A Word from our cartoon self

Click on the cartoon to see the entire glorious thing:

Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas!

I purchased our copies of all four dances because I just loved them. I think that the video quality on these is much fuzzier than it was on the trial copies. Still you can make us out merrily stomping. You will need to click on the arrow to "play" the videos instead of just clicking on the picture.

We do the Charleston



Hayseed Express

D.O.A. Brewski

That's from the Generator Blog, of course. I have several useful and entertaining blog posts backed up in the D.O.A. file cabinet, but I'd rather be an idiot and post something fun and useless like this. Yo ho ho and a bottle of...D.O.A.

(Note: I rarely drink anything except coffee, Pepsi and water. If I did have something though...Heineken, glug glug glug.)

This logo and other interesting party oriented graphics come from Festisite It includes a generated St Nicholas Day poem (?) which was in Dutch, I think. Since I don't read Dutch and get in enough trouble in my own language, I didn't try that one.

I can see lots of use for this playing card (you can choose which card you use, since I'm such a sweetie I went with the Queen of Hearts...they didn't let me replace the word Judith with D.O.A., the buzzards).



They have a cute dollar bill (and other denominations) that you can put your picture into but I couldn't get the image to save with my skullish photo inside of the oval. Boo hoo. Like I'd be trying to pass a 1966 Dollar Bill with the D.O.A. logo inside at my local Target store or something. hmmmpfh

Australia or Bust!

I had a chance to see this over the weekend. I had read a little bit about it but not enough to spoil the plot. I really like both Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, so seeing a film with them both set in their native land was a big draw. Also I liked that this would be a throwback of sorts to the old epic, large type film that they don't make anymore, the beaners. Lastly, Australia is on the short list of places I've always wanted to see.

I'd rate the movie 8 out of 10, probably because going in I had so many positive things I was looking forward to. The film is big, it shows life on a ranch in Australia at the opening of World War II, it certainly succeeds in showing a snapshot of the time and the people.

I really enjoyed the relationship between Nicole Kidman's character Sarah and Hugh Jackman's character Drover. Very good old fashioned stuff.

The plight of the aboriginal people was brought to the fore in a very wise way. They were just wonderful characters, shown to have a very different culture and outlook.

My only criticism would be that the movie did feel long, it seemed that too many storylines and subplots were presented. I thought they should focus more on the everyday life of the people or bring the war story forward and focus on how the characters played out their existences under enemy attack.

Other than that, the good guys were good, the bad guys were really bad, the setting was remarkable.

Twilight Time: If I See the Movie Will I Want to Read the Book?

Heavenly shades of night are falling
It's twilight time
Out of the mist your voice is calling
It's twilight time
When purple colored curtains
Mark the end of the day
I hear you my dear at twilight time

Deepening shadows gather splendor
As day is done
Fingers of night will soon surrender
The setting sun
I count the moments darling
Till you're here with me
Together at last at twilight time

Here in the after-glow of day
We keep our rendez-vous beneath the blue
Here in the sweet and same old way
I fall in love again as I did then

Deep in the dark your kiss will thrill me
Like days of old
Lighting the spark of love that fills me
With dreams untold
Each day I pray for evening just
To be with you
Together at last at twilight time

Together at last at twilight time

I've read tons of books that were turned into films with varying results. I can't think of a film that I liked better than the book it was based on, but there are cases such as the Harry Potter books and films and the Wizard of Oz where the two formats are different but I appreciate them as if they were separate works.

I'm going to see the movie Twilight tonight, based on Stephanie Meyer's book. I haven't read the books and am not sure I want to. Quite a few people here have read the books and seen the movie and although they loved the books till the last one "Breaking Dawn" I don't recall them coming back and saying the movie was must see, or that they were discussing it at all. Bad sign! The real kiss of death is that the heroine "Bella" is seen as a whiny sort, even by fans. Whiny=Bad. I have to like the main character, I have to want to know their story.

I've read what I think are the two best vampire novels of all time "Dracula" by Bram Stoker and "Interview with the Vampire" by Anne Rice (but none of the sequels).

I confess cinematically Buffy the Vampire Slayer has, I fear, ruined me for any other on-screen vampires. Buffy and her storylines and her vampire pals, especially Spike! can't be surpassed.

This all got me thinking, what would I expect from a movie based on a book I hadn't read that would make me want to read the book? I'd like the characters and their story and their world so much I would want to read the book because the book is always better, more detailed, richer.

Why do I see movies based on books I like knowing the movie will be inferior? I think it is the same. I love the world and the character and I want more. I want to see them brought to life. There is a danger that huge parts of the story will be gone or altered. The characters might look or sound nothing like my imagination. Sometimes, even if that is the way it comes out, there is some new thing shown or offered by this different format, that illuminates the story I love. It's worth the gamble.




DRUMROLL PLEASE!

I liked the movie! I was prepared to not like it but as it turns out Bella isn't a whiner at all. Very appealing heroine.

Edward ...odd looking dude, let's face it. That super pale skin, those scary dog eyebrows...eek. Very nice fellow for a vampire though. Comes from a nice vampire family and everything. What's not to like?

The music was just jangling though, I couldn't stop noticing how loud and discordant it was. The vocal pieces were all good but the instrumentals..ack..make it go away!

My son, who read the book and liked it alot said that Edward had alot of humor, and in fact the author's humor reminded him of...me...the humor he said, was "juvenile". I should be insulted but I know he means it as a compliment, pretty much.

Since our library still has over a hundred people waiting for Twilight, I'll wait till Son of D.O.A. brings his copy home at Christmas. I'm definitely interested in knowing more about the characters and the world they inhabit.

Dear Reader, you left (fill in the blank) in your Library Book

When I weed I look at the condition of dupicates and keep the ones in the best condition. I discard books with food, water and indeterminate stains.

When I page through, I find all sorts of things I know the reader didn't mean to leave behind that they were using to mark their spot in the book:

Photographs
Grocery lists
Bills
Letters (never anything too juicy)
Actual Bookmarks of all kinds, including handmade ones
Scraps of paper
Facial Tissues
Toilet paper (my least favorite thing)
Ribbon
Date due receipts

Check and double check before you bring em back!

