"Having Fun Isn't Hard When You Have a Library Card!" -Arthur the Aardvark

The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq by Jeanette Winter
2005
Weight: 12 oz
Method of Disposal: Giving to Sarah G.A.

I love this book. It is a book about a library in Basra and the people who love it. War creeps into the city and the people and books are in danger. Everyone flees the library except for the librarian, Alia. She gets people to help her move all of the books into her friend’s restaurant next door. Soon, the library will burn down. In a quiet moment, she gets a truck and moves 30,000 books out of the restaurant and into her home and the homes of her friends. She keeps the books safe and dreams of peace.

In a note from the author we are told about the real Alia who managed to save 70 percent of her library’s books before it was burnt down.

This is a children’s book about war and while I would like to protect kids from the atrocities adults commit, it is impossible. Children are hearing about the wars we have been fighting, they are seeing it on television, they are watching parents and siblings leave and sometimes not come back, they are playing video games, and repeating information they overhear to their peers at the playground. They know about war. The children growing up in the United States now only know a world in which U.S. soldiers are fighting overseas. They do not know war like the Iraqis know war. They cannot imagine what it is like in Afghanistan for the people who live there. This book, and others like it, offer the children a unique perspective they may not find in many other places. This book gently describes the fear, the danger, the humanity, the desperation involved in war. It is very very gentle. The child is also able to relate to the people of Iraq, instead of always being asked to other them.

If you are curious about children’s books that describe war, you might also check into Alice Walker’s Why War is Never a Good Idea. This one is less gentle. The images really show you something about war, and it is not something anyone wants to see. It will also be more controversial, I am sure. There are many arguments that people will make for what does make war a necessary, though deplorable thing. With both books, adults should read them first and think about how they will discuss them with children before they sit down and do it. I know some people are also upset with the Librarian book, but it is truly ridiculous. It is a great story. It presents a truth. An important truth and an incredible, real woman. It does not disrespect America, our soldiers, or Americans, as has been suggested.

I have decided to give this book to my dearest Librarian, Sarah, because I know she will love it too. She has a child on the way, but I am hoping that by the time her kid is old enough to read this book it will be unnecessary. I chose this book to get rid of because I went to my local library the other day and “renewed” my library card. I use parenthesis because I got my card the first week of my first year of college and never used it for years. I never even went back to the library. Libraries terrify me. I cannot tell you why. They should be my heaven on earth and probably will be eventually. Free books for days. Now, I get shy, anxious, and nervous. My friends, Tracy and Lynne, went with me the other day. I got my library card and three books. The Shock Doctrine, a book on rats, and another book on animal emotions. I chose books quickly because the library was about to close, but I am pretty excited to get started on all of them. You get a good, long time too. Three weeks. Who knew?

Thanks for the pictures, Lynne!

Beasts of No Nation

Beasts of No Nation by Uzodinma Iweala
2006
Weight: 5.6 oz
Method of Disposal: Donated to the Decatur Library



This book was disappointing in that it was “one of the most acclaimed novels of the year.” It was okay, but it was not brilliant. A story about a child soldier is bound to be emotional, trying, and of interest, but it does not automatically get to become an incredible piece of fiction in and of itself. So, that’s how I felt. It was a great story and a poor delivery.

The novel is told in something like Pidgin English, and it starts to wear on you fast. Something just doesn’t fit. It doesn’t feel right, and it doesn’t seem consistent. I once had a creative writing instructor who told us to be wary of using dialect. If not done well, you could end up pissing all over your character and if you don’t care about them (no matter how deplorable) why should the reader? Sometimes, I felt like I was hearing from a character covered in urine and scrambling for identity.

It wasn’t deplorable, but it won’t show up on any Best of List I create. A lot of people LOVED it, and you might too.

Shout Out to Sarah and Hard Laughter

Hard Laughter by Anne Lamott
2000
Weight: 14 oz
Method of Disposal: Donating. I just took this and a box of books to the Decatur Library (GA) for their may sale. If you have any to donate they are collecting until May 21st.




This book was first published in 1979. This is the 15th printing, and I had no idea until just now. To me, this book is being 16. It is meeting Sarah Graham-Adkinson at the Waldenbooks in the mall and later working with her. It is pink hair, reading while walking, riot grrrl, and a red VW Beetle. Sometimes, it was watching Queer as Folk (rented from Hollywood Video) all night long or laughing about the use of “canoodling” in Valley of the Dolls, the movie. It was around the year 2000. I could go on, but I will spare you.

Sarah recommended this book to me and, at the time, it had me hysterical. There were a couple points where I laughed myself into tears. Something about Shiva? I never re-read it, but there were times later when I would try to read favorite parts out loud to someone else, and they just didn’t seem funny anymore. I am not going to revisit it. It is probably still great, but I do not want to risk tainting the memory.

I love you, Sarah!