During the summer holidays (and with an iPhone handy) I've been in the habit of checking my Twitter stream each morning and emailing interesting tweets for later investigation on my laptop (bigger screen...).
So, as a snapshot of what I found this morning that I thought might be useful to my work as a teacher librarian - for me, or my colleagues, or the kids - here's what I emailed for future investigation. It's a lucky dip depending on what others are tweeting and retweeting, and filtered by the people I follow (my Twitter @ruth_skerricks is my professional Twitter stream, where I follow people tweeting about education, technology, libraries, books...). The motivational quotes are ideas for the senior study skills program I'm working on, some of the other links may or may not be useful, but it's all a great professional development resource. I can't access Twitter at work (social networking sites are generally blocked) so if I email myself the links I can investigate them and if they prove useful/relevant to others, email them on to colleagues.
NY Public Library (@nypl)
25/01/11 9:49 AM
From our Tumblr: "We can’t behave like people in novels, though, can we?" http://bit.ly/fq6jmK
Josh Stumpenhorst (@stumpteacher)
25/01/11 9:49 AM
My video tutorial page: http://bit.ly/f5RUbv #edchat #edtech
Fiona Jones (@fionareadersrr)
25/01/11 9:37 AM
RT @Infoventurer: Kathryn Greenhill Daily http://bit.ly/emzftW ▸ stories today @curtinuni @camcd @fionareadersrr @libsmatter @jeanburgess
Motivational Quotes (@motivatquotes)
25/01/11 9:27 AM
Our attitude towards others determines their attitude towards us. ~ E. Nightingale http://bit.ly/9fOwbe
Shannon Miller (@shannonmmiller)
24/01/11 10:20 PM
RT @pgreensoup Quizlet Flashcards Now Embeddable http://bit.ly/g8TtzG #vanmeter
Buffy Hamilton (@buffyjhamilton)
24/01/11 10:22 PM
Seth's Blog: Three ways to help people get things done: http://is.gd/kUvITS
Shannon Miller (@shannonmmiller)
24/01/11 10:23 PM
Joliprint ...Print friendly & PDF your blogs and websites http://ow.ly/3IXN0
Glenda Morris (@jasmont1)
24/01/11 10:42 PM
“@glendagregory: Top 10 sites for Creating Digital Magazines and Newspapers by David Kapuler (cont) http://tl.gd/8bq4vj
Guardian Books (@GuardianBooks)
24/01/11 11:15 PM
Here's a primer on tonight's TS Eliot Prize, with poems from all the contenders http://bit.ly/hjrI2R #books
Will Richardson (@willrich45)
24/01/11 11:31 PM
Reading: A project on the future of education http://bit.ly/eIJYXc Interesting vision
Josh Stumpenhorst (@stumpteacher)
24/01/11 11:46 PM
Watching and discussing this with my team today: TED talk about engaging boys in EDU http://bit.ly/gFBJ6S #edchat
Judy O'Connell (@heyjudeonline)
24/01/11 11:58 PM
The simplybooks Daily is out! http://bit.ly/9VRDYi ▸ Top stories today by @booksin140 @sydneyunipress @thereadingzone @readingtub
Josh Stumpenhorst (@stumpteacher)
25/01/11 12:08 AM
What is innovation? Be innovative this week! http://bit.ly/gmI1lm #edchat #ntchat
Publishers Weekly (@PublishersWkly)
25/01/11 12:06 AM
Our First Year With Amazon Kindle as an Independent Publisher http://bit.ly/g7rTzU
Publishers Weekly (@PublishersWkly)
25/01/11 12:16 AM
From FutureBook: what book publishers can learn from the gaming world. http://bit.ly/dS9SP6
Phillippa Cleaves (@pipcleaves)
25/01/11 7:26 AM
Imagine if our own students made a social network like these :-) RT @ITJil: 20 Social Networks for Lifelong Learners http://bit.ly/bC6zZZ
Judy O'Connell (@heyjudeonline)
25/01/11 8:27 AM
A New Culture of Learning: some thoughts. http://amplify.com/u/anj49
Tehani Wessely (@editormum75)
25/01/11 7:59 AM
The Shaun Tan cover art of Australis Imaginarium is eligible for nomination to the Chronos Awards! http://bit.ly/dZIx8o
Motivational Quotes (@motivatquotes)
25/01/11 7:44 AM
You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. ~ Jim Rohn
tripwire magazine (@tripwiremag)
25/01/11 5:21 AM
40+ Fresh and Amazing Free Fonts to Download http://su.pr/5Dljb3
Phillippa Cleaves (@pipcleaves)
25/01/11 7:52 AM
RT @RoshOR: “@willrich45:"A Tilt in Thought" from a principal. http://bit.ly/dFjThC Good stuff.” lets stop whining and just get on with it.
