I LOVE MY JOB!

They gave me a surprise Over the Hill party!

So much for sneaking into 40!

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2007/02/i-love-my-job-they-gave-me-surprise.html

Reading Begets Reading, etc.

I love when one's readings connect without any guidance, purely happenstance. Jenclair at A Garden Carried in the Pocket was giving us readers a brief synopsis of her favorite Flannery O'Connor quote just the other day, when I stumbled on Flannery again in Driving with the Devil by Neal Thompson.

Where you come from is gone, where you thought you were going to never was there, and where you are is no good unless you can get away from it. ~ Flannery O'Connor

This quote begins the Preface and the first paragraph continues:

The notion to uproot my family, move to the South, and investigate moonshine, NASCAR, and the cultural and historical tethers that bind the two simmered inside me for nearly twenty years. It all began with a college course on the irreverent southern writer Flannery O'Connor, taught by a wonderfully foulmouthed, half-drunk Jesuit priest, which introduced my New Jersey eyes and ears to the mysteries of the South.

Etching by Jack Coughlin.

Well, come on down Neal, we need more Yankees in the mix. My husband hates being the only one.

Reading Begets Reading, etc.

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2007/02/reading-begets-reading-etc.html

Natural Born Charmer (copy)

“Love is in the air, everywhere I look around.(ah, uh, ah, ah) Love is in the air, every sight and every sound.(ah, uh, ah, ah) And I don't know if I'm being foolish, don't know if I'm being wise, but it's something that I must believe in and it's there when I look in your eyes.”

As the above melody lingers in your head, let me ask you, are you ready for Valentine’s Day? This year, it comes in the middle of the week, causing most people to put off the romantic dinner until the weekend. One also gets a little extra time to buy the chocolates and roses. Pshew.

The romance that occurs during Valentines can be yours anytime with a romance novel. The genre is one of the most popular, only taking second chair to mystery. Romance readers are devoted individuals who show their love by reading everything their authors write. They are so devoted; this article will woefully lack new information.

All romance novels share a basic storyline. Man and woman meet, something rips them apart such as an argument, relocation, or illness, then they are magically brought back together. Because the genre is age old, variation is a welcomed component. At a reader’s advisory meeting in Seattle last month, I found out vampire romances are going out of style, and the new trend is now werewolves.

If you are a devoted reader of this column, you may have noticed my lack of romance reviews. Well, it isn’t because I don’t like them. I will pick up a Susan Elizabeth Phillips in a heartbeat if I see one. This is why I avoid the paperback racks at Wal-Mart.

Good news for Phillips fans! Her new book, Natural Born Charmer, went on sale February sixth. Here’s some opening lines. “It wasn’t every day a guy saw a headless beaver marching down the side of a road, not even in Dean Robillard’s larger than life world. ‘Son of a ___’ Dean slammed on the brakes of his brand new Aston Martin Vanquish and pulled over in front of her.

The beaver marched right past, her big flat tail bouncing in the gravel, and her small, sharp nose stuck up in the air. Way up. The beaver looked highly pissed.”

As John Paul Young sang, “Love is in the air, love is in the air, oh, oh, oh, oh, uh, uh, uh, uh.”

Natural Born Charmer (copy)

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2007/02/natural-born-charmer-copy.html

Non-Fiction Five Challenge

Yippee! New challenge out there, sponsored by Joy at Thoughts of Joy, that I can handle! Read five non-fiction books between the months of May-September.

In five months I will probably read twenty books easy. BUT, here comes the problem, I can't predict what titles they will be.

First, I get ideas from two great non-fiction bloggers: Rick at Ricklibrarian & Nonanon at NRA. Second, I order star reviewed non-fictions from Booklist, Library Journal, and Choice. Third, I write for the newspapers and usually pick books along topical/holiday ideas. Lastly, the newer the book the better, and since this challenge calls for an up-front list, new books may not be included.

Here goes my list...

1. The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan
2. Manhunt by James Swanson
3. Mockingbird by Charles J. Shields
4. Oracle Bones by Peter Hessler
5. Things I Didn't Know by Robert Hughes

Non-Fiction Five Challenge

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2007/02/non-fiction-five-challenge.html

Found this at Bookie!

