Moving to Paris

I was surprised to find so many books in the Library's collection about expatriates living in France, and how often the books circulated. Usually the lucky person who moves to France, to shop daily for fresh produce in the Parisian markets, or to fix up a crumbling country house, has married a French citizen or has a lot of extra money. For the rest of us, we have to be satisfied with just reading about their experiences. C'est la vie!

Some recent titles are:

Almost French: Love and a New Life in Paris by Sarah Turnbull
Chasing Matisse: a Year in France Living My Dream by James Morgan
Extremely Pale Rose: a Very French Adventure by Jamie Ivey
French Spirits: a House, a villa, and a Love Affair in Burgundy by Jeffrey Greene
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
We'll Always Have Paris: Sex and Love in the City of Light by John Baxter
Words in a French Life: Lessons in Love and Language from the South of France by Kristin Espinasse
A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle

Please check the catalog for availability or to place a hold.

Traveling librarian Visits Burton Barr Central Library

What a great experience!! I had the opportunity to be in Phoenix yesterday and visited the wonderful Burton Barr Central Library. This library was built in 1995, and has an area of 280,000 square feet. The building's five stories are constructed of concrete, glass, and iron. I know you might be thinking that it is too gray, but on the contrary, there is lots of light and color in this library. Bright green desks for computers, and art exhibits and neon signs give a vibrant look to this library.

The children’s area has a little garden where librarians offer story times and parents read to their kids among beautiful plants in a lovely setting. A popular area in the library is Teen Central, a room with music, lots of computers, and vending machines. This is the only place in the library where you are allowed to eat - if you are a teenager, of course.

Lots of people visit this library on the Summer Solstice, June 21. They ascend to the fifth floor where people say they can see a flame illusion on the special columns and the shadows move unusually quickly on the walls and skylights. So, if you want to do something special for this summer, why not go to the Burton Barr Central Library and experience something new! We will love to hear your comments!

Oh, Oscar!

This week the Oscar nominations were announced. Did you know that the following nominated films started out as books?

Letters from Iwo Jima, book titled Picture Letters from Commander in Chief by Tadamichi Kuribayashi

Children of Men, book of the same title by P.D. James

Little Children, book of the same title by Tom Perrotta

Notes on a Scandal, book of the same title by Zoe Heller

What’s your favorite book-turned-Oscar-winning movie? Check our catalog to read the books before you head out to see the movie. Then watch the Oscars to see who won!

Say Goodbye to Art Buchwald

Prolific humor writer, Pulitzer-prize winning columnist, and political gadfly, Art Buchwald died Wednesday of kidney failure. For nearly six decades Buchwald wrote satire columns that appeared in more than 500 newspapers all across the country.

Buchwald's father went broke in the Depression and his mother was institutionalized shortly after his birth in 1925. He and his sisters were shuttled between foster homes and the Hebrew Orphan Asylum. He battled bouts of depression most of his life, which he openly wrote about, hoping to help others. He said in a 1994 interview with National Public Radio that "I did discover early in life I could make people laugh. That's what's changed my life, because as long as I could make 'em laugh, I could get a lot of love."

In February 2006, Buchwald decided to forego dialysis and was given 3 weeks to live. He checked into a hospice, planned his funeral, and faced death without flinching, but then, to everyone's surprise, lived for another eleven months He wrote in his newly resumed column that he had to "scrap his funeral plans, rewrite his living will, buy a new cell phone, and get on with his improbable life." His most recent book, Too Soon to Say Goodbye, is about this unexpected last year. The Library has ordered the book, and should be getting copies soon. In the meantime, you can read earlier works such as Leaving Home, a bright, funny and poignant memoir of his early years, or I'll Always Have Paris, which describes Buchwald's Paris years as a member of the Herald Tribune staff during the 1940s and 1950s, hobnobbing with the rich, the famous, and the literary.

Tax Time

Start your year off right by getting a jump start on your taxes! Stop by the Faulk Central Library to find all sorts of tax forms for your filing needs. Some Austin Public Library branches have the basic forms available as well as tax assistance. See our web site for a list of locations or Ask a Librarian for more information. You can also download tax forms directly from the IRS Website.

Beginning January 16th - April 16th, Foundation Communities will once again provide tax preparation services through its Community Tax Centers program. Families that make $50,000 a year or less or individuals who make $25,000 a year or less are eligible. The centers offer free paper and electronic tax filing, bilingual and sign-language interpreters, prior-year tax return preparation, and applications for Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers. Please see the Community Tax Centers web site for information about what forms they will prepare, what to bring, locations, and hours of operation.

