Plaka, Byron, Tourists

This is the promised picture of the temple of Olympian Zeus, which I walked past on the way to Plaka yesterday. This is only part of it- there are a few more columns which are a bit farther away, and a fallen column that collapsed during a storm in the 1800s. The temple is particularly noted for its Corinthian columns- the really ornate bits at the top are a prime example of that sort of column. Ionic and Doric columns are generally much simpler. This is the sort of thing that I am going to learn to talk about in an intelligent and informed manner in my Archaeology of Athens. (I'm so excited! Our first field trip to the Acropolis is on Thursday!)
The Greeks have a mysterious obsession with Byron. You notice it particularly on the walk over to Plaka- you go past a statue of him, and the "Byron Hotel," and this street, Vyronos. (Athenian streets are often named after writers, usually Greeks. In Kolonaki, there is a Loukianou, an Irodotou, and an Isiodou. Street names are also always in the genitive- it's the street of someone. "Odos Vyronos" is "the street of Byron".) (In modern Greek, beta is pronounced as a v- one of the many differences in pronunciation between modern and ancient Greek. My modern Greek class, which is composed entirely of classics majors who know ancient Greek, is hysterical- we spend most of the time correcting our pronunciantions. There's a lot of "ay-m-eye e-toy-may- I mean, no! not that! ee-may e-tee-mee- is that how you say it? Really?" whenever we have to read out loud.) (Actually, the obsession isn't really that mysterious- Byron was one of the many philhellenes who supported the Greeks during the War of Independence, and he was instrumental in organizing supplies and funding. His death in Greece also attracted a lot of European attention, as did his poetry.)
Plaka is the land of tourists. It's the area right below the Acropolis, and most of the streets, which are charmingly narrow and winding, are filled with souvenir shops and overpriced restaurants. It's a lot of fun to go to, though- I have no idea why you would want to buy half the things they're selling, but it's cool to look. If you leave the main streets and wander a bit, you see a lot of roads like this- very quiet and narrow, and full of stairs. You couldn't have a car here.

It's actually very funny. I've only been here for seven days, and already the tourists stop me for directions all the time. It's particularly funny when they stop me and ask me in very badly pronounced Greek if I speak English, since I am American and make no effort to hide this fact when dressing of a day. I think they stop me because I look like I know where I'm going and don't carry a map around- in their minds, this clearly means that I am an expert in Athenian geography and therefore Athenian. What it really means is that I have realized that maps are useless in this context and find my way around by guestimating how close I am to the various landmarks. Which is effective, but not useful for giving directions.
And this is one of the very nice churches that I saw while wandering around. According to the plaque, it's a chapel of St. Catherine, and was built in the 11th century. My guess is that the 11th century is probably the date when the foundations were made- the rest of the building is in very good condition and looks considerably newer.

Into the Wild Blue Yonder...

Today, Maddie and I decided to climb Lycavitos. Since the weather report was predicting temperatures in the mid-90s, we decided to head off early in the morning. Here is Maddie in from of some lovely trees that we thought looked like something out of Doctor Seuss. Actually, the vegetation was pretty strange all the way up- a lot of these trees, a lot of the spiky plants in the foreground of the picture, and a lot of cacti. (More on that later.)
This is the chapel at the top of the hill. It's to St. George, and from the inside it was absolutely beatiful- the walls and the ceilings are all painted with images, mostly from the life of Christ, and there are lots of icons. Really, it looked like something out of a book about Greek Orthodox churches. I used my rudimentary modern Greek with the man who takes care of it- said good morning, that the church was beautiful, and that yes, I was American, no, I was not a tourist. I would have taken pictures of the inside, but I wasn't sure if I was supposed to, and it was dark and I'm not sure they would have come out.
The nice thing about Lycavitos is the beautiful view from the top! This picture has the acropolis, and behind it you can see out to Piraeus. Basically, you can see the entire city- Lycavitos gives you a 360 degree view, and with my map and my guidebook, we could pick out all the major landmarks. Did you know that Athens, like Rome, has 7 hills? Lycavitos is, of course, the biggest- you can see how high above the Acropolis we were here.
Here are the stairs that we climbed- pretty much the only unfortunate part about the experience was the stairs, which are uneven and so hard to walk up comfortably. You really have to watch your step.
And, of course, you have to watch out for the cacti. I read this in my guidebook, and was a bit confused, since I wasn't aware that there were a lot of cacti growing in Athens. Shortly into the trip, we realized that the guide was right to warn us. There are a lot of them, and they are very sharp. They also encroach on the path- and on the benches, in this case. Watch out. So, other than the cacti and the stairs, it was a really nice trip, and I would advise anyone coming to Athens to do it.

