Who’s That Girl?
05.04
The Woman Behind the Words!
My Job: Middle School Librarian at the Little Red School House & Elisabeth Irwin High School in Greenwich Village in Manhattan.
My Favorite Color: PINK! (And for all of you that grumble about pink being a traditional “girl” color and anti-feminist, TOO BAD. I like pink, and I say we feminist girly-girls take it back as OUR color:)
My Favorite Flavor: Blue raspberry.
My Favorite Bands/Singers: The Doors, early Harry Connick, Jr., Hole (before Courtney Love totally sold Kurt out), The Cure, Bon Jovi (a hold-over from my 80′s high school days, but come on, the older Jon gets, the better he looks), Indigo Girls, Alicia Keys, Tori Amos, Ani DiFranco, Aimee Mann, Ben Folds, Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, Ryan Adams, Vampire Weekend, Mary J. Blige, The White Stripes and Barenaked Ladies. I love the GLEE soundtracks as well. And let’s not forget the kick-ass soundtrack to the musical that is simply the epitome of adolescent angst (and no, I’m not talking about High School Musical) Spring Awakening!
My Free Time: Often spent reading, quilting and watching way too much reality television, primarily on MTV (I never get sick of Real World vs. Road Rules Challenges–is Coral going to keep doing these challenges until she’s, like 40?) Bravo (Top Chef! Project Runway!) and BBC America (How Clean is Your House?! What Not to Wear!). I am also currently catching up on old movies (Sunset Boulevard, Philadelphia Story) and watching Mad Men (O, those 50′s dresses!). I also write reviews regularly for cool professional librarian rags Booklist & Kirkus Reviews, and occasionally for TimeOut New York Kids and Amazon.com. Oh yeah, and I spent a year and a half of my life missing out on everything fun to write this book.
My Professional Friends:
Dorie Freebury: This beautiful blond bombshell and I bonded for life since our days working together at the Northville District Library in MI (my first job as a children’s librarian!). Dorie helped show me the ropes with the peanut-butter-and-jelly-set (i.e. toddlers) and we found we had many things in common, including our worship of Francesca Lia Block and Parker Posey. As the head of the Youth Dept. at Northville, she is a consummate storyteller, picture book specialist, pop culture gleaner, and indie movie queen. I applaud her ability to work with the short folk, who in my opinion, are much harder than teensters!
Stacy Dillon: This marvelous tweener librarian is one of my great friends and also the lower school librarian at LREI. Though she is now a mom to two HUH-dorable little blond girls, she has never forgotten her Gothy-teenage-rager roots and still keeps her finger on the pulse of the indi/alt/punk music scene. Check her out at her two book blogs: Booktopia and Welcome to My Tweendom
Angelina Benedetti & Cindy Dobrez: I mention them together because I met both of these two super library ladies while working on the American Library Association’s Best Books for Young Adults Committee. Angie is the Manager of the Selection and Order department for the King County Library System in Washington State and Cindy is the school librarian for the lucky kids at Harbor Lights School in Holland, MI. Both of them are hilarious, incredibly articulate, stubbornly opinionated, and know more about YA literature collectively than I will ever know in my lifetime. Angie has a “delicious” sense of humor, and Cindy an “amazing” way of mentoring and making you feel smart (even when you’re not). I’d have never made it through my first year of BBYA without them. Cheers, ladies!
Stacey Bakula: No, she isn’t related to Scott, but she did like that sci-fi series he used to be in. Stacey is a great kid/teen advocate, an eternal optimist, a sometimes-psychic and one of the greatest people I have ever had the privilege of meeting. We have lost touch, but I hope to meet up again with her someday. Stacey, if you’re reading this, email me!
Deidre Cuffee-Gray: Awesome school counselor, former English and Soc. Studies teacher, and GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network) educator, and great big softie, even though she occasionally tries to look fierce by shaving her head and piercing her nose.
Patrick Jones: Pony-tailed, WWF t-shirt wearing, Chuck Taylor-sporting wild man YA librarian P. Jones was my inspiration back when I was just a young punk getting my library science degree. Want to see why he’s so cool? Check out www.connectingya.com.
Andrew Mutch: Co-creator of this page, independent web designer, and according to Sharyn November, a veritable CU-TEE! See what else he has been up to!
Sharyn November: YA editor extraordinaire at Penguin/Putnam in NYC. Her webpage is a talk-soup of oddities and bizarre happenings. Check it out. SDN, You Rock!!
Phil Swan: Head of the Social Work Library at Hunter College in Manhattan. Ain’t he cute? I’m lucky enough to be marrried to him–a stuffed shirt history geek by day and a wild bohemian artist by night. Check out his wicked cool abstract artwork.
Kevin King: Teen Services Librarian at Kalamazoo Public Library and my partner in YA librarian crime. I have always been in awe of Kevin’s energy. He is not only a crazy YA programming wizard who literally has about two programs going on a week, plus double that during Summer Reading, but a husband, dad, and 24 hour teen advocate. Where ever the party is, that’s where you’ll find Kevin.
My Faults: I am too loud to work in a library, too honest, too chicken to pierce my eyebrow, and way too obsessed with young adult literature.
My Strengths: Did I mention that I was WAY too obsessed with young adult literature?
My Hobbies: Collecting Sweet Valley High paperbacks with the original artwork covers, 80′s music compilations and all things Mary Englebreit (I know it’s kinda Mom-ish, but her saying, “It’s good to be Queen!” is my personal motto!).
Presentations: Check out all the details about a Reading Rants road show!
Thanks for visiting! As always, email me with any questions, suggestions or concerns: swampophelia27@yahoo.com Now, back to RR!