Book Club Adventures!

This is my third year as a high school librarian and each year I've tried to have a book club for my teens.  I have learned a lot along the way---mostly about what not to do, but I'll take that learning any day.  

This year, we've been holding our book club during Mega Lunch.  We did this last year, too, but we didn't actually start our Mega Lunch experiment until January, so we didn't have a ton of time together.  

So far, our group this year has been small but mighty, typically about 4-6 kids at our weekly meetings.  We wanted our group to grow --not too much, mind you---but a bit---and so we decided to add some mystery to draw folks in.  Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan was the perfect choice!  

I pulled some parchment-looking cardstock and created some simple yet mysterious invitations, and then at our next book club meeting, the group got together to learn to make wax seals.  This was the first time any of them had used them so it was a lot of fun.

Each kiddo gave me some names of friends they wanted to invite and my student aides delivered the invitations.  The books had already arrived, so I met them with the books for the big reveal of what in the heck this was all about. Every student who came decided to stay and books were passed out.  We have all agreed to read it over our holiday break and get back together the first week of January to begin our discussions.  

It was a great beginning to our read-a-book-together portion of this year's book club events  I'll keep you posted on how it goes!

Ugh. The give and take of it all.

I have two lovely daughters.
One of whom is a teen.
I love her.
She is a delight.
Until she is not.
Did I mention she is a teen?
14.

I love her all the time, but to be honest, I find myself pondering a particular children's book a lot lately.

You know the one.
Is it a beautiful story of selfless love?
Nope.  I'm going with describing it as a cautionary tale about giving and balance and what love actually means.
Yes, I'm talking about The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein.  A classic.  A simple-at-first-glance-but-man-is-it-ever-deep book.  A book-for-children-but-really-for-adults-too book.

My love for my daughter is as steady and strong as any deep-rooted tree.
My daughter is as asking and taking as are most teens.
Not only is she beginning to have her own social existence beyond the family stuff, but she is too young to have a real job so I foot the bill. Yes, she helps around the house-- but let's face it, her allowance is still my money.

For anyone who has ever raised teens, you know these can be tricky and treacherous waters to navigate, right?

I will state it here, I refuse to be the giving tree.
Refuse.
I don't want to teach her by example that love means you give until you are a wornout nub of nothingness, and that in fact, existing that way makes you feel...happy.
Nope.
Not happening.
I've experienced my fair share of relationships that were too one-sided.
They never made me feel happy.
They left me feeling sad and used.

I'm a giver by nature.
But I will not believe it is better to give everything and receive nothing.
Love---real, true, love--is a give and take from both parties.

Balance.
Going for balance.
In all things.

Remind me of this as I continue to navigate the teen years, okay?
Thanks.

For my 9th Graders this week

Welcome!



First, I'll read excerpts from a few books, and then...

we'll watch some creepy book trailers:

Alice in Zombieland


Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children 


Dorothy Must Die

Dragons in the Stacks--October

This is our NHS Library's October newsletter. Please take a look!

It's Monday. What are YOU reading?

I just finished listening to Kate Morton's The Secret Keeper on audible.

Y'all.  This book.
THIS BOOK.
I absolutely loved the duel settings of modern day and WWII, as Laurel attempts to solve the mysteries of her mother's past. Gorgeous.  It was a lovely LONG listen--so not for a quick road trip, but certainly worth the investment of time

My high school faculty book club is reading A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman.  First, his name is pronounced ooh-vuh, which through me for a quick minute (yes, I'm listening to this one, too, and SO grateful because otherwise, I would still be calling this man by the wrong name) but I am really enjoying this book.  Ove is a curmudgeon of the first order.  Everything has a place and should by god be there.  While most folks would overlook him as a bitter old grump, the new young family next door finds a way to connect and bring out the best in him.  I have laughed right out loud at this one, and have also found it to be a lovely, poignant story.

You know you have a winner when your high school students start passing around the picture book in the before-school crowd.  I heard the "you've gotta read this one right now" whispered from person to person as it made the rounds.  #allthefeels

What are YOU reading?

Winning at F-A-I-L

I have the most amazing job in the universe.
And yesterday was just awful.
This does not make me love my job any less. Saying this does not make me a negative person.
It's just the real honest-to-gosh truth of my day.
Today will be better.

