Library of Congress Names Books that Shaped America

I am a huge fan of the Library of Congress (who'd have guessed!?!).  I had the good fortune to make my first trip to their National Book Festival last year and can't wait to go again some time.  The reading room in the Thomas Jefferson building in DC might be one of my favorite rooms in the world.  Tomorrow (June 25, 2012) they open an exhibit entitled "Books that Shaped America."  This is not intended to be a list of the best books in America, but those that have been influential in one way or another.  Therefore, you see books you probably wouldn't otherwise see on a "best of" list.  Examples include cookbooks, children's books and even a childcare book by Dr. Spock.  The Library is also taking suggestions for other books to add to the list.  Unfortunately, it's unlikely I will make it to DC before the exhibit closes on September 29.  :(

You can find information about the exhibit and the list of the books chosen at http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2012/12-123.html.  I have read only eighteen of the books listed so I have a lot of reading to do!  How many have you read?

National Book Festival -- Washington, DC, Sept. 24-25

I'm finally getting around to blogging about my trip to the National Book Festival in DC.  What a wonderful event!  It is put on by the Library of Congress and is very well run.  It takes place on the National Mall, and there are tents set up for the different genres of books that are represented.  There is also a Barnes and Noble tent to purchase books from the authors who are speaking, and a book signing area.  Let's talk about what we did at the festival.



On Saturday, we arrived at the festival around 10am. The first place we went was the C-Span bus.  As dorky as it sounds, I was really excited about this because I'm a big fan of C-Span.  They were handing out free cloth bags which was convenient for carrying things around of course; but it's also a great souvenir.  The bus was located right next to the History & Biography tent, and C-Span had its own little tent to interview the authors after they got done speaking.


We didn't really visit any tents in particular on Saturday, although we did stop to watch a few minutes of a presentation by Edmund Morris, who wrote a book several years ago that my husband likes about Ronald Reagan ("Dutch").  His current book is about Theodore Roosevelt.  We then went to the Barnes and Noble tent and I bought an autographed copy of a book about Lincoln and slavery ("The Fiery Trial") by Eric Foner.  I could have bought lots of books, but I kept in mind that I had to transport them all back to Green Bay, and I could always buy them there.  But Foner's book was a trade paperback and signed, so a good candidate to purchase and bring back. We then proceeded  to the Pavilion of the States tent, where there were tables to showcase local authors.  It was pretty crowded so we just checked out the Wisconsin tent.

In all, we didn't spend a lot of time at the festival on Saturday as I was most interested in seeing David McCullough speak on Sunday.  So we spent the rest of the day at the Air and Space Museum.  I'm always amazed at the quantity and quality of FREE things to do in DC.


Then came Sunday, the big day and the reason we came to the festival.  On arriving at the Mall, we first checked out the line for David McCullough's book signing.  I had my copy of "The Greater Journey" with me for him to sign if I got a chance.  It was over an hour before it began and the line was really long already.  This was a problem for me.  As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I tore my Achilles tendon this summer.  I had worn my boot most of the time in DC, but I was having heel problems so I just wore tennis shoes on Sunday.  There was pretty much no way I was going to be able to stand in line for what could have amounted to two hours.  We looked in the B&N tent several times during the day to see if they were selling autographed copies of the book, but if they had them I never saw them.  So I had to pass on getting my book signed.  There was just no way I could have done it.
 
For the same reasons, I was really concerned about getting a seat in the History & Biography tent for McCullough's speech.  I did not want to have to stand for that either.  Therefore, I went to the tent two authors early to make sure I got a seat.  I saw Kristie Miller talk about her book "Ellen and Edith: Woodrow Wilson's First Ladies" and Carla Peterson talk about her book "Black Gotham: A History of African Americans in Nineteenth-Century New York City".  They were both really interesting and I'm definitely going to read both.

Then it was time for David McCullough's speech.  I was in the third row, and turned around to see an absolutely packed tent, with rows of people standing in the back.  There were also people sitting on the ground in front and to the sides.  He was introduced by the Librarian of Congress, which I think is one of the coolest job titles around. When McCullough came onto the stage, he got a standing ovation.  His talk focused on a couple of things.  First, he talked about the importance of libraries and teachers, which drew shouts of support from the crowd.  Then he talked some about his book.  In reality, it wasn't anything I hadn't heard him say before; but seeing it in person made it all seem new.  He's a very good speaker and seems passionate about what he does.  After his 40-minute speech, C-Span did a live interview with him.  Unfortunately, I had to go meet some friends and couldn't stay for that so I'll have to check C-Span's website for the video.
 

