Monthly Archives: March 2004

Mar31

feed by M.T. Anderson

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feed by M.T. Anderson

Anderson, M.T. feed. Candlewick, 2004. ISBN 978-0763622596 299 pp. $8.49

*****

M.T. Anderson’s feed is a haunting look at the future. With the “feed” implanted in almost everyone person’s brain at birth, individuality is a thing of the past. Advertising happens in a constant stream, directly to the brain. People can chat with each other through their feeds. They can send images, memories, and smells to one another through the feed. People can order a new pair of jeans from The Gap through the feed.

When Titus, who has had the feed since birth, meets Violet, he knows there is something different about her. And there is. Violet hasn’t had the feed for her entire life. She is fascinating. And infuriating. And honest. She teaches Titus the biggest lessons that exist on earth. And it all happens during a short-lived fad where young people are wearing riot gear–as in L.A. Riots, Kent State Riots…

Mar23

Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier

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Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier

Frazier, Charles. Cold Mountain. Grove Press, 2006. ISBN 978-0802142849 449 pp. $16

**

I waited weeks, months, years, to get my hands on a copy of Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier. I savoured every word, every phrase, every sentence. I relished each simile and metaphor–they were as southern as biscuits and gravy. I fell in love with Inman and admired Ada and Ruby. I counted the seconds until I would be home each evening so I could bury my nose in this tale. I dreamt of Inman’s journey and Ada and Ruby’s struggles on the farm.

Then I got to the end. And I felt confused. And disappointed.

Mar4

Recent Reads

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I agree 100% with April (currently known as “Ms. Vodka Tonic”) about Girls Poker Night. I laughed at loud at much of the story because it was quite hysterical, but there was also a deeper and more serious message about how hard it is to quit the “self-preservation” thing and take some risks.

Please read Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. I applaud my two coworkers for shoving this book down my throat. They were right about it being a science fiction book for those who don’t really like the science fiction genre. It’s timely because it really makes you think about that age-old question….War, what is it good for? I’m serious here. Great surprise ending when the blobby space creature swallows the human’s space ship whole. No–I’m just kidding, that’s not how it ends. It actually ends when the alien called Razzo-Razzo accidentally swallows a laser sword and is able to purchase the Energizer Bunny with the money he makes as a giant reading lamp for all the compulsive readers in the world. ha ha Just kidding again.

Thanks to my fellow Hip Librarians for recommending The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau. I fell in love with it from page one, read it in two days and just handed it to one of my favorite 9 year old patrons. I’m now eagerly awaiting her review. I’m sure it will be a winner! I agree with April about the hopeful ending. After I finished the book I couldn’t stop thinking about what the characters would name all of the things that they didn’t have names for.

Mar2

Recent Reads

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Girls’ Poker Night by Jill A. Davis. Get it, read it, pass it along. Your girlfriends will thank you. (Allison will agree).

Coetzee’s Disgrace …. it’s not that often one finds an entire day to one’s self to read an entire book but flying across the country is the perfect opportunity for that. I pretty much read this book straight through which gave it a movie-watching quality. I don’t need to tell anyone here that it is amazing (and insanely different from Girls’ Poker Night) but why, I keep wondering is Veterinarians-South Africa – Fiction one of the subject headings? If I wanted to read about South African Veterinarians I would not have been pleased with this book! It’s really the story of two different kinds of disgrace, when a father is shamed for a relationship he has had with a student and when his daughter is shamed by a horrible crime taking place on her farm. Father and daughter try desperately to understand each other but in the end it seems they still need to try and understand themselves. Powerful stuff.