Lari's Bookshelf

  Gnomes by Rien Poortvliet My rating: 5 of 5 stars I can’t believe I had gone through so many years, working in libraries, without discovering this gem until this past week. Since gnomes make up a big part of this year’s summer reading theme, I have a gnome display on the bulletin board in the children’s area. One of my coworkers and I started talking about the nature of gnomes, and she showed me this deluxe edition of “Gnomes” by Wil Huygen. Admittedly, I haven’t read many books about gnomes, but I would bet that this book is the ultimate and definitive guide to gnomes. It was easy to see why this book would and apparently does appeal to so many. The author was a physician, and this is reflected in his observant, scientific writing style. Gnomes become so fascinating, so interesting, and the world they live in is huge and magical and even real thanks to the author’s “field notes” about gnomes, their behaviors, and their environments. Rien Poortvelt’s illustrati...

Illustration from Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark Trilogy I asked my friends on Twitter, G+, and Facebook what books they considered to be their "scariest read." I got some answers and compiled them in a Prezi presentation. It was fun to see all of these displayed so nicely in a digital "book display" format. I liked playing with Prezi. Have any more suggestions? Leave a comment! Also, the presentation is best viewed in "full screen" mode (button at lower right hand corner after starting presentation) and by using the right and left arrows at the center bottom. Also, you can zoom in and out as needed. Have fun! "Scariest" Reads on Prezi

Click to view on Amazon Chi's Sweet Home   by Konami Kanata I'm not a manga person (not counting my brief, enthusiastic teen affair with Magic Knight Rayearth and Sailor Moon), but when I picked up Chi's Sweet Home for the first time a week back, I could not put it down. Chi is a lost kitten who meets a young boy named "Youhei" of the Yamada family. They decide to take the abandoned kitten home, even though pets are strictly NOT ALLOWED at their apartment complex. There are a lot of cute, quirky things about the kitten that make her endearing. Chi acquires her name when she answers to the Japanese word for urine. She also speaks in "meows" to the humans, but the translations of what he is saying are adorable, since she speaks in a cute-toddlerish-speech-impediment kind of way. As someone who owns a cat, I enjoyed the kitty antics immensely, as they reflect real things kitties do! I'm pretty sure if I didn't own a cat of my own, I wo...

Click to view on Amazon My Friend Dahmer  by Derf Backderf This is a horrible story. It really is. But My Friend Dahmer is a graphic novel written and drawn extremely well. The author/artist recounts his interactions with Jeffrey Dahmer in high school. Dahmer typically goes unnoticed by his teachers and peers. Sure, he is weird. He has this knack for acting like he has cerebral palsy and yelling in the library just to get the librarian riled up. (Note: I did not particularly enjoy the author's portrayal of the librarian, but I digress.) Dahmer likes to collect dead animals he finds, and strip them to the bone, just to see what's inside. But he also enjoys the company of friends at school. The bizarre interactions between him and his friends further illustrates just how strange Dahmer is, even though he is beneath everyone's radar. The story follows his family problems, dark fantasies, and his alcoholism in high school. He tries to numb the darkness within...

Click to view on Amazon Leaving Fishers by Margaret Peterson Haddix Dorry has just left her small town, the only home she's ever known, and moved to the big city because her father was laid off at his factory. She is completely alone. No one seems to acknowledge her existence at her new high school, and she is readily ignored and even insulted when she tries to approach other teens. No one bothers to get to know her, except for a tight knit group of kids who call themselves "Fishers." They invite her to sit with them at lunch, and then proceed to invite her to their church activities. They shower her in love and acceptance and call her "friend." Dorry is so happy to have some friends, so she doesn't mind that they are a little odd. She tries to not feel uncomfortable when they pray over their food at school, and how they constantly talk about religion and God. Eventually Dorry finds herself at a Fishers retreat, where, she is unwittingly "wil...

I thought I'd give those who follow me here a little update on a few things that have been going on. Books and Beer For those following me on Google Plus , you may already know about last week's " Books and Beer Hangout " hosted by Epublish Unum's Evo Terra and Jeff Moriarty . My co guest was everyone's favorite bad astronomer Phil Plait . The subject of the show: writing and publishing science based books  (hence, the reason my last post was a booklist for the non-science reader ). It was my first public hangout, and it turned out to be such a blast. The post-show hangout, or "Hang Over," allowed for people to come into the hangout and ask us questions. I was so happy that peeps were interested in libraries and librarianship. There was also some discussion as to the future of publishing and the need for traditional publishers to re evaluate their business strategies with ebooks. We also ruminated on the possibility of a zombie apocalyp...

Here is a booklist (that is currently, by no means, comprehensive) of books that are non-fiction (for the most part), with a particular focus on science related issues. The goal of this list is to highlight some good "crossover" books to readers who generally don't already read science books, or to the layperson interested in learning something new. I am trying to keep the list limited to books that have been published in the last decade, but preferabely published in the last 3-4 years. If you would like to make a suggestion to add a book to the list, please leave a comment. I also will be listing some crossover appeals/genres that might pique a non-science reader's interest. (Ordered by most recent pub year.) Leo Geo and His Miraculous Journey Through the Center of the Earth by Jon Chad (2012) "Intrepid explorer Leo Geo is heading off on a mission into the unknown. With science as his sidekick, he intends to tunnel his way to the center of the...