In the Bleak Midwinter

Librarian Quote

She was brilliant and joyous and she believed- probably correctly- that libraries contain the answers to all things, to everything, and that if you can't find the information you seek in the library, then such information probably doesn't exist in this or any parallel universe now or ever to be known. She was thoughtful and kind and she always believed the best of everybody. She was, above all else, a master librarian and she knew where to find any book on any subject in the shortest possible time. 

And she was wonderfully unhinged.

Gary Paulsen, Mudshark

My New Motto

"Mercury is in retrograde."  Marty Deeks

2014 Book Night Giver Application CHECK

I completed my giver application today for World Book Night 2014.


Choices

1st          Bridge to Terabithia

2nd        Hoot

3rd        Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

My target recipients are athletes at the junior high level at the ball fields, tennis courts, and swimming pool.

There is a story behind choice #1 that goes back about 30 years. 

Both choice 1 and 2 have runners as characters. Thus I hope the appeal to athletes.

And Miss Peregrine is just weird enough junior high age kids will love it!

World Book Night 2014 Book Choices

On October 24th the book choices for the 2014 World Book Night were announced.

2014 Book List

To download the list with ISBN's please click here.

The Zookeeper’s Wife by Diane Ackerman

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

After the Funeral by Agatha Christie

The Ruins of Gorlan: The Ranger's Apprentice, Book 1 by John Flanagan

Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet (Large Print edition) by Jamie Ford

The Lighthouse Road by Peter Geye

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

Wait Till Next Year by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

The Dog Stars by Peter Heller

Hoot by Carl Hiaasen

Pontoon by Garrison Keillor

Same Difference by Derek Kirk Kim

Enchanted by Alethea Kontis

Miss Darcy Falls in Love by Sharon Lathan

Bobcat and Other Stories by Rebecca Lee

Young Men and Fire by Norman Maclean

Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin

Waiting to Exhale by Terry McMillan

Sunrise Over Fallujah by Walter Dean Myers

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

When I was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago

Cuando Era Puertorriqueña by Esmeralda Santiago

Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

Where’d You Go, Bernadette (Large Print edition) by Maria Semple

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

This Boy’s Life by Tobias Wolff

100 Best-Loved Poems edited by Philip Smith

To see book covers and learn more about the selected books follow this link

http://www.us.worldbooknight.org/books/2014

Also applications are open to be a book giver.

Wow, Neil Gaiman!! You are the best!!!!!

The very day I was dis-ing Neil Gaiman's book The Ocean at the End of the Lane, he was standing up for reading and libraries at the Barbican in London. The Reading Agency's annual lecture series was initiated in 2012 as a platform for leading writers and thinkers to share original, challenging ideas about reading and libraries.

Wonderful, wonderful and much in agreement with my view of books, reading, libraries, and learning

Neil Gaiman: Why our future depends on libraries, reading and daydreaming

http://gu.com/p/3jhj8

Take the time to follow the link and read his speech.

Neil Gaiman

 I have just finished Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane. Whoa...he is dark. Previously I read The Graveyard Book and American Gods. I liked the premise of American Gods. Reminded me of the way Mt. Olympus had moved to America in the Percy Jackson series. And The Graveyard Book was a Newbery Winner. This most recent book is written for adults, but it was very troubling to me.  What sort of mind creates these works?  I liked the Hempstock women. Interesting characters. I did not very much like the narrator, main character. When I finished I sought out some reviews to see if my take was the same of others...probably not.


Here are links to several you may want to check out for yourself.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/books/2013/06/29/book-review-the-ocean-the-end-the-lane-neil-gaiman/4mcI42A6E2VOXpKPWZlcPJ/story.html

http://www.npr.org/2013/06/17/191346480/a-deceptively-simple-tale-of-magic-and-peril-in-ocean


http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/30/books/review/neil-gaimans-ocean-at-the-end-of-the-lane.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

http://lareviewofbooks.org/review/darkness-with-consolations-neil-gaimans-the-ocean-at-the-end-of-the-lane/


As for me, glad I read it, but it was discomforting and I didn't like it...not even the cover.

Quotation 13 from my Book of Quotes

"Still later I learned that grace has a timing of its own. You're never prepared for it, and you must always prepare for it"

                                                         from All About Women
                                                          by Andrew M. Greeley

Date a Girl who Teaches

Visit this blog by Audrey


http://sentimentsfromtheheart.wordpress.com/2013/04/29/date-a-girl-who-teaches/

Sage Advice

Quotation 12 from my book of Quotes

"It is only when we are fully rooted that we are really able to move."
                                                  
                                         from A Wind in the Door
                                         by Madeleine L'Engle

A Responsible Borrower

Quote 11 from my Book of Quotes

"I only know that Jesus of Nazareth sings the true song. He knows the ancient harmonies."

