Thursday's Picks

Here's a round-up of some finds:

I got a chuckle out of the opening sentences in this article in the News-Observer: Maybe North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue should consider joining South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford in Argentina. Her polling numbers have already headed south.

Duke basketball note: Prayers for the family of Elliot Williams. We hate to see him go.

Book note: Lesa reviewed Driftwood Summer. A bookstore in a 200-year-old cottage. The setting alone has me sold!

Summer reading lists: Rebecca Blood, one of the earliest bloggers and author of The Weblog Handbook: Practical Advice on Creating and Maintaining Your Blog, has a round-up of summer reading lists. By the way, I still use some content from this book when teaching about blogs and blogging. See this excerpt on Weblog ethics from her book. Speaking of the reading lists Rebecca highlighted, I found a few interesting books on them. Nancy Pearl's list included Narrow Dog to Indian River which is about a couple of folks who are in the 70s who took a narrowboat down the Intercoastal Waterway. Their adventures sound exciting enough that I might try to get this from a library. Summer House by Nancy Thayer made the list by Buzz Sugar. It sounds like it involves family relationships and involves a house on Nantucket that has been in the family for a long time. I'm not usually a big fan of "chick lit," but the family angle gives this one an appeal.

One more reading list: For those going to FGS/AGS in Little Rock who wish to read some fiction set in Little Rock, the FGS blog has a list. I have a friend who has begun a themed approach to reading. She likes to read books about places she is going to visit during that month or the month before the visit. Some of you may wish to read about Arkansas during August!

As I was driving back from Jackson on Tuesday, I heard a debate over the pronunciation of Cuyahoga River. Some pronounce it with a short o as in the word "hog." Others pronounce it with a long o as in the word "hoagie." I will have to admit that until I heard some of the NPR folks pronouncing it with the short o on Monday afternoon as I was driving from Jackson to Hattiesburg that I'd never heard it pronounced that way. They were commenting on the river fire in 1969. I lived in Cincinnati for a total of 12 years, and I think that all the news folks there pronounced it with a long o. Apparently they did an informal survey, calling several government offices and the libraries and historical societies in the Cleveland area on Tuesday and came up with a fairly even split on the pronunciation. When I saw this post on the pronunciation of Appalachian, I was reminded of the other debate. Needless to say, this post was created in reference to the pronunciation of the trail that the South Carolina governor had led his staffers to believe he was hiking. I have heard it pronounced both ways, but since I live in Appalachia now, most of locals pronounce it with a short a, so I believe that is the correct pronunciation.

Great Appalachian photo: I love this fog picture.

Another book note: I had seen Dr. Kessler's book, The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite, among some book notices received at the library. This extended review and summary in the New York Times is interesting.

Ohio Libraries: Amy alerts us to a threat to public library funding in Ohio. As someone who resided in Cincinnati for twelve years, I'm very concerned about this issue. I was a heavy user of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County in those years. I hate to think how their wonderful genealogical collection would be impacted by such a drastic cut in funding. I loved having a great regional branch near my home as well as a couple of other branches where I could pick up fiction to read. Many of the titles were available at only one or two branches in the system, but I could have them delivered to one of the branches nearer my home. One of the things I have missed most about Ohio was the wonderful public library! I remember my first visit to Morristown's public library. It was so woefully inadequate for my tastes in reading. I knew very quickly that I would have to begin purchasing books. In fact, I regret having disposed of many books in my personal fiction collection before moving. The public library in Ohio met all my needs, but I was short-sighted in thinking that Tennessee's public libraries would compare. The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that up to half of Cincinnati's branches may close if the governor gets his way. As Amy says, "Save Ohio's public libraries." Lesa also mentions the situation in Ohio. (Actually, Lesa's first post on the subject is here.)

A Taste of Summer: Nicole's strawberry pie is making me hungry!

Bookshelves: I think I'll pass on the upside down approach.

More book notes: Maggie has reviewed The Heretic's Daughter which is on my to-be-read list. Since my 8th great grand-aunt Mary Perkins Bradbury is one of the accused witches, I have read a lot more about this period of history, both fiction and non-fiction. Sage has a post at "Musings" about The Cape Fear by Malcolm Ross. Sounds like an interesting read for those with North Carolina roots. Ann Arbor District Library alerts us to a couple of new books on herb gardening. I no longer live in the Midwest so one would be limited in its usefulness to me, but the other one sounds promising. I usually keep a few herbs growing in a container garden.

Chris alerts us to a free month's trial of Images of America. This is an Alexander Street database based on the popular series of photographic books by Arcadia Publishing. I love this series of books and own several of them!

18th and 19th century gardening: J. L. Bell alerted me to a wonderful blog on 18th and 19th century gardens. Check out the other blogs J. L. mentioned via the link on his name. Several are worth a look!

Louisiana obituaries online: Paula alerts us to the availability of a new database of Louisiana obituaries from New Orleans Public Library.

Historic House workshop in Alabama: Birmingham Public Library and Jefferson County Historical Commission are teaming up to offer a workshop on researching historic dwellings. It will be held July 18, 2009, and it is free. You don't even have to register! If I lived a little closer, I would definitely attend this one!

Furniture: I'm always in need of more bookshelves. Kim found an interesting sofa that appears to be a great way of adding a few extra shelves!