Try the test and tell us how you do! I’m pleased with my result, I suppose.

You’re A Prayer for Owen Meany!
by John Irving
Despite humble and perhaps literally small beginnings, you inspire
faith in almost everyone you know. You are an agent of higher powers, and you manifest
this fact in mysterious and loud ways. A sense of destiny pervades your every waking
moment, and you prepare with great detail for destiny fulfilled. When you speak, IT
SOUNDS LIKE THIS!

Take the Book Quiz.

[via information wants to be free]

What books meant the most to you growing up? The New York Times asked readers this week “who was your Harry Potter?” and the responses are fantastic.

Some of my childhood favorites:

• Harriet the Spy — the first book I read that featured a super brainy heroine with an attitude to match. A role model!
• Charlotte’s Web — it’s difficult to describe my most cherished book, but I often think of the gentle moral lessons that Charlotte imparted and of White’s impeccable prose.
• A Wrinkle in Time – like Harry Potter, this book made me believe that the world is much more complicated and layered than it seems. And that the shortest distance between two points is not a line, it’s a wrinkle.

What children’s books make your list?

The newest version of SciFinder Scholar is now available for Windows (including Vista) and Mac.

Follow this link to download (UW students, faculty and staff only).

About SciFinder: SciFinder Scholar provides Web based access to Chemical Abstracts (CA) and the CAS Registry file. Searching capabilities include searching by research subject or topic, author, organization name, by chemical substance(s) or reaction and document identifiers (e.g., CA abstract numbers or patent numbers). Browsing by journal tables of contents is also an option. SciFinder includes information related to a variety of other disciplines besides chemistry including agriculture, biology, engineering, food science, geology, material science, medicine, physics and polymer science.

I can’t put down Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows! Anyone finish it yet? What did you think? Did it live up to your expectations? (no spoilers!)

I know that other Coe-workers are reading it, take a look at student employee Monica Rowan’s costume for the big day:

More fun Potteriana:

• Harry Potter Deconstructed [via doppelganger]
• Which Harry Potter Character are You?

The Interlibrary Loan system is back up and running. However, it has some visual quirks that we are working to resolve.  We hope to have a fix in place as soon as possible.

Until the visual issues are resolved you can use the “view” menu in Firefox, open down to the “page style” menu and select “no style”.  Sorry for the inconvenience.

Library Systems

Two of my favorites so far in my 50 books for 50 years resolution make their way to the list today…

#7 Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay by Nancy Milford

This biography lingered on my to-read-list forever. At the public library book sale this year I finally turned up a used copy and dove in. What a treat! Knowing nothing of Millay before reading it, I was astonished at her fascinating personal life and the beauty of her poems. Anyone feeling a wild streak should read her story; her life remained full and controversial until the very end. Milford does an exquisite job of capturing all of Millay’s charms and, shall we say, interesting decisions.

Now completely enamored of the poet, I turned immediately to

#8 Collected Sonnets of Edna St. Vincent Millay

I can not think of better reading for a beautiful summer day than her sonnets.

Sonnet 1 from Renascence and Other Poems (1917):

The incredibly talented modernist wildlife illustrator Charley Harper passed away June 10th.

Stop by the Book and Bean coffee shop on the first floor of Coe Library to see more examples of his beautifully colored and detailed posters for the National Park Service.

[via treehugger]

Wow, my 50 books for 50 years resolution started to look grim. But! The tide has turned of late, so look for more updates in the two weeks. I may get close to reading all 50 books yet.

#5 Lost City Radio by Daniel Alarcon

Set in a fictional South American country after years of civil unrest and guerrilla warfare, Alarcon addresses the pain of loss and alienation. Radio announcer Norma takes names of lost relatives, friends and lovers from her listeners and reads them on the nation’s most popular program, “lost city radio”. Her soothing voice and occasional tearful reunions make her a hero, and so orphaned Victor seeks her out, traveling to the city with a list of names from his jungle village.

Alarcon does an amazing job of conveying the lingering horrors of war. I felt this book could have been set in almost any country.

#6 Finn: A Novel by Jon Clinch

Clinch takes as his subject Huck Finn’s father. Fans of Twain’s book remember that the older Finn offered few redeeming qualities. This imagining of his life takes his hatefulness to new heights. He is one of the most despicable characters I’ve come across, making the book a difficult read after a while. Clinch lacks Mark Twain’s wicked humor (don’t we all), but in the end gave me food for thought and made me want to read Huckleberry Finn again.

Stay tuned for more books, I promise they were not all this grim.