I don’t think this was really meant as a meme but I’m stealing it and using it as such. I came across this list on the Happiness Project blog, and I think its highly appropriate that I create my own list since  The Happiness Project would definitely be on it! This was actually a hard list to put together for a couple of reasons, first I have a lot of favorite books that have moved me but I’m not sure they’ve changed how I see the world. Second, any time I share a list like this I’m pretty sure readers will be appalled at my terrible taste in books (same goes for music) But here it goes!

1. The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun I’ve always had a fascination with the human brain and how it works, and its a short leap from there to happiness, what makes us happy, why what we think will make us happy doesn’t when we actually get it. Plus who doesn’t want to be a little happier. I really enjoyed Gretchen Rubin’s approach to this book each month she focus on a different part of her life from family to work to money and friendship. It really changed how I look at my days and my life as a whole.

2. Harry Potter Series - I love these books. I don’t think I’ve ever been so sad to see a series end. These book are about friendship and loyalty, confronting your fears and doing what’s right when things are hard, and make the right decision when it’s not easy.  I laughed, I cried, hoped and feared right along with them, how could that not change the way I see the world?

3. Anything by Mary Roach. I realize this is cheating, but I’m ok with it The first book hers I read was Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex which is a fascinating look at well, the science of sex. Mary’s combination of facts, storytelling and humor is enough to keep you interested even during the uncomfortable parts of any subject. Which she proved with Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, where she makes human cadavers interesting and engaging to the average joe. Both of these changed the way I think about every day things like seat belts and sex. I can’t wait to read Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife.

4. Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy I loved this book before it was make into a horrible movie. In 2001 I was leaving Phoenix with nothing but my dogs, what would fit in my car and the pieces of a broken relationship. I bought this book to read at night as I made my way across the country. Frances Mayes story of her time in Italy reminded me that the world was larger than my broken heart and that life and love wouldn’t end at 30 or even 40  :-)

5. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (Wicked Years) Loved the other side of the story!

6. Predictably Irrational, Revised and Expanded Edition: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions I know another book about the mind! But it’s a fascintating look at how we, as human beings, make decisions. Trust me it will change how you see the decisions others make and how you make your own choices.

7. Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays My copy of this book is a hardcover edition with notes in the margins and end paper by the friend who gave it to me. It was the first of Joan Didion’s books I read but hardly the last. I know she’s not for everyone sometimes because of her style, sometimes because of her content.

What seven books have changed the way you see the world?Similar Posts:

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The fabulous host of T is for Training, Maurice, has ordered challenged the group to answer these 27 questions with one sentence each. Who am I to ignore an order challenge?

1. Your One Sentence Bio

• I’m not that kind of librarian.

2. Do you blog? If yes, how did you come up with your blog name?

• It’s a reference to Barbara Gordon and the all the non-traditional roles librarians fill these days.

3. What is your professional background?

• I’ve worked in libraries since I was 16.  Before I got my MLS I worked with engineers, and my first job after graduating was working with engineers, for some of you this may explain a lot.

4. What training do you do? staff? patrons? types of classes?

• staff, patron, other libraries that ask me to, A wide range of subjects – reference in the digital age, social media, web 2.0, gaming, time management, tech tools etc

5. What training do you think is most important to libraries right now

• We need to step up staff training, every staff member should feel comfortable offering basic assistance with any service or technology the library offers.

6. Where do you get your training?

• Anywhere I can! conferences, webinars, colleagues

7. How do you keep up?

• my feed reader, Twitter and Facebook

8. What do you think are the biggest challenges libraries are facing right now?

• shifting our foundations so change is easier and faster

9. What are biggest challenges for trainers?

• short of staff, time, money and in some cases the unwillingness of trainees

10. What exciting things are you doing training wise?

• We have a gadget garage that the FIT (Future Innovation & Technology) Committee is working with to help staff become familiar with new tools, investigate potential new services and circulation to patrons.

11. What do you wish were you doing?

• more training for everyone

12. What would you do with a badger?

• feed it chocolate cake

13. What’s your favorite food?

• Italian

14. If you were stranded on an island, what one thing would you want to have with you?

• another person

15. Do you know what happens when a grasshopper kicks all the seeds out of a pickle?

• uh?

16. Post it notes or the back of your hand?

• used to be back of the hand, but was told it was unprofessional, now I carry a notebook or use my smartphone

17. Windows or Mac?

• windows by default not by thought out choice

18. Talk about one training moment you’d like to forget?

19. What’s your take on handshakes?

• firm is a must

20) Global warming: yes or no

• yes

21. How did you get into this line of work?

• by luck & love

22. Why is the best part of your job?

• making a difference, see “it” click whatever “it” is

23. Why should someone else follow in your shoes?

• I’m going to have to agree with Pete on this one – blaze your own trail

24. Sushi or hamburger?

• depends

25. LSW or ALA?

• both

26. What one person in the world do you want to have lunch with and why?

• Barack Obama I heard him speak when he was campaigning and it was amazing, I’d just like to have a conversation with him

27. What cell phone do you have and why?

• Palm Pre – Sprint gave it to me. I hate it, I’m on my 3rd one.  Don’t buy one.

