Relaxing
E-Readers, Tree Books, Libraries & Traveling
Posted May 22, 2018 by Ashley Jackson
Currently I am in Manchester England. The UK is a place I visit often as my husband is from England. I was never much of the E-reader type. I like to hold my books, collect them, smell them, all the things people like us in the LIS & Children’s Literature programs are all too familiar with. I tried E-readers in the past and could never get behind them. It didn’t feel real. Even traveling back and forth from the UK I would lug Jonathan Frazen, Stephen King, or any of my 350+ pages of YA books across the pond. My in-laws and husband would smile at my efforts and my diligence in my devotion to the book I was reading. (The idea behind Frazen was that if I brought a long enough book I wouldn’t have to bring several smaller books, logical right?) I did begin to utilize the public library system over here, which was a huge help and downsized the small personal library I brought with me everywhere. Plus, it was interesting exploring…
Summer Travels
Posted May 17, 2018 by ShanTil Yell
Greetings from Amarillo, Texas–home of the Big Texan 72 oz. Steak Challenge, truly epic thunderstorms, and according to a 2016 article by The Weather Channel, it’s the windiest city in America. Another fun fact? A-Town’s record wind speed clocked in at 84 mph back in 1949, and I would imagine the tornado passing by the instrumentation less than a mile away may have had something to do with that. Anyway, here I am hanging out with my younger brother, caffeinating with a coconut chai, and smack dab in the middle of my cross-country road trip. It’s hard to fathom that I was at home in Somerville just last Saturday. Since then I’ve been to California to watch one of my dearest friends tie the knot, flown to Texas to spend time with my family, and made a quick trip back to my hometown in Oklahoma to visit my Grams. Y’all. It has been the definition of a whirlwind. I’m zonked from traveling and switching up time zones, and I’m only at the halfway mark. This…
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…
Riding The (Heat) Waves – In Boston
Posted July 14, 2017 by Elizabeth Jarcy
It’s official: summer is HERE, and hotter than ever. Coming from Texas, I’m used to the humidity and heat, but not walking around in it – Texas is too big to walk so everyone drives! But here in the ‘Walking City’, I’ve had to adjust to hoofing it wherever I need to go. The MBTA is a blessing and a curse – sometimes the air conditioning is a gift, but other times when the AC is not working it can be a cruel joke. That said, summer in Boston is actually very lovely, as it not only gives me a reprieve from classwork, but lets me actually explore the city I’ve been living in for almost a year. As a SLIS student, museums and libraries are obviously at the top of my list of things to do, and Boston is jam-packed with incredible institutions. The Boston Public Library, the Boston Athenaeum, and the Cambridge Public Library are my top three, although I do like visiting local branches and see how everyday people like me are…
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….
Three Fun Places in Boston
Posted July 7, 2016 by Jill Silverberg
For the first time in months, I took some time yesterday to simply walk around Boston and visit a few of my favorite locations within the city. While I probably should have picked a cooler day (yesterday was HOT!), it was still nice to just take some time to enjoy sites that are unique to Boston. If you have not had an opportunity to visit any of the following locations, I strongly suggest you do. They are a part of what makes Boston special and are as notable to city as Central Park is to New York City. Beacon Hill: I started my day over in one of my favorite neighborhoods in Boston. With history extending as far back as the early 1600s, the neighborhood of Beacon Hill predominately features federal-style houses build during the nineteenth century. I love this neighborhood; while walking around its brick sidewalks and narrow streets one can easily forget that there is a modern city just a few streets away. The Charles Street area is where the old neighborhood and the…
Beach Daze
Posted June 17, 2016 by Tara Pealer
I went to the beach this week. Word of advice? Make sure you apply as much sunscreen as humanly possible; and always re-apply it after swimming. My back could make Taylor Swift’s lipstick jealous, though I put on sunscreen pretty often. We went to Revere Beach, which holds the distinction of being the first public beach in the nation, having been established in 1896. The ride out to Revere isn’t bad–if you’re like me, you catch the C or the D and ride to Government Center, then hop on the Blue Line to Wonderland (which, by the way, is actually closer to the beach than the Revere Beach stop. New England…what can you do?)–and the ride home is pretty relaxing too, if you time it right to avoid Red Sox traffic. Revere Beach is pretty quality for a non-ocean beach. Depending on where you set up, the sand is pretty clear of debris and rock, the water is full of seaweed but not super murky, the downside is that the water is absolutely freezing, because…
Farmer’s Markets of Summer in Boston
Posted June 10, 2016 by Jill Silverberg
June is one of my favorite months of the year. In the past, it used to signify the official end of the academic year. Since moving to Boston, June has come to mark the beginning of farmer’s market season! As a lover of all things related to food, farmer’s markets are like catnip to me. I absolutely love wandering through markets like SoWa, the Boston Copley Farmers Market, and the Haymarket Square Farmer’s Market and talking with the vendors about their produce. The fact that you can buy an amazing amount of fruits and vegetables for just $10 doesn’t hurt either. Whether it is your first spring in Boston or not, you definitely should check out a few of these farmers markets while you can. This past week I’ve been nose deep in books that discuss the history of New England cuisine. At the same time, I’ve been spending my Tuesdays and Wednesdays at the Schlesinger Library reading through the letters of Arthur Nichols, as a means of learning about the late nineteenth and…
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…
Salem In A Day
Posted May 17, 2016 by Tara Pealer
My semester ended last Tuesday so, on Thursday, my friends and I went out to Salem for the day. It’s a fast, cheap trip (14 dollars for a round trip ticket on the commuter rail!) and about thirty or so minutes from South Station to the Salem MBTA station. We basically just wandered around the central tourist part of Salem, hitting up the Witch Dungeon museum, which was kind of corny but in that nice tourist-y way. They did a reenactment of one of the trials and then lead us on a tour of a replica dungeon, and discussed the history of the jailing of the witches. We then wandered down to the Peabody Museum, which was amazing and rich in both classic and maritime themed art and newer, more modern pieces. If you haven’t been, the offer a student discount and it’s really affordable to go in. Of course, spending the whole day in Salem, we had to grab lunch. If you’re looking for good food and a nice environment, I would recommend the…