13 Books

Came across this particular "tweet" on the social platform formerly known as Twitter labeled 13 books to understand me. I knew I had to write about this since books have been a major aspect of my life since I was 4 years old. They were my saving grace on dark days. 

But the real challenging question is, what books? With a lot of thought, here are mine.

1. Matilda by Roald Dahl - I totally saw myself in Matilda growing up: a different kid who loved books but wasn't really understood by those around her, except for a select few.
2. Chocolate Fever by Robert Kimmel Smith - I was a chocoholic as a kid and still am to this day. It was a great tale to my young mind on what could happen when you ate too much chocolate. 
3. The Silver Wolf by Alice Borchardt - I have always loved fantasy and learning about the past as well. I discovered this book when wandering through my local library, it had me hooked. I could see myself in the main character: a girl different from her family who just wanted to be herself and be loved.
4. Calvin and Hobbes comic collection books by Bill Watterson - This comic always made me laugh and still does. Calvin is a kid with a wild imagination & just wants to have fun with his friend Hobbes. One should always be able to use their imagination to enhance the world around them.
5. Mummies and Cursed objects - This is not it's actually title, more of an overview of the contents of a book that I check out so many times as a kid. I was fascinated by mummies and mysterious objects. Still am as an adult.
6. Teen Witch by Silver RavenWolf - This particular book was the opening that lead me to my spiritual path.  I had borrowed it from a classmate in the 9th grade for a research project and it seemed to turn a light on in my brain.
7. The Joy of Signing by Lottie L. Riekehof - I saw a group of individuals using sign language when I was on a train trip with my family.  I thought it was the coolest thing I had ever seen and wanted to learn more.  This was my first book of American sign language & still sits on my bookshelf today.
8. Summon the Keeper by Tanya Huff - This book was gifted to me by my best friend and it made me laugh so much.  I can quote parts of the book to this day and even after reading it dozens of times, it still makes me laugh.
9. Encyclopedia Britannica - Okay, I am going to date myself with this book, but I had a set of these growing up.  I did use them for schoolwork, like most kids, but unlike my fellow students, I enjoyed reading the different entries. Any subject or question that popped into my little mind, I could find an answer to it within the covers of the different volumes.
10. Mysteries of the Unknown by Time-Life Books - Again, several of the books in this collection were on the shelves of my childhood home.  They held information that, to most people, was weird and a bit odd.  Which was perfect for me since the weirder something was, the more it fascinated me.  It still does to this day.   
11.  The First North American books by W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O'Neal Gear - this series focuses on the different times of the native people of North American.  I have a big appreciation for Native American cultures and this particular fiction series spins fascinating tales while giving piece of historical past.
12. The dictionary & thesaurus - I realize that these are technically two books but many of the bigger (and better dictionaries) are thesauruses too.  As a writer, I love words.  I like using words that aren't used as often in every day life.   I like finding better words to take the place of the common ones.
13. The Elemental Masters series by Mercedes Lackey - This is a collection of different books but what I really enjoy about them is the way she takes the fairy tales that I enjoyed growing up and giving a new and different spin.  I like it when authors take something common that we all know and give it a twist.

So, what books would you share with others that would give them a better idea about you? 

The Self Scan Debate

 I know there has been a big debate about the whole self checkout thing. Many believe that it will eliminate jobs, and refuse to use it. I do not believe that this will be the case, at least not in my lifetime. 

For me, I prefer to use the self checkout when I do grocery shopping. I have a certain way that I want things bagged, and no matter what I do, the bagger or the cashier can't seem to do it to my standards. I try to politely explain what I want and even put my groceries on the belt in a way that makes it easier to bag, but it meets with lackluster success. To avoid the frustration of having to rebag everything after I have paid, I would rather do it by myself. By using the self scan, I can bag as I go along and relieve myself of that stress. Sadly, while the grocery store I shop at does have a self scan, it is limited to 20 items, which does not work if I am doing my usual shopping for 2 weeks worth of meals.

As to the whole elimination of jobs, I highly doubt that it will happen.  Self checkouts are machines and will still need to humans to deal with their idiosyncrasies.  I can not count the number of times that I actually use the self check out and have some glitch happen.  The scale doesn't read right, a price is wrong, the scanner happened to scan the item twice, the list is endless.  And when those errors happen, a human being has to come over to sign in and correct the error.  

I am also not fond of making the small talk with the cashier.  I work over 40 hours a week and honestly, I just want to get in, get what I need, and go home.  Also, I have worked retail over 10 years and the small talk is the most tedious.  You have to act like you care about what you are being told by the customer.

 Another thing about self checkouts is that it allows individuals that have neurodivergent issues to have that sense of independence without having the overwhelming anxiety of interacting with another person.  It does suck having any type of anxiety but when it is an extreme version, it can literally cause you to shut down completely.  It is important to have that independence, even in the smallest doses.  It does allow you to feel better about yourself.  

I see the pros and cons about having self checkouts.  I am not for having all self checkouts or having none.  I would prefer to give a good combination of each, properly manned so that people can get what they need.