Daily Thoughts 08/07/2013

Reading Julius LeBlanc Stewart 1884

Daily Thoughts 08/07/2013

This morning, I finished reading The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman.   The story was hard to classify.  It had a touch of magical realism, a bit of mysticism, some urban fantasy, and a tiny bit of weird tale.  It was excellent writing.  There was magic, but not the overwhelming wizardy kind which is done in so many fantasy novels.

A lot of it was about how we see things in the world and remember things.  The book reminded me that things are different when we are children.  We see things with wonder and apprehension.  It was worth reading.

I also read a little bit more of Operation Storm by John J. Geoghegan.  The author gives some excellent descriptions of how submarines worked in World War II, both Japanese and American submarines.  The complexity of the systems is very interesting.

This morning, I checked the Twitter and Facebook for the library.  I also checked the displays.  I read two copies of the New York Times Bestseller list.

The computer lab is open from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. today.

I have been talking to Henry A. May who is a local author with  a book called  First Black Autos.
http://stalwartpublications.homestead.com/FBA_Book.html

Carole Nelson Douglas has a new book coming out called Cat In An Alien X-Ray.  It is a crossover novel, a mix of Area 51, aliens, and mystery.  I do hope it will be entertaining.   The mystery series is quite popular.  I saw it in the new releases section of Locus Magazine for August.  I am planning on reading it.

The book Babayaga by Toby Barlow came in for me to read today.  It should be interesting, it is set in postwar Paris.  I also spent some time learning more about the Overdrive Advantage program for ebooks.

Web Bits

DIY How to Get Your Indie Book Into Stores and Libraries
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/pw-select/article/58529-diy-how-to-get-your-indie-book-into-stores-and-libraries.html

Impoverished Suburb Has Library District But No Library
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-08-04/health/ct-met-ford-heights-library-20130804_1_library-book-nonresident-library-cards-state-of-the-art-library

What's Next for the Novel
http://bookriot.com/2013/08/07/whats-next-for-the-novel/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+bookriot%2FWlRy+(BOOK+RIOT)
I placed the book Night Film listed in this article by Marisha Pessl on hold because it had easter eggs.  Easter eggs in games are additional content that you have to search to find.  Apparently you can scan portions of this book and get extra content.

Daily Thoughts 08/06/2013

The Book Lover, Frantisek, Kupka, 1897
Daily Thoughts 08/06/2013

This morning, I read some more of Operation Storm.  The author John J. Geoghegan specializes in writing about unusual inventions.  The central device in this story is the Japanese I-400, a submarine capable of carrying 2 float planes for very long distances.  It was a disruptive technology in its time.  It reminds me of other examples of disruptive technology which did not appear to go anywhere like the Convair Sea Dart, a jet powered seaplane which only flew as a prototype, or the Lockheed Martin P-791 Stealth Blimp.  The book itself is very much about how technology develops and choices people make.

This morning, I checked the social media for the library.  I also checked the displays.  I spent a little time looking at the Overdrive Advantage program for libraries.  Hopefully, by the end of the week, all the fiction books will be put back in the fiction room.  I am looking forward to it.

I spent a little bit of time on weeding today.  We also had two computer classes; a Microsoft Word class and a Fundamentals of Computer Operations class.

On the way home, I read a little bit of The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman.  Neil Gaiman is one of my favorite authors.

Web Bits

If You Don't Have Time for Partnerships Chances Are Your Community Won't Have Time for You
http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2013/08/marketing/if-you-dont-have-time-for-partnerships-chances-are-your-community-wont-have-time-for-you/

Daily Thoughts 08/05/2013

The Difficult Reply, Guy Rose, 1910

Daily Thoughts 08/05/2013

I read Gabba Gabba Hey The Graphic Story of the Ramones over the weekend.  I liked the black and white art.  It had an almost photographic quality to it, much like duotone photographs.  There was a unique sensibility to the book because the artists were British.  They had a little bit of a punk sensibility and wrote some material on the Ramones in Britain.  There was also a little bit about Andy Warhol.  It makes me want to read about Warhol.  The book was very edgy.  The music group originated in Queens, New York.  They are very much a New York rock group.

