Adventures in gratitude ....

As 2012 draws to a close it seems an opportune moment to thank a few people for their contributions to my learning - as a Librarian and as a person.
- Pam, whose ready ear and clever wisdom have kept me sane throughout the madness of this past year, everyone should have a friend like this who understands them implicitly and is ever ready to embark on yet another mad hatter scheme (she also has a wonderful line in perfect cards for every occasion).
- Ellen, whose steady advice and inspiration in all things Librarian has led to a friendship which I value enormously, collaborating with Ellen on any number of projects has always been the absolute highlight of my career and I look forward to many more collaborations to come.
- Vassiliki, always quick to offer help and a shoulder when needed, her deeply held love of reading is an example, and a challenge, to all. There is no greater afternoon well spent than one discussing all manner of genres and authors with her.
- the Ref-Ex crew for continuing to work on this project and see it grow bigger and better all the time, taking the responsibility for enhancing the reference skills of public library staff across NSW is a huge thing and I have truly valued working with each and every one of you.
- the NSW Reference and Information Services Group (RISG) for all the hard work that goes into the annual seminars, the blogs, the wiki and the regular meetings; listening to and informing NSW public library staff of developments and innovations in all things to do with providing reference and information services is a  big thing (you're also a really nice bunch of people).
- the NSW Readers Advisory group, well girls what can I say? Working on the twitter reading groups since 2011 has been amazing, first with #readit2011 and now with #nyr12 (love2read2012). We have come leaps and bounds since we all got together in 2005 and I am so looking forward to continuing the twitter reading group phenomenon next year and beyond with #rwpchat (read watch play). Together we have developed new social media skills and as a collaborative group have really shown the value of team involvement. Congratulations on a successful year of blogging and tweeting about all things reading and here's to another year of exploring and immersing ourselves in the different ways in which people read and explore reading.
- the ALIA Biennial social media team - wow, what a learning curve. It has been an absolute pleasure collaborating on this project and working towards a successful conference presence using a multitude of social media tools. I have learnt a lot from each of you and have come away so much richer from this experience. Thank you, it was a blast.!
2012 has certainly been a big year and I am truly grateful for each and every person who has contributed to it - my family, my friends, my work colleagues, and my professional colleagues - I am definitely the richer for it. I hope each and every one of you has a great 2013. Thank you.

What is reading?

For 2012 the National Year of Reading twitter reading group set up a blog - love2read2012 - to act as a point of reference and maintain the conversation. One of the pages on that blog discussed what is reading. In 2013 the team is continuing the twitter reading group (which began with the #readit2011 campaign), spreading globally and expanding on the idea of what reading is. The new blog is called ReadWatchPlay and was launched at the Imagine the Future Public Libraries NSW conference held just this past week at Shoal Bay. Below is a copy of the page on that blog which discusses what is reading within this context (it is a bit of a rewrite of the original love2read post). Enjoy. What do you think reading is? What does 'reading' mean for/to you?

We value all kinds of reading experiences which provide enjoyment, knowledge, understanding, and relaxation. Be it a book, a movie, a game, or a piece of music – reading reaches out to the world and hugs them close.

The concept of ‘reading’ encompasses a broad spectrum of activities – reading, watching, and playing.

Reading has made me who I am. To read is to learn and grow, to experience, to empathise, to understand, to marvel, to wonder, to laugh, and to cry. To live other lives in other places and times, to deepen a connection with place. Reading is immensely important to me. It shapes my personality and identity as do all experiences. I am a fuller, more rounded person because I read. I am able to imagine and empathise with others. I learn things that help me in my daily life and I experience joy, sorrow and relaxation when I read.

I’m reading when I check my email, I’m reading while I download songs, I’m reading when I sort my bills from the ones I must pay now to the ones that can wait a little longer. The act of reading is an everyday function. The act of taking time out to read the story behind the recipe, the description of the engine space, the context of the game, all are integral actions which inform and enhance my experience. Reading isn’t just about escaping into a world of fiction –  it’s also about providing context to our environment – both real and imagined and thus enriching our lives.