You're One Hundred Years of Solitude!
by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Lonely and struggling, you've been around for a very long time. Conflict has filled most of your life and torn apart nearly everyone you know. Yet there is something majestic and even epic about your presence in the world. You love life all the more for having seen its decimation. After all, it takes a village.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Found this at Bookie!

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2007/02/found-this-at-bookie.html

Waltzing at the Piggly Wiggly (Discussion)

I think all attendees had a lovely time at Reading Round Table last Monday. Our guest speaker was none other than author Robert Dalby. The book discussion was a slight one sided since he was there; abundance of praise, reluctance to say anything negative.

We hold our meetings at the school library, which is in a dry county. For those of you, who are unfamiliar with blue laws, dry means the sales of alcohol is prohibited in the county. Dalby, born and raised in Natchez, MS, is from a tourist town that allows 24/7 drink. In the county I live, one over from the school, we have bars but there are no sales on Sundays or within so many feet of a church.

So what? In the book, our Nitwitts, on numerous occasions, drink Bloody Marys before noon. This is an unheard of practice in our area. Drinking in general is frowned upon and drinking before noon is down right sinful.

Therefore, the author endured some quizzing on the validity of these drinking characters. The Nitwitts are described as a group of widowed ladies with the youngest being fifty-five, and Dalby graciously put their minds to rest. Yes, these women are real (as fiction can be) and he grew up under their tipsy tutelage.

Another discussion point the group touched on was the disintegration of community life through MegaMart like stores. Loss of quality for quantity and low prices is a BIG theme in our area. Actually, our group really likes this time to vent, as we have experienced many conversations on the topic. The Nickel and Dimed discussion was along these lines.

Now, we had some participants that didn't even give the book a chance, assuming it was pure fluff. I attribute this to the pink cover and the unfamiliar author. This is regrettable for they will never know Mr. Choppy’s secret. ;D

Waltzing at the Piggly Wiggly (Discussion)

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2007/02/waltzing-at-piggly-wiggly-discussion.html

Sidney Sheldon (1917-2007)

“I try to write my books so the reader can’t put them down,” he explained in a 1982 interview. “I try to construct them so when the reader gets to the end of a chapter, he or she has to read just one more chapter. It’s the technique of the old Saturday afternoon serial: leave the guy hanging on the edge of the cliff at the end of the chapter.”

Sidney Sheldon (1917-2007)

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2007/01/sidney-sheldon-1917-2007.html

Waltzing at the Piggly Wiggly (copy)

“For all its quirkiness and sleepy southern pace, The Square of Second Creek had an almost Mediterranean look and feel to it—two- and three-story brick and lacework-balconied shops on all four sides, and a massive white-columned courthouse with a terra-cotta roof. The four short streets comprising The Square had been closed to traffic more than forty years ago, creating one of Mississippi’s earliest and most popular pedestrian malls, and the only blight on the ensemble was the empty storefronts caused by the infamous MegaMart.”

This is the premise of Robert Dalby’s new book Waltzing at the Piggly Wiggly. In the fictional fun town of Second Creek , Mississippi, big, bad MegaMart is providing lower prices and ruining small mom and pop establishments. The next victim, in this long line of heartaches, is the local Piggly Wiggly.

Mr. Choppy, fifth generation owner of the Second Creek, Piggly Wiggly, is in pain. With the way business has tapered off, he may not be able to keep the electric doors swinging. In his estimation, he may have three, possibly four, more months of operation. These are his thoughts as Laurie Lepanto enters the store.

Laurie Lepanto is a member of the Second Creek Nitwitts, an unofficial club, along the lines of a garden/civic club, which donate time and money to causes in the little town. Nothing like the uneasy fear a group of widowed ladies may evoke to promote change.

The madcap women involved in the Nitwitts are delightful. Laurie, president three years and running, doesn’t see an end to her reign. Being the youngest member, at fifty-five, she seems to be stuck with the most work. Other members include Denver Lee, an artist who draws outside, inside, and around the box; Novie, a perpetual traveler who annoys others with her fuzzy slideshows; and Renza, a woman who insist on wearing her foxes (heads and tails) to every occasion.

