I have been blogging for over a year and have not spent a cent yet. I like things that are free, so I like the Google Pages. I have created another to help readers find my history and biography reviews. It is easy and fun.
A little later: So far 4 people have found their way from my Google Pages to this blog.
Later still: If you click on images on Google Pages you get larger images!
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
"You sit down to dinner, and life as you know it ends."
On December 30, 2003, as she sat down to dinner, just after visiting her comatose daughter Quintana in the hospital, Joan Didion saw her husband John Gregory Dunne fall over as he suffered a massive heart attack. The questions began. Was it really unforeseen? Should she have done something differently in the moments or months before his death to save him? Could she reverse time to save him? Must she keep his suits and shoes? He might still need them.
The Year of Magical Thinking is the story of her year 2004, when she continued to care for her daughter, hoping for just one more day with her, wanting one more day with John. It was a time of mourning and grief, when she decided that none of the books on grief helped. She was stoic, but there were moments of disbelief. She went on with her life, but not with her writing. She and John had worked at home together for nearly forty years. He had read and commented on every piece she wrote before anyone else. How could she write again without him?
Time is fluid in The Year of Magical Thinking. With only a thought the time is 1945 or 1964 or 1987 or the day before John's death. Still the year does pass, with every day an anniversary of some other day. Joan travels to California to again care for Quintana, to Boston for the Democratic National Convention, and back in her apartment in New York for the anniversary of John's death. She places a lei sent by a friend from Hawaii in the chapel that holds John's ashes. The year then runs out of days so there are no more anniversaries.
Readers of The Year of Magical Thinking will have questions. Why does Didion's year matter so much to us? Why do we identify with her when the details of her life differ from ours? How will we grieve when the time comes, as it must?
Didion, Joan. The Year of Magical Thinking. New York: Knopf, 2005. ISBN 140004314X
4 compact discs. St. Paul: HighBridge, 2005. 159887005x
On December 30, 2003, as she sat down to dinner, just after visiting her comatose daughter Quintana in the hospital, Joan Didion saw her husband John Gregory Dunne fall over as he suffered a massive heart attack. The questions began. Was it really unforeseen? Should she have done something differently in the moments or months before his death to save him? Could she reverse time to save him? Must she keep his suits and shoes? He might still need them.
The Year of Magical Thinking is the story of her year 2004, when she continued to care for her daughter, hoping for just one more day with her, wanting one more day with John. It was a time of mourning and grief, when she decided that none of the books on grief helped. She was stoic, but there were moments of disbelief. She went on with her life, but not with her writing. She and John had worked at home together for nearly forty years. He had read and commented on every piece she wrote before anyone else. How could she write again without him?
Time is fluid in The Year of Magical Thinking. With only a thought the time is 1945 or 1964 or 1987 or the day before John's death. Still the year does pass, with every day an anniversary of some other day. Joan travels to California to again care for Quintana, to Boston for the Democratic National Convention, and back in her apartment in New York for the anniversary of John's death. She places a lei sent by a friend from Hawaii in the chapel that holds John's ashes. The year then runs out of days so there are no more anniversaries.
Readers of The Year of Magical Thinking will have questions. Why does Didion's year matter so much to us? Why do we identify with her when the details of her life differ from ours? How will we grieve when the time comes, as it must?
Didion, Joan. The Year of Magical Thinking. New York: Knopf, 2005. ISBN 140004314X
4 compact discs. St. Paul: HighBridge, 2005. 159887005x
Monday, February 27, 2006
Google Page Creator
I must be one of the lucky ones. I was able to create a simple webpage using Google Page Creator. It is free and relatively easy, though I had a little trouble loading images.
One thing I discovered is that you have to press your enter key after you paste a URL into the link box. You will not get the OK to link if you do not.
Without any notice, it has already been found. Someone in North Carolina linked to this blog from my new Google Page earlier this afternoon. Maybe we can make pages to promote the library if these pages are findable.
One thing I discovered is that you have to press your enter key after you paste a URL into the link box. You will not get the OK to link if you do not.
Without any notice, it has already been found. Someone in North Carolina linked to this blog from my new Google Page earlier this afternoon. Maybe we can make pages to promote the library if these pages are findable.
Rewrite and Reread
I rewrite in order to be reread. Andre Gide
I read this line in the poem "Mr. Dithers Explains It All to You" by David Kirby, which I found in the collection 180 More: Extraordinary Poems for Every Day. In the context of the poem it means that no worthy accomplishment comes without worthy effort. The French author Andre Gide revised his manuscripts before publishing his novels to perfect them, wanting them to please readers so much that they would be read and shared, even reread. I have not been able to actually verify the quote in our collection of quotation books at the library or through online sources, such as the Online Center for Gidian Studies, but it sounds true. Teachers have always told their students to write and rewrite, for once a work was published, it was set forever. Writers lost control of their works once they were published.
Walt Whitman never accepted the loss of control. He wrote and rewrote his collection of poems Leaves of Grass many times. The first time it was published it was a moderately small volume. The final edition was massive. There have been other examples of rewriting, such as John Fowles revising his novel The Magus, but it has not been common.
Writing and rewriting is still recommended, for writers do want to issue their best work, but the rules of control have changed with the Internet. It is easy to revise and expand anything on the Internet. All a writer has to do is reopen the document and edit the text.
Rewriting has a new connection to rereading. If you subscribe to blogs and other web content through email or an aggregator, such as Bloglines, you may have noticed some items reappearing in your inboxes, sometimes long after they first arrived. It was a mystery to me when I first noticed repeated entries. Now that I write I know why. If I go back to a blog entry and revise it, usually correcting a misspelled word or improving a sentence or updating with new information, I then repost the item. On my blog it stays in the same place, but it will reappear in Bloglines to those who have already viewed it.
So, my apologies to anyone who has been annoyed by finding my posts more than once. I am trying to get them right for the readers to come. Of course, you are welcome to reread.
I read this line in the poem "Mr. Dithers Explains It All to You" by David Kirby, which I found in the collection 180 More: Extraordinary Poems for Every Day. In the context of the poem it means that no worthy accomplishment comes without worthy effort. The French author Andre Gide revised his manuscripts before publishing his novels to perfect them, wanting them to please readers so much that they would be read and shared, even reread. I have not been able to actually verify the quote in our collection of quotation books at the library or through online sources, such as the Online Center for Gidian Studies, but it sounds true. Teachers have always told their students to write and rewrite, for once a work was published, it was set forever. Writers lost control of their works once they were published.
Walt Whitman never accepted the loss of control. He wrote and rewrote his collection of poems Leaves of Grass many times. The first time it was published it was a moderately small volume. The final edition was massive. There have been other examples of rewriting, such as John Fowles revising his novel The Magus, but it has not been common.
Writing and rewriting is still recommended, for writers do want to issue their best work, but the rules of control have changed with the Internet. It is easy to revise and expand anything on the Internet. All a writer has to do is reopen the document and edit the text.
Rewriting has a new connection to rereading. If you subscribe to blogs and other web content through email or an aggregator, such as Bloglines, you may have noticed some items reappearing in your inboxes, sometimes long after they first arrived. It was a mystery to me when I first noticed repeated entries. Now that I write I know why. If I go back to a blog entry and revise it, usually correcting a misspelled word or improving a sentence or updating with new information, I then repost the item. On my blog it stays in the same place, but it will reappear in Bloglines to those who have already viewed it.
So, my apologies to anyone who has been annoyed by finding my posts more than once. I am trying to get them right for the readers to come. Of course, you are welcome to reread.
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Vanishing Act by Art Wolfe
Bonnie brought home another cool book, Vanishing Act by Art Wolfe, who has a great name for a wildlife photographer. This recent collection of his photographs is many books in one:
1. Coffee table book - With its beautiful photographs, this oversize book would look good on any coffee table.
2. Puzzle book or amusement - Wolfe has intentionally made it a challenge to find the animal in each of the photographs. Children and adults can view it together, seeing who can find the hidden mammals, reptiles, birds, and fish first. Can you find the animals? Can you even find the captions or page numbers?
3. Practice book for animal spotting - The skills you learn finding animals in these photographs might help you on camera safari.
4. Introduction to animal behavior - The comments about the photographs in the back of the book tell much about the animals.
5. Model book for painters - The trees, leaves, bark, grasses, lichens, rocks, and shadows are as much the subjects of these photographs as the animals. How the subjects are positioned and the mix of colors will be very interesting to nature artists.
6. Lesson in photography - Amateur and professional photographers who study these photographs may learn how to break composition rules effectively. Wolfe also adds notes on the camera, lens, shutter speed, and film used in each shot.
My favorite photographs in Vanishing Act include the following:
1. Puff adder on page 16 - I nearly missed seeing the snake among the fallen leaves, blossoms, and mossy bits. Watch where you step!
2. Arctic fox on page 30 - Look behind the biggest rock.
3. Leopard on page 45 - Many people on camera safari never see a leopard. Now you know why.
4. Golden plover on page 59 - The bird is easy to miss in the golden landscape.
5. Giraffe on page 81 - How can an animal as big as a giraffe hide so well?
6. Red fox on page 112 - It is autumn in Minnesota.
7. Cheetah on page 122 - The cheetah is one of my favorite animals anyway.
8. Eurasian eagle owl with rufous treepie on page 123 - Who would expect these birds so close together? Maybe they are not really that close.
If I were independently wealthy, not living on a librarian's salary, I would buy copies of this book for all my friends. As it is, they will have to check it out at their libraries.
Wolfe, Art. Vanishing Act. Text by Barbara Sleeper. New York: Bulfinch Press, 2005. ISBN 0821257501
1. Coffee table book - With its beautiful photographs, this oversize book would look good on any coffee table.
2. Puzzle book or amusement - Wolfe has intentionally made it a challenge to find the animal in each of the photographs. Children and adults can view it together, seeing who can find the hidden mammals, reptiles, birds, and fish first. Can you find the animals? Can you even find the captions or page numbers?
3. Practice book for animal spotting - The skills you learn finding animals in these photographs might help you on camera safari.
4. Introduction to animal behavior - The comments about the photographs in the back of the book tell much about the animals.
5. Model book for painters - The trees, leaves, bark, grasses, lichens, rocks, and shadows are as much the subjects of these photographs as the animals. How the subjects are positioned and the mix of colors will be very interesting to nature artists.
6. Lesson in photography - Amateur and professional photographers who study these photographs may learn how to break composition rules effectively. Wolfe also adds notes on the camera, lens, shutter speed, and film used in each shot.
My favorite photographs in Vanishing Act include the following:
1. Puff adder on page 16 - I nearly missed seeing the snake among the fallen leaves, blossoms, and mossy bits. Watch where you step!
2. Arctic fox on page 30 - Look behind the biggest rock.
3. Leopard on page 45 - Many people on camera safari never see a leopard. Now you know why.
4. Golden plover on page 59 - The bird is easy to miss in the golden landscape.
5. Giraffe on page 81 - How can an animal as big as a giraffe hide so well?
6. Red fox on page 112 - It is autumn in Minnesota.
7. Cheetah on page 122 - The cheetah is one of my favorite animals anyway.
8. Eurasian eagle owl with rufous treepie on page 123 - Who would expect these birds so close together? Maybe they are not really that close.
If I were independently wealthy, not living on a librarian's salary, I would buy copies of this book for all my friends. As it is, they will have to check it out at their libraries.
Wolfe, Art. Vanishing Act. Text by Barbara Sleeper. New York: Bulfinch Press, 2005. ISBN 0821257501
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Compaq Presario with Magic and Tigger
We just got a new computer at home and have vouchers for recycling two items, like a PC and a monitor. We have two old PCs in the house. Perhaps the obvious choice to recycle is this Compaq Presario from 1996. With the other older PC being a Dell from 2001, this should not be an issue.
However, I have a sentimental attachment to the old Compaq. It was our first color computer - we had a pre-Windows computer with an amber on black text display before the Compaq. The Compaq has never had a problem and works as well today as it did when we got it ten years ago. It was never connected to the Internet, so it never got a virus. We can write letters, listen to music, and play games. I prefer it to the 2001 Dell for Hearts, Space Invaders, Scrabble, and such. It has also been very nicely decorated with stickers of Rainbow Fish, Winnie the Pooh and his friend Piglet, Blues Clues, and smiley faces.
The 2001 Dell is Internet ready should we set up a network and can play DVDs. It has more powerful office software and can do more with photos. It was been twice infected with viruses and often with spyware and takes ten minutes to start. I do get in some reading of books while waiting for some programs to respond. With more RAM and a thorough cleaning, it could be a better PC.
So, do we make a sentimental choice or a practical one? What do you think?
However, I have a sentimental attachment to the old Compaq. It was our first color computer - we had a pre-Windows computer with an amber on black text display before the Compaq. The Compaq has never had a problem and works as well today as it did when we got it ten years ago. It was never connected to the Internet, so it never got a virus. We can write letters, listen to music, and play games. I prefer it to the 2001 Dell for Hearts, Space Invaders, Scrabble, and such. It has also been very nicely decorated with stickers of Rainbow Fish, Winnie the Pooh and his friend Piglet, Blues Clues, and smiley faces.
The 2001 Dell is Internet ready should we set up a network and can play DVDs. It has more powerful office software and can do more with photos. It was been twice infected with viruses and often with spyware and takes ten minutes to start. I do get in some reading of books while waiting for some programs to respond. With more RAM and a thorough cleaning, it could be a better PC.
So, do we make a sentimental choice or a practical one? What do you think?
Friday, February 24, 2006
simpson ricklibrarian
I'm getting balder all the time.
This is the first blogging I have done with our new computer. I thought it ought to be something special. I figured out how to move the DSL from one computer to another and it works. Yeah!
By the way, there is a Springfield Public Library Pool at Flickr.
This is the first blogging I have done with our new computer. I thought it ought to be something special. I figured out how to move the DSL from one computer to another and it works. Yeah!
By the way, there is a Springfield Public Library Pool at Flickr.
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Gifts by Ursala K. Le Guin
It has been a long time since I read an Ursala K. Le Guin novel. I remember enjoying the first three Earthsea books (I have not read the others) and Left Hand of Darkness. In each of her books, Le Guin creates a world similar to ours in many ways but with some radically differences. Because of these twists, her books are labeled as fantasy. In Gifts, Orrec and Gry are teens maturing in a feudal society of uplanders and lowlanders that seems much like medieval Europe. Fighting between rural clans is at times fierce but is tempered by the distances between family domains. Without modern transportation and communication, encounters are few. Much effort has to be made to rob or attack the neighbors.
Orrec and Gry are expected to develop the powers of their parents. Gry is able to call animals to her, making her an able trainer of horses. She can also call game animals to hunters, but she feels this is a misuse of her gift, a betrayal of animal trust. Orrec is struggling with his feared gift of "unmaking." With a glance and the outstretching of his hand, he is supposed to be able to will the destruction of things, beasts, or people, but his control of the gift seems to have gone wild. Orrec voluntarily blindfolds himself to protect his loved ones from his anger.
What is interesting in Le Guin's works are the family relationships and the different ways that societies work. A main question is whether Orrec and Gry will do what their parents ask. The stories do not rely of the strangeness of situations to remain interesting. While aimed at teen reader, Gifts can be read and enjoyed by anyone.
Le Guin, Ursala. Gifts. Orlando, FL: Harcourt, Inc., 2004 ISBN 0152051236
6 compact disc. Prince Frederick, MD: Recorded Books, 2004. ISBN 1419332023
Orrec and Gry are expected to develop the powers of their parents. Gry is able to call animals to her, making her an able trainer of horses. She can also call game animals to hunters, but she feels this is a misuse of her gift, a betrayal of animal trust. Orrec is struggling with his feared gift of "unmaking." With a glance and the outstretching of his hand, he is supposed to be able to will the destruction of things, beasts, or people, but his control of the gift seems to have gone wild. Orrec voluntarily blindfolds himself to protect his loved ones from his anger.
What is interesting in Le Guin's works are the family relationships and the different ways that societies work. A main question is whether Orrec and Gry will do what their parents ask. The stories do not rely of the strangeness of situations to remain interesting. While aimed at teen reader, Gifts can be read and enjoyed by anyone.
Le Guin, Ursala. Gifts. Orlando, FL: Harcourt, Inc., 2004 ISBN 0152051236
6 compact disc. Prince Frederick, MD: Recorded Books, 2004. ISBN 1419332023
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
American Libraries Direct Readers Polled on Offering Tax Forms in the Public Library
Here is some news to follow up yesterday's post to this blog. If you got American Libraries Direct in your email today, you will see a goldenrod colored box (a kind of dark wheat color) asking for opinions. Today's question is "Should public libraries continue to serve as a distribution point for IRS forms?" As of 6:00 p.m., "yes" is running at 75 percent.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Death and Taxes at the Library: Stories of Service
As predictable as the pitchers and catchers arriving at spring training in Arizona and Florida is the arrival of citizens looking in the library for tax forms. Every February the stream increases, and we stock and restock the stacks of federal and state income tax forms often. Most of the people need no help, and we miss getting anything more statistically than a traffic count at our front door. It may appear to be a mundane event, hardly worth noting, but I pose that it is really quite important. There are very few places to get printed forms, the supply in the library has to be replenished often, and behind every person taking a tax form has a story. We get to hear some of them.
After a conversation last week, I really question how the IRS identifies its forms. An older woman came to the reference desk to ask whether she had the right forms. She was told by someone (family, friend, tax preparer?) to get 1040A and mentioned needing to list her interest and dividends. In her hands, she had the federal Form 1040A and the Schedule A/B that goes with the Form 1040. I explained to her that she would need a Schedule 1 for the Form 1040A if she wanted to file the Form 1040A, or she needed to have a Form 1040 to go with the Schedule A/B for the Form 1040. She also asked for a Form 1040A for Illinois, which does not exist, and asked for a form to list her interest and dividends for Illinois, which is not required. Has this got you confused? Just as I thought we had it all straight, she would say, "So, I still need to find a Schedule A to go with a Form 1040A?" or "So, do you have an Illinois 1040A?" We went through the forms again. As we were doing so, I was guessing that she has never done her own taxes and wondering if her life has changed in the past year. On several occasions I have had older people tell me that their spouses, who had recently died, had always done the taxes and the banking and they were having some trouble with all the new responsibilities. I often try to steer them to the local senior center that has volunteers to help in these cases.
When I think of the need we are serving, I am able to accept the stacks of forms on my work desk better. I also think about a strange conversation I had several years ago. A man who identified himself as a lawyer asked if we had any forms. I told him that we did and that he could take some if he wished. He snapped back at me that he could take all of them if he wished. He started lecturing me that the forms belonged to the federal government and that I had no right to limit their distribution. I pointed out that we were providing them for anyone in the community and were hoped that people only to take what they needed so there would be forms for others. He replied that if he wanted all the forms he would jolly well take them all and he was a lawyer and he might file a lawsuit against me and the library if we denied him any forms. Then he hung up. I never heard from him again, for which I am grateful. I never put all the forms out anymore. I have supplies around my desk is in reserve in case he or some other person decides to take everything on display, which has happened with some forms. (Isn't that a good tax season story?)
I am wondering if there is another story that I do not as yet know. One of our regulars at the library is a volunteer who helps seniors with their taxes. For years he has come in to use our Internet computers to take IRS online training, get IRS news, and ask us to help him with IRS laptops. We have spent much time troubleshooting technical problems with him. He always has a broad smile when he has another challenge for us. While writing this piece I realized that I can not remember the last time I saw him. I hope that he is okay.
I must admit that I will feel some relief when tax form season is over, for we can clear off the counters and desks that are now covered with forms and I will be able to move some boxes away from my desk. I do not, however, regret that we have the local tax form monopoly. Some libraries around us stopped carrying forms several years ago, saying they were not going to serve as lackeys of the IRS. They claimed that their work loads became too heavy and that taxpayers passed their bad feelings about the IRS on to the library. I have never experienced this at our friendly library. We see people we do not normally see and most seem very glad to find the only place in town that would carry tax forms. Making people happy is why we are here.
After a conversation last week, I really question how the IRS identifies its forms. An older woman came to the reference desk to ask whether she had the right forms. She was told by someone (family, friend, tax preparer?) to get 1040A and mentioned needing to list her interest and dividends. In her hands, she had the federal Form 1040A and the Schedule A/B that goes with the Form 1040. I explained to her that she would need a Schedule 1 for the Form 1040A if she wanted to file the Form 1040A, or she needed to have a Form 1040 to go with the Schedule A/B for the Form 1040. She also asked for a Form 1040A for Illinois, which does not exist, and asked for a form to list her interest and dividends for Illinois, which is not required. Has this got you confused? Just as I thought we had it all straight, she would say, "So, I still need to find a Schedule A to go with a Form 1040A?" or "So, do you have an Illinois 1040A?" We went through the forms again. As we were doing so, I was guessing that she has never done her own taxes and wondering if her life has changed in the past year. On several occasions I have had older people tell me that their spouses, who had recently died, had always done the taxes and the banking and they were having some trouble with all the new responsibilities. I often try to steer them to the local senior center that has volunteers to help in these cases.
When I think of the need we are serving, I am able to accept the stacks of forms on my work desk better. I also think about a strange conversation I had several years ago. A man who identified himself as a lawyer asked if we had any forms. I told him that we did and that he could take some if he wished. He snapped back at me that he could take all of them if he wished. He started lecturing me that the forms belonged to the federal government and that I had no right to limit their distribution. I pointed out that we were providing them for anyone in the community and were hoped that people only to take what they needed so there would be forms for others. He replied that if he wanted all the forms he would jolly well take them all and he was a lawyer and he might file a lawsuit against me and the library if we denied him any forms. Then he hung up. I never heard from him again, for which I am grateful. I never put all the forms out anymore. I have supplies around my desk is in reserve in case he or some other person decides to take everything on display, which has happened with some forms. (Isn't that a good tax season story?)
I am wondering if there is another story that I do not as yet know. One of our regulars at the library is a volunteer who helps seniors with their taxes. For years he has come in to use our Internet computers to take IRS online training, get IRS news, and ask us to help him with IRS laptops. We have spent much time troubleshooting technical problems with him. He always has a broad smile when he has another challenge for us. While writing this piece I realized that I can not remember the last time I saw him. I hope that he is okay.
I must admit that I will feel some relief when tax form season is over, for we can clear off the counters and desks that are now covered with forms and I will be able to move some boxes away from my desk. I do not, however, regret that we have the local tax form monopoly. Some libraries around us stopped carrying forms several years ago, saying they were not going to serve as lackeys of the IRS. They claimed that their work loads became too heavy and that taxpayers passed their bad feelings about the IRS on to the library. I have never experienced this at our friendly library. We see people we do not normally see and most seem very glad to find the only place in town that would carry tax forms. Making people happy is why we are here.
Monday, February 20, 2006
Time Was Soft There: A Paris Sojourn at Shakespeare & Co. by Jeremy Mercer
What do you do if you have written a true crime book using real names and subsequently are threatened with death by one of the named persons? You drop everything and flee to Paris with your meager saving, of course. You find a cheap place to stay, eat as little as possible, and wonder how you can work without French papers. Eventually, you have to do something to keep from starving. This was Jeremy Mercer's situation when he ducked into the famous bookstore Shakespeare and Company to get out of the rain. Had he looked up at the doorway, he would have read "Be not inhospitable to strangers lest they be angels in disguise" and not been surprised by the sudden invitation to the tea party upstairs.
Time was Soft There is Mercer's account of his lengthy stay among the books at Shakespeare and Company. It is as true as he can make it at this time, he claims. In his "Author's Note," he admits to reordering some of the events and changing a name. He also explains in the book that there have been two stores known as Shakespeare and Company. The first, which was started by Sylvia Beach and famous for the authors who visited in the 1920s, was shut down during the German occupation of Paris in World War II. George Whitman (not really the son of the poet Walt Whitman despite his hints) adopted the name for his store in the 1960s, a time when he was often under suspicion as a subversive. Thousands of writers and artists have lodged free of charge in his bookstore in its half century of existence.
It is not easy being George's angel. While he is very generous, he is eccentric and makes strange demands. Everyone is required to read a book of George's choosing every day. All the common guests (not the renowned visitors) carry book displays onto the porch in the morning and haul them in at night and do odd jobs around the store. They also run errands and gather food from dumpsters. Mercer is asked to expel another guest of whom George has tired; he wins George's favor by failing to do the task. Using his skills as a police beat journalist, he eventually discovers much about George's past.
Time Was Soft There is a quick read, filled with starving artists and misfits living together in a small space. I recommend it to memoir readers.
Mercer, Jeremy. Time Was Soft There: A Paris Sojourn at Shakespeare and Co. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2005. ISBN 0312347391
Time was Soft There is Mercer's account of his lengthy stay among the books at Shakespeare and Company. It is as true as he can make it at this time, he claims. In his "Author's Note," he admits to reordering some of the events and changing a name. He also explains in the book that there have been two stores known as Shakespeare and Company. The first, which was started by Sylvia Beach and famous for the authors who visited in the 1920s, was shut down during the German occupation of Paris in World War II. George Whitman (not really the son of the poet Walt Whitman despite his hints) adopted the name for his store in the 1960s, a time when he was often under suspicion as a subversive. Thousands of writers and artists have lodged free of charge in his bookstore in its half century of existence.
It is not easy being George's angel. While he is very generous, he is eccentric and makes strange demands. Everyone is required to read a book of George's choosing every day. All the common guests (not the renowned visitors) carry book displays onto the porch in the morning and haul them in at night and do odd jobs around the store. They also run errands and gather food from dumpsters. Mercer is asked to expel another guest of whom George has tired; he wins George's favor by failing to do the task. Using his skills as a police beat journalist, he eventually discovers much about George's past.
Time Was Soft There is a quick read, filled with starving artists and misfits living together in a small space. I recommend it to memoir readers.
Mercer, Jeremy. Time Was Soft There: A Paris Sojourn at Shakespeare and Co. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2005. ISBN 0312347391
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Auschwitz Album: A Book Based Upon an Album Discovered by a Concentration Camp Survivor Lili Meier: Text by Peter Hellman
I became aware of The Auschwitz Album on Monday when I saw a small but emotionally moving exhibit at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. The photographic exhibit displays dozens of the photographs that were found by Lili Jacob (her maiden name) in a vacated SS barrack being used as a hospital in April 1945. The photographs in the album showed the "welcoming" of Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz. Looking in the album, Jacob found her rabbi, members of her family, and herself. Feeling that she was destined to find this album, she kept and protected it through her journey back to her home town of Bilke and on to America.
What is remarkable about The Auschwitz Album is that there is no other photographic collection of the Jewish death camps. Scared of the reaction that might follow international knowledge of their genocidal activities, the Nazi command usually forbad photographs. So, why were these photographs taken? Peter Hellman speculates that the SS wanted to use them in propaganda showing how well the Jewish workers were treated. There had been some efforts to reassure authorities in other countries from which the trains came that no Jews was being mistreated. All but one photograph in the collection shows passive waiting, walking, and working. The people in the photographs mostly believed they were going to work in family camps. They still had some hope. Someone in the SS must have realized that the distribution of the photographs would not help the Nazi cause. Who would be reassured by images of hungry people with shaved heads being herded like cattle?
There have been several books of the collection published. The latest is a deluxe edition from Berghahn Books, list price $90.00, ISBN 9653081497. The Field Museum Store is selling it for $72.00 ($64.80 for members), less than Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Baker & Taylor. It seems to be the only edition in print. I am surprised there is not a more affordable edition available, one that more museum visitors would buy and that libraries with tight budgets would consider.
Fortunately for readers, some libraries still have older editions. I read the most available edition, a 1981 Random House publication. Libraries that sometimes buy used books can easily get a good copy at a reasonable price from several of the online used book markets. Should you see a copy in your donations, keep it.
The Auschwitz Album: A Book Based Upon an Album Discovered by a Concentration Camp Survivor Lili Meier. Text by Peter Hellman. New York: Random House, 1981. ISBN 0394519329
What is remarkable about The Auschwitz Album is that there is no other photographic collection of the Jewish death camps. Scared of the reaction that might follow international knowledge of their genocidal activities, the Nazi command usually forbad photographs. So, why were these photographs taken? Peter Hellman speculates that the SS wanted to use them in propaganda showing how well the Jewish workers were treated. There had been some efforts to reassure authorities in other countries from which the trains came that no Jews was being mistreated. All but one photograph in the collection shows passive waiting, walking, and working. The people in the photographs mostly believed they were going to work in family camps. They still had some hope. Someone in the SS must have realized that the distribution of the photographs would not help the Nazi cause. Who would be reassured by images of hungry people with shaved heads being herded like cattle?
There have been several books of the collection published. The latest is a deluxe edition from Berghahn Books, list price $90.00, ISBN 9653081497. The Field Museum Store is selling it for $72.00 ($64.80 for members), less than Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Baker & Taylor. It seems to be the only edition in print. I am surprised there is not a more affordable edition available, one that more museum visitors would buy and that libraries with tight budgets would consider.
Fortunately for readers, some libraries still have older editions. I read the most available edition, a 1981 Random House publication. Libraries that sometimes buy used books can easily get a good copy at a reasonable price from several of the online used book markets. Should you see a copy in your donations, keep it.
The Auschwitz Album: A Book Based Upon an Album Discovered by a Concentration Camp Survivor Lili Meier. Text by Peter Hellman. New York: Random House, 1981. ISBN 0394519329
Friday, February 17, 2006
Pinstripes Invading Blogosphere: Commercial Blogs, Execs' Journals Raise Suspicion by Greg Burns
I have been thinking about this article that appeared on the front page of the Chicago Tribune last Sunday. The author writes as though we should be surprised that corporations are making use of blogs as marketing tools, as though the world of the blogs could be kept pure for personal expression, community building, and the greater good. Why would corporations, which already have advertising for which they spend billions of dollars, turn to blogs that can often be free or inexpensive to transmit their messages? Why? Blogs are trendy and often noticed by the young, and it does not cost much for the profit-driven corporations to try their hands at blogging.
The author details two trends:
1. Corporate executives are blogging. At least they appear to be blogging. Donald Trump has a blog, as does Bob Lutz of General Motors. How much of the content really comes from the bigwigs themselves is questioned.
2. Corporations are creating blogs that appear to be the work of everyday people. Why this should be a surprise is beyond me. Look at television advertising. Much of it is testimonial, showing supposedly everyday people using and praising products. The sham is that these are people with no self-interest in saying what they are saying. Of course, most are actors. Advertising is persuasive fiction, and blogs can serve the needs of advertisers in the same way as the television commercial. These fake blogs are sometime called flogs.
Is there anything the blogging community can do? Yes and no.
1. No. We can not keep corporations away from blogs. One of our ideals is that the blogosphere belongs to everyone.
2. Yes. We can blog about the dishonesty we see. This is already happening. Many of the flogs have been exposed, embarrassing the corporations who funded them. (I wish that we could put an exposing public service announcement on television for each advertisement including a lie. Television would be much more interesting. Alas, corporations control television.)
Do you believe everything you read in a newspaper, magazine, or book? Do you believe everything you hear on radio or television? Blogs are no different. Question. Check your sources. Be skeptical.
Burns, Greg. "Pinstripes Invading Blogosphere: Commercial Blogs, Execs' Journals Raise Suspicion." Chicago Tribune. Sunday, February 12, 2006. Section 1, page 1.
The author details two trends:
1. Corporate executives are blogging. At least they appear to be blogging. Donald Trump has a blog, as does Bob Lutz of General Motors. How much of the content really comes from the bigwigs themselves is questioned.
2. Corporations are creating blogs that appear to be the work of everyday people. Why this should be a surprise is beyond me. Look at television advertising. Much of it is testimonial, showing supposedly everyday people using and praising products. The sham is that these are people with no self-interest in saying what they are saying. Of course, most are actors. Advertising is persuasive fiction, and blogs can serve the needs of advertisers in the same way as the television commercial. These fake blogs are sometime called flogs.
Is there anything the blogging community can do? Yes and no.
1. No. We can not keep corporations away from blogs. One of our ideals is that the blogosphere belongs to everyone.
2. Yes. We can blog about the dishonesty we see. This is already happening. Many of the flogs have been exposed, embarrassing the corporations who funded them. (I wish that we could put an exposing public service announcement on television for each advertisement including a lie. Television would be much more interesting. Alas, corporations control television.)
Do you believe everything you read in a newspaper, magazine, or book? Do you believe everything you hear on radio or television? Blogs are no different. Question. Check your sources. Be skeptical.
