My Oscar Picks...

I have never managed to win the contest at our Oscar parties in spite of (or perhaps because of) seeing most of the nominees. Still, it is fun to guess so I am going to give you my picks for the different categories.

Best Picture: The Hurt Locker
Actor in a Leading Role: Jeff Bridges
Actress in a Leading Role: Meryl Streep
Actor in a Supporting Role: I liked Matt Damon but I am going to have to go with Christoph Waltz
Actress in a Supporting Role: Mo'Nique
Animated Feature Film: I did not get a chance to see all of these. Up is my choice.
Art Direction: Sherlock Holmes
Cinematography: Avatar
Costume Design: Coco Before Chanel
Directing: Kathryn Bigalow for The Hurt Locker
Documentary Feature: I didn't get to see all of these. I am going with Food, Inc.
Documentary Short: I saw none of these. I am going to pick Rabbit a la Berlin because I like the title.
Film Editing: Inglorious Basterds
Foreign Language Film: The White Ribbon since that is the only one I saw.
Makeup: Star Trek
Music (Original Score): The Hurt Locker
Music (Original Song): "The Weary Kind" from Crazy Heart
Short Film (Animated): Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty (although I think Logorama will win)
Short Film (Live Action): The Door
Sound Editing: Inglorious Basterds
Sound Mixing: The Hurt Locker
Visual Effects: Avatar
Writing (Adapted Screenplay): Precious
Writing (Original Screenplay): Up

There are a few of these that I had more than one possibility but these ended up being my favorites.

Movie Update

This week I finished up every currently available movie that has any kind of Oscar nomination (including best song). As always, there was plenty I didn't get to see but I managed to cover a lot of ground this year.

I made a run to Blockbusters earlier in the week and picked up Food, Inc. and Coco Before Chanel. Since I have been reading so heavily in the area of the environment and the impact large industrial farms are having on communities none of the information in Food, Inc. was particularly new. For those who have not been investigating this issue, the movie may have a profound impact on the way you purchase your food. Every piece of evidence points to the need to support local farmers, especially those who use more traditional farming methods, organic processes and minimal shipping. The major problem with this approach is that buying organic and locally grown is still a luxury for those who have money, not something that everyone can afford. Someday, I hope documentaries like this will change the system enough so that everyone can have equal access to the most healthy foods.

Coco Before Chanel was not a particularly in-depth treatment of Coco Chanel's life during her teens and early twenties but I did like it. Since I didn't know anything about her, I enjoyed the biographical details and the slice-of-life depictions of France during that time period.

I took time off this week to watch some movies only showing during the day and managed to catch the last four still in the theaters. Invictus is the story of how Nelson Mandela used rugby to try to take the first steps to uniting South Africa after the fall of apartheid. The elements of a good underdog sports story are all there and done well but for me, the most fascinating parts of the movie are those that showed Nelson Mandela's struggles as president. Besides, I could watch Morgan Freeman eat soup and still be charmed and entertained. Also, Matt Damon was the character to such an extent that for a good part of the movie I thought he was a South African actor who just happened to look like Matt.

I recruited a friend and her daughter to go with me to The Princess and the Frog which turned out to be a typical Disney and I have to admit I was a little disappointed with this effort. The most fun part of the movie was watching my friends daughter dance around to the admittedly catchy musical offerings.

The Last Station is about the last days of the life of Tolstoy and I love the details about the Tolstoyan movement and how it changed in good and bad ways with the addition of zealots. The dynamics between Tolstoy and his wife felt a little overacted but overall it was an interesting movie.

Jeff Bridges has a lot of guts acting in a movie that made him look like a broken down alcoholic country singer and he did a outstanding job with this role. Crazy Heart was very good, which is saying a lot considering my aversion to country music.

On Saturday I finished up the part 2 of the AMC Oscar Showcase.

Up is my choice for best animated feature of the year. It was touching but not overly sentimental, it had great humor and enough action to keep you interested throughout the movie. Pixar did an outstanding job with this movie.

A Serious Man was an odd movie. It started off pretty well portraying a man whose life is falling apart around him but at about the halfway mark it started to drag and by the end, it had completely derailed. Added to that, it never really explained the opening snippet about the dybbuk and what it had to do with the rest of the movie. Any thoughts on that?

The Hurt Locker is my choice to win the Oscar. It is a strong realistic portrayal of what Iraq is really like and what our soldiers are going through over there. I liked that it presented the story in a relatively unbiased way, telling a story and not beating us overhead with a message. I do think it was an elegantly constructed, finely wrought movie.

An Education is a difficult one for me to assess. I disliked the main character immensely and could not get past the fact that he was, for all intents and purposes, a pedophile. It made it very difficult for me to appreciate the technical aspects of the movie. Having said that, it was a fairly typical British movie.

I saw District 9 on DVD so did not stay to see it on the big screen. For the most part, I enjoyed this but I do feel that a little more work and editing would have turned this into one of the great SF classics. It was good but didn't quite reach the outstanding mark. As a side note, it is a bit distressing to realize how universal the theme of humans destroying anything different or profitable to them is in the movie making business.

Free E-Book Friday

The Book Depository is offering 100's of free e-books as well as many low price paper editions. It's a great way to discover lots of strange and obscure titles and authors.

Progress Report

As I have started reading for my new award committee I have not yet had a WOW moment resulting in a solid nomination for my committee. This makes me a little sad since other committee members have started nominating books left and right. I have HUGE lists built and I am confident that somewhere on them are some fabulous new titles that are award worthy but I want one now! I just started the new Bernard Cornwell and have high hopes for it. Wish me luck.

