Musings of a Hot Librarian

LV Monogram Canvas Neverfull PM

2010-07-21T17:00:00.005+08:00

The 5th Witch, Cuts

2009-02-13T22:42:00.003+08:00

I'm very excited cause I've got nice books that came in the mail today.

Graham Masterton's The 5t Witch and Cuts by Richard Laymon.

Both book which I've been wanting to read! (I also wanna read Faces of Fear by John Saul but it has not come in the mail yet.)

Talking about Graham Masterton, he's really a humble writer. Did I tell you once when I emailed him and he actually replied!

I sent him an email via his website and he replied like a few days later, on 18 April 2006:

"Dear Yasmin,

Thank you very much for taking the trouble to write to me. It is always good to know that people enjoying reading my books as much as I enjoy writing them!

It is over 40 years since I last visited Singapore so it must have changed enormously since then. I had a very romantic encounter in the Raffles Hotel which changed my life dramatically so I always look back on that visit with considerable affection!

I am aware that some of my books are difficult to get hold of but I am doing what I can to rectify that. Getting one's books distributed worldwide is an uphill struggle these days. Anyway, I have several new books and stories coming out soon and I hope that you enjoy them as much as the ones that you have already read.

Thanks again for writing.

All the best,

Graham Masterton"

I just wrote to him to tell him that I'm a librarian from Singapore and that I have always enjoyed reading his books since I was in high school and it's very difficult to get or purchase his books in Singapore. And this author, whom I respect, actually replied to me! Fantastic!

Update on Real World:

I finished Real World by Natsuo Kirino, which was a real drag compared to her other titles (Grotesque & Out). It took me over a week to struggle to finish it. I don't know if it's cause it was abstract, or the story was just not so interesting - it's about four schoolgirls who got intertwined with the neighbour boy, Worm, who fled after he killed his mother out of frustration and rage. Somehow, the four girls got involved helping him escape and the ending was so abrupt (one of the girls died, Worm lived, and another girl committed suicide as she felt that she was the cause of her friend's death). Hmmm... Not that fantastic right?

Book Slut

2009-01-26T15:02:00.003+08:00

Currently, I'm reading:

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (I'm doing a booktalk on this title for my assignment.)

Real World by Natsuo Kirino (From the author of Out and Grotesque, I finally got my hands on the latest translated title - had to pay $1.55 though, even though I'm a librarian.)

Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched The World by Vicky Myron (A tribute to the kitten that was shoved into the bookdrop of a public library in Iowa. He was later named Dewey Readmore Books. Aww...)

Starbucked: A Double Tall Tale of Caffeine, Commerce and Culture by Taylor Clark (This is for another presentation assignment.)

I've just read:

Your Heart Belongs to Me by Dean Koontz (Ain't that fantastic a story, I've read his better novels, but it's all right.)

So many things to read, so little time!

The Mailman

2008-12-12T23:00:00.003+08:00

I just bought this off eBay.

It's the best ever Bentley Little title, and I've yet to read it. I've exhausted all the other Little titles, even the recently published The Academy. So I searched eBay and saw a used-books bookstore selling it for US$8. Quite all right, except that the international shipping costs $12. More than the book.

I contemplated buying it, then I contemplated some more, then I eventually bought it. And it's on it's way to Singapore. I shall savor reading it.

(Photo Source: www.ebay.com)

My First Cancer Patron

2008-10-22T21:29:00.003+08:00

This morning, when I was at our remote reference desk answering enquiries, I receive a call from a lady. She sounded like Ang Moh, cause of her accent and she said that she was looking for information on "B17 Metabolic Therapy". I've not heard of such a therapy, so I probed more about it and she said that she'd just been diagnosed with cancer and this is one of the alternative therapies available.

Honestly, I didn't know how to react. I didn't know what to say, what was an appropriate respond. No one, ever in my life, has told me that they have cancer. Of course, I know people who have, but no one has personally told me that they have cancer. I have absolutely no idea how to deal with it.

And I was on the phone with her and for that I was glad. Glad that I didn't have to see her face-to-face, cause I'd probably won't be able to react accordingly. Should I comfort her? Hug her? I dunno.

Anyway, it was shocking, and all I said was, "I'm sorry," and that's it, cause I don't wanna sound insincere. I was sincere when I said that, but I felt that if I said more, she'll feel like I'm sympathizing too much, and yet I hardly know her. So, I assured her that I will try to find as much info as I can on "B17 Metabolic Therapy".

It took me almost an hour, searching for more authoritative articles (meaning journals) from e-databases, as the therapy is actually considered "pseud0-therapy", and with no medical support. In fact, there is some sort of mini controversy surrounding it, and I included the cons too, in my email to her.

It was a lengthy email, much longer than the ones that I used to send out to "non-cancer stricken patrons". Bias? Nah. I felt that was the only way I could help someone with cancer, even though I've never seen her in my life.

I called her back too, to let her know that I've emailed her, and told her briefly about the info that I've found. I cautioned her on the cons of B-17, with is a vitamin, and she said she's aware. Ok, good. Throughout our conversation, she sounds fine, not happy but not depressed too. Until she said that she's been running marathons and thus her cancer diagnose was very sudden.

