Book Review: American Isis

American Isis : The Life and Art of Sylvia Plath by Carl Rollyson

9780312640248, 0312640242

Hardback / With dust jacket

$29.99 US

Biography & Autobiography / Literary 

336 pages

Plus one 8-page black-and-white photograph insert

I was disappointed in American Isis. I would like to find a biography that might help interested students understand Sylvia Plath and her work. This book is choppy and seems to take a smug attitude toward the subject. The author could have tried to help make sense of a poet who seems well-known but is not; whose work is part of the American experience and yet seems that people know very little about her as a human being. I was really hoping that this title might help people like me, not an English major nor a psychology major, understand Plath. This particular book just confused me more. 

Book Review: The Adventurer's Guide to Living a Happy Life by Matt Mosteller

Paperback: 88 pages
Publisher: Premier Digital Publishing (October 9, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1624670091
ISBN-13: 978-1624670091 (from Amazon.com).

I read with some excitement The Adventurer's Guide to a Happy Life. The problem was, it just didn't deliver. It was like someone took Don't Sweat the Small Stuff and threw in some pretty common observations. I wasn't really looking for a self-help book; rather, I thought perhaps the author would use some of his more interesting experiences to show how they helped him have a happy life. There's no adventure in The Adventurer's Guide, unfortunately. I found myself reading faster and faster, skimming through the book for the juicy bits, only to find that everything was cut-and-dried. It was a disappointment.

I'm looking for a good book...

My niece asked on Facebook for suggestions for reading. Wooo-wee! Where do I start? What does she like? Maybe a little romance, a little vampire, fantasy, action and adventure. She has little kids so nothing that's too close to home. I've read some stories that will make your hair curl. Her hair is fine, don't want to do that to her. Something she can't put down. Now that is going to be hard. Because of course she is going to HAVE to put it down simply because the kids are going to try to get her attention... So it's gotta be something that makes sense if you have to come back to it. She didn't say it had to be fiction, so Krakauer (although that might put a wave in her hair, definitely NOT Into the Wild, but maybe Into Thin Air? Can't put it down but if you had to you could figure it out... There are just so many books and so little time. All of the Alan Bradley (Sweetness at the bottom of the pie and the like) are what Aunt Bea would pick, and all the Mary Russell books (Laurie R. King), and those are good, too. That takes us over to P. D. James and English mystery writers like Dame Agatha (Christie), but that can be a little too particular, and besides she didn't say that she liked mysteries... So. John Green's teen novels (Looking for Alaska, Paper Towns, haven't read the new one but it's supposed to be good) would work but not-put-downable? Not sure about that. I loved Nancy Werlin's The Killer's Cousin. That one's kind of a psychological thriller. Am I warm yet?
I realize with a jolt how much I flippin' miss being in the library discussing books with kids. We had so much fun! It was awesome to see someone go crazy over an author and read everything he wrote. Or a particular genre so much that this guy was an authority on Science Fiction. How amazing to see kids grow and change, and BECOME and find meaning. Books and the people who read them. It's just an amazing drama, and I was privileged to be a tiny part of it. So grateful. Thanks, Kristen. Happy reading!

Phantom Limb Review

 The Phantom Limb by William Sleator and Ann Monticone.
Sleator and Monticone have woven a story out of illusions. Things are not what they seem throughout the book, as is the case with many Sleator books. They begin with Isaac and his interactions with the Fizpatrick twins, who seem to take joy and pride in being as nasty as possible. Then they introduce us to Isaac's optical illusion room. Isaac finds what he calls a "mirror box" in the house in which the family (which consists of mother, grandfather, and Isaac). in researching this box he finds that it is used therapeutically for people with problems resulting from an amputation. He gets to try it out and plays with it to while away the time. Isaac's mom is in the hospital because she has developed seizures, and his grandfather seems to be suffering from dementia.
The story seems plausible given Sleator's penchant for the use of both strong science and eery interactions with what can be seen as supernatural. However, the character development is weak and one wonders whether this title was rushed to print too soon because of Sleator's death. There are unexplained situations, such as why the grandfather seems to get better through the book, why the Fitzgerald twins' (a term I hate because it seems to refer to them as a single entity, when they clearly are not) behavior is so heinous, and why Isaac's mother actually has seizures. Too many loose ends for me.
I enjoyed this book. It is a typical Sleator, and if you are a fan, will give you pleasure to read it.

