Why the Emotional Librarian?

Let me be honest: I have not kept a blog, or even a diary, in a very long time. After years and years of journaling and blogging, I just...stopped. I kept a livejournal alive for I don't know, something like, seven years. Nothing was particularly interesting or worthwhile, but I was at least writing. After I graduated college, I just stopped. I don't know why. It wasn't because I didn't have time. Maybe it was because I have a Twitter, and a Facebook, and countless other ways to tell everyone what I'm doing. I guess I didn't have to do it in paragraph form anymore.

But I'm back. With this blog, The Emotional Librarian.

Why emotional?

Well, here's the thing. I got an idea for a blog - book reviews either in one word or one picture of me reacting to the book. It's not an original idea. I follow Scott, who is the brains behind One Photo Reviews. I absolutely love his reviews. They're perfect. And I wanted to do something like that with books.

I realized sometime in the middle of library school that I don't react to books like we're encouraged to do. I don't pick apart the language. I don't say things like, "Wellllll, I could tell it was her first novel, it certainly wasn't perfect." I think I avoid saying things like that because I haven't written a novel. I don't even know if I can write a novel. But I also just react emotionally. I like a book based on how it made me feel, and that's about it. I can come up with a decent review and certainly had to in library school, and will have do for years to come as a librarian, but I don't prefer to.

I just like a book. Or I don't like a book.
I just like it because it made me happy, or I don't like it because it made me want to throw it against a wall. I like it because of a character, or I don't like it because of what happened to a character. That's about it. That's just how I react naturally.

I've found that's pretty much how kids react to books, too. And most other things. I've found that how I feel about a book emotionally really helps me connect with younger readers.

So I thought, why not start a blog? It will help my reader's advisory at the very least! This blog won't be limited to reviews. It will be about my professional journey as a librarian, one that I hope is going to start very soon! I am eligible to apply for jobs in my system, and I am eager to start interviewing (mostly so I can practice interviewing). I have an exciting journey ahead of me, and I hope you'll join me for the ride.

So, here we go.