"I'm so sorry..."

We hung up a few minutes later, and just only before I started this post, I received a "Thank You" reply from her.

I wish her all the best.

Gives Me The Creeps!

2008-10-22T21:21:00.002+08:00

Last week, my colleagues and I relocated our Chinese Collection at level 2 of our library. It was a "night job", and we started from 7pm till 11pm. Not a biggie, until we found out that one of our alarm gates, located at the entrance of the library has fallen.

It was dark, and nobody was around at level 1. Everyone was at level 2. And when we were closing the library, it was still standing.

Creepy, don't you think?

Anyway, being the paranoid android that I am, I thought that maybe there was something else with us that night, when we were shifting, and it was not happy that we were shifting stuff, and "disturbing" them. Then, what made it worse was when I overhead a colleague say that she heard one of our colleagues' daughter say, "Got a boy running running around!"

Yikes.

So the next day, A and I decided to check out the CCTV. We were terrified, yes, what if we saw something we're not supposed to see? But the librarian-trait in us (wanting to find out info and the truth) got the better of us. So we watched.

It was quite unnerving. We started at 9pm, and noticed that the gate was already a bit slanted, like the Eiffel Tower. Then, suddenly, at about 9.18pm, it just fell.

No, we didn't see any figure, or orb, or anything unusual.

Phew!

QRef Weeded

2008-09-02T00:15:00.003+08:00

I just weeded our Quick Reference shelves, and am amazed to find a few cool titles and stuff there. There was this publication of the Japanese Occupation (it was even kept in a folder, and had postcards of old photographs, and even the Jap currency money - fake la), a zodiac chart with some numbers and signs and a lot of old school books about History of Singapore and the different cultures. The books are all pretty old, even dated as far back as 1980s (which is the period I was born! Gosh! It's that old!). So old school right?

So I'm supposed to weed them out and replace them with newer titles, but it's just so sayang to take them out to pulp them or just keep them in a warehouse, that we know we'll never get to see them again. So I somehow managed to find a tiny reason for each title, so as to justify why I should keep it, and it's still on the shelves. I really think that we should hang on to these titles, cause there might not have newer publications on such topics any more. Which is such a waste really.

(I found a dried lizard too, but I didn't keep THAT.)

University

2008-08-21T20:18:00.005+08:00

I'm done reading A Thousand Splendid Suns, and just like The Kite Runner, it's a very good read. Very touching.

Ok, I am for a loss of words sometimes when I describe books. I love to read and I love to read some books, but when you ask me, I'll just say it's damned good. That's it. I don't use other adjectives, and I don't explain much. I just feel that if I really enjoyed it, it's enough and I'd just tell people it was a great read. If it wasn't, why would I recommend?

But the thing with me is, I like a lot of the books that I read. So with just "great" or "good", I don't think it would make a difference to the people that I recommened them to.

Anyway, I've exhausted reading ALL the Bentley Little titles, and so of course I'm trying to search for other titles. The Academy will be published this year, and there is still The Mailman, and University. But I still cannot get my hands on them.

And then, I decided to check them out on eBay. Why not? I've always been buying stuff (Polly Pocket, bags, wallets) from eBay and then it didn't occur to me that I could buy books there too!

So I did. I searched, and trawled and found a LOT of Bentley Little books. All from overseas (mostly US) sellers. The Mailman is a very old title, and it's no longer in production and it's also one of his best books, so the selling price is very high. About US$50 for that book.

Nah, I don't make that much money yet so I shan't bid for that. But I did see University selling for US$12 and plus shipping, it should cost only US$16 total or S$22. So I bought it.

Source: www.amazon.com

And the book is finally here! I started reading it yesterday, as I was off from work and I'm halfway done. I continued it again on the train to work, and I can't wait to read it again.

And I know why University is one of his most horrific book. His details for horror and terror are explicit and gruesome, and I like it. I like the morbidity. I like the ickyness of it, when I read the sentences and it just describes the most grotesque thing that you can think of. I like it. I love reading horror titles.

Little talkes about horror literature in University and it's a good platform to learn about other titles to check out.

I love horror!

Fiction Genre Booktalk

2008-08-11T22:35:00.003+08:00

I went to Simei Care Centre just now and had a booktalk. My audience were recovering psychiatric patients, and I kinda expected them to be a non-responsive batch but I was wrong.

I introduced fiction genres to them, and talked about several fiction genres, accompanied by books that I've read. Horror (The Resort by Bentley Little), Fantasy (LOTR by J. R. R. Tolkien, even showed them a 3-minutes clip from the movie), Thriller (The Quickie by James Patterson), Romance (The Chocolate Lover's Club by Carole Matthews) and General Fiction (A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini).

Surprisingly, the group was responsive, and my quiz questions did not fall on deaf ears. I was also impressed that they answered my questions, with correct answers, and with that, I gave them tokens as prizes. They were a good crowd, better than some other crowds that I've done booktalks with.

I had fun. I've always loved to do booktalks.

