Sanctuary amid the stacks (link to an article, plus some comments)

I read this a while ago and thought "Yes! That's it!" And I meant to say something wise to accompany it and share it. Instead, I left it languishing in the "Drafts" folder, neither shared nor commented on, so here it is, belated but still true: Sanctuary Amid the Stacks I don't have a lot to add. It is true. Libraries hold the older books longer than bookstores, they let you take them home for a while, and then bring them back. They are places of discovery and delight. They let you check out books you might like and discover that you love them--or that you can't stand them, free of charge. They make risk and exploration possible in a way that bookstores, much as I value them, don't. And, as Iyer comments, they let you "find what you weren't looking for." It's possible to browse the bookshelves, making unexpected discoveries (I guarantee you I would never have read Spiders: Learning to Love Them without the library, nor The Disappearing Spoon, nor, oh a hundred or so other books I've read and adored over the years). And, yes, they provide free internet for those who can't afford it, and a quiet place to sit for people who need it for any reason. They're not replaceable.

Delicious Decisions

I was just at the library. Now I have a decision to make. Should I:

1) Continue Eiffel's Tower, which is a non-fiction account of the building of the Eiffel Tower specifically and of the 1889 Paris Exposition?

2) Start Except the Queen, which is due in two weeks, and which Charlotte's Library made sound terribly appealing, and half of which is by Jane Yolen, an author I happen to love?

3) Start Lord Sunday which came in today and which is also due in two weeks? It's the final book in the Keys to the Kingdom series, and I've been looking forward to it since finishing Superior Saturday back when.

4)Or should I read Aunt Dimity Down Under, the latest installment in the frothy mystery series I've been reading, a series almost too light even to be called cozy?

I already had to, reluctantly, return Ice unread (Don't worry, I'll put it on hold again) in order to make room for more books.

Hmmmmm...

A New Aunt Dimity

Since I'm being highly distractible today, I may as well stop and point out that there is a new Aunt Dimity out (has been out since February, but I only just remembered to check; I miss Amazon's new-book-by notification, dead these many (two? three?) years). The two reviews I read said it's more travelogue than mystery, but that is ok; I don't really read the Aunt Dimity books for their suspense quotient. Anyway, I've now put Aunt Dimity Down Under on hold at the library. I'm something like third or fourth on the list, so it will be a little while until I get to read it, but that's ok. It isn't the only hold I have.

Also, I'm supposed to be reading Daily Life in the Byzantine Empire by Marcus Rautman (verdict so far: Informative but not scintillating--you have to already have an interest in Constantinople to keep going), and am actually reading Not a Girl Detective by Susan Kandel (verdict so far: Mildly interesting, prone to I-did-my-research infodumps and a bit longer than its story seems to warrant).

Peculiar Shelving

I have my hands on a copy of The Singing Sands. The chances are it was in the library the last time I was there looking for it.

What neither the reference librarian or I noticed at the time was that it is shelved under "Mackintosh."

Elizabeth Mackintosh happens to be Josephine Tey's real name, but it is not the name she wrote under, and it is not the name on the book cover.

Even more confusing: Several of Tey's mysteries are shelved under Tey in the mystery section and at least one is under "Tey" in the fiction section (I did a lot of hunting before I went back to the catalog and noticed the "Mackintosh").

I suppose this does mean that people not looking for her are more likely to stumble across her unexpectedly, thus brightening their lives, but it still seems odd.

Anyway, I have a copy now, and I'm going to curly up and read for a while.

Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix

While I was at the library the other day, I noticed that Margaret Peterson Haddix has a new book out, Found, the first book in a new series. So, of course, I grabbed it.

It's a fun read, with the Haddix's usual array of strengths and weaknesses.

Strengths include an intriguing mystery, an interesting premise, and strong protagonists. The brother-sister relationship between Katherine and Jonah is well done, one of the best portrayals of sibling relationships I've read recently. It starts with a bang and is a genuine page-turner, lean and strong.