Dana Stabenow's 15 novels in Four Minutes

With great flair and sound effects, in about 3 minutes and 55 seconds author Dana Stabenow describes the essence of the plots for her Kate Shugak novels, set in Alaska. If you've been looking for a new mystery author and like Nevada Barr and Sue Henry for their outdoor settings and tough, independent female protagonists you might want to try Dana Stabenow, especially after seeing this clip.

Visit Dana Stabenow's website for more on this series. Begin reading the series with A Cold Day for Murder. Her sixteenth novel in the series A Whisper in the Blood will be published in February 2009.

I found this video on Laurie King's blog.

piZap! Yourself, and a Bookish Meme

Via the Generator Blog, that temple of coolness, we have piZap (www.pizap.com) photo editing software that lets you add fun conversation balloons and more to an image.

Even better, you can buy that image on t-shirts, stickers, mugs etc. right on the site! A very merry gift for Christmas for that special someone, eh? You can see thumbnail images of what your picture would look like on their items. Very reasonably priced, endless possibilities.

For libraries, think how difficult it often is to get customized prizes or promotional items. Here you have alot more options!

Next up, via the ever exciting Bill Crider's Pop Culture Magazine we have a "meme":

A meme (pronounced /miːm/)[1] consists of any idea or behavior that can pass from one person to another by learning or imitation. Examples include thoughts, ideas, theories, gestures, practices, fashions, habits, songs, and dances. Memes propagate themselves and can move through the cultural sociosphere in a manner similar to the contagious behavior of a virus.

Do this and be amazed! Well not really!

"Open the closest book to you—not your favorite or most intellectual book, but the book closest to you at the moment—to page 56. Write out the fifth sentence as well as the next two to five sentences"

I sometimes scan fast and don't pick up the fine details so I messed up my meme in the comments on the PCM. In fact, I'm such a bonehead, I didn't think anything on page 56 looked interesting enough to quote, so dirty rotten cheater that I am, I looked through my whole to-read pile for a book that had something scintillating on page 56. Missing the whole "write out the fifth sentence...etc" part. This is why my mom often said to me "when in doubt, read the instructions".



Anywho, here is the correctly done meme-ish quote from The King of Ragtime by Larry Karp:

"When's the last time he came in to check on something?"
"Earlier in the afternoon."
"What time did he leave?"
Tabor paused, then shrugged. "I'm not sure. I didn't see him go out."

So there is the real plucked-from-page-56 meme. The plot doth thicken, indeed!
Meme away! Don't try to cheat like I did.

D.O.A. goes Conventional for a day, at MLA

I'm attending my first ever Minnesota Library Association Convention today. I try to behave myself, but I feel pretty much the same about being crammed into a building full of librarians as you do. Holy Sheet, Batman.

I couldn't pass the opportunity by to see Tim Spalding from Library Thing speaking, and there is a session on 23 Things on a Stick, which made me the blogger I am today, plus a scintillating 23 Things Graduation! Aghhhh! Who could miss all that?

My cohort the Floating Lush might live blog but Internet Access costs $9.99 for the day. Yikes. (Turns out you can connect to "convention" during the day but that acess isn't available in the evening.)

I plan to bring a book (Just after Sunset by Stephen King), my Zune, and Gameboy with Hotel Dusk Room 215, The World Ends With You, and Civilization Revolution just in case there is maddening downtime.

Wish me luck!

So far so good. People at the convention Pre-Conference seem to be in good spirits. Might be just fine after all. Hotel staff are super nice and helpful. It all looks different than it has when I've been down there for science fiction conventions. Waaaay different.

The Keynote Speaker Tim Spalding of Library Thing was informative and entertaining. He showed off quite a few search features of Library Thing I wasn't aware of. I think that the Library Thing for Libraries features would add a great deal to helping people find the right book. The ability to find "similar titles" to the book you're searching would be just great for reader's advisory. Even the descriptive "clouds" can really help tell what a book is about just a bit beyond what subject headings can do. The Lush and I got to shake his hand afterward and tell him how much we liked Library Thing. Big fannish moment.

The 23 Things on a Stick session was very interesting. Four bloggers who had been making use of either individual Things or several things in their library blogs or sites talked about their experiences. I was surprised at how many people hadn't known about instant messaging systems such as Meebo. I was thinking the room was full of 23 Things Stickers, and they would have been exposed to IM during the program. Apparently, many people were new to the whole 23 Things concept. Good news for anyone wanting to work through the first set of Things--they will be leaving the site and its directions up and you can work through at your own pace.

Even better, the all new 23 Things named More 23 Things will be available January 20, 2009. More Things on a Stick will use a wiki, hosted at the charming PB Wiki site. It will be interesting to see how they use such a collaborative resource to run the next program. Registration opens January 2nd. Sticks ahoy!

I attended a session of AskMN.org a consortium of libraries that are doing statewide IM reference 24 hours per day. Actually, the after hours reference service is provided by QuestionPoint, which is part of OCLC. Two academic librarians and a public librarian discussed what types of questions they have been getting, and what they feel is successful about the program. A gentleman from Minitex stood up at the end and invited more libraries to join the consortium. Its sounds like good program that has the potential to broaden IM Reference services.

Finally the 23 Things "Graduation" which turned out to be a party near the pool complete with snacks and ice cream on a stick.

Roald Dahl Funny Prize Winners

The First Annual Roald Dahl Funny Prize Winners were announced on November 13, 2008.

The funniest book for children six and under is The Witches Children Go to School by Ursula Jones, illustrated by Russell Ayto. This is the third book in the series about a witch mom and her children who have a bit of trouble fitting in out in the world.



The funniest book for children seven to fourteen is Mr. Gum and the Dancing Bear by Andy Stanton. illustrated by David Tazzyman. In this fifth book in the series, Polly rescues a bear from a career as a dancer, thwarting the disgusting Mr. Gum.

What 80s Song Are You? And Aren't you Ashamed to Ask?

I love music from the 80s. I can't help it. But I hate the song they assigned me, and in fact all the songs on their list. Bleh. Correction- I love "Money for Nothing"

What 80's song are you? Your Result: Video Killed The Radio Star   You see times go by and think about the changes that have occured. You have experience in this world and you are a musical person. You are also good with technology as time goes by.
I Want you to Want me
Don't Stop Believing
Money for Nothing
Walk Like an Egyptian
With or Without You
I Ran (So far Away)
A-ha- Take on Me
What 80's song are you? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

What Kind of Reader Are You?

Cheesy Quizmania running wild! Here's another, you Bookworm, you!

