Comments on: What’s In Your Library?

By: Kristina Chew, PhD

Kristina Chew, PhD — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 23:53:51 +0000

@dkmnow,
thanks for the overview and the suggestions!—-and thanks to Barbara and all—-also good holiday gift suggestions here……..

By: Barbara

Barbara — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 23:43:02 +0000

I’ve made a list and checked it twice! Thanks so much for hosting this discussion, Kristina!

By: dkmnow

dkmnow — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 18:50:12 +0000

The SGC Library System has an exhaustive collection of all the very worst “autism” books available, with Jenny McBunny’s pedestrian screeds being among the most popular (Greene County is, after all, the home of the NAA). They also have a quite impressive selection of the merely mundane.

But they do have a smattering of good titles that seem to have slipped in under the radar. Every month or so, I suggest a new title for acquisition, and they have yet to disappoint. The most recent addition included in its dedication such names as Kristina Chew and Kathleen Seidel, among others…

By: Lindsay

Lindsay — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 02:02:54 +0000

One of the libraries in our county has its own used bookstore, one that sells books people have donated. On the shelves there I found Daniel Tammett's autobiography Born on a Blue Day, which I bought but haven't read yet. That library also has several books by Temple Grandin, and Stephen Shore's Beyond the Wall, though it also has two of Jenny McCarthy's books. (Ack!)

By: Phil Schwarz

Phil Schwarz — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 22:00:35 +0000

Several really worthwhile books recently published:

– Paul Offit’s _Autism’s False Prophets_, as mentioned already above;
– Roy Grinker’s _Unstrange Minds_
– Ralph Savarese’s _Reasonable People_

And then a couple that should be in libraries because pricing (in one case) and availability (in the other) works against their gaining the circulation they deserve through Amazon or bookstore sales:

– _Sharing Our Wisdom_, eds. Sandra McClennen, Ph.D, & Gail Gillingham — an anthology of writing by autistic adults and young adults, most of whom communicate by keyboarding. It’s available through the University of New Hampshire’s Institute on Disability.

– _Autism and Representation_, ed. Mark Osteen, Ph.D — an anthology of essays from a groundbreaking conference held back in 2005 at Case Western Reserve University, by people in several different fields, ranging from anthropology and sociology, to literary and film criticism, to neuroscience, about the ways in which we conceptualize and respond to autism. The anthology was published by Routledge academic press, but it’s priced as a textbook, which unfortunately is a disincentive for widespread sales to the general public. (Full disclosure: I am a contributor of one of the essays in this volume. And so is Kristina. Neither of us derive royalties from its sale.)

By: autismville

autismville — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 19:20:22 +0000

The Flutie Foundation has provided a wonderful resource in our local library. Some of my personal favorites are:

-Susan Senator’s Making Peace with Autism
-Lynne Kern Koegel’s Overcoming Autism
-Anything by Temple Grandin
-Stephen Shore’s Autism for Dummies
-Pete Wright’s From Emotions to Advocacy

By: Marla

Marla — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 13:29:40 +0000

We visit our library a few times a month. It helps that our library is very nice. We can put books on hold on the computer which I love doing…makes it so much easier.

Autism Life Skills by Chantal Sicile-Kira is now one of my favorites.

By: Laura

Laura — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 00:37:22 +0000

Our library has some really great selections for reading on autism and a lot of what they don’t have, I can get through a local non-profit’s library – you give them your request, they send out the book with a pre-paid postage envelope included to send back in two weeks. Not a bad deal.

By: Leanne

Leanne — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 00:06:07 +0000

My tiny rural library has no books on autism that I’m aware of. But they consider Patrick an important member of the community and do everything they can to accomodate his needs when he’s visiting. I’m going to read ‘My Best Friend Will” next, I think.

By: Barbara

Barbara — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 23:01:50 +0000

I was thinking about Son Rise today (while driving) – wondering if it fit in with any current thinking. I read it – had to have been 25 years ago, or more. Since you have it coupled with JM’s book, I take it that Son Rise went down the alternative path?

The two books next to my bed right now are: Asperger’s from the Inside Out by Carley and The Complete Guide to Asperger’s Syndrome by Attwood. I read slow – so if these are poor references, just let me know and I won’t bother.

We live in a fairly large city, and the library system is broadly stocked. Our family gets its city taxes back on library use alone.