DCPLive is a blog by library staff at the DeKalb County Public Library!
May 16

Squirrel Wars!!!

by Dea Anne M

I posted here last month about my adventures this year in raised bed gardening. I can report a lot of satisfaction with the way the garden is progressing. Here’s a picture:

Well you can imagine my dismay when I looked out my kitchen window a week or so ago and saw two squirrels whooping it up in the beds. Their tails were going like propellers and they were leaping about with the sort of lusty glee appropriate to a couple of forty-niners finally hitting gold or a pair of Visigoths deep into the Sack of Rome. A few angry shouts sent them fleeing, but when I went down to the beds to check out the damage my suspicions were confirmed. Every one of the baby lettuces that I had recently planted  from seed were gone.

image from thejacksack.com

When I was a kid, I loved the story of Beatrix Potter’s Squirrel Nutkin. I mean, I thought squirrels were the cutest thing going. These days…not so much. The sorts of furry herbivores that I once considered a delight to witness: squirrels, deer, rabbits look like destruction on four legs now. There’s a real danger when you become a dedicated gardener of developing an us against them view of the animal kingdom and that’s not really where I want my mind to go. After all, squirrels have to eat. On the other hand, I’m not in this gardening thing as a way of providing backyard denizens with a 24/7 salad bar. Measures have to be taken, though I strongly favor those methods that do the least harm. Cayenne pepper tea, made by steeping the chopped peppers in boiling water then straining, has so far been very effective. The trouble with this method is that you have reapply the spray after each rain. Then again, gardening isn’t meant to be without effort. My friend Ray, recommends putting cat hair on the beds as a squirrel deterrent and I have heard this from other folks as well. As my own cats shed hair in quantities that rival the amount of pollen coating the surface of my car on any given day this spring, I’m guessing that I will be experimenting with this method  too.

If you too need to figure out how to deal with unwanted garden incursions and raids, then DCPL has resources to help.

Dead Snails Leave No Trails: natural pest control for home and garden by Loren Nancarrow and Janet Hogan Taylor emphasizes an organic, humane approach to controlling all sorts of garden pests without poisoning the garden in the process. This compendium of useful information includes tips on identifying garden-helpful insects that you might otherwise think to repel.

Bugs, Slugs & Other Thugs: controlling garden pests organically by Rhonda Massingham Hart includes a lot of great information on how to attract “beneficials” (i.e. birds and insects that naturally help control garden pests). Special features include tips on gently repelling pesky garden intruders when they have started helping themselves to more than their fair share. For example: “Clippings of cat or dog hair might be enough to ward off rodents and other pests.” Homespun wisdom is the best!

Outwitting Critters: a surefire manual for confronting devious animals and winning by Bill Adler, Jr. extends its reach beyond the garden to include other areas of animal driven trouble. Here you’ll find information on how to safely and humanely deal with everything from the ant parade in your kitchen, to the coyotes roaming your property, to that annoying alligator who has chosen your front lawn as her favorite sunbathing spot.

Finally there’s Squirrel Wars: backyard wildlife battles and how to win them by George H. Harrison from which I, quite shamelessly I confess, stole the title of this blog post. Harrison approaches critter problems with a sense of humor and documents actual, often off-beat, methods that real homeowners have used to cope. In the interest of understanding the “enemy” Harrison spends a significant portion of the book providing a natural history of squirrels, rabbits, wasps and other potentially problematic fauna.

How do you keep critters at bay?

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May 14

Mock Caldecott

by Nancy M

This year, DeKalb County Public Library Youth Services staff will be participating in our very own Mock Caldecott election. The Caldecott medal, awarded by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, is given each January to the artist with the most distinguished American picture book for children. While it would be great if we predicted next year’s winner, our primary goal is to seek out great picture books that are being published in a given year, so we can better serve our patrons with outstanding book recommendations.

We will have several rounds of elections before we choose a winner in January. In the meantime I will be posting lists of exceptional 2012 picture books that DCPL has in its collection. If you have any recommendations, please share!

Extra Yarn

Written by Mac Barnett; illustrated by Jon Klassen

Just Ducks!

Written by Nicola Davies; illustrated by Salvatore Rubbino.

Boy + Bot

Written by Ame Dyckman; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

And Then It’s Spring

Written by Julie Fogliano; illustrated by Erin Stead.

Gem

Written and illustrated by Holly Hobbie

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May 11

How Do I Love Me? Let Me Count the Grays

by Veronica W

"I'm going to need a hug, Maurice--it's from the A.A.R.P."

