Review: Talking As Fast As I Can

I stumbled upon Gilmore Girls as a teenager and it became Our Show. The show my mom and I watched together, every day/week, through six seasons (my mom never quite made it through season 7). With the comeback of AYITL (:A Year in the Life) and my beloved Gilmore Guys podcast, I heard about Lauren Graham's memoir, read a couple pages while standing in Barnes & Noble, and had to have it.

My history of reading celebrity-penned memoirs is a bit hit-and-miss. They all seem entertaining enough, interesting enough to pass the time. Disappointing in proportion to how excited about the book I was, or how much I like the celebrity in question. I haven't read many, but the ones I have read are decent. And it's not that Lauren Graham's book was leaps and bounds ahead of the others but... parts of it was? Her collection of essays -- about acting, about her childhood, about her personal life, about writing -- are for the most part well-written (sometimes amazingly well-written). Some chapters were more interesting to me and some were less interesting.

It's hard to review this book. Lauren Graham is a good writer and an interesting person, and while I found her notes on the filming of Gilmore Girls mostly real boring, the parts about her boyfriend, about her pre-acting and beginning acting years, about her writing, ranged from oh, this is good to this is incredible!!!!

Wishlist

I recently took a fun Barnes & Noble trip, and since I'm currently/always super broke, not to mention the massive stack of to-be-read books I already have, I instead made a list of the books I want.

Abandoned Books: Bubble World

I'd been excited to read Carol Snow's Bubble World for quite a while (maybe since it came out). It sounded like the perfect-for-me mix of superficial and sciencey. Unfortunately, it was a lot more A LOT MORE superficial than science and I just couldn't put up with it past page 60. I did flip ahead and read some spoiler-y reviews to find out what happens, but nothing made me want to continue it.

Question to readers: Have you read this book? Have you finished this book? What did you think of it?

Review: Galgorithm / You Me Us

I have a fair amount of thoughts on this book, Galgorithm. Starting with An Abundance of Katherines I'm kind of a sucker for books where people discover (or try to discover) the formula for love, so the premise of this one - a high school boy who uses his advanced, mathematical understanding of How Girls Work to help his lovelorn compadres capture the girl of their dreams - was perfect for me. Very Hitch-esque.

The cover here is kind of goofy, as is the title, so I wasn't honestly expecting too much from this book. But it was funny! And it was sweet! And it had a few quotable lines! ("I'm feeling a lot of feelings right now, and it's weird.") It was a bit predictable and I never fully felt the core romance between Shane and his female BFF, Jak, but I went with it. Shane was a relatable, slightly-quirky main character, his friendship with Jak was always pretty great (I bought their friendship, it was just the requisite more-than-friends feelings that I had some trouble with), and the various romantic entanglements of his clients were entertaining. I won't lie; this book had me hooked. It's not one I'll return to again and again, but I had a hard time putting it down. And considering the luck I've had with books this year, that's a win.

Note that this book is published as an ebook under the (much better) title You Me Us, and I'm wondering if it might come out in paperback with that title also?

The Supreme Disappointment of Being Disappointed

So I just read this book. Well, most of this book at least. I gave up around the 2/3 mark and skipped ahead to find out how it ended. It was a book I'd been looking forward to for ages, one I was so excited about, one by an awesome author. It hit so many of my must-haves.

But I didn't finish the book. I didn't like the book. I was disappointed. I thought there must be more; I thought, really? The dialogue felt stilted. The characters flat. The relationships unformed. It wasn't what I had expected and though I really, really wanted to finish, I also had other books waiting for me.

I hate when that happens. When a book I'm excited about, one I've even been looking forward to, disappoints so wholly. When I don't finish something I was hoping would become a favorite.

You know what I mean, right?

the minimalist approach to books.

My family is in the midst of moving, so yesterday me and my mom were discussing minimalism. You know, get rid of all your belongings, one fork one plate one bowl sort of thing. And we were talking about what we could get rid of if we needed to -- could you get rid of your knickknacks? Your piles of notebooks? Old toys? Books? Gadgets? Basically: how much do we love this stuff? Because we shouldn't love any of it so much that we couldn't get rid of it if we needed to.

And I have a lot of books. They're all books I love, or at least really really like, and I'm glad I'm not in a position where I have to get rid of all of them, but I know that if I had to I'd be okay. My books are not the most important thing in my life.

But. Something else I think about sometimes: not getting rid of all my books, but the hypothetical situation of what if I could only keep a few? Five? Or ten? What if I had to fit my life into a suitcase or a couple of boxes? Which books would make the cut? Obviously there'd be my Bible, and a notebook. But I'm talking novels, memoirs, etc. You know.

So as of now, here's my list:

1. Jellicoe Road, by Melina Marchetta - because it's such, such a personal story for me.
2. Sweethearts, by Sara Zarr - again, so personal, and one i tend to reread fairly often.
3. Anna and the French Kiss, by Stephanie Perkins - this one has plenty of my own notes in it and it's a sweet book that would obviously make whatever situation i'm in where i can only have ten books more bearable.
4. serafina67, by Susie Day - favorite ever ya novel. i need my fictional personality doppleganger with me.
5. The History of Love, by Nicole Krauss - just so incredibly beautiful.
6. Gone With the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell - my favorite book.
7. Bloomability, by Sharon Creech - another personal pick, and one that brings me back to my childhood.
8. Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech - another brilliant book.
9. To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee - i just love this one.

Alright, excellent counters will notice that there are only ten books on that list. My last spot is open. And honestly, making that list was harder than I thought. Not because I wanted to keep all of them, but because there were very few where I felt like oh, I need this book. And even though I've often been known to refer to my books as "my friends," and I do love having shelves full of my favorite books, I think it's a good thing I didn't have too hard of a time imagining getting rid of most of them.

But now I ask you -- ten books only: which ones would you keep? And would you be able to do it?

a book history since working

My reading habits have changed a bit since I started working regularly; I still read a lot, but it's mostly relegated to nights and lunch breaks now. I thought it might be interesting, in light of this, to take a look at my book history since starting my new job.

Books Read Since Oct. 5th: 6
This is not a ton. But I'd say that six books in about a month and a half is still pretty good - averages to a book a week. 3 of these were YA (2 contemporary & 1 sci-fi); 1 was middle grade; 1 was adult/mainstream fiction; and 1 was nonfiction/memoir.

Books Abandoned since Oct. 5th: 4
This is actually not as big a number as it seems; all of these were purchased from the used bookstore and as great as used is for finding rare gems, I end up abandoning a fair number of the books I purchase secondhand. 1 historical fiction; 1 steampunk YA; 1 middle grade; and 1 nonfiction.

The Best Book I Read: This one's a tie. The Secret Race: Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France: Doping, Cover-Ups, and Winning at All Costs, by Tyler Hamilton and Daniel Coyle. I'm not really a cycling fan (though watching the cycling during the Olympics this year was amazing), but this book was still brilliant for so many reasons. Also For Darkness Shows the Stars, by Diana Peterfreund, which made me wish I'd read Persuasion, by Jane Austen, before reading this futuristic sci-fi take on it. As with The Secret Race, it was utterly brilliant. And I'm so glad to find a great sci-fi that isn't the start of a trilogy.

Books Bought: 5 new & 5 used
The 5 new books were 3 YA; 1 nonfiction; and 1 adult/mainstream. The 5 used were 2 YA; 1 nonfiction; 1 middle grade; and 1 historical fiction.

Up Next: 
Either a reread of Shatter Me, by Tahereh Mafi (now that I finally have the paperback!) or I'll read Jellicoe Road, by Melina Marchetta.

The Great Good Thing Should Be A TV Show

Television keeps trying to replace the void that was left by Lost. With confusing sci-fi epics that are cancelled after one season and tricky psychological shows I can't keep up with. And now with Once Upon A Time, which I wanted to like but just didn't.

But might I suggest something else? How about a brilliant, fantastic sci-fi journey based on Roderick Townley's incredible The Great Good Thing? In rereading this book recently I was struck by just how complex the world is and how much more there is to explore of the world, the story, and its characters than the slim little book allows for. This is one of my treasured books and it's strange now to think I wish this were a tv show. Because you guys, it could be so so incredible in the right hands.

For those who don't know what The Great Good Thing is about and/or haven't read it, here's a quick rundown, spoiler-free: Sylvie is a storybook princess living in the pages of her book. When a Reader falls asleep with the book open, Sylvie not only breaks the most important rule ("Never look at the Reader!") but also journeys out of her father's kingdom and into another land... into the Reader's dreams. This leads to plotlines and excitement beyond anything she could have ever imagined in her own story.

I was going to do a big write-up here giving a short summery of all seasons of how I'd imagine the TV show to go but that would have SO MANY SPOILERS, so I decided against it. Just know that it would include fire, the subconscious, and wonderfully fantastic things like characters leaving their books. And that I think it should star Dakota Fanning's little sister, the one who was in Super 8. Elle Fanning I think is her name.

The Traveling Book Club Book

Something I've been wanting to do for a while is do a sort of "round robin" reading thing. Get a group of readers (maybe 3-15 or whatever) and have one copy of a book that we send around, each person reading and marking up with their notes/thoughts/highlights/whatever. I just think it would be the coolest thing to have a book that a bunch of people had read and marked up and seeing this tweet from a librarian has spurred me on to see if anyone else is interested.

I do have some ARCs I got at ALA (as well as some older books) that would be good to do this with. How it would work is I'd read the book (and mark it up), then mail to the next person, and they'd do the same... on and on until the last person would send it back to me. (So, um, US residents only because of shipping costs.) We'd figure out a reasonable amount of time to keep the book (I'm thinking about 2 weeks, but I don't know how fast or slow others read) and it would work as a sort of traveling book club.

Here are some of the books I have that could work for this (but of course first I have to find out if anyone is even interested, so leave a comment or email me if you are):

ARC of Scarlet, by Marrisa Meyer (sequel to Cinder)
ARC of Son, by Lois Lowry (though I'm not sure this one would work if you haven't read all the previous books, which I haven't)
Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech
ARC of The Great Unexpected, by Sharon Creech
ARC of Prodigy, by Marie Lu (Legend #2)
an old ARC of Legend, by Marie Lu (Legend #1)
ARC of Love and Other Perishable Items, by Laura Buzo
an old ARC of serafina67, by Susie Day
an old ARC of Imaginary Girls, by Nova Ren Suma

Note that some of these books -- even if they're ARCs -- are a few years old. BUT ANYWAY, if you would be interested in doing this, and are in the US, leave a comment or drop an email to me!

Update!:
I love love love that people are interested in doing this! (And honestly relieved because I was afraid it would just be silence when I posted this idea.) Anyone who comments and says they're interested will be getting an email with more info (as well as a more complete list of books we could do this with) from me. It would help if you could include your email address in your comment, especially if you don't have a blog. :)


UPDATE #2: Sign-ups for this are closed, as I think we have a good size group right now. So happy people are interested in it!

ALA12 Recap & Books

Alright, I'm taking a break from my actual book-writing to write this ALA recap/book post before I completely forget everything that happened. This past week's ALA Annual event was the second ALA I've been to and it couldn't have come at a better time, because I got to tell people in person that I had an agent. (People I told before I told you include Cindy Pon, Tahereh Mafi, and Morgan Matson. Also Liz, Khy, Zoe, Nancy. And probably a few others I've forgotten.) When I went to ALA Midwinter I made a list of the 25 most exciting or interesting things that happened while there, and I figure that worked pretty well so I'll do the same thing this time.

