Star Review

Maybe I’m just a tough critic but after years of writing book reviews for School Library Journal, this month’s issue contains only the second “starred review” I’ve ever submitted. Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea was only the second book that I thought deserved to be elevated to the status of “starred”. The first book I ever awarded a star to was Chicken Boy by Frances O’Roark Dowell, and that was in 2005.


Because of Mr. Terupt is a great book, well written, with believable characters and a theme reminiscent of Leave it to Beaver and Welcome Back Kotter all rolled into one. Each chapter is a separate narrative by one of the seven students in Mr. Terupt’s classroom. From the students’ distinct voices, readers come to understand the different personalities and backgrounds that define them. The chapters are short, some less than a page, each skillfully arranged to keep readers moving headlong into the conclusion.

But why only two starred reviews in a decade? With all the books being published you would think it would be easy to fill a library with award winning literature. But take a look at the publishing business and how it has evolved. Michael Larson, author of How to Get a Literary Agent, claims that the publishing business is changing faster and more radically than at any other time in history. Globalization is shaping the future of media and having profound effects on what is available at your library, book store, and cinema.


Reed Publishing sends me books every month. As one MLIS student told me, “Just give them all a star review, that way you get more free books”. This was what her professor was doing and he encouraged his students to reap the wealth of free books. I’m wondering if she ever noticed how many of these fiction books had characters using a lot of British slang and Australian settings.


Enter the Six Sisters of Publishing. During the first half of the century hundreds of publishers and imprints were formed. Mergers during the last ten years have resulted in the loss of 90% of the publishing imprints. Of the six big houses that remain only one is a US owned company. Here’s the breakdown in simple terms:



• Bertelsmann AG (German) owns 70 imprints including Random House, Knopf, Ballantine, Crown, Pantheon, and Vintage



• Simon & Schuster (US) includes Pocket Books, Free Press, Scribner, Touchstone

• Hachette Book Group (France) owns Little Brown and Company and Grand Central Publishing



• HarperCollins (Australia) includes Harper Paperbacks, Harper Mass Market, HarperOne



• Penguin Group (United Kingdom) includes Penguin, Putnam, Viking, Berkley, Signet, Plume, Grosset



• Macmillan (Germany) includes Henry Holt and Company, St. Martin's Press


Even my latest star reviewed book was a re-release of a previously published book. If it was ever turned into a movie that Paramount would produce and Mattel could manufacture the toys for and a publisher could re-release yet again the same book but with a glossy movie tie-in cover, then perhaps more people might get there hands on a good book.

While global forces dictate what we will read the genre of books sold show how media tie-ins affect sales. Thanks in part to Stephenie Meyer and her Twilight series, 17% of books sold in 2009 were related to vampires and the paranormal. When I first started reading Charlaine Harris, back in 2000 her characters Lily Bard and Aurora Teagarden had no idea that Sookie Stackhouse would come on the scene some ten years later becoming the inspiration for HBO’s True Blood series. Harris herself had a total of nine titles in the top 100 sellers in one year.

The mother daughter Cast team had six books in the top 100 in 2009, all part of their House of Night series. Add some zombies in the mix with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith and it would make sense that almost 20% of books being purchased have some walking dead factor.


I guess that reading books, where ever they are published and by whoever owns the company, is not a lost art. But having a character that is dead would help your chances of getting published. Write a book with a vampire or a zombie as the main character, add in a British accent and a Canadian setting….then your sitting on a best seller.

There's an app for that

Where there’s an app there’s probably a book for that. When that need hits you to check if a book is on the shelf at your local library, consider downloading The Library Company’s (TLC’s) new LS2 mobile app that allows you to interface with your school of public library anywhere you have a wireless connection. Currently the app has only been released for Apple’s iPhone, iPad, and iTouch but the developer claims the app will be available for the Android market soon.

Reviewers claim that even the newest versions have some bugs still to work out and may not interface with your local library if they do not subscribe to the TLC format. Sure, you can always just go online to the library’s website and search the catalog through your web browser but patron’s appetite for free apps is hard to overlook.



According to Mobclix, there are more than 27,000 app-based books available on Apple’s App Store, with games falling behind at 25,400, and entertainment at a distant third place of 17,164. This month also saw Amazon release the Kindle app. This free download makes the more than 750,000 Kindle books available to anyone with a computer or smart phone. No longer do you have to own a Kindle, although I’ve put down paper books and now read exclusively on mine, but you can download books to your phone, Blackberry, or Windows computer.