On the bright side, I have found some friends to help me pre-screen books so that my huge lists aren't quite so, well, huge. I will be fun to hear what friends think of the books on my list. If I decide to read them, it will also be fun to see how our genre reading tastes match (or don't). At the very least, by the end of the year I should be able to match them up with really great books I know they will love.

Library programming

The last couple of weeks have been spent monitoring news about the Waldo rapist in order to determine what kinds of community information the library may need to provide to the community. Right now we are working with the police department to put together some self-defense classes but it may take a few weeks since they are currently swamped with requests.

I do understand why women are flocking to the workshops. Having someone lurking in the community who targets and harms women is scary stuff. But while it is good for people to learn how to defend themselves, I really wish that when different groups put together self-defense workshops during the rest of the year they would be as in-demand as they are at the moment. I am sad that it takes such a tragedy to pack the room with attendees.

At the movies....

Every year, some dear friends get together to watch the Oscars (or more accurately, look at all the sparkly attire and make fun of the fashion disasters.) Although I don't tend to be overly competitive, this addition of a ballot and voting has switched on my competitive OCD and I MUST watch each and every nominee even if all they only were nominated in the Best Song catagory.

So, this weekend I went to the AMC Oscar Showcase. I have been attending these since AMC started doing them and I always have a great time in spite of the hours of sitting that are required. This year, because the Oscars now have 10 nominees, AMC has split the movies between two weekends. Unfortunately, that means that my group of 10+ friends who spent the day with me last year decided not to do it again this year. Luckily a small group still joined me for week #1. Next weekend I will attend alone. (I think)

Avatar was surprising good and in fact, I got a little teary during the tragically romantic parts. The dialog and story were clunky and could have used some work but the cinematography was out-of-this world. Even if you are not a SF geek, I suggest you try to make time to see this one. This just wouldn't be the same on a small screen and the idea that this might change the way movies are made is not as outlandish as I previously thought. This should be a shoo-in for all of the cinematography and special effects Oscar awards.

Up in the Air was an interesting choice for an Oscar nomination. It was the polar opposite of Avatar. The movie is set primarily in airports, hotels and offices and the gray tonality of the film matched George Clooneys characters personality. It was interesting to explore the idea of losing the baggage and people from your life and reducing your life to a suitcase and a hotel room. This would be a good one to rent since this is a movie more about ideas than action and aventure. No big screen theatrics are needed to explore ideas about what makes a life worth living.

Precious was good but exceptionally grim. I had already seen this movie and thought this held up well with a second viewing. It is definitely a movie that celebrates literacy as a way out of an awful situation and made me want to go to Literacy Kansas City to sign up to be a tutor. Realistically, with the part-time job I would have very little time to spend two or three days a week tutoring but someday it will be on my ever expanding to-do wish list.

The Blind Side was not a movie I was looking forward to since I get very grumpy when I have to sit through a movie designed to play on my sympathies in overly sentimental ways but in spite of myself, I was charmed. I would love to have to the courage to take a stranger into my home and immediately treat them like family. This is worth watching for the feel good factor but in my opinion, not really a viable Oscar contender.

Inglourious Basterds is Tarantino at his best. Certainly it was bloody but it entertaining as only he can be. This rewrite of Hitler's WWII felt completely fresh and new and even if it was a work of complete fiction, it was nice to see the Jewish people fight back. Tarantino is not for everyone but if you can stand the violence, it was a spectacular movie.

Other movies I watched this week:

In the Loop - An Office-type movie in a British political setting. I should have liked this better than I did but I ended up getting distracted and wandering off a lot. Maybe it would have played better on the big screen for me.

Bright Star - Romance between poet John Keats and next door neighbor Fanny. Interesting setting and time period but I could not for the life of me see why she would fall for him other than his romantic poetical demeanor. This was directed by the same woman who directed The Piano, another movie with "romantic" elements I failed to appreciate.

The Cove - a scathing diatribe against the dolphin entertainment industry and Japan for encouraging the fishing of dolphins. Not a balanced look, but a passionate one and for anyone who loves animals and finds dolphins appealing, this is a horrifying and radicalizing look at a practice that is deadly for dolphins and humans alike.

Paris 36 - I haven't cared much for any of the more musical offerings this year and this movie was no exception. In spite of the main character's rather sad life, apparently the driving force for the plot, I couldn't bring myself to care that much about the characters or want to know what was going to happen next. I do tend to like French movies but this one just didn't do it for me.

The White Ribbon - my movie watching friend loathed this one but I found it to be oddly compelling. I had originally thought this would be a horror movie but instead it was a study of "man's inhumanity toward man". It was very dark and dour and very, very German. I do wonder if I would have stuck with it if I had been watching it at home on DVD however.

The Young Victoria - I liked this one very much in spite of its rather slow pace. It made me want to find some good biographies on the the couple and find out if the movie accurately represented this rather charming love story.

Free e-book Friday

From the press release: "The eBook edition of Daniel Blythe’s X Marks the Box: How to Make Politics Work for You, is being given away in its entirety and completely free for three weeks preceding the publication of the print edition."

Go to the author’s site, www.xmarksthebox.co.uk, or Waterstones’ ebooks homepage http://www.waterstones.com/ebooks until March 4th.

Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani

Last night we met for Book Group and discussed Very Valentine: A Novel. Well, mostly we gossiped but we did discuss the book for a few minutes.

Very Valentine is the story of an Italian American 30-something named Valentine, who has moved in with her Grandmother so she can learn the custom shoe industry from her. At around the time she meets a good looking Italian boy she learns that the family shoe business is in deep financial trouble. Trying to save the company puts strain on all of her relationships and she must try to decide what is truly important to her. This is very much a Chick-Lit title with more focus on the main character growing as a person than on her romances.

During the discussion, there was some unhappiness with the relationship between Valentine and her boyfriend, especially from the attendees who are romance readers. However, learning that this is the first in a trilogy did seem to make a difference to a few of the people who expressed this frustration. Others found the not-so-perfect relationship to be very typical of the modern dating world and felt it contributed to the style and pacing of the story. One person thought there was too much focus on the back story and family dynamics. Everyone agreed that her relationship with her Grandmother was the strongest part of the book and very charming.

I personally enjoyed this novel very much. I liked the dynamics with her family and co-workers much more than I did the sections about her budding relationship. I love novels in which the character or characters build their own family (especially when they throw in a couple of quirky characters.) I will definitely be checking out the second in the series, Brava, Valentine: A Novel which came out February 9, 2010.

Book Club

The newest book club I belong to is a "Martini" Book club. This usually means we are more interested in the martini than the book (Very Valentine in case you are interested.)

I couldn't make the martini I selected because there is a suspicious lack of lychee liquor in Kansas so I took the liquor store workers advice and made a Full Moon Martini, consisting of equal parts Grand Marnier and Amaretto with a healthy blast of lime. It was okay but not spectacular. My favorites are still the citrus martinis like the Key Lime Martini or the Lemon Drop Martini which is why I was so excited about the Lychee Martini. I should have looked at a few more recipes and I would have found I could use Lychee juice instead for the Martini.

The food, on the other hand was very good. I decided since the book was partially set in Italy I would have some good Italian olives, marinated mozzerella, and bruschetta. At the last minute I because fascinated with this blog and decided I simply must try the Crock-Pot Baked Brie. I will definitely be making this again. It was easy and really, really good.

Happiest Cities

I have been hearing about Kansas City not doing well in this survey. It's good to know we don't come in at the bottom of the list.

The 10 happiest cities are:

1. Boulder, CO
2. Holland-Grand Haven, MI
3. Honolulu, HI
4. Provo-Orem, UT
5. Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA
6. Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, CA
7. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
8. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
9. Ogden-Clearfield, UT
10. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA

... and the 10 unhappiest cities are:

153. Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL
154. Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC
155. Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
156. Evansville, IN-KY
157. Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA
158. Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA
159. Flint, MI
160. Charleston, WV
161. Modesto, CA
162. Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH

From USA TODAY

In Over My Head

books in a stack (a stack of books)
Originally uploaded by austinevan.

In my excitement to get started with my new committee I may (or may not) have submitted 36 suggestions to read for the month of February. You would think that this would teach me to be a little more judicious in my choices for March....but you would be wrong. For next month (so far) I have compiled a list of 78 titles. If I keep up this pace I will have to quit both jobs and stay home to read which is clearly an unworkable plan. Therefore, I am going with Plan B which involves recruiting friends topre-screen some of the titles on my list. I already have a few victim....I mean, volunteers lined up.

Anyone else interested in reading some books and giving me your opinion?

Oscar Short Films

This weekend I went to the Tivoli for the 2010 Short Film Oscar showcase.

Here is my favorite animated short film:




My favorite live action short film was The Door (not a happy film). My friend almost fell out of her chair laughing at Instead of Abracadabra. Sadly, neither of these are online right now but you can download them from iTunes.

The next night I went to A Single Man and Nine. I really liked A Single Man, a story about a man distraught about the loss of his beloved partner, even though I ended up teary most of the way through the movie. Nine, on the other hand, was tedious. Maybe it was because I was a woman, the plot, man thinking about all of the women in his life and realizing he was messing them all up, was not at all to my taste.

Free E-Book Friday

Science Fiction authors are always the first to see the possibilities of offering free literature online. This weeks offering is from a website called Free Speculative Fiction Online http://www.freesfonline.de/. I hope you find a story or two to read and enjoy.

My Favorite Things

So I lied. I told you that I would be reading the book, Crawl Space, last night but at the last minute this book came in. I LOVE Connie Willis novels and her newest is a continuation of one of my favorite time travel books, To Say Nothing of the Dog: Or How We Found The Bishop's Bird Stump at Last. Between dipping into this book and going to see the movie The Young Victoria, (for my Oscar movie watching marathon) I did not end up reading Crawl Space. I am sure it is a lovely book, but dude, it just can't compete with time travel.

And it starts again....

I just turned in my first suggestion list (40+ books) for the new book award committee and ordered them all from the library. Now I present you with the first book I will be reading for the new award....

What I Am Working On

I spent most of last week working on a new Readers Advisory training plan for my staff. Readers Advisory, for those who don't know, is the ability to suggest books that a reader will enjoy (NOT what you think they should be reading) and it is one of my favorite library related things to do. There is more to it than that but you get the idea. Every month my staff will meet to discuss different genres of books. Our first session will be an organizational meeting and then we will jump right in and start with mysteries. During the second meeting we will explore useful tools and discuss the appeal factors of our first genre and then we will have a discussion on a book that the entire group reads together. For the third session each person will pick a book from a different sub-genre and do a short review and book talk. We will continue with the training until all the genres are covered....and then we will start over again.

