Personal Blather About My Background 

Being new to the whole blog thing I ask that everyone be patient with me.  I basically will post only books I’ve read. I will try to remember to note if I purchased the book or if the publisher has provided an Advanced Reader’s Copy (ARC) in print or electronically through NetGalley or Edelweiss.

I am not an ‘expert’ of literary writings, nor am I one who will presume to judge and critique an author and editor’s hard work.  Talking about books is something I love to do.  I admit that most of the books I have read in the last few years have been Young Adult titles and in my retirement I am able to read what I like and what I want.  Admittedly, most of the current titles have been read electronically.  I am not a big fan of e-readers and prefer the print.  I notice I get more out of the printed books than I do on an e-reader.

In the previous chapter of my life, I had one of the best jobs in the world.  I worked in a public library as the library assistant in the Youth Services department. I was responsible for story times for toddlers and I ran the Teen Library Advisory Board. We had some great programs and hosted many outstanding authors.  I would fill my car with teens on many occasions to go listen and meet many authors. We had a lot of good times going to different book festivals and panels. I was fortunate to be centrally located to be able to provide this for the kids in my group and any who were interested. I was also responsible for developing the Young Adult collection in our library.  That was one of my favorite duties.  I still subscribe to a couple of the professional journals I used for this task. It’s a sickness. I can’t help myself. I love books.

I attended several American Library Association conferences where I also met many authors.  The best perk of these conferences were to network with the publishers and get the inside info on new titles being published.  All of the publishers were always so generous with the librarians and I, for one, am very grateful for their generosity.

I volunteered for three years serving on a committee for the YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) division of ALA. Our committee was the Amazing Audios for Young Adults.  We listened to over 150 audios a year and would create a list of thirty titles that we considered the best for teens.  These lists and whole lot more are available for access on the YALSA website.

Thank you for visiting my site.  I will try to get more ‘talks’ up. I will include the ISBN information for those who wish to purchase the book I talk about.  My only wish is that you order your books from your local book store.  Buying local supports your community and there is nothing like walking into the store and smelling the new books.