1. I was there for two days -- Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday morning I had the go-ahead to make my agent new public knowledge and so spent a great deal of time grinning like a crazy person when I got to tell people. I'm especially especially happy I got to tell Tahereh Mafi in person because she's been one of the most inspiring and motivational writers to me for a long time, and getting to share this news with her was incredible. She's such a supportive and enthusiastic person. (Thank you, Tahereh!)
2. In less-than-stellar news, I managed to lose my ipod/iphone thingy on Saturday. In the exhibit hall. Next to a booth and that huge line for Marissa Meyer's signing.
3. I got to meet and hang out with Liz, from Consumed by Books for a while on Saturday morning. So that was nice.
4. One of the signings I really, really wanted to get to was Morgan Matson's signing Saturday morning. Me and my sister showed up at the booth a little early and I asked one of the ladies there if she knew when/where the signing line was, and it just happened that the lady I asked was Morgan Matson herself. Chatting with her, and getting her to sign a copy of Second Chance Summer (I've been wanting to read this one for a while) was so great.
5. I somehow went through a ton of my business/blog cards. Which usually doesn't happen -- most times at events I end up giving cards to a handful of people, but I met so many authors, bloggers, reps, and librarians at ALA. It was great.
6. There were a few absolutely awesome reps I talked to at the booths -- one of the women at HarperCollins and another at Penguin were so sweet and so fun to talk to. I don't think I got their names though (maybe first, not first and last), which is a major bummer but I'm going to see if I can find them on Twitter somehow anyway.
7. I met so many people at the blogger meet-up on Saturday night, including two authors who have debut sci-fi books coming out next year. AHHHHH!! (And it was so, so crazy to think that someday I might be them. Or not them exactly, but you know.) I had an especially good time talking to Amy Tintera, author of the upcoming Reboot.
8. After the meet-up I got horribly, terrifyingly lost in the parking garage. And you know what's super creepy at about 10 at night? Wandering about a dimly-lit, low-ceiling parking garage all alone. But all is ok! I found my car! I survived!
9. After I got home some kind person contacted me via Twitter to let me know they'd found my iphone. I called the ALA conference desk and it's gonna take a while, but I'll be getting it back! Yay! Librarians and librarian-types are so trustworthy; thank you!
10. I met Sharon Creech. More on this later in the post. I don't normally get tongue-tied or starstruck around authors, but she was a definite exception. 

THE BOOKS.

Okay so the thing I use to take photos is my dad's old iphone that has no service and now I use it as an ipod -- that's the thing I lost at ALA. So I'll be taking not-as-good pictures of these books (ARCs & finished copies) that I was lucky enough to pick up in the exhibit hall at ALA.

A note on the books: when I went to midwinter about a year and a half ago, I picked up a lot of ARCs (less than some people, but still. A lot). I ended up reading -- or at least starting to read -- all of them, but before heading to ALA this time I looked over what I'd gotten, what I'd liked, what I hadn't liked, what blew me away, and what I hadn't even finished. Because I'm picky, there were a lot I abandoned when I realized I wasn't liking the book or just wasn't interested anymore. So I decided that this time around, especially since I have less reading time than I used to, I'd try to be extra-selective in what I brought back. I'm happy to say that quite a few of the books are ones I'm really super excited about and all but about two are ones I'm just regular excited about. And I'm still pretty sure that (sadly) there'll be some I don't finish. The only book I was really, really wanting that I didn't end up getting is Unravel Me, but then I thought probably it'll be easier to wait for the third book if I have to wait for the second book, too.

SATURDAY BOOKS

I've tried to put the books in order (bottom to top) of when I got them, though of course I don't remember exactly. Books with a star in front of them are ARCs, the rest are finished copies I bought.

Second Chance Summer, by Morgan Matson - Like I said, I've been wanting to read this one for quite a while now and when I found out she'd be signing at ALA I had to buy a copy. Now, of course, I'm wishing I'd also bought a copy of her debut novel, Amy & Roger's Epic Detour, because I still haven't read that one. But I guess I can probably borrow it from my sister, who did buy it. Meeting the author was super fun though, guys. Authors are fun people to chat with.

* Time Between Us, by Tamara Ireland Stone - A time travel YA romance? Sign me up! Despite not loving (or even liking) The Time Traveller's Wife (movie or book), this seems right up my alley and is something I'm so psyched to read.

* Diverse Energies, edited by Tobias S. Buckell & Joe Monti - In total honesty the one reason I made a point to pick this one up is because Cindy Pon is in it. I don't do great with short story collections, so so far I've been skipping around, reading what interests me and not worrying about the rest. There are definitely some really interesting stories in here, including Cindy's.

* Through to You, by Emily Hainsworth - WOO, MORE SCI-FI. You guys, I'm seriously seriously excited about all the YA sci-fi that seems to be coming out. This one is about parallel worlds, which reminds me of an episode of The Twilight Zone I recently watched. High hopes, guys, high hopes for this one.

* Love and Other Perishable Items, by Laura Buzo - Published in Australia years ago as Good Oil, I'm thrilled that this is finally in the US. The cover/title combo is so much better than the Aussie version (sorry) and it involves grocery stores, which I love. As Khy would say, "it sounds like a Jory book," so I hope it lives up and I feel super-lucky to have a copy of it.

* Prodigy, by Marie Lu - SIGNED! If you remember, Legend was a really terrific dystopian -- one of the best, in my opinion, and I'm excited to see what happens next in this world and find out more about the history. I missed Lu's first signing on Saturday, but luckily she had another one and I got to go to that one (and buy a hardcover of Legend).

* Summer and Bird, by Katherine Catmull - I honestly can't tell what genre this is, though from the summary it reminds me a bit of Imaginary Girls and Alice in Wonderland. Also a bit like the old children's book Silverwing, by Kenneth Oppel. So basically it could be anything. But I love the title and the cover and the story itself sounds fairy-tale-ish. I'm nervous and excited to read it, especially since it's represented by my agent (which, not gonna lie, was a big draw in me trying to get a copy at ALA). 

Legend, by Marie Lu - I had an ARC of this that I got signed at Comic-Con last year, but I had to buy a hardcover. And while I don't like that it took me so long to buy a hardcover, I am glad I got one at ALA so the author got to sign it. 

