Maurice Sendak, 1928-2012

Just heard that "Where the Wild Things Are" author Maurice Sendak died early this morning.  If you would like to know more about this iconic writer and illustrator, the library has several nonfiction titles that may interest you.

* Angels and Wild Things: The Archetypal Poetics of Maurice Sendak
* The Art of Maurice Sendak: 1980 to the Present
* Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait of Maurice Sendak (DVD)

April can be a taxing month

Tax day has finally come and gone, and I'll bet a lot of us could use a good laugh.  A new book just arrived at the library, and I'm pretty sure it has the potential to tickle a funny bone here and there.  If you're in the market for a giggle or guffaw, check out The 50 Funniest American Writers: An Anthology of Humor from Mark Twain to the Onion edited by Andy Borowitz.  Mr. Borowitz is a comedian and satirist which means he probably knows a thing or two about humor.

It's National Library Week

If you've ever had an interest in the mysterious world of librarianship, this week would be a good time to delve into books about, well, books, and how and why they're organized the way they are in most public libraries.  This information is not classified!  You can read freely about it in Irrepressible Reformer: A Biography of Melvil Dewey.  The DDC, or Dewey Decimal Classification system, was created by good ol' Melvil, who happened to be quite a character.

Perhaps reading about a classification system is not your idea of a good time, but being creative with the books you own really "knocks your shelves down."  Well, fear not, there is a perfect book for you: Decorating with Books by Marie Proeller Hueston.  Let's face it: a home really isn't a home without books.  Instead of leaving them in piles by your bedside, or covering every inch of flat surface with cherished titles, learn how to treat them like family by giving them their own space.  Unlike cats and dogs, you don't have to feed them, but an occasional dusting will tickle their spines, and cracking them open once in a while positively makes their pages curl. 

"Poetry is the synthesis of hyacinths and biscuits" - Carl Sandburg

April is National Poetry Month, and several new titles have been recently added to the collection.  If you love poetry, be sure to check out the poetry section on the 5th floor of the Vancouver Community Library.  They have a broad collection, sure to satisfy your poetic sensibilities.

This Morning: Poems - Michael Ryan

Useless Landscape, or a Guide for Boys: Poems - Douglas A. Powell

Spring has sprung - a leak?

Is someone out there doing the snow dance?  If so, maybe it's time to put your snow shoes away and start doing a sun jig.  Seriously, we could use a dose of sunny spring weather.  On that note, I would like to offer a book that is super solar-friendly in the hopes that Mother Nature will add it to her reading list.  The Sun's Heartbeat: And Other Stories From the Life of the Star That Powers Our Planet by Bob Berman is all about the orange orb, and sun worshippers everywhere will find plenty of intriguing information about their favorite star.     

Me, John Carter...you, wanna go to Mars?

The new Disney film "John Carter" is largely based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' "A Princess of Mars."  If you don't recognize Burroughs' name right away, he is best known for writing the Tarzan books.  We have both the book and the CD of the Princess book, but we're ordering more copies as the movie will probably increase demand.

Moving on from Harry Potter

Lots of buzz right now about J.K. Rowling's announcement that she's working on a novel for adults.  No title or pub date yet, but there is speculation that it will be a crime novel.  And Rowling recently tweeted that it would be coming out later this year.  I'll be curious to see how this all turns out.

Jeffrey Zaslow

I just read that Jeffrey Zaslow was killed in a car accident last week.  If the name isn't familiar to you, he was well known for his columns in the Wall Street Journal, but in recent years he was also known for his books.  In addition to writing two nonfiction titles, which I'll mention in a little bit, he co-authored several three best-selling books: The Last Lecture (with Randy Pausch), Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters (with pilot Captain "Sully" Sullenberger), and most recently, with Gabrielle Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly, Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope.

Mr. Zaslow was often able to find unique, personal stories that needed to be shared with the world.  Pausch, Sullenberger, and Giffords are perfect examples of ordinary people challenged with life-altering experiences, and because of their books we have a better understanding of how extraordinary events can impact daily life.

The two titles that Jeffrey authored himself focus on subjects that at first glance might seem too commonplace for fascinating reading: female friendship and marriage.  It is through his wonderful writing that the reader feels connections with people who could be our next door neighbors.  The book about marriage was just published, and while I am sad that this is his last book, I am so glad that one more book is out there for readers to enjoy.

* The Girls from Ames: A Story of Women and a Forty-Year Friendship (2009)
* The Magic Room: A Story About the Love We Wish for Our Daughters (2012) 

She blinded me with science!

We just received an interesting grouping of science books which will be heading to a shelf near you very soon.  If you're a science buff - or just want to dip your toes in the H2O (so to speak) - here are some good choices:

* Alone in the Universe: Why Our Planet is Unique - John R. Gribbin
* The Case of the Poisonous Socks: Tales From Chemistry - Willliam H. Brock
* How to Build a Time Machine: The Real Science of Time Travel - Brian Clegg
* Why Can't Elephants Jump?: And 113 Other Tantalizing Science Questions Answered

Dangerous footwear, time machines, non-jumping elephants - who can pass up such intriguing titles?

