Long time reader, first time blogger

"A blog is what you say when there is nobody standing over your shoulder telling you what to do."

Writing a blog post for the first time is a bit like going on that nerve-wracking first date. You want to create a good impression. Will they like you? Will they think you're funny? Or interesting? Or intelligent? Or will they instead be staring over your shoulder wishing they were going home with the friendly, taller-than-you blonde sitting at the table opposite? Or even worse, that they were at home watching the latest episode of The Walking Dead or Sons of Anarchy with their feet up on the couch, a cold one in their hands and a thick, juicy, dripping with ketchup, burger waiting to be eaten than be listening and watching you.

There's a lot of pressure to get it right. The right tone. The right feel. The right amount of intellect with just enough wit and humour sprinkled throughout. Unfortunately, reading through the blog posts done by my fellow bloggers I have come to realise that I am sadly lacking in all these areas. I am not that funny, or interesting, or intellectual.

A million people could be reading this or at the very least just one (Hi Mum). So I am going to do the one thing that they tell you never to do on a first date. I am going to be completely honest right from the beginning.

I am no Shakespeare. Nor am I Will Wheaton or Zooey Deschanel. What I am is me. A partner, a step-mom, a daughter, a friend, a librarian, and if I'm going to be painfully honest, a geek to the core.

I love books and chocolate and sci-fi television and rock music and movies and travelling to far off places and writing and fanfiction and sunrises and sunsets and cherries. I laugh at Big Bang Theory and cry whenever I hear the song Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton and get angry at rude people (and yes I'm talking about you, the man who pushed past me to get to the front of the queue while I patiently waited).

This blog won't change you life or have a profound impact or make you rush out to tell all your friends (though if you do, that would be nice and something I'm sure my fellow bloggers would also love...).

What I do hope, and hope is pretty much all I have, is that you’ll come away thinking that book/DVD/CD sounds intriguing, or I didn’t know libraries held that kind of material, or I never knew libraries did that kind of thing (and trust me you’d be surprised at some of the things we Librarians get up to...)

If I, and we (and I feel fairly confident in including my fellow bloggers in this), just have that teeny tiniest impact on at least one person who reads this blog then I feel that I have done something right. After all, passing on a love of books and reading and libraries is one of the greatest gifts you can pass on to someone.

So in sticking to the theme of this being like a first date and getting to know one another, I would like to share with you just a few of the many things I love.
The Diary of A Young Girl by Anne Frank
If I was ever asked what is my favourite book, then this would be it. It is the first book I can pretty much remember falling in love with and like all first loves I have never forgotten it. I was about 10 when I was given a copy of this amazing book and some 30 odd years later I still own that very same copy (albeit a little yellowing and frayed around the edges now). This book moved me and touched me in a way I don't think another book has since. I felt a connection to Anne that remains with me even after all these years, so if you haven't read it, then do so and even if you have then read it again. This is a book that reminds us what it is to be alive.

Chocolate and Vicodin : my quest for relief from the headache that wouldn't go away by Jennette Fulda
Any book that prescribes chocolate as a cure for a headache has got to be a winner as far as I'm concerned. Now if only someone would write a book that says reading a book a day means that you'll live to be a 100 I might have a valid excuse to read even more...

Supernatural
The premise of this TV show probably seems kind of ho-hum to many people; two brothers, Dean and Sam Winchester, travelling the country hunting ghosts and demons and every other monster you have ever been afraid of but to the many fans (me included) this show is about so much more than that. It's about loyalty and family and fighting the good fight even when the going gets tough. It manages to be scary and funny and heart-wrenchingly sad, and to top it all off it has some awesome classic rock music and characters that you care about. The fact that it has now been running for 8 seasons shows how good this is.

Rock of ages : the definitive collection by Def Leppard
Or the boys from Sheffield for those in the know. This band rocks and on so many levels, from head bobbing, foot tapping rock music to soulful ballads that speak of love and heartbreak. If you haven't listened to them then you're missing out on some great rock music. After all if it's good enough for Dean Winchester(see above) or for Taylor Swift, then it's good enough for anyone.

The Little Mermaid
I just love kids movies. My partner tells me it just because I'm a big kid and you know what? He's right. There is something so freeing about watching these kind of movies, there's a joy about them that is just so contagious that you can't help but feel light-hearted after watching them. Picking a favourite is just about impossible but this Disney version would definitely be on my top 10 list (or top 20, or 30 or 40...arrh there's just too many to choose from).

Neither here nor there : travels in Europe by Bill Bryson
My idea of heaven would be being paid to write while travelling the world with a suitcase containing an endless supply of chocolate (and cherries... mmm cherry flavoured chocolate perhaps, well it is heaven after all), an e-reader filled with every book I have ever wanted to read, an mp3 player with all my favourite songs and a portable DVD player so I could watch all my favourite movies and sci-fi shows again and again. Until that happens I just have to contend myself with reading about people who travel to all the places I want to go to. Bill Bryson, of course, is a legend in the travel writing community and with good reason. His books look not only at the big wide world but also at all the little day to day things that make visiting places so exciting and interesting.