The beauty of this new plan is that the basic structure of it was a gift from a librarian at the St Louis County Library. Two of the book lists were gifts from library friends on a Listserv. After consulting a Genre studies book, I contacted the author (another librarian) and got some tips from her. The collaboration among libraries is only one of the many reasons I love being a librarian.

Valentine's Day Love

Public Service Announcement. It is important to know that pink hearts are the rejects of the candy heart world. Show them a little love and pick a pink heart next time you indulge.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! This morning a friend sent out the following tweet: "RT @kst8ter76 Was just discussing with a friend the tragedy of people not knowing how important they are to others. For V-day lets #spreadlove" To honor this idea, over the next few months I am going to attempt to highlight some of the special people in my life.

In a past post I have mentioned how important the blogger community has become during the past two years. One of the couples I met shortly after I started attending the blogger meet-ups was a couple named Bea and Logtar who have are now a big part of my life. They are two of the most loving, generous, positive people I have ever met and to know them is to love them. (Plus, Bea loved books which made me predisposed to love her.) Several months ago, they broke the blogger community's collective hearts by moving to Chicago. I know it was a wonderful opportunity for them but we all miss their exuberance and joy. Luckily, they also miss us and come back to visit as a special Valentine's Day treat. Their visit made my weekend special. Photo of Bea and Logtar courtesy Average Jane

A brief history of pretty much everything

Because this art school final was too good not to share...

Suvudu Free Book Library

"With the Suvudu Free Book Library, you can read the first book in some of their most acclaimed series absolutely free! They are kicking off the library with five full-length novels for you to sample, but will be adding new titles on a regular basis."

http://www.suvudu.com/freelibrary/

Simple Meme: What Book Are You Reading Now?

Here's a simple Meme...answer the following questions.

1. What Book Are You Reading Now?
2. Why did you choose it?
3. What's the best thing about it?
4. What's the worst thing about it?

Here are my answers...

1. Use of Weapons by Iain Banks
2. I am reading it as part of my paranormal romance challenge from my Goodreads.com group.
3. Discovering a brilliant new-to-me author.
4. The book doesn't really fit the "paranormal romance" parameters.
   

Winterfest at the Library

I picked "Picture Wednesday" for my blogging schedule because I thought it would be an easy middle of the week post. Unfortunately, I cannot seem to remember to take pictures of anything interesting. Therefore I am going to pull a picture off my phone that was sent to Twitter last week. Here is a picture of the boss and another staff person dancing in Kirk Hall at the Central Library. (I did tell the boss I was twittering him.)

Several years ago the library decided to do away with the annual Christmas party and have something called Winterfest instead. The beauty of this approach is that you can schedule it for anytime that winter is occurring. Usually this event falls squarely on my birthday which always makes me a little cranky. This year it didn't happen until February, last Friday night to be precise. This year it didn't seem like as many staff attended which was a shame because the committee did a really nice job with the food and drinks this year. I did miss catching up with all the retirees who usually attend but it was still a nice evening.

Happy Winter everyone!

After the award committee...

I was going through my folders on Dropbox trying to free up space for new files and came across a blog post I had started with the title, "After the award committee". I had created it a few months ago as my time on the Notables committee was coming to an end.

I guess my list of all the things I was going to do to fill up my days will once again have to wait until "after the award committee". Please note that I did start taking some yoga classes so at least one item on the list is being accomplished.


Lately I have found myself uttering the words “when I am done with the award committee I am going to….” so I thought I would start a list.

1. Learn Italian so that the next time I visit Italy I can flirt with the cute Italian boys.
2. Take a cooking class so that I have a few new recipes. Since drifting back into vegetarianism I have gotten bored with my few basic recipes.
3. Learn to knit or crochet or something crafty that can be turned into a good Christmas gift (to go along with the giant stacks of books I currently give out).
4. Start taking yoga classes.
5. Start a vegetable (or herb) garden.
6. Sign up for the Master Gardener classes.
7. 
   

Stress and Work

Today I started a series of webinars offered through work by our insurance on minimizing stress. I will be keeping a journal of "stressful moments" during my day and I also had a few assignments. The first was to take the Myers Briggs test. As always I am an INFJ. One of the INFJ key traits is that we tend to over analyze ourselves and every situation in our world. Needless to say, I love taking tests that analyze why I do the things I do. In this case, the workbook has several tips on what tends to stress this personality type out and what to do to minimize my stress. Oddly enough, over analyzing things is something I should be avoiding.

Hmmm....does this mean I should stop taking personality tests?

If you want to know what the Myers-Briggs test is or it means to be an INFJ you can go to the following websites:
INFJ Wikipedia page - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/INFJ
Myers Briggs Wikipedia page - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers-Briggs_Type_Indicator

My other assignment was to do some deep breathing exercises. Unfortunately, I kept getting distracted by my email when I tried to do these at work. I have done them effectively at yoga class so I know I can.....away from the office anyway.

Room Rehab

This week my Mom came to visit and we completed one more item in the bedroom rehab project. Last time she was here we shopped for a new bedspread and repainted the bedroom a blue/gray color. This time, with the help of my fabulous handyman, we took on crown molding.







What we learned from this experience is that crown molding is hard and having a former professional was a must. We originally thought this was going to be a learning experience for us and that by the time we got around to another room we would be able to do it all by ourselves.

