Misadventures of the Monster Librarian

"For thus my Lord said to me: Go, station a watchman, let him tell what he sees."  --Isiah, 21:6, New American Bible *Spoilers* I told myself to ease into. I told yourself that it's not a sequel, it's a rough version. I told myself it's full of the characters of my childhood (and second childhood), the characters I know as well as myself, and love so much I just have to travel alongside them again. On a new journey. And yet I still prepared for the worst. And I wasn't disappointed. There is no way this is all Harper Lee's doing--though her publisher would have us believe it's an early and very different draft of what later became To Kill a Mockingbird --this book reads so inconsistently, and only parts of it ring with Lee's voice--in the part featuring the flashback of the children and the Revival I couldn't help but smile and be momentarily lulled. There she is, now she'll take over the story, and it will come right... ...

Found this on my desktop while I was cleaning shop. Sometimes I miss the card catalogs of my youth...but I am thankful for the online catalogs of my working library days. Happy Sunday. Looking forward to watching some football and relaxing with the Chicago Boy. If every Sunday could be this relaxing...

..." Once upon a time a farmer planted a little seed. in his garden, and after a while it sprouted and became a vine and bore many squashes. One day in October, when they were ripe, he picked one and took it to market. A grocerman bought and put it in his shop. That same morning, a little girl in a brown hat and blue dress, with a round face and snub nose, went and bought it for her mother. She lugged it home, cut it up, and boiled it in the big pot, mashed some of it salt and butter, for dinner. And to the rest she added a pint of milk, two eggs, four spoons of sugar, nutmeg, and some crackers, put it in a deep dish, and baked it till it was brown and nice, and next day it was eaten by a family named March..." -- Little Women , Louisa May Alcott Well, my tale's a little different: Once upon a time a librarian planted a seed in the ear of a farmer nearby--"Let the library storytime children come for a hayride and pumpkin picking, please?" Her...

We receive a monthly update from SEO (our FANTASTIC consortium); reading over the statistics, I was impressed by the 12 Most Popular Juvenile Fiction e-books in July within our consortium: Mockingjay , Collins Catching Fire , Collins Miss Peregrine's School for Peculiar Children , Riggs Divergent , Roth The Lightning Thief , Riordan HP and the Sorcerer's Stone , Rowling The Hunger Games , Collins The Sea of Monsters , Riordan The Maze Runner , Dashner HP and the Chamber of Secrets , Rowling The Book Thief , Zusak HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban , Rowling Why is this pertinent?--you ask. Welp, it helps when, like us, you have an insanely small budget and want to make sure that when you do your e-book ordering you have a smattering of some of the more popular titles available, particularly the ones which have the most holds on them! And for the record, I hate doing the e-book ordering...I wish we had a librarian just for that job!

Moving is an exercise in nostalgia; moving is holding and examining possessions long since lost to your memory, or those intentionally packed away. Tonight as Pavarotti fills the emptying space of this apartment I find myself examining so many books as they find their way into boxes--as alphabetically by genre as possible. I smile at my friend who remembers where she was when she bought her favorite shoes, or at the one who can pinpoint exactly who was with her when she saw whatever movie, but it's always been books for me. Each book a visitation of a favored bookstore; dear friends; the city, state, or country I was in while reading it; a reminder of a lover. So, here I sit wishing desperately that I were better prepared for this nostalgia night, wanting a tall glass of some type of red wine and long, pensive drags of a cigarette. But, pack on I must.

So, what are you reading this summer that you can't put down?

Book recommendations for FOURS and FIVES : All Aboard ABC, by Doug Magee Annie and the Wild Animals, by Jan Brett Bear Snores On, by Karma Wilson Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum, by Lisa Wheeler Can’t You Sleep Little Bear, by Martin Waddell Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, by Bill Martin Jr. Farmer Duck, by Martin Waddell Feathers for Lunch, by Lois Ehlert Frank Was a Monster Who Wanted to Dance, by Keith Graves Froggy Gets Dressed, by Jonathan London Gingerbread Man, by Jim Aylesworth Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs, by Ian Whybrow How I Became a Pirate, by Melinda Long I Stink, by Kate McMullan Leonardo, the Terrible Monster, by Mo Willems Little Beaver and the Echo, by Amy MacDonald Louella Mae, She’s Run Away, by Karen Beaumont Alarcon Madeline, by Ludwig Bemelmans Make Way for Ducklings, by Robert McCloskey, also Blueberries for Sal Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten, by J. Slate Mister Seahorse, by Eric Carle The Mitten, by Jan Brett Move Over, Rover, by...

