Squirreled Away

Kansas Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities, & Other Offbeat Stuff by Pam Grout
 Earlier this summer, I got to play tour guide to my good friends Cory and Karen, who were visiting from Iowa and looking for a Kansas adventure. Although they probably would have enjoyed the local Lawrence scene — Sylas & Maddys Ice Cream, the William Burroughs House, Free State Brewery — I thought their visit would be a great excuse to get out and see some of the sights I’ve been wanting to see since moving to Kansas about a year ago. You know, Council Grove, Holy-Field Winery, The Garden of Eden…

Instead? I checked out this crazy book from the Library and we wound up 2 1/2 hours north in Marysville, KS, to see some black squirrels. Sometimes the library will lead you astray.

To be fair, the book makes it sound like a great bet:

CC flickr.com/photos/gattou/4959947500

"Drive in any entrance to this prosperous river town and you’ll see big signs proclaiming it “The Black Squirrel City.” Indeed, coal black squirrels have the run of the town, with a city-proclaimed right-of-way on any street, alley, or railroad track. Anyone who dares hurt one is fined $25. In 1972, city commissioners made black squirrels the official town mascot, granting them immunity from all traffic regulations, freedom to trespass on all county property, and the first pickings of the town’s black walnuts.

 "No one knows for sure where the huge population of black squirrels came from, but the most persistent legend claims a local hooligan unlocked a cage of the dark rodents from a carnival of Gypsies who camped in City Park for three nights in the 1920s."

But, did black squirrels overrun our vehicle when we crossed the city line? Of course not. After (creepily) trolling the streets from our car for half an hour, we finally spotted our first black squirrel. Which ran away. And then we took some afternoon refreshment at the local taqueria. At least the salsa was spicy and the company was great!

Rachel - Programs

TV Zombie

With the best of intentions, and more than a little self-satisfaction, I canceled my cable.  I was excited to free up my time and money to focus on more high-minded pursuits.  Maybe I would learn to play the piccolo, or read Voltaire, or at the very least figure out who Voltaire was.  Plus, I would be able to lord my new sophistication over my TV watching friends.  Whenever I found myself ensnared in the inevitable conversation about Snooki’s antics, or the bloviating of a cable news talking-head, I would be able to derisively assure the person that I had no idea what they were going on about.  “What is this Snooki?” I would say, maybe while worrying the chain on my monocle.

Well, it’s been a few months, and as a librarian I’m a little reluctant to report that not having cable leaves a lot to be desired.  This is especially true since I haven’t actually stop watching TV; I’ve just lowered my expectations to the point where I’m willing to fuss with rabbit ears for half an hour to catch a few glimpses of a rerun of The King of Queens.  Today, I’m pre-mourning missing out on the new fall lineup, particularly the second season of The Walking Dead on AMC.  If you missed the first season, let me deconstruct the plot a little bit:  Zombies.   Season Two starts on October 16, which gives me a couple more months to determine if maybe cable and I are just on a break.   In the meantime, I can read the graphic novels that inspired the show or borrow a copy of Season One to relive some zombie unpleasantness (remember that poor horse?) and hopefully slake my cable jones.

Since we’re on the subject of zombies, check out this recent article in the New York Times about zombies in literature – clearly they’re the thinking-man’s/woman's paranormal antagonists du jour (and you can find almost all of the titles mentioned in the article right here at LPL).

Ransom - Reference

Recommendable Reads: Criss Cross by Lynn Rae Perkins

Jenny from Youth Services discusses the good-for-all-ages book Criss Cross by Lynn Rae Perkins.

Have You Read...Gary Shteyngart

Last year, The New Yorker named Gary Shteyngart one of their “20 Under 40” writers to watch – and for good reason. He has published some exceptionally funny and compelling work in his relatively-young life. Shteyngart spent his first seven years in St. Petersburg before immigrating with his parents to the United States and settling in New York. Straddling both cultures, his literary voice is a pleasing blend of Russian severity and American frivolity - which he deftly uses to skewer the prevailing nonsense of our times.

	The Russian Debutante's Handbook In his debut novel, Gary Shteyngart introduces the first in a series of protagonists that share more than a passing resemblance to the author. The man in this instance is Vladimir Girshkin, a 25 year-old son of Russian-Jewish immigrants, living in New York City and failing to meet his parent’s high expectations. While working in a low-paying job helping recent immigrants, Vladimir meets Francesca, a girl from a wealthy family, and becomes involved in some shady activities to maintain the funds for an upper-crust lifestyle - dealings that eventually lead him to a troubled trip to Prava, “the Eastern European Paris of the Nineties.” More about the book
	Absurdistan Misha “Snack Daddy” Vainberg is a food coveting, hip-hop loving, would-be American from a prominent Russian family. Due to some fallout from his father’s nefarious business practices, Misha is unable to maintain his U.S. visa or his other-side-of-the-tracks Bronx girlfriend. Desperate to leave St. Petersburg, Misha sets out to buy a Belgian passport in the oil-soaked Caspian nation Absurdistan – but soon finds himself embroiled in a nascent ethnic civil war. More about the book
	Super Sad True Love Story Set in a dystopian, not-too-distant future New York, America’s character flaws have grown outsized and the nation is crumbling underneath them. The “Bipartisan” government has devolved into a despotic police state and is losing a war of choice with Venezuela. The country is well-passed default on its debt and the Chinese creditors are ready to repossess. Most of the citizenry is resigned to focus on their äppäräti (devices that are a few rungs up the evolutionary ladder from iPhones) and ogle each other’s credit scores. In this world, we find the unlikely coupling of homely, middle-aged Lenny and a brooding young beauty named Eunice. Their affair is an implausibility set against the stark backdrop of an America in rapid decline. More about the book

If you liked Harry Potter

Like the magic and wonder of the Harry Potter series? Sad that it has come to an end? Here are five other series that might also spark your interest:

	Green Rider series by Kristen Britain In the first book, Green Rider, Karigan G'ladheon meets a dying horseman in the forest on her way home from school. At his request, she takes on a mission to deliver a life or death message to the king. With the help of the ghost of the dead messenger and pursued by supernatural beings, she becomes a member of the Green Riders, an equestrian messenger corps that uses magic. More about Green Rider
	Ender’s Game and Ender’s Shadow by Orsen Scott Card Like Harry Potter, Andrew Wiggen, or Ender, is a child with a special destiny. An illegal third child, he is discovered by members of the International Fleet after a fight with a school bully and taken to a space station to train for military command. In the parallel novel, Ender’s Shadow, Bean is an orphan genetically engineered for extreme intelligence. He becomes Ender's friend and lieutenant. More about Ender's Game
	His Dark Materials series by Phillip Pullman Lyra Belacqua and Will Parry, two twelve-year-olds with daemon animal companions, travel between worlds to rescue kidnapped children from evil experiments, release captive spirits, and recover powerful magical weapons. They are aided by a bevy of beasts and wondrous creatures, including armored bears, former nuns, angels, and a Texas aeronaut. More about the first book, The Golden Compass
	Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan In the first book, The Lightning Thief, twelve-year-old Percy learns that he is the son of a mortal woman and Poseidon, god of the sea, and is sent to a summer camp for demigods like himself. He joins his new friends on a quest to prevent a war between the gods. More about The Lightning Thief
	The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme by Elizabeth Haydon Venn Polypheme was a hobbit-like, Nain explorer who traveled much of the known and unknown world where magic thrives. Recently discovered by archaeologists, a few fragments of his original journals are reproduced the books The Floating Island, The Thief Queen’s Daughter, and The Dragon’s Lair. More about the first book, The Floating Island