I hope everyone is well. I'm off to do some more exploring- I think we're going up the Acropolis this afternoon. I'm excited.

In Which Caroline Finally Goes Near the Acropolis!

After my first full day of classes (which were fabulous, by the way) a bunch of girls from my Ancient Greek class headed out to Varnava Square in Pangrati to get gyros. They were tasty- we all got chicken (or kotopoulo, if you want the Greek word) and the place that we went to also made very good tzatziki. A question, for people who have had Greek gyros before- do they always have French fries in them? We were curious.
Afterwards, we headed back to the academic center, where three of us met up to walk over to the Herodion, where we had tickets to a flamenco show. The walk to the Herodion is very nice, and you get to walk by several monuments of interest- this is Hadrian's arch. Also on the way was the Temple of Olympian Zeus, which I actually did not get a picture of. Don't worry, I'll get one at some point. We walked past some partially excavated Roman baths on the way back as well. This is a picture of Athens taken from the outside of the Herodion Theater (or the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, if you prefer), which is located at the southern side of the Acropolis. It was actually not this dark when I took the picture- I think it was around 8 pm, and at that time of night it's still pretty light out) and the view of Athens was very nice.
Here is a picture of the theatre from the inside- as you can see, it's an open air theater. The front is, I believe, original- it was built some time in the second century A.D., though at moment I can't be bothered to look up an exact date. 160-ish, I think. The seats inside are not original- they were restored somewhat recently. The show was very good, but I think the really cool part was the atmosphere. I mean, where else can you sit in an outdoor theater watching a show and be within sight of the Parthenon?
(Which is, by the way, the blurry triangular thing that is above the lights in this picture. I'm sorry, it was dark.)

This is the closest that I've gotten to the Acropolis since I have gotten here, and it was the first time that I got to see ancient things up close. It's funny- since I'm here for four months, I'm not in such a rush to see all of the archaeological sites and museums as I would be if I was only here for a week or so. Before I left, I would have told you that I was going to see the Acropolis the first day. Not so much.

Athens, Day Four

The good news is that so far, I'm having a really great time. I've met a ton of really nice people, I've wandered around a lot of Athens, and I had my first class this morning, which was both terrifying and really, really interesting. It's nice to finally be some place where I am not only among fellow classics/history/archaeology majors all the time, but where I am actually in the majority. (Biology majors, I now know what it must be like for you all the time. It's neat, you should appreciate it.)

It is really different here. Here are some of the things I have noticed so far.

1. Lots of animals running around. We have five cats that live around my apartment. They don't seem to belong to anyone, but they live in the garden and everyone who lives there feeds them and pets them on the way out the door. In my case, it's actually been really cool- a lot of the people in my building congregate outside in the early evening to feed the cats, and I've met a bunch of my neighbors that way. In the rest of the city, you see a lot of half-tame dogs and cats. This buddy I met while I was walking in Pangrati, and I'm pretty sure he was very used to people, since he definitely wanted a belly rub. It is pretty strange to see them, and a bit scary- a dog darted into a busy street, and I thought he was a goner. (He wasn't. The cars all swerved.) Thankfully, Athens does not have a rabies problem, and they do seem mostly pretty well fed and cared for.

2. The traffic. People say that Boston drivers are scary and that Boston pedestrians are really pushy. You do not know what scary or pushy is until you have seen Athenians. Seriously. They drive really fast, they pay no attention to traffic lights, they turn in places that are probably illegal, they park on sidewalks. My walk to school should probably be a twenty minute walk or so, but it has been taking me half an hour, since I don't have a death wish and actually wait for walk lights. Especially scary- the millions of people on motorbikes. We are forbidden to ride, rent, drive, or think particularly hard about the motorbikes, on pain of expulsion from CYA. This is probably a good thing.
3. The mixture of really old and really new. From what I've seen so far, buildings in Athens are one of four ages. They're really old- you know, from Antiquity- churches from the Byzantine period, museums and government buildings from the late 19th or early 20th century, or modern. There is very little to indicate that Athens was populated for centuries between the fall of the Byzantine Empire and the late 1800s. It's very different from Massachusetts, where nothing is very old but there are buildings from the last four hundred years, or other European cities, where there are a lot of buildings from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. As the president of the program pointed out, in Greece, there was no Renaissance. That was during the period of Ottoman occupation.