RECOMMENDED BOOKS FOR TWOS AND THREES Bark, George, by Jules Feiffer Barnyard Dance, by Sandra Boynton - actually lots of her books! Brown Bear, Brown Bear, by Bill Martin Jr. Dear Zoo, by Rod Campbell Dig, Dig, Digging, by Margaret Mayo Dinosaur’s Binkit, by Sandra Boynton Chugga Chugga Choo-Choo, by Kevin Lewis Edward the Emu, by Sheila Knowles Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed, by Eileen Christelow From Head to Toe, by Eric Carle Gossie, by Olivier Dunrea and sequels Harold and the Purple Crayon, by Crocker Johnson How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight, by Jane Yolen If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, by Laura Numeroff I’m a Big Brother/Sister, by Joanna Cole Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear, by Nancy Carlstrom Lady with the Alligator Purse, by Nadine Bernard Westcott One Duck Stuck, by Phyllis Root Please Baby Please, by Spike Lee, illus. by Kadir Nelson Sheep in a Jeep, by Nancy Shaw Silly Sally, by Audrey Wood Snowy Day, by Ezra Jack Keats Tails, by Matthew Van Fle...

My friend Becca is engaged to someone with a 4 year old; a couple weeks back Becca asked me for book suggestions for said 4 year old. I thought I would pass along the list in case anyone else is looking for ideas...but then I thought, no, I must share the entire list, not just the 4s/5s list... this list made its way to me via a strange route. The short version is, back in the day in Rochester Hills, MI there was this wonderful little privately-owned bookstore--whose name eludes me now (Halfway Upstairs? Upstairs Downstairs?)--whose owner was wonderful; one of those gifted souls who always had ready recommendations that always wound up being perfect. I am fairly certain she was magic. Anyway, apparently she'd made up this great list of book recommendations based on ages and grades, and somehow, someone at some point gave it to me. And I can't tell you how many times I've referred back to it and been thanked profusely for it. So, wherever you are, wise creator of this list, ...

Did you know that on this day in 1841 the first detective story is published: The Murders in the Rue Morgue , by Edgar All a n Poe, which appeared in "Graham's Lady's and Gentleman's Magazine."    Sometimes I miss being a college student and having someone assign authors and stories to me; the semester that I took 19th century U.S. lit meant I spent a good deal of time reading Poe. Though all I can scrape together from my memory are fragmented lines from "The Raven," I remember enjoying what I read...I think I need to revisit him soon.  "...Our first meeting was at an obscure library in the Rue Montmartre, where the accident of our both being in search of the same very rare and very remarkable volume, brought us into closer communion..." --Edgar All a n Poe, excerpt from The Murders in the Rue Morgue For the full text.

Days never work out the way that you think they will. I have a page long to do list that I wanted done by the end of the week, but it looks like it will roll into next week; some days end with me puzzling over where the day went. This week we introduced a Music Collection to Sticks Library. I am more than a little proud because A. we've never had a music collection here before and B. it's gotten good press locally and C. we got our first hold placed for a CD this morning! Creating the collection was as simple as deciding to set aside some money within our existing Audiovisual budget, and now because of so much e-music and iTunes. many people have already offered us their collections and that is really helpful and FREE! :) I've learned as a Director to never say, "no," but rather to say "we'll use it if we can, if not, it'll go in our used book/DVD/CD sale and the funds benefit the library, so you've helped us either way!" We've begun ...

I am reading The Dog Stars by Peter Heller (apropos with the whole Mayan end of the year thing), and it's good, but a bit sad and a bit of a downer in that post-apocalyptic way. Inspired to find something happier-post-apocalyptic feeling, I remembered The Postal Service's " We Will Become Silhouettes ." Happy non-apocalyptic weekend!

And the Audiobook of the Year Award goes to: Tina Fey for Bossypants (written and read by Fey) (Hachette Audio) If you haven't listened to this book and you love Tina Fey, what are you waiting for? It was hysterical. The three finalists for the award were: Photo found here . • American Gods: The Tenth Anniversary Edition , by Neil Gaiman, Narrated by Neil Gaiman, Dennis Boutsikaris, Daniel Oreskes, Ron McLarty, Sarah Jones and a full cast (HarperAudio) • Go the F**k to Sleep , by Adam Mansbach, narrated by Samuel L. Jackson (Audible) • Steve Jobs , by Walter Isaacson, narrated by Dylan Baker with an introduction by the author (Simon & Schuster Audio) If you want to see the whole list, click here .

