THE AMBIDEXTROUS LIBRARIAN

FREEDOM TO SKIP PAGES, IF NECESSARY Jonathan Franzen - don't get me wrong, I really do love his books.  But as with every book lover (that's a sweeping generalisation, but I have the freedom to generalise), sometimes you just go through bit of a reading lull. I found this when reading Franzen's Freedom .  I have had Freedom  sitting there for yonks, but have been intimidated by its size.  Mainly because I had become used to reading YA novels, and I felt like I was back in those teenage years taking the first tentative steps into the ocean of adult literature.  I was daunted by the depth and complexity that I knew would sit beneath the lines. I don't know why I make myself believe that every foray into adult literature needs to be such an exercise in analysis and insightful questioning.  It must be the high school English student in me has never really graduated.  Why can't I just relax and enjoy the book?  I did, for the most part, really en...

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Sherman Alexie) I wanted to live up to expectations. That's what it comes down to. The power of expectations. I hadn't heard of this book until I started looking into "Best of YA Literature" lists, and it kept popping up.  As I work in a school library, I felt it my duty to give it a blat!   The novel follows the life of a Native American teenager who is acutely aware that he is Native American.  He is also aware of all the issues and expectations that come with this.   Arnold, or "Junior" as he is also known, lives in the "poor-ass" Spokane Indian Reservation (the "rez"), and outlines for the reader (in both written and pictorial form), the depressing reality that is his daily existence.    Alcohol, violence, hardship and the complete lack of hope are the main themes, with topics discussed including (but not limited to) the potential success of his parents had they been white (...