Unemployed Philosophers

When I began planning my class this summer, many an experienced teacher advised me to show movies and get in speakers. I have taken this advice to heart. So far the librarians who have spoken to the class have each received a charming children's book by a local author who is available for public appearances; and a small token such as chocolate or coffee. This week I have four librarians coming to have a panel discussion. I was in the university bookstore looking for a little gift for each of them and found these:


They are Great Writer finger puppet/fridge magnets. Above we have the team of Dickens and Dickinson, a pairing which honestly had never suggested itself to me. They tend to couple up because of the magnets in their hair. Here we see Jane Austen and Sappho making like conjoined twins, in defiance of the space/time continuum:


I will feel bad separating them when I give them away. I am particularly fond of Sappho with her lyre.


I do seriously hope my guests don't find these gifts strange, or not in a bad way. I can count on the children's librarian among them at least.

I found out from looking up the web site of the Unemployed Philosopher's Guild (which makes these little cuties) that they have a Sholem Aleichem figure, which has now turned into the must-have Hanukkah gift of the season. They also sell, and I'm not making this up, Freudian Slippers. What's more they're headquartered in Brooklyn, and so when I inevitably order more than I really should, their products will literally come from Brooklyn to Vancouver.