Bibliophibian - encouraging the love of books

ALA Midwinter Reflections

2012-01-23T23:37:00.002-05:00

I spent the past 5 days in Dallas, Texas attending ALA's 2012 Midwinter Conference. This trip was my first visit to Texas and I wasn't sure what to expect.

After arriving in town and checking into my hotel on Thursday afternoon, I walked around downtown to get a sense of how long it would take to walk to the convention center. Downtown Dallas is eerily quiet with pedestrians. I found out later that there are underground tunnels between some of the buildings. I walked by the spot where JFK was shot. The West End part of town has some Texas and cowboy gift shops which were amusing to explore. Thursday night I had dinner with the fabulous Courtney Young and Michael Porter at the Dallas Fish Market.

Friday was split between a pre-conference on the Drupal platform and meeting the NMRT Emerging Leaders Project group. I've been curious about Drupal as I've seen the Library community embrace that platform as well as NPR's Argo, StateImpact and Digital Services have embraced the platform as well. While my Drupal skills are very limited right now, I'm excited to build out a sample site over the next couple of months. At lunch, I met with the 2012 Emerging Leaders Project Group M who are going to be working on translating the Spectrum Scholarship Professional Fair to a broader ALA Professional Fair. As an Emerging Leader alum, I'm very excited to be mentoring this group over the next six months. Friday afternoon I walked around the exhibit hall with fellow librarian Danielle Johnson whom I've just recently connected with on Twitter. We forged our way through the book publishers to find ARCs and totebags to bring home with us. Afterwards we had a lovely dinner at The Owner's Box at the Omni hotel.

Saturday was full of NMRT activities starting with our conference orientation session. We had a nice crowd of conference attendees who were experiencing their first conference. Next up was the NMRT Board meeting. After a quick lunch and drop off of my laptop, I went to the NMRT Membership and Committee Interest meeting. NMRT President, Linda Crook, NMRT Secretary Rebecca Miller, NMRT Member Services Director Coral Sheldon-Hess and I shared our experiences with NMRT and answered questions about ALA and volunteering for NMRT. Next up was a shift greeting folks at the NMRT Resume Review Service. The last NMRT event of the day was our social, which was very well attended by our roundtable and even some alumni. Saturday ended with dinner and drinks with fellow 2010 Emerging Leaders Leo Lo, Elizabeth Moreau and Kirby McCurtis.

Sunday's activities started mid-morning which was a welcomed change from the past couple of days. NMRT and LLAMA partnered together to create a New Leaders Discussion Group. The three discussion starters were very inspiring and the discussions afterwards where very interesting. Next I attended a session explaining what World Book Night is and how to get involved. If you are interested in giving books to non-readers, check out their website. In the afternoon, I attended part of LLAMA's Leadership Development Seminar and did another greeter shift at the NMRT Resume Review Service.

Monday's conference sessions were both sponsored by ALCTS. First was the Heads of Cataloging Departments Interest Group meeting which focused on cataloging as a public service. We heard 4 presentations on how different cataloging and metadata service departments are reinventing and repositioning themselves to provide cataloging as a public service. It was interesting to hear the concerns, struggles and successes of other libraries in regards to cataloging their resources. The second session was author Steve Berry talking about preservation and his latest books. Steve was a delight to listen to and had the crowd laughing. In the afternoon, I walked up to Arts district and took the M-Line Trolley to uptown Dallas.

While I didn't get to attend many author talks or other programs, I do feel that this conference was successful and I learned more about NMRT and our members. Other noteworthy sessions that I wasn't able to attend personally include the Occupy Wall Street Librarians, the director of the Dallas Public Library, a sing-along with Lisa Loeb and a whole lot more which is captured on American Libraries website.

CBR4 #2: The Orphan Master's Son - Adam Johnson

2012-01-10T22:17:00.002-05:00

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book as part of Random House's Early Bird Read program

An epic novel and a thrilling literary discovery, The Orphan Master’s Son follows a young man’s journey through the icy waters, dark tunnels, and eerie spy chambers of the world’s most mysterious dictatorship, North Korea.

Pak Jun Do is the haunted son of a lost mother—a singer “stolen” to Pyongyang—and an influential father who runs Long Tomorrows, a work camp for orphans. There the boy is given his first taste of power, picking which orphans eat first and which will be lent out for manual labor. Recognized for his loyalty and keen instincts, Jun Do comes to the attention of superiors in the state, rises in the ranks, and starts on a road from which there will be no return.

Considering himself “a humble citizen of the greatest nation in the world,” Jun Do becomes a professional kidnapper who must navigate the shifting rules, arbitrary violence, and baffling demands of his Korean overlords in order to stay alive. Driven to the absolute limit of what any human being could endure, he boldly takes on the treacherous role of rival to Kim Jong Il in an attempt to save the woman he loves, Sun Moon, a legendary actress “so pure, she didn’t know what starving people looked like.”

Part breathless thriller, part story of innocence lost, part story of romantic love, The Orphan Master’s Son is also a riveting portrait of a world heretofore hidden from view: a North Korea rife with hunger, corruption, and casual cruelty but also camaraderie, stolen moments of beauty, and love. A towering literary achievement, The Orphan Master’s Son ushers Adam Johnson into the small group of today’s greatest writers.

I picked up this book as my second book of the year because the location of North Korea seemed very timely with the recent passing of Kim Jong Il. At first I wasn't sure what time period this book was set in, but during the visit to Texas one of the characters mentioned "the hurricane" which I took to reference Hurricane Katrina and placed this book in modern day.

Both Pak Jun Do and Sun Moon were likeable characters and I found myself cheering them on as they explored their relationship. Pak Jun Do was able to adapt to any situation put before him, which really was an asset for him. Sun Moon was portrayed like any modern diva/actress, but it was nice to see her relax and enjoy moments with her children. The description of the US delegation and how they put on a show for the North Koreans was an interesting take of taking an outsider's view of our culture.

I like the setup of the book and the plot moved forward and back at the right tempo. The one subplot that I could have lived without was the integrator/biography collector and his parents. It does seem a little surreal that an average citizen could take the place of a high ranking general within North Korea. But this idea of who the leader of a country - such as North Korea - surrounds themselves with is no different than an American President picking friends and past colleagues for high ranking jobs in their cabinet and/or government agencies.

Even though the last 40-50 pages resolved to a predictable ending, I was still riveted in my seat to know how everything worked out. This book is a great read and definitely one that keeps you on the edge of your seat. I'm looking forward to hearing Adam Johnson speak at my local indie bookstore later in the month. Also he was interviewed on Weekend Edition Sunday this past weekend.

CBR4 #1: The Love Goddess' Cooking School - Melissa Senate

2012-01-02T14:16:00.000-05:00

Holly Maguire's grandmother Camilla was the Love Goddess of Blue Crab Island, Maine--a Milanese fortune-teller who could predict the right man for you, and whose Italian cooking was rumored to save marriages. Holly has been waiting years for her unlikely fortune: her true love will like sa cordula, an unappetizing old-world delicacy. But Holly can't make a decent marinara sauce, let alone sa cordula. Maybe that's why the man she hopes to marry breaks her heart. So when Holly inherits Camilla's Cucinotta, she's determined to forget about fortunes and love and become an Italian cooking teacher worthy of her grandmother's legacy. But Holly's four students are seeking much more than how to make Camilla's chicken alla Milanese. Simon, a single father, hopes to cook his way back into his daughter's heart. Juliet, Holly's childhood friend, hides a painful secret. Tamara, a serial dater, can't find the love she longs for. And twelve-year-old Mia thinks learning to cook will stop her dad, Liam, from marrying his phony lasagna-queen girlfriend. As the class gathers each week, adding Camilla's essential ingredients of wishes and memories in every pot and pan, unexpected friendships and romances are formed--and tested. Especially when Holly falls hard for Liam . . . and learns a thing or two about finding her own recipe for happiness.

I received this book as part of the Book Blogger Holiday Swap. It has been on my to-read shelf for a while. Holly Maguire is a loveable character and you are immediately pulling for her as the opening chapters show us how under appreciated she is within her current relationship. While the plot line (a misfit young woman unsure what to do with her life until she is left something by a dead relative and finds her purpose in life) is not a new concept, I thought that Melissa made the plot her own.

I liked how Melissa incorporated history about Holly's grandmother by incorporating the grandmother's diary entries. Those entries also helped set up some parallel themes with the modern day story (i.e. jealousy and snobbery of residents in Blue Crab Island).

The romance between Liam and Holly is sweet and complicated just like any good romantic comedy movie. I appreciated how the cooking students became friends and supported each other throughout all their life experiences.

I had to chuckle when the bride to be decided to hire Holly as her caterer after her mother and future mother-in-law "failed" her in the tasting. While that tasting motivated Holly to perfect and hone her cooking skills, it also allowed her to become more comfortable in her own skin as a "real" cook.

I would be curious if Melissa would write a sequel to this book, because I'm sure there are others like me that would be interested in reading more about Holly and Liam and the other residents of Blue Crab Island.

2011 End of the Year Book Survey, Reading Challenges, Secret Santas and Looking Forward to 2012

2012-01-02T12:55:00.000-05:00

This post is a combination of a whole lot of things - so I apologize in advance. Happy New Year!

Secret Santas
I participated in three Secret Santa swaps this holiday season. First was with the folks over at The Broke And The Bookish. Jennifer at Jen Reads was my Secret Santa and sent me In The Shadow of Gotham by Stephanie Pintoff and some lovely chocolates.

Second was the Book Blogger Holiday Swap where Mary from Bookfan sent me the following

Finally, I participated in LibraryThing's Secret Santa. Jennifer sent me The Love Goddess' Cooking School by Melissa Senate, The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton and The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry by Kathleen Flinn.

Challenge Wrap-up
Unfortunately I was a little too ambitious with my reading challenges last year and trying to plan a wedding and moving into a new house. Here is a summary of where I ended up with my reading challenges last year.

Reading Challenges Status

Cannonball Read III: 52 of 52 complete plus 4 more books

Off the Shelf: 2 of 15 complete plus a few of the books got purged from my shelf in the multiple moves

Heroines Bookshelf: none

Outdo Yourself: 56 of 70 (Not sure why I thought I could read 70 books during a busy year)

2011 End of the Year Book Survey
Jamie at The Perpetual Page Turner hosted an end of the year book survey again this year. Here are my answers to that survey.

1. Best Book You Read In 2011
I would say it was a three-way tie between:

The Tiger's Wife - Tea Obreht

Too Big To Fail - Aaron Ross Sorkin

The Informationist - Taylor Stevens

2. Most Disappointing Book/Book You Wish You Loved More Than You Did
The Paris Wife - Paula McLean because I wanted more. I think the cover was really what attracted me to this book more than the plot.

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2011
I'd Know You Anywhere - Laura Lippman more because of a local author living up to the reviews I had heard about her.

4. Book you recommended to people most in 2011
The Tiger's Wife was the most recommended book.

5. Best series you discovered in 2011?
I'm not a big series reader, but I did read One Was a Solider by Julia Spencer-Fleming which is part of series.

6. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2011
Taylor Stevens, Eleanor Brown, and Nicolle Wallace

7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you
Too Big To Fail was definitely more of a financial non-fiction book than I would have read if it hadn't been on our book club list.

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2011?
I did read multiple books in one day due to sports watching or being sick, but I would go with The Informationist for this question.

9. Book you most anticipated in 2011
The new Bill Bryson book Home which my husband read, but I haven't yet. With the wedding planning and a huge project launching at work, I lost a little buzz of what the most anticipated books were in 2011.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2011
My colleague's book All Facts Considered - just perfect!

11. Most memorable character in 2011
Mike Smith from The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2011
The Language of Flowers - Vanessa Diffenbaugh because she captured the characters inner thoughts so well as well as moved the plot alot and captured the reader.

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2011
Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollen just because it made me stop and think more about what I'm eating.

14. Book you can't believe you waited UNTIL 2011 to finally read
The Red Tent and The Lost Symbol are my two oldies this year.

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2011
Hmm.. this question is tough... I'm going to think about this question more and update the post.

16. Book That You Read In 2011 That Would Be Most Likely To Reread In 2012
I'm not a big rereader, but probably a little of The Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan since it is the my book selection for my book club.

17. Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It
My husband is probably a better person to answer this question, since usually he was the person who got to hear my reaction to a book first.

Book Blogging/Reading Life in 2011

I'm going to skip this part of the survey since my blogging was so sporadic and unpredictable. Life became priority too many times and I missed some of my favorite read-a-thons and blogging events.

Looking Ahead...

1. One Book You Didn't Get To In 2011 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2012
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand and The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2012
The Innocent by Taylor Stevens even though it just released at the end of December =)

3. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging In 2012

Participate in more blogging meme's and continue to read and post comments on other book blogs. I also would like to get my own posting of reviews and events on a more regular schedule.

Reading Goals in 2012
I signed up for the fourth round of Cannonball Read and I've set a goal of reading 70 books. I'm always looking for suggestions for historical fiction, mystery, and biographies.

CBR3 #56 - MWF seeking BFF by Rachel Bertsche

2012-01-02T11:24:00.000-05:00

When Rachel Bertsche first moves to Chicago, she’s thrilled to finally share a zip code, let alone an apartment, with her boyfriend. But shortly after getting married, Bertsche realizes that her new life is missing one thing: friends. Sure, she has plenty of BFFs—in New York and San Francisco and Boston and Washington, D.C. Still, in her adopted hometown, there’s no one to call at the last minute for girl talk over brunch or a reality-TV marathon over a bottle of wine. Taking matters into her own hands, Bertsche develops a plan: She’ll go on fifty-two friend-dates, one per week for a year, in hopes of meeting her new Best Friend Forever.

In her thought-provoking, uproarious memoir, Bertsche blends the story of her girl-dates (whom she meets everywhere from improv class to friend rental websites) with the latest social research to examine how difficult—and hilariously awkward—it is to make new friends as an adult. In a time when women will happily announce they need a man but are embarrassed to admit they need a BFF, Bertsche uncovers the reality that no matter how great your love life is, you’ve gotta have friends. - Amazon.com

I found a copy of this book on the giveaway shelf at work. It caught my attention because of being a recently married woman as well and I was curious to see how Rachel's "experiment" turned out.

It was interesting to read how she was able to make connections with new people and how they related or didn't relate to each other. I was a little tired of hearing about the "dates" by the end of the book, but Rachel's stories were funny and entertaining.

I would compare this book to Julie & Julia and The Washingtonienne which also went from a healthy read blog into a book. Very entertaining read that we call can relate to.

CBR3 #49 - #55 Mini Reviews

2011-12-24T08:16:00.000-05:00

The reviews below represent the books I read over the past 6 weeks. I completed the Cannonball Read challenge for the 3rd year in a row and I'm looking forward to reading some more over the next week.

CBR3 #49 - The Woman in the Fifth - Douglas Kennedy

I am a sucker for books set in Paris and I was curious as this book is promoted on the back of the book as a thriller/romance/philosophical tale. The main reason why Harry Ricks is in Paris is feasible and meeting a lovely woman at a party is feasible as well. But the author lost me as soon as he pulled in the mystical/bending reality plot line.

CBR3 #50 - The Gift - Cecelia Ahern
I picked this book up off the give away shelf at work since I was looking for some holiday reads. What I didn't realize is that I had read The Book of Tommorrow by this author earlier this year and I really didn't enjoy it. Cecelia aims to retell The Christmas Tale in this book and does a fair job. It is true that we tend to ignore the people on the street that could use our help and potentially change our lives. I think Cecelia takes this idea to the extreme within this book. Overall though it is a nice holiday read.

CBR3 #51 - I Am Half-Sick of Shadows - Alan Bradley - Received as part of Random House's #earlybirdreads program
Cute and quirky tale of an English estate home being rented out to a movie studio in order to cover the bills. The family's youngest, Flavia, is a budding detective and chemist who gets to sharpen her skills when the leading lady is suddenly murdered with some film strips late one night. Flavia aids the local inspector in figuring out who was the murderer while plotting to take down Father Christmas on Christmas Eve. Another great holiday read with an English touch.

CBR3 #52 - The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown
Totally picked up this book at the second hand bookstore because I knew it would be a quick read that would capture my attention. Plus I was curious how Dan Brown incorporated Washington DC into his latest book. But I would say that I believe I am becoming more and more a skeptic regarding Dan Brown and his plotlines. Washington DC was represented well in the book.

CBR3 #53 - The 19th Wife - David Ebershoff
This book was also a second hand bookshop purchase, but it had been on my to-read list for a while. The book explores the biography account of Ann Eliza Young, the 19th wife of Brigham Young, and also incorporates a modern day story of a plural wife in Utah. I enjoyed how the author mixed the historical story with the modern day story. I learned a lot out the Mormon faith and how they got started as a community. I did find by three-quarters through the book that I had my fill and really only kept reading to learn the mystery entwined in the modern day plot.

CBR3 #54 - Love You More - Lisa Gardner
This book is another one that was on my to-read list for a while. I saw it at the library the other night and checked it out right away. If you want a smartly written mystery novel with good character backstories as well, you should read Lisa's books. This book focused on how much a parent's love for a child can push them to do unimaginable things.

CBR3 #55 - Shrouds Of Holly - Kate Kingsbury
Another good holiday read with a little bit of mystery and a little bit of romance. What would you do if you set your husband and stable master to get fresh holly from the woods and the only thing that came back was their horse with a dead man in the carriage?

CBR3 #48: The Darlings - Cristina Alger

2011-11-10T22:50:00.000-05:00

I picked up an ARC of this book from the giveaway shelf at work.

Now that he's married to Merrill Darling, daughter of billionaire financier Carter Darling, attorney Paul Ross has grown accustomed to New York society and all of its luxuries: a Park Avenue apartment, weekends in the Hamptons, bespoke suits. When Paul loses his job, Carter offers him the chance to head the legal team at his hedge fund. Thrilled with his good fortune in the midst of the worst financial downturn since the Great Depression, Paul accepts the position.
But Paul's luck is about to shift: a tragic event catapults the Darling family into the media spotlight, a regulatory investigation, and a red-hot scandal with enormous implications for everyone involved. Suddenly, Paul must decide where his loyalties lie-will he save himself while betraying his wife and in-laws or protect the family business at all costs?

Cristina Alger's glittering debut novel interweaves the narratives of the Darling family, two eager SEC attorneys, and a team of journalists all racing to uncover-or cover up-the truth. With echoes of a fictional Too Big to Fail and the novels of Dominick Dunne, The Darlings offers an irresistible glimpse into the highest echelons of New York society-a world seldom seen by outsiders-and a fast-paced thriller of epic proportions.- Amazon

I picked up this book from the giveaway shelf because the description on the back of the book called it a fictional account of Too Big To Fail, which I read in August. Alger captures events surrounding the supposed suicide of a hedge fund manager and the fallout of a possible SEC investigation all over the course of one week. That week just happens to be around Thanksgiving, which gives an interesting family & holiday twist.

Alger explores the desire of being loyal to family versus looking our for yourself as the main characters realize that their whole family might be taken down with an investigation and scandal. While I did feel like I've read/seen parts of the plot before (i.e. an Law & Order episode), I was curious to see what the final outcome would be.

Paul and Merrill were likeable and accessible characters even though they were part of NYC elites society. Nice debut novel and it captures the essence of the financial world in turmoil and an unsteady economy very well.

CBR3 #47: It's Classified - Nicolle Wallace

2011-11-10T22:42:00.000-05:00

Charlotte Kramer, America’s first female president, is beginning her second term and is determined to make her mark on history though events do seem to be conspiring against her. Melanie Kingston, her best friend, just signed on as secretary of defense. Will their relationship survive? Dale Smith is the senior communications advisor to the vice president and knows a secret that could not only ruin her own career, but put the credibility of the White House on the line. Tara Meyers is the most popular vice president in recent history, but does her public image match her private life?

When a classified terror threat is made public, all the weaknesses of this presidency are laid bare—and with the country’s safety at stake, someone in the White House isn’t taking any chances.

From the bestselling author of Eighteen Acres comes a novel with a true insider’s look at the lives of Washington’s political elite. It’s Classified reveals the intrigue and drama that go on behind the closed doors of the White House and opens up a world few have access to. - Amazon

I was so excited a couple of weeks ago to see Rachel Maddow interview Nicolle Wallace about the latest election season and her new book. I really enjoyed Eighteen Acres and was curious to see how Wallace continued the story with these four characters.

Wallace makes an interesting decision to start the book at the climax of the plot and then flashback to the a few weeks before everything fell apart. I found the new character, Tara, hard to relate to and her husband was a complete jerk. I felt bad for Dale as her relationship with Peter fell apart. I did feel that Craig befriending her just when she was vulnerable was a little suspicious.

I definitely missed the interaction between Melanie and Charlotte. I also felt Charlotte and Peter getting back together was predictable, but I guess it is hard to date when you are the President. This book definitely is an interesting look at what activities a Vice President might have on a daily basis and how their staff helps spin their message.

CBR3 #46: The Informationist - Taylor Stevens

2011-11-10T22:30:00.001-05:00

Stevens's blazingly brilliant debut introduces a great new action heroine, Vanessa Michael Munroe, who doesn't have to kick over a hornet's nest to get attention, though her feral, take-no-prisoners attitude reflects the fire of Stieg Larsson's Lisbeth Salander. Nine years have passed since Munroe, the daughter of American missionaries, escaped Cameroon at age 15 after a violent incident. She's forged a new life in Texas as an "informationist," a person who specializes in gathering information about developing countries for corporations. Munroe's best friend, marketing consultant Kate Breeden, refers her to Miles Bradford, a high-stakes security pro, who believes she's the perfect choice to help Houston oilman Richard Burbank find his adopted daughter, Emily, who vanished four years earlier at age 18 while vacationing in west central Africa. Munroe returns to Africa, where she reconnects with her ex-boyfriend, Francisco Beyard, a sexy drug- and gun-running businessman, who assists in the dangerous search for Emily. Thriller fans will eagerly await the sequel to this high-octane page-turner. - Publishers Weekly

When I heard this book pitched at a library conference earlier this year, I couldn't wait to read it. Thanks to a free shipping & nice discount from Random House I was able to enjoy it! Very good thriller and very engaging. It reads like an action movie and I could see it easily transferring to the big screen.

Most of the book is set in Africa. I don't know much about the countries in which the story took place, so I wonder if I missed some of the nuisances. The main character does have a lot of demons, but she has learned to leverage her strengths and make a way for herself. I'm interested to read more by the author and especially more books with this main character.