Read responses from the rest of the crew:

• “C is for Challenge” at “T is for Training” - Laura
• Me. Coffee. Morning. - Jill T is for Training Meme – Beth
• Pete Bromberg’s 23 things (minus 3): A getting to know ya post
• A Get to Know Me Meme from TIFT – Stephanie
• 27 Questions - Marianne
  

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Was is self promoting narcissism? Desire to share the most boring mundane details of your life with others (wake up, make coffee)? Or something else.

Sarah Faye Cohen shares why she didn’t participate and she’s wondering why others did. A legitimate question, actually one I’m curious about myself. The first two rounds of Library Day in the Life were small, I think less than 30 people total, then somehow this one took off, I’m not sure if it was David’s post or the mention on LISnews or what, but all of a sudden there were loads of people I’d never interacted with doing it (over 200 last count). Whoa. Awesome. Scary. Exciting.

I can’t speak to why everyone did it but I can speak for myself.

“who we are writing these memes for.”

Well, the whole thing started because I look at my blog stats and the search terms used to bring people there, the most popular ones were: librarian’s day, what it like to be librarian, what’s it like to work as a librarian, you get the idea. I assumed, because how could I know, that these were searches done by people considering librarianship or just curious.  So I thought I should blog my days, give the people what they want right? But there are so many of us doing so many things, my days wouldn’t be a good representation, so I tried to start the meme. I didn’t give it a lot thought, I just picked some people doing new and interesting things and linked to them.  I hoped people would share what they did and give insight into all different aspects of libraryland and they did!

So I wrote this meme for the people who wonder what a librarian’s day is like. Who are those people? I don’t know, I generally don’t ask patrons why they want information, I just give it to them.

I wrote the meme for myself too. I wanted to know what other librarians were doing, there are so many new exciting positions out there, I wanted to know how are they spending their time?  I’m selfish like that.

After the first round I got a lot of email from professors, librarians and lots of other people saying what a great resource it is.  Lets face it if you’re considering being a librarian today there aren’t a lot of resources for you, the last book is from 2003 and my job didn’t even exist in 2003.  I’ll admit some of the blog posts are more informative than others and I’ll be suggesting a better format if there is another round. But over all it accomplishes what I’d hoped for; a wide range of library people, not just MLS holding librarians you don’t have to have an MLS to work in a library, writing about their average day.

She next says:

But this meme leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth in part because I don’t see the meme itself having a role in our relevance, or our creativity, or out sociality (is that a word?!).

Who says that was the point? There are a lot of people working hard on our relevance, creativity and our sociality, I like to think I’m one of them.  But the purpose of the meme was to share what our average days were like, with each other, with students, with potential library workers everywhere.  It did that.  Doing this meme didn’t stop me from working on our relevance, creativity or sociality, and in face it might have helped me do those things better.  I understand Sarah and Amanda’s point, but you can be talking about something AND doing it at the same time, the acts are not mutually exclusive, but that’s another blog post.

I could go on and on but in I think Meredith Farkas has written a reply that covers most of what I’d say and I’m sure she’s written it better than I could.

But at the end of the day, in a nut shell, why did I do? Because its my blog and I could.Similar Posts:

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It looks like there is another Library themed meme making the rounds, this one started by Meredith Farkas at Information Wants To Be Free, I spotted over on David’s blog weeks ago but never imagined it would get around to me. Both The Bald Trainer & Beth Tribe tagged me for this one, so I better get on it.

Q1) How or why did I start to get into blogging?

I’d had a personal blog for a while and in fact I’d started this blog at one point then deleted all the posts in July of 2007 to get a fresh start.  I started this blog as more of a record for me, as I said in one of my very first posts, as a record of my adventures in libraryland.

Q2) How did I gain an audience?

I’m not sure.  As I look back over some of my older posts I cringe a little.  Some of what I thought were my best posts got very little attention (hey look! There’s the first time I said “if you build it they will come – or maybe not”, I say this in most of my presentations)  I’d like to think it’s been by providing useful information combined with my wit and charm.

Q3) What advice would you give to new bloggers who want to make a name for themselves in the biblioblogosphere?

Don’t be afraid to let your personality show through.  Think about the blogs you read and why you read them.  Know who your audience is, libraryland is really big, it’s hard to aim for everyone.  It’s ok to have an opinion, and it’s ok to change your mind later about your opinion. Be honest.  Be kind.Similar Posts:

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I’m a joiner what can I say?  Tombrarian tagged me for a meme, create a Wordle tag cloud based on a book.  I’ve been playing with this and it’s so cool!

I guess I need to tag someone too, how about Talking Books and the Goblin in the Library

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