AboutThoughts on books and the bookish life from an ardent bibliophile and former bookseller. The author, Lisa Guidarini, is the adult program coordinator for the Algonquin Area Public Library and reviews books for a variety of publishing house and periodicals. Lisa is a member of the National Book Critics Circle. Categories
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The Book's the ThingThe Book's the ThingApril 30, 2008 Revelation: Library school can be FATTENING!
It's a truth universally acknowledged that a busy library student in need of a commute to videoconference classes must be in want of fast food. And it's really starting to show. No one warned me of that when I applied for library school. I didn't think about how my hectic life would necessitate an awful lot of fast food purchases. I think I've eaten more fast food in the last two semesters than I've had in my life so far. Okay, maybe not THAT much. Sometimes I bring a sandwich, but usually it's easier to pick something up. And I am SO sick of fast food it's ridiculous. Fortunately I'm almost done with the semester, and this is my last semester of commuting. After this it's all online, which only requires me sitting on my... chair taking classes online. After May 9 I won't be commuting anymore. Hurrah, on so many levels. In other news, I have to share this with you. I've been given an internship at the Newberry Library, in the American Indian collection! I go there once a week, and so far I've only worked on reorganizing their book collection into call number order (LOC) and reshelving them, but next I'll be working on their collection of American Indian tribal newspapers. That'll be fun, and it'll keep me busy for months. Hurrah, on so many levels. That's an update from me. One of these days I'll start posting regularly again here, as soon as I'm able to take a breath. I've missed it! (Breathing AND posting.) Posted by lisa at 12:03 PM | Comments (1) April 21, 2008 End of semester hair pulling
Coming up to the end of the spring semester of grad school. It's time all my major projects come due, so if you can remember how that was when you were in school you'll know how hairy this time is. The good news is I'm done with all but two assignments and one of them is halfway done. All that's hanging over my head is a 5-6 page paper, which is no huge deal. I'm not taking any courses this summer. I'm suffering from burnout plus that's family vacation time. But the nose will be back to the grindstone come fall. I'm not sure what I'm taking in the fall yet, but I'm so glad my days of commuting to videoconference classes will be done. It's all online after this semester, something I vastly prefer. I like that I can submit assignments at my own pace in the online courses. If I finish things early I can submit them early. This semester I'm already done with my online course, having submitted the final assignment last week. That's a load off! But library school's going very well. No complaints about it, but it's darn hard fitting in homework with everything else. Ah, well. Once it's done I'll be glad I did it. That's my consolation. Posted by lisa at 10:49 AM | Comments (0) April 8, 2008 Congrats to Bill Loehfelm
From Publisher's Weekly: New Orleans Bartender Wins Amazon Breakthrough Award Loehfelm, who works as a bartender in New Orleans during the day and wrote Fresh Kills at night, won a $25,000 publishing contract with Penguin, which will publish the novel in late summer. Russell Grandinetti, v-p of books for Amazon.com, said the contest received a tremendous response, and hit its cap of 5,000 submissions two weeks before the deadline. Submissions came from 18 countries and every state, and more than 30,000 Amazon.com customers downloaded excerpts of the submitted novels. In her introduction to the announcement of the winner, Eat, Pray, Love author Elizabeth Gilbert said it was a “great joy to be part of an event that gives writers a rope of hope.” Loehfelm echoed Gilbert’s sentiments about the difficulty for unknown writers to get published. He said that when he heard about the contest, he quickly decided to enter, since “there was nothing to lose.” Now that he has won, he said he hopes Amazon will hold the contest again next year. The award was founded by Amazon in cooperation with Penguin and Hewlett-Packard. The contest was free and open to unpublished authors in 20 countries who have English-language manuscripts. Amazon accepted 5,000 entries and assembled a panel of customers who had posted the most, and best, reviews on its site to serve as the judges for the first round. After the submissions were cut to 1,000, a team put together by PW gave a full review to each manuscript, and the review and excerpt were posted on Amazon, where customers could read, rate and review the offerings. Penguin pared the 1,000 manuscripts down to 100 and those underwent “a full editorial review process,” said Penguin director of online sales and marketing Tim McCall. Once Penguin cut the submissions to 10, excerpts were again posted on the Amazon site where customers voted for the winner. McCall said Penguin will release the book, “in the appropriate format,” and he hopes to have at least a galley of the book on hand at BEA. Posted by lisa at 11:42 AM | Comments (0) March 25, 2008 Hugo Award Nominees Announced
