Oh, Kaye! and Neil Gaiman wish you all a Happy New Year

After a computer hard drive crash and attempts to migrate to a new laptop while hoping and praying for a retrieval of data (successful! well, mostly successful . . .), I was having all the issues you might expect.

What I didn't expect was for Blogger to get mad at me and refuse to cooperate.

It was enough to send a girl right over the edge.


Almost.


But, as usual, the Jungle Red women were there to lend a helping hand in posting this for me in case I wasn't able to sort out the issues, which I think I've now done (keeping those fingers crossed!).

That little act of friendship is indicative of all that I love about being a small part of this Jungle Red community.

With that in mind, I want to share, once again, as I have in the past, these words from one of the most magical authors on God's green's earth.

Everyone is familiar with Neil Gaiman's famous words that many of us post and repost every year to bring in the New Year.  And with good reason.  

They're perfect and they're timeless.  

Many of us have come to hope for new words of wisdom from Mr. Gaiman in the same vein each and every New Year's Eve.

It doesn't always happen, but this year it did.

Hooray!

So without further ado, enjoy, once again,  the magic of Mr. Gaiman, lifted in part and without apology, directly from his post at his on-line journal -  http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2014/12/new-years-wishes-and-gifts.html


WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2014

New Year's Wishes and Gifts

POSTED BY NEIL GAIMAN AT 4:14 PM


An old year ends, and takes with it people and sorrows and joys and memories, and a new one is on it way.

A New Year's Gift, for anyone who missed it:



Fifteen Years ago, I wrote:

May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.


And almost a decade ago I said,

...I hope you will have a wonderful year, that you'll dream
dangerously and outrageously, that you'll make something that didn't exist before you made it, that you will be loved and that you will be liked, and that you will have people to love and to like in return. And, most importantly (because I think there should be more kindness and more wisdom in the world right now), that you will, when you need to be, be wise, and that you will always be kind.


Half a decade ago, I wrote:
And for this year, my wish for each of us is small and very simple.

And it's this.

I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.

Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're Doing Something.

So that's my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself.

Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make
mistakes nobody's ever made before. Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.

Whatever it is you're scared of doing, Do it.

Make your mistakes, next year and forever.


And here, from 2012 the last wish I posted, terrified but trying to be brave, from backstage at a concert:

It's a New Year and with it comes a fresh opportunity to shape our world.

So this is my wish, a wish for me as much as it is a wish for you: in the world to come, let us be brave – let us walk into the dark without fear, and step into the unknown with smiles on our faces, even if we're faking them.

And whatever happens to us, whatever we make, whatever we learn, let us take joy in it. We can find joy in the world if it's joy we're looking for, we can take joy in the act of creation.

So that is my wish for you, and for me. Bravery and joy.

...

I meant, and mean them all. I wasn't going to write a new one this year. But...

Be kind to yourself in the year ahead.

Remember to forgive yourself, and to forgive others. It's too easy to be outraged these days, so much harder to change things, to reach out, to understand.

Try to make your time matter: minutes and hours and days and weeks can blow away like dead leaves, with nothing to show but time you spent not quite ever doing things, or time you spent waiting to begin.

Meet new people and talk to them. Make new things and show them to people who might enjoy them.

Hug too much. Smile too much. And, when you can, love."


All that from Neil Gaiman.

And from me?  Ditto what he said.

Happy New Year, Reds!!!!!!

Be kind to yourselves.

Confessions of a Librarian

“Librarians are the coolest people out there doing the hardest job out there on the frontlines. And every time I get to encounter or work with librarians, I'm always impressed by their sheer awesomeness.”
― Neil Gaiman

“[Librarians] are subversive. You think they're just sitting there at the desk, all quiet and everything. They're like plotting the revolution, man. I wouldn't mess with them.” 
― Michael Moore


SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: Libraries are one of the last bastions of civilization. And libraries would be nothing but stacks of books without librarians. On a more personal level, I know I'm the person and writer I am today because a very special librarian named Mrs. Eizabeth Lewin (now retired), of the North Tonawanda Public Library — who saw a bored kid who'd read her way out of the children's section, and gave me an adult library card and the book Jane Eyre. I never looked back.

But what do librarians really do? I must confess that I have a few images in mind when it comes to librarians. One is the stereotypical mean, shushing librarian. Then there's Marian, the Librarian, from The Music Man, of course:

And then there's Noah Wylie:

But, recently, I was able to spend time with Jennifer Stock, who's the director of a library in Pennsylvania, as she organized a tea for her library's book club readers of MR. CHURCHILL'S SECRETARY and an author talk. First, she never stopped moving. She never stopped multitasking. And she never sat down, I don't think, ever. And she did it all with a smile on her face and the grace of Cora, Countess of Grantham at Downton Abbey. (And, if you're wondering, she does read extensively — but all on her own, not the library's, time.)

I'm hoping that you, like me, are curious about what our intrepid librarians really do (hint: not just check out books.)

Please welcome Librarian Extraordinaire Jennifer Stock! 

JENNIFER STOCK: Susan Elia MacNeal asked if I would write “a day in the life of a librarian”, to which I happily agreed.

