I go through phases of being Pinterested.

Pinterest! This week's Thing is rather easy, because I have a Pinterest account already. I signed up for it a long while ago, when it was new and flashy. Despite the fact that I hadn't had a physical pinboard since my teenage bedroom, (which was stuck with drawings and band logos and pictures of Tank Girl and Stone Temple Pilots) I thought that an electronic pinboard might be fun.

It's like imagining out loud. Quietly, yet on display. These are not the clothes that I have, but they are the clothes that I would have, if I were wealthy. This is the food that I would eat, if I liked to cook (or, had someone cooking for me). Elegantly posed pictures of artfully arranged accessories, appetisers, and minimalist furniture. It's fun to look at all the pretty things.

My boards are pretty standard: recipes, style inspiration, crafty things I might like to try someday. I go through phases of using Pinterest regularly, and then drop down again. I try not to get into a feedback-loop of simply repinning what shows up on my feed, unless it's something I actually want to keep and make reference to.



I tend to find most of my fashion inspiration from either attractive young men, or else women who tend at times to dress like attractive young men. No apologies.

Sometimes I think I should re-name my boards or make them more interesting, more niche. Similar to the subject headings our cataloguing department assign to books so we can use keywords to find them, it's good to do that with Pinterest boards. My board names are pretty vague. "Art", "food", "style", and so on. One of my favourite boards and board names on Pinterest arised from when I was looking for reference photos to take to the salon: Tilda Swinton being awesome with mostly great hair. Not only is this an excellent and interesting board name, it is also incredibly and accurately descriptive as to what sort of pins we'll find within.



Auntie and Uncle being awesome with mostly great hair (last Thanksgiving).

Up until now, I haven't followed any library boards! I wasn't sure where to start or what kind of boards I wanted to follow. There are a lot of what some might call "bookshelf porn" on Pinterest. Can I use that term? There are no naked people in these images, so no worries. It's mostly pictures of tall bookcases in some country house or old library with rolling ladders or maybe a dusty chair with a cup of tea waiting. These pictures say: These are the books I would be reading, if I could afford my own dream library.

I decided to check out my library social media supercrush, Lawrence Public Library. (I mentioned their Twitter account a few Things back). They just know how to get things right. A quick search later, and sure enough, they have a Pinterest page! Great balance of readalikes, staff picks, craft ideas, quirky humour, local history, and even a board named "Moustache Party". I followed some of their readalike boards, and also the "Altered Books and Book Art". Pretty sweet!