Happy Cinco de Mayo!

If you're looking for a book with Mexican flavor, I just finished reading Flora Segunda : being the magickal mishaps of a girl of spirit, her glass-gazing sidekick, two ominous butlers (one blue), a house with eleven thousand rooms, and a red dog by Ysabeau Wilce, which was on the Tiptree honor list last year. This year, the sequel, Flora's Dare is. You can find both of these in the teen room.

But what is the Tiptree?

The James Tiptree, Jr. Literary Award is "an annual literary prize for science fiction or fantasy that expands or explores our understanding of gender". It's named after James Tiptree, Jr, which was one of Alice Sheldon's pen names. Unlike the Nebula and the Hugo, this award is decided by a panel of judges, though anyone may recommend a book or story for consideration.

This year the winners of the award are:

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. I borrowed this through interlibrary loan and read it over the weekend. It's very good, but ends on a horrible cliffhanger! The next book won't be published until September. This is a young adult book, but, again, don't let that stop you from reading it. Surely it says something about the quality of YA books that they keep winning non-YA specific awards.

Filter House by Nisi Shawl. This is a collection of short stories and I'm still in the process of reading it. A 'collection', by the way, differs from an 'anthology' in that it's a book of short stories by one author, instead of short stories by multiple authors.

You can find what the judges thought of these works and the honor's list for this year on The Tiptree Award website. The library has a number of the books and series on the list, if you'd like to read them.

I also highly recommend the three Tiptree Award anthologies. Past winning and shortlisted short stories are compiled along with excerpts from the novel winners and essays by big names such as Ursula K. Le Guin and Joanna Russ. The library has all of them.

The James Tiptree Award Anthology 1

The James Tiptree Award Anthology 2

The James Tiptree Award Anthology 3

And when you're done reading those, you can check out James Tiptree Jr. : The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon, by Julie Phillips

Happy reading!

Looking for a job can often be a confusing, frustrating, or scary process but it does not have to be. Our library has just published a new brochure Job Search & Career Change Resources @ your library. Take a look at it online or come into our library to pick up a paper copy.

And this Thursday (May 14th at 6:30 PM) at our library, Susan Henry, a certified career development advisor, will present a seminar that includes:

• The latest trends in the on-line job search market
• How to create a resume that will be read and acted upon
• Why we still need cover letters
• Creating and honing your personal network
• The best on-line search engines
• .. and if time permits how to get the appointment for an interview

Feel free to bring your current resume and cover letter for review if you have one. The program is designed for people who have lost their jobs and those who want to be prepared just in case. The program is free but registration is required. Click here to register.

Susan Henry is a resident of Atkinson, NH and a Certified Career Development Advisor who recently retired from a multi-faceted career. She holds a BS in Human Services & Psychology (Springfield College) and Master's Level Certification in Career Development (Plymouth State University). She has presented sessions around New England.

And the Nashua Public Library recently ordered a variety of new books about job hunting including internet job searching, resumes, cover letters, interviewing and more. You may wish to take a look at a few of these (you can place a request for those books that are on order and be notified as soon as they arrive at the library):

Career building : your total handbook for finding a job by Careerbuilder.com.

60 seconds & you're hired by Robin Ryan.

Amazing résumés: what employers want to see--and how to say it by Jim Bright and Joanne Earl.

How to say it on your resume: a top recruiting director's guide to writing the perfect resume for every job by Brad Karsh with Courtney Pike.

Finding a job by Facts on File.

Knock 'em dead / The Ultimate Job Search Guide by Martin John Yate.

Knock 'em dead résumés: smart advice to make your online and paper résumés more productive by Martin John Yate.

Knock 'em Dead Cover Letters: Great Letter Techniques and Samples for Every Step of Your Job Search by Martin John Yate.

Guide to internet job searching by Margaret F. Roehm Dike.

Job-hunting online: a guide to job listings, message boards, research sites, the UnderWeb, counseling, networking, self-assessment tools, niche sites by Mark Emery Bolles & Richard Nelson Bolles.

150 best recession-proof jobs by the editors at JIST and Laurence Shatkin.

300 best jobs without a four-year degree by Michael Farr and Laurence Shatkin.

Gallery of best résumés for people without a four-year degree / for People Without a Four-Year Degree by David F. Noble.

Resumes for the 50+ job hunter by the editors of McGraw-Hill.

Acing the interview: how to ask and answer the questions that will get you the job by Tony Beshara.

Have you ever wondered what happens to your online accounts once you pass away? It's a little morbid, I admit, but something we do need to think about. With social networking, online billing, email, and online shopping, we have multiple online accounts. When we pass, there's a good chance all of our user names and passwords will go with us to the grave.

I never thought about it until I heard a technology story on this topic on NPR's All Things Considered. Privacy policies are very important; they protect us. But, once we are gone and a loved one is legitimately trying to access our accounts, they are a roadblock. What happens if your significant other did not remind you of his or her password?

The NPR story featured a company called Legacy Locker. It allows the person or persons you designate to obtain your passwords. You create an account indicating not only your user names and passwords, but also the people whom you want to get the information. In the event of a death, a customer's verifier must report the death to Legacy Locker. Customers choose two such people who would be able to confirm your death and have access to the appropriate documentation. Once your death is confirmed, the service notifies the beneficiaries of the information. In effect, you have control over who gets to see your emails and financial accounts.

Legacy Locker has a limited free plan, but if you want to include more than 3 accounts or more than one beneficiary, you will have to pay for the service. If you think it's worth it, or if you're intrigued, take a look at the company's website.

Hot off the presses...the winner of the 2009 Flume: NH Teen Reader's Choice Award was just revealed at the New Hampshire Library Association's annual spring conference. This year the teens again supported a NH author when they voted, Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult as their favorite read of the year.

For those of you not familiar with this award, let me share a little history. It was initiated in 2005 when a group of high school students requested they have their own state award similar to the Isinglass Award for middle school students. They wanted an award where they nominated the titles and voted on the winner, so that's what we gave them. The only role librarians have is promoting the award as well as narrowing the large amount of nominated titles to a final list of 13 to be voted on.

If you know a teen in grades 9-12 who loves to read then you'll want to make sure they've heard of this award. What better way to help them pick the next book to read than to see what their peers recommend?