Excuse me, I have to go to New York now...

"The oldest cultural institution in New York? Perhaps the Metropolitan Opera? Nope, 1880. The Metropolitan Museum? 1870. The New-York Historical Society? 1804. No, it appears to be an obscure little organization on East 79th Street called the New York Society Library, established in 1754."

Read it.

(I spent a few mins. just playing with the scrollbar on the photo - really cool. But that could be because it's late on a Thursday after teaching 2 hrs and working 8, and I'm work-stoned).

P.S. You know what else happened in 1754? Walpole coined the word "serendipity." The colonies in New England proposed a union. Thomas Bowdler, English physician (as in, bowdlerise), was born. You know, it was, like, a long time ago.

P.P.S. Can you tell I'm exhausted?

Reading motivations

Something that Elizabeth Gilbert said in a recent interview in Chatelaine struck me, and I've been meaning to blog about it for awhile. She was asked about the appeal of and the current "boom" in memoirs written by women (examples given in the interview included Lit by Mary Karr and the wonderful, heart-breaking The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion. Gilbert's answer was:

"I have a theory about this. My grandmother — who was pretty representative of women of her time — had to keep seven kids alive in the dust bowl during the Depression. She needed a disappearing place and she found that in books. She read fiction because reality was beating her down. My life does not have those same arduous challenges and it's easier in every way except one: I have a lot more choices than she had and life now is more confusing. I have my own autonomy, and every single day I have to organize my life in a way that my grandmother didn't have to. I don't think women today read for escape; they read for clues. The criticism of memoirs is that people read them to be voyeurs. But a lot of people read them for help and answers and perspective." *

I think this is really interesting - women read for clues. I think that's definitely part of it, and definitely something I do, not just with memoirs. Actually, I rarely read memoirs, so I can really only compare with my fiction reading. I wonder if it's more common for younger women to do what Gilbert describes, given that we lack wider life experience? I read A fortunate age and compare myself to the 20- and 30-somethings in it. Have I made the right choices? Did the characters turn out any better? I read Lynn Crosbie's brilliant, searingly horrible Liar long after I had been in the main character's situation (well, sort of) looking for answers: how did another woman deal with this? How should I? I read Zadie Smith's Changing my mind (particularly the section entitled "Feeling") thinking, Yes. Exactly.

Reviewing some of my recent reads on LibraryThing just now for this (2009; 2008), I am wondering now if I don't sometimes subliminally choose novels for pleasure reading in which the main characters have worse lives than me? Or is it just that when I read about people my age, they have very diverse lives? These days, 20- and 30- somethings (I'm right on the edge, in case you're wondering why I keep using both) can be married with kids, still in school, still in their parents' basement, or already divorced. So even more than ever, some of us need clues, or company, or answers. Or all of the above. I suppose to some of my readers who know me in person think I seem very self-assured, but I'm right there, searching, just like everyone else, I guess. Especially in this year, when I turn 30 (I'm not hung up over it, but it is a time to evaluate where you are in life...). I tend not to confide a lot in friends, so I turn to other sources, mostly books, for perspective sometimes. I wonder if memoir readers tend to be a bit like that in general?

And I guess that diversity of life choices is not even a 20- or 30- something concern. Just like that Barnes quote I mentioned last week ("Books are where things are explained to you; life is where things aren't"). As Gilbert says, she has "a lot more choices than [her grandmother] had and life now is more confusing."

So confusing that sometimes it's tempting to bury one's head in the sand and give up. And so, at the other end of the spectrum in terms of reading motivation is Literacy and longing in LA by Jennifer Kaufman and Karen Mack (known as The Book Lover in the UK). I read this a few years ago, and I don't usually read chicklit, but this was better than most (but still not really great. It's the type of book I read in a blitz, like eating a whole bag of chips in one sitting. Blargh....).

Anyway, on point here. It's about a woman, Dora, who suffers from what she terms bibliomania (crap, I just Googled that an it's apparently an actual OCD! Although, you know, jury's out until I see it in the DSM...). She deals with her life (separation from husband, loss of job) by going on a book reading binge, something she has done before but now does in a quite extreme way, prompting interventions from her sister and others. Dora's use of literature as drug ends up keeping her from actually living; she manages to avoid dealing with the problems in her life by literally holing herself up in the bathtub with a pile of books.

