So, we’re sitting on a Nook, a Kindle, and a Sony eReader, and to help us move from here, we’re still looking to find user experiences. Anyone willing to share can contact me at bbaile14@jccc.edu, or contact us through facebook or @JCCCLib on Twitter. We’ve had a few responses, but we can always use more.
Thanks a million!
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Today’s title is “You’ve Changed” : Sex Reassignment and Personal Identity, edited by Laurie Shrage. This collection of essays should be of interest for those involved in queer studies, gender studies, sexuality studies, or perhaps anyone who still has questions about why people proceed with this transition.
But if I may, I’d like to share a quick story with you. One of the best sports writers to ever live was Christine Daniels. On my birthday in 2009 (which happened to be the day after Thanksgiving), Christine Daniels took her own life after existing for 2 years. How is that possible? Christine Daniels was born Mike Penner.
After living as a male for 49 years, Christine finally went through the procedures to become the woman she had felt she always was.
In this incredibly moving eulogy Rick Reilly (of all people, right?) wrote in ESPN The Magazine, Reilly says he received a text message from her after her transition announcement in the LA Times (available here), saying “I’m finally glad […] you got to meet the real me.”
Reilly concludes his post with this:
I don’t know why he did it. Nobody knows. Maybe being Christine caused others too much pain. Maybe being Mike caused him too much. “Maybe trying and failing to be Christine Daniels,” says Kahrl, “killed Mike Penner.”
I’ll miss them both.
If you read Reilly’s article or have any interest in the topic of gender transitioning or want to understand why someone would or what they must have been going through before and during the change, I recommend “You’ve Changed”.
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If you enjoy the movies of David Lynch, the comedy of Tim and Eric, or the craziness of Chuck Palahnuk (the Fight Club author), then I highly recommend for you Going Bovine by Libba Bray.
A boy with a dysfunctional family gets Mad Cow Disease. He tries to find a doctor to cure it and fix some wounds in his family life. The problem? He’s tripping like crazy. The Mad Cow disease has set him on a hallucinatory voyage of adventure, danger, and vikings. Somehow, these are a few of the more tame aspects of the work.
For goodness sake, look at the author.
SERIOUSLY.
But don’t be mistaken: this book won the American Library Association Printz Award for Young Adult Fiction written last year.
In case some of you are sticking around the library to work on assignments, we urge you to remember the following things on account of the nasty weather:
SAFETY FIRST: Using JCCC’s Library is just as easy from home, and we don’t have a “Clothing Optional” policy in the real building.
UPDATE: We’re shutting this joint down: campus closes at 3:30 today (2/5/2010). BE SAFE.
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Today’s book: Condom Nation : The U.S. Government’s Sex Education Campaign from World War I to the Internet
Condom Nation. HA!
So this book takes a gander at the last 90 years of sex education in America, and the opposition the government has faced from its own people. Be it religious groups, general anxiety towards the topic of sex, or other obstacles, Alexandra Lord attempts to document the U.S. Government’s long take at a progressive Sex Ed campaign. While her argument is that Americans have thwarted their own government’s attempts, some critics have said Lord did not go far enough in examining why Americans can shy away from the topic. While the author’s point of view is made clear from the beginning, it serves as an interesting account of one government’s 90-year efforts to educate its own people about the risks and responsibilities of sexual activity.
… but we can’t find one long enough that’s SFW.
That’s what happens when the self-proclaimed Prince of Darkness writes an autobiography. Enjoy I am Ozzy.
And, quite sorry, this item is not for interlibrary loan (make your sadface here).
We’ve got some toys and ideas coalescing into a full fledged project, but we’ll need your help. Feel free to comment on on this blog, DM us on Twitter (@JCCCLib), or contact me via the e-mail (bbaile14 [at] jccc [dot] edu) if you’d be willing to spend some time sharing your experience with a Kindle, Sony Reader, Nook, or any other type of eBook device or software.
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Water : the epic struggle for wealth, power, and civilization by Steven Solomon is all about how settlements and their relationship to water have helped shape society. And this isn’t a “They built it by a river!” lame account of what should be obvious to anyone who has ever been thirsty. This actually goes into detail about dynasties collapsing based on unrest related water, how the Nile’s flood patterns effected their political relations, and how modern civilization is yet to tap into some of these strategic advantages of their water supplies.
And, since I mainly seem to feature books that scare the crap out of me, it is worth noting that it also concludes with a heavy-handed warning that we’ll run out of water and everyone will die. That’s an over-simplification of the message, but the author does emphasize that something must be done as water supplies grow more scarce. That being said, he seems to focus on strategies to make one’s nation superior during times of scarce water as opposed to “How to make more water”, but it doesn’t make it any less interesting.
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Forget the stomach exploding, finger glowing, and shoulder-mounted lasers: this book is interested in a much more daunting task than just wondering if there are aliens somewhere. Working on the premise that there must be, Life in the Universe: The Abundance of Extraterrestrial Civilizations by James N. Pierce is much more concerned with trying to calculate just how many there could be. Working on surprisingly not-boring math, the author calculates the possibilities of how many civilizations may be in our galaxy, then takes it to the universe, and differentiates between aliens and alien civilizations.
It’s quite an interesting read, even if you’re just interested in flipping through it for his conclusion. And, like all books featured, it is available for check out at the Billington Library.
So today’s book is a fictional compilation of interviews from an author’s past lovers and friends, so a fictional biographer can piece them together. The author in question? John Coetzee. The real author of this work of fiction? John Coetzee. Yeah. I know.
J.M. Coetzee’s Summertime: fiction is an incredible tale about other people trying to find a human side to a man who produced mopey, often shallow or inhumane novels, only to discover the the man who wrote them wasn’t all that sharp or personable. An absolutely incredible work that takes some brass to even write. It is equal parts self-deprecating, entirely ambiguous with reality, and insane spectacle. Though it may sound like an over-indulgent and vain work, Coetzee balances his fictional self in a well-evened manner that takes some real self control to accomplish. Audacious? Yes, in the negative way. Brilliant? Yes, in the most positive of ways.