Then, after the booktalk, one of the staff brought us on a tour around the centre. I didn't take any photos, cause we're not allowed to take any photos of the patients, and the patients were everywhere in the centre. I was, though, very impressed with their facilities, they had a gym, a court, veranda, Karaoke Room, pool table, boardgames and more. More, really. They also had activity rooms, where they made handicrafts and quaint little cards, and the cards did look very nice. As long as they were kept occupied.

We also checked out their dormitories, and I kinda expected a huge hall with rows and rows of beds on both sides of the hall. But, the patients each had their own personal space, in the form of cubicles, and they even had lounge areas for each dorm. Of course, the men and women were segregated.

It was a pity though to see some of the patients just walking around looking aimless, and some were seated, staring into space. There were those, during my booktalk, who'd come up to me, and introduce themselves, and they just want to talk. It's good to keep them in the conversation, as it keeps their brains active.

Haha, maybe this could be my next job. Who knows?

3 Books

2008-07-31T18:56:00.004+08:00

I've been wanting to read Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns for some time and have always checked the catalogue to see where the book is available. Apparently, it's such as popular title that it's always borrowed or on hold (reserved), so I don't think I can get my hands on it.

Decided not to wait anymore, and not be so cheapskate, so went to Popular yesterday during lunch to get the book. They had a 20% discount, so finally paid about $16++. Not bad right?

Image source: www.illiterarty.com

I've only read a few chapters while on the way to Bugis this afternoon, but it's been an engaging read. It's about Mariam, an illegitimate child and ... haven't read much yet.

Oh, and I also bought The Cupid Effect by Dorothy Koomson (I loved My Best Friend's Girl) cause they were having a sale. $6.90 only!

Image source: www.fantasticfiction.co.uk

Saw a Dean Koontz title, The Key to Midnight, and also $6.90, so grabbed that too.

Best.

Got 3 fantastic books to read, and only 1 week to do so, cause school is starting next Friday!

But as a consolation, I only have classes on Friday! Once a week! Hoorah!

Malay Book Discussion

2008-07-26T00:59:00.003+08:00

I had a fantastic book discussion this afternoon, even though it was in Malay.

I don't do Malay well. Since my O Levels, I've always gotten B4. I don't care really, but then since I'm the only other Malay speaking librarian and the other Malay librarian was not around, I had to facilitate the book discussion.

So to compensate for my 'market' Malay, I prepared a PowerPoint slide, questions to ask and food. A group of students joined me for the discussion at Bedok, and a few of the library staff too, which makes it a very big group, like almost 30 pax. I'm usually accustomed to smaller groups for book discussion, but they are there already and can't ask them to leave, right?, so we went ahead.

The title in discussion was Singapura Lama, Singapura Baru, one of the READ! Singapore titles. I played the audiobook too for those who have not read the short story.

Thankfully, the group was responsive and they interacted. And amazingly, I didn't fumble much with my words, and got my questions across to the students. Another librarian was there, for support, and he joined in and helped to ask the students questions. He was good, cause his Malay was powderful.

Overall, I thought it was a good discussion. The two Malay teachers were impressed and wanted future collaborations. The food prepared were polished clean. Cool.

40% Off

2008-07-24T21:51:00.004+08:00

There was a Swatch promotion going around my workplace last few weeks, so I decided to get a few for myself and the significant other.

There was a 40% off thus making these all-time favourite affordable watches even more wanted!

I chose this - Pastel Tones. On the online catalogue, it looked pink, but when I got it, its bluish tones. But still sweet and pretty, and luckily I like it.

I only took out a piece, so that it wasn't so loose. But still looser than how I normally wear my watches, cause it resembles a bracelet.
This was what I bought for my other half - Almost Black. When we got it, the watch is actually dark brown! No wonder the moniker!

Anyway, the store mentioned that they will send it to the library between 5 - 6pm. They only came at 7pm. Don't you see the irony?

Photo sources:www.squiggly.com & www.rakuten.co.jp

Impactful Writing

2008-07-18T19:05:00.002+08:00

I just finished a two-day course on Writing Impactful Proposals, which I truly enjoyed. At the start of the course, I felt dread, cause it was a two-day span, and then I felt the trainer (Ms T) was a bit demanding with all her deadlines, but by lunch, I decided that I liked the course.

Ms T was damned good at what she does, and I'm impressed. She has tons of stories and anecdotes as examples, and it's entertaining. Of course, I did feel sleepy once a while, but I am only human, and I didn't get enough sleep the night before due to a blocked nose. And I digressed...

Anyway, I learnt a lot, just by what Ms T taught. Basically, I learned how you should structure, format a paper (for work, NOT for academic) and the content should be simple and concise. And a lot other stuff which I can't be bothered to type now, cause I'm tired.

But Ms T, when she explains, she makes writing so easy. And I am impressed with her ability to look at the written examples that we gave, and immediate evaluate it and explain which is the topic sentence, the meaning, yada yada yada. Cool.

I used to be reluctant to write a paper, cause I felt that you had to use cheem English, and then sound so incomprehensible but then, I realised from this course, that you just need to use Plain English. And no need to look out for a template, as Ms T said, the good writers have many ways to writing a paper, depending on the situation. Lo and behold.

