Lynn’s Comments (group member since Mar 27, 2020)

Lynn’s comments from the Sagasu group.

I was fascinated by the fact that there were enough musical scores to borrow so a group could play. Over time there were so many changes with all the additional activities added to their responsibilities. I couldn't believe that she even went to an ALA convention for her research. I went once to present a paper and was overwhelmed by the numbers of people and vendors. Thank heavens the presentation was in front of a smaller group. Not that interesting for most?

Homelessness is a problem that the downtown library has tried to address by opening early on Sundays. With the current situation that can no longer happen. I'm sure the librarians never had this in their job description when training. I did take classes to the planetarium way back when. I participated in Golden Valley's all read one year, The Latehomecomer, by Kao Kalia Yang. The library invited her to speak and then sponsored a trip to MIA to view artwork related to the book. Otherwise I used the library for personal and professional use. I still have those crates that I hauled books in for my classroom for each unit.

Wow, I can't imagine wiping each book down before re-shelving. I would have needed more than one volunteer each day. Reading about the smoke-filled books reminded me of when we moved back into the remodeled media center and many of the books had gotten wet while being stored on trucks and thus had mold. The smell was not good, but I needed to inventory them for insurance purposes. That goes so slowly that I never did find out if they were replaced since I retired in June.

I really liked how she chose book titles which were a prelude to the chapter. It was interesting when I actually recognized a title. I have come to the conclusion that I don't like reading books that have a back and forth format.

I like history, but I felt she spent too much time on the quirky individuals. Once again it is the politics of the job. I was intrigued by the fact that 80% of the users are men and 80% of the workers are women. I guess I was surprised by the high number of male users, thinking it would be more even.

I had 3 quotes in chapter 9, one of which Vicki mentioned. "There where one burns books, one in the end burns men" by Heinrich Heine sent chills up my spine. "Destroying a culture's books is sentencing it to something worse than death: It is sentencing it to seem as if it never lived."

I can never forget that smell of smoke after my dad's manufacturing business burned down. And it's the cloud of suspicion until the reason for the fire can be found that's difficult.

I thought Harry was a drifter who wanted attention. I wish there was more information about him to create more of a mystery like she did in The Orchid Thief. The different alibis brought the attention he wanted, but weren't conclusive enough to directly involve him. I did think he started the fire, again to draw that attention. Having experienced two fires in my lifetime, I was really surprised that I didn't remember hearing about this fire since I have a great fear of fires.

In grade school the library was a small closet at the top of the staircase. A few were able to go in at a time. It was more fun to go to Dayton's book department to pick out books to buy. In high school I spent time going by bus to the Minneapolis Library on 10th and Hennepin, promising my mother I would go no further into town since I was wearing slacks on a Saturday morning! Summers included a weekly trip to pick books by one author before going onto another one. Then came college--no reading for pleasure!
Sandy, fun to read your comment about the checkout cards. I do that at our church library because we still have them.

It's hard to see a mental breakdown when you are in the midst of it. It's that stepping outside of yourself to see what it is. I can't imagine the fear she would have after reading the email from her mother sent to Erin and the knowledge that she had to get away. Once again it was not safe to be at home, even though her father said, "I love you" as she was walking out.
The fact that her mother would not see Tara unless her husband could come with was very hard to understand. I kept wondering if the fact that her business was flourishing was the motivating force that their way was the right way.
In talking about her father I was moved by, "It is a change in the self. I am not the child my father raised, but he is the father who raised her."

Tara had so much ability and the drive to persevere. She taught herself algebra. She listened to others around her at BYU and they were generally helpful. She learned from her mistakes. She had to put aside many of the ideas from her upbringing which was difficult, but a real learning experience. I liked what she said about education--opening yourself up to a variety of ideas. She is continuing to do that as she is doing research following her PhD.

I was really bother by the abuse from Shawn, often with family present. Was it permitted because of the role of women in their church? Is her attitude that Shawn hated himself more than she could one that permeates other domestic abusive situations and then allows it to continue? I know she was young, didn't have that trusted adult at school to confide in, but I can't imagine that her mother or grandmother couldn't help.

One of the values she learned from her family was that of hard work. I think she also realized that she did not want to follow the life path that her mother had: marrying young, having children and being a midwife. Being the youngest she learned from others. Her comment that one of the older brothers taught her how to read, maybe as a bet. She was a very observant person and picked up a lot of ideas and could sort them out developing her own frame of reference. Her paternal grandmother took a special interest in her. The basic tenets of her faith of respect stayed with her so when choosing what to include she only chose those which were important and included a footnote when other members of the family remembered it differently.

I definitely read Educated as a novel, actually in one day. Despite the horror of some of the events, I thought the prose was lyrical in many places. Her descriptions of the area and my love of the mountains put me right there. The mountains tend to be somewhat isolating so I felt that the family could live the way the parents chose.