The Mandy Blog

  As a "bookie" (the habitual book reader's equivalent to foodie) I like to think I read books that are going to inform me, keep me enthralled, and leave me wanting more.  I try a lot of books and not all are captivating or even interesting, but we power through to say "I read that."  A lot of books are hard to read and some are easier, but I like not only to read a physical book but to listen to them.  This is a great way to read books.  As long as you're listening and don't just have it in the background while you have a full-blown conversation or are watching something on TV that will take most of your attention, listening is reading.     A lot of times, as a person who works in libraries and with the public and always get asked what I'm reading, I have to have a different answer every time.  It only makes sense that I would have, at least, some idea of what popular books are about without having to look it up or read off the annotation....

 My name is Amanda.  For this blog, you can call me Mandy. I'm a midwest wife, graduate student, and new mom.  This post will be boring, but you can get to know me a little bit! In the midst of the current situation, a looming pandemic, contentious political aura, and economic downfall, I decided to start a blog just to focus on me and people like me.  We need to decompress, hear from each other, and feel comradery. A few years ago, I joined a graduate school for my master's in Library Science because I've been in a role that requires me to work as hard as a librarian, but because at the time I only had a Bachelor's degree, I was paid much less.  Now, with less than a year of graduate school left, I will become a librarian.  (It's about time!) Last year, I had my baby girl Marina.  My pregnancy was great, delivery hard, and the rest seems to be a mix of everything.  Raising a baby is hard, invigorating, and joyous all at the same time.  In my...