tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19174916948925064942024-03-19T04:30:39.407-04:00Books Are ForWhitney Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06285707094013474548noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917491694892506494.post-22604379490298093802014-10-01T14:00:00.000-04:002014-10-01T14:00:00.921-04:00Library Life: Displays<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Display cases in libraries can serve many purposes. Sometimes they're used to advertise goings on at the library, sometimes they celebrate holidays or themes, sometimes they showcase unique collections. With such a small staff, we can't update our displays often as we'd like, but we do our best to make new and interesting displays as frequently as possible. This past month, a coworker and I were inspired to make a display celebrating Banned Books Week. Although the display case we have is quite small, creativity and energy help to make eye-catching displays! We decided to go with a literal book burning theme, so flames abounded in our decorations. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I worked on a sign inspired by <a href="http://www.alastore.ala.org/images/BBW12_ForbiddenPoster_close.jpg" target="_blank">this</a> ALA Banned Books Week poster. It ended up being pretty crooked, so I added flames to distract from the crookedness:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGDcG53qxZMSU2BBuQLbiNGXlMhp71FwFbeJcX44_XmVFuU1d0erlG-ZTMtmtpqrhm_ghXBZeJjUyfSYnaLm7q3EHcwTKsWMzdO6bCr-CSrt9ZPf9un9y3j6td5ISD3zWPqWYovawsweTG/s1600/20140905_173135.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGDcG53qxZMSU2BBuQLbiNGXlMhp71FwFbeJcX44_XmVFuU1d0erlG-ZTMtmtpqrhm_ghXBZeJjUyfSYnaLm7q3EHcwTKsWMzdO6bCr-CSrt9ZPf9un9y3j6td5ISD3zWPqWYovawsweTG/s1600/20140905_173135.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtsnCpEOee5TAYL9-5jWMi1IoIf1UV-Qt8Eg3poG7o60KcAAz6tlAWiCncsyMTIGk9ssJQEYAmKr8eiWKe_7T99KtUFPp6_qP5BzSFtv1ezwoZt0I3JwlMxPAW0Mbxp-CYs_aEqyRFUy7u/s1600/20140906_160534.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtsnCpEOee5TAYL9-5jWMi1IoIf1UV-Qt8Eg3poG7o60KcAAz6tlAWiCncsyMTIGk9ssJQEYAmKr8eiWKe_7T99KtUFPp6_qP5BzSFtv1ezwoZt0I3JwlMxPAW0Mbxp-CYs_aEqyRFUy7u/s1600/20140906_160534.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The complete display:</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvzgB50PsO59GB-i2urhRuybqsOzODF1pMnH8uwZM2HQRizVTqzJ9TD9992Qqs8tvHDImg89VdTKXkE9QUBE7ykLgCznGjD0Krpumow7OJE5t60Wcn12boZhmcwnIE0n6JzXn0iP6nBubD/s1600/20140913_163356.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvzgB50PsO59GB-i2urhRuybqsOzODF1pMnH8uwZM2HQRizVTqzJ9TD9992Qqs8tvHDImg89VdTKXkE9QUBE7ykLgCznGjD0Krpumow7OJE5t60Wcn12boZhmcwnIE0n6JzXn0iP6nBubD/s1600/20140913_163356.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGDcG53qxZMSU2BBuQLbiNGXlMhp71FwFbeJcX44_XmVFuU1d0erlG-ZTMtmtpqrhm_ghXBZeJjUyfSYnaLm7q3EHcwTKsWMzdO6bCr-CSrt9ZPf9un9y3j6td5ISD3zWPqWYovawsweTG/s1600/20140905_173135.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And details:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdupKPjftt4Q4DeBme4a2ZndiGYeEwBSsWXgtWUt5PGeOQkWlAMkb4nICeNHu0uSfmdNgzo-kcQr1qkmYnESLdjAHjLTVHUxRqO2IRw0P5_FVpFLTFATk9QMd2VbRgUht0Fc7Ig3OmT1rP/s1600/20140911_163856.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdupKPjftt4Q4DeBme4a2ZndiGYeEwBSsWXgtWUt5PGeOQkWlAMkb4nICeNHu0uSfmdNgzo-kcQr1qkmYnESLdjAHjLTVHUxRqO2IRw0P5_FVpFLTFATk9QMd2VbRgUht0Fc7Ig3OmT1rP/s1600/20140911_163856.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicnDCs9HWmUKU5SWZgdga4Fodf5e5fzEdDw8XuaETNDugp3VDY907odK8m7y281b0u0Aw0Zhs3rOWDN-PbGU0yErEhH9FgOk2oyYiqRn9Bu_o60gxLyo2nVgNRj23M_5W0a-e_4Ebn9e0h/s1600/20140906_160446.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicnDCs9HWmUKU5SWZgdga4Fodf5e5fzEdDw8XuaETNDugp3VDY907odK8m7y281b0u0Aw0Zhs3rOWDN-PbGU0yErEhH9FgOk2oyYiqRn9Bu_o60gxLyo2nVgNRj23M_5W0a-e_4Ebn9e0h/s1600/20140906_160446.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn_8yzpP8oA0PrHx88CFpvuXdptp-RLE4_161CuhosHyXbs7ZI2yiTVIas0x5zLtX9hJFrlUbefKALwg56M2EaGQIiJ0b-6D4Xq18JIiHi6qS3HFqtvyaNlyBAV4-NTHDnU3MZIZxu_t7k/s1600/20140906_160327.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn_8yzpP8oA0PrHx88CFpvuXdptp-RLE4_161CuhosHyXbs7ZI2yiTVIas0x5zLtX9hJFrlUbefKALwg56M2EaGQIiJ0b-6D4Xq18JIiHi6qS3HFqtvyaNlyBAV4-NTHDnU3MZIZxu_t7k/s1600/20140906_160327.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhFOwMmw-RSGmDEdLmF1hya5tS5ngvQ9XgaM9fqCWsp8W59Let_SoS_Q8mTeV1r9uouo8OrpEKNUi_g_C3HZeHJmq3-f7t3vhKENbhXbnySJGf9j342Rq7XWuvUk1pnowQ1y2OiQ-THLy4/s1600/20140906_160346.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhFOwMmw-RSGmDEdLmF1hya5tS5ngvQ9XgaM9fqCWsp8W59Let_SoS_Q8mTeV1r9uouo8OrpEKNUi_g_C3HZeHJmq3-f7t3vhKENbhXbnySJGf9j342Rq7XWuvUk1pnowQ1y2OiQ-THLy4/s1600/20140906_160346.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEZoLlW4XORJ3iTlqDyI40m5N4psHfskoXX_3J9IYe0dzygjvufCCKk-IZuq696U50gGeBqwIwagfxx_fVIJ_0FhzQtVbu94s9V63qp279p_WHzvdGtHiZ1L7ppP3y7hMe5JK6nOSv2IZL/s1600/20140913_163318.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEZoLlW4XORJ3iTlqDyI40m5N4psHfskoXX_3J9IYe0dzygjvufCCKk-IZuq696U50gGeBqwIwagfxx_fVIJ_0FhzQtVbu94s9V63qp279p_WHzvdGtHiZ1L7ppP3y7hMe5JK6nOSv2IZL/s1600/20140913_163318.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM2yNzJ6blOo1MLSRp9g99xpq7veZLlvLy5dG5aog306z_MfFvPs7WD6VWpNgG964MEq0x7FNZUN1BHTk57GSguYoOv7BY8JlgGH6Kl4qrJqDhuoIjzewuDQWj1VYcRfMT3ZhOpNitpWG0/s1600/20140913_163327.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM2yNzJ6blOo1MLSRp9g99xpq7veZLlvLy5dG5aog306z_MfFvPs7WD6VWpNgG964MEq0x7FNZUN1BHTk57GSguYoOv7BY8JlgGH6Kl4qrJqDhuoIjzewuDQWj1VYcRfMT3ZhOpNitpWG0/s1600/20140913_163327.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUHfUrAM6oEjc-BcY9l6ogJLsqopf0OiMApgy29EXHa87y98MjL_I0L9xEnJLM0P9t0Niq3Ch2GNPV7iV7yJj60TVmIOv4oQfWJyW2DwAJ5XIwaYy7EcbtdG78UIJJeU8knP_gCzRB8CQX/s1600/20140913_163429.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUHfUrAM6oEjc-BcY9l6ogJLsqopf0OiMApgy29EXHa87y98MjL_I0L9xEnJLM0P9t0Niq3Ch2GNPV7iV7yJj60TVmIOv4oQfWJyW2DwAJ5XIwaYy7EcbtdG78UIJJeU8knP_gCzRB8CQX/s1600/20140913_163429.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinWfCzHCv3GB2xxkxYxMZGXPAuMgx0sJl1iG7VpOTrUTCEL22TrmxsCAq3DyeiYKdepiUHXgQU-_MLZXVPuIQjgynmXNJvoUTWQ9_o4PfQL_dZihyphenhyphenxcJGVQFrTrPCmxPU2eNf-Bju2P09v/s1600/20140911_163905.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinWfCzHCv3GB2xxkxYxMZGXPAuMgx0sJl1iG7VpOTrUTCEL22TrmxsCAq3DyeiYKdepiUHXgQU-_MLZXVPuIQjgynmXNJvoUTWQ9_o4PfQL_dZihyphenhyphenxcJGVQFrTrPCmxPU2eNf-Bju2P09v/s1600/20140911_163905.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBwj3Jlh2anFenZ1kBbt6W3PbTUwAFnVbfL3GRKScwDXUWrxjVkspHbg4C7ku1jxEAmz34Ib8cyObUhw9RZ4aVLXsSyB9n1MTUM8x821mB8sHf15o9LbzcB7YatK8NudnWZ5WAu3k07iob/s1600/20140911_163914.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBwj3Jlh2anFenZ1kBbt6W3PbTUwAFnVbfL3GRKScwDXUWrxjVkspHbg4C7ku1jxEAmz34Ib8cyObUhw9RZ4aVLXsSyB9n1MTUM8x821mB8sHf15o9LbzcB7YatK8NudnWZ5WAu3k07iob/s1600/20140911_163914.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our final addition was some encouragement to check out banned books! We put up placards telling patrons that if they check out a banned book they'll be entered in a raffle to win a free DVD rental card. Anything to get people reading!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The best part of this display is that it was almost completely free! We barely have a budget for books, let alone extra supplies for displays. The only thing I paid for was a package of tissue paper in fiery colors (orange, yellow, red). We already had all the other materials and supplies at the library. I'm so happy with how the whole display came together. This is probably my favorite that I've made so far and it's definitely inspired me to get creative with displays in the future. </span><br />
<br />Whitney Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06285707094013474548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917491694892506494.post-85828883800605698522014-09-30T00:39:00.000-04:002014-09-30T00:40:03.281-04:00Review: How to Build a Girl by Caitlin Moran<br />
<div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<img alt="20525628" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1410131752l/20525628.jpg" /></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>352 pages, <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Published September 23rd 2014 by Harper</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Caitlin Moran's debut novel <i>How to Build a Girl</i> is the story of fourteen-year-old Johanna Morrigan's reinvention and simultaneous coming of age in 1990s London. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">After suffering a huge embarrassment on local TV and making a slip-up that might cost her family their monthly benefits, Johanna decides to make some serious changes. She begins submitting music reviews to a London journal, discovers an all-black wardrobe, and falls in love with a rock star.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">By seventeen, Johanna goes by her nom de plume, Dolly Wilde, and has become the quintessential rock journalist - she's a hard-drinking, poison-pen-wielding self-proclaimed Lady Sex Adventurer. Despite her success and adventuring, Johanna isn't quite happy living as Dolly Wilde. She no longer wants to write negative reviews of bands she hates, but to be positive about those that she likes. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><i>How to Build a Girl</i> by Caitlin Moran is one of those rare books that can be described in one word: hilarious. If you're like me, then you won't just be chuckling to yourself during this book, you'll be full-on laughing out loud. I expected a pretty standard coming of age story, mostly drama, some thoughtful musings. Instead I got a hilarious story told by one of the most unique protagonists I can recall. Johanna is smart, witty, and blunt. She speaks candidly about the things teenage girls deal with, like masturbation, sex, and periods. Johanna's voices makes <i>How to Build a Girl </i>into a refreshing take on adolescence and making one's mark on the world. My only qualm with the the novel was that Johanna's "sex adventuring" got a bit repetitive after a few anecdotes. I have no problem with mentions of sex and the stories were, of course, still funny. But after several tales of Johanna's misadventuring with men, the stories became a little more bland and ran together.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><i>How to Build a Girl</i> reads like a hybrid of <i>The Bell Jar</i>, <i>Almost Famous</i>, and <i>Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging</i>. With a sharp, funny narrator, Caitlin Moran provides a story that's relatable enough for readers to reflect on their own adolescences and how they eventually "built" themselves.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><b>Rating: 4/5</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><b><br /></b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">**I received a free e-galley of <i>How to Build a Girl</i> from Edelweiss.</span></span>Whitney Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06285707094013474548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917491694892506494.post-63207383857964511262014-09-11T22:13:00.002-04:002014-09-11T22:13:44.273-04:00Review: Dark Sparkler by Amber Tamblyn<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJL-yd9VehtjDz-bZ_7GTa35bhH966xOT6WBmKgGQ6cLZEKHiVZ8yoFVGFoja0ZU0ObLQppj8Jg8r4wNkRuF39wCouWOA4pg581vSLYopbx4mcgzCDiUC-E9WpcKMEj8JBnZOuiWx1n7kz/s1600/21936666.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJL-yd9VehtjDz-bZ_7GTa35bhH966xOT6WBmKgGQ6cLZEKHiVZ8yoFVGFoja0ZU0ObLQppj8Jg8r4wNkRuF39wCouWOA4pg581vSLYopbx4mcgzCDiUC-E9WpcKMEj8JBnZOuiWx1n7kz/s1600/21936666.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">128 pages, to be published on April 7, 2015 by HarperPerennial</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Amber Tamblyn's third volume of poetry, <i>Dark Sparkler</i>, examines the lives of actresses who died before their time (sometimes long before their time). Tamblyn covers a wide range of actresses - from Sharon Tate to Marilyn Monroe, from Brittany Murphy to Peg Entwistle - and includes an epilogue of more personal poems about the "business." Interspersed with her poems are original pieces of artwork by the likes of Adrian Tomine, David Lynch, and Marilyn Manson.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm definitely a fan of poetry, but I had never read anything by Tamblyn before and I had no idea what to expect - would this be the work of a spoiled Hollywood actress trying to forge a bond with these former starlets? Simple, rhyming lines? Just plain bad? Luckily, my worries were completely unfounded. <i>Dark Sparkler </i>completely blew me away. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tamblyn has an immensely strong grasp of metaphor and uses it to her advantage. Her prose never stumbles and she never pulls punches in this complex and haunting collection.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Each poem is a portrait of a woman's life - sometimes the portraits are expansive, sometimes they're simply a snapshot, but they are all breathtaking. This book is absolutely wonderful with artwork that perfectly matches the tone.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the foreword to this volume, Diane di Prima suggests that readers first take in <i>Dark Sparkler </i>how they normally would: read it straight through, pick out poems here and there, whatever works. Then, she instructs us to follow our curiosities...look up the women whose stories we're unfamiliar with (or the ones we already know)! Read their biographies, look at their photos, find interviews, do anything that strikes our fancy. I took di Prima's advice, but only partially. I couldn't stand the thought of waiting to finish the book before I found out more about Taruni Sachdev or Rebecca Schaeffer or Bridgette Andersen. I wanted to <i>know</i> them the way Tamblyn seemed to in her verse. I wanted to understand these words and stories. Once I read about one of these actresses lives, then I'd reread the poem and see what new dimensions the backstory brought to the work. Of course, the poems in <i>Dark Sparkler</i> can stand on their own, but we don't necessarily have to leave them on their own. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Favorites: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Sharon Tate," "Peg Entwistle," "Jean Harlow," "Bridgette Andersen," "Samantha Smith"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Rating: 4.5/5</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">**I received a free e-galley of <i>Dark Sparkler</i> from Edelweiss.</span>Whitney Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06285707094013474548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917491694892506494.post-40607655670847729622014-09-08T23:56:00.000-04:002014-09-08T23:56:03.344-04:00Disappointments: Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXz6eJugugZKnCSvhHS0siMZjTraN1mIHkgILD4S5fo2eqd5Th4qFdh1O9Ph9z2cCiOPPeGlIakOA1tn-R__MzozaWZnlQ4ZNQ5OkeA8bX0hIBY4dSt4ST1JaWClA7SGVxBgJfDQwkgAgO/s1600/9780345803788.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXz6eJugugZKnCSvhHS0siMZjTraN1mIHkgILD4S5fo2eqd5Th4qFdh1O9Ph9z2cCiOPPeGlIakOA1tn-R__MzozaWZnlQ4ZNQ5OkeA8bX0hIBY4dSt4ST1JaWClA7SGVxBgJfDQwkgAgO/s1600/9780345803788.jpg" height="320" width="207" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>544 pages, published January 1, 2013 by Anchor</strong></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"<span id="freeText5502039730000702924"><i>When New Yorker Rachel