It's been a long time

My apologies for the dry spell with this blog.  What with the holidays, moving to a different work location, and dislocating a finger, it's been a wild and woolly ride since November!  Must say I'm rather glad to start a new year...

All of the recent change in my life has me thinking that maybe I need a little guidance in how to gracefully accept new experiences that aren't necessarily positive ones (graceful is the operative word here since I ungracefully fell in a parking lot and ended up changing the direction of my finger...).  One title that has caught my eye is Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard by brothers Chip and Dan Heath.  Their words of wisdom can apply to work and personal time, and that's exactly what I need.

I hope that 2012 proves to be a good year for all of us, but if change is getting you down already, give this book a try.

It may come as a surprise to some that not every motel in the world looks like Motel 6 or Holiday Inn.  My childhood was filled with stays at Best Western, Ramada Inn, and similar establishments, and if a place had an indoor pool, that was exotic and special to me.  I realize now that I had no idea what "exotic" meant.  In Bed in a Tree: And Other Amazing Hotels Around the World I have learned that it is possible to make reservations at an ice hotel, a cave, a prison, an underwater resort, a tree house, and a wine barrel. 

Caves and anything under water are definitely out for me (bats and sharks...need I say more?), but spending the night in an airplane, or the world's biggest beagle (located in Idaho, and don't worry - it's not a real beagle) might be interesting options for the Howard Johnson crowd.

Web design - online or on the wall?

Have you ever wanted or needed to create a website?  If so, here's a reminder that the library has many good books on web development.  Here are a couple of recent titles:

* Build Your Own Website the Right Way Using HTML & CSS 

* Creating a Website: The Book That Should Have Been in the Box (from the Missing Manual series) 

If, instead, you're looking for ways to get rid of webs in your house, a feather duster is a good bet. 

Cute alert!!

Hold onto your skivvies because you're about to be hit by a tidal wave of cuteness!  If you haven't heard of Boo and Maru yet, let me introduce you to two of the sweetest and fuzziest Internet sensations around.  Boo is a pomeranian who looks just like the softest teddy bear ever, and he has over one million Facebook fans.  Why?  Because he's the WORLD'S CUTEST DOG!  Don't believe me?  Check out Boo: The Life of the World's Cutest Dog to find out for yourself.  Can something that cute be for real, you wonder?  Oh, yes!

Then there's Maru, a tubby Scottish Fold who absolutely adores jumping into boxes, drawers, and pretty much everything else.  It doesn't matter if the object is too small - he thinks he can fit!  His hilarious videos are everywhere on YouTube, and now there's a book that will make you positively squee with delight: I Am Maru. 

Boo and Maru are plum full of cotton candy adorableness! 

Short stories and beeswax

What in the world happened to September??  My last posting was on the last day of August, and now it's the last day of September!  Maybe I slipped into a time vortex...

Well, even if I haven't been very good about updating the blog for the past month, I have been reading some great books.  I thought I would share two of them with you.

While I love reading novels, it isn't always easy for me to get through one in a timely manner.  That's why short stories are so great.  I'm making my way through a wonderfully quirky collection of stories entitled Tunneling to the Center of the Earth.  The author, Kevin Wilson, offers interesting characters with strange jobs, odd behavior, and peculiar tendencies.  Take the woman who works as a fake grandmother for families who no longer have grandparents, or whose grandparents are less than, shall we say, desirable.  Or the three college grads who decide to dig a tunnel beneath a town - and end up living in the tunnel for several months.  And wait till you meet the guy who works in a Scrabble factory and worries about spontaneous combustion.  The stories may be weird and disquieting, but they all contain an element of plausibility.

The other book I've been enjoying this month is Confessions of a Bad Beekeeper: What Not to Do When Keeping Bees (With Apologies to My Own).  I'm not a fan of stinging insects, but I am rather fascinated with the whole bee world.  Without them, we'd be in a bit of a pollination pickle, and we've all heard the scary news about bee colonies collapsing.  But how do bees and beekeepers do what they do?  Bill Turnbull, a BBC journalist, decided to find out the answer to this question by joining his apiary brethren in the fine art of beekeeping.  He has a very witty way about him, and even when describing serious bee stuff, he manages to make the whole process quite interesting.  If you're curious about bee swarms, hive management, or what it's like to put on a beekeeper's outfit and discover a bee inside your veil, give this book a try.  

Last day of August.

Sigh.

I found myself trailing behind several school buses on the way to work this morning, and I couldn't help but feel like fall has unlocked the door and started to set up shop.  By the looks of all the pears and apples in my tiny orchard, nature also has it in mind that autumn is around the corner.  The question is: what to do with all the fruit?  Some deer have been helping themselves (more power to 'em!), but I, too, need to take advantage of the bounty in my yard.  Jams, pies, cider - these all sound good.

