The Hidden Life of Wolves by Jim and Jamie Dutcher

In [this book], wildlife filmmakers Jim and Jamie Dutcher present an untold story as intriguing and unique as the animal it profiles, sharing a panorama of human attitudes about wolves, from myths of ancient times to misconceptions of today to the new understanding they advocate. With their extraordinary photography of the Sawtooth Pack, personal observations, and thoughtful analysis, they present an engaging story of their experiences living among wolves.

Detailing the emotional and social lives of the Sawtooth Pack, the Dutchers recount wolf behavior rarely documented: grief at the death of a pack mate; exuberant play and friendships; excitement over the birth of pups; and the shared role of raising young pack members, teaching them needed skills.

In the larger picture, they describe the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park and the cascade of positive results that followed. The return of wolves has helped revitalize the park's ecosystem, influencing elk, birds of prey, pronghorn, aspen trees, and even trout.

But the demonization of wolves continues as they struggle to reestablish their foothold in the American West. Ranchers, hunters, and biologists work to adapt to innovative solutions that encourage coexistence and reduce conflict. Providing vital information that can change misguided perceptions, The Hidden Life of Wolves opens a fascinating window into the unseen lives of wolves by two people who lived in their midst.

There's really nothing I can say about this book except FIND YOURSELF A COPY. Seriously. I've been recommending it to pretty much everyone I know. It's gorgeous, and full of very interesting/important information. The text isn't all "wolves are awesome!", which tells me the authors really did do as much research as they claim to have done. The facts are presented well, the good with the bad, the challenges, the disappointments. And if you already have a soft spot for wolves, then you'll want to not only find a copy to read, but most likely want to buy a copy to keep. I know I'm toying with that idea myself; if nothing else, I'm hoping to get a copy for my library branch (we only have one in our library system at this time).

There's a plethora of amazing pictures, and quotes from several different sources help illustrate the authors' point about the necessity of wolves to the environment. My favorite was this quote by Aldo Leopold, from A Sand County Almanac:

"We reached the old wolf in time to watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes. I realized then and have known ever since that there was something new to me in those eyes - something known only to her and to the mountain. I was young then, and full of trigger-itch; I thought that because fewer wolves meant more deer, that no wolves would mean a hunters' paradise. But after seeing the green fire die, I sensed that neither the wolf nor the mountain agreed with such a view."

Highest regards for the authors, their book, and anyone who seeks it out.

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

When her corgis stray into a mobile library parked near Buckingham Palace, the Queen feels duty-bound to borrow a book. Discovering the joy of reading widely (from J. R. Ackerley, Jean Genet, and Ivy Compton-Burnett to the classics) and intelligently, she finds that her view of the world changes dramatically. Abetted in her newfound obsession by Norman, a young man from the royal kitchens, the Queen comes to question the prescribed order of the world and loses patience with the routines of her role as monarch. Her new passion for reading initially alarms the palace staff, and soon leads to surprising and very funny consequences for the country at large.

I can't tell you how many times I've looked at this little book and thought "I should read this". It's a novella, so it's a nice length when looking for something that won't take a month or more to slog through. I like the British, and I'm fond of the royal family, so that was another plus in it's favor. And what's not to like about someone discovering the love of reading? Sadly, this title has shown up more than one in my pile of "should I weed this book or not?" pile. I'm very thankful that I never pulled it from our inventory in my little branch, and now that I've read it, I'm going to be recommending it quite often to patrons.

It's an interesting idea, the Queen borrowing books from the public library, and a "mobile library" to boot (what we call a bookmobile here in the States). I love that it was someone from her own kitchens that really introduces her to some great authors, proving that books are a great equalizer. If you can read, the whole world is at your fingertips, and a public library means that money is no obstacle to that world.

What I thought was interesting, and even kind of sad, was that the Queen always refers to herself as "one" - as in "one must not have opinions about what one is reading" or "one must, one supposes, take out a book". What must it be to go through life not thinking of yourself as "I" or "me" or even "insert-your-given-name-here". But as the Queen reads, you see a bit of that attitude changing, which is very interesting.

