Two books completed

Finished September 28
The Practical Library Manager by Bruce Massis
I've been slowly reading this one for a while and I did find the information on core competencies useful, but a lot of the rest of it wasn't very helpful to me, at least not where I am working presently. The idea of a technology needs survey was interesting, but the one they had as a sample in the appendix was not anywhere like what we would be looking at in terms of needs. We are all technologically literate here, it would be learning more about 2.0 technologies that would be something that we would want to do. Borrow it and get what information is useful to you from it, but I would say that it isn't really worth buying.

Finished September 27
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
This is a very different book, and I found it a bit slow going, mostly due to its format. It is written as that which is spoken by one character, mostly reviewing to someone he has just met his experiences at school in the United States, in his first job there, and how he came to be back in Pakistan. The speaker is a male Pakistani native from a upper-class family fallen on hard times and the person he is talking to is an American who is visiting Pakistan, but not as a tourist. The second person does occasionally make conversation back to the speaker, although we don't hear exactly what is said. We get the gist of it from the context of the speaker's word and know it is fairly limited. It is unclear why the speaker feels the need to give this information, and also why the listener feels compelled to stay for the several hours necessary to hear him out. The story is one of a man trying to fit into a world that he eventually realizes he doesn't fit into. The listener is wary and nervous, yet listens. I find myself asking questions about the book afterwards, revisiting it in my head. This is definitely one that makes you think.