As soon as I got into this book, I said to myself, ”Have I ever even read A Wrinkle in Time?” I remember the act of reading it, but this graphic novel isn’t what I remember. I guess I just pictured it differently in my head. I enjoyed it, anyway. For me, graphic novels are like watching TV when I don’t want to watch TV – giving me the pictures along with the words takes all of the work out of reading. And there’s the fewer words to read, allowing me to get through these quickly. That said, I don’t read many graphic novels at all. I went through my manga phase (do those count?) several years ago, and since then, I’ve generally stuck to relatively picture-free books. There are, of course, exceptions. And hey, this one’s even a kids’ book. I don’t read too many of those, either.

I’m not going through the whole story because I assume you’re over the age of 10, and I’m pretty sure the gods don’t let you pass that age without reading A Wrinkle in Time. Or maybe they do these days: book literacy seems secondary to computer literacy. So it goes. Anyway, a guy who works on some secret project for the government disappears, and two of his kids and one of their friends search for him, befriending three old, time-traveling ladies on the way.  They end up in a dystopian world where everyone is exactly the same and there’s no free will. Then Things Happen.

I’d forgotten so much about this book. Like how super-Christian it is, Bible quotes and all. I guess that’s a product of the time in which it was written? And I remembered them getting to the dystopian city where everyone is the same, but I didn’t remember what came after that at all like Hope Larson depicted it. That’s not to say it wasn’t well done or that I didn’t like it, because I did. The artwork is really nicely done:

If you haven’t read the actual novel, check out a copy because it’s totally worth it. If you have, take a look at this graphic novel version. It’s fun and fast, and I, at least, was entertained the whole time.

I’m not sure why I picked up Iris Murdoch‘s The Bell, especially since her first novel, Under the Net, which has been on my list for months, was sitting right on my coffee table. I really have no idea. I’m definitely a fan, though: I first hear of her from the movie Iris, which is about her life. She seemed like an interesting character. I stumbled upon her again, at some point, and bought and read an old library copy of The Unicorn, but that was a long time ago (before I started writing this blog!). I really liked The Unicorn, by the way.

Anyway, I somehow started reading The Bell (which I also own but don’t know how or why), and I was instantly hooked. It’s just so good. It was one of those of which I enjoy every single page – which is why I guess I finished it so quickly.

It’s about a lay religious community that lives next to a comment. Dora Greenfield, who had left her husband, Paul, decides to return to him, but he is researching old documents at the convent, so they stay with the community for a time. It’s tense, as I’m sure you can imagine. Many years before, the convent had lost its bell, and a new one is about to be installed, and Things Happen because of that, too. The community’s leader, Michael, has his own problems: he’s gay, in an Anglican religious community, probably in the 1950s, and his former student with whom he had had a relationship has come to live there. That’s tense, too, to say the least. And there are other characters with their own issues, which interweave with these two primary ones. It’s a mess.

I think I liked The Bell so much because I identified with a lot of the characters. Their actions and motivations seemed not necessarily right, but reasonable, to me, under the difficult circumstances. Or at least I understood why they did what they did. Murdoch weaves together the story and creates such full characters and setting that I was engrossed. Murdoch is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

Bonus: Here’s the trailer for Iris!

I’ve gone back and forth on whether to give Something Wicked This Way Comes four or five stars on Goodreads. Not that it’s a really important decision. What made me think so much about it is how corny it is, especially at the end, though that corniness is part of its charm, why it’s so good. Which is why I decided on five stars.

Anyway. I first read this book when I was 14, or so, the same age as the protagonists. I had just moved to New Orleans and just started high school, and I was right in the middle of that awkward teenager phase. I totally understood this book from the Will and Jim’s perspective. I’m so glad I read it then so I could come back as an adult to read it again. It’s told from a nostalgic point of view, by an adult. Now I understand that end, too, and I like it all the more.

