TMST: Pandemic-Born Hobbies

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly feature started by the lovely Rainy Day Ramblings, and now hosted by a team of bloggers, Roberta @ Offbeat YA, Karen @ For What It's Worth, Berls @ Because Reading Is Better Than Real Life, Jen @ That's What I'm Talking About, and Linda @ Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell.

Have you kept any hobbies that you started during the pandemic?

Yes and no. The two main hobbies I picked up during the pandemic were gardening and working with polymer clay. Now, prior to this I had done some gardening before, but during the years of the pandemic I really brought this into overdrive. I have to admit that I have not only not calmed down, I have actually sort of gotten worse. My house is being taken over by plants haha.

With polymer clay, I used to use air dry clay, and always loved working with it. I finally decided to try polymer clay (you need to bake it in the oven to cure it, rather than the air dry variety), which I had been interested in for years but had been intimidated by it. I made a sort of palm stone/emblem to help a friend going through a really tough time and learned how the medium worked. Then my clay obsession transferred to this new style, and I haven't looked back. Now I mostly make magnets and figurines for my friends, and have tried a few pairs of earrings.

So although those two hobbies were definitely kicked into hyperdrive during the pandemic, they were activities I enjoyed in some form or another prior to.

What are some hobbies you picked up during the pandemic? Did you continue doing them afterwards?

TMST: Libraries - Online or In-Person?

 Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly feature started by the lovely Rainy Day Ramblings, and now hosted by a team of bloggers, Roberta @ Offbeat YA, Karen @ For What It's Worth, Berls @ Because Reading Is Better Than Real Life, Jen @ That's What I'm Talking About, and Linda @ Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell.

Libraries: do you prefer to visit in-person or check out on-line?

No contest for me this week - I am a browser through and though (and no, I don't mean Google Chrome...ha...ha...ha). Whether it's a bookstore, thrift store shelves of CDs, or you name it, I love to stare down the endless racks and shelves until my eyes hurt. 

Online content is great - I love it for when I'm going on a trip, or when I desperately want to read or watch something that is out in its physical copy, or when I'm feeling sick. Otherwise I love to make the time to go to the physical library. And yes, even though I'm been working in one for a long time, I still love going to them. Any time I'm in a different city, I love going to visit their library. I love large libraries, small county ones - you name it. Show me how you catalogue and classify, how you file, what types of resources you have for kids or students. I just can't get that kind of experience online.

I'm so happy that the online content exists - it's an incredible option to have, and makes things accessible to so many people, but I will keep the physical libraries alive for us all with my enthusiasm for them.

TMST: Going on Vacation

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly feature started by the lovely Rainy Day Ramblings, and now hosted by a team of bloggers, Roberta @ Offbeat YA, Karen @ For What It's Worth, Berls @ Because Reading Is Better Than Real Life, Jen @ That's What I'm Talking About, and Linda @ Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell.

Overnights, long weekends, a week away: What's your preference for a trip?

Usually when I go on a trip, it's for about a week at a time because I end up going to a different province. Being from Canada, this is a pretty significant distance to travel a lot of the time, so a large chunk of the first and last day are spent exclusively travelling to and from that location. However, I find by the end that, although I want to experience more things, I desperately want to relax and be back in my own bed.

Overnights though, I feel like can be a bit too short. If I am in a different city, and want to experience a bunch of things, they may not be open on one of the days (especially if you go on a weekend), or I may just not have the time to fit them in on one of the days. Long weekends, although often busier with more people being off, are ideal. I just prefer to make it a weekend where it isn't already a holiday weekend to get the best of both worlds.

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What about you? What's your preference? Is there a trip or vacation you are looking forward to soon?

TMST Favourite Summer Thing

 Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by the lovely Rainy Day Ramblings, and currently assisted by a team of bloggers, Roberta @ Offbeat YA, Karen @ For What It's Worth, Berls @ Because Reading Is Better Than Real Life, Jen @ That's What I'm Talking About, and Linda @ Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell.

What is your favorite thing about summer?

My favourite thing about summer...would have to be the long days. What I love more than anything, is being able to go for walks in the evening, and the long summer days are the perfect time to do that. It's not too cold or too dark, and I can catch the sunset while out for a stroll.

There are so many reasons that I love this season, including the pace of things, and the chance to be outside all of the time. I'm Canadian - I try to avoid being out too much in the winter because of how cold it is! So summer is my beautiful opportunity to soak in as many rays as I can. I love summer activities, and the Olympics, and summery foods and ice cream. I feel like it's a time where I truly come alive. I get motivated to read and write (and blog!) and take part in all of the wonderful hobbies I have that I can barely keep up with it all - and I love that. The long days help me feel like I can accomplish so many more of those things too.

So, although I would say that the long days are my favourite part, it's really so much more than that.

What's your favourite thing about summer?

