Reading Oral Histories

I found myself going to sit at the kitchen table, unable to wash any more dishes, moved to tears.  No, nobody was cutting onions.  My friend was reading, Listening is an Act of Love out loud to me while I worked.  The everyday stories of the everyday people who told them reached into my heart and stirred up a connection with them that burned in my chest and ran down my cheeks.  Their stories were my story, their hearts were my heart, full of both pain and joy.  I marveled at the things we humans go through as we live out our short lives, and I wanted to hear more.

StoryCorps is a nonprofit organization, founded by Dave Isay in 2003, whose goal is to give voice to the stories each of us have through recording, sharing and saving oral histories.  How is this done?  Individuals choose a partner who is significant to them in some realm of life, whether this person is a spouse, longtime coworker, good friend, or close relative, and choose the questions they would like to ask each other.  The partners make an appointment to record their interview at a StoryBooth near them (currently, StoryCorps is in Chicago, Atlanta and San Francisco).  Each StoryBooth has a facilitator to guide the process.

After an interview, participants receive a CD copy of their recording, which will also be preserved in the Archive at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.  As you may have guessed, some of the 55,303 interviews have been transcribed and included in Dave Isay's books, all of which our library currently has.  A selection of interviews are also aired on NPR every Friday.

If you want to feel more connected to your fellow human beings, I highly recommend checking out one of these powerful StoryCorps books:

Ties That Bind: Stories of Love and Gratitude from the First Ten Years of StoryCorps

All There Is: Love Stories from StoryCorps

Mom: A Celebration of Mothers from StoryCorps

Listening is an Act of Love: A Celebration of American Lives from the StoryCorps Project


Here are some of the other fascinating oral history books available at the library:

What Was Asked of Us: an Oral History of the Iraq War by the Soldiers Who Fought It

Strong Medicine Speaks: A Native American Elder Has Her Say

Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression

Oral History: An Interdisciplinary Anthology

Voices of the Territory of New Mexico

Mad World: An Oral History of New Wave Artists and Songs that Defined the 1980s 


In addition, the library has a collection of books from NPR, including ebooks and eaudiobooks.

If you are interested in preserving some of your own family stories by oral history, take a look at these reference books at Genealogy in the Main Library:

The Oral History Workbook

Family History, Genealogy and Oral History Workshop

(Keep in mind that you will not be able to check out reference books to take home with you.)

The StoryCorps website itself also has a helpful do-it-yourself section!



Last, but not least, have a look at these sites for a Southwestern take on oral history:

UNM's Health Sciences Library Oral History Program for Medical Professionals

Southwest Oral History Association

UNM's Oral History Projects Collection

American Indian Oral History Collection

Route 66 Oral History Office

Thanks and Giving: Bringing Gratitude Into Your Life

At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us. 

~Albert Schweitzer

I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder. ~G.K. Chesterton

Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.

~ Marcel Proust
 

Happy Thanksgiving!  What are you feeling thankful for this year?

Sometimes, in our daily lives, it's harder to remember to feel thankful. We've compiled a list of titles to keep you grounded in gratitude year round, so you can , like Buddhist monk Thích Nhất Hạnh, "...promise myself that I will enjoy every minute of the day that is given me to live."


Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers by Anne Lamott
 
10 Mindful Minutes: Giving Our Children - And Ourselves - The Social and Emotional Skills to Reduce Stress and Anxiety for Healthier, Happier Lives by Goldie Hawn with Wendy Holden

Simple Act of Gratitude: How Learning To Say Thank You Changed My Life by John Kralik

365 Thank Yous: The Year A Simple Act of Daily Gratitude Changed My Life by John Kralik

Happily Ever After: The Life-Changing Power of a Grateful Heart by Trista Sutter

Thanks!: How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier by Robert Emmons

On Gratitude:Sheryl Crow, Jeff Bridges, Alicia Keys, Daryl Hall, Ray Bradbury, Anna Kendrick, B.B. King, Elmore Leonard, Deepak Chopra, and 42 More Celebrities Share What They're Most Thankful For by Todd Aaron Jensen [eBook]

The Joy Compass: Eight Ways to Find Lasting Happiness, Gratitude, and Optimism in the Present Moment by Donald Altman [eBook]

A Book of Miracles: Inspiring True Stories of Healing, Gratitude, and Love by Bernie S. Siegel with Andrea Hurst
 
Sweet Gratitude: Bake a Thank-You For the Really Important People in Your Life by Judith Sutton

Help Yourself: Celebrating the Rewards of Resilience and Gratitude by Dave Pelzer

