A Little Librarian Comic #1

 

(C) Sarah Iddings 2013

When You Hold A Book

Most only see the surface; a stack of printed pages, sandwiched between thick paper or some form of hard binding. When I hold a book, I see that too- But that's not the only thing.

I see years of hard work;

A lifetime of dreams.

When one holds a book,

It's more than it seems.

Adventure, romance,

A mystery or two.

Perhaps a life that is vibrant,

Or one bleak and blue.

A writer's imagination

Is spilled out on those pages

Hours of revision,

And writer's block rages.

When one holds a book

It's so much more

Than words printed on pages

And sold in a store.

"When You Hold A Book" (C) Sarah Iddings 2013

What's This Librarian Celebrating?

Well, it's official. At 2pm this afternoon, the library closed down and will reopen again on Thursday. Christmas is officially here! As I write this, I am waiting for my brother to finish doing the dishes. Directly after that, my family will launch into our Christmas Eve tradition of opening gifts and driving around town looking at lights whilst sipping hot beverages. A wonderful evening is in the works, I can assure you. Even the dogs are getting excited- I just heard my mother shout at our pug, Daisy, for attempting to get into one of the gift bags (we probably should never have started giving them presents...oh dear).

What do you do for Christmas? If you have any favorite memories or traditions, feel free to drop a comment at the end of this post for me! I love reading what you all have to say.

More importantly than what we do, though, is what exactly ARE we celebrating? Amidst the lights and buzz, do we really remember what started it all, or is this just an annual ritual that we go through?

I sat down and was thinking this year of how symbolic everything is. Naturally, the name Christmas originates because the original intent of this holiday is the celebration of Christ's birth. Then everything else follows:

• Lights, for the brightness of God's glory.
• The star, in remembrance of the star that showed the three wise men where to find the baby Jesus (aka, Christ)
• The gifts, to commemorate the greatest Gift ever given- the gift of Christ's atonement for our sins.

All of December people are super generous, kind hearted, and thinking of others before themselves. Everyone's on their best behavior for "Santa", and the worst he could do is bring you a lump of coal. So why are we not always on our best behavior all year when God is watching? Our all powerful God can do a whole lot more to you than a rotund elderly man can, that's for certain!

We spend practically the entire month celebrating and preparing for the day that remembers when God sent his Son to earth in human form. So, my question is, why do we not spend every day preparing for the ultimate Christmas- that day when God will return to earth for His people?

The God of the Bible is the only One who can save you from the ultimate doom (aka, Hell). Bring honor and glory to Him year-round; not just in December! :)

I hope as you celebrate Christmas, that you don't let the real meaning stray from your mind.

Have a wonderful holiday, and thank you for stopping by to read my blog! <3

Book(s) of the Week: Triple Feature!

This time around, I've dug up not one, but THREE books of the week for you! Three different books that will help jumpstart your Christmas creativity (and if you've not gotten ready for Christmas yet, you will NEED that jump start, since it's just a few days away!). These are freshly shelved as of yesterday night, so if you're a local, be sure to pop in and grab one before the library shuts down at 2pm on Christmas eve. Happy Holidays!

 

Title: American Christmas

Author: Judith H. Dern
Synopsis: The Christmas season is a time for being with family and friends, for mixing ageless traditions and new ideas. American Christmas will help you discover fresh ways to entertain with festive menus, handmade party favors, and colorful decorations. Eight celebratory occasions?from a New England cookie exchange to a cozy fireside Christmas Eve supper, or a Wine Country Christmas dinner?showcase the true Christmas spirit. Detailed plans help you stay organized.

Link:http://www.amazon.com/American-Christmas-Recipes-Inspire-Traditions/dp/1616284579/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1387781463&sr=8-4&keywords=American+Christmas

 Title: Making Great Gingerbread Houses

 Author: Aaron Morgan
Synopsis:This is part pastry art and part architecture modelling, but making gingerbread houses is all winter-holiday and Christmas-time fun! These forty scrumptious-looking projects are perfect for anyone of any age with an urge to bake & decorate. Complete easy-to-follow instructions from an experienced pastry chef, illustrated step-by-photographic-step in full colour.
Link: http://www.amazon.com/Making-Great-Gingerbread-Houses-Lighthouses/dp/1579902685/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387781533&sr=1-1&keywords=making+great+gingerbread+houses

Title: More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts
Author: Joelle Hoverson
Synopsis:

When STC Craft published Joelle Hoverson’s Last-Minute Knitted Gifts in 2004, the response was over­whelming and today there are nearly 100,000 copies of this classic in print. Six years later, Hoverson is full of fresh, new ideas for beautiful gifts. So STC proudly presents More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts: an elegant collection of 30 projects organized according to the time it takes to complete them, from less than two hours to more than eight. Among the projects featured are sachets, bracelets, ornaments, mittens, gloves, hats, sweaters, baby blankets, and throws.

Understanding that knitters today love to personalize their projects but also need guidance along the way, Hoverson showcases many of the projects in several colors and yarn weights, and with optional embellishments and creative ideas for gift-wrapping.

Link: http://www.purlsoho.com/purl/our-books

The Christmassy Post

It's hard to believe it's getting so near to Christmas already! In celebration of this, I am going to make this post a collage of things that have been a part of my Christmas celebration, both this year and bits of the past.

Starting off with this: Blimey Cow totally captured the true spirit of Christmas in this video, and skillfully rhymed the entire production! It's a must see :)

My brother and I have a certain conspiracy theory involving Santa, and a good reason for you to eat lots of cookies this December!

Gram cracker houses for the library's Christmas craft night! This is the first time in 5 years that I didn't make that stack. Have to admit, I missed it!

My family's tree! I love seeing it after dark.

My brother and I take great holiday  photos together ;)

Each year at the library I show everyone how to make these snowflakes!

But, in all of that, the biggest thing to remember is THIS:

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Book of The Week: A Nantucket Christmas

I stumbled accross this one when I found it tipped over on the shelf due to a missing bookend. Lovely timing for me to see it! For anyone wanting to daydream over early-American Christmas themes, this is the book! (But to be honest, I've not met anyone that specific about their Christmas daydreams).

This book is full of beautiful photos, craft ideas, and more! It makes me want to travel out to Nantucket someday- and hey, after my boyfriend's family gave me variously sized pieces of luggage, AND I own a car, I guess technically I could. Just need to plan the trip and save the money... Well, anyways, back to the book of the week!

Title: A Nantucket Christmas
Author: Leslie Linsley
Synopsis:

People from all over the United States come to Nantucket Island to celebrate Christmas in the charming Early American setting. Every year, during the week after Thanksgiving, a select number of houses--most more than 200 years old--are chosen to be on a house-tour for visiting tourists and islanders. Leslie Linsley, renowned style and craft expert, and author of the recently published Leslie Linsleys Decoupage, is also a resident of Nantucket. In A NANTUCKET CHRISTMAS she offers ideas for Christmas trees, door decorations, mantels, and much more, all inspired by the homes of Nantucket. Also included are projects such as ornaments and stockings as well as festive recipes and inspirations for table settings and entertaining.

Link: http://www.amazon.com/A-Nantucket-Christmas-Leslie-Linsley/dp/0821228714

Techno-Takeover

It's crazy how much technology has advanced since I was a little kid. Being able to get on the computer and use the dial-up internet to play a game on the Barbie website used to be a pretty big deal when I was 8, and getting my first email account at age 11 was huge! Writing a few notes and playing little computer games was about the extent of my tech usage at the time.

Fast forward to nowadays: The majority of the kids I've met walk around texting or talking on their phones, and a lot of them also have their own laptops, ipods, and tablets. The young and old alike rely on technology for so much!  It's our calendars, our contact, our means of shopping, research, entertainment, business, and so much more.

Sometimes I think people hold technology in too high of a regard. Last week I saw an 8 year old girl in the library with her English tutor, bemoaning the fact that she had to sit there and learn how to read better.

"You know," I told her, "You couldn't do my job if you didn't know how to read."

"Sure I could!" she exclaimed.

"Well," I said, "You'd need to know how to read the names and labels to know where the books go."
"Nah, I wouldn't need to do that. I'd just put them wherever!"

"How would people find them?" I questioned.

"Oh, the computer would just tell them where I put the books at." she confidently replied.

I mentally slammed my face onto the bookshelf. She genuinely believed that the computers could somehow determine where the books were at, rather than the fact that you had to put the books away in a certain pattern so that it matched the data entered into the computer system. Perhaps someday in the future, if all the books were microchipped and had built in GPS cards, that could be possible. I guess each person would have to be handed a GPS unit as they walked through the door so that they could look at the screen and follow the arrow to where their book was. Now there's an interesting concept.