New Year's Resolutions

It's that time again, folks.  New Year's Eve is approaching and we're all talking about the resolutions we're making.  Among the top ten resolutions people make according to the International Business Times are losing weight, quitting smoking, managing their finances better, learning something new, and enjoying life.

Sound familiar?  Why does it seem like we all make the same resolutions year after year?  We look forward to a new year, a fresh start, and a positive outlook.  Then about halfway through January (or February for the stronger among us) we lose our steam and ditch those resolutions.  Why?  What happens to all those good intentions?

Apparently, we make too many resolutions, some of which may not be realistic, and then don't come up with an organized plan to follow through with them.  Kendra Cherry, a psychology expert, advises people to pick one resolution to focus on and to start with small steps so the odds of keeping and achieving that resolution increase.  It's also important to get support from friends and family so that it's easier to reach the goal you've set for yourself.  And if you have some setbacks, don't let them keep you down; just get up, dust yourself off, and keep on going.

So, good luck to everyone on following through with his or her resolutions!  You can do it!  And a safe and Happy New Year to all!

As for myself, my resolution is not to make resolutions.

Looking forward to a new year on the perch!

Let Sleeping Classics Lie

Once upon a time in my days as a college instructor, one of my students said that just like the nugget that can never be flushed down the toilet, the classics will always be around.  Maybe I wouldn't phrase things quite as eloquently as my former student, but there are reasons why the classics have endured for generations.  Among some of the reasons, the classics reflect not only the societies and eras in which they were written, but they speak of the universal human condition that transcends culture, place, and time.  They resonate in the souls and imaginations of their audiences.

Occasionally, I feel the classics resonate and fuel the imaginations of some audience members a little too much, inspiring a number to write less worthy spin-offs of great works of literature.  I can't begin to name how many writers have come up with their own spin-offs of Pride and Prejudice.  Now, I'll admit that I'm an Austen fan and I love the world she created in her books.  I can understand how many would like to revisit and expand that world, but do we really need mediocre spin-offs that detail Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy's honeymoon night and their subsequent sexual escapades?  Or the murder of Elizabeth's brother-in-law six years into the Elizabeth's and Mr. Darcy's marriage?  Austen is probably rolling in her grave with shock.

Sometimes it's better not to mess with a good thing and keep the classics the way the original authors intended.  Imitation may be a form of flattery, but it can unfortunately slide easily into the domains of devaluation and desecration.  Instead of looking back and creating spin-offs of the classics, why don't today's writers look to the present and the world around them to make their own new classics?  It would be interesting to look into a crystal ball and see which books today will withstand the test of time and still have something to say to readers a century or more from now.

My 2 cents from the perch.

Easy Holiday Crafts

Ahh, the holidays.  Here they are again.  Filled with people shopping, trimming trees, baking cookies, and doing crafts.  If you're like me, the first three activities are manageable even if you're a total klutz--you can shop on the Internet, buy a pre-lit or pre-decorated tree, and get ready-made cookie dough that you just slice and bake.  But what about doing crafts?  There aren't many ways to go around doing them.

For those artistically-challenged such as myself (trust me--you don't want to see my latest attempt at watercolor), the idea of doing a craft instills fear that goes way down to the very core.  Your heart begins to race, your hands start to shake, and your body breaks out in a cold sweat.  I read online that once children turn into adults, many become conditioned to think that they have little or no talent, feeling self-conscious of anything they try to make.  That definitely rings a bell for me--when I was a kid, my grandparents had me involved in their different hobbies, from knitting and sewing to woodworking and gardening.  Where did my creative streak go?

So for anyone who was once artistic or never artistic to begin with, I offer some websites that show the artistically-challenged how to make simple holiday crafts that will wow you and your friends:

All You  (Different easy crafts.)
Better Homes and Gardens  (All kinds of easy crafts.)
Candy Bouquets  (Really festive.)
Christmas Ornaments  (Great, easy ideas.)
funEZcrafts  (Cute beaded Christmas wreath ornaments.)
Hershey's  (I have a bias for chocolate, and this site also has a Hanukkah section.)
Kwanzaa Crafts  (Things to make for Kwanzaa.)
My Jewish Home  (Craft ideas for Hanukkah.)

So, be fearless!  Get out there and be creative!  Have fun and be proud of those holiday crafts you make!

With sugar plums dancing in my head on the perch.

Where are the happy endings?

As Library Possum's unofficial assistant, I help O Furry One choose his book pick of the week.  With the holiday season here, he thought it best that we don't put up depressing or serious readings about people getting murdered, divorced, or committed to insane asylums. 

No problem, so I thought.  I'll just go to the shelves and find some uplifting books with good old fashioned happy endings.  What surprised me was just how few feel good books there really are nowadays.  If you want some books that won't drag you down, you have to look to classics like Pride and Prejudice or travel books on countries that are economically sound and without political strife.

What happened?  How did we get all the doom and gloom books?  They say literature and the arts are a reflection of the world we live in, and if that's the case, we live in a pretty bleak world at the moment. 

But what about the Great Depression?  The world was pretty bleak then, but literature and movies were happy, filled with plenty of song and dance numbers to help people take a break from their troubles and lift up their spirits.  Do people who feel down today want to feel even more down reading serious books?  In my very humble opinion, I think we need more happy, uplifting books.

So, looking on the positive side of things, Library Possum has chosen for this week J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, a book about an orphaned boy abused by his aunt and uncle and hunted down by an evil wizard who wants to kill him.  Well, at least it has a happy ending.

Do you know of any feel good books?  Share them with the rest of us!

Thinking of happy books on the perch.

Black Friday and Libraries

I apologize to my many readers for not posting for a while.  Even we perch librarians take some time off (mentally, if not physically) to rest and re-energize, not to mention enjoy a little turkey on Thanksgiving (okay, I admit it--I'm a cannibal for eating one of my feathered friends!).  Speaking of the holiday, I hope you've all had a good one followed by murder and mayhem at the mall.

Maybe it's because I was never much of a shopper (blame it on the countless hours I spent as a kid with my mother in "the room," a.k.a. the fitting room, watching her try on outfit after outfit), but I could never quite understand the big to-do about Black Friday.  Now, I'm all about getting a good deal and saving a little cash just like the person next to me, but getting up alarmingly early or not going to bed to get a deal?  Fighting hordes of people to get 1 of 5 items in stock?  Getting pepper sprayed by customers trying to beat out others to an Xbox?  Tell me I'm missing out on all the fun.

It seems I'm not the only librarian or library staff member who looks at Black Friday with a skeptical eye.  Other libraries across the U.S. have developed their own Black Friday marketing strategies.  The Newman Regional Library District in Illinois advertised the following, "To be available to the residents of the library district, the library will be open today if you need a change from shopping."  Doesn't that just warm your heart and relieve your tired footsies?  The Willmar Public Library in Minnesota came up with the idea of having a special storytime for children while their parents went shopping.  Wow--those kids don't realize how lucky they are to avoid "the room."  Some libraries, like the Spokane County Library District in Washington, offered a quieter shopping alternative to the mall for bibliophiles by holding book sales.

So during this holiday season, I will unabashedly advertise the library as your own little sanctuary away from the maddening crowds, away from the hyper kids, away from the humbugs at work.  Think of the library as your own quiet workshop with smiling worker elves ready to fulfill your (literary) wishes.  We'll even pass around cookies that you so generously donate (and we happily accept donations!).

May you all have a wonderful holiday season full of peace and quiet moments for reading!

Yours truly, awaiting cookie donations on the perch.