Books into Film

The movie Children of Men, starring Clive Owen and Julianne Moore, recently opened to glowing reviews. The movie was based on a book with the same title written by the British mystery writer, P.D. James. Many other 2006 movies were based on books that are worth reading even if you have seen the movie. Books made into film this past year are: American Knees (Amercanese), Aquamarine, Ask the Dust, Black Dahlia, Death and Life of Bobby Z, The Devil Wears Prada, Eragon, Freedomland, The Good German, Killshot, Little Children, The Namesake, The Night Listener, Perfume: the Story of a Murderer, The Pursuit of Happyness, Running with Scissors, Snow Angels, Tenants, The Thief Lord, The Treatment, The Visitation, and Wedding Season. Please check the Library's catalog for availability or to place a hold.

Old news!?!?

Post Och Inrikes Tidningar is a Swedish newspaper that has been published non-stop since 1645. This is one of the oldest newspapers that is still in circulation in the world. Interesting ah? But how much do we know about the history of the newspapers?

Well, the first newspaper recorded in history is Acta Diurna, a Roman newspaper “published” around 59 B.C. In this periodical, Julius Caesar informed the public about the latest news and events coming up. It also had information on scandals, trials, and executions. In China, the government during the Han dynasty (202 B.C. – 221 A.D) also printed news-sheets that they called “tipao.” These were reproduced by wooden carvings and had official announcements and news for the Chinese bureaucrats and officials.

According to the World Association of Newspapers, the oldest newspaper that is still published in the United States is the Hartford Courant. This newspaper started to be published in 1764 in Connecticut. Other old newspapers in this country are Northampton Daily Hampshire Gazette (1786), the Berkshire Eagle (1789), and the Norwich Bulleting (1791), all of them from the East Coast.

For more information on the history of the newspapers visit the following links:

World Association of Newspapers. Newspapers a brief history.
http://www.wan-press.org/article2821.html?var_recherche=oldest+newspaper

Hartford Courant information in Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hartford_Courant

Resolutions and Black-Eyed Peas

Ever wonder why we are so hard pressed to make a new year's resolution? What are some of the top resolutions? And why do so many people tell me to eat black-eyed peas on January first?

First of all, a resolution is a committment or decision to do something or behave in a certain manner. Accordingly, popular resolutions include: losing weight/becoming more healthy, quit smoking/quiting a bad habit, and becoming financially sound/getting out of debt. After hunting around on the Internet, I found that the tradition of celebrating the new year dates back to the time of the Babylonians, about 4,000 years ago! The early Babylonian's themselves often resolved to return borrowed items. The early Christians believed that we should reflect on past mistakes and resolve to make the new year better.

So, thousands of years of tradition and custom is carried on when we make a resolution. What's your resolution? I resolve to do something I've never done before every week! We'll see how long that lasts.

Did you eat your black-eyed peas yesterday? I did. I also had them for leftovers today. The tradition of eating black-eyed peas on January 1st is a Southern tradition. The reason for eating these legumes is that it is said to bring good luck and prosperity to whomever eats them. In Texas, cabbage is also traditionally eaten on the first day of the year as it is a symbol of money. So, if you ate your black-eyed peas and cabbage, you should be good to go for the rest of the year.

Celebrate the New Year!

It’s almost New Year’s Eve, so get your noisemakers and streamers ready! If you are heading to the First Night Austin celebration, keep an eye out for your friendly neighborhood librarians and a few of your favorite book characters in the parade! The schedule for First Night includes a variety of art, music, dance, film, spoken word, and fireworks.

Then, as the clock strikes midnight, many people will hear the traditional Scottish ballad "Auld Lang Syne" written by the poet Robert Burns. Here are the first two stanzas of the poem according to the Litfinder database:

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to min'?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear.
For auld lang syne,
We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

Happy New Year! And remember that the library will be closed on Monday for New Years Day.

Leftover Turkey Recipe

The Library will be closed Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Here is recipe to try Tuesday with your turkey leftvovers. The recipe for Turkey White Bean Soup is from the January 2005 Good Housekeeping. You can find more recipes in cooking magazines using the Libary's Masterfile database.

Prep 15 minutes · Cook about 25 minutes
Makes about 8 cups or 4 main-dish servings2 tablespoons olive oil

2 large garlic cloves, crushed with press
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
Pinch dried rosemary, crumbled
2 cans (15 to 19 ounces each) white beans, rinsed
and drained (use small white beans, cannellini,
chickpeas, navy beans, or any combination)
1 can (28 ounces) plum tomatoes in juice
1 can (14 to 14 1/2 ounces) chicken broth (1 3/4 cups)
1 bag (6 ounces) baby spinach, arugula, and
shredded carrot blend or 1 bag (5 to 6 ounces)
baby spinach
1 1/2 cups (½-inch pieces) leftover roast turkey meat
(8 ounces)
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. In 5-quart saucepot, heat oil over medium-low heat. Add garlic, salt, crushed red pepper, and rosemary, and cook until garlic begins to turn golden brown, about 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in beans, tomatoes with their juice, and broth; heat to boiling over high heat, breaking up tomatoes with side of spoon. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 20 minutes.