It’s about two young teenagers, Will Halloway and Jim Nightshade, and Will’s dad, Charles. Will is content to let his life go on as it is, as it should, but Jim can’t wait to grow up and hit twenty. Charles, who is fifty, would like to be younger so he can relate better to his son. Everyone in town wants something he or she isn’t supposed to have. Then a carnival appears overnight, late in the year for one. And it’s not an ordinary carnival: something’s off. Jim and Will visit one night and stick around afterward. They get into trouble when they see a carousel that’s somehow magic. Mr. Dark and Mr. Cooger, the carnival’s owners, seem to be after them, and strange things start happening all over town.

So I’ve already said that I like this book, and I think I’m lucky to have read it twice like I did. It really is good: just keep in mind that it’s supposed to be a little corny. Isn’t most nostalgia somehow corny? If you’ve read it before and it’s been a few years, pick it up again. If you know a teenager, suggest this one, as it’s really worth reading. And it’s a nice, fast read, which I needed after A Game of Thrones and before the inevitable A Clash of Kings. Next, I think I’ll relive another chunk of my childhood with The Catcher in the Rye.

Well, that took forever. Three weeks, give or take a couple days. I could have done it faster (my friends who’ve read it say they sped right through it), but I just couldn’t read more than 25 or 30 pages of A Game of Thrones at a time. That’s not to say it’s bad – I thoroughly enjoyed it - it’s just long. Really, really long. I know, I know. Some of my favorite books are long. It’s just that when I’m trying to make it to 50 in a year, something that takes three weeks to finish messes with my schedule.

ANYWAY. You probably know all about A Game of Thrones whether from the books or the HBO series. Everyone else seems to, which is why I broke down and took it off of my tl;dr list, where it had rested comfortably for a year, or so.

The plot is so convoluted that I’m not really going to try to summarize this one. In general, it’s about warring lords wanting to claim a kingdom. They even say “game of thrones” several times in the book. It’s like a big chess game. What’s fun, though, is that it’s not always predictable. You become comfortable with a character, and zing! he or she is dead. Also: there are about ten thousand characters, and I don’t think that’s much of an overstatement. I’m really surprised I didn’t spend half my time confused about what was going on. I have to give George R.R. Martin credit for that because it’s a feat. Oh. And don’t expect this book to do anything but make you want to read the rest of them. The end is not really an end – it’s a big ol' cliffhanger. I just want to read the next book, and I know that I don’t have time right now, and that’s frustrating. I’m tempted to read a bunch of graphic novels to catch up, then dive back into the series, but I’m holding off.

So here’s the point: It’s good and epic, but don’t get sucked into it if you don’t want to finish it.

I haven’t seen the TV series, but someone told me that if I’m going to watch and read it, I should watch it first because I’ll be mad if I read it first. Okay, I have seen the first hour, or so, of the series, but I didn’t have the patience for it, and I’m not planning on watching the rest anytime soon. The books, though, I don’t think I’ll be able to stay away from because I just can’t help myself.

Eric was exactly what I needed after the torture that was Kafka‘s Amerika. A Terry Pratchett novel is always funny and enjoyable – and in this case, a relief. I had no idea where to go after Amerika. I wanted to take a break from books. I knew that if I did that, though, my goal of reading 50 this year would crumble. And there was the next Discworld novel waiting patiently on my Kindle. Eric is the 9th of 40 (so far), and it’s (also so far) my favorite. I loved Eric. I even had a Neverending Story-style lunch in my office to finish it. PB&J and the works! Oh, it was so good.

It’s the third Rincewind novel, meaning that it stars a mischievous wizard of that name. After the last one, he ended up in the realm of the demons, and he wanted to get back to the (more) real world of Ankh-Morpork. Turns out, though, that his ticket in is a demon circle opened by a 13-year-old kid named Eric, who has Faustian dreams. He is convinced that Rincewind is a demon and, if Eric signs his soul over, that supposed demon will grant him three wishes: live forever, meet the most beautiful woman in the world, rule the world. Except when Rincewind snaps his fingers, it works, and they visit the Mayans, the Trojan War, and Dante’s version of Hell. And it’s so much fun!

