Crack dealers

Did you know that they allow crack dealers to set up shop right inside stores now?!?!

I walked in to Walgreen's the other day and was greeted by a perky little crack dealer and her mom. Of course by "crack dealer" what I really mean is Girl Scout. I just can't say no - they see me coming a mile away. What is it, Pringles or Doritos or something where "you can't eat just one?" Well, with Thin Mints and Samoas, I can't just eat one box. Disgraceful, isn't it?

Anyway, I walk in to Walgreen's and that perky little crack dealer just ambushed me!!

Perky Crack Dealer: Would you like some crack?
Real Librarian: Oh, no, I couldn't.
PCD: But crack is so good!
RL: No, really, I don't like crack.
PCD: Come on, you KNOW you want some!
RL: *sigh* Do you take checks?

Yup, that's how easy it was. Turns out, crack dealers take checks. I walked away with two boxes of Thin Mints and a box of Samoas. Well, it could have been worse.

Click here to see where you can get some crack - I mean Girl Scout cookies.

Review and Giveaway!! The Bird Room by Chris Killen

I just finished reading a debut novel by Chris Killen called The Bird Room. It’s about Will, who is a quiet and insecure young man with some major self-esteem issues. He quits his job towards the beginning of the book, just because he doesn’t feel like working anymore - which leads him to NOT look for another job. He meets Alice, a girl who he can’t believe likes him and feels is out of his league. She is rebounding from another relationship and promptly moves in with Will. We also have Helen (real name Clair), who is an aspiring actress who’s willing to do pretty much anything – including some risqué videos, and Will (who happens to be the first Will’s friend), who’s one of those pompous artist types who is full of himself.

I just can’t quite describe how I feel about this one. It was a little weird for me, to tell you the truth. I wasn’t terrible impressed with everything that was happening in the book. Although, I have to say that the characterization was amazing – these tortured souls who are just trying to find their way. It was a little disjointed, but that worked for the story and what was happening with these characters.

I don’t want to say I hated it, because I didn’t HATE it. It was just a little weird for me. I would like others to try it though and let me know what they think!!

And to help you out with that, Erica at Harper Perennial has generously offered three copies of the book for me to give away!!!! I will throw my gently used copy into the mix, too, so that’s 4 copies of The Bird Room up for grabs! All you have to do is leave a comment here on this post. You have to leave a valid email address – if you don’t I won’t be able to get a hold of you, and you won’t be entered!! Last day to enter is Wednesday, March 31, with the winner to be announced April 1!! Oh, and let’s open it up to anyone – if Harper Perennial won’t send it to you, I will!! Good luck!!!

Thanks again to Erica at Harper Perennial for allowing me to read and review this book - and giving me some copies to give to you!!

Review and Giveaway!! Crazy Heart by Thomas Cobb

I was excited to receive a copy of Crazy Heart from Erica over at Harper Perennial, simply because I had heard all of the Oscar buzz about the movie. And since books are always better than the movie, I decided that yes, I needed to read this book.

Bad Blake is a down and out country star who has gone from headlining his own nationwide tours with his own band to playing in bowling alleys and dive bars with local amateur musicians. Time has not been good to Bad – he’s a raging alcoholic (though his benders have lessened through time), a chain smoker and a bit overweight…with no intentions on changing any of that. He’s been married and divorced four times, and has an estranged adult son who he hasn’t seen or spoken to in twenty years.

Thomas Cobb has written this story in such a way where you tend to sympathize and feel sorry for Bad, even though you know he’s brought all his heartache on himself. I felt sad that he couldn’t find the words to write new material, I felt bad to know that his former protégé, the guy Bad taught everything he knew and turned him in to a raw kid to a great musician, basically tossed him aside once he had his stardom.

When Bad meets Jean Craddock, you think this might just be the woman who’s going to turn things around for him. I just felt this ache for him, I wanted so badly for him to turn his life around, get in control of his drinking, quit smoking, lose weight, fall in love and live happily ever after… But remember, this book is about a country singer…

Even if you have seen the movie (which I haven’t yet!), this book is definitely worth a read. Thomas Cobb did a great job of creating this character and his world.

In fact, I am going to give away my gently used copy of Crazy Heart!!! All you have to do is leave a comment here on this post. You have to leave a valid email address – if you don’t I won’t be able to get a hold of you, and you won’t be entered!! Last day to enter is Wednesday, March 31, with the winner to be announced Thursday, April 1!! Oh, and let’s open it up to anyone!! Good luck!!!

Thanks again to Erica from Harper Perennial for allowing me to read and review this book!!!

Library question of the day

I really haven't been posting much, so two posts in as many days is insane!! But, I just couldn't let this one go without a mention...

