THE AMBIDEXTROUS LIBRARIAN

Blankets (Craig Thompson) What can I say about this graphic novel?!?!?! READ IT.  NOW. I was never a huge fan of the graphic novel until recently.  In fact, the moment I was converted was a quiet afternoon at work; my colleague and I were randomly browsing the Junior Fiction.  Enter Jane, the Fox and Me by Fanny Britt.  Suddenly I realised that graphic novels weren't all science fiction, fantasy and reluctant male readers.  The illustrations in Jane, the Fox and Me are beautiful, as is the story.  I have a colour photocopy of one of the illustrations on my fridge, which involves Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre caressing a swim-suited sausage.  Graphic novels, why had I forsaken you???? So fast-forward to Blankets.   It's a hefty read at 600+ pages.  But it's a graphic novel so it's not a dense or taxing read.  But it still takes time.  There were moments when I would stop and just gaze upon one certain picture, or read a few words and then shift my focus to

Zac & Mia (A.J. Betts) I am back on the rickety reading wagon, and it's trundling along slowly, and the path meanders all over the shop, but I am finally getting places! Next stop?   Zac & Mia by A.J. Betts.  Let me start by saying that I did NOT know this was another YA cancer story.  Should I really say "another"?  I am obviously referring to The Fault in Our Stars  which immediately springs to mind with thoughts of oxygen tubes and unrealistic teen dialogue (don't get me started on that novel!).  I found Zac & Mia to be, I dunno, a bit more down to earth than The Fault in Our Stars.   That novel had me eye-rolling frequently throughout the first few chapters.  I only read the first few chapters. But enough.  I digress. So, Zac & Mia .  Engaging story, nice use of statistics; as a Librarian I always approve of the use of well researched facts throughout a narrative.  Both Zac & Mia are likeable, engaging characters, it doesn't get

The Strange Library (Haruki Murakami) It's been a while. And I gotta say, as a Librarian I seem to find little time to read books these days, which is sad and pathetic, but seems to be the lot of many of my Librarian friends!  It's a cycle of irony which we can't seem to escape.  What's worse is that I am constantly bombarded with books I want to read, and this just makes the whole situation even more depressing.  But enough excuses, I should make the time, and I am trying! One little book that popped up on my radar recently was Murakami's "The Strange Library".  Mainly because a) it is written by Murakami, who is one of my favourite authors, b) it had the word "Library" in the title, and c) the hard-cover was on special from Readings for $16.99.  SOLD! Little did I realise that this lovely wee tale is in fact a short story, bound in a beautifully illustrated (and lovely smelling - very important) pink hard-cover edition with a library