Consumer Reports has the Nook from Barnes & Noble rated third under the Kindle as best overall eReader. But already the December issue of the magazine is out of date as new releases hit stores in time for holiday giving.
The iPad also faces some challenges. While it blazed a trail the fact it is expensive and lacks options now standard on other tablets like a built in web cam, USB port and high resolution camera have consumers looking at other less expensive models with more functions like the VILIV Netbook and the Samsung Galaxy tablet.

OverDrive Media Console is a free, easy-to-use application that allows you to download audiobooks, music, ebooks, and video. This free download allows you to check out media from local libraries for viewing and listening on your computer or mobile device. This Ohio based company is continually expanding and offers more than 100,000 titles.

 Use the library to help you sort through all the technology available for this month’s gift giving. Consumer Reports is available in our magazine section as well as online through our Ebsco database that is accessible from home as long as you input your library card number. Getting to the online version of Consumer Reports through Ebsco allows you to find articles and ratings without having to pay a fee required at the magazine’s online site.


Books to help you through the techno maze include How to Do Everything Facebook Applications for those who want to understand the ins and outs of the popular networking site. The popular “Dummies” series now includes BlackBerry For Dummies and Twitter for Dummies. For those looking to gain knowledge the old fashioned way consider the New York Times book Smarter by Sunday: 52 Weekends of essential knowledge for the Curious Mind. Chapters include A History of Classical Music, Physics, and Ancient Egypt.

Even with a three week checkout time you’re bound to gain a few segments of new knowledge that may help you if you find yourself in a conversation with Alex Trebek. Consider then Carved in Sand : When Attention Fails and Memory Fades in Midlife by Cathryn Jakobson Ramin. Thank goodness it’s available in Large Print.

 This is the season…the season of technology, whether we’re ready for it or not.

A book in the hand is worth...

I used to think the weight of a book in hand lent something to the entire reading experience. Cracking open a brand new book, fresh pages that hold some kind of allure, the mix of ink a heady aroma that drives the bibliophile to flip page after page consuming the entire volume at one sitting. Ebooks seemed a thing of future generations with no value added over their paper counterparts.

That is until I got a Kindle. I had been researching different digital reading devices and had actually decided on a different model, the Barnes and Noble Nook, before receiving the Kindle as a gift. A gift in hand is better than arranging for return shipping and over the course of the next several hours, as books were delivered through Whispernet technology, I entered the digital book age.



Ebooks are not new to librarians. For years libraries have offered a handful of digital downloads. But the latest generation of eBooks ad readers offer some advantages not found on previous releases. The ability to change the font size and new screen technology allows for increased viewing even in low light situations. With some devices, like the Kindle, you have the option of having the book read to you using text to voice software.


Ebooks are being used in the classroom. Previously the inability to take notes kept textbooks from being fully utilized by students but not any more. More and more research is being accessed through eBooks with citations reflecting the access of the latest digital resources. Page numbers are not available so section or url addresses are used in citations.

 While a specific device is not required to view an eBook, you can download applications to your desktop computer, laptop and even to your phone, the variety of digital tools and functions make digital readers like the Kindle and the Nook an item most students will be taking to college with them. My Kindle cost about the same as the graphing calculator I had to purchase for my kid’s algebra class.

 I had taken home Curse of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz, but after downloading the sample onto the Kindle I found it impossible to get the 400 plus pages out of my library bag.

For those considering the purchase of an eReader check out http://ebookreadermatrix.com/ for a nice side by side comparison of devices. This month’s issue of Consumer Reports magazine features their review of eReaders that might help hesitant consumers with the decision making process.

On my Kindle now is Robert B. Parker’s Painted Ladies, the last of the Spenser novels, and The Language of Bees by Laurie R. King. Deceit: A Novel by Brandilyn Collins is more of a thriller than I would usually pull off the shelf and Almost Heaven by Judith McNaught would be the book I would not want anyone to know was on my Kindle should I suddenly depart.

 

Oh, and I better renew the library’s copy of Curse of the Spellmans that’s still at the bottom of my book bag. It’s overdue.

Things that go bump in the night

Things that go bump in the night bring lots of people into the library once the days start getting shorter, the shadows grow longer, and pumpkins start taking the place of spring planters on local porches. The popularity of our current display of “Spine Tingling Reads” is proof that aliens, ghosts, and witches, oh my, are great reads for cool October nights.

 The Ghost Whisperer, Mary Ann Winkowski, a local author best know for her character depicted by actress Jennifer Love Hewitt on the television show, has a new book out this month, The Ice Cradle: a Novel from the Ghost Files. The second book in her Ghost Files series deals with a small Rhode Island village and the construction project that has drummed up more than just memories of a tragic accident that occurred there over 100 years ago. You can check out Mary Ann’s schedule of local book signings by visiting her web page or check out one of her earlier books at the library, When Ghosts Speak: Understanding the World of Earthbound Spirits.