Burns, Greg. "Pinstripes Invading Blogosphere: Commercial Blogs, Execs' Journals Raise Suspicion." Chicago Tribune. Sunday, February 12, 2006. Section 1, page 1.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Dancing Girls and Other Stories by Margaret Atwood
I am putting Margaret Atwood on my list of authors to read more frequently, along with Wendell Berry, Edwidge Danticat, William Faulkner, Muriel Spark, Eudora Welty, and Edith Wharton. I also have a less serious list from which I frequently read, which includes Margery Allingham (it is hard to find Campion books in bookstores these days), Jo Dereske, Tony Hillerman, Charlotte MacLeod, Alexander McCall Smith, John Mortimer, Ellis Peters, and P. G. Wodehouse. As long as I have these in reserve, I should never be without a reading goal and should always be able to find something good to read in any library.
Back to Margaret Atwood. In 2003 I read the cataclysmic novel Oryx and Crake, which belongs on reading lists with Brave New World and 1984. Now I have read something completely different, Dancing Girls and Other Stories, a collection of short stories penned between 1971 and 1977. Unlike Oryx and Crake, which takes place in environmentally disturbed future, most of the short stories in this collection are grounded in the middle years of the twentieth century. When Atwood describes the apartments, the clothes, and the attitudes, I remember those years. Her characters are often short on funds, love, and hope, and all face moments of decision. Should they stay in a town? Should they stay in a relationship?
I particularly liked "Betty," a remembrance of a couple of neighbors from a young women's childhood; meeting the woman years later, she is struck by Betty's changes, making her question her memory. "Hair Jewelry" was easy to visualize as the young woman visits places I have been - Filene's Basement in Boston and the waterfront in Salem; its final paragraph includes the thought "banality is after all the magic antidote for unrequited love." Atwood certainly gives the readers something to think about in "The Sin Eater." The book ends with a realistic story "Giving Birth." None of the stories is longer than 30 pages. They should be read over several days.
Margaret Atwood is a prolific author with novels, short stories, poetry, and essays. I won't be running out of reading any time soon.
Atwood, Margaret. Dancing Girls and Other Stories. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1977, 1982. ISBN 0671242490
Back to Margaret Atwood. In 2003 I read the cataclysmic novel Oryx and Crake, which belongs on reading lists with Brave New World and 1984. Now I have read something completely different, Dancing Girls and Other Stories, a collection of short stories penned between 1971 and 1977. Unlike Oryx and Crake, which takes place in environmentally disturbed future, most of the short stories in this collection are grounded in the middle years of the twentieth century. When Atwood describes the apartments, the clothes, and the attitudes, I remember those years. Her characters are often short on funds, love, and hope, and all face moments of decision. Should they stay in a town? Should they stay in a relationship?
I particularly liked "Betty," a remembrance of a couple of neighbors from a young women's childhood; meeting the woman years later, she is struck by Betty's changes, making her question her memory. "Hair Jewelry" was easy to visualize as the young woman visits places I have been - Filene's Basement in Boston and the waterfront in Salem; its final paragraph includes the thought "banality is after all the magic antidote for unrequited love." Atwood certainly gives the readers something to think about in "The Sin Eater." The book ends with a realistic story "Giving Birth." None of the stories is longer than 30 pages. They should be read over several days.
Margaret Atwood is a prolific author with novels, short stories, poetry, and essays. I won't be running out of reading any time soon.
Atwood, Margaret. Dancing Girls and Other Stories. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1977, 1982. ISBN 0671242490
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
The Kora, a Stringed Instrument from Senegal
In the hall on Africa in the Field Museum is a video of a traditional musician playing a kora. In the video, he grips the two shorter spindles and plays the strings very quickly with his thumbs. The sound is incredible. I would like to find someone to play the kora at a library program.
Looking at our SWAN catalog, I find that there is a CD with Foday Musa Suso playing kora on Orion by Philip Glass, Toumani Diabate plays kora on a Ali Farka Toure CD called In the Heart of the Moon, Yakuba Sissokoh plays a kora on Rain of Blessings Vajra Chants, and Ravi plays the instrument on The African Kora Journey of the Sunwalker. I do not know any of this music, but I have placed some holds.
As slow and clunky as it is, our SWAN catalog is still an incredible tool. I remember how little we could do with old card catalogs.
Looking at our SWAN catalog, I find that there is a CD with Foday Musa Suso playing kora on Orion by Philip Glass, Toumani Diabate plays kora on a Ali Farka Toure CD called In the Heart of the Moon, Yakuba Sissokoh plays a kora on Rain of Blessings Vajra Chants, and Ravi plays the instrument on The African Kora Journey of the Sunwalker. I do not know any of this music, but I have placed some holds.
As slow and clunky as it is, our SWAN catalog is still an incredible tool. I remember how little we could do with old card catalogs.
I've Been Tagged: Four Things
I have been tagged by Meredith of Information Wants to Be Free for the Four Things Meme.
I have looked up the word "meme" and still do not have a good handle on it. It appears that it has something to do with replication with modifications. Whatever, there is the Four Things Meme bouncing around library blogs. Bloggers answer the questions and then ask four other bloggers to answer the questions. It seems to be a good way to get to know other bloggers.
Four jobs I’ve had:
1. Disc jockey/radio announcer for a very small radio station in West Texas for $50 a week - the owner said I actually should be paying her for the experience I was gaining.
2. Wheelchair attendant helping students in wheelchairs get to classes at the University of Texas - they called me a "pusher."
3. Clerk in the school supplies section at the University Co-op in Austin - I sold 100-count packages of data punch cards to computer science students for 69 cents.
4. Desk assistant at the Howsen Branch of the Austin Public Library - I also got to help with the puppet shows.
Four movies I can (and do) watch over and over:
1. Lord of the Rings trilogy
2. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
3. all the Harry Potter movies
4. Mary Poppins (I still love this movie.)
I also want to mention Much Ado About Nothing and Field of Dreams and Room with a View and Amadeus.
Four places I’ve lived:
1. Big Lake, Texas - it does not look like the town shown in the movie The Rookie.
2. Austin, Texas - everything you hear is true.
3. Columbia, Missouri - I still have occasional Daniel Boone Regional Library dreams.
4. suburbs of Chicago - Riverdale (where I heard the trains day and night), Brookfield (with its wonderful zoo), Downers Grove (with its wonderful library)
Four TV shows I love:
1. Star Trek Next Generation
2. M*A*S*H
3. Masterpiece Theater and Mystery
4. Monty Python's Flying Circus
Four places I’ve vacationed:
1. Kenya and Tanzania twice (with wonderful friends)
2. Greece once (Bonnie and I riding the Greek buses with the Greeks)
3. Costa Rica once (with a Brookfield Zoo tour)
4. South Dakota once (with wonderful friends)
Four of my favorite dishes:
1. Carrot cake, which Bonnie makes for my birthday every year
2. Greek sampler at Greek Islands, which has all my favorite Greek items
3. Enchiladas, any kind
4. Raspberries from our yard
A lot of favorite foods are left out of this list, such as many of the pot luck items at our library luncheons. We may have the best food of any library on the planet. I wonder how this could be verified.
Four sites I visit daily:
1. Thomas Ford Library website
2. Bloglines
3. Writely
4. Flickr
Four places I would rather be right now:
I am really quite happy where I am, here at home with the PC, with a nice family, in a nice community. Still, I would enjoy being:1. On the north rim of the Grand Canyon
2. In the first balcony in the Auditorium Theater in Chicago
3. In the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania early in the day before the middle of the day tour crowd arrives
4. In the stadium in Delphi with a slight breeze whispering through the evergreens
Four books (or series) I love:
1. The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien
2. No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith
3. anything by Wendell Berry
4. anything by Muriel Spark
Four video games I can (and do) play over and over:
1. Hearts2. Minesweeper
3. Tetras
4. nothing compares to the first three
Four bloggers I am tagging:
1. Aaron at Walking Paper (He was tagged before, but never responded.)
2. Jane (not really her name) at Wandering Eyre
3. Michael at Library Dust
4. Kelli at 'Brary Web Diva
47 by Walter Mosley
Walter Mosley has written an interesting novel. He mixes a very realistic account of slavery on a cotton plantation in the early part of the nineteenth century with elements of science fiction in his 2005 book 47 . While that sounds like a strange combination, it works well. The author uses the visitor from another time and place as an agent of change. Before his arrival the slaves have no ideas for challenging their status in a brutally unjust society.
