DON'T LET THEM CLOSE OUR DOORS

From the Reading Eagle, October 28, 2008:

[This is an excerpt from today's article covering the city council's discussions of how to eliminate administrative costs:]

"Council also had some ideas, such as cutting management raises and even possibly closing the Reading Public Library to save $500,000. The city has to cut back to its core services, and the library isn't one of them, several council members said."

(I have emboldened and reddened the text in two areas to indicate the severity of what our city's government--or at least several members of its council--is proposing.)

Clearly I have a vested interest in having the Reading Public Library remain open: this is my place of employment and how I make my living. However challenging the library's closure would be to me personally, my real grievance is how much would be senselessly taken from the community with our library's suppression, even temporarily (and council is not speaking in terms of transience when they mention shuttering Reading Public Library's doors.)

The current economic crisis has caused scores of hardworking citizens to lose their employment. Every day, my colleagues and I encounter men and women who are looking for work, and assist them in navigating the internet for jobs, helping them learn how to draft a resume, or how to connect with local employers. We do it because it is part of our mission to help anyone who comes to us to the best of our ability, and we are happy to do so. We are proud to serve our patrons in whatever manner we are able.

We help students seeking materials to prepare for exams, and others with various academic pursuits, ranging from science fair project development to compiling research papers on a myriad of topics. We perform readers' advisory service, meaning when a patron shares that he or she has just finished a particular book and found it enjoyable but doesn't know what to read next, we are informed professionals who can point them to another title. The blog entries before today's detail books and films we will soon see on the Main Library's shelves: these, and hundreds of thousands of other library holdings, are available to be borrowed---FOR FREE--by anyone with a valid library card.

Apparently city council does not find this eminently noble enterprise to be anything worthwhile. Shame on them.

I am only describing what the professional reference staff does, and at that am hardly sharing an exhaustive list of our department's services. I dare not attempt to list all the benefits of our children's and young adults' departments, who host hundreds of programs annually, reaching out to the youngest in our community in ways no other organization can: through the wonder of the printed word. Our interlibrary loan services guarantee--with hardly any exception--that patrons can request almost any book in the world and have it delivered for them to our library. It is mind-boggling how very dedicated our ILL department is, and I know dozens of our regular patrons who utilize their services regularly.

Our technical services department annually processes thousands of items--well beyond books--including DVDs, music CDs, books on CD, and even toys, all for the edification or enjoyment of the public. The circulation staff not only checks out items to the public, they also shelve (and keep shelving--there's never an end to shelving in the library!) and retrieve items which people have requested to be pulled. We are an organization whose departments are entirely interdependent on one another, but all with one goal in mind and one task at hand:
TO BEST SERVE THE PUBLIC IN EVERY WAY POSSIBLE.

Now imagine this is all swept aside simply because city council is facing a budget crunch.

The injustice of it is staggering, its ramifications deplorable, and yet several council members are hastening the Reading Public Library's termination. In the advent of any library's closure, far more serious consequences than its staff's unemployment shall follow:

It means depriving citizens of all ages and backgrounds access to information and knowledge.

It means denying ways for people to improve themselves.

It means closing the doors of opportunity.

Please contact the mayor's office and the city council and tell them that you do not want the closure of the Reading Public Library to be considered as a viable means of resolving Reading's budget woes.

IMMINENT SUSPENSE FICTION

The upcoming weeks will provide a bounteous cornucopia of fiction releases from some of my favorite mystery and suspense authors. Look for these new titles at the Main Library:


Bones
Jonathan Kellerman
Release date: October 21

The remains of murdered prostitutes are found in an environmentally protected marshland just outside Los Angeles. Detective Milo Sturgis, Kellerman's recurring, crafty sleuth, is called to the case. He discovers that the latest victim dredged from the swamp isn't a streetwalker at all, but rather a young lady who'd served as a music tutor to the scion of a vastly wealthy family. Milo turns to his tried-and-true friend, psychiatrist Alex Delaware, to assist him in tracking down a frenzied killer.


Just After Sunset
Stephen King
Release date: November 11

Renowned horror storyteller King is praised for his chilling novels, but he is also an acclaimed master of short fiction. This anthology of stories probes the bizarre and macabre in the Kingliest fashion: a Port-A-Potty becomes one hapless man's prison, a stationary bike takes its passenger on a wildly nightmarish ride, and a woman who innocuously peeps into a neighbor's driveway, only to suddenly become the would-be victim of a maniacal serial killer.


Cross Country
James Patterson
Release date: November 17

Patterson's beloved hero Alex Cross discovers his old friend Ellie Cox has been brutally murdered in her Washington, D.C., residence (the same metropolis Cross and his family call home) . His investigation leads him and girlfriend Brianna Stone into the seamy underworld of the Nigerian mob. Alex must eventually voyage to Africa to track down, and vanquish, a demonic criminal mastermind.