I'd definitely encourage librarians to take this course.

52

2008-07-13T21:14:00.005+08:00

Last Friday, I was on roving and had to go look for two comics so I was browsing the Graphic Novels shelves. As I was in uniform, a teenage boy approached me, unplugged his earphones, and asked:

"Do you have the comic 52?"

"Oh, that title, yes we do. But you'll need to go to the counter to get the Call Number. Only then can you search the shelves, as there are a lot of graphic novels here." (I happen to know cause just a few days ago, another patron asked for the same title.)

"Ok...er, are you in charge of comics?"

"Yes, kinda. Why?"

"No la, just amazed that a woman is in charge of the comics section. Cool."

Great, a young man looking up to you cause he thinks you read cool comics...

I smiled at him and replied, "I don't read the comics, I just know the titles."

Why 52? I dunno. You just gotta read the graphic novel.

Graphic Source: http://www.sendspace.com/file/ll2tli

Sunday Counters

2008-07-13T20:41:00.003+08:00

I had counter this afternoon, and it was frantically busy. As expected, on a Sunday, there are a lot of patrons, and of course, a lot of enquiries.

"Can you help me find this book?" (Go to the shelves and locate the book on the shelve.)

"I can't find this book, although it says it's on the shelf." (Go to the stack area and try to locate the book. If it ain't there, try the sorting room or the trolleys area.)

"My card got stuck in the machine." (Go to the machine and unlock it to retrieve the card.)

And the list goes on.

But I'm in a good mood today, cause I've gotten my pay and I feel rich, so I give my extra to my customers. Not that I'm not polite or don't give my best on other days, but today, a permanent smile is plastered on my face.

I even offered to use my ATM card to help a woman who only had cash and she had to pay her library fines. In return, she wrote me a compliment. Nice!

It ain't that easy to get compliments ok, even though if you go all out to help readers. It depends on the reader's initiative, and if they bother to give us compliments for good service. Some do immediately write a compliment, and it feels good to receive such, but some, will just thank you and be on their way. Not that we are annoyed by that, of course it's our job and our pleasure to serve customers, but we are humans too and a little encouragement goes a long way.

So if your librarian does a service well done, drop her a compliment!

Bonus for the Librarian

2008-07-12T22:57:00.002+08:00

Today is a special day.

It's pay day! And we get bonus today too!

I was so shocked, but composed myself after seeing my online payslip. Got a great increment! Better than I expected!

So now, I love my job even more.

Hoorah!

Vandals Beware

2008-07-10T18:35:00.002+08:00

Someone (or some people) vandalized my library this week.

Not once, but twice. In a week.

They scrawled anti-Malay and anti-Christ expletives. The first time they did it, we got the maintenance men to paint it. And it happened again two days later. The same sentences, but at three different locations this time.

Rude and totally unnecessary.

For the first incident, while waiting for the maintenance man to repaint the area, we covered the rude words with mahjong paper for the time being. The words were huge and can be seen from the carpark. We didn't want the public to think that the library allows such things and such racist remarks to be left for all to see.

And then, it happened again. Sheesh. I'm thinking, someone hates the library, or a library staff?

I don't know. Let the police handle.

Encounter @ Counter

2008-07-05T23:44:00.004+08:00

When you're doing counter duties, you'll meet a lot of people. Different kinds of people. The nice ones, the rude ones, the kepo ones, the weird ones, the ones who stare, the crazy ones, the grateful ones, the clueless ones.

And the list goes on.

Well I'm quite used to seeing a variety of people, considering I've been doing counter for like more than two years. But of course, there are one or two encounters that you just have to share.

Like last Friday, one of my regular customers, came up to me. He's a portly man, aged nearly 40, and he admitted to me that he's mentally challenged. Just like that.

I asked him one day, before, "How have you been?"

And his reply: "I'm ok, just a bit mentally unstable."

I kid you not. I swear he said that. I didn't laugh at him, (that would be cruel), but just smiled and nodded.

So on Friday, he approached the counter, and then he just stood there, and stared at me. Usually, he'll smile and utter some words, but that day, he just stared. When I acknowledged him, he suddenly broke into a grin, and said, "I've not seen you for two weeks that when I see you now, I don't know what to say."

Yah, I thought to myself, "I don't know what to say too."

But the best thing, that I felt, was to just smile and nod and say, "Okaayyyy..." and hope that he's happy and then leave.

Not that I don't want to serve him, I mean he's ok when he's smiling and talking to me, but when he startes to stare, it kinda freaks me out.

But then, after awhile, I saw that he did the same thing too, to my colleague sitting to my left.

So which means, I don't have to worry or anything, cause he's not just into me only. Maybe he does it to all the staff.

Poor guy. Think he just wants someone to talk to.

The Patrons

2008-06-20T17:51:00.003+08:00

There was an article in the Forum Letter of Lianhe Zaobao, 20 June 2008. Here's a translated version:

Libraries should shorten opening hours
By : Chen Ren Xiang

"Public libraries are now becoming recreational places for the public.