I believe in putting positivity out into the world.
I also believe in being real.  These are NOT mutually exclusive things.
I think it is especially important in this age of Instagram moments and Pinterest and look-at-how-awesome-this-is social media that we also remember to share our first attempt at learning moments.
Yeah, that spells F-A-I-L.

The problem is not with failing and acknowledging our fail----this is not a negative, folks.
The problem would be STAYING in that place.

Everything in the world (just about) that could go south yesterday, did indeed go south.
I want to share that with you for two reasons. One, I sorta need to vent/examine/feel my feelings so I can move forward and begin to see the humor in the sheer craptastic-ness of it, and two, I need you to know that I'm not winning all the time, and that is OKAY.

No one is winning all the time.
NO one is winning all the time.
NO ONE IS WINNING ALL THE TIME.

Winning all the time doesn't happen.  It isn't real.  It is a facade.
However, when all everyone does is acknowledge only our winning moments it can SEEM like everyone else is winning all the time.  Except you.

Don't believe it, folks.
It isn't true.  That isn't how life works.
Not one of us can do everything in superhero mode all the time.
Not.One.Of.Us.

And that is okay.
And you are okay.
And I am okay.
And WE are okay.

Y'all.
It isn't negative to say,
         look--I'm struggling.
         hey, this didn't go so great.
         I tried, but I didn't love the way it went down.
It is real. 
Fail Forward.

That is one of the most positive things you can do.
I promise.

Dragons in the Stacks newsletter

Here's our new library newsletter!  This one will be digital, heavy on pics & vids and light on paragraphs.  I'd love it if you'd take a look!

Be sure to follow the link to see the freshman orientation video.  The kids had a great time working on teams to complete their scavenger hunt to become more acquainted with our library.

It's Monday, what are YOU reading?

It has been a wonderful, fast & furious entry into the new school year.  I'm finally collected enough to start writing again (or doing anything other than merely surviving the day!) and just in time for this week's What are you Reading post!

I just finished listening to The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. I was completely swept up in the gorgeously written historical fiction/mystery/magical fairy tale of a story.  Utterly delicious. Perfect for filling these weeks of rain we've had in east Texas lately.  I loved it so much that I've downloaded another Kate Morton book, The Secret Keeper.  I'll keep you posted on that one.

 
I now belong to 2 book clubs (for grown folks, that is) and Anne Tyler's Vinegar Girl was the selection for the first meeting of my newest one.  I am an Anne Tyler fan---her ability to make characters come to life is just beautiful, and she is a master at showcasing the ordinary life in a way that shines a light on its specialness. Vinegar Girl is interesting in that it is a part of the new Hogarth Press which has modern authors creating modern retellings of Shakespeare's work.  Vinegar Girl is Tyler's twist on The Taming of the Shrew.

The book club had mixed reviews on this one, but I liked it.  Not loved it---but definitely liked it.  I suppose my reasons are a bit shrewish, too---if shrewish means being a bit cantankerous rather than the screaming banshee that initially comes to mind.

I like that it is a love story with two brilliant socially awkward people.  I like that our main character, Kate, is completely herself (wouldn't it be utterly delicious to live life in such a way that you were always your most real self?) I liked its quirkiness and its imperfect characters.  And also, I feel like I should reread the original just to compare the two.

I hope the beginning of the school year is treating you well and make sure you are making time to read!

It's MONDAY! What are YOU reading?

Lately, I've been obsessed with the Weetzie Bat series by Francesca Lia Block.

  

I read Weetzie Bat during National Readathon Day after having it suggested to me by a wonderful brilliant English teacher friend but just got to the others this week.  I read Pink Smog, Witch Baby, Cherokee Bat & the Goat Guys, and Missing Angel Juan and might have stayed up until about 3:00 am finishing them up. I will definitely finish out this series.  These are quirky, dreamy magical realism about teens figuring out how they fit into their world.  Lush and gorgeous for those days when you just need to be swept away.

I've just started Interrupted by Jen Hatmaker for a summer book club. I've finished "phase one" and I have much to ponder.  This is not escapism--it is a hard look at reality and what it truly means to love the least of us. I look forward to discussing this book later in the week.  This is one that I will need to read slowly and carefully and take time to consider thoughtfully.  So far, it seems totally worth it. 

