The Librarian's Lounge: May 2008

Recently Devoured

Jen Lancaster: Such a Pretty Fat: One Narcissist's Quest To Discover if Her Life Makes Her Ass LookBig, Or Why Pie is Not The Answer
This reads like chicklit nonfiction and is about the author's process of writing this book about losing weight. Light, funny.
Bill Bishop: The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America Is Tearing Us Apart
Very interesting book about how Americans are moving more and more to surround themselves with like-minded people and how this is causing changes in the political makeup of our cities and rural areas.
Derek Kirk Kim: Good as Lily (Minx)
Cute graphic novel about 18 year old Lily, who runs into herself as a kid, a 30 year old, and an old woman. Very light teen chicklit-like reading with a funny lovestruck theme.
Robyn Scott: Twenty Chickens for a Saddle: The Story of an African Childhood
Stephanie Klein: Moose: A Memoir of Fat Camp
What I liked most about this memoir was that it reminded me of some long-forgotten things about my own adolescence. I never got to go to camp when I was a kid, so in some ways, this brought up an old longing to do that. I skimmed part of this book - I started to find it a bit dull around 250 pages in. But I did read the end.
Sam Gosling: Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You
Interesting and somewhat insightful. Maybe it's because I majored in Anthropology once upon a time, but that much of the meaning found in people's stuff depends on the context seems pretty obvious to me. But it was still an enjoyable book overall.
Hillary Carlip: A la Cart: The Secret Lives of Grocery Shoppers
Really, the makeup jobs this woman put herself through - some of them are fantastic. But this was not what I hoped the book would be - my fault for judging the book by its title and expecting an anthropological look at shoppers.
Jill Price: The Woman Who Can't Forget: The Extraordinary Story of Living with the Most Remarkable Memory Known to Science--A Memoir
After reading this, I'm a bit more at ease with my own faulty memory. Her description of having to constantly live her memories over and over again without being able to control them sounds very unpeaceful to me.
Susan Nathan: The Other Side of Israel: My Journey Across the Jewish/Arab Divide
A profoundly eye-opening book about what it is like to live as an Arab in modern day Israel, as experienced by this Jewish author living in one of the Arab towns. Highly recommended.
Janet McDonald: Project Girl
Very absorbing story about a woman who grows up in the New York projects through many hardships but manages to pursue higher education and escape the life that many people from the projects never do.
Vince Smith: A Chimp in the Family: The True Story of Two Infants--One Human, One Chimpanzee--Growing Up Together
What makes this story unique compared to others of hand-reared chimps living in human families is that Sophie was allowed to return to the wild in Africa and learned how to be with other chimps. Ultimately, however, it was still because of human interference that she died.
Jorge Ramos: Dying to Cross: The Worst Immigrant Tragedy in American History
Another horrifying story about a bunch of people who attempted to cross illegally into the U.S. and the tragedy that occurred.
Luis Alberto Urrea: Across the Wire: Life and Hard Times on the Mexican Border
Touching, heartbreaking.
David Sedaris: When You Are Engulfed in Flames
Anything I read that makes me laugh aloud gets my stamp of approval. Sedaris scores again!
Luis Urrea: By the Lake of Sleeping Children
Interesting and sad, particularly about the people who live in/off the dump.

May 2008

Alumni blues

I received what looked like a bill the other day from my alma mater but turned out to be an uber-smart marketing ploy to lure me into believing I owed the UofA money to pay for my alumni membership. This reminded me- I had been meaning to sign up for the alumni membership so that I could get a discounted annual university library card and continue to use their electronic databases for all my informational needs. Lo and behold, the university library policy has changed and alumni cards no longer provide access to their subscription databases. Rats. Turns out my other alma mater has changed their policy in the same way. I can't think of any good reason to sign up for either now. I am so bummed.

Tuesday, May 06, 2008 in School Libraries | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)