Libraries Obsolete? Maybe

This was an awesome post on Book Riot today.

When Authors Attack Libraries:

As a librarian I am supposed to support libraries in every way... BUT this man makes a point.

Yes, the whole point of the Book Riot post was to make fun of the guy arguing against libraries, but still he does have a point. Entertainment is never free and it could very well be an out-dated way to look at books.
It really made me think. Should we support libraries at the expense of authors and publishers?

The Greater Journey

Continuing on my Paris reading blitz, I finally finished this book this week after recovering from my two week long sinus/ flu sickness.

I loved this book, but it was one of those that I had to make myself open and read. It started slowly, but then I got sucked into the stories of all the young Americans trying to make their way into the world. There were mostly profiles of artists - painters and sculptors to be exact, but there was an interesting chapter detailing young doctors training at the best medical schools in the world at the time. It was fascinating. I really learned more about French history reading this book vs. a dedicated French history book. It was French history through the eyes of Americans that were living there and writing back home about their circumstances.
The most riveting story was that of Elihu Washburne, the American Ambassador to France during the 1860's and 70's. His story about living during the siege on Paris during in 1870-1 was eye opening. I had never heard the story from that angle. The Franco-Prussian war was illuminated during that chapter.
What I found so different about out lives today is our treatment of sickness. So many Americans went to Europe "for their health". They had a chest problem, were depressed, recovering from nerves, etc. and were prescribed to head to France to better their health. Why is that not a prescription now? Is travel just no longer accepted as a way to heal the mind? Is the air in Europe not healthy any more? And why did it used to take months if not years to recover from illness? When I have a cold, or flu or bronchitis I am expected to miss maybe 1-2 days of work, and still shuffle my children all to school, gymnastics, make dinner and do laundry. In the 1800's any illness seemed to merit at least a two week rest in bed without getting up. Surely Tylenol and Penicillin aren't that good at curing maladies.
Reading that book really made me miss the way we treat sickness. Is the European vacation a treatment only for the rich? At the very least those heading to Europe to rest were middle class. It was a mind opening read on that front.
I would highly recommend reading this book. It teaches not just French history, but also American history. I never would have heard of Elihu Washburne if not for this book. I will be doing a lot more research on that guy.

Too Sick to Read

It doesn't happen often, but for reals I was too sick to read.

I like to be just sick enough to cozy up on the couch with old 80's movies and a good book, but this was not that sickness. I was even up in my bed, not even down on the couch in front of the TV, that's how sick I was. Maybe it was the flu, maybe just a bad cold with a fever. It was all the sweating and chattering teeth that made it difficult to read. I just couldn't hold a book and keep warm at the same time. So frustrating!

So now I'm back and I'm reading.

I should finish up The Greater Journey by David McCullough today or tomorrow thanks to Presidents Day.

I've got some new acquisitions to post up as well. I know it's so exciting.

The One and Only Ivan

So this is the 2013 Newbery Medal Winner. The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate.

I read it, but only because I forced myself to. Every year I feel it is my duty to read the winner just so that I know what everyone is talking about and so that I can tell my teachers if it's worth it for them to add it to their curriculum for next year.

I hated this one. It's about animal abuse. Really. Not . My. Cup. Of Tea. I'm not a big fan of animal books to begin with, but abused animals is even more of a turn off. Yes it turns out happy in the end, but come on, really? Who wants to read about that? At least in Water for Elephants there was some romance involved to distract the reader from the abuse, but in this book it's relentless. I really did not care for it at all.

I know I've discussed before about the weirdness of book award winners. Some times they are right on, but most of the time it seems as if the judges of these contests are looking for the saddest, most taboo subjects and giving the awards to those books. These are not books that kids want to read. These are the books that adults make kids read because they are good for them like vegetables. I don't want books to be like vegetables for kids. I want them to read what they want to read even if it is Captain Underpants of Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

This book just didn't have anything special about it to me to merit the Newbery Award. Last year's winner, Dead End in Norvelt, was a good book, but still a vegetable book. 2011's Moon Over Manifest was brussel sprouts too. The last time I read a Newbery that I liked and that I still recommend to kids and teachers alike was 2010's When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. Now that is a timeless classic that deserved awards.

Of course we all have different opinions about what is a good book, but if I can't recommend it to anyone, it's not a good book. I will not be recommending this book except to my most fanatic animal book readers.

A Moveable Feast

I've read Hemingway before, and enjoyed it, but never this book. It seems like I'd been saving this one for last. I like adjectives and I miss them when they are gone. It's not as if he does't use any adjectives, he just makes you wait for them and crave them and then he uses ordinary adjectives like beautiful, great, or green. It's frustrating.
Then we all know that A Moveable Feast is supposed to be this great travelogue on Paris, but it wasn't at all. It was more of a list of people that he met and what he thought of them, than a great bit of writing about Paris. I learned new things about Getrude Stein and Scott Fitzgerald. I learned the other side of the story on Hemingway's threesome between Hadley and Pauline, that he truly was remorseful for the situation and was just caught loving two women.
Overall it's not something I would need to read again. It's Hemingway and I know what to expect from him, and I'm not sure I like it. I think he was a great man, and had a fascinating life, and has merit as a writer, but he's not my writer.
I can't stop writing about this book without pointing out an awesome term that made me laugh out loud. Hemingway is describing someone he met and doesn't like, and paints the perfect picture by referring to the man as "an unsuccessful rapist". Best insult ever in a description!

