There are 5 Laws of Librarians: 1) Books are to be read. 2) Every person his or her book. 3)Every book its reader. 4) Save the time of the reader. 5) The library is a growing organism.

With these five laws I am soon launched into volume 1 of the Rex Libris comic book collection by James Turner. This collection contains the first five chapters, with roughly 32 pages per chapter. I think I derived the most humor from this book just by being a librarian and understand the painstakingly difficult patrons with overdue books and fees. Although this series takes it to an utmost extreme when in the first few pages librarian Rex Libris must deal with an unruly patron, a demon-spirit Samuri.

With cunning, sarcasm, and plenty of research skills, Rex is able to learn how to defeat all the various enemies he faces. The writing is intelligent, although maybe littered with a few too many scientific terminology that sometimes takes away from the plot.

The story is still in its developing stages, so there is really only character introduction in the volume 1. We are introduced to Rex Libris (The Librarian) Circe (a 2000 year old retired witch, now librarian) Simon (Once tried to conquer the world and has since been turned into a bird by Circe) and Hypatia (a newcomer), and the Administrator (the boss). This collection of librarian super-powers work in the Middleton Public Library, which apparently rest on a ley of mystical power, thus enhancing the appearance of fictional characters that can be seen by library patrons. Filtered throughout the story are many library idioms (aways see a librarian before heading out into the stacks, always return your books or we will come after you, etc).

I’m curious to know what the appeal of this book is for non-library workers. I think Rex Libris may become one of the coolest librarians since the advent of Giles some ten years back.

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A scathing title to match a likewise scathing account of one man (Pat Carroll) and his multi-year custody battle with wife Jeanine. Although promoted as a look into a biased legal system concerning divorces and custody battles, this book stands as little more than a tirade against the mother Jeanine. Despite Jeanine’s neurosis that Pat carefully details, there is little to be said for the children. We know that Pat and Jeanine have 6 children, one of whom is bitten by a bat and later dies of rabies. Otherwise, the children seem inconsequential as Jeanine is the major focus of this book. There was also no in depth report of the legal system, just the fact that Pat was dealing with unfit lawyers. The book is written by Pat and Jeanine’s brother Jack McGowan. While it is incredibly tragic that a child died in the hands of an unfit mother and little was done about it, too many questions ran through my head when hearing of Jeanine’s episodes. Why was Child Services not called earlier and more frequently? Why were there no police reports filed? I think I am lucky enough to have a sister with a law degree to help me be aware of some of the more preventative measures for cases such as these, but for the any-man whom this book is aimed at, its not so clear. Most people can’t afford the “best lawyers” and therefore do not see the better side of the legal system.

In this book we see the start of the family, as well as its its ultimate demise at the hands of Jeanine. While Pat does not paint himself to be a saint, Jeanine’s imperfections are clearly detailed. The legal system in their situation was incredibly slow moving, as it took years after the death of their youngest child before Pat was able to attend a courtroom hearing to attempt to win full custody of his children.

Although what happened to young Shannon Carroll is incredibly tragic, this book is a very bitter and biased account of the events. It is a quick read (I read it cover to cover while waiting at the car dealership for my car to be serviced). The authors have also launched a very morbid website with no valid statistics, nor useful information for any fathers struggling through a custody battle. This book is not the best transition to contemporary work from the historical accounts I’ve been reading lately regarding political unrest in Latin American. Although that may account for my somewhat harsh review of this book, this is still not a book that I would recommend.

Ernest “Che” Guevara is best known for his political activism in Cuba during the early 1950s and 60s. More recently, his youth and perceptive observations have gained more popularity with the book and movie release of The Motorcycle Diaries.

This collection of journal entries from Che’s journey through South America with his friend Alberto on La Poderosa II is an insightful look into South America and its poverty stricken habitants. Che’s hypnotic descriptive writing is incredibly insightful despite his young age (he was 23 when he set out on this year long road trip). It begins with about 30 pages of introductions from Che’s daughter, maps of the road trip as well as analysis of Che’s trip. These introductions help develop a frame of mind when reading Che’s notes by placing this trip in a context with which the reader can understand.

