Getting me some Nook-ie

Here I present my new love, my Barnes & Noble Nook.  As a librarian who will always love the feel & weight of a printed book in my hands, it took me awhile to warm up to the idea of the ebook reader.  I find I am now almost embarrassed to say how much I love my Nook.  If you're willing to spend a little bit of money, less than the cost of a hardcover, to get the book you want to read right now, this is the thing. 

I bought a Nook instead of a Kindle because it combined eInk technology with color touch screen navigation.  Not that I don't ever buy anything from Amazon, but I just felt better about patronizing a bricks & mortar bookstore.  And, best of all.....  Barnes & Noble sells the cutest Nook covers like my snazzy Jonathan Adler one.

So far I've downloaded The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Help, Mockingjay, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, and the newest by Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Angel.  (Can you tell my reading tastes are rather eclectic?)

Re: this last title, I literally woke up this morning and said to myself, "Oh, didn't Clockwork Angel come out yesterday?"  I tapped the little "shop" button on my Nook, searched for it, and downloaded it via wifi all in a matter of five minutes.  Completely addicting! 

This Book is Overdue!: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All by Marilyn Johnson

So, one of my favorite old man library patrons walked up to the reference desk, put this book down in front of me, and opened it to one of the blankish pages near the front that had this lone quote on it: 

"Show me a computer expert who gives a damn, and I'll show you a librarian."
--Patricia Wilson Berger, former president, American Library Association

And then he pointed at me.  See, this patron, let's call him Mr. Y, is one of my favorites because he is:  a) kind, b) patient, c) waits his turn, d) practices good hygiene, e) does not act as if he's the most important person in the world, f) asks me computer questions and then does his darnedest to remember what I told him, and g) is always appreciative of what I'm able to teach him about technology.  He said, "Half of the chapters in this book are about you."

I now feel extremely compelled to read this book over the weekend because, well, of course I want to read about how wonderful I am!  False immodesty aside, I hope that I do actually find this book complimentary and fun.....  For as many stereotypes about librarians as there are, and in light of this super crappy economy, I am still proud to count myself amongst this rare breed and anything I can get my hands on that will give me a boost is a good thing.

Book review: Catching fire/ Collins, Suzanne

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
While not quite as well written as Hunger Games, this sequel rocks!!!! My love for these characters is neverending. Read read read these books! They are so fabulous. I am currently rereading the 1st one 'cause I can't get enough.

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Book review: Paper towns/ Green, John

Paper Towns by John Green

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
John Green loves to write the teen novel about the perfect, ungettable girl and this is no exception. Paper Towns is similar to Looking for Alaska, but much more humorous and lighthearted. Quentin, a self-professed band geek who doesn't play an instrument, has known his great love, Margo Roth Spiegelman, since childhood. High school forces the childhood friends apart into separate, cool vs. uncool social circles, and Margo maintains the peace between the two circles, protecting Quentin & co. from the wrath of the jocks and homecoming queens. While Q continues to love Margo from afar, he has no idea how troubled Margo has become since they were kids. When Margo invites Q to join her in a night of pranks and schemes, barriers fall and high school as Q knows it begins to unravel. Engaging read to start, drags a bit in the middle, but part 3 is so hilarious I was in stitches.


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Book review: Prep/ Sittenfeld, Curtis

Prep: A Novel by Curtis Sittenfeld

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
Set in a fictional, elite Massachusetts boarding school, Lee Fiora applies to Ault School on a whim, gets a scholarship, and leaves Indiana for a world completely unlike her own. While the prose was well written and pitch perfect, Lee grated on my nerves. Definitely an engaging read, if only for the spot on characterizations of life behind the ivy-covered walls of prep school. Admittedly I love a character who's fiesty and outspoken (I mean, really, who doesn't?) and I can abide by a character who's shy and introspective, and both must at least be likable or endearing in some way. Lee was neither of those things. Spineless, whiny, fearful, skittish, snobbish to the people who did actually try to reach out to her, Lee commits a mortal sin in my book--hanging her entire self worth on a boy. Perhaps I've forgotten what it's like to be a teenage girl, but if this is what it was like, thank goodness I am an adult!


