In the last couple of weeks, there's been quite the kerfuffle over a guy who wrote an article about his belief that libraries are failing institutions that should be privatized and people made to purchase ebooks only because no one reads paper books anymore or actually uses libraries. There were many authors and bibliophiles and librarians who responded immediately with searing commentary that put this idiot in his place. Among them was one of my favorite science fiction authors, John Scalzi. Read on and enjoy!
Author John Scalzi http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz37687483
(responding to @PMourdoukoutas's
question: "Did anyone read my article"): "Of course we
read it, that's
how we know it's trash
understanding of
the short and long-term economic benefits of public
libraries is so
remedial that whatever institution gave you your Ph.D.
should probably
rescind it out of sheer embarrassment."
"The
bookstores and Libraries offer more
coffee and online
searching. If the author of the article ever visited
either place he
[would] know they are literary salons. Bookstores
provide a unique
intersection of art, business, community and
self-improvement,
and provide community spaces unlike any other.
Libraries provide,
at no charge, a curated collection of materials for
loan and
assistance accessing services and technology to EVERYONE!"
Michael Kindness,
sales rep for Penguin Random House: "Dear @Forbes
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz37687489
A couple of things: Physical books aren't
'collector's items
sales have been in
decline for a few years. Digital and physical books
aren't free at
Amazon. Libraries offer both physical AND digital books
(and audiobooks)
at no charge. Wise up."
Ms Bell lead an exemplary life, and I don't think that there will be many like her going forward. RIP.
Obituary Note:
Anne Olivier Bell
Anne Olivier Bell
"who edited
the diaries of Virginia Woolf into five landmark volumes and
was a rare
surviving link to the Bloomsbury Group," died July 18, the
New York Times
reported. She was 102. Bell "was also thought to be among
the last members
of the so-called Monuments Men, a unit that worked to
protect and
recover artworks during and after World War II." Their
exploits were
chronicled in the book The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes,
Nazi Thieves and
the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History by Robert M.
Edsel, with Bret
Witter; as well as the 2014 film Monuments Men.
"I haven't
any imagination," she told the Telegraph in 2014. "But I was
lucky to spend my
life among fascinating people."
Bell was a
research assistant at the Ministry of Information during
World War II, and
in 1945 she was recruited to join the the Monuments,
Fine Arts and
Archives Section. "She was sent to the British zone of
occupied Germany,
where she coordinated the activities of officers in
the field, who
were trying to repair damaged churches and other things
of architectural
or artistic significance," the Times wrote.
After her return
to England in 1947, she was working at the Arts Council
of Britain,
editing catalogues and helping to prepare exhibitions, when
she met the artist
Vanessa Bell, Virginia Woolf's sister. She married
Quentin Bell, a
son of Vanessa and Clive Bell, in 1952.
She assisted her
husband in the writing of his 1972 book Virginia Woolf:
A Biography, and
in 1977, she published The Diary of Virginia Woolf,
Vol. 1. She would
edit four more volumes; the last was published in
1984. In the
1980s, she helped found the Charleston Trust, an
organization
dedicated to preserving a farmhouse associated with the
Bloomsbury Group.
Two of my favorite Seattle area bookstores got together to create and recite poetry recently, which I just love. I am always impressed anew that Seattle and Mercer Island are such literate places, that always make time for the written word.
Image of the Day:
A Grand Poetry Slam
Tuesday night,
booksellers from Open Book: A Poem Emporium
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz37775701,
Seattle, and Island Books
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz37775702,
Mercer Island, took a break from the recent
heatwave for a night of poetry at a Mariners game.
Norton rep Dan
Christiaens supplied copies of Norton backlist title
Baseball Haiku,
and between innings everyone enjoyed poetry and
spontaneous
haikus. James Crossley provided this one:
"A broomstick
thunders
And scorches the
third base line
Winning runs come
home"
(Mariners won 2-0
and moved a game closer to first place.)
