Marketing New Books

Take a look at the video trailers to market new books that I found on writer,  Stacy Eaton's blog.   The books are Come Back to Me, which will be available November 1st; My Blood Runs Blue, by Stacy Eaton herself; Sounds of Murder, In Leah's Wake, and Black: Beast: A Clan of MacAulay, all now available on amazon.

You may be interested in this book review of an authorized biography titled simply, Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson which covers the good, the bad, and the ugly about Jobs.

Here is one more link that I found interesting.  It's a link to a new children's book, Island Princess, by Diane Browne, one of the best geography teachers I ever had in high school. (I remember her being short and dainty walking in her extremely high heeled shoes.)  I liked her insight about book covers to market children's books.  Her comments are true; most Jamaicans do have family who live abroad or know someone who has family abroad.  I have family members who emigrated to the United States in 1919.  I also liked the most recent post on book covers and Caribbean culture.

Okefenokee Book Club Selections 2011

January 21
The Ape House by Sara Gruen

February 18
Tidewater Blood by William Hoffman

March 18
The Confession by John Grisham

April 15
Vivaldi’s Virgins by Barbara Quick

May 20
A Matter of Class by Mary Balogh

June 17
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson

July 15
Eye of the Crow by Shane Peacock

August 26
The Passage by Justin Cronin

September 16
East of the Sun by Julia Gregson. Follow her on Twitter
 
October 21
Still Life by Louise Penny.  Check this author's Facebook page.

November  18
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
 

Unusual Libraries:Tent , Phone Booth, Jail

Who knew that  Occupy Boston had a tent library?  No due date; no library fines. And, who knew that Occupy Wall Street and other "Occupy" venues had libraries?  This is called taking the library to the people. Interestingly,  Boston is the home of the United States' first major public library



People’s History of the United States  by Howard Zinn (2003) is the most requested book by the Occupiers. According to the product description, this book is telling the history from the points of view of America's women, factory workers, African Americans, Native Americans, working poor, and immigrant laborers.

After reading about the tent library, I recalled a story about an old, bright red, London telephone booth that had been converted into a library. This gives new meaning to the word "recycling".  The library is filled with a collection of over 100 books, DVDs, and CDs.

Here is another unusual library; this one is in the Caribbean. I used to visit frequently this octagonal-shaped public library and museum located in Nassau, Bahamas. It was a former jail built in the 18th century. Do you know of any other unusual libraries?

212 Degrees: The Extra Degree

 I am reading a very inspirational book titled, 212 Degrees by Sam Parker and Mac Anderson.  Water is hot at 211 degrees.  If you raise the temperature of water to one more degree then the water will boil and turn to steam. Steam can power a locomotive. That is an analogy that shows that one extra degree of effort can yield exponential results. 

This book calls for persistent and additional action and commitment.  There are subsections titled 212 degrees thought and commitment.  For example, there is a 212 degrees thought impressing on readers the importance of one more act of kindness with a 212 degrees commitment to doing good, a 212 degrees approach to stop complaining plus a 212 degree commitment to put that thought into action, a 212 degrees approach urging readers to pause, reflect, and act plus a 212 degrees commitment to do so twice weekly.  There are many readers, including myself, who need the challenge to step out of our comfort zone at least once each week to create more opportunities and more possibilities.

It's time to turn up the heat! say Parker and Anderson.

Meet the Author Event at Waycross College November 8th

The Waycross College Library will host author and environmental activist Janisse Ray on Tuesday, November 8th at 11:30 a.m. at the Waycross College auditorium.  Ray will be reading excerpts from her new book, Drifting into Darien: A Personal and Natural History of the Altamaha River, followed by a book signing at 12:15 p.m.

She has been to at least one Meet the Author event in Waycross before. I remember going to the Okefenokee Regional library in Waycross some years ago when she was promoting her book, Pinhook: Finding Wholeness in a Fragmented Land (2005).  Other books by this author, available at the Waycross College library, are the award winning Ecology of a Cracker Childhood (1999) and Wild Card Quilt: Taking a Chance on Home (2003).  Ray has also written a collection of nature poetry, A House of Branches, published in 2010.

She is originally from South Georgia, Baxley if I remember correctly, and lives now in Reidsville, Ga.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Waycross College Library at (912) 449-7515.

Famine is the Real Obscenity

Today I am focusing on books about food. I have blogged about Books and Food before; however, today   I am blogging about food with hundreds of bloggers from 80 countries around the world.  I will have a few things to say about hunger and famine.  Here is the story behind the title of  this post.

Blog Action Day
I found this link on twitter, two days ago, declaring Blog Action Day (BAD) to be October 16 and that the topic was food.  Well I decided to find out more about BAD.  I clicked another link that took me to  a registration form. I discovered that BAD has existed since 2007.  The BAD plan has been to  get bloggers around the world to blog about one important global topic on the same day.  This year BAD happens to coincide with World Food Day.  Hence the 2011 theme is anything related to food.  

