Finding Fiction

If you're like me, finding a great novel to pass the time with is like discovering a treasure. Unfortunately, the map for fiction sometimes seems a lot less easy to read than the map for nonfiction. With nonfiction, you can say, "Where are your books about vampires?", get a number (398.45, in this case), and see what's on the shelf.

With fiction? Well, it's not shelved that way. It's shelved by author--and if you don't know the next book you'd like to read, then how are you supposed to guess which author to look under? It can seem a bit daunting!

Luckily, the catalog can help you. If you do a subject search for "Vampires Fiction," you'll find 918 hits!



That's great--if what you want is a vampire book, then you've got it.

Unfortunately, you're looking for Stephen King type vampires, and you know a good half of the books on the list are Stephenie Meyer vampires. How do you know which one is which? It takes a lot of time to go through all 918.

Luckily, the library has other tools. You might check out our booklists, to see if someone has made a list of the kind of books you want to read. You could also go to a librarian--part of the job at the reference desk is called reader's advisory, and the whole point of that is helping you find the books you want to read.

But even if you're not at the library, you can use many of the same tools at home. Just making use of the catalog, if you enter a book of the sort you want--for instance, Dracula--you can click on the tab labeld "Find Similar Items," which will list all the subjects the book is listed under. It will list "Vampires Fiction," which we've already tried, but maybe what really interests you is "Transylvania (Romania) Fiction" or just "Horror Tales." These subjects are clickable, and will bring you to full lists.



Still, it's pretty broad stroke. You want to limit it a little more. This is where there are several helpful tricks on LibGuides, under Books and Literature. Here, you'll find bestseller lists, series lists, a newsletter called NextReads which you can subscribe to for recommendations, and a database called NoveList Plus, which you have access to with your library card. NoveList allows you to narrow down what sorts of books you want to read, look for author read-alikes, and even choose what sort of tone you want (light, humorous, dramatic, etc).

For instance, if you loved 'Salem's Lot, and want to find books that read like it, you would enter in 'Salem's Lot as a title. When you reached the page, along with a descripion of that book and several reviews, you would find a menu at the side that looks like this:



You can see there that you can choose "Vampires" as a subject, "Horror stories" as a genre, and "menacing" as a tone--that ought to help keep it to the sort of books you want. Sure enough, it gives you a list of books including The Passage, Dracula, and I Am Legend.



You can go back and choose other combinations as well to get different recommendations. The question now is, does the library have them? NoveList Plus has a link for each book to "Check Library Catalog." Because we are subscribed as the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Library System, this will link directly to a title search at ABC Libraries, and let you know if it's there. If it is, you can place a hold on it right then. If not, you can almost always obtain a book through Interlibrary Loan.

And that's how to find fiction.

Questions?

The Science of Shopping

Does this apple suggest health, freshness, & cleanliness to you? Manufacturers & retailers hope it does.

I was just reading Martin Lindstrom's Wall Street Journal article, "Selling Illusions of Cleanliness", which got me thinking about the dark side of marketing, "the full range of psychological tricks and schemes that some companies use to prey on our most deeply rooted fears, dreams and desires in order to persuade us to buy their brands and products".  Mr. Lindstrom is a marketing and branding consultant whose new book, Brandwashed: Tricks Companies Use to Manipulate Our Minds and Persuade Us to Buy is already in  the library catalog. I have been meaning to read retail anthropologist Paco Underhill's manifesto, Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping for some time now, so the discovery of this new book is just impetus to read more about this topic, especially as I gear up for seasonal gift shopping!

A search of related subjects (or similar items) brings up titles such as:

A Consumer's Republic: The Politics of Mass Consumption in Postwar America by Lizabeth Cohen

Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping by Judith Levine

Buy ology: Truth and Lies about Why We Buy byMartin Lindstrom (his previous book)

Hundred Dollar Holiday: The Case for a More Joyful Christmas by Bill McKibben

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

Another article about Lindstrom you may enjoy:
Repentant marketer Martin Lindstrom confesses his sins

Fontastic!

Anyone who knows me knows that I like things just so, from my co-workers who know what side of the reference desk I like to sit on to my ex-boyfriend-I'm not saying we broke up because he wouldn't do things the way I wanted him to, but close.  I have many enthusiasms-from British television to the art of Edward Gorey to Japanese street fashion-but none, perhaps, so pervasive & long-lasting as my font obsession.