 Consider making it to one of her book group meetings that take place the third Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Borders Books in Strongsville. The Ice Cradle is the featured book for the upcoming November 18th meeting.

Chris Woodyard has been writing about Haunted Ohio since 1991, releasing five volumes in her popular series as well as her book Ghost Hunter’s Guide to Haunted Ohio that chronicles some of her experiences while researching locations and background for her books.

Chris visited the Amherst Public Library years ago but no photos were allowed to be taken during her presentation. As you’ll see from her books, she never lets anyone take her picture. She continues to work and two years ago she sent a set of books to be used as summer reading prizes. Flip to the back of any of the Haunted Ohio books to access an index by county. Here’s where you can pick out local stories based in Lorain, Oberlin, Cleveland, or check out a county you’re going to visit. I read up on Johnson’s Island just in case I run into any soldiers on my next trip to the islands.

For those who want to read more on the dark side consider horror stories like Dan Poblocki’s The NightMarys where two teens must break a curse that is causing their greatest fears to become realities. For those who like to listen to a book while walking down a spooky, dark, dark path consider checking out a Playaway like Bitten, by Kelley Armstrong. Sure you’re familiar with horror king Stephen King but did you ever read anything by his son? Check out Heart-shaped Box, the first book by Joe Hill, who chose to use a pen name rather than acknowledge his relationship to his famous father in the press. The book took critics by storm and the plot and pacing will remind you of the paternal connection. You also might think twice before buying that next item on ebay.

Take a chance on a tale of horror, it can’t be much worse then reading the daily newspaper. Horror, fright, and things that go bump in the night. Who you going to call?

Things are heating up at the Amherst Public Library

Maybe it's an omen.

John Henkel and Chase Harper first spotted the fire.

Library patrons tipped off staff today when a fire broke out at the Amherst Public Library today. “I had just stopped to talk to a friend when we spotted a burning bush”, said John Henkel.


Henkel had stopped near a parked car along the Spring Street side of the building to talk to Chase Harper. Harper ran inside the building to report the fire to library staff.

Amherst Police and Fire Departments respond to the call.

“It had really sparked up fast”, said Harper. “One minute we were just standing there talking and all of a sudden the bush was in flames and the mulch was smoldering.” Staff members responded to the fire by calling 911 while others grabbed fire extinguishers to contain the small blaze.

Cheryl Ashton was at the reference desk when she saw smoke billowing past the windows. Running downstairs she spotted Harper who pointed to the flames. “I’m wondering if we should take this as some kind of omen”, said Ashton. “You know it’s not the first time a message came through a burning piece of landscaping.”

Firemen soak down the mulch around the burned shrub.

A patron took over the first extinguisher as Ashton went back into the building for more. Don Dovala brought out a third extinguisher and the fire was contained by the time the Amherst Police and Fire Departments arrived. “Everything is so dry right now”, said one fireman. “It wouldn’t take much to set off a small brush fire. We’ll make sure it’s watered down well because the mulch has a tendency to hold in embers.”

Patrons soon returned to what they had been doing before all the excitement and some speculated to the fire’s origins. A carelessly tossed cigarette, spontaneous combustion, an ill timed promotion for banned book week?

The answers to many of life’s little mysteries are often found by looking at the library.  Checking out The Illustrated Book of Signs & Symbols by Miranda Bruce-Mitford explains many of the fundamental signs and omens that have become part of our folklore and our everyday life. Universal symbols like “mother earth” that permeate mythology across a multitude of cultures are examined as well as religious symbols and those found in nature.

 

Many books require the examination of omens and symbols. Dan Brown’s popular sequel to The Da Vinci Code, The Lost Symbol, traces back historical symbolism and secret societies that still exist today. Other authors picked up on the popular books releasing titles like Secrets of the Code: the unauthorized guide to the mysteries behind the Da Vinci Code by Dan Burstein.

Flipping through the Bruce-Mitford book it lists fire as one of the basic earth elements. Supposedly a vision of fire can lead to a deeper understanding of your place in the universe. Or maybe it means you’re going to meet a fireman. It’s elementary dear Watson.

Seasonal Evolution

Forget any celestial equinox or counting down the days till the solstice declares the perfect alignment of sun and stars to know when fall begins. The Farmer’s Almanac might give you weather predictions and advise you when to plant your winter wheat, but what’s happening at the library is as perfect an indication of the change of seasons as…well, Dick Goddard and the wooly bear.

 The library eased from summer reading into fall with people returning their summer paperbacks like The Au Pairs by Melissa de la Cruz, reads by Evanovich and thrillers like Laura Lippman’s What the Dead Know, a book that chronicled the mystery of two young girls that disappeared from a suburban shopping mall thirty years ago and show up at a hit a run accident years later.

