Quote of the Day, Brooms Down, Fangs Out for Cynthia Erivo, Walk the Walk On HP Tours, POTUS Fires Head of Copyright Office, Judge Halts IMLS Dismantling, How to Slay a Lion by Jen Carpenter, This Woven Kingdom by Tahereh Mafi, Spirit Crossing by William Kent Krueger, and Yours Cheerfully by AJ Pearce

Here we are in the second week of May, and temps have reached a not-quite-warm 58-60 degrees here in the PNW. There have also been a number of rainstorms and even a bit of hail, just to keep us all on our toes, umbrellas at the ready. For myself, this was just another excuse to hunker down under blankets and comforters with a hot cup of tea and a good book or three. Soon enough, it will be July and August, and the heat will be suffocating, and the sun burning hot, especially to people with fair skin like myself who burn like fish in a frying pan during the summer months. Meanwhile, here's some tidbits from the book world, which is still under the cloud of censorship and librarian firings by our fascist POTUS. Oh, and some book reviews, too.

 

I was flabbergasted by this horrible unjust firing of Dr Hayden...she was replaced with a Trump synchophant who doesn't even have a library science degree. Awful.

 

Quotation of the Day

ALA: Carla Hayden's 'Abrupt & Unjust Dismissal Is an Insult'

"I salute Dr. Carla Hayden, a wise and faithful steward of the Library

of Congress--the library she has called our 'national treasure.' Dr.

Hayden's abrupt and unjust dismissal is an insult to the scope and

breadth of work Dr. Hayden has undertaken in her role leading the

Library of Congress.

"By throwing open the doors of the venerable Library of Congress to

welcome everyone, Dr. Hayden has revealed what the highest library in

the land, and what every library, is: a bastion of knowledge and a

beacon of opportunity.... We offer our thanks for Dr. Hayden's

exceptional leadership with our words and our actions. Now is the time

to urge Congressmembers to publicly show their support for our nation's

libraries."--American Library Association president Cindy Hohl

I think this is a great idea, and I hope that this production wins a ton of awards and brings in a large and appreciative audience. Erivo was AMAZING in Wicked, so she will doubtlessly crush it in Dracula.

 

Brooms Down, Fangs Out

Cynthia Erivo is set to play 23 roles in a new one-woman production of Dracula heading to London’s West End next year. I’m supposed to make a reference to Erivo’s blockbuster success in Wicked right here, but it’s her recent adventure playing identical quintuplets in the opening episode of the new season of Poker Face that really has me stoked for the possibilities. This will be Erivo’s first time on stage since her Tony Award-winning turn as Celie in The Color Purple ended in 2017. The new Dracula adaptation comes from the team behind Succession star Sarah Snook’s widely praised one-woman performance of The Picture of Dorian Gray.

 

This is a great idea as well...I hope that its successful monetarily and that JKR takes the hint and realizes she's on the losing side on this one.

Walk the Walk

Edinburgh-based tour company Street Historians is replacing its popular Harry Potter tours with LGBTQ+ history walks for Pride Month in response to J.K. Rowling’s stance on trans rights. Founder Fraser Horn stated that, “There’s an increasing amount of negativity around the series which is making it much harder to conjure up affection." He also emphasized tour providers’ responsibility to cultivate welcoming and inclusive environments for marginalized communities. Whether the Harry Potter tours will return after Pride remains to be determined, as the Street Historians "are having internal discussions."

Another unjustified firing after removing Dr Hayden from the LOC. This is horrifying, to watch our libraries freedoms being stripped from them as copyright is also taken from authors so that they cannot benefit from their work, and AI can take it wholesale from them without payment or atribution. BOOOOO! The jackbooted thugs of WWII are back.

 

Trump Fires Head of the U.S. Copyright Office

The White House fired Shira Perlmutter, the register of copyrights and director of the Copyright Office, by e-mail on Saturday. The Washington Post reported that acting librarian of Congress Robert Newlen sent an e-mail to his staff about the termination just two days after Donald Trump fired the Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, who appointed Perlmutter in October 2020.

Perlmutter's office had recently released a report on artificial

intelligence "that raised concerns about using copyrighted materials to

train AI systems, which some employees suspected may have influenced

Perlmutter's termination," the Post noted.

"Several stages in the development of generative AI involve using

copyrighted works in ways that implicate the owners' exclusive rights,"

the report said. "The key question, as most commenters agreed, is

whether those acts of prima facie infringement can be excused as fair

use."

In a statement, Rep. Joseph Morelle (N.Y.), the top Democrat on the

Committee on House Administration, said it was "no coincidence" the

register of copyrights position was terminated shortly after the office

released its AI report, calling the White House's decision "a brazen,

unprecedented power grab with no legal basis."