SUNDAY BOOKS

* Two or Three Things I Forgot to Tell You, by Joyce Carol Oates - I'll admit I don't know a ton about this book, but it sounds like it could be right up my alley; I love the whole secrets-and-friendship thing in books, as long as it's done well.

* The Great Unexpected, by Sharon Creech - I hate bragging about ARCs, but omg I have a Sharon Creech ARC!!!! This book sounds most excellent. MOST EXCELLENT. *spazzes out* Also, how excellent is that title?

Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech - I don't really know if I've read this one yet, but I bought a copy for Sharon Creech to sign (along with The Great Unexpected and the copy of The Wanderer that I brought with me) and am excited about reading it (or rereading, as the case may be).

Boys, Bears, and a Serious Pair of Hiking Boots, by Abby McDonald - My sister has been wanting to read McDonald's Getting Over Garrett Delaney for ages, so we skiddaddled over to her signing as soon as Creech's signing was done on Sunday. And just aside from this book sounding really good, Abby McDonald was absolutely awesome to meet and talk to. Also, at this point I loaned my sister the last ten dollars in cash I had, which is why I didn't end up buying a copy of Between Shades of Grey (NOT THAT OTHER BOOK!!!) for my mom.

* Send Me A Sign, by Tiffany Schmidt - I've read (or started reading, at least) quite a few YA books that deal with "the  big C," but this is one I'm really hopeful about and not just because it has a dandelion (my favorite flower, which I know is not really a flower) on the cover.

* Dear Teen Me, edited by E. Kristin Anderson and Miranda Kenneally - To the wonderful rep (and blogger!) at the Zest booth who gave me this ARC -- thank you! We started talking about this book (which they had on display) and how excited we both were for it and she went, "Well, I'm really not supposed to be giving these out, but I'm going to see if I can sneak you a copy." Aaaaand now I've announced it on my blog. Oops! (But seriously, so excited.) We then went on to discuss how brilliant Before I Fall was.

* Son, by Lois Lowry - Ack! I did not actually realize, when I picked up this sequel to The Giver, that there are two books between The Giver and Son. I'm hoping the book will make sense even though I haven't read the other two -- does anyone know? Anyway, I felt compelled to pick up a copy of this since The Giver was such a surreal and weirdly memorable reading experience for me as a kid. The book isn't one of my all-time favorites, but it's definitely one I have vivid memories of.

* Keeping Safe the Stars, by Sheila O'Connor - Another amazing rep (at the Penguin booth) gave me this copy. When she saw I had an ARC of Son she asked if me and my sister could go snag her a copy and we wound up talking about covers and books for a little while. It was honestly one of the best conversations I had at ALA (and there were a lot of good ones).

* Scarlet, by Marissa Meyer - I lined up half an hour early for this signing just to be sure I was able to get a copy of this book. If I'd known Meyer was signing at ALA before I drove down to Anaheim, I probably would have brought my copy of Cinder for her to sign as well, but I didn't. I'm excited for this one, guys. I loved how Meyer twisted the story of Cinderella in the first book and Little Red Riding Hood is one of my more favorite fairy tales from childhood, so I'm definitely intrigued for this next book.

* Out of the Easy, by Ruta Sepetys - First of all, it was embarrassing standing in line for Ruta Sepetys' signing and having to tell people what book we were in line for. Between Shades of Grey is just too too similar to that other book that I am definitely definitely not going to read. Anyway, since I was out of cash I couldn't buy a copy of the paperback of Between Shades of Grey like I was planning. Which is sad because that cover is gorgeous and it would have been awesome to have a signed copy. But her upcoming book, Out of the Easy, takes place in the 50s in New Orleans and sounds even more interesting to me.

* Fangirl, by Ken Baker - This one, that I just happened to stumble upon (the author was signing ARCs) sounds like absolute fun and the type of love story I've been wanting to read for a while. Woo!

Big Girl Small, by Rachel DeWoskin - I wasn't planning on picking up this book but I ran into the author and we ended up talking and now I have a book to read. It's sort of YA but sort of adult.

* Secrets of Shakespeare's Grave - A fun-looking middle grade. It was pushed into my hands right as I was leaving and while I'm not crazy-excited about it like I am for many of the other books I managed to pick up, I'm hoping it'll be a fun, mysterious read. A good middle grade would be awesome.

BOOKS I'M MOST EXCITED TO READ.

An Intro to Adventures in Rereading

Earlier this year I thought to myself that I'd like to devote a month, one solid month, to reading nothing but rereads. There are quite a few books and some series that I'd love to revisit. However, looking at the stack of books I have yet to read, a few of which are ARCs of books that come out during the summer months, I don't see where I could devote a whole month to rereads unless I was willing to wait until August or September maybe, and I don't want to do that. I also, I've realized, don't want to entirely block myself off from reading the new books I have.

This month I reread the entire Hunger Games series and while it emotionally exhausted me (I forgot just how brutal Mockingjay was -- don't be surprised if this inspires a few posts later on), it was also a really great experience and made me, once again, want to revisit other favorite stories and characters.

So now I have a new plan. Instead of devoting a solid month to rereading, I've decided to reread at least one book or series a month for the remainder of this year. I'm working on making a list of the books I want to reread and I've decided to blog my rereading adventures (my definition of the word "adventure" is maybe a little different than most people's?). I won't be doing reviews, but definitely some reflection on the different books and my relationship to them. I'd love it, of course, if anyone wants to join in the rereading journey with however many books you feel like rereading this year. Would anyone be interested in this? Maybe I can set up a linky or some such for fellow bloggers.

Parents, Teens, and Inappropriate Reading Material

Yesterday I saw this article about the banning of Nina LaCour's amazing debut novel Hold Still (among others) from a Kansas City high school library. To be honest, it annoyed me beyond belief. (The whole ongoing incident, not the article itself.) It's so clear to me that this is not the way to handle your son or daughter reading a book that you find inappropriate. But maybe it's not so clear to everybody, and definitely I think that there are solid, legitimate reasons to not want your child to be reading something. Books, like any other form of media, aren't all good for all people.

