Time For New Authors

If you look very closely you’ll notice that, here and there, some leaves are just beginning to turn. I was out on the Raquette River the last two weekends and a number of the maples had sprigs of red stretched out over the water. It wasn’t true of every tree I saw, just a few. We also commented on how the sun was not quiet as high in the sky as it was a few weeks ago. I’m sure we still have plenty of warm, sunny days left to enjoy. I also know that time keeps a’ moving. I’ve always viewed autumn as my favorite season. Unlike many other people who see Fall as the close of the year I see it as the culminating celebration of winter, spring and summer, the peak event of all the seasons. It is a riotous celebration of not only what has occurred but also where we are going. Autumn is the now of all the seasons. It, like no other season, points to what is essential to what is going on at this particular point in time. I also view autumn as the time to find new authors.

During the summer I’m happy to while away a few hours with some easy reading. But once the autumn arrives it is time to get serious. I’m guessing that it is a throw back to two strong instincts. The first is that we all had to return to school in the Fall. The second is that until recently all of my work life revolved around, and was dictated by, whatever season I found myself in. I always found autumn to be one of the most relentless of seasons. Things simply had to be accomplished by the time winter got here. There was no other acceptable solution because the inextirpable movement of the season dictated the work timeline. And who can argue with the North Wind?

Recently I have come across an author new to me. Henning Mankell is a Swedish writer best know to American and British readers for the Kurt Wallander investigation series. Wallander is a mid-forties, slightly overweight, recently divorced inspector in the Swedish Police Service. He also eats poorly, drinks a bit too much, is prone to sleeping in his clothes and ruminating on what he believes are his professional failures and personal short-coming. I came across Mankill’s creation while flipping about one recent Sunday night. After watching an episode of BBC Mystery, and getting three more via Netflix, I decided it was time to read.

Mankell has been writing and been published for a few decades. Millions of copies of his works have been sold in Europe. By anyone’s reckoning he is a successful writer. But he is new to me. I was also interested to find out that you can actually take any number of different Wallander tours in Ystad, the Swedish town where all his stories are located. You can visit his apartment address, eat at some of his favorite restaurants and drink in some of the bars he frequents. I also noticed that there are nine books in this particular series. And what is better than finding a new author? Why, finding one that has a lot of published material, of course. So, while you are whiling away and enjoying this last part of the summer you might want to think about casting a weather eye towards future and start looking around now for new books and new authors to keep yourself busy during the autumn and winter.

See you at the Library,
Pete

The Kindle Is Coming

Here at the SLFL we are always looking for ways to provide access to new forms of information technology for our patrons. In keeping with that long tradition the SLFL recently purchased a Kindle. This was not a spur of the moment decision made over coffee and cakes one morning. The potential benefits of e-readers to our patrons is a subject that has been talked about by the staff for almost two years. Now appeared to be the right time to make that jump. So we did. Here are some of the reasons we have done so.

E-readers are becoming more available, reliable and easier to use. Many people in the information access business believe that in the not so distant future all information will be available in an e-reader form. Textbooks are often cited as one use. No more lugging around a backpack loaded down with tons of books. A second area is newspapers or any print journal articles. The delivery of news each morning via an e-reader provides the news consumer with a convenient, easy to carry way to get his/her daily news fix. The same is also true of news magazines, especially those magazines that have little or no photos or illustrations. E-readers can provide images along with text, but text is what they do best.

With all the different e-readers available we choose the Kindle. One of the main reasons is because unlike a computer screen the Kindle is not backlit. You actually need an outside light source to read a Kindle. So if a child wants to continue reading a Kindle after being told to go to bed, he or she will still need a flashlight to read under the blankets. There are two benefits to this: since the Kindle is backlit it cuts down on eyestrain and you can read the Kindle in the bright sunlight with or without your sunglasses on. I walked through different shades of lighting both inside and outside turning the Kindle in various directions and was still able read quite easily.

A second reason why we choose the Kindle is because of the grayscale, Eink @ technology developed by Amazon. With it you can easily change the font size; you have eight different choices, and the shade of gray for the font. This allows individuals to adjust the e-reader to fit their particular needs or desires.