I really enjoyed the festival.  We were lucky to have great weather (after there had been pouring rain on Friday) and the Library of Congress does a great job.  I will continue to keep an eye out each year for who is speaking, and will definitely go again.  It was a great experience, and I recommend that anyone interested in books and reading go at least once, or if nothing else, watch it live on C-Span.

Starting "The Greater Journey"

Yes, I know my posts have had a definite theme lately; but it's not too often that I get this excited about a particular book.  I'm about two chapters into "The Greater Journey" and I'm hooked already.  If this keeps up, it will definitely become one of my favorite books.  I wish I had more time to read but summer classes keep me pretty busy.  I have the week of the 4th of July off, so I anticipate getting through it then.

The book has really gotten me thinking and remembering about the time I've spent in Paris.  So, periodically as I read the book, I will be blogging about those experiences as the relate to what is going on in the book.  Hopefully it will be a nice departure from just book blogging, but in a way still related to books.  So look for my first Paris experience post in the next couple of days.

It's Official -- I'm going to the book festival!!!

Last night, prices went down on airfare to DC to a level my husband and I had previously agreed was our purchase price.  So we bought the tickets and are all set to go to DC for a long weekend for the book festival.  I am so excited!  I've been wanting to go for several years, since I first saw portions of the festival broadcast on C-Span.  Also on our itinerary are a visit to the US Supreme Court and Colonial Williamsburg.  We also might take in a Washington Nationals baseball game, as the Sunday we are there is there last home game of the season.  Can't wait!

National Book Festival in DC

As I mentioned earlier, David McCullough (my favorite author of nonfiction books) has a new book out now, about Americans living in Paris in the 1800s.  My copy of the book should arrive today, and I'm very excited to get started reading it.

For several years now, I've wanted to go to the National Book Festival in DC, which is the last weekend in September.  But there haven't been any authors that interested me enough to make the trip out there.  This year, however, I'm hoping to make it as McCullough will be there.  So here's hoping I find a decent airfare.  I really, really want to go!

For information on the festival, go to http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/.

New David McCullough book coming out this month!

As many of you may know, my very favorite author is David McCullough.  I've read many of his books, my favorite being his biography of John Adams.  Later this month, his new book "The Greater Journey:  Americans in Paris" comes out.  What could be better than this?!?  Not only is it exciting to finally have a new McCullough book to add to my collection, but it's about Paris!  More specifically, from a product description on amazon.com, "The Greater Journey is the enthralling, inspiring—and until now, untold—story of the adventurous American artists, writers, doctors, politicians, architects, and others of high aspiration who set off for Paris in the years between 1830 and 1900, ambitious to excel in their work."

I love Paris and have been there three times.  My favorite spot on Earth is the Trocadero, just across the river from the Eiffel Tower (see my 3 January 2011 blog entry for a picture of me from that spot).  I have Eiffel Towers all over my house.  Now, I realize most of this book takes place pre-Eiffel Tower, but I love the ambience of Paris as well, which I anticipate will be front and center in the book.

Normally when I buy new books, I don't read them right away.  I put them on the shelf and get to them whenever they come up in rotation (see my 30 July 2010 blog entry for an explanation of my book selection method).  However, I will begin reading this book on May 24, the day it comes out.  I have big expectations, and I doubt I will be let down.

Checking Out New Textbooks!

This weekend I'm going to a paralegal educators' conference in Chicago.  I know that a lot of people hate conferences; I like them.  First, I think they're valuable and I learn a lot from them.  Second, I get to get out of town for a few days on the school's dime.  There's always time for sightseeing at night or in between sessions.  A couple years ago I went to Portland, OR for a conference and it was great because I'd never been there before and don't know that I would have gone otherwise. 

One of the things I really like about the conferences, though, is looking at new textbooks.  Various texbook vendors set up booths at the conference, and you can order free copies of their books to review.  I don't always decide to switch textbooks, although I have done that from time to time.  But even if I don't officially use them in class, they're great references for supplemental material.  Each book presents the issues in a slightly different way, or has good review questions I can use in class.

This time, there's a new edition of my estate planning text that is supposed to come out this summer.  I'm hoping they have a preview of it at the conference, because I'm really excited about it.  I've used the current edition for three years now, and it's getting out of date.  I was considering changing texts as a result, even though I really like my current book; but now I won't have to with the new addition.

Wish me luck!

Hard Copy Book Sales Down -- Are Books Doomed?

Is the print book coming to an end?  From http://www.thebookseller.com/news/print-book-sales-continue-fall.html:


"Book sales slipped for the fourth week in a row last week, and were down more than £3.3m on last year, according to Nielsen BookScan data.

