Splendid Failures

Creepy high school girl in the attic?

2010-01-25T14:12:00.004-05:00

So most of my blogging time is spent on the work blog The Wild Rumpus but I came back here fully intending to post about my most recent YA reading. I just finished Madapple by Christina Meldrum and Bliss by Lauren Myracle. Of course I just spend a good chunk of time deleting spam from the comments and now this piece of crap computer I have seems to have slowed to a crawl. Argh. Anyway, since I finished Bliss I've been thinking about all the "possessed" teenage girl books I've read the past year and how in some ways possessed girls are the new "mad woman in the attic" of YA . Sort of just starting to ponder this. I don't really have any concrete thoughts as of now. If anyone has any thoughts on the topic, let me know.

L'Shana Tova

2009-09-28T11:52:00.003-04:00

I'm watching Yom Kippur Services online since I'm off of work today and Josh didn't love the services we went to last year. I am actually really enjoying these. They remind me a lot of the temple I grew up going to. But wow, my grandparents would be so confused by this!

Busy Busy

2009-09-04T11:12:00.002-04:00

I've been spending most of my blogging time on my work blog, The Wild Rumpus. Plus, I'm picking up some more programs at work. But I am slowly making it through the pile of ARCs from ALA and I'll try to at least comment on them as I go.

I just finished Another Faust by Daniel and Dina Nayeri. One of our teen volunteers read it before me and she recommended it. I found it a bit hard to get into and slow in parts. Attractive cover, but not really as suspenseful or as funny as I was hoping. Oh well.

Now I am working on Capt. Hook by J.V.. Hart. It's not a new release but somehow I missed it when it came out. Well, I'm loving it so far. It's my lunch time reading so it's going a bit slowly but it feels more like I'm savoring it than plodding through.

Oh and in the car I'm listening to Dairy Queen. Another amazing book I seemed to have missed. I am almost done and I've already got The Off Season on CD checked out. And I have the ARC for the third book. So I'll be posting more about that when I'm done.

Wow, I better get reading now!

Toaster Envy

2009-08-19T19:55:00.003-04:00

Our current toaster tends to burn things and the crumb tray is crap. It just drops crumbs all over the counter and attracts mice. So I'm looking into getting a new one. Since the one we currently have was a cheapy Target purchase, I'm contemplating splurging on a nicer toaster. I'm loving the design of this Bodum toaster but it is rather expensive.

Any recommendation?

More fun things to do with old books...

2009-07-22T08:51:00.002-04:00

Another cool use for discarded books! At the library the teens will be making journals from the horrible fairy tale books I weeded last month. I want to make one and then I want this headboard.

Get well Stella!

2009-06-14T11:02:00.002-04:00

My favorite baby is in the hospital with a nasty virus that's keeping her dehydrated and in need of an IV. We visited her last night and in case you've never been to a children's hospital, let me assure you it is one of the saddest things around. Poor little munchkin, feel better!

Mystery Solved

2009-06-02T19:39:00.002-04:00

I forgot to mention that I figured out what caused those strange bruises. It was climbing in and out of the window that leads to our roof. We've put some tomatoes and herbs out there and you have to climb out the window in order to water them. Sadly, I am so wimpy that this causes me to bruise. How does one toughen up one's skin?

For a much better review than I could write...

2009-05-31T14:35:00.004-04:00

of the Coraline musical check out Elizabeth Bird's review. Yeah, pretty much what she said. I'm in total agreement about the actress that played Coraline. However I did wish that the Other Mother was a little more menacing and a little less campy and while I agree that for the most part the staging was done well, there were a couple of instances (like the final attempt to get back the key and get through the door) where I thought that I would have done things differently. (Ha, that just shows that I think I'm an expert on EVERYTHING!)

Oh and I have a better celebrity sighting. Though we had none at the theater, the next day we did see Tim Robbins on the street!

Coraline Musical

2009-05-27T17:55:00.003-04:00

I saw the Coraline musical in NYC this past weekend. I enjoyed it and thought it was a good mix of creepiness and humor. However, like the Coraline graphic novel and (though I haven't seen it, I imagine) the movie, it wasn't as amazing as I imagined it in my head. I've mentioned before that that's the problem with loving a book so much; no one else has the exact same vision as I do. Still I would highly recommend seeing it if you can. Just be aware, with some very interesting casting choices and music by Stephin Merritt of The Magnetic Fields, it is not your typical musical theater!

I know someday we will look back in shame...

2009-05-27T17:49:00.004-04:00

Thanks for the link Erin. And thank you for this post Libba Bray. So eloquent it made me a bit teary reading it.

Evidence

2009-05-21T11:11:00.003-04:00

Last night as I was getting ready for bed I looked down and found long purple bruises streaking down the back of my leg. I guess someone must be beating me in my sleep, I joked to Josh. But this morning there's more bruises and then there's the case of my mysteriously skinned elbow. So what's going on? I think it's the yoga I've started doing. No, I'm not doing yoga on a bed of nails either. I am simply the worlds biggest klutz. Seriously, I once cut myself on a piece of chocolate. So skinning my elbow while getting into downward dog, isn't really as odd as it sounds. I am tempted to use this as an excuse not to exercise, but I guess the elliptical machine can't really hurt me. Oh wait, I once got my foot stuck between the pedals of one of those things! Hmmmmm....

Coraline, the Musical

2009-05-14T11:48:00.001-04:00

I really, really, really wish I could see this!

Here a Blog, There a Blog...

2009-05-13T09:43:00.002-04:00

I've been keeping busy at the library, working on a new blog for the youth services department: The Wild Rumpus. Check it out and please let me know if you have any suggestions or feedback.

And the winner in the Battle of the Books is...

2009-05-06T17:34:00.002-04:00

The Hunger Games! Lois Lowry's explanation is pretty funny. You can read it on the SLJ BoB site and read all the reactions. I guess this means I have to read The Hunger Games . Not that I didn't want to read before. I'm just lazy. I should read Kingdom on the Waves too.

Alas, this mean that I did not win the bracket at work. It also means that I will be baking chocolate cupcakes with whipped cream frosting (preferably pink) and sprinkles for the co-worker who correctly called the winner. Of course she had to pick chocolate! It's going to be hard not to eat one!

Australia here I come!

2009-04-29T23:49:00.002-04:00

It is just not my day and while my reasons for having these petty, negative emotions are pretty silly, I can't help it. I'm stuck. I'm having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

To fight the Monday blahs...

2009-04-20T09:56:00.007-04:00

I learned how to score a final four bracket. Now I can actually keep score at work as we follow SLJ's Battle of the Books. So far I'm in the lead, though that is bound to change since Frankie is out of the running. I'm thinking I'll bake cupcakes for everyone at the end and the winner gets to take the extra cupcakes home. Unless it's me. I'm trying to do the whole healthy eating and exercising thing again after the long sluggish winter I've had. So no cupcakes for me!

Battle of the Books Update

2009-04-15T16:22:00.006-04:00

Well, I'm out of the running now. We Are the Ship beat out The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks and I had Frankie pegged as the winner of it all. I got too cocky. I was so sure Rachel Cohn would pick Frankie. Still I've picked all the other winners so far. I think I should get credit for that.

