Link O'Day: Just for fun...library circulation desk made out of books

Book Report:: Dark Water Rising by Marian Hale

I picked up the audio version of this book for listening during a drive last week. It is not the first book I have read about the Galveston Hurricane, and certainly not the first time I have heard the story. This event is something you hear about repeatedly as a Texan, and especially as a resident of the Gulf Coast. I wondered how much it could add to existing books for young readers about the storm, which include The Silent Storm and Summer of the Storm. And for older readers, Isaac's Storm sets the mark in my opinion. Dark Water Rising indeed earns a place as an excellent choice for learning about the event, blending fact and fiction into a compelling story. Though I didn't think about it when I selected the book, this is certainly a timely choice as Gustav bears down on the Gulf Coast. None of us from that region has forgotten Katrina or Rita, and the waiting game is again upon us.

As an aside, back in the early 1970's I was teaching 7th grade reading in Spring Branch, a Houston area school district. I had one of those stand-out classes, where the students are especially responsive and come together to comprise a very special group. We were studying folklore and I wanted to dramatize the fact that the oral tradition is an ongoing and vital force. Somehow I was able to gain permission and schedule a bus in order to take the kids to a nearby retirement home to visit with residents. Armed with pens and notebooks, the students interviewed willing residents. Coming out of that experience were two amazing encounters. We met a former Pinkerton detective and a survivor of the Galveston Hurricane. I remember how awed we all were by the history these two shared. Sadly I did not take a tape recorder or save the students' accounts this experience. I wonder sometimes if any of those kids remember the singular good fortune we had in meeting people with such memorable accounts to share. Another thing I did for all my classes was bring in guest speakers who were well up in years and who had special stories to share. While busing kids somewhere to visit oldsters would be well nigh impossible with today's constraints, I like to think that if I were still in the classroom I would continue bringing in guests. Video is great and live cams are super, but nothing takes the place of face to face encounters.

As Gustav approaches, I pray for all in harm's way.

Reading about Mt. Everest Climbs is a Timely Topic

In today's Houston Chronicle there is a writeup about an astronaut who tried to reach the summit of Mt. Everest but failed to complete the climb. Not long ago it was all over the news that the Olympic Torch made its way to the top of Everest. Meanwhile, I just finished listening to an audio book, High Crimes, about the shady side of Mt. Everest's ever-increasing magnetism. Then the other dayI was visiting with friend and lit prof Dr. Rosemary Chance about the book and she mentioned that it would go along great with Into Thin Air and Peak. I have not read either, but I am sure that Into Thin Air goes into the dark side of Everest. Sadly, the lower slopes are now crowded with crooks, prostitutes, drug dealers, and scammers as well as climbers. Some guides and guiding companies make the climb sound like a walk in the park, and more and more people are attempting the feat of summiting with less and less experience, preparation, and physical fitness. The result is, among other things, a mounting body count as people make mistakes and fall, get lost, or just physically overextend and lose their lives.

The author of High Crimes has an ax to grind. The group that he and some others pulled together to comprise a Connecticut state climbing expedition turned out to be an assortment of incompatible individuals, some with less than laudable intentions. In fact, by the end of their time together, he and some others came to fear for their lives at the hands of certain group members who did not like them. His story is very convincing, and I took time to track down some of the online presences of people he termed troublemakers. His descriptions were accurate at least about their Internet claims. Reading this book as an exercise in sorting out fact vs. opinion would be a great lesson for that and also for bias with high school students. Beyond that, just learning about what is happening at Everest would probably elicit surprise and concern from environmentally conscious readers. I know it changed my views about Everest and made me wonder about recent exploits, including the Chinese ascent which smacks of a political statement at least as much as an Olympic feat.

At the same time I feel regret for Astronaut Scott Parazynski who clearly made an unselfish decision to turn back, and at the same time a wise decision. Another astronaut, Karl Henize, lost his life on the mountain.