TMST: TBR Pile

 Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by the lovely Rainy Day Ramblings, and currently assisted by a team of bloggers, Roberta @ Offbeat YA, Karen @ For What It's Worth, Berls @ Because Reading Is Better Than Real Life, Jen @ That's What I'm Talking About, and Linda @ Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell.

Have you found a way to cut back significantly on your TBR pile?

I have! Although I really, desperately need to go through my Goodreads list, I have mentally cut back on so many books that used to be part of my TBR pile. For me, I stopped adding books in that other people wanted me to read. Recommendations are one thing, but so many people constantly tell me I "have to read this" so I eventually would cave to the pressure of it and, since it sounded interesting, would add it in. Now I just add in what I legitimately want to read. Sure, some of them are because of recommendations from other people whose tastes I trust, but a lot are ones I discover on my own.

Working a library is both a gift and a curse for a TBR pile because I get to see everything. At the same time though, it means that people always ask you if you've read this or that and it can be a lot of pressure to feel like you need to cater to that. Although I do still feel that sense of pressure sometimes, I've been able to squash a lot of it.

Can You Help Me, Shayna?

Those words, spoken to me last week, made my day. That might sound a little odd, a little simple, but it's true.

At work, there is a gentleman who comes in, Mr. F. He's been coming in for years, apparently, but I've only known him for the past three. Now, although Mr. F is rather particular, I have never had any issues with him - my interactions have always been positive ones.

Since the pandemic though, I've really only seen Mr. F a handful of times. He calls semi-regularly, but it's not always me who picks up the call, and my name isn't always given either. He's the kind of person who has been around just enough that you wonder if he's doing okay, but is never gone so long that you officially start worrying about him.

So you might wonder, given that information, why his most recent visit was so impactful to me. Well, here's the thing - many years ago, Mr. F had a traumatic brain injury. He has a really difficult time remembering details, and often needs things documented in clear steps. He always needs his checkout receipt, and you need to go over his account carefully with him every time to make sure all of the items are returned. But, after many months of not seeing each other, the first words out of Mr. F's mouth to me, were "can you help me, Shayna?"

For whatever reason, Mr. F still remembers my name. I wouldn't have been offended in the least had he recognized my face and nothing else - heck, with half of my face covered by a mask, I wouldn't even have been offended had he not recognized me at all. But there he was, not only remembering my name, but feeling comfortable enough with me to instantly know he was safe in asking me for assistance. And the simple joy of it nearly took my breath away.

So thank you, Mr. F - you are exactly why I am here doing this job.

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Tell me about an impactful interaction in your life, whether at work, or in your personal life. Did it help to recharge you? Inspire you?

TMST: Introvert or Extrovert

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by the lovely Rainy Day Ramblings, and currently assisted by a team of bloggers, Roberta @ Offbeat YA, Karen @ For What It's Worth, Berls @ Because Reading Is Better Than Real Life, Jen @ That's What I'm Talking About, and Linda @ Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell.

This week's topic is: Are you an introvert or an extrovert?

Would You Rather Book Tag

I've been having a hard time blogging for many months, so I want to focus on some fun and light content hopefully for the next little while until I get back into the swing of things...and what's more fun than a tag? These questions are provided by Greg @ Book Haven!

1) Would you rather read or watch Netflix for an entire year?

In truth, read, although I unfortunately haven't had much mental space for it lately. But reading will always be one of my favourite things to do, regardless of if I am actively able to do it!

2) Would you rather read all new releases or used/ backlist books for a year

Backlist books! I have such an extensive backlist of things that I truly want to read (and in a lot of cases, also own). I would love to clear these shelves down a bit!

3) Would you rather have pizza or Chinese food?

Well, Greg has decided to torture me with this question. I eat a fair amount of pizza, so I guess I would likely have to pick that...but I truly, truly love Chinese food, especially Szechuan.

What's Going On, Shayna?

My lovely readers,

This is a letter to you. No, I'm not saying goodbye to my blog or anything, don't worry, but I do think we need to talk a little. I'm not blogging a lot right now. I'm not really enjoying blogging right now. I hate that. Sometimes in the past few months, I've had no ideas at all, and other times I've had a million - so many that I can't start on a single one.

It's been a hard year. In some ways, it has been one of the most difficult years of my life - but I can definitely say it's been the year of greatest change. I bought a house, and moved in. I switched jobs from one I had been in for ten years (same organization, different department and work schedule). My relationship of several years ended. Four people in my family died - three being in the span of three months. With all of this, I've still been going to school (although with a decreased workload).

I'm so tired.

I want this post to be intelligent and eloquent - I don't want to just type everything that comes to mind, and yet I also want to write this as a diary entry to just release absolutely everything that I've been going through. So forgive me, if I sound a little crazy.

The Word, or The Page?

