...by what you can carry away from it'
~ James Bryce, 1838-1922, British historian and politician
The two books listed below are ones I am finishing (for the 2nd time) and beginning anew. It is the 1st title that I believe fits the quote most accurately. It's Monday which means this is my 'On the shelf' - what I'm reading - post.
Working in the back section of the reference library means that I don't get half the chance I used to for viewing new books. Everything used to come through Acquisitions, Processing and Cataloguing - which meant that I could mosey on down and have a looksee at all the pretty new books. I love the smell of new books. They signify new possibilities, new hope, new adventures and new life. Now that we outsource a lot of our buying and cataloguing I have to be three times as vigilant as branch staff about keeping up to date with new stock. It's not a hardship because I genuinely love reading. It sounds so...twee to admit that. It's almost (but not as dodgy sounding) as a teacher saying, 'I loooove kids.' Thanks to my beady eyes I'm kept very busy requesting anything and (almost) everything. I won't bore you with indepth reviews, I'll briefly list the book details (with a link to our catalogue), the synopsis and a couple of sentences about my thoughts.
Title: Everything I need to know I learned from a children's book: life lessons from notable people from all walks of life
Author: Anita Silvey
Publisher:Roaring Book Press
Year: 2009
Genre: Adult nonfiction
Synopsis: "What children's book changed the way you see the world?" Anita Silvey asked this question to more than one hundred of our most respected and admired leaders in society...The lessons they recall are inspiring, instructive, and illuminating. And the books they remember resonate as influential reading choices for families. Everything I need to know I learned from a children's book, with its full colour excerpts of beloved children's books, is a treasury and a guide: a collection of fascinating essays and the gift book of the year for families." -- Publisher's description.
Briefly: Brilliant. Quite simply, books change lives and all of the people who were open enough to share why they chose one title over another are proof of that. Overall, I had read (or had had read to me - thanks, mum) quite a few of the books listed. There were only a few that I hadn't and, one day when I get time, I might follow those up and read them. Enjoyed it so much I've read it twice.
Title: Broken (book 2 in the Fragile series)Author: Shiloh Walker
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Year: 2010
Genre: Contemporary romance
Synopsis: "Quinn Rafferty is working as a bounty hunter for a private detective agency in St. Louis when a new neighbor catches his eye. He's drawn to her-but he has his own soul to mend before he can worry about anyone else. Sarah McElyea is on the run, but not for the usual reasons a woman goes on the lam. She has a plan for her future. And as much as she finds herself attracted to her gruff, tough neighbor, she can't risk telling him the secrets she's hiding. But Quinn must get closer to Sarah when she turns out to be the target of his new missing persons case, and both Quinn and Sarah will have to expose their true feelings-as well as their fragile hearts-if their love is to survive." -- Publisher description.
Briefly: I picked this up from the 'smutty books bin' this evening - I love the cover. It's not quite team chest and most definitely not team back. It is most certainly team biceps/team tree trunk thighs/team enigmatic-&-mean-looking, though :) It is part 2 of Walker's 'Fragile' series which pisses me off no end (close your eyes if you don't want to read a library rant) because we've gone and gotten part 2 but there's no frickin' part 1. I KNOW this drives our customers nuts because they write in or bail me up at the desk when I'm at Manurewa and tell me so. And they're right - it's facking irritating GRR. Other than that, I enjoyed the story which had a bit of a twist at the end that I didn't see coming - possibly because I was too lazy, more likely because I was totally oblivious! Between you and me, I've yet to see a guy looking like that leaning against any of our walls here in South Auckland, but maybe I'm hanging out on the wrong street corners. With good reason. Am not so sure I care to be mistaken for a 'woman of the night.'
Title: Everything I need to know I learned from a children's book: life lessons from notable people from all walks of life