Important Article about Kids and Reading

I posted earlier today to LM_NET, TLC, and EDTECH about an article that originally ran in The Washington Post. It is likely appearing in a number of papers today, one being Houston Chronicle. Here is the content of my post called MUST READ TODAY with pertinent information:

I NEVER use caps in a subject line...oops just used them again. The minute I saw a leader for this column, before I even turned to it, I knew it would be something that librarians will want to discuss. I read the blurb with a bit of dismay, then found the article. The blurb, on the front of Houston Chronicle's Outlook Section (my fave part of paper after comics) said: "Read and weep: No wonder our kids are reading less. I am, too, confesses a high school librarian." Naturally I went right to the article. It does bear our reading and discussing. The URL for reading it from my paper will be provided, but the article which first appeard in The Washington Post, is certainly found elsewhere. Here is one location for it:http://tinyurl.com/25orhx
Actually Thomas Washington does not say anything that we have not said before, but since this piece is out there for everyone to read, we should know about it. Cheers!--mabell--

I would most certainly be interested in any comments about this article and hope lots of librarians and people who care about books and reading will give it a look. It is not as pessimistic as the title/blurb sound. Instead, Washington says what many of us are saying, that the way we read, write, and communicate is changing and that librarians, educators, and bibliophiles should take note.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Reading Year!

Last week I posted in on LM_NET and offered to compile and share the list of books that were mentioned in the recent popular thread "What I am reading now." People posted in and told what books they were currently enjoying. The resulting list is quite a mix, since some people mentioned adult titles, many shared YA books, and some may be easier than that. Topics range from parenting to philosophy with lots of good fiction in the mix. I am pasting in the list below. I hope I got everything, but if I missed your offering or if anyone wants to make additions, this would be great! You could certainly do this as comments below. And once again...Happy Holidays!

AUTHOR	TITLE
Alexis, Sherman	Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Anderson, Jodi	May Bird Warrior Princess
Anderson, Laurie Halse	Twisted
Buckhanon, Kalisha	Upstate
Buckley-Archer, Linda	Cutpurse
Chopra, Deepak	Buddha, a Story of Enlightenment
Clare, Cassandra	City of Bones Bk 1: The Mortal Instruments
Colbert, Stephen	I am American and So Can You!
Cooper, Susan	Dark is Rising
Coville, Bruce	All books by him!
Coyne, Kevin	Marching Home
Cross, Shauna	Derby Girl
Ferris	Underground
Gaiman, Neil/Charles Vess	Stardust
Gilbert	Eat, Pray, Love
Giles, Gail	Right Behind You
Green, Tim	Football Genius
Grisham, John	Playing for Pizza
Gruen, Susan	Water for Elephants
Hale, Shannon	Book of a Thousand Days
Hosseini, Khaled	Thousand Splendid Suns
Jinks, Catherine	Evil Genius
King, Laurie	The Moor
Kingsolver, Barbara	Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life
Levitin, Daniel	This is Your Brain on Music: The Science of Human Obsession
Marr, Melissa	Wicked Lovely
Maurer	Beyond the Wall of Resistance
McCarthy, Cormac	The Road
Patteau, Edith	East
Paver, Michell	Chronicles of Darkness
Perotta, Tom	The Abstinence Teacher
Piccoult, Jodi	Plain Truth
Pullman	The Goldan Compass
Radish, Kris	Elegant Gathering of White Snows
Senge	The Fifth Discipline
Smith, Roland	Peak
Stephenson, Neil	Quicksilver
Thompson, Victoria	Gaslight Mysteries
Vrettos, Adrienne Marie	Skin
Westerfield	Uglies series
Zafon, Carlos Ruiz	Shadow of the Wind
	Twilight Series: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse
	Penny from Heaven
	Black Book of Secrets
	The Alchemist: Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
	My Swordhand is Singing
	Third and Long
	Terror on the Tide
	Peter and the Starcatchers/Peter and the Secret of Rundoon
	Spiderwick Chronicles
	Saffron
	The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy 1943-1944
	Ina May's Guide ot Childbirth
	Birthing from Within
	The Birth Partner