Honor and Respect

I don't know about you, but the 15th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks hit me pretty hard last week.  I didn't want to put on the TV because of the programs and news shows commemorating the anniversary.  It's not that I didn't care about what happened.  Quite the opposite.  As a New Yorker and as a human being, I remembered and relived the intense emotions of that day--fear, uncertainty, shock, sadness, grief.

This past April, I went to Ground Zero in New York City.  I stood by the two reflecting pools, and around the perimeters, I looked at the names of those who perished.  I saw flowers left behind by loved ones who visited.  I stood under the Survivor's Tree, the tree that somehow withstood the collapse of the Twin Towers, and I cried.  I simply broke down at the reality of what happened, at the many lives that ended so violently.

And at that place where such tragedy occurred, at that somber memorial, I saw a young girl of about 12 or 13 smile happily for a photo.  What she did struck me as out of place.  She was obviously too young to have lived through that fateful day, and her memories of it are all secondhand from parents, teachers, TV, and the Internet.  I didn't blame her for her youth and innocence, but I had a difficult time grasping how anyone could show such cheerfulness in a place of such sorrow.  It was similar to another young woman sometime back who took a selfie happily posing by the infamous gates of Auschwitz.

I know I'm a fuddy-duddy.  I know I strongly hold on to old-fashioned values--respect, honor, decency, humility--in a time when those values are ignored by so many.  However, those values do not and should not pertain to any particular time and place.  They are human, universal values that transcend the ages and national boundaries.  When we go to memorials and cemeteries, we should pause and reflect.  Give some thought to our predecessors.  Honor and respect them.

For the record, I did have my picture taken at Ground Zero as a personal keepsake of my visit, but I didn't smile.  My heart was full of emotion and my head full of thoughts of the roughly 3,000 people who died in that spot.  There was nothing for me to smile about.

Respectfully yours from the perch.

 

Ubuntu

Are you tired and frustrated with Microsoft Windows?  Is it clogging up your computer and making it run slow?  Are you fed up with all the updates and security patches?  Do you want to break away from the crowd and use a different operating system that's faster, more secure, and potentially better?  Well, there are different operating systems that are gaining popularity, and one that's getting more users these days is a Linux-based system called Ubuntu.

After spending close to 20 years using some version of Windows on my own desktops or laptops, I recently made the big switch to Ubuntu because 1) I wasn't pleased with Windows 10, 2) my laptop seemed to be more annoying than useful, 3) my hard drive eventually crashed, and 4) my techno-savvy husband rebuilt my laptop and installed Ubuntu on it.  Although I've gone through a brief period of adjustment to Ubuntu, it hasn't been all that difficult.

Amazingly, Ubuntu works similar to Microsoft Windows.  You have a desktop and folders into which you can save your personal files, photos, or whatever else.  If you're into taking pictures like I am, Shotwell Photo Manager allows you to crop, straighten, resize, and do other things to your photos to make them more professional looking just like Microsoft Office Picture Manager.

I pretty much do the same things with Ubuntu as I did with Windows.  You can download a Microsoft Office alternative like LibreOffice for free, but there are also free online programs through Google (i.e., Docs, Sheets, Slides) and Zoho (i.e., Writer, Sheet, Show) that compensate for Microsoft programs.  Additionally, I can use web browsers like Firefox or Google Chrome just like I did with Windows.

To get Ubuntu, you can download it for free (yes, FREE) from the Internet.  It's more secure because computer hackers are targeting Microsoft Windows, the system that about 90% of the world is using.  Compare that with Ubuntu users who make up about 2% of the world's computer market.  Nevertheless, Ubuntu is slowly catching on with private users and with public libraries, which are switching to it for the greater security and privacy it offers patrons, not to mention the price.

So, if you're looking to try a different operating system, consider Ubuntu.  You may be pleasantly surprised by it.

Ever helpfully yours from the perch.

Library Anxiety!