Che was studying to be a doctor, and had just finished taking his exams when he set off on the trip. He stopped in many leprosy colonies, helping when he could. He and Alberto had many adventures and misfortunes in their travels, hitchhiking when La Poderosa II finally gave out, relying on the hospitality of the community to provide food and shelter then the two men ran out of resources. Sometimes the stories seem the same in each country and city he would visit, but I suppose that reflects something of the nature of Latin American life during that time. Its obvious this cross-country journey planted the seed of Che’s future political career as a revolutionary in Cuba, and from reading his notes, you can’t help but agree with his ideals and beliefs.

Che’s work is filled with moments of humor, such as attempted to cross the desert by foot. Che writes “Until what point our actions were “heroic,” as one policeman put it, we’re not sure, but we began to suspect, I think with good reason, that the definitive adjective was approximating something more like “stupid.”"(p82). There were also moments of real consideration and understanding of human suffering because of poverty and ill-effective governments. “…individuals in poor families who can’t pay their way become surrounded by an atmosphere of barely disguised acrimony; they stop being father, mother, sister or brother and become a purely negative factor in the struggle for life and consequently, a source of bitterness for the healthy members of the community…” (p70). He alternates between these two moods, and sometimes throwing in awe, as when describing the city of Cuzco. We see the world through his eyes in this selection and in a way, you can almost visualize what he sees when he writes with passion and colorful language.

This particular copy also contains 12 pages of photographs from Che’s and Alberto’s trip, as well as a transcript of a speech Che gave to a group of medical students in Cuba almost 8 years after this trip. I am hoping to rent the movie starring Gael Garcia Bernal and Rodrigo de la Serna and compare that with the book sometime this week.

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I’ve recently joined in on the Weekly Geek challenges hosted by The Hidden Side of A Leaf who also hosted this past Saturday’s 24 hour Read-A-Thon which I wasn’t able to participate in. Based on Devourer of Books Blog it sounds like the marathon was pretty fun and active. Each hour prizes were awarded for minor challenges in addition to all the reading.

Weekly Geek sounds like a fun way to organize my blog. As each week a new theme is announced I can plan my weekly reading or updating around.

This week’s theme is challenges.

The Rules:

1. If you participate in any challenges, get organized! Update your lists, post about any you haven’t mentioned, add links of reviews to your lists if you do that, go to the challenge blog if there is one and post there, etc.

2. If you don’t participate in any challenges, then join one! There’s a good selection of possibilities over on my right hand sidebar (scroll down) where I list those I participate in. There’s also A Novel Challenge, a blog that keeps track of all sorts of reading challenges.

3. Towards the end of the week, write a wrap-up post about getting your challenges organized OR if you’re joining your first challenge, post about that any time during the week. Once you have your post up, come back and sign Mr Linky with the link to the specific post, not just to your blog.

So, as stipulated in the Weekly Geek rules, I will have my first Weekly Geek wrap-up posted on Saturday.

Jullia Alvarez’s beautifully written and engrossing novel In The Time of the Butterflies, is based on the true of events that occurred in the Dominican Republic during the 1960’s. During the final days of the Trujillo dictatorship, three sisters and their driver were ambushed on their way back from home from visiting their jailed husbands. These sisters had been part of an underground movement to overthrow Trujillo and bring freedom back to the people of the Dominican Republic. In their death, these women, known as the Mariposas (the Butterflies) were martyred and became legendary creatures in this country.

While researching and writing this book, Alvarez fictionalized the events and characters, while still keeping true to the spirit of the women during this time. Although the three sisters, Patria, Minerva and Maria Teresa were murdered, their fourth sister, Dede and their mother lived to tell the tale. The novel is written primarily through the eyes of Dede, and also from the journal of Maria Teresa as well as narratives from Patria and Minerva. This method fills in the gaps and provides explanations for the changes occurring in the sisters as well as highlighting their strong unity as a family.