A total of £24.2m was spent on printed books at UK retail outlets in the seven days to 26th March, down 2.9% (£735,000) on the previous week, and down 12% on the same week last year.

It is the 10th week of 12 in 2011 thus far that BookScan has reported a drop in year-on-year book sales, as the trade struggles to match a particularly poor start to 2010 when inclement weather resulted in sales falling 6% (£23m) in the first three months of the year on 2009."

I had blogged earlier about wondering whether to get a Kindle or Amazon or the like.  I still haven't gotten one, as I don't really have a need for it.  I don't travel enough for it to make a whole lot of sense for me.  I would never, ever read an ebook at home.  I prefer actual hard copy books.  But will there come a point when I will have no choice?

I have a hard time seeing a time when hard copy books will become obsolete; but I think things will change.  You used to see music stores in every mall.  Not anymore.  It's much easier and often cheaper to buy music online.  But you can still go to Target and buy a CD if you want one.  In that same vein, I am sure those who want actual books will still be able to get them.  But I also predict that the trend discussed in the above-mentioned article will continue.  However, it does make me a little bit sad.

New books!

I purchased several new books today, so I thought I'd share them with you.

First, I got a gift card to Barnes & Noble from my brother for Christmas.  With it, I purchased two cookbooks, both from PBS's "America's Test Kitchen" program, one of my favorite cooking shows.  It's on my local PBS station on Saturday afternoons, and my DVR records it for me so I never miss it.  One book is on cooking and one on baking.  I was only going to get one, but they were half off so I figured that meant I should get both!

Then, while at the mall, I noticed that Waldenbooks had a going out of business sale and everything was 40% off.  They were also selling all their fixtures, so it was tempting to buy some of their shelves.  However, they really aren't the type of shelf you put in your living room, so I guess it wouldn't have been the best purchase.  Anyway, I purchased three books.  One is about the case Marbury v. Madison, specifically focusing on the roles John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and Chief Justice Marshall played in that seminal case.  Anyone who knows me at all knows that I have to own any book that involves John Adams!. 

The other two books are a bit of a contradiction.  One is the recent book publishing Jimmy Carter's diaries from when he was in office.  The other is a similar book of Ronald Reagan's diaries.  I am very interested in presidential history, regardless of the politics involved, so I thought these books really went well together.  Plus, my husband is a big Reagan fan, so in reality the book is for him.

As usual, I'm accumulating books much faster than I can read them.  Now to go make space on my increasingly full book shelves...

New Year -- New Books!

I'm not one for New Years resolutions.  I know they're just going to get broken, so I don't bother.  But, I do want to set a goal of reading more this year and keeping up better with this blog.  To that end, I will be numbering my book reviews for the year to see how many books I can read in 2011.  Ideally, I'd like to read on average a book a week.  We'll see.  But stay tuned.  My first review for the year will be coming shortly.  Enjoy!

Books, Books and More Books

Well, faithful readers, it seems I've been somewhat lax in my blogging over the last couple of months.  I need to get back to it!  So I'll do just that by talking about how half the fun of reading books is the accumulation of them.  And in my house, there's been some pretty significant accumulation lately.

My husband and I each belong to a history book club, and lately there have been quite a few books on sale that appealed to us.  I believe that, to date, we have added approximately 20 books to our shelves.  I love adding books to shelves.  Really, I enjoy it so much I should have been a librarian instead of a lawyer.  In fact, that's the first thing I wanted to be "when I grew up" when I was a kid.  If I had to do it over again, I'd have gotten a library science degree.  But it's fun for me to figure out where on the shelf a new book (or in this case 20 new books) should go.  The only problem is that just a few months ago I had my shelves just as I wanted them.  I don't like books from end to end.  Rather, I prefer to have pictures, or vases or candles or whatever else on the shelves to break up the line of books.  So, now I'm going to need a new shelf so I can spread them out again.

The next challenge comes in January.  See, for every book purchased in November, you can do a buy-one-get-one-free deal in January.  I don't know that we're ready for another 40 books though!  Yikes!  Maybe I should just get two more shelves right away just in case.  Or maybe we should just exercise some restraint for once....

Book Festivals

Ten years ago, Laura Bush, in conjunction with the Library of Congress, started the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C.  As I learned in her book, "Spoken from the Heart," it was something she also started in Texas while that state's First Lady.  I first became aware of it in 2005.  I like to watch Book TV on C-Span during the weekends, and every year they feature the authors from the History and Biography Tent.  In 2005, David McCullough, my favorite author, did a presenation on his book "1776."  I spent a good portion of that weekend watching the other history and biography authors, and now every year I look to see who will be presenting.  Some day, I want to actually go myself rather than rely on C-Span.  If McCullough is ever there again, I'm there as well.  I figure he's due to publish another book sometime soon!

