The Vagrants by Yiyun Li

I saw this book on a display table at Barnes & Noble.  The cover caught my eye--the front of a Chinese jacket/overcoat.  I am very attracted to Asian art--very refined, delicate and it always tells a story.  When I read the inside cover, I wasn't all that impressed, but I thought "I'm still going to buy it.  It might surprise me."  Always work on your instincts when it comes to a book.  This one surprised me.

Although very sad and poignant, it is also quite ordinary in terms of the movements and actions of the people.  This story takes place in 1979, Communist China.  The town was specifically built by the regime and specifically "planted" with people to promote the socialistic cause.  There are also some people who wandered into this village.  It is, on one hand, small and on the other, quite large.  There are distinct disparities amongst the social and economic classes.  There are boundaries that are prescribed and unspoken.  We meet people of the lowest beggar and of the highest government within the town.

The story is about the actions and reactions of a community when faced with, are part of and after the excution of a counterrevolutionary woman.  Some of the stories are excruciatingly ugly.  Some of them, such as her parents, are excruciatingly sad.  Some never had to occur.  Some should have happened and you wonder what if?  In the end, you know that this could have really happened.  All these storylines happened because of the excution of that woman.  She had no knowledge they would happen and couldn't have controlled many of them if she had known.

In 1979 I was 10 years old and I was entering the 4th grade.  I knew about free elections.  I knew I liked to read a lot.  I knew I could go home and have a good dinner and be loved.  I had siblings who laughed and loved.  I had parents who cared and protected.  I live  in the United States, where freedoms are protected--freedom of speech and of press.  Freedom of religion and thought.  Education is valued for the ideas it creates.  I cannot imagine living in China in 1979.

The author is originally from China and lived in this regime.  She now lives in the United States.  The Vagrants by Yiyun Li.

Margaret Peterson Haddix

I'm going to start reading Margaret Peterson Haddix's series.  I think I'll start with the Shadow Children series so I get a feel for her writing.  I noticed if the middle schoolers were not checking out her books, they were into James Patterson.  I have to admit, as an adult writer, Patterson is one of my favorites. 

So, I guess that means his YA books are next on the list.  I have quite a reading list to work.  I also have the last Last Apprentice to read.  I'm waiting on PC Cast's last two books in the teen vamp series to come out in paperback.  I also have to read Sorceress and Necromancer in the Immortal Secrets of Nicholas Flamel series.

I'm also going to add Copper Elephant to the list.  Saw that one in the library today at the high school.

BANNED BOOKS WEEK Sept. 25-Oct.2, 2010

Celebrate the freedom to read!  Read a banned book.  Check out the American Libaray Association's website for some awesome reading and let the world know YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO READ!!

Summer Reading

So I've indulged my summer by reading a lot.  Without classes this semester, I've been able to catch up on quite a few paperbacks.  I've finised the Immortal series (City of Ashes et al).  I hear there is a fourth book, so I'm a little excited. I've finished Paolini's trilogy, which will now become a series since he couldn't squish everything into the third book (his own admission).  Looking forward to that fourth book.

I'm still waiting on PC & Kristin Cast to allow their last couple of books to go into paperback for their teen vamp series.  I could check them out from the library, but all those teens are ahead of me on the waiting list!   I'll also have to make sure the Last Apprentice doesn't have another paperback/book in case 6 wasn't enough for me of super scary bogeymen & women!  I have to admit that Joseph Delaney knows how to write a seriously scary story.  The illustrations tend to add to the fright level.

I'm contemplating re-reading the Twilight series.  Not because I liked it.  Truly, Meyer doesn't really know how to write well, still by the 4th book she had improved somewhat.  No, I'd like to re-read it for the literary value (whatever might be found) and see how it fits into the teen scene with other books like Harry Potter, the Last Apprentice and others.   Teens seem to be into supernatural and scary, more so than the sci-fi/fantasy of my teenage years.  It's an interesting trend.  Definitely something to investigate.

At some point I'll also be delving into my past and reading some classics.  Dickens, Hardy, Alcott, Cooper.

The end of school

American schools end this month and next.  We'll be off for the summer--until September.  In Minnesota, we do not start prior to Labor Day in most districts.  This is because of our awesome State Fair.  I, too, am done with university for the semester.  Several of my classmates are graduating this next week and I wish them well.  I will be arranging several clinical experiences for the fall semester and will graduate in December.

