Grave Predictions

While I found this an interesting book to read, I can't say I enjoyed it. It did give me a lot to think about. This is a compilation of short stories about the end of the world as we know it. There are a couple that were written in the late 1800's, one written in 1872 about global warming that is prescient. W.E.B DuBois' story of the last white woman and black man left in the world breaks my heart. Several other stories are written by acknowledged masters of sci fi and fantasy literature. There is not one ray of hope in this stories, but they are all remarkable stories.

Michael Swanick's Not so much, said the Cat

I truly enjoy this man's work. His brain provides points of view from so many odd angles. This is a compilation of his short stories, of which I think he handles masterfully. These stories have been previously published in other venues of Science Fiction, like Tor, Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and Asimov's Science Fiction to name a few. I particularly liked An Empty House with Many Doors that speaks of heartbreak and parallel dimensions. And Of Finest Scarlet was her Gown where a daughter travels to Hell to bargain with the Devil for her father's soul. And the Man in Grey is incredibly interesting to think about, in a way illustrating Shakespeare's "All the world's a stage. And men and women merely players" the poem from As You Like It. Good fun. Interesting reading. Don't miss it.

Brunonia Berry's Fifth Petal - a perfect Halloween Read

Barry certainly has a way with telling a story. Here we have modern Salem, touting witchery and the Witch Trials to build tourism. And it's Halloween, perfect for an other worldly murder mystery....maybe. There's the crazy old homeless lady who rails of banshees coming for the dead. And there's the little girl, now grown, the only surviving victim of a gruesome murder when she was only 5. There are hints of the mystic throughout the story, but what else would one expect of such a place setting. Barry's storytelling voice draws one in and wraps one in a blanket of suspended belief. 

If you are a fan of Sarah Addison Allen, you're going to like Barry's taletelling.

Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco

I love books about magic, but I've never figured out why.  I'm sure there's some deep dark psychological meaning that I'm deeply flawed.  Oh well, too late now.

 In some ways this story line has been used many times: Young girl finds she has a special talent, family and friends are uncomfortable with this talent, girl is brought to a "school" for special training, teachers and training are too confining, schoolmates are jealous of her talent, girl breaks out on her own.

And yet, and yet, it was a very good read and I had no idea where it was going. The story is told from two different narratives, now (events being related by another) and then (the girl telling her story to the other). The Now narrative is much darker and the reader knows from the first that something has gone terribly wrong in her life. There are castles and dragons and monsters, kings and princes and knights, there is magic, both good and bad. There is flirtation and love, life and death and something in between. Don't be surprised if it's optioned for a movie.

Not Quite States of American by Doug Mack

Author quote from the chapter of Guam: "You cannot write an honest narrative of the United States of America without including the territories as key components. And you cannot write an honest narrative of the territories without feeling acutely uncomfortable about the United States and its continuing struggles to live up to it's own ideals."

This is a fascinating travel work about the U.S. territories. It's entertaining and educational, and raises a lot of questions about America's goals around the world. American territories are a small but important part of our history as a country, but can you name all of them? If someone even mentioned their name would you even recognize it as a U.S. possession, and ruled under the U.S. constitution? I know I couldn't, There is rarely news about them, but you as a U.S. citizen can travel there without a passport or re-locate there as if you were moving to another state, if......and that's a big IF. If you are at all interested in world affairs this should be on your reading list.

Etitle provided by Netgalley in return for a review.

Chasing Embers

I love the website NetGalley where I can find books about to be published and read them (and review, of course)  but I get too greedy and then I have to suspend all other household activities (poor me) and read, read, read.  This one was fun and not quite what I expected.

As a first time novel, it's pretty good, tho the author gets carried away in some of his plentiful use of adverbs and adjectives, but I hold out hope he'll tone it down in his following novels. It's a fun read about dragons and magic, and fairly well reasoned out to its use in this alternate earth. I found it interesting that the author talks about conservation of resources and the earth's changing climate, and the devastation of war as seen from a dragon who has the long view. I was impressed with this addition. There's lots of action, and a bit of romance. Lots of introspection on the part of the dragon, and growth in the character, which was somewhat unexpected on my part.