Chu agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend, Nicholas
Young, she envisions a humble family home and quality time with the man
she hopes to marry. But Nick has failed to give his girlfriend a few
key details. One, that his childhood home looks like a palace; two, that
he grew up riding in more private planes than cars; and three, that he
just happens to be the country’s most eligible bachelor. <br /> <br /> On
Nick’s arm, Rachel may as well have a target on her back the second she
steps off the plane, and soon, her relaxed vacation turns into an
obstacle course of old money, new money, nosy relatives, and scheming
social climbers.</i>"</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Description via Goodreads.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText5502039730000702924"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">From the description here to the gorgeous paperback cover to the blurb that described <i>Crazy Rich Asians</i> as a "<i>Pride and Prejudice</i>-like send-up" I couldn't wait to dive in. But soon enough, I really, really wished I could dive back out. Here's what I found most insufferable about <i>Crazy Rich Asians:</i></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><u>Lack of character development</u></i> - The story </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">is </i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">about Rachel and Nick's ups and downs on their vacation, but it's also about Nick's relatives and friends, and other members of the elite Singaporean circle with which the Young family runs. Some of these stories were actually interesting. At times I thought, </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hey, I'd read a book about Nick's cousin Astrid and her husband! </i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">or whatever else struck me as fascinating</span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">B</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ut we were never given </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">quite</i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> enough of these other characters' stories to make them stick. The minor characters are sickeningly snobbish and nasty and the major characters, even Nick and Rachel, aren't developed, leaving the storylines to fall very, very flat.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u style="font-style: italic;">Label dropping</u> - I don't mind reading about rich people, I really don't. But </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Crazy Rich Asians </i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">was so label-heavy that at times it felt like I was reading a very long catalog. Chanel this, Dior that, yadda yadda yadda. It was exhausting. It <i>is</i> possible to describe a wealthy person or an opulent home without 20 paragraphs about designers and extravagant adjectives, but I even started to forget that while reading this book. (ex. "</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><u>Awkward dialogue/bad writing in general</u></i> - I mostly listened to the audiobook of <i>Crazy Rich Asians</i>, but read the physical book here and there. I will credit the audiobook narrator for making this much more palatable in audio form. Example: -- "Yes, I thought you were dead set against coming to the wedding," Nick said. -- "Well, I changed my mind at the last minute. Especially since Zvi has this fabulous new plane that can zip around so quickly--our flight from New York only took fifteen hours!" <i>Cringe</i>. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u style="font-style: italic;">The end story about Rachel's parents</u><b style="font-style: italic;"> </b>- *SPOILERS* What could have been a storyline throughout the book was thrown in at the very end for absolutely no reason. In a fit of bitchiness, Nick's mother reveals what her private investigator has learned about Rachel: her father, long thought dead, is actually alive. This information results in a confrontation with Rachel's mother who shares a very long, strange story about who Rachel's father really is. This is literally within the last 15 pages of the book, adding nothing to a story which had hardly mentioned Rachel's father at all. Once again, this could have been an interesting story; I might have even read a book about this! But the cheap twist was added at the end in an attempt to add some depth to a book that was incredibly shallow.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Rating: 1.5/5</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sigh. I actually feel better having written this down, but count me out of reading Kevin Kwan's sequel, <i>China Rich Girlfriend</i>, which comes out next year. </span></div>
Whitney Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06285707094013474548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917491694892506494.post-15869052687727644932014-09-05T20:05:00.001-04:002014-09-05T20:06:15.980-04:00Review: Book Riot Quarterly Box<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_zt-fXAjTuWwZD-cDf530-IIv-g1poLkIt5YGbb7UXDIbpa6TKNvFSgktb7-2huU99g-VWL-w9Y1XSUkvXwseW_GW6kv82psZtDpPdpiQe2GmZkTrRm-oLnPB70DP7_wyPYPvGJ-FAAE0/s1600/20140904_184233.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_zt-fXAjTuWwZD-cDf530-IIv-g1poLkIt5YGbb7UXDIbpa6TKNvFSgktb7-2huU99g-VWL-w9Y1XSUkvXwseW_GW6kv82psZtDpPdpiQe2GmZkTrRm-oLnPB70DP7_wyPYPvGJ-FAAE0/s1600/20140904_184233.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
There are several things that I REALLY love in the world: my family, my friends, my boyfriend, my dogs, books, and lastly, getting things in the mail. I also really love combining these things. Since my boyfriend probably won't send himself to me via FedEx, I usually settle for getting books in the mail - books that I order online, the rare ARCs that I win, and most recently, every three months, a <a href="http://www.bookriot.com/" target="_blank">Book Riot</a> quarterly box! Now, I don't want to spoil my review but...this subscription box is probably the best thing ever. It's truly a bibliophile's dream come true.<br />
<br />
If you're unfamiliar with the words I am saying, Book Riot is a site that covers any and all things book-related. You have your reviews, lists, links, and quizzes. THEN you have special features like "Book Fetish" (a weekly catalog of bookish jewelry, clothes, art, and more), "Literary Tourism" (each post explores a certain location - bookstores, books set there, literary history, etc.), and "Reading Pathways" (suggested three book sequences to become familiar with an author). Needless to say, this website is the bomb.<br />
<br />
While browsing around Book Riot a few months back, I noticed a section that I had overlooked in the past: "Subscriptions." Here, you can subscribe to Book Riot podcasts and...AWESOME REAL LIVE BOOKS DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR! You have two options here:<br />
<ol>
<li><a href="http://www.riotread.com/" target="_blank">The Riot Read</a> - For $30 you get "<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a great new book in your mailbox every
month, along with related articles, interviews, and explorations brought
to you by the writers of <span class="mustard">Book Riot</span>." Right now there's only one subscription available, "The Main Event," which is mostly adult fiction. But Young Adult and Non-fiction Riot Reads are coming soon!</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://quarterly.co/products/book-riot?utm_source=BKR&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=contributors" target="_blank">The Quarterly Box</a> - For $50, "</span></span>every 3 months, Book Riot will send you a package of books and bookish stuff." </li>
</ol>
I should also mention that I previously subscribed to a similar service - Powell's Indiespensible. Their boxes are $40 and ship every 6 weeks, but I was usually less than impressed. I kept waiting to get better goods, but ended up cancelling after 4 deliveries. So while I was a <i>little</i> wary of trying a similar service, looking at the contents of the previous Quarterly Boxes quickly helped me past my trepidation. I decided to take the dive - the BIG dive - and go for the Quarterly Box rather than sniffing around the monthly Riot Read.<br />
<br />
After several weeks of staring down the mailman, my first Quarterly Box arrived yesterday! Here are the goods.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwTaLnc4va8b-yNdkcCkmO_vrzIMZfHJytjTamMq1T3UH8cRk60QVqmdmg_aQKvCO30rk5_7htvRPufJO2gy_p80bQb93KNLm_Q_j2OyhFZfujR8rlcNfCO2Kahcr9XNh9HuREXjgZFuoP/s1600/20140904_184324.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwTaLnc4va8b-yNdkcCkmO_vrzIMZfHJytjTamMq1T3UH8cRk60QVqmdmg_aQKvCO30rk5_7htvRPufJO2gy_p80bQb93KNLm_Q_j2OyhFZfujR8rlcNfCO2Kahcr9XNh9HuREXjgZFuoP/s1600/20140904_184324.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
First view of my box!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbQug3UdX25IEzcx9Y-w7vKtG2tsLSx9XSJQIxaLhALaRQYUc2zAJ7CnyLyAhEAL1sMfVrzk7U1sl21A8Zu_cNTV2XpSUm6lw0NLOzo33IqFOXSl8pDGRVXMElnEZ4TMCmnGWqwo71dG8I/s1600/20140904_185055.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbQug3UdX25IEzcx9Y-w7vKtG2tsLSx9XSJQIxaLhALaRQYUc2zAJ7CnyLyAhEAL1sMfVrzk7U1sl21A8Zu_cNTV2XpSUm6lw0NLOzo33IqFOXSl8pDGRVXMElnEZ4TMCmnGWqwo71dG8I/s1600/20140904_185055.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16171164-the-salinger-contract?ac=1" target="_blank"><i>The Salinger Contract</i> by Adam Langer</a>.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKZAqk4bQ48hVhJhC90nx8cOlvlQVQHnPgoMOBukNnhNO2cVtwhLaWMa3yyKlXGOL-UunJHmNkO8w3XRT1pUzAohV8waUXJWUtC5ahwlDfJr9TJWJFkSYsqqxQVKi-t3xdXJikopt7vn3y/s1600/20140904_185303.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKZAqk4bQ48hVhJhC90nx8cOlvlQVQHnPgoMOBukNnhNO2cVtwhLaWMa3yyKlXGOL-UunJHmNkO8w3XRT1pUzAohV8waUXJWUtC5ahwlDfJr9TJWJFkSYsqqxQVKi-t3xdXJikopt7vn3y/s1600/20140904_185303.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20758127-what-we-see-when-we-read?ac=1" target="_blank"><i>What We See When We Read </i>by Peter Mendelsund</a>.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzVNQhFza6oJqwnWN-U2x5lWzIZx8qicY7gMyFVtR3cumJ_o0mlokMhhNfE3F9n-QLoCbPBl1Ji9L-NnL2t_pNezqoENCfZxHNQjQabtKrg9mrB8SezE8dBVZ-sh8kGM6vmVUMyziyb2mR/s1600/20140904_185313.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzVNQhFza6oJqwnWN-U2x5lWzIZx8qicY7gMyFVtR3cumJ_o0mlokMhhNfE3F9n-QLoCbPBl1Ji9L-NnL2t_pNezqoENCfZxHNQjQabtKrg9mrB8SezE8dBVZ-sh8kGM6vmVUMyziyb2mR/s1600/20140904_185313.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>What We See When We Read </i>includes some hand-written annotations from Peter Mendelsund!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpGf7e4nMxRtBUqr712ay5OjNr7TvDx890YKJw6NiqkZZQ6VSQ-FnQbk04DJOKM_yw1fub2uKNfbAfStTAQ5PBJ7GzyzxGjefabC1eH_nlbqbA0DJ6OLpfVcgbNfhjfsk80OjBE9tjzEgp/s1600/20140904_185406.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpGf7e4nMxRtBUqr712ay5OjNr7TvDx890YKJw6NiqkZZQ6VSQ-FnQbk04DJOKM_yw1fub2uKNfbAfStTAQ5PBJ7GzyzxGjefabC1eH_nlbqbA0DJ6OLpfVcgbNfhjfsk80OjBE9tjzEgp/s1600/20140904_185406.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
8x10" literary quote print from <a href="http://obviousstate.com/" target="_blank">Obvious State</a> (and postcard print).</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij0e043dy2mREWQMyHFb0oTS7oqqiH18NKja2Bf4U6_XO96XtnSOoBmkQfRkXt1N3myhFXzLX6hW0ajqnJWOnHwOhk5rEgmEtdz5JqlDR77K7gqnJd1JQnv_JTLxPVwAFyXHV-IcGC2yys/s1600/20140904_185557.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij0e043dy2mREWQMyHFb0oTS7oqqiH18NKja2Bf4U6_XO96XtnSOoBmkQfRkXt1N3myhFXzLX6hW0ajqnJWOnHwOhk5rEgmEtdz5JqlDR77K7gqnJd1JQnv_JTLxPVwAFyXHV-IcGC2yys/s1600/20140904_185557.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Sticker, "Inconceivable" pin to promote Cary Elwes's book <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21412202-as-you-wish?ac=1" target="_blank">As You Wish</a>, </i>code for a free ebook of Michael Chabon's <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1844499.Maps_and_Legends?ac=1" target="_blank">Maps and Legends</a></i>, "Read Harder" water bottle.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7gr9ZXSoDLigwPWPtNhMulDuH_QMtg3lhdl1yJ_yvmokVBU9SZkKxPQothC2vL_VcuyxpIzWUD9ViCDGuXehbpHlh6OrmE0RULLE_obRRP3Q_AR7jZ_1W92QqGvBjCRIw8UdaK5yvVAzD/s1600/20140904_195624.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7gr9ZXSoDLigwPWPtNhMulDuH_QMtg3lhdl1yJ_yvmokVBU9SZkKxPQothC2vL_VcuyxpIzWUD9ViCDGuXehbpHlh6OrmE0RULLE_obRRP3Q_AR7jZ_1W92QqGvBjCRIw8UdaK5yvVAzD/s1600/20140904_195624.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The whole haul!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I am so, so, so, SO happy with the box! The library print is obviously perfect for me and I can't wait to get a frame and hang it. I like little extras so the sticker and water bottle are great too. I'm also excited to read <i>What We See When We Read</i> which sounds awesome. All in all, I am very happy with the Quarterly Box. Fifty bucks can be a lot, but for this good of a haul every three months, I definitely think it's worth it. </div>
<br />
Thank you, Book Riot!Whitney Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06285707094013474548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917491694892506494.post-78863006585652594412014-08-22T14:34:00.000-04:002014-09-05T20:09:29.193-04:00Library Life - Pulling out the WeedsIn the library world, weeding isn't a summer chore your parents make you do. It's the process of deciding which items are no longer needed in the collection and giving them the boot. In fancier terms, weeding is also called "deselection." <br />
<br />
Myself and some co-workers are planning a pretty huge overhaul of the library's children's section. A lot of the children's materials have never been weeded, or at least not in the past 20ish years. So part of rearranging and updating the section is weeding out the things that are no longer needed in our collection. I recently weeded the entire Juvenile Biography section and found some real gems. <br />
<br />
Every library has different policies when it comes to collection
development and weeding. Some libraries remove materials that haven't
circulated in five years or so. Others put a much longer expiration date
on their items. But there are, of course, considerations aside from circulation dates to be made when deciding whether or not to weed an item. Here are some general guidelines that I follow when weeding:<br />
<ul>
<li><i>Last circulation date</i> - When is the last time the item was checked out? My library is pretty lenient here. If it was checked out five years ago, we'll probably keep it. If it hasn't been checked out for 10 or 15 years, it will probably be discarded.</li>