**ring, ring**

Real Librarian: Fabulous Public Library, this is A Real Librarian, can I help you?
Lady Caller: Hi yes, my husband lost our phone, and he thinks it might either be there or at the grocery store.
RL: Ok, well, I don't see anything turned in here at the desk, but I can check in the lost and found for you, too.
LC: Well, it's not like a cell phone...it's our home phone.
RL: *trying not to laugh* Um, okay, well, I'll check. *checks* Nope, I didn't see a phone at all.
LC: Thanks for checking.

I wonder what this lady is thinking about her husband...

I suppose I shouldn't talk, though. Sometimes, while working at the retail store, I carry the cordless phone around hooked onto my pants pocket. Well, one morning, I'm driving back to the store from the bank, when I hear a dialtone. You guessed it, I brought the phone with me to the bank. Nice. At least I didn't take it home, right?!

May I have your attention, please

So, I'm sure we all have things that we wish we could say to people, but it's just not appropriate or we don't think of it until after the fact. Well, I've come up with a couple of things that I wish I could tell people, or maybe even announce over the library's paging system. Or maybe post them up like "rules" at the Pool or something like that...Hmm, now there's an idea!

Remember, this list is based on actual events...

1. Please try to remain in the vicinity of your child. That way, if he starts screaming "Mom!! MOM!!! MOTHER!!!!" you will be close enough to stop the screaming after the first "Mom!!"

2. Please refrain from running in the library. We are not a racetrack or a playground. If you fall and crack your head, we are not responsible.

3. The library is not a place for pornography. If you want to look at hot naked co-eds on Myspace, please do so at home.

4. We don't need to be teaching the kids that it's okay to "roar" in the library. Unless you teach them to use their "inside roar."

5. Please pick up after your children. Unless you want me to come to your house, throw all the toys and books all over the room and leave so you can pick it all up. Cuz, I will.

6. Please remember that voices carry. If you are sitting at a computer in the children's room telling your friend how you threw rocks at the neighbor's car, we can hear you. And make sure we don't know your neighbor.

If you have anything you'd like to add, please leave a comment!!! I'd love to hear what y'all come up with!!!

It takes all kinds...

So, I have another customer story for you, and I promise, this is a good one.

Now, I'm all about pets. I love dogs and cats, and wish I had some pets of my own. I sometimes even gush over the really cute ones.

That being said, I didn't really appreciate the lady who brought her dog into the store on a busy Sunday. Maybe it's one thing to have the dog in one of those carry-on type bags where the pooch is just kind of along for the ride, but this dog was not in one of those handy bags. Mostly, the lady was carrying it around, but at some points, the dog (though attached to a leash) was running around on the floor!!! Ok, seriously, I think you can get away with this at PetCo, but our clothing store is NOT PetCo.

Anyway, at one point, the Dog Lady is in the fitting room, and you can see the dog is lying on the floor watching her. I am about to let another customer into an empty fitting room, but always knock on the door to make sure there isn't another customer inside.

Real Librarian: **knock, knock**

Dog: *WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF*

Dog Lady: No, no... Use your inside voice!!

Yup, that's what she said. She told her DOG to use it's INSIDE voice. For a minute there I thought I might be in the library...

Promo 101 Virtual Blog Tour - Second Sight by Judith Orloff

I am so excited to be able to share my thoughts about the book Second Sight: An Intuitive Psychiatrist tells her extraordinary story and shows you how to tap your own inner wisdom by Judith Orloff. I started this book a little shaky, because you just never know how personal stories are going to go. I hoped it wouldn't be a dry account of "this happened, then this happened," and I truly wasn't disappointed. This book read like a novel, and I couldn't wait to find out what happened next.

Dr. Orloff is an Intuitive Psychiatrist, and tells her story from growing up with intuitive gifts and how she turned those gits into a practical practice to help people in all aspects of their lives. There are revelations about her family and how they discouraged her from revealing her gifts to others, because they didn't want her to be made fun of or looked down upon. She also talks about her mentors who encouraged her to explorer her gifts. It truly felt like I was going on this journey with her!

My favorite aspect of the book, though, was all the stories Dr. Orloff told in relation to her personal journey. She told of how her intuition predicted events, how she was able to analyze her dreams to intrepret different situations, and how she used her hands and the power of love to heal her patients.

One thing Dr. Orloff made sure to point out was that she is not "special." She believes that everyone has the power to tap into their own intuition and nurture their own abilities. She teaches us all tips on how we can harness our own intuition.

I definitely think that everyone would benefit from reading this book. Her story is one of self discovery and love, and the way she tells it is truly inspiring. I was very impressed with her style of writing and her voice, and think that my own life will benefit from reading her story.

Thanks to Nikki at Promo 101 Promotional Blog Tours for contactng me about this awesome book!!

GET your copy of Second Sight ON MARCH 1st and receive 80+ GIfts from amazing teachers such as Dr. Joan Borysenko, Rev. Michael Beckwith, and Deepak Chopra, and Shirley MacLaine at http://www.drjudithorloff.com/second-sight-promotion/