What I Am Doing On New Year's Eve

I am watching old movies,

Eating vast quantities of toast, drinking gallons of orange juice,

and fighting a head cold with Nyquil and Moose Tracks frozen yogurt.

Happy New Year....

Cold Case Files

The Murder Room by Michael Capuzzo

I'm actually listening to the audio version of this book read by Adam Grupper.

It's a fascinating look into the minds of some of the great criminalists but written in a manner that makes it difficult - at least for me, while listening - to tell the discern when he's talking about the murderers or the backstories of the detectives.

Still, paying close attention and concentrating, I am enjoying the stories of long cold cases being resolved. As a latent psychological profiler myself, I find the process stimulating.

It's one of those "if I had my life to live over" and "if I knew then what I know now" kind of things. If only I could



And a fitting New Year's Eve video...

Decluttering and Recording

If I make any New Years Resolutions in 2011, they are going to be:

1. Declutter

2. Keep a notebook, write something down at least once a day. Anything. The price of ground beef. The temperature. What birds did I see today.

Toward Goal #1, I am bookmarking 365 Less Things, all about decluttering and organizing in small, incremental steps: The Kaizen approach, if you will.

2. Toward Goal #2: I've always wanted an excuse to buy one of these beautiful notebooks.

Writing will be a pleasure if I can pull out my Molkeskine every day. So to speak.

I'll keep things updated on my sidebar: Things I Threw Out Today. Starting January 1. Stay tuned - it could get interesting.

Man in the Woods by Scott Spencer

Man in the Woods by Scott Spencer.

Note: not THE Man in the Woods.

There's a lot to like in this book. Great characters and a tense story line, wonderful language (notice I do not use the word "luminous").

Paul Phillips is the main character, someone who has been if not a drifter then a free spirit, who works in wood on an almost spiritual level. He meets Kate, a recovered alcoholic, a single mother with a young daughter, Ruby. Kate is a new-agey Christian writer whose book has become a mega- Opra-esque bestseller. They live in a trendy New York town which is rapidly becomine a yuppie enclave, much to the regret of those who have made it their home for many years.

But Paul has a chance encounter that leads him to do something unspeakable, although not entirely his fault: no good deed goes unpunished, right? The book leads us through Paul's, and ultimately Kate's, struggle with this secret and how it transforms the three main characters over the course of a year.

Essentially Paul is a good person, as is Kate, and carrying something so profound inside them, something that is so against their natures, takes its toll on both of them, and on Ruby.

This was the essence of the book for me. Backing up from the point at which the universe shifts for Paul, you see a series of events and how they lead up to that point that I found fascinating. The book's message was subtle but deeply moving. I thought the ending was perfect.

A worthwhile read.

Reviews:
Washington Post
Cleveland Plain Dealer

Jewish Literature Challenge

I've joined Maggie's Jewish Literature Challenge. I'm going to start with Philip Roth and hopefully finally finish As A Driven Leaf by Milton Steinberg.

Other books in this series can be found here.

A Beautiful Winter Scene

From Althouse

A Cowboy and his Dog

I absolutely LOVE this photo from Shorpy.

I love the vintage feel and the way the dog is looking up at the cowboy.

Nemesis by Philip Roth

Nemesis by Philip Roth is the latest (last?) in his series Nemeses which includes The Humbling, Indignation, Everyman, and the Humbug. I've only read Nemesis.

I've not read a lot of Roth. Here's the list:

Goodbye, Columbus
The Human Stain
The Plot Against America

I've loved each of them, including Nemesis

so why don't I read more Roth?

Roth is to me like Joyce Carol Oates. I don't think I'm smart enough to understand Roth or Oates so I avoid reading them. When I do brave those waters, I'm completely overwhelmed by their intelligence and ultimately glad I made the effort.

Nemesis takes place during the polio epidemic, 1944. The main characer, Bucky, is such an innocently decent man, honest, somewhat simple but not simple-minded. He's been exempted from the military because of bad eyesight, and thus dedicates himself to serving the kids as a playground director during a brutally hot summer.

The novel is heartbreaking not only because of the subject matter and the horror of the polio threat, and the numbers of people who died but because of the choices Bucky makes and their consequences.

I've checked out the other titles in this group by Roth and can't wait to read them. Life-enriching stuff.

Mr. Peanut by Adam Ross

What an odd book.

Initiall I thought it was a murder mystery: did he kill his wife or not? But no.

It is the story of three marriages and weirdly rehashes the Sam Sheppherd story in great detail and still leaves you wondering if Sam did it or not.

Then again, when I finished the book and reflected on it, I wondered: was this entire thing a fantasy - was I reading the protagonist's book all along?

I don't have an answer and would probably have to re-read the last third of the book which I'm not anxious to do.

It held my attention, though and I love to read about unsolved mysteries. I was only four years old when the Sheppherd murder occurred but I watched David Jansen in the Fugitive religiously!

High Anxiety

We're all - library staff that is - awaiting word about the budget that should come next. Several scenarios were presented to the Commissioners who will decide what lies ahead.

