Unpacking My Library: Writers and Their Books March 24, 2012

I saw it across the room and it was love at first sight. Naturally, it was a book, and I decided to buy it without cracking the spine!  That’s rare, even for me. But I knew from the cover that I would love it, and I do – so, so much. The book is Unpacking My Library: Writers and Their Books. The cover is so beautiful that I want to walk around holding it. This book is definitely an argument for physical books. I would not enjoy this on my Nook.

Since buying it about a week ago, I’ve been treating myself to looking at one author’s book shelves every day. It makes the day sweeter just knowing that the book is waiting on my nightstand. Edited by Leah Price, Unpacking My Books is a peek at the bookshelves of 13 authors, including Philip Pullman, Junot Diaz and Alison Bechdel. The first line of Price’s introduction is this: “As a teenaged babysitter, I went straight for the books.”  Oh my gosh – Price is a soulmate! When I was a teenage babysitter, the car would not be down the driveway before I was looking at the parent’s bookshelves and writing down books I wanted to read.

Years ago, when I lived in Washington,D.C., I used to babysit for the children of a Congressman (from Ohio, of course) and his wife. I recall taking lots of notes about their bookshelves, thinking that whatever the Congressman was reading contributed to his success.  His young children used to tell me their dad “helped the President.” 

Back to Price’s book. There are so many fun things to look at. For example, each author is asked to name their Top Ten Books. Two (out of 13) name a Tintin book.  James Wood includes Willa Cather’s Death Comes for the Archbishop which may (on some days) make it into my personal Top Ten. Philip Pullman has a cute old teddy bear on one of his shelves.  

Unpacking My Library is the perfect book for the bibliophile on your list. The pictures are stunning. The short interviews with each author are interesting. And most of all, since looking at what people are reading is much harder since the advent of e-readers, Price’s book allows us to, as she says, “read over the shoulders of giants.”

A Basket of Books – About Books! September 12, 2010

Each fall I look forward to putting together a basket of children’s books on a different theme.  This “basket of books” is a contribution to a local charity, and befitting a school – Inly gives books.  Last year’s theme was the City of Boston and this year I thought it would be fun to collect ten books about reading.  This is what’s going in the basket:

Lola at the Library by Anna McQuinn

Spot the Plot: A Riddle Book of Book Riddles by J. Patrick Lewis

Quiet! There’s a Canary in the Library by Don Freeman

Nasreen’s Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan by Jeanette Winter

Dog Loves Books by Louise Yates

Miss Brooks Loves Books by Barbara Bottner

How Rocket Learned to Read by Tad Hills

It’s a Book by Lane Smith

The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq by Jeanette Winter

Alia’s Mission: Saving the Books of Iraq by Mark Alan Stamaty

I know there are two books about Alia Muhammad Baker, the librarian in Basra, but her story is so inspiring that I couldn’t choose between them.  Both Winter’s and Stamaty’s books tell the story of how Baker protected more than 30,000 books before bombs hit the library.  This story of bravery puts a human face on war and celebrates the importance of knowledge and reading.

Take a Dip… October 27, 2009

I found a new book to “dip into” when I have a few minutes or need something inspirational to read to a class: Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Children’s Book by Anita Silvey.

I guess on some level, this could be said for the majority of people in the world.  Most of us learned to read from children’s books, and that was the starting point for everything else we have learned.  But…that is not the point of Silvey’s terrific book.   It’s a 230 page collection of small essays by people from across the professional spectrum about how they were inspired by a  favorite children’s book.  The emphasis is on how the book continues to resonate in their lives today.

It’s interesting to see what people chose to write about.  So far, my two favorite essays are Gregory Maguire’s on The Diamond in the Window by Jane Langton and Sherman Alexie’s comments on The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats.

My only complaint is that I wish there was one line at  the bottom of each essay identifying the writer.  I knew most of them, and of course, they are all identified in the back, but just flipping through and stopping to see that Stan Lee was inspired by the Poppy Ott books was tricky.  With all respect to Mr. Lee, I did not know who he was.  I do now.  He is associated with Marvel Comics.  But I had to flip to the back of the book to find that out.  I wish there had been a quick identification under his name so I didn’t have to keep flipping back and forth.  No problem though.  It doesn’t take away from this wonderful book.

I was especially excited to see that I share a favorite book with two distinguished people.  Before looking at Silvey’s book, I thought about what book I would choose.  That took two seconds: Charlotte’s Web.  And it turns out that both Louis Sachar and Eric Rohmann felt the same way!

I thought it would be fun to ask some of my colleagues at school to do the same so I asked them to choose their own book.  Coming up in tomorrow’s post: their answers…