Jewels Introduced

Wearer of many hats. Hats and more splendid hats!

Wife. Mom. Christian. Dog Owner.  Book Lover. Horse Lover. Designer. Gardener. Writer. Homework Cop. Grad. Student. Perfectionist. Procrastinator. (The last two I’m working on while my kids are working towards not needing so much homework oversight). My nickname is Jewels and books have been a lifelong interest. If you happened on this page and aren't in my Readers' Advisory class at IUPUI: I'm studying Library Science at IUPUI.

My husband and I were married in 1997. He’s an IT guy and knows more about relational databases than a shelf of textbooks can hold. He speaks Windows, I prefer to speak MacOS. My kids are 7 and 11 and very creative. Occasionally the experiments—well, let’s just say my life is never ever dull. One item on both of their minor special needs list is “sensory seeking.” Our dog is a grey Cairn Terrier (think Toto) named Pixel. Cats are his sworn, mortal enemy. (Fences make good neighbors if a terrier is in your life!) He’s a hunter with 4 notches on his collar (no cats). I have an established technique for rescuing sparrows when they’ve a run into a downspout to escape the dog. Did I mention my life is never, ever dull?

My bachelors and first career were in graphic design. I worked with print publications and direct mail for corporations, professional associations and business to business clients. I’ve owned my own freelance design business at points.

Children were definitely life changing additions! Mine are both adopted. Birthparents are the bravest people in the world. Having the otherwise silent 2 year old dismantle my office and throw things pretty much said it was time for me to drop that business. So career 2.0 contained the stay-at-home mom, childcare provider/teacher, and school volunteer hats.

Career 3.0 is beginning with working in the library and going to IUPUI for my MLS. I prefer the made up word “book-a-tic” to the real Latin-derived “bibliophile.” It’s just more fun to say: “book-A-tic.”

Things which appeal to me in books:

I prefer to go somewhere in space, time or the imagination. I love a well-turned phrase and abhor poor writing. I like books with plots and histories (real or imagined) and well-drawn characters. I love stories that make me think or reflect or that just keep me turning pages to find out what happens. So genre-wise, I can find a fun read nearly anywhere. My favorites span a fairly wide gamut but I do tend to prefer books which avoid themes like violent victimization of women, super gross-out scariness, constant cursing or raunchy sex.

I prefer good always winning over evil in stories. If it has a map of some imagined world on the endpapers or frontispiece, there is a really good chance I’m in. If there is a puzzle, a connection to real history, a quest, time travel, space ships, spies or detectives, I’m also all in. If it’s a gentle read that’s a tear jerker, fiction or non-fiction, I like those too but in smaller doses. Well-written Christian fiction is a fairly safe bet for me.

A smattering of some favorites in no particular order:
•    The Amber Room, T. Davis Bunn
•    This Present Darkness, Frank Peretti
•    Mitford Series, Jan Karon
•    Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien,
•    Chronicles of Narnia and The Great Divorce, C.S. Lewis,
•    Pendragon Cycle, Stephen Lawhead
•    The Once and Future King, T.H. White
•    A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Madeline L’Engle
•    Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas, James Patterson
•    Wind, Sand and Stars, Antoine de Saint Exuprey
•    West with the Night, Beryl Markam
•    The Willoughbys, Lowis Lowery
•    The Mysterious Benedict Society, Trenton Lee Stewart
•    Jack Ryan series, Tom Clancy
•    Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
•    Les Miserables, Victor Hugo
•    Poirot mysteries, Agatha Christie
•    Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle

Early 20th century juvenile fiction series have a special place in my heart. Everything I know about falconry I learned from the Hardy Boys’ pal, Chet Morton, who had a different hobby in nearly every volume of their series. The early editions of the books are generally the best written and the funniest. Many of the Stratemeyer Syndicate series are special faves of mine: Ruth Fielding, Cherry Ames, Nancy Drew, The X Bar X Boys, the original Tom Swift.