Books, Glorious Books!

By Sheila Webster Boneham


Twice a year, the Friends of the New Hanover Public Library here in Wilmington, NC, hold their humongous book sales. They take over half the large entry foyer, the large event room, part of the sidewalk, and more. I couldn't begin to guess how many books they put out, and just thinking about the organizing makes me want to take a two aspirin and a lie-down! Many of us bibliophiles look forward to THE BOOK SALE for months. Then we descend on the place like college athletes at an all-you-can-eat buffet. 

Books! Glorious books!

And it was THIS PAST WEEKEND! 

My husband and and I spent some time there yesterday. Who knows how much time? Who cares? Roger is much more controlled than I am. He came away with a movie CD (that cerebral Steve Martin classic The Man with Two Brains). He uses the library a lot, but in the conventional cost-free way. 

I bought books, but only as many as I could carry in my fully-extended arm. I was good, but don't think I wasn't tempted to grab a box (ok, several boxes) like so many of the book-sale patrons. I saw one woman at the check out with two BIG boxes full of paperbacks. I was a little envious, although I would have spread my selections across a few more genres than just the one she chose. 

I'm a pretty eccen.., er, eclectic reader. Among my choices this time....Black Elk Speaks by John G. Neihardt, which I read many years ago and had been thinking about recently - fortune smiled. Ines of My Soul by Isabel Allende, one of my favorite authors. Somehow I never read this this one. The Opposite of Fate: Memories of a Writing Life by Amy Tan. Several mysteries and thrillers. 

What is it about book sales? We have a wonderful new-and-used bookstore downtown -- Old Books on Front -- where we can find plenty of lovely books every day. We have Pomegranate Books, another Indie bookstore that has mostly new books, but a selection of used books that has served me well. (I also work with owner Kathleen Jewel to offer individually autographed copies of my books.) Maybe it's the ticking clock, or the crowd of buyers and lookers, or just the tables and tables and tables of books, glorious books. 

One of my best pleasures at these sales is encountering old friends. Oh, sure, there are the two-legged kind. I always see people I know prowling the aisles. But I mean the paper, glue, and ink kind of old friends. Books I read ten or twenty - or forty - years ago. I smiled at the 1984 spine of Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns. I remembered long-ago all-night reads with Sidney Sheldon's The Other Side of Midnight and Stephen King's Thinner and Dean Koontz's Tick Tock, and delicious hours with Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek and Gretel Erlich's The Solace of Open Spaces. Some of those are still on my own shelves at home; others are like friends we meet every few years at reunions.

Speaking of those shelves at home.... I clean them out every so often and donate books I've enjoyed but know I won't reread any time soon. I think it's a good thing to do. It lightens my material load (something I've been working on for several years). It gives other people the chance to buy bargain-priced tickets to worlds I've enjoyed. And because the sales provide funds for the library, whatever few dollars our books bring in go to a better cause than that latte I don't need. 

And now I'm going to curl up with my new pile of used books. Because really, they never get old. 

Poster from Sheila's recent reading and talk about
animals in fiction at the New Hanover Public Library. 

Sheila Boneham currently lives, reads, writes, walks, paints, and plays with animals on the coast of North Carolina. You can learn more about her writing, including her Animals in Focus mysteries, and follow her blog at sheilaboneham.com or find her on Facebook. 

Celebrating Libraries

I'm jumping the gun a bit in celebrating libraries, because next week, April 14 - 20, is National Library Week, a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April. It was first celebrated in 1958. The theme this year is "Communities Matter @ Your Library" and the Honorary Chair is Caroline Kennedy. The purpose of the observance is to honor the contributions libraries and librarians make to our communities and to encourage library support and use.

Many libraries hold author festivals during and around National Library Week, inviting local authors to attend and give presentations, talk to patrons, sell and sign books, etc. I am participating in THREE library author festivals in Colorado in April:

Saturday, April 13, 2013, 12:30 - 6:00 PM
Mountain of Authors
East Library Branch of Pikes Peak Library District
5550 N. Union Blvd., Colorado Springs, CO 80918

Saturday, April 20, 1:00 – 3:00 PM
2013 Longmont Library Festival's Colorado Author Open House
(part of their 2-week You Belong Longmont Library Festival)
Longmont Public Library
409 4th Ave., Longmont, CO 80501

Sunday, April 28, 2013, 1:00 – 4:00 PM
2013 Meet the Faces – Colorado Author Open House
Englewood Public Library
1000 Englewood Pkwy, Englewood, CO 80110-2373

Is YOUR local library planning an event or events for National Library Week? What are they? Do you plan to attend?

