Literary Art

It's been a while since I last blogged, most probably because I've taken a semester off uni. After two semesters with two subjects each, my home and family needed a bit more attention. I've been a member of Etsy (an online arts/crafts marketplace) for a few years now and lately I've come across some literary themed stuff that I wanted to share. Click on the names for the links.

Hunger Games Bracelet

Tolkien Pocket Mirror

Star Wars Dictionary Print

Hollow Book Safe Ring Bearer

Harry Potter Book Charm

Alice In Wonderland Book Bag

Hand Made Kindle Book Case

Leather Bound Book I-phone/I-pod Dock

Albatros bookmarks from Oscar Lhermitte on Vimeo.

Return Your Library Books!

A variety of pictures/posters to encourage the return of library books. Or create your own at this website.

ALA announces 2012 Youth Media Award winners

American Library Association announces 2012 Youth Media Award winners American Libraries Magazine

This includes the top books, video and audiobooks for children and young adults.
Winners include:

The Slap

I had been wanting to read The Slap ever since it was published but for some reason or another it never happened. Then when I saw the TV series was going to air I really really wanted to read it before watching but again that didn't happen due to assignments etc. Finally I purchased an ebook and read it within two days. How great are ebooks! This was my first and I loved the fact I could browse, buy and be reading within minutes. This is fantastic considering our nearest bookstore is 3 hours away. The public library is well stocked but I didn't even try finding The Slap there, due to the current resurge in popularity. Anyway back to the book...

I liked the way we learn the story through different people (I've read a few books like that) but I found the ending disappointing. I don't want to go into too much detail in case anyone reading my blog hasn't read it but I felt the ending was a bit washy and didn't wind up the story as well as it could have. Perhaps I've grown to accustomed to what my husband and I call "french endings", which refers to movies and books (named from the ones we've watched on SBS) that finish without telling you all the details and you have to use your imagination and decide for yourself how it ends. The story is good in the way it brings up many debatable issues - discipline, private schooling, drugs etc and the author's references to the characters' Greek family background seem authentic. With each character, however, there were times I just wanted to "slap" them to wake them up from their own complacency or whatever it was holding them back. Perhaps this is what the title really refers to, and the actually slapping of the child is a mere visual clue. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the TV episodes pan out compared to the book, but I do recommend reading the book if you are interested in the TV episodes. Note: the book contains quite a bit of drug use and sexual references so I'd probably give it a MA rating. LOL.

You can also watch an interview with Christos Tsiolkas on Compass via this link:

http://www.abc.net.au/iview/#/view/837976

Steampunk!: An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories

I have always loved steampunk and if you've never heard of it, do a search now! I was so excited to come across this book through a tweet.

LINK, Kelly & Gavin J. Grant, eds. Steampunk!: An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories. 432p. Candlewick. Oct. 2011. Tr $22.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-4843-5; ebook $22.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-5638-6. LC 2010040742.
Gr 8 Up—Most readers have become familiar with the essential steampunk elements: clockwork automatons, brass goggles, mad scientists, brave adventurers, and Victorian imagery. However, this collection of short stories by some of the best YA authors today, including Libba Bray, Garth Nix, and Cory Doctorow, offers something different and takes the steampunk ethos to a new level. Within these pages, there's a little something for everyone. For the romantic, there is Holly Black's "Everything Amiable and Obliging," in which a clockwork automaton exceeds the bounds of its programming and falls in love with the beautiful daughter of its employer. And for the disillusioned, there is Link's lovely and eerily sad "The Summer People," in which a girl in Appalachia is forced to care for the mysterious inhabitants of an unusual house. M. T. Anderson's "The Oracle Engine" is an alternate version of the story of Crassus of Rome that will delight history buffs. And Dylan Horrocks's "Steam Girl," the story of an unusual girl with steampunk sensibilities in modern times, will resonate with those who feel as though they don't quite belong. Two stories told in comic book format will appeal to graphic-novel fans. There is not a weak story in the bunch. This exceptional anthology does great service to the steampunk subgenre and will do much to further its audience.—Heather M. Campbell, formerly at Philip S. Miller Library, Castle Rock, CO

Finished!

What a relief! I have finally finished my first assignment in 20 years and feel like I've just given birth! Now all I've got to do is catch up on all the readings (plus the housework) that I've ignored while focusing on the assignment. No rest for the wicked!

Facebook

Are you a facebook fanatic? I've just finished this easy-to-read interesting "biography" about the founders of facebook. The movie "The Social Network" was based on this book. I would recommend it to TLs mainly because it gives you a little bit a background info about facebook and it might gain you some kudos with the "digital natives" if you know a bit about it. I also think it would be a good book to buy for a secondary library.

I Want One!

Book Lover Kit: "The perfect gift for any bibliophile, the Book Lover taps into a world of endless new chapters, compelling characters and evocative poems with words like desire, epic, inspire, magic, and mystery."

This would be fun to have in the library. Who knows, it might even encourage students to read more!

I love this book! I bought it for the school library when I was acting teacher librarian. All the students loved it and could see the humour in it. It also generated a lot of discussion about the pros and cons of print books versus e-books/computers etc.

There's no substitute for books!

From today's SMH Heckler.


I CONFESS: for at least 27 of my almost 33 years, I have been a reader.

There are days when I can barely keep my eyes open because I've been up all night with my nose in a book.

There are days when I read instead of cleaning the house. And I've been known to cancel on friends because I'm close to the end of a novel.

I'm an addict. So you can understand my horror at hearing all this talk about the demise of the bookselling industry and the death of the book. People are buying online and using e-readers.

It's cheaper, apparently, and you don't even have to leave the house.

Despite the attraction of not leaving the house, I find online shopping unsatisfying. It's not that I lack fingers or a technical brain, but rather that I feel consistently nervous about giving out my credit card details online.

I do not want Amazon to keep a record of what I am reading. I do not want special-offer spam.

And I do not want to wait a week for the next instalment by Alexander McCall Smith to arrive in the post, potentially battered by heavy-handed post people and bad weather.

Besides, I want to hold a product before I spend money on it. I want to measure its size and weight, and I want to test how it feels in my hand. I like to make purchasing decisions with all senses engaged.

This is also how I want to read.

How will my e-book hold the red wine I spilt when I read about the union between Elizabeth and Darcy?

How am I to take my e-reader into the bath? What if it runs out of battery at the beach, or gets sand in it?

I have 20-20 vision and an iPad, but so far combined they don't a reading experience make. Sure, I can consume the story, but the story cannot consume me.

For one thing, my iPad is made of metal and plastic. It absorbs nothing: not coffee, not biscuit crumbs, not the large sigh I let out at the end of a particularly satisfying narrative.

And falling asleep on my iPad, I have discovered, isn't nearly as comfortable as flopping my head into a paperback.

The iPad smells of metal and plastic.

My books smell of wood and ink. I write notes in the margins. I underline things. While I can also do this on my iPad, I cannot capture the feeling that is made obvious by my shaky handwriting and thick red pen.

Books hold the memories we make when we read them, immortalising our experiences within their pages. Without pages, where do the memories go? Facebook?

Faith Sands

See, we have no need to worry about the future of libraries! There will always be people like this in the world!