2.Stir in spinach blend and turkey; heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 5 minutes or until spinach wilts and turkey is heated through. Serve in soup bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Some Recent Reads from the Stacks - Part II

The lost years of William S. Burroughs: beats in South Texas by Rob Johnson (2006, Texas A&M University Press). This period of Burroughs' life has not been examined so closely before, and it's a time of particular interest to Burroughs readers in the Lone Star State. Details of WSB and friend Kells Elvin's farming operation and the deaths of his wife (accidental shooting by Burroughs) and friend Gene Terry (mauled by a lion in a border nightclub) are given full treatment. Burroughs, who died in 1997 at his home in Lawrence, Kansas, is the author of Naked Lunch, Junky, Queer, Cities of the Red Night, and other groundbreaking books. Norman Mailer said "Burroughs is the only American novelist living today who may conceivably be possessed by genius." Author Johnson is associate professor at the University of Texas Pan American in Edinburg.


Counting sheep: the science and pleasures of sleep and dreams by Paul Martin (2004, Thomas Dunne Books). This isn't at all a book to put you to sleep. It's more likely one that'll keep you reading up into the wee hours, when you should be catching some zzz's. All sorts of minutiae about sleep and dreams is here -- why your body and mind demand them both, and what can happen if you don't get enough of either. Hypnagogic versus hypnopompic states, REM, NREM, EEOG, PET, and more. They're explored here in all their fascinating glory, along with tons of literary and historical anecdotes. I'm not a big one for popular science books, but this one more than held my interest all the way through. Recommended!

Some Recent Reads from the Stacks

Rogue state: a guide to the world's only superpower by William Blum (2005, Common Courage Press) - A new edition of the book cited by Osama Bin Laden as the one to read to understand international politics. Bin Laden mentioned this title in one of his audio tape releases earlier this year. Other Blum titles at APL include:

• Killing hope: U.S. military and CIA interventions since World War II (2004, Common Courage)
• West-Bloc dissident: a Cold War memoir (2002, Soft Skull)
• Freeing the world to death: essays on the American empire (2005, Common Courage)

Poems of Catullus (2005, University of California Press) - Bawdy versification from the 1st century B.C.E., a favorite of Charles Bukowski and others. "The infamous Latin poet could turn quite the vulgar phrase when insulting his enemies or boasting about his sexual prowess" (Publisher's Weekly). This recent edition presents the poems in both Latin and English. Also by this author look for: Poems of love and hate (2004, Bloodaxe Books).

Party Conversation

After leaving a party, if you worry that conversation with friends and family has not touched on any serious or deep subject, keep in mind what Marcel Proust wrote in a letter shortly before he died. He penned, "Cher ami, We talk too much about serious things. Serious conversation is intended for people who have no intellectual life. People like the three of us, on the contrary, who have an intellectual life need frivolity when they escape from themselves and from hard inner labor. We should, as you say, talk about all the little things and leave philosophy to solitidue". This excerpt is from a new book available at Austin Public Library titled, The Letters of Marcel Proust, 2006.

Friendly books!

You're at the Faulk Central Library downtown, making your way to the check-out desk with your stack of books and CDs. You can be also waiting for your reservation to come up on the express Internet stations on the Library's 1st floor. While in line, don't forget to take a look at the Friends of the Library book sale shelves. You can find more reading material to take home for a small contribution to the Friends of the Austin Public Library, and these books are yours to keep! Your contribution, $1 for each paperback, $2 for hardcover, helps fund various projects in the Austin Public Library system. The books you see on the sale shelves in the Library are only a small sample of what you can find at the Monster Book Store at 1800 South 5th Street.

Occasionally you can happen upon a real gem on the Friends sale shelves in the Library, but for the really good stuff, you'll have to visit the Monster Book Store. They have limited hours of operation (Wednesdays 10 am to 2 pm, Thursdays 7 pm to 9 pm, and Saturdays 9 am to 3 pm) but it's worth working a visit into your schedule if you can. Moreover, every Thursday evening you can buy 2 for 1. Offer applies to $1 and $2 books (which is the lion's share of the stock), media, specially priced boxes of books, encyclopedia sets, and other complete series. The two-for-one offer doesn't apply to select "better" books, to book bags, or to memberships.

You can also visit the Friends of the Austin Public Library website for more information.

Post It!