Some of the kids (and grown-ups too) have been coming in for books on the Titanic--yesterday marked the 100th anniversary of its sinking. Been meaning to post a list; here are a few kids books that for the curious kids: Titanic: Disaster at Sea National Geographic Kids Titanic Tonight on the Titanic (Magic Tree House, No. 17)  Titanic: A Primary Source History (In Their Own Words) On Board the Titanic: What It Was Like When the Great Liner Sank  Exploring the Titanic: How the Great Ship Ever Lost- Was Found   Heroine of the Titanic: The Real Unsinkable Molly Brown Eyewitness: Titanic (Eyewitness Books) S.O.S. Titanic     

No, no, not that kind of adult novel, I am refering to J.K. Rowling's new novel geared at adults, The Casual Vacancy , which is due out in September. Described thus by Little, Brown, "...set in a small English town called Pagford, which comes undone after one of its denizens, a man in his early 40s named Barry Fairweather, unexpectedly dies. The event shakes the town and reveals the rampant unrest bubbling under the surface in the deceptively perfect hamlet."  Full article here . I am not sure that I will read it, as I am still fist-shaking-angry at Rowling for her damn epilogue in HP7.

I love NPR, here are links to some fun/interesting/awesome articles that are all about books/reading: Articles about: The history of A History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil MacGregor Catherine the Great Reader World's largest art museum via book "Life" Magazine at 75 For you sports' writing fans New this week in paperback And one from Harper Collins Publishing, for those of you who loved Gregory Maguire's books about Oz, here .

I recently read an article which suggested some cook books--thought I would pass along these titles: The Simple Art of EatingWell Cookbook   Jessie Price & the EatingWell Test Kitchen I was unimpressed with this book. Pig: King of the Southern table , James Villas I LOVED this book! Embrace the Southerner within. Salted: A Manifesto on the World’s Most Essential Mineral, with Recipes by Mark Bitterman I have found this book utterly fascinating. And the pictures: AMAZING! Oaxaca al Gusto, Diana Kenned y I have only looked at the first few pages, but this book looks pretty impresssive! And the rest of these books I have on order from the library. Thank God for Inter-library Loan! Good to the Grain: Baking with whole-grain flours , Kim Boyce Secrets of the Sommeliers: how to think and drink like the world's top wine professionals , Jorday Mackay and Rajat Parr The Essential NY Times Cook Book: classic recipes for a new century , Amanda Hesser Meat: A Kitchen Educ...

Thanks M for knowing I would LOVE this. "Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes. She has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve. Find a girl who reads. You’ll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag.She’s the one lovingly looking over the shelves in the bookstore, the one who quietly cries out when she finds the book she wants. You see the weird chick sniffing the pages of an old book in a second hand book shop? That’s the reader. They can never resist smelling the pages, especially when they are yellow. She’s the girl reading while waiting in that coffee shop down the street. If you take a peek at her mug, the non-dairy creamer is floating on top because she’s kind of engrossed already. Lost in a world of the author’s making. Sit down. She might give you a glare, ...

I know I am a little ahead of the game--the 50th anniversary isn't until July--but I saw this article  yesterday and had to share it. For many of us To Kill a Mockingbird was required reading in school--for me it never was, so I took it upon myself to read it. I came to To Kill a Mockingbird when I was in seventh grade; my family had just uprooted from a private school back to public school (nearly an hour away); I was virtually friendless, lonely and unhappy; I didn't know who or what to believe in anymore and I was angry at the world. I fell into Harper Lee's book; was amused with Scout, who reminded me of myself; envied Atticus Finch, who's patience was something to marvel at. It has been nearly 20 years since last I read To Kill a Mockbird --though only months since last I watched the movie (which I love)--so it is time to read it again. Here's to you Harper Lee. Happy 50th. "I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that...

When most people are planning all the things necessary for their vacation to go off without a hitch, I am thinking of which books will be exactly what I want to be reading on this very trip. A poorly chosen book read on a vacation, for me, can jade part of the experience in quite the same way that a sommelier's meal might be tainted by a poorly chosen wine. Yes, I am that picky. So, as RugbyGirl and S have been shopping for the perfect bathingsuits and sun dresses, I have been trying to think of which books on my list might be just right for me on this trip. I have narrowed it down to: Desert Solataire , Edward Abbey Northanger Abbey , Jane Austen Death comes for the Archbishop , Willa Cather The Lacuna , Barabara Kingsolver Prodigal Summer , Barbara Kingsolver A tree grows in Brooklyn , Betty Smith Oh, hell, I'm probably just going to take them all. I am still that 8 year old, tucked in the crook of a tree, on a hot, sunny day.