101 posts tagged “books”

Striving to pass on the trivia in my noggin, I wrote another blog for Dayton Metro...books by people famous for other things...you probably know about some of these:

http://daytonmetrolibrary.blogspot.com/2009/02/who-wrote-book-about-what.html

Gotta love Jaime Lee Curtis's children's books...but must laugh at Judge Judy writing a book (on many levels, her titles are worth a giggle in and of themselves).

I have two blog entries over at Dayton Metro Library. The first on a nifty quick and dirty readers' advisory tool I found online (that does movies too) from Germany noless...and the second is all about the Buddhist idea of Mindfulness going secular. Check them out:

http://daytonmetrolibrary.blogspot.com/2009/02/every-book-its-reader.html

Just type in your favorite author and get some suggestions in a spiffy cloud. You can also participate in this projuct by answering quick questions about what you like to read or watch.

http://daytonmetrolibrary.blogspot.com/2009/02/pervasive-mindfulness.html

Mindfulness has been working its way into every day Western life...here are some good books (relatively new) on the topic...I have more on order about gardening and child rearing...seems second only to "Green" as the topic to talk about.

I have been a weeding (of books) fool at work. TRYING to make it through the shelves and shelves in storage of 100's...philosophy, psychology, parapsychology, and self-help...I make sure the books are in the right place, that we don't have too many copies of titles...and that we don't have outdated or dangerous info. I also mend books as I go.

I noticed on this most recent pass through of the self-helpish area that we had a lot of former best sellers down there. So I thought I would bring them back to the attention of our patrons with a blog entry:

http://daytonmetrolibrary.blogspot.com/2009/02/formerly-bestselling-now-awaiting-your.html

Now I can see if they circulate more :-)

Yes, I AM a Librarian to the core...

The only sad thing is I wasn't on the committee to advocate for it...but I am SO pleased!!! Yeah!

The Graveyard Book

Neil Gaiman

Holy Crap, I just learned...Terry Pratchett won a Printz Honor for Nation! Dang, shoulda gone to ALA this year, my guys are winning left and right! :-)

Nation

Terry Pratchett

I found librivox.com through a library publication & I have listened to stories by Elizabeth Gaskell and H Beam Piper. I plan to listen to many others!

You can check out the blog entry I wrote for the library here:

http://daytonmetrolibrary.blogspot.com/2009/01/free-your-ears-with-librivox.html

But the upshot is, that these books (public domain texts) are offered for free download...no gimmicks like so many other sites. Have fun!

This is Favorite Movies, Out of 154 we saw at home and in the theater...These were my tops. Yes, we see far too many movies.

And here are books...out of 146 books (yes, I feel I slacked this year...) here are the tops. Yeah!

When Blogging's part of work...I think it makes it even more fun. Reviewing books for the past ten years (sheesh!) has gotten me into the perfect state of writer's-mind to say what needs to be said in 300 words or less. I get to blather about something I like AND get paid for researching it and writing it. Weee!

http://daytonmetrolibrary.blogspot.com/2008/12/closest-library-your-computer.html

Every week at work, I get a booklist. I am responsible for looking over sections of it, and recommending books for purchase...yes, non-library people every week we look at hundreds of books and whittle it down to what we can afford--and no, we don't get the books for free.

I look over the 100's and 300's in Dewey and the Graphic Novels...yes, library people, we still use Dewey. And for you non-librariers, that's the numbers we use to keep the books in order. 100's are my favorite (parapsychology, psychology, and philosophy). 300's are schizophrenic...it can basically be ANYTHING since it is "social aspects of..." so it includes family issues, gay and lesbian issues, minority issues, economy, law, military, true crime, education (stifle those jokes!), transportation, fashion, etiquette, and folklore--see what I mean? Anyhoo, I like parts of that section. (The graphic novels are like icing...much fun)...

Whilst going through my lists, I often find books that I think belong in history or biography...but I also find books that, for good or bad reasons, make me laugh...here are two from today:

Find Your Courage: 12 Acts for Becoming Fearless at Work and in Life

Margie Warrell

My first thought was: "Mine was behind the pickles on the middle shelf of the fridge"

And

How to Be Like Women of Power: Wisdom and Advice to Create Your Own Destiny (How to Be Like)

Pat Williams

A felon, an African-American female Republican, and a Lesbian...hmm what does that say about the ways a woman can be considered "powerful"?

On October 1st there was an article on School Library Journal online by Anita Silvey that got Children's Literature people and Librarians buzzing. (Those of you not interested in Children's Lit. can take a pass on this entry). It criticised ALSC's Newbery Award for not picking books kids like to read--yes, it was the most recent beating of that dead horse. You can check it out here:  http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6600688.html 

If you are still reading and you don't know why that's a dead horse, the Newbery award is given annually to the "most distinguished" contribution to literature for children. Popularity or adult-perceived child-enjoyment/popularity are not considered in picking the winners. If you are interested in the award, you can find out more here: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/newberymedal/newberymedal.cfm

As far as Silvey's article goes, kids get excited about books that are introduced to them by excited adults. So if kids are bored by the latest Newbery award winners, I say educators check out a mirror. What are you doing to GET them excited about these good books?

Silvey talked to "ALSC judges" who said "committee work is hard" and "there were 'no good books'" the year they were on the committee--to this I must ask "What crack-smoking whackjobs did you talk to?" But maybe that's a little harsh. NO GOOD BOOKS? When I was on the committee I got 600 books delivered to my door. I read as many as I could. The hard part was narrowing it down. There were probably about twenty books the year I was on (2007) that I considered as good as past winners (committee members are also asked to not compare books published during their year to past winners, only to other books published that year)..."no good books" unbelievable!

