As the day that I make my move from the tranquil fields of Clarke County, VA to the bustling streets of New York looms closer, I feel it’s necessary to being telling people I’m moving to New York.

My exodus from Virginia has been a long time coming. Since graduating in 2008, I’ve tried fruitlessly to get away. Rejected from three graduate programs in Chemistry (my undergraduate major), never called back after some fantastic interviews, even deemed “overqualified” for a position…I assumed my future self was destined to working part-time and mucking horse stalls for the rest of her days. Luckily, that part-time work I landed was with an antiquarian bookseller, and over the course of two years turned 15 hours a week into 40, all the while letting my love of early printed books grow. After putting in two bookselling years and one week at Rare Book School, graduate school seemed to be the next appropriate step.

Ever since deciding to apply to Pratt for my masters in Library Science, I’ve thought about keeping a blog (mostly for my mother to keep up with me). And now, since receiving my acceptance letter and determining my NYC residency starts December 1, keeping a blog has become requisite. So, what to name this blog? Fortunately, I had already spent countless days stressing over the name of my category on my old job’s blog! It seemed appropriate that I took that category with me.

So, here starts The Dandy Roll. Within you will find reviews of lectures, events, and all literary things I find inspiring. Also, I’ll try and post adorable pictures of my dog, attractive men I see in suits, and interesting things in general on a regular basis.