Finish Line: 48 Hour Book Challenge

Reading: 17 Hours, 29 Minutes 
Books Started: Six 
Books Finished: Three and a Half 
Pages Read: 1140

I might add links to GoodReads reviews ... once I write them!

Finished (and Loved) 
The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness
I Crawl Through It by A.S. King 
Black Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

Still Reading:
Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger 

Still Listening:
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss and narrated by Nick Podehl

Started, But Want Something Lighter:
Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman

Started, Didn't Like:
Spinster by Kate Bolick

I met friends for drinks on Saturday night, slept like a normal each night, and even made a trip to the local street fair, Seventh Heaven, and purchased two hats for the low low price of $10! Some day I will crack the half-way mark!

Tenth Annual 48 Hour Book Challenge

Oh, boy. I may have selected too many books for the 48 Hour Book Challenge.

In addition to the ones pictured, I also have The Name of The Wind fired up and ready to go in my Audible app. My phone is also holding some ebooks, notably Gail Carriger's Finishing School series start starts with Etiquette & Espionage.

Unlike previous 48HBCs, I don't have much planned this weekend, other than reading. Perhaps a few errands -- cleaning, laundry, etc -- that can be done while listening to Nick Podehl narrate.

For now, my plan is to start Friday evening and to try to read more than half the time. It seems totally easy, right?

Start: 8:00pm Friday
Finish: 8:00pm Sunday
Goal: 25 Hours

R&R

Like a child with a chore chart, I've been tracking my progress with each category of my Things-cation:

Cook (Sun, Tue)
Bake (Sun)
Nap (Sun, Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri)
Read (Tue, Wed, Fri)
Run (Sun, Mon, Tue, Fri)
Write (Mon, Tue)
Drink (Sun, Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri)
Clean (Mon, Wed, Thu)
Trash (Tue, Wed, Thu)
File (Wed)
*Shop (Fri)

I broke my glasses two months ago and during my trip to Maryland I've managed to replace them with a buy-one-get-one-free deal. (I pick them up tonight!) We're making a butterfly cake for Easter, so I expect to log another check for baking. 

I've never been a fan of staycation. I'd much rather visit a friend who lives in some not-close city (Milwaukee, Austin, San Francisco) but it's been nice to cross things off my to-do list in between massive amounts of leisure. Is it too early for a nap? 

40-40-40

For previous birthdays, I have compiled a list of things to do leading up to my birthday. In the approach to 40, I am keeping it simple:

1. Lose 40 pounds
2. Write 40 blog posts
3. Complete 40 (different) running routes

I am approximately 40 weeks from my 40^th birthday so I just need to do each of these things once a week. At some point in my past, I abandoned the idea of losing weight because it always resulted in me feeling like a failure. It often involved unrealistic or unhealthy approach with a too-short timeline. Eat less, smoke more! However, eating and exercising in such a way that I lose a pound a week doesn't seem like a bad idea. My life includes a lot of beer, chips, and cheese. I will try not to be too obsessed ... except maybe when planning those running routes. 

How awesome would it be to turn 40 and to feel as if I am the most healthy I have ever been?

Things-cation

I am in the midst of nine days away from work, but a lack of funds keeps me from doing anything more than enjoying a couple of happy hour beers at my local joint. On the first day, I made of list of Things I Would Like To Do and maybe even like to do every day. This is what I came up with:

• Cook
• Bake
• Nap
• Read
• Run
• Write
• Drink
• Clean
• Trash
• File

I'm in New York the first five days then I travel to Maryland with my best friend, her husband, and her adorable toddler. We grew up in the same town, Westminster, and will spend the next four days with our respective families. I am aiming for five Things a day so even after the set change, I will focus on napping, reading, running, writing, and drinking. I see visits to the Moose Lodge and American Legion in my future, but I hope to entice at least one friend out to Westminster to enjoy fine cold beverages on lovely Main Street. 

The visit is also a belated visit for my mom's birthday so I imagine a couple of mother-daughter outings. We will buy things! We will eat lunch specials at Forbidden City! I will probably fix something with her computer or printer!