And I fully realize that most people who will read this post either already know all this stuff or don't have children anyway or would never have a problem with anything their kid wants to read, but still I want to post it. It's easy to say that censorship is wrong and banning is bad, but it's also important to discuss how the issues that parents have with books can be handled in a beneficial way and mature way.

So You Don't Like Your Child/Teenager Reading That Book 

Step One: Know what it is in the book that you think is inappropriate. Is it cussing? Drugs? Sex? The overall theme? 

Step Two: Why do you not want your teen reading the book? Is it that you have value-based (religious/ethical) objections to it? Do you think your son or daughter isn't old enough or mature enough to handle the content? If it's drugs, sex, or cussing (three big topics) that are making you uncomfortable -- is it just that it makes you uncomfortable to know that your teen is reading something with that sort of content?

If your objection is based on a feeling of uncomfortableness, step back for a minute. Look at your teenager's environment and look outside of your own home: think about the school they go to, the friends they hang out with, extended family influences, etc etc. And then ask yourself if you're uncomfortable because you really think they'll be harmed by reading that book or if you're uncomfortable because you're just uncomfortable. Is it really an issue with the book? (Hint: probably not. Probably it has more to do with not wanting your teen to be subjected to unpleasant parts of life or not wanting them to grow up too fast or or or... anything else that doesn't really have to do with the story or how it's written.)

If, however, your objection is based on something more -- the overall content of the book or the values/actions portrayed, then...

Step Three: Know what you're talking about. Ideally this would mean reading the book, but if you don't feel comfortable reading the book at least some good, in-depth reviews of it. You may have misinterpreted what you think it's about or, then again, maybe you didn't. Either way, it's good to know.

Step Four: Talk to your teen. Wait, let me repeat that again. TALK. TO. YOUR. TEEN. Tell them your objections. Have a conversation about why this book is unacceptable or inappropriate or whatever word you want to use. Decide together if the book is one that shouldn't be read in your family. If the book is one that your teen is reading for enjoyment, this is where it ends. Don't try to get the book banned from the school, please. If this is an assigned reading book that you have some real objections to then...

Step Five: Talk to your teen's teacher. Set up a meeting where you can discuss your concerns and decide on a course of action; maybe there's a substitute book that could be read instead.

A parent's course of action should not be to try and get the book in question taken out of school. What's too mature or inappropriate for one student is right for another student. Teenagers are people. They do not all come from the same environments or have the same maturity level or the same interests. Blocking a book from other students because you don't want your teenager reading it or you don't think any teenagers - or even any people, really - should read it is harmful to those teens who, maybe, would benefit from reading it. Sure, there are exceptions, but these exceptions are probably books like A How-To Guide for Killers or something like that. They're not the books on your ninth grader's extra credit reading list. 

YA News: Jodi Picoult

Alright, I know quite a few authors who traditionally write adult novels have tried their hand at YA lately. Those ladies who wrote The Magnolia League, Harlan Coban, and a few years ago Andrea Seigel with The Kid Table. The fact that these authors don't usually write YA isn't something I often know because to be honest I don't pay a whole ton of attention to adult publishing.

And all of this is to say that Jodi Picoult, one of the adult writers I do pay attention to, has a YA co-written with her daughter coming out next year. And I have to say, I'm pretty excited about it. Picoult's novels are kind of hit-and-miss with me but she's a stellar writer and Between the Lines sounds like it could be a really funny, really sweet book.

It also sounds, even aside from the genre change, a huge departure from the novels Picoult normally writes. Between the Lines is about a "prince who wants to break free from his fairy-tale existence, and the girl who falls for him while reading." A romance! About a prince stuck in a book! And I know that authors who write a book in a new genre (whether it's YA, paranormal, contemporary, crime, romance, fantasy, whatever) have a bit of an uphill battle, but I have to say: I'm psyched about this book. It sounds really good.

So what do you guys think about Jodi Picoult writing a YA novel?

Writing: The Quiet Ones

(via tumblr.)

The book I'm working on is so quiet it's like a whisper in the wind. It's the kind of sneaky, calm book that I love reading and love writing, but that scares me to believe in. Because this book is all characters and emotion and journeys of life and even the more exciting scenes are coated with sadness and haze.

This is the type of book it is. And I am so close, have read it and reread and written and rewritten and edited so much that it's hard to tell if this is something really good or something really horrible.

Some days I think that this book is going to be great. That this is the sort of book that people will love and connect with and urge their friends to read. That is, if the book ever gets to be a book. And then other days I think what am I doing? This is a piece of junk. I think that I can't believe I'm wasting my time on this, that my writing is shoddy and the story is sad and I have no idea what I'm doing.

But I do want this to be better than good, better than great. I want it to be amazing. And mostly I think it will be, think that I can hammer it into being the book I imagine it to be. It's just that the getting-there is so difficult and being both my biggest fan and harshest critic - often in the span of a couple of hours - gets confusing.

Twenty Bookish Questions for the Lazy Blogger

I found these questions by way of Leeswammes' Blog and because I love lists/memes and am kind of at a loss for what to post lately, I decided to answer them also. YAY FOR ANSWERING STUFF!!!

1. What book has been on your shelf the longest?
I... have no idea, but there are two I can think of that I've had since I was five. The first is Shel Silverstein's A Light in the Attic, that my aunt gave me. And the second is the (sadly out-of-print) Once There Were Giants, which was from my mom when I was a little snapper. If I've had any books longer than that, I can't think of them.

2. What is your current read, your last read, and the book you'll read next?
Currently reading: The Unfinished Angel, by Sharon Creech
Last read: The Future of Us, by Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler
Next read: I'm not sure yet.

3. What book did everyone like and you hated?
I can think of two books, but I'd rather not say them. I will say that they both belong to my favorite genre and maybe you know what they are?

4. What book do you keep telling yourself you'll read, but you probably won't?
Firefly Lane, by Kristin Hannah. I've had this one on my shelf for most of this year and I keep telling myself I should read it next (I pretty much never buy books and then not read them), but it's just so big and the few pages I read of it didn't immediately pull me in. So. You know. It could sit there for a few more years, honestly.