47 is a fourteen year old slave whose mother died at his birth and whose father is unknown. He has always been called Baby Child, never getting a name of his own on a plantation where the master uses numbering to account for his slaves. He is designated as 47 when he is sent from duty in the barn to the cotton fields. His initiation is the branding of the numbers into his shoulder. The runaway slave Tall John then comes out of the woods with a mysterious yellow bag and a message for 47, "Neither nigger nor master be."
On his own website, the author has posted his Lecture on 47 which he delivered at the 2005 American Library Association Conference.
I enjoyed listen to 47 read by actor Ozzie Davis whose gravelly voice fits the story well. Most libraries seem to have the book in their teen collections, but I think many older readers will also enjoy this novel. The ending of the novel suggests that 47 may have future adventures. Watch the review journals.
Mosley, Walter. 47. New York: Little Brown, 2005. ISBN 0316110353.
5 compact discs edition. Random House Audio, 2005. ISBN 0307206629
47 is a fourteen year old slave whose mother died at his birth and whose father is unknown. He has always been called Baby Child, never getting a name of his own on a plantation where the master uses numbering to account for his slaves. He is designated as 47 when he is sent from duty in the barn to the cotton fields. His initiation is the branding of the numbers into his shoulder. The runaway slave Tall John then comes out of the woods with a mysterious yellow bag and a message for 47, "Neither nigger nor master be."
On his own website, the author has posted his Lecture on 47 which he delivered at the 2005 American Library Association Conference.
I enjoyed listen to 47 read by actor Ozzie Davis whose gravelly voice fits the story well. Most libraries seem to have the book in their teen collections, but I think many older readers will also enjoy this novel. The ending of the novel suggests that 47 may have future adventures. Watch the review journals.
Mosley, Walter. 47. New York: Little Brown, 2005. ISBN 0316110353.
5 compact discs edition. Random House Audio, 2005. ISBN 0307206629
Monday, February 13, 2006
Les Miserables: A Musical at Sterling High School in Sterling, Illinois
If you had asked me before this weekend, I would have said that Les Miserables would not be a musical for high schools to attempt. It needs lots of good voices who can sing for hours, as there is no dialogue to link songs. The music is itself tough. There are some recurring melodies, but I would think it would take much time and practice to memorize the lyrics. Of course, I am no singer. Maybe it is easier than I think. I doubt it.
So, I was very impressed by the performance of Les Miserables: School Edition at the Sterling High School in Sterling, Illinois. The leads had beautiful, strong voices, the chorus was good, and the pit band played well for nearly three hours with only one intermission. The costumes were very professional, and the set was well-built. The stage even had a hand-operated turntable, just like the production we saw at the Auditorium Theater in Chicago. The faculty and students in Sterling should be very proud of their production.
The choruses rendering of "Do You Hear the People Sing" was rousing, and the battle scene on the barricade was very sad. At the end, tears were slipping out of the corners of my eyes when Fantine and Eponine sing to the dying Jean Valjean. It is an emotional musical.
Les Miserables is based on the book by Victor Hugo, and reading the book does help you understand the musical. The size of the book may scare you, but that will not matter if you give it a chance and get into it. The story is great. Valjean and Javert are some of the great characters in literature. Reading Les Miserables may be the highlight of your reading year and you will remember the story for years.
If you do not know the music, check out the compact discs of Les Miserables: The Musical That Swept the World, a tenth anniversary concert at the Royal Albert Hall.
Also, wherever you are, go to you local high school's plays and musicals. You may be stunned by the talent and dedication.
So, I was very impressed by the performance of Les Miserables: School Edition at the Sterling High School in Sterling, Illinois. The leads had beautiful, strong voices, the chorus was good, and the pit band played well for nearly three hours with only one intermission. The costumes were very professional, and the set was well-built. The stage even had a hand-operated turntable, just like the production we saw at the Auditorium Theater in Chicago. The faculty and students in Sterling should be very proud of their production.
The choruses rendering of "Do You Hear the People Sing" was rousing, and the battle scene on the barricade was very sad. At the end, tears were slipping out of the corners of my eyes when Fantine and Eponine sing to the dying Jean Valjean. It is an emotional musical.
Les Miserables is based on the book by Victor Hugo, and reading the book does help you understand the musical. The size of the book may scare you, but that will not matter if you give it a chance and get into it. The story is great. Valjean and Javert are some of the great characters in literature. Reading Les Miserables may be the highlight of your reading year and you will remember the story for years.
If you do not know the music, check out the compact discs of Les Miserables: The Musical That Swept the World, a tenth anniversary concert at the Royal Albert Hall.
Also, wherever you are, go to you local high school's plays and musicals. You may be stunned by the talent and dedication.
Saturday, February 11, 2006
A True Story of Living in the Library
When I am the first one in the building or the last one out, I sometimes think that our library would be a nice place to live. I think a shower is the only missing necessity. I guess I could also use a bed, but I might just fall asleep reading books in the comfy chairs close to the fireplace.
I was surprised to find an article in the February issue of American Libraries by a woman who grew up actually living in libraries in New York City. How lucky can you be? She could wander around alone on Sundays and have family parties in banquet rooms! Please read "Mr. Mitchell and His 'Liberry' Girls" by Carolyn Mitchell Rhodes in American Libraries, February 2006, pages 30-31.
I was surprised to find an article in the February issue of American Libraries by a woman who grew up actually living in libraries in New York City. How lucky can you be? She could wander around alone on Sundays and have family parties in banquet rooms! Please read "Mr. Mitchell and His 'Liberry' Girls" by Carolyn Mitchell Rhodes in American Libraries, February 2006, pages 30-31.
Slavery and the Making of America
Several of my reviews have involved books about slavery. It is not an issue that goes away. 140 years after it was declared illegal, we are still recovering from the harm it brought our country. The institution still survives in some third world countries, especially in the Sudan. Read Slave by Mende Nazer and Escape from Slavery by Francis Bok. Recently, news articles suggest that Asians have been enslaved to work for contractors at U.S. miltary bases in Iraq. We can not afford to forget and let down our guard.
It is in this light that I recommend viewing the four part PBS series Slavery and the Making of America, which follows the institution in the United States from its origins in early colonial days to the end of the nineteenth century. Viewers who have not studied the subject may be surprised to learn that all the states, including the northern states, had slavery at the time of the Revolution, and northern business interests supported the continuation of the institution in the South past the time it disappeared in the North. Slavery was a national problem, not a regional issue.
I was especially moved by episode three "Seeds of Destruction," which included the story of Harriet Jacobs, who hid in an attic for over a dozen years to escape the sexual advances of her owner and to allow her children to be free. All the episodes included dramatic reenactments, often in original locations. Noted historians provided comments. The series was narrated by actor Morgan Freeman.
PBS has an extensive website with information about the program and the topic.
Many libraries have the book on which the series was based. They should add the DVDs as well.
Slavery and the Making of America. New York: Ambrose Video, 2004.
It is in this light that I recommend viewing the four part PBS series Slavery and the Making of America, which follows the institution in the United States from its origins in early colonial days to the end of the nineteenth century. Viewers who have not studied the subject may be surprised to learn that all the states, including the northern states, had slavery at the time of the Revolution, and northern business interests supported the continuation of the institution in the South past the time it disappeared in the North. Slavery was a national problem, not a regional issue.
I was especially moved by episode three "Seeds of Destruction," which included the story of Harriet Jacobs, who hid in an attic for over a dozen years to escape the sexual advances of her owner and to allow her children to be free. All the episodes included dramatic reenactments, often in original locations. Noted historians provided comments. The series was narrated by actor Morgan Freeman.
PBS has an extensive website with information about the program and the topic.
Many libraries have the book on which the series was based. They should add the DVDs as well.
Slavery and the Making of America. New York: Ambrose Video, 2004.
Friday, February 10, 2006
Animals from Children's Books on Postage Stamps
Bonnie brought home some neat postage stamps showing animals from popular children's books. There are eight different stamps on a sixteen stamp panel, all showing 39 cents, our new postal rate. They look really good, and I look forward to using them. I think the best looking stamps are the Hungry Caterpiller and the Wild Thing. My favorite as a character is Wilbur from Charlotte's Web.
