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High Shelf Esteem

Archives for November 2017

November 27, 2017

The Top 10 Bookish Holiday Gifts from the Library of Congress

Being a librarian at an independent school near Capitol Hill is great for many reasons, but one that might not come to mind immediately is its proximity to the Library of Congress and its fantastic gift shop. It’s a mere 8 minute walk away. The shop carries myriad fun bookish items that would make excellent holiday gifts for the readers in your life.

For those of you who live in the District, I strongly urge you to check out the shop in person, but if you aren’t near the DC area, the Library Gift Shop website is chock full of the brick and mortar store’s offerings.

Here are 10 of my favorites gifts:

Portable Book Lamp
This rechargeable lamp is not only beautiful (the cover comes in either a maple or walnut finish) but is very useful as well. The lamp’s LED-lit Tykvek pages are 500 lumens bright and are rechargeable.

 

 

Jane Austen Coloring Book
A classy adult coloring book about one of our most beloved authors of all time? Sounds good to me!

 

 

 

‘I Cannot Live Without Books’ Infiniti Scarf
$39.96
This is one of Thomas Jefferson’s best quotes, so why not where it around your neck along with the rest of the text of his 1815 letter to John Adams?

 

 

Open Book Dinnerware
$8.96
Eating and reading are two of the greatest joys in the world. Combining them into adorable dinnerware seems like the appropriate thing to do.

 

 

Pride and Prejudice Letter T-shirt
$22.36
Another Jane Austen gift! There are lots P&P shirts out there, but the fact this one is in Miss Jane’s handwriting makes it extra unique.

 

 

Bibliophilia Postcards
$19.99
Simple and gorgeous, these postcards will also edify you with the wise words of the world’s best authors.

 

 

Cat on Books Snow Globe
$39.96
The real selling point for this one is that one of the books the cat is lounging on is The Great Catsby. How can you pass up such a fabulously cheesy pun???

 

 

French Cookbook Bird House
$96.00
I’m not sure how useful this would be as a functioning bird house, but it sure is cute.

 

 

$Literary Temporary Tattoos
$10.00
Cover yourself in quotes from Hamlet, Sherlock Holmes, and Pride and Prejudice. If you’re wondering if these tattoos are a purchase that should be or not to be, I’d definitely say “TO BE!”

 

 

Ada Twist Scientist Plush Doll
$20.00
If you haven’t read Ada Twist Scientist, by Andrea Beaty, you are doing yourself a disservice. Check it out at your library or bookstore today. Not only is Ada adorable, she is a kick-butt, intelligent symbol of feminism that nobody could quibble with.

 

Purchase these gifts online at Library of Congress Shop. Hurry up and take advantage of the Cyber Monday specials!

Or check out my Bookish Holiday Gift Guide from last year. Not all the items are still available, but the guide will give you some some fun ideas.

What are your favorite bookish gifts this year? Share in the comments below!

Filed Under: Reviews and Recommendations Kristen 2 Comments

November 25, 2017

Literary Linking: Thanksgiving Week 2017

This week’s link topics include: the popularity of Thanksgiving reading, Harry Potter desserts, best books of 2017 and more!

The best bookish links the week of November 20 – 24:

B&N Survey Finds Thanksgiving Eve “Busiest Reading Day of the Year”
The article is about mid-way down the page. I love this quote:  “…just over a quarter of Americans feel that ‘bringing a book along for Thanksgiving could give them a way to get out of an uncomfortable or awkward conversation with a relative or other guest.” What did you read this Thanksgiving?

My Sammelband Has Frisker-Bite: A Short Glossary of Delightful Library Terms
Try using these scrumptious literary vocabulary words today!

How To Make 3 Harry Potter Desserts
The YouTube show Binging with Babish is awesome already, but when the food comes from Harry Potter, the show becomes a kajillion times better. The pumpkin pasties look especially delectable.

10 Books To Read If You Love Lady Bird
I haven’t seen Lady Bird yet, but it’s high on my to-watch list. The movie  has a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes, for Pete’s sake! The story sounds lovely, and this list of read-alikes looks great. If you’ve seen the movie, let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

An Author Photo Is Worth a Thousand Words
Does an author’s photo on the jacket flap influence how you feel about him/her and his/her writing? I personally don’t feel a direct influence, but I am always glad when a photo is included. Books without an author photo seem incomplete to me.