There are state and regional book festivals all over the country.  The Wisconsin Book Festival takes place in October, although I've never had the opportunity to go.  I have been to the Fox Cities Book Festival though, and really enjoyed it.  I saw a panel of speakers talk about reading classics, and I talked to a few authors who were there promoting their work.  A regional festival doesn't always have the caliber of authors the National Book Festival does, of course.  I bought one book that sounded really interesting, but turned out to be absolutely horrible and poorly written.  But I also found a cute children's book that I gave to my godson that year.  It's fun to have a book autographed by the author!

There are book festivals everywhere -- find one near you in the next year!  You might have a chance to see your favorite author or discover a new one!

Reading the Classics

This past weekend, my mom and I went to see a performance of "To Kill a Mockingbird" at St. Norbert College.  It was an excellent performance, but as the end neared, I realized that I only had a vague idea of how it ended because I've never read the book.  It seems like one of those books everyone would read in high school.  Maybe it's the racially charged language (the n-word is uttered more than just a few times) that prevents it from being read in school.  Obviously, I've heard enough about it to know the general theme of the book, but that was about it.  If fact, I'm almost ashamed to admit there are a lot of classics that I haven't read. 

Barnes and Noble sells classics at a pretty low price, and the library is free, so there should be no excuse for not reading them.  However, I think many of us look at the classics as the books we are forced to read while in high school but which we never actually enjoyed.  I know I intensely disliked having to read "The Scarlet Letter" in high school.  I wonder if I should try it again now as an adult.  It certainly can't be any worse than I remember!

There are several lists of the top 100 books of all time.  The New York Times version can be found at  http://www.nytimes.com/library/books/072098best-novels-list.html.  Of this list, I have read four.  Interestingly, "To Kill a Mockingbird" is not on this list.  Regardless, I think it's time for me to get reading!

I guess textbooks are books too!

Hi everyone.  It's been a little over a week since my last post.  My intention has been to write every three days so as not to disappoint my fans!  Ha!  But the fall semester is fast approaching, and I've been spending tons of time prepping for my 7 classes this semester.  This requires reading a LOT of textbooks, particularly in classes where I'm using a new book this semester.  Because of all the reading I've been doing, I haven't taken as much time for leisure reading as I'd like.  Thankfully, that should remedy itself when my schedule normalizes in the next couple weeks.

However, I need to remind myself that reading textbooks is still reading.  I read mostly non-fiction anyway, so reading a textbook isn't always too much of a deviation from that.  I enjoy getting new textbooks, and if it wouldn't frustrate the hell out of the students and the bookstore, I'd probably switch books way more often just for the fun of it.  There's not much out there that beats a brand new book (I used to love brand new notebooks too, so I admit to being a little odd in this regard), even if it is a textbook.  It's right up there with new car smell.  No, I don't smell my textbooks.  That's a whole other story that only my law school classmates would appreciate!

Making good books into miniseries

Some of my favorite books have been successfully made into miniseries:  Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice"; Alex Haley's "Roots"; John Jakes' "North and South"; David McCullough's "John Adams."  These miniseries brought these books to life.  However, I've recently found that it doesn't always work out that way.

I am a big fan of Alexander McCall Smith's "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" series.  There are 10 books so far in the series, and I've read each of them.  They are wonderful books and I'd recommend them to anyone.  I was excited when I found out HBO was going to make them into a series.  HBO did an excellent job with "John Adams" (even if I wasn't overly thrilled with the casting choice for John Adams himself), and was looking forward to something similar with Smith's books.  Unfortunately, for me at least, it just didn't work.  I think there are two reasons for this.

First, I love the way Smith writes his characters in the series.  I was able to form a very clear image in my head of each of the characters and the locale in Botswana where the series takes place.  I didn't think the HBO series lived up to my impressions.  I don't know if it was the casting, the writing, or the acting, but it just didn't work for me.  One example is the character of Mma Makutsi, who is an assistant detective/secretary.  My impression of her from the book was that she was quite opinionated and often judgmental, but still a likeable character.  In the HBO series she was still opinionated and judgmental, but came off bitchy rather than likeable.  I was turned off by her, and that was unsettling for me.

Second, the books are very character-driven, not action-driven.  You keep reading because you become attached to the characters and care what happens to them.  It's not suspenseful really, and not particularly exciting; but it's not at all boring.  However, when translated into a TV series, it became boring because nothing really happens amd there's not the character development to make up for it.

