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Librarian's Next ChapterReading whatever I want to read
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My TBR pile and wheel has several YA novels leftover from my career as a school librarian. Oddly, my first spins yielded two titles from those selections. Perhaps fate’s way of easing me into reading post-teaching? The novel I read yesterday was Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone. This novel explored a myriad of topics: OCD, depression, anxiety, friendship, and forgiveness. Samantha/Sam is a fringe member of her high school's “popular” crowd, but hides a near crippling OCD condition fearing that this will cause her to lose her friends. We see Sam through the lens of her swimming, appointments with her therapist, and interacting with her friends. At the beginning of the school year Sam meets a fellow student, completely different from her friends, who introduces her to a secret poetry group. Through this group, Sam begins to explore who she is and what truly matters to her. There are several twists and turns in this story, a few of which I did not anticipate. The characters were the archetypical high school students, and it did feel as though some of the plot turns were a little too pat. A good read for those who enjoy high school angsty romance. 
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Very seldom have I thought, “I should have listened to the audiobook instead of reading this.” Shampoo Unicorn by Sawyer Lovett gave me exactly this feeling. Many of the chapters of this book were transcripts of podcasts and hearing them as such would have amplified both the story experience and emotional content of the episodes. Brian, Greg, and Leslie’s lives are woven together via friendship (Brian and Greg) and a podcast (Brian and Leslie). All three of them are struggling to live with their sexuality, and the ramifications of the personal choice they have made to live out or closeted. The story is set in rural West Virginia and incorporates the magnified sense of isolation and fear that folks in the LGBTQ+ community may feel in such places. Brian, Greg, and their friend Riley have known each other for years. Over time and choices, their friendship has morphed, events in the story cause it to shift yet again. Leslie, unknown to the others but tethered to them via the podcast, is struggling to make a decision on how to live as her authentic self. All the characters are well-fleshed out and multi-faceted and relate their story in their own voice. Getting into the head of the various characters adds so much depth to a story. In telling the story from multiple points of view, the author did a wonderful job of portraying a unique voice for each character, jumping from one to another with such ease I literally checked to see if the book was written by more than one person. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to the author’s future work. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.  Welcome! This site is undergoing a seismic shift as is my life. I am now a retired librarian. As such, I now have many more hours to read. I have been collecting books, both in print and digital in anticipation of this. I have reorganized the physical books, lovingly tucking all the new and new-to-me novels, memoirs, nonfiction, etc. onto shelves in my living room. It looks gorgeous. I have downloaded scads of books and ARCs onto my Kindle and read through the titles with eager anticipation. But I haven’t been reading. I think I have been stymied by reader’s paralysis. In the face of so many varied choices I cannot decide what to read. In this state I have crocheted several blankets, telling myself I will make a decision as I hook yarn into cozy throws. But each time I finish off a creation, I am no closer to a decision. It’s frustrating and I feel like a collector, not a reader. A friend of mine has been posting about the vinyl albums he listens to, choosing a new one each day using a randomizer. A lightbulb went off in my brain and I spent a couple of hours loading book titles into a file on a site called “Wheel of Names”. I typed in the titles of all physical books and a smattering of what I have downloaded. In all, there are 150+ titles on the wheel, representing 160 or so books (I have a few series included). The premise is simple. I spin the wheel, then read the book that has been selected for me. With the decision out of my hands, I hope to jumpstart myself out of this reading slump. My first spin landed on Shampoo Unicorn. I’ll report back as I finish each book. Wish me luck!  |
About meI am a newly retired middle school librarian who is experiencing the joy of reading books written for an older audience and sharing my thoughts. Archives
April 2025
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