I remember it so well. We were “out on the town,” enjoying dinner and a movie. We had just left a restaurant and were standing in line to get our tickets for the movie Taken. When our turn came, my husband stepped up and said “Two seniors for Taken.” The  lovely young cashier looked at me and said  “Two? Really?”  Bless her heart. I smiled at her, while thinking “Senior? Me? Am I really there already?”

What we truly are often differs from how we see ourselves—just ask the author of  How Did I Get to Be 70 When I’m 35 Inside. Inside I am a great singer and when I hear music, songs just well up and burst forth. Unfortunately what comes out is not as wonderful as what I hear in my own head. Not only am I a great singer, but I am lots of great things—and I am forever 30.

There are two schools of thought about becoming a senior. (By the way, when is that exactly? I’ve heard 50, 55, 60, and 65.) The School of Blatant Denial says I don’t look it, I don’t act it and I have all my original teeth. These are the folk whose grandchildren call them clever names that give nothing away. MeeMaw? However people enrolled in The School of Hurray for Senior Discounts can’t wait to get their A.A.R.P. cards and they proudly wear t-shirts proclaiming “50 and loving it!”

Whatever school you attend, everyone reaches a decade marker at some point;  it could be 20, 30, 40 and beyond. Editor Ronnie Sellers has written a book for those who reach the 50s marker and are not sure what to do now that they’re there. The title is 50 Things to Do When You Turn 50.  Judith Viorst wants to know How Did I Get to be Forty…And Other Atrocities. Perhaps it’s turning 30 that has you depressed. (20 is no problem because I have yet to find one 19-year-old who doesn’t want to turn 21.)  For you, there is Ready or Not, Here Life Comes or Time Happens.

Did you meet your most recent decade  by dancing ’til dawn with friends or cowering under the covers, moaning? (The ladies don’t have to tell which birthday if,  like Mae West, they believe “A woman who will tell her age will tell anything.”)  Perhaps, like 101-year-old Virgil Coffman, you decided you only go around once and bought the one thing of which you’ve always dreamed.  Mr. Coffman purchased a bright, “screaming yellow”  Transformers’ special edition 426 hp Camaro. He said, “Once in a while I like to kick it up.”

I know the feeling.  Just about the time I turned 40, my son moved to NY and I appropriated his 5.0 Mustang GT. It was maroon, shiny and very fast, with a spoiler, oversized tires, a black stripe and a varoooom that told everyone I was coming. Bonus—it was a standard!  As I raced teenagers and Andretti wannabes up and down 285, it didn’t matter that I had reached middle age or that my knee ached a bit when I had to work the clutch. Life was good and 40 was just a number.

May is Older Americans Month and the library has a wealth of entertaining and informational activities going on. If the story of Mr. Coffman has struck a cord in you, you also may want to visit a car dealership to see what catches your fancy. Whatever decade you’ve reached, however, it’s worth a celebration.

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May 9

Three Minute Fiction

by Jesse M

All Things Considered, the award winning news program on National Public Radio, is currently in the midst of judging a fiction writing contest. The contest has a simple premise: Listeners send in original short stories that can be read in three minutes or less. The contest has been ongoing through multiple rounds since 2009, with each round featuring a different prompt or requirement.

For Round 8, judge Luis Alberto Urrea asked participants to send in original fiction that begins with this sentence: “She closed the book, placed it on the table, and finally decided to walk through the door.”

Over 6,000 entries were received this round and the judges are still sifting through them all, with standouts being highlighted weekly.

To read through the stories yourself, visit npr.org/threeminutefiction. And if you’re curious as to what a winning submission looks like, check out round seven’s winner, Little Hossein, and the runner-up, Sleep Lessons.

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May 7

Hip Hop Decoded

by Jnai W

Over the years I’ve become a late-blooming  hip hop head. There are some folks who can give you the time, the place and the name of the sandwich they were eating when the very first rap recording in history ever came out (for the record, I’m not 100% sure where to find the answer to that query). Either way I’ve really come to develop a great love, respect and admiration for the artform…and I’ve got my public library to thank for that.

What? There’s no rapping in libraries! Wouldn’t you get kicked out if you tried to break dance on a table? That’s not exactly what I meant, but nonetheless I’ve been able to explore the music of a wide variety of artists here at DCPL (Spoil-Sport Alert: most if not all of the library’s collection of rap albums are edited…so if you listen to rap just for profanity you may be a bit let down). In addition to the Library’s quite impressive collection of hip hop music, there are also incredible books here about the history and origins of hip-hop culture, the artform of rap music, and its impact on the world at large.

