A Room with a View by E. M. Forster

Several weeks before our trip to Florence and Rome, I was in Anderson's Bookstore in Downers Grove to look at the travel books. Walking past the fiction shelves, I spotted an inexpensive edition of A Room with a View by E. M. Forster. It was light and would take little room in my backpack. I bought it to read in Florence where the story opens and ends.

I read the novel in 2004 and have seen the faithfully adapted film by Ismail Merchant and James Ivory several times, so I knew it would be a quick read. It still took me most of a week as we were busy visiting museums, churches, and historical sites all day and going out to eat at night. In the hotel, I wrote up the daily journal while Bonnie double checked all of the next day's touring. It was late by the time I settled into bed with the book, occasionally giving Bonnie updates, such as "They are looking at the Giottos," "Miss Honeychurch just witnessed the fight by the Loggia," or "The boys are running naked in the woods."

As I read, I saw scenes from the film in my head. Helena Bonham Carter, Maggie Smith, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Simon Callow were the characters. Much was familiar and a pleasure to read again. I was struck on this reading how big a role is played by the Reverend Mr. Beebe. He always seems to be present at key points, providing advice or observations. He is a mixture of sage and buffoon tilted toward the sage end of the scale.

We were in Rome by the time I finished the book, but a piece of Florence had come along. Now Florence can be found on our bookshelves in A Room with a View and the books we brought home from Italy. More about them next week.

Forster, E. M. A Room with a View. Bantam Classic, 2007. ISBN 9780553213232.

Catching Up with Alexander McCall Smith Books

Over the holidays, some people borrowed our television series on DVD to have viewing marathons. Instead of devoting myself night and day to episodes of Dexter, Gilmore Girls, Lost, Mad Men, or Downton Abbey, I borrowed six books or audiobooks written by Scotland's Alexander McCall Smith in December and had my own little read-a-thon.

If you like light serialized fiction and are not familiar with McCall Smith, you should be. He is the prolific author of several series, including No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Sunday Philosophy Club, 44 Scotland Street, Corduroy Mansions, and Portuguese Irregular Verbs series. Each is different. The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency and the Sunday Philosophy Club series can both be classified as cozy mysteries, but they are set in very different places, Botswana and Scotland. 44 Scotland Street and Corduroy Mansions are domestic comedies (similar to sit-coms) that focus on the residents of apartment buildings. The first is set in Edinburgh and the latter in London. Both were first published in daily installments in British newspapers, in much the way the novels of Charles Dickens were released in the 19th century. Portuguese Irregular Verbs is an academic farce featuring a very silly linguistics professor.

I read three No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books and now have only The Handsome Man's De Luxe Cafe to read to catch up with all the stories of Ma Precious Ramotswe. I listened to two 44 Scotland Street audiobooks and know everything that has happened with entertaining cast, including the painter Angus Lordie, the narcissist Bruce Anderson, and the beleaguered six-year-old Bertie Pollack. I also read A Conspiracy of Friends to finish what I think may stop as a trilogy. The last Corduroy Mansions title came out in 2011 and the author seems to have resolved its story lines. Life goes on, however, so McCall Smith could return to these characters in the future. The latest Portuguese Irregular Verbs title appeared about nine years after the original three. No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Sunday Philosophy Club, and 44 Scotland Street come out annually. There are now fifteen books featuring Ma Ramotswe.

I have enjoyed December but am now bringing my McCall Smith marathon to a close. There are so many other books to read.

What W. H. Auden Can Do for You by Alexander McCall Smith

When I picked up What W. H. Auden Can Do for You, my interest was more in its author Alexander McCall Smith than in Auden. I have read many of McCall Smith's mysteries and other books, while my reading of the poetry of Auden has been limited to school assignments. I almost always enjoy whatever McCall Smith writes, and this book was no exception.

That said, I think I should give Auden some time. McCall Smith has told me why he is devoted to the poet, and at my advanced age I may now be mature enough to appreciate the poetry. McCall Smith points out that a reader has to take Auden's verse slowly and reread puzzling bits of it to make any sense of it, but he assures readers that it can be rewarding to those who are seeking meaning in life. McCall Smith portrays Auden as a thinker of great compassion and tolerance who can both challenge and reassure readers.