I can always rely on Discworld novel for a chuckle or twelve, and Eric certainly didn’t disappoint. This is an especially short one, too, so I finished it within 24 hours, which is an exception for me. One good thing about the Discworld novels is that you don’t have to start at the beginning and work your way through: though they’re all interconnected, you can pick any one of them up and enjoy it. If you haven’t read any of them yet, I’d say Eric is a good starting place.

Check it out!

Whether you’re love sick, or sick of love, hopefully you’ve had the pleasure of laughing, crying or sighing over some sappy sweet book, or some ridiculous tale of love and adventure. I’m the Teen Coordinator and also a veteran storyteller, so Valentine’s Day books have crossed my desk and most of them are so sappy that my appetite for chocolate leaves by page three.   The most successful books for Valentine’s Day stories, in my experience, are funny unpredictable and only a little sweet. Books that subversively or subliminally infuse self confidence in a young reader are my favorite. I won’t mention my favorite YA love story here…. Please consider the following books if you want to give your Valentine’s Day a twist this year.

This list is for pre-K through Elementary!

I Loathe You written and illustrated by David Slonim If you love the Sam McBratney classic Guess How Much I Love You, it will be easy to see the humor of this book. Big Monster loathes so much about Little Monster- more than chicken pox, mosquito bites, and fuzzy mold on cheese. And this is a good thing! Monsters loathe instead of love. All of these declarations are in a couplet rhyme scheme that encourages the listener to predict the next word. The water color illustrations are adorably expressive. It’s never been so good to be loathed. (Pre-K- First Grade)

By now, most Americans have heard of Downton Abbey, featuring the razor sharp wit of Maggie Smith, but there are many other BBC shows that deserve some recognition. If you enjoy the glittering evening gowns and the lush landscapes of Downtown Abbey, the revival of Upstairs, Downstairs may be right up your ally. The original Upstairs, Downstairs ran five seasons, from 1971 to 1975. Like Downton, the series focuses on the lives of residents at 165 Eaton Place: the servants downstairs and the family, upstairs. If you aren’t quite ready to devote yourself to the entire 1970’s series, there is a new version of Upstairs, Downstairs that began in 2010 (Season One and Season Two) that incorporates elements of the old season, but can be viewed independently without causing the viewer any confusion. Personally, I started with the new Lyn Euros version and now want to go back and watch the original series. On a side note, if you really can’t get enough of the English aristocracy of Downton Abbey, try reading Snobs, written by Julian Fellowes, writer and creator of Downton.

“I know it’s only rock ‘n’ roll, but I like it, like it, yes I do!”

The Rolling Stones, arguably the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band of all time, recently celebrated their 50^th anniversary. To commemorate this occasion they released GRRR! in November 2012.

My dad was a huge fan of The Rolling Stones. He still talks about listening to them and Jimi Hendrix on his transistor radio in Plain Dealing, LA back in the 1960’s. He was lucky enough to see The Stones when they played the Hirsch Youth Center in 1965. Man, I wish I could have been there with him!     

GRRR! contains 40 of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll songs of all time. My personal favorites include “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”, “Honky Tonk Women”, and “Beast of Burden”. If you are like me, sometimes you need that cheesy/gritty type of music that The Stones are simply the best at. I cannot listen to the opening chords of “Tumbling Dice” without wondering how Keith Richards is capable of making a guitar sound like melting butter. These songs are that good!

GRRR! was released in numerous formats. You can check out the two-disc version from Shreve Memorial Library.

You might also enjoy these selections:

• Eric Clapton – Slowhand
• Yardbirds – Greatest Hits, Volume 1, 1964-1966
• Faces – Five Guys Walk Into a Bar

 Artist: Josh Ritter

 Title: The Beast in Its Tracks

Pytheas Recordings, March 2013

“I can’t pretend that all is well.  It’s like I’m haunted by a ghost.  There are times I cannot speak your name for the catching in my throat.  There are things I will not sing for the sting of sour notes.”  - Josh Ritter, "New Lover" 

The Beast in Its Tracks serves as singer-songwriter Josh Ritter’s response to his divorce from musician, Dawn Landes.  Ritter displays humor, anger, and warmth as he honestly processes his experiences and emotions through song. The result is an extremely intimate and rewarding album.

