Starting Over

The Season of Second Chances - Diane Meier (Henry Holt & Co., 2010)

(advance reader's edition)

Something I always seem to forget when I am sick or depressed is that I find narrative healing. So while I was spending a week fevered and coughing, I couldn't manage to read any of my New Yorkers. Why didn't I try a novel at the very start?

Finally I picked up Meier's, a reader's edition that I came into possession of somewhere along the line. It's about a middle-aged woman who leaves her teaching job in NYC when she is recruited for a new project at Amherst. She seems to have no spontaneity, no rich inner life, and yet there is already a promise of it, when she begins by buying this ramshackle Victorian house near campus. She gets drawn into a world of color and possibility, dragged slowly by her handyman - if such a term really gets at his talent for not only fixing a house, but unearthing its true potential - and her officemate. And a supporting cast of characters. Joy is, what? I think 48, when the novel opens, but she blossoms almost like a teenager, finding that there is strength in vulnerability, and freedom in tying yourself to a community.

Joy grows into herself in ways both expected and not, and loose ends maybe don't knot as nicely as one might like. But this book was a lovely break from my life, and even from the West Coast. And it made for a good reminder that life doesn't necessarily work on a schedule, and that maybe I don't need to worry so much about missing my chances or running out of time. We grow when we are ready to grow.

Awww

The Cinderella Deal - Jennifer Crusie (Bantam Books, 2010/1996)

Remember how a couple months ago I was like "omg, Jennifer Crusie is like the most adorable thing ever"? I picked up another of her titles recently - this one a reissue of one of her earliest works - and I maintain that her work is just purely adorable. How can you hate on romance novels when they are this sweet?

That said. Will someone please explain to me why people in books and movies are always getting themselves into fake engagements or fake marriages? Does this ever actually happen in real life? (Psst Corey Perry, if you need a fiancée, call me. I won't ask too many questions.) This time, stuffy yet hot professor guy needs a family life in order to nail down his dream job (oh, and by the way, he is writing this crazy feminist book, just so you know) in some little town in... Ohio?... so he ropes in his aggravating kooky artistic neighbor. Who loves strays. And the rest is essentially what you'd expect, all done with a really light hand.

I am recovering (I hope!) from an awful flu, so I keep thinking back to the scene where the whole "family" gets some terrible bug and is laid up for ages. If they made it through, so will I, right?

Librarians to the Rescue

This Book is Overdue! How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All - Marilyn Johnson (HarperCollins, 2010)

For the past two months, I have been working on my e-Portfolio, the culminating project for my MLIS. As I have pondered core competencies and looked for evidence that I have met them, I have been guided by Johnson's humorous and impassioned look at the library profession. She's popped up in 3 or 4 of my essays, and thus I don't have much desire to pull a lot of quotes for you here.

But I will recommend this book to library-lovers, as well as those who are interested in how we are navigating the Information Age. Also those who like charming looks at the hidden sides of "boring" professions.

Johnson covers a lot of territory - I remember hearing first that she gets into librarianship in Second Life and other adventures in cyberspace. And yes, she does. But that's only one part of it. She talks about Radical Reference and librarians out of the streets, hawking their trade for social justice. She talks about cataloging, and the cultural importance of good subject headings, the economic value of libraries, the tension between scholars and the general public at renowned institutions like NYPL, and the value of reading as a reliable cure for racing thoughts. (It was a relief to be reminded I'm not the only one who does this.)

Did she get everything perfect? Doubtful. Will she save librarianship? That's too loaded a question to even tackle. But it's a fun and often witty reminder that my chosen profession is home to as much variety and opportunity as I could ever hope for. (Provided I ever actually find a job.)