What W. H. Auden Can Do for You is not literary criticism. Its twelve chapter are essays about what McCall Smith likes about the poet. None are long and should appeal to readers who enjoy or think they should enjoy poetry.

McCall Smith, Alexander. What W. H. Auden Can Do for You. Princeton University Press, 2013. 137p. ISBN 9780691144733.

The End of Your Life Book Club by William Schwalbe

As they sat in waiting rooms, early for medical appointments, William Schwabe and his mother Mary Anne Schwalbe more often than not found themselves discussing books. His mother, a former school teacher and once head of admissions to Harvard University, had raised William with books, and he had become an editor with a major book publisher. He sometimes got advance review copies for his mother, who had been diagnosed to have pancreatic cancer. At some point they realized that thanks to the many medical appointments, they had formed a small book club, thus the title of William's book, The End of Your Life Book Club.

The list of books that the mother and son club read is quite inspiring for someone with a like mind to read. According to Listopia in GoodReads, there are 107 titles at least mentioned. Some of these are used as chapter title's in William's book. There are fiction classics, literary novels, history, memoirs, and spiritual meditations. In view of Mary Ann's condition and religious faith, books like The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion and Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott are to be expected. A few, however, are titles that I would never consider reading with my mom, including Continental Drift by Russell Banks and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson.

As you read, you realize that Mary Anne was a most impressive humanitarian. After retiring from school administration, she devoted her life to refugees, spending years in places like Bosnia, Darfur, and Afghanistan. Her passion was aid, protection, and civil rights for women and children.

Besides the book discussions, what I love about The End of Your Life Book Club is William's recounting a very warm and respectful family relationship. So many families in recent memoirs are dysfunctional. Mother and son disagree about religion, but they allow each his or her own opinion. I also like that William did not initiate the memoir on day one of his mother's diagnosis. He tells an honest every day story, not one set up in advance for the sake of writing a book. He says that he only had the idea for this book after many of the events had passed.

I think I have much to learn from The End of Your Life Book Club. I intend to read it again.

Schwalbe, William. The End of Your Life Book Club. Alfred A. Knopf, 2012. 336 p. ISBN 9780307594037.

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by William Joyce

Bonnie brought home another great children's book. She does that a lot.

Everyone has a story. Because he loved books, Morris Lessmore wrote his story into his book every day. He was very content doing just this, but then a storm destroyed his home and scattered his library. Even the words from his book blew away. It was a blessing in disguise. In The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by William Joyce, Morris then sees the lady with the flying books. She loans him one that takes him to a home for flying books.

As you may guess, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is a book that children, parents, and librarians will love. Illustrated by Joyce with Joe Bluhm, it is beautiful, sweet, and right in line with everything that I believe. I hope that I can live my life so gracefully as Morris, i.e. be a little more understanding when all the books get out of order.

Read the author bio on the jacket to learn more about the origin and meaning of this fantastic book.

A short film inspired by Morris's story won an Academy Award. Take 15 minutes to watch. Enjoy.

Joyce, William. The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2012. ISBN 9781442457027.

Wish Lists for Reading

Yesterday, our consortium of libraries rolled out a new look for our shared library catalog, and it is a great improvement. Along with the sprucing up, SWAN added some new features. My favorite is My Wish Lists. Since I was reading book reviews when I learned of the upgrade coming online, I started a list that I call Histories and Biographies to Read. I filled it with books that will come out in the next couple of months. The list looks like this when printed:

What I like is that there is a handy link for each title to place a request. I could have gone ahead and requested the books yesterday, but several of them might suddenly arrived at the same time. I already have a stack of books and I am working on some projects, so I will save borrowing the books for later when the brand-new-books demand for them has faded. I might then request them and get them right away. I might even see copies on the shelf at my library and not have to use the request service. They should be just as good in six months or a year or even five as they are the day they are published.