Self indulgent mysteries, court room drama, and even summer romance has returned to the shelves as more weighty tomes find their way to the circulation desk. Look for research papers and science fair projects to bring in patrons searching for encyclopedias to cite as resources and heavier history books detailing civil war battles and world war scenarios. Reading lists still require ATale of Two Cities or Pride and Prejudice, but many kids now can download those books to their iPods.



For the last hundred years, students have visited the library to supplement their studies, once asking Maude Neiding for classic literature like Tom Sawyer and Treasure Island, now students use library computers to access the Internet or prepare PowerPoint presentations. During our annual book covering event at the library this year students brought in more than 500 textbooks that were covered here at the library, more books than Maude Neiding had in her original collection.

As the days get shorter look for fall favorites like Mediterranean Harvest by Martha Rose Shulman that lists more than 500 recipes such as Garlic Soup on page 161 or the Baked Eggplant Stuffed with Pasta on page 220. Recipes that celebrate the harvest, canning or pickling take center stage over recipes for grilling and summer smoothies.



While many students still require books for school projects, the downsizing of our school libraries and inclusion of more digital resources and computers, has evolved into more use of online databases and digital information sharing. The library’s Accelerated Reading database that merges with our library catalog is a valuable tool for students and parents who need library books to complete reading assignments.

A great book written with a teacher’s point of view, try Close Encounters of the Third-grade Kind: thoughts on Teacherhood by Phillip Done. His insightful depiction of every day life in the classroom as a new teacher is funny while at the same time acting as a soundboard for ideas.

Maude Nieding would be amazed at the evolution of the library as a community resource but also how we’ve learned to function through the seasons, turning over books and movies from one season to the next, just like the transition of baseball to football. The library constantly changes yet remains the same. I’d better check if we have enough copies of Tom Sawyer on the shelf.

Hunt Down Treasure at the Library

Many people have stopped by the library to pick up copies of our annual Scavenger Hunt. Any time I drive through town I can usually spot someone clutching their white sheet of paper in one hand and a pencil in the other, gazing up at buildings searching for that last elusive clue.



Just walking through the stacks of books here at the Amherst Public Library I’m reminded about all the treasures that await people who take the time to browse and search out that elusive title. People who only shop at Borders or other retail stores limit their literary exposure to current titles and remade classics. Of course I’ve got my Borders reward card and I’m usually there once a week on my day off, but people who don’t explore their own library may be missing out on some of the best book treasures around.



The tan, cloth-bound copy of The Dark Frigate by C.B. Hawes still stands on the shelf in Junior Fiction. The New York Tribune book review stated “No one, we think, has written so perfect a pirate tale since ‘Treasure Island” and the clipped summary from the book jacket remains pasted inside the book cover. Without Johnny Depp on the cover it’s a hard sell to today’s young readers but the stained cover is still sturdy and the sticker showing the book was a 1924 Newberry Medal winner has been taped over multiple times.



Tarzan of the Apes was a book by Edgar Rice Burroughs long before anyone thought of animating the story. Even the Wizard of Oz held shelf space long before the movie classic. Cloth bindings, well worn, and well read are signs of earlier times. Part of our library genealogy that makes each public library unique.

Downstairs, near the entrance Jane Eyre stands staunch in its orange, no-nonsense binding. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by Le Carre with its blue cloth binding seems to sink into the shadows next to other more flashy covers. Splashy fonts and graphics covered in special plastic covers protect newer books by Hiaasen and Scottoline.


I wonder about those people who stand in the aisles at the book store, sipping their lattes and browsing the stacks that have already been sorted for them by New York Times bestseller designations and a marketing plan that correlates visibility with increased sales. When all the books are slick and shiny it’s hard to tell the well read from the gimmicky, choosing from a set of cards someone has already dealt you from a limited deck.


The library keeps those favorites, those books that are timeless, that tell something about the character of those tending to the shelves. Why we would get rid of anything by Don Winslow I don’t know; The Life and Death of Bobby Z, was probably one of the best books I ever read. And the best Stephen King book won’t be found in the fiction section but I think it resides in the biography section. First editions sometimes end up on the sale rack because of space limitations and now even we are displaying the shiny new books on their own special shelves


Just like a community is made up of different people, all sizes colors and ages of books reside within the walls of the library. The collection defines who we our, our values and our dreams, I’ll keep our 1958 edition of The Call of the Wild in our collection for that one person who might appreciate the worn red copy with the fleur de lis with illustrations by Robert Todd and because you can’t always judge a book just by the cover. Sometimes you just have to discover the treasure for yourself.