Book Store Closing

Since I love to explore book stores whenever I travel I try to post book store-related comments on this blog because these vendors are the backbone of an educated, civilized society.

That said, it is always sad when I read about another book store that is closing as is the case with Lee's Books located in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota. Lee Whited, owner of Lee's Books, stated in the article I read (www.twincities.com - October 19) that 90% of his revenues now come from online/Internet sales thus having a store front is an unnecessary cost of business for him.

Yes -- I am a scavenger so I plan to shop for some bargains at Lee's going out of business sale during the month of November but I have to laugh because Lee's landlord at the Lawson Commons building in downtown St. Paul is none other than the City of St. Paul government!! Yet another reason for governments to own very little in terms of real estate.

Good luck Lee,

Todd

Newberry Library

While working in Chicago last week I attended a public policy conference held at the Newberry Library (www.newberry.org) at 60 West Walton Street. If any fellow book lovers out there are visiting Chicago may I recommend that you visit this treasure house of knowledge? The Newberry notes that it actively collects -- "books, manuscripts, maps, and other printed materials related to the history of Western Europe and the Americas." Yes, I know, "dead white men" materials -- take it easy you left wingers out there!!

The Newberry Library was founded in 1887 via an estate bequest by Walter L. Newberry who was a Chicago area "land developer and city leader" according to the brochure I picked up. This is yet another reason the US Congress needs to completely eliminate the "death tax"/estate tax so that those people who create fortunes can decide what should happen to the funds once they leave the earth. Mr. Newberry's gift is very similar to the much more famous "Carnegie Library" system created by industrialist Andrew Carnegie so my thanks to both visionaries for creating the tools necessary for disseminating knowledge.

One further historical note that I will share is that the Newberry Library's first librarian was William F. Poole who was also the founder of the American Library Association (ALA). The ALA is an institution I respect and watch since they sponsor the annual "Banned Books Week" which is worth the time of all readers to promote to others.

Thank you Mr. Newberry for your gift,

Todd

Chicago

While working in Chicago this week I walked from an event at the Newberry Library (subject for a future posting) back to the Hilton Hotel for the dinner event I was attended hosted by the libertarian think tank, Heartland Institute (www.heartland.org).

As I glanced at the shop windows I noticed one storefront was the campus book store (www.lib.colum.edu) for an arts/film studies-dominated school known as "Columbia College Chicago" founded in 1890 according to the t-shirt I purchased for my wife :-) Upon entering the store I knew I was the only "suit" in the store surrounded by art students so to say I stood out like a nun in a bordello would be an understatement. While glancing through the bargain book section as all us cheap German farmers are compelled to do I met the manager of this book store who was named Sonya (hopefully I got the spelling correct). Sonya was a very personable and helpful mother of two children so I think she was very comfortable in this particular book store ( surrounded by young students) since her mothering qualities shown brightly. She took me under her wing to introduce me to an entirely new genre of writing on pop culture which I can assure readers I would not have explored on my own -- as evidenced by the fact that the other book I purchased at this store was a biography of US President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Sonya had the staff work with me to find the ideal t-shirt for my wife and also had one student confirm for me that the book "IV" that I purchased on pop-culture was a good one for me to read to stir up some creative thinking. Overall it was great to be back on "campus" again even though it was not my alma mater. Not only did I leave the store with two interesting books to read but also with a lapel pin from Sonya that read, "Create Change", coupled with a renewed faith that at least some of today's college students have their act together.

Walk through some new doors today,

Todd

Letters About Literature

Here is a great opportunity for the young book worms out there in grades 4 to 12 in Minnesota although parents should be sure to check in their own states for this opportunity since it is a national contest. The Minnesota Humanities Center, Target Corporation, Library of Congress, and Minnesota's "first newspaper" the Pioneer Press have partnered to sponsor the "Letters About Literature" contest.

For full details please visit -- http://www.minnesotahumanities.org/

The deadline is December 14, 2007

This contest is very straightforward -- students simply choose a book that "has meaning for them, reflect on it, and write a letter to the author explaining how the book changed the student's perspective................." Now this is a nice twist on the traditional "book report" that most of us experienced in our school days because here you send a letter to the book's author thus creating the opportunity to interact with the author.

Our children are too young for this contest but I've made a mental note to watch for these opportunities in the future.

Good luck kids,

Todd

Hotels

While reading a September copy of the British magazine that caters to the ex-pat community, The Week, I read a short article about which book was most often left by travelers in their hotel rooms. This survey was produced by the hotel chain, Travelodge, during this past summer.

Travelodge reports that "The Blair Years", a memoir by Alastair Campbell, was the book most often left behind by travelers. I think it is fair to describe Mr. Campbell as being to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair what advisor, Karl Rove, was to US President George W. Bush. Having worked in London I will not easily forget Mr. Campbell's quote regarding the Blair Government when he stated, "we don't do God................."