On Monday, Trump appointed Todd Blanche,

deputy Attorney General of the U.S., to be the acting Librarian of

Congress, according to a Justice Department spokesperson. NPR noted that

the permanent post of Librarian of Congress must be confirmed by the

Senate, adding: "Blanche has no experience working in libraries or

archives, according to his public profile. Now he will be running the

largest one in the world. As a lawyer, he has focused on investigations

and criminal litigation, including work for the President. Blanche

served as one of Trump's personal lawyers, leading the defense in last

year's criminal trial in which the President was found guilty of 34

felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal a payment to an

adult film star."

A Library of Congress employee, who asked not to be identified for fear

of retribution, told NPR that two men showed up at the Library building

on Monday with a letter saying that in addition to Blanche's

appointment, Brian Nieves had been named acting assistant librarian and

Paul Perkins acting register of copyrights and director of the Copyright

Office. "The men were not allowed into offices and left soon after, the employee

said, adding that the Library of Congress is a legislative branch

agency, and has not yet received direction from Congress on how to move

forward," NPR wrote.

There is also concern that the administration and Elon Musk's DOGE will

have access to a variety of confidential information at the Library of

Congress, such as research questions from members.

Thank heaven that this executive order was halted before it could dismantle the IMLS. There's already been too much damage done to libraries and librarians by the ignorance and prejudice of the Trump administration. 

 

Judge Orders Halt to IMLS Dismantling

We’ve got to take our Ws when we get them, folks. Ruling in favor of 21 state attorneys general, Rhode Island district court judge John J. McConnell Jr. has ordered a halt to the presidential executive order dismantling the IMLS (Institute of Museum and Library Sciences) and two other federal agencies. The order requires the defendants to stop all efforts to eradicate the IMLS, requires them to restore employees and contractors who were involuntarily terminated or placed on leave, and resume processing and payment of already-awarded funding. That’s good news for many reasons, including for the tribal communities at risk of losing their libraries due to grants canceled under the executive order. Make no mistake, though, a great deal of irreparable damage has already been done. The chaos and cruelty are the point.

This weeks reviews:

How to Slay a Lion by Jen Carpenter is a self published rom-com that was so poorly written I had to put it down and debate whether or not to waste time finishing it. I have a strong feeling that the author's grasp of English is tenuous. Here's the blurb:

Amelia Anderson has always been the queen of the library, but when the town’s most historic building, her library, is threatened by a demolition order, she’s ready to become a heist mastermind. The target? A manila envelope containing the document that could save the library. The obstacle? Lucas Chernov—her high-school crush turned infuriatingly handsome billionaire contractor.

She wants her library. He wants to push it over. This. Is. War.

Lucas is no stranger to tough decisions, but Amelia is unlike any challenge he’s ever faced. As the eldest of ten brothers, each as enigmatic as the next, Lucas carries the weight of a family curse and the expectations of a town. But when Amelia, with her frizzy hair and fierce determination, stumbles into his life—or rather, his mansion—Lucas finds himself questioning more than just his building plans.

With a Newfoundland dog named Nemean at her side, Amelia is determined to save the library, even if it means facing down her old feelings for Lucas. What she doesn’t expect is for Lucas to be drawn to her quirky charm and a proposal that could change both of their lives forever.

In a town where everyone knows your business, can Amelia and Lucas find common ground—and maybe something more—before the wrecking ball swings?

How to Slay a Lion is a sweet, slow-burning, enemies-to-lovers, laugh-out-loud Hercules retelling about finding courage, love, and the unexpected places where you might discover both.

Rife with typos and grammatical errors, the prose limps along on a sluggish plot that has so many cliches it is cringe-worthy. There's also a lot of misogyny and infantilization of the female protagonist and nearly every other women who makes an appearance in this dreadful novel. Of course the male protagonist, Lucas the billionaire, who is also very handsome (because what woman can resist a wealthy mean white guy who is good looking but soulless and is only attracted to childish "innocent" women?) just happens to have carried a torch for Amelia since they were children, and her frizzy hair and idealism appeal to his cold corporate heart...insert eye roll of Mary Sue-ism here. I'd give this dreadful book a C-, and not recommend it to anyone with more than a few working brain cells.

 

This Woven Kingdom by Tahereh Mafi is an intricate, long Persian romantasy that still manages to be a page-turner that kept me up until the wee hours. Here's the blurb:

Clashing empires, forbidden romance, and a long-forgotten queen destined to save her people—Tahereh Mafi’s first in an epic romantasy series inspired by Persian mythology.

To all the world, Alizeh is a disposable servant, not the long-lost heir to an ancient Jinn kingdom forced to hide in plain sight.

The crown prince, Kamran, has heard the prophecies foretelling the death of his king. But he could never have imagined that the servant girl with the strange eyes, the girl he can’t put out of his mind, would one day soon uproot his kingdom—and the world.

