Graphic Novels
We have a small collection of graphic novels in the adult collection at the library. Graphic novels are kind of like comic books, but with a little something more added. They are illustrated and in some ways look like a comic book, but they are much longer, often not funny in the "ha, ha" sort of way and cover a wide range of issues. One of the earliest graphic novels that I remember seeing was Maus by Art Spiegelman which is part of our young adult collection. I had never read a graphic novel until during my Christmas vacation when I received Persepolis I and II by Marjane Satrapi as a gift. Both books were fascinating and hard to put down. We have both of these books at the library plus Satrapi's latest book Embroideries. In Persepolis I Satrapi writes about growing up in Iran during the 1979 revolution. I found it much more accessible and easy to read than Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi which I almost finished reading last February. For more background on Marjane Satrapi start here:
Powells.com Interviews - Marjane Satrapi
Another Interview
This year we will be making an effort to add more graphic novels in our young adult area and continue to add to the adult collection too. In the young adult area our most popular graphic novels are called manga. We currently have Yu-gi-oh! and YuYu Hakusho plus a few others. We would love to hear from teens about which titles the library should be purchasing.
The Fray over Frey
James Frey's book, A Million Little Pieces has been quite popular here at the library. It became even more popular when it was selected for Oprah's Book Club. Some of you might have heard about the recent controversy surrounding this author's memoir about his drug addiction or you might be scratching your head and wondering why this is such a big deal. Here is a nice list of links if you are curious. This issue brings up all kinds of questions for debate. How much truth is there in a memoir / biography? How much truth is the reader expecting? Is this book still telling the same story as before the controversy?
New Displays
Displays this month at the library include a display in the main entrance commemorating the anniversary of Benjamin Franklin's 300th birthday along with a display of eyeglasses from the office of Dr. Terry Rothstein. In our newspaper and magazine reading section there is a display on the works of Anne River Siddons and a display of books by authors who died or famous people who died in 2005. At the main desk there is a small display of 2005 award winning books which we just cannot keep stocked. We chose books for this display from the National Book Awards, New York Times 10 Best Books of 2005, The Christian Science Monitor Best Nonfiction 2005, Customer's Favorites from Amazon.com, and Publisher's Weekly Best Children's Books of 2005. There are many other best lists available and I found a really nice list at Marin County Free Library's blog.
An Extended Holiday Break
Following an extended break from blogging and a less extended vacation I am back to work. This morning two of our employees took a second large load of food to the Labette County Emergency Assistance Center. This food was gathered as part of our "Food for Fines" program during the month of December. The workers at the center were very pleased to receive more donations as their stock at the food bank was running low. Also, the January - March library newsletter is available for pick-up at the library and will be going online very soon.
