Library follies

[neadods]

Well, frell - the library has cancelled my request for The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. I've put in a request for the audio instead, but I'm 8 down the list on that one too. They've got the copies, they're just not moving fast enough.

In other follies, I can't figure out what is more shocking to me - that I can't find my copy of Testament of Youth or that not one library in the entire county has one. (I wanted to reread it before I tackled Connie Willis' Blackout. Where have I been all of Connie's career? I'm starting with Domesday Book right now, and the only real question is, am I going to be able to wait until All Clear comes out in fall to read Blackout, or am I going to live in suspense for half the year?)

Note to self: MUST MAKE ANOTHER READING ICON We don't have any screencaps of Matt Smith picking up a book yet, do we?

Comments

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

Aha! Another Connie Willis fan! :D I'm sure someone gave me a copy of DB a couple of years ago - must see if I can ferret it out

No, we don't have Eleven+books yet.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I'm not an entire fan yet, but I'm enjoying the heck out of DB. M's a fan, and is willing to loan me a lot more.

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

Ah, okay...

I read To Say Nothing of the Dog recently and raved endlessly about it on my LJ, persuading at least one person on my FList to read it and another has said she'll buy it. But that's as far as I've got - the local library doesn't hold Willis' books so getting hold of them isn't easy if your finances are as dire as mine are currnetly!

[neadods.livejournal.com]

M has To Say Nothing Of the Dog; I'm going to borrow hers.

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

Do - it's fab!

[fyrdrakken]

That was the first CW book I read, absolutely brilliant. Total mood shift from DB (and for that matter from the short story "Fire Watch," found in the anthology of the same title) -- more to the point, the "rules" of time travel have noticeably shifted between the two novels, so I've fanwanked it as DB being early and TSNotD happening years later after some safeguards were added to the system. I wasn't as fond of Passage, but Bellwether was another fantastic one.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I picked up Passage because I liked the Titanic tie-in; it's probably going to be the next in the queue.

Bellweather I keep flip-flopping back and forth on - the library has a copy, so I can get theirs and see if I want my own.

[maureen-the-mad.livejournal.com]

First Willis story I ever read was "Blued Moon" and I was hooked instantly! Fabulous, wonderful writer.

Oh, no! I just googled "Blued Moon" to see what the name was of the collection it was included in (which was Fire Watch, btw), and discovered that there's a Willis book I haven't read! "All Seated on the Ground" came out in 2007, was nominated for a Hugo, and is now apparently out of print -- you can get used copies from Amazon or Abe Books... FOR $85!!! Yikes!

[fyrdrakken]

Try checking Half.com.

[maureen-the-mad.livejournal.com]

Half.com's prices range from $83 to **$9,999**. Dude, is this book made of solid gold or what??

[fyrdrakken]

Wow. Okay, I guess seeking a library copy or reprinting on that one. (Or keeping an eye on it in case the price goes down.)

[redpanda13.livejournal.com]

You might want to read Jerome's Three Men in a Boat first to see what she's parodying. We may have a copy....

Any other snickers of remembrance over the pineapple scene...?

[museclio]

Wait. I just finished Blackout - it's a stupid ending.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

It's a cliffhanger, isn't it? I got the impression from most of the reviews that it's a great book, but it simply stops short.

Rather like a lot of Tamorna Pierce's stuff - I learned quick to buy her books as they came out, but not to read until two were out.

[tempestsarekind.livejournal.com]

It's not *even* a cliffhanger, really; it's just a stop. (I didn't wait, clearly.) Which was nice in that I'm not sitting around thinking "How will they ever [get out alive/foil the villain/whatever]?!?" for months, but it was a bit surprising.

[dune-drd.livejournal.com]

'tis a very depressing Immortal Life, though...

[neadods.livejournal.com]

It would be, considering.

[maypanic.livejournal.com]

They canceled your request because the wait was too long? Wow. FYI, you can snag a copy on ABEBooks from about $10.

My library has changed the way they hold books- requested books go on a shelf right by the front desk. Whoever sees it first can still grab it- so they call to tell you they're holding it for you, but that doesn't mean you get it. Very frustrating.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Whoever sees it first can still grab it

Oh, that's just wrong!

They didn't exactly say why they cancelled it, just that ehey were "unable to fulfill" it. So I'm trying again.

[redpanda13.livejournal.com]

You should read Connie Willis's early novel Lincoln's Dreams. It's not as long as more recent ones, so a quicker read, and the last line hit me like a hammer (not in a bad way, and not a cliffhanger).

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I'll have to look for that. I think it's out of print.

[fyrdrakken]

Half.com is where I tend to go for out-of-print, and I turn up quite a lot of them.

[maureen-the-mad.livejournal.com]

I have it - see me when I get home. :-)

[jennetj.livejournal.com]

My officemate got me onto Doomsday Book, which I loved. Need to read more. She did a brilliant short story about the "politically correct police" going after Shakespeare called "Ado". See if you can find it - wonderful.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Is that in "To say nothing about the dog" or elsewhere?

[ellen-fremedon.livejournal.com]

It's in the collection "Impossible Things."

The whole collection is good; "Even The Queen" is one of favorite SF stories ever.

[bentleywg.livejournal.com]

I started out listening to Doomsday Book. The reader has a leisurely style which is great for other books, but when paired with a slow-moving storyline... I was getting to work after a 15-minute drive and *nothing had happened*. I was much happier when I switched to the print copy.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

It is a slow-moving story, I'll grant that.

[fourzoas.livejournal.com]

Why on earth would they cancel a request? We're thinking about that book for our summer reading for incoming freshmen!

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I don't know, but since they told me I could reinstate the request, I think it was one of two reasons:

1) I just changed my library card # and something in the system choked. (I got a new, sturdier card; the old one was taking a beating now that it was finally getting used!)

2) [What I think really happened] - The system is set to automatically cancel requests that can't be fulfilled within X days. I was something like the 25th request for one of 10 copies in the entire county. I'm pretty confident that I'll get my mitts on a library copy, but possibly not until the first-release rush dies down.

In your shoes, I'd keep it on the summer reading list. It will become available as the first library rush dies down, and it may encourage some kids to up and buy it.