The novel tracks the lives of the sisters under the Trujillo dictatorship from their childhood well into their adulthood. We see the girls fall in love, fall out of love, fight against the dictator, sent to jail, and raise their own families. The novel is quickly paced and Alvazez does not linger too much on description, focusing more on the plot. She adds a sense of humanity to these women. While they are strong and symbols of freedom for this country, they are still human with vulnerabilities.

Each narrative is delicately interwoven, where you will see the same scene through a couple of different eyes, overhear the change the conversations but in a different context. In some chapters you are deaf as to what is going with the revolution and in others you are right in the center of the action. Each sister has an identity all her own, and I really admire Alvarez’s ability to do so with the sisters. There were moments in this book where I wanted to cry, I wanted to scream at the injustice of the government, of the inability of change and at the overarching dominance of Trujillo into the everyday lives of the people.

This is a fantastic novel, i really recommend this book.

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Other works by the author:

How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents

Before We Were Free

Cuando Tia Lola Vino (de visita) a Quedarse

Once Upon a Quinceanera: Coming of Age in the USA

Finding Miracles

Saving The World

In The Name of Salome

The Other Side

Homecoming

Yo!

Something To Declare

I promise I will have a book review up by Friday. I’ve been very engrossed in the book I’m reading right now, and I keep delaying reading it, because I don’t want to find out what happens, even though I’m told in the first two pages of the book! That’s a sign of good writing.

This week has been pretty hectic for me since I started my new job at the library branch. There has been quite a bit of training, but I love every second of it. Its an amazing feeling helping someone find the books they are looking for, working on programming to help enlighten and empower the residents of a somewhat poor neighborhood. The library patrons have so far been very understanding with my bubbling around, trying to find out the answers to seemingly routine questions. No troublesome teens, but I think that may pick up when school starts up again in September. Either way, I’m happy where I am. Now I need to start thinking of some original programming I can do on my own. So far, I’m just tagging along with the current set of programs, but I really should start something constant. Maybe in a month or so, when I get a better feel for the patron needs. I’ve so far been put in charge of the upkeep of the entire Nonfiction and Sci-Fi/Fantasy sections of library, making sure everything is up-to-date and being read. Sci-Fi sections tend to get neglected in most libraries since sci-fi readers tend to buy rather than borrow those books. I think its because the books are written in series and its just easier to keep up wit the latest in the series by just buying it.

This is very disheartening for the Bay Area. The SF Chronicle reports that Cody’s Bookstore, the treasured and somewhat legendary literary landmark in the Bay Area is shutting its doors due to lagging sales.

“Cody’s was something of a symbol in Berkeley, a witness to and supporter of the Free Speech Movement of the 1960s, a well-stocked cornerstone of literacy for the thousands of students and faculty patrons from nearby UC Berkeley and a practitioner, in its own right, of free-speech principles.”

I’ve seen many a great author hold reading at this bookstore, and my best friend and I would always wander around the store of a few hours every time I went to visit her at UC Berkeley.

You can read the full article below the link.