<li><i><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1clXGwH-ul6gYHdtChQRqqX7Fb2pB4ZokCU4Ti794E626L0-VGZ6tni11i2JBYpOCa2lexDdqKg4aVkoGHvpOH_AIV44eTLAGUwUpdVSIeka33u4J0EFcCEMF3NQNakojE4Y2clA8pbhA/s1600/20140807_121305.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1clXGwH-ul6gYHdtChQRqqX7Fb2pB4ZokCU4Ti794E626L0-VGZ6tni11i2JBYpOCa2lexDdqKg4aVkoGHvpOH_AIV44eTLAGUwUpdVSIeka33u4J0EFcCEMF3NQNakojE4Y2clA8pbhA/s1600/20140807_121305.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Walt, you're looking a little old here...</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRthQP4V8PtKKSAbwlzL63LLX1R35euTIsIfjTX0v3EMWPjhUKcb-ZsG8_AJyV_rI8UnCfG7k5v7j12a0_xOQqrMN_TGPPNcIDzhRwP7E3CoZJigElthnuFn-jFd0jmmiBFOjjXPeqToWH/s1600/20140807_121317.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRthQP4V8PtKKSAbwlzL63LLX1R35euTIsIfjTX0v3EMWPjhUKcb-ZsG8_AJyV_rI8UnCfG7k5v7j12a0_xOQqrMN_TGPPNcIDzhRwP7E3CoZJigElthnuFn-jFd0jmmiBFOjjXPeqToWH/s1600/20140807_121317.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Oh...you haven't been checked out in 22 years. I'm sorry, Walt, but this is goodbye.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
</i></li>
<li><i>Age of the material </i>- Is a book so old that its information is no longer relevant? It might need to go. For example, books about politicians that are still alive can become outdated pretty quickly. I found several Hillary Clinton bios specifically about "The Life of the First Lady." Of course I think we should have biographies about Hil, but they should have information that goes beyond 1995. </li>
<li><i>Redundancy</i> - Do we have several books on the same topic? Libraries <i>should</i> have a lot of information about certain popular topics and people. We don't, however, need a lot of information about <i>every</i> topic or person. For example, I pulled a particularly old and beat-up biography of George Washington. Sure, he's a popular guy, but I left about 15 other bios for interested grade schoolers to peruse.</li>
<li><i>Multiple copies</i> - At one point, the library actually needed 8 copies of <i>The Help</i>. There was a ton of buzz over the movie, people were talking about the book everywhere, and we couldn't keep a copy on the shelf. Now, we could probably stand to weed that particular book down to about 3 copies (maybe even 2!). This is, like most of my "criteria", a judgment call. It's up to the weeder to decide how many copies of a book the library needs, but it helps to consider the other guidelines.</li>
<li><i>Relevance</i> - I was drowning in biographies of 1990s athletes and movie stars during my weeding. Some of them I'd heard of (I see you, Tara Lipinski!) but some were so outdated that I'd their names didn't even ring tiny, distant bells. Unfortunately, kids no longer want to read about Sarah Michelle Gellar or LeAnn Rimes. I know...it hurts my heart too.</li>
<li><i>Physical condition</i> - Even if a book is still relevant and has been checked out, we may need to remove it from the collection because of its physical condition. We just can't keep books around that are falling apart. One of my coworkers is pretty brilliant at book repairs, so she fixes up anything that can be saved. But some books are simply beyond repair. If it's something that we think should still be in the collection, we'll get a new copy. I recently had to toss an old copy of <i>The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers</i> because the cover was falling off and everything else was being held together with scotch tape. I immediately purchased another copy because, duh, we need a few <i>Two Towers</i> around. But if a book is super junky AND irrelevant, say sayonara. </li>
<li><i>Subject matter</i> - Finally, it's important to consider the item's subject matter. Even if something has never been checked out or is pretty old, I'll keep it if it's considered a "classic" or if it touches on a unique subject. Some things are just important to keep in a collection. When I weed the young adult section, I try not to get rid of books that bring cultural and ethnic diversity to the collection. Even if they haven't been checked out within the arbitrary time period that we've selected as a weeding guideline, I'll keep these books in our collection because it's important that young people (and old people and in-between people!) have access to different narratives and perspectives. </li>
</ul>
These rules aren't set in stone! There's a lot of wiggle room and plenty of judgment calls involved in weeding. I also run weeds by my boss before I actually remove them from the catalog. He might know more about a certain topic than I do and think that we should keep a book that I weeded. Or a coworker might be able to tell me the value of a certain item that I then decide to keep in the collection. It takes a village! Or...something.<br />
<br />
So what happens after we've decide to remove something from the collection? I'm sure it's different everyone, but this is how it works at my library...First we check out weeded books to a special "discard" account. This account is cleared out periodically by the people who work for our larger network (TLN) so that they're not just sitting in magical check out land forever. Then we rip out the first page of the book (the page with the library's bar code in it). I know, ripping books sounds blasphemous, but I promise it ends well! Next, we take our special "DISCARD" stamp and stamp it a few times on the inside cover of the book. And finally, we put the weeded items into our book sale in the lobby where they will await new, loving homes!<br />
<br />
Some people seem to hate the idea of weeding. They think we shouldn't get rid of anything because WHAT IF??? But I generally like weeding. The physical act of weeding, like so many library duties, can be calming. And the results are good too! Weeding leads to a cleaner, more relevant and updated library collection. And of course it's easier for patrons to find what they're looking for when they don't have to sort through the weeds to get there. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC2k4tCUm_cZhWGz43DbebGQh0E9eFtx944tNIX1rpYcGks0DECPfGM9WOuCBFsYH6GQFJupIF6p1-6Xa8gtIN9RLC2ELTFdA_jBkt0XazdlVUoH7FkCvpjaNfe9qr_T8w8faFchBe9QGZ/s1600/20140807_124108.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC2k4tCUm_cZhWGz43DbebGQh0E9eFtx944tNIX1rpYcGks0DECPfGM9WOuCBFsYH6GQFJupIF6p1-6Xa8gtIN9RLC2ELTFdA_jBkt0XazdlVUoH7FkCvpjaNfe9qr_T8w8faFchBe9QGZ/s1600/20140807_124108.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>It's not you, Leo, it's me. I'm just having a hard...okay, fine, it IS you.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Whitney Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06285707094013474548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917491694892506494.post-2952096028560652432014-07-21T20:16:00.004-04:002014-07-22T01:44:15.891-04:00Review: Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay<span style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: black; float: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ZOeoSMOuHDEHymQY7FqHGoiCyvpcs2WyOp7_owIZbsTU30UjfiSAN_IxKcTbQvhvx6f0KqODisxU9MY2vWOdeTpOh0ZskGwwIgZjw4Y_AmuEcOrR9Tou6_GAmxaqA29z3JSVa-YGL8Ll/s1600/18813642.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Since the release </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">of her widely acclaimed debut novel, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An Untamed State</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, 2014 is shaping up to be the year of Roxane Gay. Next up is her collection of essays titled </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bad Feminist</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, set to be released on August 5. I had the privilege of receiving an advanced e-galley of </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bad Feminist</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and was incredibly impressed with the wide-reaching, profound material found in this collection.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Ms. Gay has separated her book into 5 equally riveting sections: Me, Gender & Sexuality, Race & Entertainment, Politics, Gender, & Race, and Back to Me.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<div style="font-size: 13px;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">As she explains in the "Me" essays, Roxane Gay is a self-proclaimed “bad feminist”: she believes heavily in the tenents of feminism, yet finds herself not quite able to give up certain behaviors and habits. She advocates for gender equality, but still enjoys listening to rap music with not-so-suitable-to-feminist-<wbr></wbr>ears lyrics. She promotes a culture with positive representations of various races, ethnicities, and genders, yet waxes nostalgic for the whitewashed <i>Sweet Valley </i>series. It’s a conundrum that most modern feminists face and must come to terms with: do I disown things that I enjoy if they don’t align perfectly with my beliefs? Am I “bad” if I don’t loudly protest against every problematic situation I encounter? Maybe so. But maybe we can stake a claim in being bad feminists as Gay has.</span></div>
<div style="font-size: 13px;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From her "bad feminist" manifesto, Roxane leads into an acknowledgment of her own privilege, commenting that, "At some point, you have to surrender to the kinds of privilege you hold. Nearly everyone, particularly in the developed world, has something someone else doesn't, something someone else years for." Gay never forgets her privilege, but she also knows where she <i>isn't </i>privileged: as a black woman of Haitian descent she discusses the problems faced by women and people of color in our society, often focusing on their depictions in popular media. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ms. Gay's pop cultural commentary is funny and relevant, touching on subjects that still ring in recent memory. The "Gender & Sexuality" section of the book includes commentary on <i>Girls, Bridesmaids, Girlfriends</i>, the Sweet Valley book series, Kate Zambreno's novel <i>Green Girl, </i>VH1's "celebreality" shows <i>Rock of Love </i>and <i>Flavor of Love</i>, Gillian Flynn's <i>Gone Girl</i>, the <i>Fifty Shades of Grey </i>series, and many more. Gay uses these cultural milestones to discuss the portrayal of women in books, television, and movies, the expectations placed on women because of these portrayals, and the distorted mirror of popular culture through which women begin to see themselves. Her words are heavy, reminding us constantly of the ways women are forced to perform their gender and the barrage of unrealistic or problematic depictions of women in media. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIZqi7Gs-0nEsRcUPkXPuuiWHV24llfFVy7ezHgsI_Fe98S6l9oliEF8cAec41eyaQtQS5zKfx6R03V2gofP8uqqIHB444ni_Mn6O9nxpHiDhJYaSiE3F3OTc9JwSnBw0_UgcvSOpvl0AG/s1600/4UU90MHT.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIZqi7Gs-0nEsRcUPkXPuuiWHV24llfFVy7ezHgsI_Fe98S6l9oliEF8cAec41eyaQtQS5zKfx6R03V2gofP8uqqIHB444ni_Mn6O9nxpHiDhJYaSiE3F3OTc9JwSnBw0_UgcvSOpvl0AG/s1600/4UU90MHT.jpeg" height="200" width="200" /></span></a><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Similarly, "Race & Entertainment" is comprised of Gay's thoughts and personal experiences with race in film and television. She specifically addresses the popular "magical negro" trope, the supersaturation of media with struggle narratives, and the assumption that positive depictions of people of color here and there - "scraps from the table" as Gay calls them - will ever be enough. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sometimes Gay's prose is lovely, sometimes it's hard hitting, but it always leaves the reader with new information, and new perspective, and ultimately, the desire for more. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The penultimate section of Gay's book is "Politics, Gender & Race" with essays ranging from women's reproductive freedom as a political bargaining chip to the media's treatment of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev following the Boston bombing. These criticisms are brash and fierce, forcing open the eyes of those who may not have considered such topics with a critical lens. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gay's final essays are "Bad Feminist: Take One" and "Bad Feminist: Take Two" in the "Back to Me" portion of the book. They tackle the concept of "bad feminist" in more depth, discussing the danger of subscribing to an "essential feminism," a feminism that is black or white, right or wrong, and as Gay notes, "suggests anger, humorlessness, militancy, unwavering principles, and a prescribed set of rules for how to be a proper feminist woman." We all mess up. There are no perfect movements and no perfect feminists, so we might as well admit to our flaws and embrace our bad sides.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Roxane Gay's <i>Bad Feminist</i> is a collection of poignant and thought-provoking essays; she never hesitates, never pulls punches, and we readers are all the better for it. Every page is a wonder, every sentence a revelation. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now that I've finished Gay's essays and have had a few days to ruminate on them, I feel wide-eyed and ready to take on the world. And I am proud to call myself a bad feminist. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b style="background-color: white;">Rating: 5/5</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">**I received a free e-galley of <i>Bad Feminist </i>from Edelweiss.</span></div>
Whitney Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06285707094013474548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917491694892506494.post-9073042926230049482014-07-20T19:22:00.002-04:002014-07-20T19:22:54.532-04:00Book Haul - Feminist Edition<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju6iQ-IzzqAn5XhAIfgh53gzFNNJdZfHksIY30DP-E3oPrDkJ2ly4-_IUdH0jbMIcfYLgPp2cJu7zM6Ue7vcrc8QGIpu-q0iV8mPt06ZVbfXSNItjSYJbJOnyRYTQMnr-QX0fKhl3P_zl4/s1600/20140720_190659.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju6iQ-IzzqAn5XhAIfgh53gzFNNJdZfHksIY30DP-E3oPrDkJ2ly4-_IUdH0jbMIcfYLgPp2cJu7zM6Ue7vcrc8QGIpu-q0iV8mPt06ZVbfXSNItjSYJbJOnyRYTQMnr-QX0fKhl3P_zl4/s1600/20140720_190659.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've been on a feminism kick for a while now and have recently been amping up my feminist book buying. These are purchases that I've made in the last month or so. Currently finishing up <i>Men Explain Things to Me</i> by Rebbeca Solnit. I've heard very good things about <i>The Purity Myth</i> by Jessica Valenti. Pretty much everything else I just discovered from surfing online. So these are my feminist/women's studies purchases of the past month or so:</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Men Explain Things to Me</i> by Rebecca Solnit</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Yes Means Yes: Visions of Sexual Power & A World Without Rape</i> by Jaclyn Friedman and Jessica Valenti</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Girls Like Us: Fighting for a World Where Girls Are Not For Sale</i> by Rachel Lloyd</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide</i> by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity is Hurting Young Women</i> by Jessica Valenti</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism, and the Future</i> by Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can't imagine that I'll get to ALL these books in the near future, but I look forward to picking my way through them in the months and years to come.</span></div>
