Category Archives: books

Alas, no roadtrips this week

I only wish we were off to [tag]Readercon[/tag], but it’s just not to be.

Speaking of books…Numerous [tag]artomatic[/tag] denizens recommended House of Leaves to me because they thought the [tag]antomatic[/tag] hallway was changing dimensions. (Thanks to Andrew and Jenn, who were among those who made the recommendation).

I bought the book back in March but just finally began to read it over the weekend. Now Husband has scooped it up and I notice his bookmark has inched past mine. I guess I should finish the other books I’m reading and wait to get [tag]House of Leaves[/tag] back when he’s done. Neither one of us has gotten terribly far with it yet, but we’re in agreement that it’s got a real H.P. Lovecraft meets James Joyce thing going for it.

(note: that link takes you to author [tag]Mark Z Danielewski[/tag]’s website, and you’ll have to do some clicking to get to the House of Leaves page).

They're heeere

If you’ve been down around the DC convention center and think the throngs are starting to look a bit suspicious, that’s because it’s time for the [tag]American Library Association[/tag] Annual Conference.

Can’t attend? Plenty of attendees are blogging it.

I heard someone complaining about the lack of good speakers on the program this year and sincerely hope they were kidding. The most recent schedule lists, among others: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Bill Bradley, Garrison Keillor, Ken Burns, Patricia Cornwell, David Baldacci, Judy Blume, Nancy Pearl, Anthony Romero, Marian Wright Edelman, Irshad Manji, Julie Andrews, and Armistead Maupin.

Not to mention the third annual bookcart drill team world championships! Don’t want to miss that. Unless it conflicts with happy hour…

If I'm this year's Ira, who is Ira this year?

Numerous people have told me that they think I’m Artomatic 07’s Ira Tattelman. This is funny to me on a number of levels.

First, there was the post I wrote about Ira’s work in 04 that was titled “Ira Tattelman’s work Creep me the Fuck Out.” (reposted so I could link to it)

Ira’s work is really cool and I’m deeply flattered. Comparisons can be annoying, but I’m rather enjoying this one.

Second, I had no idea ants would provoke such visceral reactions.

People seem to love the ants or they really, really hate the ants. Although I suppose people who feel lukewarm about the ants are going to bother to tell me, so I might be off the mark on that one.

Third, Ira has an installation in the show this year – so if I’m this year’s Ira, who is Ira this year?

Perhaps I’ll ponder that another day, as I want to hit the used book sale at the Arlington Public Library and then go back to bed until tomorrow. It’s a very good day for sleeping.

punk love

The best part of “Punk Love,” Govinda Gallery’s exhibit of Susie J Horgan’s photography from the early eighties is watching mature punks bearing skateboards (punks of a certain age?) explain the photos to their young board-toting spawn. The pics of young Ian and Alex MacKay and Henry Rollins and the Wilson Center and DC Space and the old 9:30 Club are cool, too, but observing that family outing just made my day.

Missed the show? You can still buy the book, which looked cool in it’s own right.

33 reasons librarians are still extremely important

Do forgive the lack of link attribution, can’t remember where I came across this. 33 Reasons [tag]Librarians[/tag] are Still Extremely Important.

I thought this was an especially good point:

32. [tag]Libraries[/tag] are a stopgap to anti-intellectualism

It’s not that the internet is anti-intellectual; its academic roots and the immense quantity of scholarly sites certainly attest to it being a smart medium.

But for some, the alluring immediacy of the internet can lead to the false impression that only immediate, interactive and on-the-spot online discussion is of value. Dusty books on tall shelves then seem to represent stagnant knowledge, and their curators (librarians), behind the times. [tag]Books[/tag] and reading easily gets regarded as elitist and inactive, while blogging becomes the here-and-now.

But, as mentioned earlier, not everything is on the internet. Access to books and theories from hundreds of years of cultural history is essential to progress. Without this, technology could become the ironic tool of the sensational and retrograde cultural tendencies. Preserving libraries to store knowledge and teach the limitations of technology can help prevent the hubris and narcissism of technological novelty.

It’s quite a good list, although I did a doubletake and had a good laugh after initially misreading the title of #28 as “Librarians are stable…” It actually reads, “28. Libraries are stable while the web is transient.” Sensible? Usually. Stable? That’s the subject of much debate…