A Slightly New Direction

As you know I’ve struggled to keep Gudrun’s Tights going over the past year. And I’m struggling now. I love blogging and I love the friendships I’ve made through blogging, but I am feeling completely uninspired and cold about it all right now. Sometimes I think that anything I have to say has already been said or doesn’t need to be said. Yet I love sharing my thoughts on the books I’ve read and the things I’ve learned as well as posting photos. So, what can I do? As I thought about it over the weekend I mulled over some ideas and decided that one thing I am passionate about at the moment is reading American women authors and bringing some of their forgotten work to light. I wrote a post about this back in March 2012 and everything I said there has been carried in my heart from that day. As a committed Anglophile, however, I tend to gravitate toward British authors and to neglect the literature of my own countrywomen. There’s nothing wrong with that – we enjoy what we enjoy, but I do think now is the time to read more American women authors.

Also – I’ve been unsatisfied with many of the books I’ve read this year. My soul, heart and brain long for nourishment, beauty, meaning, wisdom, folly, humor, truth and universality. I want to read books that make me think and make my heart spring. I want to indulge my curiosity and follow unexpected paths of delight. I’ve chosen to read books out of duty to my job rather than out of duty to myself. Can I be a good librarian if I don’t read all of the ‘hot’ authors and bestsellers? Most of my colleagues say no. This is a dilemma I’ll have to figure out for myself…

Yes, friends, you’ll see more American women authors here and I’m going to celebrate the heck out of them! You’ll see more classics and more books that I’ve chosen to read because I want to read them not because I must read them.

Thanks, as always, for listening. I hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend.