Pork Barrels, Not Pigskins

It’s that season again: two stalwart teams, shoulder pads in place, power ties tightly knotted, preparing to face off on the field of battle. We’re not talking about Superbowl XLI, we’re talking the United States Congress CX.

Andrew Lee, a student at Claremont McKenna College, started FantasyCongress.com in 2005. Lee’s hope was to capitalize on the success of the fantasy sports league system in order to encourage civic participation in government. The philosophy of Lee and his partners/fellow classmates is “if people cared about...government as much as they care about football, then we might have a better government.”

Teams are composed of 4 senators and 12 representatives. You can’t have an all-star team, though (everyone would pick Rep. Don Young (R.-AK), the Peyton Manning of the 109th Congress). Team members are chosen from different categories based on tenure in Congress. But please don’t count the rookies out. Rookie of the Year, Rep. Piyush "Bobby" Jindal (R.-LA)’s total points almost put him in the top 10 of the representatives.

Each step of the legislative process garners a certain amount of points, from an anemic 5 points for merely introducing a bill to a whopping 50 for the legislative touchdown: having a bill signed into law. The site provides tools, such as links to news articles, to help you determine your team picks. An interesting feature of this league-type system are the stats that are generated. Sorting the individual members of Congress according to points accrued shows some lackluster players, such as Rep. Grace Napolitano (D.-CA), who managed a meager 6 points, a dubious distinction considering her four terms as representative. By comparison, the aforementioned Don Young scored an impressive 2,041 points.

The season begins when the 110th Congress convenes on January 4, 2007. Start drafting your teams today.
 

While thousands of quality authors go unnoticed in the stacks and stacks of novels available at your library or bookstore and sell only a handful of copies, there are a few who are making it big.

This year was a bonus year for a handful of authors breaking into the Forbes list of top earning celebrities. This year’s most well paid author? Dan Brown. Brown’s Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code continue to sell extremely well. The Da Vinci Code is now the best selling book of the decade, enough to earn Brown $88 million last year. That astounding figure is enough to place Brown #9 on the overall celebrity top earners list, after the likes of Steven Spielberg, Oprah and Tiger Woods.

Not far behind is J.K. Rowling, who pulled in $75 million last year to place her 11th on the celebrity money earners list. Rowling has the distinction of being the first billionaire author from her books, movies and merchandising.

James Patterson, thriller author, comes in at #49 with a not too bad total of $28 million. The third author on the celebrity list is still above the money earning power of thriller actors Leonardo DiCaprio (#56) and Kiefer Sutherland (#59). The last 16 of his books were #1 best sellers.

The fourth author on the list is the unlikely Rick Warren, the author of The Purpose Driven Life, which sold 24 million copies. The minister ranks 56th (tied with the above mentioned DiCaprio) on the list, well above Sean Combs (#72) and John Grisham (#62)!

So if you’ve been tossing around the idea of penning the next thriller, mystery or young adult fantasy but have been putting it off, maybe these amazing earnings will spark your interest a little more.
 

San Antonio easily cracks the top 10 in terms of city population, but is nowhere near the top ten when it comes to literacy rankings. Central Connecticut State University released their findings evaluating cities with a population of 250,000 or more. Seattle, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Washington, D.C. and St. Paul, MN make up the top five most literate cities in America.

The study analyzed six important factors: newspaper circulation, number of bookstores, library resources, periodical publishing resources, educational attainment and Internet resources. These six factors were selected to give an idea of how people in those cities use their literacy skills.

San Antonio has increased its ranking, up two points from last year, but still rounds out the bottom of the 70 city list at #62. Dr. John W. Miller, president of Central Connecticut State University believes that the rankings are not the end of the discussion; more important is what cities end up doing to “promote the kinds of literacy practices that the data track.”

Think about getting involved at your library, joining a book discussion group or starting your own! When is the last time you put your library card to use? Come in and check out our new arrivals, collection of audiobooks, or even check out magazines at your library today!
 

Don't Forget the Tail

In this season of reminders and resolutions, don't forget a good tail. On January 18, 1882, the beloved author Alan Alexander Milne was born. This year, we celebrate the 125th anniversary of the author's birth. Winnie-the-Pooh is a celebration of a young boy named Christopher Robin and his animal friends—Pooh, Piglet, Tigger and Eeyore & his tail.

While A.A. Milne is chiefly known for children's literature, he started and ended his writing career focusing on adults. His first job was writing as an assistant editor for the British magazine Punch in 1904. He fought during WWI and wrote some classic satirical plays during the late 1910s. These plays were in the drawing-room tradition of Oscar Wilde and faced limited success in a world changed by war and industry.

Winnie-the-Pooh was inspired by a real bear. A.A. Milne took his son Christopher Robin on a trip to the London Zoo, where the young boy was gently introduced to Winnie, an American black bear. The last name of the bear, Pooh, came from a pet swan at the Milne's Cotchford Farm. Four children's books that remain popular today are: When We Were Very Young, Winnie-the-Pooh, Now We Are Six, and The House at Pooh Corner. They are illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard in a beautifully simple style.

By the 1940s, Milne shifted his attention away from children's literature into writing novels, short stories, plays and pamphlets. However, his notoriety as a children's author made pursuing other writing difficult. Publisher's wanted more and more children's stories from him.

Today, the characters in Winnie-the-Pooh are beloved by children around the world and have crossed over into popular culture. So whatever your New Year's resolutions, don't forget to follow in the gentle footsteps of Pooh and his animal friends.

For Children

• The Brilliant Career of Winnie-the-Pooh: The Definitive History of the Best Bear in All the World by Ann Thwaite
• The Complete Tales of Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne with decorations by Ernest H. Shepard
• Three Cheers for Pooh: The Best Bear in All the World by Brian Sibley
• Winnie-the-Pooh and Some Bees by A.A. Milne with illustrations by Ernest H. Shepard

For Adults

• Behind the Lines: A Book of Poems by A.A. Milne
• The Dover Road: An Absurd Comedy in Three Acts by A.A. Milne
• First Plays by A.A. Milne
• A.A. Milne: The Man Behind Winnie-the-Pooh by Ann Thwaite

FEATURED Staff Recommendation

Stephanie Holman (Library Aide, Carver Library) shares some favorite reads.

Currently Reading
Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah

Book That Made Me Think
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

Suspenseful Page Turner
Illegal Affairs by Sheila Harvey

Favorite Children's Fiction
Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? by Dr. Seuss

Favorite Non-Fiction Children's Book
The Talking Eggs by Robert San Souci

FEATURED Database

Check out all our databases.
 

FEATURED Event

SAPL Events

If you have any questions about the library or would like to see something included in this newsletter, please contact our Web Administrator at librarywebadmin@sanantonio.gov.

Unsubscribe  | Subscribe