(06-22) 17:13 PDT Berkeley — Cody’s Books, the legendary Berkeley
bookstore that catered to literati nationwide for more than half a century
and was firebombed in the 1980s because of its support of the First
Amendment, has closed its doors, the victim of lagging sales.
The bookstore, which in recent years had closed its flagship store on
Telegraph Avenue and its branches in San Francisco and on Berkeley’s
Fourth Street, finally settling in early April in one store on Shattuck
Avenue, shuttered that store Friday.
Calling it “a heartbreaking moment,” Cody’s owner, Hiroshi Kagawa of the
Japanese firm IBC Publishing, said in a statement, “unfortunately, my
current business is not strong enough or rich enough to support Cody’s.”
“Cody’s is my treasure and more than that, Cody’s is a real friend of
(the) Berkeley community and will be missed,” Kagawa said.
Pat Cody, one of the store’s co-founders, said the closing “makes me very
sad. We worked so hard and we put so much into it, and it meant a lot to
the community. It’s a big loss.”
The death knell was sounded a few months ago, when the rent on Cody’s
store on Fourth Street was nearly tripled, according to general manager
Mindy Galoob, “so we moved really fast over to Shattuck. We were hopeful
it would work out. We had downsized our staff and had a smaller
inventory.” But sales “were not anywhere near what was needed.”
Andy Ross, who owned the store from 1977 until mid-2006, when he sold it
to Kagawa, said Sunday about the closing, “It’s no mystery - what’s
happened to Cody’s is what has happened to independent stores for many
years. People are going somewhere else (for books). A lot of people like
the allure of the Internet or chain stores. And a lot of people don’t
read.”
Ross said that “when Cody’s was doing quite well, independent stores had
40 to 50 percent of the market. Now they’re down to about 3 percent of the
market. In the late 1980s and into 1990, on a good Saturday Cody’s on
Telegraph Avenue would do $30,000 in business. More recently, a typical
Saturday would bring $10,000 worth. The business declined by two-thirds.
Costs were up, and sales were down.”
More than just dollars and cents, however, Cody’s was something of a
symbol in Berkeley, a witness to and supporter of the Free Speech Movement
of the 1960s, a well-stocked cornerstone of literacy for the thousands of
students and faculty patrons from nearby UC Berkeley and a practitioner,
in its own right, of free-speech principles.
In February 1989, Cody’s was firebombed, and an unexploded pipe bomb was
later found inside the store. This all happened shortly after the store
had prominently displayed Salman Rushdie’s “The Satanic Verses” at a time
when many in the Muslim world were outraged by Rushdie’s novel, and the
author had to go into hiding because of threats on his life.
It was never conclusively proven that Cody’s was bombed specifically
because of its display of Rushdie’s book, but Ross said Sunday that
threats to Rushdie and to bookstores that stocked it were taken so
seriously that he had to call a meeting of his staff to discuss whether to
display the book.
“The whole staff voted unanimously to sell the book,” Ross said. “The
workers were not getting rich off this store, but were willing to risk
their lives for an idea. It was the moment I was most proud of.”
It was also a store that brought authors from around the world, including
Nobel laureates and Pulitzer Prize winners, to read their works to
audiences who gathered at the Telegraph Avenue store.
One local Pulitzer Prize winner, Berkeley author Michael Chabon, said of
Cody’s closing, “I think it’s a terrible shame. It was a wonderful
bookstore. It’s painful, sort of like watching someone suffering from a
chronic illness painfully and slowly die. (Cody’s was) part of the fabric
of Berkeley, the social fabric and commercial fabric.”
Asked if Cody’s might some day reopen, in the same manner as Kepler’s, the
Menlo Park bookstore that abruptly closed in August 2005, and then was
resurrected two months later with help from the local community, Galoob
said, “We’re open to miracles happening, but I don’t think there are plans
to find a buyer. Of course, if somebody has an extra million, please send
it along. I’ll be sure to take them to lunch.”
She paused for a moment, then said, “it’s pretty much done.” Milestones in
the life of Cody’s Books
July 9, 1956: The store is founded by Fred and Pat Cody in a small shop on
Euclid Avenue, near the UC Berkeley campus.
November 1960: Cody’s moves to larger quarters on the 2400 block of
Telegraph Avenue.
December 1965: Cody’s moves to the big store farther up the block to the
store that became its most famous locale.
July 9, 1977: Andy Ross buys Cody’s.
July 9, 1983: Fred Cody dies.
February 1989: the store is firebombed during the controversy over Salman
Rushdie’s book “The Satanic Verses.”
November 1997: A branch of Cody’s is opened on Fourth Street in Berkeley.
September 2005: Another Cody’s branch opens on Stockton Street in San
Francisco.
July 10, 2006: The flagship store on Telegraph Avenue closes.
September 2006: Andy Ross sells Cody’s to a Japanese firm.
April 2007: The San Francisco branch closes.
March 2008: Berkeley’s Fourth Street branch closes.
April 1, 2008: Cody’s opens its only remaining store, on Shattuck Avenue
in Berkeley.
June 20, 2008: Cody’s Books closes.

