We are less than a week away from Thanksgiving Day so I thought I would count down 10 things I am thankful for about my library.

10. The Twitter feed that gives me interesting quotes, facts and heads up on library events.

9. The variety of programs that I can attend. (I personally like the musical programs, the new movie series and that the teens are developing some of their own programs.)

8. The DCPL Facebook page (I feel more connected to my community and love seeing some of the dialogue.)

7. The downloadable eAudiobooks some of which can be found in MP3 format. (Check out NetLibrary using GALILEO).  eAudiobooks are only available from outside the library buildings.

6. The number of electronic resources that are available to me for free as a member of the Library. (Check out the Reference Database page.)

5. The e-mail pre-notification that I get when my material is almost due.

4. The variety of movies that are available on DVD.

3. The hold request system. It is great to think of a book, go to the computer, place a request and have the item sent to my current branch. (It usually takes very little time if the item is in. My home library-not this county- takes usually several weeks even with the book on the shelf.)

2.  The wi-fi that is becoming available to more branches. (It works perfectly with my iPod touch and I can surf on my lunch hour.)

1. The variety of books available for my reading pleasure. If the library does not have it, I can suggest that they consider buying a copy for the system or I can use the Interlibrary Loan service to borrow the book from another library system.

What are you thankful about your library? Would you rank my top ten list differently?

It’s hard to believe that in about a month and a half, the year 2009 and the first decade of the New Millennium will be over. The passing decade–and this passing year–have been trying times that have tested many of us in faith and resolve. But for me, at least, it’s been an opportunity to get back to basics and be more creative about things.  Instead of eating out as much, I bring my lunch to work. Instead of going to the movies or paying for Netflix, I borrow DVDs from the Library (…and there’s the pitch).  In a way, as cheesy as it sounds, the economic downturn has helped me get back in touch with the simpler (and less expensive) pleasures of life.

Among the simpler pleasures I’ve been rediscovering is my passion for running, something I’ve enjoyed since I was a high school student. I can’t say that I was the speed demon of the team but I truly enjoyed the freedom of being out in the elements, among my fellow teammates and decked in the school colors off to a cross country meet.  Running taught me a great deal about endurance, discipline and was a great way to relieve stress and tension. Unfortunately, running fell by the wayside as I grew older and a bit more preoccupied.

For now, I’m getting back into the sport slowly but surely, as I haven’t been a serious runner for some time. Thus far, I walk at least twice a week and have been trying to work the jogging back in. It feels really good to rediscover a long lost love. Here’s a couple of books I’ve been checking out:

Running For Dummies by Florence Griffith-Joyner & John Hanc–My heart leaped when I noticed this book at the Decatur branch.  “Flo-Jo!” I exclaimed…in a whisper (I was still in a library). I’m really liking this book so far because, like all For Dummies books, it’s great for the absolute beginner or the lapsed intermediate like myself.  It’s a great reminder of the rewards, the challenges and the simple mechanics of running. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that this book was co-authored by one of the greatest (and most glamorous) legends of the sport.

Think Fast: Mental Toughness Training for Running by Joe Henderson– There is no doubt that running requires physical strength and endurance but, as my old cross country coach would remind me, running is as much a mental sport as it is a physical sport. This book offers great wisdom for keeping your focus while running and also gives good advice on pushing yourself to “the next level” of more challenging, demanding workouts. While this particular book is geared more toward competitive and seasoned runners, this book can also be quite to the beginner in need of extra motivation.

I’m in love with a soldier.  His name is Richard and he wears a green jacket and carries a cavalry sword—a big heavy one meant for killing, not fencing.  He is an officer but be aware that he is no gentleman, something his  fellow officers continually mention.  His best comrade in arms is named Harper and he has a darling Donegal accent and a Nock gun.  It  shoots seven volleys at once and it’s a good thing Harper’s  a big boy because the recoil from that gun will break the shoulders of most men.   They both came up hard.  Richard enlisted to escape the law and Patrick was just looking for a few square meals.  They did well in the army, rising to unimaginable ranks and winding up richer than anyone could have believed thanks to all the loot they captured.   I met them through the magic of PBS and the BBC but I got to know them both better when I read their stories.

Of course, Richard and Patrick only exist between the covers of Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe’s novels.  I love historical fiction but for the most part have always shied away from the stuff meant for the guys and stuck more closely with Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer.  I’ll admit it, I skim the battle scenes in Cornwell’s books because there is some stuff I just don’t want to know.  However, I’ve learned a tremendous amount about the Napoleonic Wars and in a manner so pleasant I was hooked before I realized what was actually happening.  I gave Horatio Hornblower and Jack Aubrey a try as well, since they are contemporaries of Richard’s, but despite the fine writing and sterling research of C.S. Forester and Patrick O’Brien, it appears that I prefer soldiers to sailors.  Go Army!