Recap of Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) Plenary Meeting

2011-11-10T22:21:00.002-05:00

On October 21st, I attended a Plenary Meeting for the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) project at the National Archives. Below is a short recap of the sessions

The goal of this Plenary Meeting was to kick off the start of implementation of the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA).

Representatives from the funders, key government agencies and teams who participated in the Beta Sprints presented to a crowd of over 300 librarians, IT folks, and members of the public at the National Archives.
Highlights from the meeting can be found here.

They had two graphic artists capturing the discussion from each session visually which I thought was a creative idea.

Quotes from the speakers that I captured:
"We need an infrastructure of ideas just like we need roads & infrastructure" - James Leach, National Endowment for the Humanities Chairman

"We need to move from a boutique model to a Wal-Mart model" (on the digitization efforts around the country so far) - Peter Baldwin, Arcadia Fund

"Collaboration is key to long-term success with digitization" - Susan Hildreth, Institute for Museum and Library Services Director

"I want to digitize the whole (NARA) collection" - David Ferriero, Archivist of the United States

"Our goal is to have the public consider using DPLA when they are trying to find an answer to a question - similar to "Let's google it...." - "I'm going to DPLA it" - Peggy Rudd, Texas State Library and Archives Commission

MUST READ: Amanda French's remarks (Center for History and New Media) Aubade: The Soul and Body of a Library

"We are the generation that can give access to the analogue past" - Jill Cousins, Europeana

Beta Sprint Projects
10 of the 40 projects submitted were given a chance to show what they accomplished over the summer.
Check out this page to see live demos of all the projects.

Workstreams
There are 6 topical areas (Audience & Participation, Content & Scope, Financial/Business Models, Governance, Legal Issues, and Technical Aspects) that this implementation is being split into. The public is able to provide input to the 10-15 "leaders" for each topic area. You can linger on the individual listservs and/or review the wiki pages where discussions for each area will be captured. For more information here

CBR3 #37 - 45 Mini Reviews

2011-11-10T21:59:00.000-05:00

The reviews below represent the books I read in September & October.

CBR3 #37 - The Omnivore's Dilemma - Michael Pollen - October Book Club selection
Interesting look at how omnivore's decide what to eat. The first part of the book explores the life of corn and how it has become such a big part of our life. The second part of the book explores the life of cattle and other farm animals as well as the organic farming movement. The last part of the book details a meal that the author grew, hunted or gathered himself. While this book was very influential when it first came out, I found it hard to get excited about the statistics that were included since they are almost 5 years old. Interesting related reading: Conversations between Michael Pollen and Whole Foods after the book was released.

CBR3 #38 - The Elegance of the Hedgehog - Muriel Barberry - September Book Club Selection
Follows a building concierge and a 12 year old girl as they struggle to relate to other people. This book was translated from French and I found myself having to look up a vocabulary word almost every other page. After reading the description of the book you are prepared for a character to not make it to the end of the book, but the ending was not what I expected. I found it hard to relate to any of the characters.

CBR3 #39 - Season to Taste - Molly Birnbaum
Non fiction memoir about the author's lost sense of taste after being in a car accident. The author explores various research on the lost of this sense and details how she eventually learns to cook again and gain back her sense of taste. Heart warming story, but some chapters detailed more than I wanted to know. There were times when I thought her research outshone the main narrative.

CBR3 #40 - The Lantern - Deborah Lawrenson
Gothic novel/romance set in France. At first I had a hard time realizing when the narrator changed between chapters. I also had a hard time believing that the main characters would stay together in a relationship in the real world. Good read, but some of the plot twists were predictable. This book fulfilled my need for a good mystery.

CBR3 #41 - The Other Life - Ellen Meister
"What if you could return to the road not taken" - this premise is what Meister explores within the book. Good read and captures your attention right away. The main character is realistic and the story flowed very naturally. This was the first book in a while that I've read which had a single narrator, which was refreshing!

CBR3 #42 - The Language of Flowers - Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Heartwarming tale of a foster child who learns to connect to the world through arranging flowers. After aging out of the foster care system, Victoria finds a job at a florist and end up reconnecting with someone from her past. Impressive first novel that captures a tender love story and shows us all that adapting to life is not always easy.

CBR3 #43 - The Lock Artist - Steve Hamilton
This book is a love story intertwined with a great mystery! The narrator goes back and forth between two stories - how he became a boxman and his last job. The ending was a little disappointing but bittersweet as well. Very creativity written and probably the best mystery I've read all year!

CBR3 #44 - Need You Now - James Grippando

Good financial thriller ripped from the headlines! This book is full of plot twists and odd characters. Patrick Lloyd is a Wall Street adviser sent to Asia to spy on his new girlfriend Lily who helped the #2 guy in a ponzi scheme move around money. But Patrick has his own secrets including a father who ratted out the mob and is in witness protection now. Good book to pick up after Too Big To Fail. Very engaging book and easy to read.

CBR3 #45 - The Paris Wife - Paula McLain

This book tells the love story between Ernest Hemingway and his first wife Hadley. This book was an interestingly written historical fiction novel. The author captured the life around a "true artist" trying to break out in their own way. It was hard to relate to the characters because life in the '20s was so different than now. It was interesting to see how American society overseas traveled around Europe frequently and without much bureaucracy. The politics of the time really wasn't pulled into this book much.

CBR3 #30 - 36: Mini Reviews

2011-09-11T20:17:00.000-04:00

The reviews below represent the books I read in July & August

CBR3 #30 - Queen By Right - Anne Easter Smith
Extensive look at Richard & Cecily York and their "reign" of Scotland during the War of the Roses time period. It was interesting to read about a different perspective during this time period, but I really struggled to get through this book. Cecily narrates the whole book, but goes between flashbacks and present.

CBR3 #31 - The One I Want - Allison Winn Scotch
Tilly has her fortune told one evening and ends up being given a "gift" of clarity. Suddenly she is having visions of the future and her "perfect" life is unraveling bit by bit. As she learns to "use" her gift, she realizes that sometimes life has more to offer than it seems. Quick read, but it was hard to relate and sympathize with the characters.

CBR3 #32 - Too Big To Fail - Andrew Ross Sorkin (August Book Club)
Must read (thriller-like) book that documents the financial crisis from prior to Lehman Brothers' collapse to when the TARP program was passed & implemented. The book is not short, but reads well. It also assumes that you understand the basics of the finance world & the collapse itself.

CBR3 #33 - This Beautiful Life - Helen Schulman
Explores how a family reacts when a sex video sent to the son accidentally gets posted online and shared and ends up going viral. The premise of this book was interesting, but I found that the multiple narrator approach really didn't work.

CBR3 #34 - Eighteen Acres - Nicole Wallace
Follows a White House chief of staff through an election season, a network reporter waiting for her big break and a female president who might have her own scandal brewing. Well written book and captures the mystery and intrigue of politics well.

CBR3 #35 - The Cookbook Collector - Allegra Goodman
A coming of age story of two sisters totally different from each other. One is a CEO of a technology start up while the other is a grad student in philosophy. As the technology start up goes public and expands, the grad student ends up finding herself falling in love with her boss - a bookseller and cataloging a collection of antique cookbooks. Good read, but some of the plot lines were hard to believe they would really happen.

CBR3 #36 - A Visit From the Goon Squad - Jennifer Egan
Pulitizer Prize winner for Fiction in 2011, this book tells the story of Bennie - a record producer - and his assistant Sasha throughout their lives as well as their friends and family. The chapters are arranged in sides of a vinyl record and there is a whole chapter told in Powerpoint. Great read and smart plot lines make this book a must read.

CBR3 #20 - 29: Mini Reviews

2011-09-11T19:15:00.000-04:00

Since I'm so behind in reviews, I thought I would catch up with mini-reviews of my readings through August at least. The reviews below represent the books I read in May & June.

CBR3 #20 - Whisper of a Scandal - Nicola Cornick
Society maven travels to Antarctica to retrieve a bastard child of her late husband who was an explorer for the Royal Navy. She agrees to marry his best friend, also an explorer, under false pretenses (that she can provide him with an heir). This book is a good steamy read to satisfy your romance bug.

CBR3 #21 - French Lessons - Ellen Sussman
Follow three French tutors around Paris one day as they explore love, relationships & all things French. All of the characters this about cheating on their spouse/lover, but eventually realize that the relationship they are in is the best for them. Good read for a staycation.

CBR3 #22 - I'd Know You Anywhere - Laura Lippman
Explores the relationship between a death row inmate & his only living victim as his execution approaches. Walter claims he is innocent and only Eliza can help him prove that. Well written, good thriller with a nice local setting.

CBR3 #23 - Revolution - Jennifer Donnelly
Gossip Girl meets Les Miserables. This book is lengthy, but draws you in easily. Teenage society girl accompanies her father to Paris during winter break. She happens to find the diary of a revolutionary in a guitar case and becomes obsessed with the French Revolution as she tackles her own demons. Includes a little fantasy (the main character explores 18th century France after hitting her head in a cave) plot and quotes from Dante's Inferno.

CBR3 #24 - Three Cups of Tea - Greg Mortenson (June Book Club)
Uncertain what to expect before reading this book due to the controversy surrounding Greg Mortenson and the schools he built. Not the best written "memoir" and Greg is not the best "hero" character either. It was good to read another book about Pakistan & Afghanistan told from a different perspective.

CBR3 #25 - Peach Keeper - Sarah Addison Allen
Southern family with secrets buried in the front yard is forced to address them when one of their members refurbishes the bed and breakfast that they own. Tale of forgotten friendships and loves mixed in with a little fantasy and surrealism.

CBR3 #26 - The Sisters Brothers - Patrick deWitt
This book made the 2011 Man Booker Prize for Fiction short list. Two brothers - outlaws, hitman for hire - travel from Washington to California to find & kill a man who figured out how to mine gold from rivers. Along the way one of the brothers decides that he wants to get out of the "family business" and tries to convince the other brother to join them. Quirky characters who find themselves in unbelievable situations no matter where they go.

CBR3 #27 - One Was a Solider - Julia Spencer-Fleming
Explores the lives of soldiers & their families after they return back home after being in Iraq with an added twist of a murder mystery and a wedding! Interesting book, but since it was part of a series I felt like I was missing part of the characters back stories.

CBR3 #28 - South of Superior - Ellen Airgood
I read this book in one day (I was sick). Cute story about a woman "giving up" her life in the big city to take care of an elderly friend in the countryside. This book captures small town life well, but leaves the reader wanting more.

CBR3 #29 - Lone Gone - Alafair Burke
Part DaVinci Code part Gossip Girl (yes - again!). Young girl finds her dream job (by chance) only to find a dead body at work one morning. She is suspected as the killer and spends the rest of the book unraveling the mystery and clearing her name. Good thriller and I read this book in a day (day 2 of sickness).

Still Alive and Reading....

2011-07-12T11:35:00.000-04:00

It is sad, but life has gotten in the way of my blogging for the past two months. I've still been reading away slowly but surely.

In May I read six books:

Whisper of a Scandal - Nicola Cornick
French Lessons - Ellen Sussman
I'd Know You Anywhere - Laura Lippman
Revolution- Jennifer Donnelly
Three Cups of Tea - Greg Mortenson (June Book Club)
Peach Keeper - Sarah Addison Allen

In June I read four and a half books:

The Sisters Brothers - Patrick deWitt
One Was a Solider - Julia Spencer-Fleming
South of Superior - Ellen Airgood
Lone Gone - Alafair Burke
and started Queen by Right - Anne Easter Smith

I hope to post at least mini-reviews of these books before I head out on my honeymoon next month.

Reading Challenges Progress

Cannonball Read III: 30 of 52 complete

Off the Shelf: 2 of 15 complete

Heroines Bookshelf: haven't started

Outdo Yourself: 30 of 70 complete

Conference Happenings - Philadelphia & New Orleans

2011-07-12T11:27:00.000-04:00

Last month I was fortunate enough to travel to both SLA 2011 conference in Philadelphia and ALA 2011 conference in New Orleans. Below are my musings on the sessions and events that I attended. Enjoy!

SLA 2011 - Philadelphia

Sunday

In the morning, I attended the Leadership Development Institute (LDI) where the chapter and division leaderships gather to hear updates from the President, Treasurer and other leaders across the association. This session is open to anyone interested in serving in a leadership role in SLA. The main topics discussed were SLA’s 2015 strategic vision, a possible revamp of the continuing education (CE) programs at conference, the association’s financial picture, upgrade of the chapter, division & caucus websites and the results of the James Kane’s loyalty survey. Also the SLA Board candidates did a quick talk on their reason for running for office and their goals for the association if elected. You can read about the candidates and their responses on the SLA blog. The candidates for President-Elect are also coming to DC for a meet and greet in August. I found attending last year’s session was helpful in just seeing how each candidate presented themselves.

Sunday afternoon I attended the News Division tour of Rosenbach Museum & Library. This museum was located in the lovely and quaint neighborhood of Rittenhouse Square. The Rosenbach brothers were rare book & antique collectors. Being originally from the Philadelphia area, it was interesting to learn about some local celebrities as well as see their collections.

I also attended the opening session where New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman spoke. He talked about globalization and the impact on information technology. His book, The World is Flat, came out in 2005 and a lot of changed in the past 6 years. Donald Hawkins wrote a nice summary of the talk for Information Today.

I ended the day with a nice celebration at the National Constitution Center with other leaders and conference attendees.

Monday

I attended a “fun” session called CSI Philadelphia where Gene Lanzillo from the Philadelphia FBI Office Evidence Response Team walked through a series of (fake) crime scene photographs and explained how he would approach the scene.

In 1992, the Evidence Response Team was created. The team members are part-time collecting evidence at scenes. The rest of the time they are solving national security cases. For every incident, the team members ask two main questions are 1) What is the context? 2) Is there a legal authority to be at the scene?

All FBI agents get one week of evidence training at Quantico. Evidence Response team members get furthering training after they start their job. The guiding principle they use is that when any two objects meet they leave evidence.

The rest of the day I prepped and ran a committee meeting and then went to the Mid-Atlantic Reception.

Tuesday

In the morning, I had breakfast with a library student and attended a few sessions.

In the afternoon, I went to a session called Alternate Uses of a Library Degree. A panel of 5 people was moderated by Ruth Wolfish. Each panelist was given a set list of questions and they presented their answers to the attendees. Overall all panelists identified that people who are able to be flexible, open minded and not afraid of change, have good communication skills, and can be resourceful are more likely to succeed at a non-traditional job. A few other key points that surfaced were ‘Always say yes!’ and ‘Opportunities come through networking’.

Kim Dority wrapped up the other panelists and reminded us of some basic career development guidelines:

The nature of our profession is that we support each other
We are all self-employed
Change is always heading our way
The investments you make in yourself will define your career opportunities
Be planting seeds all the time
Forget about perfection, focus on resiliency

In the evening, I took a little time out from conference activities and went to see the Phillies.

Wednesday

First thing, I moderated a Technical Standards Update session with Todd Carpenter from NISO and Margie Hlava from Access Innovations.

After that I tried to go to another session, but the room was full so I headed to the Reading Terminal Market for some lunch. Before heading home to DC, I attended the closing session to hear James Kane speak again. His slides can be found here.

ALA Annual – New Orleans

Thursday

I arrived in New Orleans and found my hotel with no problems. First conference activity ended up being on the famous Bourbon Street at the Royal Sonesta Hotel. Linda Crook, incoming NMRT President, and I represented NMRT at the Spectrum Scholar Professional Options Fair. Divisions and Roundtables from across ALA and other organizations as well gathered in a ballroom to share what opportunities and activities they could provide for these diverse group of librarians. For me it was a good challenge to get my NMRT elevator speech perfected as well as a great opportunity to meet some new folks. I was so inspired by the event, that I’m already brainstorming how the same concept could be applied for NMRT members and other first time conference attendees with our orientation programs.

Friday

Unfortunately, I came to New Orleans with a little cold and had to take it slow in the morning. But in the afternoon I did attend the first of two conference orientation sessions that NMRT provides. It was great to meet some new librarians/library students as well as see what information is given at the orientation sessions. My first conferences I did not attend one of the sessions and after hearing the session I kinda wish I had gone to one.

In the afternoon, I attended the opening session with Dan Savage. Prior to Dan speaking, Roberta Stevens, the President of ALA, provided a status on some of her initiatives as well as gave out awards to different librarians. Also the mayor of New Orleans, Mitch Landrieu, came out and spoke a bit about how the city is revitalizing itself and to thank ALA for being the first organization to hold a conference in New Orleans after Katrina hit.

Dan Savage’s talk was focused on how the It’s Get Better project got started. It was really inspiring and heartbreaking at the same time to hear the statistics and stories that he shared. I’ve heard Dan Savage speak live before, but it was as a “guest” on This American Life. The session was in a huge auditorium and it was great to see that very few seats were empty.

In the evening, I went to the NMRT Mentoring Social. I signed up to be a conference mentor for the first time this year. I ended up being assigned two mentees and coincidently meet one of them on Thursday night. As with every NMRT event, it was good to meet new librarians and library students and hear what issues are on their mind. The job market is still tough for entry level positions and taking a risk to find that first library position is tough.

Saturday

Early morning start to attend the second NMRT orientation session. I was glad to see a tad bit more interaction between participants and the panel at this session.

After that session it was time for the NMRT Executive Board meeting. We had a nice group of existing and new board members (and guests) join us. We presented Past President Courtney Young with a thank you/birthday gift. Current President Deana Groves was also presented with a thank you gift. The incoming board was tasked with reviewing NMRT’s strategic plan to align it with ALA’s 2015 strategic plan.

I took a short break for lunch at the Riverwalk shops next to the convention center and then went to the NMRT President’s Program which focused on professional involvement at the local and national level. The panelists were very enthusiastic and helpful about how they found opportunities to serve on committees and grow their skills.

Next up I went to hear a presentation on linked data within authority lists and vocabularies at the LOC booth. The presentation walked through LOC’s experimentation with surfacing their authority lists & vocabularies via linked data. Linked data was definitely one of the buzz words/topics at conference this year. I heard that one linked data session had over 200 people interested in it (via the conference scheduler), but the room only held 100 people.

A new session for NMRT was a joint discussion group with LLAMA. Three panelists gave 8-10 minute talks on how they became new leaders and/or leadership topics. After that the attendees broke up into small groups and discussed the topics that the panelists had talked about. Again it was a nice way to meet and network as well as share experiences with leadership. I’m excited that NMRT & LLAMA are starting up a partnership and I’m looking forward to more opportunities to network between the two groups.

In the evening, I went to the Scholarship Bash at the World War II museum. It was a nice atmosphere to mingle and enjoy the museum as well. The highlight of the evening for me was the two musical groups – a small jazz ensemble and a trio of women who sang songs from the WWII era.

Sunday

This day was my busiest of the whole conference. In the morning I had two meetings regarding possible partnerships with NMRT. As incoming NMRT Vice President, it was a different conference experience for me since I had to split my conference activities between NMRT activities/discussions, professional development sessions and author related sessions.

In the afternoon, we had a NMRT membership meeting. While the group that gathered was small, it was helpful to hear what interests, concerns and questions they had about ALA, conference and the library world. I was impressed with how eager they were to volunteer and learn more about NMRT & ALA as a whole.

After a quick Starbucks trip, I attended the ALA President’s Program with Sue Gardner from the WikiMedia Foundation. She used to be a producer for the CBC so there was an interesting journalism twist to her talk. We’ve had Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales speak at work a few times, so it was also good to hear Wikipedia spoken about from a different perspective as well.

In the evening, I went to two back to back receptions for NMRT. First up was the Student Reception where the Student Chapter of the Year award was presented as well as the NMRT Video award. After that I headed over the NMRT/Merritt Fund Reception at a local art gallery. The space was quaint, but unfortunately the band playing made it almost impossible to talk and network.

Monday

It was an early morning again to attend the Legislative Assembly meeting to represent NMRT. While I was aware of ALA’s Washington Office, I wasn’t aware that legislative representatives from across the organization meet to report on their activities at conference. I learned a lot and there are some good opportunities for NMRT members to become involved in legislation activities.

The rest of the day I got to listen to three different authors back to back. First up was Marilyn Johnson who wrote a wonderful non-fiction book about librarians last year. She is active in ALTAFF’s “Authors for Libraries” program. She shared how she came to write a book about librarians as well as how writers need libraries as much as libraries need writers. After that I briefly sat in Jeff Jarvis’ talk about privacy versus public in the digital age. He has a new book coming out in September called Public Parts: How Sharing in the Digital Age Improves the Way we Work and Live. Last, I went to a reading by Eleanor Brown of her first book Weird Sisters. I read an advanced reading copy of this book a few months ago and loved it. Eleanor has a lovely personality and even though the crowd was small for her reading, I enjoyed her talk immensely. Even though I have a copy of her book already, I stood in line for her to sign a hardcover copy.

In the afternoon I went with a group of librarians to tour an independent jazz radio station – WWOZ. It was fascinating to see how a local radio station archives their collection and operates. It turns out that WWOZ is digitizing their CD collection in a similar method that NPR is using for our commercial music collection. The Library of Congress also helped to archive and preserve some performances they had on DAT tapes and other older formats so that WWOZ could reuse in the future.

The last session of the day was Battledecks 2011 which challenges participants to get through a random 10 powerpoint slides with 5 minutes while talking about the future of libraries. I’ve heard about this event at past conferences, but I have never attended in person. Definitely a fun way for conference attendees to “let their hair down” at the end of the conference and just have some fun.

Tuesday

Last day in New Orleans started out with the closing session with SNL alumni Molly Shannon. She wrote a children’s book called Tilly the Trickster. Molly talked about how she became interesting in acting, comedy and finally ended up at SNL in New York. She explained how skits are written and chosen for the live show. She called her time there a comedy boot camp. While Molly was clearly a little nervous, her reading of her book at the end was a lovely way to wrap up this conference.

I spent the next 4 hours or so being a tourist – riding the streetcar and exploring the French Quarter a bit – before heading to the airport.

Review: Beautiful and Pointless - David Orr

2011-05-01T16:51:00.000-04:00

Full Disclosure: Received a copy of an ARC from Harper Collins

I picked out this book from Harper's ARC list for Patrick, my fiance, because I knew that he enjoyed poetry. He kindly agreed to write a little review for this blog as well. Enjoy!

I have always liked poetry. In my mind it has usually been a term reserved for lines with perfect rhythm and rhyme, but I can appreciate free verse in the hands of a master. Yet on those occasions when I’ve picked up an avant-garde anthology with hopes of being swept into the future of poetry, I’ve always reacted with the feeling that I must not have what it takes.

