Hello to all! I hope you’re all having a great (and air-conditioned) summer! Since I registered for Materials for Tweens this fall, my summer reading list has become quite a bit younger in scope as I give myself a head start on the books I’ll need to be reading for the semester. And while I enjoy tween books as much as any aspiring children’s librarian and mom, I also made sure to build in some grown-up time, too.
Doctor Who: Resurrection Casket by Justin Richards
I am a dedicated Doctor Who fan, and the novels are fun to read. They’re like little episodes with covers. In this one, the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) and his companion, Rose encounter pirates!
The Boy at the End of the World by Greg Van Eekhout
A middle-grade post-apocalyptic story, Boy follows a boy named Fisher, living in a post-apocalypse society where he is the only survivor after a bunker he and other humans were living in was destroyed. He meets a robot named Click who protects him as they try to find more humans in another survival bunker. Think Cormac McCarthy’s The Road but less depressing.
Larklight by Philip Reeve
Steampunk for kids? Fantastic! Two kids live with their father in a house that travels through space and fight elephant-sized white spiders? In 1851? If my kids try to steal this off of my night table before I finish it… they’d better not give me spoilers, that’s all I’m saying.
More About Rosemary
I’m Rosemary Kiladitis (that’s me on the left – I’m usually the one behind the camera, so finding a picture of just me is tough), and I’m the Secretary/Archivist for the ALASC this school year. When I’m not worrying over my next paper due, I’m either at my part-time job at a New York publisher, complaining that the next Star Trek movie is taking too long to be ready, or unlocking another badge on Foursquare. My husband and two very active kids are bibliophiles like I am, so our apartment resembles one of those old bookshops, where books line the walls (and sometimes, the floors).
I began the SLIS program in the Spring 2009 semester and am on track to graduate in Fall 2012. Being part of the SLIS program has been a great experience for me. It was nerve-wracking at first to go back to school 17 years after receiving my Bachelor’s degree, but I wouldn’t trade these past few years for the world. I’ve made great friends and gotten involved, and the virtual program allows me to work around my family’s hectic schedule while still getting the full SLIS experience.
I’m so happy to work with the student body and the ALA this semester, and am making it a point to get more of us East Coast SLISers involved, so feel free to introduce yourself! You can find me in the ALASC group on Facebook, or on Second Life during VCARA (Virtual Center for Archives and Records Administration) meetings. Come on by and say hello!
Q: What’s the largest your personal library has ever been? Is your collection NOW the biggest it’s ever been? Or have you down-sized?
A: Years ago, I worked for a book club company. You cannot imagine what that does to a book hoarder. My office was packed to the gills and so was my apartment. I started cataloging my collection, and finally gave out when I hit about 1,500 – and that was in my apartment alone. We’ve downsized somewhat since, either through donating books to my kids’ school or just leaving piles of books at work or in the lobby of my building. Still, I’d have to say we’re pretty full here – we just buy more bookshelves. I read a great interview with a professional organizer who said to think of books like friends – if you can see yourself visiting with that friend again and again, keep the book. If it was a nice time, but you can’t see yourself going out of your way to meet with them again, let the book go.