Hah! We might be able to do it ourselves IF we buy pre-made corner pieces. It took hours to get all the pieces just right. Taking the extra time paid off though because it looks fantastic now.

We still have a few pieces of furniture and lamps to buy, pictures to hang and a new light fixture to find but when it is done, it should look completely different. I just wish I had taken some "before" pictures.

Free e-book Friday

Mills & Boon is offering free e-books, including "Silent in the Grave"
by Deanna Raybourn. They only have ePub and MobiPocket formats.

http://www.everyone sreading. com/

Stephen Dunn: Poet

Stephen Dunn is one of the poets selected by our committee for outstanding work this year. Below is one of my favorites.

Poem For People That Are Understandably Too Busy To Read Poetry by Stephen Dunn

Relax. This won't last long.
Or if it does, or if the lines
make you sleepy or bored,
give in to sleep, turn on
the T.V., deal the cards.
This poem is built to withstand
such things. Its feelings
cannot be hurt. They exist
somewhere in the poet,
and I am far away.
Pick it up anytime. Start it
in the middle if you wish.
It is as approachable as melodrama,
and can offer you violence
if it is violence you like. Look,
there's a man on a sidewalk;
the way his leg is quivering
he'll never be the same again.
This is your poem
and I know you're busy at the office
or the kids are into your last nerve.
Maybe it's sex you've always wanted.
Well, they lie together
like the party's unbuttoned coats,
slumped on the bed
waiting for drunken arms to move them.
I don't think you want me to go on;
everyone has his expectations, but this
is a poem for the entire family.
Right now, Budweiser
is dripping from a waterfall,
deodorants are hissing into armpits
of people you resemble,
and the two lovers are dressing now,
saying farewell.
I don't know what music this poem
can come up with, but clearly
it's needed. For it's apparent
they will never see each other again
and we need music for this
because there was never music when he or she
left you standing on the corner.
You see, I want this poem to be nicer
than life. I want you to look at it
when anxiety zigzags your stomach
and the last tranquilizer is gone
and you need someone to tell you
I'll be here when you want me
like the sound inside a shell.
The poem is saying that to you now.
But don't give anything for this poem.
It doesn't expect much. It will never say more
than listening can explain.
Just keep it in your attache case
or in your house. And if you're not asleep
by now, or bored beyond sense,
the poem wants you to laugh. Laugh at
yourself, laugh at this poem, at all poetry.
Come on:

Good. Now here's what poetry can do.

Imagine yourself a caterpillar.
There's an awful shrug and, suddenly,
You're beautiful for as long as you live.

Week Four: Photo Sharing (23 Things)

I have skipped 23 Things, Online Meetings, because I am still scrounging for a headset. I have decided I will pick that one up later.

This week 23 Things is focusing on one of my favorite things, photo sharing. The services I am supposed to explore include Flickr, Picasa, Snapfish, Shutterfly, Kodak Gallery or Photobucket. With the exception of Kodak Gallery, I currently have accounts with all of these services but I have to admit, most of photos still reside on Myspace (older) and Facebook (newer). Instead of inserting a picture into my post (the assignment), I provided a link to Flickr in the sidebar.

My family uses Snapfish because it is owned by Hewlett Packard and since my sister works for them, the family shows its brand loyalty by uploading our shared pictures to that site. I used Flickr heavily for a couple of years but now only post trip pictures there.

If you want to "friend" me on these sites I have provided links below.

Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/aahlvers/
Picasa - http://picasaweb.google.com/aahlvers
Snapfish - See sidebar on this blog
Photobucket - Link to one of my albums.
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/aahlvers

My eyes are bigger than my brain

Keeping up with my feed reader is becoming a huge problem these days because I went off the deep end and subscribed to blog feeds on every topic that interests me. Turns out, I am interested in a whole boatload of stuff. I have everything from Archaeology to Zen in my feed reader right now and sadly, much of it must go before my new award committee work begins.

Right now the technology, library, cooking and old favorites get to stay. Goodbye to the science, gaming and art.

Paranormal Reading Challenge

Goodreads.com is one of my favorite interactive book sites because it has the feel of a social networking site. This month I joined the Paranormal Romance group because the have a monthly reading challenge that I found intriguing. For the most part I selected Paranormal Romance novels although I did have to cheat a bit with the male author.

"For the month of February, we are going to show some love to the very people whose efforts have given us so much fun and enjoyment - the authors. I dubbed this month's challenge as All About Authors reading challenge."

Read a book by the following:
1. A Favorite Author - The Fire King by Marjorie Liu
2. An Author that is "new" to you - The Magic Knot by Helen Scott Taylor
3. An Author you had given up before but willing to give a second chance - Kitty Takes a Holiday by Carrie Vaughn
4. A GoodReads Author - Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs
5. An Author born in the same year as you. If you cannot find one, one who died on that same year is also acceptable. - Stolen by Kelly Armstrong
6. An Author whose first or last name starts with the initial of your first name - Full Moon Rising by Keri Arthur
7. An Author whose first or last name starts with the initial of your last name - Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews
8. A male Author - Use of Weapons by Ian Banks
9. A female Author - Heat Stroke by Rachel Caine
10. With more than one Author (anthologies included) -Many Bloody Returns by Charlene Harris, Jim Butcher, etc...

