News and views from the Subversive library action on a spaceship
Actually, Grease Monkey by Tim Eldred (GN E124g) is a graphic novel about about two spacecraft mechanics, one of whom is an 800-pound gorilla. His assistant Robin, a human male, is looking for romance and finds it in the persona of the spaceship's hates-her-boring-job library assistant Kara. Though there are serious library and librarian stereotypes going on here, I love the way Robin woos her and tries to improve the library at the same time.
If you can't read the small print, here's the best bit:
Kara: "What kind of freak puts his own books in a library, checks one out the next day, then comes back asking for more?"
Robin: "I came up here a few weeks ago looking for science fiction and fantasy. They didn't have a single title. Not one. What lousy excuse for a library doesn't stock science fiction and fantasy? Why do you think nobody comes in here?"
Kara: "You mean...you actually planted books to improve the library?"
Robin: "This ship is full of stiffs. And they're all in need of some imagination."
If you can't read the small print, here's the best bit:
Kara: "What kind of freak puts his own books in a library, checks one out the next day, then comes back asking for more?"
Robin: "I came up here a few weeks ago looking for science fiction and fantasy. They didn't have a single title. Not one. What lousy excuse for a library doesn't stock science fiction and fantasy? Why do you think nobody comes in here?"
Kara: "You mean...you actually planted books to improve the library?"
Robin: "This ship is full of stiffs. And they're all in need of some imagination."
8 Comments:
Heh... I wonder if OUR Robin would do that...
nice.
Ahem...
Our library is in dire need of improving their own scifi-fantasy section.
There are lots of them... but they're all written by illiteraate five-year-olds, it seems.
Uh oh. Bring on the suggestions, Joy!
You want a list?
Because that could go on for a while...
Um, to start...
-Rhapsody trilogy by Elizabeth Haydon
-A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin
-Anything by Jack McDevitt or Sheri S. Tepper, at least one of C. J. Cherryh's later ones...
And please, please don't accept any more large boxes of Piers Anthony books. He's one of those illiterate five-year-olds. More books does not equal better books, usually...
Just for a start. =)
I can't tell you how grateful I am to know that librarians can take this in the spirit intended. Thanks!!
-Tim Eldred, author
Absolutely! And I can't tell you how grateful I am to have an author comment on this blog!
Joy, we're working on your list. It might amuse you to know that there was a time when we couldn't keep those Piers Anthony books on the shelves. They were incredibly popular, especially with younger boys (surprise, surprise). We actually have a lot fewer than we used to have because they simply wore out from use...
Sweet.
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