What are YOU reading?

Love is the answer.

Love.
The world needs more of it, and we need it now.
We need more of the love that allows us to see that we are all connected, we are all one, we are all sharing space on this earth at the same time, and we are all made from the same stardust.

Yes, #BlackLivesMatter.
Yes, Police lives matter.
Yes, privilege is a thing --be it white, be it male, be it wealth.
Why are these things thought to be mutually exclusive?
They are ALL true. Denying them doesn't help.
The truth will set you free.

Until we admit the truth of these things, I do not believe we will be able to truly come together in love.

Love unites. Love drives out hate.  Love overcomes fear.

I pray that these horrible happenings will at the very least bring light to the darkness of fear, racism, and those in positions of authority who should not have that authority--be it priests, or teachers, or police officers, or politicians so that we may move forward in love.

I pray for peace.
I pray for love.

Planners & Calendars & Journals, Oh My!

I fell in love with this little journal last week at the TALL Texans retreat (more on that amazing experience in a later blog post--I'm really still processing all.that.awesome. y'all).  I walked into the first session and spotted one of the mentor's writing in this slim antique looking journal, and it was instant attraction. 

When I discovered they were actually for sale in the little bookstore downstairs I knew I had to have one.  I just wasn't quite sure what I would use it for at the time (Okay, so I'm a bit of a journal addict. I love them. What can I say?) but I knew that little beauty was coming home with me. 

I need to say at this point that I appear to be a solidly Type B personality, but like many weird dichotomies that describe me (ambivert, right-handed, but left-eye dominant-according to my archer husband, one ear lobe attached, one free-hanging, as I discovered to my amusement during middle-school years in a DNA traits mapping exercise) I have some very Type A characteristics, too. Maybe this is because I'm an Aries & a first child?  I'm not sure, but I do know that I have been described as having a big personality and I am both ambitious and impatient as well as being introspective, creative, and reflective by nature. 

At any rate, and however you might describe me, I have tried a multitude of ways to organize myself and my time effectively through the years. None of them have been truly terrible, but none of them have been anything to write home about either. I've tried everything from spiffing up the dollar store purse calendars to the Franklin-Covey system.  I love how pretty Erin Condren's items are, and I love how easy it is to find the Day Planner stuff locally. I just never felt like I had found anything with the "it" factor I need, however. 

Fast forward to last night. 

Since I brought my little journal out of the suitcase and onto my nightstand to admire I've noticed that it is really a perfect size for list-making.  Last year (or maybe the year before---can we go with sometime in the near past?) I started looking into bullet journaling. What always scared me off was the seemingly impossible standards of beauty and perfection that everyone seemed to bestow upon them.  I mean seriously--I no longer have time to scrapbook, I don't want to scrapbook my flippin' calendar/organizer, right???

Then the lights from heaven appeared and shone down upon a single blog post that has since changed my life. 

Well, in all honesty, I was up really late and so it was my table lamp shining down upon the laptop and the blog post is awesome and has inspired me to action....which I fully believe will lead to life-changing results. 

The Lazy Genius (yes, I will totally check out her other posts, because YES! to the Lazy Genius) has written out a very simple, easy-to-follow intro to her system of using bullet journals.  She gave me permission to do what works for me without worrying if it is perfectly Pinterest-worthy, (which is fricken' exhausting, honestly).  

For the first time this bullet journaling thing looks DOABLE.  I can make up exactly what works for me as I go along.  I can be as creative (or not) as I want to be in all aspects of this journal. I can start TODAY without feeling like I am wasting pages, or that I need to be a particular point in the calendar to begin fresh. 

Whoa.  This is big, y'all. 

My perfect little journal can be found HERE and I'm excited to KISS (keep it simple, stupid!) this bullet journaling thing.  I'll keep you posted on my progress. 

Difficulties

Life is full of difficulties.

Chock full of them.

Full of unfairness, of hatefulness, of hurt and of wrongdoing.

All of that is true. 

Its easy to get all caught up the negative because it is all around us. When we hear about events that are heartbreaking and those that stir up anger within us it is easy to become a part of that mob mentality--even from the comfort of our favorite chair with the technology that has become such a basic part of many of our lives.

