Between the Pages

What? No Libraries?

2007-07-02T16:01:00.000-07:00

First there was this:

ALL 15 Jackson County Library branches are closed as of Saturday, April 7, 2007, due to a lack of funding.

Then, came this:

Effective May 31, 2007 all branches of the Josephine County Library system will be closed due to lack of funding.

The nearest public library from here is in Keno, OR. That is 32.5 miles or 39 minutes away (according to mapquest). The nearest public library in Siskiyou County is in Yreka (population 7,204). That is 42 miles or 44 minutes away. The nearest public library in Douglas County is in Glendale (population 855). That is 65.5 miles or 66 minutes away. This geeky moment is brought to you by me.

I was horrified when my dad informed me that the federal funding for the libraries had run out and that they were closing down. What's even worse is that there was a levy on the May ballot that could have prevented this, but people voted it down. They didn't want their property taxes increased! I personally think libraries are more important than a few less cents in your pocket. I prepared for the long summer by bringing down over 60 books from my own bookshelf in Portland.

Luckily for the students of Ashland, the school board decided to keep each school library open once a week. The high school library is open on Thursdays from noon to seven. I went there with my friend opening day (June 28). We actually went the week before (that's another story), but of course it wasn't open yet. We expected there to be tons of people inside. Though we arrived a few minutes after opening and stayed there for 2 1/2 hours, we only saw a handful of people come in. Rebecca was able to check out books for me on her account. The librarian was nice enough to let us check out three over the limit (five). There were several former public librarians volunteering there. They were eager to help us in any way. I'm going to volunteer there on Thursdays if they can find anything for me to do.

Library Lessons

2007-07-26T17:47:00.001-07:00

Today was my fourth time volunteering at the High School library. I love that library! It's like a home to me almost. I know all the librarians and the volunteers. My friend Rebecca always comes too, though she doesn't volunteer. This was her last library day since she will be going to a camp. Anyway, I have learned how to do a number of things now. The first day, I read shelves (checking that books are in the right order) and looked for missing textbooks. The second day, I replaced old magazines with newer ones. I had to take the older ones out of the jacket and put the new ones in. I also helped ready the new magazines to be entered into the system. I took out the slips of paper and stamped the school's address on the front and back. The third day, I learned how to completely get the magazines ready. This included putting the security strip in, labelling the date on a piece of tape at the top, taping the barcode in, and putting the due date sticker inside as well as the things I did the week before. That day I also counted some textbooks and shelf read the cookbook section. Today, I learned how to put the plastic covering over the paperbooks along with three other volunteers. We had a good time talking while putting on plastic covers. Meanwhile, I was able to listen to plans for the library campain. Since it is only the Ashland Library, only Ashland residents could use it. People in the county (such as myself), would have to pay for a library card. I was given a Save Our Libraries button by the head librarian at the school.

New Little House books!!!

2007-08-09T18:19:00.000-07:00

While surfing the Harper Collins site the other day, I discovered that two new Little House books were going to be published. The first one, Nellie Oleson Meets Laura Ingalls (by Tui Sutherland), is due out on September 4. It is supposed to be 240 pages long. Here is an excerpt from Harper Collins about it:

Nellie Oleson does not like living in Walnut Grove. It's dirty and dusty and full of poor farmers.

One day a new girl, Laura Ingalls, comes to school. Laura's dress is too short, she doesn't wear shoes, and she lives out on the lonely prairie. But everyone wants to be Laura's friend. Nellie doesn't understand: If she's the prettiest and richest girl in Walnut Grove, shouldn't she be the most popular?

Nellie will do anything to get Laura Ingalls out of her life, and one day her wish comes true. Something terrible does happen, but not just to Laura Ingalls—it happens to the entire town of Walnut Grove.

Laura Ingalls Wilder's classic story On the Banks of Plum Creek introduced readers to Nellie Oleson. Now readers will see events unfold from Nellie's perspective in Nellie Oleson Meets Laura Ingalls, which is an enchanting and eye-opening look at Laura Ingalls's prairie foe.

The other book is entitled Mary Leaves Little House (by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel) and is set to be published on January 1, 2008. It is reported to be 192 pages. The author said this about the upcoming book:

The book is entirely centered around Mary's arrival and first several weeks at the Iowa College for the Blind. Sequentially, it fits in exactly where we leave off in the original series when Laura bids Mary and her folks goodbye, as they accompany her to the train to Vinton, complete with a fried blackbird lunch. I used details from the Wilder books wherever possible, such as the autograph albums Ma brings home for Carrie and Laura, and the beadwork that Mary later becomes so good at, and Mary's friend Blanche. The Iowa College for the Blind is still in existence under a slightly different name, and they had a lot of information about what school and daily life were like in Mary's era, including some personal information about Mary's classes. So the book uses as many facts as possible, but within that framework I created a fictional account, trying to imagine what Mary, always so good and accepting, might have felt like deep down inside about losing her sight and leaving home, and what she might have experienced during those first few weeks.