While a child, I made weekly trips to the library with my mother and siblings and checked out the maximum number of books I was allowed each week. I devoured them during the week and looked forward to the next visit, when I could check out more books. Those trips fostered my lifelong love of reading, and my love of writing that developed as a result. My wish is that EVERY child has access to books in their own language to encourage them to develop a love of reading and a lifelong thirst for knowledge. Do YOU have special memories of visiting a library as a child? Share them!

Whether your libary is large ...

... or medium-sized or small,

I hope you will visit it this week or next. Check out a book or audiobook or movie, use the computer, ask a reference question, attend a program, thank a librarian for what they do, make a donation. And take a child with you!

SUMMER IN THE CITY

Public Library, Newark, NJ

Hot town, summer in the city
Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty
Been down, isn’t it a pity
Doesn’t seem to be a shadow in the city

The Lovin Spoonful sang those lyrics back in the summer of 1966. For those of us who grew up in the city, the song certainly rang true.

Today marks the first day of summer, and as I thought about a topic for my Inkspot post, my thoughts drifted to those hot summer days of my childhood.

I grew up in Newark, NJ back before community pools or recreational centers. Swimming involved families either sending their kids to camp, driving down the shore, or paying to belong to either a private swim club or the local Y. My family had no money for any of these luxuries. Six of us were crammed into a tiny two-bedroom apartment. My parents slept on a sofa bed in the living room. My sister and I shared one bedroom; my brothers shared the other.

Summers in the city were brutal. Fans were nearly useless. All they did was blow around hot air. Eventually, my parents bought a small air-conditioner for the living room, but it did me and my siblings little good since we were all sent outside first thing in the morning and only allowed back in the apartment for lunch and potty breaks.

What I remember most about those summers were the hours and hours I’d spend at the library. The library was such a magical place for me that I never thought twice about having to walk over a mile in 90+ degree heat to get there. Once I arrived, I was transported to far away places, sometimes wonderful, sometimes not so wonderful, but always an escape from the realities of summer in the city.

What did I read? Everything. Back then the librarians ran summer reading programs and kept track of the books we read. After finishing a book, we’d give a brief oral report to the librarian. She’d record the book and hand out certificates at the end of the summer. I don’t know what happened to my certificates. My parents probably threw them out when we finally moved to the suburbs. What I do remember, though, is that every summer I read the most books of anyone taking part in the summer reading program. Perhaps those long ago summers of reading at the library played a role in me becoming an author. I’d like to think so.

How did you spend the summers of your youth?

Lois Winston writes the critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries series. The first book, Assault With A Deadly Glue Gun, was a January 2011 release and received starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Booklist and has been nominated for a Book of the Year Award by ForeWords Reviews. Death by Killer Mop Doll, the second book in the series, was released in January. Visit Lois at http://www.loiswinston.com and Anastasia at the Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers blog, http://anastasiapollack.blogspot.com.

For The Love of Libraries

Reading is in my blood. Both my parents are huge readers. In a week they go through a book a day. I can't remember a single week in my whole life where they haven't had a book in their hands. Every night before I went to bed as a child one or the other read at least two stories to me. (Did I mention that my parents are awesome? Well, they are.) I got this "reading" gene big time. The story goes that when I was four Mom was reading to me, and she noticed I was mouthing the words before she said them. She handed me the book and I started reading to her. I haven't stopped since. On rare days where I have nothing to do I have been known to read three books in that one day. They're usually James Patterson's, but I still count them. So libraries were a big part of my childhood and still are today. I Heart Libraries.

The first time I realized this I was eight. We were living in Sterling, Virginia at the time and they just built this new library. I was going through my classic movie monsters phase, as we all do, and they had all these kid books on them! Here was this magical building that gave me what I wanted. For free! I could get as many as I could carry. I loved this place so much I even volunteered for special programs like animal shows and reading to little kids, well littler than me. (I was eight so I mostly handed out programs to people walking in, but still.) It only lasted a short time because, you know, elementary school got in the way. But Mom would still take me at least once a week to get my fix.

As the years progressed, and we moved around even more, (I'm at an even dozen now), I had to find some sort of lifeline. Something that could stay consistent in a crazy world. Libraries provided that. The location might change but their services and the books stayed the same. When I went to college the third thing I did after moving into my dorm and finding the dining hall was to hot-tail it to the library, sit down at a table, and read. The strum and drang inside my head faded away surrounded by all those books. It was as close to home as I could get.