The latest news of uninviting authors to schools because their books included difficult subject matter had made me angry and left me frustrated.
Good folks used as pawns in games beyond their control makes me feel sick.
The heartbreaking tragedy of both a young woman being shot to death after her concert & a gunman entering a nightclub and shooting down folks in Orlando this week makes me weep.
Our nation divided by politics.  POLITICS.  Where has civility gone?
We hate one another because we don't agree with one another?
The fear of "other" and remember the good ole days has gotten completely out of control.

I'd just like to remind you (and myself)
there were NO good ole days. 

Take a walk through history and you'll see that we are actually living in a time that is no worse, and maybe better than any other time in the history of humans.

It is good to remember this.

So now I'll breathe deeply and get myself calmed.
I'll remember that every generation has its stuff--the good, the bad, & the ugly.
I'll remember that we live in a world that has instant access to overwhelming amounts of information so sometimes it feels as though the world is becoming a topsy-turvy mess.

The world has always been a topsy-turvy mess.
Maybe not in YOUR neighborhood, but look at it as a whole.
Take that walk through history and breathe.
The sky is not falling, friends. 

This doesn't mean we don't fight the good fight and make every attempt to right the wrongs we see around us.
It means we don't panic while doing so.

Life is full of difficulties, but it is also full of magic, and wonder, and love, and beauty.
Now breathe deeply, and go do amazing things.

It's Monday! What are YOU reading?

I just finished Burn Baby Burn by Meg Medina last night.  I was hooked right off the bat by the awesome disco ball on the cover--and the book was a solid read.  Set in NYC in the summer of 1977, Nora is finishing high school and trying to figure out her life.  The backdrop story is the Son-of-Sam serial killer who is terrorizing the city. 

I'm on book 5 of the cozy Molly Murphy mystery series by Rhys Bowen.  I'm listening to them all via Audible and the accents make them so much fun!  Today I worked on genrefying my library while enjoying several chapters. 

I've just begun Biblo Tech by John Palfrey.  It is one of the books on the TALL Texans reading list and I'm finding it interesting.  As a librarian who loves books and fully embraces technology I'm interested to see what thoughts this book holds. 

Book Study

This year our district librarians have read Teri Lesesne's Making the Match as our book study selection.  No matter how long I have been in this business, I always learn something from Teri Lesesne---whether it is listening to her wisdom at conferences, reading her blog, reading her books, etc. Sometimes I shout "YES!" at top volume while reading, and my pages are dog-eared and worn.

Tomorrow is our final meeting of the school year and this Thinglink will be used to share Chapter 10 with the group. Hover over the image to see the links!

May! An assortment of random thoughts.

May has arrived!

My seniors walk a month from today.

My baby girl turns 7 on the 17th.

Spring is truly here, as is all the rain.  ALL.THE. RAIN.

All of the winding up of the year begins in earnest.

A new writing challenge has begun, and it is time to sign up for one of my faves. 

If you don't know about the YA Buccaneers spring writing challenge, you should absolutely check them out. You set your own goals and they provide scaffolding for reaching them.  

AND...

Teachers Write is my most favorite summer professional development on the planet.  It is an amazing community of teacher-writers, FREE, and I always come away having grown in my writing.  It starts in June, but sign up now and you'll be in the drawing for an incredible prize.

I'm sending extra love to all the students involved in the dreaded testing this month.  I'm sending extra love out to all the teachers and parents of those students, too.  Surely this madness has reached its climax and we can start to reclaim these days for actual awesome learning, right?  

I hope your May is magical, friends.  Make it so!

The Last Monday in April

I am utterly exhausted, y'all.
UTTERLY EXHAUSTED.

I have had an amazing week of bookish reveling & shenanigans but am now in dire need of some rest.

I attended TLA last week and it was FABULOUS! There are a million and one reasons to love TLA, but I'll just share a few highlights from this year's trip.


10. I get to spend quality girlfriend time with my dear friend and fellow librarian, Angie.  As close as we are, we rarely spend face-to-face time outside of our monthly librarian meetings.  TLA gives us a chance to have a 4-day slumber party.

9. We made it despite the weather.  We are badass ninja librarians.

Mirror image in a lake of a front yard.

Why yes that IS a car 'neath the bridge on the Tarkington Bayou.  

