Everything is Illuminated

I just finished Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer. Wow. Truly wow. I haven't read such an orignal, interesting, intriguing, thought-provoking book in a very, very long time. It's not the type of book that flows easily, in fact at times during shot-gun dialogue where the main character was translating between English and Ukrainian, I was confused as to whom was actually speaking. The time period also changes causing me to make a mental shift. However, it's one of the few books that I will eventually read for a second time. This is the type of writing that will make other books seem ordinary and droll.

Part of the book is written by Alex, a Ukrainian teenager, whose English is unconventional and I'm sure he always writes with a thesaurus nearby! Passages made me laugh out loud! It was fun to figure what words he really should have been using. "It was rigid to converse." Huh? Oh! "It was hard to talk about it,"!!! He is also a funny, compassionate character, bragging about his nonexistent sex life and showing such pride in his younger brother, Little Igor.

But the book isn't just a comedy, it weaves in family history, love stories, heart-wrenching decisions and Nazi invasions. At times it got so intense, I had to put it down and take a little break.

The thing that really got me about the book was how raw and original it was. It was like listening to a very early Springsteen song - passion and energy pouring out in his voice, lyrics, his person. Foer was only 24 when he wrote Everything is Illuminated. Raw talent full of passion. It's amazing that someone that young can write like that, but maybe only someone that young can write like that. Springsteen is much more refined now. He's still passionate and full of energy, but it's different. Experience and maturity has changed his style. 

I haven't read Jonathan Safran Foer's latest book, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. I'm curious to see what affect experience and maturity has had on his writing. I hope time and experience haven't polished his edges and muted his imagination.

Korean Pride!

Today was UN day at school. My 10 year old daughter Brenna was really excited about dressing up in her American garb. She also wanted to wear something Korean, but we didn't have much - a We Are Reds bandana was about it. On Wednesday a Korean mom and friend, In Young, came into the library. I asked if she had anything Korean that Brenna could borrow for UN Day. I was thinking maybe a T-shirt or Korean flag earrings or something. 

This morning she brought in the most beautiful, traditional Korean dress and GAVE it to me for Brenna. I was stunned!  She had it custom made for her daughter, but it doesn't fit her anymore. In Young picked out all the fabrics and she still remembers her daughter getting measured for the special dress. The dress was obviously very special to In Young and I was honored to be the recipient of such a special present.

Brenna is very proud of being Korean. She loves Korean food, even though it doesn't contain bacon!!! When I showed her the dress her eyes lit up. She couldn't believe it was for her. She opened the box on the bus ride home to get another peek. She showed it to friends on the cramped elevator. She tried it on and proudly looked in the mirror. She happily smiled for pictures. She tried it on again when her Korean father got home and walked across the hall to show the neighbors. 

The dress is much too big for Bren right now, but both she and the dress are gorgeous. How fantastic that she has such pride in her heritage and how generous of In Young to give her such a special present.

Facebook Spreads Like Fire

A friend of mine finally set up a Facebook account. She not a real techie and was one of the last hold-outs from my group of friends. She joined at 6:29 and already has 11 friends. Her list of friends includes family and friends in Canada, along with local friends here in Shanghai. In a matter of about 2 hours, she connected with people on 2 continents - writing posts on walls, chatting, adding friends. 

I bet she'll double or triple her friends in the next couple days. I'm sure she'll see loads photos of her nieces and nephews in Canada, her friend's wedding this summer, another friend's baby in Colorado, photos of a trip to Europe...the list will be endless. I wonder how many chats she'll have in the next week?

I didn't join Facebook right away because I was just too busy to add one more "thing", one more obligation to my life. I heard people at work talking about poking people or getting slapped with a fish and that didn't interest me at all. Actually, it still doesn't! I rarely do those gimicky apps on FB. I don't play super hero games and send people digital plants. I'm actually a Facebook dud, in that regard. (Although I did send my husband a Slurpee gift since we used to go on Slurpee dates when we were poor college students!) 

However, I'm a Facebook diehard now. For me, Facebook means connections. I login and quickly know what people are up to, just by looking at their status. I can view pix and comment on them quickly and easily. I recently became Facebook friends with a friend of mine from high school. We both graduated from The American School of the Hague. She's Australian and we hadn't been in touch in over 20 years. I just looked at her photos from her trip to Phuket where she put a snake around her neck! Now that I have time for!