New York Times poetry reviewer David Orr, in the introduction to Beautiful & Pointless, gives me the comfort of knowing that my reaction is all too common: “It’s easy to feel that your response to the art is somehow wrong, that you’re either insufficiently smart or insufficiently soulful,” Orr writes. He suggests that modern poetry is a bit like a foreign country. To paraphrase: Expect confusion. Indeed, Orr’s introduction gave me high hopes that he would give me the sort of Fodor’s Guide to Modern Poetry, that I was the ideal reader for this travelogue, and that at long last my heart and mind might be moved by those one-word, arrhythmic, non-rhyming, non-punctuated lines.

Orr’s book is really a collection of essays on topics that he considers in reviewing a modern poem. He resists overall thumbs-up or thumbs-down judgments (de gustibus and all that) but can at least tell a potential reader whether a poem is interesting. He approaches this question from a few different angles, each of which receives an essay within Beautiful & Pointless: How is the poem personal to either the poet or the reader? Is there a political message? In what ways does the poem adhere to (or reject) established poetic forms? Is the poem “ambitious”? And (in a chapter called “The Fishbowl”), what does the poem tell us about the modern state of the poetry world?

As for “ambition”, Orr argues that a poet’s pursuit of capital-g Greatness may be counterproductive, primarily using a comparison of contemporaries Robert Lowell and Elizabeth Bishop. Lowell’s comparatively bombastic work was praised as it rolled off the presses, but Bishop’s more modest words and themes appear to have earned greater posthumous appreciation. I enjoyed the discussion and Orr’s insight, but wondered if Lowell/Bishop might be a selective example.

I had a few frustrations with the essays in the middle of the book. One was that I did not come away with a clear picture of how Orr defines “modern” poetry, as opposed to its opposite (classical?). Aside from the section on form, it wasn’t clear where “classic” poetry ended and “modern” poetry began. At times, Orr seems to count W.H. Auden, T.S. Eliot, and Robert Frost among “modern” poets because of the time period when they worked. However, I tend to think of “modern” poetry as the inaccessible type, and those three poets are rather accessible to me, perhaps because I studied them in school.

Another frustration was that Orr told so much about the landscape of his foreign country without telling us what he thought was good or bad. For example, in wrapping up the “Ambition” section, he responds to his own question about what ambition means in modern poetry: “The answer, as I hope you’ve seen, is that we just don’t know. There is no ‘true’ way to be ambitious, just as there’s no ‘proper’ way to write poetry; instead, we exist in a flurry of possibilities that will bring to mind either snowflakes or bullets, depending on your disposition.” Similarly, pointing out that many modern poets use traditional forms earnestly, many use them playfully, many use them partially, and many do not use them at all, Orr concludes: “We have either a gorgeous mosaic or a big mess, depending on whom you ask.” Such statements give deference to the reader, but more deference than the target audience of casual poetry readers would like. We would tend to ask the professional reviewer: Well, is it snowflakes, or bullets? A mosaic, or mess?

My third recurring frustration was that, for someone who cares about modern poetry, Orr doesn’t seem to like modern poets. If you imagine a room where a poetry reading is occurring, Orr is constantly walking us in and out of the room: In, to let us listen to the poets, then out, to tell us how crazy they are. They are entitled: “One of the poetry world’s favorite activities has been bemoaning its lost audience, then bemoaning the bemoaning, then bemoaning that bemoaning, until finally everyone shrugs and applies for a grant.” They are self-important: “Possibly you doubt that it really matters, politics-wise, whether somebody gets a poem published in a magazine with a circulation in the low hundreds…. This is why you are not a poet, or at least not a particular kind of poet.” They are intolerantly and ineffectually liberal: “There are maybe five conservative American poets, not one of whom can safely show his face at a writing conference for fear of being angrily doused with herbal tea.” And on and on. They are ivory-tower intellectuals, they are false martyrs, they are petty, they are jealous, they make mountains of molehills. The putdowns are funny, but they undermine Orr’s larger task. Whether the characterization of poets has a general ring of truth, I do not know. But it does not make me want to spend time reading modern poetry.

And that – the question of whether or why I should spend any time with modern poetry – is the topic of the book’s final, redemptive essay: “Why Bother?” After struggling to internalize most of the book, I found this final chapter to be wonderfully convincing and personal. Orr will not argue for reading poetry over spending discretionary time on any other given activity, but he tells us what it has meant in his own life. He recounts the magical experience of having a line (from Philip Larkin’s “Water”) resonate with him for the first time. And in the final few pages, he describes what poetry could, and could not, accomplish as his father fought cancer. There are no illusions of grandeur here. There is only a gifted prose writer who is grateful for the role of poetry in his life.

April Reading Summary and Challenge Update

2011-05-01T16:43:00.000-04:00

I'm finally posting a monthly summary post within a few days of the end of the month!

April was another slow month due to wedding planning and work commitments. I read 2 1/2 books.

The Metropolis Case by Matthew Gallaway

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown

Reading Challenges Progress

Cannonball Read III: 19 of 52 complete

Off the Shelf: 2 of 15 complete

Heroines Bookshelf: haven't started

Outdo Yourself: 19 of 70 complete

CBR-19: The Weird Sisters: Eleanor Brown

2011-05-01T16:36:00.000-04:00

You don't have to have a sister or be a fan of the Bard to love Brown's bright, literate debut, but it wouldn't hurt. Sisters Rose (Rosalind; As You Like It), Bean (Bianca; The Taming of the Shrew), and Cordy (Cordelia; King Lear)--the book-loving, Shakespeare-quoting, and wonderfully screwed-up spawn of Bard scholar Dr. James Andreas--end up under one roof again in Barnwell, Ohio, the college town where they were raised, to help their breast cancer–stricken mom. The real reasons they've trudged home, however, are far less straightforward: vagabond and youngest sib Cordy is pregnant with nowhere to go; man-eater Bean ran into big trouble in New York for embezzlement, and eldest sister Rose can't venture beyond the "mental circle with Barnwell at the center of it." For these pains-in-the-soul, the sisters have to learn to trust love--of themselves, of each other--to find their way home again. The supporting cast--removed, erudite dad; ailing mom; a crew of locals; Rose's long-suffering fiancé--is a punchy delight, but the stage clearly belongs to the sisters; Macbeth's witches would be proud of the toil and trouble they stir up. - Publishers Weekly

I found it was easy to relate to the sisters and there were familiar themes throughout the book. I'm not familiar with a lot of Shakespeare, but found it interesting how the quotes were worked into the dialogue. I was a tad disappointed that all three sisters' plot lines were resolved neatly. It would have been interesting to see a little more diversity and strife for them to adapt to.

Most of the book was written in first person plural which at times was a little confusing. The book was a good look at university and small town life. I liked that Bean was able to adjust and become the town librarian and I was slightly jealous that she got to be a solo library in a little town. I always felt that I would like to be a solo librarian in a small town one day. I also related to the whole family bringing a book to read when going out. I am known to always having some type of reading material with me in case I get stuck somewhere and need to occupy myself.

CBR3-18: The Red Tent - Anna Diamant

2011-05-01T16:28:00.000-04:00

The red tent is the place where women gathered during their cycles of birthing, menses, and even illness. Like the conversations and mysteries held within this feminine tent, this sweeping piece of fiction offers an insider's look at the daily life of a biblical sorority of mothers and wives and their one and only daughter, Dinah. Told in the voice of Jacob's daughter Dinah (who only received a glimpse of recognition in the Book of Genesis), we are privy to the fascinating feminine characters who bled within the red tent. In a confiding and poetic voice, Dinah whispers stories of her four mothers, Rachel, Leah, Zilpah, and Bilhah--all wives to Jacob, and each one embodying unique feminine traits. As she reveals these sensual and emotionally charged stories we learn of birthing miracles, slaves, artisans, household gods, and sisterhood secrets. Eventually Dinah delves into her own saga of betrayals, grief, and a call to midwifery.

"Like any sisters who live together and share a husband, my mother and aunties spun a sticky web of loyalties and grudges," Anita Diamant writes in the voice of Dinah. "They traded secrets like bracelets, and these were handed down to me the only surviving girl. They told me things I was too young to hear. They held my face between their hands and made me swear to remember." Remembering women's earthy stories and passionate history is indeed the theme of this magnificent book. In fact, it's been said that The Red Tent is what the Bible might have been had it been written by God's daughters, instead of her sons - Amazon.com

This book is the book club pick for April/May. It was suggested that we read the passage in the Bible that this book was based on first before starting the book. I remember the basic story of Jacob and Esau and the many sons of Jacob, but it was good to have a refresher before jumping into this book. I've never read a book based on an Old Testament book before. I have read books based on passages in Revelations.

Diamont stayed pretty true to the Genesis passages but embellished where the details were lacking. I appreciated seeing how Dinah's life changed when she moved to Egypt versus how it was with her family. The cultural practices and differences were highlighted even more. I had forgotten how much idol worshping was part of life back then. Also there was a strong enforcement of heritage and remembering where you can from back then as well.

CBR3-17: The Metropolis Case - Matthew Gallaway

2011-05-01T16:18:00.000-04:00

In his ambitious debut, Gallaway jumps backward and forward in time between two cities, spiraling in on four characters connected by music: Lucien, an opera singer coming-of-age in mid-19th-century Paris; Anna, an opera singer reaching the height of her career in 1960s New York; Maria, an extraordinarily promising young singer but a difficult student; and Martin, an aging lawyer whose love of music might save his life. The ties between them are at first so tenuous that readers may wonder when, how, or if their narratives will converge. But Wagner's Tristan and Isolde touches each in some way, as does, eventually, eternal life, a device that allows Gallaway to chronicle 1860s Paris and 1960s New York through the eyes of one character. Gallaway, a former musician, gives music a literary presence, intertwining opera and punk by illuminating their shared passion and chaos. But ambition sometimes gives way to pretension (particularly with chapter titles such as "Fashion Is a Canon for this Dialect Also") and purple prose, but the story remains grounded by characters grappling with love, in some cases for eternity - Publishers Weekly

I was intrigued with an opera being the center of a book's plot. As I read this book, I was impressed with how the author moved between the different stories, but still "moved" the overall plot forward. All of the characters seemed not to care about the consequences of their actions, but simply lived life to the fullest.

Gallaway's portrayal of the typical New Yorker reacting to the events of 9/11 through Martin definitely resonated with me. While I wasn't in New York that day, I lived in within an hour of the city at the time of the attacks. I saw many of my coworkers and friends react and try to cope with the what happened that morning.

I had a hard time relating to Anna and felt that she was the least developed character. I expected to learn more about her as the book progressed. Maria was an interesting character, but continued to be troubled even as an adult.

Lucien provided a good perspecive on life in a different century and how the focus back then was on different priorities - building new places and cities. It's easy to forget that the grandeur of Europe wasn't there initially and it had to be developed.

I found a hard time relating to most of the characters and found that if there hadn't been the mystery of the opera's influence on their lives I would have had a hard time reading this book.

CBR3-16: The Tiger's Wife - Tea Obreht

2011-04-20T22:28:00.000-04:00

Full Disclosure: I received an ARC copy of this book from Random House at ALA Midwinter

The sometimes crushing power of myth, story, and memory is explored in the brilliant debut of Obreht, the youngest of the New Yorker's 20-under-40. Natalia Stefanovi, a doctor living (and, in between suspensions, practicing) in an unnamed country that's a ringer for Obreht's native Croatia, crosses the border in search of answers about the death of her beloved grandfather, who raised her on tales from the village he grew up in, and where, following German bombardment in 1941, a tiger escaped from the zoo in a nearby city and befriended a mysterious deaf-mute woman. The evolving story of the tiger's wife, as the deaf-mute becomes known, forms one of three strands that sustain the novel, the other two being Natalia's efforts to care for orphans and a wayward family who, to lift a curse, are searching for the bones of a long-dead relative; and several of her grandfather's stories about Gavran Gailé, the deathless man, whose appearances coincide with catastrophe and who may hold the key to all the stories that ensnare Natalia. Obreht is an expert at depicting history through aftermath, people through the love they inspire, and place through the stories that endure; the reflected world she creates is both immediately recognizable and a legend in its own right. Obreht is talented far beyond her years, and her unsentimental faith in language, dream, and memory is a pleasure. - Publishers Weekly

I read a snippet of this story in The Best Non-Required American Reading 2010 and was curious about the rest of the story. Plus I sat through a Book Buzz session at ALA Conference and heard about the rave reviews. Also Obreht being picked as part of the New Yorker's 40 under 40 list also made me want to read the book.

The prologue really captures the reader and draws you into the story. The prose is well written and very descriptive. I was fascinated by the two stories told by her grandfather. I was expecting all the stories to connect and relate to each other so much that I got distracted from the plot while trying to figure out the connection.

This book definitely made me think a bit after I was done reading. Even though the subplots were explained and explored a bit, I wanted more. I wanted to learn more about the main character and what happens to her after she processes her grandfather's death. Check out Scott Simon's interview with Tea Obreht.

Stay tuned for more thoughts on this book. My fiance Patrick read it as well and will be posting his review in the next week or so.

cbr3-15: Queen Hereafter - Susan Fraser King

2011-04-20T22:12:00.000-04:00

Full Disclosure: I won this book as part of a contest from the Word Wenches

In King's follow-up to Lady Macbeth, Queen Margaret feeds the hungry and clothes the poor while war rages at home and abroad in 11th-century Scotland. Margaret transforms from devout exile into devout yet savvy queen when she marries King Malcolm Canmore, 18 years her senior and famous for killing Macbeth and his heir to the Scottish thrown. Newlywed Margaret first hears of Macbeth's unrepentant widow, Lady Gruadh, who has just sent her gifted granddaughter Eva to Malcolm's court to serve as bard, confidant, and spy. With Eva by her side, an emboldened Margaret embraces both Celtic and Latin religious traditions, aids the poor, frees prisoners, introduces the Scots to English manners, and helps negotiate peace. As she matures, Margaret's love for her husband and his people deepens and their relationship comes richly to life. Though clichés often plague the prose ("Tension and turbulence rode the air like dark clouds before a storm"), King's blend of historical figures and fictional characters turns a medieval icon into a believable mother, wife, and ruler. Quotes from original sources offer context and insight as to where the record ends and imagination begins - Publishers Weekly

I haven't read much on Scottish history and was curious to learn more about Margaret & Malcolm. I appreciated that King focused on the early part of Margaret's "career" and showed how she rose to power and adjusted to life in Scotland. Margaret surely is a model queen showing great generosity, piety and sense of tradition which helped transform Scotland.

I enjoyed the fictional female bard - Eva - that King created and used as narrator every other chapter. Eva allowed the reader to understand and "feel" the tension between the Northern Scotland - Lady Macbeth and the Southern Scotland - Malcolm. I did get a little lost in the battles between Malcolm and King William in England as well as following which relatives were siding with which leader.

King created a very subtle, but lovely love story and the book is well written. I felt the opening prologue lost its mystery because it took three-quarters of the book to get back to that scene again. I actually had to reread that chapter to remember what happened and how it related to the plot moving forward.

CBR3-14: Guns, Germs & Steel - Jared Diamond

2011-04-20T22:00:00.000-04:00

**** March Book Club Selection *****

Explaining what William McNeill called The Rise of the West has become the central problem in the study of global history. In Guns, Germs, and Steel Jared Diamond presents the biologist's answer: geography, demography, and ecological happenstance. Diamond evenhandedly reviews human history on every continent since the Ice Age at a rate that emphasizes only the broadest movements of peoples and ideas. Yet his survey is binocular: one eye has the rather distant vision of the evolutionary biologist, while the other eye--and his heart--belongs to the people of New Guinea, where he has done field work for more than 30 years.- Amazon.com

I've never read a Pulitzer Prize winning book before. I was intimidated by the size of this book and really hesitated to get started reading it, even though I knew I needed the full month to finish it. I was pleasantly surprised at the readability of the book. Ultimately though the size of the book ended up being a bit of a pitfall for me. By the time I made it 75% through, I was skimming the chapters to see if Diamond had something new to say. It started to feel like a history textbook more than an interesting discussion of facts and situations.

This book was considered a "co-ed" book for our book club, so the boys were encouraged to read it as well. It turns out that only 3 of us - boys or girls - made it through the whole book. But Diamond's theories and concepts were able to be discussed even with a brief understanding of his argument. We ended up having a lively discussion for over an hour.

If you are curious about what Diamond's theories are, but are wary about reading a 500 page book, National Geographic did a 5 part series that is available on Netflix streaming.

National Library Week 2011

2011-04-15T10:20:00.000-04:00

All this week libraries across the country have been celebrating their awesomeness and the joy they bring the communities around them as part of National Library Week.

CNN Librarian Kerith Page McFadden wrote a nice post about librarians being the master of the information universe. Looking through the Google News feed and the #nlw11 tweets it seems like the celebrations are going strong this week in various ways.

Yesterday was International Special Librarians' Day and we held a little celebration at work due to that and also our wiki hitting 250,000 page views. It was nice to see the staff members we serve or interact with everyday visiting our desks - which are spread among 5 floors - and saying thank you. Of course I'm sure the free goodies helped to get a few folks to stop by, but just the effort they took to say Thank You was a nice gesture.

I also attended a DC/SLA program that highlighted three librarians who have done international work.

Allan Overland, Library Director at Democracy Resource Center which is part of the National Endowment for Democracy, explained a grant funded project to create a digital library of democracy related materials. They decided due to budget and time constraints to just focus initially on the content that was born digital. They expanded out their current library catalog and made a basic search interface. They are working with other countries who are democratic to show them how to make a simple digital library for their collections as well.

Edna Reid has spent time working in Singapore and Malaysia. In Singapore, she helped build a library school and also worked at Nanyang Business School. After working for in Singapore for a few years, she decided to just take a year off and enjoy herself in Malaysia. But as she started to reach out to colleagues and other contacts she realized she was doing consulting on the side and decided to start her own consultant business.

Edna mentioned that part of her experience abroad was learning about the cultural intelligence and how to work around the society rules. She encouraged librarians who might be interested in an abroad position to think about framing their skills with a mindset of what they could bring to an international setting. She challenged us to think about what domain knowledge we have that is on demand in other countries. She suggested looking at the hot issues & discussions happening in other countries as well.

Dr. Sohair Wastawy was the last speaker. She was the Chief Librarian of the Library of Alexandria in Egypt from 2004 - 2010. Currently she is the Dean of Libraries at Illinois State University. She talked to us about how the information world is changing and how libraries are transforming to meet those needs. I was impressed with the ease that she spoke about the different statistics regarding social media trends, wireless and communications overall. She showed us designs of new & existing library buildings around the world that are transforming to be more than a place that houses books. One library that caught my eye during the presentation was NC State's Hunt Library.

Dr. Wastawy then transitioned to sharing a little bit about that goals and programs that the new Library at Alexandria offers. The library building itself is very impressive and they are reaching out to many different types of people - young, old, mentally handicapped, etc. The new Library of Alexandria was built in 2002, but has already made a huge impact on the surrounding communities. During the recent protests in Egypt, young people linked hands around the library building for hours in order to make sure no harm was done to this place of learning and community.

What I learned from all the speakers last night is that you need to take risks and step outside of your comfort zone when entering into a international librarianship position. Living and working abroad has always been a goal of mine, but at this point in my life I'm not sure its realistic. I was encouraged by an opportunity that Edna mentioned in which the US State Department is looking for short-term assignments for persons with particular skills. Perhaps that is how I could get my feet wet in international librarianship in the future.

Happy National Library Week!

March Reading Summary & Challenge Update

2011-04-15T08:39:00.001-04:00

I'm a little late in posting last month's summary again because of a busy schedule at work and outside of work.

It was a slow month because I only read 3 1/2 books and I'm behind on reviews.

Guns, Germs & Steel (March Book Club Pick) by Jared Diamond
Queen Hereafter - Susan Fraser King
The Tiger's Wife - Tea Obreht

I also started to read The Metropolis Case by Matthew Gallaway

Reading Challenges Progress
Cannonball Read III: 16 of 52 complete
Off the Shelf: 2 of 15 complete
Heroines Bookshelf: haven't started
Outdo Yourself: 16 of 70 complete

Computers in Libraries 2011

2011-03-28T16:01:00.002-04:00

Last week, I attended & presented at Computers in Libraries 2011 here in Washington, DC.

Keynote Speakers

On the first day of the conference, the first keynote speaker – James Crawford - was delayed arriving, so a few CIL “veterans” joined in an Impromptu panel on e-books. James did give his talk at lunchtime later that day.

I enjoyed Michelle’s talk on the second day. She gave a nice shout-out to NPR Social Media within her talk. Lee Rainie is always a source of good stats and information about what the trends are “on the ground”.

James Crawford – Engineering Director – Google Books

Archived talk – part 1

Archived talk – part 2

Michelle Manafy – Director of Content – Free Pint and author of Dancing with Digital Natives

Archived talk

Lee Rainie – Director – Pew Internet & American Life Project

Archived talk

Website Design & Usability

Since the new Digital Archive project I'm on at work includes a redesigned search interface, I went to a few presentations that were about dos & don’ts of web design & usability.

How to build a great website - Aaron Schmidt, DCPL, and Amanda Etches-Johnson, University of Guelph My favorite analogy they used is that a library website is like your spice cabinet – you have lots of choices that are useful, but you don’t remember how they got there in the first place. Aaron & Amanda pointed out that library websites are not the first place that users go to when starting their library search and that libraries have no control over how their catalog or electronic database interfaces look. Libraries should focus on what their users want to do on their sites. Focus on the frequently asked questions and actions.

They created a template for a library website that utilizes all the best practices they shared. They challenged us to move library websites from just basic functional pages to become a participatory and community driven space allowing for interacts from the library users and user driven content.

Usability Express: Recipe for Libraries – Bohyun Kim, Florida International University Medical Library, and Marissa Ball, Florida International University Green Library

I initially went to this session because Bohyun is a fellow NMRT colleague and I wanted to support her. But I ended up learning about different usability test methods and seeing some examples of what not to do on a library website. Their full presentation is posted here.

Search & Providing Value

I’m always looking for new search techniques or examples of how to present search results in new ways.

Search Engine Update – Greg Notess, Search Engine Showdown

I must admit that I went into this presentation expecting to learn about some new search engines, but was surprised to see that 80% of the presentation was spent on Google and its latest features. Content farming and social searching seem to be the hottest trends right now. He did demonstrate Microsoft’s Academic Search which is starting to rival Google Scholar.