Jay-Z's DecodedOne incredible glimpse into the world of hip hop music is the book Decoded by Jay-Z, one of hip-hop’s most prolific, critically-acclaimed and widely recognized artists. His book is more than a biography of his life and times but it is also a compelling and insightful tribute to a genre of music that continues to expand and evolve. Reading Decoded has inspired me to give Jay-Z’s music a second listen (and to reach into his back catalog for some of his earliest music). It’s worth noting that this is the first book that I’ve ever read in digital format—I read it on my iPhone using the Kindle app and checked it out in eBook format through the Library’s digital downloads page. It was an appropriate way to read this book—all the better to listen to Jay-Z’s music while reading about the experiences and the culture that inspired his lyrics. Reading his book has given me a greater appreciation for his talents as a lyricist and an artist. Also I’ve been inspired to check out the other great hip-hop artists name-checked by Jay in this book—as icons, contemporaries or, in some cases, as rivals.

In addition to Decoded, the Library has an extensive collection of books exploring the artform of rap music and hip hop culture. To list all that the Library has to offer would take more time and space than I’ve got here but there are a few that I’d like to mention here:

Know What I Mean? Reflections on Hip Hop by Michael Eric Dyson: I truly enjoyed the great critical analysis and earnest insight on hip hop music and culture that Dyson offers in his book.

Beats, Rhymes and Life: What We Love And Hate About Hip Hop edited by Kenji Jasper and Ytasha Womack: This is a really good compilation of essays by hip hop journalists and notable writers. Like the aforementioned Dyson, the editors of Beats, Rhymes and Life are hip hop fans, writing passionately and openly about an artform that they cherish.

Other People’s Property: A Shadow History Of Hip Hop In White America by Jason Tanz: Author Jason Tanz explores the opportunities and implications of hip hop music’s journey from the inner city to Middle America in this fascinating book.

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May 4

Dear Genius

by Patricia D

The very beginning of children’s literature was based on a need for instruction, not just in reading, though of course that was a great thing to achieve, but for turning out a person of high morals and sound character.    Early examples of Good Books for Children are, to my way of thinking, the very best of adults sermonizing.  Even my beloved Louisa May, who gave us Little Men, Jo’s Boys, Eight Cousins and Rose in Bloom (and that other book Little Women) can never stop herself from holding forth on the dangers to a young person’s character that come with reading popular books instead of “sweet, simple, wholesome tales.”  However, dime novels flourished, French novels (le gasp!) were translated into English and children’s publishing moved forward, leapfrogging from sweet and simple to the here and now concepts pushed forward by writers such as Margaret Wise Brown.  From there it gets worse.  Shel Silverstein not only contributed to Playboy but also created witty, adult-undermining poetry and pictures for sly ten year olds.  Maurice Sendak explored the terrifying emotional landscape of a small boy in Where the Wild Things Are (but remember at the end, Max’s dinner was still hot) and drew a naked kid in In the Night Kitchen.   Louise Fitzhugh’s Harriet the Spy was not a “nice” little girl, and M E Kerr and Robert Cormier were downright depressing and sometimes really mean.  Captain Underpants was too much potty humor and in Tamora Pierce’s Song of the Lioness quartet not only does Alanna make a space for herself as a knight in a world that would deny women quite a lot, she also takes three different lovers over the course of the four books.  Clutch the pearls, mama, how can that be?

To trace some of this evolution, including the “invention” of young adult literature, one must read Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom.  I know, I’ve mentioned her before, as well as Minders of Make-Believe by Leonard Marcus, but truly, this bears repeating.  Nordstrom’s letters to her authors are whip smart, coy, cajoling and have lots of teeth.   She begged for manuscripts from difficult authors, she took chances, sometimes staking her career on something in particular and she made mistakes, which she openly confesses.  You could read it in one setting but I wouldn’t.  Read a few letters at a time and savor them.  She wrote as well as any one of her Dear Geniuses.

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May 2

Do you have a secret?

by Dea Anne M

Rebecca Joines Schinsky of  The Book Lady’s Blog recently featured an amusing post (found via Atlanta Book Lover’s Blog) in which she reveals some of her own “dirty little reading secrets,” and asks readers to share theirs. Schinsky’s revelations and request certainly generated a lot of lively comment and the responses are a lot of fun to read. Quite a few of the respondents admit to never having liked Jane Eyre or the works of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. One of my favorite comments comes from someone who admits to often judging a book by its cover. As a former bookseller, I can certainly relate to that and I smile to remember a customer rejecting one of my suggestions with the words “I can’t let anyone see me reading that!” Her objection was either to the title or the cover and unfortunately I’ve forgotten the book altogether. Anyway, it was for me another great illustration that our choices in reading are often (maybe mostly) more emotional than rational. Here’s a short list of my own guilty reading secrets:

There was a period in college when I carried Finnegan’s Wake around with me at all times. I couldn’t make any sense of it but I sure wanted people to think of me as the sort of person who would choose to read (and understand!) such a work. “Oh no, it isn’t for a class. I just wanted to read it.” I’d rehearse saying… in answer to the question which never came.

