Second hand books are wild books, homeless books; they have come together in vast flocks of variegated feather, and have a charm which the domesticated volumes of the library lack.
- Virginia Woolf
This week’s Weekly Geek task to post a quote-a-day based on a singular theme. Well, this one is pretty easy. My theme of the week is libraries.
“I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library.“ Jorge Luis Borges
Daily Raffles:
Monday–Books and Chocolate sponsored by My Friend Amy and Hey Lady! Whatcha’ Readin?
Tuesday–Books and Going Green sponsored by My Friend Amy
Wednesday–Books and Coffee sponsored by My Friend Amy
Thursday–Books and Charity sponsored by My Friend Amy and Fashionista Piranha
Friday–Books and Movies sponsored by My Friend Amy
Win a Book Club Girl Hostess Survival Kit!
One lucky winner of the kit will receive:
* A basket of cheese, crackers, cookies and wine for up to 12 people
* 5 great book group books to vote on for your group’s next pick. And Book Club Girl will then donate 12 copies whichever book is chosen for your entire group to read.
* 12 Book Club Girl mousepads to give out as party favors that night
* 12 Book Club Girl bookmarks to mark everyone’s favorite passages
* 12 Book Club Girl coasters to protect your coffee table from all those wine glasses!
TWO SORMAG Goody Bags containing books and more!
A Special Pamper Me Basket from Cafe of Dreams!
From Avon Foot Works
~ Inflatable watermelon shaped foot tub
~ 3.4 FL oz Watermelon Cooling Foot Lotion
~ 3.4 FL oz Watermelon Exfoliating Foot Scrub
~ 12 count Watermelon Effervescent Foot Tablets
~ An ARC of So Long At The Fair by Christina Schwarz
~ A variety of Hot Chocolate and Tea mixes
A pre-made blog template from SNSDesign!
A Subscription to Poetry Magazine from Savvy Verse and Wit!
Many other blogs are giving away books and prizes for BBAW as well! You can see the links to all of these giveaways here.
Quiet Please, Dispatches of a Public librarian by Scott Douglas is one man’s observation on the library world, set in the Anaheim Public Library System. Prior to this book, Douglas wrote essays for the website McSweeney’s. He was then encouraged to compile his essays into a book. The product is Quiet Please. As a librarian, I found myself laughing at, agreeing with, and sympathizing with Douglas’s tales of library patrons in a small-town library. Douglas narrows his stories to four types of library users: homeless people, crazy people, angry teenagers and the elderly. From my experience, this is the general make-up of most public libraries. His observations are keen, and despite his depictions of co-workers or library patrons negatively in the chapter, he finds some way to sum up the values of librarianship at the end of each chapter. I’ve only been a librarian for a few months, but in those 2 months, I’ve learned that, despite popular belief, being a librarian is not just about reading books. It is about knowing your library community and how to best serve them. It is about designing computer classes for those who have never used a computer. It is about providing bilingual storytime so that the parents can improve their English-speaking skills along with their children. I work in a rather progressive library system. Most metropolitan libraries are leaning towards keeping books as backdrop items, but keeping the main focus on the library patrons and creating programming and events to best fit their needs. Most small-town libraries still place books over other activities.
In Douglas’ book, he talks about the changes that took place in the library when computers and the internet were first introduced. The reception was lukewarm. The teens took to the computers right away, while staff and the elderly steered away from the new technology. Douglas brought up the good point that while serving one section of the community, another section was being neglected and soon becoming obsolete.
This is a book that everyone can read and enjoy. Throughout each chapter, Douglas breaks up his stories with “commercial breaks” to discuss library history and trivia. His writing is sharp and somewhat cynical. His observations are keen and his descriptions of library patrons and events are hilarious. Library employees will appreciate having their story told, while general readers will enjoy getting a sneak peak at the real nitty-gritty world of the public library.
You can also keep track of Scott’s observations and witty rapport on his blog, Speak Quietly.
Other reviews of this book:
Letters on Pages wrote a great review of this book, along with an author interview.