Abundantly Simple: Everywoman's Gratitude Journal by Helen Kafka, Laura Hellen [eBook]

F**k It Therapy: The Profane Way to Profound Happiness by John C. Parkin

25 Days to Better Thinking & Better Living: A Guide For Improving Every Aspect of Your Life by Linda Elder and Richard Paul

Comfort: An Atlas for the Body and Soul by Brett C. Hoover [eBook]

Don't Miss Your Life: Find More Joy and Fulfillment Now by Joe Robinson

The Gratitude Power Workbook: Transform Fear Into Courage, Anger Into Forgiveness, Isolation Into Belonging by Nina Lesowitz and Mary Beth Sammons [eBook]

Seasonal Awareness and Wellbeing by Marie-Claire Wilson  [eBook]

And don't forget the giving!

Giving 2.0: Transform Your Giving and Our World by Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen

Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World by Bill Clinton

A Path Appears: Enriching the Lives of Others--And Ourselves by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

The Voluntourist: A Six-Country Tale of Love, Loss, Fatherhood, Fate, and Singing Bon Jovi in Bethlehem by Ken Budd

Everyone Helps, Everyone Wins: How Absolutely Anyone Can Pitch In, Help Out, Give Back, and Make the World a Better Place by David T. Levinson
   

Recommended Sports Books for Adults & Youth

We are deep within the 95th regular season of the National Football League! 256 games to be played out over a seventeen week schedule leading up to Super Bowl XLIX on February 1, 2015, with 3 games on 3 networks on Thanksgiving Day: the Detroit Lions will host the Chicago Bears on CBS; the Dallas Cowboys will host the Philadelphia Eagles on Fox; and on prime-time NBC, the San Francisco 49ers will host Seattle Seahawks (championship rematch). Will you be watching? For the first time ever, no AFC (American Football Conference, one of two conferences of the NFL) teams will appear on Thanksgiving.

There are other sporting events of note in November, including the New York City Marathon, Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, rivalry games in college football, NASCAR Ford Ecoboost 400 (the championship round of the Sprint Cup), the Trampoline and Tumbling World Championships, the XXII Central American and Caribbean Games, PSA Men's World Squash Championship, the group stages of the UEFA Champions League, and World Weightlifting Championships; and in December, the World Swimming Championships and the International Rugby Board Women Sevens World Series are happening.

Who knew late fall was so chockablock with sporting events? Even if you can't catch all your favorite sports live this season, perhaps you'd like to use the upcoming holidays to kick back with some reading about sports - here are some titles we think you might enjoy! We even have a couple of books to get your sporty kids reading.

Adults

Blood Aces: The Wild Ride of Benny Binion, The Texas Gangster Who Created Vegas Poker by Doug J. Swanson

Collision Low Crossers: A Year Inside the Turbulent World of NFL Football by Nicholas Dawidoff

The Magnificent Masters: Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller, Tom Weiskopf and the 1975 Cliffhanger at Augusta by Gil Capps

The Noble Hustle: Poker, Beef Jerky, and Death by Colson Whitehead

Pete Rose: An American Dilemma by Kostya Kennedy

Ping Pong Diplomacy: The Secret History Behind the Game that Changed the World by Nicholas Griffin

Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival From the Bottom of the Pile by Nate Jackson

Why Football Matters: My Education in the Game by Mark Edmundson

Against Football: One Fan's Reluctant Manifesto by Steve Almond

Parcells: A Football Life by Bill Parcells and Nunyo Demasio

Season of Saturdays: A History of College Football in 14 Games by Michael Weinreb

Football: Great Writing About the National Sport edited by John Schulian

Newton's Football: The Science Behind America's Game by Allen St. John, Ainissa G. Ramirez, PH.D

I Am Zlatan: My Story On and Off the Field by Zlatan Ibrahimović with David Lagercrantz
 
Children

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

Fourth Down and Inches: Concussions and Football's Make-or-Break Moment by Carla Killough McClafferty

Muckers by Sandra Neil Wallace [eBook]

The Soccer Fence by Phil Bildner

Soccer Star by Mina Javaherbin 

So, You Want to Work in Sports?: The Ultimate Guide to Exploring the Sports Industry by Joanne Mattern 

Stealing the Game by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Raymond Obstfeld

Taylor Swift: Country artist turned pop star and literacy advocate

Taylor Swift's newest album, 1989, was released on October 27 of this year. Industry experts predicted the album would sell over 1.3 million copies through November 2, according to an article on Billboard's website. Swift, who finally admitted in a Rolling Stone article that she's no longer a country artist and is now a pop artist, was thrilled when her album did better than predicted, if her Instagram video is any indication. 1989 became the first platinum album of the year, selling 1.287 copies in the first week (which is also the most successful record debut since 2002), according to The Washington Post.