[Sarcastic sidebar: I would be in real danger if I had this kind of disposable income, to a) purchase books indiscriminately and b) hole myself up in a bathtub and not have to worry about, say, working for a living.]

I think I do this, also, just not to the same extent. Sometimes I do feel like (again, if I had the means!) I could slip into obsession. I certainly get panicky enough when I have nothing left to read, no "emergency pile" at home or at work. I read to avoid worrying, to avoid obsessing, and maybe sometimes to avoid actually going out. But then, I was never much for going out.... I don't know.

I guess I'm asking, What do you think about Gilbert's observations, and Dora's obsessions? What are your own reading motivations?

* Citation for the Gilbert interview: Giese, Rachel. "EAT PRAY, LOVE... REMARRY." Chatelaine 83.2 (2010): 102. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web. 10 Mar. 2010.

Probe International

Dudes, I know, I'm going on about Toronto. Last thing, promise.

We went to the Green Beanery (can't remember where we heard about it). Did you know that the café is part of Probe International, one of Canada's largest federally registered charities? Probe is a local charity, founded in the Annex!

Check it out next time you're in Toronto.

Library wanderings in Toronto

(now with more bookstores!)

Another RA meeting, another chance to explore TPL renos. This past weekend, we visited the Bloor/Gladstone Branch of TPL, which re-opened in July of last year after closing in 2006 for a renovation and expansion. This branch, one of TPL's oldest (opened in 1913 as Dovercourt, a much better name in my opinion...!), nearly doubled in size with the addition of a large modern glass block on the west side. Also, to improve accessibility, the inner and outer staircases were removed and patrons now enter on the lowest level of the library.

I quite liked the marriage of old and new; I am a total sucker for those old buildings that keep the formerly outer wall intact (see also: TPL's Yorkville Branch). I think they did a magnificent job in the lobby, and the 2nd floor landing, where you can stand and look down into the renovated lobby, is a highlight (a 7 yr old was soaking up the view while we visited). I also quite liked the placement of holds (in an alcove with community and library info - photo here). I liked that the former was stored in a binder - this is something I am doing at St Laurent: the valuable poster space on the wall is for library programs first and foremost! The only thing I didn't like about where the holds were was that you didn't have to pass any collections (well, some display cubes, but that's all) on the way; in my mind, that's like grocery stores putting the milk at the entrance: why waste an opportunity to make people walk through your location?

The branch also featured a listening station in the teen section, which was cool. Um, about the teen section. Have a look at this photo I took. I think some good ideas backfired a bit: the addition of the TV has turned the area into a .... loitering spot for non-teens, let's just say. I caught a strong whiff of alcohol while I was setting up the photo. Which is a pity. Don't get me wrong - I am glad that people are in the library, and happy to welcome anyone, no questions asked, but I think that an area specifically designed for teens should be safe for teens. I recently read on the YALSA blog that NYPL Teen Central spaces are reserved for teen use only; if staff see an adult sitting there, he/she will be asked to move. Pretty hard-core, but then, not entirely a bad idea. I would prefer signage or something, rather than having to police the area (but then I say that because my teen zone is behind me, with a glass wall in between us).

The branch also featured a great use of LCD projector: projecting historical photos as well as current information above the Newcomer information desk (photo here). The architectural firm involved in the reno also has some lovely photos of the renovation here.

The other library I visited was the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library at the University of Toronto. I've been to Robarts many a time, mostly for the U of T FIS job fairs, but never quite made it to the other tower.

Recently, I discovered that a good friend of mine worked researched there as a student, and I was inspired to really make the effort to visit (despite the - ahem - restrictive opening hours, which I completely understand, but are nonetheless annoying if you're me).

We didn't roam through the collection, which is vast and impressive. We instead took in the current exhibit, which was "Caterpillars and Cathedrals: The etchings of Wenceslaus Hollar," which was lovely in its minutiae. What was also lovely to behold was that a library could so deftly overcome its Brutalist shell to be quite beautiful in the end.