Whitney Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06285707094013474548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917491694892506494.post-86181834542489107122014-07-18T23:42:00.000-04:002014-07-18T23:42:44.578-04:00Review - The Divorce Papers by Susan Rieger<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6xIaeqldyZaWIO_4F1O9vZe6QwlJ-XKD7D66_rYOH4QKy8nPApt3P1lmxNL57N-R0QFu3DR-k_rzu7ZYQ44thCyJpNhCXoQoDtFzEXLP2KmytrCIbw1ICdG0LE9w81DIASf8ClS_9gr9-/s1600/18142403.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6xIaeqldyZaWIO_4F1O9vZe6QwlJ-XKD7D66_rYOH4QKy8nPApt3P1lmxNL57N-R0QFu3DR-k_rzu7ZYQ44thCyJpNhCXoQoDtFzEXLP2KmytrCIbw1ICdG0LE9w81DIASf8ClS_9gr9-/s1600/18142403.jpg" height="320" width="210" /></span></a><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">480 pages, published March 18, 2014 by Crown</span></strong></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Susan Rieger's debut novel, <em>The Divorce Papers, </em>is the story of an affluent New England couple's divorce told, literally, through their divorce papers. When Maria "Mia" Meiklejohn Durkheim requests divorce representation from the law firm of Traynor, Hand, the only associate available to perform her intake interview is young criminal attorney Sophie Diehl. Sophie is content with criminal law and abhors the thought of working face-to-face with clients. Unfortunately for Sophie, Mia takes an immediate liking to her and refuses to accept representation from anyone else at the firm. Despite her hesitation, Sophie sucks it up and spends the better part of 1999 learning the ropes of divorce law firsthand.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nothing much happens beyond discussions of offers and counteroffers, custody of the Durkheim's daughter, Jane, and general marital discontent. However, the main character of this book is really Sophie, and we learn tidbits about her personal life throughout the novel. As </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Ms. Meiklejohn and Dr. Durkheim's divorce continues through , Sophie struggles with interoffice feuds, boyfriend trouble, and the ways that divorce seems to permeate her own life. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Lacking a heavy plot, <em>The Divorce</em> <em>Papers</em> leans instead on its unique format. Personally, I didn't mind this trick. I quite enjoyed not knowing what I would find on the next page - an e-mail, an office memorandum, a note from a flower shop, a legal document? It was definitely enough to move the story along for me. And the insights we receive about Sophie from e-mails to her best friend Maggie and letters to her parents were a pleasant bonus beyond the drama of the Durkheim's divorce. </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">At times the legalese and documents were boring and repetitive, but I didn't want to skip anything that might end up being important. Overall, </span><em style="font-family: Arial;">The Divorce Papers</em><span style="font-family: Arial;"> is a simple, fun read that peeks into the lives of the parties involved in a high stakes divorce, presenting a conventional narrative in a moderately unconventional way.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">Rating: 3.5/5</span></strong>Whitney Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06285707094013474548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917491694892506494.post-92100941576487075432014-07-16T00:22:00.001-04:002014-07-16T00:26:15.950-04:00Favorites of 2014 (So Far)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img alt="15507958" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1357108762l/15507958.jpg" width="132" /><a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1357108762l/15507958.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="18293427" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1404582137l/18293427.jpg" width="135" /></a></div>
I've read 69 books so far this year and have been impressed with quite a few. Not all of these books were published in 2014, of course, but most were (with a few that were released within the last three years or so). These are my favorite reads so far and they all get an automatic recommendation from me:<br />
<ul>
<li><i>Me Before You</i> by JoJo Moyes</li>
<li><i>Astonish Me</i> by Maggie Shipstead</li>
<li><i>Where'd You Go, Bernadette?</i> by Maria Semple</li>
<li><i>The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry</i> by Gabrielle Zevin</li>
<li><i>Lexicon</i> by Max Barry</li>
<li><i>We Were Liars</i> by E. Lockhart</li>
<li><i>Since You've Been Gone</i> by Morgan Matson</li>
<li><i>The Empathy Exams</i> by Leslie Jamison</li>
<li><i>The Weight of a Human Heart</i> by Ryan O'Neill</li>
<li><i>Bad Feminist </i>by Roxane Gay</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1357108762l/15507958.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1357108762l/15507958.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="16143347" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1402749479l/16143347.jpg" width="132" /> <img alt="16045107" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1369569372l/16045107.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
Whitney Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06285707094013474548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917491694892506494.post-57528373342680813332014-07-03T13:00:00.000-04:002014-07-03T13:00:02.664-04:00Pre-Order Fever<div>
There must be something in the water because badass ladies are writing badass books from here to Timbuktu. I'm not the type to wait around for a book that I really, really want. So I've already pre-ordered several books that are coming out this fall/late summer. And since my birthday is October 5th, I figure a few of these can act as birthday presents for myself. Here's What I'm most excited for:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgeJ9i-mRDTyu2IPnvQpWWj-09xExClyPhc1YFCpBZhPHZkzFS0ocD_P0USKudZfZ90d9WYrEScO5GcMGt8WrGUoxZq12Mqn1eqYoDTgP1gz3-OwPrDmth2kgZB-23esEuUtYs1T4Vypsh/s1600/cover_bad_feminist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgeJ9i-mRDTyu2IPnvQpWWj-09xExClyPhc1YFCpBZhPHZkzFS0ocD_P0USKudZfZ90d9WYrEScO5GcMGt8WrGUoxZq12Mqn1eqYoDTgP1gz3-OwPrDmth2kgZB-23esEuUtYs1T4Vypsh/s1600/cover_bad_feminist.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18813642-bad-feminist?ac=1" target="_blank">Bad Feminist</a></i> by Roxane Gay (pub. August 5, 2014)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDpKBFQ9y_HwUz53NYwiqi1UvipyAg9w8QDqPT4giufQ5KwN3x4GtWqT0O86dJ7cTE9qn_-U8CFD1kiIiUD2Tne2MZFsp26UUd_xmzFxKOlEj9BKRNcGZf2m8ML48heABqIX2Jxr7jcQx7/s1600/20588698.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDpKBFQ9y_HwUz53NYwiqi1UvipyAg9w8QDqPT4giufQ5KwN3x4GtWqT0O86dJ7cTE9qn_-U8CFD1kiIiUD2Tne2MZFsp26UUd_xmzFxKOlEj9BKRNcGZf2m8ML48heABqIX2Jxr7jcQx7/s1600/20588698.jpg" height="320" width="211" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20588698-not-that-kind-of-girl" target="_blank">Not That Kind of Girl</a></i> by Lena Dunham (pub. September 30, 2014)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdcCHwfraXudcYmuaRAwxSa2klPQET8I1KTMjYN49sSGpIeIv22AaDkTv9hqrxW25jwBIsgYALqI2rEQ5Pmw0Cmg17sRhWlElQ6y_ze8bsjmc-7wRveJG4bCER-ozXaPZGiLIK0Rl_KYxs/s1600/22168240.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdcCHwfraXudcYmuaRAwxSa2klPQET8I1KTMjYN49sSGpIeIv22AaDkTv9hqrxW25jwBIsgYALqI2rEQ5Pmw0Cmg17sRhWlElQ6y_ze8bsjmc-7wRveJG4bCER-ozXaPZGiLIK0Rl_KYxs/s1600/22168240.jpg" height="320" width="257" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22168240-grace-s-guide-the-art-of-pretending-to-be-a-grown-up?ac=1" target="_blank">Grace's Guide: The Art of Pretending to be a Grown-Up</a></i> by Grace Helbig (pub. October 21, 2014)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTAOw-7p1jDZ6bMS8Ztwd12xrlaSWMQoq2nMWmuYgI17NNeyEQqOlCVrIMxiyLGxzXSGkwEnd68-T2OmEiPesoal0JKqIaXtIIPKFcrt7wZK_dXRqpcJLXm031z1oh3LXcuxnYGXr5i2p3/s1600/20764862.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTAOw-7p1jDZ6bMS8Ztwd12xrlaSWMQoq2nMWmuYgI17NNeyEQqOlCVrIMxiyLGxzXSGkwEnd68-T2OmEiPesoal0JKqIaXtIIPKFcrt7wZK_dXRqpcJLXm031z1oh3LXcuxnYGXr5i2p3/s1600/20764862.jpg" height="320" width="205" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20764862-yes-please" target="_blank">Yes Please</a></i> by Amy Poehler (pub. October 28, 2014)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
What can I say? I'm into funny ladies and their funny (or serious) words. I already heard that Mindy Kaling is writing another book so I can officially die happy. Yahoo for pre-orders!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Whitney Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06285707094013474548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917491694892506494.post-49413741298132195432014-07-01T01:49:00.006-04:002014-07-01T01:49:57.372-04:00Flash Reviews - June 2014I've been reading a LOT this year and not reviewing anything, so I figured I'd try doing some "flash reviews." These will just be quick, two or three (or four or five) sentence reviews about the general impression/feelings I got from the books I read in the past month.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1311238.All_American_Girl" target="_blank"><em>All-American Girl</em> by Meg Cabot</a> (YA Fiction)</li>
<ul>
<li>I picked this up because it sounded cute and simple and it was exactly that: cute and simple. An average American teenager unthinkingly saves the President's life, then proceeds to fall in love with the first son who happens to be in her art class. Cute. Simple. <strong>3.5/5</strong></li>
</ul>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18465566-this-one-summer" target="_blank"><em>This One Summer</em> by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki</a> (Graphic Novel)</li>
<ul>
<li><em>This One Summer</em> is a coming of age story about two pre-teens who spend every summer together at their families' respective cottages. The artwork was absolutely stunning, but something in the story didn't quite resonate with me and the characters were less than likable. <strong>3.5/5</strong></li>
</ul>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18635016-the-one" target="_blank"><em>The One</em> by Kiera Cass</a> (YA Fiction)</li>
<ul>
<li>This is the last book in <em>The Selection </em>series. Think <em>The Hunger Games</em> mixed with "The Bachelor"<em>. </em>Now make it ten times worse than you imagined and you'll have <em>The Selection</em>. These books are pure, terrible fluff and I have no excuse for reading the whole series aside from wanting to know how the inevitable love triangle is resolved. <strong>1.5/5</strong></li>
</ul>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12600138-ready-player-one" target="_blank"><em>Ready Player One</em> by Ernest Cline</a> (Fiction)</li>
<ul>
<li>The hero of <em>Ready Player One </em>is Wade, a young man who spends almost all of his time in a virtual online world called OASIS. Wade is making strides to win a contest set by the creator of the OASIS to win control of the virtual world and its creator's vast fortune. Fast paced and fascinating, <em>Ready Player One</em> is a delightful dystopian thriller. <strong>4/5</strong></li>
</ul>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7904158-choker" target="_blank"><em>Choker</em> by Elizabeth Woods</a> (YA Fiction)</li>
<ul>
<li>I knew what I was getting into with <em>Choker</em>. A YA thriller set around teenaged Cara, whose childhood best friend Zoe appears after several years of radio silence. Of course, strange, terrible things start to happen once Zoe comes to town. Worth reading if you like a twist ending (albeit a relatively predictable twist ending). <strong>2.5/5</strong></li>
</ul>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16158505-a-guide-to-being-born" target="_blank"><em>A Guide to Being Born</em> by Ramona Ausubel</a> (Short Stories)</li>
<ul>
<li>Ramona Ausubel's collection is literally organized around the stages of being born - love, conception, gestation, and birth. Her stories are beautiful, strange, and often breathtaking. This was a very enjoyable read. <strong>4/5</strong></li>
</ul>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18209290-astonish-me" target="_blank"><em>Astonish Me</em> by Maggie Shipstead</a> (Fiction)</li>
<ul>
<li><em>Astonish Me</em> is the story of Joan, a ballet dancer who gives up her career after becoming pregnant. The novel spans several decades and covers the stories of various figures in Joan's life. I found Shipstead's writing to be lovely and the story enthralling, right up to a surprising twist at the conclusion. <strong>5/5</strong></li>
</ul>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6404538-her-fearful-symmetry" target="_blank"><em>Her Fearful Symmetry</em> by Audrey Niffenegger</a> (Fiction)</li>
<ul>
<li>Twin sisters move into their mysterious aunt's London flat about her untimely death in Niffenegger's sophomore novel. This novel had the potential to be very interesting, but the plot just wasn't executed well enough. And the last hundred pages or so were so strange and ridiculous that the book lost almost any credibility it would have had. <strong>2/5</strong></li>
</ul>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17402288-dept-of-speculation" target="_blank"><em>Dept. of Speculation</em> by Jenny Offill</a> (Fiction)</li>
<ul>
<li>This is a very short novel narrated by an anonymous wife who reflects on her crumbling marriage and relationship with her daughter. Offill's prose was lovely, but it wasn't quite enough to carry me through with interest. <strong>3/5</strong></li>
</ul>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19288043-gone-girl" target="_blank"><em>Gone Girl</em> by Gillian Flynn</a> (Fiction)</li>
<ul>
<li>I finally got around to reading <em>Gone Girl </em>this month, even though it has been insanely popular for at least two years now. This really was an edge of your seat thriller for me. I read most of it in a day and I absolutely did not see the twist coming. The ending was pretty upsetting to me and some of the last quarter of the book seemed a little ridiculous. But the rest of <em>Gone Girl</em> was very, very good and made for an enjoyable, exciting read. I look forward to reading more of Flynn's books! <b>4/5</b></li>
</ul>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18667779-everything-leads-to-you" target="_blank"><em>Everything Leads to You</em> by Nina LaCour</a> (YA Fiction)</li>
<ul>
