Groundhog Day

Oh the irony.

Yesterday I started reading a new book from my ALA freebie pile, a YA fantasy about Sleeping Beauty's sister, a girl who cannot be affected by magic.

Today I awoke at 7:40 in a panic because I was supposed to be at the library at 7:15 for my shift.

I hope I don't have to start repeating this day over again until I get it right...

The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod

I told myself I was only going to spend my time reviewing books I actually enjoyed, but the cover art on this one was too good not to share. I mean, just look at that contrast shadow and the adorable vampiric smiley face! It's pretty much awesome. Unfortunately, that's where the excellence ends.

The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod is a series that has apparently been going for a while now, as this is the fourth book in the series (with a release date of 2-9-10). If you're already a fan I have no doubt you'll like this one as well, but it's a hard sell to newcomers. The main character is a moody teenage vampire, Vlad, who is apparently less romantically appealing than Edward Cullen but with the added bonus of being much less annoying. Vlad is also half-human and in the subject of a vampiric prophecy. I would like to thank author Heather Brewer for writing a book about a teenage vampire that actually has a plot. And bloodsucking. Vampires who don't drink blood are no fun. Vlad avoids killing people by selecting drudges, or servants, to feed off, in deference to his human side. Other vamps just kill people, which has led to a society of slayers. The inclusion of slayers also earns Brewer bonus points, but she promptly looses them for naming the most prominent slayer Joss. I would have thought of Buffy at the mention of slayers anyway, but making her creator the namsake for your own slayer is not cool.

I only read the first several chapters, a smattering of pages in the middle, and then the last three chapters. And yet I had no trouble following the story (aside from references to events from the previous books in the series), which makes me wonder what all the rest of those pages were there for. Also, Brewer should perhaps be reminded that titling the final chapter of a book "An Unexpected Ending" pretty much ruins any sense of surprise she was hoping to achieve, since the twist was hinted at in only the previous chapter.

In short, I have read worse books about vampires, and this series certainly has more potential for actual plot development and is therefore less annoying than Twilight. But that's really not saying much.

Attack of the Fluffy Bunnies

How could a person see this book and not want to read it? Attack of the Fluffy Bunnies (due out May 2010) is a hilarious middle-grade sci-fi adventure in which twins Kevin and Joules Rockman need to save Camp Whatsitooya from sugar crazed, telepathic, man-eating rabbits from outer space.

This book literally had me laughing on every page. Occasionally the narrator laughed with me.

The story is presented in a variety of formats, moving seamlessly from traditional text to illustrated comic book style sequences, to charts of helpful information, to SPAM advertisements. My personal favorite was Kevin's Chart of Famous Last Words, compiled from his and his sister's own life experience and many many episodes of the Late, Late, Late Creepy Show for Insomniacs.

And just what does have the power to repel the Fluffs and save both Camp Whatsitooya and the world? Glitter? Junior High Musical Seven? The Plumbing Channel? SPAM? You'll have to pick this one up and find out! You won't regret it.

Zebrafish

Zebrafish, by Peter Reynolds, was the first of my ALA freebies that I sat down to read. My primary interest in picking up the title was that included in my registration materials was a coupon for a prize pack of promotional materials for the book. Once I read the blurb on the back cover, I knew I had to read it right away.

Zebrafish is about Vita, a self-declared indie girl who lives with her cancer researcher brother and wants to start a band. None of her friends have any musical talent, but with the help of a little computer animation, everyone can be in the band, named Zebrafish after the clear-skinned fish that help researchers study cancer. And what do bands do but put on concerts? In this case, a computer-animated, one song benefit concert. But instead of saving the pandas like band member Tanya wants, Vita decides to help something a little closer to home--the local hospital where her brother works and Tanya goes for chemo treatments.

The book is a fast read (it took me less than half an hour), with only 19 short chapters written in graphic novel style. The illustrations are great, and definitely suitable for middle-grade readers. And I can't think of a single middle schooler who wouldn't think a book about kids starting a band and making a difference was totally awesome.

Where this story finds its heart is in the deepening friendships between the band members and their decision to do something to help a friend in need. And the best part? This heartwarming conclusion encourages kids to think about ways in which they can make a difference. The prize pack was full of items promoting generationcures, a program based at Boston Children's Hospital.

This book is set for a release date of May 2010. I highly suggest keeping an eye out for it if you are or know anyone who enjoys entertaining and heartwarming middle-grade books.

the hills are alive

For as detail-oriented and nit-picky I can be about the little things in life, I have a pretty lax approach to handling the big things. It's not that I'm unconcerned about my future, it's just that I take seriously God's promise to work together all things for the good of those who serve him. The larger decisions in life I find easier to let go of and wait for God's leading because they're already out of my hands and too big for me to fully comprehend.

