Good Afternoon

Good Afternoon

Today has been a long day again. I found a book which looks rather interesting Green Collar Economy, How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems, by Van Jones.

We spent a long time discussing the Bridges Out of Poverty again in a meeting. Right now, I am preparing a telephone list of agencies to contact that are related to poverty. We are planning on doing a meeting with some of the local agencies to discuss library services to the disadvantaged.

I also spent some time this afternoon going through the BOCES Adult School catalog looking for ideas on materials to order. Things like carpentry, house inspections, construction bidding, and other similar material. We also ran out of civil service ARCO Police Exam books so I had to reorder some things.

This evening on the train home, I was reading Toll The Hounds by Steven Erikson. There really is only one reason I've figured out that I am reading this series. I really like the way he writes about one of the characters Karsa Orlong. The character improves on Conan, Kull, and many of the classic barbarian characters.

Right now, I am thinking of skipping the rest of the book and just going to the chapters with the character, Karsa Orlong. I find the character utterly fascinating. The rest of the book, I could almost do without. It would be great if he had some stories with just Karsa Orlong. He even has his own Wikipedia entry.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karsa_Orlong

Afternoon Thoughts, Reaper's Gale-- Steven Erikson

Kay Nielsen Illustration from East of the Sun West of the Moon, c1914


Afternoon Thoughts

Tonight is my late night. This morning, I did some desk cleaning. I got rid of more old phone books, processed some law material which had been laying on my desk for a while, and went through some of my piles of paper. I am one of those people who are a paper magnet. I attract paper to my desk. We got a directive to clean all of our desks. So, it is a cleaning day.

When I did some desk cleaning, I went back to weeding more business books. The section is starting to look much better. I like to have 8-12 inches at the end of each shelf. I can put bookends in the shelves now.

Every day this week, I am going to do a little bit of weeding and desk cleaning.

Apparently, my business book orders are doing well. Some of the books I am ordering are getting two or three hundred holds already. Many of the titles like Michael Porter's Competitive Intelligence and The Complete MBA for Dummies are new to our library cooperative. So far, I am pretty happy with the orders that are coming in.

We also got a new octagonal book display with three levels. The book display itself is kind of ugly, but it is very functional. You can display books in a 360 degree fashion. There are a lot of new books being displayed.

I reserved a few books, Lord Tophet by Gregory Frost which is the second book in a fantasy series, Sly Mongoose by Tobias Buckell. I am really looking forward to reading Sly Mongoose.
I also had a chance to look at the New York Times Bestseller List for Business and reserved The Drunkard's Walk How Randomness Rules Our Lives by Leonard Mlodinow.

I spent a little bit of time picking out films for the September and October films. I am going to do an anime and a science fiction film this time. We also ordered a new microphone for the Open Microphone poetry readings. One of the patrons didn't like the current one which is not working too well. We are going to do a Spades card tournament. Cards are a dollar a pack, so it is another cheap program activity you can do.

Today has been very busy.

I was reading Reaper's Gale by Steven Erikson on the train this morning. Reading this book is quite an experience, there is not a single main character. Each chapter seems to have a different viewpoint character. The story is almost historical in sweep. There are at least five main characters, Rhulad Sengar-- The Emperor, Karsa Orlong, Icarium Lifestealer, Fear Sengar, Silchas Ruin, and others. This makes the story quite interesting.

In the front of the book, there is a large map of The Empire of Lether where much of the action takes place, and a list of three pages of Dramatis Personae, these are broken down by nation or status, Letherii, Tiste Edur, The Malazans, The Awl'Dan, and Others. The names of the characters are very interesting along with the place names.

However, because there is so much action, and so many intrigues the book reads like a giant jigsaw puzzle with many pieces. I just read through it enjoying the characters who are mostly very dark in their natures.

In addition in the back of the book, there is a two page glossary describing different made up things in the fantasy setting, everything from nasty brutish creatures to weapons to groups like the Patriotists who are the the nationalistic thugs of the Letherii empire.