I am not sure how these animals were chosen (I am sure there is an explanation somewhere), and I have no argument with them, but they are not my personal favorites. I have been thinking about the stamps celebrating children's books that I would like to have to put on my letters to friends, birthday cards to my family, and even payments of the water bill. Here's my own list.
1. George and Martha from the books by James Marshall - Who celebrates friendship better than George and Martha?
2. Frog and Toad from the books by Arnold Lobel - They are also great friends, and I am sure Chris and Judy would like a letter with them on the envelope.
3. Babar from the books by Jean du Brunhoff - Laura and I read a lot of Babar books and I never see the elephant without smiling.
4. Little Critter from books by Mercer Mayer - Who is cuter than Little Critter?
5. Max and Ruby from the books by Rosemary Wells - Max makes such a mess and Ruby always cleans him up.
6. Arthur from the books by Marc Tolan Brown - I bet the Postal Service could turn a profit on Arthur stamps. Every kid in America would want to write a letter to use this stamp.
7. Carl from the books by Alexandra Day - Who represents the love of pets better than Carl?
8. The sheep from Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw - I laughed so hard when I read this book aloud for the first time.
Who would you like to see on a stamp? There are many worthy candidates.
I am not sure how these animals were chosen (I am sure there is an explanation somewhere), and I have no argument with them, but they are not my personal favorites. I have been thinking about the stamps celebrating children's books that I would like to have to put on my letters to friends, birthday cards to my family, and even payments of the water bill. Here's my own list.
1. George and Martha from the books by James Marshall - Who celebrates friendship better than George and Martha?
2. Frog and Toad from the books by Arnold Lobel - They are also great friends, and I am sure Chris and Judy would like a letter with them on the envelope.
3. Babar from the books by Jean du Brunhoff - Laura and I read a lot of Babar books and I never see the elephant without smiling.
4. Little Critter from books by Mercer Mayer - Who is cuter than Little Critter?
5. Max and Ruby from the books by Rosemary Wells - Max makes such a mess and Ruby always cleans him up.
6. Arthur from the books by Marc Tolan Brown - I bet the Postal Service could turn a profit on Arthur stamps. Every kid in America would want to write a letter to use this stamp.
7. Carl from the books by Alexandra Day - Who represents the love of pets better than Carl?
8. The sheep from Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw - I laughed so hard when I read this book aloud for the first time.
Who would you like to see on a stamp? There are many worthy candidates.
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Lone Surfer of Montana, Kansas: Stories by Davy Rothbart
If you like short stories about people down on their luck, mostly because they have absolutely no idea of how to cope with life, I have the book for you. You should read The Lone Surfer of Montana, Kansas by Davy Rothbart. I think every story has a connection to prison. The characters are either in or just out of prison or, if they are young, their parents are in prison. They are all adrift. The young men are all hopelessly in love with women who flirted with them but have no long time interests. Many of the central characters are beaten up at some point in the story. Violence is random. No one can hold a job. Rothbart's universe is very bleak.
I did not plan to read this book right after seeing the movies Walk the Line and Capote, but it is a good follow-up. The book is well-written, and I think I will remember the stories for a long time. Filled with strong language, they are not for easily offended readers. The stories could be read as cautionary tales: "Do not live like this."
Rothbart, Davy. The Lone Surfer of Montana, Kansas: Stories. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005. ISBN 0743263057
I did not plan to read this book right after seeing the movies Walk the Line and Capote, but it is a good follow-up. The book is well-written, and I think I will remember the stories for a long time. Filled with strong language, they are not for easily offended readers. The stories could be read as cautionary tales: "Do not live like this."
Rothbart, Davy. The Lone Surfer of Montana, Kansas: Stories. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005. ISBN 0743263057
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
I Feel Like I've Been Cleesed: A Reference Interview Gone Wacky
My strangest reference interview of the afternoon (of the week, of the month) was right out of Monty Python. One of the reasons many people love the old comedy show so much is it shows life through a slightly warped lens, but only slightly warped. There is more truth behind each silly Python situation that some people admit. Yesterday's experience reminds me of interview skits with John Cleese. Cleese invariably turns away from his interviewees to yell at other characters, many of which are imaginary. Michael Palin or Eric Idle sit in shock and bewilderment, uncertain what to do.
Here is what happened with no names or identifying references. A woman called the library to request that we check our shelves for an item. I had trouble understanding her. Her voice was fuzzy and there were loud children's voices in the background. I think she was in a kitchen on a speaker phone. I had to ask her twice the title of the item. Just as I understood, she yelled, "Leave him alone! I told you to leave him alone!" I identified the item in the catalog and told her I was going to check the shelf.
When I got back to the phone, she was gone. Then the phone rang. "We got disconnected," she said. "Nicky! Put that down!"
"I have (library item)," I replied. "Can I put it at the Checkout Desk for you?"
(Loudly) "What did I tell you, young man?" (Less loudly - slightly) "Yes, how do I get to your library?"
"From where are you coming?" (Notice the "from" is not at the end of the sentence. I'm proud of that.)
"(Name of another suburb)," she said. (More loudly) "Now you've done it!" (Slightly less loudly) "Wait a minute!"
At this point she left the phone. I heard what could have been chairs moving across a kitchen floor and bowling balls being dropped. The sound of the woman lecturing a child or children faded in and out. I wondered how long I should wait. Her voice started getting closer. Then I heard her say, "How did you get in there? Come out of there!" Her voice faded away again. A child's voice got closer. Then I heard, "Don't touch that!"
"Hello?" I said, hoping I could be heard, if it was a speaker phone. "Hello-oh!"
"How do I get to your library?" she snapped.
I tried to give her directions. Though they only involved two turns on two major streets, I had to repeat them three times, because she kept speaking to the children while I spoke.
"Wait till your father gets home! Did you say you're on a corner? I'm angry now! You just wait! What corner was that again?"
I described the corner and the library, she scolded the child and asked me our closing time, and, finally, the interview ended. I noticed how quiet it was in the library.
Note that the library user did get what she requested, if she was able follow the directions to the library.
I wish I had it all on tape. It was as good as calling Python for some verbal abuse. I was cleesed!
Seriously, while this is funny, it is also disturbing. The woman needs parenting counselling.
Here is what happened with no names or identifying references. A woman called the library to request that we check our shelves for an item. I had trouble understanding her. Her voice was fuzzy and there were loud children's voices in the background. I think she was in a kitchen on a speaker phone. I had to ask her twice the title of the item. Just as I understood, she yelled, "Leave him alone! I told you to leave him alone!" I identified the item in the catalog and told her I was going to check the shelf.
When I got back to the phone, she was gone. Then the phone rang. "We got disconnected," she said. "Nicky! Put that down!"
"I have (library item)," I replied. "Can I put it at the Checkout Desk for you?"
(Loudly) "What did I tell you, young man?" (Less loudly - slightly) "Yes, how do I get to your library?"
"From where are you coming?" (Notice the "from" is not at the end of the sentence. I'm proud of that.)
"(Name of another suburb)," she said. (More loudly) "Now you've done it!" (Slightly less loudly) "Wait a minute!"
At this point she left the phone. I heard what could have been chairs moving across a kitchen floor and bowling balls being dropped. The sound of the woman lecturing a child or children faded in and out. I wondered how long I should wait. Her voice started getting closer. Then I heard her say, "How did you get in there? Come out of there!" Her voice faded away again. A child's voice got closer. Then I heard, "Don't touch that!"
"Hello?" I said, hoping I could be heard, if it was a speaker phone. "Hello-oh!"
"How do I get to your library?" she snapped.
I tried to give her directions. Though they only involved two turns on two major streets, I had to repeat them three times, because she kept speaking to the children while I spoke.
"Wait till your father gets home! Did you say you're on a corner? I'm angry now! You just wait! What corner was that again?"
I described the corner and the library, she scolded the child and asked me our closing time, and, finally, the interview ended. I noticed how quiet it was in the library.
Note that the library user did get what she requested, if she was able follow the directions to the library.
I wish I had it all on tape. It was as good as calling Python for some verbal abuse. I was cleesed!
Seriously, while this is funny, it is also disturbing. The woman needs parenting counselling.
