Books to go

What a week! Between official assessment duties in the morning and cleaning/unpacking/installing duties at night, I feel like I've been running without stop. And looking at the mountain range of -- things -- that's currently occupying my guest room, it doesn't look any better for next week either.

But I did get a little break today, as a volunteer selecting and then delivering books to the disabled. Today was the selecting of books phase, so armed with my recipients' list of book preferences, I gaily happily parked myself at the arts and crafts section picking out books on crocheting and knitting, and attempting very hard to imagine which titles would fascinate them the most.

Based on their topical choices, I guessed that they would have been little old ladies who probably wanted to express themselves creatively. But I didn't want the books to be so simple as to be insulting, yet I didn't want anything too difficult either so that they would get bored and perhaps try to find other ways of expressing themselves creatively with knitting needles.

There were also other considerations like, I wanted to get something uplifting, but I didn't want them to think I thought they needed uplifting. I wanted to get something humorous, but I didn't want them to think I was making light of their situation...

It's kinda' like the decisions the media corporations have to make selecting the media content that would appeal to the widest audience. Like them, I chose the blandest sounding titles which were the least likely to offend anyone, although I did take a chance on on of the old girls by selecting for her Jeph Loeb's "Blue", one of the best Spider-Man stories I've read focusing on a tragic tale of a romance cut short in between trading punches with an assortment of costumed bad guys. Well, she did include 'Romance' and 'Short stories' on her list...!

We'll get the books delivered to them next week, so I will only know if I'm going to get the books chucked back at my head, of if I'm going to be offered a cuppa and a nice chat then.

In the meantime, through all the gripes, grumbles, whines and tantrums, I finally have a house to live in. We brought the cats back from Dom's, so the whole family is back together again! The unpacking will still go on for some time, but our place is an operational domicile at last!