How will Mr. Choppy’s Piggly Wiggly survive? How will the Nitwitts save the day? What’s with the waltzing? Oops, I forgot to mention the recently widowed ballroom dancer, Powell Hampton.

Author Robert Dalby has written a fun fiction with laugh-out-loud potential. When speaking to him, he revealed his fictional town is a little Natchez, Port Gibson, and Oxford rolled into one, and the characters come straight from his childhood. Number two in the series, Kissing Babies at the Piggly Wiggly, will be available to readers in the fall.

Waltzing at the Piggly Wiggly (copy)

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2007/01/waltzing-at-piggly-wiggly-copy.html

Web 2.0 Fun!

Make yourself into a little M&M person at Planet M&M!

Web 2.0 Fun!

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2007/01/web-20-fun.html

My Curled Up Inspiration!

Sleeping Sandy!

My Curled Up Inspiration!

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2007/01/my-curled-up-inspiration.html

Curl Up w/ a Book!

This was a fun display to create!

The idea originated from a clothing display in Oxford, Mississippi. An employee had placed tissue-paper to appear as fire in a fireplace. The attractive look would be perfect for our flat foyer case. So, I googled mantle images and came across a federal style; which would be easy to draw with a yardstick.

My next thought, "What is a federal mantle without a wingback chair?"

Back to google images for fat wingback, which was harder to recreate in 3D. I blocked off major lines with a yardstick then free handed the fat look.

After all the work, it still lacked pop.

I thought the fire would be enough, but my boss suggested a cat! (Google image, black cat) I found one curled up in an attractive silhouette, which I free handed on black construction paper. While cutting it out, I fattened the look, then pinned it to the chair backwards. This way you can't see my pencil strokes.

Viola!

Curl Up w/ a Book!

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2007/01/curl-up-w-book.html

A Star is Born!

Love this simple display w/ matching star/color scheme. My flash obscures the pink cover, which makes this display pop.

A Star is Born!

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2007/01/star-is-born.html

Quack Open a Book!

It is duck season here and these decoys,

except the white goose,

are from the collection of

Ray Rogers, History Instructor at NWCC.

I got a little carried away with the greenery!

Quack Open a Book!

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2007/01/quack-open-book.html

The Blind Side (copy)

Super Bowl XLI is right around the corner, and I have the perfect book to whet your appetite. Michael Lewis, author of Moneyball, has written another sports expose titled The Blind Side. This time he aims his knowledgeable pen at the institution of football.

His first chapter retells the horrendous tackle Joe Theismann endured by Lawrence Taylor—an attack which ended his football career. The ABC game, a Monday Night Football production watched by 17.6 million viewers, featured the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins. It was, “the start of the second quarter, first and 10 at midfield,” when Theismann caught the “flea flicker” and set up for a pass.

Out of nowhere Taylor raised his arm to sack attack Theismann. The force wasn’t in Taylor’s arm but rather in his descending right thigh. As he came down for the tackle his thigh was pushed down into Thiesmann’s right leg, fracturing tibia and fibula.

Lawrence Taylor had made a name for himself as a fanatical quarterback destroyer. Apparently, Taylor had a mild case of claustrophobia and preferred to maneuver away from the pack. This being, he would not lower himself into a set position when in the line of scrimmage. Once the ball was snapped, he preferred to move around the mass and be the guy closer to the top of any tackle.

Just by playing with his natural fear he became successful at “sacking the quarterback.” Time-after-time he went around the line and circled back to find the quarterback unprotected. He, in effect, hit the man from his blind side and created a new football strategy.

This new strategy requires a heavy, nimble man or waltzing elephant to be effective. It is a unique human that possesses this mixture, weight and grace—so unique, that the NFL is willing to pay big money for the specimen. The left tackle, Taylor’s position, is the second highest paid player, other than the quarterback.

Imagine you are a football scout and you have just seen an incredible sight, a sophomore at Briarcrest Christian School, bulky yet nimble, making three pointers on the Memphis basketball court. This is how Michael Oher first appeared to scout Tom Lemming, believing he had just witnessed the next Orlando Pace.