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Dedicated Reader   You are always trying to find the time to get back to your book. You are convinced that the world would be a much better place if only everyone read more.
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
Literate Good Citizen
Book Snob
Fad Reader
Non-Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Where Dewey Really Fit In?

Thanks to Bill Crider and his Pop Culture magazine site for this Dewey Decimal Quiz that analyzes you into your ideal Dewey Number.

Librarian D.O.A.'s Dewey Decimal Section:

475 Classical Latin grammar

Librarian D.O.A. = 292818914451 = 292+818+914+451 = 2475


Class:
400 Language


Contains:
Linguistics and language books.



What it says about you:
You value communication, even with people who are different from you. You like trying new things don't mind being exposed to unfamiliar territory. You get bored with routines that never change.

Find your Dewey Decimal Section at Spacefem.com

You are actually given 3 results and can pick. Even though I could pick the gardening number (635), the description for the 475 Latin Grammar fits me better. Even though I speak nary a word of Latin.

D.O.A. as 635:

Librarian D.O.A.'s Dewey Decimal Section:

635 Garden crops (Horticulture)


Class:
600 Technology


Contains:
Health, agriculture, management, public relations, buildings.



What it says about you:
You are creative and inspired to make the world a better place. You can work hard on something when it catches your interest. Your friends have unique interests in common with you.

Find your Dewey Decimal Section at Spacefem.com

D.O.A. as 878 Latin Misc Writings:

Librarian D.O.A.'s Dewey Decimal Section:

878 Latin miscellaneous writings

Librarian D.O.A.'s birthday: 1/31/1900 = 131+1900 = 2878


Class:
800 Literature


Contains:
Literature, criticism, analysis of classic writing and mythology.



What it says about you:
You're a global, worldly person who wants to make a big impact with your actions. You have a lot to tell people and you're good at making unique observations about everyday experiences. You can notice and remember details that other people think aren't important.

Find your Dewey Decimal Section at Spacefem.com

D.O.A. Recommends Red Knife by William Kent Krueger

The powerful eighth book in William Kent Krueger’s Cork O’Connor mystery series opens with a young Anishinaabeg warrior preparing for his first war party. This traditional scene and the fear and ultimate triumph the boy feels over his foe leads the story into modern day tensions where rules and transitions to manhood are not so clear cut.

A group of young men who call themselves the “Red Boyz” defiantly take the name of Ojibwe war chiefs when they join the gang. Led by Alexander Kingbird “Kakaik”, they stand together against increasing hatred in the small town where they live, that hatred fueled by the death of a daughter of a wealthy businessman.

Cork O’Connor, former sheriff, now a PI, often walks a fine line between his Ojibwe heritage and his white heritage. In Red Knife, he is challenged to choose sides. For his family’s sake he tries to stay out of the oncoming battle but he cannot escape it, he is forced to fight.

I find his character to be so interesting for his deep spirituality. He mixes Catholicism and Ojibwe mysticism as if they went together naturally. I love the way he cares deeply for his family, especially his children. I have found his wife Jo a little hard to take in the past, but here she finally seems to soften.

William Kent Krueger spotlights so many other relationships in the book as well, husband/wife, parent/child, friendships, communities such as the Red Boyz and the tribal elders and how they interact. There is so much raw emotion everywhere in the book, and yet everyone on the surface tries to portray utter calm. That keeps the reader on edge, just waiting for dozens of things to boil over, and boil over they surely do.

Without spoiling the ending, I will say it could appear that this might be the end of the series. I’m sure there are many more Cork O’ Connor stories to tell, especially since he has made the choice to stand with one side of what can only be an ongoing conflict.

Discussion Questions for Red Knife (added 3/26/2013)

Discussion Questions for Red Knife by William Kent Krueger

 

1.      How does the prologue describing the attack on an unsuspecting enemy tribe tie in with the rest of the book?

 

2.      Could there have been a peaceful resolution to the conflict between the Red Boyz and Buck Reinhardt or was violence inevitable?

 

 

3.      What makes Cork decide to join in on the attack on the Latin Lords?

 

4.      Although that attack appeared to be successful, will the drug lords really stay away?

 

 

5.      Why does Cork leave his guns with Henry Meloux?

 

6.      What is Henry Meloux’s role in this novel?  If you have read other books in the series, is his role the same or does it change over time?

 

 

7.      Why do the Anishinaabe trust Cork?  Do the Caucasian characters trust him?  Why or why not?

 

8.      How does Cork balance his deep Catholicism with his Anishinaabe beliefs?

 

 

9.      William Kent Krueger adeptly focuses on relationships such as husband/wife, parent/child, friendships, and communities such as the Red Boyz and the tribal elders.  Discuss some of these relationships and how they affect the fates of the characters in Red Knife.

 

10.  Does the school shooting at the end of the novel tie in with or reflect the situation in the prologue or other incidents in the novel?   How?  Was this event foreshadowed in any way?

 

 

11.  William Kent Krueger has said that Red Knife was inspired by the violence of the Red Lake Minnesota school shootings:

“Red Knife is a book about violence, which is something I've been thinking a good deal about over the past several years. In March of 2005 on the Red Lake Reservation in northwestern Minnesota, the worst school shooting in this nation's history up to that point in time occurred. But it wasn't the first fatal school shooting in Minnesota. Two years before that in a small town west of the Twin Cities a high school student shot one of his classmates to death. These tragedies disturbed me greatly. And I began to reflect on violence in our culture and in other cultures and have become convinced that, despite all our lip service about being a peace-loving nation and people, we have perpetuated a belief system that encourages violence as the most legitimate response to threat. Red Knife was the result of all that rather grim rumination.”

12.    How does the violence that permeates the story of Red Knife reflect the violence of the Red Lake shootings?


Author background and bibliography added 3/26/13

Author Background William Kent Krueger: Red Knife

William Kent Krueger was born November 16, 1950 in Torrington, Wyoming.  His family moved around frequently in his youth.  He went to Stanford University and participated in protests which got him kicked out of school.  He worked as a logger and in the construction industry.  During these years he wrote articles for magazines and newspapers.

He met and married his college sweetheart Diane and moved to St Paul, MN in 1980.  Kent began writing short stories and found that he wrote most effectively in a notebook at the St Clair Boiler.  It was there that he also wrote his first novel “Iron Lake.” 

