I’ve been a bit of a crow over the last year. Collecting $2 books at the thrift store. Buying from local authors to support them. Catching quest books in Little Free Libraries 😍. I know it’s time to start putting books back into the cycle for others. Can I have some coaching from you all?

I’m thinking of keeping a maximum rule of 50 physical books. (I have around 80 right now and a super good library system to get any books in the future).

My brain just keeps getting caught up on which books I think I’ll re-read. I finished Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline. Some parts I didn’t enjoy and some were awesome. I’m having a “what if” I enjoy it even more the second time? What if I send it back out to the free little libraries and I forget I would want to re-read it someday.

Same with Julie Chan is Dead by Liann Zhang it was so wild I want to reread it and yet because I know the whole plot already I might not. I’m just so dang proud of that first time Canadian author 😇

What books do you keep to re-read or just because you’re still being a big fan of them. How are you being ruthless yet considerate to yourself!?

edit: okay okay I just found this nifty tap counter on google and can confirm I have slightly more than 80 and by slightly I mean 125 total physical books! Eep!

Final edit: I have 8 books ready to go today to little free libraries & friends. I have a maybe shelf that are either to be re-read or head into the give away shelf. I have also made a shelf of books that are Pagebound quest books that I can pass along once done! Yayyy!! Thank you everyone

How many point of view characters do you like in a book? I think my sweet spot is 1-2. When I was younger and had more time and energy, I could read epic fantasies with half a dozen or more POVs, grumbling my way through my least-favorite characters' chapters, but I rarely want to read that sort of book anymore.

I ask because I'm reading an average-length horror novel and it started out seeming like it would have three women as its POV characters, which already felt like a bit much for the length and genre, but it's also given me a couple chapters from one woman's teenage brother's perspective, and one or two from her male friend/crush's perspective. It's too much! The book already feels like its moving too slowly without taking these little side-jaunts into what these men who aren't part of the main action think. At this rate it might as well just be third-person omniscient!

So what is your preference? And does it changed based on genre or book length?

I was really excited by this premise, and I enjoyed the last Hall book I read (Mortal Follies, though I did find Puck kind of insufferable by the end). But they're not even on the ship yet and I'm already so exhausted by this narrator and the constant Deadpool style meta-quips. I've enjoyed fictional memoirs before, and get that to an extent it's part of the genre, but this just feels like soooo much.

Is it worth pushing through it to get to the meat of the story, and does the narrator chill out as the action picks up?

I'm a public librarian and soooo much of my life outside of libraries is being surprised and disappointed with how bad libraries are at promoting themselves to both non-users and even regular patrons! I thought it could be fun to have a little post where I could try to answer any questions you've had about public libraries or librarianship (other librarians please pipe in! I don't know everything!)

Ask away! No stupid questions!

Spent the weekend playing Stardew Valley and tending to my irl garden, what are your other hobbies outside of reading?

All year round I love browsing all the queer lists on here but as it’s pride month and quest nomination is upon us, I wanted to open up a specific post for people to share their queer lists! I think it’d be cool if pride month ended in a queer list being made a quest and just wanted a space for people to either self-promote or share their favourites!!

Three queer lists I love by others are:

1. Queer Literary Fiction by @rose_reader also going to sign post another found on a different post LGBTQIA+ literary fiction by @mimi_reads
2. “But that’s historically incorrect!” By @Storyteller //
3. Queer All Year by @B00kWyrmNelle

I have done a 'Queer Classics' series but the first one is Queer Classics: English Literarture edition - books that should've had the same respect and prestige as those taught in English classes or academic circles such as 1984, To Kill a Mockingbird, A Mice of Men, Dracula, Wuthering Heights etc..

Happy Pride Guys! 🩷❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜🖤🩶🤍🤎

hi friends! looking for recs!

I recently realized that due to my aphantasia, I have been avoiding written fantasy novels because it is hard for me to visualize! But graphic novels like Bree Paulsen’s Garlic and the Vampire and The Firelight Apprentice, and Kay O’Neill’s Tea Dragon Society really touched my heart and work for my mind. I think having the visual aids really helped me understand world building, so I would love any fantasy or science fiction recommendations for graphic novels.

notes: -preferably queertrans/bipoc/intersectional rep! -visually simpler as opposed to traditional comics which tend to be a little overwhelming when i look at them -romance is okay, low spice preferred -can be spooky but horror isn’t the best fit for me currently

I’ve been making my way through a bunch of fantasy/slice of life manga/webtoons, here are some of my favorites! Anything related would be awesome! -high class homos: found family, queer romance, bettering society, medieval times -always human: found family, sapphic, disability rep, sci fi and cool worldbuilding! beautiful art too -crumbs: food!!! magic too -the dog knight: animals! they them pronouns! -i’ll think of more

i'm looking for books with absent father dynamics.

i’ve dealt with it since i was a kid and i realised i’ve never really read a book where it’s explored as more than just a character’s backstory. most of the time it’s mentioned once and then everyone moves on. i want to read about a character who’s still carrying that absence around with them. i want to see how it shapes them and affects the way they move through life.

any genre is welcome. i’d just prefer fiction since i’m not much of a non-fiction reader. i just want something where it’s an actual part of the story and not just a detail thrown in for character development. thank you all in advance!

Maybe to niche of a question but I'm curious. Just today a library staff member sent out our summer reading reminder emails to over 700 people. Unfortunately, it was not sending right away so they kept pressing send. As you can imagine, this did not go over well... Patrons were getting over 14 duplicate emails about summer reading. Chaos ensued. We were getting tons of calls back-to-back asking why it was sent so many times. I'm sure we will be hearing about this all summer hahaha So my question to you librarians/library workers is - what weird catastrophe has happened at your library?

Something you may not know, and that I didn't know until today:

Libraries create partnerships with each other to maximize the amount and variety of materials their patrons can check out. These partnerships make your library card more powerful, especially for checking out digital materials.

To see all the library systems that your card gives you access to, look up your library at reciprocard.com

I just found out today that my card gives me access to a dozen other libraries in the state for checking out audiobooks and digital materials. I don't have to borrow anyone else's card to do it. They're all connected with my existing card. I look them up in Libby by the name on Reciprocard and add them with my same card number.

I went from having to put holds on more than half of the books on my TBR to most of them being available right now. And that's exactly how the reciprocation system is supposed to work!

It also shows libraries that have non-resident cards, the cost, and the conditions.

Play around in there if you've never seen it before. Make sure you're taking full advantage of the library cards you have. You may not need to borrow your cousin's card from out of state to get the books you want. Your card might do it just fine and you're underutilizing it.