Review: Salt Lake City Public Library

A vital part of any thriving metropolis is its public library. Of course, this opinion is coming from a former English major, so it may be tainted, but I believe it to be valid. After all, my love of books came from the frequent trips made to the public library in which my mom encouraged each of my siblings and I to check out our own books with our own library cards. I would imagine that many families have the same tradition. So, I feel validated in my claim that the library is an important part of any city.

Yesterday afternoon I took my niece (almost 3 yrs old) with me on my first trip to the Salt Lake City Library. I had heard that it was impressive and that it had a good children's section, so I went to find out for myself. Before leaving and a number of times on the way there, I reminded my niece that in the library we need to use our quiet voices. I was a little on the nervous side since I didn't know if she would be bored or not and, consequently, how much noise she would make. Turns out, my worries were unnecessary.

The first place we went to was the children's section. Since it is its own floor (smart planning on their part) the noise level wasn't so much of a worry. Secondly, I had trouble convincing her to explore the rest of the library. They had a few different rooms that were strictly for playing. One, called "The Attic" had a ton of fun little architectural elements, such as low, exposed beams, exposed brick, etc., that made it feel as though it were an attic in an old farmhouse or something, even though we were in the basement of the building. There were a number of stairs and steps all lined with carpet which she had a blast scooting along.

Once I had convinced her to leave that Attic, we discovered another little room with a row of computers, all placed at child's size, as well as another playroom. Similar to the attic room, this one was called "glacier ice" and was appropriately decorated with stairs and steps through which she could explore. Most impressive to me, however, was the selection. There were as many bookshelves in the children's section as there were in the adult general fiction section.

In addition, the young adult literature was on another level of the library. This was an excellent decision! Most young adults do not wish to enter into the adult sections of the library because they anticipate them being boring or too difficult to read. However, they do not wish to be associated with children. Having the young adult section on a separate floor helps to make the distinction that they are more advanced, more mature readers, which fosters self esteem and encourages reading.

While the selection in various genres of non-fiction was not as impressive as other libraries I've seen, it held its own. There were also ample places to comfortably sit and read as well as the various computer stations and laptop work stations. Along with the coffee shops on the first floor, the library was a very encouraging environment to sit and read—unless of course you were distracted by the threat of paying $1.25 per half hour for parking. (Thankfully, the first hour is free.)

The most impressive aspect of the Salt Lake City library, however, has to be its architecture. The entrance is not just a vaulted ceiling, it is the only part of the library with no floors above it. When you enter, on either side of you, you see 5 floors of glass walls towering above you on either side. Even the elevators and the stair walls are glass. I suggest that if you are afraid of heights, you take the elevator and stare at the door! :D

Overall, I found the Salt Lake City Public Library to be a beautiful building, with beautiful accommodations. If you can find a cheaper place to park, it's a wonderful way to spend a day.

Let's Talk Twilight

Quite a bit of attention has been paid toStephenie Meyer's best-selling series. Teenage girls—and let's be honest, even quite a few mom's I know—love it. Academics and professors scoff and turn up their noses. My unofficial survey has turned up very few lukewarm fans. Most readers either love it and believe that Meyer can do no wrong, or they hate it. Let's take a look at both sides, shall we?

To be perfectly honest, Meyer's prose is somewhat less than appealing. When read aloud, it becomes laughable. If the book were Meyer's attempt to enter the literary cannon, I would agree wholeheartedly with those snide academics who see no value whatsoever with her work. But, take a look at her intentions.

Meyer fully and wholeheartedly admits that the first book in the series was nothing more than a personal exercise for her imagination. She had no original intention to publish. And to those who criticize her grammar and typos, well, those criticisms should be aimed at her editors rather than the author herself. This admission also negates the criticisms that she should have been more aware of her young adult audience by making the messages her readers took from her books more positive. Again, she did not originally intend for the book to be published and the reason her book is categorized in the young adult section is simply because the protagonist is a high school student.

Now, about the teenage fan base. I will readily admit that the cultish following that the series has produced has grown to disgusting and unhealthy levels. However, such levels are encouraged and promoted within our consumeristic culture (another discussion for another day). When there is an entire industry based on the invasion of celebrities' privacy rights and the goals of our citizens, as individuals, usually revolve around emulating certain aspects of celebrity lifestyle (be it cosmetics, clothing, what have you), it is only natural that the economic powers that be would capitalize on the idealization of fictional characters. We see it with Harry Potter, High School Musical, and Hannah Montana. (Personally, I believe all of these fascinations to be unhealthy, but give props where they are due. If Meyer had been a failure as a character writer, such phenomena would not be seen.

Stephenie Meyer's greatest strength is her ability as a character writer. She posted on her website various exercises in characterization that she started, one of which evolved into her newest "novel" Midnight Sun (part of the first novel from Edward's perspective).

So what does this mean for the upcoming film? Well, since the greatest strength of the books is the characterization—which is almost impossible to develop on screen to the same extent as in a novel—the film will probably not appeal to any broader of an audience than the already existing fanbase. Secondly, because a film is an artistic venture in its own right and adaptations cannot simply be "the novel on screen," there will be a great many variations from the novel itself. Because of the fanatic level of devotion most fans have, I cannot foresee them being very forgiving about variations.

My prediction is that the film will do outstandingly well in the first week or two, then drop very suddenly in popularity and quickly go soon to DVD to be forgotten within a few years.

Starting Out

For quite a while, I have had the desire to be a critic--in fact, I have even been told by others that I should be a critic. In conversations with those around me, I evaluate everything from films, to books, to restaurants, and even products I use every day. This isn't because I belive my opinions to be more valuable than any one else's or anything like that. More because I often find it helpful to be able to get information on something before I try it, whether that is reading a review before I go to a movie, buy a book, or buy a product. This research doesn't mean I change my opinion based on one person's review. Instead, I try to get as much information about something as possible, simply so I know what to expect. After the purchase is made or movie watched, I also enjoy finding out who agrees with my assesments of things and who does not.

Since I enjoy reading critiques as well as discussing my opinions with those around me, I decided to enter the blogosphere and give everyone else one more opinion to help them gather their own research. I hope you all enjoy it and I look forward to writing many more entries.