Part Irish, part Anishinaabe/Ojibwe, Cork O'Connor is a Chicago policeman who returns to his hometown of Aurora with his lawyer wife, Jo, and their three children to take a job as sheriff.—Iron Lake

William Kent Krueger travels with fellow authors Ellen Hart and Carl Brookins as the Minnesota Crime Wave.  Together they have produced two anthologies of short stories by Minnesota authors: Silence of the Loons and Resort to Murder.  The Crime Wave also hosts a mystery program on CTV-15 called Minnesota Crime Wave Presents.  They interview local authors, discuss mystery writing and mystery novels.  Visit the Minnesota Crime Wave at http://www.minnesotacrimewave.org/index.html

The Cork O’ Connor Novels

Iron Lake                1998

Boundary Waters    1999

Purgatory Ridge     2001

Blood Hollow       2004

Mercy Falls           2005

Copper River         2006

Thunder Bay          2007

Red Knife             2008

Heaven’s Keep     2009

Vermillion Drift      2010

Northwest Angle     2011

Trickster’s Point    2012

Standalone novels:

The Devil’s Bed 2003

Ordinary Grace   2013

William Kent Krueger’s Web site:     http://www.williamkentkrueger.com/index.html

 

Star Wars Serenade

In Ghostbusters they say "Don't cross the streams!" (a useful phrase if there ever was one), and this would usually go on my game blog but this guy has a voice like an angel and I thought anyone at all could enjoy it. Its amazing how much of the Star Wars saga he covers using the melodies from other films. I have loved Star Wars almost more than The Wizard of Oz since I first sat in a theater and was wowed by it. Me and millions of others...

I snarfed this from Jeff Green's Greenspeak blog.

I tracked down the performer Corey Vidal
He does dance videos too and has a humorous and informative Q and A with himself.

The plot is thicker yet! Apparently it is not his angelic voice but was recorded and written by the folks at Moosebutter

They link to Corey's performance on YouTube. You can also find the words on the Moosebutter site so you can sing along. "... You must use the Force..."

Beagles for Dummies, or, How I Could Write That One Myself

My co-worker the Floating Lush gets all the new non-fiction as it comes in and she thought I might like the fresh copy of "Beagles for Dummies".

Since I have seen two wondrous beagles from youth through old age and beyond, and I have a third little beagle bud, I think I am ok on the basics. Here is what I know:

They are the cutest, sweetest, most loving dogs you can know.

They live by their nose.

They want to be by you all the time if they can...unless their nose leads them away.

A WatchBeagle is a fine thing to have around.

Treats are welcome anytime.

They have a deep Beagle wisdom they only share with those they love and worship. If you're lucky, thats you.

They are exhuberant creatures who always want to go for a walk with you, no matter how long or short, they are ready to go!

They are indeed stubborn, but treat them with respect and they will happily comply.

324 Ele

I thought I wouldn't talk about politics here but hey! Just showing off another image generator that lets you create an old fashioned library catalog card. People really miss those cards. They didn't have to use a computer to look things up, and even better, they could just pull the card out of the drawer and take it right to the shelf! No messy having to write down a call number. Just toss the card when you're done!

Remember that phrase "May you live in interesting times?" Well, we do, and it is as exciting as anything. Uncertain yes, but just like a good book you can't wait to see what happens next. Aren't we so lucky, its an interactive book. We get to help determine how the story plays out. It doesn't get better than that. See you at the polls.

Edit: For all of you Land of 10,000 Lakes, Ponds and Puddles voters you can find your polling place by using Pollfinder from the Minnesota Secretary of State site. Just use the dropdowns to zoom in on the poll location. You can even get a map!

Randomly Generated Post

I can't leave my Halloween post up on top (too much like Santa decorations sticking out of a snow bank in February) and I think there are enough political commentaries out there to last till the next millenium.

When I don't have any inspiration but am twitchy to create some updated tidbit, I go to the glorious Generator Blog. It's full of all sorts of image generators that you can put to creative use.

Customize what it says on the image of a videotape, and use this to promote your film collection:




Burning Question of the Day answered: Which Moleman are you? From a site delightfully called Rum & Monkey, author John Hodgman lets you in on your inner mole.

My secret Mole-Identity is #221: Miss Sarah Sleepinghole, A Librarian..
Take Which Mole-Man Are You? today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Name Generator Generator.

I hate true crime stuff and mafioso stuff (my mom watched all sorts of grim stuff when I was young and I hated the music, mostly, and the hardnosed characters...bleh.) Still if I go bad and join the boys in dark suits, the Mafia Name Generator dubs me:

Sammy Pesto. Pass the parmesan, please.




The Trophy Please! Go ahead and give yourself that award you secretly know you deserve.


Trophy Generator

Turn a favorite photo into a Rubik's Cube:



And, a final note to all you super serious types out there:

Happy Halloween! Stories for the Wee Folk from the D.O.A. Vault

From deep in the D.O.A. kiddie book vault (I've kept all of my son's kids books, except for a very few--shhh don't tell him--that were torturous to read aloud--ack its one thing to read a great book 100 plus times, death warmed over to read a badly written commercial knock off or whatever more than once) we bring you the best books from our Halloween Holiday Collection. Reading aloud is an ageless activity, so never stop if you can help it. Remember, when you're reading aloud, you can control the scarieness level by voice alone, with sound effects, varying voices etc adding a great deal. Or just read in a casual tone if you don't want to imbue the text with tooo much scariness.

In a dark, dark room and other scary stories: retold by Alvin Schwartz

From the foreward: "Most of us like scary stories because we like being scared. When there is no real danger, feeling scared is fun. The best time for these stories is at night--in front of a fire or in the dark. Tell them s-l-o-w-l-y and quietly, and everyone will have a good time."

Pumpkin Light by David Ray

An artistic little boy's love of drawing pumpkins gets him into trouble one Halloween night.

The Biggest Pumpkin Ever by Stephen Kroll

Two little mice lovingly tend a pumpkin in the garden causing it to grow to an enormous size. Each mouse thinks their own efforts are responsible for the remarkable growth, and neither knows about the other till one cold night in the pumpkin patch.

The Berenstain Bears Trick or Treat by Stan and Jan Berenstain

The cubs map out their neighborhood Halloween route, making sure to skip the scary house of Miz McGrizz. They soon fall in with Too-Tall Grizzly and his first stop is Crooked Lane and the creepy house of Miz McGrizz!