Do you want to advertise a non-profit event on the Faulk Central Library bulletin boards? Submit a poster or a flyer to the second-floor reference desk, and we’ll post it for you. It’ll stay up three weeks or until your event is over, whichever comes first. Here are some hints for getting your poster noticed:

• Make it colorful. Stop people in their tracks.
• Figure out a way people can take your info with them without having to get out a pen and paper; for example:
  -Make tear-off tabs at the bottom of the poster with a date or a phone number or a web page. Cut them so they come off easily. Those tabs disappear fast.
  -Fold up the bottom of the poster, staple the edges to make a pocket, and insert small, easy-to-grab handouts.
• Bigger is better, but not too big, please. Only one copy of a flyer will be accepted for posting.

We don’t post religious, personal, commercial, or political notices; the boards are just for tax-supported or non-profit educational, cultural, and government activities and events. For more information about posting, read our policy online.

APL Answers

Google has decided to abandon its 4-year-old service, Google Answers, which hired researchers to answer questions on everything from school homework to business plan ideas. Google's service required its users to pay a researcher anywhere from $2 to $200. The company collected a 50-cent commission on each question, with the remainder going to the researchers who responded to the question. Yahoo started a competing service last year that lets people ask questions and get responses from other Yahoo users for free, and this service has been much more popular. The Austin Public Library also has a free online answer service, and we encourage everyone to use it. Ask A Librarian provides brief answers, research help, Web sources, and information about the Library's collection, databases, services, online catalog, and customers' Library accounts.

Traveling Librarian went to the National Library of Costa Rica!

As you can imagine, I was very lucky to go on a trip to Costa Rica this past November. This is a country of exuberant natural beauty and warm people that everyone should visit. While in San José, the capital of the country, I got to visit the National Library Miguel Obregón Lizano. The library was founded in 1888, and it has had different locations through the years, the final location being a glass and iron building constructed in 1968. The National Library compiles all the materials published in the country in every format: books, periodicals, maps and audiovisuals. This library also has a collection of antique books and periodicals of great historical value. Its collection of Costa Rican books measures 188,355 volumes and 920 titles of periodicals dating back to 1883.

This library is open to all, but it mainly serves academic researchers. Because of the characteristics of its collection, the books can only be used in the library. Its big glass walls make patrons feel like they are working in a very open and clean space with enough light to feel comfortable studying or reading. Art exhibits are often shown in this library, so, if you go to Costa Rica, include this library in your itinerary!

Be Prepared!

Flat tire: two highly irritating words, especially after work on Friday when it’s freezing outside.

Luckily the library has lots of resources to help you learn how to fix a flat, maintain your car, or deal with breakdowns. Here are just a few:

• Popular mechanics complete car care manual (629.2872 PO)
• Auto mechanics: an introduction and guide (629.2 LI)
• Dare to repair your car: a do-it-herself guide to maintenance, safety, minor fix-its, and talking shop (629.2872 SU)

You say you’re way beyond just fixing the basics? Check out our Chilton Repair Manuals or visit the Auto Repair Reference Center online database. You can access the database at any library location or remotely with a library card number.

And, if your poor vehicle is just not salvageable, our collection of Consumer Reports will help you select a new one with ease. Locate a print copy using FindIt or read articles online using the eJournal Locator and our databases. If you need help, just Ask a Librarian!

Greatness

The Americans and British have a different attitude toward great literature. This past spring the New York Times Book Review's group of judges selected the best American novel in the last 25 years. Beloved by Toni Morrison (1987) was no. 1, and the runners-up were Underworld by Don DeLillo(1997), Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy (1985), Rabbit Angstrom: The Four Novels by John Updike (1995), and American Pastoral by Philip Roth (1997). This past October the British newspaper, The Observer, selected the best novels in the English language, excluding American titles. Disgrace by JM Coetzee (1999) was no. 1, and the runners-up were Money by Martin Amis (1984), Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess (1980), Atonement by Ian McEwan (2001), The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald (1995), The Unconsoled (1995) by
Kazuo Ishiguro, and Midnight's Children (1981) by Salman Rushdie. Although I have not read them all, my personal favorite is the Rabbit Angstrom quartet - Rabbit Run, Rabbit Redux, Rabbit is Rich, and Rabbit at Rest - by John Updike.

Holiday Music

Beginning the day after Thanksgiving, we begin to hear holdiay music on the radio, in stores, and in TV commercials. One of the all-time favorites that has been played to death since it first appeared in 1942 is White Christmas, written by Irving Berlin. The song is the lament of a Northerner stuck in California, who is complaining about spending Christmas under palm trees. When the song appeared in 1942, millions of Americans were fighting overseas. So in time it came to represent the longing for an old-fashioned Christmas in a world at peace. You can find many versions of this song and lots of other holiday music on cd at the Austin Public Library. In the catalog's search box, type "christmas music and cd", "carols and cd", "hanukkah and cd", or "kwanzaa and cd". Many branches have a copy of the Circle of Light: a Mult-Cultural Holiday Celebration, a cd recorded at the fire station in San Marcos in 2000, and which is sung in various languages.