Books and More

Here’s a new YA book with a distinctive, pure, and honest voice. Rits, by Mariken Jongman, is translated from the Dutch and brings a thirteen-year-old boy to vivid life.

Our protagonist, Maurits ("Rits") finds himself in a deplorable situation as the novel opens. He’s parked with his crotchety Uncle Corry for an indefinite amount of time as his parents deal in various ways with the breakup of their marriage. It seems that he has been temporarily abandoned as his father takes an extended “trip” and his mother convalesces in an institution. Rits experiences stress-related symptoms and hypochondria as he reorients himself in his new precarious living circumstances.

If this all sounds depressing, it’s only so on the surface. This is Rits’ moment to cope, and he comes through nicely. He learns to cook, makes a new good (girl)friend, begins to explore his interest in filmmaking, and records his innermost thoughts and fears in his journals, which he painstakingly hides from potential prying eyes. The way in which Rits improves emotionally and becomes more self-reliant is very life-affirming. I’d recommend this for middle-schoolers.

In an effort to stay informed professionally, your Librarians attend seminars, both in person and on the web in the form of “webinars". Our most recent webinar was just this past Thursday, October 30th. The topic was Graphic Novels for Teens. Webinars are great for us, because they are interactive, presented in “real time", and are conducted by highly regarded professionals in their respective fields. Another recent webinar attended by the Librarians and other faculty members was about The Big 6, which is a model for information-seeking strategies.

Your Librarians will soon be at a local seminar to discover more about “What’s New in Young Adult Literature". We are always eager to hear the latest news and learn the most current approaches to Librarianship!

Becker Library just celebrated Teen Read Week by featuring some recently published books hand-picked by the Librarians for students of varying reading levels and interests. From “new classics” to trendier works, there’s something here for everyone. We decided to draw interest in the display with this:

It’s a “READ” poster from the American Library Association featuring the stars of the upcoming Twilight movie (based on a series by Stephenie Meyer).

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Now, we’ve moved on to a Halloween theme and are highlighting some of our very newest spooky selections! Stop by and browse!

Here’s another new favorite YA novel of mine! Set in rural Indiana in 1979, this is an idyllic look at the Boys’ Life-style existence of two 14-year-old best friends. Complete with cave exploring, real gun-shooting, and middle-of-the-night train chasing, this is a fun way to experience a classic American heartland boyhood.

All, however, is not well in Borden, the nearby small town. Local factory laborers have gone on strike, and the two boys, whose fathers land on opposite sides of the dispute, find themselves emotionally torn and bewildered by the violence and strife which erupts around them. One boy in particular must re-evaluate allegiances and decide whether or not to keep pertinent secrets from his family.

I’d recommend this one highly.

National Book Award finalist Christine Schutt has created an unusual piece in All Souls. This is a sinuous and meandering work set in the world of a prestigious girls’ academy in Manhattan.

All Souls is a multiple character study deftly filled with realistic and sometimes oddly sparse portrayals of teachers and students. Conversations and situations are boiled down to their essences. It’s refreshing that these characters are complicated and unpredictable; the wealthy, privileged students are not stereotyped, and not all teachers are unselfishly motivated.

Binding this collection of “souls” is Astra Dell, a “perfect” student stricken with cancer. Most occurences in this novel are loosely connected to Astra and her fate, and are intended to get to the emotional heart of things. Romance, grief, and camaraderie galvanize some relationships; jealousy and misunderstandings destroy others. Students cope and compete socially through the school year. Read this quiet and powerful novel thoughtfully- it tends to stick in the subconscious.

For a curious and circular journey through some of the highlights of 1980s and 1960s USA, World War II era USA and Europe, and, especially, fin de siecle (particularly 1897) Vienna, read this delightful novel by Selden Edwards. A hint of mystery and a dose of time travel take the reader through the eventful life of history buff Wheeler Burden, along with significant encounters with his father and grandmother. We even have cameo appearances by some of the most influential personages of the eras, including Winston Churchill, Gustav Mahler, Sigmund Freud, Mark Twain, and a young Adolf Hitler. As we follow the intriguing events of Wheeler’s life, we see how three generations of the Burden family look for, and find, ways to influence the future.

