Born To Run Booktalk

Here is my Booktalk for Christopher McDoughall's Born to Run using Jing.

Trail Run and Library Thoughts

Yesterday I had a chance to trail run through Discovery Park before work, taking in the sunny weather as the first days of spring have arrived. What a great way to start my day, to get my blood flowing and settle my thoughts. My usual route, the Loop Trail, is a 4.25 mile trail around the park, through the forests, down the bluffs, and onto the Lighthouse beach. Because spring has arrived, however, there were Seattle Parks Department workers clearing and maintaining the trail (thank you) so I had to diverge and explore some other trails that zigzag through the park. It was fun hitting up those trails for I haven't visited them much lately, primarily because I have been sticking to the outer edges of the park.

Today we had a branch staff meeting, so I had to work the morning rather than have a full day off. No matter to me really, because after the meeting was over I had a lot to ponder over and I needed a place to think. Off the Discovery Park I went and with a lot of time to spare.

I ran the park trails twice and had to resist going for a third. I have a hard time holding back because there is just so much beauty in that park and it is so calm and serene that no matter how I am feeling I always leave feeling at peace. Now with spring here, a lot of the plants are starting to bud and the forest is getting denser and filling up with life. This was the first run I've had in weeks that the route was relatively dry too; I had hardly any mud on my legs.

At the Seattle Public Library, we are gearing up for the launch of our new Strategic Plan, a plan that will guide us and challenge us to be the best at what we do. It is an ambitious plan, but it must be otherwise what's the point really. If you don't set goals, if you don't challenge yourself, then really are you striving to be the best? Library work is all about service and innovation. This plan puts down on paper our motivations for why Librarians do what we do. And this is the kind of thinking that will keep us relevant. If we succeed in this Strategic Plan, it is easy to believe that libraries would be around for many years to come.

DOK

I was browsing Library Journal articles (cause that's what I do at 7am) and I stumbled onto an article about the DOK library concept center in Delft, a place where I visited as part of my Netherlands Exploration Seminar/Dutch Designs Program with the Information School at UW. The article (found here) is about Erik, Jaap, and Geert and about the incredible work they have been doing over there and how they have changed the way a library operates, both conceptually and functionally. Because of their work they were awarded the honor of 2009 Movers and Shakers.

Reading this article made me nostalgic because I think about all that I did while I was there, riding my bike, Suzzette, on the Tour de France routes, going to library lectures, touring beautiful and innovative library centers, swimming in the North Sea, even plucking a bike key out of a murky canal using only a piece of thread and a magnet (see my other blog). But most importantly, it reminded me of the wonderful people I met while I was there.

To see photos of DOK you can go here. Note-these are not my photos nor am I claiming any rights to them.

old friends

While running around Discovery Park today I ran into an old friend. I was in the middle of an 9 mile trail run and there she was, my friend Amy LaVare, one of the best Children's Librarians the Seattle Public Library offers. We worked together at the High Point location but since I have been moved over to the Ballard Branch, I haven't seen her in some time. Actually, the last time I did was over beers at the Beverage Place Pub for my going away party, a very bittersweet party. I knew I would be leaving good friends behind as I took the next step in my librarian career, but that still doesn't make it easy saying goodbye. I wish I had the time to really chat with her, to catch up, to check in, but it wasn't the time or place for this.
Amy, you are missed.

Book Lovers

What is it about a book that attracts you? Are you drawn to the image on the cover? How about the size or shape of the book? Are you drawn to it because someone suggested you check it out. Maybe you heard about it in the paper or saw someone on the bus reading it and they were smiling.

Reader's tastes are as varying as chocolate, which is having a resurgence in its craft here in Seattle. Dark chocolate with 70% cacao, dark chocolate with 80% cacao, white chocolate, milk chocolate, milk chocolate with nugget, the list goes on just as book genres and appeals are concerned in the book lover's world. We have the obvious ones, like the fiction lovers, the non-fiction, the mystery lovers, westerns, urban fiction, young adult, true crime, and again the list goes on with the more obscure. And then comes the list of appeals, plot driven, character driven, witty...so many to name.

I think this is what makes the hobby of reading fun and exciting. When I see an interesting book arrive in our morning delivery it reminds me of the feeling when I am browsing the chocolate isle of the market. Which one should I try....dark chocolate with 70% cacao and jalapeno bits??? oh wait, what about this one...milk chocolate with crushed mint leaves. I get a wonderful rush and I can wait to get it while saving the other for my next time. I also never seem to run out of options too, making this one of the best hobbies to have.

Currently I am reading two books that are different kinds of chocolate. One is a YA book that I can't seem to get enough of: Graceling. The other is simply cracking me up: I Was Told There'd Be Cake. Simply decadent. Try a piece.

Running

I've been running a lot again lately and it has made me the happiest I've been in a while. It is funny how sometimes you just get so bogged down with life, with work, with educational advancement, that you are forced to sacrifice some things you love temporarily....and then you re-discover it.

Running around Discovery Park is one of things that makes me overly joyful. I love the feeling of it, the mud between my toes, the fresh crisp air, the serenade of the trees singing as I glide by, the birds chirping. The physical rush, the chemicals my body produces is also addicting, all the adrenaline and endorphins. An article (here) explains just what I am talking about and I am one who has to say I completely agree because I can associate with this wonderful feeling. Running is not painful, it is sheer bliss.

On my last run I almost stepped on a cute little chipmunk that darted across the trial in front of me. My closest call so far to stepping on a little animal. It made my heart leap a little, as I leapt across the trail trying to avoid it. It was also very windy that day, with branch bending and braking all around. It was really beautiful to hear. I know with the broken branches comes new life and I can wait to see it.

It is raining pretty hard at the moment. I am sitting in a coffee shop, with my Americano almost empty, with the itch to go running. I love running in the rain, the slap of tiny raindrops on my face, the coolness on my body. I love how with heavier rain comes little rivers all through the trails and I have to trudge through it, sometimes ankle deep.

Soon the snows will start melting in the mountains around Seattle and I will be able to tackle some new terrain. I am already mapping out some trail runs. For now I'll stick with Discovery Park and loving every minute there.

Current Musical Obsession

Sarah Vowell

I have been on a Sarah Vowell kick lately. Her newest book, Unfamiliar Fishes is on its way to me and I can't wait to check it out.

This morning, while sitting at Tully's going over my book annotations, I received a GoodReads newsletter spotlighting an interview recently conducted with her via GoodReads questions. It is funny to me because of the timing of this. Last night I picked up A and J from the airport, who had just arrived home after spending time in Hawaii sunbathing and playing with lava (literally, with sticks).

Anyway, I can't wait to read this book.

Here is the interview:
(http://www.goodreads.com/interviews/show/576.Sarah_Vowell?utm_medium=email&utm_source=Mar_newsletter&utm_content=vowell)