reference's blog

In the current New York Review of Books J.M. Coetzee discusses a new translation of Goethe’s epistolary novella The Sorrows of Young Werther*. My interest piqued as Coetzee is one of my favorite writers and Goethe’s novella provided one of my most enjoyable reading moments. Werther has fallen in love with a betrothed woman and writes longing letters to his friend Wilhelm. The letters are hilarious.

One type of music that I love listening to by serendipity is reggae. I love the feeling I get when I walk into a store or restaurant playing some of Bob Marley's music, or listen to a car passing by with my favorite reggae song blasting out the window. It’s that “Oh yeah” moment when your soul changes its mood in a snap, and the music takes you to a different place and time, away from the noise of the city or the noise inside your head.

It is generally a very satisfying feeling to finish a book and then answer the question, “what did you think?” But after reading Craig Thompson’s newest graphic novel Habibi, I felt unable to really form a solid opinion about whether or not I liked it. This is almost certainly due, in part, to the hype the book received leading up to its release. Thompson is best known for his graphic novel Blankets which received buckets of praise when it was released and continues to be a core item in the genre. So sure, there’s the hype. But there were other things holding me back.

The 2012 Pulitzer Prize winners were announced yesterday. This year’s fiction winner?

No one.

That’s right, the selection committee chose not to award a fiction prize, which has raised unanswered questions. Is the committee’s decision an indictment of contemporary American fiction? Was the committee unable to agree on a title? And, why offer an annual prize then decide not to award it?

Bob Dylan said that he would never again write like he did when he was young; that wherever it is those great songs come from is inaccessible to him now. After reading a couple of tepid reviews of Springsteen’s new album, Wrecking Ball (without hearing it), I figured Bruce’s best work is behind him, too. His great anthems, "Born to Run", "Born in the USA", "She’s the One", were a product of youth, driven by hormones and proximity to struggle; and then I saw Bruce on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and had to reassess.

One aspect of my job as a reference librarian is to complete “Reader’s Advisories” for library patrons. Basically, you can come to us, give us some idea of what you’ve enjoyed in the past and voila! We’ll come up with some titles for you. ‘Voila!’ might make it sound a bit too magical but you understand. I try to become familiar with a range of genres and authors but I have found that I avoid reading “IT” books. Sure, I read Harry Potter. But I’ve skipped the Twilight Series and the Hunger Games for now because most people have already heard of these books so there’s no need for a recommendation.

You won't find a copy of Bless Me Ultima in any school library within the Tucson, Arizona School District. The same holds true for titles such as The House on Mango Street, Like Water for Chocolate, or Drown. Administrative officials have deemed the contents of these works of fiction as being dangerous to the sovereignty of the United States because they may potentially incite racial solidarity among Mexican Americans irrespective of the fact that Junot Diaz, the author of Drown, is from the Dominican Republic.

Many of us have seen plays put on by local masters in small theaters or corners of the library or school.  Fewer of us have seen puppets like the ones seen on stage in War Horse.  As much as I admire the  puppetry as seen in War Horse, I quite enjoy less techologically complex puppetry as used in Sesame Street.  I especially get excited now after I've seen the recent documentary, Being Elmo.  Have you seen it?  It's one of the top showing documentaries on Netflix and will be showing on PBS' Independent Lens next month.   It's a very well done documentary on the man who is Elmo, Kevin Clash.  As mentioned in the film, Kevin is probably the most famous man in the world and yet, when he walks down the street, not one person would know him.  But, now, I wager that many people would.  The library has ordered the film, so keep an eye on the catalog for it.

John Le Carre was the greatest Cold War spy novelist. His novels depicted the grittiness, the bleakness, and the moral ambiguity of the era. Unlike the James Bond novels with their polished hero, gadgets, and righteous certainty, Le Carre’s characters exhibited authenticity: hope tempered with anxiety, conviction cut with uncertainty. The Gary Oldman and Colin Firth movie Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy rekindled my interest in Le Carre’s novels. The movie was fantastic and I look forward to reading the book soon. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold  is often considered his masterpiece. I read it earlier this month and was amazed. It was the most enjoyment I have received from a novel in awhile. Several years ago I was gifted a copy of The Secret Pilgrim. Its anti-hero is a surly, curmudgeon I cheered on throughout the book and think about every now and then.

Four years ago we had room for a couple more dogs (we top out at five). On the Humane Society web site was a photo of a pug-style cutie who reminded me of the dog we'd just lost, so we hightailed it up there. That dog was already gone, but once we'd set paw in the building, we couldn't leave without a dog.

They did have a pair of dogs labeled "chihuahuas", brother and sister. After I'd talked my husband out of a couple of yellow lab puppies, we took the chihuahuas home.