I have developed a philosophy of education over the years.  Some of it is based on my education and some is based on my experiences with learning.  I believe that American schools do not run long enough.  Now hear me out.  When our country expanded, we were very much an agricultural society.  We had fields of food that needed to be prepped and planted early--April & May--each year.  Throughout the summer, different crops are put in, depending on the growing season.  Then, in late September the harvests start.  Keep in mind many fruits and vegetables are harvested throughout late summer, so again, depending on the crops, harvest may have started sooner than September.  When we were not automated, we needed all hands on deck to work the prep, planting and harvest.  Even after the harvest, there is further prep for the coming winter.  Our farmers worked well into November.

With the advent of automation and farms growing smaller, we do not need the large families and society has demonstrated that over the generations.  We also do not need to hold up school for the planting and harvest.  Put the kids back in school.  Our future generations have moved from agriculture through industry and into the information age.  Their best ally is education.  Many European and South East Asian countries are passing us by in the way of technology and information usage.  We need to catch up and if possible surpass them in order to reclaim our spot at the top.  I don't think we need to be on top, but we do need to be in line with the other countries or we will sink.

GO EDUCATION!!

Social Responbility

When you think of a library, bookshelves lined with tomes comes to mind.  If you are a bit younger, rows of computers may spring in there.  These days, some libraries are so busy, you see more of the people than of the contents--which is good!

Libraries and librarians want to be busy.  Librarians LIVE to serve.  We live to answer questions (maybe not all of us live to answer questions from living people, but instead wish to answer a long standing theoretical question.)  I like to answer people's questions.  I like to dig into something and come up with material.  I like to read.

One of the biggest debates in librarianship is how far do we go in our service to the patron?  Do we simply fulfil their requests or do we promote our services and skills to the public/private sector that may even cross lines into the more controversial areas of life?

I have no problem putting myself out there to provide information (so long as it is sound and factually supported).  I have no problem supporting another's viewpoint, again so long as it can be factually supported.  Ethically, I cannot withhold information when asked for within the context of patron seeking information.  In schools, parents would challenge THAT whole idea and I would have to be prepared to say I will provide it within the bounds of the school board and following the curriculum.

Social responsibility.  Just how far should a library go to aid the public it serves?  It has been well documented that public libraries have served their communities in astounding ways and means.  In MN, we have some very well known libraries.  William Mitchell Law (St Paul Central); Rondo Community Library; Roseville Area (Ramsey County's main); James J. Hill; Mpls/Hennepin County Main; etc.  Our libraries serve a diverse and expanding community of new Americans.  We have East African, Southeast Asian,  Russian, Polish, Egyptian, Middle Eastern and Chicano/Latino communities in full bloom.  They have schools, mosques, temples, churches, clubs, stores, and more.  They are integrated on a daily basis and have taken on the tasks to learn the English language, obtain jobs, utilize services, and contribute.  Some of the populations have reached out asking for the services.  Some have not.  Do we have a responsibility to say, "Hello.  My name is....  I can help you find information/learn skills/apply for a job/apply for aid/take the citizenship test/'fill in your choice here'?"  I think we do.

Jamie Larue, master Librarian

Jamie Larue is a library director in Douglas County, CO. He has written many, many articles and several books about librarianship. One of his many strengths is writing responses to material challenges.

Check out his blog by clicking on the title above. Specifically, check out the articles he references on Oct. 7th. As many know, libraries are once again under attack by the budget monsters. I have colleagues and classmates whose libraries have either frozen salaries or $.00 budgets in schools in MN.

Here is something to think about: are the budget monsters' hearts made like the Grinch's? After reading about an attorney castigating an 11 year library patron and knocking highly educated professionals in the librarian arena, I have to wonder just why another educated person would make such accusations and bold, yet false, statements. Perhaps Shakespeare was right; first kill all the lawyers.

I aspire to be as thoughtful as the librarians I have met. I hope to be as intelligent, well rounded and needed as the ones described in the articles. I hope I'm indispensable to the budget monsters when my time comes around. It's too bad that librarians need to not only do their job, but the jobs of the lawyers--advocacy.

American Library Association

American Library Association

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