The first prime example of this is my decision to come to USF. I always knew I wanted to go there, probably because my cousins had loved their time at the school. But there was no way we could ever afford it unless I got the very top scholarship the school offered. I'll admit to being a little worried about that one for a little while, but I knew I didn't want to go anywhere else, so I trusted that it would work out. And it did. God cleared the way for me to spend four amazing years being nurtured and challenged by friends and professors and an amazing Christian community.

The summer I first worked for the Sioux Falls Parks and Rec department I quit my job at Hy-Vee before I knew what I would do instead and made plans to live in Sioux Falls for the summer. All I knew was that I didn't want to work another summer at the salad bar, away from the home I was making in Sioux Falls. I turned in an application at Parks and Rec so late in the spring that I shouldn't have had a chance, but another girl left a position at Tuthill, and they needed a new person at the last minute (I got the call just as I was finishing spring finals), but their required background check took exactly as much time as I needed for my trip to the Boundary Waters and my brother's wedding. I couldn't have planned it more perfectly if I had tried. But God planned that one. He gave me the gift of spending one last summer with my grandma, living in her house and being closer to her than ever before. I am so grateful for that.

And then there was Boston. I had never heard of Simmons College, and possibly never would have, before Dianna suggested we go to Boston over fall break our senior year. She had people and a school to visit and wanted me to come along. So I did a little searching and found a school in Boston with a library science program that I could visit, to legitimize missing the last day of class before break. Enter Simmons College and a school visit that would change my life and draw me back to Boston for my graduate studies.

This is how I live my life: I see things that look fun and try for them. Sometimes it works, and sometimes I get something better instead. I've been turned down for jobs at both Harvard and the JFK library since coming to Boston. Instead, I spent an awesome summer as a tour guide at Park Street Church and look forward to doing the same after graduation this May. I think that job has done a far better job of preparing me for what's coming next.

And what is coming next? In case there's anyone left who hasn't already heard, I'm going to Salzburg, Austria in the fall for a three month library internship at the Salzburg Global Seminar. Don't feel bad if you haven't heard of it--I hadn't either before the internship announcement found its way into my inbox. I initially applied on a whim, figuring that it wouldn't go very far but I may as well take a shot at such a great opportunity. After weeks of hearing nothing, I got an email just days before Christmas from the director, asking if I would be able to do a phone interview in January. Well, that got me pretty excited, and I started actually telling people about the internship possibility, since it suddenly seemed like a real possibility. The more I talked about it, the more excited I got, and I had to remind myself I hadn't actually gotten accepted yet.

My first full day back in Boston I spoke with the director, Cheryl. Apparently the seminar hasn't been able to keep a full time librarian for a few years now and there is quite a bit of work to be done. The actual collection is only about 10K volumes, most of them rather old, but Cheryl wants the library interns to look into ways for the library to expand online services to visiting scholars. She figured that recent library school graduates would be the best to fill this role, since we've just had two years of reading and talking about the most current library science topics and should be better prepared to help bring the little old library forward into the digital era. It's a little overwhelming to think that I will be the sole librarian working on this in September, but it's a challenge I look forward to. I wouldn't want a job that was too easy, even in such a place as Salzburg.

Another thing that makes the challenges easier to face is the library itself. I have seen one picture so far, and it is beautiful. The Salzburg Global Seminar is housed in the Schloss Leopoldskron, Max Reinhardt's old home, the 18th century "castle" of Sound of Music fame. The outdoor scenes of the movie were actually filmed on the lake, though not on the actual property, due to conflicts in scheduling between filming and seminar sessions. But if you think about the Captain's estate in the movie, that's pretty much where I'll be working. And where I'll be living. The internship is unpaid, so they provide room and board, as well as paying for my travel to and from Salzburg. I will have a room (with private bath) in the Schloss, and will take my meals with the seminar interns and visiting scholars. And apparently I'll also have the use of Max Reinhardt's office. And the great music hall, where Mozart is said to have performed. Could someone please pinch me?

There are, of course, a few more hurdles, including applying for a three month work visa. But there's plenty of time to get the details smoothed over. And learn a bit of German so I'm not completely lost when I leave the seminar for tourist-y fun. Plus finish library school and learn as much as possible about what I'll be doing at the Schloss.

But I trust that will all come together.

-Kim