So here I am, still trying to catch up on my feeds and it is Thursday. There are a few newsy things which can be easily dispensed, so I shall take care of them first.
The Morning News’ Tournament of Books has progressed through round one. Here is the quick rundown:
The Plot Against America beat The Bad Boy’s Wife
The Inner Circle beat The News From Paraguay
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell beat The Rope Eater
Heir to the Glimmering World beat Human Capitol
Cloud Atlas beat The Finishing School
An Unfinished Season beat The Dew Breaker
I am Charlotte Simmons beat Wake Up, Sir
Birds Without Wings beat Harbor
Next up, round two and Jessa’s pick.
MP3 players
Mr. Rochester will tell you that I have been lusting over MP3 players for almost 2 years now. What is not fun and cool about something which will hold all your favorite songs and go anywhere? WHAT I ask you!? Well, the Pew Institute came out with a survey recently which found that 1 in 5 Americans under the age of 30 have an MP3 player. Why do I care (besides the fact that I want one)? Because of a recent trend called podcasting. Don’t know what the heck that is? Read here, here, and here. It is basically an MP3 of a talk, discussion, etc. that you download.
Censoring
A while back, I posted the story about Houston Public Libraries being forced to keep Jenna Jamison’s book, How to Make Love Like a Porn Star, in closed stacks by the mayor of Houston, Bill White. The waiting list doubled and now the library has negotiated being able to keep the book with the biographies. Duh.
Another censoring story which I am posting because one of my best friends hearts Chris Crutcher. His book, Whale Talk, which I read and loved on the advice of B, is under fire in Michigan. It is funny actually, because this is a book that deals with serious problems faced by teens in an honest and meaningful way.
I hope you enjoyed your news segment for the day. I have a couple more posts about actual things, including the application of technology in libraries, especially in regards to IM reference and a review of Garden State. I have dinner tonight with Mr. Rochester’s parents, but I am going to try to get those two things written by tomorrow evening. If I do not, they will continue to roll around in my head and drive me crazy.
–Jane, is glad tomorrow is Friday