The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker is a famed (or at least well reviewed and applauded) YA novel that I've been meaning to read for about 3 years. It just kept getting moved to the bottom of my TBR, over and over, until today I decided to finally tackle it, and much to my surprise, I was able to read it in about 6 hours. Even though dystopian YA fiction has become something of a cliche, this book was fresh and full of vital characters and harrowing yet elegant prose. The plot moved like a desert wind, and made the novel so engrossing that I couldn't put it down. Here's the blurb: With a voice as distinctive and original as that of The Lovely Bones, and for the fans of the speculative fiction of Margaret Atwood, Karen Thompson Walker’s The Age of Miracles is a luminous and unforgettable debut novel about coming of age set against the backdrop of an utterly altered world.
“Maybe everything that happened to me and to my family had nothing at all to do with the slowing. It's possible, I guess. But I doubt it. I doubt it very much.”
Spellbinding, haunting, The Age of Miracles is a beautiful novel of catastrophe and survival, growth and change, the story of Julia and her family as they struggle to live in an extraordinary time. On an ordinary Saturday, Julia awakes to discover that something has happened to the rotation of the earth. The days and nights are growing longer and longer, gravity is affected, the birds, the tides, human behavior and cosmic rhythms are thrown into disarray. In a world of danger and loss, Julia faces surprising developments in herself, and her personal world—divisions widening between her parents, strange behavior by Hannah and other friends, the vulnerability of first love, a sense of isolation, and a rebellious new strength. With crystalline prose and the indelible magic of a born storyteller, Karen Thompson Walker gives us a breathtaking story of people finding ways to go on, in an ever-evolving world.
“Maybe everything that happened to me and to my family had nothing at all to do with the slowing. It's possible, I guess. But I doubt it. I doubt it very much.”
Spellbinding, haunting, The Age of Miracles is a beautiful novel of catastrophe and survival, growth and change, the story of Julia and her family as they struggle to live in an extraordinary time. On an ordinary Saturday, Julia awakes to discover that something has happened to the rotation of the earth. The days and nights are growing longer and longer, gravity is affected, the birds, the tides, human behavior and cosmic rhythms are thrown into disarray. In a world of danger and loss, Julia faces surprising developments in herself, and her personal world—divisions widening between her parents, strange behavior by Hannah and other friends, the vulnerability of first love, a sense of isolation, and a rebellious new strength. With crystalline prose and the indelible magic of a born storyteller, Karen Thompson Walker gives us a breathtaking story of people finding ways to go on, in an ever-evolving world.
Though I found parts of the novel inexplicable, such as why Julia didn't tell her mother about her father's affair with her piano teacher, even after her father ran away with said teacher (he came back, however, and Julia is so relieved that she's not going to be left with her weak and crazy mother that she "forgives him everything") or why her friends treated her so horribly for no apparent reason (and why she didn't call them on their behavior), I still enjoyed Julia's yearning and realistic POV. I also liked the fact that the novel made evident how delicate the ecosystem of this planet really is, and how one change can destroy everything in a domino effect. I'd give this book an A, and recommend it to anyone who is worried about global warming and its effect on the ecosystem of flora and fauna on planet Earth.
Death Around the Bend by T.E.Kinsey is a Lady Hardcastle Mystery, so it's the third of a series. I picked it up at the library sale because I enjoy historical mysteries with female sleuths, and this sounded like a turn of the century female Sherlock and Watson combo which was bound to be fun. Unfortunately, the prose was overly fussy and detailed, and it felt like the author was padding out the chapters with redundant summations of "here's what we know so far" in nearly every chapter, which slowed the plot considerably. Here's the blurb:
When Lady Hardcastle and her maid, Florence, are invited to Lord
Riddlethorpe’s country estate for a week of motor racing and parties,
they both agree it sounds like a perfectly charming holiday. But when
one of the drivers dies in a crash during the very first race, they
discover that what seemed like an uncharacteristic error in judgement
may have a more sinister explanation . . .Closer investigation reveals that the driver’s car was sabotaged – and the driver murdered. The local constabulary are quick to dismiss the case, but Flo and Lady Hardcastle are determined to find out just who has committed this dastardly act, and why.
