A loose chronicle of the good, bad, and the ugly; the yin and yang; the application of RUSA rules whether the library patron wants me to or not...Welcome to the library! How may I help you?
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Mysterious Sculpture Left in Library
Someone in one of my online art groups included a link to a blog which tells of a mysterious sculpture left in an Edinburgh library. Great stuff! As someone who makes miniatures as well as reviews books and has a library degree, I now have something to aspire to doing. I think every library should have mysterious sculpture left in it!
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Eats Commas
NPR reported about the death of the Oxford comma (in its PR department, not in its stylebook) back at the end of June, and I missed that missive! I can't believe that the news didn't make more of an impact. I would have thought the ripples at least would have at least lapped up to the shore of Sacramento. But, no. We were blissfully ignorant of the Oxford dilemma.
I'm also surprised that the article didn't mention Lynn Truss' book, Eats, Shoots & Leaves since the whole point of the title was the comma. Commas, it seems, are the maze of punctuation. If a writer successfully solves the maze, readers are happy. But should the writer stumble and get lost, readers immediately try to come to the author's aid or mock him/her for stupidity. Either way, the author is left thinking the most important things in his/her book was a period with a tail.
I'm also surprised that the article didn't mention Lynn Truss' book, Eats, Shoots & Leaves since the whole point of the title was the comma. Commas, it seems, are the maze of punctuation. If a writer successfully solves the maze, readers are happy. But should the writer stumble and get lost, readers immediately try to come to the author's aid or mock him/her for stupidity. Either way, the author is left thinking the most important things in his/her book was a period with a tail.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Replace the Kindle with (gasp!) a Book on Its Side?
The UK's Guardian newspaper is reporting the "newest" thing in books, an innovation that has already taken, according to the article, Holland and Spain by storm.
The new "flipback" book will remind those of us who are old enough to have been there and done that of the kid's novelty flipbook, with which the reader got to see a mini-movie by flipping the pages quickly and watching the image change.
The "flipback," however, is meant to be held in the palm of one hand where it stays open and supposedly is easy to flip from page to page. It's easily apparent that this book of wafer-thin pages is no Kindle, or other eBook. It is, however, the pet rock of the book set.
It's one claim to fame so far? From the headline on the article, it is getting the Guardian reporter the attention he craves.
The new "flipback" book will remind those of us who are old enough to have been there and done that of the kid's novelty flipbook, with which the reader got to see a mini-movie by flipping the pages quickly and watching the image change.
The "flipback," however, is meant to be held in the palm of one hand where it stays open and supposedly is easy to flip from page to page. It's easily apparent that this book of wafer-thin pages is no Kindle, or other eBook. It is, however, the pet rock of the book set.
It's one claim to fame so far? From the headline on the article, it is getting the Guardian reporter the attention he craves.