July 28, 2010

Sock It to Me!

If you’ve been thinking about learning how to knit or you’re a pro who can interpret s1k1psso without referencing a knitting glossary, the library has a book, magazine, or DVD to interest you.

From the practical ball-band dishcloth in Mason Dixon Knitting: the Curious Knitter’s Guide by Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne, to the whimsical Elvis doll found in Knitted Icons : 25 Celebrity Doll Patterns by Carol Meldrum, to an intricate color work designer sweater by textile artist Kaffe Fassett in Kaffe Knits Again, you will find the right book for every level of knitter – beginner to experienced.

I’d like to suggest the perfect portable project for today’s busy knitter. It’s something that can be knit as simply or intricately as you would like: socks.

knitted socks

Yes, I said socks. I know that they can be purchased three pairs for $5 at Walmart but it just isn’t the same. Have you worn socks made with wool, bamboo, alpaca, corn, crab and shrimp shells, banana, milk, or seaweed? Once you give it a try you’ll never go back to those common socks. With today’s yarns you can knit a plain, but never ordinary, one-color pair of socks that even your husband will wear or a wildly colorful pair knit with self-patterning yarn for yourself.

There are many knitters on staff at the library. Of course when Kathy, Sue and I decided to try sock knitting we turned to the library catalog for inspiration.

Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch has 10 basic designs and many stitch patterns to choose from. The patterns are written for the knitter’s preferred use of 2, 4, or 5 needles in clear step-by-step directions. We decided to use 2 circular needles instead of the more traditional double-pointed.

Many books now teach this method, including Socks Soar On Two Circular Needles by Cat Bordhi, and for the truly adventurous, Knitting Circles Around Socks: Knit Two at a Time on Circular Needles by A.K. Gillingham.

sock in progress

For still another method there is 2-at-a-time Socks : the Secret of Knitting Two at Once on One Circular Needle by Melissa Morgan-Oakes. Just pick the method most comfortable for you. For innovations in sock architecture, Pacific Northwest author Cat Bordhi will have you looking at the lowly sock with a new respect. Her books Personal Footprints For Insouciant Sock Knitters and New Pathways for Sock Knitters explore new ways of sock construction. Sock Innovation: Knitting Techniques & Patterns for One-of-a-Kind Socks by Cookie A. includes 15 unconventional, rule-breaking patterns.

If you prefer the traditional, try Folk Socks: the History & Techniques of Handknitted Footwear, Knitting Vintage Socks: New Twists on Classic Patterns or Knitting On The Road: Sock Patterns for the Traveling Knitter by Nancy Bush.

Cuff, leg, heel flap, heel turn, gusset, foot, toe-up, cuff-down. You’ll soon know all about sock anatomy. Next time you look down at your feet and notice department store socks, will you feel a twinge of shame? Don’t your feet deserve better?

Kim

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July 26, 2010

Bieber Fever

album coverJustin Bieber, the teen singing sensation that sends young girls’ hearts aflutter, played to a sold out crowd at the Comcast Arena recently. I’ve never listened to Bieber’s music, and I honestly didn’t know or care who he was until I got stuck in concert traffic that evening.

But I can attest to his extraordinary gift: the ability to make me feel quite ancient. You see, Justin Bieber was born on March 1, 1994.

And I can remember March 1994. I bet you can, too. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane, shall we?

album coverCeline Dion’s “The Power of Love” and Ace of Base’s “The Sign” were leading the Billboard music charts the week Bieber was born. Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain was still alive in March 1994. (He died in April 1994.)

book coverDanielle Steel’s Accident was the nation’s bestselling book in March 1994. It was bumped to number 2 by The Celestine Prophecy in April. Published in 1992, The Bridges of Madison County, was still a bestseller.

DVD coverSeinfeld was one of the most popular shows on television, and I’m not talking about the reruns. E.R. and Friends wouldn’t debut for another six months.

Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List won seven Oscars, including best picture and best director, in March 1994. The next year’s best picture winner, Forrest Gump hadn’t even hit theaters yet.

I think I’m immune to Bieber Fever. For those who aren’t, the library has biographies and albums. I’m having more fun just reflecting on the “good ole days” of 1994. Do you remember what you were you reading, listening to, and watching back when Bieber was just a baby?

