YALSA Mock Printz

Today was the day for the YALSA Mock Printz.

For me, this was not a good year for this organization’s Mock Printz.  Most of the books I found to be books that did not work for me on any level (The Passion of Dolssa; The Reader: Sea of Ink and Gold; Golden Boys) or were okay, but kind of a slog (Railhead) or were fine, but I didn’t think they would win (Burn Baby Burn; We are the Ants; We Will Not be Silent).

Also, the programming wasn’t super interesting.  There is usually a chunk where you learn something interesting.  The year that one of the Printz Committee Members spoke was very informative, but this year it was a roundtable interview with the Jefferson County Library District Teen Book Council.  They seemed quite nice, but I could have done without 25 minutes of them.

Also, I wasn’t much of a fan of my discussion leader, or the fact that we sat on the floor for the discussion.  We were so far apart, it seemed hard to connect with anyone.  In the end, I voted for only two books in the small group discussion, and I only voted for Burn, Baby Burn out of spite, because I liked it and didn’t feel like my group appreciated it enough.

Tally of the Small Group Discussion results.  Overall, the small groups were in agreement that Lie Tree was the superior book.

After small group results, we had a big group discussion, then re-voted.  Our official winner:

The Lie Tree. (91 votes)

Runners-up:

We Are the Ants (72 votes)
Railhead (62 votes)
The Passion of Dolssa (52 votes)

Overall, I learned that I probably shouldn’t attend if I don’t like the majority of the books.

The crew heading off for the Women’s March (and pictures from the road)

People were over for breakfast, and some of the group was headed downtown for the Women’s March.  I had a workshop, so was not going, but Kelly, Burt, Laurie and Matt were gearing up.

“I’ll take a picture” I said, and got my camera ready.  Laurie and Kelly were waiting by the door, Burt was sitting in a chair and Matt was getting on his coat.  “Maybe Laurie and Kelly should go stand by Burt.” I suggested, trying to efficiently get my ducks in a line.

“Wait, are we starting the Women’s March, by having the women orient themselves around a man?” Matt asked.

Below is the photo that came from that statement.

And the official photo.

A little later, I headed out for my own trip downtown.  I have never seen this many people at the Kenton Max stop.

It’s not a protest unless the Margeliz Jewelry Shop is boarded up. I notice the Banana Republic also had the plywood out.  They needn’t have feared, there wasn’t a single arrest.

After my workshop ended, I waited for the Max, watching various people get their picture taken with the riot police.

How do you make a curved wall?

The office across the hall from mine was vacated, and a new company moved in.  As part of their move they installed a curved wall just inside the front door.  I watched the metal studs go up.  They were six inch or so inches apart and framed in an arc.  I wondered how they would make the flat drywall fit onto the curve.

I got my answer the next day.  It involves a heck of a lot of drywall screws.

The peaceful transfer of power

I’d hoped for a different kind of day. One with historic implications. One where I set aside my daily doings to watch the ceremony, so I could say, “I watched her inauguration.” I was looking forward to the day when, after 241 years of US history, we finally had a president who looked like me.

This morning, reading my friends’ final “Obama: Yay!” posts, I broke down. It’s hard to see a woman I voted for lose, but it’s even harder to see a highly qualified, nose-to-the-grindstone, over-prepared woman who really, really wants the job lose. It’s even worse that the man who won is not highly qualified, woefully unprepared and I suspect him of wanting to win the election more than wanting to govern the country.

The clip from Facebook that tripped me over to sorrow was Barak Obama at his second inaugural. After giving his inaugural address, he left the podium, then turned back saying something to the effect of: “I want to take a second look at this. I won’t see this again.” That appreciation—of how lucky one is to be the US President—will be missing for the next four-to-eight years. We’re setting aside a leader who understood gratitude, and struggle, and going high when others go low and we’re swearing in a leader who thinks his success was inevitable, who never misses an opportunity to promote himself, and who responds to the smallest slight with a full-bore attack.

Maybe something good will come out of this chaotic and often hate-filled leadership style. It’s possible. In the time between the election and the inauguration I’ve looked for signs that the man we will call President takes seriously the gravity of his duties. I’ve found little evidence.

In four years, I’m guessing my life won’t be very different than it is now. Sure, we could get sucked into some sort of war that’s entirely unnecessary, but we’ve been doing that since 2003. My hopes for the next four years include the wish that people aren’t hurt by policies I disagree with (ban on Muslim immigrants, repeal of the health care law, bathroom “safety” laws) and that maybe things take a turn for the better.

Joining the government is public service. I’ll be watching to see who is being served, who is being left behind and who is being left out.

Image from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/20/donald-trump-inauguration-pictures-protests-plaudits-divided/members-mormon-tabernacle-choir-seats-west-front-us-capitol/

Finished! Reading for the Mock Printz

I am ready to discuss all 17 books for the Mock Printzes I will attend.  I’ve already been to the Hollywood Mock Printz.  What will the YALSA (Library) Mock Printz have in store for me? (Also: notice there isn’t much overlap between the two lists)

Reading for the Mock Printz was more difficult before I was a part of the Librarian Book Group.  Thanks to them, I had already read eight of the books.

Three sentence movie reviews: Moonlight

This suffered the unfortunate fate of overselling, which meant I watched a movie I would have found to be amazing and wonderful expecting it to be a transformative movie, and thus left feeling shortchanged.  This is unfortunate, as this was an amazing and wonderful movie grounded firmly in the performances, story and setting.  You should see it, but you might want to ratchet down your expectations to avoid suffering my fate.

Cost: $6.00
Where watched: Hollywood Theater with S. North

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2016/moonlight_ver2.html
(I didn’t really look at this poster until I downloaded it for this review, but WOW! This is an amazing poster!)