Will libraries survive?

These librarians say, "We will survive!" (Thanks, Marg at Intrepid Reader.  I love this video!)






If you enjoyed this energetic video, watch the longer version.  I love how it clearly shows the effects of budget cuts.

What's happening at the library in your town?  Go ahead -- pay tribute to your library in the comments.

Earth's Children series ~ by Jean M. Auel

Marg (in Australia) did a spotlight feature on the Earth's Children series for Historical Tapestry, saying,

"September 30 is the 30th anniversary of the release of The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel, the first book in the Earth's Children series."

Wikipedia, on the other hand, says the publication date in the United States was May 4, 1980.  At any rate, it's been ages since I read the first book in the series.  I have on my shelves the next two in the series, but their thickness (544 pages and 723 pages, respectively) keeps stopping me.

1. The Clan of the Cave Bear, 1980
2. The Valley of Horses, 1982
3. The Mammoth Hunters, 1985
4. The Plains of Passage, 1990
5. The Shelters of Stone, 2002
6. The Land of Painted Caves, 2011

The series is about Ayla, a Cro-Magnon girl adopted by Neanderthals, who later searches for her own people.  Beyond that, I'll let you read what Marg has to say.  But first, tell me how many of these you've read.

Contemporary worship

One of my grandsons has played his guitar in the contemporary worship service at a local church.  His father used to play keyboard at the early service of a different church.  The picture here, which doesn't show my grandson, comes from an article Keeping it fresh by Mallory McCall:

"Today, contemporary worship is all about participation. Many Christians of all ages no longer find it satisfying to go to church and sit through a service; they want to be part of it. The informality of these modern services gives congregants the freedom to participate in worship in a more personal way."

He asks, "But what does it mean to be contemporary in worship?"  To many people, it's all about the music.  The article quotes C. Michael Hawn, professor of church music and director of the sacred music program at Perkins School of Theology in Dallas:

"The way we sing affects the way we think about God ... I think our worship, regardless of style, needs to have a lot more kinesthetic permission ... It will keep young people involved, plus it says this is more than a head-trip; this is a whole-body experience."

Kinesthetic, the sensation of movement, freedom to move around, to be involved.

Does your church have a contemporary service, a traditional service, or a mixture of both styles?  Which do you prefer?  Why?  What do you think it means to be contemporary in worship?

Books of the decade ~ top ten

I found a Top Ten Books of the Decade (2000-2009) on LindyLouMac's Book Reviews.  She got it from LoveReading, which designated fifty to choose from.  How many of these have you read?  I've indicated those I've read.

Number 1
The Time Traveler's Wife
by Audrey Niffenegger, 2003

I've read this one, but haven't reviewed it.  Dewey, who chose it as one of her books for the Something About Me reading challenge, said:

"I just adore this book. In some ways, I identify with the main character, even though he's a guy. Although he time travels, his normal life takes place in Chicago, where I grew up, during about the same time. You know how it's just cool to have a character in a book doing the things you did and going to the places you go? Aside from that, he has a really deep connection with his wife, and in a lot of ways, it feels reminiscent of my relationship with my husband, except that he's not always time traveling out of my life. The book doesn't read like a sci-fi book, which is what you'd normally expect from a book about time traveling. It's more about relationships and trying to be yourself even when who you are doesn't always make sense to other people."

Number 2
The Kite Runner
by Khaled Hosseini, 2003

Don't you think this cover is perfect?  I read this one several years before I started blogging and reviewing books.  Read about it on my Banned Books blog.






Number 3
The Book Thief
by Markus Zusak, 2005

I like this cover, too, but haven't read the book ... yet!






Number 4
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
by John Boyne, 2006

This cover is for the movie version.  I read this one with my online Book Buddies, but I haven't written a review.






Number 5
Girl with a Pearl Earring
by Tracy Chevalier, 1999

I read this too long ago to attempt to write a review now.




Number 6
Chocolat
by Joanne Harris, 1999

My favorite of her books was Five Quarters of the Orange. Dewey reviewed Chocolat here.  It's so nice to find Dewey's reviews scattered about, since her blog was taken down after she died.





Number 7
The Lovely Bones
by Alice Sebold, 2002

I read this years before I started blogging and reviewing books.



Number 8
We Need to Talk about Kevin
by Lionel Shriver, 2003

I want to read this because Dewey put this at the top of her list for the Something About Me reading challenge, saying:

"I'm reading this book for the second time right now. The narrator is the mother of a boy who has committed a Columbine-like school shooting/mass murder. I teach high school. I was teaching high school the day the Columbine shooting happened, and we all stopped what we were doing in class and watched the news in horror. This book really freaked me out the first time I read it, because I'm also the mother of teenage boy -- a white, middle-class, suburban boy, which is what these school shooters tend to be. Although the narrator is really hard to like, I just feel for her anyway, because I can not even imagine what it must be like to be the parent of one of these boys. Yet I have to keep in mind at all times the possibility that something like this could out of the blue happen in my classroom at any time."

Number 9
The Shadow of the Wind
by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, 2001 (translation, 2004)

I bought this book, but haven't read it yet.  It's the very last book in my fiction section, which I shelve alphabetically by author.




Number 10
Small Island
by Andrea Levy, 2005

This book won the Orange Prize, so I really should read it.

Kiki's Caturday ~ finally

So it's no longer Saturday. It's not my fault! Bonnie had to post all that stuff about Banned Books Week, on this blog and on her Banned Books blog. Then she read all the book blogs she likes to read. And then, after all that, she used the computer to grade papers and answer emails from her writing students. Just thinking about it made me tired, so I had to take a long nap. When a neighbor dropped by, I couldn't use the computer because I was too busy schmoozing and trying to get treats and attention. Then it was bed time. So my Caturday is today, no matter what the calendar says.

This is the book I told you about last week.  I've read a lot more of it now.  I got to a chapter or two where the author (Vicki Myron) told us the history of her town:  Spencer, Iowa.  I wanted to know about Dewey, the library cat, not about her town.  But then I got it.  Dewey made a difference to the whole town.  Everything was going downhill (do they even have hills in Iowa?) and farmers were losing their farms.  Towns were dying.  People were moving away.  Then came Dewey, and people began to smile again.  Hurray for Dewey!  Then I began to wonder how he knew people needed to laugh and smile?  Maybe it was just the usual cat-ness at work.  You know, where we make you people happy because we allow you to hold us while we sleep or encourage you to feed us or act so happy about being given catnip that you can't help laughing.  Maybe that's it.  Whatever.  Dewey made people happy.

More next week.

Kiki, signing off

Jumping on the "banned wagon"

First edition cover

Mark Twain once said of his detractors: "Censorship is telling a man he can't have a steak just because a baby can't chew it."

Twain knew about censorship.  His Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is one of the most challenged and banned books ever.  Most object to the language, though the original detractors weren't bothered by the racial slur that people today find offensive.

Banned Books Week, sponsored annually by the American Library Association since 1982, starts today.  The title for this post comes from Sheila, who used it on her Book Journey blog this morning.

On the eve of Banned Books Week

Banned Books Week starts tomorrow. Click here for a list of books I suggest for this week's reading.  Or check out my Banned Books blog, where we've have 242 visitors today.  Have you read any books that were ever challenged or banned somewhere in the world?