I know this blog promotes reading for fun but I wanted to give my thoughts after reading the Jan 30th Dakota Student article on Tackling Textbook Troubles. I've just returned from the American Library Association Conference where I saw presentations by Nicole Allen, leader of the Make Textbooks affordable campaign, associate professor David Wiley, the "Chief Openness Officer" for Flat World Knowlege and Mark Nelson, "Digital Content Strategist" for the National Association of College Stores.
As I librarian, I was familiar with the "Open Access" movement to allow faculty to retain/negotiate rights for the research they produce. At this talk I learned of a push to create high quality textbooks that may be free to view online and available in print at a nominal cost-say $30 (for accounting and engineering textbooks!). Interestingly, the book store industry rep embraced this concept because bookstores do not make much of a profit from textbooks. Nelson talked about bookstores collaborating with libraries to create digital bookshelves. Someone mentioned that so far students have continued to buy (the very affordable) print versions to own but have easy access to the textbooks electronically while on campus (I wonder if Follet knows about this new strategy--I found on their website a 2004 document dealing with textbook prices).
The library does have some online books right now and we look into buying more but we need to match the right content with the right price and have access that doesn't expire. We haven't found that right mix yet. Today's Futuretense public radio program I like to listen to shows we're not alone in this problem, Why ebooks have yet to take off in a big way (2/3/09 program).
So, maybe someday soon real change will come for student reading, recreational and otherwise.
Kristen
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
I read it at the movies
Have you noticed how many movies recently had their beginnings in books? Of course it's a grand tradition going back to Gone with the Wind and possibly before, but it seems that this movie season, Twilight started it, and now...wow!
Doubt. I haven't seen this yet but it looks impressive. Doubt is a play, not a very long one, and it'll be interesting for me to see how this short play morphs into a full-length movie.
The Tale of Despereaux. Let's clear one thing up right away: I'm not a fan of mice. Ick. Creepy little nasty things. But there's something really appealing about the mouse in this story, and both the book and the movie have quickly become well-liked, even by mouse-haters like me.
Marley and Me. This book was a huge hit, and so's the movie. But I think Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson would make any movie a hit, don't you?
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. This one I really want to see. Ever since I read The Great Gatsby in high school, I've been a fan of F. Scott Fitzgerald, and I'm curious to see how Brad Pitt interprets the role of the man who lives his life backwards.
The Secret Life of Bees.
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.
Even The Day the Earth Stood Still started off as a short story!
So what movie have you read?
Janet
*who needs to choose a movie!*
Doubt. I haven't seen this yet but it looks impressive. Doubt is a play, not a very long one, and it'll be interesting for me to see how this short play morphs into a full-length movie.
The Tale of Despereaux. Let's clear one thing up right away: I'm not a fan of mice. Ick. Creepy little nasty things. But there's something really appealing about the mouse in this story, and both the book and the movie have quickly become well-liked, even by mouse-haters like me.
Marley and Me. This book was a huge hit, and so's the movie. But I think Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson would make any movie a hit, don't you?
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. This one I really want to see. Ever since I read The Great Gatsby in high school, I've been a fan of F. Scott Fitzgerald, and I'm curious to see how Brad Pitt interprets the role of the man who lives his life backwards.
The Secret Life of Bees.
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.
Even The Day the Earth Stood Still started off as a short story!
So what movie have you read?
Janet
*who needs to choose a movie!*
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Review: The Hour I First Believed
As mentioned previously, I visited with author Wally Lamb while on his book tour promoting The Hour I First Believed. I just finished reading the signed copy donated by Harper Collins Publishers to the Popular Reading Collection and I encourage you to check it out.
Even though the large size of the book looks intimidating, I read through it quite quickly because I was immediately drawn into the characters and the story. The main fictional characters experience the real life tragedy of the April 20th 1999 shooting at Columbine High School. Lamb recreated that day and its aftermath through extensive research and his experience as a high school English teacher. He drew from his knowledge of teens, classical mythology, and female prison inmates to draw realistic characters who are stumbling through mazes and slaying monsters--sometimes victorious and sometimes not. In an author essay Wally writes, "A fiction writer weaves a fabric of lies in hopes of revealing deeper human truths." He weaves "lies" and facts to create an engaging story that does reveal many truths about the human condition.
In the book's afterward, Wally said he "had a terrible time starting this story." It took him nine years to get past everyone's expectations of him and "discover a story" to tell. Last time I checked, it was number nine on the New York Times Bestseller list. It also had a high rank on the bestseller for college campus list I saw at the bookstore. I will share more insights from Wally throughout the month but the Harper Collins website is great--full of information including a Q & A about this book.
Also, you can visit the reference area at the library to see a display on researching an author, the inspirations for this book, and the influence of popular fiction/nonfiction in general.
Kristen
Even though the large size of the book looks intimidating, I read through it quite quickly because I was immediately drawn into the characters and the story. The main fictional characters experience the real life tragedy of the April 20th 1999 shooting at Columbine High School. Lamb recreated that day and its aftermath through extensive research and his experience as a high school English teacher. He drew from his knowledge of teens, classical mythology, and female prison inmates to draw realistic characters who are stumbling through mazes and slaying monsters--sometimes victorious and sometimes not. In an author essay Wally writes, "A fiction writer weaves a fabric of lies in hopes of revealing deeper human truths." He weaves "lies" and facts to create an engaging story that does reveal many truths about the human condition.