5. Which book are you saving for "retirement?"
I don't... even understand the question.

6. Last page: read it first or wait until the end?
Oh goodness. Blogger confession: I used to be horrible about this. I pretty much always read the last page first. It took me, I don't know, a few YEARS to realize that this was ruining the books for me and now I definitely don't do it.

7. Acknowledgements: waste of ink and paper or interesting aside?
OMG HOW IS THIS EVEN A QUESTION!!?? I love the acknowledgements. Love. Them. I can't imagine why a person wouldn't, honestly.

8. Which book character would you switch places with?
Forever? Or just for a short period of time, like a day or a week? Because I don't think I'd switch places with anyone forever, but if it could be a week I'd be Penny Lane, from The Lonely Hearts Club. I'm so jealous of her great friendships.

9. Do you have a book that reminds you of something specific in your life (a person, a place, a time)?
Oh yes. More than one. serafina67 reminds me of ME. Sweethearts reminds me of a a few of my favorite-ever people.  Flirt Club reminds me of my Horizons class in middle school. I Now Pronounce You Someone Else reminds me of another person I love. Some Girls Are reminds me of a former friendship. All Alone in the Universe reminds me of many points in my life. Do I need to keep going? Because there are a ton. Many more.

10. Name a book you acquired in some interesting way.
I've actually gotten quite a lot of books in interesting ways, but the first that comes to mind is The Year of Secret Assignments. I found it years ago at a used bookstore - bought it, read it, loved it, but figured I'd never reread it, so I re-donated it to the bookstore. Fast-foward a few whiles and the bookstore is in a new location but amazingly, nobody has bought the book. So after much deliberating, I bought it again. I BOUGHT THAT BOOK TWICE. FROM THE SAME STORE. THE SAME EXACT COPY.

11. Have you ever given a book away to a special person for a special reason?
But of course! But mostly the special reasons are just "I want you to read this." (I'm a complex individual, I know.)

12. Which book has been with you to the most places?
Whenever I go out of town I take my Bible with me, but I honestly don't travel much, to say the least. I've also taken Red with me quite a few places.

13. Any required reading you hated in high school that wasn't so bad ten years later?
Ugh. If in six more years I love any of the books I hated having to read in high school, hit me with something. Please.

14. What is the strangest item you've ever found in a book?
Nothing that strange, really, just notes mostly. Scribbles. I wish I could find something awesome in a book.

15. Used or brand new?
I prefer brand new books of course, but I'm not that picky. I do like my books to be in good shape, but I'll take either. Some books are actually better with some wear and tear.

16. Steven King: literary genius or opiate of the masses?
Why are those the only choices? In fairness I've only read one of King's novels (The Long Walk), but I'm not sure I'd categorize him as either of these things. Though he is brilliant, story-wise.

17. Have you ever seen a movie you liked better than the book?
A Walk to Remember, for sure. I adore the movie but really really wasn't a fan of the book; I haven't read a Nicholas Sparks novel since, but I continue to watch and love his movies. And I know there have been others (very, very few), but I can't think of them right now.

18. Conversely, which book should have never hit the silver screen?
There are many, but I'll go with Sarah Dessen's novels. How to Deal was a poor, poor imitation of what makes her books so great.

19. Excluding cookbooks, have you ever read a book that's made you hungry?
Anna and the French Kiss -- all those breads! I just... I love bread. Like, a lot. A LOT.

20. Who is the person whose book advice you'll always take?
I have to say Khyrinthia, from Frenetic Reader. Our book tastes don't exactly match up, but she's scary-accurate at predicting whether or not I'll like a certain book. Her advice is always warranted.

Crazy Shenanigans in Books vs. Movies and Television

Last month I read Susanne Colasanti's latest novel, So Much Closer. In it, a girl finds out her longtime crush is moving to New York City, so she follows him there and enrolls at his new school in the hopes that he'll notice, and fall in love with, her. It's not a bad book, but the entire time I found myself thinking about how unbelievably unrealistic the whole thing was. I mean, really? It just seems crazy. The whole time I was thinking about how insane this character is and how I couldn't believe what she was doing.

It just wasn't very believable.

And then Saturday night I watched television. More specifically, I watched iCarly and then Legally Blonde, both of which I love. In the first, a girl checked herself into a mental institution because she likes a boy. And I assume everyone has seen Legally Blonde, but on the off chance you haven't, she follows her ex-boyfriend to law school in order to become a lawyer so that he'll go out with her again and ask her to marry him. Now, these things are equally as unbelievable as the plot of So Much Closer, but I accepted them so much easier. A mental hospital? From vapid sorority girl to law school student? No problem.


And the craziness doesn't stop there.  In Pushing Daisies, a character joins a convent to get away from the guy she's in love with (and also there's a dead girl who's never recognized by her family, but that's another type of crazy); Lizzie McGuire passed for an Italian pop star for, like, a long time. And I easily went along with those things.

So why is it that the most unbelievable (and, let's face it, usually pretty stupid) things happen in a TV show or movie, but when similar things happen in books it's so difficult to get past? All of the shows and movies I mentioned? Love them. The book? Well, the idea that The Office references were so obscure people wouldn't get them was my breaking point.

There is something wrong here, some disconnect between the fictional stories we see on television and the ones we read in books. Is it because the on-screen stories are comedies while most books aren't? Maybe, but even those books that are comedies couldn't get away with the type of storylines and character choices we see here. There are some things not even Scarlett and Spencer Martin can make believable and realistic.

And if it's not comedy, what is it? Is it easier to accept that worlds, though they look like our own, are their own universes when those worlds are shown on screen instead of in pages? Is it easier, somehow, to nitpick books? Are story mediums like television and movies more about escapism, whereas books are about relating? I don't know, but the more I think about it the more interesting the question becomes.

What do you think? Is it easier for you to accept the crazy things characters do if those characters are in TV/movies instead of books? And why?

