Blog Archive

May 2007 Blogs

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

It seems that too many novels are too long by as much as 200 pages. Often those pages aren't without interest, and if--like the author--you find the narrative voice of the novel compelling in itself, you will not mind the lengthy anecdotes, detailed descriptions, and irrelevant digressions, but sometimes you want a well-written, short book, one that you can finish easily within the Library's 3-week check out period.

Our latest blogs have been about male authors, so these authors are all women. The six titles listed are recommended by myself, friends, and coworkers.

Good, short novels, recently published, at APL

The Elegance of the Hedgehog. Muriel Barbery 325 pp
Wry and erudite tale of a middle-aged French concierge named Rene, who hides her hard-won self-education in the humanities from her building's wealthy tenants, astutely comments on class, presumption and power.

The Great Man. Kate Christensen 320 pp
Scintillating comedy of life among the art avant-garde.

Lark and Termite. Jayne Ann Phillips. 272 pp
Lyrical novel about sibling love is narrated by four characters and set during the 1950s in West Virginia and Korea.

Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name. Vendela Vida. 226 pp
The hunt for her biological father—and the resumption of a search for her mother who left when Clarissa was 14—lead Clarissa to mystical Lapland.

Life Class Pat Barker 320 pp
Explores the impact of World War I on three student artists in England.

Ms Hempel Chronicles. Sarah Shun-lien Bynum. 208 pp
Funny, masterfully written, collection of eight interconnected stories about Beatrice Hempel, a middle school English teacher who is full of both hope and insecurity on the brink of confident adulthood, and despite feeling disenchanted with her job, she regards her students as intelligent and fascinating.

Olive Kitteridge. Elizabeth Strout. 304 pp
Thirteen linked tales with themes of suicide, depression, poor communication, aging and love, revolve around Olive Kitteridge, a retired schoolteacher.

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Have you seen an Alebrije?

by: reference

Alebrije? What is that?? Alebrije is the a Spanish word used for “Imaginary” or “Fantasy.” It is used to describe a style of fanciful and surreal animal carvings with near-psychedelic paint schemes that has been developed during the last 20 years in three small villages in the State of Oaxaca, 200 miles south of Mexico City, by the Zapotec Indians.

These works of art are mythical creatures with origins traceable to ancient Mexican religious beliefs that fuse contradictory forces represented by a variety of animal and human features. Hallucinatory and whimsical, the figures embody the spirit of some god or protective power. Alebrije carvings have become the center of a marketing phenomenon that has spread not only to the United States and Canada, but also to several European countries.

Each of the wooden sculptures are hand-carved from the wood of the Copal (or Copillo) tree. Each piece is hand-sanded and painted in bright and exciting motifs. You can see great attention to detail in their beautiful painting and “pointillist” style. The smallest colored dots are often applied with the tip of a cactus needle.

Next time you visit the Faulk Central Library, look for the Alebrije exhibit we are having during this month, and if you are curious about this creatures you can also check out some books like:

Crafting tradition: the making and marketing of Oaxacan wood carvings by Michael Chibnik

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

I can see my house!!!

by: reference

Lately there has been a boom on websites offering satellite images of Earth, with the most popular one being Google Earth. With this Google feature it is possible to visit cities and look at some of their historical or famous buildings in 3D. So, for instance, you can go to Paris, and view the Eiffel Tower from the air as if you were in a helicopter. Pretty cool, huh? Google also offers Google Maps, which is much simpler than Google Earth. With this tool you can find an address on a map, but then you can also see a hybrid map that will show the address that you were looking for posted on a satellite map, giving you a better idea of how the area you are going to travel looks like.

NASA also offers a similar software with satellite images of Earth. It is called NASA World Wind and if you love topography this is a great resource for you. It has images not only of our planet but also of the Moon and Mars. Microsoft did not want to be left behind and put out its product Virtual Earth. With Virtual Earth you can see maps and 2Dand 3D pictures of cities and their buildings.

Unfortunately, to take advantage of these different software programs you have to download them to your computer. But hey, if you don’t want to do that, you can always come to the Austin Public Library where we have Google Earth installed on our computers.

You can visit and get more information about the programs listed above by visiting the following links:

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