Books
First Semester: Complete!
Posted May 2, 2018 by Sarah Callanan
As of 11:55 PM last night, my first semester at Simmons is over! Not that I was counting the minutes or anything. All of my lectures are done, readings completed, and my final project has been TURNED IN! Even though this class was a lot of work, I loved every minute of it and learned so much. As I said last week, I’m really proud of everything I’ve accomplished this semester, and now I have a break from schoolwork until mid-June, which is when my summer class starts. Because I have had absolutely no free time whatsoever for the past few weeks until today because of school, stress, and personal life issues, I am a little bit relieved that I will be having a break from schoolwork, just for a little while. As I will now be having free time, I plan on catching up on some reading. I’ve really been slacking off- I’m a voracious reader, and I usually try and read several books a month but I’ve been so busy lately I haven’t…
Bookish Thoughts
Posted April 6, 2018 by Josie Snow
In mid-February my program hosted a live streaming of the ALA (American Library Association) Youth Media Award ceremony, we gathered together and had breakfast and cheered when books we recognized or loved were awarded. It was enjoyable and eye opening. What was interesting to me was that while I recognized some of the awards, like the Newberry and the Caldecott. I was amazed to discover that all told twenty awards are given out at this time, many of which I had never heard of. A few of the new-to-me awards are listed below: Pura Belpré Award, celebrating Latino/a writers or illustrators and Latino culture. The Odyssey Award, recognizing the best audiobook for children or young adults produced in English and available in the United States. The Schneider Family Book Award, honoring an author or illustrator for excellence in portraying disability experiences. The Stonewall Book Award, given to LGBTQA books in English with exceptional merit. To find out about some of the other awards, visit the ALA website The award event, and some of the discussions…
What I’m Reading Lately
Posted April 5, 2018 by ShanTil Yell
I haven’t put together a proper book list in quite some time, and I figure this is one of the best places to post such a thing. I’ll tell you a little bit about some of the books I’ve read so far this year…I’m about halfway to my goal of 30, which is exciting…, what I’m in the middle of, and what’s waiting for me! Stalking God by Anjali Kumar- I just finished this one a couple of days ago, so it’s still pretty present with me. I came across Kumar in a TED talk she gave that about made my heart burst, and when I found out that she wrote about her experiences in greater detail in this book, I had to get my hands on it. Kumar’s journey, self-described as unorthodox, is full of ups and downs and fascinating turns as she hunts for big answers about the meaning of life and a spiritual home for her young daughter. I applaud her for her bravery and for sharing her beautiful insights about what…
Travelling and Books
Posted March 28, 2018 by Sarah Callanan
As I mentioned in my last post, I am in California! It is currently a balmy 72 degrees outside, and I am enjoying the break from winter (although it has apparently warmed up in Massachusetts since I left). One of the (very few) benefits of a long six-hour flight from Boston to San Diego is that it gives you a long, uninterrupted period of time to read. As a future librarian, I obviously love to read and am a hardcore bibliophile, and I always am grateful for any opportunity to read. Unfortunately, my life has been pretty busy lately, so I haven’t had much time for leisure reading in the past few months, but as I said, the flight gave me some time to catch up. Here are some of the books that I read (or in one case re-read) on my flight, all of which I recommend to you: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle Admittedly this was a re-read, but I love this book to pieces, and I had not picked this…
Bookish Thoughts:
Posted February 13, 2018 by Josie Snow
This semester has introduced me to many books, here are some of the books I have enjoyed or found interesting so far: Books that taught me things I didn’t know before Danza: Amalia Hernandez and the Ballet Folklorico of Mexico by Duncan Tonatiuh The Noisy Paint box: The Colors and sounds of Kandinsky’s Abstract Art by Barb Rosenstock Fascinating: The Life of Leonard Nimoy by Richard Michelson Eyes of the World: Robert Capa, Gerta Taro and the Invention of Modern Photojournalism by Marc Aronson Books that provoked an emotional response: Unleaving by Jill Paton Walsh Push by Sapphire Shizuko’s Daughter by Kyoko Mori House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros Old favorites that I get to see in a new light: Marcello in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork A Time to Dance by Padma Venkatraman
More On Why I Came To Library School
Posted July 12, 2017 by Megan Ondricek