As your friendly neighborhood perch librarian, I've always found the library to be a place of comfort--I can lose myself in the many worlds of books, find a cozy chair to curl into, and have plenty of peace and quiet.  I realize, though, that not everyone may share my views of the library and may even regard it as a forbidding place.  Washington State University has identified the most common symptoms of library anxiety:

• Fear of space in the library.
• Fear of approaching a librarian.
• Fear of not knowing how to use the library.
• Fear of doing research.

Hopefully, for those of you who have library anxiety, I can alleviate your fears.

The library space is YOUR space.  You can move about it wherever you want, you can come and go as you please.  You don't have to ask us permission to use the bathroom, go to your car, come back later, etc.  We try to make the library environment as comfortable as possible with soft, cushy chairs to read (or sleep) in, crafts you can make on the tables, and puzzles you can piece together.

Don't be afraid of approaching your perch librarian or anyone else at the desk.  Sometimes we look like we're busy, but we're doing odds and ends (like writing posts on this blog) while we wait for you to come to us with your questions and concerns.  PLEASE BOTHER US!  We're here for you and want to help.

Don't worry about not knowing how to use the library.  We don't expect you to know everything.  If you did, you'd be the librarian and we'd be out of our jobs!  Don't feel stupid or think your question is stupid.  Believe me, we've heard all kinds of questions and there really is no such thing as a stupid question.  The only thing stupid is not asking your question, so please ASK!

Research doesn't have to be a difficult or scary thing.  If you're not sure how to do it or where to start, COME SEE US!  We're trained to know about different resources online and in print.  We can use our knowledge to help you find what you need quickly.  There's no need for you to suffer alone.  We're here to help and make your life a little easier.

Bottom line--the library is YOUR place and librarians, including your perch librarian, are here to help you.  We won't bite--I promise!  Come stop by, even if it's only to say hello.

Ever helpfully yours from the perch.

Armchair Travel

Maybe you haven't had the time or the resources to do some literary traveling this summer.  Well, that doesn't mean you can't have fun wandering about somewhere you've never been before.  When you can't physically travel to a place, you can always mentally travel there through those wonderful things called books!

Armchair travel is the way to go if you have to stay where you are and can't get away.  And if you're looking for some interesting places to mentally visit, I've got a few book suggestions:

• American Fuji by Sara Backer (Japan)  An American expat in Japan relates her sometimes strange and funny experiences as a gaijin ("foreigner") in the Land of the Rising Sun.
• The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (Washington, DC)  See the American capital as you've never seen it before, from the basement of the Capitol Building to the top of the Washington Monument and beyond.
• Last Bus to Wisdom by Ivan Doig (Montana, Wisconsin)  Go on a cross-country summer trip from Montana to Wisconsin and back with a young boy in the 1950s.
• The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George (France)  A broken-hearted bookseller takes his book barge from Paris to southern France to find answers about his long lost love.
• Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (Italy, India, Indonesia)  Eat pasta in Italy, pray at an ashram in India, and find new love in Indonesia with Elizabeth Gilbert.
• The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (Sweden)  Travel from Stockholm to the Swedish countryside in this suspenseful page-turner.
• Wild by Cheryl Strayed (California, Oregon)  Hike the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert to the Columbia River Gorge without leaving the comfort of your home.

Still haven't found the right book for armchair traveling?  Then check out these websites for more suggestions:

• 10 Great Reads for Armchair Travel
• Armchair Traveling: 10 Books to Take You Places
• The Best Books for the Armchair Traveler
• Books for Armchair Travel and Adventure
• Popular Armchair Travel Books
• Top 10 Funny Travel Books for Armchair Travel

Yours truly, currently armchair traveling through Istanbul (No Baggage by Clara Bensen) from the perch.

Literary Travel

The summer is now in full swing, and perhaps you're thinking of where to go on vacation.  Relaxing by the lake?  Hiking up a mountain?  Camping in the forest?  These are your traditional outdoor summer vacations, but maybe you're into something non-traditional, something different, something...bookish.