<li>LaCour's novel is a love story wrapped in a mystery. Emi Price is a budding production designer living in her brother's awesome LA apartment for the summer. When she stumbles across a hidden letter in a recently deceased Hollywood film legend's home, she and her best friend Charlotte find themselves on an adventure they never imagined. Emi spends the summer learning about film, friends, love, and, of course, herself. <b>4/5</b></li>
</ul>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13597723-the-naturals" target="_blank"><em>The Naturals</em> by Jennifer Lynn Barnes</a> (YA Fiction)</li>
<ul>
<li>Barnes's <i>The Naturals</i> is billed as <i>Criminal Minds </i>for the YA set. I LOVE <i>Criminal Minds</i> and I obviously enjoy YA books, so I figured this was a shoo in. It was enjoyable with (of course) a twist ending. As long as you're willing to suspend your disbelief enough to buy an FBI program for teenagers with innate psychological crime-solving abilities, you'll probably like this book. <b>3.5/5</b></li>
</ul>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18209339-the-word-exchange" target="_blank"><em>The Word Exchange</em> by Alena Graedon</a> (Fiction)</li>
<ul>
<li>This book had a <i>very </i>interesting premise: Anana Johnson's father, editor of the last print dictionary in existence, just before the dictionary is set to print its final edition. Around the same time, Americans start coming down with a virus called the Word Flu, spread through their ubiquitous handheld devices called memes. Unfortunately, this proved to be a dense, sometimes exhausting read. Not only was the plot confusing, I literally felt like I had the Word Flu myself while reading. I really would not recommend this unless you like an unrewarding challenge. <b>2/5</b></li>
</ul>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16243.Case_Histories" target="_blank"><em>Case Histories</em> by Kate Atkinson</a> (Fiction)</li>
<ul>
<li>In <i>Case Histories</i>, Jackson Brodie is a Private Investigator who has been called on to solve three cold cases that span over thirty years. His investigations lead him to dead ends, new relationships, and shocking conclusions. This wasn't the fastest-paced mystery I've read, but it kept my attention and I was satisfied by its conclusion. <b>4/5</b></li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div>
<u>Impressions:</u></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Fourteen books in a month is almost a record for me! I'm excited that I've been on such a kick lately and I hope it continues...forever.</li>
<li>A weird coincidence this month: three of the books I read had a character named Theo (<i>Her Fearful Symmetry, The Word Exchange, and Case Histories</i>). Strange! </li>
<li>Favorite Read: <i>Astonish Me</i> by Maggie Shipstead</li>
<li>Least Favorite Read: <i>The One</i> by Kiera Cass</li>
<li>Most Disappointing Read: <i>The Word Exchange by Alena Graedon...</i>this was actually hard to choose because I had a few disappointments this month. </li>
</ul>
</div>
Whitney Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06285707094013474548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917491694892506494.post-42994536024168849562014-06-27T11:49:00.005-04:002014-06-27T11:49:49.253-04:00On Audiobooks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTPW5N1KtnvCG_Kgm4RgcLqhmk-F2ayOimaAGuJxgaf_HY2KBNUPVsaxyaESb3wrLNhme_zfVgNiYsNoqpLAzst1oSv7Fmx7JgUe_9HXrLsjlYPjSyJtVt1SznTmPSlfhivQsmHsIqCxR-/s1600/audiobook1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTPW5N1KtnvCG_Kgm4RgcLqhmk-F2ayOimaAGuJxgaf_HY2KBNUPVsaxyaESb3wrLNhme_zfVgNiYsNoqpLAzst1oSv7Fmx7JgUe_9HXrLsjlYPjSyJtVt1SznTmPSlfhivQsmHsIqCxR-/s1600/audiobook1.jpg" /></a></div>
My first experience with audiobooks was listening to the Harry Potter series, narrated by the incomparable Jim Dale. A few of my friends in high school owned these and we'd listen to them while we did our Calculus homework or on road trips or simply while sitting around. One friend even brought them to me during a stay in the hospital. The Harry Potter books had always been important to my group of friends, and these were an extension of the series. <br />
<br />
Beyond listening to Mr. Dale's fabulous voicework, I didn't have much interest in audiobooks. They almost seemed like cheating to me, like an easier way to read a book. Once I started working in a library, however, I decided to give audiobooks another shot. I checked out <em>Emma</em> by Jane Austen and listened to it every day on my way to and from work. I'd barely made it through a third of the book by the time it was due back. So I quit, thinking I would NEVER have enough listening time for audiobooks. <br />
<br />
Then, in March of this year, I got into a car accident. I rear-ended a gigantic Two Guys and a Truck moving truck. I'd had a few anxiety-ridden months during which playing games and checking things on my phone acted as a form of therapy in keeping my brain distracted. The accident was completely my fault, as I shamefully admit that I was looking at my phone when I hit the truck. My car wasn't quite totalled, but it was VERY banged up and cost a lot of money to fix. I knew I needed to make a change. I needed something to occupy my brain while I was driving, but not something that required looking foolishly away from the road. So I decided to give audiobooks another try.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGJUSfAK3ugo62eAR_Qo3qzcbtMzHlWVcWH4c4mxxxUACOMiNJaukthMMVY-3ws53e_Pepo-TNY0bo4Nea5IIHh_f4xvvnN551nxwOHk5oa2XBwitVQb707bkwdgNPgAZuxY_UKWbNTo4O/s1600/9780449013717.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGJUSfAK3ugo62eAR_Qo3qzcbtMzHlWVcWH4c4mxxxUACOMiNJaukthMMVY-3ws53e_Pepo-TNY0bo4Nea5IIHh_f4xvvnN551nxwOHk5oa2XBwitVQb707bkwdgNPgAZuxY_UKWbNTo4O/s1600/9780449013717.jpg" /></a>I was very picky when selecting my first audiobook: I wanted something short enough that I would actually be able to listen to the whole thing, but not a book that had been abridged; I wanted something that was already on my "to read" list, but not something so new that I wouldn't be able to interloan it from the library. I landed on <em>Vampires in the Lemon Grove</em>, a 2013 collection of short stories by Karen Russell. This ended up being an interesting first listening experience because each story had a different narrator. I was incredibly impressed; each narrator fit their respective story perfectly. I was completely taken by the whole experience. It took me a little less than two weeks to finish <em>Vampires in the Lemon Grove</em> and I made sure I had another audiobook lined up as soon as I was done. <br />
<br />
<br />
Since my accident, I've listened to 8 audiobooks and I definitely no longer think that it's cheating. I spend just as much time listening to an audiobook as I would reading the physical book. I've also taking up a dual-reading method: if I'm really into an audiobook, I'll grab the physical copy too. That way I can listen in the car and read when I'm anywhere else. I also make it a point to rewind a bit if I feel like I didn't completely catch a section of the audiobook (I do the same thing with physical books. I'm constantly rereading if I think I skimmed something). The work is there, the time is there, and the book is there. Sometimes, I even feel like I get a richer experience from the audiobook. When I listened to <em>Her Fearful Symmetry</em> by Audrey Niffenegger, the story left something to be desired, but the narrator, Bianca Amato, was absolutely amazing. Her accents, her voices, and her tone were all perfect. It made listening to a "meh" book much more rewarding. In several senses, my accident was a wake up call. Not only am I a safer drive, but I now have an amazing new way to "read" books. I look forward to discovering many more fantastic "listens" in the years to come.<br />
<br />
Whitney Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06285707094013474548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917491694892506494.post-58444177419044418202014-05-02T11:17:00.000-04:002014-05-02T11:36:36.784-04:00Book Haul - April<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEGqwVn2obYxpRUiIGgXq5dpt4C2SfEAzmiXNuXPz_CmI17mocDx2UbxofThEcMf8MAKsjctAcsEklxsodeZvwbDZ6wOrGBx3pvKrqExTHL2eAamu4L-Vj4GDh4qE8NkfearHy_BrCNTDz/s1600/20140429_150323.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEGqwVn2obYxpRUiIGgXq5dpt4C2SfEAzmiXNuXPz_CmI17mocDx2UbxofThEcMf8MAKsjctAcsEklxsodeZvwbDZ6wOrGBx3pvKrqExTHL2eAamu4L-Vj4GDh4qE8NkfearHy_BrCNTDz/s1600/20140429_150323.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
Since I work at a library, I don't usually buy a TON of books. But lately I just can't help myself, especially since discovering a wonderful bookstore in Ann Arbor called <a href="http://literatibookstore.com/" target="_blank">Literati</a>. This is what I've picked up there in the past month or so.<br />
<ul>
<li><em>Even Though I Don't Miss You</em> by Chelsea Martin</li>
<li><em>Annihilation</em> by Jeff Vandermeer</li>
<li><em>Tampa</em> by Alissa Nutting</li>
<li><em>The End of Eve</em> by Ariel Gore</li>
<li><em>The Empathy Exams</em> by Leslie Jamison</li>
</ul>
So far, I've only read <em>The Empathy Exams </em>(and saw the wonderful Leslie Jamison read from it), but I can't wait to dig into everything else!<br />
<br />Whitney Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06285707094013474548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917491694892506494.post-46326872542119725282013-11-08T15:14:00.000-05:002013-11-08T15:14:00.267-05:00Friday Five: Upcoming YA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRvH5E0wvtiDD2IqSyVnNJiq6mzsgMQABK1Jc11a4IBxppt9rnkQNS3i2cL002S_81x7FMNagTzN99izSGrLQuZp9Z_tez1XtWYFkijVvJUTB7MIEDhzkJnWwyf8QxqkpxqmFBkNQou5pK/s1600/fridayfivebanner.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRvH5E0wvtiDD2IqSyVnNJiq6mzsgMQABK1Jc11a4IBxppt9rnkQNS3i2cL002S_81x7FMNagTzN99izSGrLQuZp9Z_tez1XtWYFkijVvJUTB7MIEDhzkJnWwyf8QxqkpxqmFBkNQou5pK/s400/fridayfivebanner.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-18d1800a-3554-e862-7533-93d2c21cf58f"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I just finished reading </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Allegiant</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Veronica Roth. If you’ve maybe been hiding under a rock for the past few years, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Allegiant</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is the third installment in Roth’s </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Divergent </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">trilogy, a thrilling series set in a dystopian Chicago where all citizens are separated into factions based on their most prevalent personality traits. Aside from causing a seemingly endless stream of tears, reading <i>Allegiant</i> has also gotten me thinking about what </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">other</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> books I’m most looking forward to, particularly in the young adult genre. So here are my most anticipated young adult books to be released (in order of release date, of course!):</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15.454545021057129px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17934520-going-rogue?ac=1" target="_blank">Going Rogue</a></i> by Robin Benway (Also Known As #2) - January 14, 2014</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15.454545021057129px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12396528-hollow-city?ac=1" target="_blank">Hollow City</a></i> by Ransom Riggs (Miss Peregrine #2) - January 14, 2014</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15.454545021057129px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16131484-the-infinite-sea?ac=1" target="_blank">The Infinite Sea</a></i> by Rick Yancey (The Fifth Wave #2) - May 6, 2014</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15.454545021057129px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9627755-isla-and-the-happily-ever-after?ac=1" target="_blank">Isla and the Happily Ever After</a></i> by Stephanie Perkins - May 13, 2014</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15.454545021057129px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16060716-lair-of-dreams" target="_blank">Lair of Dreams</a></i> by Libba Bray (The Diviners #2) - August 5, 2014</span></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhshPBQdYs5ZuzX6mhpco4hEEWVZwALA3y8KjutyXkyf3j8dbY2yoh6QP0bjsEsYuwbG86AIexTCv1pZdCsWlHIrddr9NZKHoCKgwHA8Tk4k3PYRflgw0wWQF01aFBOsr8dxl8H2XyeYWyj/s1600/fridayfiveupcomingya.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="123" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhshPBQdYs5ZuzX6mhpco4hEEWVZwALA3y8KjutyXkyf3j8dbY2yoh6QP0bjsEsYuwbG86AIexTCv1pZdCsWlHIrddr9NZKHoCKgwHA8Tk4k3PYRflgw0wWQF01aFBOsr8dxl8H2XyeYWyj/s400/fridayfiveupcomingya.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-18d1800a-355c-2d83-5ed8-3bbf389321df"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All of these books are sequels or, I guess, pseudo-sequels in the case of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Isla and the Happily Ever After</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. It’s just so easy to get caught up in young adult series nowadays. They tend to be fast-paced, exciting, and romantic - a perfect storm to get readers wanting more. It’s hard to say which of these titles I’m MOST excited for, but if forced, I would probably choose </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lair of Dreams </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">by Libba Bray, the second book in </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Diviners </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">series. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Diviners </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">was released in September 2012 and follows spunky teenager Evie O’Neill as she is sucked into a world of murder, evil, and supernatural abilities in 1920s New York City. I'm really excited to see what happens in <i>Lair of Dreams</i> after Evie goes public with her supernatural ability. </span></span></div>
<div>