Mindy

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July 22, 2010

Things Seen

Things Seen by Annie Ernaux takes the form of a journal kept by a Paris-area woman during the mid-to-late 1990s. The journal entries forthrightly document the intersection of the narrator’s everyday activities and the larger world of the Bosnian war, poverty, the death of Princess Diana, talk radio, and broadcast news among other things. Ernaux’s unflinching and quietly dazzling observations reveal unexpected insights and complicities in such simple acts as riding the subway or a trip to the supermarket. When you finish this stunning little book you’ll want to go back to the beginning and start reading it again.

Here, more or less at random, are two sample entries from 1998 (the RER is the regional rapid transit system in Paris):

March 25

In the early morning RER, a woman was putting on eye make-up, the mirror at nose level. Another was filing her nails, then polishing them. Carefully and slowly they performed these gestures among the crowd of travelers as if alone in their bathrooms. Superb freedom, or exhibition – hard to say. Their hands, their eyelids seemed to be distinct objects that they cleaned and lubricated in peaceful delight.

April 2

Papon has been condemned to ten years in prison. I don’t know what to think. People said, “you have to put yourself back in time; things were not so clear then.” That always means put yourself in the shoes of those who had nothing to fear, in their offices, in Vichy or elsewhere, never in those of the people who boarded trains for Auschwitz.

Scott

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July 20, 2010

My Name Is Memory

“Do you come here often?” 

“You look so familiar! I must have known you in a past life.”

“Heaven must be missing an angel.”

These are a few of the pick up lines people use thinking they’re being smooth when, laughably, they are actually the fodder of every comedy movie out there.

But there might be truth in one of those lines.

You may be familiar with Ann Brashares from her Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. Her latest novel, My Name is Memory, is a departure. It deals with not only the idea of reincarnation but reincarnation as fact. It’s a story about a man who has been “alive” for 1200 years. He’s not literally immortal, but he remembers each life from one to the next. If reincarnation exists, many of us know well that déjà vu feeling of “Oh man, I have done this before, I know it!”

Memories of past lives follow Daniel for over 1,000 years. And along with those memories, he recognizes and often crosses paths with a woman he’s been in love with since his very first life:

All I could think to do was love her. That’s all a person can do.

The book follows both characters as one struggles with the idea of reincarnation, while the other tries to prove it exists. And there’s a twist: a man who was Daniel’s brother 1,000 years ago also carries the long memories with him and is hunting down Daniel’s love.

The novel introduces the idea that there are people born remembering their past lives. They can recall lives that intersect with their loved ones and enemies not only hundreds of years but back to a time when names were unfamiliar to the human tongue.

My favorite part of the book is when Daniel recalls a woman who had lived before but hadn’t realized it. It’s also a little telling of the loneliness of being born remembering when no one else around you does:

He remembered a woman from his old neighborhood in St. Louis driving fifteen miles to the cemetery every day to mourn her long-dead husband at a cold gray stone, while the husband was busy selling milk at the 7-Eleven just half a mile down the road from her house.

This is a fast-paced read, especially if your mind is cracked open just a smidge to welcome an old idea like reincarnation. I was a little wary of the romance aspect at first, thinking it might be mushy and have me rolling my eyes. But along with the idea of chasing the one you love over centuries is the idea that we’re also always near to the ones we loved (and hated) most throughout the years: brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, friends. I found that a comforting (and maybe a little unsettling) thought.

Jennifer

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July 17, 2010

To Kill a Mockingbird

Editor’s note: Harper Lee’s  To Kill a Mockingbird was published 50 years ago this month. To celebrate this important literary anniversary, Brad Allen shares what Mockingbird means to him. This post was originally written for  the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library in observation of Banned Books Week. 

book coverWhen I was young, pretty much all you could get me to read were movie novelizations—Gremlins, Back to the Future, Ghostbusters, Fletch, the list goes on. I loved them; consider it a lack of imagination. But at age twelve, I befriended a girl who read real books. In her attempts to smarten me up, she insisted that I read To Kill a Mockingbird and harassed me until I agreed.

The book changed my life. Never had I read a novel of such humanity and meaning. Had I ever in my elementary school education read a book with a theme? I marveled at Atticus Finch’s bravery in his defense of a falsely accused African-American in 1930s Alabama. I appreciated the realistic, unapologetic resolution to the trial—no sugar-coated ending here. To Kill a Mockingbird is a great story for children who are learning how think critically and dispel the ignorance of past generations. But it is also a story for us all; it reminds us to question our prejudices, to stand and fight for justice and equality in our society. To Kill a Mockingbird showed me that a novel could entertain and enlighten, a book could mean something and communicate powerful messages about human character and decency. It deserves its popularity. It begs to be read and discussed.