Clifford's First Halloween by Norman Bridwell

Before Clifford the Big Red Dog grew to be the size of a house, he was a teeny puppy the size of your hand, getting into all sorts of silly trouble on his first Halloween night.

The Witch Has an Itch by Donna Guthrie

A witch who delights in playing mean tricks on people starts to itch one day uncontrollably every time she does something bad. There is a fun to read rhyme that changes as she develops itches in new locations, stubbornly trying to keep up her bad reputation:

The Witch has an itch! The witch has an itch!
Oh where, oh where, does the witch have an itch?
On her long and warty nose!
On her long and warty nose!

By the light of the Halloween Moon by Caroline Stutson

A little girl playing music and tapping her toes in the light of the silvery moon attracts an assortment of beasties. In a poetic tale similar to The House That Jack Built they scrabble all over each other trying to get to that tapping toe.

The Halloween Performance by Felicia Bond

Roger and his fellow mice put on a class play for Halloween. Sweet mice cavort through the preparations, and the play is capped by Roger's stunning performance.

A Very Scary Ghost Story by Joanne Barkan

Two little ghosts return to their hometown on Halloween night, reminiscing and trying to find the scariest place in town. After visiting the usual haunts, they find a Halloween party where costumed children are having a wonderful time, and they happily join right in. A fun added touch is that the books drawings glow in the dark! Best read by flashlight.

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams
A no nonsense little old lady who is not afraid of anything is followed home one night by:
Two shoes go CLOMP CLOMP,
One pair of pants go WIGGLE WIGGLE,
One shirt go SHAKE SHAKE,
Two gloves go CLAP CLAP,
One hat go NOD NOD,
One scary pumpkin head go BOO BOO!
Told progressively with just the right sound effects this is a fine scary tale.

Trick or Treat, Little Critter by Mercer Mayer

Little Critter is excited about Halloween but he's a little cranky about his costume and the family pumpkin, and Halloween night doesn't go quite his way. Look for the little mouse on every page!

Six Creepy Sheep by Judith Ross Enderle

Six Creepy Sheep go trick or treating! One by one they are scared by the things they see out on the roads till there is just One Creepy Sheep left.

A Woggle of Witches by Adrienne Adams

A woggle of witches venture out on Halloween night, eating bat stew and spiderweb bread, flying in formation in the night sky, visiting the moon and being very scared! of some small costumed monsters marching past a cornfield.

A Halloween Happening by Adrienne Adams

The woggle of witches decide that this Halloween they will throw a party for the costumed children that scared them last year. They prepare a feast (toad tarts, scrambled lizard eggs, wart soup, worm waffles), build an amazing pumpkin tower all lit up in the night, and they take them for silent rides on Bat Gliders. Everyone has fun this Halloween and nobody is scared of anyone else.

What is Halloween? by Harriet Ziefert

Little Mouse learns all about Halloween in this charming lift-the-flap book.

Rotten Ralph's Trick or Treat! by Jack Gantos

Bad kitty Rotten Ralph and his sweet mistress Sarah dress as each other to go to a costume party. Nobody can figure out why "Sarah" puts the fish in the punchbowl and pops pocorn all over the house and why "Rotten Ralph" is such a good kitty that night.

The Vanishing Pumpkin by Tony Johnston

A 700 year old woman and an 800 year old man chase their stolen pumpkin through the night, joined by ghosties, ghoulies, varmints and rapscallions! Oh, how the old man wants that pumpkin to make into a pie!

The Haunted House by Dorothy Rose

Two children with big imaginations go through a "haunted house" on a rainy day.

Ghost's Hour, Spook's Hour by Eve Bunting

Midnight is Ghost's Hour, Spook's Hour for a little boy and his dog when the lights go out and the wind howls woooooo.

Boo! Guess who?

A peek-a-boo board book asks "It's Halloween night. Who knows who's who? Boo! Guess who?"

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow adapted from the original by Washington Irving by Russ Flint

Wonderfully illustrated and adapted telling of this traditional tale.

Babar and the Ghost by Laurent de Brunhoff

While on a family picnic at Black Castle, Babar meets the ghost of Baron Bardula. The elephant ghost has such fun with the children that he agrees to come home with them and play some silly tricks on the grownups.

Dinosaur's Halloween by Liza Donnelly

What happens when a boy and his dog dress up as dinosaurs for Halloween? They're joined by a real dinosaur that they think is just another little kid.

Happy Halloween, don't forget to read a few stories aloud tonight!

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark!

Wowie! While I was looking for a YouTube presentation by storyteller Jackie Torrence (who could really tell a tale!) I found the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark blog by children's illustrator Stephen Gammell. Kids who are just a bit older love the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark collections by Alvin Schwartz. They are a great introduction to ghost stories and horror novels for future scare-the-pants-off-of-me-cause-mommy-is-right-here-and-I'm-safe types like myself. The blog features scary stories recommendations and other sites for even more delicious scariness.

At the bottom of the page are 31 short scary tales illustrated and told by Stephen Gammell with great glee. Wonderful! Here is one for all of you World Series fans:

D.O.A. Recommends All the Sad Words by Bill Crider

I’m always looking for a good new series, and I will sometimes read the latest one, then if I like the characters, I’ll go back and start the series with book one, methodically reading them in order. Reading book fifteen of the Sheriff Dan Rhoades books “Of all sad words” by Bill Crider was a pleasure, and I’ll go back to book one “Too late to die” (1986) once I finish my current reading stack.

I’m not sure what I expected, but since the main character is a sheriff and the setting is Blacklin County Texas, I was thinking maybe a mystery with a little old-fashioned western tossed in. The story absolutely isn’t a western, but having spent a little time in Texas I could picture the heat, the dry brush landscapes, and the river beds that can be hard dusty soil one minute and floating a car along after a downpour the next. I came away with a feel of the west anyway, I think because of the pacing and the laconic dry wit of all of the characters, which explains the accompanying pictures.

The plot involves a moonshine producing still, an unexplained murder and a nasty black pickup truck. I found all of the characters appealing, even the bad guys. A long time reader would know all about the man who is plagued by flying saucers at his home, the woman with the possoms in her attic, and the zany co-authors of a book so loosely based on Sheriff Rhoades as to be unrecognizable as ol’ Dan. These folks are woven into the tale so that you know them as if you’d been reading all along.