SLJ's Battle of the Kid's Books

2009-04-14T15:32:00.004-04:00

The battle has finally begun. Check it out over at School Library Journal's Battle of the Books blog. At work we've all filled out our brackets and I'm happy to say that I've predicted the first four winners correctly! Go me!

For my fantasy library...

2009-04-02T19:17:00.002-04:00

(yes I'm nerdy enough to have a fantasy library) another cool bookshelf.

I can't get enough Twilight snark...

2009-03-29T19:31:00.002-04:00

and it makes me even happier in comic form. So awesome.

Reactions to the Wild Things Trailer

2009-03-28T12:16:00.002-04:00

Slate's XX Factor on the realease of the Where the Wild Things Are movie.

Part of me is in agreement with the XX Factor posting. But then, part of me is really excited to see how this experiment turns out. There are many children's book that I never want to see translated to film. That's one reason I still haven't seen Bridge to Terabithia. I'm not sure why I'm cautiously at peace with CGI Wild Things. But that's the best way to describe it for now.

First week impressions...

2009-02-28T17:50:00.003-05:00

The new job is going really well so far. Cherry Hill has such a beautiful library. It's huge and nice and new. The whole top floor is reserved for youth services and there's a giant story and craft room. Plus, I love that I get to do collection development again. I've really missed that part of being a librarian since my last job centralized the whole process. There's just something really fun about buying books.

I'm sensing a theme here...

2009-02-19T17:32:00.002-05:00

2009 may be the year of the dead best-friend. Dear friends of mine, please don't worry. I'm not planning on offing anyone! I love you all and want you all safe and sound. I'm merely speaking of a pattern I'm seeing in the world of YA publishing. I just finished Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson and this is the third book I've read this month about a self-destructing girl with a tragically dead best-friend. First there was You Know Where to Find Me and after that, Love You Hate You Miss You.

I find this theme troublesome. I know that self-destruction has teen-appeal. I remember my friends and I passing Go Ask Alice around in middle school. I'm glad that these books are at least better written and less sensational than Go Ask Alice. Still, I'm much more at ease with Frankie Landau-Banks style narcissism than I am with these pill-popping cutters. I worry that if the plots of these three books are so similar, is the message being sent that all teen girls are ticking suicidal time bombs? This is not really a new thing though. There have always been books like this. Maybe I've just managed to coincidentally pick up three in a row. I think the rest of my ARC pile is historical fiction and fantasy though. So hopefully there will be no more dead girls for a while.

Need

2009-02-09T18:15:00.003-05:00

I just finished Need by Carrie Jones and I wish I hadn't bothered. It's a poorly written rip off of Wicked Lovely. Bah.

More Coraline Reviews

2009-02-07T08:14:00.001-05:00

here and here.

The reviews are coming in for Coraline

2009-02-06T14:34:00.004-05:00

There's a review up over on Slate. I am cautious. I'll have to see it before I make any judgments but this worries me:

It's impossible to get into just why and how Coraline's last third falls apart without giving away too much of the story. But it's not revealing to say that Coraline's enchantment with the alternate universe needed a more gradual rate of decay for the shift to be convincing.

I was discussing with Josh about this earlier. I said that the previews made me think that Coraline's initial foray into the Other Mother's world is too pleasant in the movie. Josh argued that that's true to the book; Coraline likes it there at first. I don't know. I felt like from the very beginning, the Other Mother's universe was slightly threatening and sinister. I guess that speaks to the genius that is Neil Gaiman. He manages to create a world that is both delightful and full of unease.

Can you tell I'm ecstatic he won the Newbery?

Sometimes I miss Miami

2009-02-06T12:39:00.006-05:00

But today I'm left shaking my head over the ongoing battle between the school board and the courts over Vamos a Cuba.

This article is interesting because it points out several of the passages that opponents of the book object to. Some of the points seem validly inaccurate. For example:

A page that describes paintings on rocks in a Cuban valley, which the book says were ''made by people who lived in Cuba about 1,000 years ago.'' Opponents said the paintings were made in the 1960s.

Others seem, well, nit picky.

A section on food mentions white rice as the most common food and arroz con pollo as a favorite dish, but does not discuss Cuba's shortages and strict rationing.

I'm ambivalent about the book's value. No, what worries me is something else. Do you know how much has been spent on this legal battle? Over $250,000!

I'm on the YALSA Intellectual Freedom committee. Our committee is presenting a program at ALA's Annual Conference in Chicago titled "Walk the Line: The Fine Line Between Selection and Censorship." So, I've been thinking a lot about the difference between selection and self-censorship and I think the thing about self-censorship is that it comes from a place of fear. And it's really easy to say that everyone should just be fearless and not worry but $250,000 is a lot of money to spend over one book. This has become a battle between organizations with major cash flow. Librarians still lose their jobs defending intellectual freedom. It does happen. There are scary groups out there with lots of money behind them. They can afford prolonged legal battles. So for me being on the IF committee is about all fighting that fear while at the same time making sure people are aware that there is reason to be afraid!

City of Glass

2009-02-06T10:16:00.004-05:00

I'm forcing myself to put down City of Glass for just a moment to post about it. OK, I'm on the epilogue so really I'm done but I couldn't put it down before. Even if the plot is predictable, even if the snappy dialogue sometimes makes me roll my eyes, this book is totally addictive. If nothing else, Cassandra Clare has got pacing down pat. I don't care that this is total wish fulfillment. I don't want to stop.

And now I must get back to that epilogue...

What I'm doing with my last few days of free time...

2009-02-05T18:59:00.003-05:00

is making my way through all the ARCs I brought back from ALA midwinter. So far I've finished a collection called Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd, Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr and You Know Where to Find Me by Rachel Cohn and I'm starting City of Glass by Cassandra Clare. I was thinking about re-posting my Goodreads reviews up on this blog but that's kind of repetitive and I can sum up my thoughts in just a few sentences. Geektastic was a little uneven but overall AWESOME. Highly recommeded for anyone who is a self-described geek, which is most everyone I know. Fragile Eternity was a great set up for the next book but not a very good stand alone novel. You Know Where to Find Me was neither as heart breaking nor as good as I hoped it would be. But it wasn't bad. Just not remarkable. I think City of Glass will be a fun read though. Cassandra Clare isn't the most brilliant writer I've ever read but this series is addictive. Then, after this it's either the new E. Lockhart or Need by Carrie Jones. And I have a whole giant box of books still in the mail. I better get busy!

New Job!

2009-02-05T12:38:00.001-05:00

All that finger crossing paid off because I got the job! Yay for being a full-time employed children's librarian!

Stephen King, you better watch your back

2009-02-04T10:18:00.002-05:00

I am worried that you may be jumped in an alley by an angry gang of 15 year old girls and their mothers for this.

2nd Interview

2009-01-31T12:50:00.002-05:00

I made it through round two of the interview process for this youth services job. I think it went well but I am awful at judging how interviews went. Anyway, fingers are still crossed!

Rabbit at Rest

2009-01-30T08:30:00.003-05:00

I been so immersed in the world of kid-lit this past week I didn't hear about the passing of John Updike until now.

ALA Youth Media Awards

2009-01-28T20:23:00.004-05:00

There were many great things about ALA midwinter but being in the room when they announced the Caldecott and Newbery was just the coolest experience. The link to all the award winners is here. I don't think there's much point in re-listing all the winners. I'll just stick to commenting about the ones I've read.