I was thinking about making a list of "Ten Books I Would Save in a Fire," and wondered immediately after how many people would think about it the same way I was. What kind of lists would everyone generate if they did one as well? Would their books contain specific copies of books they own (such as special editions), or would they just write down a list of their favourite books.

Of course, as a perpetual overthinker, this brought me to my next point: do people have a specific attachment to their exact copies of a book, or would any copy of it do? What I'm trying to say, in the most convoluted way, is that I am personally very fond of my specific copies and editions of many of my books, even if there is nothing technically special about them.

Why? It's the same book...

An Interview...with Me!

Do you know Clo @ Cuppa Clo? If not, you should - she's lovely! Clo, alongside Sophia @ Bookwyrming Thoughts, runs the event Novel Newcomers, which focuses on new book bloggers. This time, they are featuring book bloggers who started within the past two years - and that's me! 

So, I got the opportunity to be interviewed by Clo and to be featured on her blog. Want to learn more about me? Well, you can read that interview here.

If you enjoy the interview and want to know more, please feel free to post some questions for me below in the comments here and I would love to answer those questions in a future post.

Library Life: Library Misconceptions

I've been fortunate that most of my life has been split between two incredible fields of work: science, and library services. Yet, what I've noticed while talking to people outside of these fields, is that there is very little understanding of what we do! I don't blame people for this, I have no idea how an accountant spends their day, or an electrician. However, both of my fields tend to be portrayed rather stereotypically in the media, leading to some pretty funny misconceptions. So today I want to share with you some of the most common ideas I have heard from people about library work/workers. In future, I want to discuss a little bit of what types of jobs I actually do! I've had experience in three departments, and in two types of positions, so my experiences will be an amalgamation of those, and anything else I can tell you - It won't be indicative of every library, but it's a start!

Misconception #1: You get to read books all day!

Uh...I WISH!
I have had to do this in the past, absolutely, but it's not as big a part of most library jobs as people believe. Children's Programmers, those who run storytimes, definitely have to do this to select the items they are going to read. Librarians mostly skim read to determine what items to maintain in the collection, otherwise they usually read book selection/review articles and magazines (nowhere near as fun, trust me). Occasionally we read to get an idea of items in the collection to better be able to recommend them to others, but this is usually on personal time, and for fun! I actually work with some people that don't read for enjoyment at all. These guys are usually movie buffs though!

TTT: Characters That Remind Me of Myself

Unfortunately, even those these have been awesome topics for me lately, I've had to rush through these lists. Thanks to That Artsy Reader Girl for this week's topic, today we're talking about characters that remind you of yourself. Here are some that automatically come to mind (for various reasons).

January 2019 Update

A complete reverse from December - this has been a month for shows! I'm back in a new semester for school, so that means that I'm watching more shows than movies. An hour of television is a more reasonable study break than a 2.5 hour movie.

Started Watching:

pbs.org

Victoria - season 3

I really love this show. Honestly, I think everything about it has been done brilliantly. Jenna Coleman plays Victoria with strength, elegance and grace, but is not without her faults. Costumes are beautiful, and the cast are all lovely actors who have fantastic backstories to really get invested in.

bbc.co.uk

Poldark - season 1, 2, 3
Nah, I'm not obsessed with period dramas at all! I knew I was going to like this, but I kept having roadblocks to starting it, and then just delayed it for a bit. Wow! I sure wouldn't have been delayed if only I'd known what I was in for! I'm really loving it. I've slowed down on season 3 a bit because of school, but I should be able to finish up season 3 and start season 4 within the next few weeks.

TMST - Winter Blues

I haven't participated in one of these for a while, but I did want to talk about this one today because it definitely can affect us here in the blogging world as well. This week's Tell Me Something Tuesday by Rainy Day Ramblings is about beating the winter blues.

First thing's first - I live in Canada. For those not particularly aware of our climate...it's - 22℃ (about -7℉) where I live today. The skies are grey, and it is stupidly cold. In all honesty, I think most of us here suffer with the winter blues, or seasonal affective disorder at some point. So, what do we do about it? Here are some of the things I find can help.

1) Vitamin D, vitamin D, and more vitamin D. 

I can't stress how important this is. Not only is vitamin D important for the metabolism of many nutrients and for bone health, it is also something we get from sunlight. Trick my body into thinking there's sun (in a sense)? Sure, why not. Everyone is different, but I find it helps - and in moderation (of course), it keeps my body healthy.

2) Getting to sleep on time. 

Although always important, it feels harder and harder to maintain a proper sleeping routine during these cold months. I find that since it feels dark all of the time, my circadian rhythm is completely thrown. Trying to get to sleep at a good time needs to be a priority (but I fail at this more often than I care to admit).

3) Get fresh air and be active when you can.

