TAG selection #1

Hopefully, you have heard or seen our enthusiastic Teen Advisory Group members here at the library. These local teenagers meet twice a month to talk about books, music and movies; plan fun events; assist us with library programs; and make purchase suggestions. We have just added their first suggested book title to the Adult library, and even if you are not a teen you might want to check it out. My Secret is the second collection of postcards compiled by Frank Warren from the popular PostSecret project, and this book features cards from high school and college students. Warren encourages people to send him postcards (anonymously or not) upon which they have written a secret about their life. The secrets range from silly - "I lick the inside of microwave popcorn bags" - to embarrassing - "I like it when you sing because it makes me feel better about my voice". Many of the secrets are also truly sad, dealing with abuse, mental illness, suicide attempts and rape. You can sense how cathartic some of these messages are for the sender, and how long they have wanted to let someone else know what has been bottled up inside. Hand-drawn, hand-lettered, collaged, painted, each postcard is like a tiny little work of art. Flipping through this book, you may well find a secret with which you can truly relate. At the very least, you will gain a better understanding of some of the issues that young people are dealing with today.

Authentic Alaska?

I'm not exactly the doyenne of Alaska, but I've lived here over half my life and I have a certain amount of skepticism when anyone from Down South purports to have written a book about the 'real' Alaska. New York resident Stephen Foreman has been a university professor and Hollywood screenwriter, but according to his author bio, has actually "trekked across the Alaskan wilderness". His recent novel - Toehold - is set in a small town in the Interior which is populated with a variety of wacky characters. Simmering romantic tension between the local taxidermist and a pugnacious, but beautiful, hunting guide is brought to a head when her first customer turns out to be an obnoxious Hollywood producer. Personally, I think the whole thing sounds very similar to Northern Exposure (which I didn't find particularly authentic, either), but perhaps I am too judgemental. We have this new story in both paperback and audio format, and I would love to have people read and/or listen, and then post their opinion of the work. Is it an enjoyable romantic comedy? A great hunting story? An evocative portrayal of small-town life in Alaska? Have you known - or even been - characters like this? Think of this as an informal, low-key book discussion group. Check it out and let me know what you think.......tell me I'm being a picky grump who should just lighten up and enjoy a fun story. Or tell me you're tired of people taking a 2-week vacation in the Rail Belt and deciding they know the real Alaska. Wadda ya think?

A dirty little secret...

We have just gotten a book that should be required reading in any library school: How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read by Pierre Bayard. The title is really much more flippant than the actual book (which, true to form, I have skimmed but not actually read). Bayard, who is a professor of French Literature and a psychoanalyst in Paris, takes a philosophical view of the situation - and it's French philosophy, at that. He makes the point that some works are so much a part of the collective consciousness that you don't actually have to read them line by line to know and understand what they are about, Hamlet being an obvious example of this. He also explains that you shouldn't feel ashamed about not having read a particular book. Since every minute you spend reading one book means a minute spent not reading another one, it is almost a moral obligation not to make such exclusionary decisions. He helpfully demonstrates the ways to handle various situations in which you might be expected to comment on a book you haven't read: at a party, in class, even meeting the actual author. He illustrates each of his chapters with excerpts from famous authors and critics who seemingly agree with his philosophy: Oscar Wilde, Umberto Eco, Balzac, Montaigne, even Bill Murray (yes, the SNL guy). You can read as much or as little irony into his writing as you would like - heck, you don't even have to read the book at all! What a liberating philosophy this is....

Woodworking for women

Generally speaking, I tend to resist how-to guides that are supposed to specifically counter-act stereotypes. Cooking is cooking, and if a man doesn't know how to cook, he needs a guide for new cooks, not male cooks. I have the same trepidation about our new book Woodworking 101 for Women: how to speak the language, buy the tools & build fabulous furniture from start to finish, by Marilyn MacEwen. I would love to block out the "for Women" part of the spine label, because this is a good overall guide for any beginning woodworker, and it would be a shame if men didn't bother to pull it off the shelf because of the title. MacEwen begins the book with a nice overview of wood and its properties, as well as the selection and care of tools. The chapter on techniques might be the most valuable part of the book, as she gives lots of hints and pointers about milling lumber, using biscuits, mortise and tenon, dadoes, grooves and rabbets, as well as dovetailing, curving wood, and doing inlays. She then offers the burgeoning woodworker 13 projects of increasing difficulty, including tables, cabinets, a mantel and a beautiful inlaid platform bed. Woodworking being an art, the look and design of the pieces is very modern (one of the difficulties of keeping woodworking books in the collection is that trendy-looking projects age quickly). Not being a woodworker, the instructions seem a bit brief to me, but if you know what you're doing they should be perfectly adequate. In fact, this book can be quite valuable to an experienced woodworker as a source of additional project and design ideas. So don't let the title turn you off, guys - this is woodworking for everyone.

Martin Luther King

Today is Martin Luther King's birthday (although we don't officially commemorate the event until next Monday - when the library will be closed in observance of the holiday), and he was assassinated 40 years ago this April. Between the anniversary of King's death, and the presidential campaign of Barack Obama, there is a lot of attention being paid right now to history and impact of the civil rights movement. We have a few video series that you might find interesting.
Eyes on the Prize: America's civil rights years 1954 to 1965 was an award-winning documentary series that appeared on PBS. It chronicles the beginnings of the modern struggle for civil rights and the various events that alerted the nation to the racial inequalities present in the society.
A few years later PBS followed up with Eyes on the Prize II: America at the racial crossroads 1965-1985. Learn more about the legacy of Dr. King's leadership, and the work that was still left to be done in the years following his assassination.
For a more general view of the issue of race and its effect on society, you might try the 3-part series Race: the power of an illusion. This series examines the way that cultural beliefs and historical events have influenced our perception of race and ethnic divisions. This series focuses not just on African Americans, but on all racial groups and instances of 'us' and 'them'.
Communicating Across Cultures is a 4-part series that looks at the way different racial and cultural groups relate to each other. Produced by Juneau's KTOO television station, and narrated by the brilliant Father Michael Oleksa, this series focuses particularly on ethnic groups in Alaska. This would be a great video to watch next month, also, in commemoration of Elizabeth Peratrovich Day.

Another hiatus

Being the little world traveler that I am, I will be flying down to Seattle tonight. I'll post again on Tuesday. (Keep your fingers crossed for sunny, 70° weather. HA!)

And yet more politics...

We would all like to be conscientious voters, to follow every debate and speech, to carefully research each candidate and learn their platform and positions. But most people don't, and with 8 Republicans and 5 Democrats (Bill Richardson is dropping out today) who could blame them for not being able to keep up? What we really need is for someone to wade through all the speeches, press releases and news stories to synthesize each candidate bio into a digestible piece of information. And by golly, Mark Halperin has done just that! A political analyst for Time and ABC News, Halperin has just published The Undecided Voter's Guide to the Next President: who the candidates are, where they come from, and how you can choose. The chapter for each candidate begins with a brief resumé and where they stand on 14 major voting issues. Halperin includes quotes from the candidate and indicates how important that particular issue is for them. He then follows up with a summary of the ups and downs of their career, an introduction to their spouse (and the particular assets and liabilities the spouse brings to the campaign), and areas of potential controversy. He lists why each candidate can win a general election, and why each one can't (an important analysis, since this primary season seems to be all about electability). He finishes off by telling you what to expect if they become President, including a best case and a worst case scenario, and a collection of quotes by and about the candidate. He even includes a bibliography for each person. Wow! If you're a registered voter, you need to check this book out before November.