I AM READING THIS SO HARD RIGHT NOW: The Culling by Steven Dos Santos

For those of you just tuning in, this is I AM READING THIS SO HARD RIGHT NOW, where I talk about books I am loving the hell out of.  Of course, I won’t summarize them, because I am a busy 21st century woman with some heavy, heavy shit on my mind. Go find your plot recaps somewhere else! I’m looking at you, teens doing book reports.

If you were my patron at the library, I’d be shoving this book into your hands like nobody’s business. I am aggressive when it comes to Reader’s Advisory. Take the books I recommend or face the wrath of an over-caffeinated, neurotic librarian!

Or maybe I’m feeling tough and ballsy because I’m talking about The Culling: The Torch Keeper: Book One  by Steven Dos Santos. There are some tough mofos in this YA novel and it’s gory and suspenseful as hay-ell. The Culling comes in one of my favorite book flavors (yes, I call them flavors), Dystopian and Post-Apocalyptic. Remember the Capitol and President Snow in The Hunger Games? The Establishment, the tyrannical government that rules the world of The Culling, makes the Capitol look like a bunch of pussycats knocked out on ‘ludes. I hope Dos Santos won’t begrudge me making a comparison to The Hunger Games, but I feel it’s very apt. The Culling is fast-moving and totally gruesome. It also bares a  bit of a resemblance to the Furnace books by Alexander Gordon Smith, which I also enjoyed.

The Culling, of course, stands apart from The Hunger Games and the Furnace books in many ways. I’ve been referring to it as “The Gay Hunger Games”, which I have to stop doing, because people immediately imagine some sort of lip-sync for your life scenario. So, let me explain myself a little better. The Culling features families being torn apart (literally and figuratively) by cruel, totalitarian governments and bloody fights to the death. But, unlike other titles of this ilk, this novel features several gay male characters. Lucky, our narrator? Diggory? They are tough and strong and absolute badasses. They are the ideal action movie heroes. Are they into each other? Sure. But you wouldn’t think of messing with either of them for a second.

Squeamish readers better head for the hills, because I’m about to go straight into an excerpt. Don’t say I didn’t warn you, suckers! Here, all the Recruits for the Trials are gathered together in front of their drill sergeant:

When I See Everyone on the Subway Reading The Great Gatsby…

I’m all:

You’re just getting around to this now? What, do you do everything Hollywood tells you to do?

Thanks, Baz Luhrmann. Your new Great Gatsby movie coming out means: A) I don’t have a single copy of the book on the shelves and B) I have to watch people on the Q train make that smug “I’m reading Fitzgerald for fun”-face.

~Love and Libraries, Ingrid

P.S. Let me add the obligatory “Isn’t it great to see people reading? Joining together in a common literary experience? It just warms the cockles of my cold, dusty librarian heart.”

How to Dress Like a 30-Something Urban Librarian: The Outfit That Made a Patron Laugh Right Into My Face

I was having a great conversation about RuPaul’s Drag Race and Paris is Burning with one of the teens (seriously, this was maybe this best conversation ever), when an adult patron stopped in front of the reference desk. She pointed at me and started laughing. Unabashedly. She didn’t seem crazy, but I was totally taken aback. I just stared at her. She said, “Do people often laugh and smile when they look at you? Well?!?! You made me smile!” Then she trotted off. I think this was a compliment with a not-so-graceful delivery.

Anyway. No one likes being laughed at. Remember this special lesson for the future.

Let’s survey the outfit in question, shall we?

Go ahead. Laugh your ass off.

I was not making this weird face at the reference desk.

I was not holding the cat at the time in question either, but aren’t you glad you caught a guest appearance by Max the Cat? Isn’t he handsome?

My fake-o Peter Pan collar held in place by my Barnard Zine Library and Feminist pins.

This pin was a gift from my boss lady, Rakisha, who has a matching cat in white.

Sky Tiger shirt: Threadless

Detachable sequined Peter Pan collar: Prima donna

Feminist pin: Modern Girl Blitz

Skirt and Belt: Thrifted

~Love and Libraries, Ingrid

Here Books Come to Save the Day!

Those of you who know me well know that I’m having a hell of a hard time. Or, more aptly, someone very close to me is. This explains my infrequent blog posts and totally unpredictable moods. I recently had to take a bunch of days off of work to tend to family issues (sorry that I’m being intentionally vague) and I was nervous about going back to the library. I don’t trust my current state of mind and I feel overly emotional and fragile.