New York Women Writers

Why does it always seem that most non-fiction (non-history and non-political) books that are written by women are written by New York women?

This is really starting to bother me.

I've been reading a lot about Paris recently. Along with all the history and architecture and guide books I am also reading the lighter fluff travelogues, but all that I can find are written by white, middle aged women (in their forties) who are already writers of some sort in New York City. Isn't that a pretty narrow view of the city of Paris?  Their highfalutin ideas of what is interesting to the average Paris tourist is a little off.

Now I have nothing against well educated white women. I myself am one, but I do have something against women who live in New York. They really have no idea what goes on elsewhere in the country. I am also under the impression that they all live sorry lives like Carry Bradshaw, are extremely selfish, shallow and way to well funded.

I loved Eat, Pray, Love, but could not relate to her New York problems. She just seemed so self-centered. But then I realized that most well-educated New York women do not have kids until they are in their late thirties or early forties. They have spent so long thinking of only themselves that they don't know how to function otherwise. Having kids changes that.

Now I know you're not supposed to talk crap about the publishing industry if you ever want to get published, but I mean really, what is the deal with the New York centric writers. If the publishers want something new and fresh shouldn't they look outside of their own goldfish bowl?

I would love to see more non-fiction a-la Diablo Cody, or maybe even something more working class. What about a book about being a mom at 23? What about a travel book that isn't written by a woman going through a rough divorce and trying to start her life over?

I'm going to write what I want to read.

Oh Flavia! How I have missed you so!

This new Flavia de Luce mystery just came out on Tuesday. I have had it pre-ordered for months. Months I tell you. UPS and Amazon delivered it on time Tuesday evening and it has been tempting me all week. I was still finishing up Les Miserables and made myself wait until that was out of the way until I started this. I snuggled up last night to start it and finished it this afternoon. There is no better way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

If only the Flavia novels could last as long as Les Mis. The stories just go by way too fast. Flavia is lightning quick to solve the mysteries, put the local police inspector in his place, and still keep an eye on her family. This time around, as I get to know Flavia and her family more and more, it is their story that keeps me riveted more than what ever grisly crime has been committed in Bishop's Lacey. Dogger is right there with Flavia all the way, more of a father to her than her father is. His words of wisdom and tidbits of information are so well placed and played, that I know for a fact Flavia would be lost without him.

The crime this time was good. Not too overwhelming at all. That's what makes the mysteries so good. No one really important dies, just people who were passing through town but had connections to some of the long-standing local community. In the first few novels I was a little overwhelmed by the chemistry and Flavia's fascination with it (chemistry is not my thing), but now I expect it from her and learn from her. Without her vast knowledge of chemistry she would not be able to solve these crimes. It is such an amazing skill for an eleven year old to have.

In this fifth book I think there was a softer side of Flavia revealed. She was concerned about not only Feely and Daffy, but also Dogger. There were some very emotional scenes between them all which was new. They are all facing an unknown future and it brought them together. I'm worried about the family and desperately hope that they will be able to save their house in the next installment. That is what was surprisingly new in this book.... there was not just one, but two cliffhangers at the end, something we have not seen in the previous books.

What will happen to the De Luce family? I can hardly stand the wait.

Read it! Go back and read the previous books and fall in love with Flavia.

My Greater Jouney

So I was reading my favorite book related website - Book Riot - when I came across a Post titled "Do you want to Write for Book Riot?"  Well of course I do!

They wanted samples of writing and if you write a blog they wanted a link so as to prove that you could write consistently on topics and with moderate deadlines.

This is an opportunity that I am not prepared for. Nothing is more frustrating than an inopportune opportunity.

I want to write, but I am not committed to it. I need to be if I want to take advantage of opportunities.

I am always torn between the time I want to spend writing and all the things I want to read. There are piles everywhere and I don't want to neglect my reading with time spent writing, but I need to.

Currently my piles of books focus on Paris. I just finished Les Miserables, and now have moved on to David McCullough's The Greater Journey. I've read all the travel guides in preparation for my trip to Europe in May, but now I'm getting in even deeper to the history of Paris, not just the architecture and the politics, but the people too. It's fascinating. Since I am a reader and a planner I have to be prepared fully in order to take full advantage of the few days I have in Paris.

Besides Paris I will also be spending a few days in Bath, UK, another literary mecca. I am beyond excited as will be evidenced in the months ahead as I talk about nothing else in posts on both of my blogs.