I'm hoping their plan doesn't involve layoffs or furloughs but if not, the only alternative would be a reduction in service. Jobs are so scared, I really don't want to see anyone lose theirs.

I know we will get through these difficult times but it's not going to be pretty.

Elegy for April by Benjamin Black

AKA - John Banville.

Having read the first two of Black's Quirke series, I could not wait to get my hands on this one and it doesn't disappoint.

My favorite protagonist these days is the very human, very flawed, but very intelligent detective (as in the Erlander books by Arnaldur Indridason and Henning Mankell's Wallander. I've been gravitation toward the Nordic writers with a vengeance; Quirke is a nice change of pace.)

Okay: he's not technically a detective but he sure solves crimes like one.

Quirke is intriguing because of his background, his troubled relationships, his intelligence. I haven't finished this book yet, but I'm enjoying it tremendously so I think I'll get back to it before my lunch hour is over.

I have had so many books come and go this year that I just could not get round to reading so I've made a list, and when the waiting list diminishes, I will have another go.

Sartorialist

I love, love, love The Sartorialist. I love photography, and I love clothes, and I love seeing how people put themselves together.

Last week, he posted this gorgeous picture of a somewhat pensive and wary Mennonite girl - a beautiful portrait. Subsequently more photos of Mennonite children were posted. I'm not going to argue the ethics or propriety of that, since it was covered on Althouse that day. But if that photo were for sale, I'd buy it. It's charming and sweet and I'd love to be able to look at it every day. That is indeed what little girls should look like.

Exercise. It's Boring.

Today I reached a goal - I did 30 minutes on the elliptical machine. Do you know what that is? This is an elliptical machine. Think about walking on the beach in you bare feet. It's similar to that. Up until today I've made it 20 minutes max, today I pushed myself to 30.

Then I did one of the reclining bikes for another 15. I'm working up to an hour. It's not the physical exertion that kills me, it's the boredom. In spite of a TV screen in front of me, or a Playaway, or my MP3 player full of good music, let's be honest, this stuff is BORING.

I know the benefits of exercise and if I hadn't been doing this for the last year I shudder to think what kind of shape I'd be in. But it's BORING.

Although maybe it's good for the brain to go into a holding pattern for an hour, give it a rest while the body takes over.

What's on the Playaway: The Soul Thief. Just got started to I don't have an opinion yet.

contest!

Go on over to C. Beth's blog and enter the contest to win a $100 gift card! It's easy - leave a comment on her post about the contest, tweet, or post on your blog.

Look Who's Back

It's my evil twin, back blogging on Bookish. i don't know if I can keep up two blogs, and FACEBOOK but will give it a try.

Catching up:

This year our library suffered some draconian budget cuts but at least we have been able to maintain services. That is, we have not reduced staff or hours. We are still open 70 hours a week (at Central and Regionals), 66 at most branches. We have not laid off any staff although when someone leaves, it's darn difficult to get them replaced. Every job opening must be approved by the county manager before it can be advertised. However, our county has always been fiscally conservative and extremely responsible, so we are in much better shape that other metro area Counties. I am grateful for that.

Still it has been challenging to spread out the book budget and patrons are feeling it at this point. We've cut the number of bestseller copies we purchase by 50%, doubled the holds-to-copies ratio. We're much more cautious about purchasing marginal materials. Generally I purchase 2 copies unless I am certain the title will be in high demand, in which case I might order 10 right off the bat and more if requests grow.

Yet, I love the position I'm in as collection development librarian. I love reading about books as much as I love reading them; the publishing industry is interesting and weird; and I love working with the reference/selection team.

My only complaint: I didn't do this thirty years ago. I never wanted to work in a public library. I didn't like the crazy hours or having to deal with such a diverse public. However, I have found that working with a broader base of patrons is really easier than a focused one as you would in a medical or law library. I found that in a special library, you generally have one type of patron so the quirks and difficult personalities seem to be magnified. In a public library, YOU GET EVERYTHING. Readers and non-readers, high school and middle school students, some college students who don't want to drive up to their campus or they're home on spring break; little old ladies and men; homeless people, crazy people, lonely people. Some make you want to strangle them, some break your heart, to others, you are their savior.

I miss that part of being on the public desk.

I had one woman who called regularly but we rarely saw her. She is certifiably nuts. She always has about five or six requests when she calls and they are random, off the wall questions: phone numbers and faxes usually, such as the county jail (where apparently both her sons reside), Catholic charities, the head of the Social Security Administration. And that's in the same call.

She drives some folks crazy but I don't mind her. If you're very busy with folks at the desk, and you tell her she'll have to call back she says, "Oh, okay honey." I would just go along with her because I think she might be alcoholic but I also believe her two sons problems have driven her over the edge.

That doesn't go for everybody I have had to deal with but the really difficult ones are neutralized by the good ones and in the medical library where I worked briefly that wasn't the case. Too many of the same personality types in that profession.

I thank the Lord everyday for this job, and simultaneously kick myself for not doing it sooner.