Private Patient
P. D. James
Release date: November 18

Commander Adam Dalgliesh returns to the printed page to probe the death of journalist Rhoda Gradwyn, who is murdered at an upscale private plastic surgery clinic housed on a sumptuous estate in the English countryside. James' reputation for highly-polished and deftly-crafted prose, married with ingenious plot devices, shines forth in her latest effort.


Your Heart Belongs To Me
Dean Koontz
Release date: November 25

Creepiness seeps from this plotline as the reader meets Ryan Perry, a young, wildly successful dot-com tycoon whose enviable existence is abruptly compromsied when he is diagnosed with a potentially fatal heart condition. Against the odds, he receives a transplant, and his life slowly regains its former luster. A year after the surgery he starts getting mysterious tokens, all heart-themed, each one bearing the statement "Your heart belongs to me". Apparently the cardiac donor wants the organ returned to owner...


Scarpetta
Patricia Cornwell
Release date: December 2

Kay Scarpetta has departed her private forensic practice in Charleston, South Carolina, for New York City, where she is asked to interview a psychopath named Oscar Bane in the infamous Bellevue Hospital. As has happened with other perpetrators with whom she has worked, Bane evidences an unhealthy fixation on Kay. Her husband, Benton Wesley, and her technophile niece Lucy lend their unstinting support as Scarpetta unravels a string of bloodthirsty murders that may--or may not--have been committed by Bane the clinically insane.

DOES ANYBODY REALLY KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS?

So runs the old tune by Chicago. I wasn't asking that question myself when I encountered a simply marvelous tome amongst our new non-fiction titles and decided it deserves a mention.

It's The History of Watches by David Thompson, with photographs by Saul Peckham. It was published earlier this year by the esteemed art house Abbeville Press of New York. The title tells it all: it's a sumptuous, revelatory waltz through the story of small timepieces.

To be honest, I actually don't like watches. I never wear one. I don't even own one. I plucked this title from the shelf simply because it's a history of a commonplace object, and books on such matters tend to interest me (I am currently engrossed in Milk: The Surprising Story of Milk Through the Ages by Anne Mendelson--but that's an entirely different blog entry). It is, however, hardly all-encompassing: Thompson is the Curator of Horological Collections at the British Museum, and this book presents the stories of seventy-seven (out of over 4,500!) of that particular institution's horological (when else am I going to get to utilize that adjective?) holdings.

The oldest piece dates from around 1560, originating in Germany. A particularly ornate watch, dating from 1630 by French watchmaker Louis Vautier, caught my eye: all gold and enamel, set with semi-precious stones. The watches in this collection tend to be very intricate affairs, and many of the oldest among them still function. The pieces reflect both centuries-old pieces as well as current offerings by Casio and the venerable Bulova line of extravagant wristwatches.

We were able to add both The History of Watches as well as several dozen other books on art and artists through the generous providence of the estate of Paul F. and Mary B. Tigh. Currently, a large number of these new art books are being shelved in the front of the Main Library. Come on in and check one of them out with the smARTest card in town!

IMPENDING FILM ADDITIONS

The Main Library will soon be adding some new and noteworthy titles to our DVD collection. I thought I would share some of them on the blog...

ENTERTAINMENT TITLES

Deception

Starring Ewan McGregor and Hugh Jackman, this thriller follows mousy, Barnaby-the-Scriveneresque Jonathan McQuarry (McGregor), an accountant. He meets suave, uber-cool attorney Wyatt Bose (Jackman) and abruptly becomes hopelessly entwined with Bose's seamy secret life when their cell phones become exchanged by accident (or is it...?). Characters aren't who they appear to be and the pacing is assuredly speedy in this implausible but rollicking who's-duping-whom adventure.

Fanny Hill

Based on the novel of the same name written by John Cleland in 1748, this film adaptation aired on the BBC in October 2007. Fanny (played by Rebecca Night) is a newly-orphaned farmgirl who is forced into homelessness, shortly after which she is hoodwinked into working at a house of ill repute. She becomes involved with Charles Standing, a nobleman's son, with whom she sustains a relationship (of sorts) throughout her career as a prostitute. Cheerfully unrepentant in the face of her life choices, Fanny Hill was a tremendously controversial character at the novel's debut since she refused repentance or regret in the face of her actions, which were hardly fictitious for disenfranchised Englishwomen of the times.

