Einstein Believed in Libraries by Karla Stover



"The Only thing you absolutely have to know is the location of the library."

       Albert Einstein





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With the economy going gangbusters at last, my home town of Tacoma, Washington, the city can finally reopen the libraries on Mondays and add two library kiosks. Here’s how “Candlepoint.com” describes a library kiosk:  “Remote kiosks present libraries with a unique opportunity to meet patrons where they are and offer automated services to community members in the places they visit the most. Services can include checking out pre-stocked books, delivery of individually requested books, and book returns.” In Tacoma, the kiosks are going into neighborhoods where libraries were little-used and closed some six or eight years ago.

But on to more interesting libraries. When FDR was in office and created the Work Progress Administration (WPA) to put men to work, his wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, had ideas of her own to help women utilize their skills: health services, school lunch programs, sewing projects, and libraries. And one of her innovations was the Pack Horse Library Project of Eastern Kentucky. For $28 a month, women traveled 50 to 80 miles a week on rocky terrain in all kinds of weather with saddlebags filled with books and magazines, making deliveries both to homes and to schoolhouses. The WPA paid for the salaries of the supervisors and book carriers; all books were donated. Members of the community had to not only donate books but also provide facilities to store the books and other supplies needed by the librarians on horseback. When donated books and magazines were beyond use, the librarians rescued what they could and made scrapbook collections of recipes, quilting patterns and other things of interest to women until eventually there were more than 200 different scrapbooks generated by patrons and librarians.


In countries where books rather than e-readers are valued, mobile libraries come in a variety of types. One is The Mongolian Children’s Mobile Library which carries books to nomadic herding communities and remote areas of the Gobi Desert. Another is the Elephant Mobile Library in Laos. It serves a two-fold effort: to increase public awareness about the plight of the elephants and to support literacy in rural communities. The project is a joint effort between Room-To-Read Laos, Action With Lao Children, and ElefantAsia in partnership with the local government. The elephant library has been an instant hit. "Stocked with 640 Lao-language children’s books (many featuring elephants) and supplementary educational materials, the library’s maiden voyage included four primary schools that serve more than 1,000 students in the northern province of Xaybouly."

Possibly so as not to be outdone, Kenya has a Camel Mobile Library Service which lends more than 7,000 books to nomads in the impoverished North East Province. "Many of the books are supplied by Book Aid International, the charity which gives more than half a million books a year to some of the world's poorest countries - and is supported this year by the Observer Christmas Appeal."

Meanwhile, Minneapolis has a floating library. According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, artist Sarah Peters created a rowboat with a friend and can sometimes be found sometimes on Cedar Lake, distributing works – mostly books made by artists---not well-known titles.

The ship's book store

SIDEBAR: Rotterdam, the Netherlands had the first and only floating dairy farm, but that's another story.The Logos Hope, the world’s largest floating book store-cum-library, is a ship owned by the German shipping company GBA Ships e.V. which operates its fleet for specific charity purposes. It's registered to the Faroe Islands but travels around the world with a crew of 400 from 60 nationalities, and over 5,000 books. It is believed to be the world's largest floating "book fair."

Buenos Aires has a privately-funded bookmobile, the Czech Republic has a tram library, Ethiopia has a Donkey Mobile Library, and the list goes on.

I hope the children who visit Tacoma's new library kiosks get to interact with an actual person. It's a great part of the experience.



Bohemian Rhapsody

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(It's Mozart's Wife, my friends, under a new title and cover here and there, because of Amazonian-evil-shenanigans.)

I'll call this a movie review , but I confess I'm writing because I've been unable to get my last weekend's viewing of Bohemian Rhapsody out of my head. I've got a case of full on ear worm, too, from hearing all those great songs. This topic is not too far off course for me, because forty years back, I dared to begin novel writing after having my brain completely eaten by seeing Amadeus.  

Although it's a fairly middle-of-the-road biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody struck me similarly.  The movie was, after all, about another human one of a kind, one of those rare people about whom others say: "They broke the mold." Don't think I'll get any argument if I say that we'll never see another Mozart, nor will we ever see another Freddie Mercury--at least, not in this dimension.*

Rami Malek as Freddie at Live Aid in Bohemian Rhapsody

Like Wolfgang M., Freddie Mercury was born with an abundance of charisma, drive, and a mad desire to entertain. A biopic hero with drama-ready flaws and conflicts, Freddie Mercury's bisexuality, when yoked to the excesses of the 70's and 80's rock world, made him one of the many victims of the AIDS epidemic. His career, like those of many many artists, performers and musicians, was cut short. Fortunately, the audience in whose company we saw Bohemian Rhapsody seemed to honor this gifted "sinner."

Freddie Mercury

I went with a friend to whom those dark days of AIDS in the 80's still hold a lot of pain. Magda has custody of the cremains of three dear friends who--as they burned away in their 5th floor walkups--had only their artistic "families" to tend their terrifying disease, and later, to mourn them. 

On my side, things were far more casual. I'd come to hear and see a spectacle with great rock songs.  You'd have to have lived under the proverbial rock not to have heard any music by Queen--even if it's just the football anthem We Will Rock You. Somebody to Love is one of my all-time favorites--and, along with Radio Ga-Ga--one of today's ear worms.