At first, using the Kindle was a bit confusing. But I think that’s because I was self teaching. I can now give a quick tutorial and send the reader on their merry way. I’ve also had the opportunity to read various NY Times articles in newspaper, web based electronic edition and Kindle edition formats. For me the Kindle edition provides the most convenient and clearest medium for delivery of the articles. I’m not one of those folks who like to shake the paper and fold it into different origami shapes to read it. Nor do I spread the paper out on a desk or table in front of me and smell the newsprint. I’m one of those “Jack Web” consumers of newspapers, all I want are: “Just the facts, Ma’am.” I can make up my own mind as to what I’m reading. So the Kindle edition of the Times fit my needs very well. Soon we’ll be making the Kindle available to patrons. We are currently fine tuning our policies for its use. If you have a question about the device or would like to see it in action, stop by the Circ Desk I’ll be happy to provide you with a demonstration and chat with you about it. It is a new way for me to read; and a new way for the delivery of reading material. I like using it. I think you will too.

See you at the Library,
Pete

Roadtrip

So what do you bring to read on a roadtrip? I am now trying to sort out this particular question. I am one of those lucky people who can read in a moving car and not get sick. I cannot however listen to an audiobook while driving. I get too involved in the story and become a hazard to myself, other drivers and the vehicle; so listening while driving is out. Of course, reading while operating the car is out too, but I was thinking about time in the passenger seat and downtime when we are not moving. I think that part of the answer lies in what kind of roadtrip you are going on. So I will clarify this aspect of the trip.

At the end of this month I will be assisting in the driving of a 1993 Honda Civic, complete with bike, kayak and other worldly goods, from Fairbanks, Alaska to Moscow, Idaho. I will be accompanying my daughter, Emily and her dog, Marcy. We will travel roughly 2,200 miles out of central Alaska, south through the Yukon Territory, down the spine of British Columbia and into Alberta before crossing back to British Columbia and then reaching the American / Canadian border and driving into Idaho. At least I think that will be the route, there really aren’t a lot of choices and if I’m wrong I’m sure Em will let me know at the appropriate time.

There is a lot of reading to be done prior to this trip. I’ve already started collecting and consuming atlases, gazetteers, Google Maps, The Milepost and plain old roadmaps. When I checked Google Maps the eighth point on the directions read: “Turn left to stay on Alaska Hwy / YT-1E continue to follow the Alaskan Hwy” Which all seemed fine ‘til I read the mileage amount: 968 miles. Yikes! I guess we really want to make that left. And the bright spot is that when we do we just go straight for the next 1,000 miles or so. What are the chances we’ll get lost? Right now the decision by my wife, Beth to purchase the additional maps of Canada when originally getting the Garmin looks like a really good idea.

I’ve also started looking at border crossing information. Living where we do most of us are pretty familiar with the routine. But having the information available online makes the prep prior to the trip easier.

But what do I bring to read on the actual trip? One person suggested a Chilton’s manual. But since I’m not very good at that sort of thing my AAA card will have to do. I did think about some standard summer reading fare. Murders and mayhem set in the YT with a RCMP character as the chief investigator. I also considered some books that instruct me about the terra, fauna and flora we’ll be passing through. Or poetry inspired by landscape. Any or all of these would probably be a good choice. What I do know is that I’ll want something to read.

The areas we’ll be passing through will be some of the most magnificent on Earth and I’ll have the opportunity to see it from the ground. Not as intimately as if I was traveling by foot or paddle but pretty close. I think I can speak for many readers when I say that my need to interpret what I am seeing through another’s written word is pretty close to the mark to the way many readers feel. Whatever I bring along to read will add to the over-all trip. So the choice of deciding what to read is important. I want to add to, not detract from, the experience. What I choose to read while away will do that for me. Those books will become entwined with the events and places on the trip. So in the future when I see those covers again I’ll be spirited back to the end of the Summer of 2010 when my daughter and I drove out of Alaska and back down to the Lower 48.

See you at the Library,
Pete