It’s LIT!

Posted August 6, 2019 by Katie Carlson

The truth is, sometimes I think of myself as a ‘bad librarian’ for how few books I’ve read in the past year! It may even be less that I’m not living up to the librarian stereotypes, and more because I feel like I’m missing a piece of myself! In middle and high school (especially over the summer), I would read two or three books a week. College kind of killed my reading bug. I’d find it almost impossible to read for pleasure after 200-some pages of theory, so Netflix it was! I had high hopes that the ease of reading would fly back to me post-graduation, but that was not the case! One book. I read one book! ALL SUMMER! After Karin Slaughter’s thrilling but terrifying Pretty Girls (highly recommend), I was overcome with moving to Boston, making my first apartment home, and finding a tribe. Kicking off grad school meant more prescribed reading, three jobs, and more exhaustion. But even though summer is almost over, I decided I’d had enough. I work at a library for goodness sake, so what’s stopping me? 

During my break I bounded upstairs and selected Martin Duberman’s Stonewall from a beautiful Pride month display. I’m only a chapter or so into the book, but I’m letting the book swallow me in its pages. While working the Children’s desk, Natasha Slee and Cynthia Kittler’s Planet Fashion: 100 Years of Fashion History caught my eye. It may have started with a children’s book, but I’m finally remembering how to read for fun! David Wong’s John Dies at the End also grabbed my attention, along with The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang. I usually only consume fantasy in visual forms, so I’m excited for the new experienceI may have been a little ambitious grabbing three thick books when my Google calendar is so full, but I have hope that I’m tapping into the joy grade school Katie felt while cracking open a book!