I can date my interest in fonts back to high school-I remember I bought a book of fonts in 8th grade or so.  Not because I was going to hand-letter anything in the near future (although I did have a brief flirtation with calligraphy a couple of years before), but because I just liked how they looked.  I also remember that I had quite a penchant for reading Sweet Dreams teen romances in those days, but more than any particular story from those books I remember the fat, rounded font that those Bantam paperbacks were written in.

Currently, I make some of the signage at our branch, which has returned me to the world of fonts. A few years ago we remade our shelf signs to be more consistent. All the adult area signs are now in Britannic Bold; all the children's area signs are now in Maiandra GD. I try to use a lot of different fonts, although I find script fonts like Edwardian Script ITC  & Gigi don't lend themselves to signs, more's the pity.  I have tried to rid my branch of any vestiges of Comic Sans MS, a font which I really dislike. As do many folks, apparently-there's a website called Ban Comic Sans. 

So, having read all this, you can se why Just My Type: A Book about Fonts has huge appeal for me.  But before you think it's just a book for crazy obsessive Comic Sans haters, it's not!  It's fun & informative & a very quick read, split as it is into short, easily digested chapters. I love books like this, that show you what's behind something you may have taken for granted. For those of you who are diehard Mac users (&, indeed, even owners early-model iPods), did you know that among his other credits, Steve Jobs created many of the first Mac fonts? Ever thought about the font Woody Allen uses for his credits (Windsor)?

Where do the terms upper case & lower case come from? Want to know a bit more background about Johannes Gutenberg & the world's first font? What is the difference between serif & sans serif fonts? How does a type designer work?  These questions & more are all addressed just in the first few chapters of the book. However, this is not a dense, scholarly read-it's informative without being difficult. Who knew that the Beach Boys' album Pet Sounds is one of the most famous uses of the font Cooper Black? I also learned that Trebuchet MS, one of my favorite fonts, is actually related to Comic Sans-they share a designer.

If you are really interested in font use,  consider checking out designer Mark Simonson's website.  Under "Typecasting", you can check out font errors he's found on TV & in movies-for instance, check out this discussion of fonts on the maps of the Indiana Jones films, where the typefaces used in this movie set in the 1930s were not actually invented until decades later.

Typography!  It's everywhere, but most of the time we don't consciously focus on it. This book will bring fonts & their use firmly front & center for you.  Don’t Panic-you'll enjoy the ride.

In closing, please enjoy the video made by this Baskerville fan who calls herself "Mrs. Eaves"-she might love fonts too much!



Full disclosure: this blog is written in Blogger's Default Font, purely for ease & continuity.

Also consider:

Cheese or Font? (an online game)

What type are you? (an online quiz)

Fey Enchantments

Fairies have come a long way, baby.  It's not all Tinker Bell style when it comes to reading about the land of the fey in current titles for young adults & older-there's urban faerie, as popularized by Holly Black (co-writer of The Spiderwick Chronicles) & Melissa Marr, for teens; for adults, Laurell K. Hamilton & Karen Marie Moning have created suspenseful novels with more mature content.  On her website, young adult author Cassandra Clare (who refers to her novels as "urban fantasy") sums up the genre thusly: "I wanted to write something that would combine elements of traditional high fantasy — an epic battle between good and evil, terrible monsters, brave heroes, enchanted swords — and recast it through a modern, urban lens. … In fairy tales, it was the dark and mysterious forest outside the town that held the magic and danger. I wanted to create a world where the city has become the forest — where these urban spaces hold their own enchantments, danger, mysteries and strange beauty.”

