Unshelved

Aww, crap. I just spent an hour of my precious time clicking through the Randomizer. Again. That thing is an occupational hazard. It's been taking me twice as long to post this month- first I have to check everyone else's blogshizzle and comment on it, then I have to get my randomness fix in, then reply to the comments left on mine. It's all quite time-consuming, really. Maybe I should have considered a Master's in Blog Reading because apparently that's all I want to do.

Unfortunately for you, I just realized that I have been neglecting the true meaning of the month of November: to celebrate me! And what better way to describe myself than a little meme about one of my favorite things.

Books!

Before I started down the glorious path to Librarydom I could frequently be found shacked up in a Barnes and Noble somewhere, overpriced Starbucks in one hand and a stack of books in the other. It got to the point that I was there so often an employee (a cheeky young man with a goatee) commented, "I think that armchair must permanently have your ass-print etched into it." Well, I thought hard about this comment and came up with two profound realizations:
1. Barnes and Noble apparently likes to employ rude young men, and
2. All the money I was spending on books I'd read once and given away could be going to much more productive things. Like clothes. And shoes.

Conclusion: I needed a source for free reading. Hmm... books? Where does one go to get free literature? A homeless shelter? The dentist's office? Tricky.

Like most adults, I had stopped going to the library once I was no longer required to for school work. It's rediscovery was one of the greatest turning points in my life, and so I've made it my personal mission to be a spokesperson for the awesomeness that is free books.

Without further ado, a survey.

1. One book that changed your life:
The Gashlycrumb Tinies, Edward Gorey

2. One book that you’ve read more than once:
Jane Eyre, The Golden Compass, I Capture the Castle, Pride and Prejudice

3. One book you’d want on a desert island:
Probably a survival guide to living on a desert island.

4. One book that made you laugh:
Thirsty, M.T. Anderson

5. One book that made you cry:
The Amber Spyglass, Philip Pullman

6. One book that you wish had been written:
101 Reasons Why Your Undergrad Degree Means Squat

7. One book that you wish had never been written:
Billy Budd, Herman Melville (Worst. Book. Ever.)

8. One book you’re currently reading:
Always have a couple going at once, amazing librarian that I am.
Darkhenge, Catherine Fisher
A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy, Gary Schmidt

9. One book you’ve been meaning to read:
I keep a list of classics I'd like to get around to reading. Last year I finally, finally finished Anna Karenina. This year my goal is something Shakespearean; it is my greatest shame that I was a Comparative Literature major and I've never read a single of his plays. (Although, I've seen quite a few of the plays and I have been to his house in Stratford-Upon-Avon. I think I can count that as some culture by osmosis.)