Yikes tomorrow is December!

It has been quite some time since my last post. Time does indeed fly when you're having fun- or going crazy, which ever comes first. I am midway through my first school year! Now that I am good and settled I will try to be less neglectful of this blog- more books, more fashion, more daily musings. While I am at it I'll go ahead and post a few pictures of the last couple months just to stay up to date.....

The "liberry" (as my students affectionately call it)- also the location of my new job.

My office, complete with two literary greats: Edgar Allen Poe and Olivia. 

Celebrated Halloween with my buddies. Fun Fact: Batgirl was also a librarian and a redhead. 

And here I am getting in the holiday spirit with an elf hat! 

So there it is guys, my life over the last few months! 

You had me at Woof (Book Review)/ Pet Loss

Recently our family dog, Lucy, passed away. I couldn't even talk about it for a week without crying and even blurted out, "This is silly. She was just a dog." I was trying to put up a defense- mostly so that people wouldn't think I was crazy. But she wasn't just a dog. She was my little sister. She filled a void for my parents when I went to college. She quickly became a irreplaceable family member. But I still felt strange justifying the deep sadness I felt over her passing. I picked up "You had me at Woof" -a gift I received for Christmas. I knew it would make me cry and it did but it also helped me to heal. It was a relief to know I am not the only one who understands and feels the deep connection you can have with a pet. Through her dogs, Julie Klam, has learned many a life lesson. I like to think that my love for Jackson and Zoe makes me a better more compassionate person. I know without a doubt they have made me a much happier one. No two dogs are the same. Each dog plays a unique and meaningful part in your life and Klam does a great job reminding us of that. 

My parents pups: Lucy (2004-2012) and Desi  (Des is alive and well)

 My Two Loves:

Jackson is always camera ready

Zoe is my sweet little girl

Firelight (Book Review)

Jacinda is part of an ancient line descended from dragons called Draki. Draki spend most of their time in human form but manifest into dragons with various talents. She is special in her secluded community because she has the rare gift of fire-breathing. She is the first one to possess this talent in generations.  Jacinda receives a lot of unwanted attention from the Pride. Cassian, the prince of the pride, has made it clear that he wants Jacinda to rule beside him. Jacinda believes that Cassian only sees her for her special ability and she has no interest in being his possession. Flying during the day is outlawed by the Draki due to fear of being captured by Draki hunters. Jacinda's own father was captured years before by hunters. Despite the risk, Jacinda cannot fight the urge to fly in the sun and narrowly escapes being captured. Her saving grace was the young hunter who let her go and seemed to be mesmerized by her dragon form. Jacinda's mother fears for the safety of Jacinda and her twin sister, Tamara. Jacinda is horrified her mother wants to leave the Draki pride but Tamara is relieved. Tamara's Draki never manifested and she is viewed as an outsider in her community. Tamara also happens to be hopelessly in love with Cassian, but Tamara can't hold a candle to her rare talented sister. Reluctantly Jacinda leaves with her mom and sister to begin a human life but no matter how she tries she can't let her Draki die.Starting school doesn't make the process any easier until she sees a familiar face. The hunter who let her go is a student. Will comes from a family of Draki hunters but little is known about the mysterious species. When he sees the new redhead in his school he doesn't recognize her for the beautiful dragon but something is familiar and he is drawn to her. Despite knowing that Will hunts her people she can't fight her attraction to him. He is her only reprieve from this miserable human world. Jacinda knows that being with Will is a huge mistake but she can't stay away and she doesn't realize until it's too late how far she will go to protect him even if it means endangering her mom and sister or revealing the Draki's greatest secret. 

Living Room

Anna (my roommate) and I moved into a 1930s bungalow a year and a half ago that had been previously empty for seven years. Needless to say it needed a lot of sprucing up. It has been a slow process and so far the only room that is completely decorated is the living room. The majority of our furniture is second hand and our biggest investment are the Hello Kitty Plasticgod prints displayed above our mantel. Each Hello Kitty is depicting a different character. Our collection includes: Andy Warhol, Cyndi Lauper, Robert Smith, Debbie Harry, Shirley Temple along with eight others. Our framed pics on the mantel include framed postcards (David Bowie and Debbie Harry) and two prints from the amazing Marisol Spoon. Being a librarian, of course I have to have book displays! I hand painted an old wicker chair green which I bought at a local flea market and displayed a few (of our many) art and music books. The upright red bookcase is from Ikea and is one of my favorite things in our living room! Our next project is the dining room which currently holds our 40 year old dining room table/cat bed/junk mail catch-all. I am excited and up for the challenge!

The Ghost and The Goth (Book Review)

Most of the books I'll be reviewing are going to considered Young Adult since I am a youth services/school librarian. So if that's your thing hopefully you will find these helpful.

Alona Dare has it all. Popular, beautiful and oh yeah-she’s dead. Alona’s untimely death leaves her stuck between this world and the next with a secret she is not willing to disclose to anyone. Once the novelty of Alona’s demise wears off at school she is shocked to hear rumors that she committed suicide and that her best friend and boyfriend had been sneaking around behind Alona’s back even before her death. Alona is stuck in ghost world with no bright light in sight. But all is not lost. Will Killian, the resident school weirdo, appears to have a sixth sense. Despite not even ranking on the social scale, Alona seeks his help. Desperate times, right? 

Will is having a hard enough time without having the former Queen of the school as his invisible sidekick. His father (who also had the gift to see dead people) committed suicide a few years back, his psychiatrist is trying to have him institutionalized, his mother doesn’t understand him, and the principal can’t stand him. Not to mention the numerous ghosts who follow him around asking him to fulfill one last request. Will knows that many of the ghosts will never know why they are stuck in the land of living and he doesn’t want to spend his life running errands for the dead. Unfortunately for Will, Alona is not easy to ignore in life or death. Will agrees to help Alona learn to control her new ghost form and Alona helps keep the other ghosts at bay so Will can finish his senior year in peace. Initially the pair is distrustful of each other but once they begin to open up they realize they have a lot in common. Looking forward to reading the sequel, Queen of the Dead and the final installment, Body and Soul. 

Hello!

I am starting this blog as I begin a new chapter in my life. I just finished grad school in December with a degree in Library Science. I will begin this upcoming school year as a librarian in a local high school. I would like this blog to be a place where I can share book reviews, fashion and style, and anything else I came across that I find interesting. Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading!

-Ashley