The next year, Lemming “ranked him [Oher] as the #1 offensive line prospect” in the country. Follow Oher’s evolution, currently playing at Ole Miss, from gentle giant to mean machine in this very entertaining book.

The Blind Side (copy)

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2007/01/blind-side-copy.html

The Blind Side (notes)

There were tiny revelations that had Leigh Anne upset for days, for what they implied about his (Michael Oher's) childhood. She took Michael with her and Sean Junior to a Barnes & Noble. As they walked through the store, Sean Junior spotted Where the Wild Things Are and said, "Look, Mom, you used to read that to me when I was little." To which Michael replied, in the most detached tone, "I've never had anyone read me a book." p78

This passage from The Blind Side by Michael Lewis pulls at my maternal instincts. I just want to run out in the street and grab some unsuspecting child and read to him/her!

The Blind Side (notes)

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2007/01/i-cried.html

Ah, Billy, Billy, Billy...

Classic Challenge #1

Read Billy Budd on the plane to Seattle this past Thursday as part of the Classic Challenge. Unfortunately, I did not read the preferred edited edition. I read the Freeman/Treeman version.

Billy Budd was published in 1924, some 33 years after Melville's death. Many drafts were found in his papers while preparing for a 1920 Melville revival. One draft is said to be the final novella. I would disagree.

The book is torn. It lacks focus on theme or allegory. It seems Melville was playing with good and evil/Jesus and the Devil/straight and gay themes; yet, never really establishing a major and minor consistency.

Unlike Moby Dick, we hardly learn any characterization from conversation. In Budd we are given description, as if notes, to the different characters' moral values and motivations.

Speaking of notes, a majority of the paragraphs feel like notes. Melville waxes eloquent passages then says something like, "To return." What? I missed that. Go back and reread. Does he mean, enter stage left?

I just find it hard to accept this work as complete. I think Melville was working to develop this novella into a full blown novel. I do NOT agree with those that claim this is his finest work. My money is on Moby.

Ah, Billy, Billy, Billy...

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2007/01/ah-billy-billy-billy.html

My Midwinter Mistakes...

Regrets, I've had a few...

• Insisting on being at all conference events from the opening ceremony. Just who do I think I am, Leslie Burger? (The good stuff always happens Sat through Tues or is it the grass is always greener.)
• Staying at historical hotels not on the bus route. One would think I would pack Skechers and not Jessica Simpsons!
• Waiting until the last minute to register. We don't need no stinkin' badges! BUT, we LOVE to wait in lines!
• Forgetting my business cards. Just what kind of Public Services Librarian am I?
• Not paying attention to my flight schedule! If the price is too good to be true you have just bought a redeye! We walk back from The Namesake at 11:00pm and rub the laptop to see what time our flight leaves on Sunday afternoon. 12:50am on Sunday? That can't be right! Fifteen minutes in daze looking at tickets, five minutes to get taxi, fifteen minutes to pack and be ready for taxi, five minutes to check out, twenty minute drive, etc. We pulled all our bags in the back door at 10:00am! Can you say Zombies!

My Midwinter Mistakes...

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2007/01/my-midwinter-mistakes.html

Back in M.I.S.S.

...sung to the Beatles' tune Back in the USSR.

I've made a huge, costly mistake; however, this is my normal learning curve. I now know that Midwinter is more meetings than programs. One might have warned me--remember the hard head--but I still would need to experience it myself.

This is not to say Midwinter is not valuable to those ALA orbiting members. Those of us who want to be involved and just haven't been shot down, yet. The two meetings I attended were quite open to non-committee members' input. Those meetings being, RUSA CODES, Readers Advisory, 8am Saturday and LITA, Internet Resources and Services Interest Group, 10am Saturday.

I did manage to find a program on Saturday; Google Presents: Tales, Tips and Tools for Libraries was informative and fun. My director will be giving a presentation to faculty and staff involving Google; which I will be able to contribute to. We already have an English department head who is quite efficient with Google Book Search and Google Scholar.

Back in M.I.S.S.

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2007/01/back-in-miss.html

Sorrento Seattle!

Our Hotel!

Our Room!

Sweet!

Sorrento Seattle!

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2007/01/sorrento-seattle.html

Seattle Library Puzzle!