Search: Quick Tips for Adding Value – multiple panelists

I was excited to see what tidbits this panel could provide regarding search and adding value to your results.

Ran Hock focused on Real-Time Search, which according to him is dead, and Google tips.

Gary Price did a brief tour of different types of search websites/tools.

Marcy Phelps gave tips on how to present research to executives and other stakeholders.

Tamas Doszkocs talked about the latest news on the semantic web.

The panelist I was most impressed with was Tasha Bergson-Michelson. She is a Google Education fellow and teaches users how to search. Her presentation focused on switching the search strategy from searching for the question to searching for the answer. Instead of entering “How fast can a ford mustang svt cobra accelerate” into a search engine, try “ford mustang svt cobra “0 to 60 in * seconds”. Entering the second search phrase, brings back the answer within the first couple of hits within the search results.

Another example: I’m looking for that pink book on Rosa Parks. Within Google Images, search for Rosa Parks. At the bottom left-hand panel, click on the box representing pink to see the results be limited to pink images. There are only 3 books within the results and the user can review those quickly.

You can do a range of dates within Google by typing {year}…{year}, which I thought might be helpful for the search requests we get when the user says the speech happened in the 70’s.

February Reading Summary & Challenge Update

2011-03-10T22:49:00.000-05:00

I'm a little late in posting last month's summary because of a busy schedule at work and outside of work.

Anyway, I read 6 books and had to give up on 2 books (Mr Chartwell & I Is an Other)

I also started to read Guns, Germs & Steel (March Book Club Pick) by Jared. Diamond.

Reading Challenges Progress
Cannonball Read III: 13 of 52 complete
Off the Shelf: 2 of 15 complete
Heroines Bookshelf: haven't started
Outdo Yourself: 13 of 70 complete

I picked some ARCs from Harper Collins this past month specifically for my fiance to read. I was joking with him that he could be a guest blogger and review them if he wanted too. He laughed, but seemed interested.

CBR3-13: Angel with Two Faces - Nicola Upson

2011-03-10T22:36:00.000-05:00

No classic detective fiction aficionado will want to miss Upson's compelling sequel to 2008's An Expert in Murder, which introduced mystery author Josephine Tey (1896–1952) as sleuth. In 1935, Tey's close friend, Scotland Yard Inspector Archie Penrose, has returned on holiday to Cornwall, his childhood home, where he ends up attending the funeral of estate worker Harry Pinching, who drowned in Loe Pool, rumored to take a life every seven years. Most locals believe Pinching's death was an accident, but Penrose and Tey, who joins the inspector in Cornwall, soon pick up on ominous undercurrents in the community that suggest otherwise. As the pair attempt to uncover the truth, Penrose witnesses another death that's unquestionably murder. The subtle prose succeeds both at evoking the quiet splendor of the Cornish landscape and in capturing the tragedy and torment that plague many of the characters. The psychological sophistication will resonate with Charles Todd fans. - Publisher's Weekly

I found this book on the giveaway shelf at work and was drawn in by the setting of the book - Cornwall, England. When I studied abroad in England back in 1999, I spent a weekend exploring the main towns & villages of Cornwall and fell in love with their charm & quaintness. I was hoping this book would capture that and transport me back to that weekend.

This book did describe the lovely landscape that is in Cornwall, but most of the action took place on a family estate. One of the reviews on the book states that Upson captures the Agatha Christie spirit with the book. I agree with that reviewer, this book kept me guessing about what was going to happen next. I did have an aha moment and figured out who one murderer was based on some small details. This book is a quick read and I definitely want to read more by this author.

CBR3-12: All Facts Considered - Kee Malesky

2011-03-10T22:18:00.000-05:00

For the bestselling miscellany market, an NPR librarian's compendium of fascinating facts on history, science, and the arts
How much water do the Great Lakes contain? Who were the first and last men killed in the Civil War? How long is a New York minute? What are the lost plays of Shakespeare? What building did Elvis leave last? Get the answers to these and countless other vexing questions in a All Facts Considered. Guaranteed to enlighten even the most seasoned trivia buff, this treasure trove of "who knew?" factoids spans a wide range of intriguing subjects.
Written by noted NPR librarian Kee Malesky, whom Scott Simon has called the "source of all human knowledge"
Answers questions on history, natural history, science, religion, language, and the arts
Packed with valuable nuggets of information, from the useful to the downright bizarre
The perfect gift for every inquiring mind that wants to know, All Facts Considered will put you at the center of the conversation as you show off your essential store of inessential yet irresistible knowledge. - Amazon.com

This book is written by my colleague Kee Malesky who patiently answered my question about 'how the book writing was going' every time I saw her at work. I really enjoyed reading the introduction to the book. Kee highlights main reasons on why us librarians are librarians. Often times Kee's name is the librarian named on the air, but she was gracious in the introduction and acknowledgments to recognize the team of librarians that NPR has.

Instead of pulling out facts included in the book that I found interesting, I'm going to post some questions that were asked of Kee for the DC/SLA chapter newsletter. Read the book - it's witty and interesting and you'll learn something. But I want to share more about the great librarian and person behind the book as well.

You’ve been a librarian at NPR for over 20 years can you tell us how NPR has changed over the decades and how that’s affected your job?

I've seen NPR evolve from land lines and typewriters to satellites and computers. NPR has always been on the cutting edge of technological developments, and the library has been an integral part of that -- creating in-house databases to document our programs and make the material easily available, providing desktop research tools to the staff, maintaining current awareness of changes in commercial and primary sources so we are constantly improving the service we provide.

In all your years at NPR what’s the assignment or accomplishment you’re most proud of?

I would probably say I'm most proud of the briefing books we produce for national elections and other events. They used to be massive 800+ page volumes, and now we can provide the same info on our News Wiki in ways that are even more flexible and useful than the print editions. I'm currently starting a project that could make me very proud -- creating an Audio Pronunciation Guide.

Can you walk us through the process of writing the book? After you thought of writing it what happened next? What was the most challenging part of the process?

I wrote a brief proposal, which included an essay about facts and what they mean and how they change (that became the Introduction to the book). Once it was accepted by the publisher, I arranged to take some time off from NPR and started on the research. Most of the facts in the book are not from actual questions I have answered at the NPR Reference Desk, but I did look through dozens of my old reference desk notebooks for queries that involved interesting facts. I carried a little notebook and pencil everywhere I went, to write down ideas as I found them. Much of the research was done online -- using commercial databases; government, academic and association websites; and online library resources. I also made several visits to the DC Public Library and to the Library of Congress. I collected as many reputable sources as I needed to compile the essential details of each fact, then I tried to tell its story in a couple of paragraphs. It took about six months to research and write. Once the editor accepted the manuscript, I worked with production and copy-editors until we were all satisfied with the final product. I turned in the final Index at the beginning of September.

Check out Kee's website for more interviews and listings of her sources for the book as well.

CBR3-11: The Lover's Dictionary - David Levithan

2011-03-10T21:54:00.000-05:00

In his first book for adults, popular young-adult novelist David Levithan creates a beautifully crafted exploration of the insecurities, tenderness, anger, and contented comfort that make romantic relationships so compelling (or devastating). Through sparingly written, alphabetical entries that defy chronology in defining a love affair, The Lover’s Dictionary packs an emotional wallop. For "breathtaking (adj.)," the unnamed narrator explains, "Those moments when we kiss and surrender for an hour before we say a single word." For "exacerbate (v.)," he notes, "I believe your exact words were: 'You’re getting too emotional.'" Ranging from over a page to as short as "celibacy (n.), n/a," the definitions-as-storyline alternate between heart-wrenching and humorous--certainly an achievement for a book structured more like Webster’s than a traditional novel. Proving that enduring characters and conflict trump word count, Levithan’s poignant vignettes and emotional candor will remind readers that sometimes in both fiction and life, less is truly more--and the personal details of love can be remarkably universal - Amazon.com

I got to hear David Levithan speak in January at the ALA Midwinter Meeting. I've heard of his previous books, but have not read any of them. I just happened to be walking by the Macmillian booth on the exhibit hall when David was signing copies of this book. I thought the concept for this book was interesting and decided to get a signed copy while I had the chance.

As vocab is not one of my strengths, I read about 50 pages of this book without a dictionary next to me and realized that if I was going to "get" the definitions as written by Levithan, I needed to understand the main definition of the word. The reader is not given any background on the couple featured in the definitions, so it felt like you are reading someone else's diary. It was hard to follow the "happenings" within the couple's relationship because the events weren't chronological due to the alphabetical listing of the words and definitions. I was surprised that some of the definitions overlapped for multiple words. I'm curious how Levithan came up with the words for the entries.

Here are some of my favorite entries from the book:

blemish, n

The slight acne scars. The penny-sized, penny-shaped birthmark right above your knee. The dot below your shoulder that must have been from when you had chicken pox in third grade. The scratch on your neck - did I do that?

This brief transcript of moments, written on the body, is so deeply satisfying to read.

dissonance, n

Nights when I need to sleep and you can't. Days when I want to talk and you won't. Hours when every noise you make interferes with my silence. Weeks when there is a buzzing in the air, and we both pretend we don't hear it.

punctuate, v

Cue the imaginary interviewer:

Q: So when all is said and done, what have you learned here?

A: The key to a successful relationship isn't just in the words, it's in the choice of punctuation. When you're in love with someone, a well-placed question mark can be the difference between bliss and disaster, and a deeply respected period or a cleverly inserted ellipsis can prevent all kinds of exclamations.

CBR3-10: The Three Weissmanns of Westport - Cathleen Schine

2011-03-10T21:24:00.001-05:00

A geriatric stepfather falls in love with a scheming woman half his age in Schine's Sense and Sensibility–flecked and compulsively readable follow-up to The New Yorkers. Betty Weissman is 75 when Joseph, her husband of nearly 50 years, announces he's divorcing her. Soon, Betty moves out of their grand Central Park West apartment and Joseph's conniving girlfriend, Felicity, moves in. Betty lands in a rundown Westport, Conn., beach cottage, but things quickly get more complicated when Betty's daughters run into their own problems. Literary agent Miranda is sued into bankruptcy after it's revealed that some of her authors made up their lurid memoirs, and Annie, drowning in debt, can no longer afford her apartment. Once they relocate to Westport, both girls fall in love—Annie rather awkwardly with the brother of her stepfather's paramour, and Miranda with a younger actor who has a young son. An Austen-esque mischief hovers over these romantic relationships as the three women figure out how to survive and thrive. It's a smart crowd pleaser with lovably flawed leads and the best tearjerker finale you're likely to read this year. - Publisher's Weekly

I found this book on the giveaway shelf at work and was drawn to it because it was set in Westport, CT. I lived near Westport right out of college. Then I read a review of the book on Beth Fish Reads blog and was excited to hear that this book incorporated themes from Sense and Sensibility with a modern twist.

At first I thought the book was sweet and a little quirky. But as I kept reading I had a hard time relating to Miranda or Annie. I always enjoying reading books that have a character who is a librarian. I was disappointed to see that Annie was portrayed as a stereotypical librarian.

Definitely some plot lines were very soap opera like which is ironic because one of the characters runs away to California to star in a soap opera and quickly becomes engaged to his co-star. Miranda's fascination with the little boy Henry was borderline creepy. I was let down by Josie finally giving in on the divorce terms as well. The ending seemed to wrap up all the loose ends on the plot very neatly.

If you are an Austin fan, this book is an interesting read because of the Sense and Sensibility themes. But I really struggled to get through the end of this book.

CBR3-9: The Oracle of Stamboul - Michael David Lukas

2011-02-09T09:30:00.070-05:00

Full Disclosure: I received an ARC copy of this book from Harper Collins

Late in the summer of 1877, a flock of purple-and-white hoopoes suddenly appears over the town of Constanta on the Black Sea, and Eleonora Cohen is ushered into the world by a mysterious pair of Tartar midwives who arrive just minutes before her birth. "They had read the signs, they said: a sea of horses, a conference of birds, the North Star in alignment with the moon. It was a prophecy that their last king had given on his deathwatch." But joy is mixed with tragedy, for Eleonora's mother dies soon after the birth. Raised by her doting father, Yakob, a carpet merchant, and her stern, resentful stepmother, Ruxandra, Eleonora spends her early years daydreaming and doing housework—until the moment she teaches herself to read, and her father recognizes that she is an extraordinarily gifted child, a prodigy. When Yakob sets off by boat for Stamboul on business, eight-year-old Eleonora, unable to bear the separation, stows away in one of his trunks. On the shores of the Bosporus, in the house of her father's business partner, Moncef Bey, a new life awaits. Books, backgammon, beautiful dresses and shoes, markets swarming with color and life—the imperial capital overflows with elegance, and mystery. For in the narrow streets of Stamboul—a city at the crossroads of the world—intrigue and gossip are currency, and people are not always what they seem. Eleonora's tutor, an American minister and educator, may be a spy. The kindly though elusive Moncef Bey has a past history of secret societies and political maneuvering. And what is to be made of the eccentric, charming Sultan Abdulhamid II himself, beleaguered by friend and foe alike as his unwieldy, multiethnic empire crumbles? - Amazon.com

When I first read the description of this book I was intrigued by the time period and the mystery around Eleonora. I definitely got entranced in this book while reading during my commute (almost missed my stop twice!). Each character within the book had a different relationship with Eleonora. Eleonora's reaction to her father's death was reasonable, but thought that after weeks of no talking either The Bey or Mrs. Damakan would have curtailed this behavior.

It was refreshing to see that within the Ottoman Empire there was the same push and pull within the royalty and their advisers as other empires. I'm not terribly familiar with the Ottoman Empire so it's hard to tell if this detail is part of the history or fiction. I was a tad disappointed that Eleonora really only advised the Sultan on one issue. To me the premise of impacting history meant advising on multiple situations.

The plot line with the American professor was a little strange and out of place and I could never figure out what his end goal was tutoring Eleonora. Loved the uncertainty and uneasiness surrounding Eleonora's gift and cultural heritage which just added to the political turmoil of the time period.

I did an image search on purple and white hoopoes since they played such a crucial part in the Eleonora's journey.

I'm giving away my ARC copy of this book to one lucky reader. Submit your entry below by Tuesday, February 15th at 11:59 pm EST.

Check out my fellow TLC Book Tour hosts for this book:
Katie's Nesting Spot
Medieval Bookworm
One Girl Collecting
Confessions of a Rambling Mind

Update: Giveaway is closed and a winner has been chosen. Using Random.org, Hannah won the book!

CBR3-8: 365 Thank Yous - John Kralik

2011-02-08T23:09:00.000-05:00

**** I won a copy of this book via LibraryThing's Early Reviewer Giveaway ****

One recent December, at age 53, John Kralik found his life at a terrible, frightening low: his small law firm was failing; he was struggling through a painful second divorce; he had grown distant from his two older children and was afraid he might lose contact with his young daughter; he was living in a tiny apartment where he froze in the winter and baked in the summer; he was 40 pounds overweight; his girlfriend had just broken up with him; and overall, his dearest life dreams--including hopes of upholding idealistic legal principles and of becoming a judge--seemed to have slipped beyond his reach. Then, during a desperate walk in the hills on New Year's Day, John was struck by the belief that his life might become at least tolerable if, instead of focusing on what he didn't have, he could find some way to be grateful for what he had.
Inspired by a beautiful, simple note his ex-girlfriend had sent to thank him for his Christmas gift, John imagined that he might find a way to feel grateful by writing thank-you notes. To keep himself going, he set himself a goal--come what may--of writing 365 thank-you notes in the coming year. One by one, day after day, he began to handwrite thank yous--for gifts or kindnesses he'd received from loved ones and coworkers, from past business associates and current foes, from college friends and doctors and store clerks and handymen and neighbors, and anyone, really, absolutely anyone, who'd done him a good turn, however large or small. Immediately after he'd sent his very first notes, significant and surprising benefits began to come John's way--from financial gain to true friendship, from weight loss to inner peace. While John wrote his notes, the economy collapsed, the bank across the street from his office failed, but thank-you note by thank-you note, John's whole life turned around. 365 Thank Yous is a rare memoir: its touching, immediately accessible message--and benefits--come to readers from the plainspoken storytelling of an ordinary man. Kralik sets a believable, doable example of how to live a miraculously good life. To read 365 Thank Yous is to be changed.- Amazon.com

Kralik's writing style, for a lawyer, was easy to read and conversational. As the reader moves from chapter to chapter, you get to see how a small act - writing thank you notes - had a big impact on his life. Kralik had a good support system around him which allowed him to grow and change his behaviors. It was endearing to see John reach back into his past and find past acquaintances or associates to thank in order to meet his goal.

Growing up I was taught to write thank you notes within a few days of receiving a present. My grandmother still writes handwritten notes to friends and family each week. Sitting down and writing notes during a time of instant messaging and texting allows not only a more thoughtful message, but also a nice homage to simpler times.

This book is a nice interruption in your busy life to remind you that sometimes stopping and appreciating what you have can reap many benefits.

CBR3-7: The Imperfectionists - Tom Rachman

2011-02-08T22:53:00.000-05:00

Printing presses whirr, ashtrays smolder, and the endearing complexity of humanity plays out in Tom Rachman's debut novel, The Imperfectionists. Set against the backdrop of a fictional English-language newspaper based in Rome, it begins as a celebration of the beloved and endangered role of newspapers and the original 24/7 news cycle. Yet Rachman pushes beyond nostalgia by crafting an apologue that better resembles a modern-day Dubliners than a Mad Men - Amazon.com

Working for a news organization, I was very curious by the premise of this book. I was pleasantly surprised by Rachman's witty writing and tongue-in-cheek approach to the different "staff" members at the newspaper. Rachman also interconnected the stories of each character similar to Colum McCann in Let the Great World Spin. The background on how the paper was started and grew was spread out throughout the book in small snippets at the end of each chapter.

This book is an entertaining read and really doesn't need much description. The reader can "escape" to Rome and other places as they meet the newsroom staff who are just trying to keep the paper running.

CBR3-6: One Day - David Nicholls

2011-02-08T22:36:00.000-05:00

***** February Book Club Pick *******

The Hollywood-ready latest from Nicholls (The Understudy) makes a brief pit stop in book form before its inevitable film adaptation. (It's already in development.) The episodic story takes place during a single day each year for two decades in the lives of Dex and Em. Dexter, the louche public school boy, and Emma, the brainy Yorkshire lass, meet the day they graduate from university in 1988 and run circles around one another for the next 20 years. Dex becomes a TV presenter whose life of sex, booze, and drugs spins out of control, while Em dully slogs her way through awful jobs before becoming the author of young adult books. They each take other lovers and spouses, but they cannot really live without each other. Nicholls is a glib, clever writer, and while the formulaic feel and maudlin ending aren't ideal for a book, they'll play in the multiplex.- Publishers Weekly

My bookclub picked this book for February due to the focus on a romantic relationship. When the book was initially described to me, I thought the concept of following a couple throughout many years but just focusing on one specific day was an unique premise.

It was hard to relate to the Emma and Dexter. I found myself loving them one chapter and being bored by them in the next chapter. The book definitely reads well and I can see how Nicholls is compared to Nick Hornby. In a way, each chapter was like an episode of a soap opera, but not as far fetched as a soap opera plot.

When the significance of the day highlighted throughout the book is revealed, I was shocked (actually reacted with a sharp intake of breath). I did find myself guessing what the significance of the day was as I read through the book. In fact trying to figure out the mystery might have pushed me through this book.

This book was a good read and I'm curious to see how the book adapts to the big screen.

CBR3-5: The Gendarme - Mark Mustian

2011-02-08T21:58:00.000-05:00

Mustian's debut novel is a meditation on memory in which the dreams of a former Turkish soldier contain the truth of his past. Emmett Conn is 92 and living in Georgia when he begins dreaming of his youth and his involvement in the Armenian diaspora. After 70 years of amnesia caused by his WWI injuries, Emmett's past returns with a vengeance following surgery for a brain tumor. Emmett knows he fought the British at Gallipoli, was wounded, and was cared for by a nurse, Carol, whom he married and accompanied back to the U.S. But in his violent dreams, he relives his actions as a Turkish gendarme in the forced death march of thousands of Armenians into Syria. Emmett recalls snippets of his murderous and rapacious acts but also of his obsession with a beautiful young Armenian girl, Araxie. His dream life leads him to one conclusion: he must find Araxie and beg her forgiveness. Mustian's staccato prose, an attempt to emulate Emmett's skittish and elusive dreams, works sometimes better than others, but the novel effectively captures the human capacity for survival and redemption. - Publishers Weekly

I was drawn to the cover of this book at the public library a few months ago, but past it up because I wasn't sure if the story was as riveting as the cover. Then two of the book bloggers I follow (Medieval Bookworm & S Krishna) both posted reviews about the book that got be intrigued with it again. Luckily I found an ARC copy at work on the giveaway shelf.

I definitely wasn't prepared for the amount of description of the violence and sexual acts that the main character and others participated in. Unfortunately, I've become a little desensitized to violence and vivid descriptions, but this book caused some weird dreams for me as well. It was also hard to switch between Emmett's flashbacks through his dreams and the present day at first.

Telling the story from the "immigrant" perspective was compelling. Emmett's struggle to answer the question of where he was from reminded the reader throughout the book what his mindset was. Before reading this book, I had no idea about the supposed genocide in Armenia and Turkey during World War II. Reading the author chat at the end of the book also informed me about the current day sensitivity towards this subject as well.

This book did his a note with me since I could easily see my grandfather, a World War II veteran who struggled with dementia at the end of his life, within Emmett's actions. I could relate to Emmett's daughter as she adjusted to her father's behavior.

While this book can be squeamish at times, it does take modern day themes and intertwines them with a historical setting that most of us are not familiar with.

January Reading Summary & Challenge Update

2011-02-01T23:14:00.000-05:00

One thing I thought I would try this year is writing summary posts for each month and providing updates on the reading challenges I'm participating in.

In January, I read 7 1/2 books, but I'm behind in posting a few reviews. Hopefully I can get them written and posted over the weekend.

Best American Nonrequired Reading 2010
The Book of Tomorrow
Miracles Can Happen (January Book Club Pick)
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand
The Oracle of Stamboul
The Gendarme
One Day

Reading Challenges Progress
Cannonball Read III: 7 of 52 complete
Off the Shelf: 1 of 15 complete
Heroines Bookshelf: haven't started
Outdo Yourself: 7 of 70 complete
I read 60 books last year and signed up to read 6-10 more books this year

I also participated in the Library Day in the Life project during January.