100 Notable Books of 2017 – The New York Times
I can’t believe end-of-year book lists are coming out already! I’m a major sucker for lists, though, so I don’t mind at all. I just wish I’d read more of the 100.

Filed Under: Literary Linking Kristen Leave a Comment

November 20, 2017

What I’ve Been Reading: November Edition

Welcome to Quick Lit, where we share short and sweet reviews of what we’ve been reading lately.

Sorry for my lack of posting, y’all. If you know me IRL, you’re aware that I’ve had a rather unconventional past 8 days. Last Monday morning, I woke up at 3:30 with the worst headache of my life, which turned out to be a subarachnoid hemorrhage on the right side of my brain. I had a craniotomy on Tuesday which pretty much ruined my week, to put it mildly.

In any case, I wanted to at least get to the post I’d planned to publish last week as soon as I was able. (And thankfully, thankfully, thankfully, I AM able now)

So without further ado, here are some of the books I read in November:

 

The Four Tendencies: The Indispensable Personality Profiles That Reveal How To Make Your Life Better (and Other People’s Lives Better, Too), by Gretchen Rubin
Books about personality types are my jam and the Four Tendencies was such an enlightening read. Gretchen Rubin divides people into four categories according to how they respond to expectation (both inner and outer) then provides ample information on how to improve your own life knowing your tendency, and also how to work with and communicate with others based on their tendencies. You can take her online quiz without purchasing the book, but once you find out your tendency, I bet you’ll want to read the book and learn more!

 

French Milk, by Lucy Knisely
I’ve been on a bit of a graphic novel kick recently, and French Milk was a quick yummy read (and I mean yummy pretty literally; the book is FULL of descriptions of delicious French food). It’s a graphic journal of Lucy Knisely’s trip to Paris with her mother during the winter break of her final year of college. It’s full of the angsty worries of college students on the verge of graduation and documents all the amazing meals she consumes. I was hungry and itching to hop on a plane to Paris after reading this one.

 

 

Kindred, by Octavia Butler
Wow, mind blown. That is all.

 

 

 

 

 

Warcross, by Marie Lu
Slated to be a duology, this new series is full of action, adventure and lots of fun video-game culture. I’ll be recommending this to most teens i know.

 

 

 

 

 

Turtles All the Way Down, by John Green
When I saw that Book of the Month was offering Turtles All the Way Down as an add-on, I couldn’t NOT order it. And when it came, I couldn’t NOT read it before the actual October pick (I got Manhattan Beach, which I still haven’t read yet). I love John Green from the bottom of my heart and his new one was emotionally wrought and incredibly educational. Until hearing his recent interviews, I had no idea that he suffered from obsessive compulsive disorder, and in Turtles All the Way Down he does an amazing job of putting the reader in the mind of a person with the condition.

 

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Guernsey was a delight from beginning to end! The main storyline is about a writer looking for inspiration for a new book and she finds it in a motley, humorous and incredibly endearing group of readers from the island of Guernsey. Told during the post-WWII time period through letters, Shafer and Barrows do an excellent job keeping the story cohesive and developing these lovely characters. I have plans to cook a literary feast inspired by this book once the holidays are over. Potato Peel Pie, here I come!

 

What have you been reading in November? Share in the comments below!

Filed Under: Reviews and Recommendations Kristen 4 Comments

November 11, 2017

Literary Linking: November 6 – 10

This week’s link topics include: being a rock ‘n’ roll librarian, the joys of the Scholastic book fair, and more!

The best bookish links the week of November 6 – 10:

Amazon Book Review: Celebrity Picks 2017
Generally, I don’t follow celebrities, but I will when it comes to books! Based on their favorite books of the year, I think I could be good friends with Cassandra Clare and Anna Faris.

A Day in the Life of a Rock ‘n’ Roll Librarian
Being a librarian is rock ‘n’ roll anyway, but working at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame kicks it up a notch.