Reading can be

• fun, sad, traumatic, confusing, fast, slow, episodic, continual
• collaborative
• participatory
• exclusive
• inclusive

And all reading is reading – no matter the format.  We should not be textist about format, or length of work, or the context of the reading. Reading something for young children filled with pictures and sounds is just as valued as reading a university thesis. Reading a biography is just as valued as playing a game exploring the period of the Crusades. Reading an adventure story for young adults written by a well-renowned Australian author is just as valued as watching a BBC television series featuring the antics and explorations of a mystery-solving sleuth or a galaxy-travelling adventurer. Reading a book in a digital format on my computer, tablet, or phone, or indeed listening to one through my iPod, Mp3, car stereo, or home stereo, is just as valued as holding that paper-bound version in my hands and inhaling the sweet smell of print and glue. Watching the movie is just as valued as reading the book. Playing the game is just as valued as reading the graphic novel or comic on which it is based, and vice-versa.

Indeed reading is many things, …

• devouring a book cover to cover, and then starting at the beginning again
• poring through each recipe, and the stories in between
• exploring the repair manual so you can fix your car
• flicking through pages, just reading a few words
• watching the faces in the crowd as an author/storyteller engages the audience in their story
• discovering the story in the game so you understand the game
• reading in games to achieve objectives
• watching the episodic movie breaks between one game level and the next to experience the story
• information to get stuff done
• information for fun
• in any format, at any time
• facts and figures
• lifesaving or death defying
• therapeutic
• relaxing
• searching flickr images
• tweets
• blogs
• signs
• watching a movie
• watching a television series
• listening to music
• playing music
• listening to a story
• writing your own story

Reading is an experience – what has your experience been, what is your experience now?

Amy, Cathy, Ellen

Kingdom of the Wicked

I had my own little squee! moment this morning when I realised that I got to read Skulduggery Pleasant: Kingdom of the Wicked before the UK/Ireland release date of August 30 because Derek Landy is touring Australia from August 8th. Okay, the squee! moment was actually for stumbling across KOTW yesterday when I'd not even realised it was out yet ... oh, and reading it in one afternoon. (So nothing else got done, I'm sure my family as learned to cope with my particular reading binges by now.)

I have thoroughly enjoyed the Skulduggery Pleasant series since my daughter introduce me to it some 3 years ago. I devoured the first few books and have ensured that as each new title comes along it is quickly added to our book shelves. (My daughter was more than pleased to discover this morning that she could now read the latest instalment.) Indeed Skulduggery Pleasant not only rates as one of my favourite Young Adult series, Derek Landy rates as one of my favourite writers. His blog, Derek Landy Blogs Under Duress, is quirky and engaging, there is no mistaking his wit and satire - the same wit and satire which permeates the Skulduggery series. A highlight to any day is reading his latest post and admiring his certain charm with words - as a lover of words myself I am most certainly lost.

Perhaps I should mention that my other favourite YA series include (in no particular order):

• Leviathan / Scott Westerfeld
• The Ranger's Apprentice / John Flanagan
• Brotherband / John Flanagan
• The Saga of Darren Shan (aka: Cirque du Freak) / Darren Shan
• The Demonata / Darren Shan
• The Saga of Larten Crepsley / Darren Shan
• Conspiracy 365 / Gabrielle Lord
• The Steampunk Chronicles / Kady Cross
• The Wardstone Chronicles (aka: The Spook's Apprentice (book 1); aka: The Last Apprentice in the US) / Joseph Delaney
• Wicked Lovely / Melissa Marr

Mmmm, I detect a certain theme to my YA reading here....

Short stories

Recently I picked up two volumes of short stories - Blood, and other cravings (a collection of short Horror fiction) and Teeth, vampire tales (a collection of short Horror fiction themed around, obviously, vampires), both edited by Ellen Datlow. My selection of these two books was not because I like to read Horror (I would generally say that I don't) but because I was curious to know just how much Horror fiction we have within the library's collection (not a lot). Searching for some good Horror authors led me to these two volumes and me being me I decided to read them.
I am so glad I have.

What makes these two volumes stand out is the superb quality of the writing. Each story is so short and so precise and flirts around the theme so cleverly that to read them is a treat. Yes, they detail the macabre and scary but you are left so enthralled by the writing and the skill of presentation that the content lies secondary to the experience. These volumes feature the work of Margo Lanagan, Kaaron Warren, Elizabeth Bear, Melissa Marr, Neil Gaiman, Garth Nix, Tanith Lee, Cassandra Clare and Holly Black among so many others. These two books are shining examples of very clever storytelling and a worthy addition to the reading lists of anyone who is entranced by the rewarding experience of reading something that has been excellently written (and are willing to step outside the themes to have that experience).