Library Day in the Life Round 6 - Day 5

2011-01-28T18:00:00.000-05:00

This post is written for Round 6 of the Library Day in the Life project where librarians across the world share details of their daily activities.

Today I was back in the office even with more snow flurries falling outside. This morning I spent a little time thinking about what materials would be needed for the library table at the Intern Fair. Each year NPR hosts an Intern Fair where possible future NPR interns come and learn about the opportunities available. Being a former intern myself, I was looking forward to talking to students. NPR's Library has a good track record with hiring former interns when positions open up and I've found that internships & fellowships are a great way to get a sense of what a specific job/environment entails.

Also this morning I spent some time catching up on ALA & SLA emails/duties. I took the ALA Membership Meeting Survey and also posted some NMRT announcements on the various social media networks that NMRT has a presence on. I also turned down an appointment as chair of the SLA Technical Standards Committee. It was hard to say no, but I have a wedding to plan and a huge project at work to implement.

In the afternoon I did a shift at the Library table and met some interesting students. Unfortunately, none of them were library students but it was nice to share a bit about what the Library does here at NPR.

The rest of the day was spent cataloging. I leave you with a few more interesting stories from the day:

Chris Ziegler explains to Ira Flatow what '4G' actually means
Brad Meltzer talks with Steve Inskeep about his latest book Inner Circle
Jay Bakker talks with Guy Raz about growing up with his parents Jim & Tammy Faye

It has been fun blogging this week my daily activities. Even though round 6 continues through Sunday this will be my last blog post as I have the weekend off =)

Library Day in the Life Round 6 - Day 4

2011-01-27T19:31:00.000-05:00

This post is written for Round 6 of the Library Day in the Life project where librarians across the world share details of their daily activities.

Today started with a flurry of activity (no pun intended) due to last night's snow storm. I woke up to find my cable was out which added a small wrinkle to my plan to work from home today. I decided to wait it out and tried to figure out how to make my blackberry a modem for my laptop. Luckily the cable was restored just as I was starting to figure out the modem directions I had found.

First up today was compiling more HERMES statistics and sending off an email to my colleague Kee would will compile the rest of the week's statistics over the weekend and send to News Management.

Next up was reviewing the comments made by the developers on the items that are in this release for Artemis. It's exciting and nerve-wracking to see things coming together. As I've said in previous posts, NPR has many metadata fields and it's hard to capture them in a clean and simple interface.

I jumped onto a webinar hosted by Createsphere this afternoon regarding how to find key assets in your digital asset management system. While Createsphere's content is geared more for IT and content managers, I have found we can easily apply the content to Library ILS systems as well. Unfortunately the webinar wasn't that interesting and I decided to jump off and catch up with the archived audio later this week.

Just recently we've decided to hold status meetings twice a week for the Artemis project. I had a quick 15 minute call with the team and did some follow-ups from the meeting.

The last part of my day was working on my cataloging backlog. I wasn't able to get as much done because I'm on a laptop at home, but I did find a few stories that were interesting:

freelancer Ryan Morden explains how one town in New York is trying to determine the environmental impact of an old abandoned General Motors plant
Foreign Desk reporter Juan Forero explores the Amazon forest with an archeologist
producer Selena Simmons-Duffin looks back at Wikipedia as it celebrates its 10th anniversary
Carrie Kahn captures the rubble busters in Haiti

Best part of the day was working alongside of my fiance. It was nice to have little conversations here and there in person and not over email.

Library Day in the Life Round 6 - Day 3

2011-01-26T21:10:00.000-05:00

This post is written for Round 6 of the Library Day in the Life project where librarians across the world share details of their daily activities.

As the latest snow storm made its way into the DC metro area, I spent the morning attending two regularly scheduled meetings. First was our weekly cataloging meeting. Every week the library staff meets to talk about issues we might have found while cataloging or to discuss what subject terms or keywords to use for the latest breaking news event. Most of our discussion this morning was about preferred name spellings for various persons in the news. The second meeting was a bi-weekly data migration meeting. The library staff is working on various data migration projects as part of the migration to a new database (Artemis). These bi-weekly meetings are our way to check-in and discuss any new errors or conditions we've found while cleaning up the record sets we are assigned.

After those meetings I tested a new version of software that is being rolled out to the News staff. I had reported a bug to the IT development team yesterday and they felt that this new version could fix the issue I reported. They were correct. I also spent some time pulling together weekly statistics for the HERMES database which myself and my colleague Kee sent to News Management to report on compliance of metadata standards.

In the afternoon, my goal was to work on the cataloging backlog I have waiting for me. I was able to get through a show before we were given an early dismissal (due to the snow). I ended up volunteering to cover the Reference Desk for the rest of the afternoon. Luckily it was quiet for the rest of the afternoon and I was able to get more cataloging done before heading out into the storm myself.

Here are links to some of the interesting stories I cataloged this afternoon:

NPR's Guy Raz talks with IBM researcher David Ferrucci about computer WATSON playing on Jeopardy!
Citizen Scientist makes a 3-D printer
NPR's Guy Raz talks with Julian Fellowes about bringing "Downton Abbey" to PBS

Library Day in the Life Round 6 - Day 2

2011-01-25T18:31:00.000-05:00

This post is written for Round 6 of the Library Day in the Life project where librarians across the world share details of their daily activities.

Today's activities was mostly meetings with a few data related tasks in between.

I started the day with helping a colleague complete a report request for our Development office. I reviewed the stories aired on Tell Me More during the month of December and identified which were education related stories.

Next I fixed some older catalog records that had misspellings pointed out by one of our editors.

A few years ago I spent some time working in the Information Technology department on a company-wide software development project. I became the product owner for a person name authority database (called Hermes) for the newsroom here at NPR. Part of being a product owner entails training folks on the tool. I spent 20 minutes or so today answering questions from a producer and intern on the Arts Desk regarding Hermes.

Every Tuesday morning and Thursday afternoon, my colleague Hannah and I meet with our contractors at Siteworx to get a status update on the implementation of the new archive database Artemis (can you see a theme with the database names?). Today's status meeting was a little different because we were demoing to our executive sponsors the work we had done on the project over the past two weeks. This meeting was the first time they got to see NPR data & fields within the product we are using (Collective Access).

After lunch I spent some time merging some records that weren't migrated correctly when our current archive database was implemented. I was able to finish the listing of records (over 300) this afternoon which was exciting. I also met with another one of my colleagues - Lauren - to review the additional records that she and I have been reviewing as part of the this data migration effort as well. NPR's archive has over 40 years of records and the fields available and cataloging syntax has changed over those 40 years. Therefore there are quite a few data migration related projects to get through before the next migration to the new system. In fact I found a few more queries that need to be run and the results reviewed as I went through the remaining records this afternoon.

Also this afternoon, I sat in on a demonstration from one of our digital engineers on how the audio that is broadcast is captured and split up into individual stories to be posted on NPR's website. With the new archive database we are planning to offer preview & download audio functionality as the NPR staff are going through search results. Part of this functionality includes actually creating digital files of our collection as well as establishing "born-digital" workflows for the archive. This meeting this afternoon was just one step in a many-step process to understanding what actions are happening today in order to adjust them for the future workflow.

Library Day in the Life Round 6 - Day 1

2011-01-24T18:20:00.001-05:00

This post is written for Round 6 of the Library Day in the Life project where librarians across the world share details of their daily activities.

I am a Broadcast Librarian at NPR headquarters located in Washington, DC. My main duties are to provide audio reference to NPR staff (i.e. looking for clips of movies, speeches) and cataloging the NPR produced content for reuse. I've been at NPR for 5 years.

Mondays for me usually are spent on the Reference Desk. Each of us take a turn covering the Reference Desk each week. Part of the Reference Desk responsibilities includes processing CDs of the shows broadcast the day before into the collection. Here at NPR the library is 24/7 so we use some low-tech methods for circulation white cards which we type & stamp. Also part of that processing includes printing the rundowns of a show which includes a brief description and order of the stories with a show. On Mondays, I process CDs from Friday, Saturday and Sunday as well as catalog copies of the Sunday Morning Talk Shows for NPR's Spoken Word collection.

Due to tomorrow night's State of the Union address, we had to adjust the audio we are going to capture for All Things Considered and make a new catalog record for the actual State of the Union and Republican response. I took care of those adjustments and notified our engineering center about the changes.

Some of the reference requests I received today included:

NPR audio coverage of the Challenger disaster back in January 1986 for stories to use on the 25th anniversary later this week
George W Bush speaking at West Point in 2002 which I found in our WAND collection - CDs of audio broadcast by the Washington Area News Distribution channel
Newsreel sound of marines storming the beaches in WWII to be used in a story on tomorrow's All Things Considered
Healthcare coverage from Nixon era days which required ordering reel-to-reel tapes from our off-site storage site at the University of Maryland
Trying to determine if we ever did a story on a gay history museum in San Francisco

In between requests, I caught up on some notifications from the system that tracks development work for NPR's new archive system (Artemis), fixed some duplicate records in the news production person authority database (HERMES) and fixed old catalog records that weren't migrated correctly the last migration.

Best quote of the day
Patron: Can you just help confirm because you have a masters degree in searching?

Midwinter Fun in San Diego

2011-01-12T21:27:00.004-05:00

A warm breeze blew me across the country this past weekend so that I could attend American Library Association's Midwinter Meeting in San Diego.

While most of the sessions I went to were related to business for New Members Round Table (NMRT) here are a few notes from other sessions that I attended.

Author’s Forum – sponsored by ALA, Exhibits Round Table (ERT) and Booklist

David Levithan, Stewart O’Nan, Armistead Maupin and Susan Vreeland spoke with Booklist Adult Books Editor Brad Hooper. While I wasn’t familiar with any of the authors (unfortunately), I wasn’t disappointed by this panel. All of them were well spoken and shared interesting stories about their process and/or their current books. Afterwards, I was able to get Susan Vreeland and David Levithan to sign copies of their last books. More coverage on the forum

Newspaper Interest Group – ALCTS – Building Digital Newspapers

I didn’t know that there was a newspaper interest group within ALA. Luckily this session (described below) was posted on multiple listservs. There was probably 10-20 people at the session. While the experience of Sarah, Vicky and Brian can’t be directly applied to NPR’s archive, it was interesting to hear others talk about their news archives. All of the presenters mentioned the difficulty of News organizations actually sending content to some kind of archive – let alone having consistent (and accurate) metadata.

The Newspaper Interest Group discussion session at the ALA midwinter meeting will explore efforts to collect, archive and make accessible PDFs of contemporary newspapers. Sarah Quimby will present on a recent project at the Minnesota Historical Society to start collecting newspaper PDFs in that state. Vicky McCargar will survey some ways publishers currently archive born-digital content. And Brian Geiger will demo software his center has started to use to allow California publishers to upload PDFs and convert them into METS/ALTO digital objects.

Presenters:

Sarah Quimby is the Library Processing Manager at the Minnesota Historical Society in St. Paul, Minnesota. She received her M.S.L.S. from the Catholic University of America, and has also worked at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library.

Victoria McCargar is an archivist and digital preservation consultant. Trained in journalism and information science, she worked in digital asset management at the Los Angeles Times beginning in 1993 and oversaw the development of the paper’s landmark graphics databases. Her day job is archivist at Mount St. Mary’s College, Los Angeles; by night she teaches preservation management in the San José State online library program.

Brian Geiger is Director of the Center for Bibliographical Studies and Research at the University of California, Riverside. Among the projects he manages is the California Digital Newspaper Collection (CDNC), a freely accessible repository of digitized California newspapers, and the California Newspaper Microfilm Archive. For the last year the Center has worked to start a program to collect current newspaper PDFs from

ublishers and process them for inclusion in the CDNC.

Maximize The Value of the Research Library – sponsored by Ex-Libris

This session was titled Getting the Library Dog to Bark which was taken from a presentation done by David Shulenburger at a Library Assessment Conference in Baltimore this past year. Again the focus of the presentation (assessment in academic libraries) wasn’t relevant to NPR's workflow, but it was an interesting presentation. Paul Bracke presented how Purdue Libraries went from de-centralized libraries to centralized libraries in order to align with the University goals better. Part of this realignment included rethinking end-to-end workflows without worrying about who was going to do the work.

ALA President’s Program – Ted Danson

When I first read what Ted Danson was going to talk about (his foundation Oceana and his new book –Oceana: Our Endangered Oceans and What We Can Do to Save Them) I wasn’t sure this session was going to be interesting. But I should have known that a comedic actor like Ted would have the audience laughing throughout. ALA President Roberta Stevens interviewed him for almost 1 ½ hours. While Ted is mostly a figure-head for Oceana, he does “get smart” (as he called it) from the scientists before going out and speaking about Oceans. He also shared a little about his acting career in TV and Film. More coverage on the interview

If you are curious to see pictures of San Diego, check out the Midwinter Flickr group. I must admit it was hard to leave the lovely weather of southern California.

Here is a list of books below that I picked up in San Diego:

Susan Vreeland – Clara and Mr. Tiffany

David Levithan – The Lover’s Dictionary

Rebecca Hunt – Mr. Chartwell

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon – The Dressmaker of Khair Khana

Tea Obreht – The Tiger’s Wife

Elle Newmark – The Sandalwood Tree

Kyung-Sook Shin – Please Look After Mom

Ellen Sussman – French Lessons

CBR3-4: Major Pettigrew's Last Stand - Helen Simonson

2011-01-11T22:59:00.000-05:00

*** Full Disclosure: I received a paperback copy of this book from Random House Readers' Circle Group ***

In her charming debut novel, Simonson tells the tale of Maj. Ernest Pettigrew, an honor-bound Englishman and widower, and the very embodiment of duty and pride. As the novel opens, the major is mourning the loss of his younger brother, Bertie, and attempting to get his hands on Bertie's antique Churchill shotgun—part of a set that the boys' father split between them, but which Bertie's widow doesn't want to hand over. While the major is eager to reunite the pair for tradition's sake, his son, Roger, has plans to sell the heirloom set to a collector for a tidy sum. As he frets over the guns, the major's friendship with Jasmina Ali—the Pakistani widow of the local food shop owner—takes a turn unexpected by the major (but not by readers). The author's dense, descriptive prose wraps around the reader like a comforting cloak, eventually taking on true page-turner urgency as Simonson nudges the major and Jasmina further along and dangles possibilities about the fate of the major's beloved firearms. This is a vastly enjoyable traipse through the English countryside and the long-held traditions of the British aristocracy - Publisher's Weekly

This book is a lovely picture of the English countryside and explores life in a small town. I found myself cheering on the relationship between Major Pettigrew & Mrs. Ali. I didn't enjoy the character of Major's son Roger. The ladies from Major's club remind me of the "society" ladies from The Music Man with their pageants and misconceptions about people. At the end there is an incident with Mrs. Ali's nephew and his future bride that seemed a little far fetched for me. I saw reviews that compared this book to Jane Austen and Romeo & Juliet - which I can easily see. The story of the author is interesting as well. Helen was a mother who took a writing class at the 92Y because she was bored with gardening and yoga.

CBR3-3: Miracles Can Happen - Mary Kay Ash

2011-01-11T22:42:00.000-05:00

Book Club Pick - January

Mary Kay Ash, one of America's most dynamic businesswomen, lived her life with simple and timeless principles. Through her uncomplicated formula for success -- God first, family second and career third -- she achieved her dream.She inspired. She motivated. She cared. Mary Kay often said that if you expect great things, great things willhappen. So expect results. Expect success. Miracles happen. Mary Kay Ash knew when she created her dream company that its success would largely depend on the principles upon which it was founded. In her wisdom, she realized that by building a solid foundation, and never wavering from it, she would distinguish her company and set the stage for women to succeed for decades to come. Mary Kay herself said, "The Company bears my name, but it has a life of its own. The true success is the lives that have changed for the better." Today, the independent sales force wholeheartedly embraces Mary Kay's vision of enriching women's lives. Because she believed that women would understand and support her mission, her legacy will continue to grow, inspiring generations of women around the world to believe that miracles happen. - Amazon.com

This book was originally written in 1981 and reprinted two more times after that. Because of that fact, it was hard to really appreciate the statistics referenced because of how old they were. I felt like the book read more like a self help book than a memoir. I'm not a big makeup person and therefore had a hard time relating to Mary Kay. I do admire her drive, ambition and leadership. I think if I would have read this book at a different time in my career, I could have applied some of her tips.

Two quotes from the book that I liked:

p. 105 - A very good definition of a woman's needs. From birth to age 14, she needs good parents & good health. From age 14 to age 40, she needs good looks. From age 40 to age 60, she needs personality. From age 60 on, she needs cash.
p. 109 - When a woman behaves like a lady, she sets the stage, and as a result, men will conduct themselves as a gentlemen.

CBR3-2: The Book of Tomorrow - Cecelia Ahern

2011-01-11T22:33:00.000-05:00

***Full Disclosure: I received an ARC copy from Harper Books ***

Sixteen-year-old Tamara Goodwin’s life is upended when her wealthy father commits suicide after realizing he can’t pay his debts. Tamara and her devastated mother are forced to move from a Dublin suburb to the countryside to live with Tamara’s aunt and uncle, Rosaleen and Arthur. Tamara chafes under Rosaleen’s domineering personality when her aunt tries to keep Tamara from seeing her depressed, isolated mother. Frustrated, Tamara ventures out of the house, exploring the ruins of the castle Arthur cares for and meeting the locals, including a sprightly nun and a handsome young man who drives around in a traveling library. Tamara comes across a book in the library that captures her attention. Its pages are initially blank, then they start to fill with Tamara’s own thoughts from the following day. Realizing she is able to not only read the future but change it, Tamara uses the diary to unravel the mystery at work in her new home. A veritable modern-day Gothic, Ahern’s (The Gift, 2009) engrossing new novel is filled with family secrets, intrigue, and magic aplenty - Booklist

What would you do if you knew what tomorrow would bring? Would you fix events if you could? Tamara Goodwin has that opportunity. To me this book is Gossip Girl meets Harry Potter without the magic. In the beginning, I was intrigued by the plot and the mysteries surrounding Tamara and her family. The book has a bit of gothic themes, but also tongue-in-cheek look at teenage life and grieving for a loved one.

By the end of the book the mysteries & characters wore on me. I'm not sure Tamara learned anything or grew as a character throughout the book. The dialogue was witty and the main plot was an interesting concept. The book was a quick read, but I still felt unsatisfied at the end.

CBR3-1: Best American Nonrequired Reading 2010

2011-01-11T22:18:00.001-05:00

David Sedaris's unflappable inventiveness translates, in the first section of this anthology, to a smattering of pieces with giddiness, daring, and heart. A particular highlight, by Wendy Molyneux, earned his award for "Best American Woman Comedy Piece Written by a Woman" and is guaranteed to set off snorts of delight with each re-read. In the second section, as in previous years, Eggers's picks prove solid and balanced, if expected. Rana Dasgupta's superb article, exploring India's new wealth and subsequent fallout, as well as David Rhode's profound and gripping account of his seven months as a Taliban hostage reflect not only the literary achievements of 2009, but also the horrors and complexities of these current times on. Meanwhile, Tea Obreht's "The Tiger's Wife" and Kurt Vonnegut's "The Nice Little People" embody the ageless miracles of surprise and originality that comprise the human imagination. - Publisher's Weekly

My finance LOVES this series and after hearing him describe some of the stories in this collection I decided to read it. I wasn't too impressed with the first part which focused on ephemera, poems, patents, etc. From the second part I enjoyed the following stories:

Burying Jeremy Green by Nora Bonner (from 'Shenandoah') - story of 5th graders acting out scenes after a runaway prisoner escapes and has a standoff with police in their playground. Interesting look at children processing a traumatic event like that.

Man of Steel by Bryan Furuness (from 'Ninth Letter') - story of a boy who see's a commercial about coincidences and starts to have "superpowers" seeing visions. He predicts his father is going to die one night which causes events that make him realize these visions aren't real.

Vanish by Evan Ratliff (from Wired) - story of Evan disappearing for a month while Wired offered a contest & $5k prize if a reader found him. In the end Evan's love of soccer & gluten free pizza leads the readers to him.

Seven Months, Ten Days in Captivity by David Rohde (from New York Times) - story of how David was kidnapped and escaped by the Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Review: Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter - Tom Franklin

2011-01-11T21:47:00.000-05:00

Edgar Award-winning author Tom Franklin returns with his most accomplished and resonant novel so far—an atmospheric drama set in rural Mississippi. In the late 1970s, Larry Ott and Silas "32" Jones were boyhood pals. Their worlds were as different as night and day: Larry, the child of lower-middle-class white parents, and Silas, the son of a poor, single black mother. Yet for a few months the boys stepped outside of their circumstances and shared a special bond. But then tragedy struck: Larry took a girl on a date to a drive-in movie, and she was never heard from again. She was never found and Larry never confessed, but all eyes rested on him as the culprit. The incident shook the county—and perhaps Silas most of all. His friendship with Larry was broken, and then Silas left town. More than twenty years have passed. Larry, a mechanic, lives a solitary existence, never able to rise above the whispers of suspicion. Silas has returned as a constable. He and Larry have no reason to cross paths until another girl disappears and Larry is blamed again. And now the two men who once called each other friend are forced to confront the past they've buried and ignored for decades. - Amazon.com

This book was another book that I "heard" about on Twitter. I found an ARC copy on the giveaway shelf at work. I was immediately caught up in this book when the main character is held at gun point in the first chapter. The plot in the present day was so moving that it was hard to be interrupted with the flashbacks to build on the background story.

The writing was very moving and painted a picture of a small town in Mississippi as well as captured the racial tensions apparent in the south as well. I did figure out the mystery before the main characters did, but I thought the revealing to the characters was framed well. The ending was "happy" but sad at the same time. I would have liked maybe one or two more chapters to find our how the main characters adapted to life after the main catalysis.

I thought the author captured a "loners" life well. The reader definitely sympathizes with Larry even though the whole town is against him. I'm surprised he didn't move away after all the allegations. I liked that Silas' character was human and could be identified with. His actions spoke louder than words. The author definitely captures how human contact and friendship can look past race especially at a young age.

Ringing in the New Year - End of the 2010 Survey

2010-12-29T11:52:00.000-05:00

Jamie over at The Perpetual Pageturner created this awesome end of 2010 Survey about the books we've read and goals and happenings on our blogs for the past year. Below is my attempt to participate in the survey. Check out the other bloggers that participated as well!