I manage my audiobook downloads in a similar way. Media on Demand, which is my library's Overdrive download service, has a single wish list into which I add titles to download later. With six to ten titles in the wish list, there is a good chance one will be available when I desire another audiobook on my iPod. I can see from the wish list which titles are ready for checkout. Just a couple of clicks and it is mine (for two weeks).

How do you keep track of the books you want to read? I think more people are keeping lists and making requests now. I hardly ever see people browsing the stacks, and the reserve shelves behind the checkout desk are always full. I'd enjoy knowing what you are seeing.

My Reading Resolutions 2011

At the Thomas Ford Memorial Library, we have started a blog Western Springs Reads to reflect what our clients are reading. We have preloaded it with book reviews written by last year's summer reading participants and are now adding client and staff reading resolutions for 2011. We put a just-for-fun poll on tables around the library and online to see what our clients plan to read in the new year. As they tell us, we will add the information to the blog.

This made me think about my own plans. In the past, I have made some ambitious reading resolutions that have fallen to the wayside. About a decade ago I had the idea of devoting a year to the literature of one nation and then another nation the next year. Eventually, I'd get around the globe. I started with the U.S. and read twenty of so great American authors, such as Irving, Cooper, Twain, Hemingway, Steinbeck, etc., that year. At the end of the year, it did not seem one year was enough as there were still so many American authors, so I chose the U.S. for a second year. Then I spent a year concentrating on English authors, such as Austen, Dickens, Trollope, etc. Then I was diverted and am only now thinking again of world literature merry-go-round.

Because I noticed many biographies about French authors while I was writing my biography readers' advisory book, I am going to put a slate of French novels and essays into my plan for 2011. I know that I will want titles by Rousseau, Voltaire, Sand, Flaubert, and Camus.

I know I want to start Paradise Lost by John Milton. I don't yet know whether I will finish it.

I also know that I will be reviewing popular science books for Booklist. I may be getting 18 or 20 advanced copies, which will be mostly natural history and animal stories if the past year is a clue for this year. Enjoying these books, I will probably read other natural history titles just for fun.

Of course, I plan to read several dozen biographies and memoirs, as well as histories and other books that appeal to me. It should be a good year.

Do you have a reading resolution?

50th Anniversary of First Grade and Reading

Today is the fiftieth anniversary of my starting first grade at the Reagan County Elementary School in Big Lake, Texas. Having been to kindergarten (it was not required at the time), I knew my alphabet but I was not really reading yet. I was soon. So I am going to declare this as the 50th anniversary of my learning to read, a skill and pleasure that I appreciate more and more as I age.

I remember the excitement of that first day. One of the first formalities was getting desk assignments. For first graders, our school had two student desks with shelves dividing the space under the desk. If my memory is true, I shared a desk first with Caron Johnson. We were given jumbo size crayons, big pencils, and paper with lines to help us learn to write our letters. I remember also that my cousin Hub was added to the class later in the day. Pete, Mike, and I probably walked home together after school, as we would many days. It was only four short blocks (two east and two south) and hard to get lost in Big Lake.

I wish there were some pictures of that first day. Of course, there were no digital cameras then and my immediate family did not even owned a Brownie Instamatic at the time. I bet many families had no cameras back then, which made school pictures truly valuable. I wish that I knew where my first grade class picture was. My sister found my 3rd grade class picture* among some of her things a few years back. Many of these same students were in both classes. So imagine them two years younger.

I remember we were soon assigned into reading groups and started reading the famous Dick and Jane books. "See Dick. See Jane. See Spot. See Spot run." I liked the books a lot. They were really easy to read. Actually, everything was easy. We wrote our letters, started addition and subtraction, and drew many pictures. The only thing hard for me was staying still during nap time. I always hated lying on a mat on the floor with my eyes closed when there was so much more I could be doing. I would appreciate a daily nap now.

I'm not sure whether my classmates will appreciate me pointing out that it has been so long since we started school, but I wish to celebrate. Thanks to the Reagan County Library which verified the date in the Big Lake Wildcat.