Luckily, I was welcomed back to work by boxes and boxes of Rainbow List books. OMGosh. So many books! So exciting! In addition, I received a magical mystery gift from (I think) one of the ALA Think Tankers.

This isn’t even half of the boxes. (Yes, my desk is mess. Yes, that’s my Hello Kitty cup. Yes, I’m too old for Hello Kitty.)

Here’s what was in my ALA Think Tank mystery package (from an anonymous benefactor).

A closer look at the super cute and super strange pin.

Though I was totally freaked about going back to work, I’m glad I did. Work, strangely enough, is good for my spirits. I have nice coworkers who bake me cakes (and happen to be kick ass librarians to boot), tons of Rainbow List reading material to keep my mind occupied, and, occasionally, someone from ALA Think Tank sends me something wonderful and bizarre (not pictured: the infamous banana slicer).  Seriously, whoever sent me the Sanrio pin and postcard, thank you so much. It really turned my morning around.

I’ve always depended on the kindness of librarians.

~Love and Libraries, Ingrid

Magpie Librarian’s Frequently Asked Questions: For all your reference needs

I work in a busy, massive library in NYC. I mostly work with kids, teens, parents, and teachers. New York is diverse as hay-ell as you may have heard, so I get all kinds of questions. From the typical homework questions and book recommendations to “Can I borrow the Krazy Glue?” (as if we have a tube of public use super glue in the kid’s library)  to “Can I have a list of photo-realistic didactic picture books from the 1970s?” to “I need a 2nd grade non-fiction time travel chapter book” to ”Are you single?” to “Can you ask that baby to stop crying?” to “Can I be like this in here?” (said by a very sweaty man without a shirt on), we get it all in New York. However, there are certain questions I get over and over again. You probably do too. So, I’m here to help. Let’s get started.

Q: How do you get your hair that color?

A: What a relevant and wonderful question.

Well, people. It takes an ass-load of bleach, which hurts like hell. It stings my scalp so bad that I scratch my head through the plastic cap like I’ve got lice that have crabs. Sometimes I just open up the freezer and stick my sizzling-like-bacon head inside. Then I wash that out. Then I marvel that my hair looks like dehydrated albino straw. THEN, I mix a delightful cocktail of really cheap conditioner (think like a VO5 or a Suave) and a tiny bit of Manic Panic’s Cotton Candy Pink. I super-saturate every stupid strand of my dead, beaten, and busted hair. I wrap a babushka/schmatta around my head. I watch Real Housewives (preferably of Atlanta or New York) or maybe some Adventure Time. In a couple of hours, I wash the whole mess out. Tada. I’m a 34 year old librarian with severe arrested development and Pepto-Bismol-colored hair. Aren’t you glad you asked?

Q: You know who you look like? 

Unfortunately, no one ever says I look like Enid.

A: Yeah. That chick from that show.

If you’re a patron of a certain age, you love to tell me that I look like this chica from a show I’ve never watched called Criminal Minds. I never watch it because Criminal Minds seems like SVU and I only like SVU and Ice-T is my favorite actor. Anyway, her name is Kirsten Vangsness and all of Brooklyn is atwitter that she’s my long lost twin. This is her:

Damn. I actually would wear that sweater.

I am strangely in need of this outfit.

So, yes, yes. We’re both nerdy, glasses-wearing, quirky-dressing chicks with round faces and big knockers. Whatever. It used to bug me when people made the comparison, but now it’s just part of my week. If anyone thinks I can make some money off looking like Kirsten Vangsness, please let me know. Mama needs a new pair of shoes. Hire me for your next party.

Q: Where’s the bathroom?

A: 

You’re welcome, everyone.

~Ingrid

I AM READING THIS SO HARD RIGHT NOW: If You Could Be Mine, by Sara Farizan

Diversity in YA literature is a subject that bops around my big dumb head all time. I adore Young Adult literature and I’m so proud of the leaps and bounds I’ve watched it make during my short career as a librarian. Still, there’s much to be desired. I work in one of the most ethnically (and otherwise varied) cities in world. Sometimes I look at the best-selling teen titles and don’t see too many protagonists that look like the kids that hang around the Youth Wing. This troubles me, as it’s important to find yourself reflected in the literature you read AND equally important for teens to be exposed to other cultures and experiences.