I am the director of a small to medium sized library in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. My library is one of 26 member libraries in a county system that shares materials, databases and delivery services to all of our library card-holding residents. A typical day finds me at the library by 8:15, turning on lights and powering up the computers. I’ll check that the cash drawer is set for the day, and

record the receipts of fines and fees from the day before. Those fines and fees are quite important to keep the library running. My co-workers, a children’s librarian and a library technical assistant, arrive by 9:00, and we’ll catch up on yesterday’s happenings, today’s plans, or recent Downton Abbey episodes. There are holds lists to run and requests to search for, and overdue notices to generate. One of us will empty the book drop that’s located at our front entrance.

At 10:00, we’ll unlock the front door and let our patrons inside, and the county system’s book delivery van will arrive soon with today’s haul, typically 2-3 boxes of requests and returns. The circulation desk will come alive with the arrival of this shift’s volunteer, a rotation of 50-60 people who work 2-3 hours throughout the week. They handle checking in and out materials, reserving public computer terminals, releasing print-jobs and general questions. Mothers with young children head downstairs for the storytime that begins at 10:15, and a tutor from the local literacy center meets his student in our front reference room for a lesson. The library tech will start processing interlibrary loans and cataloging any new books that may have arrived the previous day.

The public computer terminals in the adult area see sporadic use until the regulars arrive just after noon. Users check email and their Facebook accounts, search job listings, sign up for healthcare, or start their IRS tax filings. The afternoon also brings in the couple who reads the newspapers together in the fiction room, and the couple who split up: one takes a computer and the other heads to the puzzle table. There’s always a puzzle to put together, and we recently moved some shelving closer to that table to hold all the puzzles that patrons bring in to complete. Students arrive after school and head for the teen room, which has its own computer (and a door to contain the volume). Often the kids are just hanging out, but a core group of tween girls will gather each week to do their math homework upstairs in the nonfiction area.

At 4:30, I’ll open the book drop and start the rounds of letting our users know that we’re closing at 5:00. We’ll re-open again from 7:00 to 9:00 with our part-time reference librarian and volunteers, but it’s the end of the day for the children’s librarian, library tech and myself.

I think I became a librarian because I love the written word, and connecting people to information in all its forms. I formulate my monthly book orders with great care, purchasing 30-35 books, knowing I have only so much money to spend for the adult materials in fiction and nonfiction. (A friend from library school works in the collections management department of a large metropolitan library, and we met recently and laughed at the wide gap between our purchasing policies. He’ll buy 36 copies of one title!) I run the day-time book club that meets the last Wednesday of the month, and hold bi-monthly book talks called “Tea with Jen” to inform folks of new releases, particular series or just plain good books that I think they’d enjoy reading (lots of recommendations of Jungle Red authors). 

My job may be challenging at times, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.    

SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: Thank you so much, Jennifer, and thank you to all the librarians out there, who help make the world a better place. 

Do you have a favorite librarian? Or a childhood or school librarian who made an indelible impression on you? Please let us know in the comment section. Jen is working at her library today, but is going to make time to drop in and chat with us!

"Oh, Kaye!" - A New Year's Wish from Me and Neil Gaiman

Happy New Year, Reds!!!

I hope everyone had a good holiday season, and I wish you all a Happy 2013. 

It was a busy holiday for us.  Christmas here in Boone with my mom, then a long drive to Birmingham for Christmas with Don's family, and then a drive to Meridian to our nephew's wedding and all the accompanying wedding festivities.  Perfect!  Everything was lovely and perfect.

And now it's back to reality - no more Santa for a whole year, no more magical weddings for a while.  But I want you to know one thing.  I received Christmas cards from some of you and they touched my heart.  Reine, YOU made me cry - but in a good way, so thank you.  I had planned on sending cards, but it was one of those things that didn't go as planned, but you were all in my heart.

I hope 2013 is a year of joy and a year of peace for each of you.



Before I say one more word though, I need to tell you my buddy Margaret Maron, is at Meanderings and Muses today so run by there and say "Hey!"

Now - - - this is one of the things that, to me, keeps "magic" alive.  Writing as perfect as this.

From Neil Gaiman's Journal -

Lifted in total from right here: http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2011/12/my-new-year-wish.html

Because it is one of my favorite pieces of writing ever.  Most of you are already familiar with it, but it's just one of those pieces that will touch us each time we read it, I think.


They're Mr. Gaiman's words, but they're my wish for all of you also.

"My New Year Wish

A decade ago, I wrote:

May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.

And almost half a decade ago I said,

...I hope you will have a wonderful year, that you'll dream dangerously and outrageously, that you'll make something that didn't exist before you made it, that you will be loved and that you will be liked, and that you will have people to love and to like in return. And, most importantly (because I think there should be more kindness and more wisdom in the world right now), that you will, when you need to be, be wise, and that you will always be kind.

And for this year, my wish for each of us is small and very simple.

And it's this.

I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.

Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're Doing Something.

So that's my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody's ever made before. Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.

Whatever it is you're scared of doing, Do it.

Make your mistakes, next year and forever."


This is something I reread, without fail, every year at the beginning of the new year.  It thrills me as much each reading as it did the first time I read it.

It fills me with hope.  With confidence.  And determination.


How 'bout you, Reds - is there a particular piece of prose or poetry that you read for inspiration? For the magic it brings you?  Do you have a particular favorite time for reading it?