I found this great puzzle on the web

while searching for Seattle library photos.

Yes! The escalators are really that yellow!

Seattle Library Puzzle!

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2007/01/we-are-in-seattle.html

Look What I Won!

Beautiful!

Handmade by Iliana!
Thanks Book Girl at Bookgirl's Nightstand!
(Sorry about the poor photo quality)

Look What I Won!

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2007/01/look-what-i-won.html

Museum of the Missing (copy)

On the night of December 15, 2005, a lunar phenomenon was in effect, the full moon sat highest from the Earth causing an illusion it was directly overhead. On this very night, full moon ablaze, three brazen thieves drove their Austin Mini Cooper and red, Mercedes flatbed upon the Henry Moore Foundation lawn. Their target was a two-ton sculpture titled Reclining Figure by Henry Moore.

This was no easy task, considering Reclining Figure, worth $5.2 million dollars, is an eleven-foot-long piece of bronze. According to Museum of the Missing by Simon Houpt, the “very, very audacious theft” still has museum officials shaking their heads. The whole robbery was caught on tape; yet, the thieves, still at-large, may have melted the work for cash.

Although the Moore robbery was extremely organized, most are “spur of the moment” actions. In 1994, The Scream by Edvard Munch was stolen in a smash and grab motion made popular in our American malls. It was soon recovered, only to be stolen again in 2004. As of this book’s 2006 printing, the painting was still missing; however, it has now been recovered.

Over 170,000 pieces of art and antiques are currently registered in the Art Loss Registry. Wow! That gives the average Joe great odds he will see one of these missing works and not even know it.

This is the premise behind author Houpt’s new book. He has collected some of the most stunning oils, pastels, pen & inks, and sculptures missing throughout the world. As the reader thumbs through his “Gallery of Missing Art,” the beauty of the Matisses, Picassos, Monets, and Klimts will stir emotions.

Just how does one lose an art piece other than usual theft? For centuries, many military campaigns took home more than their scars. Napoleon and Hitler, being two of the greatest, um, art collectors, considered their “spoils of war” a right of conquest. One spoil, still missing today, is St. Petersburg’s Amber Room. A whole room looted by the German soldiers in 1941.

Readers will enjoy this colorful book filled with daring thieves and the men that hunt them. Who knows, you might find one of these treasures at the next garage sale.

Museum of the Missing (copy)

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2007/01/museum-of-missing-copy.html

Oh! Happy Day!

Happy

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Day

Everyone!

(What a handsome man

and the brown suit is so stylish!)

Oh! Happy Day!

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2007/01/oh-happy-day.html

I Feel Bad About My Neck (copy)

By the time you read this article, I will have added a zero to my existence on earth, and become middle aged. Fortunately, I have spent most my life laughing: unfortunately, I have the lines to prove it. I thought I was okay with the milestone—well, until I read Nora Ephron’s new book, I Feel Bad about My Neck.

Apparently, the neck of a woman begins to morph around the age of forty-five—a magical time when v-necks mysteriously vanish and turtlenecks, mandarin collars and scarves appear. Remember the funny scene in Something’s Gotta Give when Jack Nicholson asks Diane Keaton, “What’s with the turtlenecks? I mean it’s the middle of summer.”

We know Diane’s secret: young, smooth skin becomes, turkey waddles, Greek columns, or swollen butterflies as we age. My neck is exhibiting the early stages of what I like to call the classical period. Picture a large, marble, Palladian column with polished surface, such as found in Venice, Italy. Now, add thousands of years of sea breezes and summer suns. The result, a chalky pillar with huge gaps between the sections, becomes less classical and more shabby-chic.

Considering the options, wearing clothing to downplay the area is a viable solution. Author Ephron continues to say the offending neck cannot be “fixed” without a full-blown face-lift. Why not skip the expensive procedure and buy a stylish choker instead?

For twenty weeks this book has remained on the bestsellers list for a good reason. Ephron’s point of view on aging is priceless. The neck business is just the first chapter. There are 15 chapters dealing with aging, parenting annoyances, and cooking disasters. Her chapter on cookbook history is lost on me, but I thoroughly enjoyed the imaginary conversations she carries on with the chefs. Just what would you serve Craig Claiborne if he came to dinner?