4. Social Unrest and a Visible Armed Police Force: There are a ton of demonstrations here. When we went a few streets to far one time and ended up near the Parliament building, we almost ended up as part of one. They protest many things all the time, from pension problems and low pay to the war in Iraq. Most protests start over by Parliament and end up in front of the American Embassy, regardless of what the protest is actually about. Going along with this is the armed police force. There are a lot more police officers here than in the US- walking to school today I think I counted about 20, if your discount all the people in ceremonial uniform- and unlike in the US, they are clearly armed. Some of them have smallish guns in holsters, but there are just as many who are standing around, holding larger gun items. It's a bit unnerving, though I know I am doing nothing wrong.

5. The fact that this is a very religious country. You see a lot of beautiful Orthodox Churches here- at some point, there will probably be a post consisting entirely of pictures of Orthodox churches. I pass by at least three on the way back to my apartment- one of my friends, who lives a five minute walk away, walks past another two. Greek people cross themselves when they walk by churches, which I find interesting. There also are more nuns and monks around than you would see in the US. (This picture, by the way, is of Lykavittos, the hill behind my apartment. Contrary to popular belief, Lykavittos, not Athens, is the highest point in the city, and apparently affords a beautiful view. If it isn't too hot this weekend, some friends and I are going to climb it.)

I'm so glad that I'm here, and I'm pretty sure that this trip is definitely going to go under the category of "life-changing experiences." I hope that everyone is doing well.

I Don't Think We're in Kansas Anymore...

This is what happens when you type in gmail.com on the computers in the lab.

Yeah. Clearly, we are no longer in the United States.

Apparently, Some Things Are Universal

And one of these things is that cats like to sit in boxes. We have a bunch of cats that live in the garden at my apartment building- they're not really pets, but people feed them and on the whole they're pretty tame. I met one of the girls who feeds them last night. We had a pretty entertaining conversation- she didn't speak great English, and my Greek is even worse- but we both bonded over how cute one of the kittens is. I hope everyone is well.

In Which Caroline is in Athens, Finally

I trust that everyone recongizes this picture- it is, in fact, a picture of the Acropolis. This is lovely. You have probably seen it about a million times. You have probably seen better pictures of it a million times. What is the exciting bit is that I took this picture ten minutes ago, from the balcony of DIKEMES. That's right, everyone. I'm finally here.
This is the view from my apartment, which is in the area of Athens known as Kolonaki. (I'll try to produce a map at some point.) It is a very cute apartment. I am sharing it with one other girl, but we each get our own rooms. My room has a balcony. We also have a charming and quaint (read: small and filled with bizarre machinery) kitchen, an equally tiny bathroom, and a hallway. My door has multiple locks and something which looks vaguely like an ornate ash tray on it. I only got in after half an hour of wiggling various metal items around.
This is the same view, only with the camera angled downwards instead of up. Note the tree item. I am going to assume it is some exotic species native to the region, although in fact I have no clue what it is. I'm still quite charmed. (But then, I was charmed by the Greek graffiti this morning. It was vandalism. In Greek.)And this is the marble stadium, which is, as its name would suggest, a large marble stadium. (It was the site of the 1896 Athens Olympics. It's pretty.) It also is right next door to the academic building, and I have never been so happy to see a marble stadium in my life as when I finally got here after wandering alone and vaguely lost in Athens trying to get here to check in. It was an adventure. I used the approximately 7 phrases of Greek that I know, and my rusty French, and my map reading skills, which are usually good but decrease greatly when I haven't slept for 30+ hours. Essentially, I am having a fabulous time.

Good luck to all my friends and family who have class tomorrow. I hope everyone is well!

The Wait is Over!

I'm leaving to go to Greece tomorrow morning. I'll reach Greece on Monday morning, Greek time, which will also probably be Monday morning, your time, if you are somewhere in the U.S. Just... significantly earlier on Monday morning.

