New Year, New Books

Yet again, I have crashed out of the blogosphere but this being the season of resolutions hereby let it be known that I, Angela Palmer, am resolved to become a very regular blogger in 2011. This week, I’ll ease myself into the practice by spotlighting some of the upcoming releases that I just ordered for the library that I look forward to reading.

     We are getting some great nonfiction and recently I have been reading more nonfiction than fiction. As someone who leans toward falling on the more pessimistic end of the life outlook spectrum, I am surprisingly eager to read The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World, by Eric Weiner. Weiner apparently inhabits my part of the spectrum but his search lead him to some interesting insights about what makes us humans happy.

     Singer Rodney Crowell is publishing a memoir, Chinaberrry Sidewalks, which focuses on his early life and his parents. I’ve long admired his pithy storytelling/songwriting and I predict that he will use the same talent to write a dynamic book. I also enjoyed his ex wife’s, Roseanne Cash, 2010 memoir Composed. It was deeply thoughtful and personal but it was not a Hollywood mudslinging/finger pointing blame fest, and I expect that his will be the same.

     Due to budget constraints, I did not get to purchase two nonfiction titles, Zeitoun, by Dave Eggers and The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating, by Elisabeth Tova Bailey, when they were first published. However, I squeezed (by bumping other titles that were being published this month) some room in the current month’s budget because they both lived up to their initial rave reviews and have been showing up on every “Best Books of 2010” list.

     I do worry that Zeitoun will discuss the plight of companion animals in the wake of Katrina and since I worked with many animal survivors of that storm, I may have to read it with a large box of Kleenex by my side.  Bailey's memoir chronicles her fascination with the daily life of a snail, which she closely observed on a plant brought to her by a friend during a long and mysterious illness.  The reviews and descriptions of this book intrigue me as does writing about such a focused and small subject.

     When the new books arrive, I’ll post a message on our Facebook page. This gives me the opportunity to urge you to follow us on Facebook. Just click on the “like” button at the top of the page, to the right of our name (and I can’t pass up the opportunity to say “like us, really like us” as Sally Field would). We will be posting periodic updates about all sorts of news and information about the library, we’ve entered the world of social media! So keep an eye out for the new books are here announcement. It is so exciting opening up the boxes of new, shiny books and it makes my “to-be-read” list grow by leaps and bounds-I plan on reading a great deal in the weeks to come!

Happy Reading!
Angela