CatyJ

Staff reading challenge

This month saw the beginnings of a reading challenge for the staff at my library. Each of us suggested a title which went into a pot-luck draw. The aim of this challenge is to expose staff to different genres and to broaden their personal reading lists. I was one of the last to suggest a title as I had tremendous difficulty selecting just one title and was restricted to something less than 400 pages (there went my pick for Neil Gaiman's American Gods). In the end my suggestion was a toss up between Brent Weeks' The Way of the Shadows or Derek Landy's Skulduggery Pleasant. In the end I went with Derek Landy's YA series as I wanted to expose staff to a brilliant YA series that was fun and incorporated so many elements of other genres - plus who can argue with a detective skeleton? Brent Weeks' series is equally brilliant and has the honour of re-inspiring my love of Fantasy fiction but I felt it was perhaps a step too far for some staff. And what did I end up with to read? I had originally drawn out Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro but as I've already read that story I swapped with a colleague for their pick which was Zoe's Tale by John Scalzi. I was happy to take on this choice as I've heard only good things about John Scalzi from another Sci-Fi author, actor and geek Wil Wheaton.
Zoe's Tale fits within the larger Scalzi series, An Old Man's War and is the coming-of-age story of Zoe Boutin Perry. It is a beautiful story, cleverly crafted and touchingly descriptive. The characters are real and engaging and the setting is succinctly drawn with little fuss or fanfare. It just so happens that the action takes place on planets, space ships, and space stations and features aliens and other strange creatures. All this is secondary to the story itself. Zoe's Tale was a clever suggestion from the staff member who put it into the pot-luck draw. Yes, it's Science Fiction, but it shows, quite cleverly, that Science Fiction is not all (or just) about robots, aliens, space wars and intergalactic travel - it's not all Star Trek, Star Wars, I Robot or Bladerunner (to name those popular images we have of science fiction).
Zoe's Tale is a story about a young girl who faces some tough decisions and who emerges stronger from the process. She experiences first love, great adventure, loss of home and family and friends, and learns a lot about herself and what is important in the process. This story would appeal equally to readers of Jodi Picoult or Nora Roberts, to readers of John Flanagan or Melissa Marr, to readers of Emily Rodda or Nicole Alexander. It is a story with broad appeal and an excellent counter-point to anyone who says, "Oh I don't read Science Fiction". I challenge you to take up this story and not come away impressed and perhaps a little tempted to try another from this genre.

CatyJ

Sometimes it can take a while for the penny to drop...

Today is my rdo, I'm at work though because I want to use today's rdo next month to take my son back to school and revel in a line-up of parent/teacher interviews at the same time. I am also as sick as the proverbial dog ( and I really must find where that saying comes from because surely the proverbial dog is to blame for a lot of ill health lately) - simply put, I have the flu. Oh, and I am sharing it with everyone (whilst also being very health conscious washing my hands often, coughing away from people, throwing the gazzilion tissues I've gone through straight in the bin, etc). :)
Anyway, back to theme of this post. Yep, you'd think by now I'd just know these things. Apparently not. Apparently I still need to have those belated ah-ha moments for myself. 
So, I've been using Google+ for a little while now, not actively just flicking to it most weekends, sending stuff to it on occasion (mostly photos from my phone), and generally just keeping an eye on it for interesting things popping up in my feeds. I like it, it's kind of cool the way you can create circles of contacts / friends / family / etc. However today I had my ah-ha moment and I have to admit I actually feel a bit silly about it now.
This morning I read my #blogjune post over at the love2read2012 blog (and yes, I think the little android is kinda cute) and for something entirely different I used the option at the bottom of the post and I Google+'d it. A short while later I went to my #blogjune post from yesterday over at the #ALIA2012 blog and also Google+'d it. 
My ah-ha moment? Well, how easy was that? Yep, that was it. Silly isn't it?
I re-tweet posts, I share posts on Facebook, I'll write blog posts about other blog posts, I'll email people with links to blog posts. But a simple little re-post to Google+ has simply slipped past my consciousness ... and now I see how truly simple it is. 
So that is my #discovery for today - even though I am already fully aware of Google+ and already think it's a great thing I have suddenly come to realise that there exists a quick, smart, and easy way for me to make better use of it and to benefit the traffic within my Google+ circles.
And yes, I still feel a little silly that something so simple and ordinary has been an ah-ha moment for me today. 

Discovering Westerns

Last week I found myself at a loose end as far as reading material went (odd situation given I work in a library) and for want of something different grabbed a handful of western fiction titles and decided to work my way through them.

'Why not?' I thought. 'I read Mills and Boon romances on occasion so why not some paperback westerns? I don't mind watching the odd western movie so I'll give this lot a go.'

