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Just back from my second-ever visit to New York City, I am suffering from mass-transit withdrawal and humming "Avenue Q" and "Billy Elliot" tunes. We are blessed to have my husband's brother and sister-in-law (they'd attract...
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The KUT news story about Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum's upcoming oral/visual history project caught my attention this morning. By way of accounting for Texans' deep and abiding interest in their state and in its stories, the spokesperson...
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Reading first novels isn't just rewarding; it's practical. Unless the author inspires a media frenzy on his/her debut, you're certain to snag a copy of that as yet undiscovered gem. And consider the joy of recommending someone whom your friends...
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What would induce someone to give up a day off to volunteer for Texas Book Festival? Probably not the official volunteer T-shirt. TBF uniforms feature a different classy color each year, along with, alas, the customary tubelike fit. Those of us who fall...
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I can't be the only librarian who fears acting like a stereotype and so downplays my zeal for literature to avoid excessive conversational references to you-know-what. I suspect others do, too. No one wants to be a cliche, and we do have other interests...
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Having moved back to Texas and to Round Rock in 2005, I don't qualify as a newcomer. Still, I only recently managed to discover the Round Rock New Neighbors book group. Yesterday's wonderful discussion featuring guest author Amanda Eyre Ward prompted...
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Tidying my personal bookshelves last weekend, I encountered a favorite: The Little, Brown Book of Anecdotes . It's a bulky green volume labeled for its publisher rather than physical traits. Alongside it stands The Big Book of Irony , trim and lightweight...
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Don't you admire those who can cleverly answer the "which three famous people, living or dead, you'd choose to have dinner with" question? Perhaps you have a boffo response yourself, but I've been stumped by the scope of potential...
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Vampire lit is fashionable (and marketable) these days--not just Stephenie Meyer's Twilight saga, but all sorts of standalone titles, paranormal romance series, mysteries, and even humorous romance fiction. A quick survey of the library catalog--I...
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Western novels don't rank high on my to-read list. They're too reliable. I can seek out the glamour of fiction debuts, bestsellers, etc,. knowing that Westerns (at least the ones that aren't checked out by more appreciative readers) will always...
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What other six books would I recommend to President Obama? Imagining the Leader of the Free World strolling from the Oval Office to the family residence at the end of the day, probably encumbered with treatises on the economy and briefs on world events...
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President Obama's widely reported "vacation reading list" has provoked me to wonder why there is no position for Presidential Librarian. This office, not to be confused with management of a Presidential library, would advise the Chief Executive...
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If you're a book clubber, you've probably noticed this, too: the most satisfying discussions result when some of the group didn't care for the chosen title and, in airing their grievances, point out facets the rest of us missed or perhaps...
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I don't own any of the "So Many Books, So Little Time" paraphernalia marketed to librarians and other book lovers. I'm not sure whether it's because those items are so common as to be no longer fun or because they sound a little...
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I've been reading on the job this week--not current fiction of my choice, alas, but dozens and dozens of book reviews. Distilling a useful critique into a brief paragraph represents such an admirable skill set; I rarely tire of scanning those little...