Russia Day 2: Mayakovsky Library and Bus Tour

What a day! We went to the Mayakovsky Public Library and took a bus tour of the city. It was lovely.

Reading Room in the foreign language
department of the public library.

There were quite a few similarities between the Russian and U.S. library systems. I was very interested to learn about what types of services and programs the library does for their patrons.  Many of the programs are similar to those a library in the United States might do, including classes in information literacy, author visits, movie viewings, and cultural programs. 
There were also programs unique to each department, so for example the foreign department had language clubs and viewings of foreign films. An interesting fact I learned is that most foreign films in Russia are dubbed, and the library is one of the few places one can watch a movie in its original language with subtitles. 

Russia Day 1: Arrival, Dinner and A Walk

Yeah, so I'm in Saint Petersburg.

For those of you who don't know, I am taking a study abroad class in Saint Petersburg that will last 2 weeks. In that time, we will go to libraries and museums around the city, give presentations on trends in US libraries to students in a Russian library school, and have plenty of time to explore the city on our own. Should be a fabulous time!

After a long day of travel, I arrived in Saint Petersburg around 12:00, which is around 5am in NY. We did not do much today since everyone was exhausted from traveling. I was so tired, and after getting to the hotel I passed out... but as is typical I woke up in time for dinner without need for an alarm. I'm so gifted. We took the metro do the restaurant we had reservations at, and after eating everyone was so stuffed we decided it would be a good idea to walk it off, so we went back to the hotel on foot. This allowed for some fun exploration.

For A Good Cause

I mentioned in a previous post that I will be running the NYC marathon in November. I have decided that I will be one of those cool people who tries to raise tons of money for charity, so I chose to support the New York Public Library Correctional Services program. 

What the program does is send librarians to set up libraries for the prisoners at Riker's Island. The program goes beyond books, though. The librarians also have set up a Daddy and Me program, where prisoners are recorded reading a book, and the recording is sent to their kids, and also a booklet on how and where inmates can find employment once they are released. However, the department is quite small, and has a small budget.

The money raised will go to publishing this booklet, which has been requested by people around the country. If you would like to donate, I have put up a nifty little widget on the right side of the blog. Just click and go!

To learn more about the NYPL correctional services program, click here. Also, if you would like to donate, but want your money to go to buying books, they have an Amazon Wish List you can check out. 

Thanks!!!

Disappointing.

The other day I was thinking abut something I have always known, but for some reason it really hit me this time and made me sad.

I will never be able to read all of the books I want to read. My "to read" list is so long, and it keeps growing. There is no way, even if all I did was sit around and read 24/7/365, that I could finish all of the books on it.

So It's Been a While...

Random Note: I will be running the 2012 New York City Marathon!!! :D

My last post was over a month ago. I have been so busy with school and internships and such. Now, I am still busy, but procrastinating, so of course a blog post is in order.

I have still  been a reading fiend, but I can't say I have enjoyed all of what I've been reading. Waiting, by Ha Jin, for example, was quite a downer. I followed Lin and Manna over their 18 year love affair while Lin attempted to divorce his wife. Their relationship developed, feelings changed and evolved, and eventually, after waiting 18 years, the divorce was obtained.
Manna and Jin marry and have twin sons, but alas married life is not all they had hoped. Manna falls ill and does not seem to have long to live, and Lin realizes, oh hey, I loved my first wife all along. Lucky for him Manna is going to die soon, so he can re-marry wife #1. Until the last sentence, which is Jin's observation that Manna seems to be doing much better and speaks with a voice that is full of life. Waiting was a very appropriate title for this novel.
Oh, and it won some sort of literary award, as many depressing books do.

After remembering the book and writing that sloppy summary, I am suddenly unmotivated, so I'll just list other things I have been reading:

-Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson (Started, didn't finish yet)
-The Girl in the Gatehouse by Julie Klassen (for a Christian Lit assignment)
-The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (for a multicultural assignment)

Where To Look

http://www.jackflannel.org/ra.html

This web site lists a variety of community based reader-advisory web-sites, book stores, best-seller lists, lists of award winning books, and a few more cool resources.

Enjoy!

Books, Books, and Something Completely Different

I finished Blackout. I knew the book was part one of a two book set, but I did not realize that it was originally supposed to be a single book. Or that the editor must have been inebriated when they made the decision to suddenly end the book. Seriously. The book just stopped at the end of a chapter when a new character is introduced and nothing is resolved. It was very frustrating. I kept looking to see if there was a note that said, "Just kidding!!! Here's the rest!" But no. Now I have to wait until I have time to read the next book, All Clear, to find out what happens. Because I need to know what happens. Oy.

On a different note, I just finished my first romance novel, Vision in White by Nora Roberts. It is the first book in a series called the Bride Quartet. I read it for my reader's advisory class (part of the class is reading a few books from a variety of genres so we can at least be familiar with them). It was easy to read, light hearted, nice characters with only a little conflict, had a predictable ending, and I liked it. I can't say I loved it, but I liked it. It was a nice break from all of the more involved books I've been reading. Just the break I needed, and I've already checked 2 more romances out of the library. One for class, and the other is the second book in the series. I think I may get hooked on romance novels...