<span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15.454545021057129px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The first releases I'm looking forward to are in January of next year which seems too far off. I can't imagine waiting for August!</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />Whitney Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06285707094013474548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917491694892506494.post-47451206382341448792013-11-04T15:30:00.000-05:002013-11-04T15:30:00.307-05:00Page and Screen: Orange is the New Black<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Warning: This post contains some mild spoilers for both the book and TV show <i>Orange is the New Black</i>!</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Like most people with an Internet connection and a pulse, I marathoned the Netflix original series </span><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Orange is the New Black</span><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> when it was released in August. The series follows Piper Chapman, a white upper middle-class New Yorker sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for a ten-year-old drug offense. Through Piper’s eyes, we enter a world that is largely unfamiliar to most watchers. In this world, a leftover ice cream cone is the catalyst for an all-out brawl, sanitary pads are used for everything from cleaning to makeshifting shower shoes, and ex-lovers appear at the absolute worst possible moment. But in Litchfield Prison, Piper also finds something unexpected--friendship with women from all walks of life...and a few enemies too. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unsurprisingly, </span><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Orange is the New Black </span><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is based on a book - the bestselling memoir of the same name by Piper Kerman. I had previously heard of the book and thought it sounded interesting, but after watching the show, I had to get my hands on a copy. I knew that the show couldn’t have been adapted too faithfully from the book, but I was surprised at just how much had been changed and added for TV. The book isn’t about one-liners or catfights. Although it made me smile a few times, it wasn't a funny book. Kerman's memoir is about a privileged white woman's journey through the prison system and the truly life-changing experiences she encounters there. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What You Can Expect from </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Orange is the New Black</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: The TV Series</span></span></div>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Comedy. I laughed out loud at </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">OITNB</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> more times than I can count. My friends are in the habit of throwing one-liners from the show out in everyday conversation (and by everyday I mean every conversation we have every day). One memorable scene shows Nikki comforting Alex in the law library, patting her head and saying, “There’s always hope tomorrow’ll be taco night.” But Taystee pops her head out from around a nearby shelf and yells, “Tomorrow’s beef and noodles!” Pennsatucky’s ruminations on same-sex relations are hilariously backwards: “She a lesbian. They lesbianing together,” she says solemnly. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. </span></span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unexpected sympathy. Probably my favorite thing about </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">OITNB</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is how well-rounded and intensely human the characters are. Through strategic flashbacks, we see background stories for characters that might otherwise be looked over. It’s in these retrospectives that we learn about Sophia’s experiences before and during her sex-change operation and what led her to commit credit card fraud. Likewise, we see the stern Miss Claudette murder a man who abused a young girl employed in her cleaning company. These flashbacks lend real depth to the women in Litchfield Prison and keep them from being just numbers to us. </span></span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Drama. Drama. Drama. Yes, it’s worth saying three times. For all the laughs we get from the ladies locked up in Litchfield, there are just as many instances of anger, heartache, backstabbing, and sadness. Unexpected pregnancies, violence, death, star-crossed romance, and family are just a few of the dramatic avenues explored in </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>OITNB</i>. But these more serious storylines are rarely over-the-top and perfectly balance the show's comedic moments.</span></span><br />
<div style="font-style: normal;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="299" src="http://www.soapboxinc.com/wp-content/uploads/oitnb.jpg" width="400" /></span></div>
</div>
</li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What You Can Expect from </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Orange is the New Black</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: The Book</span></span></div>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Piper. This book is very much a memoir - it’s personal. Rather than getting much back story on the minor characters, we almost exclusively see Piper’s point of view throughout her sentence. This doesn’t mean that we don’t know anything about the other prisoners. Kerman adds in details often about her fellow inmates’ sentences and crimes. But the personal stories of other prisoners were either fictionalized or embellished for the show. Although Piper is the main character on the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>OITNB</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> show, she often comes off as selfish and flaky. We get a different impression of her when reading from her perspective. Piper is both scared and smart, selfish and selfless, but she really, truly cares about her friends in prison and works to improve their lives.</span></span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Commentary on prison and the criminal justice system. Piper Kerman isn’t angry that she’s in prison; she understands that she committed a crime and must face the consequences. But she doesn’t agree with the prison system as a whole: its unhelpful prerelease classes meant to reintegrate inmates into the outside, the lack of useful classes for further education, the pointless rules. Kerman notes that the real lesson she learned in prison was from living and working with the women who may have hypothetically been affected by her crime. She notes, “Our current criminal justice system has no provision for restorative justice, in which an offender confronts the damage they have done and tries to make it right to the people they have harmed. (I was lucky to get there on my own, with the help of the women I met.) Instead, our system of ‘corrections’ is about arm’s-length revenge and retribution, all day and all night. Then its overseers wonder why people leave prison more broken than when they went in.” And there's more where that came from.</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Community. Piper Kerman survives her prison sentence not because of her own will power or strength but because of the women she meets there. At first she's only approached by other white women who provide her with personal hygiene items, well wishes, and advice. But soon she finds herself safely within a network of women of varied backgrounds, personalities, and uncertain futures. These women support each other endlessly: Piper proof-reads her fellow inmates' letters for appeal, Pop gives advice to anyone in need, Yoga Janet provides a relaxing and constructive space in her yoga classes. They plan elaborate parties for each other's birthdays, make prison-crafted gifts for special occasions, and lend each other a shoulder to cry on or an ear to listen. These women are alone, save for each other, and they express their solidarity and support whenever possible. As </span><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">a mild-mannered prisoner is taken to solitary confinement, her fellow inmates openly express their disdain for the prison's decision. Kerman writes, "One of the lieutenant's goons cuffed her, not that gently, and the buzz among the women surged to a low roar. Then Sheena started to chant: 'Ali-ice, Al-ice, Al-ice, Al-ice, Al-ice!' as they led the little </span><span style="line-height: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;">pacifist</span><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> away. I had never seen prison guards look scared before." In these moments we see just how much these women need each other. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="267" src="http://media.salon.com/2013/07/orange_new_black_excerpt.jpg" width="400" /></span></span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><b><br /></b></b>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><b>The Verdict</b></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was surprised how different Piper Kerman's memoir was from the show I had watched. The show was addicting, funny, and heart wrenching. The book, however, presented a quite somber look at life in a women's prison. It wasn't an "unputdownable" book; in fact, it took me three or four weeks to finish. But I found it to be enlightening, engaging, and fascinating to read the "real" Piper's take on her prison sentence. Many elements of the book were included in the show, but the writers took great liberties with the more dramatic and humorous moments. Overall, I enjoyed both the book and TV show. But if you're looking for something easy and engrossing, check out the </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Orange is the New Black</i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> show on Netflix. If you're more interested in a realistic look at prison, try reading Kerman's memoir.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span>Whitney Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06285707094013474548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917491694892506494.post-79597963245816967912013-10-31T22:55:00.001-04:002013-10-31T22:55:07.109-04:00Indiespensable ReviewI heard about Powell's book subscription, <a href="http://www.powells.com/indiespensable/" target="_blank">Indiespensable</a>, quite a long time ago and immediately loved the concept. The deal is that the Powell's staff pre-selects a new book for subscribers and adds a few surprises to the package. The surprises could be notebooks, home goods, snacks, advanced copies of other books, or even harmonicas! But it took me a while to submit to the $40 price tag for the subscription. "A while" was about a year and a half. But I FINALLY got around to subscribing at the end of this summer and I received my first Indiespensable package just a few weeks ago.<br />
<br />
So the deal is that Powell's announces the selected book before its shipped, but the extras that come in every Indiespensable package are a surprise. This time around, the book was <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15799416-the-childhood-of-jesus?ac=1" target="_blank">The Childhood of Jesus</a></i> by J.M. Coetzee. Here are the deets:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU5AIwxSY3zHadsIE2RH-BBgKbA9SLhw4y6dWGGHQs63IP-ht34gmKzUz27u0EdRUd9S4tfUySjZx8_UXGhU7rTzgn2fWi5QmNVRUHXGX0KM0F7pcFcBpyPd1-d3ek8K_ej4vvAjzZUgbi/s1600/20131009_185609.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU5AIwxSY3zHadsIE2RH-BBgKbA9SLhw4y6dWGGHQs63IP-ht34gmKzUz27u0EdRUd9S4tfUySjZx8_UXGhU7rTzgn2fWi5QmNVRUHXGX0KM0F7pcFcBpyPd1-d3ek8K_ej4vvAjzZUgbi/s320/20131009_185609.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Just opened package. All the goods are below.</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i></i></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB9qh0rmqcyXdqML1nc210VJjinK8MLJ-kXrQ4onjv3woEI9y28gkFz96cX1XMakBUxosufYbkJquehXzYJeIaUcHpoNG5YiMxlhXyc7edjy17UACW7EnNGuX-ZshQ5jWpBtRlkkhnO_aP/s1600/20131009_185739.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB9qh0rmqcyXdqML1nc210VJjinK8MLJ-kXrQ4onjv3woEI9y28gkFz96cX1XMakBUxosufYbkJquehXzYJeIaUcHpoNG5YiMxlhXyc7edjy17UACW7EnNGuX-ZshQ5jWpBtRlkkhnO_aP/s320/20131009_185739.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>The whole haul.</i></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAhrQZPElKYnKOPBD6rrp53wpNCRS9zeMPl2BLmK1It_hs39__gputGM_d0v8FBHHbXYqfr4_fvCmyORukwwzus0hWrBLxG4conJnzDdxMl5kS_1FlFbgNtH_YWxAl0t3Q0QWf4rcKQki9/s1600/Indiespensable+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAhrQZPElKYnKOPBD6rrp53wpNCRS9zeMPl2BLmK1It_hs39__gputGM_d0v8FBHHbXYqfr4_fvCmyORukwwzus0hWrBLxG4conJnzDdxMl5kS_1FlFbgNtH_YWxAl0t3Q0QWf4rcKQki9/s640/Indiespensable+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Powell's tote bag, Pinot Noir Flake Salt, </i>The Childhood of Jesus.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkgfhyy_qFz50eGEcBly1OQeIFwIzMebyyjmtE7XyTaQPRPDHLiYYDTGCbPGMi2arqIgH9Dioo-olqLiblUrzaYCIWUe3hM4iQj_f4Il2RJVS_d8-8S7m1EnIq-1BB8kcBeuMasBqDQ3Vj/s1600/20131009_185946.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkgfhyy_qFz50eGEcBly1OQeIFwIzMebyyjmtE7XyTaQPRPDHLiYYDTGCbPGMi2arqIgH9Dioo-olqLiblUrzaYCIWUe3hM4iQj_f4Il2RJVS_d8-8S7m1EnIq-1BB8kcBeuMasBqDQ3Vj/s320/20131009_185946.jpg" width="237" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Signed!</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
I'm not sure if I would have normally spent $40 on these particular goods, but it was still very fun to receive this package in the mail. I'll definitely stick around for at least a few more Indiespensable packages and see what else is in store. Next month's book is Donna Tartt's new novel, <i>The Goldfinch.</i></div>
Whitney Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06285707094013474548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917491694892506494.post-57153206151846422482013-09-27T17:57:00.002-04:002013-09-27T18:00:08.279-04:00Friday Five: Memoirs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiugb8Pt46cNepfp7tXN3nlWirx9NfpMAWmRNHcAUAz4WLLpoze8kSatyvOSCOdoBV8oM1E8GKMltY62pJoY4OiNAHKluV_37r83GwYBDFFn61oGP4DxhYTO9byOZR0SDb2f_esYeoxdALn/s1600/memoir.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="124" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiugb8Pt46cNepfp7tXN3nlWirx9NfpMAWmRNHcAUAz4WLLpoze8kSatyvOSCOdoBV8oM1E8GKMltY62pJoY4OiNAHKluV_37r83GwYBDFFn61oGP4DxhYTO9byOZR0SDb2f_esYeoxdALn/s400/memoir.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I love memoirs. I’m reading two right now - </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Orange is the New Black</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Piper Kerman and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Her</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Christa Parravani - and it’s gotten me thinking about how many of these personal tomes I’ve read in recent years. A well-written memoir evokes empathy in the reader, provides a sense of connection to a time or place that we may not be personally familiar with, and makes us feel something - happiness, sadness, anger, shock, anything really. Here are my personal top five memoirs and a few honorable mentions that I couldn’t help but include (all listed alphabetically):</span></span></div>
<ul id="docs-internal-guid-2ea09153-60ed-83b8-52ee-f885da8f9320" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/76536.Atlas_of_the_Human_Heart?ac=1" target="_blank">Atlas of the Human Heart</a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Ariel Gore</span></span><br />
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>Atlas of the Human Heart</i> follows sixteen-year-old Ariel Gore as she drops out of school and heads to China with virtually nothing but a copy of the<i> I Ching</i>.
