"you have great style..."

Yesterday I got the shock of my life at pub trivia. Someone actually complimented me on my style! This praise came from a colleague I work with at the library. She told me that I always look adorable and very appropriate for the library. This illicited only one reaction from me: laughter.

It isn't that I can't take a compliment, which I believe I can. It's just that this is something that I used to be teased about (and by some of my student assistants I still am!). I have always dressed like a librarian even before I really knew that I wanted to be one. It's all cardigans, horn-rimmed glasses, lots of tights, and sensible shoes. It takes a lot of talent and a great optometrist to keep this look maintained.

Below I have featured some of my signature pieces..

it's all about the glasses. a great pair can be timeless and sexy. 

I am the self-professed cardigan queen. among my favorites are bold and bright colors, like this one in canary yellow.

skinny jeans, enough said.

lastly, you've gotta have some footwear that is practical and stylish

too funny for our own good.

Reading-for-Men

Yesterday I went to the 3rd Sunday Sale in Bloomington, IL (see yesterday's post on procrastination). The sale was actually a bust so I ended up heading over to an antique mall down the road called "The Golden Giraffe." While I was perusing I came across these gems. They are readers designed specifically for men's taste in the late 1950s. They feature one main story and then include excerpts from other titles in the series.

This semester I've been taking a class on Literacy and Readers. In this class we talk a lot about different reading theories and ideas that have been developed over time. One of these that we have tackled is the idea that men don't read fiction. Certain reading scholars think this is because fiction is a female dominated genre. This theory is something I just can't get behind. When I was little I felt like most of the great books I read like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Gulliver's Travels, and The Red Badge of Courage were all written for boys. Another idea that is contended is that reading is a particularly feminine activity. Only girls can read for fun. Boys have better things to do like play sports, roam outside, and nowadays play video games. This seems like a horrible double standard and a theory that devalues reading.

All of these ideas were floating around in my head and then I found these novels. They confirmed for me that this is more than just a theory. This is something that was acted upon and resulted in these novels being published and explicitly called "Reading-for-Men." Today I am not so sure that this set would go over so well. I think books would never be separated in this way. The idea that one gender is disposed to like a certain type of material while the other likes something different is ludicrous.

This topic is something that I could go on and on about, but I think I'm going to save some of it for class...

procrastination is the root of all evil.. and other life lessons

These past couple of weeks have been out of control. I should be lining everything up for the rest of the semester and the rest of my life for that matter. Looking for a job *should* be my number one priority... Instead I find myself: antiquing, watching Downton Abbey, cleaning my apartment, playing with cats, taking on more shifts at work. Essentially, I will do anything other than what I should be doing.

I honestly think that one of my motives for behaving this way is that this semester is my "last hurrah." After this, (granted I graduate...) there will be no more school. I will go from living the dream to making it in the real world. I most likely won't have a schedule that allows me to take two hour naps on Wednesday afternoons and then do all my laundry on Friday mornings. I will be a participant in the rat race. Watching the clock until it strikes 5. The anticipation (or fear) of this new lifestyle has got me reeling. I am taking full advantage while I can.

This same phenomenon occurred just two years ago when I graduated college. My whole last semester was spent putting off doing things for grad school and just reveling in the last days college life. I feel like at that point in my life this was more appropriate behavior. Now, I just find myself feeling like a loser. Even though I am deeply afraid of the future and working at a *real* job, I want that life. I want it very badly.

I guess I should use this as my motivation for the job search...

job search

The culmination of my education and great time in library school is fast approaching. This only really means one thing... I'm on the prowl for a job. watch out world. I'm coming for ya.