save my place

As a librarian, we see some really beautiful bookmarks. Occasionally they get left behind in library books, and there's always a designated box/container in every library around of lost and unclaimed bookmarks. Some are precious and detailed, some are hand made by children or friends, some are yellowing dog-eared pictures of relatives or far away places...

However, sometimes, mid-book, a book mark is just not handy, so readers need to improvise. And here's the rub. Sometimes we find things in books that are just down right weird, gross and unsuitable bookmarks.

So I've compiled a list of clever improvised bookmarks I've seen, and WTF bookmarks, that I definitely never want to see again.

CLEVER:
reciept
fourleaf clover (pressed & dry)
paper clip
tea bag (unused! Of course!)
elastic band
train ticket
hair pin
photo
postcard
gumleaf

EEEEW WTF?! NO!
sultana
slice bacon
toilet paper (where were you reading???)
wet wipe
hair (human. I think.)
orange rind
condom (unopened, but still! :S )
needle (Ow! oh, where did that go...?)
band aid (nope, not in packet.)

(Yep - that's a real book.)

2012 eclectic reader challenge: september - sci fi

Adjustment Team by Philip K. Dick
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Wow. Simultaneously the most intriguing premise and the most frustrating book I've ever read.
Dick explores the idea that there is no such thing as coincidence, and that the 'higher power' in control is a government organization. I don't read a lot of sci fi, but the ideas and possibilities here had me hooked.
But - it just ENDS! This book has the most I unsatisfying ending I have ever encountered! It leaves so much unsaid, so much unexplored! I got to the end, and glanced at the floor in case pages had fallen out! LOL Makes me curious to see how they ended the movie!

View all my reviews

from the author who brought you....

... this literary gem, comes 

Just incase you're not ROFL-ing, here's a reminder of how incongruous this book really is.

2011 man booker long list announced

In case you missed the memo, here's this year's 2011 Man Booker Prize long list so (if like me you've read NONE of them *blush*) you can start reading:

Julian Barnes The Sense of an Ending (Jonathan Cape - Random House)
Sebastian Barry On Canaan's Side (Faber)
Carol Birch Jamrach's Menagerie (Canongate Books)
Patrick deWitt The Sisters Brothers (Granta)
Esi Edugyan Half Blood Blues (Serpent's Tail)
Yvvette Edwards A Cupboard Full of Coats (Oneworld)
Alan Hollinghurst The Stranger's Child (Picador - Pan Macmillan)
Stephen Kelman Pigeon English (Bloomsbury)
Patrick McGuinness The Last Hundred Days (Seren Books)
A.D. Miller Snowdrops (Atlantic)
Alison Pick Far to Go (Headline Review)
Jane Rogers The Testament of Jessie Lamb (Sandstone Press)
D.J. Taylor Derby Day (Chatto & Windus - Random House)

The winner will receive £50,000 and each of the six shortlisted authors (TBA Sept 6th) including the winner, will receive £2,500 and a designer bound edition of their book.

but look; something i've always wondered is...

mum's gone away for quite a while...

So, no whale sightings today. Dammit. However! Today's WTF book will not disappoint. I picked it out to put in a pre-school bulk loan.

Thank goodness I dropped it, it fell open, and I had a read first.

Here it is:




It start off with this little girl - "Sugar" (yep) - introducing her mum, and how much fun they have together.

Then she has to stay with her Grandmother.





So: where's Mum gone away to? You get the feeling it's a hard time, and the book is gonna deal with a 'big issue'...

Is she getting some sort of treatment in hospital?

Was it a dodgy divorce?

Is she going away in the armed forces?

No: Mummy's 'away' for 25 to life.

O.o

Whoa. Didn't see that one coming. That might be a bit sensitive for preschool!

Can't wait til someone comes in and asks for this one day. Yipe!

Side Note: Our area has just had a jail built. So perhaps this was a thoughtful purchase... Eek.