When I opened my MapMyRun app, I gasped when I saw that the last time I went for a run was January 1. Three months? How could I go so long? Winter has been rough and spring is being stubborn, but running centers me. What have I been doing for the last three months? Professional commitments kept me busy for January, but February and March have been same old, same old business as usual. It has been quite cold, but it still feels like no excuse. April, I am embracing you with open arms, tech shirts, and my beloved running fannypack.   

Tag: You're It!

Photograph by Jacob Walsh

At the beginning of the year, I started tagging one of my Facebook friends each day. I explained it with my first post: 

"Last year, Matthew Allison tagged a different Facebook friend each year. He began each post with "(Over 365 Facebook friends, one tagged each day in 2013!)" and then shared some little bit about the person and how they knew each other. I don't have *that* many friends, so I plan to also tag pages that I follow. Since Matt is my inspiration, I'll begin with him. We both work at Queens Library, and we first met during a 'staff appreciation' event during National Library Week in 2007. He's super into skate boarding and writing, and I like how he balances being laid back yet dedicated to improvement. Determined yet accepting of life's twists and turns. Cheers!"

It's been a fun exercise in writing and in appreciation. I added the names of all my friends, along with certain pages and groups, to a spreadsheet and ordered it by first name. After starting with Matt, I selected each daily pick using the RANDOM.ORG True Random Number Generator and plugging in the spreadsheet row span. Once I feature a friend, I remove that person from the spreadsheet. I started with 270 friends, groups, or pages. My opening sentence is now: Over 365 Facebook friends, groups, or pages. One tagged each day in 2014!  Perhaps I will add new folks to the spreadsheet as I go along and perhaps I will stop once September is over.  

I keep thinking a number will come up and I'll groan, "Ugh, not that person!" Instead, each time I have been excited to see where my jumbled memories and mused tapping lead me. 

38 Things

Giant Kitten assists with writing.

Now that I'm 38, I made a list of 38 things to (maybe) do. 

Travel
1. Costa Rica
2. More! Canada! More!
3. Destination half-marathon

Health, Wellness, and General Good
4. Repeat vegan-for-a-month.
5. Volunteer with Healing Arts Initiative.
6. Go skiing or ice skating.
7. Join Citi Bike once stations arrive in neighborhood (Park Slope).

Organization and Finances 
8. 52 Week Money Challenge
9. Cut money on food in half.
10. Make more money.

Exploration and Learning
11. Knit!
12. Do book-a-day with mostly children's books.
13. Take children's literature, development, or services class.
14. Do book challenges.
15. The Great Saunter
16. Enjoy the fuck out of SXSWi.
17. Learn to draw comics.
18. Make pottery.
19. Take a sewing class with Megan.
20. Eat foods listed on 100 Foods To Eat Before You Die. 
21. Read a different best-selling author monthly.
22. Do crossword puzzles.
23. Watch AFI's 100 Years 100 Movies. 

Social
24. Send holiday cards.
25. Facebook friend, page, and group tagging - one a day for 270 days. 
26. Dance, motherfucker, dance.
27. Find Susan a boyfriend.
28. Hack dating.
29. Get a boyfriend. 

Writing
30. Keep a diary, write a page a day, or update blog. 
31. Write letters.
32. NaNoWriMo -- this is the year!
33. Submit a Metropolitan Diary.
34. Edit Wikipedia entries

Miscellaneous
35. Rollovers
36. New glasses!
37. Stop dressing like a social studies teacher.
38. Lose 10%.

37, er, 15 Things

With less than 24 hours until the unveiling of 38 Things (and my 38th birthday!), I present the 37 15 Things I accomplished this year.

Running
4. Enter 12 races: Cherry Tree 10 Miler, NYC Half, Colon Cancer Challenge 15K, More Half, Brooklyn Half, Portugal Day (5 Miles), ALA Think Fit 5K Fun Run, MLB All-Star 5K, Queens 10K, Grete's Great Gallop, Staten Island Half,  and the best of all: PPTC Turkey Trot (5 Miles)!
5. Volunteer at races: See previous post.
6. Join a running club: Prospect Park Track Club.
7. Buy new running shoes: I bought TWO pairs.