I was first introduced to Josh Ritter’s music by checking out one of his CDs from the library. Luckily, Shreve Memorial Library now offers three opportunities to explore the music of Josh Ritter. The Beast in Its Tracks and 2010’s So Runs the World Away are available for checkout. My favorite tracks from these albums include “New Lover” and “Joy to You Baby” from The Beast in Its Tracks and “The Curse” (possibly the greatest love song between an archaeologist and a mummy that you will ever hear) from So Runs the World Away. You can also download 2007’s The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter from SML’s new music service – Freegal.

Josh Ritter and The Royal City Band will be performing in Baton Rouge on Sunday, June 30th and New Orleans on Monday, July 1st.    

 Title: The Magic Door

Silver Arrow/Megaforce Records, September 2012

The Magic Door is the second release from The Chris Robinson Brotherhood. Formed in 2011, CRB consists of Chris Robinson (The Black Crowes), Neal Casal (Ryan Adams & The Cardinals), Adam MacDougall (The Black Crowes), George Sluppick, and Mark Dutton.

I have been a fan of The Black Crowes since their debut album, Shake Your Moneymaker, was released in 1990. As a matter of fact, their February 1993 concert at the Municipal Auditorium had a huge impact on me and strongly influenced my love of music. Needless to say, I was very excited to find this gem from CRB available at the library.

The Magic Door is a jam-heavy set of psychedelic/countrified roots music that I just can’t take out of my stereo. This album grabbed me from the opening cover of Hank Ballard and The Midnighters’ 1960 classic, “Let’s Go, Let’s Go, Let’s Go” through the closing Grateful Deadish “Wheel Don’t Roll”.

Admittedly, I do not listen to the music of The Black Crowes or the side projects of Chris Robinson as much as I used to. However, I’m glad to see one of my favorite musicians of all time making some of the most inventive and inspired music of his 20+ year career.  

The Magic Door is available at the Main, Hollywood/Union, and Mooretown locations of Shreve Memorial Library.

Fans of this album should also check out the following titles from the library:

• The Grateful Dead – Europe ’72 (available at Main)
• Ryan Adams – Easy Tiger (available at Hamilton/South Caddo and West Shreveport)
• The Allman Brothers Band – Live at the Atlanta International Pop Festival (available at Cedar Grove/Line Avenue)

 Enjoy!

Artist: Black Prairie

Title: A Tear in the Eye is a Wound in the Heart

Sugar Hill, 2012

A Tear in the Eye is a Wound in the Heart is the current release from Portland, Oregon’s Black Prairie.

Black Prairie is comprised of 3/5 of The Decemberists (Chris Funk, Nate Query, and Jenny Conlee) along with Jon Neufield and Annalisa Tornfelt.  Shreve Memorial Library offers three albums from The Decemberists in case you are not familiar with their music.  However, Black Prairie is a completely different band and sound. 

Americana-fusion is how I would best describe this album. Mixing elements of bluegrass, jazz, klezmer, and folk, the originality of Black Prairie is both refreshing and creative. Acoustic guitar, dobro, accordion, and violin comprise most of the instrumentation heard throughout the album, and the playing is phenomenal! Each and every instrument shines throughout. My personal favorite is the violin and vocal performance of Tornfelt.

I immediately knew I would enjoy this album when I saw the song title “For the Love of John Hartford”. Sure enough, this instrumental named for the late, great master of Americana music is a perfect tribute. Another song entitled “Richard Manuel” respectfully pays homage to the late multi-instrumentalist of The Band.

You can find this album at the Belcher, Cedar Grove/Line Avenue, and Main libraries. Check it out or place a hold today.

It’s National Train Day and the Shreve Memorial Library's Main Branch has planned a locomotive adventure! Scott Gerardy of Dirtfoot  and Kern Courtney will perform train songs by Woody Guthrie and various others  in the Eaves room at 10:00 a.m.  Following this sing along concert will be crafting, train stories with Dr. Spaghetti, and refreshments. This is a family focused, all ages event.

