Irreverent Guides to Self Help, Modern Life's Dilemmas, and Getting the Pretty Back

Everybody needs a little help sometimes, a little encouragement,  a little shared wisdom, are we right?  Well, if you agree, you might already have done a subject search for Self Help or Self Esteem books, and you might already be well on your way to getting the help you need.  But some people are not as comfortable reading books classified as self help. These are books for those people - a little irreverent, injecting a little levity in the situation. These are probably not as likely to deal with your problems as traditional self help books - but at least they should brighten your day!


You're Doing It Wrong!: How to Improve Your Life by Fixing Everyday Tasks You (And Everyone Else) Are Totally Screwing Up by Lee Thornton

You Are a Bad Ass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero

The Gaggle: How the Guys You Know Will Help You Find the Love You Want by Jessica Massa

This Is How: Proven Aid in Overcoming Shyness, Molestation, Fatness, Spinsterhood, Grief, Disease, Lushery, Decrepitude & More-- For Young and Old Alike by Augusten Burroughs

Build the Perfect Bug Out Bag: Your 72-hour Disaster Survival Kit by Creek Stewart

Whateverland: Learning to Live Here by Alexis Stewart and Jennifer Koppelman Hutt

I Hate People!: Kick Loose From the Overbearing and Underhanded Jerks at Work and Get What You Want Out of Your Job by Jonathan Littman, Marc Hershon

You Are Not So Smart: Why You Have Too Many Friends on Facebook, Why Your Memory is Mostly Fiction, and 46 Other Ways You're Deluding Yourself by David McRaney

Promise Land: My Journey Through America's Self-Help Culture by Jessica Lamb-Shapiro

Adulting: How to Become a Grown-Up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps by Kelly Williams Brown

Getting the Pretty Back: Friendship, Family, and Finding the Perfect Lipstick by Molly Ringwald

The Book of Awesome: Snow Days, Bakery Air, Finding Money in Your Pocket, and Other Simple, Brilliant Things by Neil Pasricha

The Dude and the Zen Master by Jeff Bridges and Bernie Glassman

Miss Jane Austen's Guide to Modern Life's Dilemmas: Answers to Your Most Burning Questions About Life, Love, Happiness (And What to Wear) From the Great Novelist Herself by Rebecca Smith [eBook]

Well Enough Alone: A Cultural History of My Hypochondria by Jennifer Traig

The New Rules for Blondes: Highlights From a Fair-Haired Life by Selena Coppock

When the Chocolate Runs Out by Lama Yeshe [eBook]

Friendkeeping: A Field Guide to the People You Love, Hate, and Can't Live Without by Julie Klam      

Things I've Learned From Women Who've Dumped Me edited by Ben Karlin

Everything I Need To Know I Learned From Dungeons & Dragons: One Woman's Quest to Turn Self Help Into Elf-Helf by Shelly Mazzanoble

Celebrity Authors

It's not unusual to see autobiographies and memoir written by celebrities. What is more unusual is that more and more celebrities have started to write fiction. From picture books to chapter books and young adult fiction to adult fiction, celebrities are taking advantage of the opportunity to write and publish books. How people feel about celebrity authors varies; some people are not happy with actors, actresses, and musicians writing fiction books, while others are just fine with it. Ty Roth, author of the young adult novel So Shelly, even weighed in on the topic.

There's also always the possibility that ghostwriters are responsible for actually writing these books, and that the celebrities just come up with the idea, or just have their names published on the books. The level of a celebrity's involvement may vary, but according to the New York Times, it's highly unlikely that celebrities are completely responsible for writing their books.

Regardless of who actually writes the book and of how readers and writers feel about celebrity authors, it is unlikely that celebrities will stop publishing fiction. Curious about who some of the celebrity authors are? Here's a list of just some of the ones that are in the library catalog, broken down by category.*

Picture Books

The Blue Ribbon Day and The Brand New Kid,by Katie Couric

Big Words for Little People, My Mommy Hung the Moon: A Love Story, Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born, and Where Do Balloons Go? An Uplifting Mystery, by Jamie Lee Curtis

Man Gave Names to All the Animals, by Bob Dylan

Dumpy's Extra-Busy Day and Dumpy's Valentine, by Julie Andrews Edwards

It's About a Little Bird,by Jessica Lange

Queen of the Scene,by Queen Latifah

I'm a Manatee and Marsupial Sue, by John Lithgow

The Adventures of Abdi, Mr. Peabody's Apples, and Yakov and the Seven Thieves, by Madonna

The Alphabet From A to Y With Bonus Letter, Z! and Late For School, by Steve Martin

Freckleface Strawberry and Freckleface Strawberry and the Dodgeball Bully, by Julianne Moore

Little T Learns to Share, by Terrell Owens

Halloween, by Jerry Seinfeld

Presenting Tallulah, by Tori Spelling

Dream Big, Little Pig!, by Kristi Yamaguchi

My New Teacher and Me! and When I Grow Up, by Al Yankovic

Chapter Books

Dragon: Hound of Honor, The Great American Mousical, Little Bo in London, and Mandy, by Julie Andrews Edwards

The English Roses and The English Roses: Too Good to be True, by Madonna

Shaq and the Beanstalk and Other Very Tall Tales, by Shaquille O'Neal

Hothead and Squeeze Play, by Cal Ripkin, Jr.

Young Adult Fiction

Modelland, by Tyra Banks

The Fame Game, L.A. Candy, Starstruck, Sugar and Spice, and Sweet Little Lies, by Lauren Conrad

Devoted and Elixir, by Hilary Duff

What do you think about celebrities-turned-authors? Have you read any of the books on this list? Would you? Or do you agree with those who think celebrities should stay away from writing books?

*Please note that this is not an exhaustive list. Some of the authors mentioned have more books in the library's catalog than what is listed. This list also does not focus on adult fiction.

The Bagthorpe Saga: An Interlibrary Loan Story

What happens if you'd like to read or watch or listen to something not in the ABC Library catalog?  You can Suggest a Purchase, especially if it's new. But if it's older, and possibly out of print, or if it's something the library doesn't usually carry, such as sheet music, you might try an Interlibrary Loan. Interlibrary Loan is a cooperative service among libraries for obtaining materials not available in local library systems. Items requested are located, ordered, and, if available for loan, shipped by mail or other delivery services to your local library. Best of all, they're free!

For instance, we recently read a Vanity Fair interview with director Wes Anderson, wherein we learned that "The Royal Tenenbaums is often compared to J. D. Salinger’s fictional Glass-family stories, but Anderson says the idea for the movie was partly inspired by 'The Bagthorpe Saga,' a children’s-book series by Helen Cresswell; it follows the lives of several relentlessly precocious siblings whose domicile is called Unicorn House. The series made a 'very big impression' on him as a child."  Further digging on the Bagthorpes indicated that the series had won many kudos, including two International Reading Association awards, and was the basis of a BBC comedy series in the '80s. We were intrigued!  We must find these books!

We looked in the catalog - before requesting any material through Interlibrary Loan, check the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Libraries Catalog to make sure that the material is not owned by any of the system's 17 libraries. ABC Library staff are only able to request items through interlibrary loan that the library system does not own - and discovered our system only owns Bagthorpes Liberated.  A quick check in our NoveList Plus eResource - very handy for looking up series if you like to read them in order! - indicated that this was Book Seven in the series, and the first book is called Ordinary Jack.

We then filled out an Interlibrary Loan Book Request form. These are available at any branch library or online. If you fill it out online, just bring it to your branch library for processing. Make sure your request (unlike this one) is signed and dated!

The librarian checked Worldcat to make sure the book was available in the United States (we cannot do Interlibrary Loans with institutions outside of the U.S.).  Anyone can take a look at Worldcat, if you are interested.

After turning in our form at our local branch to be processed by Interlibrary Loan staff, we just wait to be contacted!  Occasionally, the library will be unable to borrow the item, and you will get an "Unfilled" notice.  Most of the time, however, you will be called or emailed when your item arrives at the branch and you just go pick it up!  Please note, the lending library sets the due date and there are no renewals.  Also, Interlibrary Loans must be returned to staff (not in the bookdrop) at the branch from which you requested it.

We often make use of this helpful library service and encourage you to do so as well!  However, we recommend that you read the "Interlibrary Loan Policies", helpfully listed on the back of the request form, and/or visit our Interlibrary Loan LibGuide to check out the FAQ. If you have any remaining questions about Interlibrary Loans, we encourage you to call Interlibrary Loan Services at 505-768-5155, Monday through Friday, 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

Top Circulating Children's and Young Adult Authors

“Knowledge is like money: To be of value it must circulate, and in circulating it can increase in quantity and, hopefully, in value.”
― Louis L'Amour, Education of a Wandering Man  

In the library, "circulation" means a lot of things.  What's sometimes called the "library card desk" is also known as "circulation".  When we look at a book's record, we count how many times it has checked out as its "circs". The library's collection floats (items checked out at one branch and returned at another stay at the branch at which they are returned), but its items circulate.

Are you ever curious about which titles get checked out the most in the library system? We've generated a couple of lists of the top circulating authors for kids and young adults in the last couple of months. If they are authors of a popular series or a currently trending title, we have noted that in brackets next to their name.

From April 2014:

Top Circulating Children’s Authors
Fiction	Non-Fiction
Dr. Seuss	Jim Davis [Garfield]
Mary Pope Osborne [Magic Tree House]	Allan Fowler
Cynthia Rylant [Henry & Mudge]	Elaine Landau [Your Pet…]
Daisy Meadows [Rainbow Magic]	Gail Gibbons
Eric Carle [The Very Hungry Caterpillar]	Simon Seymour [Simon Seymour’s…]
Marc Brown [Arthur]	Joanna Cole [Magic School Bus]
Mo Willems [Knuffle Bunny]	Jennifer L. Holm [Babymouse]
R. L. Stine [Goosebumps]	Jack Prelutsky [poetry]
Stan & Jan Berenstain [The Berenstain Bears]	Steve Parker [DK Eyewitness]
Geronimo Stilton	Sandra Markle
Carolyn Keene [Nancy Drew]	Hidenori Kusaka [Pokémon Adventures]
Ron Roy [A to Z Mysteries]	David A. Adler [Cam Jansen]
Alysa Capucilli [Biscuit]	Robert Gardner [science projects]
H. A. Rey [Curious George]	Salvatore Tocci [Experiments with…]
Laura Numeroff [If You Give A Mouse A Cookie]	David West Reynolds [Star Wars]
Erin Hunter [Warriors]	Ann Heinrichs
Bobby Lynn Maslen [Bob Books]	Stuart J. Murphy
Tomie DePaola [Strega Nona]	Darlene Stille
Jane Yolen	Melissa Stewart

From April 2014:

Top Circulating Young Adult Authors
Fiction	Non-Fiction
Suzanne Collins [The Hunger Games]	Masashi Kishimoto [Naruto]
P.C. Cast [House of Night]	Rumiko Takahashi [InuYasha]
Ted Dekker [Lost Books]	Tite Kubo [Bleach]
Melissa de la Cruz [Blue Bloods]	Brian Michael Bendis [Ultimate Spider-Man]
Stephenie Meyer [Twilight]	Hiromu Arakawa [Fullmetal Alchemist]
Lisa McMann [Visions]	Katsura Hoshino [D. Gray-Man]
Amanda Hocking [Watersong]	Naoko Takeuchi [Sailor Moon]
Kate Constable [Chanters of Tremaris]	Natsuki Takaya [Fruits Basket]
Kirsty McKay [Undead]	Toshiaki Iwashiro [Psyren]
Ellen Schreiber [Vampire Kisses]	Atsushi Ōkubo [Soul Eater]
Alyson Noël [Soul Seekers]	Rei Tōma [Dawn of the Arcana]
James Patterson [Witch & Wizard]	Kazuki Takahashi [Yu-Gi-Oh!]
Ellen Hopkins [novels in verse]	Dan Slott [The Superior Spider-Man]
Jackie M. Kessler [Riders of the Apocalypse]	Kazue Katō [Blue Exorcist]
Jessica Shirvington [Embrace]	Ken Akamatsu [Negima!]
Heather Brewer [Slayer Chronicles]	Christos Gage [Avengers  Academy]
Richelle Mead [Bloodlines]	Matsuri Hino [Vampire Knight]
Meg Cabot [Abandon]	Dana Hayward [Tsubasa]
Julie Halpern	Yana Toboso [Black Butler]
Barry Lyga [Archvillain]

From June 2014:

Top Circulating Authors
Children’s Fiction	Young Adult Fiction
Dr. Seuss	Suzanne Collins [The Hunger Games]
Mary Pope Osborne [Magic Tree House]	James Patterson [Witch & Wizard]
Eric Carle [The Very Hungry Caterpillar]	Veronica Roth [Divergent]
Cynthia Rylant [Henry & Mudge]	John Flanagan [Ranger’s Apprentice}
Daisy Meadows [Rainbow Magic]	Cassandra Clare [Infernal Devices]
Mo Willems [Knuffle Bunny]	Ellen Hopkins [novels in verse]
Marc Brown [Arthur]	Sara Shepard [Pretty Little Liars]
Carolyn Keene [Nancy Drew]	Richelle Mead [Bloodlines]
Geronimo Stilton	Joseph Delaney [The Last Apprentice]
Sue Bentley [Magic Puppy]	P. C. Cast [House of Night]
Laura Numeroff [If You Give A Mouse A Cookie]	Neal Shusterman [Unwind]
Rosemary Wells	Alyson Noël [Soul Seekers]
R. L. Stine [Goosebumps]	Darren Shan [Cirque du Freak]
Gertrude Chandler Warner [The Boxcar Children]	Markus Zusak [The Book Thief]
Megan McDonald [Judy Moody & Stink]	John Green [The Fault in Our Stars]
Stan & Jan Berenstain [The Berenstain Bears]	Meg Cabot [Abandon]
Erin Hunter [Warriors]	Scott Westerfeld [Uglies]
Jane O’Connor [Fancy Nancy]	Lisi Harrison [Clique]
Ron Roy [A to Z Mysteries]	Anthony Horowitz [Alex Rider]
David Adler [Cam Jansen]	Lauren Oliver [Delirium]

Dr. Seuss and Suzanne Collins are our clear winners, for now!