Doctor Bloggers vs Librarian Bloggers

I probably should be hanging on every word of my fellow librarian bloggers, especially the ones who seem to be really cutting-edge & early adopters of new and annoying technologies, but what I turn to first on my Google Reader are two doctor blogs: The Cartoon Guide to Becoming a Doctor and Doctor Grumpy in the House. For one thing, and I mean this in the best possible way, Doctor Grumpy's patients are way more eccentric than library patrons. Having said that, I have permission from one of our regular patrons, who just stopped by the desk, to recount our conversation. I've been sitting at the Reference Desk with my winter coat on most days lately and have gotten lots of comments on that. I hoped our local taxpayers would think we are just trying to save their money by not heating the library much, but still the comments come about my garb of choice. I explained to this patron that the Ref Desk is in a Cold Zone and he suggested I get one of those all-in-one zip-up blankets-with-arms which are advertised on late night TV. Not sure that's the proper "professional" librarian look we're aiming for here and I'm really sure that when I have to accompany a patron to the stacks to find a book that my hopping in the blanket sack would be ... well what would it be? Remarkably odd, but at least the aerobic activity would warm me up and amuse the patron, and isn't that what we really mean by "good customer service"?
Note: I don't know why I've been so cold lately, but I'm sure not going to Dr. Grumpy to find out.

The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise

Balthazar Jones, Yeoman Guard, aka 'Beefeater', lives in the Tower of London with his wife and his almost 200 year old tortoise, Mrs. Cook. Summoned to Buckingham Palace one day, Jones is informed that he will be in charge of the collection of animals given as gifts to the Queen. When the pungent zorrilla, the quarrelling love birds, the misplaced giraffes and other assorted creatures are moved from the London Zoo into their new home in the Tower property, the strange daily life of the Tower residents becomes even stranger.
 In Julia Stuart's new novel The Tower, The Zoo, and the Tortoise, ghosts of Tower prisoners mingle with the Yeoman Guards who live there and hundreds of years of history are interwoven with the love story of Yeoman Guard Jones and his wife Hebe.

Reviews of this book will compare it to The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. The words "charming" and maybe even "whimsical" may pop up. And that's all true, and I really liked both Guernsey and this book and Stuart's previous novel, The Matchmaker of Perigord, but I find all three novels hard to describe without resorting to comparisons and words that might put some readers off. If you like humor in your reading and some local color and facts, characters who are good and decent if flawed and a depiction of lives that are not without sadness, but overall full of hope, if you like the humanistic tone of McCall Smith's the Number One Ladies' Detective Agency, try The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise.

Das Nurnberger Eisbar, another Cute Knut!

Another German zoo is hand raising a baby polar bear . Here is the link to the Nurnberg Zoo's Bear website. Polar bears, or Ice Bears as the Germans call them, have nothing to do with libraries or books, but since the BHPL Book Blog approaches its 15,000 hit, this blogging librarian thought it's ok to take a break from books to celebrate. Enjoy the pictures of Flocke (Flake, as in snowflake.) Germans are already imagining that Flocke might one day become Mrs. Knut, click here for story. OK, America, wake up and smell the sauerkraut, we need to come up with a national animal story of equal cuteness.