Newsletter 2671 Issue 267120084114209

News

PLA Conference a Hit in Minneapolis
More than 10,000 librarians and exhibitors thronged to the Public Library Association National Conference in Minneapolis. Guest speakers included keynoter John Wood, founder/CEO of world literacy outfit Room To Read, and RA maestro Nancy Pearl. » » »

EBSCO Embraces Nonfiction with NoveList Plus
EBSCO has upgraded its popular RA tool: the new NoveList Plus includes more than 60,000 nonfiction titles plus other new goodies. Genres covered include adventure, art & entertainment, biography, and much more. » » »

RWA Names RITA and Golden Hearts Finalists
The Romance Writers of America have revealed the titles vying for this year's RITA and Golden Hearts Awards. Winners will be named at the RWA's August con. » » »

Blogs

LJ Reviewer's Profile

Corey Seeman
Review count: 62

From his oeuvre:

• Behind the Book on Judy Karasik & Paul Karasik's The Ride Together
• Paul Collins's Not Even Wrong
• Roy Richard Grinker's Unstrange Minds

LJ's first and longest-running reviewer to specialize in books on autism spectrum disorders, Corey Seeman is the father of a 12-year-old son with autism and understands why just one book won't do for parents working to grasp this highly individual disorder.

As the director of the business school library at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Seeman could probably tackle the latest blockbuster management book by an Iacocca or a Trump. But as Seeman says, “Assignments in the workplace will come and go, but being the parent of a child with high-functioning autism is something I will always have. I stay very active and very interested in what's being published in this area.” Click here for complete profile » » »

Wyatt's World

Wyatt's World: Russian Reading

• Volk's Game by Brent Ghelfi (Picador)
• Monstrum by Donald James (Random)
• Murder on the Trans-Siberian Express: A Porfiry Petrovich Rostnikov Novel by Stuart M. Kaminsky (Mysterious Pr.) (You may want to begin at the start of the series with Death of a Dissident.)
• Stalin's Ghost by Martin Cruz Smith (S. & S.) (You may want to begin at the start of the series with Gorky Park.)
• Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith (Grand Central)

Review

Evanier, Mark. Kirby: King of Comics.

Evanier, Mark. Kirby: King of Comics. Abrams. Apr. 2008. 223p. illus. index. ISBN 978-0-8109-9447-8. $40. Biog

“Jack Kirby didn’t invent the comic book. It just seems that way,” declares Evanier opening his intro to this much anticipated and slightly delayed (from ‘07) celebration of comics’ god Jack “King” Kirby. If you read superhero comics in the 1960s, ‘70s, and ‘80s, you’re probably familiar with his distinct work even if unfamiliar with Jack. Name a book in both the Marvel and DC universes and chances are Kirby created it, drew it, or otherwise had some creative input. His unique drawing style took the standard two-dimensional comic look and added another level of depth almost instilling motion, with characters seemingly bursting off the pages. Evanier, Kirby’s assistant and long-time friend, guides readers on a tour of the innovative artist’s life and work. Born Jacob Kurtzberg in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, Kirby drifted through a variety of art jobs under assorted aliases until finding his perfect niche in comics, where he continually revolutionized and reinvented. Along with a quite readable text, the book is a treasure trove of Kirby art, presenting more than 200 color and B&W drawings, from sketches to pages of completed stories. More than a decade after his death, Kirby continues to influence, and Evanier’s Kirby: King of Comics offers an insider’s portrait of the artist who was the genius of his field and to his legions of ever-loyal fans is the mightiest superhero of all. Well worth the wait. Essential.

—Michael Rogers, LJX/LJ

Xpress Reviews

Xpress Reviews—First Look at New Books
Anderson and others' Negotiating the Special Education Maze, Jo Frost's Confident Baby Care, and other reviews just in!
» » »

Highlights

Opportunity Out of Turmoil: Automation Marketplace 2008
After previous years' company consolidations, '07 proved rocky for ILS vendors, but demand for next-generation catalogs and open-source solutions creates new possibilities. » » »

Lifecycle Librarianship
LIS professor Bill Crowley contends that to become an integral part of patrons' lives, the library community must “escape the information illusion” and concentrate on “helping patrons in their reading and lifelong learning effort.” » » »

Editorial: Memoir or Make-Believe?
The recent rash of fraudulent memoirs has readers, publishers, editors, and reviewers all pointing fingers over who's to blame for duping the public, but the real responsibility lies with the authors for presenting lies as truth. » » »

How Do You Manage: The Blog Hog
How to handle a staffer who always has to have the last online word? » » »

Best Sellers

Job of the Week