*I think it is third grade because I think the teacher is Mrs. Wade and the kids in back look so old, but then again the kids in front look so young. Maybe that is Mrs. Nun and we are first graders.

By the way, when I showed this picture to a few people at work, no one could pick me out. No beard and my hair is now darker. I am in the front row, second from the right, between Olivia and Carrie, in a cowboy shirt that my mom made. I don't remember the girl second from the left in the front row, but I can name everyone else.

Bookshares Making Books Accessible

After the furor over the Kindle 2 having text-to-voice conversion built in, you might have thought that the visually-impaired had no other access to print books and newspapers. The Kindle 2 did simplify the access and widen the offering for people unable to read traditional books, but there are other sources of reading materials. One is Bookshare, a project supported by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Program. Bookshare provides assistive technology and texts to physically, visually, and learning disabled people. Clients get devices that turn text files into either voice or braille.

A good explanation of how Bookshares works is found at http://www.bookshare.org/about/howBookshareWorks.

The cooperation of publishers makes some titles readily available for the project, while an exception to copyright law makes all titles legal for inclusion. Volunteers buy books, scan them, proof them, and assist distribution. There are many opportunities to help explained on the Bookshares website.

Why People Read

Cindy Orr at RA Online has a great post Why People Read. She searched the Internet and found dozens of great statements. It seems like they should be used and spread around.

A History of Reading by Alberto Manguel

If it were not for the desire to read other books, I might never have finished A History of Reading by Alberto Manguel. As it was, I read a little at a time over about five weeks. I had to renew the book once. I could have renewed it again, as no one is waiting for it. The title is sort of drab and not promising of thrills, but once I got into the book, I thoroughly enjoyed all the arcane details about people, places, and eras that I know so little about.

For instance, on page 55, I read that Petrarch carried a pocket-sized edition of the Confessions of St. Augustine wherever he went. Petrarch lived in the 13th century and predated Gutenberg. I was surprised to learn there were pocket-editions of books even then.

On page 226, Manguel tells us about women of 1st century Greece who spent their time reading romance novels. Greek men thought that would keep them servile and out of mischief. Little did the men know that the women found ways to broaden their learning and gender communications through the supposedly safe literature. You can't keep readers down.

"The Silent Readers" is a particularly interesting chapter. In ancient times, reading was expected to be aloud. Reading quietly was thought of as sinister and diabolical. Only someone with evil purposes would not share with others their interaction with text.

Perhaps Manguel should have called the book A History of Readers as every chapter tells about individual persons and their experiences reading. Some are names that you will recognize, such as Franz Kafka, Colette, Gutenberg, or Charles II, King of England. In some ways, the book is autobiographical, as we learn about Manguel's education, work, and travels. In some other ways, it is about all of us and our habits of reading.

A History of Reading, with its nice type and many illustrations, is definitely a book for serious book lovers. Are you one? There are lots of copies on library shelves just waiting for you.

Thanks to Christine Pawley for recommending A History of Reading in her article on Readers' Advisor News.

Manguel, Alberto. A History of Reading. Viking, 1996. ISBN 0670843024

On My Reading Database and Four Years of ricklibrarian

It was four years ago today that I posted my first book review on ricklibrarian, a brief introduction and a paragraph about Hannah Coulter: A Novel by Wendell Berry, still one of my favorite books. Not sure whether I could sustain a blog, I put in a lot of early effort and posted for forty-something days in a row. I did keep it going, though not at that pace, and it is still here. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing.

On this fourth anniversary, my thought are traveling back twenty years to another anniversary. In February 1989 I left my job as a reference librarian at the Suburban Library System's Reference Service to be a stay-at-home dad. Between taking photos of my daughter Laura and changing her diapers, mostly when she was napping, I found time to read. We soon got our first home computer so I could work from home as subcontractor to an information broker. Using an acoustic coupler and a phone, I dialed up Dialog, BRS, VuText, DataTimes, and Lexis databases for business information. I also used WordPerfect on the computer to start a reading list.