“In a tale as exquisitely crafted as one of Alizeh’s own garments, Mafi weaves a spell of destiny and danger, forbidden love and courtly intrigue, magic and revolution.” —Cassandra Clare

I was engrossed in this desert tale that was part Cinderella and part Snow White, with a dash of the Mummy movie woven into the swift plot. The prose is elegant and engaging, and Alizeh's story of rags to riches or at least rags to freedom is bright with passion and perseverance. Though I wasn't as fond of the changeable Kamran, who is swift to distrust and fear Alizeh on the basis of nothing but his own superstition, with no real evidence that she wants to take the throne from his king, I still felt that the story outlined the prejudice that women with power (magical power especially) face and must overcome in nearly every folktale or fairy tale in existence. I'd give this sumptuous feast of an ebook a B+ and recommend it to anyone interested in romantic desert stories.

 

Spirit Crossing by William Kent Krueger is the 20th Cork O'Connor mystery that takes place in the wilds of Minnesota. Here's the blurb: William Kent Krueger offers one of his most puzzling mysteries to date, as a disappearance and a dead body put Cork O’Connor’s family in the crosshairs of a killer in the twentieth book in the New York Times bestselling series.

The disappearance of a local politician’s teenage daughter is major news in Minnesota. As a huge manhunt is launched to find her, Cork O’Connor’s grandson stumbles across the shallow grave of a young Ojibwe woman—but nobody seems that interested. Nobody, that is, except Cork and the newly formed Iron Lake Ojibwe Tribal Police.

As Cork and the tribal officers dig into the circumstances of this mysterious and grim discovery, they uncover a connection to the missing teenager. And soon, it’s clear that Cork’s grandson is in danger of being the killer’s next victim in this white-knuckled mystery from “a master storyteller at the top of his game” -Kristin Hannah.

 

I've read about 5 of Krueger's books, and you just can't beat the man's beautiful, classic prose, which, when combined with his gripping, danger-fueled plots, make for real page-turners that never disappoint. I can never put one of his books down once I've begun reading them. This novel was no exception, as it highlighted the prejudice surrounding missing children of color, particularly female Native American/Indigenous children and teens, who don't receive the same amount of police/LEO attention that while children do when they've been kidnapped. Old white men, who run political and law enforcement agencies (though there's been an influx of women and people of color, they still account for a small percentage of agents within these organizations) just do not care about children of color who are being exploited and murdered under their noses. Added to the fact that most of these indigenous families are poor, and you've set the stage for a horrific level of incompetence/ignorance at the local, state and federal level. Fortunately for readers, Krueger makes sure that justice is served, and readers are made aware of the rampant prejudice that keeps these young women/girls from being found. I'd give this intense thriller of a mystery an A, and recommend it to anyone interested in Midwestern tribes and their struggles for equality.

 

Yours Cheerfully by A.J Pearce is a British historical fiction novel with a romantic subplot woven throughout the book. BTW, the copy I bought from HPB said that it was signed when it was not signed, so I paid extra for nothing. Here's the blurb: From the author of the  international bestseller Dear Mrs. Bird comes a charming and uplifting novel set in London during World War II about a plucky young journalist and her adventures as wartime advice columnist.

London, November 1941. Following the departure of the formidable Henrietta Bird from Woman’s Friend magazine, things are looking up for Emmeline Lake as she takes on the new challenges as a wartime advice columnist. Her relationship with boyfriend Charles is blossoming, while Emmy’s best friend Bunty, still reeling from the very worst of the Blitz, is bravely looking to the future. Together, the friends are determined to Make a Go of It.

When the Ministry of Information calls on Britain’s women’s magazines to help recruit female workers to the war effort, Emmy is thrilled to step up and help. But when she and Bunty meet a young mother who shows them the very real challenges that women war workers face, Emmy must confront a dilemma between doing her duty and standing by her friends.
 

Having read all the Emmy Lake Chronicles, I can definitely say that they just keep getting better and better as Emmy matures and settles into her role as a journalist for a popular women's magazine during WWII. Though she comes off as a bit daffy, ala Lucille Ball, Emmy's a real brick when it comes to helping those she cares about, here the hard working female factory workers of WWII Britain. Though they're integral to the war effort, the promises of the male factory owners and government workers made to provide these women with child care haven't come through, and many struggle to find anyone to help them keep their households going with finances gotten from war work. Emmy and the staff of her magazine refuse to give up, and end up helping the women workers rally in protest, often at the cost of their jobs. Fascinating, rich characters and warm prose that glides along the stalwart plot make this novel another real page turner. I'd give it an A, and recommend it to anyone interested in historical feminism and female factory workers.