2008 Hugo Award Nominees Denvention 3, the 66th World Science Fiction Convention, has announced the ballot for the 2008 Hugo Awards. Nominations were made by the members of last year’s World Science Fiction Convention, held in Yokohama, and this year’s, to be held in Denver. Members of the 2008 convention will have until July 1, 2008, to vote on this ballot. Winners will be announced and trophies awarded at Denvention’s Hugo Awards Ceremony on Saturday, August 9. The voting will be conducted by mail and online. The online ballot will be available at the Denvention 3 web site in the near future. You do not have to attend the convention to vote. A Supporting Membership ($50) is sufficient to secure you voting rights. Memberships can be purchased here. The full list of nominees for this year’s Hugo Awards, and John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, is as follows: Best Novel The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon (HarperCollins, Fourth Estate) Best Novella “The Fountain of Age” by Nancy Kress (Asimov’s July 2007) Best Novelette “The Cambist and Lord Iron: a Fairytale of Economics” by Daniel Abraham (Logorrhea, ed. John Klima, Bantam) Best Short Story “Last Contact” by Stephen Baxter (The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, ed. George Mann, Solaris Books) Best Related Book The Company They Keep: C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien as Writers in Community by Diana Glyer; appendix by David Bratman (Kent State University Press) Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form Enchanted Written by Bill Kelly Directed by Kevin Lima (Walt Disney Pictures) Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form Battlestar Galactica “Razor” Written by Michael Taylor Directed by Félix Enríquez Alcalá and Wayne Rose (Sci Fi Channel) (televised version, not DVD) Best Professional Editor, Short Form Ellen Datlow Best Professional Editor, Long Form Lou Anders Best Professional Artist Bob Eggleton Best Semiprozine Ansible edited by David Langford Argentus edited by Steven H Silver Best Fan Writer Chris Garcia Best Fan Artist Brad Foster John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer (Sponsored by Dell Magazines and administered on their behalf by WSFS) Joe Abercrombie (2nd year of eligibility) Posted by lisa at 9:49 AM | Comments (0) March 20, 2008 My interview with author A.J. Jacobs
In the beginning was the encyclopedia. Yea, verily. I looketh upon it with mine own eyes. And I saw that it was good. There was evening and morning whilst I readeth it. Then again, there's evening and morning pretty much every day (unless you live really, really far north). But I digresseth. A score of months later (give or take, who can count), came the Bible. It was fruitful. It multiplied. It cracketh me up. It restoreth my sense of humor. I laugheth, as it led me to the path of righteousness. Or not. Yea, verily, I did then contact A.J., and he doth reply. I asketh, and he answereth. And here it is, now, for thine own eyes. Enjoyeth.:
AJJ: Well, I love the idea of quests. But I'm not much of an outdoor person, so I don't see myself climbing K2 or doing the Iditarod race. So my quests tend to be intellectual or spiritual. Things I can do without getting frostbite. I also like taking things to the extreme. So I figure, if I'm interested in religion, why not go all the way - live the entire Bible - and see what works? And I love first-person writing. I love to read it and I love to write it. If it's done well, it can be like you're right there with the author on the journey. BSR: Out of all the trials and tribulations from your biblical year, what was the toughest thing you endured? And, by the way, did you get to keep the slave? AJJ: I'd say there were two parts that were the toughest. There was the attempt to avoid the little sins we all commit every day - the lying, the coveting, the gossiping. I live in New York and work for the media. So that was pretty much 75 percent of my day. The second tough part was trying to obey laws that will get you into a little trouble if you follow them in 21st century America. Like stoning adulterers. Or owning a slave. (For slavery, the closest thing I could find was a summer intern. He was great. But he had to go back to college. BSR: With three little ones at home and what I presume is a full-time writing job, how do you find time to write your books, much