Covers, Judging Books by

This blog entry features a history of covers for the same book by Lois Lowry. I really like not only the eeek-that's-dated feel, I also like that her publisher seems to have done a nice job keeping up with the styles of the day. And remember, fashion can change fast for kids.

Yet, I am still shocked to find that books with terrible 1980s covers have checked out of my lib recently. I don't know if some kids are drawn to the old-fashioned covers, if they are blind to the datedness, or if some grown up made them get a book and the kid just grabbed the skinniest thing she saw.

See also:
Awful Library Books
Guys Lit Wire "Get Past this Cover!"
"Cover Stories" stories at Reader Girlz.

Buttermilk Biscuits

A 50ish woman working on an online college degree was shocked - shocked! - to hear that public libraries don't support college-level homework. K came out and eased her way into the event. Later, K mentioned that she's told that woman scores of time she needs a college library or to use our journal database. Sigh.

Just after her, an older man wanted "biographies of world leaders" -- as DVDs. Something about the way he put it -- and the fact that he knew he needed Clinton, Kennedy, and Idi Amin -- made me think he was taking a class, too. Whether this was background info he had missed these last few decades or his actual research, I can't say. Or maybe it is just for fun, or for date night or whatever. I thought of him as I read this.

I bought some different kinds of birdseed today. Maybe we'll get different kinds of birds. Maybe squirrels don't eat suet? Here's a little heart in the spilled seed.

Typical feeder birds this winter, more or less in order of commonness:

white-throated sparrow
house finch
junco
song sparrow
mourning dove
cardinal
chickadee
nuthatch

Blue jays pass through, as do hawks, and a great blue heron flew over the other day.

A nice primer on zombie books, at Guys Lit Wire.

Stash

While my recent projects are using (not using up) old odds and ends, I quickly found $20 worth of new fun stuff at the fabric and craft store the other day. And I really could use more trims and fringes. Like planting annuals generously, I think applying trim and extras is, for me, the difference between "Oh, that looks nice" and "Wow!"

This crafter pledges to work from Mt. Stashmore, only, for a year.

WIP Heart

This needs a tiny photo inserted into that little bangle and some finishing and shaping. It has potpourri in it -- my hands smell like flowers and vanilla, now.

(10/52)

Mending

I need to mend this vintage sweater this morning.



I can't use the words "mend" and "heart" together without pointing out Mended Little Hearts, an organization a high school friend holds dear.

Thread Heart

In a neighborhood association newsletter.