I was reminded of Campbell's quote when I read about this Travelodge survey since most hotels I have stayed have had a copy of the Bible along with the Book of Mormon in the bedside table for guests to utilize. So now we see that travelers left "The Blair Years" in their hotel rooms essentially alongside the Bible!! Truly God works in mysterious ways :-)

Final thoughts on this Travelodge survey include:

1.) What do hotels do with all these books that are left behind by travelers? Perhaps the copies could be donated to local libraries or to my friends at Books For Africa (www.booksforafrica.org)

2.) Since Travelodge's survey focused on British venues I am really curious which book is most often left behind in hotels in the USA. This could be an interesting project for Marriott, Hilton, or Sheraton to pursue.

Travel light,

Todd

Justice Clarence Thomas

US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is on a book tour promoting his memoir entitled, "My Grandfather's Son", which is described as a "scathing denunciation of liberal activists, Democratic senators (ouch, that will hurt his chances to ever become Chief Justice!!), and Anita Hill" via a book review by a group of Washington Post writers.

This review explains the book's title by noting that Justice Thomas' father abandoned the family and his mother was unable to care for her sons so Justice Thomas' grandfather, Myers Anderson, raised Thomas while he grew up in rural Georgia. Now I am biased about several things so this quote from the book review caught my attention since it mentioned two institutions I love - Boy Scouts and sports. The excerpt reads as follows:

"Thomas's depiction of his grandfather is of a man unsparingly tough. Anderson would let him (Thomas) play on sports teams or join the Cub Scouts."

Granted I did not grow up in rural Georgia so perhaps there were good reasons for Mr. Anderson to keep young Clarence out of these activities but setting that aside I really have to question this decision. The reason being I know of few things beyond sports that teach children discipline and how to deal with loss -- experiences that will serve them well later in life. As for the Cub/Boy Scouts the lessons I learned there such as "do a good turn daily" have stayed with me all the way to my current mid-life age.

Unfortunately Justice Thomas' book tour does not include my State of Minnesota otherwise I would be sure to attend so I could ask him about his grandfather's world view.

Enjoy your years on the bench Justice Thomas,

Todd

Paris Hilton

Ms. Paris Hilton receives more attention than she is due so I hesitate to post about her but since this item is book-related I feel obligated to mention it.

In a cartoon called "Poison Pen" published in a great magazine out of Canada called Western Standard was this cartoon which I will have to describe since I don't have a photo of it nor copyright permission to use such a photo --

BACK DROP -- picture of a the front entrance of a public library

SIGN -- a sign next to the library entrance that reads, "Where Paris Hilton Should Really Serve Her Sentence"

Of course this is a reference to the jail time Ms. Hilton served for her driver's license violations and her apparent lack of basic knowledge about the world we live in. Personally I don't know what function she would serve in a public library in terms of community service but just the thought of her sitting in a library reading for eight hours a day leaves me with a warm feeling that there is hope for civilization.

Reading is rehab,

Todd

Poet Laureate of Minnesota

My State of Minnesota has created the honorary role of "Poet Laureate" to "act as an enthusiastic champion of poetry in Minnesota............" so while I do not feel this legislation was needed (instead of an act of government I would have preferred an organization like our Minnesota Library Association would have created such a position -- http://www.mnlibraryassociation.org/) I will still help promote the job given my love of books, learning, and as a supporter of the arts.

If you or someone you know qualifies for this role please apply by 31 October 2007 via this website:

www.minnesotahumanities.org

Good luck to all applicants.

As a tribute to this new job in Minnesota I will close this posting with a haiku I wrote for this occasion:

Ten thousand lakes strong
The loon's tremolo beckons
Enjoy north woods sunsets

Read to live or live to read,

Todd

Banned Books Week

Well last week I had the pleasure of going grouse hunting in the forests of Northern Minnesota with my brother which was an ideal way to catch up on each other's lives without the distraction of family, children, work, and even Internet/radio/TV since our cabin did not have any such modern features. Due to this lack of Internet access I have not blogged about anything for one week.

Our hunting trip fell on the exact same week of "Banned Books Week" ("BBW" -- http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bannedbooksweek.htm) which I blog about annually so today's posting will focus on this important event. This year's BBW was held from September 29 to October 6 under the patronage of the American Library Association (ALA). For those of you keeping track at home the "most challenged book for 2006" according to the ALA in terms of people trying to ban a certain book from library shelves, classrooms, etc was --

Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell’s award-winning "And Tango Makes Three," about two male penguins parenting an egg from a mixed-sex penguin couple, tops the list of most challenged books in 2006 by parents and administrators, due to the issues of homosexuality.

So what better way to celebrate the most basic of individual rights -- reading a book of our choosing -- than to end a day of hunting by sitting around in the cabin reading books? We did have the opportunity to drive to the nearest large city whose library was hosting a reading of banned books but we opted to relax at the cabin with our books.

Enjoy life via simple pleasures,

Todd