Afternoon Thoughts

Michelozzo Di Bartolomeo Library 1396-1472, Marble 1437-1451, Convent of San Marco, Florence. A different view of what a library looks like. Books were rarer then.

Afternoon Thoughts

I am on vacation next week for Thanksgiving week. I'll probably go visit relatives and eat turkey and stuffing until I am bursting. In a way, I am looking forward to it.

This morning, I wrote my monthly annual report because I am gone next week. I also did a little bit of organizing files. I am about half way through my files. There is the usual clean up of small things to make sure everything goes smooth when I am on vacation.

This morning, I got up very early and the trains ran perfectly, too perfectly. I got to work a little early so I spent a few minutes drinking tea and reading the Daily News waiting for the building to open.

I put in a small order for financial literacy books, then tried to convince my boss to order some monster movies unsuccessfully. He was willingly to do a few Godzilla films, but that was it.

I also did a small amount of weeding. The head of the library might want me to pick up the pace on weeding so we have more space.

Right now, I have three books which came in for me, The Green Collar Economy How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems by Van Jones, The Ten Roads To Riches by Ken Fisher, and The Host by Stephenie Meyer. I also picked up another book, Big Box Swindle by Stacy Mitchell because of an article in Bookselling this Week, http://news.bookweb.org/6431.html

It was rather interesting. I learned that U.S. News and World Report will no longer be in paper next year, PC Magazine is also going to online only in January 2009, The Christian Science Monitor in 2009 will only be available as an online edition. These are big changes for the world of magazines. I guess the online world is thoroughly shaking up the magazine business.

More people use the computers to look up information than read magazines right now. I can imagine as the technology for blogs and websites get cheaper and more accessible, many magazines will go the way of the dinosaurs.

The only magazine I ever subscribed to online was Consumer Reports. I did it when I was buying a car. I didn't renew the subscription, but I found it to be quite useful. It is articles like this which make Consumer Reports a great resource. How to save $500 a month.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/money/personal-investing/saving-money/overview/saving-money-ov.htm

Today' Thoughts

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Alphart_rodier02.jpg

The author (Yves Rodier) does not claim copyright over this work. The album in its entirety is prohibited because of the illegal use of Hergé's characters, but this image does not contain character by Hergé, so it can be considered as free.

Today's Thoughts

Today was my first day of vacation. I lazed around a lot today. I finished reading Reaper's Gale. I liked reading the book because of the character Karsa Orlong. I did not care for a lot of the other characters. This character really made the book for me. Sometimes, just one character can hold my interest.

I didn't do a huge amount today. I went for an evening walk. I sat around the house a lot. I didn't go shopping or do the laundry.

I went to the local Barnes and Noble today. I had a cup of coffee there and a bit of lemon cake. It was actually pretty good. The coffee was a bit too strong though. Starbucks is a little bit strong...

I didn't buy any books. I found one book which looked good though. It is called:

500 Essential Graphic Novels: The Ultimate Guide (Paperback) by Gene Kannenberg (Author)

The book is $24.95. It came out on August 5, 2008 so the reviews are very recent. It is comprehensive and contains comics lit, alternative comics, manga, and superhero comics. Each graphic novel has a color illustration of the cover and a basic description. I am definitely going to order this for my library. I am hesitant about getting it for myself.

I finally had the time to sit down and write a brief review of Saturn's Children.

Returning From Vacation

Picture from the Library in the Nautilus (20,000 Leagues Under The Sea) by Jules Verne.

Returning From Vacation

Hello, today, I am back at work. Did a lot of catching up. I read Kirkus Reviews and Publishers Weekly for this month. I sorted through my mail and did light office duties. A lot of it was just catching up with law material. I have a lot of looseleafs to file for the law collection. Quite a bit of the new graphic novels have been processed and added. People are already checking them out. Most of the Marvel and DC material has already been checked out. People do not take out as much alternative material.

I went through and made sure that the Job Information Center was in order. We received over a dozen GED (General Equivalency Degree for high school) test preparation books for people we just added today. Already four of them have been taken out by this afternoon. In addition, there were a variety of test preparation books that came in that were added. Things like the Series 7 Stockbroker Exam preparation book and the Commercial Drivers License (CDL) Exam book.

I returned the books and videos I took out for my vacation. A few books were waiting for me to pick up, Acacia by David Anthony Durham and The Public Domain How To Find & Use Copyright-Free Writings, Music, Art & More, 4th Edition by Attorney Stephen Fishman. The Public Domain is printed by Nolo Press which is excellent for laymans guide to the law. It looks quite interesting. There is a seal on the front from Choice magazine which says Outstanding Academic Title. I am going to read this after I finish reading The Other Wind.

I read a bit of The Other Wind on the subway in to work.

I also picked up two films, Fire and Ice produced by Ralph Bakshi and Frank Frazetta, and Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers. Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers has been colorized and includes special effects by Ray Harryhausen.

I am also going to show an old classic baseball film next month, The Jackie Robinson Story starring Jackie Robinson.

Today has been a bit confusing. They did some rearranging of the furniture while I was away on vacation and I am just getting used to it. Also, some of the collection has been rearranged as well. I have to figure out exactly what has been happening. We also now have a bunch of volunteers from the youth bureau. I feel a bit confused.

Vacation

Vacation

I have the week off. Mostly, I am going to practice relaxing this week. I'll look for some entertaining things to do with books, but nothing too work related. This weekend is not going to be too deep. I am reading some more of The Library At Night and plan on reading some more of Goblin Quest. Reading for pleasure should not have a schedule. It should be leisurely and you should be able to go back and forth with what you are reading. Comprehension is not even the goal, the goal is enjoyment.

Some people don't realize it, but you have to practice at being relaxed. It takes a certain amount of concentration to do very little. As an American I am constantly bombarded with the idea of do better, more, faster, smarter. There is a little bell in my head which says produce, produce, produce all of the time. This is really not that good for you. I have to stop myself to make sure I am doing things correctly.

I have no itinerary this week. Maybe, I will go into the city to visit the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art, as well as walk around in a couple of comic book shops, and visit the Strand Bookstore for a short while. I certainly am not going to any conferences this week which is a relief.