The main character is always the thing, and you have got to like Sheriff Dan Rhoades right away. He is keenly observant, easy going, and determined to solve his case. He seems to be a pretty philosophical fellow, responding to everything from lies to encouragement with a drawled “Right”.

Visit Bill Crider's Pop Culture Magazine daily for an wild collage of current odd things going on, plus vintage video clips and mystery book reviews.

Visit Bill's web page for more on his Sheriff Dan Rhoades mysteries and his other extensive writings.

Read a great interview with Bill Crider by Steve Hockensmith (author of the Holmes on the Range mysteries).

Read the Sheriff Dan Rhoades Mysteries in order in order to catch all those nuances of character:

Too Late to Die
Shotgun Saturday Night
Cursed to Death
Death on the Move
Evil at the Root
Booked for a Hanging
Murder Most Fowl
Winning Can Be Murder
Death by Accident
A Ghost of a Chance
A Romantic Way to Die
Red White & Blue Murder
A Mammoth Murder
Murder Among the O.W.L.S.
Of All Sad Words

Who are you? The Jung Typology Test

In keeping with my Test Day Theme (Star Wars Characters on my games blog and What Flower are you on the garden blog...so many blogs, so little time!) here is a test which says it is based on Carl Jung's psychology and Myers-Briggs Typology. The Myers-Briggs folks will let you test online but they're all scientific and closed off about it and require you to email them to get an official test. Then they want to put you in a beaker and observe you. (joking)

I took the official Myers-Briggs test for a staff day presentation a few years ago, and for some reason, I did what my son did on the Star Wars test, I didn't answer honestly in order to skew the results so I didn't look like a, ya know, nutcase. When we were placed in groups with the other people who tested the same I knew I had really messed myself up because yikes...So not me. Taking the test honestly, I am INFJ. It really does suit me, so if you're dealing with me and often wonder what the heck..there it is, explained.

Take the Jung Typology test to see where you fit into the universe, and everything.

D.O.A.'s Current Reading Pile

Now that I'm done with my class I can return to my nice pile of to-be-read books (in no order, except I'm three fourths of the way through Of all sad words):

Of all sad words by Bill Crider
How to Ditch your fairy by Justine Larbalestier
Dragonhaven by Robin McKinley
Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
Chalice by Robin McKinley
The Risen Empire by Scott Westerfeld
The Killing of Worlds by Scott Westerfeld
The Midnighters Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld
Death in the air by Shane Peacock
The Case of the peculiar fan by Nancy Springer
Red Knife by William Kent Krueger
Playing with fire by Derek Landy
Canticle by R.A. Salvatore
The Best American Mystery Stories 2008 edited by George Pelecanos
Mistress of the sun by Sandra Gulland
The Goliath Bone by Mickey Spillane (and Max Allan Collins)
Elf Realm: the Low Road by Daniel Kirk
The Graveyard book by Neil Gaiman
Click: what millions of people are doing online and why it matters by Bill Tancer

With dire predictions of white stuff floating down from the heavens this weekend, I need a nice pile of books, a blankie, a beagle and some cocoa to make me forget snow can happen to anyone. Ho ho ho, happy reading.

D.O.A.'s Mystery Class Part Two: Out on the Web

Part two of the mystery class used Novelist and What do I Read Next as well as local and national sites that will help lead readers to new mystery authors. Here, in their rough hewn form, are the class notes:

What we are doing today:

Using subscription resources Novelist, What Do I Read Next, web sites and blogs to find good mystery authors.

To find Novelist and What Do I Read Next go to your Library Web site.

Novelist Plus: your guide to reading

Search by Author, title or subject

Search #1: Iron Lake
All Results: all books and reading lists with the words Iron and Lake in their titles
Books: Same information given, but only books listed by Novelist, not their recommended lists.
Author Read-Alikes: Suggested authors who write like your queried author. Only one is listed for the Iron Lake search: C.J.Box
Award Winners: Iron Lake is an award winning book. Other book awards that may appeal to you are suggested.
Recommended Reads: Suggestions for other titles you may like.

Iron Lake Detail Screen: Series and publishing information, author web site link, Subject Headings applied to this book. Click on any of those to find more books that are on this topic. Full reviews from professional review sources. Note FIND SIMILAR BOOKS in the middle of the screen. The check boxes on the next page allow you to customize somewhat which elements of Iron lake you liked and which you didn’t, so you can try to find more books like this.

Search#2 William Kent Krueger
All Results: All of William Kent Krueger’s books, plus results you might get from other searches within Novelist.
Books: William Kent Krueger’s book titles, plus two other MN author titles, minus the subject category results.
Author Read-Alikes: Again only C.J.Box
Award Winners: Other award winning lists are linked
Recommended Reads: Only a Murder anthology is listed
What We’re Reading: a Novelist contributor apparently was reading a W.K.K. novel in January of 2006. Note that no contributor’s have updated their “What I’m Reading” lists since December of 2007, at the most recent.
Series: Helps you identify if the novel is part of a series or a standalone novel.

Search #3 Author Read-Alikes
Alphabetical Listing by Author. Lists authors who have been covered in detail by Novelist staff. Describes their work in detail then lists and describes other authors who write similar books. Pick Authors A-B/Fiction-Non-Fiction, then click on Elizabeth Adler to see an example.

Noted:
Award Winners: Award winning books listed by category/subject
Book Discussion guides: Author biography, detailed book summary, questions for discussion
Feature Articles: Novelist does subject overviews and recommendations. Note on their main page they currently feature Gothic Fiction, Classics and 20th and 21st Century Works. (also they have a Mystery category and a Humor category within that)
Recommended Reads: Another topical list of recommended reading.


What Do I Read Next?

Search#1 Author Search: Monica Ferris
Use the “Name Contains” search. Note title list is not up to date or complete. Click on the selection “Betsy Devonshire series” to get a list of similar authors.

Search #2 Title and series search for Murder by the Month (no results), Mars Bahr (gives you a Tami Hoag recommendation, Besty Devonshire (long list of recommendations that are similar), Cork O’Connor (while Novelist only recommended C.J.Box as similar, What do I read next lists: Giles Blunt, Elizabeth Gunn, P.J. Tracy, David Housewright, Steve Hamilton)

Search#3 Help Me Find a Book Type: May Day, Pick Jess Lourey from the list. “No books were found containing the same set of topics as May Day. The title you have requested does not currently include subject terms. Please try another title.”