Tuesday Ten: Most Underrated Books

This week's topic from The Broke and the Bookish is underrated books and in the spirit of that I'm going to try not to talk about the same underrated books I've talked about a million times before. Because there are so many underrated books I love and I think it's time to spotlight some of the lesser-praised ones here on the blog.

1. Scribbler of Dreams

Mary E. Pearson

This was the first (and best!) Pearson book I read. A Romeo & Juliet retelling, featuring Kaitlin Malone and Bram Crutchfield -- sworn enemies who just can't help but fall in love. Classic retellings, even books based loosely on classics, are a hard sell with me but I absolutely adore this one - maybe because I've never read or seen Romeo & Juliet? In any case, I loved the characters and their starcrossed love story.

2. Feeling Sorry for Celia

Jaclyn Moriarty

I hope this one isn't as obscure as I think it is, because it's an absolutely brilliant book. The first of Moriarty's Ashbury/Brookfield books, it involves a girl who has run away to the circus and her confused best friend, forced to write to a Complete and Utter Stranger. This book is right up there with the second in the series (The Year of Secret Assignments) as far as greatness goes, but unlike that book this focuses in much more narrowly on one set of pen pals.

3. I Can't Tell You

Hilary Frank

After concluding that talking just leads to trouble, Jake's conversations with others, including his best friend, include entirely of doodles and scribbled notes. I'm such a sucker for books told in this sort of format and this one felt true-to-life with a story I loved.

4. How to Build A House

Dana Reinhardt

To escape the fallout of her dad and stepmother's divorce, Harper joins a volunteer home-building project in a region wrecked by a tornado. This book is so sweet with a story I definitely wasn't expecting and characters whose problems felt entirely real and difficult. 

5. Cheating at Solitaire

Ally Carter

This is the only non-YA book on the list and OH MY GOODNESS IT IS JUST SO GOOD DESPITE THAT EMBARRASSING COVER. Ally Carter's (yes, that Ally Carter) debut novel is a romance novel about a self-help guru-celebrity whose claim to fame is her books touting the positives of choosing to live the single lifestyle. And then she falls in love. And it is all kinds of cute and heartwarming and Julia James is such a great character and sadly this book is out of print but if you happen to find it somewhere, anywhere, do yourself a favor and read it. You're welcome.

6. Peaches (series)

Jodi Lynn Anderson

Published in the midst of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books, this three-book series of friends who come together during the summers on a peach orchard is - dare I say it? - quite possibly even better than its more-successful  counterpart. The southern girls of this series - Birdie, Leeda, and Murphy - were overshadowed when the books came out, I fear, but their story of friendship sharp, compelling, and even a little bitter-sad at times. I love it. Love love love.

7. The Kid Table

Andrea Seigel 

The story of six cousins, narrated by one the family fears might be a psychopath, is my kind of story. Full of family get-togethers, the push-and-pull of family relationships, and way-beyond-quirky characters.

8. The Naughty List

Suzanne Young

A cheer squad that doubles as a crew of spies. NEED I SAY MORE?

9. The Geek Girl's Guide to Cheerleading

Charity Tahmaseb and Darcy Vance

The tale of a geek girl who makes the Varsity cheer squad and catches the attention of her basketball-star crush. OMG, so much love. Cheerleaders and geeks galore and a know-it-all boy, plus the best opening line in the history of YA. 

10. After the Kiss

Terra Elan McVoy

When Camille kisses Becca's boyfriend, the two girls who've never met become connected in a way they aren't even aware of. As Becca deals with the painful breakup that comes, Camille's dealing with her always-on-the-move family and unable to set down roots and trust her new friends. THIS BOOK. OMG. It combines some of my favorite elements (including unorthodox narration styles) and tells the slow, quiet, emotional story of these girls SO INCREDIBLY WELL. I love these characters and this story this book. Love.

If you haven't read any of these books, you really should get on that.

In My Mailbox: & some other stuff.

BOOKS.

Gift: Strangely, two authors sent me copies of their books this week. One is an ARC with a note that I don't have to review it (which is why it's listed as a gift instead of review copy) and the other's a hardcover of a book I'd actually recommended on that other blog I had for about a month earlier this year (REMEMBER???) and then talked about a lot on this blog. 

Review: This one is a bit awkward because I was CRAZY EXCITED to get this book in the mail -- I'd been looking forward to reading it for quite a while -- but ended up not finishing it. A well-written book that just didn't click with me, though I'm sure it will with others.

Bought: First of all, my used bookstore finally got Water for Elephants in, which my mom and I both want to read. It's sort of cheating including it because it's technically my mom's book, but still, I'm definitely going to read it. And second of all... Coke or Pepsi 3. YA writers (aspiring or published or what-have-you), these Coke or Pepsi books (I have the two previous ones as well) are excellent excellent for getting to know your teenage characters. The questions in them aren't the hefty things you MUST think about when writing a character's story, but the smaller and more entertaining details that make for a convincing, non-cookie-cutter character. I absolutely love them.

OTHER STUFF.

You may have also noticed there's a new page on my blog, for books I'm trying to get rid of. I hesitated on doing this for quite a while, but I now have a couple of piles of books stacked on top of my bookcase that I know I'm just not going to end up reading or rereading or I have more than one copy. Some of the books (recent releases I was sent for review) I really want to go to other bloggers who have an interest in reviewing them, but older copies, books I bought myself, books that came in any way other than for review, are up for anyone. 

I know there are other bloggers who periodically do trade lists and if you want to link to my blog feel free. Wait. I mean if you want me to link to your list, leave the link in the comments here (or on the page itself) and I can link to others from my trade page. If that makes any sense at all.

Behind the Books

One of the things I love about books are the stories they carry, not between the covers on the pages, but in the space around them. The stories not of why they were written or what lies inside, but just how that particular copy of that particular book came to sit on my shelves, taking up bookspace amongst all the other books. There are many books, of course, that just appeared as review books, no backstory, and many others that I bought at one point or another, no big story there either.