Best book of 2010? Tough decision but I'm going to say The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot and The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Both books were selections by my book club!

Worst book of 2010? I definitely started a few books (True Confections by Katharine Weber and You Are Not a Gadget by Jason Lanier) and didn't finish them. I picked up an ARC copy of Adam & Eve by Sena Jeter Naslund at an ALA conference and really did not enjoy the book at all.

Most Disappointing Book of 2010? My answer might be a little controversial but I'm going with The Girl With a Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. This book was a book club selection and I had high hopes for it because of the buzz with the series of books. But this book definitely left me wondering why everyone was raving about it.

Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2010? I'm going to go with a recent read and pick A Reliable Wife by Richard Goolrick. I purchased this book at Politics & Prose (first visit) based on buzz on Twitter and just reading the back of the book.

Book you recommended to people most in 2010? I definitely recommended my top books of 2010 when asked The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot and The Help by Kathryn Stockett.

Best series you discovered in 2010? I'm going to go with some historical fiction to answer this question. I read Barbara Kyle's The King's Daughter & The Queen's Captive as well as Philippa Gregory's new series of books The Red Queen & The White Queen.

Favorite new authors you discovered in 2010? Sophie Littlefield, Rebecca Skloot, Kathryn Stockett, Daphne Kalotay

Most hilarious read of 2010? I'm going to say Tinsel by Hank Stuever. I was expecting a book about Christmas celebrations in Texas to have so much humor, but it did. Definitely stopped to read multiple passages out loud to my fiance.

Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2010? Going with a historical fiction book for this question - The Postmistress by Sarah Blake. It wasn't so much thrilling as I wanted to know how the characters turned out and survived the war and the conditions they were exposed to. Definitely could not put the book down.

Book you most anticipated in 2010? I really hadn't put a specific book on my TBR pile that was coming out in 2010. Before this year I didn't have certain books that I had to read by a certain time (i.e. book club). I'm more an organic reader - whatever catches my attention or I hear about.

Favorite cover of a book you read in 2010? Hands down - Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay

Most memorable character in 2010? I'm not a character driven reader - meaning I don't have to relate to the character to enjoy the book. Frankie Bard from The Postmistress is one memorable character for me. I'm not sure if it was because she was a radio journalist (I work for a national radio network) or if it was her courage during the war that makes her memorable for me.

Most beautifully written book in 2010? I read a lot of well written books this year and it's hard to choose one over the other. A lot of the books mentioned already as favorites fit into this category as well.

Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2010? A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini because I was finally able to understand the war in Afghanistan and how women are treated there.

Book you can't believe you waited UNTIL 2010 to finally read? Julie & Julia - a more recent book but one that captured folks attention way before me. I liked the book better than the movie.

Book Blogging in 2010 (optional)

New favorite book blog you discovered in 2010? I found a lot of new book blogs this year, but a few blogs that stand out for me are Devourer of Books and Medieval Bookworm. Check out my blogroll for other favorites!

Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)? Dewey's Read-A-Thon in the fall was the best event I participated in, especially since I found a lot of new book bloggers to follow. I also started to participate in #fridayreads meme on Twitter which has been a fun way to see what others are reading on a weekly basis.

Best moment of book blogging in 2010? Having authors read your review and thank you for reading their book. I've had a few authors reach out to me via my blog or Goodreads account. It's nice to have that interaction with them.

Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.) I have to say Politics and Prose bookstore which is literally five blocks from my apartment, but I just went there for the first time a few months ago. I hope to attend some author events and buy books there more in 2011.

Review: One Hit Wonder - Charlie Carillo

2010-12-29T10:19:00.000-05:00

Full Disclosure: I received this ARC as part of Library Thing's Early Reviewer Giveaway

Eighteen-year-old Mickey DeFalco got dumped by his girlfriend and wrote a plaintive love ballad that became a huge hit. Since then, it's been downhill. Twenty years later, broke and drinking too much, DeFalco moves in with his parents in Queens, toting plenty of baggage: a stash of ill-gotten money and two items busted almost beyond repair, his career and his heart. The onetime teen heartthrob is reduced to mowing lawns for a living; a resurgence of interest in his song, to which he foolishly sold the rights, only rubs salt in his wounds. But when his runaway love resurfaces after a mysterious 20-year absence, secrets and lies come to light, revealing the unpredictability of life. Wry insights and ironic twists of fate mix a bit uneasily with nostalgia in the latest novel from the author of Raising Jake, which scored a more direct hit in exploring the theme of a middle-aged man trying to grow up. This one pounds the same notes a few times too many, but the likable loser hero and old neighborhood vibe make the journey rewarding all the same. - Publisher's Weekly

All of us wonder what it's like to be a musician with a top song. At one time or another we've sat around and thought whatever happened to such and such who sang that song? This book is one take on the life of a singer with one hit. As a reader you get to know Mickey as a singer and as a person. He's always got a story for some present day memory. The author captures small town life well and in a way makes the town Mickey's from another character in the book.

I do feel the stereotypical pop star was possibly exploited a bit within the book, but overall the book is written well. Definitely some plot twists I didn't see coming. Any kid from a small town tries to move on to bigger and better things. Not everyone is able to and eventually has no choice but to come home and hope life in a small town isn't too bad. This book highlights how coming back home can help with closure and possibly open up new opportunities.

Review: A Reliable Wife - Richard Goolrick

2010-12-29T10:11:00.000-05:00

Set in 1907 Wisconsin, Goolrick's fiction debut (after a memoir, The End of the World as We Know It) gets off to a slow, stylized start, but eventually generates some real suspense. When Catherine Land, who's survived a traumatic early life by using her wits and sexuality as weapons, happens on a newspaper ad from a well-to-do businessman in need of a "reliable wife," she invents a plan to benefit from his riches and his need. Her new husband, Ralph Truitt, discovers she's deceived him the moment she arrives in his remote hometown. Driven by a complex mix of emotions and simple animal attraction, he marries her anyway. After the wedding, Catherine helps Ralph search for his estranged son and, despite growing misgivings, begins to poison him with small doses of arsenic. Ralph sickens but doesn't die, and their story unfolds in ways neither they nor the reader expect. This darkly nuanced psychological tale builds to a strong and satisfying close. - Publishers Weekly

The back of the book drew me in immediately as well as the first chapters of the book. I liked the premise - lonely man searches for wife via a classified ad - which isn't as common place today. Although you could say that the classified ad in the local newspaper was the 19th century Match.com profile. As I continued to read the book, I was drawn in by the characters and how they interacted with each other. I guessed one plot twist before it happened, but didn't see how the ending worked out. The writing definitely transported me to the time period - 19th century Midwest small town and big city. Reading the interview questions with the author afterword helped me understand more of his inspiration and thought process of bringing together these characters into an intriguing story.

Review: Don't Sing At the Table - Adriana Trigiani

2010-12-29T09:58:00.001-05:00

Full Disclosure: I received an ARC copy of this book from Harper Collins

Fans of novelist Trigiani will be delighted with this guided tour through the author's family history via her grandmothers, Lucia and Viola. She lovingly details the women's lives and recounts the lessons she's learned while offering a fascinating look at U.S. history from the perspective of her Italian-American forebears. Both Lucia and Viola worked hard from an early age, cooking and cleaning among any number of chores, and parlayed their work ethic and expertise into strong careers. Viola started out as a machine operator and, later, co-owned a mill with her husband, while Lucia worked in a factory and then became a seamstress and storefront couturier. Her grandmothers also took pride in passing along wisdom to others; throughout her life, Trigiani benefited from their guidance regarding everything from marriage to money, creativity to religion. She credits them with telling good stories: "I mimicked their work ethic imagining myself in a factory, layering words like tasks until the work was done. I took away more than life lessons from their stories; I made a career out of it." Here, Trigiani combines family and American history, reflections on lives well-lived, and sound advice to excellent effect, as a legacy to her daughter and a remembrance of two inimitable women - Publishers' Weekly

I heard Adriana speak at two library conferences and enjoyed her stories immensely, but I hadn't read any of her books. Curious to learn more about her and her family, I decided to read this book first.

At first I had a hard time getting into the book and relating to her stories, but as I got further into the book I found a few connections. It turns out her one grandmother grew up & lived 20 minutes north of where I grew up. Both my grandmothers were at one time in their lives seamstresses just like her grandmothers. Her grandmothers were very independent (in their own way) and strong women. I can see how Adriana looked up to them and emulates them in her own life.

The first three chapters were written in a different style than the rest of the book. So much so that I stopped halfway through and went back to the first couple of chapters and made sure I wasn't dreaming it. I liked the little vignettes around a piece of advice from one of the grandmothers better than just straight prose. I can see how in order to fill in the reader on her grandmothers' upbringing straight prose worked the best. Adriana shared how different philosophies she learned from her grandmothers' applied to her own life. At times I felt the "applications" were forced and didn't flow with the rest of the chapter. I appreciated the family photos throughout the chapters as well.

The initial story in the afterword was very touching, but I felt the rest of the afterword again didn't "fit" into the tone of the rest of the book. Maybe I had different expectations for this book. Adriana is a great storyteller, which I knew from the in-person talks I've seen in the past, but I felt the book didn't flow as best as it could have. I would recommend this book to readers that have looked up to their grandmothers and emulated them in their own life.

Review and Giveaway: Room - Emma Donoghue

2010-12-21T22:20:00.001-05:00

In many ways, Jack is a typical 5-year-old. He likes to read books, watch TV, and play games with his Ma. But Jack is different in a big way--he has lived his entire life in a single room, sharing the tiny space with only his mother and an unnerving nighttime visitor known as Old Nick. For Jack, Room is the only world he knows, but for Ma, it is a prison in which she has tried to craft a normal life for her son. When their insular world suddenly expands beyond the confines of their four walls, the consequences are piercing and extraordinary. Despite its profoundly disturbing premise, Emma Donoghue's Room is rife with moments of hope and beauty, and the dogged determination to live, even in the most desolate circumstances. A stunning and original novel of survival in captivity, readers who enter Room will leave staggered, as though, like Jack, they are seeing the world for the very first time. - Amazon

Room is another book that I put on my TBR list due to the buzz I saw about it on Twitter. I initially proposed reading this book as part of my book club, but the parents in the group felt they couldn't handle the subject matter. At first I had a hard time adjusting to the style of the writing. The capitalization really threw me off. I thought overall though the book was well written.

I liked how the reader got to see how Jack and his mother adapted within the room where they were kept as well as how they adapted to the real world after escaping. I felt as a reader I got enough closure about how the characters moved on (or didn't) after their extreme situation was resolved.

I also liked how the reader got to see how different people, the nurse at the clinic to Jack's grandmother to Jack's uncle, interacted with Jack and his mother after they were released.

Even though this book deals with a sensitive topic, I feel that everyone should read it and have their own reaction. I'm sure that if I was a parent and reading this book, my reaction would have been different.

I have an extra copy of the book to giveaway. Fill out the form below for your chance to win a copy of this book! This giveaway is only open to US residents (no P.O. boxes). I'll pick a winner on January 1, 2011.

Update: Giveaway is closed and a winner has been chosen. Using Random.org, Jamie won the book!

Secret Santa Time

2010-12-21T21:58:00.000-05:00

I thought it would be fun to participate in some book related Secret Santa activities this year.

I was Secret Santa to Carrie @ nomadreader, a fellow librarian. I sent her a handcrafted bookmark and History of Love by Nicole Krauss. I received a wonderful gift package from Julie @ MyBookRetreat which included Room by Emma Donoghue as well a lovely notepad and bookmark.

I'm also participating in LibraryThing's Secret Santa exchange as well. I haven't received my gifts from that exchange yet, but when I do I will update this post.

2010 Holiday Reading Challenge Wrap Up

2010-12-21T21:34:00.000-05:00

All About {n} has been hosting a Holiday Reading Challenge for the past month. Initially I thought that I would read a few books as a nice break from other reading.

My book club had decided to read Tinsel by Hank Stuever for December, so I knew I would have that book at least. I thought that I could find a few good choices at my public library, but when I went before Thanksgiving no holiday books were out. Then I remembered that my mom has read holiday books in the past. Over Thanksgiving, I borrowed from her 5-6 books that were holiday themed.

I must admit that I'm not a huge fan of holiday books. I think it is the predictable nature of the plots and sometimes the unrealistic settings. Even with these misgivings, I was willing to get in the holiday spirit and try to read holiday books again.

The first book I picked up was Santa Cruise by Mary Higgins Clark & Carol Higgins Clark.

At the start of the lighthearted fourth yuletide mystery from the bestselling mother-daughter Clarks (after 2004's The Christmas Thief), Randolph Weed, "self-styled commodore," launches his newly refurbished boat, the Royal Mermaid, from Miami with a "Santa Cruise" to raise money for charity and reward 400 "Do-Gooders of the Year." Meanwhile, Weed's greedy nephew, Eric Manchester, has made a secret $2 million deal with escaped felons Bull's-Eye Tony Pinto and Barron Highbridge to keep them hidden aboard the Royal Mermaid until it reaches Fishbowl Island, where they can make trouble out of federal jurisdiction. Fortunately, there are plenty of Do-Gooders to foil the bad guys, notably the mystery mavens of the Oklahoma Readers and Writers group and sleuthing philanthropist Alvirah Meehan. Full of mystery-lite cheer but lacking in style and substance, this collaboration is never quite buoyant enough to really deck the halls for fans of the Clarks' superior solo efforts.- Publishers Weekly

This book was like Love Boat combined with Murder, She Wrote. The plot was an interesting story but it was easy to see where the authors were going. A few chapters from the end, the authors told the story from the perspective of a minor character which didn't fit with the tone of the rest of the chapters.

The next book was Comfort & Joy by Kristin Hannah.

It's the last day before Christmas vacation, and Joy Faith Candellaro, a Bakersfield, Calif., high school librarian, is still fretting over finding her husband, Thom, in bed with her sister, Stacey. Although divorced nearly three months—and urged by everyone to move on with her life—Joy just isn't joyful. She's trying, though: she buys a Christmas tree and plans to get herself something spectacular to put under it. Too bad that Stacey's waiting in her driveway with a wedding invitation and the news that she's pregnant with Thom's child. Enraged and betrayed, Joy drives off—and ends up at the airport, holding a ticket to Hope, Canada. What will she do when she gets there? Who cares? All she knows is that life has to be better elsewhere. What happens next is Hannah's version of a Christmas ghost story, as Joy encounters a father and son whose own misery gives her a new perspective. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love) fans will enjoy this fare, but from the subtle-as-a-50-pound-fruitcake irony of Joy Faith's name to a plot twist that necessitates hanging disbelief on the mantel alongside the Christmas stockings, it may be a bit too much for the more skeptical to swallow - Publishers Weekly.

What I liked about this book was that the main character was a librarian. Also there was a decent plot twist between the two parts of the book. I did think it was a little strange that Joy wasn't hurt more after the initial plane crash. I felt how Joy found Danny & Bobby at the end was a little far fetched. The ending was good, but the author could have continued the story for a few more chapters to give the reader more feeling of how Joy, Danny & Bobby moved on together.

The final books were two short story collections headlined by Fern Michaels Comfort and Joy and Snow Angels. I liked the stories by Fern Michaels and Marie Bostwick. The other stories were okay, but very "fluffy". I felt at some points that I was reading a Lifetime Movie.

"Comfort and Joy" by Fern Michaels. Angie and Josh disagree on everything until they face the truth, encouraged by the loving relationship between his father and her mother who have found each other; that they need to look deeper inside each other's heart.

"A High-Kicking Christmas" by Marie Bostwick. Because she broke her foot, Rockettes dancer Kendra agrees to direct a Yuletides play in Maple Grove, Vermont; she never expected to co-star in a personal production with Pastor Andy and his daughter Thea.

"Suzanna's Stockings" by Cathy Lamb. As she lies in a coma, Suzanna's spirit overhears learning things about her family and friends that make her understand what caring truly is.

"Family Blessings" by Deborah J. Wolf. With her mother's mental state rapidly deteriorating from Alzheimer's, Kacey and her family struggle with celebrating Christmas.

"Snow Angels," by Fern Michaels. Following the death of his wife, Olympic skier Max Jorgensen became a recluse; that is until three angels, Grace Landry and her two little girls, seek shelter from a storm.

"The Presents of Angels" by Marie Bostwick. Former Rockettes dancer Kendra Loomis is happy to be pregnant and loves her husband, the town pastor Andy, and her teenage stepdaughter Thea, but she has doubts about Christmas in Maple Grove Vermont rather than Rockefeller Center.

"Decorations" by Jana McMahan. After her husband Randy dumps her, Michelle Duncan starts over caring for her mother in Asheville and working at a Christmas store with no thought of men until she meets her sculptor neighbor Baxter Brow.

"Miracle on Main Street" by Rosalind Noonan. On Christmas Eve NYPD cop Joe Cody works a drug overdose case that depresses him even more than the fact he and his wife Shelia cannot afford much for their kids for the holidays; he wishes for a miracle and gets one as he learns what a true gift is.

Review: Tinsel - Hank Stuever

2010-11-30T13:11:00.001-05:00

*** December Book Club Pick ***

In Tinsel, Hank Stuever turns his unerring eye for the idiosyncrasies of modern life to Frisco, Texas, a suburb at once all-American and completely itself, to tell the story of the nation's most over-the-top celebration: Christmas. Stuever starts the narrative as so many start the Christmas season: standing in line with the people waiting to purchase flat-screen TVs on Black Friday. From there he follows three of Frisco's true holiday believers as they navigate through the Nativity and all its attendant crises. Tammie Parnell, an eternally optimistic suburban mom, is the proprietor of "Two Elves with a Twist," a company that decorates other people's big houses for Christmas. Jeff and Bridgette Trykoski own that house every town has: the one with the visible-from-space, most awe-inspiring Christmas lights. And single mother Caroll Cavazos just hopes that the life-affirming moments of Christmas might overcome the struggles of the rest of the year. Stuever's portraits of this happy, megachurchy, shopariffic community are at once humane, heartfelt, revealing--and very funny. Tinsel is a compelling tale of our half-trillion-dollar holiday, measuring what we we've become against the ancient rituals of what we've always been.- Amazon

I wasn't sure what kind of angle this book might take, but I was plesantly surprised on the tone and direction the book took. Hank's writing style makes the book easy to read, but it's not just a narrative of his observations. He includes history tidbits about Christmas and facts and figures as well. I found myself thinking that I wish I could get my father to read this book. He's a fanatic decorator (and not just at Christmas) and loves to look at Christmas lights.

My favorite passage from the book:

This is where I'm searching for America's Christmas present. This is where I've disappeared. The star in the east would turn out to be a long line of jumbo jets in the lavender dusk, their bright lights aligned in a near-perfect conjunction, on approach to D/FW. (Radiant beams of Thy holy face. With the dawn of redeeming grace.) - page 16.

I'm not a huge fan of holiday books, but I recommend this book because it provides a bit more substance than a typical holiday fiction book. You get the heartwarming story on top of an interesting analysis of the activities that are part of a typical holiday season.

Review: The Bells - Richard Harvell

2010-11-30T12:59:00.000-05:00

Chronicling the journey of 18th-century singer Moses Froben from his Swiss village to Vienna, this debut novel strikes many melodramatic notes in an overwrought plot; squalor, beauty, horror, forbidden love, tragedy, and triumph splash broadly, sometimes artfully, but often with operatic excess. Moses, born to a deaf-mute in a belfry, possesses a unique bond to music. Cast from his home, he joins a choir, discovering that he can mold "that ocean of sound... into something beautiful." Harvell, however, shows his own limitations when he seeks to describe the resonance of music. When Moses says, "I wished I could dissolve into sound," the reader shares his frustration. A tormented choirmaster castrates Moses to preserve his beautiful voice, transforming him into a "musico," a soprano whose voice never deepens, and who will never be a man. His ability to sound like an angel brings him into contact with a wealthy family, sparking an impossible love affair with a beautiful but crippled woman. Moses's ardor impels him to Vienna and its vibrant opera scene, where his brief appearance on stage allows love to triumph before, unsurprisingly, tragedy brings down the curtain. - Publishers Weekly

In the past six months, books added to my TBR list have been influenced by the buzz I see on Twitter. The Bells is a perfect example of this situation. In turns out this book is also my book club pick for the upcoming year (we aren't officially reading/discussing till June).

I liked how the story was told from Moses' perspective after he passed away via a letter to his son Nicolai. Without giving too much away, I really was hoping for more about Moses' career in Venice at the opera. As a singer myself, I found the description of how Moses felt went he sang -vibrations & making others vibrate/hum - very fascinating. Those passages made me go back and reread multiple times and try to imagine Moses' singing.

I did feel some of the "opportunities" that Moses got seemed a little unrealistic. Overall though I liked how the historical aspects of the book were interwoven into the fictional plot. In a way this book offers a view into the creative side of an opera that patrons of opera might not always see. Including a well-known composer - Christoph Gluck - within the story allowed the reader to see how a composer might interact with a singer or producer of an opera.

While there is some sensitive subject matter addressed within the book, I would recommend this book to singers and lovers of opera or even just readers who love a good romance story.

Chronicle's Haul-idays Celebration

2010-11-18T22:53:00.001-05:00

The folks at Chronicle Books are sponsoring an awesome celebration this holiday season.

Below is my list of Chronicle Books valued at up to $500 that I would like to haul in. Anyone who comments on my list will be entered to win the list as well. Happy Haul-idays!

Audrey Hepburn: International Cover Girl

Dead Game by Kirk Russell

Blind Trust by Barbara Boxer

History of Vegas by Jodi Angel

Breaking News: How the Associated Press Has Covered War, Peace, and Everything Else

52 Adventures in Washington DC

Cake Pops by Bakerella

Soup's On

At Home with Friends

Daily Doodle Calendar

Reading Challenge fun

2010-11-14T22:06:00.002-05:00

I've signed up for two reading challenges in the upcoming year: Cannonball Read - Round Three & Off the Shelf Challenge. and a reading challenge starting tomorrow at All About {n} 2010 Holiday Reading Challenge.

I'm also jumping into the reading challenge pond myself by hosting a challenge over the next year based on The Heroine's Bookshelf. Feel free to join in the fun!

Update: Two books in the to read for the All About {n} Holiday Reading Challenge - Tinsel by Hank Stuever and Promise Me by Richard Paul Evans.