Twin Cities Web Sources

Sisters in Crime, Twin Cities Chapter www.twincitysinc.org

Useful for its list of Minnesota Mystery Authors, which is not up to date, but it is more complete than you can find elsewhere. No descriptions, just the list.

Once Upon a Crime Site www.onceuponacrimebooks.com
Author web links, nice for one stop linkage.
List of appearances

Minnesota Crime Wave www.minnesotacrimewave.org
William Kent Krueger, Ellen Hart, Carl Brookins
Newsletter, television show that is on local cable or can be viewed on the site—features interviews with local authors. These three are also behind the anthologies “Silence of the Loons and Resort to Murder” which feature established and new Minnesota Authors.

DorothyL www.dorothyl.com
Named after Dorothy Sayers
Mystery discussion list
Need to subscribe and discussion is emailed to you daily
Both readers and writers post on DorothyL
Reviews, recommendations, discussions

Cluelass www.cluelass.com
Dead as of September but site up temporarily.
Note Bloodstained Bookshelf, alas my all time favorite resource now gone.
Now links to Mystery Readers Journal and Fantastic Fiction sites.

Stopyourekillingme www.stopyourekillingme.com
Search by author, title, series, character. Hot linked to Amazon for book descriptions.

Mystery Readers International www.mysteryreaders.org
Subscription to Mystery Journal with membership. Discussion groups, mystery reading groups and bookstores listed.

Author Sites and Blogs

Note on blogs vs web sites: usually a web site is all information and it promotes the authors work.
A Blog is more personal, can be an online diary or random observations about any topic by the author.

Monica Ferris
Personal Site http://monica-ferris.com/
Appearances, contest! Information on the author and her books. She blogs with other authors on Killer Hobbies.
Killer Hobbies www.killerhobbies.blogspot.com/

K.J. Erickson www.kjerickson.org
Personal site but not updated since 2006

Jess Lourey
Personal site: www.jesslourey.com
She blogs with other authors on: Inkspot: a gathering of Midnight Ink Authors www.midnightwriters.blogspot.com


William Kent Krueger www.williamkentkrueger.com
Personal site includes Blog


Google Searches to try:

1. If you like (insert your author's name)try

2. (insert your author's name) readalikes


More Blogs with multiple authors to try:

The Cozy Chicks Cozy up to some killer Books www.cozychicksblog.com

The Good Girls Kill for Money Club www.good-girls-kill.com

Poe’s Deadly Daughters a blog for Mystery Lovers http://poesdeadlydaughters.blogspot.com

The Lady Killers http://theladykillers.typepad.com/the_lady_killers


General Mystery Web Sites

Looking for a mystery? www.sldirectory.com/mystery.html
Mysteries by time period, list of British mysteries, links to additional resources

Mystery Ink www.mysteryinkonline.com
Mystery and thriller book reviews, author interviews and more! Gumshoe awards site for best crime fiction writing.


Virtual Murder: what’s on the web for mystery buffs? www.barbarapaul.com/virtual.html
By Mystery author Barbara Paul (Marian Larch mysteries) Guide to mystery author pages, publishers, booksellers, magazines

D.O.A.'s Mystery Class Outline

By some miracle I successfully gave a mystery class last week that has taken up all my loose grey cells, thus no posts. I'm including the outline here because I think it could be easily adapted to other mystery sub-genres or topics, or it could even, horror of horrors, be used to do a class on Romance or something unrelated.

I was asked to do a class on Mysteries (no clue why, honestly, and what was I thinking to say yes), but I narrowed it down to Minnesota Mysteries, and further down to four popular sub-genres, and focused on four authors who write in those sub-genres. I have meant to read Minnesota Mystery writers widely for some time, and working on this class has gotten me started on that path. I wouldn't do the class again until I have alot more hands on readership under my belt, because I'd really like to be able to compare authors within the same genre as a starting point for discussion. Although even within a particular genre writing styles and focus vary widely, knowing what the sub-genres are and if you like the basic elements of a sub-genre or if you hate them, is a good place to narrow things down.

I wanted to provide information, discussion, and places to go beyond the class. Included in my talk are local area bookstores, and mystery specific discussion groups. I had 5 questions for each author, and to tie things together the last question for each author was, do they fit in the genre I placed them in, and would you read more books by this author.


Minnesota Mysteries from Cozy to Criminal


Introduction
About me and my mystery reading background
What to expect today
How I chose the topic
How I chose the books

Cozies
 Usually features a female amateur sleuth
 Occupation of sleuth can be anything
 Increasingly tied to a craft or hobby theme
 Typically set in a small town or village
 Suspects all know each other
 Gossip key to solving crime
 Sleuth often is close to a policeman, detective or medical examiner
 Sleuth not taken seriously by local police
 Part of a series but can be standalone
 Recurring side characters
 Sleuth and most side characters very likeable
 Usually “Gentle Reads” no graphic violence, no profanity, and no explicit sex
 Crime usually takes place “offstage”
 Often the “victim” was a bad person who “deserved to die”

Police procedurals
 Depict members of a police force, members of political entities that must be dealt with, coroners, psychologists
 Often multiple storylines and crimes
 Criminal often known or revealed at the beginning of the book
 Forensics, autopsies, warrants, interrogations ,day to day goings on in a police station are the themes
 “Real life murders” would be handled by local police
 May be made more realistic by “copies” of notes, maps, police report pages, testimony, diary entries, police sketches, all helping to establish a sense of realism, to give you a snapshot of how an investigation unfolds.
 Large cast of characters
 Can be street cop or detective
 Realistic dialogue
 Often brutal murders or action
 Main crimes solved at novels end
 May deal with social issues
 The city or town setting can be a character

Humorous Mysteries
 Can have elements of other subgenres
 Main ingredient is humor
 Humor arises from anything at all
 Can take place anywhere
 Murder can be most foul or offstage
 It can be anything but must have strong element of humor

Private detective
 Usually a professional who owns or works for an agency
 Likely a former police detective
 Not law enforcement, police, etc
 Solve the crime on their own, work alone
 Charges a fee for his services

Book Discussion: Framed in Lace by Monica Ferris

1. Do you feel that the mystery and craft elements are equal?
2. Was the murderer easily identifiable from clues given? I had these suspects: Martha Winters, Alice Skogland, Vern Miller, Carl Winters.
3. How do the Monday Bunch fit into the story?
4. Is Betsy a good amateur detective?
5. Does this fit as a cozy and would you read more in this series?

