 | por Ann VanderMeer; Jeff VanderMeer; Libro : Ficción |
A wide-ranging collection with something for everyone (2009-06-06)
This collection of steampunk stories covers a lot of ground. (Steampunk is science fiction or fantasy set in a world where technology hasn't progressed beyond the steam engine, but that's a very big tent.) It was a great introduction to steampunk, and all of the stories were worth reading....
Leer más This collection of steampunk stories covers a lot of ground. (Steampunk is science fiction or fantasy set in a world where technology hasn't progressed beyond the steam engine, but that's a very big tent.) It was a great introduction to steampunk, and all of the stories were worth reading. I was blown away by a couple of the stories, and you probably will be too -- just not the same stories.
 | por C Alan Bradley Libro : Ficción |
A crime caper with perfect pitch (2009-06-06)
"Sweetness" is a mystery novel written in an arch mid-twentieth-century style with an 11-year-old girl as the protoganist. There are so many ways this novel could go horribly wrong it takes the breath away. So the first thing to say about the book is that Bradley's style is flawless.
The...
Leer más "Sweetness" is a mystery novel written in an arch mid-twentieth-century style with an 11-year-old girl as the protoganist. There are so many ways this novel could go horribly wrong it takes the breath away. So the first thing to say about the book is that Bradley's style is flawless.
The title of the book is a tease. A pie enters the plot quite early on, and then we learn something relevant about the victim, and you spend some of your time wondering about that pie. So, in a way, is the fact that the protoganist, Flavia, knows an extraordinary amount of chemistry, and has a particular interest in poisons. You spend some of the time wondering what poison might have killed the victim, but I suspect that's misdirection more than anything else.
I just looked up the WIkipedia entry for sleight of hand, and one of the requirements for successful sleight of hand is that it looks natural. That's not too bad a requirement for the plotting in a mystery novel, and one Bradley passes without the slightest apparent effort. The different dimensions of the book, the characters, the plotting and so on, fit together easily and naturally.
It's perfect summer reading -- I read it on a cruise to Bermuda -- that you'll still be able to recommend to your friends in December.
 | por Teresa Solana Libro : Ficción |
Perfect summer reading (2009-06-06)
Nicely plotted with a quirky pair of almost but not quite detectives, the book is perfect summer reading. The book combines light social satire with a sort of mapcap action that reminds me of nothing more than Marx Brothers movies. It's a quick and easy read that's a lot of fun.
 | por Joan C Durrance; Karen E Fisher; Marian Bouch Hinton Libro |
Essential for patron-focused services (and is there any other kind?) (2008-08-21)
This is an excellent book, and not just because it's short and clearly written. <div> The focus of the book is on determining how users (or patrons, if you like) are helped by library services. It's an attempt to...
Leer másThis is an excellent book, and not just because it's short and clearly written. <div> The focus of the book is on determining how users (or patrons, if you like) are helped by library services. It's an attempt to move away from output-oriented measures of library productivity such as circulation figures. Coincidentally, a <a href="http://www.librarytechnology.org/ltg-displayarticle.pl?RC=13405" target="_blank">recent OCLC report</a> funded by the Gates Foundation concluded that support for library funding didn't depend on circulation figures either. The report complements this book nicely.</div><div> </div><div> There's one important point that I think could have been clearer: the difference between prompted and unprompted survey responses. Briefly, an unprompted question would be, "Name three ways in which the library has helped you", whereas a prompted question would give you a list of possibilities from which to choose. This matters a great deal if you want to make statements like "25% of the patrons surveyed got help with a job search", since prompted and unprompted responses will be biased in opposite directions.</div><div> </div><div> A small quibble: the term "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawthorne_effect" target="_blank">Hawthorne Effect</a>" was incorrectly applied to a completely different kind of bias. I'd give you the details, but the book's index is terrible, and I couldn't find the mention again.</div><div> </div><div> Many of the examples in the book are based on ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) programs, and some of the remainder are from teen after-school programs. These programs are certainly needed in our town, but I worry that they're just the path of least resistance for libraries trying to demonstrate value to the community. I'd hate to see libraries limit their vision to books + DVDs + ESOL + Teens.</div><div> </div><div> Which sounds like I think the book is weak at best, but that's not true. As I said, I think it's excellent. This isn't an area for which a library can use a cookie-cutter solution. This book illuminates and clarifies the path a library needs to take to move to user-centered services and service evaluation. After reading this book, you'll know a lot more, but even better, you be able to see more clearly.</div>
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