Condos and Apartments Around the Nation Opt for a Novel Amenity: Books
And a fine amenity it is. I hope the idea catches on.

The Nostalgic Joys of the Scholastic Book Fair, Explained
I was that kid who saved up all her money and blew it all at the book fair. It was magical.

Orlando Pet Shelter Sorts Animals into Hogwarts Houses To Help Them Find Forever Homes
As if this idea wasn’t cute enough, they renamed Hogwarts “Pawgwarts.” LOVE IT. The shelter’s site even has a quiz you can take to sort your pet at home.

I Pretended To Be Emily Dickinson on an Online Dating Site
Miss Emily D. is quite a popular lady, it turns out.

 

Filed Under: Literary Linking Kristen Leave a Comment

November 7, 2017

Worth the Read? — Little Fires Everywhere

Welcome to “Worth the Read?” where I give you my honest opinion on whether you should spend your precious time reading a super-hyped New York Times Bestseller.

Today’s book is:

Little Fires Everywhere, by Celeste Ng

On New York Times Best Sellers list (Hardcover Fiction) for 7 weeks

The Hype:
Celeste Ng’s debut novel, Everything I Never Told You, which came out in 2014 was a critical success, winning honors such as Amazon Book of the Year, an American Library Association’s Alex Award, and more. Readers were excited to read her sophomore novel, as evidenced by its appearance on practically every“Most Anticipated Books of 2017” list out there. And once positive reviews critics started rolling in, celebrities and high-profile authors also put their stamp of approval on the book. Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, John Green, Roxane Gay, and Judy Blume have all expressed their love for the book on social media.

Plot Summary:
From the publisher

In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is planned — from the layout of the winding roads, to the colors of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules.

Enter Mia Warren — an enigmatic artist and single mother — who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenaged daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother-daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past and a disregard for the status quo that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community.

When old family friends of the Richardsons attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town–and puts Mia and Elena on opposing sides. Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Elena is determined to uncover the secrets in Mia’s past. But her obsession will come at unexpected and devastating costs.

Thoughts:
What’s remarkable about this book is that Celeste Ng gives the ending away at the very beginning, but still manages to make the story so compelling that it reads like a unputdownable thriller.

Also notable is how Ng is able to tackle complex topics like class and race without making the book feel pedantic or like there’s an agenda. The plot and characters are strong enough that the story flows, and it just so happens that issues of class and race are deftly incorporated into the mix. 

The only thing I didn’t love about the book was that I didn’t find any of the characters particularly endearing. I really wanted to connect with at least one character, but none of them stood out as lovable. They were all a bit too self-involved or mysterious.

A final thought: If you’re in your 30s or older, you’ll probably enjoy the ‘90s references. I found it especially entertaining when a character mentioned  the search engine Altavista in a conversation.

Rating: 90% worth it

Rating Key
80% – 100% – the book lives up to the hype. Go read it now!
60% – 79% – the book is good, but there’s no rush to read it
40% – 59% – the book has some degree of merit, but has flaws and probably isn’t worth your time
0% – 39% – the book stinks and isn’t worth the read

Have you read Little Fires Everywhere  What were your thoughts? Share in the comments below!

Filed Under: Reviews and Recommendations Kristen 1 Comment

November 4, 2017

Literary Linking: October 30 – November 3

This week’s link topics include: Frog & Toad as memes, librarian Jeopardy contestants, best books of 2017 and more!

The best bookish links the week of October 30 – November 3:

‘Frog and Toad’ Are Memes
Frog & Toad really do lend themselves to some pretty funny memes.

The Badass Librarians of Jeopardy
A fun interview with librarians who have graced the Jeopardy stage

Publisher Weekly’s Best Books of 2017
Wow, I’ve read a grand total of ZERO of the top 10… too many books, not enough time!

Elizabeth Banks, Margot Robbie Team for ‘The Paperbag Princess’
The Paperbag Princess was one of my favorite books growing up and I recommend it to all my students clamoring for princess books. Very excited it’s being adapted for the big screen.

7 People Who Hated ‘Pride and Prejudice’
How dare they?!?

Filed Under: Literary Linking Kristen Leave a Comment

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