Bobbi Newman (@librarianbyday)
25/01/11 8:53 AM
Top Ten Links 2.3 – All About Ebooks
Librarian by Day http://bit.ly/eA7Pqk
Cheers
Ruth
Monday, January 24, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Library Day in the Life, Round 6, Monday
No, you didn't miss rounds 1 to 5 on this blog; this is the first time I've played. You can read all about a myriad of librarian lives at the wiki here.
But, you say, it's not term time yet; we aren't back till Friday...
...ah yes, but it's handy to come in and get a few jobs done while it's quiet. Collect some paperwork and save some documents I want to work on between now and then.
Sniff the air, remember the roads to school, past the orchards and horses.... say howdy to the folks here (some teaching colleagues, my lovely cleaning lady, the maintenance boys)...
...and then flit off to have a tad more holidaying before the summer's done.
Thinking over the day so far, I started library work before leaving home, when I checked my Twitter stream and saved some links to follow up. Been doing that all holidays - so many good things have come up.
Cheers
Ruth
But, you say, it's not term time yet; we aren't back till Friday...
The foyer waiting for its new start-of-year display
...ah yes, but it's handy to come in and get a few jobs done while it's quiet. Collect some paperwork and save some documents I want to work on between now and then.
It's dark and quiet and soon won't be either!
Sniff the air, remember the roads to school, past the orchards and horses.... say howdy to the folks here (some teaching colleagues, my lovely cleaning lady, the maintenance boys)...
I made some chocolate brownies to take in for the cleaners and maintenance boys. Went down a treat!
...and then flit off to have a tad more holidaying before the summer's done.
Thinking over the day so far, I started library work before leaving home, when I checked my Twitter stream and saved some links to follow up. Been doing that all holidays - so many good things have come up.
Cheers
Ruth
Vampyre Stuck In The Wash Cycle
Four Stars: A Darker Dream, by Amanda Ashley $9.99 (New York Times Best Selling Author) [Romance > Historical]Most books have what I would describe as "ordinary washing machine cycles." (A means for the reader to get clean through the book.) First, the writer separates the laundry (helps the reader distinguish it from others in the genre) then pre-soak begins, the wash cycle starts, and there's the rinse cycle. Finally, at the end, the spin.
SEPARATING THE LAUNDRY:
Times are hard in the 1800s. Main character, Rhianna, finds her very delicate self standing on an auction block. Her crusty father is selling her to raise money. That's when Rhianna gets separated from her mother and four sisters. A very strange and brooding (but silky) recluse, who lives in a castle and sits in the shadows, pays for Rhianna's servitude. Yet he already has a man-servant living with him, attending to his every need. He doesn't need a second slave.
THE PRE-SOAK BEGINS
Thus Rhianna is immersed in change. Her feelings for the 400 year old vampire (whom she assumes is just a socially awkward but very romantic man) are confused with a sense of mystery that turns into deep passionate yearning. When Lord Rayven finally kisses Rhianna's hands, wrists, and arms, it's very much like Gomez Addams (of "The Addams Family" fame) might kiss his wife, Morticia. Except Lord Rayven is much more artful, sophisticated, and dangerous!
THE WASH CYCLE
Then Lord Rayven and Rhianna get into an agitated relationship that can only be described as a very prolonged romantic hurricane. This is where the plot becomes rather repetitive and tedious and looks something like this:
• Lord Rayven: "Run for your life" (while he secretly pleads, under his breath, "please don't leave me Rhianna")
• Rhianna says: "Anything you wish M'Lord" and leaves - but then sneaks back: "M'Lord?"
• To which the couple explore each other's mouths passionately, Lord Rayven kisses her hands and wrists and arms (some more) until he cannot bear the passion and commands "Leave!" (again).
• So Rhianna leaves ... only to return ... and the whole cycle happens over and over and over again.
Sample text: (page 164)
"You once begged me to let you stay," he said, his voice moving over her like a dark wind. "Now I am begging you."
She felt the tears dry on her cheeks. "I've changed my mind."
"Too late, Rhianna. Shall I go down on my knees and plead with you, my sweet?"