And this is on the safer DETOUR route!

8. Tech Camp was AWESOME.

7. The Simon & Schuster dinner at Artisans. Author S.J. Kincaid was kind & kickass all at the same time.  Justin Chanda gave me the updates on Skyfarm.  I had amazing conversations with dear librarian friend Diane.  I ate Beef Tenderloin and had chocolate mousse for dessert.

The lovely S.J. Kincaid & me

Her newest book.  SO, so good!  Loving this!

6. The Scholastic Brunch was fantastic this year. A beautiful brunch with authors reading to us, a bag full of new books AND a lightsaber?  YES, please!

5. The Sebco party at Lucky Strike bowling lanes.  This was the beautiful night of bonding (and karaoke!) for my district librarians. Most of us were there.  We spent time together just being ourselves and letting our hair down a bit.  This was a much-needed respite for all of us.  

4. The opening session of TLA was fantastic.  The talent in the pre-show was crazy good, and LEVAR BURTON was our keynote.  Let me repeat for those of you in the back seats--LEVAR BURTON.  

Roots.  Geordi LaForge. Reading Rainbow. 

This high school aerialist was amazing. 

3. The MacMillan dinner was a delight.  I cannot tell you how much I love Katie Halata, and now my new friends, author and English teacher Jennifer Matthieu, and her awesome editor Kate.  I left feeling as though I had spent time with dear friends I had known for years and a bag of autographed new books! Also, dinner was at The Grove, one of my faves.

2. A super fun session--the YA Lit vs. Kid Lit Lip Sync Battle, brain-child of super-librarian Nancy Jo Lambert. This was not your typical session!

1. Working with superstars on the TSL & TEA State Library Standards Revision steering committee.

at the booth!

Ready to lead focus groups with Donna Kearley!

So, there you have it.  I learned so much and had a blast, too.  I got back late Friday and turned right around Saturday to go to the North Texas Teen Book Fair in Irving, Texas with a busload of teenagers. Mucho fun was had by all.

It may take me a full week to totally recuperate, but it was all worth it!

It's Monday! What are YOU reading?

My awesome teen book club is reading I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson.  I'm about halfway in and loving it.  Twins, Noah and Jude tell the story--Noah from their earlier days, Jude from present-day.  The voices are distinct and quirky and I am drawn to each of them for different reasons.  I love so much that this book was chosen by my teens for use to read--makes it even better.

I'm also reading a new leadership book in preparation for TALL Texans this summer--The Truth about Leadership: The No-Fads, Heart-of-the-Matter Facts You Need to Know by James M. Kouzes & Barry Z. Posner.  GREAT stuff in here--things that we could all use reminders about no matter how long you've been in the leadership business. 

#SOL Tuesday

Before I landed the best job in the universe, as a high school librarian, I worked at what I thought was the best job in the universe, which was a middle school librarian. Way back before that I worked at what I thought was the best job in the universe which was as an elementary librarian. So, in that middle school period, I happened to work at a campus that is a feeder campus to my REAL best-job-in-the-universe gig.  Point is, I already knew about half the kids coming into the high school because I've been their librarian since they were 6th-graders.

This, my friends, comes in very handy in very many situations, on very many days.
Point is, it's a good thing.

Anyhow, the last 5 years or so I guess, during the final 6 weeks of 8th grade, the English folks teach lessons on world mythologies.  They graciously invited me to join them in this endeavor and my specific task was to teach Norse mythology.  I happen to love Norse mythology. So, this became a thing, and one of my beloved favorite lessons.  Point is, out of all the things I might reminisce about from that time in my life, this is probably #1 on the list.

So this morning, as I was making my usual "hello-and-good-morning" rounds in the library before school (we pack quite the crowd of kids each morning before school actually starts.  I'm estimating about 200 to 250 or so on any typical day) a kiddo I've known since his middle school years says to me --"Hey, you remember that Norse mythology/Viking stuff you taught us?  That was cool.  I still remember that as one of my favorite things from middle school." He says this completely out of the blue.

"Yep," I say." I sure do.  I loved teaching you guys that Norse mythology/Viking stuff.  It was a favorite thing of mine. I'm glad you liked it, and I'm glad it has stuck with you."

