Books and Whine

Overheard today...
"No! You don't get to take any books out! You didn't listen during storytime!"
As a mother drags a two-year-old out of the library. Wow, that's lame. Some two-year olds are ready for storytime, some are not. Different children have different needs, and at that young age they probably shouldn't be punished for simply getting a bit squirmy during storytime (especially when it's not my storytime!) Besides which, punishing a child by not allowing them to take home books - that's awful!

Also, I was shushed the other day.
A woman was ignoring our no cell phone policy, blabbing away kids in tow, the library was quite peaceful with most people either studying or working at computers until she came alone. I approached her and said, "Excuse me, cell phones aren't..." as she waved her hand my face and violently expelled a loud "shhhhhh!!!!!" while turning away from me. I was more than a little offended. I take my personal bubble seriously! I love this sort of challenge. I wouldn't say I'm confrontational. But when I am clearly following the rules and someone else is not, and they're being rude to boot, well, I can be perisistant. "Excuse me, you actually need to turn your phone off in the library." She walked away from me, still talking and finished, then said, "It was important!" in a super loud voice. Shortly after I encountered the most sour mother daughter team in the universe. I was on a bad role. In the past two months I haven't had any bad experiences on reference (though now that I'm a full-time employee, I spend only 50% of my time on desk). Anyways see below for the other lovely experience.

Okay, enough complaining! Books I've read as of late...

Koyal Dark, Mango Sweet by Kashmira Sheth- teen fiction, really enjoyable and fast read but total girl fiction set in Mumbai, India - sibling rivalry, forbidden love...aaahhhh.

The Tequila Worm by Viola Canales - Pura Belpre Award winner - teen fiction - a bit too perfect and sweet - but a really interesting look at Mexican Catholicism. The author is Harvard grad, lawyer, human rights advocate, blah blah blah - somehow I wonder if her tough fight as a woman and as a Mexican to get to the top in a rather cut-throat world was as simple as her writing - upbeat but rings a little false and gets a little monotonous after a while.

The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant - adult fiction- a book club title at our library. I quite enjoyed it, because I love historical fiction and this was a rich and lavish cascade of colour and sensuality from start to finish. A nun is discovered to have a shocking and explicit tattoo upon her death. Chapter one, we meet Alessandra Cecchi a difficult fifteen-year old who loves to paint and seeks only freedom. Religious fervor is making life in Florence very dangerous as she seeks freedom through marriage...I can't really say much without giving it away - my only complaint is the ending...

Wing Nut by MJ Auch - juvenile fiction - a boy on the road with his mom, transient, new jobs, communes, boyfriends, car troubles, you name it - so far fulfilling all the tough luck single mom stories you can fathom. But doing it well. Lovely little details are making this enjoyable - though I'm only half-way through!

Sour Kids - Yum, yum

Okay, I rate my energy level quite low. Must be productive. I find crazy people to be very demoralizing, I had two in a row. And now I feel like sipping my mug of hot cocoa and surf'n the net, rather than planning next weeks storytime programs...just now, a strange mother daughter pair who were rude, sullen, and rude. They had matching scowls. Usually people are happy when you find books for them, and even happier when you suggest one or two similar authors they may not of heard off. Maybe I'm living in bizarro land this afternoon. There are also dogs barking in the library. Yeah, some crazy authors brought their pets in for their booktalks. Cool, but annoying. Yes, I'm turning into a gasp...gasp...librarian!!!

My foot slipped. Again.

Okay, my life is ridiculous. I was writing a blog entry in part about all the technical problems have been having. When my foot slipped and hit the power button on the computer tower. I lost the entry.

Where was I? Oh yes, in my mad dash to make it out of the house on time yesterday, I accidentally left my laptop on. A subsequent power outage wreaked havoc. As a result, my already temperamental, blue screen of death loving, slower every day computer stopped allowing me access to any of my email accounts. Home or work! The nerve!

Well, needless to say, I’m not at home writing this entry. Last night I watched Darwin’s Nightmare. It's not a science focused movie, despite the title. I don't tend to watch a lot of those, though I am really looking forward to getting my hands on the Weathermakers movie. I attempted to watch the DVD of Guns, Germs, and Steel, but I waned early on. I wonder if the Supple Scientist will influence my movie watching habits in future. I suspect yes!