Reader's Advisory: Urban Fantasy. First in the series. This is a great What to Read Next for followers of the Sandman Slim series by Richard Kadrey, the Dresden Chronicles by Jim Butcher, or Simon Green's Nightside series.

Where I am Now by Mara Wilson

I love autobiographies.  There's something sort of naughty about them peeking into someone else's life, and not minding my own business.  I suppose it's a manner of wondering if I'm doing my life right, because for sure it's doesn't seem to be going as I would prefer.  However, I really enjoyed Mara Wilson's new autobiography Where I am Now.  It's a parody of those click bait sites we see at the bottom of articles, that tell you the celebrities you've grown up with are now completely disgraced, old, fat or whatever.  Like we're not all human.  Anyway, my review:

Autobiographies; where we peek into someone else's life with no shame. Wilson's story was a thoroughly enjoyable read, even though I empathized as Ms. Wilson discusses her personal anxieties and obsessions, and later discovering that they are treatable. But I particularly like how she discovers that her true love is telling stories and doing stand-up story telling. She speaks to how being a very young actor sets up expectations in later life, within herself and with others who saw her movies. And she talks about, even though she was considered |cute" by casting directors in her youth, she is not considered "pretty enough" as she grows into her teens, giving no credit to her acting talent. I mean, really, how many of us were pretty in our teens? She speaks of some of the people she worked with, especially her love of Robin Williams. She takes these stories as her stand up material giving them a wry, comedic twist, making the folly of our human experiences comparable.

Faithful by Alice Hoffman

I don't know that anyone would be interested, but I read...alot.  And to hang on to a shred of my 30 years of librarianship and Reader's Advisory service, I write book reviews, fairly short ones, for GoodReads, NetGalley, Amazon, Pinterest, Barnes & Noble.  Nothing spectacular, just what I think. So I thought I would just start adding them here, too.  What the heck.

And I'm starting it off with a book I've just finished that in many ways hit home.  My mother passed away almost 4 years ago, and it devastated me.  Perhaps because my father had died when I was very young, and she raised me and my two younger brothers by herself.  She never remarried.  She claimed my late father was the love of her life.  But we lived in a small town, and she had many brothers and sisters to provide emotional support for her.  She told me once, she had knew she had to stop crying after he died of polycystic kidney disease.  She had three little children to raise and she couldn't let Grief take her over.  I recognized her story, and mine, in Alice Hoffman's Faithful.

Grief and loss....like falling helplessly, hopelessly into a black hole. All the "what ifs..." and the "I should haves..." that run through one's mind, examining all ways that this mindnumbing loss could have been prevented. Having been through this type of loss four years ago when my mother passed, I easily recognized the desolation Shelby feels when her best friend is left comatose, after a black ice incident when Shelby had been driving. Reliving the incident in every moment endlessly on some type of hideous loop of self destruction and self recrimination.

And yet, this story is not the sad descent into hopelessness that one may expect. It's the powerful story of the support of family and friends, and even strangers. Working one's way through grief and again finding worth in your own being. Being faithful to the person you've lost and to yourself. Dealing with Grief can take years, and it never really goes away. One just gets better at dealing with it in microsteps. And one can find truths in one's own hidden depths. This is a touching story, full of hidden hope. Don't miss it.

And that's where I was for a long time.  In a black hole.  Recriminations of how I treated her, or should have done better by her.  And yet knowing all along, she'd tell me not too.  We'd loved each other and we were there for each other when necessary.  And slowly, slowly I've pulled myself out and felt like caring about life and the future again.Okay, enough sadness for now.

New Page

I am starting a new page in my life.  My, that sounds pretentious.  But it's now been four years since I've retired from CML, and it's been three and a half since Mum passed, and I'm starting to pull myself out of my grief and self pity and working to find a new direction I need to take.  So what has been my major interest these past few years....that thing that still sparks my interest and keeps my mind working?  Ok, so I like to read and that will continute, but I think both you and I know that many times reading is escape from reality.  And I really need to start dealing in reality more often.  Amanda has turned 18, and will be starting college soon, and will be moving even further out of my life...as it should be.  Can't just hang around anymore.