less do the extensive research? AJJ: I am having a tough time. My sons haven't embraced the distinction between work hours and play hours. Right now, I'm working about 16 hours a day, and getting about two hours of actual work done, because my kids come into my office every three minutes to have an important discussion about bananas or Dora the Explorer. So I don't think I've mastered the balance yet. My only trick is that I try not to waste a single second. I don't let my mind wander too often. If I'm going around the corner to get a bunch of grapes (as I had to do today), I try to have something specific to think about while I'm walking. A little project. Like, what headline an article should have. Or a list of people I'd like to profile for Esquire. BSR: Have you ever given thought to writing fiction, or actually, have you ever written fiction? AJJ: I've dabbled a couple of times. But I just don't think I'm built for it. Even in my reading choices I tend toward nonfiction. When I was young, I remember reading Tom Wolfe talking about how nonfiction - when it's written in a vibrant way - is more compelling than fiction. So that really influenced me. Then he decides to write nothing but fiction. So I don't know where that leaves me. BSR: What are you reading lately? Anything you'd recommend? AJJ: I wish my friends would stop writing good books. I keep feeling compelled to read them. My friend Jennifer Traig wrote a book about hypochondria called Well Enough Alone, which will be out later this year. Also, though he's not a friend, I'm in the middle of Alan Weisman's The World Without Us. I loved the description of Manhattan before people came in, plowed the hills down, and put up a Duane Read drugstore on every block. BSR: What on earth (or heaven) is next for you after a year spent following the Bible? AJJ: Well, my wife says I owe her after all I put her through with the encyclopedia and Bible projects. She's pressuring me to to The Year of Giving My Wife Foot Massages. But I'm not sure how mass the appeal would be. But I do want to do one more of the immersion projects. BSR: Finally, for someone whose writing ambition is to follow the same sort of path you have, what advice would you give? AJJ: I'm worried my advice will be stuff they've heard before. I don't have any huge original secrets like "use more umlauts." To me, the most important thing, I think, is just to generate ideas nonstop. Be an idea machine. Because rarely - especially when you're starting out - will someone assign you a book or a freelance article. You have to pitch relentlessly. And second, over-report. Especially if you're describing a scene. Write down every detail, even the ones that seem trivial - the sound of American Gladiators playing in the background, for instance. You never know what you'll end up using . Blesseth thee, A.J. Jacobs. I hath enjoyed this very much. Verily, verily much, I say unto thee.
Posted by lisa at 10:51 AM | Comments (0) March 12, 2008 A bit of poetry in honor of impending spring
"At The Store" by Jane Kenyon, from Otherwise. © Graywolf Press, 1997. I. At The Store Clumps of daffodils along the storefront The old freezer, full of Maine blueberries Cousins arrive like themes and variations. The store is a bandstand. All our voices
Posted by lisa at 10:56 AM | Comments (0) March 11, 2008 Readers' Advisory Rules!
I hope you're sitting down, because I know this will shock you. Ready? Okay. Don't say I didn't warn you: My favorite part of library school so far is the RA course I'm taking this semester. I forgot what it was like to be required to read books for a class, and let me tell you, it's WONDERFUL! We have to read a book a week from now through the end of the semester, creating a big mamajama "Reading Map" outlining the books read, the Read Alikes and the Like Reads for all the books read. We also have to write an RA module, designed to teach our fellow librarians more about the subject, AND we need to design an RA department for an imaginary library. Or for our own, if that would be an option where we are currrently. The book at the center of my reading map is Kate Chopin's The Awakening. It's an old favorite of mine, a work of classican American literature that's been deemed a "feminist classic." Well, maybe.
The work of literary fiction I read was James Salter's Light Years, a book recommended to me by Michael Dirda of The Washington Post. It's gorgeously poetic, an exploration of a modern American marriage.
This week's genre is mystery. I'm reading Nevada Barr's Deep South, which is set on the Natchez Trace. I've never read Nevada Barr before, but I'm enjoying this one. I've hardly read anything that could be called "mass market" either, whether in genre or mainstream fiction. I'm generally a literary fiction gal, or a nonfiction/biography, literary criticism type. I have a lot of catching up to do!