So apparently, sitting around and talking about books is something librarians actually do, because that’s exactly what we’ve been doing in collection development class! On Saturday half of us presented our genre/topic discussions, in which we gave a brief overview of a book genre and talked about what’s hot/what’s not. Except in my case, it wasn’t a book genre. It was board games (a rising trend, wouldn’t you know it)! Someone brought cupcakes to celebrate her birthday, so the whole thing was basically a librarian party. It was pretty clear that everyone there loved discussing and learning about books, many of us becoming nostalgic or sentimental as we talked about our favorites. Which brings a nagging question to my mind that I’ve had since I began library school: is love of reading and books a necessary ingredient in the makeup of a good librarian? Now I think, in most cases, that librarianship is particularly attractive to those of us who do love books, and the two just naturally go together. I’m sure there are a…
Lit Crawl, Book Fest, Maybe Zombies
Posted October 14, 2016 by Tara Pealer
I would like to introduce you to the Boston Lit Crawl, an inaugural event which is occurring on the eve of the Boston Book Fest weekend. Boston Lit Crawl is happening tonight, October 13th, from 6:30 to 8:30 ish. There are 14 events, and you can either go to one event each round or crawl around getting free drinks, free food, and great company. There are events like the Wheel of Austen (Improv! Comedy! Jane Austen! Maybe zombies!), the Exquisite Corpse (remember that game you played in elementary school where someone wrote the first line and then you wrote the next and it went around? It’s like that, but it’s adults with alcohol), and a Boston Lit Crawl ‘Whose Line is it Anyway?’ for attendees to check out. And there will be free food and drinks at some places–it’s like someone crawled inside my brain and rattled around to create an event which sounds like my ideal way to spend a night. There’s also a reading at the Granbury Burying Ground to close the night….
Reminiscing on Belonging
Posted July 14, 2016 by Tara Pealer
Sometimes it takes a while to feel like you belong somewhere and that you’re on the right path. Sometimes you search for reasons and moments and days where you can puzzle together hints that you aren’t chasing a silver lining that isn’t there. Sometimes it takes a costume contest, two glasses of wine and a lot of fake confidence to find those signs. I applied to Simmons sight unseen. The first time I saw Simmons I was applying for a job at the writing center and then rushing off to meet my roommate for the first time. The next time I saw it I was at orientation. Simmons, as a campus, had a hard time making an impression on me, and at orientation, since I’m a notorious introvert, making conversation was pretty hard. We talked about the weather and where we were from. Invigorating discussions. I like to joke that when I saw the short hair and quirky dresses that everyone was wearing, I knew I was in the right place. My old boss, when…
Wandering Boston Gardens
Posted June 2, 2016 by Tara Pealer
Since the spring semester ended, I started a new job, Boston got hit by a heat wave, and I’ve been bouncing back and forth from Boston to CT to handle a few things, like getting an air conditioner and getting my dog vaccinated. However, because it is finally summertime, I’ve been doing my best to walk around Boston and just get to know more of the city. Recently, I’ve been wandering aimlessly and stumbling into some of Boston’s cultivated green spaces. For example: (On the top is the Rose Garden near Simmons, and the bottom is in the financial area near Downtown Crossing) My undergraduate degree in American Studies focused heavily on the history of the environment and environmentalist movements of New England, so I’m always fascinated by these green spaces. A pretty amazing book that discusses Boston’s green spaces in particular is Michael Rawson’s Eden on the Charles. Rawson takes a serious look at green spaces like the Boston Common and this economic, socio-cultural and historical influences which shaped it from an area for cows…
I Wish the Weather Would Make Up Its Mind
Posted April 8, 2016 by Katie Caskey
If you live anywhere in the Boston area, your Facebook feed has undoubtedly been filled with posts about the snow this last week. Either you are an incredulous new-comer to the unpredictability of New England springs or you are a hardened Bostonian, saddened by the reality of snow in April. But now, as I look outside, it’s pouring down rain. The snow is mostly melted, and I am seeing flowers and buds again. Later this week it’s supposed to be sunny and almost 60 degrees…before next weekend’s potential for snow again. However you feel about the weather, I think we can all agree that Boston needs to get it together and make up its mind! I could even get behind snow if I knew it was going to be around for a set amount of time and then be done! I just don’t like all this switching…it’s messing up my outfit planning, my reading selections, even my Panera ordering. After all, who wants to eat a salad when it’s 20 degrees outside? So, to help…