Time Interviews Stephen King

Interesting interview with Stephen King in Time magazine. I've been a fan of Stephen King since I was in my late teens. We saw The Mist this weekend, which was good overall, but I found the ending disappointing. In the original story - one of my favorites - the ending is ambiguous, but in the movie they have eliminated that, to the detriment of the story, in my opinion. King writes a regular column for Entertainment Weekly called The Pop of King, in which he discusses pop culture. The Time interview and his weekly column expose a different side of the author.

Link via Library Stuff

Week 5: #12 Helpful Elf

I signed up for Library Elf several years ago before the library started sending out reminder notices. I am still signed up and like getting reminders of holds and books due. One of the more recent features they added is recommendations based on your items out and/or holds.

While we have a wonderful service for reminders through the library, one of the benefits of Library Elf for our customers is that they can opt to get reminders via text message. An interesting service.

Week 5: #11 Library Thing

LibraryThing is nothing new to me. I have been a member since September 8, 2005 and have been keeping track of books I read even longer than that - since around 1998/1999. I moved online to using AllConsuming in 2003 or 2004. I decided to switch to LibraryThing because I like the book management better than AllConsuming; I also don't have an interest in tracking movies, music or food. I also like that you can friend people and see what you have in common with other users.

I only added two more books today - Woman Who Rides Like a Man & Cave of the Dark Wind - since I already have 499 and only add books when I've finished them. I also have had a LibraryThing widget on my blog - see sidebar - pretty much since I started the blog.

My Profile
My Library

A Book Is Not a Child

Interesting post on Smart Bitches Who Love Trashy Books about authors who mess with their characters and the fans who become angry. I know the author this made me think of first was Laurell K. Hamilton, which the post mentions. I started reading the Anita Blake series a couple of years ago, after a number of the books were already out. I fell in love with Anita and her quirkiness, the zombie raisings, the vampire hunting, and the great supporting cast of characters. The books were an amazing mashup of mystery, fantasy, science fiction, and romance.

Then it all changed. Anita was no longer the fun, quirky character. Instead it was all about SEX. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind sex in books, but sheesh, this was ridiculous. In one of the most recent books, there was really no plot, it was just about Anita having sex.

In Candy's post, she has several things to think about:

• What was the last book you got angry about?
• Why were you angry?
• Were you mad at the book, or at the author--or both?
• Who do you think the characters truly belong to: the author? The readers? Both? Neither?

I don't know that I can say I'm mad, I'm more disappointed and maybe feel betrayed. It kind of feels like the author has taken a character who was awesome and done a 180 on the character's personality. I've read Laurell K. Hamilton's blog where at times she has defended the change in Anita and while I can understand that this is her character and as the author it has to come from her, I still think author's have a responsibility to their readers.

Booked by 3 Meme for September

Came across this and thought it was kind of cool, especially since I love LibraryThing.

I. Do you have a permanent record of your books?

1. Yes, I keep a manual listing or Excel file or something similar on paper or my computer.
2. Yes, I keep it online on a site like Library Thing or Shelfari.
3. No, who has the time?!

II. If you keep track of your books on a website, do you...

1. Have a free or paid account?
2. Use it to track books to be read as well as books owned, or do you use the site just for your To Be Read list or something else I can't think of? - I use it to keep track of books I have read, whether I own them or not.
   
3. Enter the data manually or did you get a barcode scanner so I can add books faster?

III. Miscellaneous questions.

1. If you use the online sites, do you just catalog your books or do you participate in forums, check other libraries, and otherwise network with other users?
2. If you don't use an online site, do you want to but don't have the time? N/A
   
3. If you use one of the sites, which one and what's your user name so the rest of us can check out your library? Hoosgracie @ LibraryThing - http://www.librarything.com/profile/hoosgracie
   

Link

The Book Meme

You're stuck inside Fahrenheit 451, which book do you want to be?
I would be Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte or The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. These are two of my favorite books. Probably Jane Eyre since it's a classic.

Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character?
Yes. See the above two books. Mr. Rochester is dark and brooding. I especially got a kick out of Jasper Fforde's take on him in The Eyre Affair. When I was 13/14 years old, I also had a crush on Johnny and Soda Pop in The Outsiders.

What are you currently reading?
Greywalker by Kat Richardson & listening to The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis

The last book you bought is:
Can't remember at the moment - mostly check books out from the library!

The last book you read:
Valley of Silence by Nora Roberts; Listened to Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis

Five books you would take to a deserted island:
Tough one. For now, I'll say:
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis - One of the few books (series) I've read multiple times
The Bible (I'd finally have the time and reason to read the whole thing)
A book on survival cooking and first aid (practical)
The Outsiders by SE Hinton - What can I say, I still love the book, it reminds me of the 13/14 year old self.
Either the Complete Far Side or Complete Calvin and Hobbes - this would offer endless entertainment.

This reminds me of a traditional question for potential reference librarians - what books could you not live without in doing reference. For that, I'd say:
A local phone book
A dictionary
The World Almanac
A concise encyclopedia
Other than the encyclopedia (which we have available online) I still have copies of the other three available in my office.

Via LIS News