More and more people are choosing libraries, which house valuable cultural collections, as locations to spend their leisure time. Throughout the opening hours from morning till closing time, one can notice people inside the libraries talking nosily. Some will gather together in a group as if they are having a picnic. They will secretly eat, drink and talk over their handphones. Some will bring their laptop and make use of the Internet services to surf the web.

There are also families who will come together in a group with children running around the libraries and the adults chatting in one corner. Some parents will even bring along drinks and biscuits as their children will want to eat at some point. They will wait till there is no library staff around and then secretly give the biscuits to their children to eat. In actual fact, everyone knows. Once the library staff catches them at their act, they will apologise profusely. How can this maintain the libraries’ silence and cleanliness?

Actually, libraries are meant to provide knowledge resources to benefit the public. Members of public should treat libraries like sacred grounds and quietly read or just simply borrow the books to take home to read, and not to spend the whole day in the libraries.

Therefore, I suggest that the opening hours of libraries should be shortened. For instance, it is sufficient to just open libraries from morning till 8pm; the public will have enough time to borrow books during this period. There is no need to open libraries till late hours at night. An advice to parents – it causes more harm than benefits to bring children to libraries and other recreational places and let them stay there the entire day. It is enough to just let their children stay at the libraries for 1 hour."

I like the writer. The writer understands the library staff, and tries to make it known to public, of the public's behaviour in the library. The highlighted areas are the ones that I cannot agree with more, and yet, we, the library staff, can't really do much, cause it's the readers who refuse to behave.

It is quite difficult really.

Let me draw you this scenario:

I'm roving the library to make sure no one breaks the library rules. And when I see someone breaking the rule, I approach, and inform the person, FIRMLY but POLITELY. Most readers apologise and stop doing whatever they are doing, that is breaking the rule(s). There are however, a few that are still adamant, and even worst, will give you attitude, and take note of your name and then write a complain, which unfortunately will not be a true account of what happened, but usually something exaggerated or even fabricated.

Ok, so sometimes I really don't feel like telling the person off, but then if we don't, OTHER READERS will look at you and give you a look that makes you look bad - the "Why-aren't-you-doing-your-job?" look.

So there's no winning either way. You just can't please anyone. You try, but then there is always someone not easily pleased. So what do you do?

You continue your job. With a smile.

Just Rambling

2008-06-18T22:10:00.003+08:00

Apologies for the non-existent posts, but then again, not sure if there's anyone reading this blog anyway.

I've pretty much finished reading all the Bentley Little books, just read Alarums by Richard Laymon in a day, and am looking forward to more reading, and yet I don't have that many upcoming title to look forward to.

I'm rambling.

So anyway, school is starting soon, and I've yet to decided if I wanna do my Critical Inquiry, or just take 3 modules like last semester. I'm very happy with my results last semester, in fact did better than expected. My results:

Information Management: A-
Collection Management & Development: B+
Information Organization: B+

I'm not shy that I got 2 Bs, cause I know myself...I'm a straight B student. But seeing an A, albeit an A-, still perks me up. Hoorah! Means I can continue not working so damned hard. Yes, I admit it, I don't think I studied much for my exams. Not to boast or anything, but goes to show that if you can B.S., then you pretty much can score the paper.

Ok, back to work. I'm not sure if I mentioned before about my counter duties, but yeah I have to do counter. It's all fine, until you come across a annoying reader or two (more actually), and they treat you like shit, like you are born to serve them, just cause you're a public SERVANT, or they are so ignorant and refuse to ever learn cause they maybe are just lazy. Yeah, I come across such people in my line of work, and what can you do? Cringe your jaws, give a tight smile and still remain professional.

I would love for once be able to tell them off. But no, can't do that. Don't want a complain against us, do we?

"You said the book is there. I can't find it! Help me locate it!"

Walk to the shelves, look at the Call Number, and locate the book within a few seconds.

"Here you go, Sir." (Service with a smile...)

"Ah? How come it's there? You go and hide the book is it?" (Snatches the book away from my hands and walks off, without a thank-you or a smile.)

No shit, this really happened.

That was just ONE incident which ain't a big deal. I can't talk about the more serious shit, for it will be considered 'idle gossip' and we do not want the "all-so-important" legal department send me an email with CAPS used in most sentences. No...that would be bad. That would terrify me.

But I still love my job. I'm still polite, and I'm still helpful. Hell, I've gotten Staff of the Quarter award once. But then, librarians are still humans, and I still have fucking emotions, and we'd appreciate if readers treat us with respect as we are professionals. I'm sure readers would be lost if there were NO librarians around to assist.

So if you're a rude reader who frequents the library, and treats the librarians, library officers, library attendants (yes, there are different positions in a library, not everyone working in there is a LIBRARIAN) like crap, then you should change your attitude. Cause just to let you know, you are not the smartest person (most likely you're a dumb imbecile, whose ego gets inflated only when you treat people poorly), so do not throw your weight around. Nobody likes you.

Ok, enough of the rants. I'm not in an angry mood actually. I'm actually happy and all, but I just had to write something related to my work. It's not really a complain, or whining, but more of reflections. Yeah?

Well, if you're still reading till here, good for you. And thanks. Till next time...