FINAL GRADE: A+
***********************
Quiet Please, Dispatches of a Public Librarian by Scott Douglas Da Capo Press, 2008 ISBN 0786720913 320 pagesFind this book at your local library
Posted in Books, Libraries, life, Nonfiction
Tagged Book review, Quiet Please Dispatches of a Public Librarian, Scott Douglas
I think its safer to review both volumes of this awesome graphic novel in one post rather than make an individual update for each. Of the two, I enjoyed volume 2 a lot more, but I think my appreciation of volume 1 was tainted by the horrible movie rendition I saw about 6 years ago.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen vol 1 by Alan Moore. Illustrations by Kevin O’Neil.
This graphic novel pays an homage to the classic novels of yesteryear. Each character in this novel is a profound and famous literary character from 19th century literature. Captain Nemo from 10,000 Leagues Under the Sea, D. Jekyll his monstrous alter ego Mr. Hyde, Hawley Griffin (the Invisible Man), Alan Quartermain the daring adventurer of King Solomon’s Mines and the group leader, Miss Mina Murray (formerly Harker, from Bram Stoker’s Dracula) are recruited by the mysterious head of the secret Service known as M via Campion Bond. The setting is 1998, and volume really just sets the foundation for the characters. The volume begins with Minna searching for Alan Quatermain in Cairo, nearly dying from an opium addiction. As the story progress, Minna and Alan come across their band of unlikely heroes as they must fight against another 19th century villian intent on bombing the East Side of London.
As the foundation story, there is more time spent on the characters personalities than plot. Each character is unique, and I’m sure a very accurate representation of the original 19th century figure of the classical works. The writing is descriptive, yet terse. As a graphic novel, the visuals are gripping. There are lots of dark tones reflecting the dark passages of the story. What I love about graphic novels is that often a single image says much more than any prose could accomplish.
FINAL GRADE: A-
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen vol 2 by Alan Moore. Illustrations by Kevin O’Neil.
In volume 2, we yet again meet our team of misfits in a storyline that is in tribute to HG Wells. I am thankful I’ve read 2 HG Wells novels this year, because both The Island of Dr. Moreau as well as War of the Worlds heavily influence this collection. We start with pods dropping from the sky in London, and soon incinerating everything that comes near. Soon, our group is set on a mission to defeat these monstrous aliens from Mars.
This book has a lot more action, and since I had read both the major works of literature referenced throughout the graphic novel, it was more enjoyable since I was able to laugh at the inside-jokes that Moore creates. The story here seemed more focused than the first volume. The group is already established, and relationships are beginning to form as the characters are starting to let their guards down and become friends. Like volume 1, Kevin O’Neil’s illustrations capture more emotion and reflect the essence of the story in a remarkable way. There are segments of both volumes were the writing is in a foreign language and the reader needs to look at the visuals to understand the plot. Although some may skim over these pages (they are mostly in the beginning of both volumes) I think it is an incredible tool for any author to use. You are in a different part of the world, and therefore, English is not spoken by those who live there. The characters are witty, sensitive and full of surprises. If you love 19th century literature, then these two graphic novels are perfect for your reading tastes.
FINAL GRADE: A+
Find Volume 1 at your local library
Buy Volume 1 with Better World Books
*******************************************
Find Volume 2 at your local library
Posted in Adult Fiction, Books
Tagged Alan Moore, Book review, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
What a difference 5 days make in the blog world. A handful of giveaways, nominations announced for the Book Blogger Appreciation Week, as well as a number of weekly memes that I missed out on.
In regards to giveaways:
Natasha at Maw Books is staying true to her Most Altruistic nomination with a very charitable and worthy cause: Reading Blogging for Darfur.
Everything that Natasha reads and blogs in September will raise money for the people of Darfur. First, what she’s doing:
Here’s what YOU can do:
The Literate Housewife is hosting a contest just for readers that Do Not have their own book blog. All you need to do is a 200 word document on “Why I read book blogs.” Send your answer to Jennifer (at) literatehousewife (at) gmail (dot) com by the end of the day Saturday, September 13th. Author Joshua Henkin will choose three winners from the 10 best answers.
Bookroom Reviews is also hosting a contest. The Rules according to Bookroom Reviews:
All you have to do is go and visit some of the book blogs below that are new to you and leave them a comment. I will draw three winners and each winner will get a brand new book! Here are the books you can win.