There probably won't be any updates for a few days- I'll be getting settled in before I log on to the internet and post. Hopefully there will be photos and such.

The Ordeal of Waugh Watch

It's back! When I checked the fiction shelf at approximately 4:30 this afternoon, there were copies of Scoop, Vile Bodies, Put Out More Flags, Unconditional Surrender, and three copies of Brideshead Revisited. I guess the patrons, probably acting according to the hive mind, decided to go Waugh-crazy again. Note the three copies of Brideshead Revisited. Three. This is what leads me to believe that it was multiple patrons, not just one.

And, since this subject doesn't appear to be as obvious as I had always thought it was...

A Library Page's Guide to What Does Not Constitute Proper ID

1. Your cell phone
2. Your iPod
3. Your mp3 player
4. Any electronics of any sort
5. Expired library cards that no longer are connected to an actual record in the system
6. Library cards from out of state that don't have your name on them
7. Your name written on a piece of paper
8. Your name written on your hand
9. Your name written on someone else's hand
10. Monogrammed pens and pencils
11. Your library card number written on a piece of paper
12. Your promise that you are who you say you are
13. Your friend's promise that you are who you say you are
14. Your promise that you are who your friend says you are
15. Your friend's promise that you are who your friend says you are
16. Pieces of mail addressed not to you but to "current resident"

Got it?

Feel free to print this out and carry it with you at all times, if necessary.

Packing 1, 2, 3...

So, I've realized that I'm really bad at packing. Not in a "I can't fold things neatly so they take up a minimum amount of space" way, and not in a "I bring wildly useless things but forget socks and toothpaste" way, but in a panicky, guilt stricken, worried way. For example, the morning went something like this.

Panicked Bit of Caroline's Mind: Should I bring these pants?

Rational Bit of Caroline's Mind: Yes.

PBoCM: But they take up space! I'm worried about how much I'm bringing.

RBoCM: Caroline, they're your favorite pants.

PBoCM: True. They are. But are they versatile? Comfortable? Useful?

RBoCM: Yes, yes, and yes? Caroline, you like those pants a lot.

PBoCM: Ok, then. (Pause.) But should I really bring them?

RBoCM: Ok, let's take a break and fiddle around with our Greek travel guide for a bit. Look, pretty islands.

PBoCM: I'm so looking forward to fall break.

George does not help matters. George does not like packing, suitcases, or people not paying attention to him. He lurks around a lot and occasionally bites people (me).

On the bright side, I'm leaving a week from tomorrow!

There Is a Patron Named Amenhoteph Smith. Discuss.

A Question of Geography
Patron: I lost a book and I want to pay for it.
Caroline: Ok.
Patron: The book was from Andover.
Caroline: I'm sorry. I can't take care of that here. Andover isn't in our network.
Patron: Well, I'm sure as hell not driving to Andover to give them money there.
Caroline: Alright. Let me look at your record- I'll see what I can do.
Patron: Here it is.
Caroline: Err. Your book is actually from the Farms branch- we can take care of that.
Patron: You just said you couldn't.
Caroline: That was when I thought the book was from Andover.
Patron: It is from Andover. The Farms branch is in Andover.
Caroline: Actually, it's in Beverly. On Vine Street. In the Farms.
Patron: No, it isn't.
Caroline: No, you see, it's our branch. You know, us, the Beverly Public Library. We don't have a branch in Andover.
Patron: Clearly, you haven't worked here very long.

I (Don't) Love Lucy
Patron: Can I look at those DVDs behind you?
Caroline: The ones in the return bin?
Patron: Yes, those.
Caroline: Sure. Though they're all I Love Lucy, I think.
Patron: Can I see them anyway?
Caroline: Ok.
Patron: Aww. These are all I Love Lucy.

A Phone Conversation
Patron: Hi. I'm the patron who left their license at the library this morning.
Caroline: Right.
Patron: I need my license number.
Caroline: I'm sorry?
Patron: For reasons. Important reasons.
Caroline: What reasons?
Patron: I can't tell you that.
Caroline: I'm sorry, but I can't give out personal information over the phone. It's library policy.
Patron: Are you kidding me?
Caroline: No.
Patron: But I can't come in and pick it up.
Caroline: Why not?
Patron: (hangs up.)
Caroline: Well, then.

