15 Thing About Me and Books

Inspired by Steve Lawson who was inspired by John Scalzi.

1. I’ve only ever read three books from cover to cover on first reading: The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy, Disclosure by Michael Crichton, and The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco.
   
2. I have a very large collection of books about (and by) Richard Nixon and Watergate. (A few hundred titles, honest.)
   
3. I once waited several hours at a campus book sale because I was broke and at a certain time books went to $1/box. I really wanted the 1921 20-volume set of the complete 1001 Arabian Nights printed by the Burton Society and still have that set.
   
4. Sometimes I’m embarrassed to admit that I love the books of Edward Lee and Carlton Mellick III since most would not consider their work fit for “decent” people. 
   
5. I once spent $1500 for a mint condition pornographic paperback written by Dean Koontz under a pseudonym.
   
6. I own a book bound in lizard. (Beast Child by Dean Koontz)
   
7. I have an extensive Dean Koontz collection. (In case you haven’t figured that out already.) It includes 15 unique editions of Intensity including two versions of the manuscript.
   
8. I can read a book and you’d never be able to tell it had ever been opened. I am extremely hesitant to loan any of my books to anyone and cringe at folded page corners and cracked spines.
   
9. All hard covers I purchase are immediately encased in archival-quality acid-free dust jacket covers from Bordart which I buy in 300 ft rolls.
   
10. According to my parents, my first full sentence was asking they why the bookstore we were driving by was only for adults. They answered that it had books kids wouldn’t be interested in and I accepted the answer.
    
11. In sixth grade I made a deal with my parents: I wouldn’t watch TV for a week and in exchange I’d get a paperback copy of Shogun by James Clavell. I think it took me months to read it. I still have that copy despite having log ago upgraded to a first edition hardcover.
    
12. An author has 100 pages to impress me. If I’m not convinced by the end of page 100, I’m not going to finish it.
    
13. I’m typically in the process of reading five or six books at a time.
    
14. I will typically intentionally avoid reading books that are currently in vogue. I have regretted this a few times but generally don’t mind waiting until the furor dies down.
    
15. I have thousands of books in my collection and more than 500 of them are autographed. (Living in Denver for a decade with all the authors that came to The Tattered Cover really helped.) Some of my favorite autographs include Kurt Vonnegut, Gene Simmons, Neil Gaiman, Neal Stephenson, and Bruce Campbell.

My name is Michael Sauers and I’m a Shover and Maker

If you’re reading this blog and you don’t know who I am by now, I have just one question for you: why are you reading this blog?

I’m back from CIL2009 and I’m declaring myself a Shover & Maker!

Ok, for the record, I’m the Technology Innovation Librarian for the Nebraska Library Commission. Yes, I’m one of those “state workers” (say it like it’s gum stuck on the bottom of your shoe if you want to say it right.) Great title right? But what does it mean? Well to me it means that I get to play and investigate then pass on what I’ve learned to other librarians.

Does this get me in trouble sometimes? Of course it does but if I’m not frustrating someone, I’m not doing my job right. Change breeds frustration. Some cope well, others… not so much.

As for a project I’m proud of that would be the WiFI Connectivity Grants I ran last year. IN the end more than 50 libraries now offer free public WiFi that didn’t before. I’ve been training for almost 15 years now but I’d finally run a project from beginning to end that has a direct effect on libraries and their patrons. This year is getting Nebraska Libraries on Plinkit. (What have I gotten myself into?)

I make. I shove. Sometimes in that order. Sometimes not.

Meme: How many books are you reading now?

This one is a little bit of a homework assignment. Look through your office and your home and find all the books that have a bookmark in them indicating you're intending to finish that book one day. (If it's just marking a spot you want to reference, that doesn't count.)

My results: Home = 36, Work = 7

(I've been reorganizing my collection and decided to collect all the books I'm in the middle of onto a single shelf. Turns out I needed more than one.)

Nearest Book meme

"Baris clapped the Supervisor on its large, muscular back."
Doctor Who: The Doctor Trap, Simon Messingham

Rules:
* Get the book nearest to you. Right now.
* Go to page 56.
* Find the 5th sentence.
* Write this sentence - either here or on your blog.
* Copy these instructions as commentary of your sentence.
* Don't look for your favorite book or your coolest but really the nearest.

Internet Stars are Viral

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Little Brother word cloud

Pick a book, get the text (legally please), and create a word cloud using Wordle.

Meme: Passion Quilt

I haven't officially been tagged with this meme to my knowledge but I was inspired this morning by the combination of a quote from a book I'm reading and preparing for a Library 2.0 presentation next week. So, here's my entry:

Who am I tagging? Many I know have already done this but I'm sure I've missed a few so if you've already done this, my apologies:

1. laurak
2. mlibrarianus
3. rgarza
4. nirak
5. cjburns

3 Simple Meme Rules:

• Post a picture from a source like FlickrCC or Flickr Creative Commons or make/take your own that captures what YOU are most passionate about for kids to learn about...and give your picture a short title.
• Title your blog post "Meme: Passion Quilt" and link back to this blog entry.
• Include links to 5 folks in your professional learning network or whom you follow on Twitter/Pownce.

Here's Lookin' at You

First the prairie dog, now the... well, whatever it is, it's dramatic.

via YesButNoButYes