That reading list later became a database, and I now have the titles of everythingthat I have read for nearly twenty years. Yesterday, I entered all the titles from 2008 and 2009. They had been in the reading notebook that I got as a summer reading prize from the Downers Grove Public Library in 1995. Being caught up, I decided to sort the title and see what I might learn.

I first sorted by year and found that I did not really read much in 1989. From the date I began the list (not remembered) until the end of the year, I finished 19 books. Most were light fiction or baseball books, including Summer of '49 by David Halberstam and The Best Short Stories of Ring Lardner. I also read some funny books, including PreHistory of The Far Side by Gary Larson and The Minnesota Book of Days by Howard Mohr, the latter famous for saying "You bet!" and "Whatever" on the Prairie Home Companion. I also read with interest Microcomputers and the Reference Librarian by the late Patrick Dewey, an pioneering SLS librarian who helped many of us begin to use computers.

Next I sorted by author. I was surprised to find that I have read much more fiction than I would have claimed, most of it classics, mysteries, Southern writers, or Third World authors. In addition to Charles Dickens and George Eliot, there are mysteries by Margery Allingham, Charlotte MacLeod, Ellis Peters, and Alexander McCall Smith (often reading them right after Bonnie). The long list of P.G. Wodehouse titles shows that I have dipped into the silly world of Bertie and Jeeves quite often. In a more serious vein, I have tried many books by Doris Lessing, Muriel Spark, William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, and Wendell Berry. I have also read five books by Kenyan author Ngugi wa Thiong'o, as well as several Latin American authors.

I found that I have read twice as many memoirs as biographies. I was a little disturbed to learn that I read The Life and Times of the Last Kid Picked by David Benjamin twice, in 2002 and 2007. How could I have not remembered that book five years later? Maybe it is a data error. I recently thought it might be interesting to read Days of Grace: A Memoir by Arthur Ashe. Oops! I already did back in 1993. Maybe I will again.

My memory is not totally shot. In fact, reading over the lists, I have many visions of where I was when reading the books. I remember reading The Moviegoer by Walker Percy outside a tent in a camp in the Serengeti in Tanzania, The Coalwood Way by Homer Hickam outside a cabin in the Badlands in South Dakota, and Sibley's Birding Basics by David Allen Sibley in the LITA Forum hotel in Houston. I also remember friends and family recommending titles. Among many titles, Bonnie gave me The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith. Joyce Saricks gave me The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. My blogging friends (listed to the right on this page) have recommended many others. Even that little girl in the picture above is now suggesting titles to me. These are lots of good memories.

The reading notebook, the database, and this blog all help me remember the titles of the many books that I have read. They also help me share. That's what this is all about.

The Big Read from Compact Disc to iPod

A couple of weeks ago a plain brown rectangular box landed on my desk when I was not looking. When I noticed it, I wondered what it could be, as it was too narrow for books. Upon opening it, I found fourteen compact discs from the National Endowment for the Arts, one for each book in its The Big Read book discussion program. A questionnaire asking what uses our library would make of the came with the CDs, suggesting that we try to find innovative ways to incorporate them into our collections and programs.

My idea is to load them onto patron iPods. I'm not sure if there will be a big demand, but we might as well add them onto our iPod book collection. I checked with the NEA by email and the organization has no objections. I was told we have full broadcast rights. I guess that we could turn them into podcasts, too.

Being curious, I listened to three programs, each lasting about one half hour. I particularly enjoyed An Introduction to To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, which includes readings by Anne Twomey and comments by author Elizabeth Spencer, justice Sandra Day O'Connor, actor Robert Duvall (who played Boo Radley in the movie), playwright Horton Foote (who adapted the novel for the film), and others. Dana Gioia of the NEA narrated. In the background at points is music from the film. O'Connor tells how small town life in rural Arizona was just like that in rural Alabama. Spencer, Duvall, and Foote had lots of interesting things to say about the characters and setting. After listening, I wanted to read the book again immediately.

