Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book Wins the Newbury Medal!

The Graveyard Book
The Graveyard Book
I just got back from Denver where I attended the American Library Association’s Mid-Winter Conference.  Lots of things happen at Mid-Winter… mostly committee meetings… but among these meetings, the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) chose the winner of the Newbury Medal, instituted in 1921 and awarded to the most distinguished American children’s book published the previous year.  This year’s recipient was The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.  Neil’s in good company, with past winners including Lois Lowry’s The Giver and Katherine Paterson’s Bridge to Terabithia to name just a couple.

Me and Neil
Me and Neil
Readers of this blog know that The Graveyard Book was #3 book of 2008, certainly my #1 children’s book of the year.  Who knew my tastes would dovetail with the Newbury committee?  The Graveyard Book tells the tale of Nobody Owens,  a young boy whose family is murdered, and ends up being raised in a graveyard by the dead, much like Mowgli was raised by the animals of the jungle in Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book.  It’s a wonderful story, an exciting fantasy adventure, and a powerful coming-of-age tale that is completely deserving of this honor.

Some of you may remember that I got my literary thrill last June at BookExpo America when i got to meet Mr. Gaiman, a thoroughly accomdating and generous chap who put up with my gushing and even posed for a picture with me.  You can read’s Neil’s amusing report on finding out about his Newbury win at his blog.  Oh yeah, and don’t miss CORALINE, the 3-D film adaptation of Gaiman’s outstanding young adult novel that opens in theaters near you on February 6.  Check out the first trailer for the film that Neil liked below.

Time is Money

As y’all know, I am the Web Services Manager for the Boston Public Library. I make a decent salary, which is good cause the city is a pretty expensive place to live. And we have to live in the city if we work for the city. Residency requirement.

Y’all also probably know that the whole world is facing a budget crisis. And what gets hit first in governmental belt-tightening? Not the police or fire departments, of course. “Non-essential” services like those the library provides.

So, we’ve been doing a lot of financial naval-gazing of late at work and I was reminded of this Unshelved comic strip by Bill Barnes and “Gene Ambaum” (not his real name).

Unshelved 01-25-2003

Well, I decided to add up just how much my time is worth. I took the Boston city budget for FY 2008 and figured out what percentage went to the library. (That’s 1.6%.) Then I took the state budget, and since I’m generous, figured out how much went to all libraries in the state. (0.1%. I felt okay about using the figure for all librarys because a. It’s a really small amount and b. I wasn’t going to figure out how much sales tax I paid, so I figure it evens out.)

Next, I figured out how much I made from BPL after taxes. I divided that up by the number of hours I’m meant to work in a year to arrive at an hourly monetary value for my expertise. Next, I figured out how much I paid in city property and excise taxes. I also figured out how much I paid in state taxes from both my sources of income in FY 2008. ( I also teach a course at Simmons College.)

Well, what do you know? According to my figures, if we ran things by the amount of money a person puts into “the pot”, I am entitled to 70 minutes of my time a year. I would be entitled to a much smaller portion of the president’s time a year and a bit more of an entry-level librarians’ time. But I think it all evens out to about 70 minutes of staff time overall.

Now, of course, I am not recommending that we cut service off after any period of time per person. That’s crazy talk. But I do hear a lot of unusual, personal suggestions for changes in service from the same few individuals. Ironically, some of those individuals don’t even live in the city. Guess how much time I’d get if I lived in, say, Cambridge? About nine minutes.

What I guess I’m saying is that I hope people are ready to face the fact that their concerns are part of a larger collective. We pay taxes in order to fuel collective goals, not to make sure our tiny piece of ground is cared for according to our specific terms.

Anyway, food for thought.

Heart on Broadway?

wilsonsistersI’m not sure if I’ve mentioned my love of the Wilson Sisters and the rock band Heart in this forum. Needless to say, I’ve been a stalwart fan since my brother bought the Little Queen album back in the mid-70s. Sure, they strayed a little during the 80s and 90s, but they managed the unimaginable and came back as strong as ever, both as a nostalgia act, but writing and performing new music in the new millennium. I’ve seen Heart perform live numerous times, most recently a few years ago, and it’s absolute fact that Ann Wilson will be remembered for having one of the best voices in rock & roll history.

Now Heart is getting its own jukebox musical. That’s right, “Allies” (title from a little-known Heart piano ballad from the album Bebe le Strange) is a rock and roll musical featuring the music of Heart. Heart follows the footsteps of such seminal acts as Queen, Billy Joel, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash and ABBA whose works have all been translated from the arena to the theater. The plot is described as following a brother, his sister and the man who comes between them. I don’t know about you, but it sounds frighteningly similar to the plot of that fabulous early 80’s movie musical THE APPLE to me! According to Variety, a reading of the musical will take place at the Zipper Factory Theater on January 26.

Still Unsure About Dollhouse

dollhouseNow, I’m as big a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer as the next guy (well… okay, the last couple of seasons left something to be desired.)  But Faith rocks my world in a major way.  I love what Eliza Dushku does with that character!  So when Dollhouse was announced, created by Joss Whedon and starring Eliza Dushku, I was excited!  Then the launch of the series was plagued with problems, and that worried me a bit.  But when Ducky posted a clip from the TV show, I rushed over to see it.

Let me just say that after watching that clip, I thought I’d stumbled on some sort of parody by The Onion.  I think it’s perfectly dreadful!  Needless to say, I’m a little worried about the show.