In addition to being a powerhouse in the music industry, Swift has proven herself a philanthropist as well. While she has donated money to many organizations, I'm going to focus on her support of literacy. According to Wikipedia, Swift has done the following (in chronological order):

In 2009, Swift donated $250,000 to schools that she had ties to. The money went to purchasing books, funding educational programs, and helping pay teacher salaries.

In 2010, she participated in Scholastic's live webcast, Read Now! With Taylor Swift, to help celebrate Scholastic's Read Every Day campaign.

In 2011, Swift partnered with Scholastic Books to donate 6,000 books to Reading Public Library, in Pennsylvania.

In 2012, she donated 14,000 books to Nashville Public Library, in Tennessee. Some of the books she donated to Nashville Public Library went into circulation, while others were given to children from low-income families, preschools, and daycares.  Swift also partnered with Scholastic again in a second live webcast, where she promoted reading, and she co-chaired the National Education Association's Read Across American campaign, which included recording a public service announcement encouraging kids to read.

In 2013, Swift donated 2,000 Scholastic Books to the early literacy program Reading Hospital Child Health Center.

In 2014, she appeared in a READ campaign, sponsored by the American Library Association, and she participated in a third Scholastic webcast.

Want to know more about Taylor Swift, or to just check out her music? The library has plenty of things you can check out!

Taylor Swift's albums

Taylor Swift
Fearless
Speak Now
Speak Now Deluxe Edition
Red

Taylor Swift biographies

Taylor Swift by Holly Cefrey
Taylor Swift: Secrets of a Songwriter by Amy Gail
Taylor Swift: Love Story by Amy Gail Hansen
Taylor Swift: Every Day is a Fairy Tale: The Unofficial Story by Liz Spencer

LEGO: For the Child in All of Us

Are you a LEGO fan? Those ubiquitous toy bricks have found their way into the library system! You can search the catalog using the word "Lego" to find all varieties of goodies, but we've also rounded up a list of some of the latest titles below.

We have books!

For Children

Dolphin Rescue adapted by Tracey West

LEGO Star Wars: The Dark Side by Daniel Lipkowitz

Robot Rampage by Greg Farshtey

Tribes of Chima by Ruth Amos

Build Your Own Galaxy: The Big Unofficial Lego Builder's Book by Joachim Klang, Oliver Albrecht, Lutz Uhlmann, Tim Bischoff

The LEGO Ideas Book: Unlock Your Imagination by Daniel Lipkowitz 

The LEGO Book by Daniel Lipkowitz
 
For Adults 

Brick City: Global Icons to Make from Lego by Warren Elsmore

LEGO Build-It Book: Volume 1 - Amazing Vehicles by Nathanael Kuipers, Mattia Zamboni [also an eBook]

Beautiful LEGO by Mike Doyle

The Cult of LEGO by John Baichtal, Joe Meno 

Brick by Brick: How LEGO Rewrote the Rules of Innovation and Conquered the Global Toy Industry by David C. Robertson with Bill Breen

Make: Lego and Arduino Projects by John Baichtal, Matthew Beckler & Adam Wolf 
 

We have DVDs!

Lego - Ninjago and Friends

The Lego Movie

Lego Batman the Movie: DC Super Heroes Unite

Star Wars Lego: The Empire Strikes Out  

Legends of CHIMA: The Lion, the Crocodile and the Power of Chi 



We have items in Spanish for kids!  

Las Leyendas De Chima: Comienza la leyenda by Trey King

¡A reparar ese camión! by Michael Anthony Steele

Los discos de poder by Greg Farshtey


And, last but certainly not least, if you got kids who'd like to get their hands on some bricks, our library system has 9 LEGO Clubs! Visit our Library LEGO Club page to find one near you! Age ranges vary (6-12, 2-14, 5+), so check with individual libraries for clarification.


Links

Bricks and Minifigs Albuquerque

Lego Is for Girls [Businessweek]

Featured Author: Margaret Atwood

Happy birthday to one of our favorite authors, Margaret Atwood, who turns 75 today! She is an extremely prolific Canadian author, winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award and Man Booker Prize (for which she has been shortlisted 5 times), among other accolades. Best known as a novelist, she has also written short stories, poetry, children's books, and non-fiction. She has even written the libretto to a chamber opera! Her novels span different genres, including speculative fiction (which she sometimes calls social science fiction), feminist fiction, and literary fiction. Her website includes online only content, BookTour Comix, videogames (MaddAddam Games: Intestinal Parasites), and more. You can also find her on Twitter, where she is a very active tweeter.