(Hey, she just got another friend! That's 12 and counting. Not too shabby for a tech novice!)

Tweet me!

I recently got a Twitter account. Then, of course, I had to install Thwirl so I could get tweets all day long. I've entered the world of twittering, twirling, tweets. My mother would be so proud! She'd be totally confused, but proud nonetheless!

I started following people with similar interests - mostly librarians and tech people. I follow colleagues and friends, too. I love getting tweets from my peeps! People started following me. Most I know, some I don't. Twitter makes it really easy to network, in an almost creepy kind of way!

My tweets pop up with a gentle "bing" sound, alerting me that someone has something really important to say. Something they have to share with all their followers. If they've written it and sent it out, it must be worth my time. "Just had a cup of coffee. Needed the jolt." Hmmm. Not what I expected. 

Hence, I have a love-hate relationship with Twitter. I have to sift through a lot of useless messages to get a golden tweet that actually has good information. But they're there, if you're willing to sift through a little digital chit-chat.

I joined Diigo because of tweets. I watched a video about school reform and checked out a virtual library when people I followed sent informative tweets. Twitter was invaluable during the Learning 2.0 conference. When someone would create an "unconference", they would send a quick message with the details. "Librarians unconference at 11:30. Meet in front of the MS building." Twitter is the perfect tool for this situation. Excellent use of technology.

The golden tweets keep me coming back for more. I guess I'll keep sifting out the coffee talk!

Single Mom and Cell Phones

Well, Mike went to Chengdu on a school "China Alive" trip. He'll be home on Friday evening. So I'm a single mom for the week. Not as fun as it sounds! The morning dance of getting everyone ready for school is different without a dance partner. But modern technology keeps everyone in touch. I texted him this morning to grumble when the school bus didn't show up and he texted me before he went for a spicy dinner. I'm sure he'll text "good nights" and "I love you's" to me and the kids before the day is done. How nice to be able to stay connected so quickly and easily while we're far apart.  :o)

Library Thing!

I was reading TLC = Tech + Library + Classroom where I learned about Library Thing. What a cool sight! You can add books you're reading and have already read and they show up with the cover of the book. You can get recommendations and reviews for similar books or connect with other readers with similar taste. I'm obsessed with adding every book I've ever read! My library continues to grow and grow. I'm not sure I'll use the chat feature, but I'm already reading reviews and recommendations for book that I want to read. Great site! Thanks, Tara!

How Life Can Turn Upside Down in No Time At All

Jolly

Sometimes life shows you who's in charge and, no surprise, it's not me. I often discover this truth when things don't go my way or turn out the way I anticipated. Life is unfair. I've heard that since I was a little girl. My parents weren't trying to be mean, they were just stating facts. Most of the time, the unfairness is annoying, but tolerable. Last week "unfair" took on a whole new meaning. 

Jolly was my library TA for 3 years. She was fun, positive, intelligent, hard working, kind, helpful - the list of positive adjectives can just go on and on. She smiled and laughed more than anyone I know! She was fantastic to be around. We never had a disagreement or even an uncomfortable moment. If we had a problem, we brain stormed solutions and picked the best one. Problem solved. 

Jolly passed away 2 weeks ago, very unexpectedly. It doesn't seem like it's been 2 weeks already. Just by coincidence, I've been out of the library for much of the 2 weeks. I had Critical Friends Group training and then we were on vacation. Being out of the library and keeping my mind on something else has helped me through. Tomorrow I'm back at work, in the library, without Jolly. It'll be a tough day. Grieving isn't a fun process. I hope that time really does heal.

Blog Dilemma

I can't figure out if I should be creating a personal blog - talking about my life, my family, what's important to me - or should I stick with professional topics and talk about books and technology. Who's really going to read this? Will I have an "audience" that anxiously waits for my every post? Probably not. I should assume I'm writing for myself, as a form of express and cheap therapy! 

If I'm writing for myself, I don't want to box myself in, so I'll make it a personal blog. I can write about books and technology in a personal blog, but I can also write about the funny things my kids do or what's happening in my life. There! My first blog decision has been made. I feel better already!

I can send the links to my family and friends and see if anyone has the time to see what I have to say. Do I have much to say? I guess I'll find out!