So what's interesting for me?  Vintage stuff, really.  I love finding vintage stuff that needs some love and tenderness and a good cleaning and a bit of repair, and then doing that.  Mark is of course, wondering what I'm going to do with this "stuff" and how much of it is going to pile up, but maybe I can sell it.  Some of it I'm repurposing for me:  Like the two mid century modern couches I found, and some of the mid century starburst clocks, but we'll see how this goes. I don't think I'm in this really for the money.  However, money allows me to buy some more.  Bad Me.  But let's see how this goes.

I retired from the CML System in January of 2012 after 26 years and 10 months of being a CML employee, and I haven't regretted a moment of it.  I had begun to realize that as much as I love the library world, and books and reading...I wasn't happy at where it was going.  I don't think there was any real choice in making the changes that Administration had made.  The world is changing more and more quickly, and what I grew up with as a traditional library just wasn't viable anymore.  I realized that what the library had become, and where it was heading, was no longer something I was interested in.  There are those persons that are, of course, and I decided it was time to let them have at it.  I haven't looked back.  I find the only real thing I do regret, is the access to the new books.  There's something about having them all around you that makes you notice them more, and makes it easier to find new interesting things to read.  I have to work harder now to find good things to read, and perhaps I'm not reading as much.  But my library card now only has a few items on it, where as before it was constantly full.

I also knew that there was a great deal of stress in my job, but I didn't realize how much until several months after I left. And let's face it, I don't miss the paperwork and the deadlines.  All around it was a good decision. Yay for me, for making the right decision.

Searching for Bryan Tarlton

I had an uncle, since passed away, who had a little general antiques store in Ontario, CA. He would go around to auctions and buy stuff up and put it in his store. My mother saw a painting there that she really liked - a woodland scene. She would have loved to own it but she didn't have the money to purchase it. (my uncle was married to my mother's sister, and you had to know him) Anyway, For some reason the painting got damaged. I mean really damaged. Someone must have put an elbow through it. It was being put into the trash, and my mother asked if she could have it. She put it away and tried to find someway to fix it. It's been in storage for years, until I took it to get it fixed. I've got a lead on someone might be able to fix it.

However, my mother wanted some information on the artist. The picture is signed Bryan Tarlton. I've found a little bit of information about him, gleaned from here and there. There are many of his paintings going through the auction houses, averaging from $150 to about $500, mostly of beech tree scenes. Obviously, not a famous artist, but respectable.

He's from Indiana, and most of his oil landscapes are of Brown County, Indiana beech woods.He must have really loved beech trees. He was born in Franklin, IN and lived in Indianapolis. He lived from April 1899 to September 1962. His second wife's name was Mildred Boyd Tarlton. And that's really about it. Of course, I haven't dedicated my time to it, but it will come. And I would welcome any offerings of anyone who has more information.

The power is OUT!

I never know whether I should be amused or worried. Example: Today at my work location the electric power was out. (Somebody hit a street pole down the avenue, electric wires everywhere, police diverting traffic, etc) My staff met me as I got out of my car, informing me of the situation. I'm sure the first thing they wanted to hear was that they could go home, but no...This is basically still a library and people can read - by the windows, under the skylights - And we opened our doors to the public on time as always. Life can go on.

For once, there was NOT a great flood of people into the branch as the doors opened. Of course, having signs on the doors that said - No electricity, No computers and Yes, we're open - might have had a bit to do with it; especially the No Computers part. However, several people came in to check. We'd meet people at the door "Hello, the electricity is out. May I help you find something?" And almost every single person would respond "Are the computers working?" (No, the lack of electricity let all the squirrels out of their cages) That is the part that worries me, or amuses me - take your pick. After we'd explain "No, the computers are not working as they run on electricity and the electricity is out," (let me lead you by the hand through this thought process) then they'd ask with all seriousness "When will the computers be working again?" (When we can round up all the squirrels and get them working again?) Oooh the things I want to say, when properly all I can respons with is "I don't know." They then turn and walk out, some of them angry.