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Book review: Beware of the frog/ Bee, William

Beware of the Frog by William Bee

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This one actually made me LOL, for real, and it's been a long time since a picture book has surprised me. Love the retro illustrations, story structure, and twist.


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Book review: Dragonfly pool, The/ Ibbotson, Eva

The Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
12-year-old Tally knows the war between Hitler and Britain will begin soon and she wants to do everything she can to help. When her father secures a scholarship for her to attend boarding school in the countryside, Tally is at first dismayed she'll have to leave her father and aunts. She soon learns that Delderton, a hippie-ish "free school" where children are not forced to wear uniforms or even attend classes, is an amazing place where she begins to discover who she is. What starts off as a school story then turns into a trans-European adventure as Tally and her young friends form a folk dancing troupe, visit neutral Bergania, and end up smuggling its young crown prince away from the clutches of the Gestapo. Slow to start and definitely not for reluctant readers, this turned out to be very enjoyable as the characterization, action, and plotting picked up.


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Book review: Paint it black/ Fitch, Janet

Paint It Black by Janet Fitch

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Set in 80's punk LA, Josie Tyrell struggles to come to grips with the suicide of her tortured, gifted, artistic boyfriend, Michael. Michael's mother, a world-renowned pianist, and Josie are simultaneously drawn to and repulsed by one another as both attempt to cling to the bits and pieces Michael has left behind. Gritty, very sex-drugs-and-rock-n'-roll, and filled with all sorts of Oedipal craziness, this proved to be quite a compelling read. I knocked off a star only because Josie's ruminations tend to be a bit long-winded and repetitive. Side note: I got to meet Janet Fitch at last year's Literary Orange and she's nothing short of amazing!


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Book review: Hunger games/ Collins, Suzanne

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Since the death of her father, 16-year-old Katniss has been forced to hunt beyond the fences of District 12 to feed her mother and little sister. Despite being abjectly poor, Katniss finds solace in caring for her sister, Prim, and her friendship with Gale, a boy 2 years older and in similar circumstances. All that is stripped away by the Hunger Games. The Capitol, the authoritarian center of Panem (what's left of North America) keeps the Districts in line by forcing two teenagers from each District to compete in the annual Hunger Games, a media-frenzied gladiator-style tournament where there can only be one victor -- the last one alive. A bit 1984, a bit Blade Runner, and a bit Uglies, this one was so wonderfully suspenseful I couldn't put it down once I started. This one is a must-add to my list of best YA books.


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Book review: Brisingr/ Paolini, Christopher

Brisingr by Christopher Paolini

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I still can't believe Paolini is so young! While a bit overwrought with the weapons/armor jargon (a D&D kid's dream!), this is still pretty masterful storytelling. Despite a bit of predictability, I was pretty much glued through all roughly 750 pages. Can't wait for the final installment.


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Book review: The witch of Blackbird Pond/ Speare, Elizabeth George

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Although slow to start, but beautifully written, you can't help but wonder how newcomer Kit Tyler will fare in her Puritan uncle's household. Kit, arriving fresh off the boat from Barbados, is a colorful, tropical bird amongst a flock of brown sparrows and just doesn't get these uptight colonial New Englanders. In an act of teenage rebellion as well as a desire for friendship with a fellow outsider, Kit defies her uncle and befriends Hannah, Quaker and fabled "witch." As I was reading this, I thought to myself that if I had read this during middle school, I would've found American colonial life a whole darn lot more interesting!


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Book review: No more dead dogs/ Korman, Gordon

No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I love Wallace Wallace -- goodhearted, honest football player -- the protagonist of this quite funny piece of kids' lit. Wallace, banned from football practice until he can write a more positive review of his English teacher's favorite book, is sentenced to attending rehearsal sessions for the school play which also happens to be based on said book. Rachel is the aspiring star actress and Julia Roberts pen pal who greatly resents his presence and subsequent script suggestions. While not completely realistic (I can't imagine that any English teacher would be this pathetic), this one's got lots of funny dialog and well-developed, likable characters.