Just about the last thing I want to do in the summer is fire up the oven, but in cooler weather soup sounds better to me than salad.  There’s always my thrifty Surprise Soup – want the recipe?  Look in the refrigerator, see what’s left over, add chicken broth and if it’s good, surprise! Occasionally I want to make soup that’s a little more, ah, planned. Looking in our catalog for ideas, I found:

Love Soup: 160 all-new vegetarian recipes from the author of The Vegetarian Epicure

A collection of soup recipes, many vegan, from a renowned vegetarian cook. According to the reviews, it includes a pickle soup recipe. I’m not sure I want to eat that but I do want to read the recipe.

An exaltation of soups: the soul-satisfying story of soup, as told in more than 100 recipes

This book comes from a fascinating blog (formerly a website) called SoupSong. Patricia Solley has been writing about soup online for more than 10 years, mixing soup history and local culture in with the recipes. Want to make a soup that’s a little out of the ordinary? Try Yemen’s saltah or a Turkish balik corbasi.

Closer to home, you could head to Buckhead to eat at Souper Jenny, recently featured in the AJC . The article includes some of Jenny Levison’s recipes and we’ve got her cookbook at the Library.

And while you stir, you can sing:

I have to thank DCPLive’s own Jimmy for blogging about National Novel Writing Month last year because now the portmanteau “NaNoWriMo” is forever lodged into my brain. I ran out of time last year before I could reach the 50,000 word count (the number of words necessary to claim novel-writing success on the official website). Also, I just really couldn’t resist the urge to chuck the ideas that I grew frustrated with while racing the NaNoWriMo clock, thus completely missing the point of this particular exercise in freewriting and perseverance. So I’m going to give it another shot this year (though I’m now down by four days). So…thanks, Jimmy!

There are several books in DCPL to help you along the path to creating and finessing the novel of your dreams. Here are two that I like so far:

The Plot Thickens: 8 Ways To Bring Fiction To Life by Noah Lukeman: After you hammer out your NaNoWriMo novella, you may be wondering how to make it readable (and perhaps even enjoyable) to the masses. This is a great little book full of helpful hints and practical exercises for developing characters and plot.

Your Novel Proposal: From Creation to Contract by Blythe Camenson and Marshall J.Cook: Now that you’ve drafted a winning manuscript, take a look at this book. I really like the fact that it provides in-depth guides to conquering the more administrative aspects of authorship such as searching for an agent and submitting query letters. But first things first…let’s just make it through Novel Writing November and think about this other stuff later.

Happy Writing, ya’ll!

I spent my twenties wandering in the food service wilderness, toying with the idea of going to cooking school, dreaming of opening my own rib shack or bakery as I washed dishes in a country club kitchen, made toast and scrambled eggs for 300 at a church camp, worked the line in a hotel kitchen in a popular tourist trap and cleaned and shelled 60 pounds of frozen shrimp every single day at a nightclub. Cooking for a living is what I wanted and, for the young and energetic, food service is fun—it’s grueling and will leave you broke and broken, but there’s nothing like the adrenaline jolt of a hot, busy kitchen on a Saturday night when Chef is bellowing, “Let’s move it people, we’re in the weeds!”

Library work can be as physically demanding as kitchen work—you’re on your feet all day, lifting heavy stuff and working odd hours.  However, I’ve never gotten a second degree burn from accidentally bumping into a hot bookshelf and I’ve never nearly severed a finger doing storytime.  I now have a job that doesn’t leave me reeking of grease and gets me into my own bed well before 2:00 a.m. but I often look back on the pressure cooker days and nights of those various kitchens with a great deal of nostalgia. When the longing hits, I turn to our collection for solace. If you have a similarly checkered work history or just get swept up in the drama of TV cooking shows (YES, I’m talking about you Gordon Ramsay!) these titles are all in the collection:

Heat: An Amateurs’ Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta Maker and Apprentice to a Dante Quoting Butcher in Tuscany by Bill Buford

Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at the Culinary Institute of America by Michael Ruhlman

Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip—Confessions of a Cynical Waiter by Steve Dublanica

Service Included: Four Star Secrets of an Eavesdropping Waiter by Phoebe Damrosch