The CDs about The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers and The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck were also interesting. The later even has bonus tracks, including a segment from an interview of Steinbeck by Eleanor Roosevelt.

I do not know if all public libraries got these. I may have replied to an offer. I do not remember, a sign of my age I suppose. Whatever, I'm glad we have them.

On the Joy of Reading Mail and Email, with Notes on Elephants

This morning, as I rode our stationary bike, I read an essay "Mail" by Anne Fadiman from her collection of familiar essays called At Large and At Small. According to Fadiman, familiar essays stake a position midway between critical essays and personal essays, taking elements of both and mixing them. Through history such essays have often had titles starting with the word "On." They might be serious, as "On Going to War with Thoughts of Peace" or "On the Passing of an Old Friend." They might be light, as "On Shopping for Silk Ties" or "On the Sinking of a Toy Boat." (Those were not real titles, so do not expect them in Fadiman's book.)

In the essay "Mail" Fadiman tells us about her father who eagerly anticipated receiving an extra large delivery of mail everyday by watching for the mail carrier to lift the flag on his jumbo mailbox. He had a large desk heavier than a refrigerator on which he would sort and answer the letters that brought surprises to his routine of reading and writing. From there Fadiman tells about the history of the British postal service. Before the reform of 1939, the recipient (not the sender) paid for the mail. Her hero Charles Lamb (who wrote familiar essays) was fortunate to work at a firm that would pay his postal fees, for it could drive you toward bankruptcy to receive lots of mail. The reform with its simplifying of fees was an important move for the development of the economy and culture of Great Britain. Fadimon turns then to her own joyous story of mail and email to complete the essay. Being sentimental, she has the stamp dispenser and the copper waste basket that her father used at his desk.

After reading the essay, still riding the bike, I picked up the newsletter from the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, which Bonnie receives via email as a foster parent of an orphan elephant in Kenya. I immediately realized that I was experiencing a joy of correspondence much like Fadiman. Bonnie and I look forward to the elephant news every month. The January newsletter is particularly interesting. Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick assures us that the political troubles in Kenya have not reached the elephant sanctuaries. Fewer visitors have come, but those who do have ready access to the orphans. Sheldrick tells us that an eye specialist came to examine the blind orphan rhino Maxwell and diagnosed that an operation would not restore his sight. The keepers are making a special enclosure for Maxwell for his health and safety. To help him still feel part of the community, they are bringing in dung from other rhinos. Isn’t that sweet! The newsletter also tells about a walk in the bush with young elephants and their guardians. When a leg from a warthog fell from a tree, they realized that they were right under a leopard and his dinner. They beat a hasty retreat. We never have stories like that in our library newsletter!

With her newsletter, Bonnie also gets excerpts from a keeper's diary to let her know how her orphan Zurura is doing. Lately he seems to be a regular cut-up, a bit of a show-off. He has also been taking lots of mud and dust baths. There were lots of great photos with the report but none of Zurura this time. She is hoping to see him in action if Animal Planet will ever show the second season of Elephant Diaries.

You may also get this entertaining email by adopting an elephant at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust website. It will add nicely to your letters from family, friends, and lovers.

A Life of One's Own: A Guide to Original Living Through the Work and Wisdom of Virginia Woolf by Ilana Simons

I was a bit apprehensive when I started reading A Life of One's Own by Ilana Simons. The subtitle suggests the book is a self-help guide using Virginia Woolf and her work as a model. Would advice drawn from a writer who ended her life by walking into a river with stones in her pockets be useful? Simons acknowledges this perspective from the first, and for me, the question went away. Besides, advice from a writer who really suffered may be more useful than advice from a team of well-balanced mental health professionals who only witness suffering.

Now that I have read A Life of One's Own, I think it is not really so much a self-help guide for living as an aid for enjoying literature and using reading to find meaning and satisfaction in life. The side benefit is that the reader learns more about Virginia Woolf.

