Previews, Reviews, and Collection Development
The first few weeks of a new year make for a good time to review the work this column does. Reviewing memoir is tricky stuff, and a review is not a referendum on the writer’s life. A loathsome life story beautifully told? Great. A life of virtue predictably related? Nope. Like I’ve said before: it’s [...]
In 200 years, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice has evolved as a novel and there’s no knowing how it started or where it will end.
Having been a collection development librarian in a public library, I have seen the volume of new publishing that supports the knitting trend and the proliferation of knitting guilds and circles meeting in libraries. Interest in, and the popularity of, spinning, weaving, and braiding tends to cycle a bit behind the more popular fiber arts such as knitting, crocheting, and sewing because many knitters who want more control of their materials will eventually learn to spin. Those looking to expand the possibilities of their craft may also learn to weave. Braiding is a great craft for younger people who are not quite up to handling even the single hook of crochet.
With Parker, the latest film incarnation of the badass protagonist appearing in two dozen Donald Westlake books, hitting theaters today (the character previously appeared in 1967’s Point Blank and 1999’s Payback), librarians should be aware of other forthcoming films based on print resources and have them on hand. Beautiful Creatures. (Feb. 14) A supernatural love [...]
American lit from Sherwood Anderson, a Bill Pronzini “Nameless Detective” mystery, classic sf from Jules Verne, and the street punks that launched Harlan Ellison’s career. Plus an odd mix of nonfiction.
Titles for your 2013 New Year’s resolutions, one last book on infant sleep, a guide to exercising during pregnancy, and teaching your child how to budget early.
The Dude reviews novels about exploding mangoes, mysterious stonecutters in Fjällbacka, Sweden, Kosmatka’s historic thriller, plus a look at Laska’s Hidden America, and Glen Matlock on growing up a teenage Sex Pistol.
Which of these statements is true? 1. Memoirs are popular. 2. New memoirs are popular. I suspect the latter. As I weeded my library’s biography section last summer, I found many memoirs and other autobiographical writings in nearly pristine condition; most of them had not been borrowed since the year of their publication. Sadly, I also found highly regarded memoirs that had not moved in years. These books had been selected initially to meet current demand, and some had, like the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity, performed beyond expectations, but our readers had lost interest in or awareness of all of them. For a small library needing room for new, in-demand memoirs, it was time to part with the old.
Near the end of each year, I have the pleasure of meeting with lots of university press reps so they can show me their Spring catalogs for the next year, indicating their forthcoming lead trade titles as well as some mid-list treats they feel sure LJ’s readers will find compelling. There’s a lot of exciting stuff coming in Spring 2013 from these publishers. Here are pairs and threesomes that seemed to form themselves from the academic Spring 2013 catalogs that came to me via press appointments.
I’m often asked to name today’s top street lit authors. Look no further than Sister Souljah, Nisa Santiago, and Kiki Swinson, three writers who are surfing the wave of today’s urban fiction. Their intricate stories feature complex protagonists whose stone-cold faces belie the emotional tragedy they are enduring. Tough women, tough times, exciting reads. Pick [...]
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