Another thing I won't kid you on, as long as I'm confessing, I got into this profession because it's surrounded by books. It wasn't for the romance, not for the fame, nor for the incredible action. It was for THE BOOKS. This semester's crazy-hectic. I think I already told you I'm taking three graduate courses through the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I barely remember yesterday, it's so busy. Good thing it was a terrible winter, since I had to be inside the whole time anyway. I'm looking forward to the summer, or specifically, to everything after May 9, which is the last day of the spring semester. I'll take a course (or two) online this summer, but that in itself will be a vacation, sister! I can't wait. Well, back to the books. I just wanted to report in briefly on how school's going, and to send my laundry in case you have a few extra hours to do that for me. Whoops, sorry. I forgot I'm not an undergrad anymore. So I guess I can't say, "Send money," either. Drat. Posted by lisa at 12:14 PM | Comments (0) March 7, 2008 Yoinked from MotherReader Blog
From the MotherReader blog: 2008 Weird-Ass Picture Book Awards Wow. There’s an excitement in the air in anticipation of the Weird-Ass Picture Books Awards for 2008. Well, I can feel it and I’m all a-tingle. No, hold it. That’s my cell phone. It’s important to note that the designation of “weird-ass” is not necessarily a bad thing. Some books in their very strangeness reach new heights of art and storytelling. I’d like to think that this year’s winners have given us something to think about — or at the very least, made us go, “Hmmmm.” Here are the winners. The WAPB Award for Cover Art goes to:
The WAPB Award for Illustration goes to:
Bow Wow Bugs a Bug, by Mark Newgarden and Megan Montague Cash
Five Little Gefiltes, by Dave Horowitz
Cowboy and Octopus, by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Lane Smith Congratulations to all our winners. While The Alphabet from A to Y With Bonus Letter Z! written by Steve Martin and illustrated by Roz Chast, was nominated and considered, ultimately it was rejected by the committee (uh, me) as being an adult book in children’s picture book clothing, and therefore ineligible for the award. Plus it sucked. The Boy With Two Belly Buttons, by Stephen Dubner, illustrated by Christoph Niemann, was also considered for storyline, but as it turns out the book is just bad, not weird. What luck, though, that it can be viewed in its entirety at Amazon. If I’d had to leave my computer to assess the book, I’d have been ticked off. Thanks for being part of the 2008 WAPBAs. Start looking for contenders for next year. I’ve already seen two possible nominees and it’s barely March, so it could be a stellar year for the strange. Let’s say, for the wonderfully strange. Posted by lisa at 9:48 AM | Comments (0) February 26, 2008 World's most beautiful bookstores
Think your local Borders can top these? If so, I'm moving to your neighborhood.
Boekhandel Selexyz Dominicanen in Maastricht, Netherlands Posted by lisa at 11:42 AM | Comments (0) February 19, 2008 Oh Dear God, or Library School Will be the Death of Me
Newsflash!: It's darn tough going back to grad school in your 40s, more so when you also work (albeit part-time) and have three children also in school, also with needs (drat them). If you also think you can dare have any sort of life outside of that, add on the additional impossibility of it all. Sheesh. I was the one who had the bright idea I could take three courses this semester (two videoconference, for which I drive an hour each way twice a week to Rockford, plus two hours/class of actual lecture time, and one online course). I can't blame anyone but myself. Friends and family told me, "You're nuts." But did I listen? Apparently not. I'm taking a course on reference, a course on information sources (still not really sure what that one's about, but it comes with a lot of obscure acronyms) and, the jewel of the semester, a course in Reader's Advisory/adult reading. One course has no tests, no long papers, just short assignments. One course has short papers and a mediumish term paper. The last course has one big, honkin' cumulative assignment (design an RA department for your library - no problem!) based on a semester's worth of learning and study online. Still, that all adds up. Add in 30 hours of part-time work at my library, a weekly column on things literary, keeping my hand in book reviewing, attending various writing workshops and running an online group for one of them, attending various cultural events in and around the city, trips on retreat, a vague attempt at a social life (mostly with other writers), a course in spirituality, the care and feeding of children and husband AND the other misc. "stuff" that makes up so much of our lives and you have my semester. Am I begging for pity? Well, kind of. I guess I am. Sigh. I did just want you to know I hadn't died. So now you know. I haven't died. I'm just dead tired. Posted by lisa at 12:14 PM | Comments (0) |
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