WASH CYCLE GETS STUCK HERE, ON PAUSE
Amazingly, that wash cycle lasts for more than five of Rhianna's delicate years and, while the relationship takes on a funny smell, the plot never thickens. It's as though a loud mechanical buzzer should go off. Nothing's going anywhere until chapter thirteen when Vampire Rayven finally explains (hear my sigh of relief) to the still unsuspecting Rhianna, "duh!" that he really is a vampyre!
THE RINSE:
To say more about the story would spoil the ending for anyone whose deeply inspired by prolonged romantic scenarios. The book becomes more passionate ... but a repetitive plea of "have you come to destroy me?" haunts the next few chapters.
I'm giving this book four stars because the writing is just so very polished, compelling, and I really enjoyed the read even if the plot, itself, left much to be desired. Author Ashley conveyed her characters' romantic pursuits in a most poetic and fluid style. She's definitely mastered the gift of writing with rhythm and romantic allure.
Reviewer's Admission: *(I purchased this book and read it as a paperback)
Character Blog: Vamchoir
Tweet: @Vamchoir
Facebook: Vamchoir
Publisher: SunTigerMOJO.com
Saturday, January 22, 2011
VAMPIRE COMEDY AT ITS BEST
"Okay, I see by your faces some of you are shocked by my statement. And some of you, I just betcha, are only pretending to be shocked. Shame on you!” Said Sarah, at a town meeting, where she addressed the "good people" of Twinkle, Oregon, about the infestation of supernatural monsters.
“Do you know what a ghoul is?” (Palin had asked the mayor, earlier)
“What?”
“There are several meanings of the word. You’ve got your desert demons and your Massachusetts corpse-eaters. But some people apply the term to living human beings placed under the control or direction of a vampire. Isn’t that the darndest thing?”
WHY I LIKED THIS BOOK
* Beyond the hilarious dialog, Sarah Palin: Vampire Hunter is loaded with comical conspiracy theories. (For example: one suggests the Xbox was designed to make "easier chewing for the zombies.")
* Lots of "suitable" double meanings such as when "Palin blasted her way through Swimwear" (in reference to the athletic department, not necessarily referring to her ability to annihilate bathing-wear itself).
PET PEEVES AND ANNOYANCES:
* Author consistently ends questions in dialog with "said" instead of the more appropriate "asked" or "queried."
* Proper names such as "Axel" and "Gogo" are not capitalized. These peeves were not even a speed bump for me, however, as the entire manuscript was so perfectly written otherwise.
RATING: FIVE STARS for rapt attention maintained all the way through. It's a fast and curiously fun read.
Reviewer's Admission: *(I purchased this book and read it as an eBook)
Character Blog: Vamchoir
Tweet: @Vamchoir
Facebook: Vamchoir
Publisher: SunTigerMOJO.com
Friday, January 21, 2011
Support the Flood Relief Appeal
If you would like to support the flood relief appeal and acquire something beautiful and craft-made, toddle on over to the Etsy shop which is bursting with items supplied by generous craftworkers who are donating the proceeds to help those affected by the floods. Lookee here.
You can also find more goodies here.
Cheers
Ruth
You can also find more goodies here.
Cheers
Ruth
Book Reviewer's Rant
I'm on a mission to read and review at least 100 books in 2011 (see my reading challenges, right column). Already I've hit some pretty deep potholes - badly written books - on this mental vacation. For your pleasure, imagine I'm driving a Lamburgini and those dreadful books put scratches on my new car. (If I was Batman, in Dark Knight, my vehicle would be a dark silver-gray, but I'm more curvy, not too unlike Catwoman, so for the duration of this article, my car's bright golden-yellow.)
Trust me when I say, while I drive down this winding road, seeking reading bliss, that I am not LOOKING for car wrecks. I am driving to escape reality. I set off on this high-speed adventure yearning for excitement and fun. I honestly don't mind ignoring an occasional typo, because cars do backfire and some of us talk on cell phones while we drive. It's also very likely that you will find a typo written here. (I may pretend I'm a super-hero, demi-god, or vampire, but, sadly, I'm only human.) I don't even mind tripping over a misused word in a book every now and again. I just don't want my brain to explode because a writer completely slammed the brakes on grammar and stopped right in front of my reading pleasure, causing a huge fiery death scene with too much brazen ignorance.
EXAMPLE:
Understand that not all the poorly written books I've seen were self-published or sold exclusively on the Internet. If you haven't read my review of this "New York Times Best Selling Author" then click here. (Direct quotes from her soft cover book, which is pure discombobulation, are shown.)