I'm excited for the new titles, but a bit worried about the quality of them considering Harper Collins' recent abridging.

Pa's Last Days...

2007-08-12T18:44:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading New Dawn on Rocky Ridge today. Though Rose can be irritating at times in the book, the two chapters from Laura's point of view make up for it. The chapters focus on her return to De Smet to see Pa on his deathbed. It was great to see De Smet years after Laura, Almanzo, and Rose left it.

Although she was bone tired, Mama's eyes eagerly scanned the buildings along Main Street, the merchants and other businesses, and Pa's old store. Nothing much had changed, she was surprised to see, except that the town looked a bit more prosperous than she remembered. It was spring, and many of the storefronts sported fresh coats of paint, and new roofs. The boardwalks had been extended too.

I loved the glimpses back into the past mingled with the present.

She leaned forward and looked him in the eyes. "Hello, Pa," she said softly. As she looked at him, she made herself see the Pa she knew when she was young and he was her strong and cheerful father. Even though Pa's body was old and worn out, she could see a twitch at the corner of his eyes, and a twinkle in them, that was the Pa she remembered.

I thought of Pa and his fiddle as I read:

But the Best moments were when Mary would sit down at the organ in the parlor and play some of the old songs Pa used to play and sing for them on his fiddle. Pa couldn't play his fiddle anymore. But they could make music together, and even though Pa couldn't come into the parlor to be with them, he could hear the music and hear his girls singing for him.

Pa's last words put tears in my eyes.

Then Pa opened his mouth. "Look, Caroline," his weak voice barely rasped. Mama leaned closer to hear better. He paused a moment, to catch his breath again. "See how Laura's eyes are shining."

Keno Library

2007-08-13T19:01:00.000-07:00

While driving to Klamath Falls for the fair last Saturday, we passed the nearest open library. We stopped there and I took a few pictures. Unfortunately, it was closed at the time. Otherwise, I might have stopped in! It was quite small, but given the size of the town, it was adequate.

Hattie Big Sky

2007-08-30T15:24:00.000-07:00

Today, I finished a wonderful book entitled Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson. I had obtained an advance reader's copy from a free book table a few weeks ago.

I liked it because it was different from the usual historical fiction novel. For one, it took place in 1918, which is a period I haven't read much about. It was interesting to read about WWI from the perspective a girl homesteading in Montana. I thought it was a clever plot. The book made me laugh and my eyes teared up at one point. I couldn't put it down.

Our Only May Amelia

2007-09-16T17:57:00.000-07:00

This morning, I finished rereading one of my favorite books, Our Only May Amelia by Jennifer L. Holm. The first time I read it, I cried. May Amelia Jackson is a spunky twelve year old living on the Nasel River (now Naselle River) in Washington. She is the only girl in a family of 7 boys and longs for a sister.

What May Amelia really wants is her father's approval and love. She feels that her father hates her. Her grandmother is a horrible woman who beats and criticizes May whenever she feels like it. I truly come to hate her as the story goes on. I can't help but love Wilbert, May's understanding brother. The characters are vivid and full of life.

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm

2007-09-30T14:50:00.000-07:00

I was thoroughly surprised with Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Wiggin. Here I was expecting a kid's novel. There was lots of advanced vocabulary sprinkled in with vivid descriptions. At some parts, I became a bit bored, but I did enjoy Rebecca's many thrilling scrapes. She reminded me of Anne Shirley in her manner and wild imagination.

The Magician's Horse or The Boy and His Nephew

2007-10-07T18:08:00.000-07:00

Or maybe I should say, The Boy's Nephew and The Magician and His Horse. How about The Boy's Horse and The Magician and His Nephew? Okay, I'm really talking about The Magician's Nephew and The Horse and His Boy.

I read these two books for the first time this weekend. *gasp* To be honest, I'm not sure why I haven't read them before this. After all, I do own the entire series and loved the first four books.

The Horse and His Boy is unique from the other books in the series because it takes place solely in Narnia. Shasta and Bree (a talking horse) try to flee from Calormen to the north. On the way, they meet Aravis and Hwin (also a talking horse) that are also fleeing. They escape some close calls and end up saving Archenland and Narnia from the Calormene envasion. I have to appreciate the imaginative names, though I doubt I could pronounce them correctly. It was nice to see Edmond, Lucy, and Susan again.