As far as the Newbery goes, I'm overjoyed that Neil Gaiman won The Graveyard Book. And it's not just because I love his work and treasure my signed copy of Coraline. I cried at the end of The Graveyard Book partially because it was a bitter sweet ending, but also because I didn't want it to end. I was a bit surprised that After Tupac & D Foster won a Newbery Honor. I thought that it had some major flaws. I did love the gay brother in that book though. He was such a compelling character that I was almost willing to overlook the fact that the book had no plot.

I actually have not read the Caldecott winner but I really enjoyed A Couple of Boys have the Best Week Ever and I'm glad Marla Frazee at least got an Honor award for it. It is a great example of a picture book where the illustrations are an integral part of the story.

The only award I tried to call ahead of time was the Prinz. I predicted Tender Morsels would take it. I personally would have picked the The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, by my new favorite author, E. Lockhart, but I didn't think the committee would find it "literary" enough. Tender Morsels is definitely more "literary" but a much more difficult and in some ways "unlovable" book. Well, it turned out I was was pretty close. Frankie and Tender Morsels both came away with Honors and Jellicoe Road, a book I've yet to read, won the prize.

Someday maybe (in my dreams) I'll have the privilege of sitting on an awards committee but until then being this close to the action was pretty cool. And even if Denver was a freezing puddle of snow and slush, I'm really glad I went. I met some awesome people, worked on my committee (YALSA Intellectual Freedom!), and had a really good time!

Oh little bean, I'll miss you so...

2009-01-16T15:14:00.005-05:00

Today is my last day as Stella's nanny. I'm sad and I'm going to miss her terribly. She's starting to be really fun. We are finally at the point where we play and interact most of the day. But I think she's going to get a lot out of playing with other babies in daycare. And now I have to figure out what to do next. I plan to spend the next week really delving into what my options are. I am hoping I get the job I interviewed for but I want to come up with a plan for if I don't. I can try babysitting for another family. I've been notified of another family with a 6 month old who needs a nanny but the truth is I'm a bit bored staying home all day with a little baby. I'm having such fun with Stella now but I remember how monotonous my days were when she was just a little bit smaller. If I do babysit I think I want to do so for toddlers rather than infants. I'm also thinking of going back to school to get my school media certification. But at least for a week I'm taking a break and getting some house cleaning and organizing done. And then, I'm off to ALA midwinter in Denver. Hey, maybe a job prospect will come out of that!

Fingers Crossed

2009-01-15T10:28:00.004-05:00

I had a job interview on Tuesday for a youth services librarian position. I'm not sure how the interview went. It was hard to tell if they liked me or not. The library is pretty awesome though so I'm keeping my fingers crossed and so should you!

In which Alia gets a surprise anniversary present...

2008-12-29T11:01:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was our 2 year wedding anniversary and my lovely husband surprised me with a trip to New York. He did a good job keeping it under wraps because I had no clue what was going on until we got to the stop where the Bolt bus picks up. Then I was like, wait a second you are making me take a bus (I get really bad motion sickness) to New York (a city I find overwhelming and dirty). What kind of anniversary is this?! But Josh just said to trust him, that he had it all planned out. And oh did he! First we ate chocolate breakfast. (Thank you Erin for recommending it. I had just told Josh that I was giving you a mental hug when they started playing Silent All These Years over the speakers. I guess that was you hugging me back!) Then we went to The Strand and looked at the miles of books. Then Josh surprised me again with tickets to Billy Elliot. (And we got my favorite Billy. There's three different boys who switch off days doing Billy's part because the dancing is so physically demanding. We got the Cuban by way of Montreal kid, who we saw interviewed on TV a few months ago.) The show was pretty awesome and afterward we met up with Andrew for a drink before having a very yummy dinner. Then it was off to look at the Rockefeller tree and the Christmas window displays and a rush back to the bus stop. We didn't get lost once. And I have to say, as we were walking around looking at the lights, I started to get why people love that city so much. So not only did Josh plan a wonderful day. He actually got me to change my mind about something. A near impossible feat! My husband is pretty awesome.

Movies based on children's books to look out for/make you cringe...

2008-12-14T15:12:00.006-05:00

What's with the stop-motion animation? We should see a stop-motion movie version of Coraline in February of 2009 followed by Wes Anderson's take on Roald Dahl's The Fantastic Mr. Fox in November.

Inkheart will be in theaters in January of '09 (How long has it been since Brendan Fraser has been in a good movie?) and Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs is set for March. Spike Jonze's adaptation of Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are is slated to be out in October. I'm cautiously excited.

And Tim Burton's taking on Alice in Wonderland sometime in 2010. Even though I didn't care for his vision of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, I actually think this might work well. Burton does love those repressed characters and so, in some ways, may be perfect for Alice.

Oh and I almost forgot (how could I?!) about the big one. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was delayed until July of 2009. Sigh.

It's just one of those days...

2008-12-05T14:03:00.004-05:00

Unemployment is getting to me. Every time I start to feel bummed about not having the job I want, I remind myself that it could be worse. I am working. So I'm a nanny. It's a job. And I work at the library part time. So it's not a librarian position. At least that's something. But today that's just not helping me feel any better. I'm pissed. I don't want to be told to go work in an academic library (like it's so easy to get a job there!) or that there's some magical job out there will turn up. I was a good children's librarian. I want to keep being a children's librarian. I'm staying involved with ALA. I'm still reading reviews and professional literature. I'm doing all the things you're supposed to do to keep yourself competitive. But right now, given the fact that they're laying off staff and closing libraries, it all seems pretty useless. And I'm pissed because I feel like I'm doing all the right things for no reason.

I know I'm luckier than a lot of people and I'm thankful for the things I do have. But today, right now, I just want to have a pity party for thing I'm missing.

And back in literary land...

2008-12-02T10:35:00.004-05:00

I finished The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks and liked it so much I checked out and plowed through How to Be Bad. Yeah, I'm on an official E. Lockhart kick.

More Sesame Street Nerdiness

2008-12-02T10:33:00.003-05:00

Check out Cookie Monster in the Library. I just spent way to much time this morning watching these videos.

Of course I saw the Twilight movie...

2008-11-23T13:15:00.002-05:00

And there's a pretty good review of it up on Slate.

My own issues with the characters and writing aside, I can see why Twilight is such an appealing story. And the story only really appeals because its about vampires. If Bella has been right on her first guess, if Edward were a superhero bitten by a radioactive spider rather than a vamp who's always fighting the urge to bite, there probably wouldn't be nearly as many teenage girls swooning over the books. No Edward has to be a vamp because vampires are very much a metaphor for sex. Being around Edward is risky for Bella because he might hurt her or kill her or more dangerously turn her into a vampire which would (as Edward seems most concerned about) derail the trajectory of her life and deny her the rites of passages (prom, college) that he thinks she should have. Hm, sounds like a teen pregnancy to me. So I think whats really appealing to the girls that rabidly love Edward is the idea of a guy who is willing to forgo his own desire in order to keep the girl safe. Which is why Twilight is at its best when Edward really does seem to want to kill Bella. Once he assumes the role of protector as he has by the end of the book, eh then he get's kind of boring.