Weaknesses include the too-familiar scenes of hysteria. Yes, I'd panic too if I were locked in a cave outside time, but at the same time, the response here very much resembles similar scenes in the Hidden series; she's moving toward an authorial tick. More seriously, there is also a certain hand-waving about the basic premise/solution to the mystery. It does, as I said above create a fascinating dilemma and I am looking forward to seeing how the story plays out. I also find, however, that I can't quite believe it, just as I could never quite believe the third-child persecution and hysteria in the Hidden books. There's a certain tension between wanting to let go and just enjoy the plot and not being able to get the disbelief to remain fully suspended; it keeps sticking its toes on the ground and demanding my attention.

The Spiderwick Chronicles

The library's got quite a collection of these, and I checked out a few last week. They're quite fun, well-constructed little stories that draw on a lot of the older, fiercer fairy tales, build the suspense well, and finish of nicely within a scant hundred pages, which is incredibly impressive.

And they're lovely books too, easy to hold and with beautiful covers.

I was confused by the apparent presence of two book ones, but further research (ie a quick look at Amazon.com) shows that there are at least two series.

Orphans Preferred

I finished Orphans Preferred, and I recommend it. It is lively, interesting, and informative, something very few books manage.

And I learned quite a bit about the Pony Express, about which I must confess, I knew almost nothing before. I did not, for example, know it was a private venture that lasted only eighteen months, and I certainly did not know about the camels.

Have I mentioned lately how much I love libraries? Orphans Preferred is one of many fascinating books I would not have read without them. I first saw it at a bookstore a couple of years ago and tagged it on one of my library accounts. It wasn't until recently that I got around to putting it on hold, and I would never have bought a hardback by an unfamiliar author.*

*Actually, I rarely buy hardbacks and generally buy books at used bookstores (another favorite place), but that is another story.

Lurking in the Library

Among other places.

See, our landlords decided that the plumbing in the house should be redone now, rather than later when it eventually decided to break somewhere (This is not paranoia--many of the houses up and down the street have had pipes burst at unpleasant times (Come to think of it, there are no pleasant times for a pipe to burst)). So, we've had a house full of plumbers and varying amounts and temperatures of water the last several days.

It's been noisy, dusty, and rather uncomfortable--one of those times when the long term gains will outweigh the short term discomfort but only after said discomfort is actually over.

Anyway, I've been spending as much time as possible Away. Walked around Laguna Beach taking pictures which was fun, and which I spent too little time at, visited the lovely Central Newport Beach Public Library and left with a pile of books, and spent some time at the also lovely but more familiar Central HB library, where I discovered that there is at least one turtle living in the large fountain outside.

Today, alas, all libraries are closed (Whose idea was that? What good is a holiday if you can't go to the library?), so I lurked at the mall instead.

I'm getting good at lurking.

Confessions of a Library Addict

We're getting to midterm time in the photography class, so today was a lab day--time to print and mat pictures.

For me, this ended up meaning I got out early, in time to wander around the Shipley Nature Center and to make a visit to the library where I desperately needed to turn in some of the books that have been piled on my floor the last couple of weeks (no room in the library bag).

I was not going to check out any more books; there were plenty left unread in the house.

Except, I might as well pick up a couple more Smithsonians. They aren't books, after all.

Oh, and what was the name of that book I was looking at the other day in the store? Oh, yes, Runemarks. I should check to see if that's in (yes).

And, I can hardly go to the library without stopping to see what new science fiction has come in since I last visited.

Also, I never stop by without looking at the new nonfiction (A history of cleanliness? Sounds interesting. A true history of Disneyland? Maybe.... no, on second thought, I don't really want to know).


Oh, and I really should check to see if Carola Dunn has written anything since I last looked (Yes, but it's out), and is Seeing Redd in? (Not yet). And, oh! Dragonhaven is out already. And...


All things considered, I think I was very restrained.