And it's not just the computers being out, people come in looking to use the copy machine, or the computer printer, or the wi-fi, and to ask why is it so warm in here? Again we patiently explain the power is out and that electricity runs that particular item.

Have we just become so used to electricity that we can't conceive of losing it? It was a quiet morning though. Even staff couldn't perform basic morning duties - no computers. We pretty much just sat around like lumps, and/or caught up on our professional reading. We did get our shelves all straightened though, and we checked out books the old fashioned way - by hand, paper and pencil.

Digital books, publishing, etc. Where's it going?

Playing around with my Nook, my chaotic mind begins to bounce around wondering how digital/ebooks are going to effect the future of libraries, books, and publishing. I know I'm not the only one pondering that question, but still... After spending 40+ years working in libraries, I wonder that if I had to make the choice now, would I still become a librarian? And what, actually, is a librarian going to become? and soon. I love books and the printed word. I love the physical presence of books, and I always think more of a person when I see books scattered around their home, and not in an artistic manner.

I don't think physical books will actually go away for a long time, until a way can be found to digitalize the entire works of mankind quickly and cheaply. But in going forward, how much printed matter will drop away? Books are already set up electronically for creating, editing, and publishing. Does anyone actually submit a paper manuscript anymore? So the easiest step, and cheapest, is to skip the ink/paper process and market the book in it's electronic form.

The creation of Apple's IPad, and any soon to be released competitors will bring the price way down. And it's been mentioned at a Teen Services & Social Media meeting (cit to come) that teens today prefer to use their cell phones for anything and everything, which I would suppose would mean ebooks, also. (Just wait until their eyes start to go, and that small print won't be so attractive) I work in an inner city neighborhood, with a low income level, low educational level, etc. and I swear every kid or teen that walks through our doors has a cell phone. So between cheap cell phones and clone IPads, the future of publishing becomes an immediate concern.

When I'm right, I'm right

And ooooh boy, was I right. I looooooove my Nook. Or maybe I just love the whole concept of the ebook. I regularly scan B&N's list of books, looking for a great book for .99 or 1.98. Sometimes if it's something I really want, I'll go as far as 9.99 as I did for Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything; and Beth Erickson's Longing for Dad. I love being able to lay in bed at night, and scan the booklists, knowing I can just tap BUY and it's all mine. Another feature is that I can get free samples. This means that I can get 15 to 20 pages of any book I'm interested in to download to my ebook. How cool is that? And at the end of that sample, B&N generously gives me a BUY button. Oh, those clever people! So now I know I'm going to read Craig Ferguson's biography American on Purpose. And tho, I may not buy it (sorry, Craig) I know I can borrow it from the Library.

And did I mention they were giving away a free set of Alice in Wonderland screensavers? Yep, they were.

My DH put in an 4gb SD card, and now I can store up to 40,000 books just to carry around with me, to read as I want and bookmark as I need to. I can read a dozen or more books at once. I've discovered Fictionwise (well, I always knew it was there) but now I'm exploring it thoroughly, and Project Gutenberg is one of my favorite websites, cause everything's for free. Just download it as epub and we're home free!

My next move is to start looking up Golden Age Sci Fi authors, and see if I can find them in Gutenberg and add them to my Nook. I've decided I really don't care much about the Ipad. Why pay so much for something I would only use for a few things. My Nook fills my need.

Book Nook

I am getting a Nook from Barnes and Noble for my birthday. I haven't been this excited about something in a long time. I had pointed it out to my DH the last time I visited B & N, and he sort of dismissed it. I went back and did some research on the Kindle, and then back to the Nook. I pushed it a bit with him: "I really like this." He knows that I don't usually push hard with technology as often technology dismays me when it doesn't work. I am not a patient person, and glitches in technology drive me nuts. But the Nook has seduced me. Imagine it containing up to 1500 books in it's memory. And with an extra memory card, it can hold up to 40,000! That's about half of what my branch library holds. Don't get me wrong. I love printed books, the feel of the pages, the smell and the weight in my hand. And I love to read in the bath. But being able to carry 1500 titles whereever I go. It's almost gluttonous. I can weed down my personal library and gain some space in my bedroom and basement. And believe me, this is a good idea....a very, very good idea. Of course, the Nook is backordered until Feb 11th, and my birthday is a bit later than that, but the anticipation is definitely growing.