                                                            from  A Swiftly Tilting Planet 
                                                            by Madeleine L'Engle

Too Funny!!

T Shirt for the Betterment of the World!!!!

Summer Reading at the Beach

READERS ABOUND AT ST GEORGE ISLAND


Cut Like a Knife. by  M. K. Gilroy

Emperor of All Maladies. A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjer

Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan

Inferno by Dan Brown. (2)

Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith  by Jon Krakauer

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Getting Ready for Beach Reading

Bags are almost completely packed. Kindles are loaded and so is iphone.

My Kindle

Julia's Chocolates
Cathy Lamb

The Iron King

Julie Kagawa

  Stand by Me
  Neta Jackson
 

Iphone

E Book that would not load to Kindle but would to Overdrive and I Phone

Come to the Table
 Neta Jackson

Audio Book for the drive

Double Minds

Terri Blackstock

Husband's Kindle

    Inferno

    Dan Brown

Also a stack of magazines....HGTV, Country Living, Martha Stewart, and Veranda

Reading through the 2013 World Book Night Book List

I am making a try to read through the 2013 World Book Night book list.  Here is the link


http://www.us.worldbooknight.org/books/2013

Just finished The Handmaid's Tale

and The Language of Flowers



Nonfiction Readers.......You rock!

Having just finished Laura Bush's 2010 biography  Spoken from the Heart I need to applaud all you nonfiction readers. It's hard work. I can breeze through a novel in no time at all, but this nonfiction reading requires rapt attention. 

A friend called and said "you've got to read this Laura Bush biography, we could have written it."  NOT!!  Just because we are both only children, born in the early 50's, with many of the same early life experiences (and also the fact that I am a retired librarian)  does not make me capable of penning this book. Once they begin campaigning for George H. W. Bush they are out of my league. 

I learned a lot about Mrs. Bush, the White House, the duties of the first lady, her role in promoting her special causes....books, National Book Festival, women's rights around the world, her passion for Africa and Afghanistan women, rebuilding of schools and libraries post Katrina, her friendships, building of their ranch in Texas, the compassion for post 9-11 victims by both President Bush and Laura and her love of family.  I was especially touched by the story of the Burmese refugees in Thailand who were living in refugee camps for the 2nd generation, however, it may be because that particular story was near the end, I saw light at the end of the tunnel, could pay more attention and not worry how many more names, acronyms, meetings, summits, friends were left.

 Again, I learned an awful lot but again, it was hard work.

Links for Book Lovers

Discovered a neat link yesterday due to a post on the librarian's list serv. 
http://www.forgottenbookmarks.com/
A used book dealer blogs about bookmarks found in the old books he purchases. 


Another I love to visit

http://undergroundnewyorkpubliclibrary.com/

People caught reading on the subway in New York. Their books are identified too.


Posted about this one before but is a cool site to see how people display and shelve their book collections.

http://bookshelfporn.com/


And for you librarians, Barbara Braxton of Australia does a fantastic job of discussing ways to make you and your job indispensible to your school and your patrons.

http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/blue-skunk-blog/2012/7/12/peeing-on-the-job-guest-post-by-barbara-braxton.html

Tornado Devastates Moore, Oklahoma

A terrifying nightmare. Details still being sorted. A direct hit on an elementary school. Lives lost, homes obliterated.

This prayer was posted on Facebook last night.

John DeBevoise


Prayer for those in the path of the tornado:

Alas, alas O God, how shall we pray when mayhem and destruction fly down from the sky? In our humanity we live in your creation with the power of storms and the seeming capriciousness of their path. With the disciples we cry out "Master, do you not care that we perish?" O God help those in the aftermath of the terrible storm, the traumatized, the grieving, the injured, the devastated. Reveal the power of your love to help and to heal in the midst of catastrophe. Speak your Word of hope and promise of resurrection in the face of death and loss. Holy Spirit, bring order from chaos, hold the broken together, give energy and strength, clarity and unity, to rescue and emergency workers, physicians and nurses, leaders and citizens. Have mercy on them O God who loves this world: children, families, friends and neighbors who know such great pain and whose hearts and homes are certainly shattered. For we pray in the name of Jesus Christ, who stilled the storm, had compassion on the suffering, and rose from the dead. Amen.     I don't know the author, but I do know the One to whom it is prayed.      

Haywood Smith Laughing My Way Through Her New Book

Haywood Smith is always a fun read. This is a summary from the Goodreads website. 

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15793135-out-of-warranty

If you’ve ever struggled with a health insurance claim, you’ll love Haywood Smith’s witty send-up of the health insurance industry, the drug companies, the medical profession, and falling apart ten years before Medicare. From the beloved author of The Red Hat Club and Wife-in-Law, Out of Warranty is a witty story of two lonely misfits who find exactly what they need in the most unlikely of situations, with a bonus of humor and heart.