Health, Wellness, and General Good
10. Eat more vegetables.
11. Drink more water.
12. Take lunch (at least 30 minutes) and break every day.
13. Be vegan for a month: This really deserves its own post, but I fell in love with the cookbook Isa Does It and I am committed to eating more vegan things and reviving vegan-for-a-month annually.

Organization and Finances
18. Purchase file cabinets: I selected a more economical model and I spent three days of my March vacation filing and organizing everything I own. I am pleased to report that if I am hit by a bus, my parents will be able to sift through my papers and possessions with ease. You're welcome, family.
20. Update resume: My lovely employer listed several positions recently. This inspired me to update my resume. I also produced a document of accomplishments and activities for my annual review that takes place in February.

Social
24. Have fun with the Polite Society Adventure Club: This started strong and tapered off once Megan, Kelly, and I realized we were usually the only attendees of the events we planned. That said, I had tons of fun Bike the Branches, playing Twin Peaks Bingo at Videology, and visiting the New Museum for NYC 1993: Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star.
26. Celebrate as many birthdays as possible.

Exploration and Learning
28. Take Knife Skills class at Brooklyn Kitchen on 4/30: I might have forgotten all I learned. That's what handouts and YouTube are for, right?

Fun 
35. Travel somewhere that requires a passport and is not related to a library conference: Montreal! I loved everything about my visit except maybe the excruciatingly long return train trip. Pro tip: If you're crossing a border, bring your damn passport.
37. Say "Yes!": Seeing Aimee Mann and Ted Leo ("The Both") at the Bell House with Jeff on 9/11.

Goodbye 2013, Hello 2014

On the last day of the year, I lined up the items I would need for the night's race: fleece hat, wool scarf, gloves, and an empty Thermos. Instead of running New York Road Runners Emerald Nuts Midnight Run, I opted to volunteer for the event's festival. One of my 37 Things including volunteering at more races and (until the moment I arrived in Central Park), I had failed in this endeavor.

The volunteer coordinator described my mission:“Your job is to be helpful.” I donned on a bright orange vest that identified me as VOLUNTEER and walked the perimeter of the area surrounding the Bandshell and tried to look merry and bright. As a librarian, the “Ask Me Anything” conversation bubble floats permanently above my head. While the event does include a four-mile race around the park, tourists and spectators flock to the free outdoor dance party and midnight fireworks display. A large part of my "job" for the night included pointing people towards the port-a-pots, recommending where to stand for the fireworks, and directing the runners to the baggage check and starting line.

Even with the freezing weather and numb extremities, it was the perfect way to break in the new year: in a glorious park in an amazing city, supporting the running community and surrounded by people old and young, from near and far. I sipped watered-down hot chocolate, wiggled to the music, and tried desperately to help people find the nearest subway station. I always fail to exit the park in an efficient manner. I think I'm heading west only to find myself on the east side. Once I'm in the middle of the park, I forget the path that took me there. Despite this, I choose to believe that my vague pointing, thoughtful pauses, map glancing, and perky instructions led all to be where they intended. 

Happy New Year! 

37 Things: The Rollovers

Source

I knew that my 37 Things list was overly ambitious and for that reason I am rolling over 12 things. Combined with a new (forthcoming) list of 38 Things that makes an even 50.

Running 
1. Run 50 miles a month.
2. Log at least 750 miles over year.
3. Improve pace significantly and consistently.
4. Cross-train (cycling, Pilates, whatever)
5. Run NYC marathon again.

Social 
6. Go out on 12 dates.

Exploration and Learning
7. Learn Spanish.

Food
8. Bring back Grandma's Test Kitchen as Sunday Dinner.
9. Assemble collection of grandmother's recipes (with pictures!) and publish (flip book, blog, whatever).

Writing
10. Write monthly blog posts.
11. Write book reviews.