Virginia Woolf may have been bipolar. She tried to commit suicide as a young woman, right after several members of her family died in a short period. She often fought depression and had to maintain a fairly regular routine to function well. In view of her problems, she actually did quite well for a long time. She wrote a lot of very perceptive books and essays, some that are now considered classics. When she committed suicide in May 1940, her London home had been bombed and it seemed probable that the German military would soon invade Great Britain. Perhaps her despair can be forgiven.

Simons uses situations from Woolf's fiction and life as described in her diaries to discuss finding satisfaction in day to day living. Finding a balance between solitude and companionship is key, as is learning how to nurture relationships. When Woolf lived, the nature of some of those relationships was considered scandalous. Today they would hardly be noticed.

I particularly liked advice on why and how to read near the end of the book. A Life of One's Own is a good selection for public libraries.

Simons, Ilana. A Life of One's Own:A Guide to Original Living Through the Work and Wisdom of Virginia Woolf. Penguin Books, 2007. ISBN 9780143112259

Harry Potter Goes to Camp

Three Reading Harry Potter
Originally uploaded by ricklibrarian.

Ever heard of synchronized reading?

Laura and her friends spent the first two days at camp reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Each had a copy of the book. As each finished a chapter, she waited for the other two to finish so they could discuss what had happened in the story. Of course, there was a lot of whispering from the back of the van where they started the book as we drove from Illinois through Indiana to Saugatuck, Michigan. Then the whispering was from the porch of our cabin or from the girls' bedroom. They did not want to spoil the story for those of us waiting our turns for the book.

It was a Harry Potter camp. There were three copies of the new book in our cabin, and the Karstens also had three copies. Various counts had between 14 and 18 copies among the 80 people at camp. Everywhere you looked, someone had a copy.

We are back from camp now and everyone in the family has had a turn. I finished Monday night after we got back. I do not want to spoil the story for anyone, so I'll just say that people who enjoyed the first six will enjoy the new book, too.

He Reads ... She Reads: The Booklist Adult Books Readers Advisory Forum

On Sunday at the American Library Association, I spent the entire day attending readers' advisory programs. I capped the day with He Reads ... She Reads: The Booklist Adult Books Readers' Advisory Forum, a sort of Point Counterpoint formatted discussion between David Wright of Seattle Public Library and Katie Mediatore of Kansas City Public Library, Missouri.

David went first. Through a series of humorous slides, he let the audience know that the readers that concerned him where not "men" but "guys." Serious reading men may not differ so much from women in their reading, but guys have their own desires. Here is what studies show about guys:

• Men read less than women.
• Men value reading less than women.
• Men read less fiction/literature.
• Men read more factual material.
• Men read more newspapers and magazines.
• Men read more science fiction.
• Men are not interested in the lives of women.
• Men who read have narrower tastes.
• Men are more likely to read everything in a series.
• Men do not want to talk about the books they read.

When Katie talked about women, the points were mostly the reverse of the list above. She did also say:

• Women do not care whether a man or woman wrote a book, while men often only consider books written by other men.
• Women will stick with a book longer before deciding not to finish a book.
• Women are more likely to join book clubs.
• Women consider romance novels like chocolates or massage - they are treats to read.

Throughout the program, both speakers used fake book jackets for laughs. (There must be a pulp fiction book jacket generator on the web, but I have not found it yet.) These were funny and sometimes almost crude, but they really supported the discussion. David also kept the crowd jumping with pulp fiction giveaways. About half the audience left with a paperback book.

One of the genres that got a lot of discussion was westerns. Though many libraries do not even collect them any more, David said they are very popular with guys. Seattle loans tons of them. He said it was important to keep up with the new series and to buy all the titles, as those guys who want to read them want to read them all.

Katie said that many women really like bloody suspense titles. She recommended the books of T. Greenwood for women.

David said that pulp fiction that comes in series can be treated as periodicals. Subscribe to the series. Get lots of copies. Do not bother cataloguing them.

In the questions period at the end, Katie said that if you are serious about readers' advisory, you approach clients to offer your service. You can not lay back and wait for someone to ask. You also have to use displays, book marks, and other marketing ploys continuously.