Ok he's cool but his hair is still obnoxious!

2008-11-20T08:03:00.005-05:00

I'm sitting here watching the Today show and since the Twilight movie is bringing back the mall mob scene, they have Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart on. Of course Meredith drags them out to talk to their adoring fan who are all screaming about how they love Edward Cullen and asking stupid questions like "How similar are you to the moody teenage vampire love-god you play?" But the best part was when they asked the girls why they liked Edward so much. I love how Pattinson jumped right in one poor girls face pressing her for an answer. He was all yeah but what exactly to you like about him anyway? And the girl couldn't come up with an answer. Finally kinda shrugging and saying she didn't know.

What she should have said: Not his stupid hair!

Trickery!

2008-11-19T10:01:00.005-05:00

I finished reading Brisinger, the next (and I thought last) book in the Eragon series. I'm not really an Eragon fan but I do like to finish off a series if I've started it. Too bad for me that it took me about 800 pages to realized that this was not the last book. At least I started skipping pages about halfway through. Still it was about 799 pages of nothing interesting happening and one page of something very obvious and fairly unimportant happening. Feh!

Christopher Paolini may have a great writing career ahead of him but he needs to move on from this world he's created. I imagine that might be hard for a writer, especially such a young one, and it can't help that the Eragon books are making money. (I haven't heard anything about the sales for this last one though. Maybe buried by the Twilight movie release?) But this last book was so bogged down by unimportant details. It struck me as particularly dry and emotionless. Paolini might be on his way as an author (I'll leave that debate to others) but I think he needs to wrap things up if he ever wants to get there.

And now on to my next book, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart...

Hope

2008-11-05T08:50:00.004-05:00

Up until the very last minute last night I was full of gloom and doom. At work on Monday I watched teenage girls, most of whom are too young to even vote, carrying signs and cheering in the street for Obama and all I could do was dread the coming election. You can get used to losing quickly. It's easy to expect little of people.

And then hope won out over pessimism. I am proud of this country and I am so thankful for the right to vote. Today the country has changed and perhaps there is hope for us after all.

Wild Thing Walls

2008-11-03T11:25:00.002-05:00

Forget a kid's room, I want this mural in my bedroom!

We have a T-shirt problem at our house...

2008-10-21T10:45:00.002-04:00

I accuse Josh of being the addict but want this so bad. Tell me it's okay. Please?

Ohhh Pretty

2008-10-15T15:26:00.002-04:00

This had given me a great idea for a craft project at the library this Saturday. Now I better start saving cardboard.

I can't remember the last time I went out to a movie but...

2008-10-15T14:30:00.007-04:00

I caught a bit of The Seeker: The Dark is Rising on TV last night after Valeska and I watched Atonement. I only saw a few minutes and most of the time it was on I was explaining to Valeska why the movie is nothing at all like the books. It seemed like such a bland, generic movie, I couldn't get into it at all.

Oh and yes Atonement was good but Keira Knightley drives me nuts. I feel like her acting consists of straining her neck and gulping down air. Too bad too, because she always has these great roles. Though maybe she could have made a good Bella since she's so good at looking distressed. Oh well.

Is this readers block?

2008-10-07T14:26:00.003-04:00

I just finished The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. I loved it even though I felt like a lot of the characters, especially the teens, were too good to be true. I feel like the story could have easily been a really depressing one and I think that that might have even been easier to write. But I'm glad that it wasn't.

So what to read next? I have a huge to-read list and yet I can't seem to decide on anything these days. I'm contemplating The Southern Vampire Mysteries since I've been loving the TV show True Blood so much. But I hear the books are very different from the show, so maybe not?

New Job

2008-10-03T10:00:00.004-04:00

So this past week I started a part time job as a Saturday After School Leader at my neighborhood library branch. It looks like it's going to be a fun job that will keep me busy while I wait for a librarian position to come up, but there are a few draw backs. It means working every Saturday, which kind of kills my weekends. But I can deal with that because it's a short term thing. The other problem is that I find it depressing to work in a library and not be a librarian. I mean it's fun to work with the kids and I appreciate that the librarians at this branch have gone out of their way to help me get a job, but I want to be planning programs and making decisions. I miss that part of my old job. Sadly, with the economy the way it is it may be a while before I get to revisit my former role. I should use this time to catch up on my reading but I haven't even picked up a book in weeks. I think I'm in a funk. I have The Absolutely True Dairy of a Part-Time Indian on hold though so I should have something to read by next week.

It's not that I have a thing against Sex and the City...

2008-09-19T10:07:00.005-04:00

Hey, I'm pretty sure I've seen every episode multiple times. But this is just sort of disturbing.

I mean wasn't the fact that these women were no longer in their twenties the drive behind the show? Eh, I guess not?

I'm still planning on renting the movie.

I'm a Sesame Street Dork

2008-09-13T16:34:00.000-04:00

Strange Dream

2008-09-09T09:01:00.007-04:00

Last night Emerson (who once upon a time was perfectly crate trained) was being a pain and whining about being in his crate. Finally I couldn't take it anymore so I got up and slept on the couch. Apparently this makes for some messed up dreaming because once I fell back asleep things got weird.

I dreamed that I was back in high school and a fascist regime had just taken over and two high ranking officials moved next door. Who were these officials? None other than Sarah Palin and Nate Birkus (a designer who's on the Oprah show a lot). Crazy, right? But then it gets weirder because I go next door to give them a pie (Huh?! I've never brought a neighbor a pie! What is this Desperate Housewives?) and end in a giant yelling match with Sarah and Nate. Then, Nate switches sides and says he doesn't want to work for the fascist regime anymore and then Sarah kicks me out.

I think I woke up for a second here and when I fell back asleep I was pregnant and had to ask Sarah Palin for permission to have an abortion. Thank goodness Josh woke me up then to tell me he was leaving for work.

And Sarah Palin, please get the hell out of my head and stop giving me nightmares!

And then a movie I totally do want to see...

2008-09-01T09:51:00.003-04:00

Chuck Palahniuk's book Choke has been made into a movie and it comes out Sep. 26th. I've read all of Palahniuk's books except, oddly enough, for Fight Club (but I did see the movie) and though I like them well enough, I find it easy to tire of the whole transcendence through the grotesque. But Choke is one of my favorites. It has one of the funniest, sickest scenes I've ever read. A scene which I really hope they didn't cut out in the movie, but I'm guessing they probably did.

And now I kinda want to see the movie...

2008-08-31T08:29:00.009-04:00

So I am reading the Midnight Sun Commentary over at Occupation Girl (If you don't mind spoilers read it! It's great for inducing fits of "I'm glad I haven't had cofee yet this morning because I'm sure I'd snarf it all over my keyboard" laughter.) and while on her blog I came across this quote from Robert Pattinson about playing Edward Cullen.

"When you read the book," says Pattinson, looking appropriately pallid and interesting even without makeup, "it's like, 'Edward Cullen was so beautiful I creamed myself.' I mean, every line is like that. He's the most ridiculous person who's so amazing at everything. I think a lot of actors tried to play that aspect. I just couldn't do that. And the more I read the script, the more I hated this guy, so that's how I played him, as a manic-depressive who hates himself. Plus, he's a 108-year-old virgin so he's obviously got some issues there."