Sidebar: TFRBL has Gwendolyn MacEwen's papers, and I am a big fan of novelist and poet MacEwen, once a rival to Atwood, now largely unknown outside CanLit circles. MacEwen is perhaps best known for her poem, "Dark pines under water", from 1972's The Shadow Maker, which was voted by LRC as one of Canada's most memorable poems:

This land like a mirror turns you inward
And you become a forest in a furtive lake;
The dark pines of your mind reach downward,
You dream in the green of your time,
Your memory is a row of sinking pines.

Explorer, you tell yourself this is not what you came for
Although it is good here, and green;
You had meant to move with a kind of largeness,
You had planned a heavy grace, an anguished dream.

But the dark pines of your mind dip deeper
And you are sinking, sinking, sleeper
In an elementary world;
There is something down there and you want it told.

So, I was more than thrilled to see the bust of MacEwen at TFRBL, and to have a short conversation about her with the library staff member who greeted us.

While on campus, we also visited the Hart House Library (best. ceiling. ever.), which reminded me distinctly of the Birks Reading Room (it could simply have been because of the creaky floors), spent far, far too long in the U of T bookstore, and came serendipitously upon a Toronto Legacy Project plaque for Robertson Davies (since you probably can't read that, it says "The novelist Robertson Davies, 1913-1995) lived here from 1963-1981 as the first master of Massey College").

Toronto city museum

I was reading the Star this weekend, and there was a really interesting article about the (apparently stalled) attempt to build a Toronto city museum, called Humanitas. I say stalled, rather than failed, because the Star reports that the idea is being brought up again (after originally gaining momentum in 07-08), with possible plans to buy the Old City Hall as a site (if you follow that link, I promise a whole section of the site is devoted to gargoyles!).

Meanwhile, I found it interesting that you can also visit the new Toronto Museum Project website, where you can zoom in on various artefacts from the city's rich history.

As you may have gathered from my frequent Toronto-related (OK, let's face it, TPL-related) posts, I am a frequent visitor to Toronto. I used to have really mixed feelings about the city; I had visited Mississauga numerous times (don't ask ... it involved a boy...), and spent a few days with a friend's dad who lives in Kensington Market (a time of which I have very fond memories of visiting Hart House, spending time in cafés, and getting seriously sunburnt while reading Go tell it on the mountain).

Over the past five years, Toronto has really grown on me, especially since I moved away from Montreal, actually, and also since visiting with my husband, who lived there for quite some time before we met. I think discovering neighbourhoods makes a big difference to your experience of Toronto. I also think living in Ottawa made me appreciate the bigger city more (I miss Montreal desperately, and visiting either Montreal or Toronto is a welcome change from home). I now am there quarterly for my OPLA RA committee meetings; I really enjoy exploring the lesser-known destinations such as Mackenzie House (photo here). Now, thanks to the Star, I was reminded that there are many other small museums I can check out next time.

Smorgasbord Saturday

OK, well, it was Smorgasbord Saturday, but ye olde "save as draft" feature got to me. Here it is, as slightly stale smorgasbord!

• The Magic of the Library - A Fun Presentation of The University of Bergen Library: wonderful 3 minute YouTube video giving a tour of the library's holdings, focusing on print and historical material. Best moments: the grab for the Dickens quill pen (realia!), the bookshelves closing in on Ole, and the ending (merci à le bibliothécaire errant pour le lien).


• Book trailers and where to find them: I had an OPLA RA committee meeting yesterday, and we were talking about trailers (often made by publishers, but more and more librarians and library


• I want to try this!!
  
  
• My friend Jean writes some fiction...
  
  
• NPW writes thoughtfully and truthfully about how I feel most days at Rideau Branch.
  
  
• Something about the phrase "a palazzo of human thought" smells funny to me.... *snort*.
  
  

CLA 2010 Book of the Year for Children Award Shortlist

The top 10 list is up!

Most of the ones I read (but not all... somehow only 36 of 51 got tagged.... I don't know what I did there) are here.

File under: Teh internetz is taking over

Um, the Shorty Awards? For top users of Twitter, apparently.... Won by a Montrealer (among others).

I have nothing nice to say, but I will passive-aggressively link to this!

