What I’m Reading
Jan
7
I’ve been sitting here with this blank post open for approximately eighty-seven hundred minutes because it was easier to pretend I was going to write a post than admit I just didn’t want to read my book club book. I truly believe that my brain is only hardwired to rip through young adult fantasy books, so when it comes time to pick up something that does not revolve around teen romance and/or the bloodsucking undead I plod my way through it like a Resource Room kid.
Anyway, I’ve been feeling pretty down in the dumps lately, thinking about my job and the fact that my school probably won’t have money to bring back the library next year. It’s been especially hard the last couple of weeks because I have been reading and reviewing some great young adult books for HarperTeen and I was SO EXCITED about them! I wanted to chat with anyone who would listen about Wicked Lovely! No joke, I made my cousin start reading the series just so I could talk about the ending of the first book. Then I made the terrible mistake of looking through a bunch of my library book review magazines. I was practically drooling at all the awesome stuff that is coming out. If you’ll permit me an analogy: to me, paging through School Library Journal is like a fifteen year old boy paging through his dad’s Playboy, that’s how much I love it.
But then I realized once again that I have no library to buy books for. No way to share the books I love with the kids. No time in the school day to take a break to have discussions about what books are coming out, what books are being made into movies, what characters are totally amazing (Katniss! Diana Holland!) and what characters we’d like to see killed off immediately (Bill Compton! Victoria!). And I want all that back. That’s who I am! That’s what I love doing! Why am I stuck teaching kids how to make custom animations in Power Point? What did I do to deserve this fate?
The truth is, I miss it. I really, really, reeeeeeally miss being in the library. And it sucks. And it’s not going to get better any time soon. There are parts of teaching that aren’t so bad, and there are things I’ve grown accustomed to that I thought I wouldn’t, but the classroom is simply not the library.
I do not love this job the way I love the library, and I feel like that’s a disservice to the kids. I put on my happy Ms. NPW face every day and muster up as much enthusiasm as I can for MLA citations, but there are still six months to go and I’m already counting down the days until summer. Sigh.
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15 Responses to “Quick, Someone Chat With Me About Twilight!”
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The economy will get better, and when it does, hopefully the library will be back. I sincerely hope so, both for you and for the kids.
In the meantime, I will totally chat with you about Twilight. Edward: charming romantic or creepy stalker?
Man, that sucks that the school might not be able to bring the library back. That’s such a disservice to the kids.
I think a lot of us are going through a job funk right now – I know I am a little. Hopefully things will work themselves out and get better!
It totally sucks, and yet I’m still kind of jealous. I have never felt that way about a job. It’d be kind of nice to have something to dream about doing instead of Current Ho-Hum Job. Besides being a professional lottery winner, I mean.
You know I’m up for a chat about Twilight anytime. Next we can discuss Gemma Doyle and why she is the thickest Victorian in the history of charm school. She never listens to anyone! Ever!
oh mum…..start a Tea Party Protest about the library…..its seems to be working around the country…
I am going to join some of those tea party protests..to get rid of some of or all of the fat cats in our govt…I am having a 60’s flashback…when the moon is in the seventh house and jupiter lies near mars then peace will guide our planet and love will steer the stars….ok I am back…just sayin
This makes me sad, but also happy, because eventually the library (or another one you can work at) will be back, and then you’ll have a job you truly love again. It’s so good that you know this job exists, and you’ve had it, and you’ll have it again eventually.
i do feel your pain, my lovely librarian compadre, because i would feel the same way too. i think your mom’s onto something. get the kids to protest and demand an open library. (i guess you don’t want to hear about the 5 boxes of brand new books that got delivered here today.)
I am sad for you, and even sadder for the kids. Fingers crossed that the economy improves and that libraries (and arts, and extracurriculars, etc.) are returned to their proper place in the schools soon.
I think that’s part of the reason why I didn’t go to work in a library – I can’t imagine someone else making the decision that I couldn’t work there anymore.
But good for you for even trying to be enthusiastic about MLA citations.
This makes me so sad to hear because it’s because of a librarian like you that I learned to love to read. In the 4th grade, I was a librarian’s helper in the library and it was my favorite thing in the world. I’d come to school 30 minutes early and I’d stamp the due dates on the cards and help reshelve books and that meant I got first pick on books and my librarian’s undivided attention and it was just great. I loved it.
So to read that someone with your passion is without a library is so depressing to me. I hate the fact that libraries are dying – it really breaks my heart. And I hope that when the economy comes back up, school districts are able to obtain and allocate the funds they need to keep the libraries going. Good luck! I know it will be hard to make it through the rest of the year but I hope you’ll be back where you belong soon.
You should write to Scholastic and see if they’ll sponsor your library with a “kids need these awesome YA novels” grant.
I am down in the dumps for you. This is a sucky situation. Would you consider taking a position outside of your district if it was a school library position?
The one good thing I can tell you is that already, in private education at least, there are so many more openings happening this year than there were last year at this time.
I think they still have libraries in schools out here in Colorado…just a thought…
It’s so sad that those kids don’t have a school library! I remember being all weird and antisocial and spending my lunch period reading historical biographies and looking up stuff in the Encyclopedia when school was a little much for me. It’s sad that the weird kids in your district don’t have the same outlet for behavior that ensures they get picked last at kickball.
I can’t even imagine school without a library. It just makes my heart hurt. I hope things improve soon!
Man, that sucks. So few people truly love, LOVE their job. That you know exactly what you want to do and at the moment can’t do it is the worst.
I’m sure you’ll get back in a library eventually. I’m just hoping it’s sooner rather than later!