Book Discussion: Third Person Singular by K.J. Erickson

1. Do you feel the narrative unfolds smoothly, and that you only know what Mars Bahr knows as you read?
2. A police procedural should show the nitty gritty daily life of the police. Do you feel K. J. Erickson did that successfully?
3. There is considerable dramatic tension in the narrative until the sequence that turns to Bobby’s England visit. Did this seem natural or did it seem to interrupt the story? Was there another way this could have been woven into the tale? Were you convinced after reading this that Bobby could be the killer?
4. What did you think of the ending? Were all loose investigative and other end tied up?
5. Does this fit the Police Procedural genre and would you read more books in this series?


Book Discussion: May Day by Jess Lourey
1. What are some of the story and character elements Jess Lourey uses as points of ongoing humor? (Character is a librarian, her love life, sex in general, the mayor (name, side job), small towns, Minnesota, old people, law enforcement)
2. This story has what elements of a cozy mystery? What makes this *not* a cozy?
3. What was the first really funny scene for you?
4. Did you find this novel to be scary and suspenseful in parts? Do the scary suspenseful elements work with the overall humorous tone?
5. Does this fit the Humor genre and would you read more books in this series?

Book Discussion: Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger

1. Why doesn’t Darla LeBeau call the sheriff’s office to look for her missing son? Why does she call Cork?
2. Is Cork O’Connor a hopeless romantic? If so, how does it help and hinder him?
3. Jo O’Connor is motivated by what? Why does she fall in love with Sandy Parrant?
4. How do Indian mystical elements work within the story? Cork is a devout Catholic, does this make him more or less likely to be receptive to Indian lore?
5. Does this fit the Private Detective genre and would you read more books in this series?

How to find a good series, how to find more books and authors like the ones you read now:

Library Print Resources (display and booklist) We have books with list of series and authors by genre with descriptions. These are a good place to start:

Guides to Mysteries

Blood, Bedlam, Bullets and badguys: a readers guide to Adventure/Suspense Fiction by Michael B. Gannon

Critical Survey of Mystery and Detective Fiction (Magill)

Detecting Men: a reader’s guide and checklist for mystery series written by men by Willetta L. Heising

Detecting Women: a reader’s guide and checklist for mystery series written by women by Willetta L. Heising

The Encyclopedia of Murder and Mystery by Bruce F. Murphy

Encyclopedia Mysteriosa: a comprehensive guide to the art of detection in print, film, radio, and television by William L. DeAndrea

The Fine Art of murder: a mystery reader’s indispensible companion edited by Ed Gorman, Martin H. Greenberg, Larry Segriff

Make mine a Mystery: a reader’s guide to mystery and detective fiction by Gary Warren Niebuhr

The Murder book: an illustrated history of the detective story

The Oxford companion to crime and mystery writing edited by Rosemary Herbert

Read ‘em their writes: a handbook for mystery and crime fiction book discussions by Gary Warren Niebuhr

Silk stalkings: when women write of murder by Victoria Nichols and Susan Thompson

Finding a new mystery author, fiction sources:

Death on Demand Series by Carolyn G. Hart

The Silence of the loons: thirteen tales of mystery by Minnesota’s Premier Crime Writers

Resort to Murder: Thirteen More tales of mystery by Minnesota’s Premier Crime writers

Ellery Queen Mystery magazine

Alfred Hitchcock Mystery magazine

Strand magazine: the magazine for Mystery & Short Story Lovers

Check the local paper for author appearances:

St Paul Pioneer Press You will get a good feel for an author and their work and what authors they like as a source for new authors to read. It really is nice to meet the author in person.

Minneapolis Star Tribune (authors appearances) same

We are incredibly lucky to have two mystery specialty bookstores in this area:

Mystery Bookstore: Once Upon a crime
Well read mystery focused staff, author readings and signings, book group led by Minnesota Crime Wave authors William Kent Krueger, Ellen Hart and Carl Brookings. In March they have an all day long Saturday event called Write of Spring. Mystery authors appear, talk about their books,sign autographs, answer your questions (why did you kill off my favorite character, why don't you kill off this character I can't stand...) Great event to meet authors and fellow readers.

Mystery Bookstore: Uncle Edgars
In the same building as Uncle Hugos Science Fiction bookstore. Knowledgeable staff, new and used books, author events. We have their publication in our mystery section. You may get this list emailed to you, with new books and reviews of mysteries by the owner.

Read the award winners:

Edgar Awards Annual Best Mystery Etc. Also Malice Domestic, etc.

Mystery Book Discussion Groups

There are many general book discussion groups, but if you are an avid mystery reader, there are groups just for you! Indulge your love of mystery by attending one or more discussions:

Ramsey County Library Shoreview
RCL - Shoreview Mystery Book Group
Third Tuesdays at 7 p.m., Third Thursdays at noon (bring your lunch)
"If you enjoy reading mysteries, consider coming to one of our Mystery Club meetings. Newcomers are always welcome! Meetings run about an hour and are held in the Shoreview Meeting room. If you come to the Thursday group, feel free to bring a brown bag lunch. If you have any questions, please see Lynette at the Circulation Desk."

Ramsey County Library - White Bear Lake Mystery
First Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m.


St. Paul Public Library
Hamline Midway
1558 West Minnehaha Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55104
651-642-0293
Saints & Sinners Mystery Book Club
Meets at 1:00 p.m. on the first Saturday of every month.
E-mail gerrib@earthlink.net for information. Please include "Saints & Sinners" in the subject line.


(Hennepin, Washington,Dakota,Scott,Carver no Mystery specific group)

Once upon a Crime Mystery Book Discussion
REGULAR EVENTS: Sisters in Crime meets the first Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m., excluding July and August.
The Crime Fiction Reading Group meets the second Wednesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. except June, July, and August.

Clews and Brews
Third Wednesday of the Month at the Chatterbox restaurant (back room) at Cleveland and Ford Parkway in the Highland Park neighborhood of St. Paul at 6:30 p.m., in the back room. Dinner is ordered since it is in a restaurant. Meetings are usually about 2 hours long. Author appearances four to five times per year. Newsletter typically twice per year. No December Meeting. For more information contact Kathy at the Paperback Exchange 612-929-8801