Writings of the Loud Librarian....

Pretty Posies

2008-05-14T21:46:00.003-05:00

It's my sister's birthday today.

(She's the pretty one, I'm the smart one, but she'll ALWAYS been the older one.)

She's in Cancun, basking on a beach for a few days, which she so totally deserves after spending months "bringing the vision to life" for her multi-gazillion dollar company.

(I spent my week fighting for my capital project fund passage and learning our entire accounting and budgetary ins and outs in two days, which I will be solely responsible for for three months while my AA goes on leave. Sister got the better deal here.)

And yet, even though it's her birthday, I got MY prezzies from her today.

(My birthday is Monday.)

Aren't they perfectly pink and pretty?

I love hydrangeas...

I'm off to the homestead tomorrow to see Chemo!Girl (my mum started chemo this past weekend) and Shopping!Dad, and to ring in another birthday with the fam. Good times. :-)

But how 'bout one more pretty posy picture before I go...

Thanks, Sis!

Morning Giggle

2008-05-13T06:30:00.001-05:00

"The History of Blogging" makes me giggle.

(via Cliff Landis)

Spring Onion Soup Recipe

2008-05-12T13:31:00.002-05:00

I've been exploring lots of new recipes lately, and I figured as I hit on a few winners, I'd share them with y'all. Here's my latest success...

Spring Onion Soup Recipe

(Mmm...soup!)

2 cups chopped green onions
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cans of beef broth
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
slices of French bread
cloves of garlic
Parmesan cheese

Blanch the green onions. (Boil water, dunk them in for just a minute, then pop them into ice water to cool). Drain and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Heat the butter and oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the diced onion until golden - about 8 minutes. Add the beef broth, bring to a simmer, and then cook for 20 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice, salt, pepper and remaining butter.

Rub bread slices with garlic cloves, place on a baking sheet, and toast in the oven for two minutes. Top each toast with cheese and bake until the cheese melts and the tops are golden - about four more minutes.

Add the green onions to the warm soup, pour into bowls, and then top with a cheese toast.

Tasty!

So It's Not Exactly Plasma...

2008-05-11T13:08:00.005-05:00

You know how airports and hotels and universities all have those zippy plasma screen televisions with updates and promotions and pictures continually scrolling on them?

I've wanted one of those for my library for AGES.

Sadly, cost is a wee bit of a factor. Those screens are uber-expensive, and then getting a program that will scroll and flip and update can be awfully pricey.

So, what do we do in the TinyTown library?

Get creative - on the cheap!

I decided that with a castoff monitor from my folks (thanks, Dad!), a decommissioned CPU from the Indiana Room and a powerpoint presentation on a flash drive, we could build our very own zippy promotional system!

It sits by our circulation desk and flips between pictures from programs, upcoming program information, general data (hours, ILLs, etc), and how to contact us. We're going to update it every few weeks, and so far response has been very positive. It may not be the biggest screen ever, but for us, it'll do. ;-)

Rock on!

(I'm particularly proud of using the plant to camoflauge the wires. We're nothing if not image conscious. *grin*)

Weekday Wanderings

2008-05-10T11:31:00.003-05:00

I love Garden of the Gods in southern Illinois.

I love "the camel":

I love the enormous outcroppings:

I also love Cave-In-Rock, Illinois, right on the Ohio River.

I love the view out of the cave to the river:

I also love the look of Indiana skies when they are threatening...

And how the colours change minute to minute...

But most of all, I love spending time with family, exploring, taking pictures, eating outside in the wilderness, and having a laugh (or two):

'Twas a good day off!

Book Review: This Is How It Happened

2008-05-10T09:34:00.002-05:00

This Is How It Happened by Jo Barrett

This was a great chick lit book, except that it didn't follow the formula - no high flying job, no searching for love, no soul searching. Instead, Maddy is out for revenge on her lying, evil ex-fiancee, and she isn't above hiring muscle to do it. ;-)

This is a fast, funny read - I loved how Barrett alternated chapters, one chapter in in the present as Maddy tries to exact revenge, and one chapter chronicling her relationship, and the implosion of it, with her ex Carlton, who is just a despicable character you love to hate. You can't help but cheer Maddy on as she experiments with arsenic brownies and hires a hit man to take care of her "little problem".

The tags on the cover of this book are "NOT a love story" and "She's gotten mad, now it's time to get even", which truly sets the tone for this revenge tale tinged with romance, laughs and great characters. I really, really enjoyed this one - be sure to check it out!