The book is practically impossible to review in many ways because describing the plot would take several pages. Even figuring out what is happening can be quite tricky. There are many different factions in the book with opposing goals.

Despite this I am enjoying the book. I don't try and figure out all the twists and turns, I just read taking in the complexity of the wording, the names, the setttings, the place descriptions, the characterization, and marveling at how the author can put together a book, no less a series with eight books in it that are this complex.

The setting often switches between tribesmen and city dwellers, gods and men, warriors and scholars. This is what makes the book so interesting to read.

The book is very dark and bloody. There are ghosts, demons, witches, shamans, and all the things that go bump in the night. However, they are not the familiar fantasy creatures for the most part, and they are described very differently than most other fantasy books. The names like Emlava-- a sabre tooth cat say it all.

The setting is a fantasy empire, The Empire of Lether. It is kind of hard to pinpoint where it would be in terms of time. The setting is not medieval, and it is not quite roman. It has that feeling of a bygone age much like Robert E. Howard's Cimmeria might where things mix and flow together.

This is book seven in the series. It is a tome of a book. 823 pages long of complexity. There is an eighth book in the series coming out soon.

Morning Thoughts

Sculpture near the entrance of the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in Seattle, Washington (United States)

Morning Thoughts

I finished reading Saturn's Children. Despite it being a science fiction adventure story, there are some very interesting themes in the book about freedom, slavery, and the meaning of having robotic slaves. These themes make the book much deeper than it appears on the surface. It will take me a little while to write up the review.

I also placed The Last Theorem by Arthur C. Clarke and Frederik Pohl on hold. This is a hard science fiction book. It was released on August 5, 2008. The book is currently on the Locus bestseller list. The authors are both masters of writing science fiction.

I read a little bit of the fantasy book Reaper's Gale on the train in to work this morning. It is a classic swords and sorcery series. I am really enjoying Steven Erikson's writing.

When I got to work, I had to do a little bit of updating the reference books. That is, replacing the old books with new ones. It is just one of those every day activities which I do.

I also did more weeding this morning of the business management books, the 650s.

I am on an early lunch because I have a meeting this afternoon. It should be interesting...

Turkey Day and Some Thoughts.

Harry S. Truman Receiving A Turkey


Happy Thanksgiving (Turkey Day),



Anyways, all the shops and libraries are closed and its a time to be with family and relax a bit. I decided to put down the Alton Gift by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Deborah J. Ross, a new darkover novel. It just didn't capture the way Marion Zimmer Bradley wrote her earlier Darkover novels. Marion Zimmer Bradley passed away in 1999.



I usually put down a book within the first two chapters of reading it. This is normal practice. In bookselling, people claim that if the reader finishes the first chapter they are very likely to buy the book. This is why you see cafes in Barnes and Noble and other bookstores. It really increases the chance that a reader will buy the book. The only real reason not to have a cafe in a bookstore is if the store holds rare or valuable books, like signed editions, and old manuscripts. Still food is a problem, so limiting food to just the cafe area is very important. When I worked at Brooklyn Public Library, they installed a cafe for the library users for the same reason.



I am really enjoying the Bone Hunters by Steven Erikson. Kharsa Orlong the giant Teblor warrior is turning out to be one of my fantasy characters. I also like that he makes monsters into characters in his books, they aren't just cardboard cutouts, they have opinions and actions. There are two spirits, Telorast and Curdle who are quite interesting in the story so far. The writing may be a bit dark for some people and a bit complicated, but it combines intrigue with plenty of action. I am currently at page 82 in the story. It is 799 pages including a glossary. The story is complex enought that there are threee pages of maps in the front of the book, as well as three pages listing the different characters in the story.

Today is a day for relaxation. Tomorrow, I will do the busman's holiday thing again. I will probably visit a bookstore and make a comment or two on the experience. Tomorrow is the busiest shopping day of they year in the United States.

So far Eschalon Book 1 the computer game has been very enjoygable as well. The graphics are very well done.