information seeking

What does it mean for you to have a librarian in your life? Well, it means that if there's something I find that I think you might like to read or be able to use, I will send it to you. You'll have a human "aggregator" who will see things that  might be of use, most probably will be of use, and these will be directed at you personally. So far, this hasn't caused any problem. In fact, some folks like it. I can find things that even academic librarians, who are supposedly better at this than I (or at least that is what human resources people in universities so far have indicated) cannot. I love to be able to link people with the information that they need. It is great to be able to help out, or give people information that will change their life, even if it's to solve a problem. It's not often that I cannot find something. And I will work on it like a Border Collie works sheep. I can't help it. It's like an instinct-- I can't deny it. If you need information, I am willing and able to hook you up. I am so glad I studied this area, because my studies have only made me a better teacher, friend, person, employee. I love to help you help others. It's a kick to see what you make of the information we find. I am excited to research and explore and can hardly help myself. I wanted to share this, because sometimes, after a million rejection letters, it feels good to admit I'm good at what I do. I may not be the world's greatest resume writer, or even interviewee. But I can find stuff. I find it quickly and with as much interest as if it were my own search. That's value-added. Thanks for letting me share in your quest.

Life purpose

When I see these books, etc., that have some secret to how you should live your life, or your life's purpose, I realize that, in order for such a thing to be published, people must choose to be blind. Not blind in the sense that they can't see, but in the sense that they won't see. If you are in your life and you are not liking it, what is it about what you do every day that makes you think it's without meaning? When I was a kid I remember hearing about the "God-called garbage man," who feels that the service he performs has merit and purpose, even though others might not see it that way. Besides, didn't you want to do that jobe (and ride on the side of the truck) when you were a kid?
I think it's the feeling that, if I am not changing the world, then what I do means nothing. Tell that to your friends--"my life has no meaning." They're gonna ask you, "what am I, chopped liver??" You have a life, and it has meaning because you are in it. For those who need more than that, get your head up and look around! It means something because you decided to perceive that it does. Don't believe me? Read William James and his idea that we are living the life we perceive. John Grey's book about "how to want what you have" tries to say that in a different way. Not to say we shouldn't strive for things, but the striving is the point, not the getting. Part of this is our culture and what we are told we should expect. For instance, Amazon now has a "lending library" that allows you to download books to read on the Kindle. You have to be an Amazon Prime subscriber, and it costs you $79.00 a year to be able to borrow books.  But why is it that this revenue model has any traction at all when anyone with a Kindle can borrow books for the Kindle now from the neighborhood library without leaving the comfort of home? Oh yeah, and did I mention that IT'S FREE??? That's what I mean by cultural expectations. It's a mindset, a perception, that needs to be revisited every now and then to make sure it still works for you.
Ok, off the soapbox. Just wanted you all to know that my relationship with you, with myself, and my Higher Power is what gives my life meaning. I get carried away by a false sense of urgency and importance, but in the end it's the relationships we have, I think, that sustain us.

Looking for work

After sitting for comprehensive exams, but before my oral exam, I am whiling away the time by filling out applications for employment in the greater Houston area. Hoo boy! Things have certainly changed. Used to be you could submit your resume and cover letter. But not now. I think answered one question at least twice on every application I submitted. This is in addition to submission of resume and cover letter. It takes hours to do this, and the prospective employer wants to know things that don't seem relevant unless you have an offer on the table. I feel somewhat as though I am being played-- as though the HR department for the places to which I have applied need to have so many people apply to justify their jobs, not for the employers' benefit. I don't always know whether I have done everything perfectly, either, because there is so much information and lots of forms to fill out. I wonder why they need me to fill out information about work history and education when they also want a resume (and it's all in there?!). This redundancy is annoying. I work on a resume that looks great, only to be told to "copy/paste" into their textbox-- which promptly loses all the beautiful formatting and spacing. I guess it's my life lesson of the month: You are not as important as you think you are...