesday: What’s the best book you read in January? 

Probably this one:

Peter and the Starcatchers

by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

S bought it for me back in December right after we saw Peter and the Starcatcher on Broadway. I adored the musical more than words can say, so I felt the need to read the original material. And it was fun! It’s Peter’s story before he was The Peter Pan. I enjoy recommending it at the library now.

I’ve always been fond of the Peter Pan story, which is why we saw the play in the first place. The play was magical in the sense that it wasn’t magical. There were no special effects, no crazy Spiderman-esque wiring to make the characters fly. No, it asked for you to use your imagination and pretend the ladder was really a mountain, the rope was really a wave, the girl was flying, and not just sitting on a see-saw. I loved that so much because it, as cheesy as it sounds, reminded me of being a kid. When a blanket was a Batgirl cape, a princess dress, a ninja turtle belt. When a covered corner was a cave, a secret hideout, a magical palace. The show reminded me to dream, believe, imagine, and try. So, to me, the show felt magical.

And I might have teared up at the end.

“Pity the child who lives in a fact-based world.”

Time is a Goon

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Over a year ago I was given a copy of A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. It has sat on my shelf since, not because I didn’t want to read it, but because I never found the time and heard it was quite the time-consuming read.

Well I just read it in probably three days. Because while it might be confusing at times, it’s also absolutely brilliant. WHY did it take me so long again?

The book is loosely about the lives of Bennie, a record executive, and Sasha, his troubled assistant. I say loosely because really only two chapters are singularly about them, even though the entire book tells their story. Good Squad is made up of 13 individual stories that can be read on their own (some have been published on their own prior to the book’s released), or, in this case, together. On their own they’re great snippets of various lives, but together create a tapestry of a story. Because each short story reveals another layer of Bennie or Sasha. The story may be about the life of an aspiring actress, or a dying producer, but each person passed through one of their lives, and contributed to who they were, who they are, and who they become. Through these stories about other people, we learn what happens to Bennie and Sasha over the years – where they came from and where they end up.

And I found that absolutely fascinating, and novel way to, well, write a novel.

Most importantly, while each story changes narrator, they also change time. Going from the late 1960s (ish) through the future, the stories jump back and forth in time as each unfolds. While the first chapter takes place in current time, the next jumps back…but then the fifth catapults you much further forward in time.

It’s this storytelling that brings out one of the neatest things – there aren’t many surprises because most moments are mentioned early on and then unfold later. For instance, in a later chapter you wonder what will happen to Bennie and his wife, who are in the midst of a quarrel. But you don’t have to wonder, because in chapter 2 you already learn that they’re divorced with a son. It’s like…a big plot element is revealed, and then chapters later you get it completely explained. And there’s an “ah ha!” moment of you putting two and two together. It’s experimental writing at its best.

(I will fully admit that while reading this, I jotted down each character I met because I knew they’d probably appear again later on. Many did. I realize how dorky that was, but it was also quite fun.)

I think the way the whole story was written really showcases the main theme – how time is a goon, a bully. Whether you want it to or not, it pushes you along from stage to stage in your life. You’ll have some ups, you’ll have some downs (and these characters have many, many downs),but you’ll keep going.

You’ll grow up.

Giveaway: The Starboard Sea

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It’s time for another giveaway! This one is to celebrate the beginning of a new year. (Or, 18 days into a new year, but details.) I was sent a brand new copy of The Starboard Sea by Amber Dermont, and since I’ve already read it, I’d love to give it away.

A powerful first novel about life and death, friendship and love, as one young man must navigate the depths of his emotions.

Jason Prosper grew up in the elite world of Manhattan penthouses, Maine summer estates, old-boy prep schools, and exclusive sailing clubs. A smart, athletic teenager, Jason maintains a healthy, humorous disdain for the trappings of affluence, preferring to spend afternoons sailing with Cal, his best friend and boarding-school roommate. When Cal commits suicide during their junior year at Kensington Prep, Jason is devastated by the loss and transfers to Bellingham Academy. There, he meets Aidan, a fellow student with her own troubled past. They embark on a tender, awkward, deeply emotional relationship.

When a major hurricane hits the New England coast, the destruction it causes brings with it another upheaval in Jason’s life, forcing him to make sense of a terrible secret that has been buried by the boys he considers his friends.

Set against the backdrop of the 1987 stock market collapse, The Starboard Sea is an examination of the abuses of class privilege, the mutability of sexual desire, the thrill and risk of competitive sailing, and the adult cost of teenage recklessness. It is a powerful and provocative novel about a young man finding his moral center, trying to forgive himself, and accepting the gift of love.

It was a notable book of The New York Times Book Review, and most importantly, I quite enjoyed it. So read it and let me know what you think.

TO ENTER: Comment below by Thursday, January 24th, letting me know where you were in 1987 (I’m totally okay if the answer is “wasn’t born yet!”) I was in NY, accepting the fact that I was officially an older sister. This relationship was not perfect at first, as my mom had to give birth to a boy instead of a girl, but eventually I learned to accept and – shhh – like my little brother. (Who is, WOW, now 25. Weird.)