As the pair begin to make enquiries of Lord Riddlethorpe’s servants and guests, it seems that, below stairs and above, there is more to this case than meets the eye. And, even in the quiet of the countryside, death is always just around the bend.
I loved feisty and formidable Flo, the servant who has so many skills that she far surpasses Lady Hardcastle in talent and ability to solve a mystery. The fact that she's Welsh makes her all the more fun, because she's not as pretentious as her mistress Lady H. While the plot picks up in the second half of the book, I found a lot of room for editorial improvement in this novel, and I usually enjoy British mysteries and prose style. Still, I'd give the book a B-, and recommend it to anyone who loves Downton Abbey and enjoys a good mystery set in 1910 England.
A Cookbook Conspiracy by Kate Carlisle is the 7th book in this mystery series about a book restoration expert, Brooklyn, who somehow keeps finding dead bodies, and getting embroiled in solving the mystery no matter where she's going or what she's doing. I've read a couple of other Bibliophile mysteries, and I didn't love them as much as I thought that I would. Brooklyn is a vain and silly woman who quails at the sight of blood (she literally faints, which is ridiculous) and who seems to require a big, strong, handsome man to get her out of trouble at every turn. Also, she's more interested in the physical aspect of books, such as the leather binding and the gilt edged pages than she is in the actual content of the books themselves. For me, that is the antithesis of a real bibliophile, who should be a person (like myself ) who LOVES TO READ books, first and foremost. In this installment,we even have Brooklyn's sister Savannah, who is more of a fluff-headed idiot than her sister, but she can, at least, cook (she's a professional vegetarian chef). These two had me rolling my eyes and shaking my head at them setting back the women's movement 75 years within the first few chapters. Here's the blurb:
I disagree that the book was well-plotted, unless you count being able to tell who killed Baxter by the third chapter. The cliches and tropes of mystery fiction abound, making it seem as if Carlisle is being lazy or phoning it in with this book by just throwing a bunch of breadcrumbs out that are easy to follow to the anticlimactic conclusion. The prose was pedestrian and only showed any flair when describing the food. I'd give this boring bit of fluff a C, and only recommend it to someone who has nothing else to read and is desperate for something to keep their mind occupied while in the doctors office or on an airplane, for example.
From Twinkle With Love by Sandhya Menon is the second YA novel of Menon's I've read (after When Dimple Met Rishi) and unfortunately, it's not half as charming as her other YA novel. The prose is finely tuned, and the plot doesn't plod, but the characters are cliched and flimsy compared to Dimple and Rishi, who were well drawn enough to seem almost real. Here's the blurb: Aspiring filmmaker and wallflower Twinkle Mehra has stories she wants to
tell and universes she wants to explore, if only the world would
listen. So when fellow film geek Sahil Roy approaches her to direct a
movie for the upcoming Summer Festival, Twinkle is all over it. The
chance to publicly showcase her voice as a director? Dream come true.
The fact that it gets her closer to her longtime crush, Neil Roy—a.k.a.
Sahil’s twin brother? Dream come true x 2.
When mystery man “N” begins emailing her, Twinkle is sure it’s Neil, finally ready to begin their happily-ever-after. The only slightly inconvenient problem is that, in the course of movie-making, she’s fallen madly in love with the irresistibly adorkable Sahil.
Twinkle soon realizes that resistance is futile: The romance she’s got is not the one she’s scripted. But will it be enough?
