Notes in the Margin Weblog

Essay - How to Read Like a President - NYTimes.com:
“You can tell a lot about a president — or a presidential candidate — by what he reads, or says he reads,” declares Jon Meacham, editor of Newsweek, in this essay in the New York Times.

After discussing both John McCain’s and Barack Obama’s favorite books, Meacham concludes:

McCain and Obama are so different in so many ways, but they do share one thing: a kind of tragic sensibility. Judging from the books they cite as most important, they embrace hope but recognize the reality that life is unlikely to conform to our wishes.

Will knowing about each candidate’s favorite books influence how you vote next Tuesday?

Nobel literature winner, France’s Le Clezio is little known in the U.S.:

For those Americans seeking great foreign authors who have yet to be discovered in English, the Nobel Prize judges present a fresh candidate: Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio, this year’s winner of the literature prize.

Here’s some background for American readers on the latest Nobel Prize winner in literature.

Local News | Seattle Public Library celebrates “Libraries For All” in neighborhoods across the city | Seattle Times Newspaper:

“‘Libraries For All,’ a $196.4 million bond measure passed in 1998, promised a face-lift for Seattle public libraries, including a new Central Library and 26 new or renovated branches. Ten years later, the city boasts a series of uniquely tailored and heavily used buildings that reflect the desires of their neighborhoods.”

Happy birthday to me! Sixty years ago today, I was born–on the first day of a heat wave, as my mother delights in pointing out nearly every year.

Having now reached the age when wrinkles traditionally denote wisdom, I’ve accumulated a few nuggets of knowledge. Since it’s my birthday, I’m going to claim the right of self-indulgence and share them with you:

1. True friends are rare and special, and I should cherish each one.
2. Contrary to the American myth, you cannot be whatever you want. I will never be an artist. Although I’ve done some drop-dead gorgeous needlework in my time, I cannot draw a lick. But I have learned to look for my strengths and then maximize them.
3. We are not all created equal. Some people can draw. I can’t. I’ve learned to live with this shortcoming.
4. No matter how good I am at something, there’s always someone else who’s better. I’ve learned to live with this, too.
5. Freud may have been wrong about infant sexuality, but he was dead on about our psychological defense mechanisms.
6. You cannot have it all. You would not want to: You’d be overwhelmed. Figure out what’s important to you, then go after it with zeal and passion.
7. There are always as many sides to every story as there are participants.
8. You cannot overcome every obstacle in life by sheer willpower. Learn how to figure out what help you need. Then learn to ask for that help. When you refuse to ask for help, you deny someone else the opportunity to be helpful.
9. We are what we do. Actions speak louder than words. We demonstrate our true character through our behavior. Try to perform more good than bad actions.
10. When I find a rut I like, it dig in deep and stay put as long as possible. Such routines are comforting, but change will occur whether we want it to or not. In fact, the more we want things not to change, the more they probably will. I try to view these occurrences as opportunities and embrace them.
11. The world is a big place, and it can sometimes be scary. But you have to be willing to put yourself out there [apologies to Dr. Phil], to meet new people and try new things.
12. However, it’s also OK to enjoy being alone. What’s important is to find a balance that’s comfortable for you.
13. “If you want something done right, do it yourself” is not always good advice. Learn to delegate. Then learn to be happy with “good enough.” Perfectionism causes ulcers and high anxiety.
14. Love and friendship are never wasted. Even when formerly good relationships go south, having experienced the good times is priceless [apologies to MasterCard].
15. Say “I love you” to the people you care about. Say it out loud and say it often.
16. Despite the lack of visible welts or scars, verbal and emotional abuse of children cuts just as deeply as physical abuse and should be equally condemned.
17. Once you begin to look for meaning, synchronicity will occur.
18. Trust your gut. Every time I’ve ignored my intuition, I’ve regretted it.
19. What you send forth into the Universe is what the Universe will ultimately give back to you.
20. Embrace life’s mysteries. Expect to be surprised.

© 2008 by Mary Daniels Brown

The school I attend has an unusual academic schedule. We have the months of February and August off, which means that July has been a manic month of reading and writing papers for me, with no time for updating this blog. But I’m back now, and looking to make up for lost time!

Thanks for your patience and understanding. And thanks to those of you who have posted comments so far.

About an hour ago I took down the old pages of the Notes in the Margin Web site and uploaded an all-new, streamlined version.

For now, the Fiction Notes page is sparse, with no linked reviews for many of the books listed. I apologize for that. I’ll be catching up with the fiction reviews bit by bit over the next several weeks.

The Nonfiction Notes page, however, is complete.

The redesigned site contains a lot of new material and is the first major update since Notes in the Margin went on hiatus in 2005 when I returned to school full time.

If you’re interested in an explanation about why I changed the site design, the long story is that our household has now gone All Macs All the Time. I created the earlier version of the site with a couple of programs specific to the Windows platform. This switch didn’t matter much when I was not adding new material because of school, but now that I’ve been able to start adding some new reviews (even though I’m still a full-time student), I had to find some Mac software that would make that process as painless and quick as possible. I finally decided on a program that would allow me to redesign the entire site. I had originally hoped to redo the whole site before taking down the old version and uploading the new, but redoing everything was a long and tedious process. If I had waited until I finished the entire site, the new material I wanted to add would itself be old before it ever saw the light of day. Therefore, I decided to upload the new site even though I haven’t yet finished catching up with all the fiction reviews.

I apologize for the inconvenience and hope you’ll be able to find something of interest in the new material.

Please let me know what you think of the new site design.

Sometime recently (probably over the U.S. Memorial Day weekend) Notes in the Margin went over 1,000,000 views. Since I have no idea who the 1,000,000th viewer was, I’ll thank everybody who has visited over the years since this Web site was born.

Send all your friends. . .

I have now enabled comments for new posts. When I created this blog I did not enable comments because I did not have the time to moderate them. I still don’t really have the time, but I’m interested in the conversation.

Since comments are moderated, it may be a (short) while before you see your comment here. Only appropriately relevant comments will be approved. Please, no offensive language or personal attacks.

Let’s see where the conversation takes us. . .

Even more than the blooming crocus, the regoldening goldfinches always mean spring to me.

© 2008 by Mary Daniels Brown

To Read or Not To Read: A Question of National Consequence [pdf]
http://www.nea.gov/research/ToRead.pdf

In 2004, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) published their groundbreaking report, “Reading at Risk,” which took a critical look at voluntary reading patterns and test scores, and revealed some rather dire trends along the way. November 2007 saw the publication of another thought-provoking report, “To Read or Not To Read: A Question of National Consequence.” This 100-page report offers a comprehensive analysis of reading patterns of children, teenagers, and adults in the United States. The report draws on data from over 40 sources, including federal agencies, universities, foundations, and associations. The report includes an executive summary, introduction, and three sections: “Youth Voluntary Reading Patterns,” “What the Declines Mean for Literacy,” and “Why More than Reading is at Risk.” Alternately enlightening and troubling, this report will be of great interest to policymakers, educators, librarians, and countless other parties.

>From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2008. http://scout.wisc.edu/