My sons were growing up when Queen was knocking out hits. "Kid" music made its way from behind closed bedroom doors into my ears. While I've always loved classical music and opera as well as rock'n'roll, I never doubted the musicality of this band. To me, Queen's music was operatic, if it not 'opera.' And it wasn't just the lead singer. The other band members seemed to hear the music resident in the spoken word as well. Even when lyrics don't appear to make much sense, the words themselves, the sounds and the mouthfeel, become essential parts of their electrifying composition.

The plot is pretty sanitized -- maybe even homogenized? That, in the end, didn't really detract from my enjoyment. I was a working mom when Queen strode onto the scene and had no time to follow the dramas surrounding rock personalities, so the story was mostly news to me. I really liked this movie far more than I'd anticipated, because of the unexpected sweetness of the story. It was romantic, in a way, with dark moments and all.

Bohemian Rhapsody begins as the freakish, sexually ambiguous and talented hero finds first acceptance and then unlikely stardom through hooking up with a band at the precise moment their lead singer decamps. Farouk--or Freddie, as he christened himself--has finally found freedom to express the craziness and the talent inside. He and the band enter into  touring and performing show-biz destiny.

The dark moment comes when Freddie beaks up the group in order to pursue a solo career. The change doesn't make heart (or even self-preservation!) sense, for deep down Freddie knows he's abandoned his musical family--in a way, his only safe place. The script is evenhanded; no bones are made about that fact that this star needed his band as much as they needed him. Queen--just like the Beatles--was a creative partnership. 

After a plea from his ex-wife, Freddie asks pardon of the other three band members, and Queen goes on to their epic performance at Live Aid. There isn't a focus on it, but we all know that Freddie has also received his AIDS death sentence.

I came away not only liking the movie, but the characters. Here's a show biz story where you expect bad decisions, drugs, fabulous music, and walks on the kinkiest of wild sides, but it resolves on such a quiet, decent--almost domestic--note. Self-knowledge, willingness to forgive and plain old human honesty bring this musical family back together again. A small thing, in the landscape of human triumph, you might think, but this old woman didn't really need another dose of darkness.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8Eg-mWdDLc

Freddie, who loved opera, performing with the divine Monserrat Caballe, one of his idols.



~~Juliet Waldron 

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Juliet Waldron @ Books We Love

*Yes we're all unique, like snowflakes, but some of us have far more curliques than others!



        

Is it Too Soon for Eggnog Latte? by Connie Vines

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Is it too soon for Eggnog Latte? I asked myself while driving to the gym, the Hallmark station jingling joyful Christmas songs via Sirius Radio.

I recalled a tweet and chuckled.  “The eggnog latte was the only thing keeping me from beating people during the holidays. Please bring it back!” tweeted GeekyLady. In 2014.

While I am not now, nor have I ever been so inclined—even when I was a fragrance consultant (think: test PH levels and find perfect signature fragrances; not the spray unsuspecting clients upon entrance to the shop). Not when the shop stayed open until 12:30 am and staff custom wrapped each gift with hand-fashioned bows and designer gift paper in a back room about the size of a side-by-side refrigerator.

However, I love my eggnog latte and gingerbread latte (no whip on both) from Starbucks and Christmas music.

So, when do our readers like to snuggle under a quilt, or here in SoCal, or under a light-weight throw and read a holiday romance?

Is November too soon? 

Is January too late?

Writers, when plotting your holiday romance novel, to you begin in the middle of summer with the a/c blasting or do you wait until Fall?

I write my holiday novels during the season.  Yep, Christmas novels now.

I bake. I shop. I indulge in assorted crafts.  And yes, I drive to Starbucks—but not daily, for heaven sake.  I am thrifty-- I’m saving for Christmas gifts after all; and must watch the calories too.

Confession:  I have been known to fake my Eggnog latte.  I purchase the low-fat eggnog and add it warmed up a bit into my home brewed coffee.  My copy-cat gingerbread latte includes gingerbread seasoning and a trickle or two of molasses and creamer into my coffee.

Obviously, I have a great deal of distractions 😊. 

To get me started I will often journal with a few writing prompts (yes, pen to paper because it activates a part of the brain where creativity resides).

·         Pretend you have been given a baby reindeer to raise. Write about what you will do to take care of it. What challenges will you have to overcome?

• Write about the perfect Christmas Day. Include plenty of details.
• Character A vows to do something nice for a stranger during the Christmas time. Character B is that stranger.

Since I write n multiple genres and cross-genres, my stories will often include a holiday without the holiday being the primary theme of the story.

Both “Brede” and “Here Today, Zombie Tomorrow” include the Christmas season without holiday being the theme of the entire storyline.

What is your favorite holiday setting?  What is there about a holiday romance that makes it special for you?

Share your favorite holiday memory with me.  Or your favorite holiday cookie recipe.

If you have young children/grandchildren you might like to share a joke or two.

Here are a few of my holiday favorites  🎅  🎄

Q: What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire?
A: Frostbite. 

Q: What do snowmen like to eat for breakfast?

A: Frosted Flakes!

Q: What did the gingerbread man put on his bed?

A:  A cookie sheet.   

If you are looking for a few new holiday recipes to bake and share, you may wish to visit my Pinterest account:  novelsbyconniev . I have a wonderful recipe for eggnog Bundt cake and gingerbread recipes galore!

Visit my website: www.novelsbyconnievines.com  for links, book trailers, and more.  Don’t forget to enter the contests and giveaways here at the BWL website!

Wishing you a joyous Holiday Season filled with BWL ebooks!

Connie

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