Introducing...New England Bloggers

For awhile now I've been a member of blogging group called New England Bloggers which was started by Elizabeth of Thoughts of an Evil Overlord as a way for NE bloggers to find each other. Right now New England Bloggers is hosting a blog carnival called Introducing... New England Bloggers, where members visit another NE Blogger and then introduce them on their own blogs. I've never participated in a blog carnival before, but it sounded like fun. It was very easy to decide which member to introduce here on Pam's Perspective. Her blog title says it all. So without further ado, I'd like to introduce you to Jem from A Reading Journal.

As her title suggests, Jem blogs about books and other book, library and literature related topics! What's not to love? She lives in Nashua, NH, is a member of several book clubs (both in person and online) and she studied literature in college. I'm so jealous. Why didn't I think of that when I was a college student? Think of all the time I wasted not reading and learning about great books.

Anyway, back to Jem. She has two very cool lists on her sidebar. One consists of links to photos she has taken of various libraries around the country. Who knew I wasn't the only person who obsessively takes photos of libraries when I travel to new places. The other list consists of posts she has written about her "Literary Excursions", which include visits to the homes of Robert Frost, Edith Wharton and Louisa May Alcott. How cool is that? This is something I've been meaning to do for a while now and my personal book club was just discussing this very thing as a way to celebrate our 10th anniversary in 2012. I think it was serendipity that I found Jem and A Reading Journal. But that's not all, she is also participating in a reading challenge. And not just any reading challenge, but an Art History Reading Challenge. Really? This is uncanny. I just spent the last 9 months taking an Art History Workshop at the Rhode Island School of Design Museum! I think Jem just might be my long lost twin.

In addition to all that, she also writes very concise and informative book reviews. And the books she's reads are fascinating. They are not your standard "hot" books that are on every list from Oprah to the NYT. She finds interesting and amazing books that I'm not familiar with ( and I work in two libraries and am surrounded by books). Amazing. Her newest post is the fictionalized account of a real life legal case of unintentional bigamy that takes place in the late 1800s. It sounds fascinating.

Needless to say, I've added A Reading Journal to my blog roll and a few books to my tbr list. I think that all you bookworms would love Jem's blog as well. If you do visit her, let her know you're visiting compliments of the NE Bloggers Blog Carnival.

Interested in visiting other NE Bloggers? Here's the complete Blog Carnival List. Maybe you'll find a blog or two that speaks to you, too.

A Love Letter to Rhode Island

Today is the one year anniversary of New England Bloggers, a blog group I belong to. In honor of this special day Elizabeth, at Thoughts of an Evil Overlord, is hosting a New England Bloggers Carnival. The idea is to write a post about some aspect of living in New England. You can click her link to read what other New England bloggers have to say.

When I heard about this I just knew I had to write a love letter to Rhode Island. You see, I'm a native Rhode Islander who spent 14 years (from age 23 to 37) living in a place as different from RI as you can possibly get... Arizona. Now don't get me wrong, I had a great life in AZ. I had a ton of friends and a wonderful and full social life. But I always felt like a fish out of water. I never got used to the weather, landscape, architecture or the lack of seasons. And I especially never got used to the lack of water and how brown everything is there. Every summer when we would fly back to RI for a visit, I would be shocked at how green Rhode Island summers are. It would take me days to get used to it. And I swear I could smell the sea air as soon as the plane was flying over Connecticut. Yes. Through the sides of the plane. I really could. So, Rhode Island, here's to you.

Dearest Little Rhody,

There are so many things to love about living here in the Ocean State. I love that we are surrounded by water. I didn't realize how I rely on all that water to orient myself, until I moved to the desert. How I missed you. I love all the amazing history here in the 13th colony. You are full of historic buildings, landmarks, cemeteries, and sites of historical significance. I never gave that much thought until 1987, when I moved to the 48th state, which was celebrating its 75th birthday. I had to laugh. 75! Heck, my husband's grandmother was older than that at the time. I love the statue of the Independent Man atop your gorgeous State House. I love what he stands for - freedom and independence. I consider myself to be an independent thinker and I'm proud to come from the first colony to declare independence from the British. Not to mention that you were founded by Roger Williams on the principle of religious freedom. That's right. Williams was kicked out of the Massachusetts Bay colony because he had the gall to support religious tolerance. So he packed his bags, moved south and started a new colony, Providence Plantations. Which later merged with another colony, Rhode Island, becoming Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. And that's still our name today (even though some people are trying to change that). I think it has a nice ring to it: The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Very dignified. There are so many more things that I love about you, RI. Your gorgeous beaches, your wonderful theater, all that the capital city, Providence, has to offer in the way of restaurants, museums, ethnic diversity and a cool college vibe, your many locally owned businesses, Del's lemonade, coffee milk, fluffernutter sandwiches and your quirky accent. Rhode Island, I love you like no other place on earth. You are my home, sweet, home and I hope that I will never have to leave you again. But if I do, you will always have a special place in my heart.

Love,

A Rhode Island Girl

The Independent Man