If the Ephron name sounds familiar, it is because she co-wrote movie favorites, When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle. She also wrote the book and screen play, Heartburn, which told of her divorce to Watergate journalist, Carl Bernstein.

Don’t let the title scare you away. This book can induce laughs from a variety of woman, no matter their age. As my new age indicates, I’m pretty much on the downhill slide, so why not buckle-up, raise my flabby arms, and go down laughing?

I Feel Bad About My Neck (copy)

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2007/01/i-feel-bad-about-my-neck-copy.html

Bird Flu Hits Florida Trailer Park!

Yes, I know, tacky, but I wanted to introduce a new blog out there that deals with trailers--book trailers--at Book Trailerpark. Publishers like Warner Books and Bewrite Books are producing teasers for the reading public; although, we have yet to see one of these ads on Mississippi TV.

Bird Flu Hits Florida Trailer Park!

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2007/01/bird-flu-hits-florida-trailer-park.html

Nora Ephron on Reading

When I pass a bookshelf, I like to pick out a book from it and thumb through it. When I see a newspaper on the couch, I like to sit down with it. When the mail arrives, I like to rip it open. Reading is one of the main things I do. Reading is everything. Reading makes me feel I’ve accomplished something, learned something, become a better person. Reading makes me smarter. Reading gives me something to talk about later on. Reading is the unbelievably healthy way my attention deficit disorder medicates itself. Reading is escape, and the opposite of escape; it’s a way to make contact with reality after a day of making things up, and it’s a way of making contact with someone else’s imagination after a day that’s all too real. Reading is grist. Reading is bliss. But my ability to pick something up and read it—which has gone unchecked all my life up until now—is now entirely dependent on the whereabouts of my reading glasses. ~ Nora Ephron

This exert from I Feel Bad about My Neck: and Other Thoughts on Being a Woman.

Nora Ephron on Reading

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2007/01/nora-ephron-on-reading.html

The Last Mountain

Wilma Dykeman

(1920-2006)

This Southern author has climbed her last mountain. She died after complications from hip replacement surgery this December. Mrs. Dykeman Stokely wrote one of my all time favorite books, The Tall Woman. A patron once told me she considered it a compliment when people referred to her as tall after reading this book.

The Last Mountain

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2007/01/wilma-dykeman-1920-2006-southern-author.html

Chunkster Challenge!

Read a book or books over 400 pages

January 1st - June 30th

***

The Chunkster Challenge is sponsored by Bookfool
at Bookfoolery & Babble, a fine Mississippi, book blog.
***
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (960pgs)

Bonus Book

The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann (720pgs)

Chunkster Challenge!

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2006/12/chunkster-challenge.html

Reading Round Table Books!

Reading Round Table is a monthly book forum for adults in the Northwest Mississippi Community College service area. Anyone interested in reading and discussing a variety of books is welcome to join other lifelong learners the last Monday of each month at the RC Pugh Library on the Senatobia campus. Discussions, led by faculty and friends, begin promptly at 2 p.m.

January 29, 2007

Waltzing at the Piggly Wiggly

by Robert Dalby

Discussion led by the author Robert Dalby

February 26, 2007

Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored

by Clifton Taulbert

Led by Technical Service Librarian Crystal Giles

March 26, 2007

A Walk in the Woods

by Bill Bryson

Led by Public Service/Reference Librarian Maggie Moran

April 30, 2007

Princess: Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia

by Jean Sasson

Led by Learning Resource Director Margaret Rogers

Reading Round Table Books!

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2006/12/reading-round-table-books.html

Pecan Sandy!

Pecan season is about to wind down. At the end of January we will have picked over 600 pounds. We live in a small pecan grove...

This is Sandy! Right between Sandy's ears in the background is a dead pecan tree. (We didn't pick that one!)

These pecans are waiting to be sent to the crack house.

This is me wishing you all Happy Readings in 2007!

Pecan Sandy!

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2006/12/pecan-sandy.html

Page 123 meme

The instructions are as follows:

1. Grab the book closest to you.
2. Open to page 123, go down to the fifth sentence.
3. Post the text of the next three sentences on your blog.
4. Name of the book and the author.
5. Tag three people.