I also finished reading I Wear the Black Hat Grappling with Villains (Real and Imagined) by Chuck Klosterman on the way to work.  The book was a cauldron of popular culture, a little Kareem Abdul Jabbar, a bit of Monica Lewinsky, some O.J. Simpson, a touch of Black Sabbath and Aleister Crowley, and a million other pop names.  A lot of it is about annoying popular figures like Perez Hilton or cartoons like Beavis and Butt-Head.  It was a real eclectic mish mash meant to be read as dark entertainment.  The book was on the New York Times Bestseller list.

This morning, I checked the displays and updated the social media for the library.  I also spent a little time doing some weeding from a list of zero circulation items.  I spent some time talking to the director about technology as well.  I have to work on getting someone new for the computer lab.  I also have to look at some ebook providers like 3M and Axis 360.

On the way home, I started reading Operation Storm Japan's Top Secret Submarines and Its Plan to Change the Course of World War II  by John J. Geoghegan. This is an unusual story. Admiral Yamamoto planned to send a fleet of submersible aircraft carriers to attack New York and Washington D.C..  Japan during World War II used submarines to carry airplanes mainly to scout for the navy.

Web Bits

The Power of Shelvers
http://librarylostfound.com/2013/07/30/the-power-of-shelvers/
I was a shelver at one point.

Daily Thoughts 08/02/2013

Felix Feneon at the Revue Blanche, Felix Vallotton, 1896

Daily Thoughts 08/02/2013

This morning, I read some of I Wear the Black Hat.  The book opens with the question "Why do villains want to tie women to train tracks?" which is a bit silly, but entertaining.

I checked the displays, the gift books and the social media for the library.  I spent some time doing weeding in the nonfiction.  The fiction room is slowly being reshelved.  It is almost done.  It will be a nice space when everything is put back.  I am also going to be bringing up some of the books from mezzanine or storage area to the main floor soon.

There has been a lot of work on improving things around the building lately.  I moved back downstairs to the tech room office recently.  I got dividers for my work area and a table to put things on in back of me.  People are creating a new layout for the tech room.

I checked out the graphic novel, Gabba Gabba Hey The Graphic Story of the Ramones by Jim McCarthy and Brian Williamson.  It is a black and white graphic nonfiction story, with an almost photographic quality to it.  I am also on planning watching the new film version of Les Miserables with Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway.  It won 3 Golden Globe Awards.

Web Bits

The Decline and Fall of the Book Cover
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2013/07/the-decline-and-fall-of-the-book-cover.html

Daily Thoughts 08/01/2013

A Young Woman Reading, Rembrandt, 1634

Daily Thoughts 08/01/2013

This morning, I read some of more of Anno Dracula: Johnny Alucard by Kim Newman.  It is very much a modernization of the dracula tale.  We get Bonnie and Clyde as vampire, Andy Warhol as a vampire, vampires becoming creators of ideas and myths.  I like how the main character comes from Eastern Europe and transforms himself into an American vampire changing from his European past.  Alucard is Dracula spelled backwards.  He starts out as Johnny Pop hanging out with Andy Warhol.  Then he develops a drug from vampire blood, eventually moving into film and high finance.  It is very much a story of the vampire remade over and over again.  Johnny Pop remakes himself as Johnny Alucard eventually becoming the new master vampire.  This is a story of transformation and myth making in the modern setting.

This morning, I checked the Facebook and Twitter for the library, checked the displays and the gift books.  I also spent some time looking for zero circulation items.  The computer lab is open this afternoon from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.  They are in the process of redoing the fiction room.  Some of the items in storage are going to be brought up to the main floor.

I spent some time this morning reading the New York Times Book Review.

The graphic novel version of A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle came in for me to read.  It is being adapated by Hope Larson.

Web Bits

How Andrew Carnegie Turned His Fortune Into a Library Legacy
http://www.npr.org/2013/08/01/207272849/how-andrew-carnegie-turned-his-fortune-into-a-library-legacy