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I was AWOL from blogging last night because Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie arrived for me at the library and, well, had to dive in! You understand. I’ve been waiting my turn for this since the beginning of October when it was published. But I have been anticipating reading this third and final book in the series since I read the second book back in February.

When the first two books in a trilogy are really good there is always the fear that the third book conclusion might go awry. But I am feeling confident that it will all end spectacularly. Within half a page I was into the book and didn’t want to put it down. Hooray! If only I could have called off from work today and stayed home to read. But what do you say? Sorry, can’t come work today because I am reading a really good book? I so rarely get sick that if I tried to lie and say I was ill, no one would be believe it especially when I turned up the next day looking hale and hearty (though perhaps a little tired from staying up late to finish the book). Besides, I am bad at telling lies anyway and the guilt ruins it all.

Before I go off to read more of this amazing book, I have to tell you about the little pile of other books that came along with this one.

Last week on a gardening blog with holiday gift suggestions, one of the items was a book called Gardening for Geeks. As a geek and a gardener I had to borrow it from the library! But that’s not all.

Now, I’ve had a library card in the Hennepin County library system for as long as I have lived here. I have been requesting library books online for as long as there has been the ability to do so. Why, why, have I never noticed the “related books” stream of book covers? Probably because it is lower down on the page, below the fold so to speak, and I never had occasion to scroll down. For some reason when I was requesting Gardening for Geeks I scrolled down and found this glorious thing!

And then I went crazy.

Oh, that looks like a good book. I’ll request that. That looks good too! Oh yes and that one. I wonder what that one is about? Request. Request. Request.

I now have a tidy pile of gardening books on sustainability, maximizing your food harvest, and DIY green projects that will very likely make me want to install my own solar panels and create wind turbines that also serve as trellises for pole beans. I already really want to build a solar food dehydrator, I don’t need further encouragement.

Since I will have two weeks off very soon I tell myself that I am just stocking up for vacation. And I am. But I also have to remind myself that we need to finish building the chicken coop with its green roof before undertaking any additional projects. Looks like I will be studying up and making a future project list! Bookman has been warned.

A bookstore cat

Let’s be honest. The bookstore cat is cliché.  Don’t get me wrong. I love cats, and I love cats in bookstores. There’s a reason why they are cliché. Bookstore cats are well-behaved (mostly) and safe (again, mostly) in exactly the way that a bookstore mongoose or bookstore badger is not. Still, I pine for variety now and again. And that brings us to my favorite local children’s bookstore, Wild Rumpus.

Wild Rumpus is nestled in Linden Hills. Linden Hills is nestled in Minneapolis. And within Wild Rumpus is nestled… other things. There’s a whole lot of nestling going on. It’s like a Russian doll thing, in indie bookstore form. Those other things include Mo the Dove, Amelia and Skeeter (a pair of chinchillas), Spike the Wise Lizard (which sounds like a Toad the Wet Sprocket cover band if you ask me), parakeets, chickens (that roam the store freely), and yes, even a cat or two (of the stylish Manx variety).

A chicken climbs a display for PERFECT SQUARE and MY HEART IS LIKE A ZOO, both by local author/illustrator Michael Hall

In addition to housing this menagerie, Wild Rumpus sells books. Really good books. I get the majority of my children’s and YA books from my excellent local library system. But when I absolutely positively can’t wait for my hold to come in, I go to Wild Rumpus. When I do, I also have to watch my wallet because of the temptation to bring the entire contents of their shelves home with me.

Wild Rumpus offers a weekly story time on Mondays and book clubs for all ages. Their ARRG! (that’s Advanced Reader Review Group) recently read YOU by Charles Benoit, one of my favorite books of 2010. I’m a librarian by training and inclination, so I sometimes get nervous when bookstores offer traditional library programs like book clubs and story times. But when the bookstore staff loves children’s literature–as the Wild Rumpus’ staff so clearly does–it’s hard to take offense. Hungry readers benefit libraries and booksellers alike.

I know I’m preaching to the choir when it comes to you Twin Cities readers, so this is for the rest of you. If your travels take you to Minneapolis, let your wild rumpus begin!

~Tony

p.s. Katherine Hannigan, author of TRUE (…SORT OF) and

Last week I had the chance to attend meetings of the Hennepin County Library Media Mashup project. Media Mashup is an IMLS funded project that looks at how innovation and change happens in libraries. The way that’s being investigated is through the use of Scratch software with teens in libraries in Hennepin County and around the country. Last week’s meetings were inspiring and I left with several words bouncing around my head:

• Innovation – The Media Mashup project is very much focused on how innovation happens in libraries. It’s very clear from the project that there are barriers to innovation in libraries. However, that doesn’t mean innovation can’t happen and that’s demonstrated by the work of librarians around the country working with Scratch in order to help teens learn about technology and gain media and information literacy skills. When put to the challenge, librarians in the project are finding innovative ways to make the technology work – for example buying laptops so that there are computers in the library that can have Scratch on them. Librarians working with teens need to be innovative in order to breakdown barriers to successful service. Innovating may mean speaking up for what teens need. Which can be difficult. But, if it doesn’t happen are teens being well served?
• Risk – Librarians serving all different populations often find technology a risky proposition. As a part of the Media Mashup project teen librarians need to take the risk of learning a new software program – Scratch. They then need to take the risk of teaching teens how to use the software. And they need to be willing to teach the software without perhaps knowing everything there is to know about the program. But, taking this risk gives the librarians a great opportunity to mentor and support teens in their own development. A librarian who can take the risk of saying, “I’m not sure how that works but I can help you figure it out” is a librarian that will be successful with teens.
• Collaboration – The Media Mashup project centers on a strong collaboration between the Hennepin County Library and the Science Museum of Minnesota. These two agencies have worked together for a few years and it is clear that the relationship works. The Hennepin County Library and the Science Museum of Minnesota each get something out of the relationship. For one thing they get access to the skills and talents of each other. They get the ability to connect with teens in a variety of settings. And, they get the chance to be a part of a larger community. For teen librarians these types of collaborations can be key in guaranteeing success and making sure that teen services are respected both within the library and within the community at large. Sometimes these collaborations can seem like more work than they are worth, but if the time is invested the worth ends up being much more than the work.
• Change – Change in libraries is hard and as I listened to the discussions at last week’s Media Mashup sessions, it was clear that some libraries are better at change than others and that some librarians are better at change than others. Listening to the discussions I was reminded of a recent experience I had in my role as YALSA President. As YALSA Pres
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