Comeback

2008-03-18T18:20:00.002+08:00

Oh gosh, I've been swarmed with work, assignments and they don't seem to deplete. The only thing that's depleting is me.

From my previous post, I mentioned that I'm looking forward to reading "The Darkest Evening of the Year", which turns out to be a book I'm supposed to review in my assignment, thus it was a "kill-two-birds-with-one-stone" kinda thing. The novel was fantastic, I honestly finished it in a day (I had the day off) and I loved it. There was a right amount of drama, suspense and twists to the tale. Kept me turning the pages, till the end.

So what's next?

Well, I've to put my reading aside for awhile as my exams are coming, and I really, really (unfortunately) cannot spare any additional time for reading. Boo hoo hoo.

Life Expectancy

2008-02-12T11:00:00.000+08:00

Source: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images

On Sunday, knowing that I have no more books to read at home, I went to my favourite second-hand bookstore and bought a Dean Koontz book. He's one of my favourite authors, and I started reading him when I was in Secondary One. My first Koontz title was Phantoms and it just blew me away.

Anyway, Life Expectancy is a fantastic read. On my first reading, I finished like 1/4 of the book. The first chapter went straight to the story, there was no yada-yada and bam!, there was the climax. Damn fast.

The story is about Jimmy, a very talented baker, and it's actually an autobiography of his life. When he was born, his Grandpa Josef died at the same minute but before he died, he prophesized that Jimmy would meet five terrible days in his life. And he told Jimmy's dad to take note of the dates. To which later in life, Jimmy and his family would wait in trepidation of the five dates.

Even though the story is somewhat dark and those five terrible things happened, there was still humour and witty banter between Jimmy and his family. It's a bit of a light-reading, but when it comes to the dark or action part, you're blown away.

And there are several climaxes and twists that the reader does not expect, but they were awesome. When you read the story, you just can't help but proceed to the next chapter, and the next, and the next...

I finished the book last night, Monday.

And I'll wait with bated breath for his next 2008 novel, The Darkest Evening of the Year.

Devil's Disappointing

2008-02-02T20:26:00.000+08:00

I finished "The Devil's Labyrinth" this morning, and needless to say, it was really disappointing. The ending was so abrupt, and he didn't even explain some of the important happenings. The only good part was the twist, which I didn't expect. But that was all.

And the fact that the plot was about bad guys who were Muslim terrorists disguised as Roman Catholic priests, trying to kill the Pope, didn't help. He didn't really explain why the Muslim terrorists wanted to assassinate the Pope - he merely gave a short paragraph on it.

I think I'd go back to reading my Bentley Little.

The Devil's Lame

2008-02-01T18:18:00.000+08:00

I managed to get Saul's title last week and I have been happily reading it. Although I don't really have time to read, what with my school and work, I did squeeze in a few hours. And that's enough to finish three-quarters of the book.

So far, I think it's interesting enough to make me wanna read it non-stop, but when I realise that I have gone through three-quarters of the book, and the story has not really reached the climax, I felt disappointed. So far, there were a few "pseudo"-climaxes, but not that thrilling.

Yep, I'm kinda disappointed with the book. I'll update again when I finish reading it. If I finish it.

The House

2008-01-26T20:45:00.000+08:00

(Source: Google Book Search)

I just finished reading "The House" by Bentley Little, and I must say that I didn't enjoy it as must as I did with his other titles. The story was confusing, as it involved five different characters whose lives merged into one when all of them decided to revisit their childhood by going back to their respectives houses, which eerily is exactly the same, exterior and interior. Things happened and that's where the confusion starts.

But here are some of the Bentley Little titles that I did enjoy:

- The Store
- The Ignored
- Dispatch
- The Policy
- The Resort
- The Collection
- The Awakening
- The Walking

Check them out if you can.

My Job

2008-01-25T00:41:00.000+08:00

Being a librarian has its perks - you get to read on the job, write reviews of the books you've read, have access to tons of books, able to borrow more books (our quota is 20) and request for titles that are hot and are bestsellers (but must also follow our collection development policy la).

I didn't realise that I've been a librarian for more that 2 years already - it doesn't feel that long actually. Maybe cause it's been fun (albeit challenging in some ways).

Of course, some of the public can be demanding (and annoying), but there are those that have shown gratitude for the help that I've rendered. And that really makes my day.

Saul's Latest Title

2008-01-24T00:42:00.000+08:00

I recently requested for John Saul's new title - The Devil's Labyrinth, and I've been waiting for the new copy to arrive at my library anytime soon. But when I checked the catalogue, I was surprised that the copy was already reserved!

Which means that I have to make my own reservation and pay the reservation fee.

But, I'm glad to know that there are John Saul fans out there also waiting for his latest novel. And I'm also glad that I requested for the title.

Can't wait to read it!

