two pages shy of 1600
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM!
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I haven’t really written a good deal here about my school program (I’m shy); in short, this term we’re doing intro to library science for non-librarians and intro to copyright for non-lawyers (it’s an over simplification, but that should help you understand what I might be reading this term). It means I’m reading anything and everything that could be related even remotely (or not) to the above two topics. As well as anything else I get my paws on. As Yarn Harlot herself reminded me, “Obsession is normal”.
Knowledge Management : Libraries and Librarians Taking Up the Challenge, edited by Hands-Chrstoph Hobohm (220 pages)
This is a compilation of papers presented at major IFLA conferences between about 1997 and 2004. It includes the “seminal” paper by Thomas H Davenport and Larry Prusak, “Blow Up The Corporate Library” (a reprint from 1993). It leads through some evolution of the definition of “knowledge management” and what is meant for libraries. I enjoyed this volume, which I randomly picked off the shelf after wandering through the stacks one afternoon before class, as it clarified more of the evolution to current knowledge management.
A Social History of Knowledge: From Gutenberg to Diderot by Peter Burke (268 pages)
I pretty much skimmed through this volume and returned it last Monday. Sadly I did not take notes at the time and will attempt to take it back out tomorrow as there were a few quotes I’ve been thinking about and would like to properly record them. It deserves more than my cursory glance. I do recall it was quite detailed in the history and gave great sociological examples. Plus it explained common books better than I had heard any other place. Ok. It’s late. I’ll stop now. This is not English. I will probably not write any more here on this tome. If you are curious of the sociology of knowledge, I do think this is a comprehensive historical survey.
Chinese Lessons by John Pomfret (315 pages)
This is an interesting look at the life of both Mr Promfret and several of his classmates from Nanjing University History Class of 1982. At first I thought it was quite disjointed and I didn’t like how it broke up the stories, but as I progressed through, I saw a more cohesive picture of a China that I am struggling to understand. Mostly my readings on China have been based from a Chinese female perspective so it was quite nice to read different views. I do recommend it, despite my earlier reservations.
Life on the Fringe : A Feminist Journey Toward Traditional Rabbinic Ordination by Haviva Ner-David (255 pages)
While I do not feel at liberty (due to many complex factors) to say all I would like to about this memoir, I urge you if you’ve been thinking of reading this to do so now. Please feel free to email me privately if you would like to discuss more of my impressions. I may or may not directly answer, but I will at least try to acknowledge your question in a timely manner and let you know if I choose to enter discussion with you. Please do not take offense if I chose to be silent. I have my own personal reasons. It saddens me GREATLY to take this path, but I must.
Knitting Rules! by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (224 pages)
At Knit’s End : Meditations for Women who Knit too much by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (316 pages)
How could I not go see Stephanie without reading her books? This woman is hilarious. I wish she was my big sister (she’s the right age). You muggles (non-knitters) mostly likely wouldn’t get half of it; as you other muggles probably don’t understand half of the Jewish things I say; as soon, I suppose you muggles (those not in my degree program) won’t understand what I say about THAT. (I know there are other categories of muggles out there).. At Knit’s End is a collection of 316 pages of small witticisms and thoughtful quotes, which well… E is looking at me funny STILL. [he’s coding again (btw have you seen the updates to his site? He’s added links to googlemaps. It’s really cool). I will let it go, and not mention the uhm 12 balls of crochet cotton I brought back from mum’s today. BTW I FINISHED FETCHING!!! in the car. On CR58 about 6 miles from her house. I hope she likes them. Pictures on Wednesday.] Knitting Rules! is 224 more pages of humor and quites a few helpful charts such as “WPI = weight = gauge”, “Needles sizes in US, UK, and metric” (quite useful for this girl who inherited more crochet hooks than she can label. er, I’ll let that explanation hang in the air for now..), how to swatch on circ’s (this WILL save my life), and “basic scarf yardage requirements” (which should help this crocheter learn how much to buy correct yardage and stray beyond the printed pattern).
I have oodles more to read (and write) for class this week and some leftovers from last week. I also have lots of other books begging me to take a nice long bath and enjoy them. They are sirens! Tempting tempting sirens.