BOOK ACCIDENTS THAT LEFT ME SHAKING:
#1 - Writers who don't know anything about grammar, spelling, capitalization or proper sentence structure, who also don't acknowledge their ignorance, refuse to hire an editor or publishing company who/that might have improved their work. If you are wanting to become an author, then please make sure all vandalized tail lights and huge dents in your book have been removed BEFORE you publish. The editorial process works something like car insurance. If you pay for it, then reviewers will rub car wax on your vehicle until your book gains wonderful publicity and really shines.
#2 - Books that are marketed in one genre when they really belong in the other are just shocking to the reader. Trust me. A Christian doesn't want to buy "The Holy Bible" and receive a copy of "The Satanist's Bible" in reply. Learn the genres before you offer your book for sale. See my review: "Disappointment: The Worst Kind Of Horror." Hint: Do not EVER send me erotica. I personally loathe reading about genitalia.
ABOUT ME:
As someone whose worked in the writing and marketing business (most often as a public relations editor, when not freelancing for trade magazines) I'm feeling rather shaken by two crinkled bloody messes for books that I attempted to read, and gave up on, last night. Because I don't want this blog to start looking like it was cursed with negative reviews (this is Catwoman, not some nasty old hag's page, after all) I'm not going to review either one of them. I returned one book to the author, who had asked me for a review, with a polite cough and a "no thank you." The other book I had purchased, and will delete it from my iPad, since I couldn't read past the third chapter without being rushed to the hospital.
FOR MY READERS:
I promise, the next few postings here will be about really good, or worthwhile books. I will not write another review until I've found those awesome reads. Smell the smoke of my exhaust? I'm speeding away to find that adventure! Hear my engine roar as I step on the flabbergast.
Trust me when I say, while I drive down this winding road, seeking reading bliss, that I am not LOOKING for car wrecks. I am driving to escape reality. I set off on this high-speed adventure yearning for excitement and fun. I honestly don't mind ignoring an occasional typo, because cars do backfire and some of us talk on cell phones while we drive. It's also very likely that you will find a typo written here. (I may pretend I'm a super-hero, demi-god, or vampire, but, sadly, I'm only human.) I don't even mind tripping over a misused word in a book every now and again. I just don't want my brain to explode because a writer completely slammed the brakes on grammar and stopped right in front of my reading pleasure, causing a huge fiery death scene with too much brazen ignorance.
EXAMPLE:
Understand that not all the poorly written books I've seen were self-published or sold exclusively on the Internet. If you haven't read my review of this "New York Times Best Selling Author" then click here. (Direct quotes from her soft cover book, which is pure discombobulation, are shown.)
BOOK ACCIDENTS THAT LEFT ME SHAKING:
#1 - Writers who don't know anything about grammar, spelling, capitalization or proper sentence structure, who also don't acknowledge their ignorance, refuse to hire an editor or publishing company who/that might have improved their work. If you are wanting to become an author, then please make sure all vandalized tail lights and huge dents in your book have been removed BEFORE you publish. The editorial process works something like car insurance. If you pay for it, then reviewers will rub car wax on your vehicle until your book gains wonderful publicity and really shines.
#2 - Books that are marketed in one genre when they really belong in the other are just shocking to the reader. Trust me. A Christian doesn't want to buy "The Holy Bible" and receive a copy of "The Satanist's Bible" in reply. Learn the genres before you offer your book for sale. See my review: "Disappointment: The Worst Kind Of Horror." Hint: Do not EVER send me erotica. I personally loathe reading about genitalia.
ABOUT ME:
As someone whose worked in the writing and marketing business (most often as a public relations editor, when not freelancing for trade magazines) I'm feeling rather shaken by two crinkled bloody messes for books that I attempted to read, and gave up on, last night. Because I don't want this blog to start looking like it was cursed with negative reviews (this is Catwoman, not some nasty old hag's page, after all) I'm not going to review either one of them. I returned one book to the author, who had asked me for a review, with a polite cough and a "no thank you." The other book I had purchased, and will delete it from my iPad, since I couldn't read past the third chapter without being rushed to the hospital.
FOR MY READERS:
I promise, the next few postings here will be about really good, or worthwhile books. I will not write another review until I've found those awesome reads. Smell the smoke of my exhaust? I'm speeding away to find that adventure! Hear my engine roar as I step on the flabbergast.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Disappointment: The Worst Kind Of Horror
The Knack, by Jesse Gordon, $7.99. eBook/290 pages.
