for the librarian action figure, “with the amazing push-button shushing action.” In person, she looks exactly like the Barbie size doll, complete with loafers and glasses.
At a recent conference, I was lucky enough to hear her speak on reading. She surprised us by giving three perils of reading. Yes, my friends, there are three dangers that occur to people who read too much. And, you thought reading was all good.
First peril occurs when one encounters vocabulary he may not know how to pronounce. She admitted for years she pronounced misled as missile-d. Other examples include the words awry and segue. I myself tried to use segway in an article. The spell-check underlined it quick, thus I used transition instead. It wasn’t until writing this that the light bulb came on.
Second peril occurs when one is too lazy to define a word so they surmise the meaning from context. Pearl recalled her younger days spent reading the Anne of Green Gables series. At her tender age, the dying of little Ruby was extremely traumatic, for she couldn’t figure out who or what ate her or how she ate herself. You see little Ruby died of “consumption.”
The last peril is the most dangerous of all. It occurs when one confuses stories they have read with their actual life. It happened to Pearl a few months earlier. While on the phone with her daughter, she started telling her about a yellow prom dress she wore to the dance. She went into elaborate detail recounting the high collar, lace arms, and fancy petticoat. As she continued describing her date, Mike, he daughter stopped her. “Mom, you didn’t go to the prom!” With worry in her voice, she told her mom she sounded like a chapter in Double Date by Rosamond Du Jardin.
Aagh! This is my fate for sure. I can see myself telling tales to the nursing home staff and them thinking, “Ah, she just read it in a book.” How will they know the real me from the written me? I really skipped a Starduster on the calm waters of Old Hickory Lake thanks to Michael Torraca. I didn’t really land a DC3 in the mountains during icing conditions with only car lights as my guide thanks to Ernest K. Ganns. Such is life, and such is life in books.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Three Perils of Reading!
Friday, June 29, 2007
Can Blogs Be Trusted?
Last Saturday, I attended the Association of College and Research Libraries’ (ACRL) program, Can Blogs Be Trusted?. Our speaker, Jason Zengerle, Senior Editor for The New Republic, was gracious enough to speak two hours since his co-speaker remained MIA.
As librarians, I think most of us attended the meeting to find some authoritative blogs. A little something-something to advise pre-law students asking quote questions or for those wary instructors faced with citations from questionable sites. To make a long blog short, Zengerle stated he is, "skeptic about information from many blogs."
Well, surprise. So are we.
Note: As a book blogger, I would like to see this title-post question asked of my peers. Do you give galleys a more favorable review because they are free? Most of us would say "NO WAY!" to that kind of question, but...
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Conference Transportation Blues cont...
Did it seem like he was lost at times? Well, that's 'cos he was!
Conference Airport Blues!
How about some blues for y'all. A little Go Down to the River and take a bath blues! You know you want to dunk yourself in that cold, cool water. Go on, I'll wait.
Oh, and here's a little trivia for y'all bluesy peeps. Mississippi Fred pumped gas between his international/national touring schedule.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Artist Respect Boundaries
writer, the illustrator, and the editor. The editor acts as middleman with a slightly different twist. He gets input from both parties but doesn’t confer with the other. In essence, all information is fed to him, but he doesn’t dole it back out. Thus an innocent little 32-page book is created without the writer and illustrator communicating. For example, the very popular Miss Bindergarten Kindergarten series, illustrated by Ashley Wolff, shocked writer Joseph Slate when his human characters appeared as animals.
It is with respect they all maintain a healthy distance from their mutual artistic partners. Very obvious, from the ease at which they are all in the same room, at the same tables, that friendship abounds. Kimmel explained their connection as, "being on the same wavelength." Gilchrist trust Greenfield enough to paint a whole book without ever having words to consult. The book, Sweet Baby Coming, is a poem of expectation written after the artwork arrived. Friday, June 22, 2007
Day Two and My...
Oh, my! It's past 1am and I'm still on the computer. I think I may have a problem. Should y'all gather and plan a bloggie intervention? :D
Most Attractions are Free!
When Hubby and I travel, we are always amazed how European countries have such tight corners. By that I mean, their state buildings are so close together. In some spots, one could type a memo then pass it through a window to reach a department in another building.
Can you imagine foreigners walking around DC? They must think we are made of land with the vast space between The Capital, Washington Memorial, and Lincoln Memorial. The hubster and I racked up around 14, 900 steps visiting these facilities last night. That's seven miles folks! (Not to mention all the walking through terminals at the airport.)
It was a lovely experience. We watched the sun go down to the right of the Lincoln Memorial then strolled along the reflection pool as geese and goslings tucked their heads under for sleep. The night lights gleamed on the granite and marble, as we made our way home. Twas truly a romantic and patriotic experience.
I'm really glad we are having the conference in DC. The hotel cost$ may be unreasonable, but most attractions are free!
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Curry Catfish Anyone?
The whole day has been one eye-opener after another, as we navigated the different airports and personnel who make them so colorful. Happy stewards and surly baggage handlers abound, but one conversation as we left Dulles for our hotel, I may never forget.
Our DC taxi driver, Patel, became excited upon learning we traveled from Memphis, Tennessee. Along with his running socio-economic commentary, he quizzed us on the cost of living, such as the current price per acre and the financial outlook for local catfish farmers. My husband referred to the loss of revenue since Vietnam entered the market, and then they jumped to another fish, blah-blah.
I lost the conversation as I sight-saw, when Patel started to recite water-temperatures certain, raised fish need. Long story short, our cabbie wants to raise catfish in the Delta.
We all have an American Dream we strive for and Patel's Catfish Farm is no exception. I mean, who would've thought a vegetarian would want to raise fish in the first place, but Patel is proof.
With this little 30 minute ride, Patel reinforced my decision to become a librarian. You see, Patel is an avid library user and gains much of his fish knowledge and lore from local DC Libraries. I'm proud my profession is helping him achieve his goal.