I'm currently reading How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster. I graciously accepted Kimbofo of Reading Matters open call to participate, because I thought the passages insightful.

"Here as elsewhere, one does well to remember that writing literature is an exercise of the imagination. And so is reading it. We have to bring our imaginations to bear on a story if we are to see all the possibilities; otherwise it's just about somebody who did something."

Again, I'll not tag anyone, but feel free to do this meme if you wish.

Page 123 meme

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2006/12/page-123-meme.html

Military Book Blog!

I found a great blog for military books! Jlmnman, at Strategist's Personal Library, reviews books and makes suggestions (or Not) in different categories located on the sidebar. You may choose books from his four shelves: Afghanistan, Holocaust, Iraq and World War II. I imagine the more he reads the bigger his categories/bookshelves will get. Jlmnman is another Canadian finding a theme and doing his bloggiest to make it world worthy!

Do I see a Civil War Bookshelf in your future?

Military Book Blog!

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2006/12/military-book-blog.html

I am Dedicated!

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Dedicated Reader You are always trying to find the time to get back to your book. You are convinced that the world would be a much better place if only everyone read more.
Literate Good Citizen
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
Book Snob
Fad Reader
Non-Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Create Your Own Quiz

Got this from Library Dust!

I am Dedicated!

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2006/12/i-am-dedicated.html

5 Things You May Not Know about Me

I was tagged by Rick!
1. I graduated with a BS in Aerospace not a BA in English.

2. I started reading for fun in my late 20's. I thought it was a dull pursuit as a hipster; now, I don't go anywhere w/out a book.

3. I sold my '69 Citabria to pay for my MLIS. (A Citabria is an aerobatic plane, and yes I looped-de-looped. Oh, Citabria spelled backwards is airbatic. Get it!?!)

4. I was one of those loud, obnoxious kids librarians (public/school) were always tossing to the curb. (JeMarcus, I was just like you!)

5. Forever by Judy Blume was hidden in my sock drawer during Jr. high.

I'll not tag anyone, but feel free to do this meme if you wish. I was looking at all the blogs I read and I think everyone has been hit by this one. :-P

5 Things You May Not Know about Me

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2006/12/5-things-you-may-not-know-about-me.html

Winter Classic Challenge!

Read 5 classics from January 1st - February 28th
***
The Winter Classic Challenge is sponsored by Booklogged at A Reader's Journal. I would like to thank Fic Chick at Lake of Oz for providing a list of the shortest classics known to man. I'm hoping I will be able to do this challenge between all my other assigned readings.
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The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy (60pgs)
Death in Venice by Thomas Mann (71pgs)
Daisy Miller by Henry James (83pgs)
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery (83 pgs)
Billy Budd by Herman Melville (98pgs)

Winter Classic Challenge!

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2006/12/winter-classic-challenge.html

A Christmas Carol Trivia

Gift Challenge #4

Most of us think of A Christmas Carol as a morality play; actually, it is a political stance. Dickens’ play attacks a popular Victorian thought: to feed the poor would only encourage reproduction to take advantage of the extra food. This thought, known as Malthusian, named for the British social thinker Thomas Malthus.

In the book How to Read Literature Like a Professor, author Thomas C. Foster explains the history:

Dickens caricatures this Malthusian thinking in Scrooge’s insistence that he wants nothing to do with the destitute and that if they would rather starve than live in the poorhouse or in debtor’s prison, then, by golly, “they had best hurry up and do it and decrease the excess population.” Scrooge actually says that. What a guy!

The photo above depicts my favorite Scrooge, actor Alastair Sim.

A Christmas Carol Trivia

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2006/12/christmas-carol-trivia.html

Missing Gallatin...

GIFT Challenge #3

Isn't it funny that at Christmas something in you gets so lonely for - I don't know what exactly, but it's something that you don't mind so much not having at other times. ~Kate L. Bosher

Missing Gallatin...

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2006/12/missing-gallatin.html

I Heard the Bells

GIFT Challenge #2

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head
There is no peace on earth I said
For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep,
God is not dead, nor doth he sleep.
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men.