Slumber Parties

Friday night I went out to a new friends house for a girls night/slumber party. She made us Stoli Doli's (soak fresh pineapple in vodka for a couple of days and you have an instant martini), I had my cards read (apparently conflict and theft are in my near future) and we played Rock Band till the wee hours. We skipped the board game which looked like much more work that any of us wanted to do on a Friday night. This was supposed to be a sleepover but since I now get up early to attend a 8 a.m. yoga class I braved the bad weather and headed home at around 1:30 a.m. which didn't exactly leave me at my best for exercise class.

I consider it a personal triumph that I made it up in time for yoga class on Saturday morning. Week by week it is getting a little easier to bend my body into positions last achieved when I was nine. After yoga, we all went over to Chez Elle Creperie and Coffeehouse and had breakfast. It is a perfect brunch establishment and I highly recommend it. For lunch I met a friend at The Westside Local for my last birthday party of the month. It is always sad when birthday month ends.

Later that night, a few neighbors came over for an Ab Fab watching marathon. As usual, I made way too much food and, of course, they also brought treats. We ate too much, drank Tootsie Roll Martinis and wine and had a wonderful time hanging out and gossiping. I do need to invest in some floor pillows for one friend who prefers stretching out on the floor to watch TV and I did a horrible job planning snack options for a real vegetarian but luckily, she forgave me.

Next time I host I think I am going to have a super-girly slumber party and possibly get someone in to do massages, etc...

Readers in the Rue Morgue

I didn't have an free e-books so I thought I would tell you how to win a free book from the Kansas City Public Library. (Just so you know, the mugs are super-cute this year. Luckily staff can participate in this Adult Reading program.)

The Kansas City Public Library invites patrons to become Readers in the Rue Morgue through the 2010 Adult Winter Reading Program (January 11 – March 14, 2010), focusing on the best in classic and contemporary crime fiction.

In addition to rewarding reading experiences, participation earns special prizes and opportunities to engage like-minded readers at book discussions, film screenings, and author events.

Participate

1) Read any five books between January 11 – March 14, 2010. Readers may reserve titles or other Library materials by logging into their online account or visiting the nearest Library location.

2) List those five titles on the online reading log and print out your receipt to receive a prize pack at the nearest Library location. You can also pick up a printed 2010 Adult Winter Reading Guide with a reading log form at all Library locations.

3) Attend any Winter Reading event, book discussion, or film screening. A completed reading log is not a prerequisite for attendance.

4) Join the Winter Reading group on goodreads.com for discussions with other Readers in the Rue Morgue.

Prizes

Prize packs include a Winter Reading Program bistro mug, a paperback book, and an invitation to the annual Winter Reading Party (which will include a drawing for two gift baskets). Prizes may be received at any Library circulation desk.

Treats!

I love it when it is Fu's turn to brings treats for staff parties.

Book Groups

I did not turn in a blog post yesterday since I have not yet figured out how to attach picture in blogger via my phone and I have never liked the way my blog posts and pictures turned out trying to do it using my email. Next week maybe I will have all my technological issues worked out but in the meantime, here is an unsuccessful picture I took of my cat, who is decidedly not thrilled about flash photography.

Now on to book related topics....

In the past year I have gone from not being involved in any personal book discussion groups to being involved with two. The first group is run by a close friend and his wife and makes some attempt to actually discuss the book before the socializing starts so from now on I will refer to it as my "serious" book club. The other is called the Martini Book Club and the group really does care more about what martini we will be serving than what book we are reading.

Last night I went to my "serious" book club and we discussed Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis. I have to admit I procrastinated when reading this book so I only finished the first fourth of it but I have always enjoyed the British sense of humor and will finish this book in the near future. One of the other participants said she felt like the author nailed life in academia and I think she is probably right and this is a major strength of the novel.

In a couple of weeks I will be hosting the Martini Book Club and, since I hosted, I also get to pick the book. I decided to select one of the American Library Association Reading List Award winners for us to try. I selected the 2010 Women's Fiction award winner Very Valentine: A Novel by Adriana Trigiani. This is a pretty easy group to pick a book for because we don't actually spend much (if any) time discussing the book so I don't need to look for books with "issues" and could select based on the fun factor. Also since the last few books fell into the genre "messed up childhood memoirs" I thought something lighter might be nice as well. Now all I need is to find a fun new martini to introduce to the group. If you have a fabulous recipe please let me know!

The next book I need to read is Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson since it is the Kansas City Public Library BIG READ title for this year. I will keep you posted on this upcoming event so you can also participate.

Playing with the Droid

Tonight I am downloading apps (applications for all of you who don't have cool phones) trying to find on that will allow me to blog with ease using my new Droid©. I am currently playing with Androblogger to see if I can create fabulous blog posts.

So far this app is looking pretty utilitarian. I can't spellcheck the post and since typing on the phone is a little hit-or-miss, this is a bit of a problem. (Please do not contact me about typos. I know there will be a couple.)

Let's see what happens when I insert a picture which unfortunately has to be a URL instead of something I can upload from my phone. Since the pictures from my trip to Europe are online, let's try that. If you don't see a picture of a houseboat somewhere on this blog, my little experiment failed.

That was a short break.....

Well, after a short break it looks like I am back on the book award circuit again. I just was offered an appointment on The American Library Association Reading List. "The Reading List seeks to highlight outstanding genre fiction that merit special attention by general adult readers and the librarians who work with them. The eight genres currently included in the council’s considerations are adrenaline titles (suspense, thrillers, and action adventure); fantasy, historical fiction; horror; mystery; romance; science fiction; and women’s fiction."