Some of this is humorous, although I'm not sure I'd call it laugh-out-loud funny. The staff trying to hide her books was good for a chuckle, as was the Queen becoming quite irked at having to go out to some function or other when all she really wanted to do was stay in and read. I get that, and I'm sure all you bibliophiles do, too. Perhaps the most interesting comment was a thought the Queen has after meeting several authors at a party she's put together. Even though she has enjoyed their books, she becomes quite tongue-tied and finds she can't really think of anything to say to these people who have opened up her world. Of course, not every author is nice or what she expects them to be like, resulting in this thought: "Authors, she soon decided, were probably best met within the pages of their novels, and as much creatures of the reader's imagination as the characters in their books."

A wonderful find, and one that is highly recommended by yours truly.

The power of information

I'm sitting here, doing my usual morning computer time (check email, book sites, Facebook) and listening to the news. "Good Morning America" is playing on the TV, and the newscasters are talking about the people that lost their lives in the latest round of storms/tornadoes in Oklahoma. Sadly, many people were killed in their cars trying to outrun the twisters. Why did they believe they could do such a thing? I have no idea. As someone who grew up in the Midwest, I was always taught that you should never get in a car and try to drive away/run away from a tornado; they are too fast, and also, too unpredictable.

This destruction and loss of life has me thinking about how many lives could have been saved if they'd just had the right information. And where does one find such data? Many places, but of course I'm going to mention BOOKS. And I'm not even going to recommend a huge 400+ page tome on weather and weather phenomenon. Nope. I'm going to suggest heading into any children's section and pick up a basic book on weather, or tornadoes, or what have you. Should be in the 551s (plus you can find other cool stuff there like earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, etc).

Why would I suggest a "kid's" book? Because it's the best source for basic information. Children's non-fiction books are awesome for adults looking for the basics. You know it's not going to take more than an hour to read it cover-to-cover (maybe a bit longer, but you're usually not looking at weeks). They almost always have an index, so you find exactly what you need. And if it's a responsible publisher/bookstore/library, the information should be the newest and most relevant possible.

Knowledge is power. And where weather is concerned, especially severe weather, knowledge can literally mean the difference between life and death. My heart goes out to those families who lost love ones, and to those who will have to literally start all over again. My hope with this post is that, in the future, people know what to do in these sorts of storms, so that we're not watching another sad scene on the morning news.

I'm a guest star!

As you may or may not know, I've been doing a small side job proofreading for an e-publisher for almost two years. I just finished up my third book by a wonderful author, Jeff Salter, and he was kind enough to ask me to guest star on his blog, Four Foxes One Hound. I was honored and said yes. Click on the link to see the result.

http://fourfoxesonehound.wordpress.com/2013/05/16/guest-fox-traci-pollitt/

Happy Thursday!

Schooled by Gordon Korman

So imagine that you've lived your whole life on a commune called Garland Farms. It's just you and your grandmother, although there used to be other people there, too. Suddenly one day, your grandmother falls out of a tree while picking plums (don't ask). She breaks her hip, and after being released from the police for driving without a license (don't ask), you learn that not only will she have to have surgery, she'll need to go to rehab for at least six weeks. Which means you have to go live somewhere else. Because you're only a kid, too young to live alone.

Thus begins Schooled, the tale of Capricorn "Cap"Anderson. Lucky for Cap, the social worker assigned to his case is none other than Flora Donnelly, aka Floramundi - a former resident of Garland Farms herself. She knows exactly what Cap will be facing as a former hippie herself. The "outside" world will be a very harsh place for a peace-loving, vegetarian hippie such as Cap, who has been quite sheltered all his life.

Rather than place Cap with a foster family, Flora takes him home herself. Her daughter, Sophie, is horrified. As a high school student more worried about dating than grades, Sophie sees Cap as everything that's wrong with her mother - too much of a bleeding heart.

The kids at Claverage Middle School see him as a time-traveler, or possibly someone that has beamed in from outer space. No one wants to talk to him or be his friend, until a plan by uber-popular jock Zach backfires. Suddenly, everyone wants to help Cap, wants to be his friend, and wants nothing to do with Zach. It's a harsh lesson for the guy who was going to make eighth grade his year. When Zach finally teams up with the class loser that he'd originally intended to pick on, their plan has some disastrous results.

This was my second book from the middle school Battle of the Books list, and I would say I liked it better than Wonder. It's funny how many similarities there were though: both are about boys who are thrust into a mainstream school for the first time, both have been home-schooled up to that point, both have been protected by well-meaning yet short-sighted parents, and both have a distinctly different appearance from their fellow students.

I thought Schooled was a bit more realistic in some aspects, less so in others. But overall, I would definitely recommend this book to kids, maybe even some adults.

My battle with the Battle of the Books lists

I had my annual performance review the other week, and my boss has set some pretty high goals for me for the coming year. I, of course, set myself some, too, the most daring one being to tackle the reading lists for the Battle of the Books for both fifth grade and middle school students.

If you've never heard of BOB, think of the old Brain Game. It's a bit like that, but with literature as your only category. When I first started talking to one of my young patrons about BOB, I asked which book she was responsible for. She gave me an odd look, and I said something like, "That's how it works, right? You read one of the titles, and you're the go-to person for questions on that book?" The answer I got floored me. "Oh no!" this young brainiac replied. "You have to read and know ALL the books."

Oh.

Wow.

There are somewhere around 25-30 books on the current list.

Wow.

That's a lot of books. And while I do read a lot myself, it might take me a couple of months at least to get through that many. And then have to answer questions on any/all of them?

WOW.

Anyway, I've decided that I'm going to read each and every book on both lists. I've already got one under my belt, Wonder by A.J. Palacio. A great book about August "Auggie" Pullman, a little boy who's been through a lot, thanks to losing the genetic lottery. August has had surgeries to repair his cleft palate, which was probably the most minor of his problems. His eyes are too low, as well as his ears - which look more like little pieces of cauliflower than ordinary human ears. His hearing isn't great, and he'll probably need hearing aids. He's small for his age, and has been home schooled his whole life; his parents thought it wouldn't be fair to him to send him to "regular" school with all his hospitalizations. As August puts it, "I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse."

Then August has a bombshell dropped on him: his parents have decided he's well enough to start attending Beecher Prep. He'll be a brand new fifth grader, just like all the other kids entering fifth grade. Except that August isn't like all the other kids, and not just in his looks.

There are some nice dynamics here, and I really like the anti-bullying message. It's done with a fairly light touch as well as some humor. I thought the relationships in August's family were well-done, showing that parents don't always agree with each other, that they're human beings with feelings too. Then there's his big sister, Olivia. I really thought Palacio did an awesome job writing from the perspective of a sibling who has always been willing to stand back in the shadows, knowing that her special-needs brother comes first. When Via (as the entire family calls her) enters high school, though, she sees her chance for a new start, one that puts her as most important. It's tough reading her conflict at times; it's clear she loves her baby brother, but it's just as clear that she's suffered because of him, too.

While I really did like the book, I will admit to finding myself a bit skeptical that kids would warm up to August as they did. Granted, it doesn't happen overnight, but still...would real kids in this sometimes very cruel real world do the things these characters did? I kinda doubt it. I want to hope that they would, though, and perhaps if those kids read this book, they will.

One down, many, many more titles to go.

Naked City edited by Ellen Datlow

Finished! Finally...

Overall, not bad. A few stories were nice, a few were good enough that I will add those authors to my find-something-else-by-them list, and many were just "meh" - passable reading, but nothing to write home about.

I really enjoyed "Noble Rot" by Holly Black and "King Pole, Gallows Pole, Bottle Tree" by Elizabeth Bear. I'd never read anything by these ladies before, and both had a wonderful way of telling her tale.

Only other honorable mention is "Underbridge" by Peter S. Beagle; he's got a character a character Cut'n-Shoot, who supposedly got the moniker from a Texas town. This is completely true, as I used to have to drive thru Cut and Shoot, TX to get to my parents' place when they lived just outside of Houston. It's a tiny town (Wikipedia says it's only 2.7 square miles, and that sounds about right), the sort that has one stoplight and one bar. And the parking lot of said bar is full of pretty much nothing but pickup trucks, and almost all of them have gun racks in the back window. Yes, there were always guns in the racks. While I'm sure the people of Cut and Shoot are nice enough folk, I tried to make sure that I drove through during the day, dusk at the latest.

As for the head-scratchers, there were a few of those, too. I liked "The Colliers' Venus (1893)" by Caitlin R. Kiernan well enough at first glance, but then it veered off into her usual "what's going on here?" territory. Le sigh. "The Skinny Girl" by Lucius Shepard was in the same vein: seemed pretty decent at first, but by the end, I wasn't really sure what happened.

Why do I pick up this sort of book, when it's obvious that I don't always like the stories? Well, because they are stories; it's a nice way to find a new author (I think it's really hard to write short stories, so if one comes off well, I know that writer's got some chops) and it's something that's easy to read at night - no getting so caught up in the story that I might end up sacrificing sleep to finish up.