Fun  
12. Ride roller coasters

8th Annual 48 Hour Book Challenge

It’s that time again!

The 48 Hour Book Challenge (#48hbc) will take place June 8-10. I’m planning on reading from 7:00pm 10:00pm Friday  to 7:00pm 10:00pm Sunday. I will be running my favorite race from last year (New York Mini 10K) and participating in my favorite NYC library advocacy event (We Will Not Be Shushed Read In). Registration for the Mini is closed, but if you're in NYC you can still sign up to read here. I volunteered to read between midnight and 8am. I'm crossing my fingers for 4:30ish.

 I’ve piled my stack of books (see below), downloaded an audio book (Tortall and Other Lands by Tamora Pierce), and selected my baked good (Vegan BreakfastCookies). After failing to go vegan for the month of May, I’m attempting Mark Bittman’s VB6: Vegan Before Six during June. 

37 Things

mag3737

When I turned 37 in January, I made a list of 37 things to do before turning 38. I am amused that only a handful of things are even tangentially work-related, but I take that as a sign that I am satisfied with how my career as a librarian has progressed over the last six years.

Running
1. Run 50 miles a month.
2. Log at least 750 miles over year.
3. Improve pace significantly and consistently.
4. Enter 12 races.
5. Volunteer at races.
6. Join a running club.
7. Buy new running shoes.
8. Cross-train (cycling, Pilates, whatever)
9. Run NYC marathon again.

Health, Wellness, and General Good
10. Eat more vegetables.
11. Drink more water.
12. Take lunch (at least 30 minutes) and break every day.
13. Be vegan for a month.
14. Give blood more than twice a year. Aim for every 56 days if possible.

Organization and Finances
15. Pay off credit cards.
16. Cancel gym membership or start going to gym.
17. Visit storage space.
18. Purchase file cabinets.
19. Hang things on wall.
20. Update resume. 

Social
21. Go out on 12 dates.
22. Hangout with friends haven't seen in a long time: Sonya, Alissa, Dawn, Susan, and Mooney.
23. Redeem all Brokelyn Beer Book coupons.
24. Have fun with the Polite Society Adventure Club.
25. Hold summer bar crawl exchange.
26. Celebrate as many birthdays as possible.

Exploration and Learning
27. Find that elusive fourth hobby: reading, running, cooking/baking, and ?
28. Take Knife Skills class at Brooklyn Kitchen on 4/30. 
29. Learn Spanish.

Food
30. Bring back Grandma's Test Kitchen as Sunday Dinner. 
31. Assemble collection of grandmother's recipes (with pictures!) and publish (flip book, blog, whatever).
32. Eat weird new and interesting things with Gastronauts.
 
Writing
33. Write monthly blog posts.
34. Write book reviews. (If all works out, I should be doing this for SLJ's Adult Books 4 Teens.)

Fun 
35. Travel somewhere that requires a passport and is not related to a library conference.
36. Ride roller coasters
37. Say "Yes!" 

Ready Set Go!

Coffee's brewing and waffles are toasting as I prep for my race. I'll be listening to an audiobook for the first few hours of the challenge to accommodate train travel and race running. Starting (in about 45 minutes) at 7am Saturday, finishing at 7am Monday.

Seventh Annual 48 Hour Book Challenge

Throwing my bookmark into the pile once again for the 48 Hour Book Challenge. It's going to be a busy weekend with the Mini 10K and the 24 Hour Read In, but I'm going to try to conquer a stack between 7am Saturday and 7am Monday. I'm hoping the 14-hour audiobook I have selected (Born Confused) will help me log hours when I'm out and about. Here the initial stack, subject to change:

If you're in the NYC area, you should come support the 24 Hour Read In:

4pm Saturday-4pm Sunday
Brooklyn Public Library, Grand Army Plaza

Read, read, read, sleep, run

Here we go again. Last minute decision to join Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon. Here are my books:

I'm also planning on listening to Between Shades of Gray on audiobook.At some point today, I need to dash into the city and pick up my bib for tomorrow's Run for the Parks 4-mile race.