I wrote my books in libraries too. If you're so inclined to stalk me, check out the acknowledgments section of Mind Over Monsters. Those are my usual haunts. I'd just sit down at a table or study carol, put on my headphones, and write. It gives me a place to focus on the task at hand. (And on occasion shoot flirty looks at cute boys.) Libraries are a safe place to do research, be quiet, and find my next mental adventure. So imagine my glee when I came in to work on my next novel and finding my own book on the shelves. Even better when an hour later I went to see it and the book was gone and one of the librarians I know winked at me as I passed. So yes, I love libraries and the people who work in them. Always have, always will. They make what I do possible (and give me a free fix of my drug of choice). So support your local library. Volunteer. Donate books. If you see programs getting cut due to budget problems, speak out. You know you love them too.

Viva la biblioteca revolucion!

What about all of you? Share your library stories or just show your support in the comments section.

-Jennifer Harlow

Books, Books, Books

Last week was the annual used book sale run by the American Association of University Women. Wait—let me rephrase that: Last week was the “There’s THOUSANDS of Books In There—Lemme At ’Em” sale. I picture Betty and Wilma from the Flintstones TV show waving their stone credit cards in the air and giving the call to arms: “Charge it!” Barney and Fred used to cringe, but my husband knew I’d spend about $50 and come home with about 50 books.

I was close. Two days, $56, 57 books.

I’ve heard some writers complain about used book sales because they don’t get royalties on those sales. Yet I’ve picked up books by at least a dozen authors that were unknown to me, and because of that one used book I’ve spent an embarrassing amount of money at Barnes & Noble on the rest of that author’s works. I’m also a lifelong library user, which is a reader’s lifesaver when funds are short, or you’re laid off. The same holds true: I’ve read a new author there and headed to B&N for the complete set later.

I took an informal poll of fellow published and unpublished writers when discussing this sale. With a handful of exceptions, they all were in favor of buying used books. Partially because most writers aren’t rolling in dough, but also for the reasons above. We all look forward to the day when a total stranger picks up our first book for a dollar and then sends fan mail through our website. And then (of course) rushes to their bookstore of choice to buy everything else we’ve written.

Have you haunted the used bookstores in your budget-crunching past (or present)? What memorable old and new gems did you find?

For me, the first was Lin Carter’s The Man Who Loved Mars. I’m not usually a SF reader, but I was looking for schlock horror to read on vacation. Something about this book caught my eye and I discovered one of the best wounded heroes ever. My modern discovery was Laurie R. King’s The Beekeeper’s Apprentice. Say no more.

The Best Part of This Job Is...

At presentations I do for school kids, I’m often asked, “What’s the best part of being an author?”
I love that question. Really I do. But there are so many good parts, I have trouble picking just one. Here’s a partial list I’ve developed—and I’m counting on my Midnight Ink friends to add to it.

1. The dress code—I can do my work in jammies, without makeup, with makeup, in jeans, or even in the buff. (But I wouldn’t do that because my chair covering is itchy. Don't ask how I know.)

2. The hours—Okay, they are long, but I do have some control. I can start early and work late or work late and start early. I can work weekends. I can work in the middle of the night. I can work from the road. I can read which is working, sort of...

3. The office staff—Rafferty and Victoria, my dogs, are very accommodating. They don’t gossip. They don’t interrupt too often. I told them about my Agatha nomination first thing. I swore them to secrecy feeling quite confident they’d never spill the beans--unless someone bribed them with yummies.

4. The escape—I tell lies, and I believe ‘em. I make a nicer world than the one most folks live in. When reality presses down on me, I can go to “my happy place,” and take a mental vacation. I don’t need drugs or booze or expensive flights to exotic spots.

5. The fans—I meet the sweetest people who say the nicest things. A man at Malice told me, “I was reluctant to read about a scrapbooker. But…I figured I owed it to you to read all the books up for Best First Novel—and I have to tell you that I LOVED your book! The characters were so human! I can’t wait for the next one.” (Yeah, I’m bragging, but it was a cool moment, so indulge me.)

6. The fan mail—Also, totally awesome. One woman told me my book helped her forget about the problems with her mother's health. Another told me how much she loved the references to the St. Louis area. Yet another told me she totally identified with Kiki Lowenstein and that feeling of being an outsider. I ask you, how many people get to open good mail like that every day?

