I'm FAMOUS! My brush with fame as a "Scandal" tweeter

I do not commit to very much television.  As a busy graduate student I just do not have time, although I am not above the occasional (okay, regular) viewing of the time suck that is Investigation Discovery as well as the Sunday marathon of "Snapped" (it's on in the background; I'm not really watching it...).  However, in terms of scripted, professionally acted television, I don't get to watch much...

Except the highly addictive and well-written show "Scandal" which airs on ABC.  I have become one of "those people" who thinks that the world wants to hear my voice on this, and as such I have become a fairly regular live tweeter on Thursday nights.  A couple of weeks ago, Shonda Rhimes, the creator and my writing idol, retweeted me and I thought that was the pinnacle.  That is until I got a tweet from one of the show's producers that they had used my tweet in their weekly recap that is on the ABC website.  OH. EM. GEE.  So of course I have to share:

Book Review - "Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls"

Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book made me laugh out loud in the most unexpected places. David Sedaris can brighten any bad day with his droll, yet dead on wit. He is funny, ironic and twisted, just the way I like it! I listened to the audio book and he narrates it. I think it is far funnier than just reading it on a page.

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Book Review

Who Asked You? by Terry McMillan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is another GREAT McMillan masterpiece. There is no writer out there who can do dialogue and a sense of place better than this queen of writing. She is only matched by Grisham in her ability to draw a character so well that you can actually see them as you read. This book is told in alternate points of view by the characters and advances in time. The different points of view is a great driver of the story. I have met all of theses characters in my life, and many of the readers will relate as well. This is not "Black" book, simply a great book that has Black and White characters.
It is evident that Ms. McMillan's writing has remained standard in its depth. Her voice is as fresh as it was with "Waiting to Exhale" 20+ years ago. I was sad to see the book end, and I am hungry for the next. Please don't make us wait so long, Terry!

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So, you think you want to go to graduate school.

I am in my next-to-last semester of graduate school. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I am looking at questions for comps. It is because of these things that I feel that I can be reflective about something I am frequently asked about. Sometimes it's in casual conversation. Sometimes it's whispered to me. Sometimes it's emailed to me. What's this question? I'm thinking about going to graduate school and I'm over 30. What should I think about? What do I need to know before I make this life change? Well, I will answer, for all of those who want to know, but are afraid to ask. 1. Graduate school is a commitment. It does not matter how you do it: online, face-to-face, part-time, full-time, a mixture. Even if you are just taking one class. You had to endure testing, applying and acceptance into a program. This is now a part of your life that you must acknowledge. 2. Don't casually go to graduate school thinking that it's a stopgap measure or you'll use the time to figure out what you "really want to do." What you're in grad school to study should be what you "really want to do." Which leads to my next tip. 3. If you really don't like the subject area you are studying, grad school will be a drag. I love libraries. I love everything about them. I hunger to learn more. I read about libraries even when school is out. I easily see myself doing this for the next 80 years or so. And it's a good thing, because THAT IS ALL I STUDY IN SCHOOL. When I was in law school, I did not feel this way about the law. So I know what I am talking about. 4. Your weekends are not your own. Especially if you are working while in graduate school. Prepare yourself and your family and significant other and friends for this. It is real. 5. Your brain will be stretched in different directions. I have found that having some life and work experience has helped me to look at class projects and assignments differently. I have also had to learn new ways to approach things. 6. Being on a college campus is fun, but please don't try to relive your undergraduate days. I am on the campus where I had some of the best times of my life, made lifelong friends, was a total sorority girl, and for the first time in my life, where I had some modicum of 'popularity.' However, the undergraduates on this campus are children to whom I could have given birth. It would be ridiculous for me to try to hang out with my young sorority sisters. My point here is, don't go to grad school to relive undergrad. 7. Start thinking about career and job-searching during the very first semester. I don't have the luxury of doing a 2-year residency after graduation or going to London to work at the Inn of Court library. I've got to get a job and I think about that every day. I am a real grown up with real responsibilities, and that is real for me all the time. 8. Know why you're going to graduate school. My graduate school experience has been AMAZING! I love my curriculum, professors and colleagues. I am having experiences that are imprinted on me personally and professionally for the rest of my life. It is great, and I am having fun. However, if I could have gone straight to working in a library without graduate school, I would have totally done it. I know why I'm here. Librarianship is a profession, and there is a professional rigor about learning the mindset and how to do it properly. Ask yourself exactly why you're going and then examine the answer. Your gut (and pocketbook) will tell you if it's a good thing. 9. You can expect to make a major shift in your finances. Even if you are still working at your same job, even if you have a scholarship. Books,supplies, fees, other little things that crop up are real. 10. If you are thoughtful and smart about your graduate school experience, it will change your life. I experience a joy I hadn't expected. I am in my groove, and I feel like I am using the gifts I have, rather than just doing something that fulfills me and serves people. This is a generation of people who make shifts in their lives all the time. If you know that this is the thing for you, just do it. You're worth it.

Revenge Wears Prada review

Revenge Wears Prada: The Devil Returns by Lauren Weisberger
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Let me begin by saying that I totally loved "The Devil Wears Prada." It was an enjoyable read and I liked the movie as well. I was looking forward to the sequel. What a waste of time. This book was awful. I gave Andy 148 pages to redeem herself and become a person that I wanted to root for. Sh'w whiny, ungrateful, selfish and completely unlikeable. I skipped ahead to the predictable, glib end and did not feel one inkling of empathy for Andy.

I would skip this one and just let the memory of the first one hold you.

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Mid-summer book reviews

Many of you have been asking me about book recommendations for summer. Here are a few that I have read and am reading, with my review. Remember, this is my own opinion, so if you have a different one, don't shoot me. Just share it with me and maybe we can start a wonderful debate. Happy reading!!! Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris




View all my reviewsCrazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



View all my reviewsThese Girls by Sarah Pekkanen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



View all my reviewsHelen of Pasadena by Lian Dolan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



View all my reviewsAnd the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini




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The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Every so often you read a book that amazes you with the writing, astonishes you with the depth of the description of and voices of the characters, and finally annihilates you with the turn of events. This is that book.
This is not a light read, y'all. This is true literature. I always know that a book is good when I can't wait to pick it back up again at the end of the day, but my stomach is in knots about the things that I will read.
Ayana Mathis is our generation's Alice Walker. Definitely add this one to your list.

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