WARNING: THIS REVIEW HAS SPOILERS
If an author wants his readers to be pleased with his work, he cannot intentionally deceive them by writing a book about the most despicable sexual predators on earth, child rapists, and mislabel such debauchery as "vampire fiction." It just doesn't work. Some intelligent reviewer is going to really feel infuriated and, in this case, the reviewer is me.
Gordon's book starts out quite well. (His sample chapters are why I bought the book.) A Texas family with teenagers is pulling up their proverbial tent stakes to move to California. I could almost smell the blood in the air, Gordon's writing proved so compelling at this point. While the Uhaul truck bounces, the teenagers mentally buck their dad's authority. They hate the idea they're changing schools, homes, friends and everything.
Yet shortly after the family arrives in California, and after the truck's unpacked, the story begins creeping downhill. I began to feel bored, so I skimmed over a few paragraphs. Then, when I could find no sustenance (hate it when I feel as though my mind could slowly starve to death) I jumped ahead more rapidly. That's when I realized the decline had steepened and the story slid way past all the meat markets and liquor stores that Gordon had described earlier. It landed fully in the gutter!
How a family conflict story suddenly morphs into emotionless erotica, I don't know. But when the main character, Aaron, becomes infected with the rapist-virus, he uses his man-instrument (like most vampires use fangs) and attacks an innocent school girl to kill her with it. Seriously! Homicidal rapist's are what Gordon thinks of preternatural vampires? That's just tacky. Tacky. Tacky!
I really deplored reading about Aaron and how, when he's not yanking his thoughts back into human comprehension, he's physically yanking on something more apparent. He's either doing that, or he's running around naked, exposing himself in a very lewd way. If Aaron's story wasn't despicable enough, even more rapists show up, including a middle-aged pedophile-rapist.
I simply had to quit reading there. Like the "patches of wilted shrubs" that Gordon described in the beginning, his book became worse than dead to me.
OTHER CRITICISMS:
Reviewer's Admission: *(I purchased this book and read it as an eBook)
WARNING: THIS REVIEW HAS SPOILERS
If an author wants his readers to be pleased with his work, he cannot intentionally deceive them by writing a book about the most despicable sexual predators on earth, child rapists, and mislabel such debauchery as "vampire fiction." It just doesn't work. Some intelligent reviewer is going to really feel infuriated and, in this case, the reviewer is me.
Gordon's book starts out quite well. (His sample chapters are why I bought the book.) A Texas family with teenagers is pulling up their proverbial tent stakes to move to California. I could almost smell the blood in the air, Gordon's writing proved so compelling at this point. While the Uhaul truck bounces, the teenagers mentally buck their dad's authority. They hate the idea they're changing schools, homes, friends and everything.
Yet shortly after the family arrives in California, and after the truck's unpacked, the story begins creeping downhill. I began to feel bored, so I skimmed over a few paragraphs. Then, when I could find no sustenance (hate it when I feel as though my mind could slowly starve to death) I jumped ahead more rapidly. That's when I realized the decline had steepened and the story slid way past all the meat markets and liquor stores that Gordon had described earlier. It landed fully in the gutter!
How a family conflict story suddenly morphs into emotionless erotica, I don't know. But when the main character, Aaron, becomes infected with the rapist-virus, he uses his man-instrument (like most vampires use fangs) and attacks an innocent school girl to kill her with it. Seriously! Homicidal rapist's are what Gordon thinks of preternatural vampires? That's just tacky. Tacky. Tacky!
I really deplored reading about Aaron and how, when he's not yanking his thoughts back into human comprehension, he's physically yanking on something more apparent. He's either doing that, or he's running around naked, exposing himself in a very lewd way. If Aaron's story wasn't despicable enough, even more rapists show up, including a middle-aged pedophile-rapist.
I simply had to quit reading there. Like the "patches of wilted shrubs" that Gordon described in the beginning, his book became worse than dead to me.
OTHER CRITICISMS:
- Font style and size dramatically and randomly change throughout the book in an inconsistent manner.
- The book is rated Fiction > Literature > Horror when it should be rated Licentious > Erotica.
- I will never give a piece of "literature" high ratings when it's written merely to excite some deviant or prurient interests, as I'm sure all the teenaged girls, described in this book, who sexually attacked their horrified classmates, appealed to the author.
Reviewer's Admission: *(I purchased this book and read it as an eBook)
Character Blog: Vamchoir
Tweet: @Vamchoir
Facebook: Vamchoir
Publisher: SunTigerMOJO.com
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