7. The travel—Just got back from Festival of Mystery, and I can honestly say Pittsburgh has fascinating neighborhoods. Last fall, I drove through eastern Tennessee and the view was so gorgeous I nearly drove off the side of a mountain. Flying over DC this year on my way to Malice Domestic, I had a terrific look at our national monuments.

8. The other authors—When I walk into a bookstore or read the NYT Book Review, I think to myself, “I’ve met him; and her, and him, and talked to her, and corresponded with him” etc. It’s a cheap thrill, but one I still get. This year at Festival of Mystery I sat next to Wendy Corsi Staub. Last fall I signed with Lora Leigh and Julia Quinn. Emilie Richards is one of my mentors. (I still pinch myself to realize that.) Shirley Damsgaard is my best bud. Talk about high clover. It doesn't get much better than rubbing elbows with these industry titans.

9. The librarians—Always wonderful, erudite, thoughtful, intelligent people. Who doesn’t love librarians? I'm going to give a presentation in July to the library in Vincennes, IN, where I grew up. I can't wait to tell them how their kindness and their book collection made a big difference in my life.

10. The bookstores—Every shelf promises ideas, excitement, and entertainment. So many choices, so little time!

I’ll stop now. But how about you? If you’re an author, what do you think is the best part of the job?

An Alternative to Blowing Up Your Local Library

When I checked the online catalog of the Palo Alto Library soon after publication of Dot Dead, I saw that 80 or so people had reserved it. Here's what I said to myself about that: "Go without a few lattes, you pennypinchers, and buy the damn thing – it’s only $13.95."

I lost the argument with my wife, so, I did abandon any notion of blowing up the local branch. Still, as supportive as I am of reading, it does strike me as unfair to authors that libraries buy one copy of their book and let dozens read it. In addition to the unfairness, it’s no way to support writers.

Legislators in 40 other countries have figured out the answer – something called Public Lending Rights. In the UK each time a book is checked out of the library, the author receives a little more than a dime (no, doesn’t apply to Americans). You’d think that might bankrupt Her Majesty’s Treasury? No, the PLR are not designed to make sure that J.K. Rowling gets even richer. Authors are limited to payments of 6,600 pounds per year. Not a lot, but that $13,000 (at current exchange rates) could really make a difference to authors just starting out. And on top of that it’s fair to authors.

Now the U.S. runs a huge deficit and adding billions to it would make little sense. No fear. Guess how much our cousins across the Atlantic spend on their program? In 2006 the entire shebang cost 7.6M pounds. What would we spend here? $50M? $75M?

So let’s get this straight. Libraries buy. The national government pays writers a small sum each time a book is checked out. Writers make a little extra money from people reading their books. (Writers making money? Call the police!) A literary terrorist is discouraged from throwing a Molotov cocktail through an open window of their local lending library. A great idea? I think so. And not that expensive either, especially considering the benefits.

Why not write your senators and representatives about it? I’m going to. And crazy as it seems, I think I’ll bring it up with the boards of the author organizations I belong to: MWA, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers.

Oooh ....those librarians...

Tom Schreck, author of "On The Ropes, A Duffy Dombrowski Mystery"

In On The Ropes Duffy has a minor obsession with librarian Debra Speakwell.

Her shoulder length red hair, her constant need to moisturize her page-worn fingers and that confident mastery of the Dewey Decimal system...

Man, talk about hot.

I love librarians.

I love the glasses they wear and the way their eyes search behind them finding exactly what you want, what you're looking for. Those eyes, those glasses looking out and gathering what you need.

Oh my...

It's not just the glasses or the hair tied neatly in a bun --man, that smoldering look, that control, that, that, that....that way they hold a single finger to their pursed lips and exhale "Shhhh..."


I think it's their total sense of control that gets to me. Their books, on their shelves in that special order that only they really understand.

They have the information you want. They know how to get it and if you ask in the right way--they'll help you.

But it's the way they lend a hand. Quietly, never rushed--librarians take their time, they do it right, they do it thoroughly and when they're done, well, perhaps a half smile, a nod and that knowing look letting you understand that they are the only ones for this kind of work.

I spent last weekend at the New York Library Association Convention and in two weeks I'm hosting a panel at Murder and Mayhem in Muskego--a library sponsored event.

I also found out this morning that some library way out in Portland, Oregon just ordered six copies of On The Ropes.

It's not just the glasses.