Generally speaking, LGBTQ teen literature is considered diverse in its essence. However this facet of literature is still overwhelmingly white-washed. I hardly ever get to read about LGBTQ people of color. In fact, more often than not, I’m presented with a book about two white, middle-class gay male teenagers (typically, these boys tend not to be on the femme-y side). Lesbian protagonists are less common, but clearly not non-existant. I’ve been pleased to discover a few titles that speak to the transgender experience (some better than others) and I just finished a fantastic YA fantasy featuring an intersex protagonist. Forget bisexuals. Sorry, bisexuals! Maybe next year. What I’m saying is, I’m seeing similar experiences rehashed far too often. 

Malinda Lo speaks to this much better than I ever could. I’m not going to bother linking to a specific article or posting one of her quotes, because there are way too many options to choose from. Just bop on over to her blog to access a number of more eloquently stated posts on the topic of diversity in LGBTQ teen literature (and teen literature at large).

All this brings me to If You Could be Mine, by Sarah Farizan, which will be published in August of 2013. Farizan introduces us to Sahar and Nasrin, who are in love. The premise of this book is vastly different than the typical LGBTQ literature I’m accustomed to reading. There’s no awkward coming out to friends and family here, as these characters don’t have that luxury. There’s no end-of-novel prom story or making out behind the bleachers. There’s not even the promise of living as an out lesbian as an adult. Sahar and Nasrin live in Iran where homosexuality is a crime.

There’s a palpable feeling of hopelessness and longing in If You Could Be Mine. Loneliness and desperation permeate every page. There are possible solutions, but none of them are easy or desirable. I don’t do summaries or spoilers, but here’s an excerpt:

“You’re staring again,” Nasrin says. She looks up from her nails and gives me a smile. I look down at my textbook  and hope my face isn’t red, like all the other times Nasrin catches me watching her.

“Don’t you have homework?” I ask.

Nasrin just blows on her nails and rolls her eyes. “I’m not a genius like you, Sahar. I’m going to move to India and be a Bollywood actress.” She stands up and goes into one of her Indian dance routines. Nasrin is an excellent dancer and gets a group of girls together from her school to practice. They usually have me film them while they dance Persian, Arabic, or whatever other dance routines they have been working on…

If she spent as much time on her studies as she did her dancing, maybe we could end up at the same university, but I know that isn’t going to happen. Now that we are getting older, we only have a few more years left like this together. Things will change. Nasrin will have a lot of suitors. The men will line up on her block. All of the well to do Tehran will come to her family’s house, dressed in their best suits.

The suitors will have tea with Nasrin’s parents, and they will explain that they can provide her with a good life with whatever important and boring job they have. Her parents will pick the best man for her, meaning the one with the most money. Nasrin comes from a good family, and they have money themselves, so she will marry the best that there is…I don’t know when I am going to lose her, but it’s going to happen, and I don’t know if I will be able to handle it.

Nasrin finishes her dance, and her face falls when she sees mine.

“What’s wrong, Sahar joon?” she says. She’s always been able to read me, even when she doesn’t want to.

“I wish we could stay in this room forever,” I say. She grins.

…

“I want to marry you,” I say, and Nasrin looks at me with a sad expression that makes me feel helpless and pathetic. 

“I know you do, azizam. We’ve talked about this.”

…

“I’ll find a way for us to be together.” I look her in the eye to let her know I mean it.

She bites her lower lip, as she’s done since she was little, and gently pulls at my hair. “We’re together now, Sahar. Let’s not waste time on what can’t be.”

~If You Could Be Mine, by Sara Farizan, pgs. 5-8

It’s odd to say that I’m excited about a book that caused me this much heartache, but it’s true. If You Could Be Mine puts LGBTQ rights in a global perspective for teen readers. I’m certain it deserves a place in your library.

~Love and Libraries, Ingrid

It’s Been a Bad Day, Please Don’t Take A Picture: Grumpy Cat and Pizza Hearts

I don’t want to sound like a cranky ass, but I’ve had a rough couple of days. Librarianship-wise, friend-wise, family-wise. In times like these, the weirdest little things will perk me up. I’m glad I had the foresight to purchase these very necessary pins:

Sometimes you’ve gotta pick yourself up by your accessories and pull it together, man.

Grumpy cat and pizza pins from Space Grunge.

