Favorite Books Read in 2013 – #’s 11 & 12

The next two books from my list were from very early in 2013.  Jennifer Haigh released a collection of short stories based on characters and locations from one of her earlier novels.  Laura Harrington’s debut was popular with libraries, and I read it because she was going to be on an author panel I put together at the Massachusetts Library Association.  They turned up at #’s 11 & 12 on my Top 15.

News from Heaven#12 – News from Heaven: The Bakerton Stories by Jennifer Haigh

Not having read Haigh’s Baker Towers, the novel in which the small Pennsylvania town of Bakerton debuted, I wasn’t sure if I’d be missing something when reading this collection of stories about people tired to that tiny, former mining-community. I needn’t have worried, Jennifer Haigh is a writer of consummate skill, drawing me in and giving me just enough information to understand the context while spinning a series of tales that show how important our upbringings and our community roots affect our lives. With stories spanning the 40’s era of war to present day, all the characters in News from Heaven have ties to Bakerton, PA, and each story has subtle ties to the others, truly making the reader a feeling of community among these characters: community across generations.  The Baker Family, founders of the once prosperous Bakerton mines, are ever-present in these stories, looming over characters’ shared histories. I was concerned, at first, that most of the stories were going to revolve around timid young women who are taken advantage of in a variety of ways, but I shouldn’t have worried, Haigh would never resort to such a limiting palette. Instead she creates a variety of experiences that exhibit strength, weakness, love, bitterness and a whole host of experience. I was particularly struck by ne’er-do-well Sandy’s story; a man with a gambling problem, racing to escape his roots who comes to a possible turning-point on his 33rd birthday. We later find out what becomes of Sandy in a subsequent story, and both stories add up to something powerful and moving. One final bit of praise, I just loved the meaning of the book’s title: a lovely, poetic image.

Alice Bliss#11 – Alice Bliss by Laura Harrington

With Alice Bliss, Laura Harrington takes a fairly basic theme, the loss of a loved one, and creates a powerful coming-of-age story in a fully-realized community. When Alice’s father, Matt, enlists in the armed services and is stationed in Iraq, she is bereft. Her father is the one family member who knows her and understands her the best. Fully immersed in adolescence, Alice’s relationship with her mother, Agnes, is complicated, besides with Agnes is dealing with her own fears about her husband. Then there’s her younger sister, Ellie, who’s just too young to really understand what’s going on.

Harrington’s novel focuses on Alice, turning the loss of her father into a powerful transition to adulthood, but what is truly remarkable is the way she effortlessly slips into the minds of the many other important characters in the book who are profoundly affected by Matt’s absence. Matt leaves his family right at the beginning of the book, but his presence is overwhelming throughout. Through reminiscences Harrington brings Matt fully to life, showing how strong his ties to each of the females in his life, and how different.

Beyond the rich characterization of Alice and her family, Harrington does the same for the community they live in. Henry is the awkward boy next door, who has been Alice’s best friend practically from birth, and whose relationship with Alice is suddenly changing. Uncle Eddie is Agnes’ charismatic, devil-may-care brother who finds his role in Alice’s extended family evolving. Alice’s Gram who owns the local coffee shop must suffer her own loss while bolstering the floundering family. Even minor characters, like Mrs. Piantowski who bakes the bread for Gram’s coffee shop, or Mrs. Minty who has suffered tragedies of her own become startlingly real under Harrington’s skillful guidance. Rarely have characters in a novel come so alive for me. Harrington’s story follows a lovely arc, with the ending in particular, hitting a series of beautifully drawn notes. A truly successful debut from a talented writer.

A Disgrace to His Profession

3 Dollar BillMaybe you’ve seen this, but a Purdue library science professor and government documents librarian has blogged An Economic Case Against Homosexuality. Yes, it’s as ludicrous as it sounds. I’m leaving this off my professional blog, as it has little to do with librarianship, other than the fact that Professor Bert Chapman displays no traits of a librarian, despite his blog title “Conservative Librarian.”

