Manga Monday/Graphic Is Great: Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service

Ah, summer reading programs.  Love them or hate them, anticipate them or fear them, if you're in the business of public library science, they are unavoidable.  Personally, I embrace them, as they get people reading, enhance statistics, and are good publicity.  At the little library where I'm director, the summer reading program has been going great, with more than 100 children signed up to read and earn prizes.  There are smaller programs for high school students and adults, too, with the potential to win prizes from drawings at the end of the program.

My hometown library also has a robust summer reading program for adults, and since I don't work there, I can participate.  Every checkout of books or audiobooks gets me an entry slip that I can fill out and put into a prize box of my choice.

And the easiest way to get in a lot of entry forms is reading manga.  Which brings us to this review.

Statistics
Checkouts: N/A
Number of volumes available: 13 in English, 17 in Japanese (ongoing)
Typical reader: Adults who like dark, edgy manga
Source: My local library

Summary: Five students at a Buddhist university are united by unique skills - some mundane, some supernatural - involving the dead.  They form a business of getting corpses to wherever they need to go to free the souls.  Sometimes they profit from this.

My Goodreads rating: 4 to 5 stars

As I tend to review books for the school library setting, let me say this right off the bat: This series is not for children, or even most teens.  It is a very adult horror series, with graphically portrayed dead bodies, full frontal nudity (mostly on corpses), violence, and occasional sex.  The last couple of volumes available have "PARENTAL ADVISORY: EXPLICIT CONTENT" stickers on the covers.  Get over the American idea that comic books are for children.

That said, if you're into dark horror with macabre humor and plenty of social commentary, that keeps things fresh and interesting, this is a great series.  Thirteen volumes are available in English, with more to be translated, and the series is ongoing in its home country.  I was a bit sad to finish volume 13, and hope that the fourteenth will soon be ready stateside.

Most volumes are filled with vignettes of cases that the team takes, which are often one to three chapters long.  (Volume two is a single story arc.)  The stories are influenced by a variety of sources, from traditional lore to urban legends, and from cultural quirks to ripped-from-headline sagas.  The manner of storytelling, and the fact that many jobs do not actually lead to money, makes this series a bit reminiscent of the classic anime, Cowboy Bebop.

Don't miss the glossary and notes at the end of each volume!  I had initially just skimmed the one in the first volume, until I got to one peculiar note.  "196.1 FX: PAKIII - sound of a bolt falling through glasses at terminal velocity into eye socket." (Volume 1, page 215)  Whoa, that's pretty specific.  So I read the rest of the notes.  They're worthwhile, for the humorous specificity as in the above quote, and also the interesting trivia they impart about aspects of Japanese culture, history, locations, and lore that I had previously known nothing of.  You can really learn a lot from the notes.

Which brings me to a last aspect I want to bring up.  While it's not to the level of Gantz for dark social commentary, Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service definitely is -not- afraid to touch on taboo subjects.  Not only does the team go searching for suicide victims in Aokigahara Forest, they also deal with the Iraq War, the remnants of the biological weapons research the Japanese committed in Occupied China during World War II, the Japanese justice system, illegal immigration, athlete doping, infanticide, and more.

In sum, if you like dark humor, social commentary, and vengeful reanimated corpses, check out this series.

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Manga Mondays is a meme used by many book review blogs, and is sort of hosted by Alison Can Read.

Author Day at the mall

The first annual U.P. Authors Day and Book Fair was held at the Westwood Mall in Marquette recently.  It was organized by members of the Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association (UPPAA) in coordination with the Westwood Mall.  (For more information directly from the UPPAA, visit their web page about the event.)

I went, of course.  My boyfriend and I had a great time visiting with more than a dozen friendly authors in the air conditioned mall.  (It was more than 90 degrees Fahrenheit; the A/C was very appreciated.)  Some were familiar faces, such as Gretchen Preston, who wrote Valley Cats and was thrilled that I reviewed the first in the series, and Deborah Frontiera, who said that Living on Sisu (also reviewed) was like the Dear America series because she was originally hoping to get it into that.  Others were debut authors, or people I simply had not heard of before.  Even local meteorologist Karl Bohnak was there with his two books.

I'll be honest; while I could strike up conversations with most of the featured authors, Mr. Bohnak is a local TV celebrity and I didn't say much more to him than how much my mom likes his book.  I'm shy!

Many books were bought in the course of the afternoon, for both of my libraries.  A few authors also were gracious enough to donate their books to the libraries, bless their hearts.  Much thanks to Kevin Kluck, Mel Laurila, and Mary Soper for their generosity!

It is worth mentioning that most authors who were in attendance at the Authors Day are self-published, many with printing services through Globe Printing in Ishpeming, MI.  Ergo, it may be hard to get these books outside of this region.  I will do my best to offer web sites and other information as available.

Below are pictures of my merrily obtained swag, along with their authors' names, and web sites when available.

For the charter school library:

Top row, left to right:
The Clue at Copper Harbor by M.C. Tillson; A&M Writing and Publishing (books available for purchase)
Where the Wind Blows by Ida Nord
Look Up! The Poems of Mr. Happy by Robert L. Cook; Mr. Happiness Online (autobiography and music available for purchase)
Snail-Shell Harbor by J.H. Langille.  This was originally published in 1870; this edition is edited by Donna Winters.  Great Lakes Romances (this book and many of Mrs. Winters' own works are available for purchase)
Bottom row, left to right:
Hamsters After Dark by Kathy Kuczek (book and art prints available for purchase)
A Day with Stanley by Milly Balzarini (web site has links to sales sites such as Barnes & Noble)

For the public library:

Top row, left to right:

Hamsters After Dark by Kathy Kuczek

Land of Enchantas by Corey M. LaBissoniere; Martin Sisters Publishing (web site has links to sales sites)

Yooper Bars by Randy and Kevin Kluck; Yooper Bars (book and t-shirt available for purchase)

Bottom roe, left to right:

The Clue at Copper Harbor by M.C. Tillson

Mine Games by Mel Laurila; Tate Publishing (book and ebook available for purchase)

Where the Wind Blows by Ida Nord

The Hospital Handbook by Mary Soper; The Hospital Handbook (book and journal available for purchase)

I look forward to reading and reviewing many of these books in the future!

One week as director, solo

After about a week and a half of training, the former director left and I took the reins of the small public library I am now in charge of.  How has it gone?

Pretty well, overall.  I have dealt with a variety of new and different things.  If you're not in the business, I hope this is interesting and informative to you.

• How many librarians does it take to change a light bulb?  Within minutes of the former director's departure, we had to call the township's maintenance people due to a faulty lighting outlet in the bathroom.  It was fixed the next morning, after the maintenance man had to call the electrician to take care of it.
• Meetings.  The library is in the process of moving and expanding.  I attended the township's zoning board of appeals meeting, where we were granted all variances and other such things, and learned of a neighbor's concerns about our expansion.  A week later, I was at the library board's special meeting to discuss these matters, and to view and discuss the building plans with the architects.  There are many steps in creating a new home for the library.  The next step is to take the plans to the planning commission.
• Ordering supplies and books.  This is pretty mundane stuff, but a lot of that is still new to me.  I'm pretty good at being frugal.  The one surprise here is how quickly the office supplies arrived after I ordered them.  I called in the order on Wednesday, and most of it appeared on Thursday!  This is pretty amazing, especially being in the middle of nowhere, Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  If you're in the need for office supplies for a business, might I suggest Quill?
• Staff scheduling.  This wouldn't be an issue if the interlibrary loan (ILL) delivery system weren't changing its delivery schedule.  On the one hand, the company is giving all the libraries that had been on a 2 days/week schedule an extra day free (and boosting 4 days/week to 5, at larger libraries), to see if that makes ILLs faster and easier.  On the other, it completely throws staff schedules for a loop when it shifts from Tuesdays/Thursdays to Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays.  And we were only notified Wednesday, with the change going into effect next Monday, July 1.  Ack.
• Auditors aren't as scary as some people think they are, so long as all your money is accounted for.
• There is always someone higher than you, even if you're the boss.  In this case, I answer to the library board.  And at least for now, they want to know pretty much everything I do.

I have not had much time to read lately.  Hopefully I'll get some reviews written in the near future, though.

Back!

If I still have any readers: Hello!

I'm sorry if you've missed me.  I had some work-related issues crop up regarding my blog, and did not feel able to update at all.  Plus I was busy.

Now, however, I have left that job, and have started a new one.  I am now a library director at a small town library.  I'm still keeping my job at the charter school, crazy though that may be.

I hope to post reviews soon, and tell you all about this new chapter in my life, as I continue to be a librarian moonlighting as a librarian.

No-Nonsense Nonfiction: The Bandit Queen of India

I'd been contemplating going on hiatus from this blog, but I found something that I absolutely must review today, due to recent world events.  As luck would have it, I finished this book today.

As you may have heard, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Margaret Thatcher, died of a stroke this morning at the age of 87.  Regardless of what you might think of her policies and actions, there is no denying that she was a remarkable woman.  She was the only female Prime Minister Britain has ever had.  Women leaders, or women in any sort of role of authority, are unfortunately rare.

Much more common are the downtrodden and the abused.  Also newsworthy of late are all the rapes that have been occurring in India.  While the West certainly has its own problems regarding the culture of rape (see also the boys in Ohio who were convicted of such felonies, and how the media boohooed over the loss of their bright futures - and said little of how the violated girl's life must be in turmoil), India has been having problems.  There was the young medical student who was gang-raped on a bus and later died of her injuries.  Tourists have been raped in campgrounds and hotels.  And that really is only the tip of the iceberg.  Rapes happen in India for all sorts of reasons, including caste differences and other social conditions.

How do these two news items come together?  The book I want to discuss tonight is The Bandit Queen of India, an autobiography of Phoolan Devi (with Marie-Therese Cuny and Paul Rambali; Phoolan never learned to read or write).  This is the story of an amazing woman who was repeatedly raped, yet took justice into her own hands - and eventually was elected to a position of political power.

Statistics
Checkouts: Not available
Typical reader: People who like biographies, stories of charismatic criminals, and/or Indian history
Source: Interlibrary loan

Synopsis: Phoolan Devi tells her life story, from her tumultuous childhood to her release from prison.

My Goodreads rating: 4 stars

Phoolan Devi was born to a poor family of the lowly mallah caste.  She and her family endured hardships caused not only by their status but also by her father's brother, and later that uncle's son, in various ways.  Phoolan was married at the age of 11 to a widower in his 30s; while she should not have gone to his abode until age 16 or so, he insisted that she come with him to be his housekeeper.  That wasn't true; he locked her in a dark room and repeatedly beat and raped her.  She escaped repeatedly, until finally her mother gave back everything the man had given the family to renounce the marriage.  But after that, her family could not find a new husband for her.  Not only was she damaged, but she also was rebellious and had a penchant for talking back.

Eventually, she was betrayed and kidnapped by a gang of bandits.  This ended up being to her advantage, however, because one of the leaders, Vickram, fell in love with her and protected her.  They worked together, and she took revenge on not only her wicked husband but also many of the men who had raped her over the years.  She became a sort of female Robin Hood, taking from the rich and giving their rupees and goods to the poor.  She exacted revenge on many members of higher castes (mostly thakurs) who had stolen from, raped, or generally mistreated her fellow mallahs or others from the low ranks of Indian society.

All good things must come to an end, however.  Vickram was murdered and she was gang-raped yet again; she took revenge, but her banditry gradually tapered off as her gang grew smaller and police pressure increased.  However, she surrendered under her own terms.  She spent more than a decade in prison.

After the tales in the book and her release from prison, she went on to be elected to the Indian Parliament.  There she served until her assassination in 2001.


I read this book because it was a selection for the public library's book club.  I finished it because it was so enthralling.  Phoolan's narrative is fascinating.  At times it seems like a fairy tale - a very dark fairy tale, true, but when she wins the love and protection of Vickram and is later able to be a source of justice for the poor of her home state and the surrounding areas, it seems to have a fantastic air.  And Vickram is one of the most romantic guys to grace the pages of a book.  He treats Phoolan as no one has ever treated her before: he asks her how she feels.  He gives her space.  He protects and defends her, and tries to teach her.  Their partnership may not have been lovey-dovey, but he stands out as a wonderful man.

Phoolan Devi may have been a bandit and an outlaw, a thief and a murderess, but she brought justice to herself and to many others.  She enjoyed sharing her rupees with those she felt deserved them.  In a land where the lower castes were - are - untouchable unless they're being raped, she was righteous and vengeful.

The world needs more women like her.  There needs to be justice of some sort for the poor and the wronged.  Phoolan may not have gone about it in the best way possible, but she was effective in her little corner of the globe.  Her tenacity was admirable, and should be instilled in more future leaders.  The princesses being raised today do not have that.

Yay for YA: Born Wicked

Here is the first in my series of catch-up reviews.  This is a book that I read January 27-February 3.  Now it's almost the end of March.  Shame on me.

What's even worse about delaying this review is that it was such a good book!  Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood is a historical fiction, with paranormal and romantic elements, that I thoroughly enjoyed.  I can hardly wait for the sequel, which come out in June.

Statistics
Checkouts: New to the charter school library
Typical reader: Teen girls in need of sci-fi/fantasy books, or teen girls looking for paranormal romance
Source: Authors Are Rockstars! giveaway

Synopsis: In an alternative turn-of-the-twentieth-century New England, religious orders hold sway and accusing witches never went out of style.  However, some girls and women actually are witches, such as Cate Cahill and her sisters.  Cate is coming of age, and she will soon have to choose someone to be betrothed to, or the priests of the Brotherhood will.  Luckily, her old childhood friend Paul McLeod is home and expressing interest in her hand in marriage - or there's the bookseller's son, Finn Belastra, who is the Cahill's gardener and oh-so-tempting.  All the while, Cate must try to keep the family secret from ruining all she cares for.

My Goodreads rating: 5 stars

Be shocked!  I have given a romance novel 5 stars, a top rating.  What could make it so good that even I can applaud a romantic YA story?

First and foremost, there's the writing style.  It charmed me quickly.  Ms. Spotswood does a great job of introducing the characters straightaway, so that I soon knew them and could relate to and care about them.  Also, there author has no fear of flexing a large vocabulary.  I was scrambling to look up a new word on page 10 (barouche).  I appreciate learning new words, which is difficult to do with YA literature and my already-ample lexicon.  It's also appropriate for historical fiction, because educated people (such as Cate Cahill) actually did have decent vocabularies.

Second, there isn't just a love triangle!  It's introduced a bit late in the book, but there's a third option.  Cate learns some interesting tidbits about the Sisterhood from the governess her father has hired for her and her sisters.  Joining the Sisterhood, which would offer more educational opportunities, delay or stave off marriage, and include other benefits that I'm not going to spoil, is something Cate must consider in addition to the young men that vie for her affection.  Which will she choose?

Finally, there are some great twists to the plot.  That's all I'm going to say about that!

Feature and Follow Friday: March 22 edition

Heh heh, it's been a while.  Sorry.  But I've already made excuses, so it's time to stop avoiding the blog and start posting again.  I am at least six books behind in my reviews.  Let's get this show on the road again!  I'm participating in another Feature and Follow Friday, hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read.  Thanks for stopping by.

Q: What is your guilty pleasure as far as reading? Is it a genre, or is it a certain type of book?

A: I actually have a feature on this blog called "Guilty Pleasures."  These are books for adults, since I primarily read children's and YA books, and consider myself primarily a school librarian.  You can find those under the "guilty" tag.  Primarily, those are fantasy novels or true crime books.

I'm currently reading a true crime book, actually.  It's If You Really Loved Me by Ann Rule.  She's a great author, if you haven't ever tried her works.  If you like true crime, don't miss her most prominent book, The Stranger Beside Me, about her friend Ted Bundy.  Also, Ms. Rule is originally from Michigan, so she meets my one-a-month goal for reading a book related to Michigan, my home state.


Thank you for visiting my blog!  I do work all day on Friday, and cannot blog from work, so please understand that I won't be prompt in replying to comments.