Here's a sampling of her works, available in the library catalog:

Fiction

Maddaddam Trilogy - Oryx & Crake, The Year of the Flood, MaddAddam
Cat's Eye
The Handmaid's Tale
Alias Grace
The Robber Bride
The Blind Assassin
The Penelopiad [Myths Series]
Lady Oracle
The Edible Woman
Bodily Harm [eAudiobook]

Short Fiction

Stone Mattress: Nine Tales
Moral Disorder
Bluebeard's Egg and Other Stories
Wilderness Tips
The Tent

For Children

Princess Prunella and the Purple Peanut
Bashful Bob and Doleful Dorinda
Up in the Tree

Poetry

The Door [eBook]
The Circle Game [eBook]
Morning In the Burned House 


Miscellaneous Non-Fiction

In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination
Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth
Writing with Intent: Essays, Reviews, Personal Prose, 1983-2005
Negotiating with the Dead: A Writer on Writing

Also find her work in:

Seeing Further: The Story of Science, Discovery, and the Genius of the Royal Society
Four Letter Word: Invented Correspondence From the Edge of Modern Romance
First Words: Earliest Writing from Favorite Contemporary Authors [eBook]
I'm With the Bears: Short Stories From a Damaged Planet

Links

"Margaret Atwood's new work will remain unseen for a century" [Guardian]

"The Long Pen: From World-Famous Novelists to High-Tech Entrepreneur" [Daily Galaxy]

"Want to be a character in a Margaret Atwood book?" [Toronto Star]

Life with Pets: Human-Animal Relationships

We love our pets. They become an integral part of our lives, we cherish them and sometimes make them famous - witness Grumpy Cat, Dewey the Library Cat, Boo the World's Cutest Dog, etc. There are countless stories about animals in fiction, but also in non-fiction - a genre that perhaps rose to fame with authors like James Herriot, Gerald Durrell, and Farley Mowat. Here are some stories about pets who made a difference, in the lives of one person or many, and a few other pet-related titles.

Human-Animal Memoirs

Sergeant Stubby: How a Stray Dog and His Best Friend Helped Win World War I and Stole the Heart of a Nation by Ann Bausum 

The World According to Bob: The Further Adventures of One Man and His Street-Wise Cat by James Bowen

Gabe & Izzy: Standing Up for America's Bullied by Gabrielle Ford with Sarah Thomson [Children's]

Saving Simon: How a Rescue Donkey Taught Me the Meaning of Compassion by Jon Katz.

Top Dog: The Story of Marine Hero Lucca by Maria Goodavage

My Animals and Other Family by Clare Balding [eBook]

Once Upon a Flock : Life with My Soulful Chickens by Lauren Scheuer

Dogtripping: 25 Rescues, 11 Volunteers, and 3 RVs on Our Canine Cross-Country Adventure by David Rosenfelt

Pure Joy: The dogs We Love by Danielle Steel

A Dog Walks Into a Nursing Home: Lessons in the Good Life From An Unlikely Teacher by Sue Halpern

Weekends with Daisy by Sharron Kahn Luttrell

Julia's Cats: Julia Child's Life in the Company of Cats by Patricia Barey, Therese Burson

Oink: My Life with Mini-Pigs by Matt Whyman

Cherished: 21 Writers on Animals They Have Loved and Lost edited by Barbara Abercrombie     

Miscellaneous 

The Secret Language of Dogs: Stories from a Dog Psychic by Jocelyn Kessler

Traveling With Your Pet: The AAA Petbook

The Secrets of Lost Cats: One Woman, Twenty Posters, and a New Understanding of Love by Dr. Nancy Davidson

Citizen Canine: Our Evolving Relationship with Cats and Dogs by David Grimm

The Thing with Feathers: The Surprising Lives of Birds, and What They Reveal About Being Human by Noah Strycker

For Fun 

How to Make Your Cat an Internet Celebrity: A Guide to Financial Freedom by Patricia Carlin [eBook]

Metal Cats photography by Alexandra Crockett


If you are inspired to welcome a pet into your life (adopting or fostering), or interested in volunteering at a shelter, there are lots of opportunities in Albuquerque!  Consider:

Animal Welfare [City of Albuquerque]

Animal Rescue Groups [City of Albuquerque]

Animal Humane New Mexico