You’ll see a comment by me… two, if they approve my last one. Not that I doubt it’s rationality, but it’s close to the 2,000 character limit they put on comments, so it may be held in moderation. Or then again, it may have been flushed down the toilet. It’s in response to a commenter named Adriana who takes me to task for bringing up the taboo of the “facts” Prof. Chapman’s economic publication lacks.

Here is my follow up, in case they don’t publish it:

Adriana,

The facts Prof. Chapman presents, but does not cite are:

1. Not only does he not cite his source of data, but Prof. Chapman attributes US Government expenditures on AIDS to a support of what he deems “a homosexual lifestyle.” Though he recognizes that the disease is spread by many means, he still presents it as a moral issue. But regardless, a librarian must state where his numbers come from and what “expenditures on this disease” encompass.

2. He cites as fact that behavior he deems immoral taints our blood supply without support of fact.

3. Chapman also claims that rape of male inmates by fellow males is a drain on taxpayer dollars. Does he cite how many of the offenders are homosexual? It may seem unthinkable to you, but heterosexual males rape men. I see no citations to established facts to support his claims that homosexual men are draining US tax dollars in this way.

4. At long last, the educated librarian cites an external work, “Do Domestic Partner Benefits Make Good Economic Sense?” by The Corporate Resource Center. He claims that it is available on a web site, but does not provide a URL. He does not even qualify where this center is or what affiliation it has, if any, to a larger organization. I challenge anyone to find this work available on the web. For this fraud alone, Prof. Chapman should be censured, at the very least.

5. Finally, the learned professor closes with a long list of ways that heterosexual entitlements may be diminished by the acknowledgment of same-sex relationships. There are no numbers given. There are no longitudinal studies cited. There is only the fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) tactics of a frightened man with no other defense. The last paragraph reminds me of the FUD tactics of white families in the 1960’s who would incite neighborhood hatred against black families moving in, in the name of “decreased property values.”

I am not arguing against Prof. Chapman’s points. He has none.

The student furor over his blog post has led to calls for his dismissal from the university. Not surprisingly, this isn’t the first antigay blog post he’s written.


Update: I totally forgot to thank the dude who alerted me to this fiasco! Rob at wakingupnow.com is a really great blogger who has a fierce, but reasoned approach to civil action. Thank you, Rob. You set a good example.

Karaoke Dorkness

Okay, I’m surrendering all pretense that I’m not a dork. A friend of mine from college posted several Facebook status updates to his profile lately that redirected to a site called SingSnap. What is SingSnap, do you ask? It’s online karaoke. No more, no less. But just think about it… we habitual karaoke-ers pick out our songs at home. We rehearse them. We learn every nuance of the original recording. And then after we humiliate ourselves in public, we try to learn the quirks of the karaoke recording track so we can do better next time.

Imagine if you had that power at home. The power to record and re-record at will. The power to add effects to your stage performance. The power of karaoke-social-networking. Mwah-ha-ha-haaaa….

I even bought a gold membership for six months before actually saving any of my recordings because it adds reverb and compression to your voice recording. I’m a sucker, I know. But listen to my first lame attempt. I can do better, I know, but I wanted to get this up for my friends suffering from heat exhaustion at the Library Leadership Institute for Massachusetts. Reports say that they spent the day in a non-air conditioned room all day when it was 90 degrees outside. It may have been upwards of 105 degrees inside!

Visit from the Golden Pony

Last night, the golden pony came to Springfield, MA and pooped out a lovely evening for Michael and  I  me. (Thanks, Max.) We’re here for the Massachusetts Library Association annual conference and Michael, being Michael, lined up a truly stupendous array of guests to speak. So, last night we spent the late night hours closing down the hotel bar with:

I am so lucky that my husband is so fearless and is such a big dreamer. He gave me the wonderful gift of the opportunity to chat with Lynda and Thrity about menopause and to smoke with Talia and Michael Cunningham in the rain. Does that rock or what?

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.