tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8301923073845301598.post1185559905762921319..comments2024-01-26T13:24:37.659+00:00Comments on Senior Common Room: Spring Releases and Library CutsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8301923073845301598.post-45825130923116583582011-01-13T09:25:25.199+00:002011-01-13T09:25:25.199+00:00Dorothy, do I need to know a lot about the Russian...Dorothy, do I need to know a lot about the Russian novelists to enjoy 'The Possessed' or will I learn from it? I know Tolstoy's work and life, but very little else.Annhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16966461711132186974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8301923073845301598.post-22194322691256163982011-01-13T00:45:10.940+00:002011-01-13T00:45:10.940+00:00The news about libraries has been very bad indeed....The news about libraries has been very bad indeed. It's frightening. I do like your list of upcoming books. I've been reading similar lists with an attention I don't usually give to forthcoming books. I think I'm in the mood for them. I read The Possessed, and I liked it, although I was hoping for something a little more ... surprising or breathtaking or something like that. But it was still good. And as you know, I loved the Goon Squad book. I'm going to keep my eye out for some of the others!Rebecca H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/10825532162727473112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8301923073845301598.post-23134227733282663402011-01-12T09:05:32.072+00:002011-01-12T09:05:32.072+00:00Too true, whisperinggums. If people can no longer...Too true, whisperinggums. If people can no longer afford books then we have to provide a public source. They are not luxuries; they are essentials.Annhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16966461711132186974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8301923073845301598.post-22580756722597010712011-01-12T06:50:22.377+00:002011-01-12T06:50:22.377+00:00As a once-was librarian, I despair too. It's d...As a once-was librarian, I despair too. It's devastating to see how little valued they are, and how much people in the new digital world believe that libraries are no longer needed. So wrong on so many counts!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8301923073845301598.post-47758334558416671172011-01-11T08:42:41.812+00:002011-01-11T08:42:41.812+00:00Anbolyn, the Egan book is there because of a blogg...Anbolyn, the Egan book is there because of a blogger recommendation. The Guardian article was the first reference to it I'd seen in the UK press. I used to face the same problem about literary fiction when I worked full time in the University Sector. The librarians wouldn't buy it because it wasn't a text book. How were my English students expected to value good literature if we 'told' them at every turn that it wasn't worth spending money on.Annhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16966461711132186974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8301923073845301598.post-15120747542852599562011-01-11T02:43:40.923+00:002011-01-11T02:43:40.923+00:00I ran into the same issue at the library I work fo...I ran into the same issue at the library I work for when the finalists for the National Book Award were announced here and we only had a couple of them. And just last week Booklist magazine published their best fiction list and we didn't own many of them. When I spoke with our adult fiction librarian about it she said that people don't read the "literary" books any more and that it would be a waste of money to purchase them. On one hand I understand her reasoning, but on the other hand I believe it is our responsibility to provide access to the very best literature being published. At least I can make sure that we buy the best youth literature. (I'm a youth services librarian). <br />By the way, I read A Visit From the Good Squad last year and was utterly captivated. A great book!Anbolyn (Cousins Read)http://niesaandanbolynread.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com