I am addicted to this website – Awful Library Books http://awfullibrarybooks.wordpress.com/

Made me think of those books we have lying around at home that are too funny to throw away, like my older sister’s copy of Brooke Shields’ “On Your Own” from the early 1980s.  James Lileks (www.lileks.com) also has great images from retro cookbooks on his site.  

I tore through this book on the weekend – it was impossible to stop thinking about it!  The setting is an eerie, crumbling English manor house (Hundreds) during the dismal postwar years. At one time the house and the ancestral family – the Ayres – were shimmering examples of England’s aristocracy.  Times have changed…the family has seen its share of tragedies and the house has begun to decompose, bit by bit.  A local doctor is fascinated with Hundreds and with the Ayres.  Doctor Faraday’s mother once worked as a nurserymaid for the Ayres family and he can recall a boyhood visit to Hundreds when the house was at its best.  

Occupying Hundreds are the  family, which has been reduced to the widowed Mrs. Ayres, Roderick (wounded in the Second World War) and his sister Caroline, and the handful of servants who remain in service at Hundreds.  Frightening events start to plague the family (try to sleep after the experience in the nursery!) and we are left to wonder what is happening to the house and the family.  I highly recommend this book.

It reminded me of another favourite read – the Children of Charlecote, in which four children grow up at Charlecote Park in the days before the Great War.  In my mind, ‘to the manor born’ brought great expectations and great burdens.  I never felt more sad than reading about the loneliness and literal hunger of the children growing up at Charlecote Park.

I read this interesting piece today – it’s very much like other pieces I’ve read recently, covering the typical issues of Google Books, the Internet, funding, etc.  But this is from a corporate publication and it does a good job of summarizing the threats that libraries face and offers details about the NYPL’s strategies for remaining relevant.  Public libraries seem to be doing much better than research libraries in this regard.  According to the authors, “Research librarians must move beyond collecting and curating and become more adept at connecting with scholars.”  Haven’t academic librarians always tried to connect with scholars?  I wonder if there will ever be a time when we can stop fretting about the future of libraries…there are times that I feel we spend too much of our time worrying about how external forces are going to shape our future and not enough time charting a strong course for ourselves.

I just started reading this new book by Brian Mathews and it is great!  I’m getting into the planning months of summer and thinking about fresh new techniques for getting students & faculty members engaged with the Library.  I like the author’s conversational tone and his brilliant ideas…he has me excited about the prospect of planning for the fall.

In my quest to once again become a ‘reader’, I’ve started Bright Young People: the Lost Generation of London’s Jazz Age.  It’s an exploration (not a celebration) of the antics of upper-class Londoners during that much romanticized period between the wars.  It’s engaging if only to read about the lavish parties and gaze at the lush photographs.  I love the Mitford sisters and Diana (Mitford to Guinness to Mosley) makes an appearance in these pages.  Though it is not Diana in Cecil Beaton’s photograph on the dustjacket, I am particularly fond of the cover.

To see more of Cecil Beaton’s beautiful pictures – visit the National Portrait Gallery online.

Sadly, the film Revolutionary Road made a brief appearance at the cinemas near us but I missed it.  I did finish reading the book, which is excellent.  I’m guilty of romanticizing the 1950s and this novel offered a different perspective from the rosy glow that is present in so many works about the post-war period.  The movie previews came out before I read the book and I couldn’t picture anyone but Leonardo di Caprio and Kate Winslet as the main characters, Frank and April Wheeler.  I don’t know if Richard Yates meant for April to be a sympathetic character…I certainly didn’t find her very endearing.  All of the characters in the novel seem rather unlikeable, though I did feel for Frank who just seemed exhausted, confused, and at a loss on how to deal with his wife.

It’s the kind of book that leaves you wondering about the unhappiness and anxieties that lies beneath the surface of relationships all around us.  And, as consumerism continues (seemingly unfazed by the recession), it’s a reminder that life with the Jones may not be as dazzling as it appears.

Delicate snowdrops are blooming in our garden – it’s our first spring in the new house! This year, I’ve been trying to tackle spring cleaning with natural cleaners. I have used Method (www.methodhome.com) cleaning products for several years…they have the most amazing scents and are easy to find at Shopper’s Drug Mart.

Making my own products is the next step – saves $$ AND saves packaging!

The best books I’ve found on the topic are:

The Naturally Clean Home 

Green Clean: the Environmentally Sound Guide to Cleaning your Home

 Yesterday, I used white vinegar for fabric softener with great results!  Stay tuned for more green ideas AND book suggestions…

Sign up to follow the Brock Library on Twitter (www.twitter.com/brock_library) and you could win a prize each day of Freedom to Read week! From February 23-27, we will be announcing a secret word over twitter each afternoon. The first person to visit the Help Desk with the secret word will win a prize!

In 2005, the Romantic Novelists Association surveyed its writers to determine the most romantic novels of all time. The top five included: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, and Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (those passionate Bronte sisters!)

The term “romantic” is highly subjective…the most romantic novels for me are those that are subdued and wistful. JL Carr’s A Month in the Country is romantic (to me) because Birkin and the Vicar’s wife fall in love but do not end up together. Philip Larkin’s poem “An Arundel Tomb” is romantic because it conveys so much emotion in a simple gesture: the earl and countess, cast in stone, are holding hands…”what will remain of us is love.” Of course, Larkin was never one to put a positive spin on love! It’s a beautiful poem, nonetheless.

Here’s a picture of our library display: http://tinyurl.com/adptl2

Baby, it’s (getting) cold outside!  Have you ever wondered what happens to your body in extreme temperatures?  The Library is pleased to host Professor Stephen Cheung (aka Dr. Freeze) as he discusses his research into the effects of extreme temperature on human physiology.

Professor Cheung is a Canada Research Chair in Environmental Ergonomics and an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Education and Kinesiology.  Since arriving at Brock in 2007, Professor Cheung has received $208,000 in external funding devoted to building his research lab.  In addition, Professor Cheung has $100,000 in NSERC funding and is also a member of a $1.6 billion project (funded federally through Transport Canada) on life-raft design for use in the North Atlantic.  Cheung’s research has significant implications for health, technology, and occupational safety.

Please join us for a cup of hot chocolate, following the lecture!

Date: Tuesday, November 25

Time: 2pm

Location: eclassroom (TH 253 – located near the Scotiabank branch)