Anyways, back on topic. Darwin’s Nightmare looks at the false economy of the fishing of Nile Perch at Lake Victoria, Tanzania. One man, one bucket, one day = end of ecological discussion as the predatory fish is introduced to the lake, decimating the local species and devastating the local ecology. This part of the story is touched on very briefly. The true story surrounds the people who live around the lake surviving off the economy of fish. People give up farming – move to villages surrounding lake – barely make enough to survive – it’s a difficult life, swimmers who brave the waters to scare fish into nets may become crocodile food – women move to the area to prostitute themselves when their husbands die of AIDS- disease is rampant –orphans are everywhere – young boys sniffing glue which is incidentally made of melted packaging from the fish factory – young girls sticking with the younger boys to avoid becoming rape victim- locals can’t afford the fish and subsist of fish scraps from the factory. What makes the film so gripping, is the few characters that is zeroes in on. A prostitute, a factory owner, a pilot, a security guard…A few Russian pilots who fly in cargo and fly out with fish. They are the cheapest available. They just want to support their families. However, the airtraffic control is minimal (burnt out planes litter the runway) and all of them when questioned about cargo, say, I’m only a navigator, I only want to feed my family. The incoming cargo it becomes more and more apparent is ammunition. Someone has to supply weapons for war. Many of the locals want war, it is a chance to enlist and make better money. The power of this film lays in the subtle way each layer is built upon as it become more apparent that each person is a pawn in a greater and more evil plan, or a participant pleading ignorance. Makes you wonder what your part is in the greater scheme.

Of my bedside table this week (no I'm not a teenager, I'm just reading like one- right now)

Airborn by Kenneth Oppel- genius, wonderful, any adult would love it! One of my new favorites.

Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz – kind of ridiculous but I can see the appeal, great for a reluctant reader.

The Shadow in the North by Phillip Pullman – I do like cozy Victorian era mysteries – quite a lot in fact, but this teen novel didn’t grab me and I didn’t actually finish it.

Gossip Girls – read a bit and decided that the shallowness and conceit was corroding my soul. Had to see what the fuss was about.

Doing it – even more upsetting, another incomplete read. If that’s all that teenage boys think about, and in that horrible clinical disgusting way, than I’m so glad I didn’t know that a decade ago. Lacked redeeming qualities.

My Heartbeat by Garret Weyr – touching and lovely account of a girl who suspects her brother is gay and is in love with his friend. Her questions lead to a riff between the two and she begins dating his friend. Sometimes her line of reasoning seems quite stunted and naïve for a teenage girl, she is admittedly not like the other girls, a bit of an oddity, and in that way a little sad. It’s also a little sad that at fourteen or fifteen? she is sleeping with someone who is heading to college (but at least safe sex is advocated here!) I think it’s probably the combination of sexuality and naivety that upset me, rather than any one thing on its own. She seems so little aware of herself and the consequences of her actions as well as the world itself…Overall, I would recommend it. It was insightful and intriguing, with excellent characterization.

A number of things have happened since beginning this post that have made my blood pressure soar, and have cause me to scream internally (I'm in public)...

a) my foot slipped again b) the internet is too slow to add pictures right now c) attempting to hit the spell check cause me to lose the entire blog posting forever. Thank goodness I wrote most of it in word earlier.

Get me away from this thing! Happy Thanksgiving!

A Few Happenings

Post Booktalk Fun:
Grade Two class running amok, boys fighting (physically) over a stool, whole rows of books dumping off shelves and being shoved back randomly,teachers talking not even supervising...argh. A really great pop-up book is ripped among other casualties that I certainly haven't discovered. My solution for the class visit from hell part 2? I am cutting out slips of coloured paper which I will tell them to put in the place where they pull the book out from. I don't remember where I saw this before, but it seemed to work. The teacher wondered if they could look around but just not pull the books all the way out. Yeah, that sounds like fun. Go to the library and peek at book covers. Wowee.

Observing Strangeness:
Disturbing father daughter affection. Daughter too old and too skinny to be cuddling with father on bench in children's department - she may have been twelve or thirteen. Odd looking father who is harry, stooped and wearing worn, dirty clothing. Holding hands with both girls. Youngest girl is half dressed -wearing bikini top and shorts. Very grubby. Father says, "Why don't we go home and share a granola bar." Share. Why can't she have her own. She's friggin anorexic and about 5'8. They don't take any books out, only a DVD. All I could wonder, is if the girls are in public school, and what their teacher thinks. I think children who are affectionate by nature, and who aren't embarrassed to show it are wonderful - I've seen it with all ages and genders - but this felt strange. What can you do? I wonder if I'll see them again.

Keep Curious George on a Leash:
Woman comes in looking for book on tape for a three-year -old child. I don't usually promote the mainstream - but there aren't as many choices in this section - Curious George. Response: Well, no I don't want to get her into the idea that she can get into trouble.
Well, the kid is on a leash. No kidding. She's already harnessed in like a rabid dog. She has been politely looking at books all over the library for ten minutes. I have seen little sign of misbehavior. Grandma is taking this seriously! Darn Curious George, destroying the standards of behavior everywhere!!! Seriously, this is silly, all children laugh at Curious George and love him because they can see what he's doing wrong, and it's delightful for them to be able to watch it and point it out!! After all, he's a monkey!