Edwards spent 30 years writing and revising this wonderful tale. This reader was especially intrigued by the description of turn-of-the-century Vienna, a time and place of great promise and future tragedy, and by the characters’ poignant wishes to change the future they know is coming.

The Becker Library has just received a collection of 40 high-quality reproductions of works created by American artists, featuring native and folk art, paintings, architectural works, photography, and more. This collection, Picturing America, is the newest initiative of the We the People program of the National Endowment for the Humanities. We will be exhibiting these pieces in the Library and also making them available for classroom use. It’s our hope that all our students will get the chance to explore our American art heritage this school year!

Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933), Autumn Landscape-The River of Life, 1923-1924, Tiffany Studios (1902-1938), Leaded Favrile-glass window: 11ft. x 8 ft. 6 in.: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Robert W. de Forest, 1925. Photograph copyright 1997 The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

BookPeople is hosting a couple of notable authors this week. Students might be especially interested to know about Christopher Paolini’s book signing of his new novel, Brisingr (and a BIG Renaissance-themed party) this Friday, October 3rd, beginning at 4:00 p.m.

Additionally, Chuck Klosterman (Downtown Owl) will be visiting the next day, Saturday, October 4th at 3:00 p.m., and the following week, Art Spiegelman (Breakdowns) will arrive Tuesday, October 7th at 7:00 p.m.

For details, visit BookPeople at http://www.bookpeople.com/

Closing books shuts out ideas.
Closing books closes possibilities.
Closing books limits understanding.

This week, September 27-October 4, Becker Library joins the American Library Association in observing Banned Books Week.

We have prepared a special in-library display in order to encourage discussion about intellectual freedom and to heighten awareness of the reader’s right to select reading material. We invite you to stop in, browse, and consider! We’ve posted a list of the Top Ten Challenged Books of 2007 and provide a brochure of books which were challenged over the past year and on what grounds the challenges were based. This display has already sparked some really good and interesting conversations with students; we love to explore this topic with them!

For more information about Banned Books Week, visit the ALA site at
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/bannedbooksweek/bannedbooksweek.cfm

Many thanks to all our Middle Schoolers who have recently ventured into the side room of the Dining Hall during lunch for a “Booked for Lunch” meeting! Today’s session was enough to warm this Librarian’s heart. Some very enthusiastic readers descended upon the Sci-Fi and Fantasy books and checked them out on the spot. We had some really cohesive and engaging discussions about various series, graphic novels, and Stephenie Meyer books.

On top of that, I got some suggestions from the students- we love getting their input! Now…I’ll just have to check into the highly recommended book of science experiments entitled How to Fossilize Your Hamster…

This is a new graphic novel…and it’s terrific. This one is for anyone who defines life’s moments by associating them with music, or for anyone who has ever identified strongly with a particular performer, or for that matter, anyone who has ever lip-synched with a hairbrush and dreamed of stardom.

Freddie & Me: A Coming-of-Age (Bohemian) Rhapsody is the author’s unapologetic survey of his life so far. His touchpoint from childhood has always been the work of Freddie Mercury and Queen. In fact, the novel begins with his realization that “when I think of Queen I can remember my whole life". It’s an honest portrayal of all the bumps and bruises of adolescence, with plenty of imaginative asides mixed in. The nice thing about this piece is its hopefulness- the author was emotionally sustained through stormy years by his interest in music and the continuity and comfort it provided.

This book is also a kind of lovely elegy for both Freddie Mercury and an era in music history. Not sure which “Gen” this will appeal to the most; those who came of age in the ’70s and ’80s will appreciate the cultural references, but everyone else should enjoy it for the extremely creative storytelling.

To write this nonfiction account, Elisha Cooper spent a year at Walter Payton High, a magnet school in Chicago. He follows 8 students, most of them seniors, as they maneuver through the difficulties, family dramas, challenges, and joys of a stress-filled year of high school–and as they apply to colleges and make plans for their future. This book reads like a documentary, with sketches throughout, and provides new insight into the lives of contemporary students. Of value both to those experiencing high school now, and to those looking back.