Robert Parker, RIP

Robert Parker is dead, and with his passing readers have lost his most enduring character, the detective without a first name, Spenser. The first Spenser novel, The Godwulf Manuscript, was published in 1974. I can't remember when I first began reading Parker's mysteries, but it's surely been at least twenty-five years ago.

Parker and his characters Spenser, Susan, and Hawk brought me many years of pleasurable reading--and whenever I visit Boston I think of him, and the people and places he wrote about. And if I've grown less attached to this series lately, I still occasionally wish my husband was as good a cook as Spenser, and that I had Susan Silverman's will power.

Books into Film

I tend to think that anytime Hollywood gets its hands on a book I've loved, they ruin it. However, after seeing Up in the Air with George Clooney recently, I started thinking about all the movies based on books that I've really enjoyed. Up in the Air is based on a book, which I haven't read--but the movie was excellent.

It almost goes without saying that any BBC production based on the work of a famous author is worth watching--and they are too numerous to name here. I would recommend both reading and watching any of the following titles: I Capture the Castle, Ghost World, Room with a View, and Remains of the Day.

You probably have your own favorites, and maybe you'll share them here.

This makes me feel old...

I was working the day after Christmas, and came across a reference to the 2009 Beloit Mindset List. This is a list created by Beloit College every year to help their professors better understand their new students. On the list this year is the interesting (at least to me) fact that incoming freshman have never used a card catalog. Card catalogs were very much a part of my life when I first began working in libraries, and now they're not. I sometimes see them in antiques stores, and I even have an interesting old catalog decorating my office--but it took Beloit's list to put it into perspective for me!

The morning after...

The morning after Christmas finds me working the reference desk, and reflecting on one of my Christmas presents: 1001 Gardens You Must See Before You Die. I immediately started paging through to check off the ones I'd already seen, and although I thought I'd seen a lot of gardens in my time, I still have 970+ left to go. A few of them are even in the area, and I have resolved to visit both the Bloedel Reserve and the Elisabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden before the end of 2010.

This kind of book has become ubiquitous in the last few years, maybe because they make such easy gifts for people who are gardeners, travelers, music lovers, etc. I did a quick catalog search to see how many of these books we have in our collection. I found books for baseball fans, divers, history buffs, and art enthusiasts. If you'd like to check out the possibilites or just see how your life experiences stack up, click here.

Drop off some diapers with those books...

Inspired by an article in the Herald on the need for diapers at the Everett Gospel Mission's Women and Children's Shelter, library staff decided to collect disposable diapers this month. Last year we collected hats, mittens, and gloves, and encouraged library patrons to donate to the cause as well. Your response was extremely gratifying.

Now we're hoping for more diapers to add to those staff have donated. Diapers are not as fun to pick out as cozy knitted things, but for a mother with a small child they are an absolute necessity. If you're a baby, dry and clean are good things to be.

You can drop off diapers (large sizes are in particular demand) at either location until December 28, and we'll take them to the shelter. And you could even check out Super Diaper Baby by Dav Pilkey, the author of the Captain Underpants books.

The Holiday Season

I'm back from a long Thanksgiving weekend, which I spent reading and watching a few not very good movies. My family has a long tradition of watching action movies when we're together, and even though there were just a few of us, we still watched the new Star Trek and Crank 2. I thought Star Trek was a bit confusing, especially when my nephew sat on the remote and plunged us back in time--leaving us all thoroughly confused about whether this was yet another plot twist or deju vu. Crank 2 may be the worst movie I have ever seen, and I'm pleased to say the the library does not own it.

I also finished Frank Bruni's Born Round. Bruni was the restaurant critic for the New York Times until just recently, and his book chronicles his almost life-long struggle with overeating. Maybe not the best book to read during a holiday that celebrates eating to excess?

National Book Awards

Colum McCann has won the National Book Award for his novel, Let the Great World Spin. I haven't read it yet, but was interested to learn that the events in the book occur as Philippe Petit is walking on a tightrope strung between the towers of the World Trade Center. The library has the documentary DVD about Petit's daring stunt, Man on Wire, and I can recommend the film to documentary fans. Now I need to add McCann's book to my reading list.