Book Review: Red Lily

2008-05-10T09:11:00.002-05:00

Red Lily by Nora Roberts

This is the concluding volume of Roberts' "In the Garden" trilogy, the other two I've listened to previously.

This time, Hayley is the focus of the novel - the youngest, newest member of the family, who is raising her baby daughter and falling in love with the son of Harper House. As this is the concluding book, the mystery of the "Harper Bride" is finally unraveled, and the family struggles to put the ghost to rest.

This was a very pleasant series - lots of talk of gardening and flowers, a nice interweaving of the three women's stories, and it was nice to spend time with the same characters and see how they change and grow. I'm glad I read this trilogy!

Note: I listened to the audio edition, narrated by Susie Breck, who did a fine job with all the southern voices.

Twilight Teaser Trailer

2008-05-07T16:02:00.002-05:00

The first teaser trailer for Twilight is out! Woot!

What do you think? Will it live up to the book by Stephenie Meyer?

Looks good so far!

(via everglow)

Book Review: Sundays at Tiffany's

2008-05-06T15:34:00.002-05:00

Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson

This is not typical Patterson fare. There's no murder, no choppy chapters, no characters from a series making an appearance.

Instead, this is Patterson trying to write a love story, in the same vein as his (uber-treacly) Sam's Letters to Jennifer or Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas. This time, Jane is a sad, lonely 32 year old women who falls in love - with her imaginary friend from childhood.

I think having a female co-author helped Patterson marginally this time - the plot is still treacly, but bearable if gimmicky, and you come to root for the characters, which is nice. This read was...pleasant. And short. At three hundred rather small, hugely fonted, well spaced pages, this is a "whip through in an hour or two" read. Which, sometimes, is nice.

If you are looking for "typical" Patterson, though, this isn't it!

Book Review: Fear and Yoga in New Jersey

2008-05-05T11:18:00.003-05:00

Fear and Yoga in New Jersey by Debra Galant

I was first intrigued by the title of this novel, and then by the premise: yoga instructor Nina finds things coming apart at the seams - her parents are fleeing a hurricane and coming to visit, her husband has lost his job, her son wants a bar mitzvah, and one of her clients fell in her studio. Only one thing can be responsible, she decides: feng shui.

This started off promisingly for me, but the ending was really rushed, and nothing felt resolved. I didn't see Nina evolve at all for me as a character, nor those around her. It just felt like the middle part dragged and dragged, then the ending was thrown in for the last two pages. I know it's a suburban satire, but it left me just, well, kind of sad.

Not my favorite...

New Album

2008-05-05T06:45:00.002-05:00

Oh, he's a beautiful man.

New NIN album (halo 24). Free. Completely free. To thank his fans.

Thanks for The Slip, Trent. :-)

Happy Sunday!

2008-05-04T07:37:00.003-05:00

Things that make me happy on a Sunday morning...

*The fact that the TinyTown IGA now carries Nutella! (Yes! In TinyTown!)

*The fact that Elizabeth Gaskell's "Cranford" is going to be on PBS tonight.

*The fact that the MotoGP race is on this afternoon.

*This phenomenon.

*My porch on a Sunday morning:

*The new NIN song that Trent released yesterday morning, and the fact that SOMETHING (new album?) is going to happen tomorrow on the NIN-ternet. And that Jen got us GA tickets for the NIN Lexington show at the end of August (which happens to be the LAST show of the tour)!

And finally, this commercial from Discovery (which is airing new eps of Deadliest Catch and Man Vs. Wild, another reason to be happy). I love the world.

Book Review: Good Little Wives

2008-05-03T08:21:00.003-05:00

Good Little Wives by Abby Drake

My friend Jeanne was reading this book one day, and when I saw the cover, I burst out "Ooh! I have to read that after you!". Isn't that just a delicious cover?

This is a quick, not-quite-chick-lit read - as Jeanne described it, it's "Stepford Wives meets Desperate Housewives", which just about sums it up. A dead man, a smoking gun, blackmail, torrid affairs, chemotherapy, love children and more crowd this fast paced novel with a huge cast of characters and all their assorted problems. There were a few times I was like...oh no, we're at the brink, there can't be something else!

And, of course, there was.

I enjoyed the pacing and story of this novel, but got a bit bogged down at the end with all the twists and turns that the author threw in, which felt a bit contrived. Still, this is a campy read about life in the 'burbs. ;-)

Book Review: H.R.H.