The Horror Reader's Advisory

2008-01-18T17:39:00.000+08:00

Here is a list of some of the fantastic horror reads that a fan should read:

1. Rosemary's Baby / Ira Levin
2. The House That Jack Built / Graham Masterton
3. I Am Legend / Richard Matheson
4. The Walking / Bentley Little
5. Psycho / Robert Bloch
6. Neverwhere / Neil Gaiman
7. Silence of the Lambs / Thomas Harris
8. Carrie / Stephen King
9. Phantoms / Dean Koontz
10. Sineater / Elizabeth Massie
11. Zombie / Joyce Carol Oates
12. Thinner / Richard Bachman
13. The Exorcist / William Peter Blatty
14. Creature / John Saul
15. Virus / Graham Watkins
16. Flowers in the Attic / V. C. Andrews
17. Sacrament / Clive Barker
18. The Mailman / Bentley Little
19. The Blood Countess / Andrei Codresu
20. The Collected Tales of Edgar Allan Poe / Edgar Allan Poe
21. Silent Children / Ramsey Campbell
22. American Psycho / Bret Easton Ellis
23. Trauma / Graham Masterton
24. Burnt Bones / Michael Slade
25. The Haunting of Hill House / Shirley Jackson
26. Hell House / Richard Matheson
27. Violin / Anne Rice
28. Cities of the Dead / Michael Paine
29. Watchers /Dean Koontz
30. The Store / Bentley Little

The list, taken from 'The Horror Reader's Advisory: The Librarian's Guide to Vampires, Killer Tomatoes and Haunted Houses' is not exhaustive, and there are so many more titles that you should read. But I've selected the ones that I've read, I am reading and I want to read. And I'm trying to request these titles for my library.

Keep a lookout for them!

Horror of Horrors

2008-01-17T14:13:00.000+08:00

I've not been reading much for the past few days, and not because I'm busy with school. But because, at hand, I only have one more Bentley Little book with me, titled "The House", which I can't wait to read and yet I don't want to read it so fast and be left with nothing else to read. Until I find another title by Mr Little, that is.

What is my facination with horror titles? So far, I love titles by Bentley Little (whom I just discovered and who writes damned good horror titles), Graham Masterton (who has a good website where he posts his short fiction collection online, so you can read them, and he replies to any e-mails personally - he replied to me twice!), Dean Koontz (who writes thriller titles too), John Saul (I've been reading him since I was in secondary school) and Richard Laymon (who is deceased but his wife re-publishes his old work). All these authors write differently, and yet once I start reading their titles, I'm hooked and like a vampire, I'd thirst for more. Their stories have an element of horror, but to varying degrees. And I'm not talking about the supernatural horror, but more of psychological horror, splatterpunk horror, horror that makes you cringe while reading and horror that you can't just imagine could and would happen.

So do pick up these titles the next time you're at the library. I've made requests to bring in these titles and just grab any, read and you'll be hooked like me.

Closing Time

2008-01-12T20:38:00.001+08:00

Thirty mintues before the library is about to close, and the whole atmosphere seems more chaotic. I have to say that my library is never ever very quiet - there will be some random noises happening here and there. But when we're about to close, somehow patrons gets more excited.

They type furiously into the keyboards at the multimedia stations.

They start asking the counter, "Where to find this book?"

They start lining up at the borrowing stations with a pile of selected readings to borrow.

Yah, it seems more chaotic when it's nearer to closing time.

But there are those patrons who seem to not want to leave. They are the ones so engrossed with their typing and reading at the PC, the ones studying, the ones reading the newspapers. Even when we switch off the lights (one at a time, as a signal, and not ALL the lights at once - that will surely shock them), they are still in their seats. I think these are the loyal library patrons - they enjoy being in the library until don't wanna go home. In a way, I think it's nice.

In fact, when I was young, I used to always come to my library to borrow books and to study. I studied for my 'O' levels, 'A' levels and BA exams here. And me and my friends would smuggle food (we'd only take a bite here and there when we think no librarian is watching, and we never got caught...hehe) and study quietly with our Walkmans beside us. And I remembered waiting outside the library at 10am, walking briskly into the library after they've opened it, so that we can get the best seats (either beside the window or at the deeper end of the Reference Room) and feeling contented after getting our desired seats.

And it's so nostalgic to finally work in the same library that I used to hang out in. It brings back memories whenever I'm doing roving and I see students studying, and I was like that before. I think i've come a full circle.

Ok, closing time soon. Lights out, lights out.

"Anyone here? Library closing!" I hear my library attendant calling out.

Time to go. Good night.

Catty

2008-01-12T17:33:00.000+08:00

(Source: http://www.panmacmillan.com/images)

I just finished reading Jeffrey Archer's Cat O'Nine Tales, his sixth collection of short stories.

Ok, ok I know, I read it late. The book was published in 2006. But you know how it is to get a hold of his books in the library...they are that popular.

Anyway, it's interesting to note that nine of the twelve stories written in this collection are based on tales that Archer heard while he was in prison. (I think it was Belmarsh, I did read his Prison Volume 1).

The other three stories are also based on true events but are not derived from prison.

I must say I enjoyed his other collection of short stories such as A Twist in the Tale and Twelve Red Herrings better, cause of all the twists that Lord Archer came up with.

But Cat O'Nine ain't so bad, it's still an entertaining read and I especially liked these stories:

Don't Drink The Water
It Can't Be October Already
Know What I Mean?
The Commissioner

Why? Cause of the twist in the end.