I also decided to join one more reading challenge hosted by The Book Vixen Outdo Yourself. This challenge strives to push your total books read next year (2011) to be greater than the total read this year (2010). Right now I'm at 59 books. I'm going to join this challenge at the "Out of Breath" level initially.

Review: The Red Queen - Philippa Gregory

2010-11-14T20:30:00.001-05:00

Nobody does the Tudors better than Gregory (The Other Boleyn Girl), so it should come as no surprise that her latest–the War of the Roses as seen through the eyes of Henry VII’s mother –is confident, colorful, convincing, and full of conflict, betrayal, and political maneuvering. Gregory gives readers Margaret Beaufort in her own words, from innocent nine-year-old to conspiring courtier who stops at nothing to see her son on England’s throne. Gregory devotees will note the difference between the supernaturally gifted Yorkist White Queen and Lancastrian Margaret, who, despite saintly aspirations, grows worldly through three marriages; a powerless widow at 13, remarried and separated from her only son by 15, it is not until she’s 29 that Margaret is ready to realize her most audacious ambitions. Gregory clones have made historical novels from a woman’s perspective far too familiar to make this seem as fresh as her earlier works. Yet, like Margaret Beaufort, Gregory puts her many imitators to shame by dint of unequaled energy, focus, and unwavering execution. - Publishers Weekly

I enjoyed this book of Philippa's latest series better than The White Queen. Both books cover the same time period, but tell the story from different perspective. I didn't relate to Elizabeth Woodville at all. I wasn't sympathetic towards Margaret Beaufort, but I could relate. I was surprised that this book also lacked the court drama and intrigue and really focused on the battles and relationships made outside of the court.

I was able to read this book faster than the first book in the series as well. I'm not sure if it was because I "knew" the basics of the story already and didn't have to follow closely the relationships of the characters. I am curious what the next perspective that Philippa might write about.

Review : The Wishing Trees - John Shors

2010-11-09T21:20:00.001-05:00

I picked up an ARC of this book off the giveaway shelf at work

Almost a year after the death of his wife, Kate, former high-tech executive Ian finds a letter that will change his life. It contains Kate’s final wish – a plea for him to take their ten-year-old daughter, Mattie, on a trip across Asia, through all the countries they had planned to visit to celebrate their fifteenth anniversary.Eager to honor the wife and mother they loved, Ian and Mattie embark on an epic journey that retraces the early days of Ian’s relationship with Kate. Along the way, Ian and Mattie leave paper “wishes” in ancient trees as symbols of their connection to Kate and their dreams for the future. Through incredible landscapes and inspiring people, Ian and Mattie are greeted with miracles large and small. And as they celebrate what Kate meant to them, they begin to find their way back to each other, discovering that healing is possible and that love endures – lessons that Kate hoped to show them all along - New American Library

The story of the young daughter and her father appealed to me. Also the mother "guiding" them even after her death was a nice twist to the plot. Each time Ian and Mattie read one of the messages their reaction was different - excitement, trepidation, frustration. I felt like I was grieving for Kate with them. Also I love to explore new countries and the travel part of the plot was fascinating to me as well.

This book has a good message at the end, but most of the time I was reading it I felt sad and sympathetic for both Ian and Mattie. I wasn't sure if Ian could ever move on with his life after Kate's death. I won't give away what happens at the end, but I did feel that parts of the plot at the end were a little forced. It would have been nice to not have the ending wrapped up nicely with a bow on it. I also felt that the reader was left hanging about how Mattie and Ian's relationship changes after their long adventure abroad. I was hoping for an epilogue looking at Mattie and Ian's life 5 or 10 years later.

Shors definitely plays on some cliches for a single dad - clothing tattered, hard time braiding Mattie's hair, not shopping for dresses with her. I think though that Ian's depth as a character wouldn't have been deep without those cliches. By the end of the book, Ian's accent (he's originally from Australia) and mannerisms were becoming a tad bit annoying.

I don't have children or have lost a partner so I can only imagine how tough it is to move on afterwards. This book uniquely describes how one fictional father & daughter attempts to move on after losing the love of their lives. I recommend this book.

Review: Zoli - Colum McCann

2010-11-06T11:37:00.000-04:00

One of my goals this upcoming year is to read additional books written by authors I read last year. Zoli by Colum McCann is the first book towards this goal. Last November I read Let the Great World Spin and was captivated by McCann's writing style.

A major new novel about a Gypsy woman exiled for betraying her people: the novel begins in Czechoslovakia in the early 1930s when Zoli, a young Roma girl, is six years old. The fascist Hlinka guards had driven most of her people out onto the frozen lake and forced them to stay there until the spring, when the ice cracked and everyone drowned - Zoli's parents, brothers and sisters. Now she and her grandfather head off in search of a 'company'. Zoli teaches herself to read and write and becomes a singer, a privileged position in a Gypsy company as they are viewed as the guardians of Gypsy tradition. But Zoli is different because she secretly writes down some of her songs. With the rise of the Nazis, the suppression of the gypsies intensifies. The war ends when Zoli is 16 and with the spread of socialism, the Roma are suddenly regarded as 'comrades' again. Zoli meets Stephen Swann, a man she will have a passionate affair with, but who will also betray her. He persuades Zoli to publish some of her work. But when the government try to use Zoli to help them in their plan to 'settle' gypsies, her community turns against her. They condemn her to 'Pollution for Life', which means she is exiled forever. She begins a journey that will eventually lead her to Italy and a new life. Zoli is based very loosely on the true story of the Gypsy poet, Papusza, who was sentenced to a Life of Pollution by her fellow Roma when a Polish intellectual published her poems. But McCann has turned this into so much more - it's a brilliantly written work that brings the culture and the time to life, an incredibly rich story about betrayal and redemption, and storytelling in all its guises. - Random House

I heard Colum McCann speak last month and I was fascinated with how he "immerses" himself within a book while writing it. He was speaking (and reading) on Let the Great World Spin, but at times he would refer to his other books as well. While I have read books set around both World Wars, I have never read a book set in Czechoslovakia or about gypsies. Colum writes the book from Zoli's perspective as told to her adult daughter. He also writes a few sections from Stephen's point of view and an unnamed journalist trying to write a modern day story about Zoli's legend.

Colum's prose does not let me down. His descriptive but yet "light" tone that I was awed by in Let the Great World Spin appears in Zoli as well. I was impressed that Colum wrote a poem (supposedly written by Zoli) and included that at the back of the book. I know from his talk that poetry and writing poems is a big part of his life. Zoli's perseverance was very prevalent in this story. While she did experience some comfort while at communist parties, she was raised to make do with little. When she was exiled from her people that knowledge of how to live with whatever clothes you have on your back and whatever food you can find became a great asset.

I appreciate Colum making Zoli a strong female character but with a few weaknesses as well. I also appreciated learning about life in Czechoslovakia during the World Wars and afterward. I felt like that time period was kinda flipped on its head a bit and another vantage point was shown. I'm looking forward to reading another book by Colum in the upcoming months.

Review: The Privileges - Jonathan Dee

2010-11-06T11:16:00.000-04:00

No idea if another round of Cannonball Read is going to start up anytime soon, but I'm still planning to use this blog to post reviews and track the books I read.

First book after completing the Cannonball Read II challenge was The Privileges by Jonathan Dee. I won this book through a Random House Reader's Group giveaway.

Smart and socially gifted, Adam and Cynthia Morey are perfect for each other. With Adam’s rising career in the world of private equity, a beautiful home in Manhattan, gorgeous children, and plenty of money, they are, by any reasonable standard, successful. But for the Moreys, their future of boundless privilege is not arriving fast enough. As Cynthia begins to drift, Adam is confronted with a choice that will test how much he is willing to risk to ensure his family’s happiness and to recapture the sense that the only acceptable life is one of infinite possibility. The Privileges is an odyssey of a couple touched by fortune, changed by time, and guided above all else by their epic love for each other. - Random House

This book is the second book profiling a marriage from start to finish that I've read in the past year. The first book was Stiltsville by Susanna Daniel. I don't know if my subconscious is pulling me towards these books because I'm getting married next year or what. In The Privileges, I kept waiting for them to fall out of love. Watching TV shows and movies, I'm become jaded in expecting marriages to fall apart. In a way it was hard to believe that two people so well off wouldn't be cheating on each other. I'm glad that Jonathan Dee provided a positive example of a wealthy couple still loving each other after a decade of marriage even if it's a fictional couple.

Most of the story is told from the parents' view point, but there are some sections of the book from the kids' point of view as well. We learn a lot about Cynthia's family but not much about Adam's. They are only mentioned in the opening wedding scene and Conrad's visit in NYC later on. In a way I felt the book was a little slated towards Cynthia and her problems.

I thought an interesting characteristic of Cynthia was her gut reaction to fix any problem was her checkbook. And when she found a situation that couldn't be fixed by her checkbook she was lost. Again, I'm curious if this characteristic is found in many wealthy housewives or it was just exaggerated for the plot of this book.

I also found it interesting that Cynthia and Adam moved from apartment to apartment within the city and finally to a house on Long Island. In a way, Dee pointed out that wealthy folks don't end up in the big mansions right away. They move around "upgrading" each time they buy. I did appreciate in the last third of the book that Adam and Cynthia focused on giving away their money to others to help "make a difference." They reminded me of the work that Bill and Melinda Gates are doing through their foundation.

This book was a great surprise and was a quick read. I would recommend it to readers who are fans of the TV show Gossip Girl or the book Nanny Diaries.

Cannonball Read Round Two Complete

2010-10-21T22:09:00.000-04:00

Today I officially completed the second round of Cannonball Read. Starting last November, I started on an adventure to read a book a week for the next year. I didn't complete a book every week during the year. I was able to finish 52 books by the end of October this year.

Halfway during the year, I joined a book club with some friends. I also participated in two read-a-thons. I've found that blogging about the books I read while sometimes a burden is fun. I've gotten to "meet" some great book bloggers over the past year.

It's not clear if another round is happening for Cannonball Read. I'm planning to keep reading and blogging, but I'm also interested in participating in other reading challenges in the upcoming year.

Fifty-Two: The White Queen - Philippa Gregory

2010-10-21T21:46:00.000-04:00

I have to attract the attention of a young man riding out to yet another battle, against an enemy that cannot be defeated. He may not even see me. He is not likely to be in the mood for beggars or flirts. I have to excite his compassion for my position, inspire his sympathy for my needs, and stay in his memory long enough for him to do something about them both.

These are the words of Elizabeth Woodville, recently widowed during a battle of the Cousin Wars as she tries to gather favor with the soon to be named King of England - Edward. Elizabeth comes from a long line of family who descended from Melusina, the water goddess. Her and her mother use their "powers" to influence weather conditions or put a hex on others. Elizabeth is able to enchant Edward and marries him in secret before he went into battle to claim his throne. Edward and Elizabeth take over as King and Queen and arrange their advisers to make alliances between the House of York and House of Lancaster. As their family grows, they are challenged by other family members and other usurpers that want to have the throne.

Edward gets sick and ends up dying causing a fight for the throne yet again even though he left two sons as official heirs. His brother Richard ends up claiming the throne for himself and locking up Edward's two sons in the Tower. Elizabeth flees with her daughters to sanctuary and starts to plot on how to overthrow Richard. She makes an alliance with Margaret of Beauford who son Henry Tutor is anxious to take the throne as well.
From her confinement, Elizabeth plots, schemes and uses her "powers" to continue her ambition and allow her children to claim their birthright.

This book is the first in a series about the Plantagenets from Philippa Gregory. I really enjoyed her Tutors series, but had a hard time relating to the main character Elizabeth. I felt that her voice was very whiny and negative. The plot from chapter to chapter was very similar and it was hard to keep all the different family members straight. I didn't really believe that women back then would use "powers" or "witchcraft" to influence events. I found it hard to believe that a local woman could stand at the side of the road and entrance the would-be king to marry her.

Fifty-one: Super Sad True Love Story - Gary Shteyngart

2010-10-11T19:01:00.000-04:00

Lenny Abramov falls in love with Eunice Park one night in Rome at the end of a long vacation/work trip. He convinces her to come back to US and stay with him in NYC. Their romance buds as the political landscape becomes more volatile. In the end Lenny loses his love of his life.

Super Sad True Love Story is set in the future where everyone is addicted to this handheld device called apparat. This device shares information about the owner and other people and allows folks to rate themselves real-time. The book goes between diary entries of Lenny and GlobalTeen (like Facebook) messages from Eunice's account.

The author clearly has opinions about how technology and public opinion influence our daily lives. I'm not sure I understood all the pretexts and found the book to be overall strange.

Fifty: Poison - Sara Poole

2010-10-11T16:17:00.001-04:00

1492 Rome, Italy. Pope Innocent VIII is very ill and about to sign an edict to wipe out all the Jews within all Christiandom. Francesca Girodano just proved her worth as a poisoner and agrees to serve Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia and ultimately avenge her father's death.

Francesca's mission is to create a poison that looks like the person died from natural causes. Her father was working on such poison before he was murdered. While seeking help from an apothecary in the Jewish quarter, Francesca finds out that her father might have been a converso. She also learns that the Jews are not going to let an edict wipe them out. They are ready to fight the Pope or the Grand Inquisitor.

Francesca befriends a monk that is close to the Pope in order to deliver the poison. She is betrayed and tricked by him within the Pope's castle. Luckily a local captain who works for the Captain is able to help her and the leader of the Jewish rebels to safety without suspicion. Before escaping though, they are able to plant the poisonous blood within the blood supply for the Pope. The next day the Pope is dead, but no one is sure if it was the poison or just natural causes.

Unfortunately, Francesca gave the monk she befriended a capsule with deadly poison in it before he betrayed her. No she must stop him before he uses it to poison the Cardinal or any of the other leading candidates for Pope.

Full of mystery and intrigue, Sara Poole captures the struggle between good and evil as well as the religious strife that plagued multiple countries during this time period. I read this book as part of Dewey's 24-hour Read-A-Thon. It is an easy read and did provide some page turning moments. The ending was not what I expected and I believe the author set herself up for a sequel. Even though the book takes place in 1492 - Christopher Columbus does not appear at all within the book.

Mini-Challenge - Covers

2010-10-10T00:02:00.000-04:00

Vicki at Reading at the Beach challenges us to share two books that didn't match the cover or the blurb we read out them.

I agree with Vicki that a book's cover totally causes me to want to read it or not. My first example is The Postmistress by Sarah Blake. I thought this book's main character was going to be the Postmistress, but really the main character was a radio journalist.

My second example are the two books I recently read by Barbara Kyle. They each had a title referring to a member in the royal family, but overall the books were about a fictional family who helped influence the royal family.

Mini Challenge - Wordle

2010-10-09T23:53:00.000-04:00

Carina at Reading Through Life pointed out this cool website Wordle that takes the text of a webpage and "mind maps" it out.

I took my hour 8 & 9 update and applied it to the Wordle magic and got the image below.

Readathon - Hour 16 update

2010-10-09T23:38:00.000-04:00

So we literally just walked in the door from the dinner party. My original thought was to start reading again when we got back, but I won't be able to function tomorrow if I do.

So I'm going to participate in a few mini-challenges and cheer on some folks and then end my Read-A-Thon experience.

I hope everyone enjoyed the day and got to read some great books! Until next time...Happy Reading!

Readathon - Hour 8 & 9 update

2010-10-09T17:24:00.000-04:00

I finished my first book! The ending was not what I expected. In fact I'm thinking that the author allowed for a sequel to the book easily. I'll post a more through review later this weekend.

This book was also my 50th book this year. I only have two more books to go before the end of the month to complete the Cannonball Read II challenge (52 books in one year - a book a week).

I've been cheering on fellow readers as well and posted my own version of a cheer for on Jill's Shake Your Pom Poms mini challenge.

Alas the real world is now going to intervene and I need to stop reading & cheering so that we can go to a dinner party. On the flip side the sweet potatoes my fiancee made for the dinner party smell yummy!

I'll be back later on this evening, probably around hour 14 or 15. Until then - Happy Reading!

Mini Challenge - Shake Your Pom Poms

2010-10-09T16:31:00.000-04:00

Jill from Fizzy Thoughts (our amazing head cheerleader this read-a-thon) is asking us cheerleaders and read-a-thon participants to come up with our own reading cheer.

Here's my attempt to adjust a well known cheer for today's event:

Yo readers
SAY WHAT
Yo readers
SAY WHAT
shake your bookies
NO WAY
shake your bookies
OK
JUMP SHAKE YOUR BOOKIES, JUMP JUMP SHAKE YOUR BOOKIES.

Readathon - Hour 6 and 7 update

2010-10-09T15:02:00.000-04:00

read another 40 pages or so
cheered on other readers
Armchair Traveling mini-challenge
finished my laundry (!)
Book Puzzle mini-challenge

Mini-Challenge: Book Puzzle

2010-10-09T15:01:00.000-04:00

Melissa at One Librarian's Book Reviews asks us to put together a book puzzle using images to spell out a book title.

I picked two books from my TBR pile to share with y'all. Can you guess what books they are?

Puzzle #1

Puzzle #2

Mini Challenge - Armchair Travelling

2010-10-09T14:47:00.000-04:00

Marg at Reading Adventures challenges us to provide description and pictures of the places where our books take place.

Right now I'm in Rome, Italy during 1492 as the sitting Pope has died (possibly murdered).

Christopher Columbus hasn't appeared in this book at all, but I did just finish reading a book set in the same time period - By Fire By Water - which took place in Aragon, Spain.

I also just finished reading two books by Barbara Kyle about Queen Mary set in London where the Tower of London was very prevalent.

Readathon - Hour 5 update

2010-10-09T13:23:00.000-04:00

This hour hasn't been as productive. Fiance is watching college football and I forgot to start my laundry earlier this morning.

I did spend some time cheering other participants on. Not much movement from my assigned list over the past hour, so I visited some other blogs linked on the main page.

I'm about 70% through my first book (Poison by Sara Poole). Back to reading.

Mini-Challenge - Show Me Your Books

2010-10-09T12:25:00.001-04:00

Crystal over at My Reading Room is hosting a mini-challenge starting this hour.

She asks us to show her our books.

Here is a small selected books from my TBR bookshelf. I know that I won't get to many of them, but they are there just waiting for me.

Have you read one of them from the stack? Would you recommend it?

And yes - it's a gorgeous day here in DC and I'm reading instead of enjoying it =)

Readathon - Hour 4 update

2010-10-09T12:13:00.000-04:00

kicked up a notch the reading - another 100 pages since the last update
cheering on other folks from my assigned list
reading over posts from other participants
Mini Challenge from My Reading Room

In search of some food for lunch and then back to reading...

Readathon - Hour 3 update

2010-10-09T10:31:00.000-04:00

read another 40 pages or so (fiance is up now so I'm a tad bit distracted now and again)
caught up on activity in inbox & tweets from readathon participants
looked through my list of blogs to cheerlead and posted some comments

Back to Reading =)

Readathon - Hour 2 update

2010-10-09T09:44:00.000-04:00

read about 60 pages in my book (Poison by Sara Poole)
caught up on activity in inbox & tweets from readathon participants
looked through my list of blogs to cheerlead and posted some comments
participated in the first mini-challenge
got a bowl of cereal

Back to reading =)

Readathon Begins (Hour 1)

2010-10-09T08:16:00.000-04:00

Excited that it's readathon day! I almost missed the start, but got myself out of bed and setup to start reading. First a quick blog post...

Where are you reading from today?
Washington DC area. My fiance has graciously allowed me to ignore the lovely weather outside today and just read and chat with all of you.

3 facts about me …
I'm a librarian, an only child and love to encourage others to read.

How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?
2-3, but I really want to spend time encouraging others this year as well.

Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)?
No goals - that's too much pressure. I just want to have fun!

If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time?
Take time to interact with other blogs and do the mini-challenges. It helps mix up the day a bit.

Ra Ra Ra - Read Read Read

2010-10-07T17:35:00.001-04:00

Today I multitasked a bit at work and setup a new tab in my RSS reader for the blogs I've been assigned to cheer for on Saturday. I'm very excited to see what everyone picks to read! It's going to be an interesting balance of reading versus mini-challenges versus cheering on other participants.

Dewey's Read-A-Thon coming on Saturday

2010-10-06T22:35:00.001-04:00

I'm looking forward to Saturday and participating in Dewey's Read-A-Thon.

I'm planning to read some, be a cheerleader and participate in some mini-challenges.

As in the past - we have a dinner party to go to on Saturday night, but otherwise I'll be spending the day reading =)

Fourty-Nine: A Passion for Books

2010-10-06T21:53:00.000-04:00

I don't remember how this book ended up on my to-read list, but I found it a few weeks ago and decided to put in on my hold list at the DCPL.

Harold Rabinowitz and Rob Kaplan edited this collection of stories, essays, poetry, cartoons and lists regarding books, reading, and collecting.

Even though there are many well-known authors and other book related folks represented in this book, I only ended up really reading thoroughly the essays written by the two editors and Anna Quindlen - "How Reading Changed My Life".

It was amusing to see the inclusion of lists of books and the many variations of biblio words used as titles. Also my favorite cartoon was from The New Yorker depicting a real estate agent showing a wealthy couple an apartment where one room had floor to ceiling bookcases. The caption reads "What kind of crazy people used to live here anyway?"

At the end of the book in case you haven't had enough text about books and reading, the editors include a bibliography of books on books. This section reminds me of one section of the Library of Congress gift shop which is a collection of books on books.

Fourty-Seven & Fourty-Eight: The King's Daughter & The Queen's Captive - Barbara Kyle

2010-10-06T21:26:00.000-04:00

I decided to write one post for both of these books since I read them back to back and really they focus on the same time period & characters.

Barbara Kyle continues her story about the Thornleigh family as they navigate the English court under Queen Mary and eventually Queen Elizabeth. I read the first book in this series - The Queen's Lady - almost two years ago. Having read quite a few historical fiction books with the Tutor family as the subject matter, I was hesitant to read two more books about them. But I knew that Barbara's writing style was clever and that she would integrate the history in an unique way.

The King's Daughter focuses on the time right after Queen Mary comes to power and is trying to finalize her marriage to Prince Phillip of Spain. The heroine of this book is actually Honor's daughter Isabel. Isabel betrothed is helping the rebels lead by Wyatt against the Queen to bring Princess Elizabeth to power. Isabel is able to convince Wyatt that she can be a messenger from the French Ambassador to him. Her family's history with neighbors - the Greenvilles - ends up causing her mother to get critical injured and her father to be put in jail. While trying to rescue her father from jail, Isabel is forced to "pay" for his freedom by being violated by the head jailer. Of course this "payment" backfires and her father is transferred to another jail. While in jail Isabel meets Carlos - a Spanish mercenary - who she ends up freeing & hiring to help her find where her father was taken. Isabel is torn between helping the rebels and searching for her father with Carlos. As a fellow heretic that worked along side of her parents in the past threatens to expose her family's dark secrets, Isabel must find a way to get her parents to safety and still support her own beliefs.

