July 2008 - Posts
About Readers' Nook
A place to discuss books and authors.
I recently discovered a great website for voracious yet somewhat disorganized readers like myself. Library Thing (http://www.librarything.com), with over 5.1 million books listed, helps users store, share and catalogue their personal library. The site makes an excellent online reading journal, a place where you can review and rate your books, share your library with like-minded readers, discuss your favourite books, and "tag" (assign descriptive words) to your books for ease of retrieval. Book information is retrieved from worldwide sources, including Amazon, Library of Congress, National Library of Canada and the University of Calgary. If you've ever wanted to organize your book collection and have a lot of fun along the way, check out Library Thing.
What makes a book a classic? Generally, it is a work of enduring interest and appeal, which is discovered and enjoyed by successive generations. Classics may be from any country, genre or time period, but their appeal goes beyond geography and generations. A classic title is often reread with as much of a sense of discovery as the first time it was enjoyed.
But how do you go about finding these masterpieces? There are a variety of tools available through Calgary Public Library to help you with your search. For example, Genreflecting, 6th ed., has lists
of selected classics in each genre section, including historical fiction, westerns, crime, adventure, romance, science fiction, fantasy, horror and Christian. Another title to help you negotiate this genre is Accessing the 
Classics. Or if you are going to a cocktail party and you want to impress your friends, check out Book Smart, Your Essential Reading List for Becoming a Literary Genius in 365 Days by Jane Mallison.
What classic fiction have read lately that has inspired you?
Graphic novels have been around for a long time and have many devoted readers. In fact, graphic novels have their own awards, named after Will Eisner, who coined the name “graphic novel” to identity a “longer work, not published as a pamphlet, with greater permanence and literary merit”. This sets them apart from comics. 
Comic books exist primarily for entertainment. A comic is still what it used to be, a slim thing on flimsy paper that is usually published at regular intervals and often has ongoing story elements. Graphic novels are a format, rather than a genre, and can be about almost any topic, including everything from the Holocaust to fractured fairytales to superheroes. Superheroes dominate but manga is the most popular in the YA area. Manga are Japanese comics, noted for characters with big hair and big eyes. Chances are you have seen some examples already (think Pokemon or last 
year’s movie Howl’s Moving Castle).
Graphic novels are now so prolific that there are books to help identify the best graphic novels as well as books to help understand why they can become so addictive. Paul Gravett’s Graphic Novels: Stories to Change Your Life provides great examples of different styles and ties them together for the reader.
Come visit any branch of the Calgary Public Library to check out our children's, young adult, and adult graphic novel collections.