So I Became a Librarian

I’m so tired and my feet hurt and if I see one more power point slide, I might punch someone in the face BUT THAT SAID i have some new ideas and perspectives and I’m looking forward to reading proceedings of the panels I missed so…

professional conferences: doing it right?

It’s officially happening! 

Monday evening the 6th, we health science librarians are going to grab dinner after MLA is done for the day, at approximately 6 pm in the Hynes/Prudential area.

So if you are a tumblarian in town for MLA, come join us! Or if you are a Boston area tumblarian who wants to meet up, you should join us too! 

Drop me an ask/message if you’re interested and I will give you the rest of the deets and my contact info. 

A Different Sun by Elaine Neil Orr
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sometimes a book is just so darn beautiful that you can’t stop thinking about it and then you start to see snippets of it in your dreams and then you just don’t want it to end. A Different Sun by Elaine Neil Orr is precisely that rare sort of book. I didn’t really know what to expect from it. I entered in the ARC giveaway because I am obsessed with books set in Africa. Then, when it arrived, I saw that it was about missionaries and thought, oops what have I gotten myself into? It turns out, I got myself into a once in a lifetime reading experience that I doubt will ever be replicated.

It was not until I reached the end that I discovered this work of fiction was inspired by actual diaries and letters of a real life missionary couple. I applaud Orr’s decision to ao ahead and fictionalize a similar account instead of writing something meant to be factual. Obviously I can’t say one way or another if a factual account would have been better, but I do know that it would not have been this book and I am oh so glad that this is the one she wrote and I got to read.

If you are like me and are not religious, do not let the missionary plot dissuade you. This book needs to be read for Orr’s style alone. Some passages practically sing and, much like a poet, she can say so much with a single phrase or word. The pages pulse with the life she has breathed in to Emma, Henry, Jacob and Uncle Eli, as well as the grand cast of Yoruba villagers who are too numerous to name. Then there is the pacing, which slowly and steadily builds to a crescendo and a an absolutely terrifying climax, which makes the descent to the conclusion that much more of an emotional relief.

I’m not sure what else I can say that will get you to read this novel. Just, you must read it. Find a good place and pay close attention.

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