~Love and Libraries, Ingrid

Reading, Reading Everywhere Because There’s Not Much Time to Spare

I’m full-on into Rainbow List reading and I’m starting to feel the pain. The books from publishers started arriving in drips and drabs and, at first, I was so excited. Look! Books! For me! Waiting for me when I get to work! It’s like Hanukkah except it’s a million days long! So many books! ALL MINE! LOOK HOW IMPORTANT I AM! MWAHAHA! #powerhungrylibrarian, etc. Now, when a big old box of titles shows up, I start quaking in my stylish yet affordable boots. It’s scary. How can I read all these books by my deadlines? How can I make sure that I don’t have to end up cramming in books at the last minute? If I don’t write as I go, I’m going to forget all my important first impressions. Stay tuned for my impending nervous breakdown.

Who am I kidding? I love this stuff. Like, every minute.

I can’t read at home. Not really. I have too many distractions: cats, computer, boyfriend, Netflix. Oddly enough, I can read in the bathtub, especially if I have overpriced bathbombs, lit candles and nice music. I’m so weird. I have to pretend that the book is taking me on a hot date or I won’t read it.

The best place for me to read is outside and, luckily, it’s getting warmer in New York. You know the asshat who takes pictures of his food in restaurants? I take pictures of myself reading. I am the worst. Suffer, children.

Outside on my lunch break. Sprinkles for lunch because I’m a grown-up.

At an outdoor cafe, reading a book cover-to-cover like a smug little jerk.

The Q train is good, especially if you are lucky enough to have some space to yourself. I commute an hour and 15 minutes each way to work, so I try to utilize that time in the best way I can.

Is there a place where you get most of your reading done? If you’ve been on a book list committee or on an awards committee, how did you make sure you maximized your reading time?

~Love and Libraries and SO MANY BOOKS, Ingrid

ULU Gets Good Press, I Get Called a Hipster, Get Told to go Back to Ohio

LOOK! Urban Librarians Unite got some really good press on Gothamist this morning! Yes, ULU is rolling out the Volunteer Library Brigade and it’s going to be all sorts of rad. What is the Volunteer Library Brigade? Thanks for asking!

 These small teams will set up tiny mobile library carts in public spaces around the city and to do on site-volunteer library work as needed for the citizens of New York City. They will look stuff up, hand out books, run storytimes for kids, offer directions, advocate for libraries, and more. The carts, will stocked with reference books, maps, giveaways, WiFi, and free eBook downloads.

You *TOTALLY* want to be a part of this. You don’t even need to be a librarian! You just need to want to help. That’s all:

If you have ever wondered about working in a library, wondered what it would be like to lead a storytime for kids, or just enjoy helping people … even if it’s just finding the right answer to a question, then the Volunteer Library Brigade is for you.

Awesome, right? And awesome that Gothamist would cover our cause.

And then, like a total idiot who has been sick for five days and doesn’t know any better, I read the comments.

Don’t ever read the comments. 

Gothamist included this picture of me in my best normal person drag (my hair isn’t even pink!):

Said the commenters:

From the wardrobe, I am guessing this is the latest hipster cause.

And:

Ugh.  

Am I guessing right that this has nothing whatsoever to do with some kind of new outreach by the New York Public Libraries and instead is just some chicks with “librarian” glasses and ironic dresses doing this?

Look, kids, it’s a cool idea in the abstract, and your hearts are in the right place but seriously, go back to Ohio.

So that’s cool.

So, if you wanna hang out with a bunch of hipster chick librarians in fake glasses and ironic dresses and catch a ride with me back to Ohio, do some rad street librarianship and hang with real live NYC librarians, you should sign up for the Volunteer Library Brigade.

~Love and Libraries, Ingrid

Sick Person: Day Three

This is the obligatory post to let you know that I’ve not given up on blogging, I’m just disgustingly and super gross-out sick. Like Exorcism sick. Like living on a tablespoon of rice pudding and blue gatorade sick.

There’s a million things I should be doing and reading for the Rainbow List is definitely one of them. Also this week starts Hell Week at the library (all the kids are out of school for Spring Break), and I’m not at work to help my coworkers because I’m stuck at home being repulsive. All I’ve managed to do is watch episodes of Adventure Time and sleep. It’s not fun like it sounds.

Please send links to things that are mindlessly amusing.

~Love and Libraries, Ingrid