back to one of my first loves...

It's amazing that it has taken getting a job with GVPL to get the Renegade Librarian reading again! I have really spent relatively little time reading since I got married because my life has been constantly busy, first with grad school (where I had to read school stuff constantly), then with travel, and then the whole business of getting settled back in Victoria. I am finally settling down and now have been starting to get into more recreational reading. Lately I have actually had a few books on the go (which is, in itself, a rarity because I normally tend to read one book at a time) because there are a few different things that I have been so excited to read that I couldn't wait!

I just finished Eric Clapton's autobiography--a very good read. I am a big Clapton fan (when he isn't playing adult-oriented pop-rock drivel) and have read numerous biographies on him and his various bands (i.e. Cream and Derek & the Dominos). It was nice to hear the story in his words and listen to him recall his journey from sociopathic, self-loathing/self-centred/self destructive, drug/booze addicted guitar genius to authentic person/family man. It made me feel good because he is one of the musicians that I genuinely like and have always thought was a pretty guy (compared to, say, Bob Dylan and Van Morrison, two contemporaries of Clapton's who are just completely arrogant morons, despite their genius). I highly recommend.

I am also reading The NextGen Librarian's Survival Guide, which I just started, which I hope will provide me with some more tools for being a librarian in the 21st century, how libraries are changing, and how I can be the best little "guybrarian" possible...

I started a book called The Way Into Narnia, which is an excellent reader's guide to Lewis' legendary series written by Peter Schakel. In it, he argues that the best way to enter in Narnia is to read the books as fairy tales, an explanation that I wholeheartedly agree with as someone with more than a passing interest/knowledge of Lewis' life and works. It is one of the finest scholarly books on Narnia I have ever read.

Well, that's a start, folks! I will try to make my reading recommendations as much a part of the Dynasty as I do my music reviews/recommendations. Let me know if you ever end up reading anything I suggest--I'd love to know!