2008-04-30T11:32:00.002-05:00

H.R.H. by Danielle Steel

First, let me preface this by saying I haven't read Danielle Steel since I was probably 17 years old.

Steel was sort of the "transition author" for me - the bridge between SVH and Babysitter's Club to "grown up" books. I remember thinking her stories were sweeping and lovely, had a bit of sex and lots of exotic locales.

Since I hadn't read Steel in so long, and because she's still as popular as ever, I wanted to give her another try, and this title seemed pretty innocuous - I mean, who doesn't like princess stories?

(Shout out to Meg Cabot!)

Christianna is the princess of Liechtenstein, and is a poor little lamb trapped in a gilded cage who wants nothing more than to go to war-torn Africa to work for the Red Cross, where she inevitably will fall in love and change the course of her life drastically.

And yes, the plot follows the script in your head exactly. A hundred pages of her whinging on about her poor me life and how AWFUL it is to be a princess of a nation with only 33,000 subjects, her fairytale romance with her new man who is of course beyond perfect, and naturally, a couple of tragedies that change her life forever (oh, sob!).

Gag.Me.

The writing is TOTALLY pedestrian, the plot telegraphed a million pages before it happens, the characters trite, and the action moved at a snail's pace. I didn't care if Christianna got the man, got malaria, or got her tiara shined - I.didn't.care.

And yet, Steel is still one of the most popular authors ever.

How does that happen?

Well, I've satiated my curiosity and rest assured, I won't waste my time on any more Steel novels...

Book Review: Candy Girl

2008-04-28T19:16:00.003-05:00

Candy Girl by Diablo Cody

I know I've said this about books before, but this really is like a train wreck that you can't look away from.

Diablo, most famous for penning the screenplay for Juno, in 2006 wrote this memoir of her experiences in the...well, in the world of stripping. Diablo was raised in a nice family, has a good education, no history of sexual abuse, she just...wanted to try stripping. In Minnesota. For fun.

This memoir is at times horrifying, but definitely hilarious. Diablo's candid observations and participation in the world of semi-nude and nude dancing will draw the reader in and won't let go for 200 pages. Clearly, this memoir is NOT for the faint of heart, nor for those offended by language, off colour remarks, and very frank descriptions of sex and stripping.

This is a voyeuristic treat for those who always wanted to see "behind the curtain" at the clubs...

Funny and fascinating!

Book Review: And Sometimes Why

2008-04-28T16:38:00.002-05:00

And Sometimes Why by Rebecca Johnson

This is one of those titles you begin in the morning, vowing to read a few pages before moving on to other things, and yet, throughout the day, chores get neglected and you seem to make a permanent dent in your patio furniture as you read page after page, eager to see where the story is going.

I don't quite know how to summarize this well-written, at times funny story in the middle of a tragedy. Miranda and Helen are the daughters of Sophia and Darius, a typical middle American couple until the day one daughter meets a boy and the other meets with a terrible accident.

Johnson has woven an engrossing story about a tragic accident, filled with characters both integral and accidental, but all compelling. Though I had a feeling I knew how it would end, I was surprised by the turns it took to get there.

Johnson is a contributing editor for Vogue, and her writing strength truly shines with this character-driven novel. Highly recommended!

Book Review: Dark Summit

2008-04-28T16:00:00.002-05:00

Dark Summit by Nick Heil

I seem to be developing a thing for stories from Mount Everest: first I read Into Thin Air by Krakauer, then I read Bear Grylls' story from Everest, and I just put "Everest" into my Netflix queue, the miniseries that Discovery aired this year.

Little did I know when I added it that that mini-series is an account of the same disastrous year on Everest that this nonfiction work covers. Though Heil was not a part of the ascent teams in 2006, he has done a great job of weaving together the stories of several teams who took to Everest in 2006 in hopes of reaching the summit - only to have the second highest fatality rate of any climbing year but 1996 (the year Krakauer climbed Everest).

This climbing year was like no other, mostly for the controversy that surrounded it: David Sharp, a lone climber with no team, little oxygen and no support, died on the mountain after more than 40 climbers passed him by, either unwilling or unable to help him. Though Heil details Sharp's story, he also talks of the death of German Thomas Weber, and other fatalities from the climb, as well as profiling many of the climbers involved in Everest in 2006.