Journey to the Center of the Earth

Jules Verne's fantastical, deep-terrestrial saga is vivdly brought to the big screen in this high-powered, computer-generated-effects spectacle starring Brendan Fraser. According to several reviews I have read, very free license was taken with regard to Verne's original storyline...this production serves best as a vehicle for supercool special effects (think of the Jurassic Park movies, or the Jack Black version of King Kong) rather than a literary adaptation. Still, Fraser has legions of die-hard fans, and his penchant for action flicks (he starred in the latest installment of the Mummy franchise this past summer, when J.T.t.C.o.t.E was also released) has earned him an ineradicable position in Hollywood.

Kiss of the Spider Woman

Released in 1985 (yet available on DVD only this year!) this movie stars William Hurt and Raul Julia as two cellmates consigned to permanent incarceration in a Brazilian jail. Valentin Arregui (Julia) is a passionate political activist whose activities against the dictatorship regime have landed him in jail; Luis Molina (Hurt) is a gay man who has been convicted of statutory rape charges. Unlikely as the duo is, they become friends under the harshest of conditions; their relational progress is an intent exercise in character development, and it does not leave the viewer wanting. The Spider Woman of the title is a creation of their combined imagination who serves as a ministering angel of sorts in their mutual misery. Hurt won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Luis, and the film was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay (the original plot is based on the eponymous 1976 novel by Manuel Puig). In 1993, a popular musical version of the same story made its first run on Broadway.

Willard

Willard Stiles is a socially inept bachlor played with eerie intensity by Crispin Glover. He lives with his tyrannical mother, Henrietta, and daily reports to work in a vast, impersonal office, where he is perpetually hectored and demeaned by his boss, Mr. Martin. Willard's existence is worn nearly transparent between these two overwhelmingly smothering forces...until he discovers Socrates. And not the ancient Greek philosopher, either: Socrates is the name Willard gives to a rat he takes as a pet. Socrates is soon aggressively displaced by Ben, a much larger (and nastier) rat, who creeps up from the rotting basement of the Stiles' sepulchral residence. Plus Ben brings friends. Suffice it to say the flesh-eating, vengeful shenanigans Willard directs his horde of rodent rascals to undertake will make for very atmospheric viewing as Halloween approaches. Originally released in 2003.


DOCUMENTARIES

Great American Authors Since 1650

This four-DVD set, hosted by actress Jane Kaczmarek (best known, perhaps, as the harridan mother from Malcolm in the Middle), explores three centuries of notable writers native to the United States. Described as "the college literature course you always wanted to take but didn't", it's a great instrument for both those who want to learn more about our country's most prominent authors, or for lovers of literature who would enjoy an audio-visual experience of their favorite wordsmith. I am anxious to see what treasures this highly-lauded series has to offer.

Haunted Houses

A & E, whose titles are among the best non-Hollywood DVD releases on the market, first aired this program in 1996. It presents an array of American domiciles that are supposedly possessed by restless spirits. Watch as uninhabited rooms pulse with dreary groans and inexplicable bumps transpire in the dead of night! A wickedly appropriate acquisition for the Halloween season, check it out...if you're not easily spooked. BOO!

Olympics: Highlights as well as Olympics: The Opening Ceremony

For anyone who either missed some or all of the grandiose opening ceremony in Bejing, or the most memorable moments in any of the individual events, here's your chance to catch them on two discrete DVDs.

Raise the Song: The History of Penn State

Whether due to its football prowess or its sheer size (the main campus has its own ZIP code), Pennsylvania State University is one of the Commonwealth's most renowned institutions of higher learning. This documentary follows Penn State's history, from lowly beginnings in the 1850s as a local farmers' college to its international contemporary reputation. This is a particularly relevant addition since Berks County has a Penn State campus just outside of Reading. GO PENN STATE! :-)

White House Pets

Martha Washington kept a parrot. Thomas Jefferson had bears on the White House's grounds. Andrew Johnson harbored domesticated mice. James Buchanan received elephants as a gift from the King of Siam, and John Quincy Adams was devoted to raising silkworms. While in an earlier post I held forth on presidential mothers, this wonderful documentary focuses on the vast panorama of fauna that have inhabted the White House (only a handful of presidents--Pierce, Arthur, and Fillmore--had no pets of any kind).

These titles were ordered just a few days ago, so please allow several weeks until they are received and processed. Then--happy viewing!

LOVE YA, HATE YA, SEE YA

I just finished a mystery novel I found equally engaging and dissatisfying--so of course it must become part of the blog. It was recommended by one of my colleagues (thanks, Krista!) who has a keen sense of worthwhile reads--and I agree with her that this was a good book. Except for the part of me that became really aggravated by the way the book ends. Hence this post's title.

I promise there are no spoilers, so read ahead without worry.

The novel is In The Woods and was written by Tana French, published by Viking in 2007. It is set in the fictitious Dublin suburb of Knocknaree in the present day. A promising young ballerina, Katharine "Katy" Devlin, is found viciously murdered on an archeological dig very close to her home. The primary investigators are Detectives Rob Ryan and Cassandra Maddox, a pair of early thirty-somethings whose lack of years is belied by their highly laudable solve rate.