Assuming my boss approves the appointment I will get to wallow in genre books this time around.

Renaming the Blog

Now that I am finished with my book award committee (see photo for committee members hard at work) and assuming I do not get assigned to a new one, I think I should find a new focus for my blog. I used to post my concert/event/personal musings on my Myspace blog but since so many friends have dropped off the site my blog posts have devolved into more of a personal journal instead of a blog to share with others. So.... I could conceivably post about some of those topics over here. Not the dating woes perhaps, but the things I wouldn't care if library users know about me.

Since I working more at the part-time job again it looks like I might have time between reference questions to post some entries and, hopefully, won't be so burnt out that I can't try to post a bit more often than I have been lately. I think having a "schedule" might be beneficial to keeping the blog posts flowing.

Here is my proposed schedule:

Sunday - I am hoping to have more variety in my social life than I managed in past years so on Sundays I will try to post about a weekend event or activity that I have indulged in. If I spent the weekend in my PJ's with a stack of books, I will blog about that too.

Monday - Library related blog post, which leaves it pretty wide open. It can be a program at the library, a new library innovation, something to share from another blog, etc...

Tuesday - Musings

Wednesday - Picture of the Week

Thursday - Book review, poetry or a book list.

Friday - I will try to get Free e-book Friday back up and running.

Saturday - Free Day

Disclaimer: This is not a set-in-stone schedule, just something to keep me motivated.

Weekend Reading

Maybe I went a little overboard ordering some "fun" books?

Week Two: Facebook (23 Things Project)

I have been on Facebook for several years (long before it went "public") and don't have any new lessons to share so I thought I would talk instead about my love/hate relationship with it. I enjoy it when communicating with co-workers, friends (especially those who live overseas) and family members. I hate it when everyone I have ever met finds me and wants to suddenly be "friends", when Facebook tinkers with privacy settings or when people are inadvertently hurt by the actions of others on these sites. I have seen some of the greatest kindnesses on Facebook and some of the greatest ugliness on this site as well.

Because of the Facebook "friend" terminology I have noticed that social networking can lead to hurt feelings when people misunderstand the use of the work "friend" on places like Facebook or Twitter or simply have differing definitions of what the word friend means. An online "friendship" can develop into a real life friendship with time and a lot of work but many people seem to take to heart the word friend and are enormously hurt when someone "unfriends" them on a social site. Unfortunately, I don't have answers on how to manage friends and more importantly, acquaintances on these sites but I do caution you new 23 Things users to be aware of these issues and try to approach online friendships in a way that suits your personal friendship style.

Having said all that, I would love some new librarian friends so look for my Facebook badge on the sidebar of this blog.

Notable Books Council 2010 Award Winners

I just got back from serving for my fourth and final year on the ALA adult Notable Books Council Committee. I am pleased to announce the winners of the Notable Books Council book award. (My favorites are starred.)

2010 Notable Books List: the best in fiction, non-fiction and poetry

The 2010 selections for the Notable Books List—a source for very good and very important fiction, non-fiction and poetry for the nation’s adult readers—have been announced by the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA).

Since 1944, the Notable Books Council has annually selected a list of 25 very good, very readable and at times very important fiction, nonfiction and poetry books for the adult reader. Books may be selected because they possess exceptional literary merit; expand the horizons of human knowledge; make a specialized body of knowledge accessible to the non-specialist; have the potential to contribute significantly to the solution of a contemporary problem; and/or present a unique concept.

The winners were selected by the Notable Books Council, a group of RUSA members and readers’ advisory experts from around the country. This year’s committee included Alicia Ahlvers, chair, Kansas City Public Library; Susie Brown, Shaker Heights Public Library; Julie Elliott, Indiana University-South Bend; Lucy Lockley, St. Charles City-County Library District; Valerie Taylor, Lewisville Community Library; Elizabeth Olesh, Nassau Library System; Jessica Pigza, New York Public Library; Nancy Pearl; A. Issac Pulver, Saratoga Springs Public Library; Heather Robideaux, Fayetteville Public Library; Nonny Schlotzhauer, Pennsylvania State University; and Andrea Slonosky.

The 2010 winners are:

Fiction:

Anthony, Jessica. The Convalescent. McSweeney’s. 9781934781104 - my nomination

Rovar Pfiegman, bus dwelling meat salesman, fulfills his destiny as the last of the last of his clan, in this oddly imaginative tale.

*Atwood, Margaret. The Year of the Flood: A Novel. Doubleday/Nan A. Talese. 9780385528771

In the near future, two women survive an apocalyptic event in a queasily enthralling work.

Baker, Nicholson. The Anthologist: A Novel. Simon & Schuster. 9781416572442. - my nomination

A charming failure, poet Paul Chowder struggles to regain his muse and his girlfriend while watching deadlines slip by.

Chaon, Dan. Await Your Reply: A Novel. Ballantine. 9780345476029.

This chilling exploration of the modern meaning of identity follows three people on the fringes of society.

Cleave, Chris. Little Bee: A Novel. Simon & Schuster. 9781416589631. - my nomination

The compelling voice of a refugee illuminates the life-changing friendship between two women that began with a horrifying encounter on a secluded Nigerian beach.

Dexter, Pete. Spooner. Grand Central. 9780446540728.

A boy struggles to navigate the vagaries of the world with the lifelong guidance of his stepfather in this funny and heartbreaking tale.