Clearly, This Person Doesn't Understand Multiplication
Patron: I want to reserve four passes to the Museum of Science.
Caroline: I'm sorry, we only have one pass. It admits four people, though.
Patron: But I want four passes that admit one person!
Caroline: I'm sorry, but that's just not possible.
Patron: That's it. I'm calling the Farms branch.

Architecture
Patron: I think you have such a beautiful library.
Caroline: Thanks! I like it too.
Patron: I haven't been in here for a couple years.
Caroline: Well, not much has really changed. We moved the Large Print section and added a CD section.
Patron: You added some stairs.
Caroline: Come again?
Patron: Those stairs over there. The marble ones. They're new.
Caroline: I think they're original, actually. That whole side of the building is.
Patron: You mean like that door? I thought that was a nice door you added there.
Caroline: Oh, no. Not this again.
Patron: What was that?
Caroline: Nothing.
Patron: So, when did you add the stairs?
Caroline: Err. 1913-ish?

Knitting, With Pictures

I've just finished (whereby finished I mean "cast off and am now blocking") the " Lace Ribbon Scarf" over at knitty. This here is a photograph. It was my first foray into lace in recent memory, and I think that, other than some unfortunate mishaps, it came out rather well. (For example, some of you extremely observant people will probably notice that I did six eyelets on each side instead of five. Oops.) I also knit it with thicker yarn and on bigger needles than were called for, but all in all I think it turned out quite well. Also, to my surprise, I enjoyed it quite a lot. My memories of lace knitting mostly were unpleasant and involved a lot of staring at charts, muttering unpleasantly. This was a really easy repeat to memorize, so it ended up being pretty mindless. Now, I'm just waiting for it to dry...

Adventures with Wildlife

The good news: no-one was actually hurt.

The bad news: there's a skunk outside, the entire house reeks of skunk and mango-papaya air freshener, and George is still covered with tomato juice.

Fun times. Fun times.

On Speaking Like People in Literature

So, my sister and I recently went to see Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, which is something that I would not suggest you do, since the movie was rather horrible, and left me with a variety of pressing questions, such as, was I actually supposed to dislike everyone involved by the end of the film? Also, was Tibby's boyfriend supposed to be a total creeper?

However, these questions are really neither here nor there. They also might not be entirely fair, since I have not read any of the books or seen the first movie.

What I really am interested in is a quote by Carmen, when she says that she wishes that we still talked like the people in Shakespeare plays. I have been thinking about this, and the conclusion that I have come up with is that this would be horrid. What really would be fabulous, in my humble opinion, would be if we all spoke like characters out of P.G. Wodehouse's novels. Wouldn't it be great? Our conversations would be composed of inane observations and half-forgotten poems and misinterpreted Biblical allusions. We'd say "bally" and "tinkerty-tonk" and "with knobs on". We would give each other ridiculous nicknames, and refer to people as "the efficient so-and-so" or "Comrade so-and-so" or "la Last-Name-of-So-and-So". We would always be quoting Jeeves. Or quoting quotes formerly quoted by Jeeves. Essentially, the world would be a lovely happy place and everyone would think that we were mentally negligible. But with hearts of gold.

Ok, so my secret plan is to subtly get people to start talking like Bertie Wooster. I will do it sneakily, to the point when everyone is quoting Wodehouse all the time without actually knowing. Plan number two is to get everyone to read the books, already. You may take your pick.

I Have a Visa!

As of this morning, I officially have my Greek visa. It has been glued into my passport, which is in my purse, which is on my desk chair in my room. I have triumphed over the forces of bureaucracy. I return triumphant, like a knight questing in times of old, from the dread land of 86 Beacon Street. Catching the 10:20 out of North Station provided no difficulty. My months of toil have now brought forth fruit from the fallow fields. Etc.

Waugh Watch, Revisited

Caroline, intrepid library page, is pleased to report that the crisis has been averted. After an adventure filled three weeks, the Evelyn Waugh craze appears to be over. Yay! Only one copy of Brideshead Revisited appeared today, and a quick shelf check in the stacks shows that the shelf housing Mr. Waugh's collection is once more reasonably full. It has been an interesting three weeks or so. Chief among the interesting facts that have been learned in the midst of the mayhem is that Evelyn Waugh's first wife was also, apparently, named Evelyn. Their friends called them "He-Evelyn" and "She-Evelyn." I don't know whether this is cute or scary. I guess the moral of the story is "Don't name your male child Evelyn if you can help it."

