I guess I should address the connection between Club Book and me/MinnPost, but in all honesty, I know nothing about it. I'm a very occasional freelancer who contributes occasional posts on books/libraries topics because I like books. I apologize to my editors for not investigating before I wrote on the topic, but they know they don't pay me enough to follow the scene in any detail. I am aware that there's some other book content on the site, but I haven't read it; I'm too busy with parenting and working, and I just don't have time. I'm using my Mother's Day "gift" of a couple hours of kid-free time respond to Hal here to 1.) let you know that I didn't write about Gaiman out of some secret allegiance to the Book Club thing, whatever it is. (And really, I don't know, and don't have time to investigate. My kids will be coming back any minute now.) and 2.) I want to defend Neil Gaiman. I don't know by what measure one becomes something more than a "niche" writer, but with his books for kids, Gaiman definitely transcends the niche he was in as an adult writer. (I have read his kids' books, but not his work for adults.) I guess you'd need to be a parent, a kid, or someone who works with kids to understand the magnitude of his presence in the genre. I would venture that every literate pre-teen in America is familiar with his books, or the movies made from his work. When I think about who the most "famous" writers in the Twin Cities are, he is certainly in the top 5, along with Kate DiCamillo, another Newbury award winner. And to me, as someone who thinks reaching young readers is even more important than adult readers, it struck me as smart that these two writers were included in the series. Other commenters suggested that the money should have gone to buying books, which is certainly true in theory, but in reality, the money was in a dedicated pool allocated specifically to events programming. Yes, they could have spent it on a summer reading programs, but I think the Friends groups have already taken care of that, and to be honest, I don't think those programs are all that effective. (Sorry, librarians.) Kids won't get excited about reading if you give them charts and stickers; they'll be excited about reading if they read a really good book. It'll make them want to read another. The Harry Potter books were great for that, and on every list of "what to read next," Gaiman's books come up. He may not be writing for your demographic, but he is most definitely one of the most important writers we have in these parts, both in terms of his talent and in terms of his ability to get kids reading. If the librarians has chosen a lesser-known writer, the tax payers wouldn't be any richer. (And remember, he re-donated most of the fee, and no one was surprised he did.) But the overall quality of the series would be diminished. Gaiman is a "rock star" in the literary world, and he lives here, so we may as well get to hear from him.

And since the minivan hasn't returned yet, I mention sports because of the connection between the stadium and this pool of library events funding dollars. We wouldn't have one without the other. Personally, I wouldn't have voted at all for this bill, considering the economy, etc. But here it is. It was sold to me as a bill that supports Minnesota's quality of life. We have major league sports, we have a vibrant arts scene, and we have good outdoors recreation opportunities. And these things make this a good place to live, and therefore good people want to live here, and therefore smart companies want to headquarter here so they can take advantage of these kinds of employees and therefore that increases the tax base, quality of life, etc. OK, fine.

And now the minivan is back, so I have to go. I won't have a chance to check back here, so if you want to yell at me some more, Hal, you can catch me via Facebook. I'll be happy to respond.