I will admit at this point that "Wanderer of the Wasteland" by Zane Grey is one of my favourite stories set in the early settler period of the US. Its descriptions and characterisation are captivating and truly beautiful as a piece of writing. The story is swiftly yet carefully told leaving the reader in no doubt as to what is driving our wandering pilgrim on his path. This is a western in its purest form.

What I picked off the shelf was a little different. Okay the setting was certainly the frontier period of the US, the primary characters were men (or boys) on horses, carrying guns. There were battles against Indians, battles against fearsome creatures from the Louisiana bayou, battles against no-good outlaws with murder on their minds, battles to survive desert conditions in the search for gold. There were no battles for the love interest as women simply fell over themselves to get at their man, one title even had some quite explicit sex scenes that left me blushing and laughing at the same time with its descriptions of the male anatomy... I'll say no more.

Some authors certainly handle this genre better than others, I admit to being disappointed in the Max Brand title I read but given his proliferation and popularity am hopeful he has written some good stuff. I quite enjoyed Bill Brooks and Marcus Galloway. Bradford Scott was okay, not a bad storyteller. And Jon Sharpe certainly rolled the story along, conveying the unseen threats of the environment quite well.

But for me, as a preference, westerns just don't cut it. This is not to say I will never read another western ever again - certainly I will. I am intrigued by this genre and how as library staff we make assumptions about its content and its scope... and its audience. Western fiction is a quick little jaunt through a world where strong men with guns who might have dubious backgrounds but strong moral fibre strut their stuff against bands of ignorant bullies. If only life were so very simple. This is not to say that men over 60 are its only audience, no western fiction shows some serious staying power with a far broader appeal than we give it credit for. Okay, so it's not my particular cup of tea but then again it doesn't have to be. I wouldn't put it past having quite a substantial female audience too.

My conclusion... I feel I haver served a penance reading these novels but am grateful I took the opportunity to do so. From a readers advisory perspective I now have a broader appreciation with which to help other readers find the experience they are looking for. From a personal perspective... I'll stick to watching those movies. 

Taking the time

I am a self-confessed speed-reader. I can't help myself, I become so immersed in the story and the characters that I simply can't wait to find out what happens and so keep reading along as fast as I can in order to get there... I admit this is very helpful when studying or ploughing through umpteen documents looking for keywords of interest etc before moving on to the next paper. However I have often been criticised for taking this same approach to relaxation reading. On the one hand I feel quite chuffed at my capacity to simply inhale the content of books so quickly, I'm also quite impressed by own ability to read 3 or more books simultaneously... it comes in handy.
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Recently, though, I've noticed that a couple of books have simply taken me months to get through (rather than days), and this has not been because I haven't enjoyed them. Au contraire, I most certainly have. The reasons behind it taking me so long though have caused me to consider a little more closely the way I read...
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The 2 books in question are The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss and Rainbow's End by Vernor Vinge. The first is book 2 in the Kingkiller Chronicle fantasy series and the second is a Hugo Award winning science fiction novel. 

I'd actually begun reading The Wiseman's Fear right back at the beginning of February, whereas I didn't pick up Rainbow's End until later in that same month. I was keen to get into The Wise Man's Fear as I'd enjoyed The Name of the Wind (book 1 in the series). Reading Rainbow's End came about as it was mentioned by more than one person at #VALA2012 and #libcampoz12. 

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Given it's not unusual for me to have a couple of books of variant genres on the go at the same time I was surprised that I found it so difficult to get into Rainbow's End. I must have read that first chapter about three times before finally I settled in and started moving along with the story. I realised I had to stop and adjust my reading style to suit the book I was reading, whilst still being flexible enough to continue reading the other books I had on the go, including The Wise Man's Fear.

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For a while there I actually put both books aside and read nothing. I seemed unable to consider picking up a book, any book, and read. After a few weeks of picking up the occasional paperback whilst I ate lunch at work I found myself keenly anticipating reading more deeply. I had my reading mojo back!

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I then started reading everything else I had on the go (other than Rainbow's End and The Wise Man's Fear) - I caught up on Labyrinth and Downpour from Kat Richardson's Greywalker series, started reading my way through Gabrielle Lord's Conspiracy 365 series (I'm up to October),  read Nicole Alexander's The Bark Cutters and A Changing Land (before handing them on to my daughter), finished off a handful of Mills & Boon Regency romances, and kept track of all my reading via Goodreads.

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I felt reinvigorated. It's a great feeling.