The Queen's Captive focuses on the later half of Queen Mary's reign and the struggles she had to produce an heir. Once again the heroine is Honor as she is called back to England to help advise Princess Elizabeth on matters of the court. Richard is pardoned from the murder he committed and works on reestablishing their wool business in England. Their son Adam commissions a new ship to be built and falls madly in love with the Princess. The feud between the Greenvilles & the Thornleighs continues as religious tensions and threat of rebellion arise again.

Fourty-six: Nocturnes - Kazuo Ishiguro

2010-10-02T12:34:00.000-04:00

Passion or necessity- or the often uneasy combination of the two-determines the place of music in each of these lives. And in one way or another, music delivers each of them a moment of reckoning: sometimes comic, sometimes tragic, sometimes just eluding their grasp.

Nocturnes is a collection of short stories about music and nightfall. My favorite stories were Crooner and Nocturne.

Crooner is told from a local musician's point of view who recognizes an American singer sitting at a cafe in Venice. The singer is there on a trip with his wife - one last hurrah. To stage a successful comeback the singer and his wife must separate. The local musician accompanies the singer one night as he serenades his wife one last time.

Nocturne actually is a continuation of the Crooner story. The wife and another jazz musician meet in a hotel while recovering from plastic surgery. They explore the hotel at night and listen to music together.

All the stories in this collection involve some type of couple either married already or not. None of the stories really have happy endings though. They are well written and easy to read. Very enjoyable!

Fourty-five: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

2010-10-02T12:24:00.000-04:00

November Book Club Selection

October Book Club Selection is Let the Great World Spin which I've read already.

Mikael Blomkvist, a financial reporter convicted of libel, is hired to write the Vanger family history and solve the mystery of Harriet Vanger's disappearance over 40 years ago. Lisbeth Salander, a private investigator, helps him tap into his nemesis' files and explore the mounts of research over the past years on Harriet's disappearance.

The book is set in Sweden and broken into sections as the investigations move forward. At the start of each section facts about women & sex crimes/acts in Sweden are included. The first half of the book is mostly building background of the story. It really wasn't until 300 pages in did the book finally keep me on the edge. Mikael started to find new clues and the investigation took off. Some of the twists were predictable and a few chapters at the end of the book seemed to be implying background for the next book.

The geographical setting of the story was kinda hard to comprehend since I'm not familiar with many towns in Sweden even though I have visited there. I felt like I might have lost out on a nuisance of the story.

Fourty-four: American Wife - Curtis Sittenfeld

2010-10-02T12:13:00.000-04:00

Amercian Wife is loosely based on Laura Bush's life. Most of the book takes place in Wisconsin with the family business being beef. Sittenfeld breaks the book into sections based on the address where Alice lived.

Part 1 - 1272 Amity Lane in Riley, Wisconsin and captures Alice's life through high school.
Part 2 - 3859 Sproule Street in Madison, Wisconsin and captures Alice's life through her first years of marriage
Part 3 - 402 Maronee Drive captures the birth of her child and the later years of marriage
Part 4 - 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue captures a few days of their life in the White House

This book was very well written and pulled the reader into the book. It was easy to relate to Alice and her relationship with her husband Charlie. I did feel the last part of the book didn't fit well with the first three sections. Sittenfeld ended section three like the book was ending even though there was still over 100 pages to go. I forgot about the cliffhanger prelude pages until I went back and read them again after finishing the book. I know that Sittenfeld didn't want to focus on the politics but more the relationship between them, but I was surprised how little time was dedicated to the campaigning and their relationship during that time. I am curious to read a biography of Laura Bush's life to compare to what Sittenfeld based the Alice character on.

Fourty-three: Adam & Eve - Sena Jeter Naslund

2010-10-02T11:57:00.000-04:00

**Full Disclosure: I received this book free of charge at a publisher's book event at ALA Annual Conference**

Lucy watches as her husband Thom is crushed and killed by a suspended piano. That morning Thom had told her he had discovered extraterrestrial life and gave her his thumb drive with all his research. Unsure what to do now that Thom is dead, Lucy attends a symposium in his name a few years later. There she meets Pierre Saad an anthropologist genuinely interested in her well-being more than Thom's research.

A few weeks later while traveling around Egypt, Lucy runs into Pierre and his daughter Arielle. They ask her to smuggle a new codex for the book of Genesis out of the country. Lucy agrees and flies out of Egypt on a small plane. A few hours into the flight she loses control of the place and crashes. She's not sure where she is but is helped to safety, after being badly burned during the crash, by a naked man named Adam.

It turns out they are in a modern day "Eden" between multiple war zones in the Middle East. Lucy nurses herself back to health and learns to accept her nudeness as well. Adam doesn't know how long he's been there and he shares how he was raped and left on the side of the road in Iraq. Lucy & Adam learn to trust each other and provide for themselves. They help a pilot who crashes in Eden and search for the codex that Lucy threw out of the place before she crashed.

Certain events finally cause them to leave Eden and return the codex to Pierre. At the airport they run into "the bad guys" Perpetuity and somehow escape them. Before escaping Lucy finally gets to see again what is on the memory stick that Thom left her that day. She finds out that he loved other "Lucys" and not just her.

Adam and Lucy eventually make it back to Pierre & Arielle safely. The four dive into translating and figuring out the codex. They explore the underground caves under Pierre's house. The bad guys eventually show up and try to take the codex from them but they escape but not without injury.

This book was not what I expected after reading the brief synopsis. I thought there would be more science versus religion questioning. But I felt the major theme was more philosophy driven. At times I was confused how the next chapter related to the next. The whole book was set in 2020-2021. I think the premise of the book is interesting but the action of the plot kinda stopped three-quarters of the way through the book. Also parts of the plot were very sparsely described. The author tries to generate a DaVinci Code drama with the Perpetuity group but those chapters were hard to read and link to the other chapters.

Fourty-two: By Fire By Water - Mitchell James Kaplan

2010-10-02T11:37:00.000-04:00

**Full Disclosure: Received this book via a First Author event at ALA Annual Conference in June**

Set in 15th century Spain, By Fire By Water gives a full examination of the crisis of faith at the hear of the Spanish Inquisition. Told from the perspective of the conversos who are torn between the religion they left behind and the conversion meant to ensure their safety.

Luis de Santangel, chancellor to the court in Aragon, starts to meet with a priest and one of his aides in secret debating the philosophies of different religions. The aide, who is a practicing Jew, gets questioned by the Chief Inquisitor of Aragon. Under pressure he gives up information about the meetings causing Luis and the priest to plot and kill the Inquistor. From the moment of the murder, Luis and his son Gabriel are on the run. Luis leaves Gabriel with his brother Estefan and moves on to be with the King who is fighting a war against the Muslims.

Gabriel and Estefan get picked up by the Grand Inquistor. Estefan ends up being tortured and put in jail. Gabriel decides to become a priest a "confess" his "sins". Luis is forced to give up any relationship with either of them.

Judith, a Jew living in Grenada, learns the silver making trade after her brother and wife die trying to escape religious persecution. Levi, their son, and Naomi's father Baba Shlomo live with Judith. Her friend Dina teaches her languages and how to read and write. Luis meets Judith one night and is immediately attracted to her. She sets up a trade with Chris Colon (Christopher Columbus) to exchange her silver for supplies.

Luis ends up having to call in a favor with the King to escape the investigations of the Inquistor. Luis ends up fiancing Chris Colon's exploration to the new world. At the end of the book he is left with no family or lover, just a lifetime of service to the court.

I enjoyed this book because it told the Christopher Columbus story from a different angle. Plus the book really challenged my views on different religions and brought the Spanish Inquisition alive. It's easy to forget that being able to worship in any means that you want is a freedom that took many years in coming. And a freedom that not everyone is able to enjoy. I picked up this book on a whim after listening to Mitchell speak at the conference. While it wasn't the one of the first books from the conference that I read, I will say its one of the better ARC that I picked up from the conference.

Book Blogger Appreciation Week - Future Treasures

2010-09-17T14:32:00.000-04:00

We want to hear all about your FUTURE treasures. We’ve been visiting each other and getting to know each other better…now is your chance to share what you enjoyed about BBAW and also what your blogging goals are for the next year!

Last post for BBAW this year. Last year I stumbled upon this event and didn't feel like I could participate being so new to blogging - let alone book blogging. This year I was excitied to see all the festivities and to actively participate.

I'm glad I did the BBAW blog swap. It was nice to interview another book blogger. It was also fun to watch the BBAW community on Twitter and read all the postings on BBAW main website during the week as well.

I don't really have hard and fast goals for my blog over the next year, except to keep posting. I still feel that my tone is more formal than other bloggers and often times its hard for me to find specific items to comment on regarding a book. So definitely want to work on 'finding my voice' and pushing myself to find an opinion on a character or an author's style.

I look forward to next year's BBAW festivities!

Book Blogger Appreciation Week - Forgotten Treasure

2010-09-17T14:22:00.001-04:00

Again - a little late with this posting, but here goes.

Sure we’ve all read about Freedom and Mockingjay but we likely have a book we wish would get more attention by book bloggers, whether it’s a forgotten classic or under marketed contemporary fiction. This is your chance to tell the community why they should consider reading this book!

It's hard to pick one book and looking over my read list from the past year I feel like the books that got the highest 'rating' from me - Let the Great World Spin, The Help, Immortial Life of Henrietta Lacks, A Thousand Splendid Suns - all really had their time in the sun around the blogosphere.

I would have to give an additional shout out to two first-time authors that I feel will keep us coming back to them over and over. I heard them both speak at ALA's Annual Conference in DC this past June.

First is Daphne Kalotay who wrote Russian Winters. I can't say enough about this author. Her book was very captivating and descriptive. And second is Mitchell James Kaplan who wrote By Fire, By Water (my review is coming shortly). His book made me think about the beliefs and ideals I've been taught all my life and imagine how they might be challenged in a time with lots of religious strife.

Book Blogger Appreciation Week - Unexpected Treasure

2010-09-17T14:07:00.000-04:00

Yes - I know I'm a few days behind in posting. Unexpected Treasure is the theme of Wednesday's posts this BBAW.

We invite you to share with us a book or genre you tried due to the influence of another blogger. What made you cave in to try something new and what was the experience like?

Even though I'm a book blogger (kinda) I don't really peruse other book bloggers for book suggestions. I will say that I have read a book due to influence of another reader though. Some of my friends started a book club back in February and I've read a few books that I wouldn't have picked up other than it being a book club selection.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is definitely a book that I read due to book club. To me - I like to stick with the classics and I was worried this book wasn't going to be true to Jane Austen. But I was wrong and in a small way enjoyed the book.

A Thousand Splendid Suns is another book that would have never hit my radar without book club mostly because I tried to read Kite Runner after it first came out and could not really get into it. I'm still not sure why I could get into A Thousand Splendid Suns more than Kite Runner, but I'm glad I gave Khaled Hosseini another shot.

I'm following many book bloggers on Twitter so I hope over the next year I will pick up a book because of their influence.

Book Blogger Appreciation Week - Interview with Book Gazing

2010-09-14T20:59:00.000-04:00

This year for BBAW I decided to sign-up to participate in an interview swap with another book blogger. I was paired up with Jodie over at Book Gazing. Thanks to Jodie for answering my questions. Enjoy!

Tell me a little about yourself Jodie.

Agh I hate this bit, I always make myself sound really dull. I’m a 25 year old woman who lives in the West Midlands in England. I work in the marketing department of a small IT firm. Ooo, the excitement! I don’t have a partner and I don’t have pets, but I do have a group of close friends who I wouldn’t be without. I like to travel and took one of my dream holidays two year ago when I went on safari in Kenya. Being a history graduate I am concerned about the way employers react to humanities students when they enter the workplace. I have seen a lot of bands this year and think the advantage of getting older is that it costs less and less to see the bands you grew up with. I have (touch wood – an yes I actually touched wood as I typed that as I’m a little superstitious) a long life to live yet and a long life list to achieve before it’s over (sadly ‘see Oasis live’ will have to wait until they regain their senses and get back together).

If you had to describe your blog in five words, what would you say?

Critical, friendly, fun, wordy, thoughtful

When and why did you start book blogging?

I started blogging just under two years ago. I’d been reading a lot of established book bloggers for years and finally decided I wanted to join in. So I spent ages trying to think up a clever title, decided everything had been used already and plumped for Bookgazing.

Did you read when you were a kid? Which is your favorite book from your childhood?

I was a big reader when I was a kid and I used to reread books over and over. My favourites were all kind of predictable stuff, big name series like Narnia, Harry Potter and Redwall and books by Jacqueline Wilson and Enid Blyton. I think one of my favourites that’s a little less well know was ‘The Exiles’ by Hilary McKay. Four sisters get shipped off to Big Grandma’s house for the summer. Maybe it doesn’t sound so special, but the individual characters of each sister and the strange, group dynamic they form make this book so much fun.

Are you participating in any book challenges this year?

I’m trying to scale back my challenge involvement this year, but I am taking part in the TBR Challenge, RIP V, the GLBT Challenge and The Year of Biodiversity. Any other challenges I signed up for seem to have fallen by the wayside.

Beside blogs, what other sources do you use to discover new books?

I read Bookslut regularly and the Times arts supplement at the weekends. I like Waterstones catalogue, even though I tend to skip all the features and jump straight to the employee reviews. I return to some publisher websites regularly like Snow Books. The majority of the books added to my TBR list do come from blogs though.

What are your hobbies other than reading?

A couple of years ago I’d have had something to say here, but right now reading is my only hobby. I like to go out with friends, but drinking is not really a hobby and neither is concert attending. Hobby wise there are more things I’d like to get back into like crafting and swimming, than things I’m actively doing right now.

If you were going to be stuck on a desert island alone for the foreseeable future, what five books would you want with you?

So hard and unnecessary because clearly I would be on a ship with a library and I would have time to rescue all the books:

‘Captivity’ – Debbie Lee Wesselman

‘Jane Eyre’ – Charlotte Bronte

‘Small Gods’ – Terry Pratchett (but really I should take ‘Nation’ for practical survival tips)

Who will Run the Frog Hospital – Lorrie Moore

‘Wolf Hall’ – Hilary Mantel

I’m already second guessing that list.

What are your top reads for 2010 so far?

I’m going to limit myself to five because I’ve read so many great books this year already:

‘Devil’s Kiss’ – Sarwat Chadda

‘The Windup Girl’ – Paoulo Bacigalupi

‘Crossing’ – Alexander Xia Fukada

‘The Still Point’ – Amy Sackville

‘Liar’ – Justine Larbalestier

Name a book you recommend to anyone and everyone and they always love it.

I’m not sure I’ve ever managed that, but I think ‘A Wish After Midnight’ by Zetta Elliot would be pretty hard to dislike. It manages to teach readers about a hard time in history, while remaining an enjoyable story.

Check out Jodie's post with my answers as well!

Book Blogger Appreciation Week - First Treasure

2010-09-13T22:48:00.000-04:00

This week is Book Blogger Appreciation Week. Even though I've been blogging officially for two years, I still feel like a novice. At first I was apprehensive about blogging, but now I've found that writing down a few thoughts about a book I read helps me to come up with an opinion instead of just "really good" or "must read".

Today's topic for BBAW is sharing a new book blog you have discovered since last year's BBAW event.

Definitely in the last year I have become more of a Twitter user which has lead me to some great book bloggers. Here are a few of my favorite *new* blogs to visit:

Library Love Fest - behind the scenes fun & recommendations from the HarperCollins folks
Shelf Life - recommendations from Entertainment Weekly
Book Maven - Book critic for WETA whose #fridayreads hashtag provides good suggestions each week.

Fourty-one: The Postmistress - Sarah Blake

2010-09-03T18:47:00.000-04:00

I rate this book in my top 10 of books I read this year. I could not put the book down and the writing just drew me in. I've always had a fascination with World War II even since I did a report on Schindler's List in high school. I think also my fascination comes from trying to understand what that time period was like here in the US and what my grandparents lived through.

The Postmistress follows the lives of three woman - Iris, Frankie & Emma - as they cope with the war and telling the truth. Frankie Bard is an American who broadcasts on Edward Murrow's radio show the conditions in London during the Fall of 1940. She learns to capture the scene through her vivid storytelling and calm voice. Back in the states, Emma and her new husband Will, the local doctor, listen to Frankie's stories every night. One night after losing a patient, Will decides he wants to join up with the war effort and help out in London. Emma cannot understand why he wants to go to the war and leave her all alone in Franklin, Massachusetts.

Iris, the local postmistress in Franklin, keeps tabs of the residents via their mail. She has a crush on Henry Vale the owner of the local gas station. Their courtship starts slowly and grows into an urgency of love and caring that only wartime "fears" can create. Henry is sure that the Germans will send their U-boats to attach the US. He anxiously scans the coast line every day looking for the first sign of their coming.

After Frankie loses a journalist friend - Hannah - to the bombings, she is determined to take up Hannah's cause of showing the world what is happening to the Jews in Europe. She persuades Murrow to let her go into the field in France and Spain and capture the voices of the travelers as they try to escape the war.

Sarah Blake intertwines these lives together both in Franklin and in London. She allows the reader to feel the emotions that the characters are feeling. Many times I felt I could picture Frankie in the bomb shelter or Emma sitting on the porch waiting for Will to come home. Although the title suggests the main character is Iris - it is Frankie that ends up connecting everyone together. I definitely recommend this book.

Fourty: Stiltsville - Susanna Daniel

2010-09-03T18:34:00.000-04:00

***Full disclosure: This book was provided for free by Harper Collins at their Book Buzz session part of ALA Annual Conference ***

Stiltsville follows Frances Ellerloy, who is from Atlanta, as she visits Miami for a wedding and ends up meeting her future husband, Dennis, out on the Biscayne Bay. It's the first time she's been out on the open water and she feels so alive. The connection with Dennis is strong and she ends up coming down to Miami every weekend after that. Finally one weekend she moves down to Miami after quitting her job and moves in with Dennis' sister Bette.

Frances & Dennis' relationship grows as they experience life together in Miami and marry once Dennis finishes law school. They visit the family house on the bay every weekend. Marse, their friend who originally introduced them, joins them sometimes with her boyfriend of the month. They have a baby girl - Margo. Frances get pregnant again multiple times but ends up miscarrying each time. Dennis & Francis accept they will only have one child.

Susanna Daniels explores their marriage over the years as stormy weather - multiple hurricanes - and outside factors - job loss and potential affair - threaten their love. It's heartbreaking and inspiring at the same time to see how Frances & Dennis adapt to their lives and their love of each other over the years.

This book was my savior while reading Salt. I'm glad I pared them together to read at the same time. Many mornings on the metro I had to force myself to remember to get off the train because I was so engrossed in the book. The latest 100 pages or so are sad as well and many times I had to fight off the tears.

Thirty-nine: Salt A World History - Mark Kurlansky

2010-09-03T18:21:00.000-04:00

September Book Club Selection

I didn't realize it until a few weeks ago, but I had another book by the same author already on my 'to read' list. I honestly didn't know what to expect with this book. I've read other historical food (is this a genre?) books and found that 75% of the information was useful with the other 25% not as much.

Kurlansky starts our journey in ancient China and works his way West with each chapter until he hits the Americas. He captures salt consumption through the Civil War days and then makes his way back East towards Asia again. Different techniques for mining salt are explored throughout the chapters as well as the need for taxation on this commodity by many different countries. Wars and independence movements were started with tracings back to salt.

The word salt is a chemical term for a substance produced by the reaction of an acid with a base. Salt was found useful in preserving food and protecting against decay as well as sustain life. Growth in animal raising for consumption caused a demand for some form of salt to help preserve this meat.

Salt helped many nations prosper in the shipping and transportation business as well. Taxation on salt was common because salt was one commodity that was used by people of every income; therefore providing equal opportunity for taxation.

Salt helped shape many cuisines and cultures around the world as well. Soy sauce and ketchup are two of the many sauces that have salt origins.

My favorite chapter was about the origins of the Morton Salt Company which is iconically famous in many households in the United States. The United States is the largest salt producer and salt consumer. Only 8% of salt production is for food though. The largest single use (51%) is for deicing roads.

I'm not a fan of Kurlansky's style of writing and often found myself skipping over multiple pages in order to move through the chapters. I felt that he often times setup the history or background in relation to the salt usage almost in a tangential way. Halfway through the book I was hoping that the next chapter was not going to be about how another country or region used salt to preserve fish or another type of meat.

Thirty-eight: Twelve Rooms With a View - Theresa Rebeck

2010-08-15T22:20:00.000-04:00

Tina Finn is a screw up. Her mother dies suddenly and leaves no will. Tina and her two sisters - Lucy & Alison - find themselves inheriting an Upper West Side apartment with a view of Central Park. In order to stake their claim on the apartment, Tina is forced to move in. Her mother's step sons wan the apartment for themselves and cannot understand why their father left the apartment to his second wife - who was his housekeeper. The co-op board for the building wants to split up the apartment themselves and tries to evict Tina almost immediately.

As Lucy & Alison try to figure out the red tape surrounding the apartment, Tina tries to make friends with the co-op board. Tina also explores the apartment more and finds a whole closet full of items from her mother's husband's first marriage. From rare plants to false arrests to secret passages this historical apartment has much more in store than it first looks.

Thirty-seven: Between Two Worlds - Roxana Saberi

2010-08-15T22:13:00.000-04:00

My focus shirted next to Iran. Roxana Saberi was held for 100 days in an Iranian prison. This book details her time in that prison and the women she met inside there. She was accused of being a spy and using her researching a book as a cover.

Roxana makes a false confession under distress and ends up recanting that confession while in jail. She uses hunger strikes as a way to pressure her jailers on letting her go. She barely is able to talk to her lawyer as he prepares her defense. She realizes early on that she can't trust anything she is told. Eventually her parents and boyfriend - a native Iranian - make enough "noise" to get her released.

I remember seeing the press release NPR and other news organizations wrote in support of her release come across my inbox last year. It was encouraging and motivating to see how a strong and smart woman was able to mentally survive this ordeal. Saberi mixes in stories about Iran's culture and historical events within her own story.