Amazon.ca First Novel Award

Some goodies are up for this award, including....

• No Place Strange by Diana Fitzgerald Bryden (Key Porter Books)
• Come, Thou Tortoise by Jessica Grant (Knopf Canada) - loved it! I was just saying to some colleagues last night (we were discussing the fact that it's also on CLA's YA award top 10 list) that it's another of those great YA/adult crossover titles (Life of Pi, Curious Incident...)
• The Golden Mean by Annabel Lyon (Random House Canada) - I really have to make time for this one......
• Goya’s Dog by Damian Tarnopolsky (Hamish Hamilton Canada)
• Diary of Interrupted Days by Dragan Todorovic (Random House Canada)
• Daniel O’Thunder by Ian Weir (Douglas & McIntyre)

Quote for the day

I just read this in the Guardian and it really moved me:

"Julian Barnes [...], explaining how books can help us steer through the tricky waters of life, said in Flaubert's Parrot: "Books say: she did this because. Life says: she did this. Books are where things are explained to you; life is where things aren't.""

No kidding.

Favourite teen books of 2009

(2008 list here)

Pre-amble: I was just reading an interview with novelist Allan Stratton in Quill and Quire (whom I had the pleasure of hearing speak at last year's CLA Conference), and he talked about being uncomfortable with the label "YA." He makes the excellent point (which I'm assuming is totally obvious to you, my discerning readers) that the label makes a work get more attention in one field, but it also means that "lots of people won't read your work that otherwise might." I'd like to remind you all, as he reminds me, that great "YA" books such as Catcher in the rye, Lord of the flies, and The Lovely bones, have cross-over appeal. As do almost all of the titles below!

And so, in no particular order....

• Isadora Duncan: A Graphic Biography by Sabrina Jones - I've long been an Isadora Duncan fan, and this graphic biography gracefully captures both her story and the visual impact of her dancing. Feminist angle well-played.
  
  


• Audrey, Wait by Robin Benway - One of my all-time favourite teen books. Sometimes the connection to a particular literary work is more emotional than anything: I read this last March, while deathly ill with a nasty flu bug, after a professional meeting that turned into a bitchfest directed at me. Long story. I spent the weekend in bed, snotty, reading this and at least three other books, feeling deeply sorry for myself. Ahem. Where was I? Oh yes, Audrey. Audrey breaks up with her musician boyfriend (as she leaves him - literally - behind, he calls out, "Audrey, wait!" and she doesn't turn around). Said ex's band then strikes it big with a song called "Audrey, wait," painting her as the villain in the relationship, turning many people against her (can you see how it struck a nerve?) and making her famous (hello, tabloids) for all the wrong reasons. She suffers through encounters with those who hate her (cold! unfeeling!) and those who love her (feminist! trend-setter!), and who knows which is worse. Through it all, she manages to keep a few friends and her job at the local ice-cream store, but not without drama. A great book about who people think you are versus who you really are. Website here.
  
  
• I'd tell you I love you, but then I'd have to kill you by Ally Carter - First in a series. Unfortunately, my feeling is that the series overall is copy after copy of this book. At the time, it really stood out for me (still does!), but the 2nd and 3rd are beginning to try my patience. This is an excellent read-alike for those of you, like me, who mourn the demise of the TV show Veronica Mars. Or, I guess, for Buffy fans. For anyone who likes their narrators female, sarcastic, skilled in self-defense, full of secrets, and highly suspicious of everyone. Cammie, our heroine, attends the Gallagher Academy For Exceptional Young Women, which is basically a secret school for spies, run by her mother, one of the best spies around. Cammie and her friends try to untangle various mysteries in the series, the over-arching one being the circumstances of her father's death (on the job, of course). The first book also focuses on Cammie's first love, with a "regular" boy who has no idea that her finishing school has also taught her 14 languages and advanced encryption, and that she and her friends speak a different language (each day's selection on a notice board outside the hall) during dinner. Dry humour sample: Cammie's mum says "the worst part of the spy life isn't the danger -- it's the paperwork. After all, when you're on a plane home from Istanbul with a nuclear warhead in a hatbox, the last thing you want to do is write a report about it."
  
