105 Ways to Give a Book

Happy Festivus: The Airing of the Grievances

Yes, it’s Festivus, the holiday for the rest-of-us. The iron pole is up and the feats of strength are on the schedule (mine are primarily of emotional strength, as I’ll be hosting my family, including my divorced parents, in my smallish split-foyer). Now is the time for the airing of the grievances. You have free space in the comments — my gift to you this holiday season. I’ll start:
  • The high school’s decision to omit honors courses where AP ones are offered is killing my teen. There is no reason my fifteen-year-old sophomore needs to be taking college-level world history and it is completely dominating her homework schedule. And that’s even though she’s taking pre-calculus.
  • I’m still peeved at my county’s decision to have new part-time employees of the library work both Saturdays of the two-week pay period. So for those of you keeping track, that’s every Saturday. Since I can’t possibly do that with all of my family obligations — every other Saturday was bad enough — I cannot get my old job back. Which totally sucks, because I loved it.
  • My mom — who doesn’t read this blog, btw — has call to stop using our phone conversations to turn some event into something that is critically sad or upsetting. And then the next time I call, she tells me that it’s all fine. The last was a friend’s new marriage, which she might annul because it was so awful, and the follow-up call was that they “worked things out.” Seriously, I have enough in my life without adding second-hand drama.
  • I’m not sure I get to have a grievance about the Republican party, not being a member or supporter. But with all that is going on between the ridiculous primary nominees, the constant filibusters, the amazing hypocrisy and outright intolerance, the best case scenario is that it’s some elaborate performance art piece.
So how about you? None of your people are likely to see your grievances all the way over at my blog, so go nuts. Talk about your boss, your neighbor, your mother-in-law. Tomorrow we can get back into the spirit of the season, but now it’s venting time.
Category: 10 comments

10 comments:

Monster Librarian said...

LOVE the idea of this blog.

Can our Moms become friend?!

Saints and Spinners said...

Yes! To the person who posted a year or two ago that "people who only eat five things should not then complain that they're served the same things all the time," I've remembered that. Your words resonated with me. My petty grievances, all food related, that distract me from the larger heartaches:

1. People who have a host of food intolerance issues who then show up to a party empty-handed and surprised that they can't eat anything served.

2. Grownups who act surprised each time a class of kids eat cookies and then soon after, the kids start crawling up the walls.

3. Kids who go, "Bleeeuggggh!" and spit out food noisily instead of quietly throwing the food away. (Kids, it's fine if you didn't like the cake. I am incredulous, but de gustibus non est disputandum and all that. I just don't want to see your tongues covered in crumbs.)

Jennifer said...

My MAJOR grievance right now is parents who use the library for free childcare, sending their 5th grade and middle school aged kids there for hours after school, telling them not to go anywhere else.

We are not after school care.
We are not babysitters.
We are not parents.
We are not in loco parentis, as are schools.

Grow up, make other arrangements for your kids, and do it fast because we have reached the end of our tethers and will be kicking your neglected, illiterate, rude, inappropriately dressed, and badly behaved brats out into the snow in the new year.

Liz B said...

Here's mine. Those who talk loudly and often about the future of "books", when what they really are talking about is, at most, the future of business books or reference books. It's not the same as fiction or other nonfiction, so please, stop predicting the end of what you don't know much about.

Those who complain about "gatekeepers" keeping self published books out of the hands of readers. Guess what? Those gatekeepers get your books into the hands of readers, self pubbed or no. Call it whatever you want (gatekeeper, filter, etc) but with thousands of books on one side, one reader on the other.... yeah. Something has to be used so that reader finds the handful of books they want.

Finally, I'm peeved at the fact that I have about 15 pounds I want to lose, but I was born loving food and hating exercise. (I also was born without a trust fund. the injustice!!!!).

Bill said...

My grievance this year is typically movie-related:

Studios: Stop trying to sell us on crappy 3D conversions. Yeah, someone like James Cameron might be able to pull it off (we'll see when "Titanic" comes out). But unless you're him — or maybe, MAYBE George Lucas — you have no business trying to pass of a crappy, rushed job as somehow "improving" a film. You want 3D? SHOOT IT in 3D!

And keep your damn hands off of "Avengers."

Anonymous said...

So I have spent years reading all those studies that told me all the various ways that exercise is going to help me live longer and not die of some hideous long-term ailment, and I dutifully started an exercise regimen, which I've been keeping up for about a decade.

None of those studies told me the exercise would also eventually make me wake up with some kind of ache or pain every. single. day.

Also my 9-year-old cat has just this last month developed a fondness for chewing on electrical cords. That's what kittens are supposed to do, not cats that are officially now on senior food.

I could go on. A lot of what everyone else said also irritates me.

Catherine said...

Publishers who don't include kill-fees in their contracts.

Publishers who expect manuscripts to be handed in on time (rightly so), but then force writers to beg for their checks.

Editors who demand substantial changes after they've approved the outline.

Writers who hand in sloppy work.

tanita✿davis said...

Having a project I've spent three weeks on be returned - a project which is pre-embryonic it's so early in the game, but which everyone expects me to be ecstatic over, even though it's a lot of work for so far no return...

Working so hard for the physique I want, and aching for it, and never having the pain bloom into something worthwhile...

Girlfriends who are so single focus that when they finally get a man in their life, they can't email, write, call, or keep in touch - because they're so into him. Somehow, I learned to deal with that in high school, but people, we're pushing forty pretty hard right about now... grow up and learn to be a friend...

My own awkwardness and lack of grace - could I maybe get over my own high school inanities by now???

Happy Festivus, luv, really glad you do this.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for Festivus. Amen to Saints and Sinners for grievance on food.
Mine include:
The inability for Congress to get anything done.
My job always coming under fire in budget cuts discussions.

Miranda Paul said...

I just wish my two-year-old would stop sneaking crayons into the dryer. I like orange an purple, but not on my white shirts.