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Oddly enough it was after finishing off a late night session of back-to-back Regency romances that I picked up Rainbow's End. Throughout my hiatus I had been thinking about the two storylines that I wasn't reading, wondering what was happening with the characters, considering what I had learned about them so far. I am innately curious and I found my curiosity providing much of the impetus for the return of my reading mojo.

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And so I read. I poured over the pages of Rainbow's End and when I read that last paragraph (twice, just to make sure I had actually reached the end of the story and there was no more left to learn) I closed the book and thoughtfully put it aside. I sat there a while and considered why I had started reading it in the first place and realised along the way I had become so caught up in the characters that I had forgotten that. I looked back on how I felt about the descriptions of this futuristic library and its simultaneous destruction and digital retention and realised that this world it described is not so strange. The sheer possibility of this world is staggering. Target achieved.

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I can't tell you about The Wise Man's Fear - I haven't finished it yet. It currently has the single pleasure of joining me for breakfast each morning (one sure way to ensure I actually stop long enough to eat something substantial before the day begins in earnest). 

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I am certainly profoundly grateful that I learned to slow down a little and give each book its own time. I am thoroughly enjoying taking each precious moment with these books so that they don't become a blur, but a profound experience. I have learned to take my speed-reading skills and commitment and apply it to spearing each word on the page and giving it due consideration.

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What more can I say? I love reading. :)

Halo4

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I will be the first to admit that every one in my immediate family are Halo fans - big Halo fans. So learning the release date of Halo4  is a huge event in our calendar (06/11/2012).
What is it about this single game that can instigate a series of rivalries between family members as to who gets to play it first?  (Trust me guys, it will be me - I've had the darn game on pre-order for the last 6 months!!)
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Every element of the Halo franchise is an experience. It is this experience which brings you back time and again; playing and replaying; again and again and again.
I've spoken about Halo before, it combines elements of  role-play, first-person-shooter, epic scenery, haunting soundtrack, and a story-line with massive appeal (so massive that Greg Bear has since taken on the task of writing the Halo: Forerunner saga).
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The Halo series follows Master Chief in his epic battle against (and later with) the Covenant in, on, and around a massive space structure known as a 'halo' ('cause it's round ...). It also combines a couple of spin-off elements: Halo Wars (a real-time strategy game set prior to Halo1), Halo3 ODST (featuring the UNSC's Orbital Drop Shock Troopers), Halo Legends (a dvd featuring 7 stories form the heart of the Halo universe), and Halo: Reach (set directly prior to the events of Halo1). In 2011 a 10th anniversary edition of Halo: Combat Evolved (Halo1) was released making great use of new technologies for enhanced graphics and user experience.
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I really enjoy the Halo experience, but for me that experience steps outside the game itself into all the other experiential elements - eg, the books. Being able to read the surrounding stories when I'm not playing allows me to continue the experience and often hightens that experience because now my game-play benefits from a  whole range of back-story elements that other family members do not have (mainly 'cause I read a lot faster than them).
Given we'd already played the Halo series through  (at least twice) I finally got hold of a walk-thru which is now very well-thumbed as my family go back again and again and actually take the time to look for those extra elements they missed the first time. Their enjoyment (and experience) is enhanced as a result. It has also strengthened the cooperative play elements of the game (which is always good for siblings who would otherwise be seeking to wipe each other out) - working together they use the walk-thru with one spotting while the other reads and the third plays. They take turns. They cooperate. They learn.
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And then there's the Halo Encyclopaedia... yep, it's brilliant.  To quote from the publisher..."This is a must-have guide to the Halo universe. Humanity teeters on the brink of extinction, as hostile forces and ancient mysteries threaten to snuff out our first fiery foray into the universe. Take a trip into the world of Halo and discover everything you ever wanted to know about the characters, weapons, vehicles, equipment and locations from Halo, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo Wars and Halo 3: ODST. From the Colonial Administration Authority to the UNSC, you'll find an overview of Halo's human history and structure and gain insight into key organizations. Discover all about the Covenant - its history and religion - as well as the Forerunners, Flood and much more. It's what Halo fans have been waiting for." — Dorling Kindersley

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Enough said really...

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Libraries could learn a lot from Halo - imagine walking into your local library and having the same experience* you get from immersing yourself in the Halo universe... I know my family would simply keep coming back for more. It's worth thinking about.

*By 'experience' I mean the rewards of the experience, the way a person 'feels' about that place and about what they have just done - not so much about the first-person-shooter and role-play elements or game-play itself (just so no one misunderstands me).

Read the latest GameInformer #29 for a more detailed synopsis of Halo4.