  
• Hate that cat by Sharon Creech - A companion piece to 2001's Love that dog, which followed Jack's story of his dog, as told through correspondence with his teacher over the course of the school year. As his teacher exposes him to literature, particularly the poetry of Walter Dean Myers, Jack's writing changes, and his story develops. Hate that cat picks up at the start of the following school year, where his teacher has thankfully followed him into the next grade, introducing him to new poetry to inspire Jack to reflect on love, loss, worry and, yup, cats. Along the way, Jack is introduced to onomatopoeia, metaphor, free verse, William Carlos Williams, and the wonderful picture book by Walter Dean Myers' son, Christopher, Black cat. Teacher's guide to both books here. You will be incapable of not crying while reading this.
  
  
• The adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson - Jenna awakens from a coma after an accident feeling as though her family is hiding something from her. Not to mention, while she was in the coma, they moved, effectively cutting her off from anyone in her former life. As she pieces together the circumstances of her accident, and her new life, she reaches some startling conclusions about the love parents have for their children, and the limits of what makes us human. A sci-fi title for people who don't like sci-fi. My home-based learners' book club is reading this for this month.
  
  

• Janes in love by Cecil Castellucci - Another book I read over that long, germ-filled weekend in March. A sequel to The Plain Janes, which was on my list last year, this book follows the continued work of the Janes, whose art movement, PLAIN (People Loving Art In Neighborhoods) gets a spot in the Metro City Museum of Modern Art Contest, taking the "Art saves" message to a new level. Meanwhile, on the home front, first love, crossed wires, and general awkwardness complicates everything. Can art save, or will it just mess everything up?
  
  
  
• Becoming Billie Holiday by Carole Weatherford - This fictionalised biography is a great title for reluctant readers, as it is written in verse and accompanied by evocative art. The bio follow's Billie Holiday's rise to fame, ending just as her first signature song makes it big. The focus here is on her unstable home life, with scenes of violence, rape, prostitution, poverty and racism. Ending on a high note, the book leaves Holiday's later tragedies to be explained via other works.
  
  
• What I saw and how I lied by Judy Blundell - Evie's stepfather returns from WW2 with a few secrets, and he convinces her and her mum to leave New York for off-season Florida when one of his (alleged) old war buddies begins calling their home. What is he hiding? A budding romance with an older man distracts Evie momentarily, until her new beau seems more interested in her parents that in her.
  
  
• Crusade: The heretic's secret, Part I by John Wilson - A brilliant depiction of the rise of the Albigensian (Cathar) Crusade, as told via the relationship between two orphan boys, John and Peter. While Peter's intensity and need for certainty and power leads to a career in the priesthood, mentored by one of the Crusade's key figures, John's love of art and literature, and his desire to question the way things are in the world, leads him to befriend the Good People (as the Cathars were known). Their lives intersect throughout the book, with often tragic consequences. At the end of this first book in a series, John is embarking on a trip to Spain with a young woman Peter once loved, and Peter is embarking on his first trip to Rome. A powerful examination of the fervent quest during the Middle Ages for the salvation of the soul, at the cost of all else.
  
  
• Rough magic by Caryl Cude Mullin - An interpretation of the events preceding and succeding The Tempest, told from various perspectives, including that of Caliban and his mother Sycorax.
  

Favourite children's books of 2009

I was feeling pretty good about having avoided a major cold/flu this year, until Monday after Babytime when my throat got scratchy. Hmm, I thought, let's conclude that this is happening because it's so dry in here, and off I went to chug two bottles of water. By the end of the evening, after the LANCR event (spectacular speech here), it really hurt to swallow, and I stayed home yesterday and today with a vicious cold that has been circulating at work.

On the bright side, I haven't been bored! I read my way through all my "to read" pile at home, and have had to break into my "emergency books" stash. You know, those unread books you have lying around, that you haven't gotten to in years, but might serve you well during the next ice storm...? On the other hand, I have also been really weak today, and prone to putting books down to rest.

I also realised I hadn't yet posted my favourites from last year - and here we are more than halfway through February (2008 list here). So, without further ado.....