Heil had to composite a lot of opinions and differing points of view for this story, and has done a good job of assimilating them into a cohesive tale. In addition, he spends a lot of his pages detailing the history of the mountain and her climbers, as well as some of the technicalities of climbing. Pictures from the 2006 season also round out this biography of a year on Everest. While not as "it's like you're right there!" as Krakauer's story, this is still a great read about a harrowing season on Everest - at turns grim and triumphant.

If you enjoyed Into Thin Air or are a fan of extreme adventure, check this one out!

Um, Yum.

2008-04-26T20:29:00.002-05:00

Gratuitous Nine Inch Nails picture in honor of having a new (free) (super rad) song to download from NIN - with maybe hopefully pleasepleaseplease a new NIN album in the near future - with lyrics!

That is all. Have a nice day. :-)

Annual Relay for Life Post

2008-04-24T19:20:00.002-05:00

For the last five years, I've been beyond proud to be a part of the TinyTown Relay for Life effort. Below is the letter I just sent to my nearest and dearest...if you are so inclined, I would absolutely love to have your support (and your dollars) for this cause...

Hi all!

You know, it's been kind of a whirlwind year for me.

I was promoted to director of the library (what were they thinking?!), I bought my very first house (what was *I* thinking?!), I went to places like Seattle, Chicago, Washington, DC, Philadelphia and North Carolina and even a demolition derby, Hoosier style. I dressed like a pirate, I rode a bike slow and a motorcycle fast, I saw 300 in IMAX, I dyed my hair red, went tubing on the lake, wrote a novel and cooked Thanksgiving dinner.

One thing was a constant throughout the year, though.

My mother's continual battle with cancer.

Chemotherapy is again a daily part of our lives, a litany of pills and instructions, and the pride that Mum is the first patient at the hospital to try THIS particular cocktail - kind of like being a bartender's guinea pig, but with less dancing on tables at 2am.

Mum just got a month off (for good behavior, we joke) from chemo before she has to jump back in again...just in time for this year's Relay for Life.

I know she is going to struggle to walk that track and to take on the heat of the day, feeling how she feels, but I know she's going to do it.

And so will I.

Each year, TinyTown comes together in this huge cacophony of tents, events, Relay walkers, luminarias, food, fun and, yes, the occasional sunburn or two, in a 24-hour fight to raise money for cancer research. If you haven't witnessed firsthand an entire town circling a track all day to benefit others, I really can't do the sight justice. This year, the track will be a riot of color, celebrating our theme of "Celebrate. Remember. Fight Back".

I am once again proud to be heading up the library team - gathering walkers, soliciting donations, putting together a raffle basket, digging out our team tent from the recesses of storage, and stocking up the drinks cooler with plenty o' water.

As in past years, I'm going to be spending all day, all evening, all night at the track on the weekend of June 7th - 8th, but there's only one way that can happen.

With your help.

Without your pledges, I'll never be able to walk around the track in the heat and humidity of a June day and night for 24 hours, while cheering on my team as they do the same.

This is where you come in. :-)

With your contributions, we can raise money for a great cause, help me and my team meet our goal, and give me motivation to stay awake, walk in circles for long amounts of time, and generally annoy my co-workers. I do that now, but this won't be on library time. ;-)

Here's the best part - you can donate online!

What? Online? Tell me more!

You can make a secure online contribution right from my Personal Donation Page:

http://main.acsevents.org/goto/marissa

If you prefer to snail mail your contribution to me, that's fine too. I just want to raise oodles of money and impress everyone in TinyTown with my flush friends. ;-) Donate early! Donate often!

If you are unable to contribute...I totally understand. Send me an email instead, saying hello. It's enough that your thoughts are with us as we walk to beat this disease that touches so many lives.

Thank you for your support (and your dollars) in an event that is so close to my heart.

You are my stars.

Best,

Marissa

Book Review: Princess Mia

2008-04-24T13:04:00.002-05:00

Princess Mia by Meg Cabot

This is the ninth book in the Princess Diaries series from writing whirlwind Cabot. After CRUELLY leaving us with a cliffhanger in #8, Cabot picks right up where she left off - post break-up, pre-wallowing of Mia.

As always, this title is packed with pop culture references, a fun tone, and continues to edge the story of Mia forward as she explores new relationships and her growing responsibilities with Genovia. I don't want to say anything more, for fear of being spoiler-y!

This is another fun addition to the series - but now I REALLY want the next one to come out!!!

Book Review: The Luxe

2008-04-24T11:21:00.002-05:00

The Luxe by Anna Godbersen

I admit it...it was the huge pouffy dress on the front of this YA novel that drew me to it before the positive reviews did.

But, I mean, look at it! Pouffy and pink!

Anyhoo, this YA novel is basically Gossip Girls as imagined in 1899 New York high society. As the review in Publisher's Weekly perfectly summarized:

"This tangled web includes not one but two sets of star-crossed lovers; an upstairs/downstairs romance; a scheming social climber; a bitter servant girl; and oodles of money, all set in a Edith Wharton via Hollywood vision of Old New York."

I really enjoyed this YA novel, especially as it represents something other than standard high school drama. Though the plot twist is easy to see from page one, I enjoyed the story that got the reader there - the fashion, the friendships, and the fact that only 100 years ago, marriages were still arranged to benefit class and cash - in this case, forever changing the life of angelic Elizabeth Holland, beloved daughter of a high society family.

The author leaves the novel wide open for a sequel, which is due out in early June (entitled Rumors, and featured a huge RED dress on the cover). Overall, I really enjoyed this YA novel from a different era...

Book Review: Winter Study

2008-04-22T13:10:00.001-05:00

Winter Study by Nevada Barr

I just finished the latest Anna Pigeon novel - a series I totally adore from author Barr. Wanna read my full review? Check out my newest column at Crucial Pop!

Book Review: The Third Angel

2008-04-18T14:35:00.001-05:00

The Third Angel by Alice Hoffman

I have read many of Hoffman's novels, and find that she has a kind of written magic, not unlike the magic she often interweaves into her stories. Her words lull you and pull you, always elegant and delicate, yet evocative and readable.

In this, her latest, Hoffman deftly weaves together three disparate stories of three disparate young women, but with a common thread through them that tugs and tugs until it unravels for the reader at the end. There are many themes in this novel - herons, lovers, commitments, and the three angels: the Angel of Death, the Angel of Life, and the Third Angel, who walks among us and makes mistakes.

This is another great addition to Hoffman's canon - you can't go wrong with a writer that Jodi Picoult often names as her favorite.

Recommended!

Earthquake

2008-04-18T06:43:00.003-05:00

Earthquake Rocks the Tri-State.

Nothing like being woken up at 4:30 in the morning to a 5.4 EARTHQUAKE only 50 miles away.

That was HUGE.

Everything was shaking and it was LOUD, and it seemed to last forever, plus waiting for aftershocks to hit. They say the quake lasted 10 seconds, but everyone in my county and next door in the big city are reporting shaking that lasted much, much longer than that.

That was my first big one, ever.

It was felt as far away as Chicago, Memphis, and Kansas City, but right here in TinyTown we got the force of it.

Everything is Sunnymeade appears to be normal, but for a few things that fell over on tables and countertops.

Wow.

MotoGP

2008-04-17T20:04:00.003-05:00

I blame my brother-in-law.

From the first motorcycle ride he took me on when I was just a kid to going to Putnam Park (despite disastrous results at times) for track day, I've become increasingly interested in motorcycle racing.

And his devotion to MotoGP has totally rubbed off on me.

For a combination of factors (which most other faithful fans seem to be echoing of late), NASCAR has failed to hold my attention for the last season or two (but that's a different rant), whereas MotoGP has slowly been taking over my Sunday afternoon racing attention.

These guys, seriously, are nuts.

Whipping around tracks and going through chicanes at 45 degree angles with only a bit of leather and a hockey puck on their knee? Nuts.

(See what Nicky Hayden is doing in that picture? Yeah. That. All the time. Every race. With like an inch of tire rubber on the ground every time. Yeah.)

But man, fun to watch.

I've got my guys that I'm cheering for (Nicky Hayden - from just south of TinyTown in Kentucky, Randy de Puniet - for looking damn hot with no shirt on, and James Toseland - like me this year, he's a rookie to MotoGP and is from the UK), and I'm watching each race with growing interest as I learn the teams, the riders and the ins and outs of the sport.

Needless to say, I'm superstoked about going to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this September for the first inaugural MotoGP race at the track - that's going to be a helluva weekend.

Stay tuned... ;-)

My one other fave part of MotoGP? The commentators. They get SO EXCITED about everything, and they are all foreigners. Awesome.

"Casey Stoner is absolutely flying!"

Hee. ;-)

Best MotoGP vid I've seen...possibly ever.

Of course, if you wanna see some truly hellacious wrecks, just search YouTube for MotoGP and wreck...you'll be horrified...and then amazed that these guys just get up and walk away...