Visit and comment on FIVE Book Blogs that you have Never Visited Before for ONE Entry
Visit and comment on TEN Book Blogs that you have Never Visited before for TWO Entries
Visit and comment on TWENTY Book Blogs that you have Never Visited before for THREE Entries
After you have done so come back here and leave me a comment to be entered. You can tell me which book you would like to win and I will TRY to match them up. I will give you a week to do so and draw THREE winners on Wednesday September 17. You don’t have to have a blog or be on the list of blogs to join in the fun. If you are not on the list and are a book blogger please let me know and I will add you to the list! Have fun!
*please visit the Bookroom Reviews website for the complete list of blogs (mine own included!)
I’m back and will have a number of reviews posted throughout this week. I just wanted to take a quick time-out and congratulate a few of my favorite blogs for making it onto the Book Blogger Appreciate Week nominations list! Congratulations you guys!!!
Devourer of Books for Best General Blog/ Most Altruistic Blog
The Bluestocking Society for best Literary Fiction Blog
Letters on Pages for best Non-fiction Blog
The Hidden Side of a Leaf for best Community Builder/ Best Challenge Host/ Best Meme/Carnival/Event
Medieval Bookworm for Best History/Historical Fiction Blog
You can see the full list and vote for your favorites here:
Not being much of a girly-girl let me just throw a variety of clothes into my travel bag for my long trip this weekend. What did I spend the most time packing? My books. I will be on two ten hour flights, quite bored. I spent all night going over my TBR bookshelf to pick out some of the thinner but still more interesting books. I’m hoping this set of books will be enough for the flight over and the flight back to California. Curiously though, 3 of the 5 I borrowed from a friend, so I’m really not making that much of a dent into my TBR bookshelf, considering I recently acquired a few new books that are in need of shelf space right now. The cycle just never ends…
My final list is:
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, vol 1 & 2
Strangers in Paradise vol 2
The Swap by Antony Moore
Lady in The Tower by Jean Plaidy.
Fresh off the heels from one murder mystery, I jumped right into another murder mystery story. Stalking the Unicorn by Mike Resnick is unfortunately not as gripping as The Black Dahlia.
What drew me to this book is that it initially seemed like an American version of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere. A rather sarcastic detective is drawn into a Manhattan underground by an elf with a missing unicorn. That is where the similarities ended.
In this underground Manhattan that you see from the corner of your eye, John Justin Mallory is in a world that looks like his real Manhattan, but with a few changes. The elf’s Manhattan “had come fully to life. It was still cold and raining, but the street was bustling with elves, gnomes, goblins, trolls, and even less human passersby, as well as an assortment of men and women. Sturdy multihued elephants and draft horses pulled an endless stream of carts and carriages, while odd little street vendors who were neither men nor elves were hawking everything from toys to mystical gemstones” (p48). Taxis are elephants roaming the streets. There are cat people, capes that are able to adapt to every know weather condition just with a click of the belt buckle. In this fantasy Manhattan, John Justin comes across The Grundy, an evil and powerful warlord who is also after the missing unicorn, along with various other characters such as subway gnomes, leprechauns, and shrinking ponies. The chapters are broken up into 20 minute time segments, and the entire story takes place between 8:35pm and Dawn the next day.
My review of this book is pretty mixed. I did enjoy some of the comedy and the witty rapport between the characters. John Justin Mallory is an incredibly likable character and a guy you want to have on your side. The rest of the characters are flat and predictable. The Grundy is not as threatening or scary as he is made out to be. There is no real creativity with the imaginary Manhattan and the plot dragged on for a few chapters longer than necessary. There were also a few characters what provided no plot development or improvement. I may just be out of practice with reading Sci-Fi/Fantasy books. Most of what I’ve read is Neil Gaiman, Lois McMasters Bujold and George R.R. Martin. I had high hopes for Mike Resnick since he has been awarded 5 Hugo awards and 1 Nebula award, among a large list of other awards and honors for his work since 1989.
I have the sequal, Stalking the Vampire currently checked out, and I’m hoping that will be an improvement over Stalking the Unicorn. Otherwise, I’ll have to specifically look for one of his award winners. I never feel comfortably brushing off any author with so many awards and honors under their belt, until I’ve read a couple different books of theirs.
FINAL GRADE: B-
Stalking the Unicorn by Mike Resnick PYR, 1987 ISBN 9781591026488 280 pages******
Find this book at your local library