This event is occuring in conjunction with Downtown's Railroad Past tour courtesy of the DDA.

Welcome to the pilot version of Big Library Read^™! This is an opportunity to unite readers – and loyal library supporters – all over the world around a single eBook. Together with Sourcebooks, the leading independent publisher, OverDrive and your library are providing a compelling novel for all to read – with a valid library card, of course.

This pilot runs from May 15–June 1, 2013, and during that time the Big Library Read will be available to enjoy on all major devices, including Kindle^® (US only) and iPad^®, as well as in the browser via OverDrive Read^™.

It’s National Train Day and the Shreve Memorial Library's Main Branch has planned a locomotive adventure! Scott Gerardy of Dirtfoot  and Kern Courtney will perform train songs by Woody Guthrie and various others  in the Eaves room at 10:00 a.m.  Following this sing along concert will be crafting, train stories with Dr. Spaghetti, and refreshments. This is a family focused, all ages event.

This event is occuring in conjunction with Downtown's Railroad Past tour courtesy of the DDA.

I’m not sure why I picked up Iris Murdoch‘s The Bell, especially since her first novel, Under the Net, which has been on my list for months, was sitting right on my coffee table. I really have no idea. I’m definitely a fan, though: I first hear of her from the movie Iris, which is about her life. She seemed like an interesting character. I stumbled upon her again, at some point, and bought and read an old library copy of The Unicorn, but that was a long time ago (before I started writing this blog!). I really liked The Unicorn, by the way.

Anyway, I somehow started reading The Bell (which I also own but don’t know how or why), and I was instantly hooked. It’s just so good. It was one of those of which I enjoy every single page – which is why I guess I finished it so quickly.

It’s about a lay religious community that lives next to a comment. Dora Greenfield, who had left her husband, Paul, decides to return to him, but he is researching old documents at the convent, so they stay with the community for a time. It’s tense, as I’m sure you can imagine. Many years before, the convent had lost its bell, and a new one is about to be installed, and Things Happen because of that, too. The community’s leader, Michael, has his own problems: he’s gay, in an Anglican religious community, probably in the 1950s, and his former student with whom he had had a relationship has come to live there. That’s tense, too, to say the least. And there are other characters with their own issues, which interweave with these two primary ones. It’s a mess.

I think I liked The Bell so much because I identified with a lot of the characters. Their actions and motivations seemed not necessarily right, but reasonable, to me, under the difficult circumstances. Or at least I understood why they did what they did. Murdoch weaves together the story and creates such full characters and setting that I was engrossed. Murdoch is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

Bonus: Here’s the trailer for Iris!

“At first the music almost repelled me, it was so intense, and this man made no attempt to sugarcoat what he was trying to say, or play. It was hard-core, more than anything I had ever heard. After a few listenings I realized that, on some level, I had found the master, and that following this man's example would be my life work.” ― Eric Clapton

Robert Johnson – “The King of the Delta Blues” – was born 102 years ago today. Johnson’s legacy and influence still reverberate throughout popular music. Your library offers a few opportunities to explore the music of Robert Johnson. I recommend you check out the following titles:

Robert Johnson, King of the Delta Blues Singers includes many of Johnson’s classic recordings from the 1930’s.

Eric Clapton’s Me and Mr. Johnson serves as a full-length tribute to the blues master.

Big Head Blues Club released a great Robert Johnson tribute album in 2011 entitled 100 Years of Robert Johnson . This album was recorded by the band Big Head Todd & The Monsters along with legends B.B. King, Hubert Sumlin, Charlie Musselwhite, and Honeyboy Edwards.

Bob Dylan’s Tell Tale Signs: Rare and Unreleased, 1989-2006 includes a fitting solo-acoustic version of Johnson’s “32-20 Blues”.

Cream’s The Very Best of Cream has an excellent cover version of Johnson’s “Crossroads”.