1. For quite some time I have been following Your Local Epidemiologist. I love the no-nonsense way she describes public health matters, specifically her clear communication on COVID-19. This week she posted, among other things, about a study that linked COVID-19 vaccination to a reduced risk of long COVID. Long COVID is one of those lingering things I still feel concerned about so I found this reassuring.
2. I pay fairly close attention to politics and if there was a universe in which I could just learn about things full time, instead of needing to work for a paycheck (and insurance, etc.), I think I would enjoy the classes that would lead to a political science degree. (Incidentally, being a librarian feels about as close as one can get to learning for a living.) I often forget that not everyone pays as close attention to politics as I do and it messes with my head, but I think remembering this fact would help me understand some people, and their offhanded comments, better.
3. A groovy little independent bookstore near me has started hosting a monthly "silent book club." Basically people get together to read and have snacks in a communal setting but there's no pressure to read anything other than what you want and no pressure to speak with anyone. I am perfectly comfortable in a traditional book club, but I really love this idea and I'm happy it exists for people who want to be part of the bookish community and are shy or introverted or just don't want to be told what to read.
4. Are you using Goodreads? While I know it isn't a perfect platform by any means, I enjoy Goodreads as a place to keep track of what I read and books I want to remember. I also like seeing what other people are reading, though I'm not necessarily in need of recommendations. Occasionally I win one of their book giveaways. I am motivated by the yearly reading challenge - last year I ended up reading 90 books. That feels like an accomplishment, but I also feel like my total should come with an asterisk because I read middle grade and young adult, as well as adult books, and I have started counting picture books and early readers when I have to review them for a local group I'm a part of. I spend a much longer time with a picture book if I'm trying to review it than the few minutes it would take me to read it just once. And I'm really only keeping track on Goodreads for myself, there's no prize involved, so I'm not sure why it feels like cheating?
5. Speaking of book reviews... about a year ago I joined a local book review group made up of public and school librarians and a couple of teachers as well. Publishers send books to the group for us to read and review. We meet every other month. Each of us takes a stack of books home from the meeting and reads and reviews them for the next meeting. We use a form to send the reviews to the publishers and then we give an oral review for the other group members at the meeting. It has been an awesome way to learn about different books and we get to keep the books we review so it has also been a great way to add books to the library or share them with family members and friends.
I have to make a confession. I find book reviewing to be so difficult! I don't know why. I've always found it difficult to summarize things (succinctness has never been a gift of mine). For a person who has spent 10 years talking about books with people for a living, you think I'd be better at it. But no, it feels hard every time and I feel awkward and self-conscious talking at the meetings. I'm pretty sure my face turns red whenever it is my turn to share. I suppose I will just press on and hope it gets easier over time. Or they'll eventually kick me out for being terrible.
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