My biggest concern is always working enough. I'm paid by the taxpayers, and some consider librarians a luxury. Our contract day is 7:30-3:10; 7 and 1/2 hours with 20 minutes for lunch. I normally work 5-7:30 a.m., because once students are in the building, my day is spent face-to-face with them, instructing and working one-on-one on a myriad of things. Lunch is an apple at my desk, and there's no planning period. After reading the paper at home, I read and review from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. I'm happiest when I put in a full work day on top of my work day. I love reading, so it doesn't feel like work.
Weekends are spent reading and reviewing, with some laundry, cooking and cleaning thrown in. When I review for Young Adults Books Central, I "earn" books for my library, and I get a fair amount of hard covers from publishers as well.
So being at home? Not good. The hours spent at school with the students and teachers feel like my break. They are the reason I read. There was a little freaking out yesterday morning. My work with students can't be done at home. I have no books to hand out. I am going to post on Instagram every hour of the school day, but that's reaching a small population.
We can only do what we can during this difficult time. I checked on neighbors via a Facebook group and texts. I only saw my house mate, who has volunteered to go to work so a temp can be supervised so is driving instead of taking the bus. I'll get groceries for us and for several elderly people. I am investigating to which group I should donate money to help those who are out of work.
And I'll read and review. But I do need breaks. For instance, I got up at 6 a.m. instead of 4 a.m.! Took a two mile walk, will put together the Instagram posts, read five books, cross post reviews on a variety of platforms. Boost books on Twitter. After that, I have to give myself permission to be done. Clean the house. Walk the dog without a book in my hand. Maybe sew a bit. Only READ social media twice a day.
Here's hoping that everyone is well and making good plans to deal with this unexpected occurrence.
Monday, March 16, 2020
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Good luck, Karen! For what it's worth, I'm still reading your post, and always keeping an eye on your recommendations.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate knowing that I'm not the only one absolutely hating all of this right now! It sounds like you have a good idea of how you want to spend all of this extra time. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
ReplyDeleteCrazy world right now but your blog is what keeps me going. Keep up the great work in these trying times. It sure is strange having a two week break in March. I'm afraid it may stretch longer.
ReplyDeleteMy goodness! You read and review five books a day. You will certainly have a lot of company with your books by your side. Always enjoy your reviews, because you know what kids like.
ReplyDeleteWell, at least now I know how you get all those books read! That's along day.Thanks for the post.
ReplyDelete