The Magician's Nephew is bound to become one of my favorite books in the series. It is ultimately about the creation of Narnia and how humans first came to know about other worlds. Digory and Polly are forced into traveling to the Wood between the Worlds by Digory's Uncle Andrew. Once in another world, Digory unknowingly sets loose a witch who eventually becomes the White Witch. One of my favorite parts of the book is when Digory and Polly are exploring the attic tunnel and end up in Uncle Andrew's study.

I can't wait to read The Last Battle now!

The Last Battle...at last!

2007-10-13T14:52:00.000-07:00

On Friday, I finished reading The Last Battle by C. S. Lewis. Now I can say that I have read the entire series. Though it wasn't my favorite book of the series, I did enjoy it.

It begins with a seemingly innocent prank by Shift (the ape) to convince the Narnians to do their bidding by pretending Puzzle (the donkey), dressed in a lion skin, is Aslan. The prank begins to spin out of control when the Calormenes and a few wicked creatures join in. Soon, Narnia is no longer in the control of King Tirian. Jill and Eustace are transported to Narnia to help fight. When all hope of victory seems lost, Aslan comes to lead his people into paradise.

I was shocked in the end to find that Digory, Polly, Peter, Edmond, Lucy, Eustace, and Jill were all killed in a train wreck. It saddened me to see Susan scorn Narnia. Even though she was a bit of a bore, I still felt a connection to her. The end left me a bit melancholy. I knew that this new Narnia was better, but I would still miss it.

The Lily Adventures

2007-10-15T16:20:00.000-07:00

I just recently read the first two books in The Lily Adventures series by Lois Gladys Leppard. Both Secret Money and Suspicious Identity are pretty slow paced until the end, which goes by much too fast. The resolutions of both books occur in the last few pages and leave little room for explanation. I like the ideas of the two plots, but they are not well developed. There are two more books in the series, Accidental Dreams and Mysterious Revelations, but the library system doesn't have them. Alas, I may never know how the mystery turns out. It seems to me that Mrs. Leppard could have combined the books into one because the overarching mystery is left unsolved. I would prefer a more compact, better edited version.

The books focus on the mystery surrounding the death of Lily Masterson's father. In Secret Money, Lily receives an urgent message telling her to return home to her ailing father. When she arrives, she is told that her father was killed a few weeks earlier in a horseshoeing accident. However, the death does not appear to be an accident at all. In Suspicious Identity, Lily is now living in her Aunt Janie Belle's house because her property was foreclosed. She discovers an old letter from her mother to her father telling of valuable jewelry. The jewelry is found when she sneaks into her old house to look for it. The mystery of her father's death is yet unsolved.

Mary Leaves Little House Cover

2007-10-22T16:35:00.000-07:00

They finally released the cover for Mary Leaves Little House! I see that they have changed the author's name from Elizabeth Cody Kimmel to Elizabeth Kimmel Willard in order to keep the book in the same section alphabetically as the others.

I've noticed some dispute between book sites about the actual publication date; December has been listed as well as January.

Related Posts:
Nellie Excerpt
More About Mary and Nellie
New Little House Books!!!

The Parting Review

2007-10-29T16:24:00.000-07:00

I recently read The Parting, the latest of Beverly Lewis' Amish books. Admittedly, I was predisposed to liking the book before it even touched the shelves. As usual, Beverly Lewis did an excellent job of portraying the Amish lifestyle. It left me in anticipation of the next book in the series.

In an earlier post, I shared the summary that Mrs. Lewis provided on her website.

Hurt Go Happy

2007-11-03T10:47:00.000-07:00

I recently read a book called Hurt Go Happy by Ginny Rorby.

Joey is a deaf girl isolated from the world because her mother won't let her learn sign language. One day, she stumbles upon a neighbor, Charlie, with a pet chimpanzee named Sukari. Through them she is able to begin learning sign language and convince her mom to let her. When Charlie dies, Sukari is put in a testing facility and Joey has to rescue her.

This book paints a clear picture of what it is like to be deaf. I learned about the horrors that face abandoned primates also.

One Thing I Overlooked...

2007-11-03T12:22:00.000-07:00

When I posted the Mary Leaves Little House Cover, I didn't notice in my search that there were two slightly different covers. Mary is facing more toward the window in the first one and the colors are a bit different.