Books about Food
First, some books with food themes that I have read and enjoyed:

In Defense of Food and Food Rules by Michael Pollan
Like Water For Chocolate by Laura Esquivel; our book club selection in July 2004.
Letter to My Daughter  and Hallelujah! The Welcome Table by Maya Angelou.   The chapter on Morocco in Letter to My Daughter had an interesting coffee drinking story.
Deep Dish by Mary Kay Andrews.  
Women, Food and God by Geneen Roth 

Book Club Cookbook
In a previous post, I mentioned this blog called The Book Club Cookbook which linked books with food.  Check it out.   One of our past book club picks is listed on the blog, The Help by Kathryn Stockett.  It is linked to a recipe for  Demetrie's Chocolate Pie.  Also, here are some popular books about food that I would really love to read:
Julie and  Julia by Julie Powell 
My Life in France by Julia Child
Comfort Me with Apples by Ruth Reichl 

Hunger and Famine 
For this World Food Day, please check out  this F word video that brings attention to famine.  Famine is indeed an obscenity. Remember those who are hungry in the United States of America. Click to see where the hunger crisis is located in the rest of the world.

CPD 23: Thing 1 to Thing 23

I took a moment to re-read my Thing 1 comments and my Thing 23 comments.
I can't believe I have been blogging about CPD23 from June to October.  I wrote, in June, that I wanted to be an Awesome 2.0 Librarian so my intention was to learn everything I needed to know about the web 2.0 world.  I looked at three different blogs when I started Thing 1.  Only one of the three is still blogging; The London Librarian who is now on Thing 19. The London Librarian has an interesting reflection of how CPD23 has inspired her behavior.

Played around with Google calendar (Thing 8) and I think I will be using it often; tired of the paper calendar. I registered with Evernote (Thing 9) and read their blog but did not download and explore it.

What next ? I think I am becoming an activist blogger and tweeter.  Tomorrow I'll be combining my love of books with my fight against hunger and famine. I am joining bloggers around the world and our theme is food.  In the days to come I am sure there will be an opportunity to be an advocate for libraries, books, and reading.

Storyteller Martha Donaldson

It's October, Halloween month. Storyteller Martha Donaldson will be returning to the Okefenokee Regional library on Lee Avenue, courtesy of the Friends of the Library, to tell the story of the "Pea Patch Murders" that took placein Waresboro in 1930. Here is your chance to hear it if you missed it the last time. It will be Thursday, October 27th at 7:00pm.  I had fun listening to this fascinating story three years ago at this venue.

Finally, Thing 23 of CPD23

This is the end of my online professional development training. I did not get around to exploring Evernote or Pushnote. I found Prezi interesting but challenging. I am more engaged with social media than ever before; I have stopped lurking and have started adding more comments on other people's blogs and tweets. I learned how to make a podcast and for that I am pleased. I enjoyed the section on Advocacy, Mendeley, and screen capturing tools. The periodic reflection was useful. Reading other people's routes and roots was worthwhile and interesting.

How do I feel about CPD23 in six words?  My first response was: Current and more aware than ever. After reading Nobul Librarian's blog, this sentence came to me: Tinkered with Things, learned some Things. Can you tell I am a fan of six word memoirs at Smith Magazine? I look forward to reading how creative everyone will be with this six word challenge.
  
Task 2: Professional Development SWOT Analysis

Strengths:
1. I like to learn new things.
2. I learn quickly. 
Weaknesses:
1. I am slow to get on the tech track. Gosh, I just bought my first Ipod this year.
2. Location. Few libraries and museums in the area where I live; few opportunities to network through volunteering. Chances a library conference will be held in this area is small..
Opportunities:
1. Online Courses. I can look for free professional development courses,similar to CPD23, where I learn at my own pace.
2.  Non-Library Organizations. If I don't use all the CPD23 Things on the job, I belong to/volunteer with non-library organizations where I can practice much of what I have learned.
3. Time. I have a four day work week so there is time to volunteer, learn some new skill, research and write.
 Threats: 
1. The economy is a threat right now as it creates uncertainties in the work place and affects budgeting for F2F conferences.
2. Fear of the unknown.

CPD23: Thing 20, Thing 21, and Thing 22

Thing 20 is all about library careers and is related to Thing 10.  Here is what I did for Thing 20. I organized my thoughts a little better, using sub-headings Roots and Routes, and  revised my Thing 10 post on the Library Routes Project. My path is typical. Many librarians, and Nikki is one, moved from teaching into librarianship.

Thing 21 is about Promoting yourself in Job Applications and at Interviews. The Hobbit Hole has a post with some useful links that I intend to check out later. I agree with all the bloggers that emphasized proofreading one's application and resume as a very important tip.

One task for Thing 21 is for me to outline my activities and interests and explain how I can use them  in my working life.

