Brian Dettmer's Book Carving

A friend posted a link to Twisted Sifter online and I had to check it out just because of the wonderful name. The link took me to the Top 25 Art Projects of 2011 with the first listed being Brian Dettmer's book carving pieces. There are a total of 30 works as well as his bio and artist statement. One statement especially struck me:

"History is lost as formats change from physical stability to digital distress." Worth contemplating, I think.

A Booklover's Christmas Tree

You can see where this was found by clicking through to Photoblip!

News about Denise Mina

Denise Mina (Facebook)

I can't seem to escape the need to read Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy starting with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. And now with the announcement that Glaswegian Denise Mina, one of my very favorite crime novelists, has been chosen to adapt the series in graphic novel form, I can't stand the thought that I would be on the outside looking in. Read the article from the Guardian UK HERE for more details.

A Visit to the Book Sale

I succumbed to being on a committee committed to resurrecting the library at the Middle School at Parkside (Jackson Public Schools). The building was originally a high school so there is rather a nice space that was the library. Yesterday and today there was a book and bake sale held to raise a little money and a lot of awareness.

Although I donated a few rather nice things (newish books as well as DVD's), I planned to delight in that added shelf space. Alas!

I thought I would stop by yesterday and see what was being offered. There was actually a ton of attractive stuff unfortunately for me. Even though I managed to avoid many things, I ended up with the following for a variety of reasons: The Lion in Winter script (because we are doing a staged reading in January); Ruth Rendell's The Rottweiler; The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (because I felt I needed to refresh my memory); Then She Found Me (because I adore Elinor Lipman and don't think I read this early novel marked as a teen read); Linda Fairstein's The Kills; and Stieg Larsson's The Girl Who Played With Fire (I haven't read the first book yet but at least I won't have to go to the library for this second title). Why? I don't need anything else to read. I didn't quite fill the shelf space back up.

My name is Ann and I am a book addict.

DATE A GIRL WHO READS - Truth on the Internet or Why We Still Need Librarians

On Facebook today a friend posted the following quote and attributed it to Hollywood Twilight star Robert Pattinson. From a cursory check through Google it appears that the quote comes from a longer blog post written by Rosemarie Urquico, who is said to be a writer from the Philippines. Rest assured that Pattinson did not write this. The column has been re-blogged many times but I haven't been able to find an original source. Here's one place the whole piece is shared.

So much for truth on the Internet. This is why we need librarians. In the past they have always evaluated resources for accuracy while not censoring information.

 Robert Pattinson Quote : "If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are. Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.

Upon doing a bit more searching I found the following information:

Rosemarie no longer has an active blog, but she can be found on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=585211028

To see the post about how she was found, please go here. Thanks to Jonathan  for searching! 

The Outsiders (1967)

The Outsiders by Christopher Sergel

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Having never read the book nor seen the movie, I finally got a copy of the play version since our local theatre group, Center Stage Jackson, will be performing it in February 2012. Of course, as a librarian, I'd heard about The Outsiders and S.E. Hinton's incredible personal story for years.(Susan Eloise Hinton wrote this amazing tale at the age of sixteen because she couldn't find things she wanted to read!)

The adaptation is excellent and the play is powerful. Now I understand why this story has meant so much to young people over the years since it was first published in 1967. It also parallels the gang clashes that were portrayed in the musical West Side Story. In The Outsiders the warring groups are the "Greasers" and the "Socs".

"This is a play about young people who are not yet hopeless, about latent decency in the midst of struggle, about not losing touch with the residual slivers of gold within us all."

View all my reviews

School Library Journal Posts Best Books for Kids 2011

Thanks to a friend, I was directed to the list of 65 books School Library Journal has chosen as the best of 2011. Categories begin with picture books and continue with fiction, non-fiction, and adult books for teens. If you are looking for holiday presents or just titles to encourage your child to love reading, check out this list, which includes Michigan author Shutta Crum's picture book!

You'll also find books I've recommended here on the list for teens.

CRUM, Shutta. Mine! illus. by Patrice Barton. Knopf/Borzoi. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-375-86711-8.
PreS-Gr 2–As an intrepid toddler struggles to take possession of a passel of playthings, he is keenly observed by a frolicsome pup and a winsome infant who is preparing to make her move. The characters’ spot-on body language and facial expressions create a virtuoso visual portrayal of nascent social skills. (June)

The Cruelest Month (2007)

The Cruelest Month: A Three Pines Mystery by Louise Penny

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Like any series, the entries may vary in their appeal, but with Louise Penny, once you are hooked, it doesn't matter. I feel like the quirky people in the village of Three Pines are friends and I desperately wish that Inspector Gamache was a real person.

The Cruelest Month is the third in the series. Unfortunately I began with book 6, which is one of the best and has won a ton of awards. Then Trick of the Light #7 was released last year and I had to read that. Finally I started at the beginning. Now I just have A Rule Against Murder and The Brutal Telling before I start fretting about when a new title will be released.

This is a series that I recommend be read in order for the greatest enjoyment.

In The Cruelest Month some of the villagers decide to celebrate Easter with a seance at the old Hadley house, the scene of other unhappy events, and one of them dies apparently of fright. But something isn't right.

An interesting feature of these books is that the poems ascribed to Penny's character Ruth are actually the work of Margaret Atwood

I was hanged for living alone,
for having blue eyes and a sunburned skin,
tattered skirts, few buttons,
a weedy farm in my own name, 
and a surefire cure for warts. 

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Christmas at The Mysterious Bookshop (2010)

Last summer a best friend gave me a copy of Christmas at The Mysterious Bookshop edited by Otto Penzler to read during this holiday season. I pulled it off the shelf the other day and read the explanation about how those particular mysteries came to be gathered together.

There actually IS an independent bookstore named The Mysterious Bookshop run by Otto Penzler. I had heard of it for years but never got to visit even on the few trips I made to New York City.

Here's how Otto Penzler explains the collection:

"As a way of thanking our customers for their support, I have commissioned an original story from some of the finest mystery writers in America each Christmas season for the past 17 years. These stories are then published in handsome booklets and given to my customers as a Christmas present. The only criteria for the authors to follow were that the stories should be set during the Christmas season, involve a mystery, and have at least some of the action take place at The Mysterious Bookshop."

Each year only 1,000 copies of each story were printed. Now all seventeen have been published for the rest of us to read and enjoy. And the stories are as much fun as the idea behind them! The authors include Lawrence Block, Mary Higgins Clark, Ed McBain, Anne Perry, S.J. Rozan, and Donald Westlake.

A favorite quote in the story Murder for Dummies by Ron Goulart is "Windward was a small town that sat on the Connecticut side of the Long Island Sound. Its homes were a mix of heavy Victorian, 1930s modern and an occasional gross misunderstanding of the basic theories of Frank Lloyd Wright."

Could this clever anthology be a possible present for your favorite mystery reader?

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE

$55

Did you know that one of the most beloved Christmas movies was based on a short story called The Greatest Gift?

Philip Van Doren Stern couldn't find a publisher so in 1943 he gave 200 copies to family and friends as a Christmas card. In 1946 Frank Capra filmed the movie version It's a Wonderful Life. It was considered a box office flop and although nominated for five Oscars it didn't win a single one.

The film is now "recognized by the American Film Institute as one of the 100 best American films ever made, and placed number one on their list of the most inspirational American films of all time." (Wikepedia)

$149

Copies of the book are pricey editions ($55) available from Amazon reprinted in 2011 as well as an earlier edition ($149) if you are looking for a very special gift for a very special person. There are also used copies and other editions if you hunt around a bit.