I am a diehard fan of Laurell K. Hamilton's Meredith Gentry series, eagerly awaiting the next volume in the series to publish. In the interim, one of my reading challenges this year is Book Soulmates' ifae challenge. Earlier this year I read  Rosemary & Rue by Seanan McGuire, Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr, Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception by Maggie Stiefvater & Ash by Malinda Lo (all young adult books), & I'm trying to get back into it to finish the final 6 of the 10 books I need to read to complete this challenge.  Also consider:

Young Adult Fiction

Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev

Fairy Tale by Cyn Balog

Wings by Aprilynne Pike

Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston

Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin

Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan

The Faerie Path by Frewin Jones

I Was a Teenage Fairy by Francesca Lia Block

Fiction

Darkling by Yasmine Galenorn

Eccentric Circles by Rebecca Lickiss

Ink & Steel by Elizabeth Bear

The Ladies of Grace Adieu & Other Stories by Susanna Clarke

Steward of Song by Adam Stemple

The Tooth Fairy by Graham Joyce

For all sorts of items about faerie, including humor, art, poetry, juvenile films, comic books & Fairyopolis, try searching in the library catalog using the subject heading "Fairies".

Of course, looking up titles for this post just led me to more books I want to read, as usual.  Next on my list: Lost Voices by Sarah Porter.  It's mermaid fiction!

The Big Read 2011

The Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts, designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The Big Read brings together partners across the country to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment.

The Big Read answers a big need. Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America, a 2004 report by the National Endowment for the Arts, found that not only is literary reading in America declining rapidly among all groups, but that the rate of decline has accelerated, especially among the young.

The Big Read aims to address this crisis squarely and effectively. It provides citizens with the opportunity to read and discuss a single book within their communities. Each community event lasts approximately one month and includes a kick-off event to launch the program locally; major events devoted specifically to the book (panel discussions, author reading, and the like); events using the book as a point of departure (film screenings, theatrical readings, and so forth); and book discussions in diverse locations and aimed at a wide range of audiences.

Our community's book this year is Great Tales & Poems of Edgar Allan Poe. ABC Libraries' Big Read adventure begins Friday, October 7th at 7 pm, at the KiMo Theater, with our kick-off event, the Poe Funeral Party! Come commemorate Poe with an interactive performance and costume contest. Coinciding with the anniversary of his death, Edgar Allan Poe will be brought to life by performer Lou Harmon. The event will feature dramatic readings, historical biography and direct audience interaction. Participants that come dressed as Edgar Allan Poe or one of his characters could win a number of prizes!

There will be a plethora of other events until the Big Read ends on November 5th! Check out the Poe Film Series at the Guild Cinema, featuring Roger Corman's The Pit & the Pendulum & Vincent Price in The Fall of the House of Usher!  Or visit the Rio Grande Nature Center for the informative Who's Who in the World of Black Birds!  There will be ongoing History and Mystery Edgar Allan Poe Library Field Trips, Detective/Mystery Fiction Discussion & Writing Workshop, a POE-try Slam, a Chess Tournament with readings, even an Am I Related to Poe? Genealogy Workshop. For students, there's Youth Art Competition, open to all schools.  Don't miss your chance to join in the macabre fun!

For more information on the Big Read program, visit the NEA website. For more information about our community's Big Read 2011, including a schedule of events & times, visit the Big Read LibGuide.  We thank our partners & sponsors for their help in scheduling the 2011 Big Read!

Duke City Marathon

The Duke City Marathon is October 23rd!  Are you ready to run?  There are many levels of participation open to you: the Marathon (be an overall winner, a masters winner, or win for your age group); the Marathon Relay; the Half Marathon Run; & the 10K & 5K Runs.  For those of us unable to run, there is also a 20K Walk & a 5K Walk.  Or, participate in the Miracle Mile, coordinated specifically to celebrate the lives of cancer survivors and the lives of loved ones who have lost their battle to cancer.

Here are the registration deadlines:

Saturday, October 15 (postmarked) - to register through the mail

Sunday, October 16 - to register in any Big 5 outside of Albuquerque

Wednesday, October 19 - to register at Big 5 or Defined Fitness locations in Albuquerque or Rio Rancho

Wednesday, October 19 at NOON - to register via fax (and still get the early registration fees)

Wednesday, October 19 at NOON - to register online (and still get the early registration fees)

Friday, October 21 at 11:59 pm - to register online (final online registration – late fees apply)

Saturday, October 22 at FitFest: Powered by Defined Fitness (the DCM health expo) at the ABQ Convention Center from 9:00am – 6:00pm

There is a Marathon Training Guide (requires Adobe Acrobat) on the website; however, be aware that this is a 12-week program.  If you have not been training, we don't recommend trying to run the marathon.

