Quandry du Jour

Being a librarian you sometimes find yourself stuck with burning questions that you don't have time to research. Here are my current ones:

Middlesex
Why is Middlesex (by Jeffrey Eugenides) still one of the bestselling and most-checked out library books? It seems to be on the reading list of everybody and their dogs. I confess, when it first came out I put it on my reading list. And there it has sat for years.

Maybe it's just me. Maybe I'm just burned out with the endless debate about GBLTQ/Heterosexual, Religious/Personal sexuality good/evil/neither, nature/nurture, and what kind of activist stance should one take about any of it. Or maybe the Smyrna genocide attacks in 1922 are just too, too sad for me to even think about. Or my boredom with coming-of-age novels anyway for the most part.

I suspect it truly is a great piece of literature. And I think it's good that people are thinking about all of the topics above, even coming-of-age novels. It's just with the current political and religious climate I find this book an unusual choice.

Any maybe that's it. Maybe I'm underestimating my public. Maybe the religious and political climate isn't as far to the right as I think. More to ponder, more to ponder...

Jodi Picoult
I tried to listen to Vanishing Acts. I really did. Maybe it's not the time for me to listen to poignant tales about a girl's relationship with her Dad and family secrets. Or maybe she's just too sad for me. Maybe I'll revisit her in the future because my readers sure like her.

Erotica
Is Erotica being mainstream really a good thing (see Publisher's Weekly 7/9/07?) What's the point of erotica if it isn't just a little...forbidden? Big surprise that it sells and sells. Duh.

Most importantly, what does this mean to me, Ms. Fiction Librarian???

There, those are my quandries du jour.