Cooking Dirty: a Story of Life, Sex, Love and Death by Jason Sheehan

The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen by Jacques Pepin

Tokyo based Meiji University has announced plans to open the world’s first manga library, in order to help promote serious study of the style. Upon its inception (”hopefully” by early 2015) the proposed institution will house over two million comic books, animation drawings, and other related industry items. For those that aren’t familiar with the word, manga is simply the Japanese word for comics. In the US and elsewhere it is often used as a catch-all term to refer to any comic created or originally published in Japan, though it is also considered to be a distinct artistic style and format and therefore other works may be referred to as manga despite not originating in Japan (such as “Amerimanga” or “Manwha“). Whereas in the US, comic books are more typically associated with costumed superheroes, manga is published in every genre, from horror to romance to science fiction to sports, just to name a few. Despite its broad range, manga can generally be divided into two categories based on target demographic, with shōnen manga designed to appeal to boys and shōjo manga aimed at girls. Due to its Japanese origins, most manga is printed front to back, so that the book is read from right to left (some manga series published for the US market are printed in the traditional manner, however, such as Astro Boy). Another distinguishing feature of manga are the artistic quirks; characters are often drawn with large eyes and small mouths and noses, and internal emotional states are displayed by using iconography such as beads of sweat on the forehead to indicate embarrassment or bulging, pulsing veins in the same area to express anger. For more extensive information, recommendations, and more eloquent explanations about the different types of manga, take a look at these posts by a former DCPL blogger on the subject (Manga Mania part 1, part 2, and part 3) To conclude, here are a few of my favorite manga. Some of the titles have been adapted into anime series that the DCPL catalog stocks on DVD, and I have linked them in parentheses. Enjoy!

Naruto (DVD): The quintessential ninja manga (though some might argue the seminal Dragonball series of comics are more deserving of that appellation).

One Piece: If pirate adventures are more your style, this is the series for you. And last but certainly not least, Ranma 1/2: An excellent example of the eclectic and varied nature of manga, Ranma 1/2 tells the tale of martial artists who fall into cursed springs and as a result upon contact with cold water take the form of whoever, or whatever, died in the spring they fell into (they revert back to normal when exposed to warm water). The martial arts action is tempered with a healthy dose of romantic comedy which makes for rousing entertainment for teenagers and adults alike.

Halloween is upon us once again, and you can count on the Library to help you and your children get into the spirit.

The shelves are abound with Halloween books that are informational, spooky and just plain fun, including my new favorite picture book, Ghosts in the House by Kazuno Kohara. The adorable story about a young witch girl and her haunted house is filled with retro illustrations that make this book not only a wonderful addition to the Halloween genre, but picture books in general.

There are some great Halloween websites out there that are worth checking out. You can access a list of authoritative sites which include games, costume making, safety tips and more by visiting KidSpace @ The Internet Public Library.

The Dunwoody Library, Doraville Library and Wesley Chapel-William C. Brown Library will be hosting Halloween programs this week. Stop by and check out these fun, free programs!

How do you get in the Halloween spirit?

Right now many adults are revisiting (and perhaps introducing their kids to) the 1963 classic Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, thanks largely to the new film adaptation of the book from director Spike Jonze. From the critics salivating over the new film to readers and scholars with fond memories of Sendak’s book, most fans agree that Where The Wild Things Are is impeccable in its celebration of childhood imagination and groundbreaking in its recognition of childhood angst and anger, even. But you can troll the web yourself for in-depth critical analysis of the book–I’ll try to steer clear of all of that.

In my day-to-day library work, I’m often stumbling onto old childhood favorites of mine, books that resonated for one reason or another. Here are a few of the ones that are truly special to me:

Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale by John Steptoe: I remember truly enjoying this book, not for the intriguing Cinderella-esque story alone but also because of Steptoe’s gorgeous and evocative illustrations. The thing that struck me most about the artwork was that it seemed to have so much richness and texture. The illustrations had this quality about them that made me want to reach out and touch the characters.

Miss Nelson is Missing by Harry Allard: To this day, this book reminds me of my 4th grade teacher Miss Armstrong. She was a very sweet lady but my class sort of took her kindness for weakness. Miss Armstrong would have done well to have a raven-haired alter ego like Miss Viola Swamp, with scary make-up and even scarier temperament.

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats: As a kid growing up in Atlanta, where the snowy days are few and far between, it was a real treat reading about the travails of little Peter in the beautifully snow-covered city.

Also, I’ve found some great adult books that celebrate the works of some of the great authors of children’s literature:

The Art of Maurice Sendak by Selma G. Lanes: This book is a smorgasbord for Sendak fans that features essays on his life, his career and his body of work as an illustrator and author. My favorite things about this book so far are the pages (three foldout pages!) of his brilliant artwork and a facsimile of “Where The Wild Horses Are“, the prototype of what would become the aforementioned Sendak masterpiece.

The Art of Eric Carle: This incredible book reflects upon the life and the art of legendary (and one of my favorite) children’s author Eric Carle. Much like Carle’s stunning book illustrations and artwork, this book is multi-textured and very colorful, an insightful collage of autobiography, essays and tributes from his peers and admirers.

Do you remember your favorite books from childhood? What are the qualities that make these books truly special?

We are entering the second half of the college football season. There have been some surprises with some of the teams and some domination by others. The top three teams have stayed on top for the entire year.  To celebrate college football, I thought I would highlight some great football films and books celebrating this great past time. There are three films that I always want to watch when preparing or celebrating this pastime. They are:

Remember the Titans

Rudy

We are Marshall

Here are a few books celebrating college football:

About them Dawgs! Georgia football’s memorable teams and players

Dixieland Delight: a football season on the road in the Southeastern Conference

Bragging rights: a season inside the SEC, football’s toughest conference