Favourite children's books of 2009 (disclaimer: some pub'd in 2008)

• Word nerd by Susin Nielsen - A lonely 12-year old named Ambrose tries to convince his single mum not to be too over-protective, becomes secretly involved in competitive Scrabble, and befriends his neighbour, a 25-year old former drug addict who has just been released from jail. Equal parts laugh-out-loud and cry-out-loud.
  
  
• The vanishing girl: The boy Sherlock Holmes, his third case by Shane Peacock - It's possible that this is the best boy Sherlock story yet. Sherlock begins to face his own hunger for success, while trying to beat Malefactor in rescuing the vanished society daughter. Peacock writes heartbreakingly of Sherlock's grief at the loss of his mother (who died in the first book, but continues to haunt Sherlock and affect his actions - see scenes in this book with a mother he encounters who has lost her daughter), his desire to impress Irene, and his steadfast belief in the good in the world, all the while realistically portraying Sherlock's selfishness, jealousy, and rage.
  
  
• Starclimber by Kenneth Oppel - The cameo by Emily Carr (who appears, with a slightly different twist, as Evelyn Karr) in this alone thrilled me. Plus her monkey; you can always get me with monkeys. Seriously, though, Oppel's alternative history with steampunk leanings (how to describe this book?!) is utterly unique and refreshingly interesting, focusing on social distinctions, gender issues, and science ethics. On the upper limit of what I would describe as a kids' book - there is a love story here, but with minimal cringe factor moments for those who aren't quite there yet.
  
  

• The dragonfly pool by Eva Ibbotson - How bad is it that I've never read Ibbotson until now? Sigh. One of the things I needed to "fix" this year, and did! Tally's overworked single dad packs her off to boarding school under the urging of more or less the whole town when war breaks out (parallels Ibbotson's own life: she was born in Vienna but packed off to an English boarding school during the war). Tally soon finds that Delderton Hall is, shall we say, alternative? She quickly becomes enamoured of the quirky students and the quirkier-still staff, and she helps organise a school trip to the (fictional) kingdom of Bergania, where a chance encounter with the lonely young prince as war comes to Bergania changes everything. P.S. Easily one of the loveliest covers of the year, in my subjective opinion.
  
  
• Living sunlight: How plants bring the Earth to life by Molly Bang - Nerd alert! It's a picture book about photosynthesis! And so well done... Suitable for grade 3+.
  
  
• Julia Gillian (and the art of knowing) by Alison McGhee - I find it so difficult to find pitch-perfect books for younger readers, and this, happily, is one I was pleasantly surprised by this year. Probably not the least of that is because I can identify with Julia's angst. In this first book in a series, Julia begins to encounter her first real dilemmas, or upsets, in life: not getting the prize she wants from a local toy machine (a beloved meerkat she has been trying for all summer), reading a book with a sad ending, and no summer picnics since her parents are working. Julia learns to deal with the realities of things not working out exactly as planned, and the realities of fear, in this very gentle, illustrated tale. Random fact that really moved me: when she feels scared, Julia wears one of the papier-mâché masks she has made. Her parents know this, but they don't know that pasted inside the masks are notes they have left her in her lunchbox over the years. This one would be a good choice for advanced grade 2 readers, up to grades 4-5 depending on the maturity of the student.
  
  
• Peaceful heroes by Jonah Winter - While not perfect (oversimplification, much?), this book focuses on the stories of various non-violent heroes, from the famous (Jesus, Gandhi, King, Kyi, Rusesabagina) to the forgotten (Corrie Ben Boom, Ginetta Sagan, Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Meena Keshwar Kamal). Winter doesn't shy away from controversy, underlining that non-violent protest is possible in Islam (so said the blogger, drily) and stating that "most people in other countries think that America has done more harm than good in Iraq." A good choice for early readers looking for an introduction to these important lives. Booklist interview with Winter here. Disclaimer: Winter's oversimplification hits new lows in his latest offering, Barack Obama, a title we didn't buy at work because of bias, unsuitability to age group, and wacky illustrations.
  
  
• The composer is dead by Lemony Snicket - I brought this with me to outreach last weekend at a concert for kids at the National Arts Centre, and I caught a few parents reading it cover to cover, snickering happily. Like all Snicket, the humour is pretty advanced in some ways, but utterly enjoyable for various ages. The premise of the book is that the composer has been murdered, and each of the instruments feign innocence and explain their whereabouts at the time of the crime, which acts as a perfect opening for a discussion of what role each instrument in the orchestra plays. Evidence points to the conductor, because of course, "wherever there's a conductor, you're sure to find a dead composer!" P.S. This book was originally an orchestral work by Nathaniel Stookey (I had to check. His father's first cousin is Paul of Peter, Paul and Mary) for which Snicket wrote the narrative.
  N.B. This and the next five titles are what we call special (advanced) picture books: books written in picture book format that are for the more advanced (read: mature) reader.
  
  
  
• The enemy by Davide Cali - A powerful advanced story book about propaganda and humanity during wartime. The style of illustration is similar to the notebook scribblings of a schoolchild (or a man crouching in the trenches); the setting could be any war, any time, anywhere. The soldier who narrates this tale tells of watching the enemy every day, and also reports on his own loneliness, irritations, despair, fear. Slowly, he comes to realise that the enemy is facing some similar situations, and he resolves to stop participating in the war. Warning: ambiguous ending.
  
  
• Proud as a Peacock, Brave as a Lion by Jane Barclay - While we are on the subject of war, the best Canadian picture book about Remembrance Day I have seen in awhile, and the winner of this year's Make Alex Cry at Work Award. I can't even write this review without tearing up. A grandfather (Poppa) shares his memories of being a soldier with his grandson, using similes of animal behaviour: he was proud as a peacock signing up, brave as a lion, busy as a beaver, etc. At the end, the boy imagines an elephant in the mists on Remembrance Day. “Elephants never forget,” he whispers to his poppa. “Then let’s be elephants,” says his grandfather.Seriously, now I'm crying again. Honestly. This would be a great read-aloud, but I'm not sure I could get through it. I can hardly get through Tootle, for heaven's sake. Great review in CM here.
  
  
• That book woman by Heather Hanson - For the child who doesn't like to read, a story about a dirt-poor family in the rural Appalachian mountains of Kentucky, and about the Pack Horse Librarians. Previously praised by me here.
  
  
• Mama says by Rob Walker - Words of wisdom about courage, kindness, and faith from mothers around the world, as told to their sons. Stunning illustrations.
  
  
• Violet by Tania Duprey Stehlik - Violet's parents are red and blue; Violet is, well, violet, which never bothered her until someone at school asked her about it.
  
  
• Smitten by David Gordon - I'm sorry, I just couldn't stop laughing at this love story between a lost sock and a lost mitten.
  
  
• One by Kathryn Otoshi - Looks like a concept book about colours and counting, but it's actually a deceptively simple, non-preachy book about bullying. Red, you see, is hot. Blue is not. Bullying ensues until the number 1 comes along to confront the colours: "If someone is mean and picks on me, I, for One, stand up and say, No." Then the colours all become numbers, too. Somewhat confusing, but really interesting.
  
  
• Big bear hug by Nicholas Oldland - A picture book to strike fear in the hearts of the logging industry. A bear hugs some trees, doesn't understand why people are cutting them down, concludes these people need some hugs, too. Go read it.
  
  
• Penguins by Liz Pichon - What happens when zoo penguins get their fins on a small girl's camera? Hilarity ensues when the photos are developed!
  
  
• Ernest by Catherine Rayner - Ernest the moose would love to star in this book, with his friend chipmunk. The problem is that Ernest can't FIT in this book.

Goodreads censored in Iran

...And I do really mean censored:

As Goodreads community manager Jessica Donaghy eloquently writes on their blog, "Goodreads has provided an online forum where Iranians participate not only in robust discussions of literature, but also, by natural extension, healthy debates about politics. We have been proud to provide this safe space for honest opinions. Last Friday, February 5, 2010, we were saddened to see Goodreads traffic in Iran plummet, which can only mean that Goodreads has joined the ranks of sites blocked by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's regime."

More from the Guardian

More from Goodreads

Notes on a World Class City by Vancouver poet laureate Brad Cran

Excerpt: "The great irony is that when we look to celebrate ourselves in 2010 we have simultaneously, if only temporarily, allowed Olympic bureaucrats to ignore and distort the basic principles that make Vancouver a city to be envied."

Read it.

Snapshots

Today was a good day at work. I made an outreach visit to a First Words Screening Clinic at a local community centre, and it was a lot of fun. Basically, I hang out in the waiting room with the families until they are called in, and since it takes each family about 15 mins to be interviewed, the wait can really drag. I brought 4 books (I know, not a lot, but I can't carry the whole library!) and, since I've done one of these clinics before, I have to say, I totally chose the best books. In case you're wondering, I brought My little sister ate one hare, by Bill Grossman, Who's under that hat? by Sarah Weeks, Mille Mimi (or Maisy, if you prefer) by Lucy Cousins, and De quelle couleur est ta culotte? by Sam Lloyd. See, the key is, simple books that translate easily, since the families are (possibly) francophone and/or anglophone. Plus, the children are there because their parents are concerned about their language development, so you don't want to discourage or intimiate them. Lift-the-flaps are good. The totally obvious is good. And underwear... well, books about underwear are always a good choice.

It went well, the families read the books together and separately, I read to all the kids individually, they played with the Mimi/Maisy and Lola dolls I brought, and I handed out Every Child Ready to Read pamphlets, library program information and my cards. I even got one kid to participate in the hokey pokey, but he was totally just humouring me.

What was interesting, too, was that two of the parents asked me for help filling out the forms they were given by the clinic. It is discouraging to see how literacy can be an intergenerational problem, too. I also had a neat conversation with a mum who was in the middle of her first Canadian winter, having arrived in Dec. from Australia. She's already brought her daughter to skate on the canal.

When I got back to the branch, one of my colleagues was telling me that the executive director of one of our partner organisations had stopped by while I was gone, and was almost moved to tears by the Black History Month display that I had put up (and my colleagues Monica and Kristina helped fill!) Seriously, apparently she took pictures. And she is bringing a class in to look at it. It's nice when you see your work concretely appreciated!

Yesterday, a little girl (4, max.) watched with rapt attention while I repaired a minor tear to a page of a picture book for her. When I was done, I clapped it shut and gave it back to her, whereupon she bounced (literally) back to her reading chair, hollering YAY!

If only we could solve all our problems so quickly and efficiently....

Dangerous words: A freedom to read week event

Come on down! My local library association will be co-hosting a great event in Ottawa in exactly 2 weeks. Come for the round table and/or the drinking.

Book challenge: good news

Well, at least Buster is safe. I can sleep at night...

Félicitations, Michel!

Michel Rabagliati's wonderful Paul à Québec has won the Prix du public au Festival de la bande dessinée d'Angoulême.

If you haven't read the Paul series, do so immediately. Tinged with nostalgia (for childhood in the 70s, for Montreal - Rosemont, specifically, for camping...) and deeply affecting, the books follow Paul from young adulthood into parenthood. The most recent volume, Paul à Québec, deals with the death of Paul's father-in-law, a larger-than-life character whose biography is explored via flashbacks.

Beyond the affecting stories of growing up (first jobs, finding love, conceiving a child), I've learned a lot from Paul about joual (not that I didn't pick up a fair amount in the Eastern Townships...!)

Oh, prison censors... Pablo Neruda, really?

The works of (deep breath) James Patterson, Carl Hiaasen, Hunter S Thompson, John Grisham, Joyce Carol Oates, John Updike, Alice Walker, Pablo Neruda and Andre Gide (and others!) were all blocked in Texas prisons.

Quote of the day: "The Elements of Persuasion: Use Storytelling to Pitch Better, Sell Faster and Win More Business was rejected in December, the American Statesman reported, because censors feared it 'could be used to persuade others'."

""To the author's credit, it's a good story line," ...

...but I'm still going to challenge it, because it "contains sexual content that my child, at that age, doesn't understand."

Well, duh. Don't let your kid read it, then!

Just a hint: if it's won an award for TEEN books, maybe it's a teen novel!? Maybe you should have a quick look at what your 11-year old brings home?

(book in question: One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies, by Sonya Sones)