She says she talked to booksellers who said it was easier to sell Newbery books in the 90's. To that I say, "Duh." I was a children's bookseller from 1990 to 1997 (before Library School). That was before you could carry around a PSP or a Nintendo DS in your pocket on top of your cell phone or had the Internet to distract you...reading has more competition now than it has ever had.

BUT believe it or not commenting on Silvey's article is not why I'm here today...in her article she included a link to the Allen County Indiana (Ft. Wayne) Public Library's Newbery Book Club's ranked list of Newbery winners. They do admit to being "totally biased." (Yeah, and they hate fantasy fiction!) When I checked out the list, my first thought was: "Now there's a group of readers with some axes to grind." I went over their list with a fine-toothed opinion and decided to expose my own axes in MY ranked list of Newbery winners. You'll find it at the bottom of this entry. 

Before you think to ask, I will admit that I was not able to finish some of the titles on the list because there wasn't enough caffeine available and I had to seek medical attention for my bleeding eyes...ok, that's another slight exaggeration. But some of the books were not helped at all in their ranking by my finishing them. Also, my Newbery winner reading has been going on since 1978...so some of these are fondly (and not so fondly) remembered.  I hope you enjoy my list...  

1. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (1963)
2. The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin (1979)
3. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor (1977)
4. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson (1978)
5. Missing May by Cynthia Rylant (1993)
6. Holes by Louis Sachar (1999)
7. The Giver by Lois Lowry (1994)
8. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry (1990)
9. The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron (2007)
10. A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck (2001)
11. The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg (1997)
12. Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson (1981)
13. The High King by Lloyd Alexander (1969)
14. The Midwife’s Apprentice by Karen Cushman (1996)
15. Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse (1998)
16. The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley (1985)
17. Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell (1961)
18. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George (1973)
19. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg (1968)
20. The Grey King by Susan Cooper (1976)
21. The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread by Kate DiCamillo (2004)
22. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien (1972)
23. Sounder by William Armstrong (1970)
24. Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli (1991)
25. Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voigt (1983)
26. Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (1992)
27. The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman (1987)
28. Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech (1995)
29. Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan (1986)
30. M.C. Higgins, The Great by Virginia Hamilton (1975)
31. The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth (1931)
32. Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary (1984)
33. A Visit to William Blake's Inn: Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers by Nancy Willard (1982)
34. Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins (2006)
35. The Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars (1971)
36. It's Like This, Cat by Emily Cheney Neville (1964)
37. Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman (1988)
38. The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare (1959)
39. A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park (2002)
40. Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz (2008)
41. King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry (1949)
42. A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal 1830-32 by Joan Blos (1980)
43. Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis (2000)
44. The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting (1923)
45. Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman (1989)
46. The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare (1962)
47. Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi (2003)
48. Kira Kira by Cynthia Kadohata (2005)
49. Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (1944)
50. The White Stag by Kate Seredy (1938)
51. Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Brink (1936)
52. Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes (1952)
53. The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox (1974)
54. Up a Road Slowly by Irene Hunt (1967)
55. Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Gray (1943)
56. The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pène du Bois (1948)
57. Shadow of a Bull by Maia Wojciechowska (1965)
58. Onion John by Joseph Krumgold (1960)
59. Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry (1941).
60. Secret of the Andes by Ann Nolan Clark (1953)
61. Shen of the Sea by Arthur Bowie Chrisman (1926)
62. I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Treviño (1966)
63. The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli (1950)
64. Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith (1958)
65. Smoky, the Cowhorse by Will James (1927)
66. Gay-Neck, the Story of a Pigeon by Dhan Mukerji (1928)
67. The Wheel on the School by Meindert DeJong (1955)
68. Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Elizabeth Foreman Lewis (1933)
69. The Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric Philbrook Kelly (1929)
70. Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Eggertsen Sorensen (1957)
71. ...And Now Miguel by Joseph Krumgold (1954)
72. Invincible Louisa: The Story of the Author of Little Women by Cornelia Meigs (1934)
73. The Matchlock Gun by Walter Dumaux Edmonds (1942)
74. Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright (1939) 
75. Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski (1946)
76. Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham (1956)
77. Miss Hickory by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey (1947)
78. Tales from Silver Lands by Charles Joseph Finger (1925)
79. Hitty, Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field (1930)
80. Waterless Mountain by Laura Adams Armer (1932)
81. The Dark Frigate by Charles Hawes (1924)
82. The Story of Mankind by Hendrik van Loon (1922)
83. Dobry by Monica Shannon (1935)
84. Daniel Boone by James Daugherty (1940)
85. Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson (1945)
86. Amos Fortune, Free Man by Elizabeth Yates (1951)

Ahhh, now I'm done for another year. See in my department we have to present a program to the public at least once each year. So this year, I did self-publishing--go figure!

You can see a slightly messed up version of my presentation at this link:

http://app.sliderocket.com/app/FullPlayer.aspx?id=08677d0c-a668-417f-84f1-04a5f2103f2e

The backgrounds are messed up a little and the spacing's off--that thing on the frist slide is an ink well with a quill in it. Go figure...also all the slides that are a gradient of green rather than yellowish had tiny inkwells that didn't translate. Still you can get the ideer. I'll fix it on slide rocket later :-)

Ahh! I had a nice 11 people & they were all interested and had good questions...some questions I could actually answer !