Donate for Something Tasty

I am running the ING New York City Marathon and raising funds for ING Run For Something Better. Every little bit helps, even $5 would be great. As an added incentive, I am offering the following gifts for donations. I have included suggested donation amounts for gifts, but any donation gets any gift. One gift per person. You can email me at keys.karen@gmail.com

http://www.active.com/donate/INGNYCM2011/karenkeys

Rooftop Dinner (Suggested: $100)
A tasty meal for you and a guest on my lovely rooftop (weather permitting).

Butternut Pound Cake (Suggested: $50)
This is what my grandmother always made for my birthday. It takes three hours to bake in all the love.

Batch of Chocolate Chip Cookies (Suggested: $25)
Nothing says loving like something fresh from the oven. Alternatives: brownies, banana cream pie, or cheesecake.

Books! (Suggested: $20)
Two books, selected from my personal stash, especially for YOU.

I have committed to raising $2750 (yikes!), but I am prepared to pay that amount myself. It will mean ramen for every meal and living very frugally for the next 2-3 months, but I think the cause is important. I wish I had started running as a kid. Anyway, it will be a much more fun September and October if I'm gratefully baking and cooking. My grandmother's cheesecake recipe is delicious.



Here's the link to donate:
http://www.active.com/donate/INGNYCM2011/karenkeys

**If you don't live in New York, everything but the rooftop dinner, banana cream pie, and cheesecake can probably be shipped. We'll work something out.**

Finishing What I Start

This librarian blog will be mostly about running for the next three months. Where possible, I will combine libraries and running. I'm training for the NYC Marathon and accepting donations for ING's Run For Something Better.

ING Run For Something Better funds free school-based youth running programs for kids in our race markets and nationally to teach kids the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and help them avoid childhood obesity.

Also, completely unrelated, I seem to have inadvertently deleted all the images from this blog. I am choosing to blame Google Plus.

48 Hour Book Challenge: 17 Hours, 37 Minutes

Just a quick update to post my stats for the Sixth Annual 48 Hour Book Challenge:

Reading: 17 Hours, 37 Minutes
Books Started: Four
Books Finished: Three (one audiobook, one eBook, one print book)
Libraries Hugged: One (CNN covered it! Article: Supporters give 'hug' to budget-pinched NYC libraries)
Muffins Baked: 12 (post-Challenge, recipe from Smitten Kitchen: Rhubarb Streusel Muffins)

Hugs, Cupcakes, and the 48Hour Book Challenge

It's gearing up to be a hectic month: two major NYC library advocacy events (Hug the Library, 24 Hour We Will Not Be Shushed Read In), preparing for Alex Awards committee meetings at ALA Annual, pulling off a program (Pecha Kucha: Teens and Technology) at the same library conference, and planning for our first big month of technology and job readiness programs at the library in July.

A weekend spent reading is just what I need. No, really, I mean that. I'm throwing my stack of books into the ring for the 48 Hour Book Challenge.

I'll be darting off to high-five Patience and Fortitude at the New York Public Library's Stephen A. Schwarzman Building in the middle of my reading fest. The three library systems in New York City are facing massive budget cuts, and (fingers crossed) a hundreds-strong group of us is going to form a human chain around the building, so that we can what the event name implies: Hug the Library. (Are you in NYC or the surrounding area? You should come. You can even read while you wait for the hug to take place promptly at 2pm.)

Other than my cozy up with the library and some baking aspirations, my weekend is mostly clear. My plan is to read from 8pm Friday-8pm Sunday. I'm aiming for 20/48 hours, but maybe I can manage to stay up this time around. Here are my books:

a new job for a new season

In keeping with my tradition of changing my job (or position) every two years, I'm now working as an outreach librarian in Long Island City. I'm still with Queens Library, and these are my new digs:

Pretty cool, eh? My focus is providing technology and job assistance to traditionally underserved populations. The program, an enhancement of what libraries already provide, is just starting and once again I find myself in a multiple-exclamation-point state.