Skool’s Out!

So… this blog assignment thingy has actually been the single best project I’ve done so far in grad skool. Turns out, I really like reviewing books! It gives me a great opportunity to really think about what I just read. And, oddly enough, it seems as though when I think about them I remember them better; & I’m better at describing &/or recommending them to patrons – go figure, eh? So, here’s my plan: I’m going to continue to review the books I read & post them here for your reading pleasure (or at least for my own biblio-exercise).

I’ll be posting a few reviews in rapid succession over the next couple of days because I read them over the course of the semester, but I didn’t want to post them here while this was still an assignment.

Oh, & I’ve come up with a fancy, entertaining & ever-so-witty book rating system. Since becoming a librarian, I’ve been hesitant to actually purchase books – I mean, hey; they’re FREE at the library, right!? So, the few books I’ve purchased (or would be willing to purchase) have been truly exceptional. So;

Top Shelf – WOW. don’t just buy it; keep it in a place of honour. Best. Book. Ever.

Buy It! – seriously, if someone as cheap as myself is recommending you spend money on it, it’s gotta be really, really good!

Put it on Hold NOW! – this is a must read; go to your library website & put a hold on it! get it in your hot little hands as soon as possible! in fact; stop reading this & do it NOW.

Put it on Hold – yes! excellent book! you really should put a hold on it at your local library. but, you know, no big rush. do it today, by all means, but don’t like, drop the cat & rush to the library or anything crazy like that…

Check it out – hey, it’s a good book. If you see it at the library, grab it! check it out! spend some time with it; you’ll like it. really.

..meh - <sigh> yeah. it’s alright. it’s not a bad book by any means; maybe it’s just not really up my ally. I mean, you might love it, right? As for me, I could take it or leave it.

Don’t bother – um… yeah; don’t bother.

Waste of time - if you have paint to watch dry, that would probably be a better use of your time. Or well… pretty much anything would be a better use of time than reading this book. Reading this blog, for example.

Do your fellow library patrons a favor & “accidentally” drop it in the toilet – now, as a librarian, I really don’t condone the wanton destruction of books in any way, shape or form. Books should be treasured, kept, adored & loved. In light of this, perhaps what I’ve just read should really be re-classified as something other than a book…

A little bonus education

Meredith Farkas (Information Wants to be Free) is teaching an on-line class for the School of Library and Information Science on Web 2.0. What’s more, she’s posting class content through Drupal & making it available to all & sundry. I would strongly recommend that anyone in the library world take a look – & follow along if you have time!