Crome Yellow (Aldous Huxley)

This post will essentially be Spoiler Free, however comments by other users may possibly contain information that spoils portions of the plot, so read at them your own risk.

anzlitlovers.com

What It's About

Denis, a writer in search of literary success, heads off for an extended stay at Crome - the country house of his friends, the Wimbushs. However, right when Denis arrives his visit hits a sour note, with his intended visit being forgotten about, and everyone talking over him. To add insult to injury, other visitors occupy the interests of his friends and his long time love interest - one being a writer themselves.

Library Life: Hold Slips - Pt. 2

A few weeks ago, I did a post all about how hold slips are generated at libraries (it's much more interesting than it sounds, I promise), and included in it some examples of famous people and what their hold slip codes might look like. I had such fun thinking about them that I decided to do a part II post entirely dedicated to what author's codes would be. 

In case you haven't read that post (in which case, I absolutely recommend it), or just need a refresher, this topic assumes that holds codes are made using the first three letters of the person's last name and the first letter of their first name.

I've scoured my brain and the internet to come up with authors that have interesting or amusing codes, and categorized them into ones that:

• Form English words 
• Result in a name 
• Caught my attention for being interesting

and last but not least,

• Where the holds code look shockingly like the author's own name

Enjoy!

Library Life: Colonoscopy

Now, if that title didn't get your attention, I really don't know what will. It's a little bit of click-bait, but honestly... it was prompted by something that happened recently.

Spending so much time working in a public place, you get to not only see a lot of people, but some of them you see so often that you inadvertently learn a lot about them...or sometimes they tell you far too much. For example, I know that Patti* loves to look up facts about country music on the computer, and Stephen will automatically spell his whole name to you over the phone instead of saying "Stephen with a 'ph'," and Elizabeth will remind you she is legally blind every single time she can.

These interactions are what you just get used to, and you try to shape your conversations around this information. And then, there are these moments, where people tell you things they probably shouldn't, and that you definitely can't "unhear":

Library Life: You Found WHAT in a Book?

Fascinating things can be found between the covers of a book - and I don't just mean the words. Amongst the pages of books and the cases of DVDs and books on CD, I have found many a treasure. Here are a few of the things I have found trapped between the covers of library items, from the mundane to the ridiculous:

TTT: Extraordinary Book Titles

It's been quite some time since I did a Top Ten Tuesday, but this one was so fun that I couldn't miss it. There are a bunch of ways I could have gone with this, but I mostly decided on some of the most ridiculous-sounding book titles I know. Yes, I have completely gotten used to some of them as time as gone on, but looking back at them, they are utterly silly. Thanks to That Artsy Reader Girl for a great topic once again!

1) The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

2) The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat: And Other Clinical Tales - Oliver Sacks

3) Sex Kittens and Horn Dawgs Fall in Love - Maryrose Wood

4) Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants - Dav Pilkey

5) Away Laughing on a Fast Camel - Louise Rennison (Cue: any books in her Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series)

August 2019 Update

August was largely a month of rewatching comfort movies, so although I have watched a few things, I definitely didn't get through as much as I did last month!

Started Watching:

cbc.ca

The Office (US) - season 4
I've watched two or three episodes of this season, and I'm not sure if I'm going to keep going. There is nothing wrong with it, but the episodes are longer, and a lot of the dynamics have shifted...so I'm not very motivated to keep going actively. If it's on, I'll enjoy watching it, but I think I'm done binging this show!

netflix.com

Dark - season 1
To put it bluntly, this show is...well, dark. It's in German, and I personally chose to watch it with in the original German with English subtitles. Only 10 episodes long, this is good if you are looking for a dark science fiction show that is full of mystery and intensity, but also doesn't stretch on forever. Specific, eh? I've watched four or five episodes, and although am enjoying it, I find it a bit heavy to blast through in a few days. Definitely looking forwards to seeing where it goes though. Oh, don't watch this alone at night - trust me.

Library Life: And I Quote...Unusual Favours

I'm going to start a new series! Well, a segment within a series. Within my new "Library Life" series, I want to do an occasional segment, which I'm thinking I want to call "And I Quote..." but that might change, haha. Basically, I wanted to share some of the hilarious situations I deal with while working in a library. Some of these are very much exclusive for libraries, but a lot of them are things that people in all public service situations can relate to. So, here is my first installment of this series - let's see how it goes!

*Disclaimer: to protect the privacy of the people involved, small details and/or wording may be changed from what actually occurred, however the main content is the same.

Books You'd Mash Together

This week's Top Ten Tuesday by That Artsy Reader Girl is Books That You'd Mash Together. I absolutely love this one, and have been working on it for a few weeks now. I'm super excited to share these ones with you!:

1) Robin Hood and The Hunger Games
Outside of the arena, Robin steals from the Capital. Inside, Katniss kicks butt and takes names. Later, they share tips on taking down a deer by bow and arrow.

2) The Secret Garden and Frankenstein
You know why they keep the garden a secret?  Corpse reanimation.

3) The Thorn Birds and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
One day the roles will be reversed. What then? Also, what would a baby do with that kind of money?

4) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Yes, Willy Wonka is the Wizard, Oompa Loompas are the Munchkins, and The Wicked Witch is trying to steal factory secrets.

5) Anne of Green Gables and The Girl Who Owned a City
Can Anne uphold her romantic ideals amidst the apocalypse?