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Book review: Life as we knew it/ Pfeffer, Susan

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
Told in diary format, this is *ugh* teen angst meets apocalypse. Compelling in that you really do want to find out what happens to Miranda after life goes haywire in the aftermath of the moon getting knocked out of its orbit by an asteroid, but she is just so annoying and self-centered it drove me nuts. Lots of positive reviews, so perhaps it's just me that found her voice incredibly grating.


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Meeting Stephen Cannell

So this past weekend, instead of working I got to volunteer at Literary Orange, Orange County's premier author festival. It really was quite amazing, despite having any hopes of my ever being published absolutely crushed as I sat in on the "How To Get Published" panel discussion. I got to hear Janet Fitch (of White Oleander and Oprah fame) speak about rejections and writing and life in general, and eat some pretty fabulous food (white chocolate fondue with fresh berries + brownies = yum).

The highlight for me though was getting to meet Stephen Cannell, mystery writer, TV god, and creator of the "A-Team." For my brother and I, as quintessential children of the 80s, many a childhood hour was wasted watching BA, Hannibal, Faceman, and "Howling Mad" Murdoch, as well as other Cannell creations: Greatest American Hero, 21 Jump Street, Baa Baa Black Sheep. So as I'm watching Stephen talk about dyslexia and his fiction writing process (very similar to the way he would plot out his TV shows, he says), I text my brother, "at a talk w/ stephen cannell, creator of the ateam!!!!" He texts back, "get autograph pls!"

Now, at an author event the only courteous way you're going to get an autograph is to buy a book, which is of course the only reason authors even mingle with the masses at these things. I buy a paperback, as I've already plunked down $30 for Janet Fitch's Paint It Black and another earlier in the day. I write my brother's name on a little sticky note, affix it to the title page, and get in line. When I get to the front of the line, there's Stephen with his mirrored sunglasses (oh so Hollywood of him, since we are indoors) and his salt-and-pepper pompadour. I gush, quite embarrassingly, "My brother and I were HUGE A-Team fans!" Yeah, like he's never heard that before. Stephen says thanks, signs my book, and sends me on my way.

As I'm walking away, I take a moment to stop and read that title page. There in black ink it says, "To D-- I love it when a plan comes together. Stephen Cannell." Woo hoo! I honestly can't help but smile, as an image of my brother and I, laying on our stomachs on a heathered brown shag rug, eating Stouffer's frozen lasagna, and staring at that damn television, comes flooding back. Thanks for the memories, Stephen!

Picture book wall

A more stylish take on Jim Trelease's (the why-it's-important-to read-aloud-to-kids guru) suggestion of displaying books face out at home, low enough for small kid hands to reach. We used picture rail shelves from CB2. Above is a few magnet rails from Ikea to display the li'l one's artwork.

I miss him terribly!

Oh, I'm so sad Harry Potter is finished. Weep weep weep..... I finished Monday morning, dragged myself to work after a mere 3 hours of sleep, endured an awful lack-o'-sleep headache (I sure am not as young as I used to be), all while mourning the fact that I'll never get to look forward to another of Harry's adventures in print. Thank goodness JK *might* write that encyclopedia!

Just a few more hours....

Our library's copies of HP7 are being delivered to the branch today. Each copy will be under lock and key and we're all under the strictest of oaths to not open those darn covers, even just for a peek. It's like I could lose my job strict. It's absolute torture of the worst kind since I'm really the only one here that even cares what the heck happens to dear Harry and Co. So now I have to sit here all day and agonize over the fact that there is a brand new copy of that darn book just a few feet away and I can't lay my hands on it!!!!! AAARRRGHHH!

Ok, I will not lose my job over this..... I will not lose my job over this..... I will not lose my job over this!

Birthday blues

I must be getting older this week cuz I've been feeling rather crotchety. Just a general sort of malaise that's been manifesting itself in mild snippiness and getting annoyed rather easily. I'm not quite as bad as this....

....but close. I really should check my horoscope to see if Mercury's going to be burning my house down while in retrograde anytime soon.

Well, at least I'll be able to mind-meld with my other favorite sorcerer this weekend.