Working in a library - the hardship you don't expect

I've worked in a library for several years now, during school and again when I graduated. Being a librarian was my dream job (though it fought for the position with writer and paleontologist). I love books, I want to work with books - to be surrounded by them constantly. And I'm lucky that I'm able to do that and (mostly) support myself that way.

But there were some downsides that I never even thought of. I was so focused on the books, that I forgot about the people. The library may be all about the materials it offers, but it wouldn't exist at all if it wasn't for the people. And this post today is about one in particular - Mr. G.

Every day since I started working here (in 2009), we have been visited by an older patron that comes in to request all of his favorite movies. Sometimes we own them, sometimes we can get them from elsewhere in the state, and sometimes we buy them just for him - and he's always so grateful and so sweet. He'd come to the desk and chat with us about the movies, or just to talk. He had plenty of amazing stories, since he was a proud veteran. We all knew his health was declining, you could see it in the way he walked, his face, and the shake in his hands. But Mr. G was part of the library, he couldn't go anywhere.

Today, we got a call from Mr. G's daughter - he's fallen, broken his hip, and is not expected to make it another day. To say we are all heartbroken is an understatement. Past employees have emailed and called to check on him. And while we're all hoping for more information, at the same time... we don't want it. We want to just assume that he's home, recovering. The not knowing is both painful and helpful.

I like people, I'm a sociable person. But I don't think I ever expected feeling this close to a library patron. Just typing this post makes me want to tear up, thinking that we might never see our dear Mr. G again.

Mr. G has pulled through some bad times before, and I still fervently hope that he will pull through this, but in case he doesn't - this blog post is my tribute to Mr. G, a much beloved library patron that will be so incredibly missed.

Happy Reading

Amanda

Buy Links for author John Abramowitz

Day two of John Abramowitz's visit to Novel Addiction as part of his Blog Tour. Yesterday, John spoke about the age of one of his characters in his Young Adult series, The Weaver Saga.

Today, I'm posting buy links so you can check the book out for yourself!

First up: In case you missed it yesterday, check out John's blog On The Bird - it has links to the rest of his blog tour, as well as plenty of other interesting goodies.

Get a copy of Weaver...
from Amazon
from Barnes and Noble [FREE]
from Smashwords [FREE]

Get a copy of The Void...
from Amazon
from Amazon UK
from Barnes and Noble
from Smashwords

Again, a huge thanks to John for including Novel Addiction on his Blog Tour, and for visiting our little humble abode.

Be sure to check out The Weaver Saga!

Happy Reading!
~!~ Amanda~!~

GUEST BLOG: John Abramowitz talks age in YA

Hello all! Please help me welcome John Abramowitz as he visits Novel Addiction on his Blog Tour. John will be visiting us today (5/20) and tomorrow (5/21) so drop him a line to say hi!

Without further ado - John!
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Act Your Age?

When I decided to write The Weaver Saga as a Young Adult series, I did my homework on the genre. I looked around at some of the other Young Adult fiction being published now, to get a sense of what was working for other authors and what wasn't. One thing I noticed is that many YA writers feature exclusively teenage protagonists.

            This made me nervous, since I was already planning for one of my point-of-view characters -- Moira McBain -- to be an adult. Was this a bad idea? Did I risk alienating my target audience by making this choice? I asked myself this question over and over, both during the writing of Weaver and more recently as I wrote The Void. Every time, I came to the same conclusion: I was using Moira as a point-of-view character, risky or not.

            Why? First of all, because she's just a damn cool character. (Who doesn't love a badass, untrusting, take-no-prisoners FBI agent?) But more than that, I decided to keep her because there's no reason that a younger audience couldn't understand her. Many of the challenges she faces are universal challenges, faced by fifteen-year-olds and fifty-year-olds alike.

            I won't say too much about the specifics of those challenges because I don't want to give away some pretty major spoilers, but I will say this: when I was in high school, I remember more than a few teachers telling me about things I would face in the "real world." I also remember deeply resenting such talk, because I felt that my world was every bit as real as theirs. Now that I'm almost thirty, I don't think I was wrong. Few people of any age, for instance, are immune to feelings of inadequacy. The sources of those feelings change, but they are just as pervasive among students as professionals. Family relationships do not suddenly get less complicated because a person reaches adulthood. And so on.

            The main reason I decided to go ahead with an adult protagonist, in other words, was to show I had faith in my readers. To assume that young adults could not understand the problems of an outright adult would be to condescend to my readers. That's not a business I ever want to be in.


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Thanks so much for the visit and guest post, John! Check out John's blog (with links to the rest of his blog tour) : On The Bird. You can find buy links for The Weaver Saga there, or stop by Novel Addiction tomorrow when I will be posting them.

Another big round of thanks to John for visiting!

Happy Reading!
~!~ Amanda ~!~