This Week's Finds

Just when I thought this week the library's donation box was going to be free of anything interesting and worthwhile of taking home, Saturday afternoon happened!

This very wonderful patron came in with a big bag of books (which I unloaded and returned the bag), and then I jumped right into digging through the pile.

Actually, rewind. During my lunch break, I was rifling through the box, and did find one book before the big bag:

Morning Write - 3

Wrote this early-early this morning, around 1, which is the morning. Did some light editing just before posting. This is a continuation of my last morning write, so check that out first.

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Homeward
Robert made his way through the dead-quiet buildings. As a young kid, he used to run through an abandoned house that was on his street. He and the other kids would jump heavily on the decaying stairs, throw broken bottles at the water-stained and moldy walls, and just destroyed the place. After a few months, it was torn down and remained an empty lot for years. The grass grew up through the cement, and eventually reclaimed the lot. Nature always took back what was Hers.

Morning Write - 2

This morning write isn't related to the last one I did. They are two very separate stories, both of which I might keep continuing on here. Anyways, here's the story that ran through my mind as I woke up this morning.

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The Porch
Robert woke with a start to the sound of heavy thumps. Footsteps, slow and rhythmic woke him from his nap. There was a weight in them that seemed unnatural and awkward. He held his breath to hear exactly where the footsteps were. Just around the corner. His heart hammered in his chest, slowly filling his body with adrenaline. He closed his eyes. His hand carefully removed the revolver from his coat, and let it lay on his lap. The weight was comforting.

This Week's Finds

Even though my work week at the library was short due to MLK Day, I was still able to pick up some great finds!

Last Saturday someone donated an unopened copy of Ocean's Eleven (the 2001 version, not the 60s version). I left it in the Donations Bin, with a note saying if the library doesn't take it, I would. I'm not gonna post a picture, because you can find it anywhere, and have probably seen it.

When I came back to work later in the week, there was a lot of new donations, and these two books staring right up at me:

Morning Write

Might start doing a regular post of morning writing. I know if I say daily it'll never happen. Once and a while is what I'm promising right now. Read if you are interested in free-writing, and peeking into the process of a writer.

The Cave
For millennia, the cave was just that, a cave, a hole in the face of a cliff. Through the gentle caresses of time, this cave's twists and turns were drafted and carved into the resilient Earth.

It hugged and caressed darkness, light, wind, and water within its deceptively delicate frame. Slowly, the years ticked by; each one leaving a gentle mark that was destroyed and recreated with a deliberate cadence.

This Week's Finds

Well, no Bradbury books this week at the library, and I even went to Goodwill and Value Village! I guess I can only fine-tooth-comb thrift stores so often. I find it bittersweet though, it means people who own Bradbury books are keeping them.

We got a huge load of paperbacks though, so many we'll have more mysteries in circulation by next week.

I did find these two interesting books though:


Great Tales of Action and Adventure - Edited by George Bennett

Filler: Library Time

Just wanted to post something to fill the void between "Finds of the Week" posts.

Here is the standard look at what Saturdays are for me. It s a six hour day, so not too hard. Just a little monotonous/boring. Sometimes.

11:00 am -- Help colleague open:
Turn on lights, printers, and copier
Boot up staff computers and get the circulation program ready
Bring in books from book drop, check them in
Take out recycling and week-old newspapers

11:25 -- Start shelving whatever books are left over from Friday

Things I've Read...

Since this is a blog about writing and books, I might as well throw some things out there that I like to read--or what I read frequently.

The last six things I've read:

• Quiet, Please: Dispatches from a Public Librarian - Scott Douglas
This is a very well-written and humorous account of one man's experience as being a librarian, interacting with patrons and co-workers, and wondering about life.

Early History of a Bibliophile...

My parents were initially the ones to get me interested in books. The popular books they’d read to put me to sleep were classics such as Goodnight Moon, The Salamander Room, The Polar Express, King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub, Stellaluna, Where the Wild Things Are, The Last Basselope and some Dr. Seuss, just to name a few.

As I got a little older, my dad broke out old books he read as a kid, including the Encyclopedia Brown series, Baked Beans for Breakfast, and I’m pretty sure the Henry Reed’s Babysitting Service. We even tried a few R.L. Stine books.

The Very Beginning...

Ever since I could hold onto a marker and scribble on paper, my first instinct was to start drawing. It’s what I have always done, and is still very strong today.

I always liked telling and making up stories, as well as reading excessively, but actually writing never really caught up to my attentions until the last few years. In fact, in elementary in Santa Fe, NM, I really didn’t like essay and writing assignments.

It’s already 2010!?

I always find it very surprising how time will fly by, and how long ago everything was when you look back. Maddeningly, things you remember from years ago also feels like they happened a few weeks ago, if not sooner...and then things from last month feel like forever ago!

In order to celebrate this fascinating paradox, I have decided to start remembering and writing about my past—specifically about writing—which in itself is sort of paradoxical (bear with me if I’m rambling.)