Back from Vacation With News and Announcements Including ARRT Updates and a Hippo Themed “I Told You So"

The family and I went on spring break to Paris. A few years ago we decided that our kids had plenty of things but that we were running out of time to have experiences together; thus began our decision to really take each vacation seriously.

Getting away, no matter where you go, is very good for recharging the batteries. We spent time together, just the four of us, and neither my husband or I worked at all. I only checked Twitter once a day just to know what was going on and we watched France 24 in English for all of our news. This last decision meant that we heard very little about Trump and learned a lot about more parts of the world. I was particularly happy for all of the African news coverage. In America we often only hear about Africa when something bad happens. It was wonderful to see real news stories about regular things happening in Africa.

The result is I am back and ready to work....sort of. There is a lot of catching up to do, and that’s where I will begin today with announcements of my upcoming appearances, ARRT stuff [for people near and far], and an I told you so.

First my upcoming appearances for April and May. You can click here for details:

• April 11th I will be in North Central TN presenting to key staff from 3 regions. 
• April 25th I will be moderating the leadership portion of the Spring ARRT Book Club Study and this one features author Sonali Dev. [details below]
• May 4th I will be presenting “Booktalking Your Way to the Friendliest Library in Town" at Reaching Forward. You can click here for information about this ILA, paraprofessional, 1 day conference. I will also be a part of the ARRT team in the Exhibitions Hall. [details below]
• May 14th I will be in Clarion, PA to present a regional training
• May 24th I am working with Northbrook [IL] Public Library to do a half day training that is part of their library’s recent combination of the Adult Fiction and AV departments. This one will be fun since for some staff the information will be a refresher while for others it will be brand new, but for all it will be a great chance to move forward as a team.
• I will also be at ALA Annual but that is not until June and I don't have details to share yet

Second, there is a full slate of ARRT Programs and Events in April and May and in many cases, there are ways for people near and far to participate:

• Romance Genre Study: The next meeting of the Romance Genre Study is this week-- April 5th. You can access all assignments, the notes from our introductory meeting and the entire 2 year schedule here. Only ARRT members can attend the genre study in person, but the notes are open to anyone, anywhere, any time.
• Book Club Study: The next meeting of the Book Club Study is going to be awesome. We are discussing A Distant Heart by Sonali Dev on 4/25 in Naperville. I am moderating the leadership topic which is on how to incorporate romance into any book club and Sonali Dev herself will be joining us for this second half of the meeting, in person. All of the details are here. Also don’t forget we post all of our notes for both the book discussions and leadership topics on the site too. This website is a wonderful resource for book club leaders everywhere. 
• Visit the ARRT booth ILA’s Reaching Forward! For the first time ever, ARRT is going to be exhibiting at Reaching Forward, the one day ILA conference for library workers. I will be on hand with a contingent of Steering Committee members. We will be handing out swag and encouraging library staff to join ARRT. It only costs $15 a year and we have so many learning opportunities for anyone who works in a library. Please stop by the booth to say hi.
• ARRT Spring Program, May 23rd: I am saving the best for last. ARRT has just announced our spring program and signup is now live-- RA Outreach: Taking the Books on the Road. Click here for details and to sign up. I will be there. I am so excited.

Click here for details and to sign up!

For those interested in having me come to their library, conference, or system, I am booking late August dates and forward now. If you within a two hour drive of Chicago, I have a little more wiggle room and can possibly fit you in from June on. 

And third, in “I told you so” news-- RIVER OF TEETH was nominated for a Hugo this morning [novella]. Here are all the nominees. It is also up for a Nebula next month. 

RIVER OF TEETH is a non binary, alternative history, western with hippos! That is not a joke. It was the most fun I had reading last year  [although HEMATOPHAGES was a close second. Hmm...what is it with me a weird animals in a SF setting? I’ll need to analyze that later.]. Back to RIVER OF TEETH, I have book talked this title all over the country. I cannot stop telling people how great it is. Every time I book talk it [which is every chance I get], I get skeptical looks, but those who read it....love it. And, I have had happy readers from all walks of life, all genres, everyone. Please don’t tell me that “diverse” books aren’t for everyone. You don’t get more diverse than this book and it is a crowd pleaser. The combo Hugo/Nebula nominations also proves this; one if from readers and one from writers. Read this novella if you haven’t already. Hand it out freely to patrons. I dare you not to enjoy it.

Now the rest of this week I have a HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT to share tomorrow and then probably just catch up on reviews of books I read for fun.

I do have a few articles and reviews being published elsewhere in the coming weeks too, and as usual, I will share them here on the blog.

So no planned controversies or rants in the coming days, but who knows what will happen that I am going to have to take exception to now that I am back.