Where the middle class ends

2008-08-29T08:53:00.004-04:00

It's been in the news and the topic of more than one discussion with friends of late: how much do you have to make before you are no longer middle class? Slate author Daniel Gross weighs in here.

Last time I had this discussion I went so far as to say that I thought $100,000 is more than the average middle class salary. What I guess I meant is, while in places like D.C. or New York you might not be able to buy a home and send the kids to private school, in most places you could. Plus, your lifestyle is going to depend, not only on how much money you make, but also how you spend it. Even if you double that amount, you'd still have to make choices about how you spend. But I'm totally in agreement with the Slate article; just because you can't have everything doesn't mean you're not rich!

Back!

2008-08-25T10:36:00.004-04:00

Maine was beautiful and relaxing. Good times were had with good friends and Emerson was given way more attention than he ever gets at home. The only mishap was on our last day there when we went out to breakfast and returned to find that Em had escaped the confines of the house. Luckily a neighbor found him dancing with the cars on the street and put him in the back of his truck to keep him safe. As Ginny, Josh and I scoured the neighborhood this guy happened to pass us in his truck. I've never seen Josh so relived. I thought he was going to have a heart attack! As promised, there are pictures up here.

Vacation!

2008-08-14T13:16:00.005-04:00

Yay, we leave for Maine on Saturday. Initially, I was worried that Emerson was going to hate traveling but now that he'll be with Michelle for part of the way I know he'll be a happy puppy. How is it my dog loves everyone else more than his owners? We take pretty good care of him. We love him. But somehow his heart belongs to our friends.

I promise pictures when we get back. Wheee!

Spoiling Breaking Dawn

2008-08-08T11:05:00.010-04:00

I just finished Breaking Dawn and I couldn't have predicted how much I hated it. I mean, I'm pretty sure that the whole time I was reading part of my mind was just repeating, gross gross gross gross gross....

I've copped to it before: I liked Twilight. I even kind of liked New Moon. Though the characters annoyed me and the writing grated on my nerves, I felt it was no more disturbing than your typical romance novel. And I can see why teenage girls are loving the escapist fantasy of it all. But for me Breaking Dawn took disturbing to a whole new level.

Ok. There's spoilers ahead. Stop reading if you don't want to know.

So the book begins with Bella and Edward's wedding. It's boring and perfect. Oh except for the part where Bella briefly gets manhandled by the two men who are supposedly in love with her. Way to show off your affection guys. Anyway, then they have a boringly perfect honeymoon. Oh except for the crazy Vampire /Human sex that leaves Bella battered. But then she doesn't care. Why should she care that she's being hurt? All that matters is that she's got her man. And so we learn the first lesson of Breaking Dawn, as long as your guy loves you, who cares if he beats the crap out of you! I mean, he didn't mean to and he's really really sorry. He swears it will never happen again.

At this point I had to put the book down for a bit. It was that or hurl it out the window. I should have hurled because it gets so much worse. You see, nobody thought about birth control on this perfect honeymoon and guess what...Bella's knocked up. Yup, Bella's got a blood sucking bun in the oven. If you want to walk away from this review now, do it. I think this was the point where I really should have just stopped reading. Because even though the little hybrid vampire fetus is killing her, Bella loves it and refuses to give it up. Let that be lesson number two, abortion is immoral. The better alternative is to let the fetus kill you. I mean how selfish is it for Edward to want to protect Bella's life over that of an unborn child. Oh but don't worry he comes around once he hears the kid's thoughts. You see people, this fetus has a soul! How could you even think about doing away with her? You are so going to hell!

And it gets so much worse. Bella gives the baby the most hideous name ever. Even the characters in the book refuse to call her by her given name. It's THAT bad. Oh and remember that Werewolves like to in fall in love with babies. So I'd watch the kid around Jacob. And then some political Vampire stuff happens, which is boring. And then they all live happily ever after. Now, I have no problem with happily ever after. I do have a problem with almost everything else in the book though. Wait, to be fair there was some interesting stuff going on with Jacob and his pack. True, Jacob is a whiny baby when it comes to Bella but for the most part the wolves were way more fun to read about. I guess I liked how they, you know, cared about people other than themselves.

I know that there are die hard fan of the series out there and that there are also the flip side of the coin, people who detest the whole series. I considered myself pretty neutral before. Though I guess this puts me firmly in one camp.

Now that I'm unemployed the crafty me emerges...

2008-08-07T14:44:00.006-04:00

So I've already refinished a table. Now I need a new project. I've been thinking about getting a sewing machine but I wasn't sure I'd really use it. Then I came across this Eric Carle fabric over at Apartment Therapy and I'm inspired. I am so getting this!

Goodbye DC

2008-08-01T10:48:00.002-04:00

We move tomorrow. I have to say I am doing rather well considering that when we came here I cried and wouldn't leave our apartment. And yes it helps that the Stella sprout is in Philly. Still, there's a lot I will miss about D.C. and there's a lot I just never got around to doing. So I'm making a list. My top ten reasons I'm going to miss D.C.

1. Living next to the zoo.
2. Living walking distance from almost all my New College friends.
3. Spending Sunday morning at the farmers market.
4. Friday happy hour with my librarian friends.
5. Free museums. I wish I spent more time in them.
6. Babysitting for Leon, because he's super funny and cute.
7. The story time crew.
8. Cherry trees in the spring.
9. Driving over Memorial Bridge. I do it every day and it's still pretty cool.
10. Rock Creek park.

Goodbye Arlington

2008-07-30T16:47:00.004-04:00

We had a staff meeting today and at the end our Friends of the Library representative and his two darling daughters came in with cupcakes for the staff and a vase full of marigolds. The marigolds were the very same little seeds we planted months ago after our gardening story time. Sigh. The oldest daughter is four and my most dedicated story time participant and she is so sweet and sensitive. She's all sad that I'm leaving and I'm sad too! I'll miss her little pixie face peering up at me each week. Aw, I'll miss the whole story time crowd.

Food and Picture Books

2008-07-23T15:51:00.003-04:00

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is getting made into a movie, with Andy Samberg. It doesn't sound like it's going to be very faithful to the book but still, pizza and ice cream raining down from the sky is just fun!

The New Yorker does something right

2008-07-17T11:38:00.002-04:00

There was a link to this in my ALA newsletter. We like articles about children's librarians. Yay!

American Girl on Slate

2008-07-05T20:17:00.005-04:00

Spurred by the new movie that's coming out this summer, there's an interesting discussion of the American Girl franchise over at Slate. I'm glad that they address the "commodity fetishism of it all" as well as the appeal of the dolls. And I thought that it was a rather intelligent conversation until I came across this quote:

I think I'll get my kids the catalogs. I miiiight consider getting them a doll, but I'd definitely pair those plodding books with some better kids' lit.

Wait, isn't that backwards? You will get your kids the catalogs, media that is purely consumerist, you might get the dolls; and but your biggest worry is that the books aren't quality kid lit?! What on earth do you think the catalogs are then? Alice in Wonderland? Treasure Island? People just don't make sense sometimes.

Suicide Weekend

2008-06-23T10:47:00.008-04:00

Actually I had a wonderful weekend. Ginny was in town for a conference so there was lots of fun hanging out with New College friends.