And the title, Cat O'Nine Tales is a play on the phrase 'cat o'nine tails', which is a whip with nine lashes used for flogging. Cool.

The Kite Runner

2008-01-11T20:43:00.001+08:00

The Kite Runner, the movie, is coming to cinemas soon. It's based on a novel with the same title by Khaled Hosseini. I read the book in 2006, and it was one of the most beautiful and touching novels I've ever read (ok, actually one of the few cause I only read horror titles, which you know are not touching at all).

(Source: Google Images)

If you've not read it, don't fret. You can borrow them from any of our public libraries as we have so many copies of them. The Kite Runner was one of the selected reads for READ! Singapore 2006, and I was the representative for my region. I had fun reading the book, more than I expected, cause I normally don't read such titles, but it was a fresh change. It was also an easy read, the writer's prose was simple, and fluid and you just understand what he's trying to say and get across. And we even facilitated book discussions on that book (physical and online), and it was a success.

Anyway, the movie is coming out soon and in conjunction, our libraries are having a loan promotion! Simply borrow 4 books, drop the loan receipt into the lucky draw box and stand a chance to win a pair of tickets to watch the movie on 14 January at GV cinema. Tickets are limited though. And staff not eligible. Darn. But nevermind, I will still spend $9.50 to go watch the movie.

Audit Day

2008-01-11T19:19:00.000+08:00

We just got audited recently. As I’m still considered relatively new, I’m not so familiar with the auditing process, and the stress that comes with it.

The day before our audit, everyone was at branch just running around, making sure everything is in place, and correct and proper and whatever they can do not to let the auditors pick on them. Everyone’s face was clearly stressed, some of they were clutching the checklist, and memorizing the answers to some of the questions.

I’m involved in the audit this year (and it’s my second time actually), but I was still calm about it. I refused to memorize anything, and I assured myself that I know the process. And if they were to ask anything, I should be able to bullshit and come up with an answer.

But that’s me. Everyone else had memorized and can say out their answers with a snap of a finger.

So the day of the audit came, and trust me, people were more gan cheong than they were yesterday. Turn by turn, they went in, like cows to the slaughterhouse, and when they came out, some were happy, yet some were pissed.

My turn came after lunch, and it was only then that I felt the jitters. Suddenly I felt that I forgot what I read, I forgot the work process that I’ve been doing for the past few months and I wished it would end quick. But I still went in, pretending to look confident, and hopefully come out sounding confident.

The auditors (three of them) asked each of us questions, but it was mainly my Library Officer (whom I called the ‘Auditor’s Nightmare’, cause she can answer ALL the questions) and myself that answered the questions. And then, after what seems that they were satisfied, they gave a soft “Thank you” and my turn was finished.

Big phew!

Although my part was not difficult, I felt that some of my colleagues were really terrified, and I mean terrified like not wanting to look the auditors straight in the eye but look down instead, startled when the auditors called their name, and fumbling with their sentences. Why do audits make fools of people like such?

The thing is, I believe that all our staff know their work process. I believe that they have been doing their work well, and they know the answers. BUT! Because the way the audit is carried out, it makes people feel really stressed, like they are taking an exam, but is worse. And that’s not good, cause when people are stressed, they do not react the same way to questions, as compared to when they are more calm.

So I don’t think the audit is a correct assessment of staff’s work. It might not be a true assessment. We might be given incorrect judgements, just based on our anxieties.

Shouldn’t the audit take place in a comfortable and conducive environment? So as to make people more relaxed? But no, what we had was worse. Some of us could hear the auditors getting scolded. I can’t comment more on this.

Anyway, that was that, and our audit is over, and everyone had breathed a huge sigh of relief.

What About My Blog Name?

2008-01-11T18:30:00.001+08:00

"Musings of a Hot Librarian"

Apt?

I dunno. You tell me.

I'm a librarian, working at one of the public libraries in Singapore. If you read my other blog, you'll know who I am.

But for my other blog, I can't talk about work. But I need to talk about work, cause sometimes, work gets interesting and there's so many things to talk about work.

Legal, don't worry, no personal stuff here. I'm just gonna talk about happenings in the library, my library and so on. And my opinions and views DO NOT represent my organization, in any way. These are MY OWN PERSONAL opinions.

And no, this is NOT a page for gossip. It's just a page for my musings, when I'm at work. Cause I think about a lot of things at work. And I promise not to blog when I'm at work. Only after work hours.

And if there are any updates about libraries, I'll let you know.

But for now...back to "Musings of a Hot Librarian".

Yes, I am shameless enough to self-declare that i'm hot, but then I think I am. Cause No. 1, I don't fit into the steroetype of a librarian (read: hair in a tight bun, prim clothes with skirt hemmed up below the knee, thivk glasses, and always go "Shhh!" to readers). I wear anything I want, except that when I'm at counter, I'll wear my black jacket, which is nice actually, over whatever I'm wearing for the day (which incidentally may not be prim and proper all the time).

No. 2: I am hot. Or at least my boyfriend thinks so.

No. 3: Er, there's no No. 3. Enough said.