For the love of books

“We attach this mysticism and exoticism to the book- we hold a paper book like it’s the only possibility…You can book a book on an iPod or a Kindle. It’s the same story isn’t it? Is there really something mystical about printing a book on pulped paper?” ~ Christopher Harris in “The Future of Reading” Christian Science Moniter Volume 102/ Issue 4 December 20, 2009.

Personally, I would answer Mr. Harris, “Yes, there is something special (“mystical” is such a loaded word) about a printed book”. Far from being exotic, the printed book is a old friend who can fill a book-lover with a nostalgic glow.  But none of this disqualifies or belittles the worth of e-readers, audio books, or books available online. It’s comparing apples to oranges in my opinion. Later in the article Mr. Harris states that it is the duty of the librarian to pursue and make available these new reading technologies. I agree with him totally on that point and the results are at your library.  Library2Go is available to all patrons- so go load up your MP3 player or iPod with some good books before you head out over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house. Coming in March of 2010, e-books will also be available from Library2Go for you to download to your e-book.

So, I say let’s have our cake and eat it too!

Fun links for book lovers:

~ World’s Best Book Stores (librarians love book store too)

~ Digital Classics

~ Book a colabortation between four artists

~Diane

Library Book Group: The Lake of Dead Languages

Join us Tuesday November 10th at 7 pm in the Carnegie Room for a discussion of the book Lake of Dead Languages by Carol Goodman.  It’s a fascinating, quick read- just right for the rainy weekend coming up!

from the book cover:

Twenty years ago, Jane Hudson fled the Heart Lake School for Girls in the Adirondacks after a terrible tragedy. The week before her graduation, in that sheltered wonderland, three lives were taken, all victims of suicide. Only Jane was left to carry the burden of a mystery that has stayed hidden in the depths of Heart Lake for more than two decades. Now Jane has returned to the school as a Latin teacher, recently separated and hoping to make a fresh start with her young daughter. But ominous messages from the past dredge up forgotten memories. And young, troubled girls are beginning to die again?as piece by piece the shattering truth slowly floats to the surface. . . .

reviews:

“Like Donna Tartt’s The Secret History or a good film noir . . . Jane’s low-key narration has just the right tone to keep readers hooked.”
–People (Page-turner of the week)

“The strength of The Lake of Dead Languages is a silken prose that lures the reader into Goodman’s . . . story of murder, suicide . . . revenge, and madness.”
–The Washington Post Book World

“PART SUSPENSE, PART COMING-OF-AGE, AND ALL-ENTHRALLING . . . A book that needs the roar of a fire to ward off its psychic chill.”
–The Denver Post

~ Diane

Killer Foam!

(image from Harmful Algal Bloom Programme of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO)

How’s this for a scary story? A mysterious killer foam ravages the coasts of Oregon and Washington, killing thousands of seabirds. Actually, the foam is not so mysterious; it is  a single-cell phytoplankton, or algae. Toxic algae blooms- when the algae reproduces like made and as a by-product produces a detergent-like substance that strips water birds of their waterproofing oils- have occurred in many parts of the world, but not, until last week, in the Pacific Northwest.   So the big question is why did it occur? Was it a freak event or something that will occur again? Are the waters off the Pacific Northwest warming and what will that mean for the future? Anyone who likes to eat shellfish will be effected as the shellfish eat the algae and the toxins are concentrated in them.

Some scary stories are fun because we can relish the scare without the consequences. Not this one.

Further information:

Oregonian article  Killer Foam:was it a freak event or a warning?

Oregonlive article

~Diane

 

NOAA’s National Ocean Service: Harmful Algal Blooms

Walter Cronkite 1916- 2009

When I heard the news of the death of Walter Cronkite this past Friday, I instantly heard his voice in my mind. His rich, deep voice has been one of the most recognized voice of American broadcast journalism. As House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, “”From the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, to the war in Vietnam, to the landing on the moon 40 years ago next week, Walter Cronkite delivered the news and provided trusted commentary on the events that shaped our history.”

A Reporter’s Life by Walter Cronkite.

We Interrupt this Broadcast: the events that stopped our lives by Joe Garner with a forward by Walter Cronkite.

Links:

Walter Cronkite announces the assassination of President Kennedy.

Walter Cronkite announces the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

Walter Cronkite on Larry King in 2001.

New York Times obituary.

~Diane

Facts about flu

As always, good information is the best defense.

Websites:

Oregon State Public Health: Swine Flue

Center for Disease Control and Pervention: Swine Flu

Yamhill County Public Heath

Understanding Influenza:

Flu : the story of the great influenza pandemic of 1918 and the search for the virus that caused it by Gina Kolata.

The monster at our door : the global threat of avian flu by Mike Davis.

The flu by Gretchen Hoffmann.

Prevention:

Wash your hands.

It’s a Snap! Disease prevention for kids

Cough into your elbow.

~Diane

So long, Studs…

Legendary author, oral historian and radio personality Studs Terkel died at the age of 96 this past Friday. Much has been written about Studs and his work- here, here and here are but a few. While listening to the radio yesterday morning, I was struck by a story his friend Scott Simon told about him. Once a woman approached Mr. Terkel and commenced to tell him her life story- part of which involved being abducted my aliens. After the women left, Mr. Simon said, “Well, I guess you can’t use her interview in a book.”  Studs Terkel’s response was that it is always important to listen to people- if you give them a chance, you see they have an important story to tell. This willingness to listen and be open seemed to me to be a valuable lesson to me in both my professional and personal life.

When Mr. Terkel won the National Humanities Medal in 1997, President Bill Clinton said of Terkel that “no one had done more to expand the American library of voices.” Important work indeed. We’re happy to have many of his fine books at the library for you to check out:

Coming of age : the story of our century by those who’ve lived it

The good war : an oral history of World War Two

The great divide : second thoughts on the American dream

Hard times; an oral history of the great depression

Hope dies last : keeping the faith in difficult times

Race : how Blacks and Whites think and feel about the American obsession

The spectator : talk about movies and plays with the people who make them

Touch and go : a memoir

Will the circle be unbroken? : reflections on death, rebirth, and hunger for a faith

Working; people talk about what they do all day and how they feel about what they do

Library Open on Sundays

Starting this Sunday, September 7, the libray will be open on Sundays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. We will be celebrating with raffles, prizes, and ice cream sundaes- so stop on by!