The twist in this tale is that over two decades before, three youngsters ventured into the great woods that border Knocknaree, with only one of them ever to be seen again. The sole survivor is none other than Detective Ryan (who had gone by Adam at that time); after being discovered wearing shoes saturated with blood (not his own) and suffering from significant amnesia, young Master Ryan is bundled off to boarding school and his parents move from their home.

Ryan is determined not only to remain on the Devlin case, but also to use his unique position in the contemporary investigation to help recover his own long-absent memory of what happened to him as a child. Katy's family is hauntingly memorable: Jonathan, her father, was a local teen delinquent at the time of Jamie and Peter's (Ryan's friends) vanishing (he does not, however, recognize Ryan as a grown-up). Her mother, Margaret, is a basket case. Elder sister Rosalind is a study in precociousness for her age (nearing the end of high school), and her identical twin sister Jessica is mentally imbalanced.

They sound like a fun bunch, don't they?

This novel is French's first work of fiction and I was impressed with her storytelling prowess. She develops characters I found to be both credible and sympathetic. As he probes further into Katy's death (simultaneously pulling out more and more heretofore-lost information from his own mind), he descends into a nightmarish maelstrom of trauma-related angst and, for a lengthy spell, seems poised on the brink of a complete mental breakdown. Poignantly, he can't seem to figure out what is happening to himself, or even why--and the reader's heart breaks as he unwittingly alienates himself from everyone in his life as a result.

My principle complaint is in the ending and in a thread of the storyline that never receives what I consider its proper due. I really don't think of myself as one of those readers (or film watchers, for that matter) who expect and/or demand that by the end of the plot, everything is handed over in neat, tidy little boxes, with all the loose ends beautifully brought together. Real life is certainly not like that, and most of the time I find fiction that follows the same contours to be patently acceptable.

However, In The Woods would certainly have benefited from a firmer sense of closure. At the point where I was roughly 75 pages from the ending, I commented to one of my colleagues here at the Main that I hoped that one issue raised in the book would be addressed by its conclusion. "No dice", as Charles Bronson would have stated flatly.

Not even one die.

Overall, though, I would recommend it. I also believe it would make for a great film treatment and already have the cast list assembled in my mind. I am currently perusing French's second book, The Likeness, and believe I will keep her as one of my regular mystery authors.

OCTOBER NOTABLES

Every calendar month is dedicated to any number of causes, issues, or commemorations. Some of them are well-publicized, many others are seldom recognized. Any professional librarian will tell you that Chase's Calendar of Events is considered the ultimate authority on such matters. At the Main Library we keep our copy of this invaluable tool right at the Reference Desk. Chase's has been around for half a century; brothers Harrison and William chase published the first edition in December of 1957. William D. Chase was a librarian for a newspaper and understood only too well how handy it would be to have a compendium of international special days, weeks, and months at hand for reference.

Having just lauded this estimable resource, I must point out that the 2008 edition actually didn't include the fact that October is Italian-American Heritage month...or the website for the German-American Heritage Association.

Here is a (very abbreviated) list of some groups and ideas to which the month of October is dedicated:

CHURCH LIBRARY MONTH
I knew National Library Month is celebrated in April (it would be really pitiful if I was ignorant of that), but I had no idea that ecclesiastical libraries have the month of October dedicated to them. Visit their site at http://www.eclalibraries.org/

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH

This is a very serious issue that deserves attention every month of the year.
http://www.ncadv.org/

October is an embarrassment of riches where national ethnic heritage celebrations are concerned. As a matter of fact, it's almost a shame that one month is made to represent so many popular nationalities! Although not technically the entire month, HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH runs annually from September 15 to October 15 http://www.hispanicheritage.org/.

Three major groups claim the 10th month of the year as their own:

GERMAN-AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH

http://www.ugac.org/displayboard.cfm?defaultdisplay=30528

ITALIAN-AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH

http://www.italianheritagemonth.com/

POLISH-AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH

http://www.polishamericancenter.org/

For all the rabid philatelists out there, you already know that October is NATIONAL STAMP COLLECTING MONTH! Unsurprisingly, the official site for this pastime is registered through the official U.S. Post Office's portal:

www.usps.com/communications/community/nscm.htm

Remember Popeye and his avaricious love for that particular green vegetable? If you share the same fondness for it, you may be pleased to learn that October is NATIONAL SPINACH MONTH!

http://www.ilovespinach.com/

And finally: we see them everywhere, and this is their month, too--let's hear it for that omnipresent rodent, the squirrel! October is NATIONAL SQUIRREL MONTH!
(I couldn't make this stuff up!)

http://www.thesquirrelloversclub.com/