So why is To Kill a Mockingbird one of the most challenged and banned books in America? It has been attacked as inappropriate for children because of racial slurs, profanity, and its frank depictions of rape. The book has been challenged as being racist and perpetuating African-American stereotypes and the paternalism of liberal South whites. Expounding on this idea, Malcolm Gladwell recently wrote a thought-provoking article in the New Yorker discussing “Atticus Finch and the limits of Southern liberalism.”

Brad

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July 15, 2010

You Must Blurb This Book!

I know I’m not supposed to judge a book by its cover. But is it OK to judge a book by the blurbs on its cover?

"More Engaging Than Any New Fiction In Years" - Chuck Palahniuk

I’m talking about those positive reviews—some subtle and others over-the-moon—by other writers plastered all over book covers these days.

A blurb from Stephen King is not guaranteed to get a book racing to the top of the bestseller list the way an Oprah Book Club selection most undoubtedly will. But it will convince a good portion of his millions of fans to read something new. (Check out the hilarious analysis of Stephen King as blurb king over at the Seattle Public Library’s book blog.)

But just because you like the books someone’s written, does that mean you’ll like the same books that person’s read? Are those gushing celebrity endorsements really helpful in deciding which books to read?

Maybe.

book coverAnn Patchett is one of my favorite authors. And so I decided a few months ago, having read all her books, that I should read books written by her friends. These are books I probably would not have read were it not for the Patchett connection: Lucy Grealy’s Autobiography of a Face, Elizabeth McCracken’s The Giant’s House, and Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love. While I enjoyed these books, I didn’t love any of them the way I loved Bel Canto.

And yet I still find myself putting books on my ever-growing “to read” list based on Ann Patchett’s blurbs.  Here are a few of her blurbs that have tempted me lately:
The Outlander by Gil Adamson

book cover“The Outlander deserves to be read twice, first for the plot and the complex characters which make this a page-turner of the highest order, and then a second time, slowly, to savor the marvel of Gil Adamson’s writing. This novel is a true wonder.”

Sacrament of Lies by Elizabeth Dewberry

book cover“In Sacrament of Lies, the line between certainty and madness is as thin as a razor and equally as dangerous. Elizabeth Dewberry has given us a rare gift, a literary thriller that will keep us up all night. This book is riveting.”

Heir to the Glimmering World by Cynthia Ozick

“A cause for celebration in the world of literature. Here we have a heroine to love, a story we can’t let go of, gorgeous sentences, and ideas to wrestle with. I didn’t just read this book, I devoured it.”

Hands of My Father by Myron Uhlberg

book cover“In telling the story of his very unique childhood, Myron Uhlberg has created a book that is universal. His feelings of love and responsibility, of shame and enormous pride, can teach us all something about being a member of a family. I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t love this book.”

 Tunneling to the Center of the Earth by Kevin Wilson

“Kevin Wilson’s stories show us a world that is both real and full of illusion…He forces us to look at our own lives in a new and slightly off-kilter way.”

 Are there any authors whose blurbs you trust? Do blurbs make any difference in the books you choose?

Mindy

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July 13, 2010

Planet X

Credit: NASA, ESA and G. Bacon (STScI)

Planet, dwarf planet, and Kuniper belt object. These are just a few of the labels attached to that icy sphere at the end our solar system named Pluto. I must admit my favorite, a name Pluto held before its discovery in 1930, is Planet X. The name Planet X gives Pluto the proper sense of the unknown. 

Mystery is the key when it comes to Pluto because what we don’t know is immense. A short summary will easily give you all the facts that science has been able to find out to date. Science is only part of the story, however. When Pluto was demoted to the status of dwarf planet in 2006 a huge outpouring of anger and emotion erupted among the public. It seems that icy Pluto has a lot of friends.

There are two great new books about Pluto that will initiate you into the controversy of just what to call the “object”.