In other exciting library news, a very exciting landmark in my countdown to Greece has been reached- today is the first day when three-week books are due back after I have left. That's right! If you checked a book out of the library today, and your library has a three week loan period, it is due back on September 2nd. The time truly grows short, my friends.

You Know You've Read Too Much P.G. Wodehouse When...

Today at the library, I saw a copy of the book Spindrift, by Phyllis A. Whitney. And my first thought was, "Wow. That's really cool. Somebody wrote the book that Florence Craye wrote in P.G. Wodehouse! It's too bad that the cover doesn't have a woman with a green face smelling a purple flower." Sadly, this was not the case.


Though if I was going to write one of the fictional books in P.G. Wodehouse, I think that I would rather write the Gridley Quayle detective stories. Or possibly the collected works of Rosie M. Banks.

This Week on Waugh Watch...

A patron is mysteriously excited to read a classic novel. Caroline helps them to track down a book. Conveniently, three copies have just been sent down from Tech Services, and are sitting on the new fiction shelf at the circulation desk.



A mystery is discovered (rediscovered? thought about again?) when Caroline, intrepid library page, goes to shelve the fiction section, authors' last names K-W.



And Caroline, our heroine, tries in vain to piece together what is going on.


In all seriousness, though, what is up with the sudden popularity of Evelyn Waugh? Honestly, we can't keep the man's books on the shelves, which is pretty unusual for an author who wrote years ago and hasn't been shown on Oprah and doesn't write thrillers or romances or mystery novels. Also suddenly popular are Kurt Vonnegut and Dorothy L. Sayers. Go figure.

One Step Closer to a Greek Visa!

Today I spent an exciting morning at the Greek Consulate General in Boston, and I am happy to report that I am a week away from having my visa! This was very exciting. Even more exciting was the bit where I realized that if I didn't want to miss the 10:20 and have to wait around for the 11:15 train, I was going to need to get to North Station at a bit of a run. Let me tell you, those brick sidewalks on Beacon Hill are absolutely treacherous when they're wet. Which they were, since it was raining. Mother informs me that this is good practice for the marble sidewalks in Athens.

26 days,my friends!

The Countdown Continues

In exactly one month, I will be in Athens. Yay! To celebrate, here is a picture of Mount Lykavittos, which is the big hill in Athens which is not the Acropolis. I am very excited.

In other exciting news, I have solved something of a personal mystery. You know how I listened to one of P.G. Wodehouse's books on tape in 8th grade, and could never remember the title, and could only remember that the plot involved meddlesome aunts, unwanted fiances, and disapproving elders, stealing things, and Jeeves' schemes, which, let's face it, describes 95% of the Jeeves books? And how I was pretty sure it wasn't Code of the Woosters, which seemed like the closest match everyone could come up with?

Ha ha, I have found it out! And I was right, it wasn't Code of the Woosters. It was, in fact, Aunts Aren't Gentlemen, which I think most people can agree is a funny place to start reading Wodehouse. But, err, mystery solved?

How To Recommend Books: A Guide for Patrons, by a Library Page

Hello, library patron!

So, you want to recommend books to your local librarian/library page. Great! Library workers, as a general rule, like books, and are always on the lookout for new authors they might enjoy. But, you're having some trouble finding the right way to recommend that great author whom you love so much. You don't want to offend them, and you don't want to bore them. Here is a handy-dandy guide, written by a genuine library worker, employing examples from her four years of library service.

Here are some successful approaches:

1. The direct approach. "You should read Agatha Christie." A bit blunt, but effective. Keep in mind, this should be said in a nice tone of voice, since it could sound sort of rude.

2. The Why-You-Like-An-Author approach. "Have you read anything by Janet Evanovich? You should, she's really funny. She always makes me laugh out loud." Also direct, but with a bit more background.

3. The I-Just-Really-Like-This-Book Approach. "I thought that The Time Traveler's Wife was really good. You should read it." This works.

4. The mutual interest approach. "You like Patrick O'Brian? If you like military history of that period, you should read Bernard Cornwell- he wrote a series of books about the army during the Napoleonic Wars." This is my favorite approach, but it does require some knowledge about your librarian's interests.