“If you have anything weird wrong with you in this country, you’d better be Canadian.”

So says widowed Cassie Jones when, after being written off by countless doctors, she finally finds one who diagnoses her with a rare genetic form of arthritis. The condition is manageable, but not curable, and a new diagnosis, so her health insurance refuses to pay for most of her expensive medications and treatment. So widowed Cassie, still grieving for the love of her life and facing destitution because of her medical bills, decides she has to remarry for better health coverage. Enter one-legged hermit and curmudgeon Jack Wilson, on the same appointment schedule at their specialist’s, who’s rude and obnoxious, but eventually tries to help by setting up e-dating for Cassie. After a hilarious round of fix-ups and e-dating, Cassie’s left with no hope and no prospects.


That’s when Jack offers a strictly business marriage that could solve both their problems, with a serious set of house rules, including separate bedrooms. How well it will work remains to be seen.

With her trademark humor and sass, Haywood brings these two characters to life in an unlikely grown-up relationship that transcends their medical problems and will leave readers smiling long after the last page is turned.

Happy 92nd Birthday to my sweet Mother

April 30

 

Beautiful Night in Alabama for World Book Night

April 23rd William Shakespeare's birthday, full moon, warm spring weather, and World Book Night. My sister-in-law, who served as my driver, photographer, and cheerleader left home about 6 PM to deliver Fahrenheit 451 to the area fire departments as part of the 2013 World Book Night. Gracious reception from all the firefighters....interrupted a basketball game at one, tv viewing at another, and returning EMTs at the last. A quick trip to the Emergency room at the local hospital finished off our 20 books. We were supported in spirit by my niece who lives in another state...she wore "our shirt" to her children's soccer game.

Toomer's Corner Last Rolling of the Oaks War Eagle

World Book Night 2013

WBN 2013 across America – every blue dot represent 1-50

givers.

Just Because

World Book Night.....My Title

Received word from the World Book Night folks that the book I will be giving away on April 23rd is Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.  The second of my choices but still will be fun.  Right now my plans are to visit the local fire stations in the area and first offer the books to the fire fighters. 

This is a reader review from Amazon written in 2000 

 "Bradbury has given me a picture of what might be, if we are not careful. His book written nearly fifty years ago peers just twenty minutes into the future now. Technological developments he had no name for then are very real today."

How much more is this true in 2013. 

World Book Night Giver!!!!!!

I am so, so excited!   Received an email today that I have been selected as a book giver for this year's World Book Night.

Follow this link to read more      http://www.us.worldbooknight.org

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

I struggled through American Gods. Quite a challenge since my area of expertise has always been Greek/Roman mythology. Don't know a lot of those northern European mythical gods...Thor and Odin, maybe, or African myths.  Otherwise ????????    Interesting premise, I suppose, ....won several awards...Hugo Award  and Nebula Award  for science fiction and fantasy works.

Copied from Wikipedia.....

The central premise of the novel is that gods and mythological creatures exist because people believe in them. Immigrants to the United States brought with them dwarves, elves, leprechauns, and other spirits and gods. However, the power of these mythological beings has diminished as people's beliefs wane. New gods have arisen, reflecting America's obsessions with media, celebrity, technology, and drugs, among others.


Not a favorite though I did like a few quotes


".....elf-light, a thick warm custardly lught that made the world feel unearthly and more than real..."

"Ice sheathed the winter-black bushes and trees as if they'd been insulated, made into dreams."

Nicholas Flamel

I am currently devouring the Nicholas Flamel series. 

The Immortal Secrets of Nicholas Flamel

Take a trip to the website and read all about the series.

Full of mythology from all cultures.

Sophie and Josh twins with gold and silver auras meet up with Nicholas and Perenelle in San Francisco.  You will meet Gilgamesh, Mars, Billy the Kid, Will Shakespeare, vampires, Golems, Prometheus, Joan of Arc,  the Witch of Endor, immortals, Elders, Dark Elders. You will travel by ley gates to Paris, London, Alcatraz, San Francisco, and the Shadowrealms.   Prepare to be enthralled and awed and challenged to pull up all those myths you have in the edges of your mind.

Written by Michael Scott    Michael Scott 

Time Travel Books

The Time Traveler's Wife  

Audrey Niffenegger

http://audreyniffenegger.com/writing




The Outlander Series 
Diana Gabaladon

http://www.dianagabaldon.com/books/chronology-of-the-outlander-series/  


 
Thursday Next Series                        
Jasper Fforde

 http://www.jasperfforde.com/index2.html

Time and Again
Nora Roberts

http://www.noraroberts.com/