The first is The Pluto Files: the Rise and Fall of America’s Favorite Planet by Neil deGrasse Tyson. Tyson, who is the director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History, humorously chronicles the saga of Pluto’s demotion to Dwarf Planet status. The book is worth reading alone for the examples of grade school hate mail Tyson received when he took Pluto off the list of official planets at the museum.

The Case for Pluto by Alan Boyle tries to put a more positive spin on Pluto’s reclassification.  Boyle argues that Pluto is the first of a new class of planets which, while never being part of the official eight planets, will usher in a new era of discovery. A bit of a sugar coating perhaps, but there actually is a lot to look forward to.

For the first time in the history of our planet, a spacecraft is on its way to Pluto. The New Horizons probe launched in 2006 and is set to explore Pluto, Charon and other objects beyond. New Horizons has reached the halfway point of its trip and is scheduled to meet up with Pluto in July of 2015.  It has already sent back great pictures of Jupiter as it cruised on past.

I know five years might be considered a long time to wait for results, but why not spend it contemplating what might be found. Personally I’m hoping for the discovery of Ripley’s frozen escape ship from the Nostromo or perhaps a rebel base under attack from AT-AT walkers. Not likely, perhaps, but at this point it can’t be disproved.  There are advantages to being the unknown Planet X.

Richard

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July 7, 2010

It’s a mystery! Wait, it’s a whole herd of mysteries!

It’s a mystery why I’ve been in the mood to read mysteries lately. Here are some of the titles that stand above the rest of the herd.

The Poisoned Chocolates Case by Anthony Berkeley  

This mystery, penned in 1929, employs a classic premise: members of an amateur sleuthing club attempt to solve a murder mystery. Ah, but there is a twist that sets this story apart. The club meets every day for a week with a single member presenting his or her solution to the murder case each day. After exhibiting wholly convincing evidence and unassailable deductions, each solution is then demolished by other club members who have information unknown to the presenter. In reality, Mr. Berkeley is giving the reader a tutorial in the art of misdirection, demonstrating how mystery writers lead their audiences to believe certain assertions and ignore salient points by employing a fine coating of verbal sleight-of-hand. He presents us with a wholly enjoyable story which is ultimately a primer in mystery writing.

The Black Dove by Steve Hockensmith

Set mostly in the Chinatown of 1893 San Francisco, this mystery finds brothers Gustav and Otto Amlingmeyer, former cowboys but current private eye wannabes, in the midst of murder and mayhem. Between the police, thugs, Chinese tongs and a hard spot, the detective duo struggles to find a friend’s murderer, save a young woman from a seedy and immoral life, and stay alive. Hockensmith’s prose - this series of books is narrated by brother Otto in his inimitable speech patterns – and evocation of late 19th century San Francisco make for a fun and thoughtful read.

The Red House Mystery by A.A. Milne

Who knew that the progenitor of Winnie the Pooh had a great mystery, in addition to a plucky Piglet, in his fertile mind? In the charming foreword to this book, Milne expounds on the elements that make up a good mystery. Then he writes that mystery. The reader is transported to a typically English setting where Mark Ablett, master of the Red House, an elegant country manor, has disappeared and is presumed to be either murdered or a murderer. A passing stranger arrives just as gun shots ring out from inside the manor. The stranger, who has come to visit a friend staying at the Red House, decides to put his exceptional observational powers to the ultimate test of finding a murderer, with a little help from his Watsonian friend.

 The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde

In a world where nursery rhymes are real events, Inspector Jack Spratt of the Reading Police Nursery Crime Division is called upon to solve the apparent murder of Humpty Stuyvesant Van Dumpty III. Spratt faces the difficulties of being overshadowed by golden-boy detective Friedland Chymes (who writes exquisite tales that exhibit his unparalleled crime-solving abilities), of working in an under-funded soon-to-be-shutdown department, and of having a new partner (Mary Mary) who is none too happy to be working with him.  Amongst the difficulties, sinister goings-on, and spine-curling plot twists, Pratt must overcome adversity and catch his … man?

 American Lightning: Terror, Mystery, and the Birth of Hollywood by Howard Blum

This true story relates a tragic tale of terrorism on American soil: the 1910 bombing of the Los Angeles Times building, which resulted in 21 deaths. Detective William J. Burns, America’s non-fictitious answer to Sherlock Holmes, is called in to unearth the truth. By employing a series of fascinating sleuthing techniques Burns slowly unravels threads of truth that bring him ever-closer to the mystery’s solution. Clarence Darrow and D.W. Griffith, two larger-than-life historical giants, contribute significantly to the story’s outcome.