There will be a Post-Race Festival Downtown! The Post Race Festival will feature live entertainment with a performance by entertainers on Civic Plaza Main Stage, awards ceremonies, refreshments for participants, vendors, exhibits and breakfast food served by Blake’s Lotaburger.

If you are interested, there are also volunteer opportunities listed on the website!  You can also see a list of FAQs.

Here's a list of some of the favorite running books of library staff:

Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World has Never Seen by Chris McDougall

What I Talk about When I Talk about Running by Haruki Murakami

Barefoot Running Step by Step: Barefoot Ken Bob, the Guru of Shoeless Running, Shares his Personal Technique for Running with More Speed, Less Impact, Fewer Leg injuries, and More Fun by Ken Bob Saxton

The Complete Book of Running by James F. Fixx

Runner's World Complete Book of Women's Running : The Best Advice to Get Started, Stay Motivated, Lose Weight, Run Injury-Free, Be Safe, and Train for Any Distance by Dagny Scott
Galloway's Book on Running by Jeff Galloway

Runner's World Complete Book of Beginning Running by Amby Burfoot

No Need for Speed : A Beginner's Guide to the Joy of Running by John "The Penguin" Bingham.

Run for Life: The Anti-Aging, Anti-Injury, Super-Fitness Plan to Keep you Running to 100 by Roy M. Wallack

ChiRunning: A Revolutionary Approach to Effortless, Injury-Free Running by Danny Dreyer with Katherine Dreyer

Also, consider watching:

My Run
After losing his wife to breast cancer and struggling to raise his children, real-life superhero and modern-day Forrest Gump Terry Hitchcock had an idea. He wanted to accomplish the impossible by running 75 consecutive marathons in 75 consecutive days to bring attention to the incredibly difficult lives of single-parent families.

Ultramarathon Man
Features renowned endurance athlete and best selling author Dean Karnazes, in his attempt to run 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 consecutive days to raise awareness for youth obesity and to get America active.

Spirit of the Marathon
A look at the Chicago Marathon, which stretches 26.2 miles, and the runners who participate from all walks of life, each with their own story.

The Greatest Show Off Earth

It's that time of year...Balloon Fiesta time!  There are events scheduled every day between the 1st & the 9th, including balloon glows, mass ascensions & special shapes rodeos-visit the Fiesta website to see the event schedule.

Did you know that there's a directory of the Special Shapes that will be attending? The Wells Fargo stage, "Cent'r Stage", will be there, along with Airabelle the Creamland cow, Pandy, the Haunted Mansion, Smokey, Little Cop,  Darth Vader, & more!  This year I hope to see Iwi the Kiwi from New Zealand.

On the website, make sure you check out the Guest Guide.  This has FAQs & handy information about tickets, park & ride, directions, RV information, & tours.  They are even offering a Bike Valet service this year! Avoid congested traffic and parking conditions near Balloon Fiesta Park by riding your bike.

You can even enter your photographs in a contest!  Best of show wins a Nikon D3100 Camera Outfit!

Let's not forget the hard work of Balloon Fiesta Launch Directors (ZEBRAS-they'll be the ones sporting zebra striped outfits at the Balloon Fiesta). "These dedicated volunteers have had hours of training before going on the field to coordinate a balloon launch. They handle crowd control, observe pilots, and work with them to get their balloons safely off the ground every morning during Balloon Fiesta. Every Zebra checks to see that every balloon is airworthy and that there is no damage to the either the envelope or the basket. They then let the pilots know where they will be standing and what hand signals to look for during the launch sequence. They also discuss wind conditions and the traffic directly overhead. The Zebras then walks each pilot out to a clear area near the launch site. When the skyway is clear, the Zebra blows his whistle and gives a 'thumbs up' signal letting the pilot know he is clear to take off," explains the website.

The Balloon Fiesta needs more volunteers, including Field Services (help setup Balloon Fiesta Park, outdoor manual labor) & Balloon Discovery Center (educational center, help guests with the hands on exhibits). Apply online!

To learn more about hot air ballooning, check the library catalog using the subject heading "ballooning".

 

The Balloonist's Prayer

May the winds welcome you with softness.

May the sun bless you with its warm hands.

May you fly so high and so well that God

joins you in laughter and sets you gently

back into the loving arms of Mother Earth.