Decomposition Of Books

Detroit Public Schools once had a book depository. It's still there, but hasn't been maintained in years, and its once-educational contents have been ravaged by fire and weather, resulting in this blog post and this set of Flickr photos. It is haunting, and sad, but reminiscent of the "World Without Us" book or the Life After People show. On a small scale, without human intervention nature has started reclaiming this building from the inside out. (see also) Books, it seems, are both good for growing both smarts and nature. (via)

Library Games

No, I'm not talking about soccer in the stacks: I'm talking about this video game. In it, you take the stack of books on the left, and drag them over to the bookshelf in the middle. The complicated part? You have to shelve them correctly, according to Library of Congress number. When I was in school, they drilled in Dewey Decimal; then I got to college, and found that smart peoples organize their books differently. This game should help any of you who stand at the front of the library, jaw resting on your chest, staring dumbfounded at how all those books got in order. If you think the game is lame, well, you have compatriots at Fark, who are very amusing in their hatred of this game.

Lots Said In A Simple Cover

The book at the right is a bunch of things:

• A fine example of irony;
• A vote of 'no confidence' regarding its contents;
• Proof that a good cover is worth the money;
• A reason you don't want libraries rebinding your book.

Click here to see the whole cover, and then you'll see what I'm talking about.

(via)

Learn To Read, From Natalie Dee

More book-fun from Natalie Dee -- I don't think she thought her cunning plan through:


nataliedee.com

Looking For References

The Pew Internet & American Life Project, in conjunction with the Institute of Museum and Library Services, has performed a survey (pdf of results) to find out where people turn to for information: internet, libraries, friends, family, etc. Interesting to me: 40% of Generation Y would go to the library, as opposed to 20% of those above age 30. The survey is complex in its respondent makeup, though: I wonder if this is skewed by the number of young people's lack of home computers and internet connections -- people over 30 are probably more likely to have a computer in the house, have kids around preventing a quick run to the library, and other reasons and benefits to stick at home rather than dashing down to the bookitorium. Still, if teens and young adults still see libraries as a valuable resource -- whatever form the library has taken today or in the future -- then there's something to be said for libraries as a cornerstone of an information society. If the ALA wants to remind people that the internet is not a library, then they should embrace that their combination of internet and library is of significant value. Now, if only governments will realize the value of libraries to their public.

Corky Normart's Book

Julie's mom bought this book at a Fresno Flea-market, and now she's got it -- it once belonged to Corky Normart, a young lad whose family once owned a fur company. How's Julie know all this? because of Corky's artwork inside the cover, of course (click on the cover in her post to see).

...Before It's Too Late!

marriedtothesea.com

Roundup: Best Books of 2007

As usual, I read very little new literature this year, opting for Vonnegut and Bester and other classics. If I do want to back up and see what I missed, plenty of places have their recommendations:

• AV Club: The Best Books We Read In 2007
• Publisher's Weekly: Best Books of the Year
• New York Times: 100 Notable Books of the Year and 10 best books
• Library Journal: Best Books 2007
• Boston.com: Best Fiction and Nonfiction
• School Library Journal: Best Books of 2007
• Hudson Booksellers: Best Books of 2007
• On Point Radio: Best Books of 2007 (audio)
  
• Salon Book Awards 2007
• Newsweek: 2007's Best Books
• Village Voice: 20 Books of the year
• American Library Association: Teen's Top Ten
• Amazon.com: Best Books of 2007
• Kirkus Reviews: Best Books of 2007 (pdf)
• Miami Herald: Best Kids Books of 2007
• Slate: Best Books of 2007
• Financial Times: The Best Books of 2007
• Topeka/Shawnee Public Library: Best Books of 2007
• New Statesman: Books of the year
• The Globalist: Best Books of 2007
• Entertainment Weekly: The Best Books of 2007
• Independent Online: Best Books of 2007
• New York Mahazine: Best in Books
• Seattle Times: Book reviewers favorites
• FEARS magazine: best scifi/fantasy/horror (scroll down)
• Leicester (UK) Libraries: best books picked by children
• The Independent Mail: Best Books of 2007
• Christian Science Monitor: Books we liked best
• Scholastic: Best books of 2007, parents & children
  
• January Magazine: Best books of 2007
• Teen Reads: Best books of 2007
• Cryptomundo: Top Cryptozoology books
• Miss Erin's Top Favorite Books of 2007
• Planetizen: Top 10 Books list

And, this list from Bostonist did the footwork of what I was planning on doing: compiling a meta-list of best books, based on those books' appearance in other lists.