Should you be looking for literary spots to visit this summer in the Northwest, allow your friendly neighborhood perch librarian to make several suggestions:

Auntie's Bookstore (Spokane, WA)--This one's local, so you don't need anything other than gas in your car or a bus ride to get downtown.  It's located in a historic building at the corner of Main and Washington, so it has that old time feel to it--wooden floors, retro lighting, columns, and high ceilings. When you step inside, you just want to lose yourself in a good book.  This independent bookstore is an institution in Spokane, and it stocks a number of books by local authors.  Time flies too quickly whenever I go there.

Powell's City of Books (Portland, OR)--If you're a book lover and you happen to be in Portland, then you MUST go to Powell's City of Books.  Here you can get lost not only in a book, but also in the bookstore, which claims itself to be the largest independent bookstore in the world.  Make no mistake about it--this place is GIGANTIC!  It takes up a whole city block and has more than an acre and a half of retail space.  There's floor upon floor of books, and there's even a rare books room where you can get first editions (I once saw a first edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone for $500).  Go and experience walking in one of the largest bookstores around.

Seattle Public Library (Seattle, WA)--Sure, when you're in Seattle you have to see the Space Needle and Pike Place, but in my ever so humble opinion, you also have to see the main branch of the Seattle Public Library.  It's nothing short of a Mecca for book lovers.  The architecture is simply stunning, and there are great views of the main floor (and the street outside) from 10 floors up.  There's artwork on the walls made from old card catalogs, and there's a cool red corridor on the 4th floor.  What I really envy, though, is that magical conveyor belt on the 1st floor that transports books from the book drop outside, up across the ceiling, and down to the circulation desk.  One word--awesome!

Sylvia Beach Hotel (Newport, OR)--I hope Santa or the Birthday Fairy will be good to me one of these years because this is the ultimate bed and breakfast for book lovers.  Located right on the ocean on the Oregon Coast, this hotel has rooms named after famous authors and decorated according to the time periods of those authors or their books (I'd go for the Herman Melville room--a room on the sea for a writer of the sea).  There's no Wi-Fi (after all, you're there to read books), there's a library open around the clock (bliss!), and a restaurant called the Tables of Content (don't you love it?).  For peace, quiet, and a whole lot of book-loving, this place is truly a treat.

Wishing you a book-filled summer from the perch.

(Semi) Local Fiction

You know, Spokane and the Inland Northwest are home to a number of writers.  Some are known locally while others are known nationally.  Take Sherman Alexie, for example.  He grew up in Wellpinit on the Spokane Indian Reservation and went to school in Reardan, but he's known across the country as an important writer of Native American issues.  He still comes to Auntie's Bookstore in Downtown Spokane to sign books.  So do David Shannon and Jess Walter, writers from Spokane who have both been on The New York Times Best Seller List.

Here's a list of local authors from Spokane (and a little beyond) along with their books (in case you're still looking for some good summer reads):

• Sherman Alexie (The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian, Reservation Blues)
• Chelsea Bolan (The Good Sister)
• Amanda Coplin (The Orchardist)
• Ivan Doig (Mountain Time, The Last Bus to Wisdom) 
• David Shannon (A Bad Case of Stripes, No, David!) 
• Shawn Vestal (Daredevils)
• Jess Walter (Beautiful Ruins, The Financial Lives of the Poets)

Of course, there are many other writers in the Northwest outside the Inland Northwest.  Come into the library and we'll help you find some good books to while the summer away!

Yours truly happily tweeting summer reads from the perch.

The Summer Reading Program Top 10

Here's my completely unbiased Top 10 List for doing the library's Summer Reading Program:

1.  Kids retain and enhance their reading skills.
2.  Adults enhance their reading skills, too.
3.  The library has a lot of good books.
4.  There are creative crafts to make.
5.  You'll look smart with a book on the beach.
6.  You can see where Fil the Frog is hiding each week
7.  Books never run out of batteries.
8.  You get prizes!
9.  There are parties! 
10.  It's fun!

So, what are you waiting for?  Come on in, get signed up, and start reading!  It's going on until August 31st!

Yours truly cheering on summer reading from the perch.