Today is 15 April or Tax Day in the United States. In recognition of this day we compiled a free virtual issue on taxation bringing together content from books, online products, and journals. The material covers a wide range of specific tax-related topics including income tax, austerity, tax structure, tax reform, and more. The collection is not US-centered, but includes information on economies across the globe. Be sure to take a moment to view this useful online resource today.
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After a deliciously long Fourth of July weekend (barbecue with friends, watching fireworks from a rooftop, spending a long Sunday shopping, browsing and drinking in Brooklyn), it's back to the working week. I'm way behind on link posting, so here's a sampling of the best I've come across from the last month or so -- pretty unrelated.
- Thanks to the ALP for pointing out the Salon article on the books that have influenced Barack Obama, from fiction to philosophy to politics. Fascinating stuff. Key quotes:
"If Obama is elected, he'll be one of the most literary presidents in recent memory."
"All presidential candidates would like to be seen as resembling Lincoln -- even those who aren't gangly master orators from Illinois."
"Obama the reader and writer has already shown an affinity for pragmatism, whether it's the Cabinet-level maneuverings of Lincoln or the "Let's make a deal" activism of Alinsky or the "a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do" geopolitical realism of Niebuhr."
- Here's something to add to my collection of bookish T-shirts.
- Comics in the Classroom is a great resource for teachers AND the rest of us comics geeks.
- Tech-minded book buddy Steve Colca pointed me to
PersonaNonData, another great blog on tech and publishing.
- And PersonaNonData led me to
Zoomlii, a site that lets one "browse" "bookshelves" online, then buy interesting-looking titles from Amazon.com. Put this into the don't-know-how-I-feel-about-this category -- browsing has always been one of the things (among many) we tout as the advantage of real-live, brick-and-mortar stores, yet Zoomlii is doing a pretty fair job of simulating that experience virtually. It's pretty fun to use, but on one level it makes me feel a bit sick -- just one more thing we don't have to leave the house for, and one more advantage to buying from Amazon. But you still can't recreate those booksellers hanging out, making recommendations, or helping you find "that one about the monster in Italy..." What would be REALLY cool would be if indie bookstores themselves could use this technology to let customers browse their hand-picked, highly curated bookshelves in virtual format -- and have the sales go to indies rather than corporations.
- Steve's all into taking advantage of tech from the indie perspective. He's putting out news on new titles, events, news, and giveaways from
W. W. Norton through Twitter. Despite my misgivings, one doesn't have to be a Twitter subscriber or read tweets on cell phones to see it -- you just subscribe to the RSS like a regular blog, and get 140 characters of distilled info for your trouble. Good deal.
- And finally, here's a bookstore I'd love to visit... mmm, yummy. A husband-and-wife team (one a former Brooklynite) are the proprietors of
Rabelais, a bookstore in Portland, Maine dedicated to books on food, wine, farming, etc. As you might guess, they frequently have delicious
foodie book events, like Mark Kurlansky signing The Last Fish Tale, all manner of wine tastings, a cookie swap, and more. A great ideal for a store incorporating some of the things that make life worthwhile.
That's all for today. Have a great week, and happy reading!
Kira-Kira
by Cynthia Kadohata
2005 Newbery Medal Book
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
Reading level: Ages 10-14
Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Aladdin (December 26, 2006)
Kira-Kira is my second book finished for the Young Adult Challenge hosted at Thoughts of Joy. Before I get into the review, I just want to say how much I’m enjoying getting back into Young Adult literature after quite a long hiatus. Aside from the Harry Potter series, I went many many years without reading YA literature, and I’m so glad this blog has inspired me to start reading this genre again. Now, on with the review.
Kira-Kira is the story of the Japanese-American Takeshima family, told from the point of view of Katie, the youngest daughter. We learn in the opening passage of the story that Kira-Kira means “glittering” in Japanese, and that it was Katie’s first word, taught to her by her older sister Lynn. It’s obvious from the beginning that Katie adores Lynn.
Born in Iowa to Japanese immigrants, Katie and Lynn have a nice childhood, but everything changes when the family’s oriental food store goes out of business, and they move to Georgia to become factory workers in a poultry processing plant. It’s here that Katie realizes for the first time that she is different. Shunned by the white Georgians, the Japanese community in Georgia is tight knit, but life is very difficult. Katie and Lynn’s parents work extremely long hours under harsh conditions. Katie and Lynn rarely see their father, and when they do, he’s exhausted. Their mother is forced to wear “pads” because bathroom breaks are not allowed in the factory. When their baby brother, Sammy, is born, the girls and a next door neighbor pretty much raise him. Just when things can’t get worse, Lynn becomes very ill, and the family’s bonds are tested.
This heart wrenching story is one that I will soon not forget. Cynthia Kadohata expertly gets into the mind of a girl Katie’s age who has to deal with some very adult situations but does not quite understand them. An example of this is when Lynn is very ill, and despite appearing very strong and brave in front of Lynn, Katie needs a moment alone and breaks down:
“I cried and cried. For a while as I cried I hated my parents, as if it were their fault Lynn was sick. Then I cried because I loved my parents so much. Then I didn’t feel like crying anymore. I just felt barren, my eyes felt dry. They sky was still gray. Everything was gray, the sky and the store and even my hand when I held it out in front of myself. I wondered in anyone else in history had ever been as sad as I was at that moment” (p. 199).
We also see racism, prejudice, and the unfair treatment of the factory workers through Katie’s eyes. While some have criticized this book and being slow and uninteresting for young adults, it would have been right up my alley when I was younger. Certainly, it’s not for every kid and may appeal more to girls than boys, but it’s a story that I think will impact many. It was completely deserving of its 2005 Newbery Medal win.
