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• Title: Queen of Fashion
• Author: Caroline Weber
• Publisher: Picador
• Year of Publication: 2006
• Pages: 292 (with notes, 372)

As my book review on French Milk gives some indication, I’m a bit of a Francophile. It all started sometime around the opening of Sophia Coppola’s film Marie Antoinette (2006), inspired by Antonia Fraser’s biography Marie Antoinette: The Journey (2001). I loved the film, and my interest in Marie Antoinette intensified when I visited Versailles in the summer of 2007.

There is something about monarchies that I find absolutely enchanting: the history, the genealogy, the societal pressures, the mores, the architecture of their abodes, the luxury. This extends even to the British monarchy. I am also mesmerized by anything about Queen Elizabeth I and the rest of the Tudors. (This interest was cultivated long before my interest in Marie Antoinette.)

Perhaps my interest in these infamous queens has something to do with the fact that so much was expected of them and yet they faced great obstacles in achieving anything because they were women of their time.

Caroline Weber’s fantastic biography of Marie Antoinette, Queen of Fashion, approaches the subject in a refreshing way. Pointing out the intentional and unintentional symbolism in the styles and colors of the clothing the French queen chose to wear provided another dimension to the story of her life. In the introduction Weber provides, she explains that this biography was meant to fill in the gaps that other biographers left out. Since clothing was such an integral part of Marie Antoinette’s life, to tell her story without a detailed account of what she wore and why ignored an entire facet of her existence.

Weber doesn’t just talk about the clothes Marie Antoinette wore, but also her life, the trends of the day, her influence on French style, the symbolism of the clothes her countrymen wore in revolt, and the French Revolution’s influence on fashion.

All in all, I felt even more sympathy for Marie Antoinette as a human being after reading this book. The first time I ever heard of her, likely in elementary school, was of her allegedly saying “Let them eat cake!” in response to news of starvation, extreme poverty, and famine in France. (That was discovered to be a false accusation.) This book and the aforementioned movie paint pictures of a Marie Antoinette who was not perfect, but certainly did not deserve to be maltreated and executed. They illustrate a complex and nuanced view of the life she led, and how much she really was a victim of circumstance. 5/5

Inspired by Erin (the Library Scenester, a source for many great ideas), I think it’s about time to reflect on the past, the present, and the future.

2008

• I started a professional blog (first on Blogger and then migrated to Wordpress).
• After a year and a half of graduate study at Syracuse University, I completed my Master of Science in Library and Information Science in May.
• I ate at Per Se in New York City. (Pictures are here.)
• I traveled to California for a month to explore the state and attend the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference in Anaheim. I went to Disneyland on my 24th birthday.
• I began cooking as a hobby. (Zuni Cafe is my favorite cookbook.)
• I went to a farmers’ market for the first time (and started a local food addiction).
• I spent (and still spend) a good deal of time on the job hunt. Doing so, I realized what a bad place Central New York is for an unemployed librarian seeking a full-time job.
• I went to my first New York Library Association (NYLA) Conference in Saratoga Springs, NY.
• I started my first “real gig” post-graduation as a substitute reference librarian at a local public library.
• I was approached to have one of my blog posts published in the NYLA Ethnic Services Roundtable (ESRT) Newsletter.
• I saw over 45 movies in 2008.

2009

• I plan to make the most out of my substitute reference librarian position. So far, I have learned a lot about public librarianship and reference services. I haven’t done as much children’s reference work as I would like, but that will change soon. I have a lot of ideas for programming, policy, website changes, and general improvements that I should write about on this blog. (The fact that I have so many ideas makes having such a small amount of responsibility frustrating sometimes. Writing about my ideas might help with that.)
• I am broadening my search criteria for a more fulfilling librarian position. (And hoping the economy gets a boost through the change in administration.)
• I will try to read more, write more, and be active more.
• I will be attending my third American Library Association Annual Conference in Chicago in July. Even though it won’t be my first time, I’m just as excited!
• I also hope to go to Alinea in Chicago and Chez Panisse in Berkeley this year. We’ll see!

• Title: French Milk
• Author: Lucy Knisley
• Publisher: Touchstone
• Year of Publication: 2007
• Pages: 193

French Milk is a graphic novel about a 22 year-old New York girl (the author) and her trip to Paris for five weeks with her mother. This graphic novel is styled as a diary, with fantastic visuals and occasional photographs of the real thing.

I approached this book with a bias. I took a trip to Paris when I was 22 years-old, too. The trip included a stop in London for five days, a ride on the EuroStar to France, and a week in Paris. It was an amazing experience, and I want to go back.

Reading French Milk helped me remember the little things I loved and the excitement of Paris. The food, the art, the culture was refreshed in my memory because of this book.

The author’s personal style didn’t hurt, either. Her diary was open, honest, and was successful in making me care about her characters.

The only complaint I had with this book was that the structure was difficult to adapt to at first. I was expecting French Milk to resemble the comics the author posts on her journal, something akin to Persepolis, the only other graphic novel (series) I’ve read cover-to-cover. However, once I got used to it, French Milk was effortless to enjoy. 4.5/5