5. The Same-Author Approach. "If you liked Dawn's Early Light and Yankee Stranger, you should read Queen's Folly. I like Elswyth Thane." If you know that they like an author, this is always a good plan. Even if they have already read the book, it can lead to fun conversations.

6. The Sequel-By-Another-Author Approach. "You like Sherlock Holmes? Have you read Laurie R. King? She wrote some sequels about him and his apprentice, Mary Russell." If it's a good sequel, this is great. (And in the case of Sherlock Holmes, he of the many pastiches, they might well have something to reccomend back. For example, The Case of Emily V.) (This is also true for sequels of Pride and Prejudice, though many librarians are highly opinionated about these.)

7. The Genre Approach. "You like historical fiction? Try reading Rosemary Sutcliffe, she's a good author." Also effective.

8. The Parroting-Popular-Opinion Approach. "You should read Twilight. Everyone says it's great." It's not the best approach, but public opinion often is decent in regards to books. I mean, The Kite Runner was popular for a reason, right?

9. The What-The-Heck Approach. "I found this book for you in the stacks. Take it out and read it. You'll like it." This is not the best approach, but it will probably make your librarian friend laugh, and that is nice too.

And, two bad approaches.

1. The Offensive-Snobbery-For-No-Good-Reason Approach. "You should read Laurell K. Hamilton. If you don't, people will think you're illiterate." Gee, thanks, lady.

2. The WTF Approach. "I hated this book. I have no idea why my wife ordered it. You can read it if you want." Err, thanks?

Feel free to print out this hand guide to carry with you.

Fun Times at the Library

This post was going to consist of several funny letters to various patrons, dealing with subjects which I have been involved in the past week at the library, but then I realized that the letters were sort of mean and not something to post on the internet. I am still curious about why our recent shipment of rubber bands smelled like fish, I still believe that it is reasonable to expect some level of literacy in our patrons, and I still am curious about the large collection of lesbian erotica left in our book drop, but I am going to leave these questions in peace for right now.

Instead, I am going to comment, in a surprised but happy way, about the sudden popularity of the works of Evelyn Waugh. I would attribute this to the upcoming remake of Brideshead Revisited, which I am rather excited about, by the way, but for the fact that I've recently checked in (or out) copies of Vile Bodies, Decline and Fall, and Helena, as well as Brideshead Revisited. And those are just the ones that have passed through my hands. Is this a case of people hearing about a movie and deciding to read the entire oeuvre of the author? Has Evelyn Waugh been recommended by Oprah recently? Or has the reading public just developed good taste?

Countdown to Greece!

6 weeks, my friends. 6 weeks. I'm insanely excited.

I'm also getting insanely apprehensive- I think the fact that I'm packing up and going to a foreign country for four months is finally setting in- but for the most part very excited. Preparations are continuing.

Anyways, that's actually about all for now- life has been pretty busy actually, and I've been having more than my share of computer issues in the past few weeks, and I've been working a lot. I hope everyone is well.

Crazy Classicists at the Olympics!

I have decided that I would like the Olympics a whole lot more if they were still run by a bunch of vaguely incompetent classicists with little to no athletic training and a knowledge of their sport derived entirely from reading the ancient accounts and looking at vase paintings. And then getting it wrong. And if the American team was still made of plucky underdogs, who made the team mostly because they were willing to go to Athens for a couple of weeks.

You might wonder how I came to this conclusion. It came from watching a very amazing movie. If ever you are looking for an exceedingly pleasant way to spend approximately 4 hours and 40 minutes, my suggestion would be to watch The First Olympics- Athens 1896. My mother found this fabulous movie at the library the other day, and my family has just finished watching it. It is wonderful. Also, it is very informative, since I think that the broad picture that it paints is more or less accurate, even if the details have been changed slightly for dramatic effect.

And what I learned was that the Athens 1896 American Olympic Team was really cool. They didn't have much of an idea of what they were doing, apparently- they were fine with shooting and running, but in terms of track and field events, I think they were pretty much making it up. And they made it up with classics. Apparently they didn't have a discus, so they found a picture of one on a vase and brought it to their local blacksmith, who made them a discus of iron which weighed 30 pounds or something. But, from this somewhat shaky beginning, they went to Athens and actually did really, really well. (And won the discus event. Sweet.) And, the next year, they ran the first Boston Marathon, because they ran a marathon in Athens and thought the symbolism was cool.

