Happy Horrible Holiday Sweaters!

Unbeknownst to me, it's Ugly Christmas Sweater Day! How did I miss that update? Perhaps with all the apocalyptic madness flying around, this vastly more important celebration got lost in the fray. Since it's my job to inform, consider yourself in the know. If you have something in your closet knitted by an aunt/crocheted by your grandmother/bought on clearance during a moment of weakness that you are too embarrassed to wear in the daylight, here's your chance to put on that wreath-decked monstrosity and flaunt it with pride. Below are some fine Out-of-Door examples for inspiration:

Evan is wearing a Bugs Bunny number in holiday red, complete with "What's up, Doc?" emblazoned around the midriff. This is finished with the perfect accessory - his high-wattage smile.

Chase's sweater is less holiday and more horrible, but it scores major points for the sheer vividness of the design. Don't be fooled - the lighting was a bit dim but in strong sunshine this one leaves spots behind your eyelids when you blink. Total knockout!

Sara sports a sassy vest sprinkled with stars and snowmen. Her subdued pants and coordinating shirt make for an ensemble that tells the world, "Hey, I know it's ugly, and I'm rockin' it anyway." Way to keep it classy, Sara!

Saving the most sparkly for last, Matt is dazzling in a vest that will go down in history like Rudolph's nose. Two bedecked Christmas trees complete with wrapped packages festoon this work of, um, art, and Matt's gentle smile lets us know that he is at peace with his inner glitter monster. He wore this all day in an act of fashion heroism. Thanks for your sacrifice, Matt!

Well, there you are. If you are inspired to wear your own terrifically eye-popping holiday dazzler, get in touch and send us a photo. Happy Holidays, everyone!

Tons of ebooks!

How many times have you realized five minutes before class that you left your copy of Dracula at home? And how many times have you come to the library to check out a copy, only to find that someone else got there a few seconds before you did?

Problem solved. The library has just acquired 500 of the most popular classic titles as electronic books. Go to the library catalog, type in your title, hit the search button and up it comes. Click on the book and there will be a link that takes you right to it so you can read it in your device of choice: Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iPad, whatever.

Desperate seekers of Huck Finn, you are welcome.

Don't stop now!

The turkey has been eaten, the football games have been played, some Black Friday retail therapy is complete . . . the winter holidays are just around the corner. Don't lose momentum! I know the end is in sight, but take a deep breath, center yourself and find the energy you need to see you through a successful midterm season. It will make enjoying the fruits of your labor so much sweeter.

When you're done, stop by and pick up something wonderful that you can really dive into over the break. Not sure what to pick? Come and visit - I love telling people what to read. What I mean is that I am very happy to ask you what you have read, what you like to read, and then figure out what treasure I have in the library to which I can introduce you that will delight and surprise you. The wonders of the season are unfolding - shepherd them along with some great literature.

Food for thought

The library has a surprising collection of cookbooks. We like to have a little bit of everything here, and while the culinary selection is by no means comprehensive, it is delightful in its way. Some of the titles are historical in nature: The Medieval Cookbook; The Seasonal Hearth: The Woman at Home in Early America; something a little older still with Cooking in Ancient Civilizations; and a long-time library favorite - Cooking with Shakespeare.

Others are of regional or ethnic interest: Foods of Peru, Chile and Cuba; The World Religions Cookbook; and Culinaria France, with its gorgeous photographs and informative essays. We also have books for those of you only starting to experiment: Now You're Cooking or How to Boil Water might be just the thing for the kitchen-uninitiated. More experienced? Mastering the Art of French Cooking, the classic by American treasure Julia Child, is waiting quietly on the shelf for you to discover.

If you're more into thinking about it than actually doing it, we've got books for you too. In Defense of Food, an Eater's Manifesto, will make you think carefully about what you're putting in your body; Eat, Pray, Love lets you live vicariously through Elizabeth Gilbert as she ventured around the world and did all three; and - I'm saving the best for last here - M.F.K. Fisher's collected essays The Art of Eating is among my top five favorite books in the library, the first thing I checked out and took home when I got here.

However you spend your Thanksgiving holiday, you're going to eat something at some point. Why not take a moment to reflect on it? Vow to make next year's feast even better by helping to cook it, or at least offer a thoughtful appraisal of where it came from and why it matters.

*You didn't hear this from me, but Manischewitz boxed potato pancake mix makes a very fine latke, with the addition of a little fresh onion, if you don't have time or patience for all the shredding and squeezing.  NOT THAT I WOULD KNOW, OF COURSE.

Book mobile

I totally want to do this. Looks like a great summer project and a terrific way to assuage the guilt I always feel when I weed something, no matter how decrepit or outdated. My glue gun is holstered for now, but come June, I am a folding maniac. Who's with me?

Fall into a book

This is the middle of my fifth year here, and this year I noticed that I had developed some comfortingly familiar habits: Banned Book week at the end of September and Halloween books for the month of October. Every November 1 I choose to highlight books about pilgrims and early colonists in America, the Native American tribes they may have encountered, books about winter holidays including Christmas and Hanukkah, and my favorite: our collection of cookbooks. We also have quite a selection of books about not just food, but nutrition, which is interesting reading at this time of year - Halloween candy is everywhere and the temptation of Thanksgiving is mere weeks away. Come on in and pick up something cozy, informative, or both.

New and improved

As you can see, there have been some changes. I am mostly recovered, physically speaking. Once upon a time I was asked if I had read every book in the library. I have not (yet!), but I have actually touched every single one during the packing and unpacking. There are fewer books, but it is true that sometimes we must prune old branches in order to stimulate new growth.

This post is very overdue – do I have to pay a fee?

I was told a few months ago that “no one reads blogs anymore.” Au contraire! There are people who make a living just on blogging alone, so someone must be reading them. I read them, certainly – I have a few favorites bookmarked so I can stay current: Swiss Army Librarian, Awful LibraryBooks, Ringling College’s Library Voices, to name a few.

Halloween, once upon a time, was the season when the peoples of Northern Europe marked the transition in the year from light to dark. It seems as good a time as any to set about revitalizing my blog – I enjoy writing, and I really enjoy sharing what’s new and exciting in the library and at Out-of-Door. So here’s to new beginnings, despite the falling leaves.

See you in the stacks.