Interests: Watching television, listening to music, reading, and communicating (orally and in writing), cooking and baking.  I watch The Voice, American Idol, America's Got talent.  I listen to Beyonce, Rihanna, Bruno Mars, and a host of young British singers including Adele. I love reading books, hence this book-club blog, but I also read pop culture, news, health, and food related magazines: People magazine, Prevention magazine, First magazine, The Week. My knowledge of pop culture helps me to relate to the young people I serve. 

Strengths: Communication skills, ability to get along with people, research skills, ability to work independently as well as with a team.

Job Enjoyment: I enjoy using my research skills  to help students find information. Like all librarians, I love it when I connect students to the right information as they need it. I especially like when a novel I recommended was enjoyed by a patron.

Thing 22 is about volunteering to get library experience. I like this post by Laura. Volunteering in a museum led her to a library career. The emphasis of Thing 22 is that volunteering should be mutually beneficial. My only voluntary library experience involves working as a part of a Library Advisory Committee at a technical college. We meet once per semester and it has been a good opportunity to offer guidance, receive ideas, and liaise with other librarians in the area.

I know for a fact that volunteering can lead to a career path. My voluntary experience, believe it or not, has been with the local Rape Crisis Center.  I used to be on call to go to the hospital to provide information and comfort to the families of rape survivors and the survivors themselves. I used to help the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner with the colposcope.  My buddy, who was a volunteer with me, ended up pursing a career as a Social Worker because of her experience with the center.

The Girl Effect

I have been following The Girl Effect on Facebook and Twitter.  I know that we have a situation on our hands.  The clock is ticking.  I want to help.  Why? I attended an all girls school in a developing country.  Our school motto was "Life More Abundant." I support the education of girls.  I support the abundant life for all girls. I am against child marriage.

On this day October 4, I am joining The Girl Effect and blogging in support of  investing in the education and safety of  girls in the developing world.  I don't understand why investment in female education as an effective solution to global poverty is considered such a radical idea.  After all, it is a fact that educated girls grow up to be women who send their own children to school and pull their family as well as their village out of poverty. Imagine what all educated women joining together could do for the world. 

Take a look at this video about an 18 year old Ethiopian girl.

Yeah! Girl Effect!  Learn more. See what you can do to help. Tick tock.

Some Political Book Titles 2011

A tweet made me aware of this political book by Dick Morris, Condi vs. Hilary, published in 2005. The comments on amazon for this book are hilarious especially in light of what happened in real life.

After reading the amazon reviews I did a search on political books in 2011.  I found this link to the Washington Post that highlighted these books: Known and Unknown by Donald Rumsfeld, My Father at 100  by Ron Reagan, Inside Wikileaks by Daniel Domscheit-Berg, Our Last Best Chance. There are also other titles written by Scott Brown, Tim Pawlenty, and Mike Huckabee.


The Huffington Post has a list of 25 Overlooked Political Books of 2011.  On this list are titles such as
The End of the West:: The Once and Future Europe by David Marquand, Crossing Borders: Migration and Citzenship in the Twentieth-Centruy United States by Dorothea Schneider.

I found a link to an article dated April 1, 2011 in the New York Times.  That list includes Revolt again by Dick Morris with Eileen McGann, Endgame by John Mauldin and Jonathan Tepper,Then Everything Changed:Stunning Alternate Histories of American Politics: JFK, RFK, Carter, Ford, Reagan
by Jeff Greenfield and more.

After looking at reviews of Then Everything Changed, it appears that Dick Morris' book, Condi vs Hilary, falls in the category of historical speculation. I see what my next post is going to be. It'll be about speculative fiction.

From Social Media Skills into Career Track

I am reading The Digital Mom Handbook by Audrey McClelland of momgenerations.com and Colleen Padilla of classymommy.com.  This is an eye-opener.  I had no idea that there were so many opportunities to channel social media skills into a career track. I recall food blogger Julie Powell transitioning from blog to book and then the book was turned into a movie; The Julie/Julia Project.  This handbook made me aware that there were paid and unpaid career opportunities from social media:blogs, vlogs, tweeter, and Facebook. I am learning that companies pay for travel and hotel expenses for bloggers so the bloggers can see their products and write posts about them. Also, companies ask bloggers with large readerships to co-host parties and blog about the event.  The writers of this Handbook have been invited to write about products and got paid for their services. Compensation is in the range of $10 to $500 per post.  Some bloggers become brand ambassadors, advertisers, spokespersons.  This book shows you how to sell yourself, trademark your business name, create a limited liability company and more.

Well this is a book club blog but let me say a word to Naked Juice.  I love your juices and I especially love your Naked 100% Coconut water.  Take it from this blogger with Caribbean roots, your product tastes like the real thing.  Can I be your ambassador? Only thing is, it is more expensive than VitaCoco and that brand has Rihanna as one of its spokesperson.