I Heard the Bells

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2006/12/i-heard-bells.html

Blog Sagan Day!

"But the fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses. They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Fulton, they laughed at the Wright brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown." ~Carl Sagan

Blog Sagan Day!

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2006/12/blog-sagan-day.html

Season's Readings! (copy)

The University of Memphis reported that while 32 teenage girls watched TV their metabolism dropped 16 percent below resting metabolic rate, according to Raphael Calzadilla of eDiets.

Can you believe it? A person burns 70 calories reading a book and only 47 watching TV. That’s right, kind of knocks that over-weight, bookworm stereotype off her comfy couch as big(ger) sister wields the remote.

Ready to flip off that TV and flip open a book? I thought so! Make 2007 the year you lose weight and gain knowledge by reading.

First, let us travel back in time for an oldie but goodie, The History of Reading by Alberto Manguel, which was published in 1996. As a young man, Alberto Manguel read books aloud to fellow Argentinaian, Jorge Luis Borges. At the time, Borges was 58 and almost blind. Author Manguel has written or edited thirty works of non-fiction.

Manguel’s first chapter is titled, “The Last Page.” Who out there reads the last page first? The following are other chapter titles: “Learning to Read,” “Being Read To,” and “Private Reading.” Library Journal claims, “The result is a fascinating book to dip into or read cover to cover.” If you like this book, you may like his follow-up, A Reading Diary: A Passionate Reader’s Reflection on a Year of Books.

Francine Prose, author of 14 books of fiction, has written an excellent book on reading, Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them. Author Prose says, “The trick to writing is reading—carefully, deliberately and slowly.” You might want to read a book from her “Books to be Read Immediately” list.

There are two new books on the “art of reading” literarily. The Look of Reading by Garrett Stewart and Reading Women by Stefan Bollmann with forward by Karen Joy Fowler. Both books include paintings, drawings, and photographs of men, women and children reading. Stewart’s art book also includes those pieces with text in the medium.

Bollmann’s book, as the title suggest, concentrates on women. In Fowler’s forward she states, “A woman reading, after all, is a woman not cooking or cleaning.” Darn those lazy women readers.

Season's Readings! (copy)

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2006/12/seasons-readings-copy.html

What a Year! (copy)

What a year! Beginning in January, I walked into Northwest’s R.C. Pugh Library and became the Public Services and Reference Librarian. My location and job title changed, but my mission remained the same—Make Mississippi Read!

Of course, no one can really make a person read. The old adage, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink,” applies here. I guess studies have been conducted to prove this point.

Imagine a windowless, solid-white room containing only one object, a book. Now, place a human being in said room. The odds will not be in our “reading” favor. We only have a 50 percent chance he will pick the book up and flip through it. We have a 25 percent chance he will actually read it, but we also have a 25 percent chance he will use it as a pillow.

My work is, as they say, cut out for me. At a reading level of one, an adult will be able to make out important words like “stop” and “sale” but will not be able to read simple sentences. Thirty percent of adults in the state of Mississippi are at level one. Thirty-four percent of adult Mississippians read at level two—equivalent to an eight-grade level.

I will say it again; I have my work cut out for me, but I am not alone. Many teachers and librarians across the state have the same challenge.

These articles have been my opportunity to reach newspaper readers in north Mississippi. As of January 1, 2006, I have written fifty articles featuring over 100 books. At an average of 400 words an article, that’s 20,000 words worth of book talking. Pshew, I’m tired.

The following were my favorite books for 2006: A Year of Magical Thinking (2005) by Joan Didion, Marley and Me (2005) by John Grogan, Devil’s Teeth (2006) by Susan Casey, Early Escapades (2006) by Eudora Welty, Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons (2002) by Lorna Ladvik, In Cold Blood (1965) by Truman Capote, Zamba (2005) by Ralph Helfer, and An Ordinary Man (2006) by Paul Rusesabagina.

I understand that I am reaching a reading public, but my hope is the book talks spread. I envision a word-of-mouth possibly firing up a non-reader to get involved. I realize I cannot make a person read. The individual must make that life enhancing choice.

What a Year! (copy)

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2006/12/what-year-copy.html