The Northwest has plenty of edible treats to offer, and a new cookbook offers tasty, tempting recipes for anyone interested in regional cooking.  Northwest Essentials: Cooking with Ingredients That Define a Region's Cuisine is now available to check out from the library.  From chapter 1 (Apples and Pears!) to chapter 11 (hazelnuts), you'll find delicious options for seafood, herbs, wild mushrooms and more.  Bon appetit!   

I hear that we're supposed to reach the 90s tomorrow and Sunday - true summer weather at last!  Of course, I'm already anticipating hearing people complain about it being too hot.  I say, let's avoid the whole "it's too cold/too rainy/too hot" comments for once, and embrace the great opportunities Mother Nature provides for Northwest readers. 

Find a cool place in front of a fan, or under a shade tree, and read some summery novels while enjoying the weekend's warm temperatures.  No sweating required :o)

* Blackberry Summer - RaeAnne Thayne
* Firefly Summer - Maeve Binchy
* Honeysuckle Summer - Sherryl Woods
* The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott - Kelly O'Connor McNees
* My Jane Austen Summer: A Season in Mansfield Park - Cindy S. Jones
* Shadows of a Down East Summer: An Antique Print Mystery - Lea Wait
* The Summer of the Bear - Bella Pollen

How about a do-over?

Is it just me, or do others feel like the whole world needs a reboot?  I find myself avoiding the news because I really don't want to hear about the latest country collapsing, or another freakish weather event destroying a town.  If 2012 is when the plug gets pulled, I'd say recent events are sure starting to back up that theory.

It's undeniable that the world is in need of some major repairs.  While there are many capable people out there who can fix some of our problems, I want everyone to be aware of those who can't.  A new book, There, I Fixed It: No, You Didn't, created by the folks at the Cheezburger Network, should be required reading for anyone who thinks he's handy but isn't.

The book is filled with real photographs of "repairs," and trust me when I say that these "fixes" will induce guffaws and/or slack-jawed disbelief.  You'll discover a wide spectrum of ineptitude in this literary gem, and once you see the creative albeit cockeyed uses of duct tape, glue, paper clips, and beer cans, you'll understand what a "kludge" is.

There's a web site too - www.thereifixedit.com.  When I saw a MacGyver'd drinking fountain positioned above a bathroom toilet in an effort to recycle water (Yeah. Ick.), I figured, well, at least this person isn't trying to fix the economy.  I hope. 

Jules Verne would approve

If you're a fan of steampunk, hold onto your head because I have three - that's right, THREE - new titles with which to amaze you. 

#1 - The Steampunk Bible: An Illustrated Guide to the World of Imaginary Airships, Corsets and Goggles, Mad Scientists, and Strange Literature by Jeff VanderMeer
     A veritable lollapalooza of steampunk information, this guide staggers the imagination. 

#2 - Steampunk Emporium: Creating Fantastical Jewelry, Devices and Oddments From Assorted Cogs, Gears and Other Curios by Jema Hewitt
     Handmade steampunk trinkets are HOT right now, so check out this book and start being anachronistically creative!

#3 - Steampunk Softies: Scientifically Minded Dolls From a Past That Never Was by Sarah Skeate
     Make a few of these dolls, and I guarantee your friends will talk about you...but in a good way.

(p.s. if you like the image at the top of this posting, be sure to visit The Graphics Fairy)

Jane's at the library

The new Vancouver Community Library will be having its' grand opening this Sunday.  A grand opening ceremony starts at 1p., and the doors will be open to the public around 1:45p.  I've been in the building many times during the construction process, and the final product is truly amazing.  If you have the opportunity to stop by on Sunday, please do so.  This is your library, and we're anxious to share it with you!

Are you a Jane Austen fan?  So much has been written about her recently that you might be suffering an Austen burnout.  But there's a new book out that offers a little different perspective (and no, I'm not talking about the weird mashup trend started with "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies").  A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me About Love, Friendship, and the Things That Really Matter is written by a Jane Austen scholar who didn't think the Romantic author would ever interest him.  But she did - enough to make him write a dissertation about her.  His book has received several favorable reviews, and I think I'm going to take some time to read it.  Nothing plain Jane about it.

Northwest shines in summer reads

I came across an article from the Seattle Times that focuses on mysteries and thrillers with a Northwest bent, and I thought I would share it on this blog.  Books with a regional setting - especially ours - are perennially popular with library patrons.  We own all but one of the titles mentioned in the article, and that one will soon be on order.  Here is a link to the Seattle Times piece, and if you're so inclined to try one of the titles, click on it below and place a hold from the convenience of your couch...lawn chair...tub...wherever you may happen to be.

Bodily Harm - Robert Dugoni
Disturbed - Kevin O'Brien (not yet on order, but coming soon!)
House Justice - Mike Lawson
Killing Rocks - D.D. Barant
The King's Mistress - Emma Campion
Sheer Folly - Carola Dunn
Still Missing - Chevy Stevens