Daily Thoughts 6/29/2009

Self-portrait of Stanley Kubrick.This is a photo taken by a staff photographer of LOOK Magazine, and is part of the LOOK Magazine Photograph Collection at the Library of Congress. Their former owner, Cowles Communications, Inc, dedicated to the public all rights it owned to these images as an instrument of gift.

Daily Thoughts 6/29/2009

I finished reading Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson. It was odd reading this book. For some reason it read like the end of a trilogy, but it was a standalone book. There were references in the book to ancient history which made me think that there were books written before this one when there weren't.

I liked the premise that "breath" can be passed from one person to another much like karma or luck. Breath is represented by color. Those who accumulate the breath of others gain advantages like perfect pitch, agelessness, and the ability to use these breaths to animate non-living things.

There are those who have returned from the grave having received a special breath making them unique. In the kingdom of Hallendran, these people are worshipped as gods and people sacrifice their breath to them to make them stronger and more filled with destiny. Those without breath are called "drabs."

This is the fantasy story of a young princess being sent to marry the god king of Hallendran from a neighboring kingdom. She must stop a war between her kingdom and the Hallendran's. An army of lifeless troops waits to destroy her kingdom. There is intrigue, magic, and politics in a unique setting.

The book was very compelling and hard to put down. If you like fantasy, this is an excellent book. There are unexpected twists and turns. People are not always as they seem. What is bad in one persons eyes is good in anothers.

I started reading Building A Special Collection of Children's Literature In Your Library on the train home. It gives me some ideas on how special collections are created.

Today went well. I weeded some more in the 700s. I also selected some African American romance paperbacks to be added and had an order sent in for inspirational fiction. It was a fairly straightforward day.

Daily Thoughts 6/27/2009

Cobbe portrait, claimed to be a portrait of William Shakespeare done while he was alive .

Daily Thoughts 6/27/2009

I have started reading Warbeaker by Brandon Sanderson. Brandon Sanderson is the author of Alcatraz and the Evil Librarians. His fantasy writing is very creative.

I picke up two books from my local library, Building A Special Collection of Children's Literature In Your Library Identifying, Maintaining, and Sharing Rare or Collectible Items by Dolores Blythe Jones. This was the only book I could find on creating a special collection in my local library. I also picked up Local History Collections In Libraries by Faye Phillips.

Alcatraz Versus The Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson

Alcatraz Versus The Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson

This book is quite special. Besides being a great story, it is a book about seeing the world differently. It shows how a change in perception can break you out of ruts and rough spots. The power of the main character, Alcatraz Smedry is to break things. He can break just about anything by accident. Door handles fall off in his hands, the stove breaks, the pots break, just about everything breaks in his hands.

When Alcatraz Smedry, who is in foster care, turns thirteen, he receives a special bag of sand from his parents. This prompts the evil librarians to steal it from him. it is very unique sands from the desert of Rashid.

Grandpa Smedry rescues him from being killed by librarians. Thus begins a fantastic adventure. The librarians are secretly controlling everything by providing misinformation about how the world really works. There are really six continents, dinosaurs are alive, and the whole world is a lie.

This book is wonderfully silly. Alcatraz Smedry reminds us that he really is no hero and that it was all a mistake. We learn that stairs are more advanced than elevators because they don't break and provide exercise, swords are more advanced than guns, and magic is as real as physics.

The book is filled with metaphors. One of the magics used in the book is oculation. Different eyeglasses give different powers. There are tracking lenses, fire lenses, and torture lenses. Different ways of seeing give you different powers. The world becomes a very different place for the main character, Alcatraz Smedry. Alcatraz even has a companion, Bastille who is his protrectress. Alcatraz and Bastille of course are the names of prisons.

One of my favorite settings is the giant library hidden inside the regular library. Imagine vaulted ceilings, cantaloupe shaped lamps, and overstuffed shelves with metal plaques at the ends proclaiming their contents.

I even didn't mind the caricatures of librarians. Imagine a lady in a black skirt with a bun and horn rimmed glasses, or a heavily muscled gentleman in a pink dress shirt with pink bow tie and sweater vest. It was done with just the right amount of silliness.

Despite being written for 4th graders, this book has a timeless quality to it. It is also 303 pages long which makes me question the rating of 4th grade reading level. I think it is closer to young adult. It is like the Cricket In Times Sqare, The Phantom Tollbooth, or Alice in Wonderland. In a modern sense, I might say that I liked it as much as Un Lun Dun by China Mieville. The fantastic elements are accessible to almost anyone. The setting is at the borders of our world.

Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review. I saw the cover and title and immediately grabbed it. It is a true "gimme" cover which makes you want to just grab it. It deserves to be read. There is even a second book in the series which just came out, Alcatraz Versus The Scrivener's Bones. I put it on hold already.