Then a recent of issue of Entertainment Weekly reviewed the Dollhouse trailer, giving it an A.  Well, I was a little shocked, thinking that the wooden, poorly written scene above was what they were reviewing.  Thankfully, that was not the case.  The new trailer, edit in the style of a movie trailer, was a lot more fun and a lot more intriguing that that clip above.  Even though it uses the “Was I asleep?” tag not once but twice.  (That blonde guy couldn’t be more annoying if he was shooting me with spitballs.)  At any rate, the trailer at least looks like fun, and maybe I’ll be able to enjoy Eliza Dushku kicking some ass in her inimitable style.  Check out the trailer and skip the clip above if you want to remain hopeful.

Michael’s Top Books of 2008

Here are my top 20 books that I read in 2008.

bell

The Bell at Sealey Head by Patricia A. McKillip – Not much happens in the sleepy, seaside town of Sealey Head, but inside the baffling Ainslinn House there are mysteries aplenty.  The master of literary fantasy does it again with a complex tale of a spellbound household and the handful of people able to set them free.  Every McKillip novel is a special event for me, and this was no exception.

home

Home by Marilynne Robinson – For me, this companion to her Pulitzer- Prize-winning Gilead was in fact a more satisfying read.  Home looks at the complicated relationship between a brother and sister, two supporting characters in Gilead.  Robinson’s deft storytelling and lyrical language harkens back to her first novel Housekeeping in this powerful tale.

graveyard

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman – Gaiman puts his spin on Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book when a toddler is raised to adulthood by the residents of a local graveyard after his family is murdered.  Deft imagination weaves with wry humor in a book that appeals to all ages.

condition

The Condition by Jennifer Haigh – Turner’s Syndrome is the central condition referred to in the story’s title, but 33-year-old Gwen, who hasn’t developed physically since she was thirteen, is not the only member of the McKotches family dealing with some sort of condition.  Haigh’s exploration of this dysfunctional New England family is compelling, original and real.

sweet

The Sweet Hereafter by Russell Banks – It was about time that I read Banks’ novel, which is the basis for my favorite film.  Banks delves more deeply into the damaged Upstate New York town whose residents are reeling from the effects of a bus accident that robbed them of most of their children.  He masterfully explores the themes of guilt, responsibility and truth in this marvelous novel.

fortune

The House on Fortune Street by Margot Livesey – A young woman’s life is explored through four different points-of-view:  her own, her best friend’s, her best friend’s husband, and her father’s.  Livesey weaves a sad but illuminating story about life and luck.

run

Run by Ann Patchett – Former Boston mayor Bernard Doyle hasn’t stopped mourning the loss of his wife, but he has raised his two adopted sons to be intelligent, well-loved young men.  Patchett pushes the boundaries of family and social class when a tragic accident in the snow leaves their lives forever changed.

andorra

Andorra by Peter Cameron – Cameron explores the tiny European country of Andorra with a languid style that imitates the novel’s hot summer afternoons, all the while weaving an intriguing mystery that seems like background human interest until pushing its way to the forefront of the story.

book1

The Book of Lies by Brad Meltzer – A secret organization is searching for the long-missing murder weapon that Cain used to murder his brother… and somehow that murder weapon is tied to the gun that killed the father of the boy who eventually grew up to invent Superman.  Deftly weaving the dual tales of Cain and Able and Superman into the fabric of this modern-day thriller, Meltzer creates a surprisingly touching story about fathers and sons.

lion

A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire – Maguire used Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West to explore the misunderstood concept of evil in the magnificent Wicked.  Now, in A Lion Among Men, he uses Brrr, the Cowardly Lion, to examine the often misinterpreted concept of cowardice.

we

We Disappear by Scott Heim – Heim delves deeply into the troubled past of a woman battling cancer and an obssession with kdnapped children.  Scott returns home to rural Iowa to help his mother, but he’s got problems of his own.  Struggling with a drug addiction, he is unprepared to face the secrets he finds his mother has kept from him since childhood.

goldengrove

Goldengrove by Francine Prose – Prose explores the ramifications of grief on a young woman whose older sister dies suddenly on a lazy summer afternoon.  Part coming-of-age story, part family drama, Goldengrove tells a powerful tale with rich, complex emotion.

mothers

Of Men and Their Mothers by Mameve Medwed – With her trademark humor, Medwed explores the challenging relationships between mothers and the men in their lives.  Maisie Grey must deal not only with her ex-husband’s monster of a mother, she must avoid following in that woman’s footsteps when her son shows up with a new girlfriend she’s not sure she approves of.  Sweet and biting at the same time, Medwed delivers a real crowd-pleaser.

lie

Lie Down with the Devil by Linda Barnes – In the 12th installment of the Carlotta Carlyle series, Barnes does something amazing.  She brought this first-time reader up to speed while telling a compelling story involving mystery, romance, family drama and danger at a rapid pace.  This is one talented writer who makes me want to go back and read Carlotta’s 11 previous adventures.

passage

Passage by Lois McMaster Bujold – In this third installment of The Sharing Knife series, newly married couple Fawn and Dag must face the prejudices of both their people as they travel downriver on a single-minded mission to reeducate an entire civilization.  Bujold has created a complex romance in a fantasy setting that isn’t afriad to tackle difficult subjects.

Rounding out the Top 20 are:

The End of the Alphabet
by CS Richardson
The Thief Queen’s Daughter by Elizabeth Haydon
The Theory of Clouds by Stéphane Audeguy
The Murder Notebook by Jonathan Santlofer
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein