Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Staff Pick

Whatever their other merits may be, literary fiction prizes do a great service to adventurous readers by introducing us to authors we might not have otherwise heard of.  That was the case with my discovery of Carol Birch’s novel Jamrach’s Menegarie, which was shortlisted for the 2011 Man Booker Prize.  (The winner was The Sense of an Ending by frequent nominee Julian Barnes.  A fine book, but Carol was robbed.)

Jamrach’s Menagerie begins in 19th century England with an 8-year-old boy named Jaffy, who survives an encounter with an escaped tiger and then begins working for Charles Jamrach, an importer of exotic animals (and a true historical figure).  A few years later, Jaffy and his best friend Tim join a whaling expedition with the hopes of capturing an elusive dragon for the menagerie.  How does it end?  Rather than risk spoiling any surprises, I’ll agree wholeheartedly with this review:  “Jamrach’s Menagerie just gets better and better as it builds toward a powerful, unforgettable crescendo…” 

Equal parts adventure story, historical fiction, and coming-of-age tale, Jamrach’s Menagerie has been compared to works of Herman Melville and Charles Dickens, as well as Yann Martel’s Life of Pi.  It’s a book that will stick with you.

Steve Kight, Assistant Director for Public Services

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

My Childhood Memory of the Library (19th in a series)

When I was in second grade, my grandmother sent me a book titled Rin Tin Tin’s Rinty.  I already owned that book and had read it, so my mother suggested we give the new one to our library.  We went together and told our story to the librarian and gave her the new book.  She was very gracious in accepting it and thanked my mother and me for thinking of donating it to the library.  I was impressed, as a child, with how nice the librarian was and how important she made me feel for giving my book to her.

That's my memory of the library...what's yours?

Thursday, June 14, 2012

My Childhood Memory of the Library (18th in a series)

I was born in the library…..well, almost.  The hospital where I was born was converted to the county library building a few years after I came into the world (as you can probably guess, I came from a very small town).  As a child, my family always correlated my love of reading with the location of my birth.  And my art work was prominently displayed in the library (but perhaps I should mention that I was only in the first grade, and somehow a promising art career never came to fruition).  It was a summer ritual that I was dropped off at the library when my mother went grocery shopping.  I would always exit with a foot-high stack of books and have all of them read by the next weekly grocery shopping trip.  So libraries and I go back to the very beginning of my life, with very happy memories!

That’s my childhood memory of the library…what’s yours?

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

My Childhood Memory of the Library (17th in a series)

When I was four years old, we lived in Princeton, New Jersey while my dad was at the Seminary.  I went to a preschool on campus a few hours a week, and it was there I had my first library experience.  My wonderful teacher, Mrs. Potter, would make a big production out of having us pretend to lock our lips with a key and throw it away.  Only then did we get to march single file behind her across campus to what was either a very small town library or a campus library for children (I can’t remember which for sure).  I do remember those lips didn’t get unlocked until we got back to our classroom, though!

That's my childhood memory of the library...what's yours?

Thursday, June 7, 2012

My Childhood Memory of the Library (16th in a series)

Being an avid reader at a young age, I liked going to the library and getting books that most thought were beyond my reading level.  This made me feel self confident and led to my becoming a good student.  I enjoyed reading biographies of famous people.  This led to my interest in history, which I still have today.  Before I went to high school, I spent most of my Sundays at the library because everything else in town was closed.  I was never bored on Sunday afternoons like all my friends.

That's my memory of the library...what's yours?

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

My Childhood Memory of the Library (15th in a series)

My mother used to take me to the Ida Williams Branch of the Fulton County Library when I was little.  It seemed like a big place and when you walked in the front door, they had the air conditioning vent on the floor just inside the door.  I used to love standing there on hot days (we didn’t have air conditioning at home).  It was always very quiet there.  And there was a barbecue place nearby so you could smell the yummy BBQ.

That's my childhood memory of the library...what's yours?