In the book's afterward, Wally said he "had a terrible time starting this story." It took him nine years to get past everyone's expectations of him and "discover a story" to tell. Last time I checked, it was number nine on the New York Times Bestseller list. It also had a high rank on the bestseller for college campus list I saw at the bookstore. I will share more insights from Wally throughout the month but the Harper Collins website is great--full of information including a Q & A about this book.
Also, you can visit the reference area at the library to see a display on researching an author, the inspirations for this book, and the influence of popular fiction/nonfiction in general.
Kristen
Friday, January 9, 2009
The Kingdom of Ordinary Time
UND alum Nancy Devine is a high school creative writing teacher and published author. (She's also an incredibly caring and fun person to know). She wanted to share her review of a collection of poetry by Marie Howe, The Kingdom of Ordinary Time via her blog. We don't maintain a blog list (even though some people are nice enough to add us to their lists) because this isn't our personal blog -- it's of and for the students of UND.
However, I encourage you to check out Nancy's blog to read the review AND check out her writings while you're there. I love Nancy's poetry, and the way she describes Marie's poetry is applicable to hers as well -- small scenes about everyday life that trigger a powerful sense of recognition.
Don't be put off by poetry -- we encounter it every day in song lyrics, in prayer, in a quiet moment of gratitude, in art. Take some time to read it and you'll be amazed how it will touch you.
Kristen
However, I encourage you to check out Nancy's blog to read the review AND check out her writings while you're there. I love Nancy's poetry, and the way she describes Marie's poetry is applicable to hers as well -- small scenes about everyday life that trigger a powerful sense of recognition.
Don't be put off by poetry -- we encounter it every day in song lyrics, in prayer, in a quiet moment of gratitude, in art. Take some time to read it and you'll be amazed how it will touch you.
Kristen
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
The Learners
Author:Chip Kidd
Genre: Fiction/Tiny Tid-Bits of Design Theory
Genre: Fiction/Tiny Tid-Bits of Design Theory
I reviewed Chip Kidd’s The Cheese Monkeys last Spring, and once again, Kidd masters the importance of design literally from cover to cover. Although I am always hesitant to read sequels this one is distant enough that it is not like you should have hopped off the book three chapters ago. I would call this sequel more of a companion—they are in the same species, but genetically engineered a little differently. Where The Cheese Monkeys has a strong narrative The Learners functions as a subtle dissection of design and its impact on the human condition.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
The History of the Snowman
The History of the Snowman by Bob Eckstein probably won't make it on the popular reading shelves, but I think it should. It is a light-hearted yet well-researched book on, what else, the history of the snowman.
From an illuminated manuscript dating around 1380 to the popular Frosty we see on television every year, the history of the snowman is traced, showing not only the happy well-rounded character that Burl Ives made famous, but also the darker side where he chases little kids and sells and drinks alcoholic beverages
Chapter titles include Snowman Deconstructionism and Italian Snowballs from the Fifteenth Century, as well as side bars on the Abominable Snowman entitled Yeti Nother Sidebar. Along with several pages of color illustrations this book is packed with illustrations. I would give it a 4 out of 5 rating, but only because it did not include a Calvin 'n' Hobbes strip in the chapter featuring snowman cartoons.
Beth, CFL staff
From an illuminated manuscript dating around 1380 to the popular Frosty we see on television every year, the history of the snowman is traced, showing not only the happy well-rounded character that Burl Ives made famous, but also the darker side where he chases little kids and sells and drinks alcoholic beverages
Chapter titles include Snowman Deconstructionism and Italian Snowballs from the Fifteenth Century, as well as side bars on the Abominable Snowman entitled Yeti Nother Sidebar. Along with several pages of color illustrations this book is packed with illustrations. I would give it a 4 out of 5 rating, but only because it did not include a Calvin 'n' Hobbes strip in the chapter featuring snowman cartoons.
Beth, CFL staff
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
The Nimrod Flipout/The Girl on the Fridge
Fiction/Short Story Collections by Etgar Keret
Kristen's note: The Popular Reading Collection has The Nimrod Flipout and we can purchase The Girl of the Fridge. Steph, submit an Interlibrary Loan request for the Jellyfish--it's worth a shot.
I have grouped these two collections together because I devoured both of these and think that they work well as a pairing. Keret is a master of the short story. In addition, as I tend to judge books by their cover (Okay, so, aesthetics differ between humans and books, and my judgements are never intended toward the book’s character, so don’t make me feel bad to judge a book by its cover.) Keret’s design choices are spot on. The Girl on the Fridge is definitely most memorable for me and the short stories Girl on the Fridge and Nothing are the most precise and calculated bits of short fiction that I have read in some time. They are refreshing and crisp. I have been meaning to see the feature film he directed called Jellyfish, but need to find out how to obtain it…
Kristen's note: The Popular Reading Collection has The Nimrod Flipout and we can purchase The Girl of the Fridge. Steph, submit an Interlibrary Loan request for the Jellyfish--it's worth a shot.
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