But I did manage to read two books in which involved teenage girls committing suicide. The first book, Thirteen Reasons Why, was structurally very interesting because of its use of dual narratives. Hannah, the girl who committed suicide, narrates her story through the tapes she's left for the thirteen people she blames for her suicide. And then there's Clay, a recipient of said tapes. Clay has had a long standing crush on Hannah and was devastated by her suicide. While the book was painful to read at times, Hannah is not at all a sympathetic character. As the story winds down you start to feel more and more fed up with her and and angry. Like I said, it's more of an interesting concept book than a good read.

Then I read Looking for Alaska by John Green. I don't want to give away too much because it was a really good book, but another suicide!

My weekend reading would have me believing that teenage girls are offing themselves left and right. Though in reality, Ginny (who is a psychologist and thus knows these things) says teenage boys are more likely to actually commit suicide than girls are. Hmmm. As I think back at the YA books I've read in the past that deal with suicide, it seems that in fiction it is usually girls who take their own lives. Interesting little contrast there, huh?

I've seen some cute babies before but ...

2008-06-13T18:56:00.002-04:00

Good God! I love her!

Breaking Dawn

2008-06-05T13:32:00.003-04:00

The grown-up me warns, "You will be disappointed and somewhat offended. Don't get all excited."

The 15 year old in my head responds, "Eeeeeee....why can't I have a gorgeous vampire fall passionately in love with me. "

Needless to say, I'm torn here.

Helloooooo...elloooo...elloo...

2008-06-04T16:15:00.004-04:00

I'm sorry. I know it's been a while and I'm wondering if there's anyone who still checks this blog. I'm debating the merits of continuing to blog as we get ready to move and I get more and more occupied with other things. But for now, we'll see how it goes. Speaking of moving, we now have an apartment. Yay! Now all we have to do if figure out how we are getting all our belongings from here to there. Fun times for sure.

Still no job though. I don't know what libraries up there are going through but if this area is a reflection of what's going on on a national scale, I'm worried!

City of Ashes

2008-05-10T12:38:00.007-04:00

Yay, Cassandra Clare's second book finally arrived at the library for me. I plowed through it on Friday and was quite happy. I think the writing might have improved, though some of the descriptions of the boys in the book were almost as annoying as Meyer's sparkling vampires. But I liked that we're past the predictable set up part of the first book, and into the action! And man, is there action. No one escapes without injury in this book! I do like Clary as a heroine (though this book seemed to concentrate a bit more on Jace and what was going on with him) and I'm willing to stick with the series till she starts really kicking butt!

My biggest beef with the book was the Jace/Clary/Simon love triangle. As I've already complained in my goodreads review, it seems like every "urban fantasy" book I read has this dynamic going on and it drives me batty. The author makes it very obvious to us readers who the heroine is in love with and then wants us to believe that she's so confused and she can't tell the difference between platonic friendship feelings and and ooooh I wanna jump your bones feelings. Please, urban fantasy writers, stop doing this. It makes your characters seem dumb and flaky. And I don't want to ready about dumb, flaky girls. I want to read about girls who are strong and true to themselves. That's the type of character I want the girls in my middle school book club to look up to, to imagine themselves as. So let's start writing book in that vein, ok?

I don't love moving!

2008-05-05T14:58:00.008-04:00

So now that it's official that we are moving to Philadelphia in August, I can start obsessing about my hatred of moving. First off, moving involves change. And me, well, I don't do so well with change. Then there's all the organizing and packing and labeling which would be doable except that this will all have to be done while Josh is studying for the bar! And then there's the having to find a new job a process that I'm finding difficult to navigate due to the very different way that Philadelphia Free Library does their hiring. OY!

But at least Philly has Stella, my favorite child in the whole world. (Sorry to my darling story-time kids!) So there's the silver lining in this whole moving mess.

Passover Update

2008-04-22T14:27:00.004-04:00

I cooked almost all the food for the family seder on Saturday (except for the turkey and dessert) so here's the final score for each item on a scale of 1 to 10:

Mocked Liver:
Made from mushrooms, onions, and walnuts this spread was huge success! Very yummy on top of matzah.
Score: 9

Charoset:
Traditonally a mixture of apples, walnuts, and wine, this spread is supposed to symbolize the mortar used by the Jewish slaves in Egypt. I made this two ways. The traditional mixture came out ok. I also made "tropical" charoset made from bananas, pears, apples, dates, almonds, and sweetened with fruit juice. This was, as my mom and I both agreed upon tasting, "damn good!"
Score: 5 for the traditional charoset, 10 for the tropical version.

Matzah ball soup (vegetarian version):
I made the veggie broth from scratch and it came out well. The matzah balls were pretty good but not my best. The first batch was just a tiny bit dense. The second batch came out nearly perfect. I didn't do anything differently so I'm not sure why. Everyone liked them and several guest took them home so they couldn't have been that bad anyway.
Score: 8

Beet salad:
I usually roast beets when I make them but this dish called for slicing them and baking them in lemon juice and butter. The end result was okay. My mom, who claims to have hated beets before, ate them and seemed to like them but if I made them again I would go back to cutting them up in chunks and roasting them.
Score: 5

Sweet potato kugle:
Made with sweet potato, apples, rasins, and matzah meal. In making this I realized that I much prefer savory kugel over sweet. Also, this low-fat recipe cut out all the eggs and butter - all the good stuff really. Edible but unless you really want a low-fat option, I'd say go with a recipe that's not quite so good for you!
Score: 4

Desserts:
I didn't make these but my friend Ginny brought a flourless chocolate cake and my sister made macaroons. Both were awesome.
Score:10

Thank you Apartment Therapy

2008-04-18T10:39:00.002-04:00

for another awesome bookshelf. I want it! How awesome would that be in the middle of the children's section at the library?

Can I have a Wild Thing?

2008-04-15T15:26:00.002-04:00

A great article about the genius that is Maurice Sendak from the Gaurdian.

What I'm looking forward to reading....

2008-04-10T14:45:00.005-04:00

A review of City of Ashes: The Mortal Instruments, (sequel to City of Bones) by Cassandra Clare is up at Bookshelves of Doom. Yay! It looks pretty entertaining and I'll admit, I have no problem overlooking flaws if the book is good fun. Especially when I am feeling stressed out and just want a good escape.

I'm still waiting for The Luxe (I'm still way down at the bottom of the hold list) despite the iffy reviews I've read. What can I say I'm a sucker for pretty covers.

Overheard at work

2008-04-09T19:30:00.004-04:00

A patron goes up to the circulation desk to ask if we can extend her time on the computer. It's late afternoon, our busiest computer time so the person at the desk tells her no, she'll have to wait and sign up again. The patron complains about how sad this makes her. Then she unsuccessfully tries to bribe not one, but TWO different library employees to extend her time. The offer: 5 bucks.

Um, here's the problem with that. For one, library employees are generally honest folks. We were the good kids in school. We are probably the least likely county employees to take a bribe. And second, people are watching us! The staff room is pretty open to the desk so it's not like everyone else can't see what's going on at the desk. So you better be offering more than 5 bucks if you want anyone to risk getting into major trouble! And, oh yeah, if you have the five bucks to throw around, why not try paying for as much time as you need at an internet cafe? The reason we have time restrictions on our computers is because it's free. We don't want your money!