E-mail Michael Taylor at mtaylor@sfchronicle.com. ——————————

Live Your Road Trip Dream by Phil and Carol White is a comprehensive, detailed and well organized reference source for anyone interested in taking a year long road trip. The book is broken into two parts. Part 1 discusses all the logistics of planning a trip of this nature. Part 2 provides a week by week summary of the year long trip by the Whites, which inspired this book.

The book began with a very slow start. I immediately sensed that the target audience for this book is the upper class soon-to-retire age group. Once I read past chapter three, the advice and tips became applicable for a wide range of vacation plans for all ages, not just extended trips.

Part one covers every detail that needs to be considered before leaving for an extended trip. Bills, family obligations, cars, health plans, etc. The White provide valuable tips and suggestions to make the transition easier, from selling the house, to renting or just leasing the house for the duration of the trip. Most high school graduates usually don’t have major expenses of obligations and will not need to take extensive measures for their trip, but parents and/or grandparents will have more to consider. Other valuable tips include budgeting strategies as well as vehicle selection (the Whites chose a modest 19 foot RV for their travels).

At the end of the book there is a Traveler’s Resource List which provides websites as well as worksheets for budgeting, itineraries and other maintenance issues. My boyfriend’s parents travel a lot in their RV, they go on weekend long trips and sometimes month long trips, and I think this book would be a perfect addition to their collection of resources. The advice is practical and universal whatever your specific trip purpose may be.

You can also check out their website www.roadtripdream.com for more information, and pictures of the White’s road trip.

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At first look, this book seems quite a daunting read for children. It is short and fat, at over 500 pages of a beautifully written story about one of France’s most legendary filmmakers, Georges Méliès. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick is a uniquely creative book about a fictional account of Méliès’ life after retiring from the film industry.

Although this book is over 500 pages, 284 of these pages include illustrations, which take over the storyline. The phrase, a picture is worth a thousand words, is more than applicable to this book. I would place the age group for this book at ages 8 and up. Some of the text fills up the entire page, sometimes only 4 lines and occasionally only 1 line of the page. The illustrations pick up the more complicated parts of the story, showing rather than the telling the adventures of Hugo Cabret, the twelve year old nephew to the Timekeeper at a Paris Metro station in 1931.

The pictures vary from charcoal images, to photographic prints of early cinema. This book is a fantastic introduction to early cinema, starting with A Trip To The Moon.

So, now to explain the plot. This is the story of Hugo Cabret and an automaton he found in the rubble of a museum consumed by fire. It was in the attic of this same museum where Hugo tragically lost his father. Hugo was then taken by his uncle to work as an apprentice to the Clock Keeper at the metro, until his uncle one day disappeared. Hugo, still continuing the work left behind by his uncle survived by living a quiet life, stealing food and drink when necessary, and occasionally toys from the toy store. It was at this toy store when he was one day caught and had a most treasured notebook taken from him by the shopkeeper.

With mysterious meetings with Isabelle, a young orphan living with the shopkeeper and his life, Hugo slowly begins to piece together puzzles from his life while working for the shopkeeper, and working on the automaton. This automaton is special, because it is in the shape of a man sitting a desk, pen in hand, ready to deliver a message that will forever alter Hugo’s future.

Although it is a very quick read due to the limited amount of text, I spent a lot of time with the illustrations, and reading the story through the eyes of the artist. This work is part story, part graphic novel, part movie picture book. The story is rich with symbolism and metaphors and the story is an exciting Cinderella tale for young boys.

A Trip to the Moon on YouTube: Georges Melies - A trip to the moon (1902)

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