Here and Now

Rather than play catch up today (there is plenty of time for that...later) I thought I would focus on the here and now. What is it about the new year that truly feels like a fresh slate, a chance to start anew, to redeem oneself and REALLY stick to goals? Whatever it is, I'm going to ride this wave for as long as I can. My reading resolution in 2011 is to read a book a day. On twitter, many readers follow a posting of this sort with a hashtag, like this: #bookaday. I noticed this, particularly over break and thought that I would like to try it. But I set my bar a bit high for myself, what with the baby and the family gatherings and what not. Then I realized one of the true beauties of being an elementary librarian - I could count picture books (smacks head, but of course!). This all seemed much more do-able in that light. So, I've committed to doing just that. Yesterday's was a bit of a stretch. I really finished the audiobook of Judy Blume's "Going, Going, Gone with the Pain and the Great One the day prior in the car, but I had to count something and had neglected to bring Cece's books in from the car. When I finished "Scumble" on Thursday, I visited the library to replenish my supply of children's lit only to discover that since it was NYE the library was closed. I went into a bit of a panic as I knew we were leaving for a weekend trip on Saturday and highly doubted the library would alternatively be open on New Year's Day. I would have to BUY books. No worries, I had recieved 2 gift cards to B & N for the holidays for just such an occasion. Deep breaths. But, no... My husband had just left and the gift cards were in that car! Off to spend real money on real books. I have a book downloaded on the iPhone ereader but I just can't yet wrap my head around relying on that. And since I forgot a charger, it's a good thing I didn't rely solely on that. I decided I would get a book for the library. Two birds. But I wanted it to be hardcover for the library(limited choices) and I wanted it to be something we didn't already have (limited further) and not the second or third in a series that I hadn't read the first of yet (limited EVEN further). To make things worse, I know we need "The Last Olympian" but since I'm only on book 3 and have not yet completed book 4, I could not justify purchasing book 5 for myself to read on a long car trip. And I'm pretty sure we need the "Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles" but then I would want to get all 3 and couldn't justify that either. I looked at SPaceheadz but ultimately put it down, worried it would be TOO fast a read. Hugo Cabret looked like it might be a bit large for my clientele, but as an award winner, I felt we should have it, but at the price, I also felt we could get a better deal. I settled upon two books: Mockingbird and Saving Zasha. Both look excellent and different while filling a percieved need on our shelves. I'll write mrs about each in a future post... Probably. Hopefully, Mockingbird will be finished in the car ride home today from Hershey and be my book a day for today. And if not, it will serve as a good reminder to read to Cece before she goes to bed. And that is the Here and Now.