Book Awards Announced at ALA Midwinter Meeting

The American Library Association announced the winners of various book prizes, including the well-know Caldecott and Newbery Awards at their Mid-Winter meeting in San Antonio yesterday. See this Publisher's Weekly piece for details and this piece from the One-Minute Book Reviews Blog in which reviewer/blogger Janice Harayda points out that Flotsam by David Wiesner, which won the Caldecott Award for best illustrated children's book, has New Jersey connections. Wiesner clearly recalls his youthful vacations "down the shore" at Long Beach Island in this wordless picture book.
This led me to thinking yet again about why there is no central place(that I can find) which keeps track of New Jersey authors and literary connections. Some authors are listed at the New Jersey Literary Hall of Fame. A glossy flyer for the newly reestablished New Jersey Center for the Book got my hopes up, but, noble a cause as it may be, the website does not yet seem to make any mention of New Jersey authors as a group. I thought maybe Rutgers libraries or Rutgers Press might pull all that information together as they have done so beautifully for North Carolina authors on the UNC Chapel Hill library website (part of the North Carolina Collection at the Wilson Library.)
If you put the search terms "New Jersey authors" into the google search box at the top of this blog, the posts on this subject will pop up.

The Case of the Missing Books, a mobile library mystery by Ian Sansom

The first in a proposed series about Israel Armstrong, rumpled and befuddled bookmobile librarian in small town Northern Ireland, The Case of the Missing Books by Ian Sansom (2006) introduces not only Israel, who travels from London to start a new job as town librarian at the Tumdrum and District Library, but also a whole cast of local eccentrics. The story is a classic “fish out of water” tale. The plot: an overeducated newcomer from the big city comes to a small town where wiley locals contrive to pull the wool over his eyes has been done before of course and is done charmingly here. The book reminded me of Bill Forsyth’s 1983 movie, Local Hero, or more recently, Waking Ned Devine or Saving Grace, all movies based in the U.K. where the townsfolk’s mistrust of authority binds them together, results in heart-warming hijinks, features endearingly nutty locals and ends happily.
The Case of the Missing Books, a mobile library mystery is the funniest book I’ve read in a while and I will recommend it to anyone who, having finished all the #1 Ladies Detective Agency books by Alexander McCall Smith, is looking for a gently humorous, character driven, “cozy” kind of mystery. The Sansom book has comic touches that speak to the experience of librarians in public libraries everywhere, but should be enjoyable for fans of satirical books like a Confederacy of Dunces. Here is a review in the Guardian.

Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks

Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks (1993), a WWI romance and historical novel, follows the story of Englishman Stephen Wraysford from his 1910 business trip to France through his harrowing service in the trenches during the war. In part one, Stephen falls in love with Isabelle, the wife of the business man he is boarding with. In part two the book becomes a war novel when Stephen is assigned to work with the tunnelers on the Western front in France. Part three introduces Stephen's granddaughter in 1978 London who has become interested in family history and her grandfather in particular. The books weaves these storylines together, but the war story is the backbone of the book and the best written.
Some of the online bookgroup that I read it with thought that the modern plot line was unconvincing, contrived and generally awkward or not essential to the plot. Most of the readers found that they didn't "care about" the characters. All felt that Faulks writes beautifully. Generally this was not a popular book with the book group, but I found it picked up considerably after about sixty pages and it moved quickly and pulled me as it went along. I also found the war scenes and facts, although disturbingly graphic, compelling and informative.
Readers who enjoy history, particulary military history, might consider reading this book and be willing to overlook the problems with the characterization and plot. I would recommend it with those reservations for individual readers, but perhaps not for a book group.
This PBS website about WWI is well done.
The catalog subject heading for WWI is: World War One, 1914-1918

Vegetable Orchestra and other requests today

One really strange reference question can make a librarian's day. Odd perhaps, but there it is. An interlibrary loan or possibly a purchase request just crossed the desk for any recording by the First Vienna Vegetable Orchestra. You can listen to clips of their music on their website. The orchestra's instruments are made of vegetables with certain kitchen utensils as backup. Listening ever so quietly in the library, the clip sounded rather other-worldly new-agish, not that that's a bad thing. The website also notes that they make soup out of their instruments at the end of concerts so the audience can enjoy the experience twice. Many thanks to the patron who brought this to our attention. Sadly, the recordings of the FVVO are not available in this country and the BHPL cannot at this time make their CD's available.

I was thinking of mentioning that we have a new database going live today that gives the price of antiques, or other random news, but who can top a vegetable orchestra? I can go home at the end of the day knowing I am learning and growing and have made a difference... ???

RSS Feeds New on BHPL Blog

Proudly announcing new little technical additions to the blog this week: at the upper right, you will notice buttons for common RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds - Google, Yahoo, Bloglines and NewsGator, as well as the Site Feed link on the right-hand blog-roll and also down near the picture of Hazel the Cat at the bottom of the page. If you don't know what RSS and feeds are, (I am barely a step ahead of you, see my July post for my early forays into RSS land) but if you would like more information, try this link to the Wikipedia article or call us at the reference desk to find out how you can subscribe to the BHPL blog by RSS.
We will be offering computer classes later in the month or early February, but are available by appointment to help you with email or other computer problems. Look for computer class schedules soon in the Reference Department.
Speaking of techie stuff, Blogger upgraded not long ago and this blog lost some bells and whistles in the changeover. We are looking for those lost b and w, like the NYT Book Review that used to be at the bottom of the blog, as time permits. Upgrades are always a mixed blessing, double-edged sword, have pro's and cons. What other aphorism can be used to avoid saying: Please never change, I love you warts and all! to your computer programs?