Told through the letters Twinkle writes to her favorite female filmmakers, From Twinkle, with Love navigates big truths about friendship, family, and the unexpected places love can find you. Publisher's Weekly: Sixteen-year-old Twinkle Mehra fantasizes about becoming a successful filmmaker, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have regular teenage problems: she’s in love with a boy named Neil, who barely knows she exists; her best friend, Maddie, is acting strangely toward her; and her crush’s twin brother, Sahil (also an aspiring filmmaker), is paying her a lot of attention. After Sahil convinces Twinkle to collaborate on a documentary film project, she starts receiving emails from an admirer, who signs his letters N, and Twinkle hopes it’s Neil. Then Twinkle starts to fall for Sahil, she grows confused about her admirer, and her relationship with Maddie goes off the rails. Menon brings an effervescent energy to Twinkle’s story, which is reminiscent in tone to Menon’s When Dimple Met Rishi. The story is told, in part, through Twinkle’s confessional letters to famous filmmakers that serve effectively as diary entries. Mehra’s story line and characters lack a degree of cohesion, and the story’s epistolary content isn’t always well integrated. Nevertheless, Twinkle’s relationship with Sahil is sweet and believable, while the heart of this story hangs on Twinkle’s conflict with Maddie, and the pain she feels when Maddie drops her for the popular girls. Twinkle’s relatable quandaries and her worthy professional aspirations give Menon’s heroine solid appeal.
When mystery man “N” begins emailing her, Twinkle is sure it’s Neil, finally ready to begin their happily-ever-after. The only slightly inconvenient problem is that, in the course of movie-making, she’s fallen madly in love with the irresistibly adorkable Sahil.
Twinkle soon realizes that resistance is futile: The romance she’s got is not the one she’s scripted. But will it be enough?
Told through the letters Twinkle writes to her favorite female filmmakers, From Twinkle, with Love navigates big truths about friendship, family, and the unexpected places love can find you. Publisher's Weekly: Sixteen-year-old Twinkle Mehra fantasizes about becoming a successful filmmaker, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have regular teenage problems: she’s in love with a boy named Neil, who barely knows she exists; her best friend, Maddie, is acting strangely toward her; and her crush’s twin brother, Sahil (also an aspiring filmmaker), is paying her a lot of attention. After Sahil convinces Twinkle to collaborate on a documentary film project, she starts receiving emails from an admirer, who signs his letters N, and Twinkle hopes it’s Neil. Then Twinkle starts to fall for Sahil, she grows confused about her admirer, and her relationship with Maddie goes off the rails. Menon brings an effervescent energy to Twinkle’s story, which is reminiscent in tone to Menon’s When Dimple Met Rishi. The story is told, in part, through Twinkle’s confessional letters to famous filmmakers that serve effectively as diary entries. Mehra’s story line and characters lack a degree of cohesion, and the story’s epistolary content isn’t always well integrated. Nevertheless, Twinkle’s relationship with Sahil is sweet and believable, while the heart of this story hangs on Twinkle’s conflict with Maddie, and the pain she feels when Maddie drops her for the popular girls. Twinkle’s relatable quandaries and her worthy professional aspirations give Menon’s heroine solid appeal.
I felt like Twinkle was a dumbed-down version of Dimple, who had much more courage and self esteem and determination to have her own career. Twinkle is, by comparison, rather dim and shy and blind to what is going on around her. I knew who "N" was by the time she'd revealed the contents of his first note, and it was obviously going to come to a head with Sahil because he is so desperately jealous of his twin, which is bizarre considering they look identical to one another (so I didn't understand why Twinkle would think one was so much "hotter" than the other). However, I did enjoy the immediacy of the emails and letters to famous film makers that are deployed to tell much of Twinkle's story. I wonder at the wisdom of telling young girls that the importance of having a boyfriend and of having the "right" boyfriend are paramount for all teenage girls, even if they have to sacrifice their dreams of a career, which seem to be secondary to "love." I realize romance is a big part of Menon's books, but I would hope she wouldn't fall into a cultural sexist stereotype for the sake of appealing to potential audience for this novel. Still, I'd give it a B-,and recommend it, with a jaundiced eye, to those who read When Dimple Met Rishi.
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