You feel differently when...

2008-04-04T10:18:00.004-04:00

I gotta complain about something here. I am getting rather peeved about being told that I'll feel differently about things when I'm a parent. A few well-meaning older women have said this to me the recently and it always leaves me grinding my teeth and grumbling. Now I understand that having a child changes your life and that there's no way to predict what the experience is like. But it seems to me that the people who are saying this are not talking about my feeling in regards to children or even certain life choices but rather in regards to my beliefs and ideals. And even if it's true. Even if it does all change when you have kids, it's just plain rude to say that to someone. You are basically saying nothing you think or feel now is valid because you are not a mother. Even if the person saying it is well meaning, it's still a power play. With that small phrase they have just told me that they know better than I do and I can't argue with anything they are saying.

Everyone has experiences that shape the way they think. But you can't go around telling people that their experience isn't valid because it's not the same as yours. I still don't know how to respond the next time someone says this to me though, other than ranting on my blog after the fact!

A belated poetry friday for Stella...

2008-03-29T13:30:00.002-04:00

and her parents. I found this poem today and thought of you and your new family.

And so you arrive,
ancient-faced houseguest,
like some relative out of a sepia-toned photograph,
surrounded by a thousand pounds
of duffel bags and steamer trunks,
the contents spilling loose down our front steps.

Read the entire poem by David Harris Ebenbach here.

Wobbly Walkers

2008-03-25T16:43:00.002-04:00

My first program for the under two set was a success. The parents were all really great and despite my nervousness about singing everything went well. The only song I absolutely cannot sing is You Are My Sunshine. I had to sort of whisper along to it and let the parents do that one because I just can't hit the notes at all. I mean I butcher it to the point where it is not ever recognizable. If I ever have children that is one song I will not be singing to them!

If my camera were charged...

2008-03-24T13:34:00.003-04:00

I'd post a picture of the hamentashen I made this weekend. But since the camera is out of commission you will just have to take my word for it that they were not only yummy but also pretty nice looking. I made half of them with poppy seed filling and half with nutella. Poppyseed being traditional and nutella being a delicious variation I picked up from the children's librarian at my old job. Poor Emerson sat by the oven wagging his tail the whole time they were baking and looked very dejected when he realized he wasn't going to get any yummy people food from me. Sorry Em, but they are mine...all mine!

Guess what, I'm real!

2008-03-21T12:12:00.004-04:00

So yesterday I'm cleaning up the children's section right before closing when one of my darling story-time kids comes up to me.

Girl: Are going home now?
Me: Yep, the library is closing and I'm going home.
Girl: You're going home just like a real person. Wow.

So is it spring now?

2008-03-19T08:21:00.003-04:00

When I left for Florida last week for Erin's wedding it was cold and then we came back to DC on Monday to flowers and sunshine. Is that here to stay? I'm sick of winter. Maybe that's because it was bright and sunny and like 90 degrees in Miami. I loved it. It's funny, every time we visit Miami Josh hates the heat and humidity and I relish it. Though it does make my hair a lot more frizzy!

Oh and the wedding was lovely. Everyone was walking around saying "oh this is so Erin" about the colors and the flowers. The bride looked beautiful. Just beautiful. And the music rocked! Now its back to the real world of planning story times and running around to meetings and filing taxes. I start an under 2 program next week that I feel totally unprepared for. Ugh, I hate the idea of just singing to parents while the babies crawl around. But oh well, the demand is there. My program is already full.

It's hard to cuddle up with a computer screen but...

2008-03-06T16:00:00.003-05:00

I'm kind of facinated by digital libraries so this looks really cool to me.

What I'm reading this week....

2008-03-01T15:54:00.010-05:00

Why is it that authors feel the need to state that their characters don't like the site of blood. As in "She couldn't stand the sight of blood, especially her own." Um, shouldn't that go without saying? Now if she loved the sight of blood, that would be something to write about maybe. That might be unusual. But not caring so much for the site of your own blood outside of your veins...not a shocker!

Ok, that said, I just finished City of Bones by Cassandra Clare and I want someone else to read it now so we can discuss. I've been reading some mixed reviews, with some valid points, but overall I liked this one. Clary Fray is living an ordinary existance when she witnesses three teenagers killing a demon and is drawn into the supernatural world of the Shadowhunters, rune tattooed warriors who hunt down demons . Soon it's clear that Clary is not so ordinary after all. Imagine Harry Potter and Star Wars all mashed up together in a good way and you have City of Bones. There is the dreaded mention of disliking the sight of blood which made me afraid Clary would end up being Bella-ish. Then there was the begining of a Jacob/Edward feud and I'm thinking uh oh, this is going to be Twilight all over again. But the book redeemed itself by the end. This is only book one, so we'll see, but so far Clary seems rather smart. (Well, she should have figured out who her father is MUCH sooner, but I'll let that slide.) In fact I found most of the characters really appealing which is why I didn't mind that the plot seemed to borrow heavily from other stories. I'm looking forward to the next book.

Passover Menu

2008-02-26T17:53:00.003-05:00

I'm home sick today and to pass the time I'm trying to come up with a menu for Passover. My mom's letting me cook and I'm excited. So far I think I want to make this cake for dessert. I wanted make a tofurkey but that's not kosher for passover so I will have to think of something else vegetarian. Other menu items I'm considering at the moment: baked stuffed zucchini and mock chopped "liver." If anyone has any other vegetarian ideas let me know.

Oy!

2008-02-21T20:49:00.002-05:00

44 kids at this afternoon's story time. Our biggest group yet. Yay! Now I am going to go collapse.

Various things on my mind...

2008-02-21T12:22:00.007-05:00

1. Pics of the cast from the Twilight movie are up on Stephanie Meyer's website. I'm sorry but looking at those pictures made me giggle. For some reason, reading about a family of sparkling vampires is much less silly than looking at pictures of them.

2. Thanks to Bookshelves of Doom I have found my dream house. Check out the staircase/bookcase. Yum.

3. In local news the penguins are starting trouble again. But at least they have people standing up for them though. School Board Vice Chairman John Stevens said in a written statement “Parents determine what is appropriate for their own children and how to guide their children as they learn and grow,” and that “The schools should not be an instrument of censorship."

Ah. So there are some sane people on school boards!

4. I just finished reading Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin and Extras by Scott Westerfeld. Loved Memoirs. Didn't care for Extras. Zevin writes teenagers really well and Memoirs reminded a lot of the Jessica Darling series by Megan McCaffrey. Extras was a whole lot of superficial characters riding around on hover boards. It was like one very long Quiddich match. I know some kids like that sort of thing but I was never that kind of reader.