Related Posts:
More About Mary
Mary Leaves Little House Cover
Nellie Excerpt
More About Mary and Nellie
New Little House Books!!!

Miss Spitfire!

2007-11-09T17:25:00.000-08:00

I LOVED this book. It really gave insight into Annie Sullivan's thoughts. At times, I feel myself becoming as frustrated with Helen as Annie. I found it amazing that though Helen spelled the words, she never understood them until she made the link between W-A-T-E-R and "wah-wah." The insight into Annie's past was also interesting.

Great Gatsby. Good Book.

2007-11-19T17:17:00.000-08:00

In the past, I have not been very pleased with the required reading books at school. In Freshman year, we had to read Lord of the Flies and Of Mice and Men neither of which I enjoyed. The others: A Wizard of Earthsea and The Bean Trees were okay, but I wasn't too fond of them. Romeo and Juliet was fine however. During Sophomore year, we read Black Boy, Antigone, Julius Caesar, and Krik? Krak! I disliked the plays especially. The books were just okay. The degree to which I liked the books does have a lot to do with the teacher though.

I did enjoy The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald this year. It has some nice ideas about wealth, artificiality, and honesty. There are a few quotes I like:

"Yet high over the city our line of yellow windows must have contributed their share of human secrecy to the casual watcher in the darkening streets, I was with him too, looking up and wondering. I was within and without,simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life." (40)

"Americans, while occasionally willing to be serfs, have always been obstinate about being peasantry." (93)

"...now I was looking at it again, through Daisy's eyes. It is invariably saddening to look through new eyes at things upon which you have expended your own powers of adjustment." (110-111)

"They were careless people, Tom and Daisy-they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made...." (187-188)

I think the last quote really captures the book.

The Lacemaker and the Princess

2007-11-27T18:39:00.000-08:00

The Lacemaker and the Princess by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley is about a common girl named Isabelle making friends with Marie Antoinette's daughter. She has to make the decision between her family and staying with the royal family. Her brother is wrapped up in the coming revolution and she must decide where she stands.

I enjoyed the book, but was a bit frustrated with Isabelle at times. It seemed that she didn't really understand the suffering of the country. Therese, the princess, was extremely selfish and wasn't a good friend to Isabelle.

So Maybe it is Called...

2007-12-04T17:00:00.000-08:00

...Mary Ingalls on Her Own? Harper Collins has a new cover with the title on their webpage. I've been calling it Mary Leaves Little House this entire time. They list its publication date as December 26. Notice the new widget in my sidebar!

Related Posts:
A Strange Place to Find Mary
He He... A sneak peak
One Thing I Overlooked...
More About Mary
Mary Leaves Little House Cover
Nellie Excerpt
More About Mary and Nellie
New Little House Books!!!

New: The Forbidden!

2007-12-09T16:40:00.000-08:00

I just came across the next of Beverly Lewis' The Courtship of Nellie Fisher series. It is called The Forbidden and picks up right where The Parting left off. Here is a synopsis from Christianbooks.com:

Caleb Yoder's father has forbidden him to court Nellie Fisher, but words alone cannot stop Caleb's love. Yet he knows that if he continues to meet Nellie at their secret place, he risks losing everything he would inherit.
Nellie, too, is torn. She longs to marry her Old Order beau but cannot ignore the gentle pull she feels toward the faith of her new Order family. Still struggling to come to terms with the death of her beloved sister, Nellie visits the Mennonite friends who were with Suzy on the day she drowned. Will Nellie find the missing pieces of her sister's life-and her own future as well?

It comes out in May 5, 2008 and has 352 pages.

Related Posts:
The Parting Review
The Parting - New Amish Book

New Books (thus far)!

2007-12-25T20:57:00.000-08:00

Thus far into the holiday season I have received six books:
* Nellie Oleson Meets Laura Ingalls By Tui Sutherland
* Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
* Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
* Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
* Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
* Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
I still have my birthday and Christmas gifts from my dad and Lisa to go.

For more on the Nellie Oleson book look to these posts:
Nellie Excerpt
More About Mary and Nellie
New Little House Books!!!

Story Girl and Golden Road

2008-01-01T15:34:00.000-08:00

I recently read The Story Girl by Lucy Maud Montgomery and its sequel, The Golden Road. I have always enjoyed L. M. Montgomery's novels. My only complaint is that they are too descriptive sometimes. The descriptions are beautiful and worded well. I love all of the escapades that the children get into. The Story Girl's tales are interesting and well placed in the novels.

