On Location | The Happiest Place on Earth

"The symbol of the Magic Kingdom, the symbol of Disney World itself, Cinderella's Castle is my favorite part of the park. My first peek was set under a rainbow sunset, melting a silky blue sky to orange watercolors folding towards the west. The light invited me inside, to a plaque placed at the entrance to the park  inviting all who entered to 'leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy.' I was more than willing to accept the invitation."

Let's Talk About Books | Guest Post!

This week let's give a big welcome to my friend Amanda! She is an avid book reader (110 books read so far this year!) and aspires to be a future librarian. A sophomore in college, she is thinking about majoring in Spanish and minoring in Math and Educational Studies.  

Hello everyone!!  I’m Amanda, substitute Leeann for this week :) Leeann has crazy amounts of work to do for school, so I’m filling in for her.

So let’s talk about books.  I love ‘em.  Books can take you to other worlds.  They can help you walk in the footsteps of people you would normally know nothing about.  They show you that you’re not alone – that other people feel and think the same way you do.  That is why I love reading.  Reading connects you to the world.

As Leeann mentioned, I think I want to be a school librarian when I grow up.  As a college sophomore, my future is both a long time from now and closer than it seems.  My love of reading stems from two main people – my mom and my school librarian.  My mom is a librarian and shared with me a love of reading from an early age.  She and my dad both read aloud to me and my siblings when we were little, showing us how reading holds the key to other worlds.

I hung out at her library all the time and still do.  It’s almost like my second home, and a good majority of the people who work there have known me since I was baby. One lady, Claire, shares a birthday with me. I remember sneaking up on her at the reference desk whenever we visited the library.  She, or someone else in my mom’s department, would then give me a piece of Hershey’s chocolate.  Fun fact: It has gotten to the point where whenever I eat a piece of plain chocolate I think of the library.  Chocolate + books = great memories.

In addition, I went to the same school from kindergarten to 8th grade and had the same librarian.  Sister Elizabeth always had book recommendations for me along with new and exciting bookmarks.  I kinda have a bookmark collection…I’m up to over 700 now…yeah, don’t judge.  Anyway, she was the main person who influenced what books I read and we shared our thoughts and opinions with each other. We still do to this day, mainly on Goodreads – only the best social media site out there.  Part of the fun of reading is being able to share books with other people and learn from what they think about them.  It’s such an amazing feeling when you find someone who loves a book just as much as you do.

That is why I want to become a librarian.  I want to share this with other people.  Some people aren't “readers."  They say they don’t like it, it takes too long, books are boring, blah, blah, blah.  Crazy people! The way to turn someone into a reader is to start them at an early age with books tailored to their interests. Books are one of the best inventions in the world!  So right now that’s my goal for if/when I become a school librarian.

On another note about reading, I started keeping a journal of all the books I read starting in 2009, when I was a freshman in high school, along with marking them on Goodreads.  As of right now, I’m about halfway through filling the journal up.  I write down the title, author, dates I read the book, and stars out of 5.  It’s really cool to see how my handwriting changes throughout the years and what books I read and loved.  It’s like taking a trip down memory lane, bringing to light where I was when I read something and what was happening in my life at the time.  Now, 6 years later, I am so glad I started this journal.  It’s documentation of my love of reading.

So what do you guys love about reading?  How do you keep track of what you've read and what you thought about it?

Thanks for having me write a guest blog, Leeann!

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Below the Line:

• Thanks so much to Amanda for writing today's post! If any of you would like to contribute, please let me know in the comments or email me at scribblemargins@gmail.com. I'd love to have you!
• We had a tornado warning last night, as in an actual tornado was spotted. Fortunately there was just heavy rain, but nothing like some excitement to spice up a Tuesday evening.
• Less than two weeks until Fall Break!

What I Read: Ishmael | My Triumphant Return!

Welcome back to posts with Leeann! You might have forgotten about me, but I'm the junior who foolishly thought majoring in two reading-heavy departments wouldn't kill me. Needless to say, I was wrong. Anyway, this triumphant return is not a permanent return :(. Promising I'm back to my regular posting would just be a lie. I have large assignments due at least once a week until the end of this semester, and I know they're going to be taking a bunch of my time. But I will do my best.

BUT! Do not be grieved! In light of my busy schedule, I'm going to ask some of my friends to write some posts for you all. Coming next week: a post from future-librarian and book-reading fiend Amanda.

Now, let's get into Ishmael, or the book that will change your worldview life.

5/5 Pineapples

Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit by Daniel Quinn is a dialogue between a teacher and his student. Only the twist is--the teacher is a gorilla. Together the narrator and the gorilla talk through humanity's history, break down Genesis, and result in a "program" that can save humanity from certain extinction.

First of all, disclaimer: I read this for my Environmental Crisis Literature class, so a lot of how I understand this book comes from class discussion. If I start getting into any theory that doesn't make sense, just skip it. I barely understand it myself :)

It's hard to explain just what I loved about this book. It's not your typical novel and what I love about it is the course of the entire conversation (or, you know, the whole book). You have to move from start to finish in order to understand what Quinn is saying. Plus, with the promise of learning how the save the world, you must be patient and read until the very end of the novel.

Ishmael is also a very deep read, one it took class discussions and writing a paper on it for me to fully understand. You have to sit down for a period of time to read it. While it doesn't have to be read all at once, chapter by chapter is really helpful to understanding and staying on track with the conversation.

But the main reason this book is amazing is because it makes you think about how we treat nature. Yes, climate change is a current threat, and we can no longer continue to act the way we do and expect to survive. Change has to happen if the world can make it the next 100, 50, 20 years. Ishmael explains how we've reached this point and what we can do to remove ourselves from the doomed trajectory we're on.

Basically, I highly recommend anyone and everyone to read this book. Then will you definitely understand what I am talking about, and I think you'll find it well worth your time.

What books have made you think before? Any that had an impact on your actions?

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Below the Line:

• Two weeks until Fall Break!
• I've been eating popcorn like nobody's business. Just take one look at the popcorn carcasses under my desk and you'll understand just how intense this snack love has become.
• My Rho Gamma (Recruitment Guide) life has fully kicked in. If anyone wants me to do a post on Greek life or being a Rho Gamma, just let me know. I wasn't planning on doing anything until I can reveal my affiliation but I'd be happy to do a generic post now!
• This is the first time I've been caught up on my schoolwork in two (three?) weeks. Hopefully I'll hang on to it, but with the two papers, discussion leader assignment, and test I have coming up, it seems unlikely.
• Don't forget, guest post next week! Get excited!