Would you like some cake with your Maupin?

...or aka "An Ode to Audiobooks"

I had been in between audio books until late last week.  That was causing a big problem in my running routine. Little did I know that listening to a little CAKE would bring me back 25 years to San Francisco.  Not really San Francisco, but the life of Armistead Maupin's characters in Tales of the City.  Yes, way before I became a librarian, I was addicted to those characters (you know I'm a character girl) and could not put down any of those books circa my life in the early 1990s.

About that same time, I discovered "Cake."  Sort of a funk, rock, country band that you may have heard of when they made a remake of "I Will Survive."  I loved, still love, their first album from 1994.  That was a good year.  I had a boyfriend (my husband). I was in graduate school for health education at the University of Maryland. And I was having a ton-o-fun.  CDs were the rage and I was listening to my "Motorcade of Generosity" on loop (if you could even do that back then).

I still love those songs but boy has a sea of guilt fell over me my last few runs.  I was not listening to a book! How could I just listen to music?  I'm always reading, thinking, doing something related to my job.  As it was, while I was enjoying my "Cake" I was editing this blog post in my head.  Whatever. That's how I roll and I'm still loving that I'm humming these songs days later.

Audiobooks All Around

Today's NYT Book Review reviewed several new audiobooks including Becoming Madeline: A Biography of the Author of A Wrinkle in Time by Her Granddaughters. The book is written by her granddaughters and read by them.  Only 2 1/2 hours long, this would be a good choice for a shorter road trip or just a week driving around town.

My friend and colleague, Dr. Jen Cannell, had an article published in the most recent issue of School Library Connection on ebooks and audiobooks.  She includes some great tips on how to keep "the reading momentum going throughout the summer." I heavily rely on Overdrive for my audiobooks on my road trips and when I want to read a book "instantly" after midnight and I'm hundreds of miles from home.

My Audiobook Slides

Thursday I presented my love for books at a recent workshop.  I couldn't leave out my passion for audiobooks and my crushes on the characters and readers.  Have I ever mentioned my crush on Michael Crouch's voice before?  I never met a book read by him that I didn't like.

And on that note, I have chores to do and a run to squeeze in before the rain falls again.  No more guilt--I have a book to listen to!

*ps-I just realized I titled that slide, "I run to YA" and included Lily and Dunkin on that one. Lily and Dunkin is really middle grade.  This slide really was about the readers--I listened to Perks of Being a Wallflower right after we saw Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway and Noah Galvin was our Evan.  Noah is the reader for this book.  Michael Crouch reads Lily and Dunkin and Simon (see above!) 😉

A Royal Reflection

This morning I realized that my son is nearly the exact same age I was when Lady Diana wed Prince Charles.  It was 1981 and I was in Maine spending the summer in Waldoboro.  We didn't have a TV so the best I could do was look closely at all the photos in the paper the following day.  It satisfied me enough but boy did I feel left out that I didn't see it live.

I loved Diana.  I wanted to be her.  Even down to her hairstyle.  That year in Seventeen magazine there was a how-to on her hairstyle that you could cut out and hand over to your hairdresser.  I did it and looked awful.  Did my hairdresser know better? Of course.  I can still picture her telling me that it wasn't going to work on my curly, thick hair.  But I insisted. Thankfully, hair grows.

Today when I have a TV and Internet, I didn't set my alarm or attend any parties (I heard about this one at the Kansas City Public Library on NPR yesterday) but I did tune in when I finally managed to get out of bed.  I missed the ceremony but still got my share of the pomp and circumstance. And my tears were flowing. C'mon. Who doesn't cry at weddings?

The news these days is not good so a fairytale royal wedding is medicine for the soul. An escape, even if it's for an hour.  That's what reading does for me, too.  Plucks me right out of my life for a while. It's cliche but true. Take me to another world, another life, please.

Last week I finished Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee, a perfect lead up to today's event. Englishman Monty, his younger sister, Felicity and his best friend, Percey embark on a year long "Grand Tour" of the continent sometime in the 1700s.  There's a stolen box from Versailles pirates, parties, drinking, sex, Monty's love for Percey (unrequited or requited?) and quests...this exciting young adult novel has it all. The adventure, the triplet, the English countryside had me thinking it was a more-than-PG-13-but-less-than-R-rated version of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as Monty, Felicity and Percey seek to find a mysterious cure. The sequel from Felicity's point of view, comes out October 2.


Thank you Royal Family for giving me the opportunity to escape to England for the second time this week and congratulations Harry and Meghan from across the pond, up the Hudson River over in Castleton.