Full Dark House by Christopher Fowler

London’s Peculiar Crimes Unit, a police division that investigates bizarre crimes no one else wants to touch, is run by two elderly and brilliant detectives, Arthur Bryant and John May. In Full Dark House, the author creates an intriguing juxtaposition between the end of this odd couple’s partnership and the beginning of their career together. As May looks into Bryant’s death it becomes clear that their first case, solved some fifty years earlier, is somehow related to the current investigation. A Gothic phantom-of-the-opera-esque mood prevails as May attempts to make sense out of a senseless situation.

Ron

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July 1, 2010

Make a Splash – Read this Summer!

Everett Public Library has a great Summer Reading Program for kids. To promote summer reading, librarians visit the surrounding elementary and middle schools. Prior to these school visits, we read stacks of new fiction, picture books and nonfiction to select titles that we think will appeal to kids. During school visits, we find that some books are consistently popular while others that we thought would be popular turn out to be duds!

Here is a list of the hits so far:

We’ve found that the more gross a book is, the more kids like it.  100% Pure Fake has recipes for rotting skin, snot and vomit so it fits the bill!  In the same vein is 100 Most Disgusting Things on the Planet.

Books about animals are also popular. Dewey the Library Cat, Panda Kindergarten, and Winter’s Tail are three true-life stories that will enchant younger readers. Some of the fiction titles about animals are:  Cat Diaries:  secret writings of the MEOW Society (short stories written by individual cats); The Fast and the Furriest about a couch potato dog that decides to become the best agility dog around; and, The Best Horse Ever about a young girl who longs for a horse of her own and what happens when her wish comes true. 

Mysteries always fill a niche and Mary Downing Hahn and Peg Kehret never fail to deliver. Closed for the Season tells the story of Logan and his family who have moved into an old house. Logan discovers that a woman was murdered in his house and decides, with the help of his neighbor, Arthur, to investigate. Runaway Twin is the story of Sunny, who decides to cross the country in order to find her twin sister from whom she’s been separated for over ten years.

Fantasy fans will enjoy Cosmic. Liam, who is only twelve but is often mistaken for an adult, decides to take advantage of this fact and ends up with an out of this world experience. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, is the story of Minli, whose parents are so desperately poor they can barely eke out a living. Minli’s father brightens each evening with stories and these stories inspire Minli to go on an exciting but dangerous adventure in order to help her family. Interweaving this enchanting tale are short stories based on Chinese folktales that make this beautifully illustrated book a delight to read.

Other titles that my co-workers recommend are Shark Vs Train an imaginative and funny picture book where a shark and a train compete in a series of contests. Finally, a sequel to 11 Birthdays, is a story about Rory who has a list of things to do when she turns 12 but sometimes things don’t go as planned. Last but not least, Big Nate, the first book in a series, uses both prose and cartoons to tell about a middle school student and a day in his disorganized life.

These are just some of the many and varied titles our library owns, so bring your school age readers and pre-readers to the library and let them join in the fun of summer reading!

Suzanne

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June 29, 2010

Did You Know? (Presidential edition)

Even though 35th President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was considered to be cultured, enlightened and good-looking, the Irish name Kennedy actually means “ugly head”!

I found this information on page 119 in the book The Little Giant Book of American Presidents by Glen Vecchione. This is a children’s book full of all kinds of little tidbits about all the Presidents. I had a lot of fun looking at it.

Of course, we all know what a gifted and charismatic speaker JFK was. You can hear one of his speeches on the CD Great Speeches of the 20th Century which is a compilation of famous speeches made by the presidents and other speakers of note.

The book Our Country’s Presidents by Ann Bausum is full of factual information for each of the presidents and includes a foreword by Barack Obama. It also tells us about the First Ladies and First Kids, includes political history and famous quotes from presidential speeches and writings, and has more than 400 illustrations.

If you would like more information about John F Kennedy the library has several biographies about him. One that stood out particularly to me was Forty Ways To Look at JFK by Gretchen Rubin. Rubin invites readers to decide whether Kennedy was a great statesman or a shallow charmer, whether his success was due to his own merits or to his ruthless father, and whether he could be both an unfaithful husband and a good man.

Linda

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