Post-literate society

I've long been saying that we are already in a post-literate society and today I viewed a charming example from that bastion of intellectual development - the NIT

seems as though the folks at the NIT can't spell the name of the winning team correctly - I think you guys forgot a very important I!

now I need to get back to my research on e-texts and libraries

Wikipedia and our library

I love it when I learn how to do something new. Today I actually ventured into the editing world of Wikipedia and added a bibliographic link to a book in our library through Worldcat. If only more librarians would do this - not to mention I found out how to easily get the citation formatting style for a reference for an item found in OCLC (I know - slap to my forehead)

Cell phones and bookstores

here is an event that totally sings to me - it combines theatre, books, bookstores, anarchy and originality

Blooker prize

blooks... blooker.... flicktion..... the Blooker shortlist has been announced

I love it when new words are created ...maybe we should start a short list of new terms from the blogosphere

Eventide

After devouring Popular Music from Vittula, I looked around for something else on my must read list and spied that copy of Eventide by Kent Haruf that I checked out of the library a couple of months ago. I must admit, that I love Haruf's spare-style of writing. He captures the small town on the Colorado Plains most eloquently and I often recommend Plainsong to those looking for a quiet yet satisfying read. Eventide is its sequel and while not as haunting (to me) as its predecessor, I found it a lovely read. He picks up with the aging McPheron brothers and introduces new characters and brings back a few of the others from Plainsong. Haruf's nomination for the National Book Award for Plainsong was deserved but I found Eventide not quite as filling. All-in-all a worthwhile read especially when paired with Plainsong or used for a reading group.

Popular Music from Vittula

For Christmas I received one of those Page-A-Day calendars and with it came the opportunity to sign up for a free e-mail subscription to one of their calendars. Since they offered one for Booklovers, I naturally chose that one and what a treasure it has been.

The February 12th issue mentioned a book that I had never heard of before and sounded intriguing, Popular Music from Vittula by Mikael Niemi (Seven Stories Press, 2004). What a treasure! I have raved about this book to everyone I know and always start off by saying "I know this book is about life in a small Swedish village which is above the arctic circle and really is more Finnish than Swedish, but you have to read it". Here is a delightful coming-of-age tale about two boys set in the 1960's an it includes a visiting African priest, a mysterious girl in a Vovlo, rock and roll music, and the brutal yet beautiful life in such a remote locale.

A movie version , directed by Reza Bagher was released in 2004 and it apparently made some of the film festivals in the US - haven't located a DVD yet

Intrigued? Read a sample here: http://www.ralphmag.org/CL/vittula1.html