I fell under the spell of J.D. Salinger for awhile (also in college) particularly his novel Franny and Zooey.  I find the title characters nearly unbearable now but at the time I thought their urbane and angst-ridden cleverness well worth imitating. I’m sure my circle of friends found my “witty”  posturing as baffling as it was irritating.

I read two pages of The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen then put it down never to pick it up again. Actually, I don’t really feel guilty about that…it just wasn’t a novel for me.

I really hated The Da Vinci Code. When I made the mistake of bringing up my thoughts at a party one night, I was roundly castigated as a ”book snob” and schooled forthwith in all the ways my opinion was objectionable and wrong. I don’t care…I still hate that book.

A fun, related article is this one from The Awl in which writer Nadia Chaudhury asks various authors and publishing professionals about their embarrassing “first book crushes.” From Ayn Rand to Sweet Valley High, the usual suspects are here as well as some surprises. The work of Raymond Carver comes up for more than a few of the respondents and On the Road is a top choice for many of the men. My own cringe-inducing literary period would have to be that double-header year when I was obsessed not only with Robert Graves The White Goddess but also with the entire oeuvre of Anais Nin. Yikes!

What are your guilty little reading secrets? Do you have a first book crush that makes you cringe now?

P.S. Thanks to Robbin P. for steering me to this!

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Apr 30

The Fenway Way

by Greg H

This April marked the 1ooth anniversary of the opening of Boston’s Fenway Park.  Plenty has been said and written about this landmark’s centennial and I can’t think of much to add except by way of a juxtaposition. Here in Atlanta we’re talking about demolishing a perfectly serviceable twenty year old stadium to build a new facility with that most fashionable of all features: a retractable roof. The cost is projected to be in the neighborhood of one billion dollars.  Readers can take sides over which number is the more outrageous; the one billion dollars for the new structure or the mere 20 years in age of the old.

We have always been a disposable society, but there must have been a time when, at the very least, a twenty year old, multimillion dollar building was not considered something suitable only for the wrecking ball.  Fenway Park, then maybe only ninety years old, was once thought to be ready for demolition.  That was, however,  before three and four generations of Red Sox fans, and baseball fans everywhere, considered the memories and history that Fenway embodied and decided it needed to be restored, not replaced.

Comparing Fenway Park to the Georgia Dome is an apples and oranges type of exercise.  And I’m not suggesting that  Bostonians  have a more cultivated sense of history than Georgians do. (After all, look at the lengths to which Atlanta went to preserve the Margaret Mitchell House.)  It’s just that places become special precisely because they’ve been given time to become special. If the Georgia Dome’s days are numbered,  here’s hoping that maybe Turner Field can, someday,  be like Fenway.

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Apr 27

Oh BookMyne, How Do I Love Thee!

by Amanda L

I was fortunate enough to be one of the folks to test out this new mobile app (Android and Apple) for the Library. I have been using it for the last three months and have found it very valuable to me.  One of the biggest features I love about this app is that you are always logged into your account.  I can immediately see when I have an overdue item or when a request is available for pick-up by just tapping the app. Finally, I enjoy this app because I am constantly updating my reading lists on Goodreads. No longer do I need to log into my library account to request a book or open another browser application. I can easily go between my Goodreads app and my BookMyne app to find something new to read.

For New Users here are the steps to get started:

1.  You will need an Android or Apple device and select the app from their mobile store.

2. Once you download the application (from here if you have an Android and from here for Apple devices), you will need to open the BookMyne app on your device.

3. Either use the GPS or location service on your device or search for the Library to find the right location. For us, you need to look for DCPL-branch. For me, the GPS function did not work well so I used the search function. Make sure you search for DCPL-Stonecrest or whichever branch you prefer to be your “home” branch. (TIP- I just typed in DCPL and then the local branches came up. I then scrolled until I found the branch I wanted as my home library. It did take me a few tries to get the DCPL branches to show in the app.)

4. Tap the house to begin searching or to access your account for the first time. You will need to log into your account with your library card and pin number.

[read the rest of this post…]

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Apr 24

The Old Man and the Sea in Four Minutes

by Joseph M

Here’s a really nifty video of artist Marcel Schindler sketching out the plot of Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. When it was shared on booklicious, the blogger compared the video to “watching someone read your mind as you read a book.”

Interested in seeing more art inspired by famous literature? Check out this article from The Atlantic for artists’ renditions of Moby Dick, Finnegans Wake, and more!

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