He is a junior in high school.  He loved this lesson from way back in his 8th-grade year.  It was important enough to him that he wanted to share with me that he loved it.

Funny enough, this isn't the first time I've been told that since moving to the high school. One young lady had a choice of research topics and she chose Norse mythology because she said my lesson inspired her. She came to me seeking specific images that she remembered that she wanted to use.

Sometimes we aren't sure if they are hearing us.  Sometimes we feel defeated.  Sometimes the road is long and the going is tough and we aren't sure we are making a difference in anyone's life.

Point is, we are. You are.  I am.  We are.

Keep on, keeping on, friends.  Teach like nobody's business, y'all.  Get that second wind and let it inspire us to teach like pirates (thank you to Dave Burgess) and finish the year STRONG.

It's Monday...what are YOU reading?

I am so excited about being named a TALL (Texas Accelerated Library Leaders) Texan for 2016!  As part of the preparation for attending the Institute this summer, I have begun working on the suggested reading list.

Start with Why by Simon Sinek seemed like a good choice to begin this reading journey.  I have watched and enjoyed his TED Talks and am thoroughly enjoying this book.  I'm enjoying it so much, that, as I do with non-fiction I want to really take in and ponder, I am going slowly.  I'm reading a chapter, underlining, dog-earing, and otherwise marking up brilliant points, and then putting it down for a couple of hours to let each section marinate.

#NacReads

No matter your field, this is a top-notch read on leadership and why your WHY is so important.

All Good Things

We've made it to the final day of March, folks.  Every time I participate in this challenge I learn so much, both from the experience of daily writing and from reading all the wonderful slices being shared by participants. It expands my world. 

One takeaway is to keep the daily writing habit going.There were a couple of days I knew I was just getting some words down; a short SFD, if you will.  That's okay---I wrote.  I made the commitment and I stuck to it.  (It's okay if you had a different goal--but this was mine, and I'm proud I did it.) It created a disciplined daily habit that serves me far better than "waiting for my muse."

I met amazing people.  I met you through you beautiful, funny, bittersweet, painful words.  I met you in your day-to-day.  I met you in your family's past.  I met you on the page. You all inspire me more than you might know. Reading and commenting on the slices gave ME so much.  Thank you for fearlessly sharing yourselves in this way. 

I thank each of you who took the time to read my posts, and I thank each of you who commented.  As I wrote about in one slice, writers write to share/connect/communicate.  It is soul-nourishing to know something I wrote meant something to  you. It spurs me onward. 

April brings Camp NaNoWriMo, my carrot for daily writing in April.  My blog goes back to its normal library-entric self, the greatest librarian conference (the Texas Library Association's conference, known simply as TLA)will whisk me from my daily life and off into the fabulous world of all things bookish & techie, and I'll mark another year walking this fine planet of ours. April will be busy and wonderful and filled with adventures to inspire writing. 

I feel as though I'm leaving summer camp and want to hug all my new friends goodbye and tell you I can't wait to see you again next year.

 

End of the Year Haiku

The final new books 

Packed tightly in brown boxes

Christmas every day.

This month I will participate in the Slice of Life Challenge!

My goal is to Write. Share. Give. each & every day of March.  

Check out Two Writing Teachers for more info!

Kids these days

I have the best job in the universe.  For real.

One of the questions I'm asked most is Are those kids at the high school just awful?  You know kids these days. 

Yep.  I do know kids these days.  Every day I see kids who...

• care about their grades, their friends, their future.
• "yes ma'am" and "no ma'am" me all day long. (yep, here in Texas that is respectful.)
• make me laugh every.single.day.
• help one another through tough times. 
• check on me with "how was your weekend?" and "how are your little girls doing?"
• are respectful to those who are respectful to them.
• worry they are not enough
• work hard, sometimes with 2 jobs and a baby on top of school
• need validation
• want to know you believe in them
• ask for book recommendations because they love to read
• hold open doors for teachers carrying heavy loads
• are curious and want to learn about things that interest them
• want so much to fit in
• want so much to stand out.

I could go on and on.  I love my kids and I am blessed to work with these big ole teenage precious peaches.  How lucky am I?

This month I will participate in the Slice of Life Challenge!

My goal is to Write. Share. Give. each & every day of March.  

Check out Two Writing Teachers for more info!