Sometimes it's just too cold, and being outside makes me more miserable than it helps...but I walk to work most days, and it definitely helps wake me up and feel a bit better. Not a cure-all, but I get at least a little vitamin D this way too. If you can do something fun, or exercise inside (because I don't blame you for not wanting to venture out), that can also really help.

Bookish Pet Peeves

Everyone has something that drives them absolutely nuts when they pick up a book or series. Some of them are so irritating that they cause you to stop a book mid-way, refuse to continue a series, or avoid even starting the book in the first place. Here I want to share a few of those "hair-ripping out moments" of mine with you.

...no. Just no.

A Bad First Sentence
It is my belief that if you can't bother to have a good first sentence in your book, then you probably didn't take enough care with the rest of the piece for it to be worth my time.

Stereotypical Character Descriptions
Male has curly black hair and eyes like the ocean, is six feet tall with a broad chest and plays either piano or guitar.
Girl is plain, with mousy brown hair that never does what she wants it to, and the boy is instantly in love with her and thinks she is the most beautiful girl ever.
Just no.

The Last Pages are a Preview
I'm sorry, but I thought I had 30 pages of this book left and it just ended. I was not ready. I have been jolted out of a few books this way, and it was horrifying every time. I don't mind those short/few page previews after, or if the pages are a different colour on the side so that it is clear it is not part of the original book, but otherwise I often hate it.

Let's Take a Moment For Some Book Love...

As would be expected of a book and media blogger, I love to read. But I am also a book collector, and it is quite the obsession. I can't resist browsing through used book stores to find new favourites, or beautiful copies of those I already adore. The good, musty smell of a Penguin Classic will get me every time (you fellow page-sniffers will know what I'm talking about!). Here are some of the things I find super difficult to resist when perusing the shelves:

• Penguin Classics - As you have likely guessed, I love these. There is just something about the thin pages, the perfect size to fit in a purse or locker, and an easy, readable font. I own tons of them, and if I have the choice between a Penguin Classic edition of a book or a different copy, I am most likely to go for the Penguin.
• Gilded Pages - Those hardcover books with the gold leaf edges? Yeah, that is what I live for. I want to pick them up and touch them. They just look as though they have been made with so much love and care that I instantly connect with them.

All About Me

This is a follow-up to my recent post about Clockwork Bibliotheca turning one year old, which you can see here. Thanks so much to everyone who sent me questions - I really appreciate them all! Apparently some people are having problems posting anonymous comments, so if you have noticed that issue I recommend trying out another browser (specifically try Chrome perhaps) and see if that helps. I have taken a look at things on my end and it says that they should be allowed, so fingers crossed. Otherwise, the comment form on the right side of the page doesn't seem to be having any problems.

Now that all of the business stuff is out of the way, on to the questions!

Blog Questions

What made you think of starting this blog?
The library that I work at once had a series of blogs regarding different topics, and I was hoping to be able to become a writer for those. They ended up shutting them down (for a variety of reasons), but I still had the desire to blog. So eventually I just took it upon myself to start the Clockwork Bibliotheca.

Where did the name Clockwork Bibliotheca come from?
Well, there are a few reasons for it. First off, I really like Latin, so that was definitely a big influence for me. I also really enjoy the Steampunk aesthetic, and gears and clocks and that sort of thing. So, not only was I able to combine these elements together, but I also wanted something that to me really exemplified the feeling of a library, which is this multitude of little pieces that work together to make something function quite beautifully. There were a few other little influences here and there, but essentially, that was it.

How often do you spend working on the blog?
It definitely varies from day to day, but I spend at least a few minutes on here at minimum every day just to check comments and such. Usually every few days I spend an hour or so on here either starting a new post, or slowly plugging away at posts I am stuck on. I also spend time on Goodreads and looking up posts from bloggers that I follow at least once a week.

How long do you think you'll keep at blogging?
I'm hoping for a few years at least! I don't entirely know what direction this blog will take, or what the frequency of posts will be like, but I do hope to maintain it. As I am making my work in libraries into my career, it should be something not too difficult for me to keep up with for several years...fingers crossed.

Happy 1st Birthday to Clockwork Bibliotheca!

We made it! The first post on Clockwork Bibliotheca was officially one year ago, and man has the time ever flown by! In all honesty I didn't know the exact date that I started this blog, but I knew it was coming up soon. So when I checked today, it was a nice surprise to find out that the milestone day was already here!

Bookish Tattoos

Borrowed with permission from Forever Fictional, today I'm going to talk about two things I love - tattoos, and literature! I've always loved both art forms, and have wanted to get some great book and library-inspired tattoos, but the problem is settling on a design. So, here are some of the sorts of tattoos (on the very long list that I have) that I would consider getting:

tattoolit.com

I adore this idea - a tree with which the branches and areas of foliage are individual quotes.

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If you know nothing else about me, know that I love Dr. Seuss.