Anyways, this actually was a pretty good movie, which I enjoyed immensely. I'm quite serious. The acting was uneven, and the film was unabashedly sentimental and pro-American, but it was uplifting and pleasant and a nice mixture of funny and interesting. And it's not that I don't like the Olympics of the present day- I like the winter Olympics if only because it's one of the only chances one gets to watch curling on television- but I think they were sort of cooler when they weren't so regulated and high tech. And the people wore doofy shorts and shoes that looked like jazz shoes.

On the question of marathons, I am now extremely confused. Because in Herodotus, it seems pretty clear that Phidippides was an Athenian who ran to Sparta in two days, and saw Pan while he was running through the mountains, etc. But the movie pretty specifically said that he was the guy who ran from Marathon to Athens after the battle of Marathon, and died after announcing his message with a smile on his lips, etc. So what is going on? Specifically, where does this second story come from? I have to do some research.

I Would Stop Posting Pictures of the Animals...

...if they stopped being so darn adorable.

In Which Al Has Found A Cave

Bertie is combining his love of sitting in enclosed spaces with his love of sitting on the table and his love of looking sort of vacant. Isn't he such a sweety?

In Which Gabby, Our Fearless Defender, Warns Us About A Very Evil Log.

You can see the evilness from here.

I Have A Sister!

My younger sister came home from Germany yesterday! Yay! This is very exciting, since she left shortly after I came home from school and has been in Germany for nearly a month now. (She's been on an exchange program, like the one that I did in high school. Only I was in France, not Germany.) It is very nice. Gabby has her entire flock back, we once again fill up the car when we go places, and the table needs to be set with five place settings, not four. The animals are also celebrating. The home is full. It is very exciting.

Also, I need to share a gift that Kate got me while in Germany. It is a very cool poster. (Kate is clearly an intelligent young lady, and noticed my interest in classics. She's very observant.) Specifically, it's a whole bunch of the Greek gods from an altar, and I'm going to hang it up in my room as soon as I remember to bring up tape. Which will hopefully be soon. She got it at the Pergamon, which is a museum that I would dearly like to go to, and I would be jealous, but for the fact that I am going to Greece next semester, so I will get to see a lot of very cool museums. Kate also got a cool bag from a planetarium, which says "do not fill with hot stardust," but in German. Very exciting.

On an exciting Greece front, I have my first euros for Greece! Specifically, Kate came home with 26 euros and I traded American money for them. They're pretty nifty. Ha ha! I will get to Greece and have bills that are not in awkwardly large denominations!

And, in an even more exciting bit of news, I have realized that I will be in Greece in less than two months! Yay!

I hope everyone is having a lovely day.

In Which Caroline Reads and Various Cats Help

Note: this is what happened when I tried to read in my room this morning.
Why yes, that is Pink sitting behind my computer, threatening to knock things over if I don't pay attention to him right now.
And yes, that is Mr. George, lurking under my desk, also threatening mayhem if I do not pay attention to him in the immediate future.




Essentially, reading in the house of Mahoney can be a difficult task, especially when you are in my room, which is the lair of multiple animals and also a battleground when they are feeling cranky. Which they often are.

While on the subject of cats, today my mom found a book at the library by the name of Kitty Knitting. It has a large number of cat-themed knitting projects in it, which are all very tempting. (Well, not all. But some of them are.) When I have finished with the cape of doom, I think we know what my plans are.

Crazy Thunderstorms of Doom!

It has been a great few weeks for thunderstorms.
The one today went as such. It was a lovely day, and I was up in my room. Then, it started. First, it went really still. And then it went really dark. And then, the heavens opened up and suddenly it was very loud and very windy and very wet. The thunder was terrible- and happening at just the same time as the lightning. Water was pouring in the windows and doors, and when you looked outside all you could see were sheets and sheets of it. The trees you could see were blowing totally sideways in the wind. Gabby was having a spaz attack in the laundry room. There were sirens somewhere off in the distance.
And then it stopped. And now it is sunny.
I hope everyone is having a lovely day!

Edit: Apparently, Cabot Street was knee-deep in water, which in all my years of working at the library I have never seen before. Dane Street? Sure, it floods every time there's a bit of a drizzle. But Cabot? Clearly, this weather is crazy.