Hudson River Valley Heritage

For my job lately, I have been doing alot of searching for online digital collections by New York Libraries. One of the best sites was developed by the Southeastern Library Resources Council and is Hudson River Valley Heritage. Its a great example of digital searchable archives, and there's lots of neat things. My favorites are the old postcards and maps. I looked for an old map of the area where I grew up, amd my town isn't even on it! Some of the surrounding towns are, and even some of the really old streets are labeled. It's kind of neat to imagine what the town might have looked so long ago, maybe just a couple of dirt roads some farms? Or more likely just woods...

Books, Part 2

When I came across The Gunseller, by Hugh Laurie, I decided to give it a try, since I like Hugh Laurie. House, M.D. is one of my favorite shows, and I have laughed at some Jeeves and Wooster. I did not expect too much, and was pleasantly surprised with the first half of the novel - it was readable, witty and interesting. Unfortunately, the plot took a few twists and then lept forward with little explanation, and I was left behind not understanding what happened. I kept reading, hoping this was a style choice and the explanation would come, but it didn't. The motivation behind the choices the main character made is left for the reader to determine, but I don't think we know enough about the character to make those determinations. It's almost like the 2 halves of the book are 2 diiferent stories, both enjoyable on their own, but only loosely tied together.