Harding, Paul. Tinkers. Bellevue Literary Press. 9781934137123.

In this lyrical novel, the life of a dying man is examined through the smallest moments of time and memory.

Li, Yiyun. The Vagrants: A Novel. Random. 9781400063130.

The execution of a dissident woman reverberates through her small town in the aftermath of China’s Cultural Revolution.

McCann, Colum. Let the Great World Spin: A Novel. Random. 9781400063734.

Phillipe Petit’s highwire walk between the Twin Towers provides the backdrop for this rich portrait of the unlikely connections among a group of New Yorkers in the 1970s.

Morrison, Toni. A Mercy: A Novel. Knopf. 9780307264237

Four women—white, mixed race, black and Native American—become a makeshift family under the care of a “good” man in colonial America.

*Powers, Richard. Generosity: An Enhancement. Farrar, Straus & Giroux. 9780374161149.

In this postmodern indictment of the biotech industry, a student’s unnerving happiness seems to hold the key to banishing despair from the human genetic code.

Tóibín, Colm. Brooklyn: A Novel. Scribner. 9781439138311.

A young Irish woman faces heart-wrenching decisions in this unabashedly romantic and deceptively simple story of immigration and belonging.

Non-Fiction:

Cullen, Dave. Columbine. Twelve. 9780446546935.

This fine work of investigative journalism challenges the myths and misconceptions of the Columbine tragedy.

*Eggers, Dave. Zeitoun. McSweeney’s. 9781934781630.

This powerful account explores the devastation of post-Katrina New Orleans through the eyes of a Syrian-American who remained and endured the resulting chaos and confusion.

Finkel, David. The Good Soldiers. Farrar, Straus & Giroux. 9780374165734.

An embedded reporter describes the human cost paid by an Army battalion on the streets of Iraq in language that is searing, visceral and immediate.

*Grann, David. The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon. Doubleday. 9780385513531.

An intrepid reporter sets out to uncover the mysterious fate the last of the great Victorian explorers in this thrilling adventure.

*Guibert, Emmanuel. The Photographer: Into War-torn Afghanistan with Doctors Without Borders. First Second. 9781596433755.

Using mixed visual media, this stunning memoir vividly depicts the struggles and accomplishments of a humanitarian mission in an unforgiving terrain.

Holmes, Richard. The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science. Pantheon. 9780375422225.

This lively, stellar group biography animates the engrossing accounts of the research that inspired a sense of awe in poets and scientists alike.

Keefe, Patrick Radden. Snakehead: An Epic Tale of the Chinatown Underworld & the American Dream. Doubleday. 9780385521307.

Human trafficking and its subsequent effects on the American economy and social structures are documented in this fast-paced panoramic expose.

McDougall, Christopher. Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen. Knopf. 978-0307266309.

One journalist’s quest to discover the secrets of the reclusive Tarahumara Indians leads to an exciting and dangerous endurance race.

Norman, Michael and Elizabeth M. Tears in the Darkness: The Story of the Bataan Death March and Its Aftermath. Farrar, Straus & Giroux. 9780374272609.

In-depth, brutal and moving this narrative provides multiple perspectives into a tragic WWII episode in the Philippines.

Salisbury, Lainey and Aly Sujo. Provenance: How a Con Man & A Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art. Penguin. 9781594202209.

This enthralling page-turner describes how archivists uncovered one of the most extensive frauds in recent art history.

Small, David. Stitches: A Memoir. Norton. 9780393068573.

Stark drawings give voice to the horrors of a child who find redemption in art while growing up in a repressed and disturbed family.

Thompson, Nicholas. The Hawk and the Dove: Paul Nitze, George Kennan, and the History of the Cold War. Holt. 978-0805081428.

The remarkable half-century friendship and rivalry between two influential strategists who helped shape American policy is brought to life in this insightful dual biography.

Poetry:

*Alexie, Sherman. Face. Hanging Loose Press. 9781931236706.

Autobiographical poems experimenting with various styles and forms explore childhood, fatherhood, and the trials, perks and humor of minor celebrity.

Dunn, Stephen. What Goes On: Selected and New Poems 1995-2009. Norton. 978039306775

Completely accessible poems written in ordinary language deal with cats, love, barfights, desire, melancholia and relationships.

Last Notable Commitee Meeting

I will be heading off to Boston soon to chair the meeting that will decide the Notable Books Council Award, a list of 25 very good, very readable, and at times very important fiction, nonfiction, and poetry books for the adult reader. This is a list that is used by librarians for collection development and by the public to discover quality new literature for the reading pleasure.

After four years of living and breathing this award (not to mention being buried in books) I will be attending my very last Notables committee meeting at the American Library Association Midwinter conference. While I am looking forward to more free time to read some light and frothy books, catch up on some movie watching, get in shape and spend more time with friends, I am also quite sad to see it end. It has been four years filled with discovering new authors, making new friends, talking nonstop about literature and finding that I do indeed know how to pick out extraordinary books.

Week One: Blogging AKA: Inventive Librarian Training

Some wonderfully inventive librarians have come up with their own spin on the original 23 Things concept. While I am fairly tech savvy, I am planning to participate in order to hone my skills and maybe even find a few new things. It's a Kansas Library project but they will let those of us who live or work out-of-state participate.

Take a look at Librarian, Erin Howerton, hosting the opening module: Blogging. 23 Things - http://www.23thingskansas.org/

Stephen's Lighthouse has also provided a little history on the 23 Things project.