But there are some - more than a few - with stories that I hold to, that I love. Books that carry memories. And because I just finished reading one such book (After the Kiss, by Terra Elan McVoy), I decided I'd share a few of those stories-books-memories.

The story that goes with Matched is not really much of a story at all, but more of a feeling. I had a night class that got out at, I don't know, 9:30 or 10 maybe. It was on Tuesdays, after a full day of classes, and I was always tired when I got out, eager to get home. Matched was a book I'd been hearing about for months and the funny thing was the premise was one so close to something I'd thought I might write someday and it was this mixture of but-I-wanted-to-write-that and oh-now-I-don't-have-to-I-can-just-read-it and of course, there are infinite stories, infinite ideas. An in the middle of all these thoughts I really, really wanted to read the book. It had just come out maybe a couple weeks before, maybe less, and I was driving home from class and thought okay, maybe I'll just stop at Wal-Mart and maybe they'll have it and if they don't I can get something else, a paperback that'll be cheaper anyways. But Matched was there and even though it was pretty much all the money I had, I still had to buy it. So at 10-whatever, after a day of classes, with practically no money left in my wallet, I was pretty much as happy as I could be because I had this book I'd been wanting so badly and there's really few feelings better than buying the exact book you really, really want.

It was the last day of the Midwinter ALA meeting and I knew the floor was only open for a few hours, but I really really wanted to go back the last day. So me and my sister drove down and she went to some shops while I went to ALA. I was coming at the convention center from a different direction and got a little lost. I ran into a woman equally as lost and after a few locked doors we finally found our way into the building and then got on the elevator, eventually finding out we were both there for the same thing. She was a children's librarian and we got to talking about books and then the Newbery in particular (my favorite literary award) and she told me she'd been selected for the next year's Newbery Committee and I had a little fangirly moment like omg that's so exciting! Meeting her was the highlight of ALA for me and then I got to the floor and it was a little bittersweet because all of the pub people were packing up, but they were also selling the display copies so I found the Penguin people and was able to snag up the last copy of Anna and the French Kiss. Now the book itself, aside from being one of my absolute favorites, reminds me of ALA and that last day in particular - meeting the librarian, getting lost, showing up just as everything was slowing down, being so sad and so happy at having been able to attend in the first place and to have a tiny tiny place in the amazing world of children's publishing.

Every year  - or twice a year, whichever - I go to the children's hospital and feel too big and too old and the x-ray tech looks at me funny because they're fairly confused about how old I am (I look young) and why I'm there when it's a children's hospital. But I go and I have tests and sit in a small room and try not to get too anxious as I wait to talk to my doctor and see how my heart is doing. Whatever the news is, however good, it always freaks me out and never quite sounds good enough. I've gotten really good at not being too anxious but definitely being nervous and having to remind myself that if something were really wrong wouldn't I know it? I'm very good at reminding myself that I'm doing fine, but then I go to the doctor and there are all these small children with big complicated problems and my heart breaks a little for them and anyway, my last appointment was one that went just as planned, which is to say it went well and I got a clean bill of health. After I left that hospital I went to the one my mom works at and told her how it went and then went across the street to Barnes & Noble because after doing something difficult I like to head back to the mothership, which for me is any bookstore, anywhere. This is the book I picked up and the tiny chalky hearts on the cover are so appropriate.

I have so many other books with so many other stories. Maybe another time I will tell those stories also. For now I ask you, what are some of the best stories behind the books on your shelves?

Books for Trade List

I've been meaning to do a post like this for a while and now - finally - I've actually sort of gone through my shelves to make the list. I have a bunch of books - mostly older ARCs - that I don't want to keep and would love to trade for books I want.

Unless otherwise indicated the books are in great condition; I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to taking care of my books, if nothing else. There are a few titles on this list (indicated with a star*) that I want to go to book bloggers since they're newer or unreleased titles I received for review. I'll cross books out as they're taken.

Advanced Reader/Review Copies (ARCs)
MISSION UNPOPULAR, by Anna Humphrey (MG)
HUMAN .4, by Mike Lancaster (YA)
*MY FAVORITE BAND DOES NOT EXIST, by Robert T. Jeschonek (YA)
*FALLING FOR HAMLET, by Michelle Ray (YA)
CROSSING LINES, by Paul Volponi (YA)
ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, by Beth Revis (YA)
THE DETENTION CLUB, by David Yoo (MG)
HEAD GAMES, by Keri Mikulski (YA)
BIRD IN A BOX, by Andrea Davis Pinkney (MG)
ALL ABOUT VEE, by C. Leigh Purtill (YA)
MAKING WAVES, by Randi Reisfeld and H.B. Gilmour (MG)
HOW TO DIE OF EMBARRASSMENT EVERY DAY, by Ann Hodgman (MG)
DREAMLAND SOCIAL CLUB, by Tara Altebrando (YA)
DELIRIUM, by Lauren Oliver (YA)
PAPER COVERS ROCK, by Jenny Hubbard (YA) - this one has a small tear on the cover for some reason
*SHELTER, by Harlan Coban (YA)
*THE NAME OF THE STAR, by Maureen Johnson (YA)
TRUTH & DARE, by Liz Miles (YA anthology)
THE CINDERELLA SOCIETY, by Kay Cassidy

Trade Paperbacks
VANISHING ACTS, by Jodi Picoult (Adult) - this is one that I bought second-hand so the cover is a little ratty and the spine is cracked, but it's still in acceptable condition
THE HUNGER GAMES, by Suzanne Collins (YA)
MOMZILLAS, by Jill Kargman (Adult)

Hardcovers
DREAMS OF SIGNIFICANT GIRLS, by Christina Garcia


Audiobook
*BLOOD RED ROAD, by Moira Young (YA)

If you're interested in trading for any of these books you can email me (tencentnotes@gmail.com). my wishlist is here. A bit of warning: I have published books mixed in with not-yet-published books because I don't care to separate the two. And because of shipping costs I'll only be trading with those within the US.