The next three years take her across Asia and Europe as she squats in
abandoned buildings, smuggles drugs, studies at a language institute, and eventually ends up pregnant in Italy before returning home. </span></span></span></span></div>
</div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13547428-chanel-bonfire" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Chanel Bonfire</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Wendy Lawless</span></span><br />
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In <i>Chanel Bonfire</i>, Wendy Lawless recounts a childhood marred by an alcoholic, inattentive, and suicidal mother with a taste for luxury. Lawless and her sister struggle to grow up and eventually to carve out lives for themselves away from their histrionic mother.</span></span> </span></span></div>
</div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2249920.Loose_Girl?ac=1" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Loose Girl</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">by Kerry Cohen</span></span><br />
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">From a young age, Kerry Cohen believed that using her body to get male attention was a surefire path to happiness and love. <i>Loose Girl</i> examines an adolescence and young adulthood of promiscuity, from Cohen's reliance on sex to her eventual </span>understanding of true intimacy and love. </span></span></span></div>
</div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7840833-the-memory-palace?ac=1" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">The Memory Palace</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Mira Bartok</span></span><br />
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>The Memory Palace</i> tells the story of Mira Bartok's brilliant mother, Norma, whose descent into schizophrenia rips her family apart.
As Norma's episodes became more violent, Mira and her sister are forced
to abandon their mother and go their own ways. Years later, after an accident leaves her memory impaired, Mira attempts to reconcile with her mother one last time before her death.</span> </span></span></div>
</div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/227603.Prozac_Nation?ac=1" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Prozac Nation</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Elizabeth Wurtzel</span></span><br />
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Elizabeth Wurtzel's <i>Prozac Nation</i> is a searing
portrait of a young life entrenched in anxiety and depression. Wurtzel's
teenaged and college years are marred by suicide attempts, hospital
stays, and drugs before she finds her way back to stability and hope.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span> </span></span></div>
</div>
</li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Honorable Mentions: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10252302-blue-nights?ac=1" target="_blank">Blue Nights</a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Joan Didion, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13547180-brain-on-fire?ac=1" target="_blank">Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness</a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Susannah Cahalan, and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/193755.The_Diving_Bell_and_the_Butterfly?ac=1" target="_blank">The Diving Bell and the Butterfly</a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> by Jean-Dominique Bauby</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In making this list, I've realized how enamored I am with women's stories. Only one of the books I came up with was penned by a man (the honorably mentioned Jean-Dominique Bauby). Of course I read books by both men and women, but I guess when in comes to memoirs, I'm generally drawn to the experiences of women. And those experiences tend to be difficult, life-changing ones that beg for understanding.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>Whitney Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06285707094013474548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917491694892506494.post-69447594881572523132013-09-26T00:15:00.001-04:002013-09-28T00:30:21.550-04:00Review: Bandette by Paul Tobin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSc7cGYpa-e1XHEkbKwPw8vrO3Dd0OURt87jZ-KfyqiWH5TOGXSbMtG1wnwMOrnpiLv66LDbHV9mq5df2r2wBHt25zS0QIQM5JbP7HrohI58ZtBsJAYqUyQ2zb2JOG7So_pEuY44jUMFQV/s1600/Bandette.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSc7cGYpa-e1XHEkbKwPw8vrO3Dd0OURt87jZ-KfyqiWH5TOGXSbMtG1wnwMOrnpiLv66LDbHV9mq5df2r2wBHt25zS0QIQM5JbP7HrohI58ZtBsJAYqUyQ2zb2JOG7So_pEuY44jUMFQV/s320/Bandette.jpg" width="213" /></span></a><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">144 pages, will be published on November 19, 2013 by Dark Horse Comics</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s difficult to describe </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bandette</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> without using the word “charming” over and over. But I’ll say it: this is a truly charming graphic novel. Our titular character, Bandette, is the self-proclaimed “most talented thief this world has ever known.” With glee and wit, the teen crusader steals from those she deems worthy of being thieved: weapons dealers, shady underground organizations, and various other “bad guys.” Bandette is rarely alone in her adventures; she has a trusty pool of peers ready and willing to bail her out when sticky situations arise: a ragtag gang of street urchins, a trio of ballet dancers, and the adorable Thai food deliverer, Daniel. Luckily for this group, Bandette gets herself into sticky situations very frequently. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-29a5f457-5879-64fc-b7e7-1d7c839f934a" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Although she’s on Inspector B. D. Belgique’s speed dial when the Parisian police just can’t finish a job without her, Bandette </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">isn’t</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the only thief in France. Her greatest rival is Monsieur, a classic gentleman whose front is running a rare book and coin shop - his two greatest interests. Much to Bandette’s chagrin, Monsieur has beaten her to a steal several times. Unfortunately, it’s not all fun and games for Bandette. Okay, it’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">mostly </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">fun and games. But when Monsieur requests a midnight meeting with Bandette, it’s not to discuss thieving techniques. It’s to alert her that she has been targeted by the mysterious criminal group Finis whose leader, Absinthe, will not stop until Bandette is dead. Bandette’s life is in real danger and the first of Finis’s assassins is on their way…</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I found myself smiling </span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a lot</span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> as I read </span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bandette</span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. It’s a truly delightful volume with bright, colorful illustrations and memorable characters. I loved diving into a world where knockout spray comes in a can, enemies have lengthy chats while fighting (which gives a pleasant </span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Princess Bride</span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> vibe), and our heroine is more concerned with finding chocolate bars than the criminal mastermind who wants her dead. This volume collects the first five issues of </span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bandette</span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Additionally, he back matter includes several “Urchin Stories” - minicomics centering on the smaller characters featured in volume one of </span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bandette</span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. The reader is also treated to a short story from Daniel’s perspective. I thoroughly enjoyed reading </span><span style="font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bandette</span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and I look forward to experiencing more of the teen thief’s gleeful adventures in the future. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: center; white-space: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Rating: 4.5/5</b></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;" /></b></span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: center; white-space: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">**I received an ARC of <i>Bandette</i> through NetGalley</span></span></span></span>Whitney Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06285707094013474548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917491694892506494.post-66948972416332436152013-09-02T20:23:00.000-04:002013-09-26T00:18:18.512-04:00Review: If You Could Be Mine by Sara Farizan<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/ba459d226fe8f64ee260043ed72d6f86/tumblr_inline_msiop1y8Ow1qz4rgp.jpg" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" /></strong></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">256 pages, published on August 20, 2013 by Algonquin Young Readers</span></strong></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sahar has been in love with Nasrin for as long as she can remember. But the hidden romance they’ve shared in Iran is on the verge of destruction when Nasrin’s parents arrange for her to marry a handsome doctor. No one knows that the girls’ relationship is anything but a close friendship, but Sahar can’t stand the thought of Nasrin being with someone else. She thinks she has found a solution to their dilemma when she meets Parveen, a post-op transsexual. While homosexuality is considered a sin, sex changes are accepted and often encouraged by Iran’s government. Convinced that this is the only way to be with Nasrin and stop her wedding, Sahar begins attending support group meetings with transsexuals, both male and female. As Nasrin’s wedding date draws nearer, Sahar becomes desperate to begin the process of her sex reassignment, attempting to acquire hormones illegally and setting up a session with a surgeon. Of course, desperation rarely allows for things to go as planned and Sahar is predictably left where she started.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was fascinating to read about everyday life in Iran, especially through the eyes of a young woman who is knowingly breaking the law. A love story between two young women is also rare and refreshing. But aside from the social commentary, I found <em>If You Could Be Mine</em> almost unreadable. Sara Farizan’s two lovers are so unlikable that it’s hard to understand how anyone could possibly fall in love with them. Writers should show rather than tell their audience the message they want to share. But the reader has Sahar simply telling us over and over how much she loves Nasrin without giving us much of a reason to believe their relationship. Most of her narration is spent lamenting how spoiled, rude, and bossy Nasrin can be. What we see of Nasrin confirms this; she seems to enjoy stringing Sahar along like a pet, always available at her beck and call. While Nasrin whispers a few “I love you”s to Sahar throughout the novel, she never even mentions finding a way to be together. Without being inside her head, we see only surface emotions from Nasrin, and it’s simply not enough to believe their relationship.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Surprisingly, I ended up disliking Sahar even more than her selfish counterpart. Sahar may only be seventeen years old, but she is certainly old enough to understand that undergoing a major operation such as sex reassignment is not something that can be done on a whim. She seems to think that it’s akin to visiting her dentist, a quick trip that will magically solve all of her problems. She doesn’t even consider the fact that the people who have this operation feel that they have no other choice, that they were actually <em>born in the wrong body</em>. Sahar may not be able to love Nasrin in public, but she is comfortable in her body, never doubting that she is meant to be a woman. It becomes offensive how little she respects the struggles of transsexuals. Sahar completely disregards the thoughts and feelings of those in her support group – people who have actually struggled with gender identity for their entire lives. Instead, she complains about them sharing emotions when all she wants is to find out how to start taking hormones. It’s only when she meets with a surgeon (and sees Nasrin’s doctor fiancé at the clinic) that she begins to understand the magnitude of what she plans to do. As the surgeon explains in graphic detail what the surgery entails, Sahar faints, and in turn finally comes to her senses about the operation. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I appreciate Farizan’s effort to illuminate the struggles of two women in love, especially in a culture that is largely unfamiliar to western readers. Fiction can be a great vehicle for sharing views and information about topics that are traditionally taboo. However, the message of this story was overshadowed by Sahar’s naivety and Nasrin’s selfishness. The more I read of <em>If You Could Be</em>Mine, the more desperate I was to be done with it. Unsympathetic characters are unfortunately complemented by stilted dialogue that pushes the story to a sad and messy conclusion.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rating: 1.5/5</span></strong></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">**I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley.</span></div>
Whitney Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06285707094013474548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917491694892506494.post-68789441776081489382013-09-02T05:36:00.000-04:002013-09-26T00:18:30.065-04:00Review: Bad Houses by Sara Ryan<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<img alt="image" src="http://media.tumblr.com/f4c2203388972ffac7176e05d424e75f/tumblr_inline_mshjmep1Ji1qz4rgp.jpg" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">160 pages, will be published on November 12, 2013 by Dark Horse Comics</span></strong></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Teenager Anne Cole is a photographer, fascinated by abandoned spaces and things left behind. Lewis works with his mother managing estate sales in the small town of Failin, Oregon. When Anne tries to explore the left behind items at an estate sale, she and Lewis click instantly. But <em>Bad Houses</em> extends much further than a teenage love story as Anne and Lewis struggle with family and identity in their economically failing town. Anne’s mother, Danica, and Lewis’s mother, Cat, add their own unique storylines to <em>Bad Houses</em>, with their relationships to Lewis and Anne taking center stage.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Bad Houses</em> is, above all, about the connections between people who love each other and the objects that fill their lives. Danica is a hoarder, filling her home with an endless stream of random objects to which she assigns profound meaning. Anne is intrigued by what people leave behind and experiments with shoplifting, curious if she’ll feel the “thrill” of stealing what doesn’t belong to her. Cat feels most comfortable when she’s ordering other people’s belongings into a display that will appeal to customers. And Lewis is almost an object himself, constantly being controlled by his mother and desperate to escape.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I enjoyed Bad Houses more than I first anticipated. I’ll admit that I was thrown a bit by the cover of <em>Bad Houses</em>. I really liked Carla Speed McNeil’s illustrations, but the coloring on the cover seemed a bit too bright and cartoonish. I think McNeil’s work translates better in black and white, especially given the tone of this story. Once I got past the cover and started reading, I found a compelling study of family, love, and the power we give to the things in our lives. But <em>Bad Houses</em>isn’t without faults. Lewis’s character is sadly underdeveloped, aside from a weak storyline about his absent father. The flashback sequence seemed unnecessary, throwing together Cat, Lewis’s father, and the town’s grouchy antique store owner, Fred, for a few scenes from high school. And Danica’s boyfriend AJ, along with his pill pushing business, didn’t add much to the story. Even with these weaknesses, Sara Ryan has created characters that are real, flawed individuals, capable of tugging at the heartstrings of the reader. We can’t always admit to our own struggles – with both people and objects – but it’s easy to see ourselves in any one of Ryan’s characters.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rating: 4/5</span></strong></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">**I received on ARC of<em> Bad Houses </em>through NetGalley.</span></div>
Whitney Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06285707094013474548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917491694892506494.post-26655109110092868412013-09-01T22:45:00.000-04:002013-09-10T01:07:48.129-04:00Book Haul <div class="media" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(191, 191, 191); color: #333333; display: inline-block; font-family: 'Droid Sans'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 10px; text-align: center; width: auto;">
<a href="http://booksofmemory.tumblr.com/image/60022503136" style="color: #f08be7; display: block; outline: none; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="I went to New York last weekend and did quite a bit of book shopping while I was there. This is what I bought:
I&#8217;m Only Here for the WiFi by Chelsea Fagan
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Over You by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Krauss
The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick
Great House by Nicole Krauss
What A Wonderful World, Volume 1 and 2 by Inio Asano
Point Omega by Don DeLillo
Brain On Fire by Susannah Cahalan
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
Marcel Duchamp from Taschen
" src="http://31.media.tumblr.com/4b94621ac0778843755c45b20c2e3fd0/tumblr_msh0n95bpX1rkvdzdo1_500.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: block; vertical-align: bottom;" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Droid Sans'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center;"></span><br />
<div class="caption hasMarkup" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin: 20px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I went to New York last weekend and did quite a bit of book shopping while I was there. This is what I bought:</span></div>
<ul style="list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 20px 15px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="list-style-type: disc; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>I’m Only Here for the WiFi</em> by Chelsea Fagan</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: disc; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Gone Girl</em> by Gillian Flynn</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: disc; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Over You</em> by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Krauss</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: disc; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>The Silver Linings Playbook</em> by Matthew Quick</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: disc; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Great House</em> by Nicole Krauss</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: disc; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>What A Wonderful World, Volume 1 and 2</em> by Inio Asano</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: disc; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Point Omega</em> by Don DeLillo</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: disc; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Brain On Fire</em> by Susannah Cahalan</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: disc; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Fangirl</em> by Rainbow Rowell</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: disc; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Fun Home</em> by Alison Bechdel</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: disc; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Marcel Duchamp</em> from Taschen</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