The books follow Beverly (the narrator), Felix, Sara Stanley (the Story Girl), Dan, Felicity, Cecily, Peter, and Sara Ray over a year's time. Beverly and Felix come to live with their Uncle Alec and Aunt Janet in Carlisle. Sara Stanley, their cousin lives with Aunt Olivia and Uncle Roger (and later with Uncle Alec and Aunt Janet) while her father travels the world. Dan, Felicity, and Cecily are Alec and Janet's children. Peter Craig is the hired boy for Aunt Olivia and Uncle Roger. Sara Ray is the teary-eyed companion who suffers under her mother's strict rules. All of the children and adults are charmed by the Story Girl's stories.

One of my favorite characters is Cecily. She is such a gentle spirit. Sara Ray is my least favorite character of course. Her behavior is always irksome. The Story Girl herself is quite charming, but Beverly's point of view certainly influences the reader's perception. In The Golden Road, my favorite chapter, Great-Aunt Eliza's Visit, is hilarious.

The Review: Nellie Oleson Meets Laura Ingalls

2008-01-01T17:04:00.000-08:00

And now, after all the speculation and guessing on my part, here is my review of Nellie Oleson Meets Laura Ingalls by Tui Sutherland:

Let me begin by saying that I questioned the quality of this book beforehand. I wondered how the events from On the Banks of Plum Creek could be made fresh and interesting.

From the start of the book, Nellie came of as a spoiled brat with no sense of reality. Her voice was annoying:

"Nellie Oleson did not like the prairie. She did not like the dust. She did not like the big open sky. She did not like how there was nothing to see in any direction for miles and miles and miles. She did not like the mushy, hot, itchy smell of horses tied up along Main Street, or the wind that whistled all night and blew dirt in her face all day long." (1)

The background story before Laura showed up was interesting. It gave me a better perspective on Nellie's life, not just Nellie's actions as in On the Banks of Plum Creek. As I read on, I gradually began to feel more sympathy toward Nellie.

When Laura Ingalls was introduced, I felt that some of Nellie's thoughts were irrational, but I understood that Nellie felt ostracized from the other girls. While the Town Party and the Country Partly followed Wilder's description, Nellie's thoughts were insightful to her character.

Before I read this book, I had always felt that Laura's mean trick at the Country Party was justified. However, Laura's trick seemed cruel in Nellie Oleson Meets Laura Ingalls because Nellie is starting to accept Laura. This trick turns Nellie against Laura even more.

The end of the book did not show complete redemption. There was no "sorry" from Nellie or forgiveness on Laura's part. Nellie's struggle was more of an internal one. It was about Nellie feeling better. It showed growth in her character.

This book did exceed my initial expectations. The message was good and it fit well with On Banks of Plum Creek. I would not say that it was an exceptional book, though I did think that it was probably the best that could be done with the material. The language of the book was simple and redundant at times. This may have been done to get the effect of being inside Nellie's head. Also, the book was written for younger children. Overall, I would say it was well done.

I would be interested to know how much of the new plot information was factual.

Related Posts:
Nellie Excerpt
More About Mary and Nellie
New Little House Books!!!

Browse Inside Mary Ingalls On Her Own

2008-01-02T12:08:00.000-08:00

I wandered over to the Harper Collins site yesterday and saw that they had added the "Browse Inside" feature to Mary Ingalls On Her Own. This shows the cover, title pages, copyright page, table of contents, and first three pages of almost every chapter. I had to stop reading the excerpts because I didn't want to spoil the book for myself. I didn't mind reading the first excerpt:

Mary Ingalls stepped carefully from the train onto the bustling platform in Vinton, Iowa. She stood straight and quiet, her hands clasping the handle of her small suitcase. Her pale blue eyes shone with a mix of anxiety and excitement. Mary took a deep breath as the cool November breeze fanned her flushed cheeks and carried the hot smell of engine steam past her nose.

From what I've read, I think that I will enjoy this book. There is a "Browse Inside" link in my sidebar.

Related Posts:
So Maybe it is Called...
A Strange Place to Find Mary
He He... A sneak peak
One Thing I Overlooked...
More About Mary
Mary Leaves Little House Cover
Nellie Excerpt
More About Mary and Nellie
New Little House Books!!!

The Forbidden Cover

2008-02-07T17:04:00.000-08:00

I found a large image of the official The Forbidden cover on Beverly Lewis' website. It now states that the book will be released in April. I looked elsewhere and the publication date is said to be April 30, but other sources say May 1. No matter what the publication date, I have it on request at the library. Apparently, I am the seventh person with the idea.

Related Posts:
New: The Forbidden!
The Parting Review
The Parting - New Amish Book