In the Company of Cheerful Ladies by Alexander McCall Smith
Mma Ramotswe and J.L.B. Matekoni face some pretty big challenges in In the Company of Cheerful Ladies, the sixth book in Alexander McCall Smith's popular No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. A visitor who knows about Ramotswe's past threatens to reveal a mistake she has made, which could harm her reputation and livelihood. To complicate matters, Mma bumps a bicyclist with her beloved minivan. Will her lack of attention while driving lead to a lawsuit? Meanwhile, Matekoni learns that the tenants of his old house are breaking the law, and one of his apprentice mechanics quits the Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors after a dispute over a teapot. As the couple's troubles multiply, even their adopted children begin to believe their happiness will soon end.
Not all of the problems are solved by the end of the book. This has happened before in the series. In these books, as in life, we set aside some of our troubles for another day, a time when we may have inspiration for better solutions. Mma Ramotswe does not rush anything. It is not the Botswanan way. It also links the books in the series.
While reading these books, I find many passages that speak to me. I particularly liked the thoughts on page 163:
"There was no doubt in Mma Ramotswe's mind that Botswana had to get back to the values which had always sustained the country and which had made it by far the best country in Africa. There were many of these values, including respect for age - for the grandmothers who knew so much and had seen so much hardship - and respect for those who were traditionally built. It was all very well being a modern society, but the advent of prosperity and the growth of the towns was a poisoned cup from which one should drink with the greatest caution. One might have all the things which the modern world offered, but what was the use of these if they destroyed all that gave you strength and courage and pride in yourself and your country?"
I think that should speak to all of us.
Alexander McCall Smith is a unique force in current literature. I can not think of anyone who is juggling so many series so well. Are McCall Smith read-a-likes being produced? I have not seen them. I await more of his books.
McCall Smith, Alexander. In the Company of Cheerful Ladies. New York: Pantheon Books, 2004. ISBN 0375422714
Not all of the problems are solved by the end of the book. This has happened before in the series. In these books, as in life, we set aside some of our troubles for another day, a time when we may have inspiration for better solutions. Mma Ramotswe does not rush anything. It is not the Botswanan way. It also links the books in the series.
While reading these books, I find many passages that speak to me. I particularly liked the thoughts on page 163:
"There was no doubt in Mma Ramotswe's mind that Botswana had to get back to the values which had always sustained the country and which had made it by far the best country in Africa. There were many of these values, including respect for age - for the grandmothers who knew so much and had seen so much hardship - and respect for those who were traditionally built. It was all very well being a modern society, but the advent of prosperity and the growth of the towns was a poisoned cup from which one should drink with the greatest caution. One might have all the things which the modern world offered, but what was the use of these if they destroyed all that gave you strength and courage and pride in yourself and your country?"
I think that should speak to all of us.
Alexander McCall Smith is a unique force in current literature. I can not think of anyone who is juggling so many series so well. Are McCall Smith read-a-likes being produced? I have not seen them. I await more of his books.
McCall Smith, Alexander. In the Company of Cheerful Ladies. New York: Pantheon Books, 2004. ISBN 0375422714
Friday, February 03, 2006
Chicago in Maps 1612 to 2002 by Robert A. Holland
Chicago in Maps is the fifth book in a series by Rizzoli. Like Manhattan in Maps and Washington in Maps , it reproduces historical maps held by libraries and archives, such as the Newberry Library and the Chicago Historical Society, and collects them with brief accounts of the history they represent.
Chicago in Maps can be read front to back, as I did, to get a sense of the story of the city. The early maps were drawn by French explorers and missionaries seeking routes through the area to establish trade routes to China. Objectives soon changed to finding routes for the fur trade and commerce with New Orleans. Chicago, with its short but sometimes difficult portage from the Chicago River, which feeds into Lake Michigan, to the Des Plaines River, which flows ultimately into the Mississippi River, was soon identified as a strategic location. The maps that follow show the growth of a small trading post into a large city.
Chicago in Maps will be used more as a reference book than a book to read. The maps in this book show how rail lines entered the city, where the cable cars ran, how far the 1871 fire spread, and how Daniel Burnham wanted to change the city with his 1909 plan. Some of the most interesting maps are ones showing the underground tunnels in the city center, the layout of Graceland Cemetery with its many famous graves and monuments, the grounds of two world's fairs, the vast territory of the Union Stock Yards (can you imagine the smell?), and the distribution of ethnic groups in the neighborhoods.
Bonnie said, and I agree, that it would have been better if pages of this book were larger or folding maps were included, as the maps are sometimes too small to read street names and other details. Still, the book is attractive and useful. I recommend it to all libraries collecting Chicago history.
Holland, Robert A. Chicago in Maps, 1612 to 2002. New York: Rizzoli, 2005. ISBN 0847827437
Chicago in Maps can be read front to back, as I did, to get a sense of the story of the city. The early maps were drawn by French explorers and missionaries seeking routes through the area to establish trade routes to China. Objectives soon changed to finding routes for the fur trade and commerce with New Orleans. Chicago, with its short but sometimes difficult portage from the Chicago River, which feeds into Lake Michigan, to the Des Plaines River, which flows ultimately into the Mississippi River, was soon identified as a strategic location. The maps that follow show the growth of a small trading post into a large city.
Chicago in Maps will be used more as a reference book than a book to read. The maps in this book show how rail lines entered the city, where the cable cars ran, how far the 1871 fire spread, and how Daniel Burnham wanted to change the city with his 1909 plan. Some of the most interesting maps are ones showing the underground tunnels in the city center, the layout of Graceland Cemetery with its many famous graves and monuments, the grounds of two world's fairs, the vast territory of the Union Stock Yards (can you imagine the smell?), and the distribution of ethnic groups in the neighborhoods.
Bonnie said, and I agree, that it would have been better if pages of this book were larger or folding maps were included, as the maps are sometimes too small to read street names and other details. Still, the book is attractive and useful. I recommend it to all libraries collecting Chicago history.
Holland, Robert A. Chicago in Maps, 1612 to 2002. New York: Rizzoli, 2005. ISBN 0847827437
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Email Reference is Up at Thomas Ford
January was a busy month at the Thomas Ford reference desk, as we had our second highest count of reference transactions ever. Most of the count is still people coming to the desk to ask us for help or calling us on the telephone. Our Internet-based reference did well as well.
The trend I see that surprises me is email reference. For years we have been touting that we would answer reference questions by email, but we rarely were asked. Into 2003, it was so rare to get an email question, that I did not even track them as such. That fall I noticed our email was picking up so I started counting.
In 2004 we had 164 email reference question. In 2005 we had 293. In January 2006 our one month total for email was 61 questions!
If you follow conversations in virtual library circles, you often hear that email is dead. That is not what I am seeing. There is a portion of the library public that follows pretty far behind the cutting edge of technology. With them, email is just now coming in to its own.
The questions vary from easy to involved. Some of our clients are asking if we can identify books and reserve them. Some want to know about community events or local history. A few want help with their academic research. Many are asking for obituaries.
At Thomas Ford, we are trying to get the questions any way we can. Our instant message reference is steady, but it could be bigger if we monitored IM more of the time. Our virtual reference count is slipping, but we are about to be absorbed by the new State of Illinois virtual plan; I have no idea whether that will be the kiss of death or revive the service. Whatever, email will hang in there as a part of our plan.
The trend I see that surprises me is email reference. For years we have been touting that we would answer reference questions by email, but we rarely were asked. Into 2003, it was so rare to get an email question, that I did not even track them as such. That fall I noticed our email was picking up so I started counting.
In 2004 we had 164 email reference question. In 2005 we had 293. In January 2006 our one month total for email was 61 questions!
If you follow conversations in virtual library circles, you often hear that email is dead. That is not what I am seeing. There is a portion of the library public that follows pretty far behind the cutting edge of technology. With them, email is just now coming in to its own.
The questions vary from easy to involved. Some of our clients are asking if we can identify books and reserve them. Some want to know about community events or local history. A few want help with their academic research. Many are asking for obituaries.
At Thomas Ford, we are trying to get the questions any way we can. Our instant message reference is steady, but it could be bigger if we monitored IM more of the time. Our virtual reference count is slipping, but we are about to be absorbed by the new State of Illinois virtual plan; I have no idea whether that will be the kiss of death or revive the service. Whatever, email will hang in there as a part of our plan.
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