Whitney Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06285707094013474548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917491694892506494.post-70415240362773615042013-08-31T19:53:00.000-04:002013-09-10T01:08:06.245-04:00Bookstore Tour: The Strand<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Strand - Manhattan, New York City (Greenwich Village)</span></strong></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Basics:</strong> Gigantic bookstore of “18 Miles of Books” fame</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Size:</strong> 3 large floors plus basement (“the Strand Underground”)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>The Goods:</strong> New and Used</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First Impression:</span></strong></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Actually my second impression since I was here about a month ago but still) HUGE. Lots of books. Lots of people. Lots of everything. It was overwhelming and confusing when I first walked in, but it was BOOKS so I didn’t mind the madness.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finds and Features:</span></strong></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I unexpectedly stumbled acrossthe as-of-yet-to-be-released <em>Fangirl</em> by Rainbow Rowell in the Young Adult section. I was so excited to get my hands on a copy a few weeks ahead of time! Plus, it was only $9.50 for the hardcover. Most other new YA hardcovers were $15 or $16.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The selection at the Strand is unbelievable. I mostly found myself browsing the display tables that were set up (staff picks, Strand 80, real books cheaper than kindle books). This was an easy way to see highlights from the Strand’s collection, although there was plenty more in the stacks.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The basement or “Strand Underground” has a section of new books at half price. When I first saw the ancient sign advertising this deal I thought it was just a throwback to an old Strand discount. But it’s true! There is a whole section of hardcover books at half the list price!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Pricing:</strong> Below list price. I’d guess that about half of the Strand’s new books are a few dollars below list price. The other half are well below list price (for example, I paid $7.95 for Nicole Krauss’s <em>Great House</em> when the list price is $14.95). Used books in the sale outside range from $1-5.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Tip:</strong> Look through all the copies of the book you’re interested in. You might find one cheaper than the rest! I looked through a few copies of <em>Brain on Fire</em> by Susannah Cahalan that were $14 until I found one that was $8.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What I Bought:</span></strong></div>
<ul style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 20px 15px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="list-style-type: disc; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Brain on Fire </em>by Susannah Cahalan</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: disc; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Fangirl</em> by Rainbow Rowell</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: disc; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Fun Home </em>by Alison Bechdel</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: disc; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Great House</em> by Nicole Krauss</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: disc; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Over You</em> by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: disc; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Point Omega</em> by Don DeLillo</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>How I Felt When I Left:</strong> Tired but happy</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Website: </strong><a href="http://www.strandbooks.com/" style="color: #f08be7; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Strand Books</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Photos:</span></strong></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong></strong></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="image" src="http://media.tumblr.com/422e8a53ba6cc17de5dd11569eecb72d/tumblr_inline_msdtc4T5CZ1qz4rgp.jpg" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<em><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Books for sale outside…cheap!</span></em></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<em><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="image" src="http://media.tumblr.com/1252c557d3418cd686c82b9636bb663b/tumblr_inline_msdtec4kGn1qz4rgp.jpg" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" /></span></em></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<em><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The view upon entering The Strand.</span></em></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<em><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="image" src="http://media.tumblr.com/65ba19c245985b8d5716bd0ad11ad663/tumblr_inline_msdtfqb6TV1qz4rgp.jpg" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" /></span></em></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<em><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Standard swag - t-shirts, tote bags, mugs. They had an area with paper goods for sale too - notebooks, cards, etc. Lots of stuff!</span></em></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<em><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="image" src="http://media.tumblr.com/a66f2a7c4b658ffc508fb1606ddb3d16/tumblr_inline_msdthjdlFN1qz4rgp.jpg" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" /></span></em></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<em><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I thought this sign was a cruel joke…it’s not!</span></em></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<em><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="image" src="http://media.tumblr.com/4e8eec04caaff0ca58b04435853f713a/tumblr_inline_msdti6b4Q21qz4rgp.jpg" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" /></span></em></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<em><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">See! These new books were 1/2 off!</span></em></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<em><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="image" src="http://media.tumblr.com/ce601f551eebf7a1df04d2961172e7d6/tumblr_inline_msdtj0gOP71qz4rgp.jpg" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" /></span></em></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<em><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There were quite a few “themed” displays.</span></em></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<em><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="image" src="http://media.tumblr.com/31c03f0a908bfa4d57bc3b405d784535/tumblr_inline_msdtk3DMkO1qz4rgp.jpg" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" /></span></em></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<em><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Real books priced lower than e-books! Cute.</span></em></div>
Whitney Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06285707094013474548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917491694892506494.post-23795105025769512912013-08-30T20:07:00.000-04:002013-09-10T01:08:12.491-04:0030 in 30 Challenge Wrap-Up<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last Thursday marked the end of my 30 in 30 challenge. I didn’t quite reach 30 books, but I still read more than I ever have in a month! It was actually quite a fun challenge. Here is the final list of books that I read:</span></div>
<ol style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 20px 15px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="list-style-type: decimal; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>French Milk</em> by Lucy Knisley (graphic memoir)</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: decimal; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>The Vagina Monologues</em> by Eve Ensler (nonfiction, drama)</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: decimal; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>So the Wind Won’t Blow It All Away</em> by Richard Brautigan (fiction)</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: decimal; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>The Little Prince</em> by Antoine de St. Exupery (Children’s fiction)</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: decimal; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>A Coney Island of the Mind</em> by Lawrence Ferlinghetti (poetry)</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: decimal; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Saga: Volume 1 </em>by Brian K. Vaughan (graphic novel)</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: decimal; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Kissing the Witch</em> by Emma Donoghue (short stories)</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: decimal; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>The Ocean at the End of the Lane</em> by Neil Gaiman (fiction)</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: decimal; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Saga: Volume 2 </em>by Brian K. Vaughan (graphic novel)</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: decimal; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>City of Bones</em> by Cassandra Clare (fiction)</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: decimal; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Loteria </em>by Mario Alberto Zambrano (fiction)</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: decimal; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>I Remember Nothing: and Other Reflections</em> by Nora Ephron (essays)</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: decimal; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Please Ignore Vera Dietz </em>by A.S. King (fiction)</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: decimal; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>The Boyfriend List </em>by E. Lockhart (fiction)</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: decimal; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Questions About Angels</em> by Billy Collins (poetry)</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: decimal; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Austenland</em> by Shannon Hale (fiction)</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: decimal; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Prom and Prejudice </em>by Elizabeth Eulberg (fiction)</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: decimal; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die, Cherish, Perish </em>by David Rakoff (novel in verse)</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: decimal; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Friends With Boys</em> by Faith Erin Hicks (graphic novel)</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: decimal; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>I Feel Bad About My Neck: and Other Thoughts on Being a Woman</em> by Nora Ephron (essays)</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: decimal; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Epic Fail </em>by Claire LaZebnick (fiction)</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: decimal; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Revenge</em> by Yoko Ogawa (short stories)</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: decimal; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>The Boy Book</em> by E. Lockhart (fiction)</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: decimal; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>The Treasure Map of Boys</em> by E. Lockhart (fiction)</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: decimal; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Crush</em> by Richard Siken (poetry)</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: decimal; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Real Live Boyfriends</em> by E. Lockhart (fiction)</span></li>
</ol>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Favorite Reads:</span></strong></div>
<ul style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 20px 15px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="list-style-type: disc; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Please Ignore Vera Dietz </em>by A.S. King (fiction)</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: disc; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Ruby Oliver Quartet by E. Lockhart</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: disc; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Revenge</em> by Yoko Ogawa</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: disc; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>The Vagina Monologues </em>by Eve Ensler</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: disc; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>I Remember Nothing </em>and <em>I Feel Bad About My Neck</em> by Nora Ephron</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ramblings:</span></strong></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I ended up reading a lot of YA books this month, including the Ruby Oliver Quartet (<em>The Boyfriend List, The Boy Book, The Treasure Map of Maps, </em>and <em>Real Live Boyfriends</em>) by E. Lockhart. At first I was a little leery of the series because of the cutesy titles, but I loved E. Lockhart’s <em>The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks</em> so I thought I’d give these a shot. I was very pleasantly surprised! Ruby Oliver is a witty and independent, though self-loathing, teenage girl navigating the ins and outs of friendship, family, and first loves. I found myself missing Ruby and her world as soon as I finished the final book in the series. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="image" src="http://media.tumblr.com/09f3958974bc9b29f12627b5184bb359/tumblr_inline_msboyqsHou1qz4rgp.jpg" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also read the first two volumes of <em>Saga</em> by Brian K. Vaughan (and illustrated by Fiona Staples!) during this challenge. Holy CRAP, they are amazing! <em>Saga</em> is the story Alana and Marko, lovers who come from warring planets and escape together when Alana is assigned to guard Marko in a prison. Once their escape is discovered, everyone from royalty to bounty hunters want to destroy the couple and what they represent. <em>Saga</em> is narrated by Hazel, Marko and Alana’s daughter, who is born at the very beginning of the series. I’m a big Brian K. Vaughan fan, so I don’t know why I took so long to start reading this series. But now that I’m two volumes in, it’s going to be torture waiting a month between issues. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="image" src="http://media.tumblr.com/b163435829a99198d42d8e1424089169/tumblr_inline_msc13qCq3e1qz4rgp.jpg" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What I Learned:</span></strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Reading a book every day for a month takes time, energy, and discipline. I read a lot of young adult books and short novels, but it still required setting a large chunk of time aside for reading<em>every single day</em>. Unfortunately, even when you plan to read, you never know if work or family or friends or emergencies will eat into the time you meant to use for reading. Things happen. Some days I was a reading machine, finishing three books in a day. Other days, I could barely start a book with everything else that seemed to be going on in my life. Regardless of the struggles, I enjoyed this challenge. It was a way to push my boundaries and get myself to read almost constantly. I might even try again some day…maybe in a few years.</span></div>
Whitney Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06285707094013474548noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1917491694892506494.post-10845971302791416602013-08-28T03:09:00.000-04:002013-09-26T00:18:40.001-04:00Review: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" src="http://media.tumblr.com/1258e7b6d0db17fe7ee9da78ff97eb54/tumblr_inline_ms8ciqBrHF1qz4rgp.jpg" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" /></span><strong></strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>448 pages, will be published on September 10, 2013 by St. Martin’s Griffin</strong></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cath Avery doesn’t like change. She doesn’t like starting her freshman year of college away from home. She doesn’t like that her twin sister and built-in best friend, Wren, is too busy drinking excessively and fraternizing with fraternities to room with her. She doesn’t like that her mother - the mother who left ten years earlier without another word - suddenly wants back into their lives. And she doesn’t like being away from her sometimes manic, but always loving father. Cath doesn’t like change, but she loves Simon Snow, the magical book series that has been a constant in her life for as long as she can remember. When she worries that her roommate, Reagan, hates her or that Reagan’s boyfriend Levi hangs around too much, Catch dives into the world of Simon Snow fan fiction, working on the magnum opus that she’s been writing for two years.<br /><br />Simon Snow may bear some parallels to another famous boy wizard, but Cath’s story is unlike any I’ve read before. Catch is smart, brilliant even, but anxious and often incapable of dealing with life’s curve balls. When Cath’s handsome fiction-writing partner betrays her, she fumbles without fighting back. When she finally realizes that Levi has been hanging around for her and not her roommate, Cath doesn’t know how to react. But eventually she learns to allow the people around her, including Levi, to help when she needs it most. As Cath and Levi grow close, Cath’s other friendships and relationships waver. I found this wavering to be the best part of <em>Fangirl</em>. Because Cath’s life isn’t just a love story, or a story that ends when she gets into a relationship. Her life is about the strain that college puts on her relationship with Wren. It’s about her father’s work, his absentmindedness, and his devotion to his daughters. It’s about her passion for writing, her fear of creating something new, and her relationship with the fictional characters that she’s known for more than half of her life.<br /><br /><em>Fangirl</em> can go from laugh-out-loud funny to tear-jerky within a page. It’s immensely readable because Cath is such a complex, relatable character. I felt her anxiety and fear, her joy and uncertainty as I turned the pages. And I couldn’t wait to see how her story, and Simon’s, ended.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rating: 5/5</span></strong></div>
Whitney Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06285707094013474548noreply@blogger.com0