Starting again

I've been thinking about this for some time, and have finally decided to try to keep up on my blog. Not so much for anyone else, but just for myself. Somewhere to spew thoughts and information that doesn't really fit into my work or home life. If by some chance you happen upon this blog, don't expect great insights, or in-depth information. I'm not that good. I'm a simple librarian, who because she's bossy (says my mother) became a branch manager. Hey, it works for me and pays decently. The first part of this blog was actually a System assignment to become familiar with types of technology our customers were using, and so it was styled that way. That project is over and done with, and I got a 1g pen drive out of the deal, with the library logo. And my husband quickly appropriated it. But as I've taken inventory lately, I've realized that my life includes a heck of a lot of technology, good and bad, and just to relieve and perhaps think through some of my own concerns with it, I'm going to keep up on this. We'll see...

Where has the time gone?

Ok, I'm going to get back to this...I promise. Just as soon as I get my act together.

Thing 23 for Learn & Play at CML

I'm finished, but there's still so much left to do. Even though I've met today's deadline, there are videos from participants that I haven't had time to watch - I still want to do that. And I want to go back and further explore some of the sites we've visited and applications we've tried out, several of which I plan to use in my upcoming work. Lots of people have added themselves to Twitter and I want to go back and browse, and I want to take a look at some of the blogs I didn't have a change to catch up on.

This has been an enjoyable program, and I'm glad I made the effort to do it. I will be encouraging any of my staff who haven't finished, to finish it - and maybe provide my own incentive for their completion. Maybe we'll try to have some sort of regular technology information meeting in 2009, or at least a few minutes to touch base on technology at our regular staff meetings. But there definitely should be some sort of Phase II for 2009.

MOLDI - Needs a new name

Who ever decided this was a good name, please? Yes, I know what it stands for, but please, what can people be thinking? Here's this great concept with a yucky acronym. People, people we've got to be more creative than this! New L&P initiative - find an online acronym generator and give a reward out to anyone who finds the most ATTRACTIVE name for a great program - Please.

Besides all that...I am a great fan of Books on CD, and before that Books on Tape. I have about a 30 minute drive to and from work and sometimes I think that's when my best reading gets done. We're always stocked with BOCD when we travel, and my DD likes to listen to them at night when she goes to bed. She an probably recite the entire story of Winnie-the-Pooh by heart, and in an English accent. But while I browse the digital collection (I refuse to use THAT name) every so often, I haven't been particularly interested in downloading anything. My library card is full, and my car is stocked, and there are books piled beside my bed and the couch. I'm at my limit. If I didn't spend 45+ hours in a library all day, it might be more of an incentive for me. In fact I've often thought that if I didn't work in a library, how would I fit library time in to my life? So for non-library staff, this can be a great alternative.

Reading a book on my laptop would be ok, except I try not to take my laptop everywhere with me. And you just know the battery would die just as I was getting to the good part of the book. That's what put me off buying any type of er-reader so far - the battery life. When an energy storage breakthrough is made, then I'll be first in line, but until then paper is going to be my first choice when it comes to reading material. It may be non-tech, but it fits my needs best.

My DH, in fact, has downloaded several books from this program and is quite happy with it. He thinks the software can be a bit of a pain, but then that's the IT world - there are always glitches. But for the purposes of Learn & Play, I have downloaded Dog Years: a memoir by Mark Doty. And in audio format I've downloaded Barbara Tuchman's A Distant Mirror: the calamitous 14th century.

PodCasts - LIS News

Here I've been in tune with some of the latest technology along, and didn't ever really think about it. I've been reading Library and Information Science News postings for over a year, and when they added podcasting I just accepted it as an expanded version of the postings. It's like a little radio news program on what's going on in libraries, and interviews with some very interesting people that I can listen to in my office while I'm working on something else. But again, like websites, blogs, etc. I'm finding I have to be more discriminating about what I sign up for and view or read. There's just not enough time to do it all, get my job done and keep up with my family.