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When I Grow Up

I was checking up on my library book pipeline on sfpl.org and stumbled upon a job posting for a local librarian. I clicked on the link out of curiosity and nearly fell out of my chair after reading the description - the salary was between $30-$36 per hour, or roughly $62-$75k per year. Uhhh…. WHAT?! If I had known that I could make that kind of money sitting around and reading books, maybe I would’ve considered an alternate career path. Okay, so there’s that minor glitch about possessing a Master’s Degree in Library and Information Studies (MLS/MLIS), but I’m totally down for more schooling. Strolling through campus on sunny afternoons? Midnight hot dog runs? Gym membership at almost criminal prices? HECK YES, can someone sign me up for early admission already?

While I wallow in self-pity that I currently spend my lunch time hunched over in my obviously not ergonomically-designed office chair instead of frolicking around campus with the smell of knowledge in the air, here are my recent reads. I thought I would spice things up a little bit this time and include a quote from each of the books that I read instead of writing reviews. I know this is hard, but please try to contain your excitement!

Week 36: (32) Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Jonathan Safran Foer (3.5/5) - “We had everything to say to each other, but no ways to say it.”

Week 37: (33) Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang - Chelsea Handler (4/5) - “Why he would agree to install an eight-by-eight-foot fish tank and then not fill it with a single dolphin made me want to burn his eyebrows off.”

 

Week 37: (34) The Uncommon Reader - Alan Bennett (3.5/5) - “‘Above literature?’ said the Queen. ‘Who is above literature? You might as well say one was above humanity.’”

Week 38: (35) The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky (4.5/5) - “So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I’m still trying to figure out how that could be.”

Week 38: (36) The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change - Stephen Covey (4/5) - “This is the true joy in life - that being used for a purpose recognized by yourself is a mighty one. That being a force of nature, instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.” - George Bernard Shaw

Week 38: (37) The Sweet By and By - Todd Johnson (4.5/5) - “I think the trick is knowing where you’re supposed to be, and letting go of everything else long enough to be there.”

July Reads - Women, women and more women

July = Women Authors’ Month! Okay, not technically speaking, but how else do you explain how I just happened to read four consecutive books from exclusively female authors in the month of July? Coincidence? I think not!* As Fate has dictated my reading selections to be such, I had no other choice but to humbly acquiesce to the (eclectic) choices from the Reading Gods. Here are my July reads - vive la femme!

Week 29: (25) To the Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf (4/5) - Virginia Woolf has such a unique writing style, it’s impossible to miss. She does this thing where she constantly shifts the book’s perspective from character to character without so much as a warning; I’ll admit it took a little bit of time to get used to, but by the end of the novel I had developed a true appreciation for her seamless and fluid transitions. The ending result is the creation of a story that is multifaceted and complex, layered with variables, differing opinions and feelings. It’s as if your whole life you’ve been visualizing time as a 2-dimensional image and you suddenly realize that no, life is a rotating 3-dimensional form that is so much more complex and detailed than you had originally imagined. I should mention that this book was also surprisingly sad and leaves you feeling a little bit empty inside when you’re finished. No, not “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” empty, but you catch my drift.

Week 29: (26) Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me Chelsea - Chelsea Handler (4/5) - Chelsea is the girl that you admire for being exactly who she wants to be - a girl without any qualms or inhibitions, and who’s fun, ridicuous and a little out-of-control. However, Chelsea also happens to be the girl you’re SO glad that you’re NOT because that would be way too much embarrassment for any sane person to handle. Chelsea presents one crazy story after another (e.g. her irrational fear of red-headed men or vacationing with her father, a.k.a. “Bitch Tits”) and leaves you giggling in relief that you can have a good laugh living vicariously through her books without any of the numerous ugly strings attached.

Week 30: (27) Emma - Jane Austen (4.5/5) - Ahh, Jane Austen - you are a magnificent woman. How you hold my interest for hours on end with your lovable portrayal of disastrously imperfect protagonists is beyond me. Emma Woodhouse is a clever, rich, ”handsome” and foolishly over-confident twenty-one year old that thinks she’s immune to romance. Despite her undeniably pretentious and severely judgmental behavior, you can’t help but falling in love with her. Do you think Jane Austen would be my friend if she were alive today? I’d make tea and bake cookies. And mabe attempt to be more British and proper. I’ll even forgo wearing my Rainbow flip flops for a day and try real “ladies” shoes… now that’s what I call ”commitment.”

Week 31: (28) - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - Rebecca Skloot (4/5) - A rare non-fiction piece that finagled it’s way into my reading stack. The book catalogues the story of Henrietta Lacks - a poor Southern tobacco farmer who’s cells - taken without her knowledge - have become infamous in the scientific realm. Her “HeLa” cells are the first “immortal” human cells grown in culture and have helped with some of the most important medical advances in history, including the polio vaccine, chemotheapy, cloning, gene mapping, and in vitro fertilization. However, Skloot’s novel is much more about the woman behind the “HeLa” cells - Henrietta’s life, her history and her family’s struggle to understand what exactly happened with Henrietta’s cells. Skloot spent over a decade to uncover this story of racism, poverty, science and spirituality, but what ultimately holds the book together more than anything is the author’s genuine curiosity about one woman that forever changed her life, Henrietta Lacks.

*****Okay, so apparently I celebrated this 4 months late since Women’s History Month is in March every year. But coming from a girl that gives birthday presents 10 months late, I’m gonna say this was an achievement. Positive thinking, check.