Another long discussion arose from the audience about librarians' spouses who bought books instead of checking them out from libraries, especially in regard to pulp fiction. Some of these spouses, especially the guys, want to own all the books in a series so they will have something they like to read over and over. Others fear overdues. Many of the librarians in attendance said they had spouses and friends who would not use the library because they hate having to have books back at a specific time.

Welcome, Overnight Visitors

One of my early morning routines is to check on this blog at Sitemeter. I am alerted if anything has gone wrong or right in the night. Also, I can see in a general sense who has been reading the posts while I slept. What I particularly like about the early morning list is its international flavor. This morning's list has a really good mix of visitors from around the globe.

Here are a few overnight highlights:

Someone in Bulgaria read my review of A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah.

Someone in the Philippines read about the Thomas Ford library staff tour of the Marion E. Wade Center, a special library focusing on C. S. Lewis and his friends.

Someone in Switzerland read my review of A Country Year by Sue Hubbell.

Someone in New Zealand read my review of An Ordinary Man by Paul Rusesabagina.

Someone in Australia read my review of the 6th edition of Genreflecting by Diana Tixier Herald.

Someone in Belarus read about the new Saturday edition of the Chicago Tribune Books Section.

Someone in Hong Kong read my review of The Good Women of China by Xinran.

Someone in Turkey came to the blog's main page.

Americans are often criticized for being ignorant of the rest of the world. We sometimes fear people from other countries who we assume have different beliefs and values and want to keep them away from us. We really do not know what interests them. What I think my overnight visitors show is that we have much in common. We are all reading.

It is time to look beyond our nationalities and consider ourselves citizens of the world. It is easy when we go out via the Internet. It is also time to share some more good books. Everyone is invited to read.

On Tea and Books

I keep reading about tea. In A Country Year by Sue Hubbell, she serves tea when a friend visits her farm in the Missouri Ozarks; she probably uses some of her own honey to sweeten it. Greg Mortensen, author of Three Cups of Tea, drinks tea with practically every person he meets in Pakistan; it is a common courtesy. I am now reading The Good Husband of Zebra Drive by Alexander McCall Smith; whenever a client comes to the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Mma Ramotswe serves tea.

I was visited by a salesman yesterday. I chose a table in the public area for us to sit, as I do not have a private office and the board room was in use. He needed a surface for laying out his documents and nothing was confidential, so it did not seem a bad place to meet. Halfway through the conversation, I suddenly thought that if we were in Pakistan or Botswana, we would be drinking tea. I felt ungracious as we sat there in stiff chairs.

I resolve to change the way I meet with my appointments.

• I will offer tea, coffee, or cocoa. We have a machine that makes beverages in an instant.
• I will chat before getting down to business.
• I will select a less public spot for meeting if possible. I will clear off my desk in the workroom if necessary.
• I will try to meet international standards of courtesy.

As several of the authors in The Book That Changed My Life say, every book changes me. I am sometimes slow to comprehend.

How Readers Are Finding Their Books Survey Results

It has been over a week since I posted my poll using Zoho Creator. To date twenty-six responses are in, including two of my own to see if the form worked. Here are the results, showing how select readers are finding the books they read:

I read a review - 11
A friend recommended the book - 3
A librarian recommended the book - 2
I was given the book - 0
I was assigned the book - 1
I found it on a library shelf or display - 7
I found the book at a bookstore - 1
I found the book online - 0

One person made creative use of the title field to tell me they learned of the book by seeing its author on television.

I only added the "librarian recommended" choice after a comment from a reader who had chosen "friend recommended" because there was not a closer choice. He said he did consider the librarian a friend, so it was okay. The upshot is that the counts are fuzzy.

Reading interests of the respondents are diverse. Fourteen of the books are nonfiction and twelve are fiction. Three of the books are not held by libraries in the Metropolitan Library System (Chicago area). One is in German. One was published in Australia.

Click here to see the Zoho table where the responses reside. Included are the titles that readers entered. You can also search or filter the table, which is pretty cool.

The form still resides on my previous post if you wants to respond and then see the table change.

Thanks, everyone.