As a result of these observations, I watched only one episode and returned the DVD to Netflix.  I was worried that if I watched any more, the images on the screen would replace the images in my head.  That's not a risk I'm willing to take, and I can't wait for more books to come out in this series so I can continue reading about the wonderful characters.

Do you have a favorite book that was made into a movie or TV series?  Maybe "Harry Potter" or the "Twighlight" series?  How about "The DaVinci Code"?  Please comment below and let me know!

Do I want an e-reader?

I am not what they call an early adapter of technology.  I don't have an i-phone, and I'm not even considering getting an i-pad.  My mp3 player is an off-brand, not an i-pod.  I just don't like to spend money on technology.  However, I have been considering getting an e-reader, like a Kindle or a Nook.  The problem is that I just don't know if it would be worth the expense for me.

I love to read; but more than that, I love books.  I like the feel of a new book.  I like holding it in my hand and turning the pages.  I have heard that reading an e-reader is very much like a book.   I don't buy it, at least not yet.  If I travelled more, either for work or pleasure, then I think it would be a good thing.  Lugging a bunch of books on a plane is not fun.  But my work is about 2 miles from my house, and I only go on vacation once or twice a year.   I can't imagine choosing to read from an e-reader when I could just as easily read an actual book.  But my curiousity might be getting the best of me, and I'm sure I'll end up with an e-reader sooner rather than later.  If nothing else, I can download books for cheaper than I could buy them, which is a great option for books I'm less certain about.

There are people who worry books will become obsolete eventually as technology progresses.  I don't think that will ever happen.  There are too many people out there who, like me, need actual books in their lives.  At least, I hope that's the case!

Decisions, Decisions OR What Book Do I Read Next?

Every time I put a book back on the shelf, I choose a new one to read.  My problem is that I accumulate books faster than I can read them, so it's hard to decide what's next.  Also, by nature I don't like to make decisons if I don't have to.  (Don't ever make me decide where to go to eat!)  So when I need to pick a new book, I use the scientific method of eenie, meenie, miney, moe.  Basically, I put the completed book back on the shelf and start counting from the next book in line, working my way down the shelves.  Whatever book I land on, I read.

Of course, there are rules to this game.  First, I usually don't read two similar books in a row.  For example, I just read a book on Lincoln's cabinet, so I wouldn't read another Civil War era history or biography.  Second, sometimes I land on a book I've already read and don't feel like re-reading right now.  In either of these cases, I just go to the next book in line and apply the same rules.  When I land on a book that I haven't read, I must read it.  No excuses.

I know I could just pick whatever I felt like reading, but that never works.  I have too many books to choose from, and some might never get read if I did it that way.  With my method, each book has an equal chance of being read somewhere down the line.  It might sound crazy to you, but if you know me well enough you probably aren't at all surprised at how my mind works.  Ask me sometime how I go about eating a bag of M&Ms.  There's an order to everything!

Let's give this blog another shot!

I've tried this before and failed spectacularly. However, I thnk it's time to try again!
I love books! While I don't have time to read as much as I used to, I still try to read at least a little every day. It just takes longer to finish each book now! And really, I'm only rarely reading only one book at a time. There's the book I read at home, the book I read at school, and often one other book thrown in somewhere for good measure (such as having one in the bedroom and one in the living room). I think I just have a sort attention span and that's why I'm reading several things at once.  It's also why I love to read during commercials.  That's also how I studied when I was in school -- in short little bursts during commercials.

My goal with this blog is twofold: 1) to review books as I complete them, and 2) to talk about the world of books in general. I'm hoping to inspire others to read as well as to be inspired by the books others have read. Please feel free to comment and add to the discussion!

Books I am currently reading

I frequently have several books going at one time. It depends mostly on my attention span at any given time. Sometimes I just feel like starting a new book even when I'm not finished with other ones. I'll frequently read a chapter of one book, then a chapter of another, and so on. So here is a list of books that you can expect to see reviews of sometime in the future.

1776 -- David McCullough
Truman -- David McCullough
Miss Mackenzie -- Anthony Trollop
Look Away! -- William C. Davis (a history of the Confederacy)

Please feel free to post the books you are currently reading.

Anne

Introduction

Hello. Welcome and thanks for visiting. This blog will be a forum for me to post reviews of books I read in the hopes that it will motivate people to read some of them as well. I also invite you to post reviews of books you have read. So please return in the next couple of weeks to see my first book review, which will be a biography of Jane Austen. Enjoy!

Anne