Dewey

I must admit, I didn't read this on my own free will. It was a gift from a well intentioned friend ("she likes cats and works in a library so this will be perfect!"). Not my first choice of book purchases but I would collapse with guilt the next time I saw her if I hadn't read it (note: I got this for Christmas and only now getting around to it). Not too impressed. It didn't help that the author gave Dewey human emotions and narrated for him (yes, I'll narrate for an animal, but not in a book--it just sounds so pathetic written down). And it seemed that she was trying to sell me Iowa at the same time. She notes in the introduction, "Let them have the oceans and mountains, their beaches and their ski resorts. I'll take Iowa." Honey, you can keep it.

Look Me in the Eye

This is the first book my husband had me read that I actually liked. Sorry, but KV is just too weird for me. He reads stuff by the author's brother, Augusten Burroughs (Running with Scissors) and was interested that the older brother wrote a book. John Elder has Asperger's but wasn't diagnosed until he was in his 40s. He went around naming the people in his life his own unique names (Augusten was Snort as a baby and Varmint later on), building the most complex machines anyone had seen and being a terrific prankster. The book gives special insight into how people "on the spectrum" think. Good choice, my man.

It's about time, Virginia!

Governor Tim Kaine signed a bill yesterday banning smoking in most restaurants. Florida passed that bill a few years ago and it is wonderful. Getting asked "smoking or non?" was one of the rude awakenings I faced when moving up here. I understand the opponents' arguement of "don't tell me how to run my business" but frankly that doesn't cut it in this case because this is a health thing. Congrats, Virginia! I didn't think it would happen here due to your history and resident mega corporation throwing its weight around. Bravo!

P.S. That article says that Virginia is the first southern state to adopt this ban. I guess Florida really is just considered a territory of New York after all.

How the States Got Their Shapes

This book was very interesting. I remember asking my mom how states' shapes were formed (I got some blow-off answer, I'm sure). This book also contains lots of maps (thankfully), including some with captions like "Connecticut according to Connecticut" and "Connecticut according to New York." Obviously, they disagreed immensely. From reading this I've realized that states as a whole act strikingly similar to the people in their states. Case and point: California. Congress attempted to keep all incoming states the same relative size but with California they were concerned about it becoming its own nation (due to its size and resources). California didn't feel like going through the standard procedure of becoming a territory first (territories can have their borders changed) so they just applied for statehood. They didn't want their nice resources given to some other state (who cares about Nevada, anyway?). So Congress allowed it to come into the Union despite its smugness. Thus officially beginning California's craziness as a state.

The Weekly Geekly--RSS Feeds

I must admit that even though I'm one of these so-called "computer natives" I'm not too impressed with RSS feeds. I set up a Google Reader account but haven't used it since. I know I'm supposed to be in love with all forms of technology but, frankly, I don't see the need of this for me. I read six blogs and use my bookmarks (not even delicious, I know) to go to each one. I know, how horrible: click, click, click. It's exhausting! Maybe if I cared more about blogs and read more of them I would see the value in RSS feeds. But I'm not, so I don't. I also see the people from work that I'm following when I sign into my blog--almost a RSS feed, but simpler. There might be some of kind of value for public libraries to use this stuff once it becomes more refined. Just no value for me.
On a lighter note, here's some of my blogs:
Not Always Right (thank you to whoever bookmarked this on the circ computer!)
Dave Barry's Blog
My Life in a Cube
Early Word (an actual work-related blog--I know)

Blonde Roots

I love the concept of this book: what if Africans had enslaved Europeans instead of vice versa? Oddly enough the author decided to rearrange the world, which I didn't think was necessary (luckily they provide a map or I'd have no idea what was going on). Throughout the book I caught myself picturing the slaves as Africans out of habit. The story goes through the standard slave life events: capture, middle passage, escape, recapture, whippings, field work. It was brutal and hard to read, but quite well worth it.

Oops!

Man hides engagment ring in girlfriend's frosty. Guess what happens from there...

Dave Barry finds the best stuff online.