Women and Fear

2008-02-12T11:06:00.000-05:00

I have been thinking about fear lately. I just finished reading The Terror Dream by Susan Faludi and then there was an article in BUST by Michelle Dobrovolny about women, fear, and solo travel. So it’s been on my mind a lot. Then, as I was leaving the library last night a youngish guy stops me and asks me why I’m leaving so early. I’m confused but not really wary because I figured that he was just wondering if the library was closing soon. But no, it was my schedule he wanted to know about. He said he thought I always closed on Mondays. That’s when I started feeling a bit sketched out. But I thought about the Bust article and how I didn’t want to be fearful when there really wasn’t any danger so I just made a joke about not being willing to work 16 hour days and headed out to my car. Well, this dude followed me asking me where I lived. I said DC. At this point I was at my car in the parking lot and I was getting a bit nervous. The dude asked what I was up to after work. I said I was off to the gym, wished him a goodnight and hopped in my car. No harm done. But could there have been? As I sat in my car I realized that I had no idea if my fear was warranted in that situation or not. Obviously, the dude wasn’t planning on attacking me or he would have done so in the parking lot. Was it fair of me to assume he was an aggressor when he was just being friendly? Was it right for me to be afraid or was I falling prey to a big myth?

The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean

2008-02-09T16:01:00.001-05:00

Fourteen year old Sym is obsessed with the Antarctic and Capatin Oates of the failed Scott expedition to the South Pole. She has even created an imaginary friend of sorts out of Oates and confides her feeling to him. When Sym's equally obsessed Uncle (really a kind family friend) takes her on a trip to the Antartic or "The Ice" as they like to call it, it seems like a dream come true. But quickly it turns into a nightmare as Sym realizes her Uncle's intentions are not so kindly after all.

I can say this: the writing is very very good. But, vivid descriptions of the deadly cold, horrific pain, and frostbitten skin did not appeal to me. Ad it's a pretty long book so there was a lot of frostbitten skin! Nor did I like the main charater, Sym. I kept waiting for her to do something heroic, or at least a bit smart. But no, she just seems to bumble her way through survival relying on the paternalistic voice of a dead exploer that only she can hear. I didn't want this old dead guy to be saving Sym, I wanted Sym to do something to save herself. A review on goodreads compared her to Bella from Twilight and she is. But I don't much care for Bella either! Anyway, it's the 2008 Printz winner. So I guess I'm in the minority here, but I was disappointed.

The fact that it won the Printz made me wonder if there's any requiremet of "teen appeal" for the award. I know that's not actually a factor in the Caldecott and Newbery but I thought the Printz was different. So I looked it up and sure enough the website says:

"We hope the award will have a wide AUDIENCE among readers from 12 to 18 but POPULARITY is not the criterion for this award. "

Which is fine. These are literary awards after all. But I do wonder how many parents and educators realize that. Just because a book wins the Newbery or the Printz, that doesn't mean kids will be racing to read it like a new installation of Harry Potter!

Another long Saturday spent working...

2008-01-26T16:28:00.001-05:00

and I'm bored and trolling craigslist, looking at houses I'll never be able to afford. And anyway, who knows where we will have to live once Josh gets a job. But oh, this one is just so cute. Not quite as 'pony and tea party" evoking as the last one, but still I would live there. Sigh.

Why we need commas...

2008-01-15T15:02:00.000-05:00

Found in our library's catalog (I added the red circle).

Poetry Friday: Eating the Bones

2008-01-11T10:28:00.000-05:00

My grandfather passed away a few months back, and unfortunetly I haven't been able to get to Miami to see my grandmother since then. But this poem reminds me so much of her. Before I went veggie, I shared this habit of eating bones with my grandmother. My dad does it too. It totally grosses my mom out. You can read the poem Eating the Bones by Ellen Bass here.

So Excited!

2008-01-11T10:03:00.000-05:00

Starting on January 13, PBS's Masterpiece Theatre will broadcast all six of Jane Austen novels, including four new adaptations and a biopic!

I'm a bit facinated by the way Jane Austen flares in popularity every few years, usually because of some new movie based on her work. Back in the highschool days, I remember being inspired to to read Emma after watching Clueless.

In the new year...

2008-01-08T18:21:00.000-05:00

Things have been pretty slow since the holidays. At the library I have some new programs in the works. I am getting geared up for a gaming party for the teens in March and maybe coercing some kids into doing some podcasting. But mostly I have been relaxing and enjoying my two-week break from story times.

The story time break has also left me with way too much time to search the internet for houses I will never be able to afford. Currently I'm obsessed with this one on craigslist. I want to live there and have a pony in the yard and invite my friends over for tea parties.

Coraline Sneak Peek

2007-12-26T09:52:00.000-05:00

Sneak Peek Here.

Not sure what I think of this yet. I have read Coraline so many times that I have a clear picture in my head of what the story should look like and I know I should probably stay away from the movie. BUT... I know I won't be able to stay away. I hope that at the very least I feel the way I felt about The Golden Compass movie, which was that it was a fun movie to watch.

Speaking of movies, I saw Sweeny Todd yesterday as part of our "Jewish Christmas" which also included latkas for breakfast and chinese food for dinner. It was great gorey fun and now I've been singing about the worst pies in london all day!

Gonna Bake a Pie...

2007-12-24T10:27:00.000-05:00

After watching Waitress the other day I got it into my head that I wanted to bake a pie. So I made a cherry pie last night and I have to say, it turned out very pretty. I'm so proud I thought I'd post a picture.

Mock Caldecott Award

2007-12-19T19:41:00.000-05:00

Since the library is doing a mock Caldecott program in the elementary schools, the youth services team decided to have our own election. The winner was:

Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine, illustrations by Kadir Nelson

and Honors going to:

At Night by Jonathan Bean

The Chicken-Chasing Queen of Lamar County by Janice Harrington, illustrations by Shelley Jackson

First the Egg by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

My own first place vote was for Bean's At Night, which is my favorite picture books of the year. And if it were solely my decision I would have also given honors to Orange Pear Apple Bear by Emily Gravett and Scribble by Deborah Freedman.

Crappy Reading Choices part 2

2007-12-15T12:38:00.000-05:00

There's been some great discussion over on the child_lit about the anti-feminist tones in Stephanie Meyer's Vampire series which has gotten me thinking more about the influence books have on teen readers. I read Meyer's first book, Twilight, one day at work and I have to admit, I enjoyed the the story, angst, drama, and all. The later books in the series started to irritate me though. The main character, Bella, becomes the constant the damsel in distress and Edward is too perfect. I mean, he's too content to make an interesting vampire. And yes, he's creepily controlling. And yes. she too submissive. So is this going to corrupt the throngs of teen girls reading the series? It is okay to say, well at least they are reading, or is that akin to giving kids free run to eat as much candy as they like.

My opinion comes out of my own teen reading experience. As I've already admitted, I read all sorts of trash. V.C. Andrews, Christopher Pike, R.L. Stine... but I also read the good stuff too. And by time I was a "teen" I could tell the difference. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the junk food. I think we need to give teens credit. I'm sure they are capable of reading critically, when they want to. But sometimes it's pleasurable to get swept up in a melodramatic story without the critic in your head chiming in to spoil all the fun!

A defense of crappy reading choices

2007-12-08T12:04:00.000-05:00

I kinda really liked this article in Slate this week on preteens reading the ever so trashy Flowers in the Attic series. I have to fess up to reading the entire series at the age of 12. Then I moved on to the other V.C. Andrews series. And guess what? No harm done. Now what really had me disturbed was my first viewing of Hamlet. But that's another story!

The article starts off with the author talking about not encouraging her kid to read The Golden Compass. I thought that was an odd jumping off point for talking about the allure of dreck. But I do like her points about allowing kids to read what they want to read.