2017: Year in Review

2017 has been a year in flux! The 2016-2017 school year was pretty crappy, so January to May were spent surviving more than anything else. In March, I found out I was pregnant, so add 1st-trimester severe exhaustion to the end of that less-than-stellar school year. Summer vacation took us to Japan for our last big travel venture pre-baby; a new school year started in August, and my attention span began decreasing at a rapid rate with little one's impending arrival. We welcomed our little Luna into the world just a month ago, and the biggest surprise is how much I just want to stare at her! Everything I usually do to unwind—reading, writing, Netflix-watching—has become exponentially harder with this cute little bug around!

Somehow, I've still managed to turn some pages, though with a few changes. One, print books have taken a backseat, for the first time ever, to my Kindle. My main reading time is while nursing Luna, and I quickly discovered it's super difficult to keep a book open and turn pages with limited hand use. My Kindle's back-light is also proving invaluable during those late night sessions! Secondly, I'm suddenly okay with reading multiple books at once! I've gone through short story collections, memoirs, easier pleasure reading, and in-depth novels. You'd think my brain would have less mental capacity to keep multiple stories straight, but I think maybe it actually needs the variety!

Anyway, since I have so rarely used this space to record my reading encounters [I have, however, taken to posting shorter thoughts and summaries in Goodreads], I thought I'd do my year-end summary with a write-up on some of my more memorable reading experiences of the year.

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr  ||  I read this in April for the library book club that I (regrettably) have not attended since the summer. It's the story of a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths eventually cross during the chaos and destruction of World War II. For a book that was initially incredibly daunting to me (520+ pages, oof; WW II history, yawn), I ended up breezing through it, fully engrossed. I believe that's thanks to its multiple storylines and especially its quick chapters of alternating stories; we are able to follow each's story of survival in great detail. If the author had told this story chronologically, or shared only one piece or perspective, it would have made for a very monotonous novel. Instead, we are graced with a beautifully detailed piece on humanity that is never bogged down by either detail or gravitas. What the author does, HOW he tells this story, is actually a bit magical when you consider how terribly wrong it could have been done. The characters are all full, all entirely human, all just small pieces to this big puzzle of the war. Very, very well done.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky  ||  This is not the first time I've read this novel; I read it twice back in high school/college and, like most emo teens, I adored it. This was my first time reading it, though, as a bona fide a d u l t. It was also my first time reading it with a group of middle schoolers, and that experience is the reason it's on my most memorable list! For some backstory: I've had a group of now-8th graders that joined my library-sponsored book club when they were 6th graders and enjoyed it so much they began planning their own books for us to read as a group. Twice they've selected a book, and my job has been to hunt down enough copies for all and help them with discussion. In the spring (when they were 7th graders), the group of about six girls voiced a desire to read Perks, so I gathered the copies and started re-reading with them. WELL. This book was MUCH heavier than I remember! I've seen the movie version a zillion times (maaaaybe one of my two cases where I like the movie better than the book), and it's entirely PG-13. The book, however, is a lot darker with a lot more mature subject matter—alcohol, drugs, abortion, date rape, molestation. After some serious panic on my part, at our first group discussion I quickly established our meetings as a safe space to ask questions and talk about these issues, if they so desired. What began as a concern (is this appropriate for 13-year-olds??) ended up being a wonderful forum for these kids (I think, I hope) and one of my proudest moments as an educator. We discussed issues with privacy and full confidence; I spoke to parents when I was concerned about exposure of certain topics; and I discovered the wide range of how much kids at this age know—some seem to know it all, some still very naive. In the end, I think it established a great deal of trust amongst our group and, with these students heading to high school at the end of this school year, I am going to seriously miss them. Also, perhaps Perks should wait until at least 8th grade!

Velvet Underground by Teri Brown  ||  A random eBook check-out during my summer travels...For a YA book, this story had an uncommon setting (Europe during WWI) and uncommon plot (espionage) which made it a delightful surprise. The main character, Samantha, is a smart, cunning British seventeen-year-old who is recruited for a spy network and sent to "save" a troubled agent in Germany. With little information to go on, she must put the pieces together herself and determine what's truth and what's a lie. The end reveal was a bit Scooby Doo-esque (obvious in that "And I would've gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for you meddling kids!" way), with the villain's motive slightly TOO explained. As you know, I love the pure entertainment of middle grade/YA, but I liked this so much because it was unexpectedly different in its premise—not romancey, not friend drama, not fantasy, not school-based conflict or hijinx. Overall, a very fun adventure.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman  ||  I was invited to join a librarian friend's book club (an offer at which I enthusiastically jumped!), and this was the selection for my first meeting which was scheduled about three days after I received the invite. I binged it mostly over the course of a weekend and...errr, wow. I'd heard of this story, but had no idea what it was about. It's weird. And genre-defying. It's got fantasy, mythology, horror. magical realism. It's got an engrossing plot, though I was never quite confident in the story I was following. It's an allegory on the old versus the new, diversity versus homogeneity. The more commentary I read, the more I've thought about it over the course of the past several months, I wonder if my easy response of "I just didn't get it" is actually discrediting to myself. I think perhaps I did "get" it; it just wasn't particularly impactful to me. It brings up more questions than it answers, is open to much too much interpretation. I think, perhaps, it was just not for me.

Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult  ||  Another book club selection, one that I was NOT initially enthused to read. [I have refused to read Picoult since I read My Sister's Keeper and threw the book across the room upon completion.] The story of a newborn, child of white supremacists, who dies while under the care of an African-American nurse who was instructed to not touch the child. Could she have saved him? Is she at fault? It's formulaic like all Picoult novels—well-researched, thoroughly-written, exploring the gray area of conflicted situations. It has its weaknesses (pulling out EVERY trope of racial microaggressions), to which I absolutely rolled my eyes at in the beginning. Who is Picoult, this privileged white woman, to write with this voice? But then I thought about it. And I read some reactions. And I read Picoult's author's note at the end. And, most importantly, I considered this story within its literary context. See here: I am what I am. I am an affluent white woman. I try to be pretty "woke" about it—aware of my privilege, my perception, and cognizant of the experiences of people in my community that are different than myself. Therefore, as a "woke" liberal, I was aware of Picoult's examples of modern racism, considering them too easy of examples, too stereotypical. Of course, that's insulting; of course, that's racism. Delve into the complexities—that's what needs to be explored and addressed! The thing is, not everyone is me. Picoult's primary audience is not me. To them, maybe these instances aren't so obvious; maybe they need pointing out, as basic as they seem. That's what changed my opinion—considering the message of this book and its intended audience. And if this book serves that role, if it causes some middle-American suburban book club-goer to question interactions, to think deeper about these things, to "wake up" to a reality they've rarely considered, then I applaud its intent.

And lastly...

THE 2017 RUNDOWN

• 70 total books
• 41 children's/YA titles
• 5 nonfiction (yikes, I didn't realize—how dismal!)\
• 7 chunksters (hefty page count and/or daunting complexity, subject, language, etc.)
• 6 graphic novels
• 2 re-reads

Most engrossing: The Diviners by Libba Bray, All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Most boring: My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout

Most memorable: Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa

Most forgettable: A Summons to Memphis by Peter Taylor

Most enjoyable: Great With Child by Beth Ann Fennelly, Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

Most gratifying: Swann's Way by Marcel Proust

Most disappointing: The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu by Joshua Hammer

2016 in Review

I was a voracious reader as a kid, never leaving the house without a book, coming home from the library with an immovable stack of books, dominating the Accelerated Reader game in elementary classes. When I hit middle school, my reading habits dwindled to non-existence as I got sucked into pop culture and the general interests of a 13-year-old. When I was in the 8th grade, though, my mom eventually banned me from watching any TV until I read a book, convinced this would somehow get me in the reading habit again. I still find major fault with this logic; it's never that easy!

Somehow, though, it totally worked, and I've been a consistent reader again ever since. At the start of this re-found reading craze, I began writing in a notebook a list of all the books I had read, noting the dates of completion and thus creating an easy source of data to compare my reading from one year to another. You can see through my past 16 years as handwriting evolved, pen colors went from adolescent-bright to adulthood-boring. Once I began using Goodreads around 2009, I've kept a digital record of this list, but something about the history and consistency of this same notebook endures and I keep writing it down anyway.

According to my records, my most ambitious year to date was 2012 when I read 75 books. During that year, I was in grad school, taking Children's and YA lit classes, breezing through a zillion book because I could devour them so quickly. Well, considering that's a norm of my life now, I aimed to conquer that reading record in 2016 by surpassing 75 books.

I only half failed. I met my record at 75 but didn't go any further. December always ends more hectic than anticipated, and my final book selection of the year (on my Kindle) ended up being a 570-page one, taking more time than expected.

The thing about reading so many books this year, though, is that I'm not sure I actually enjoyed it so much. I constantly feel desperate for more time to consume more pages, saddened that there's so much I want to read and so little, as they say. But for my final book of the 2015 Read Harder Challenge, I chose David Copperfield and spent the three weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas reading it. I hadn't close-read a book like that in a long time, and I was reminded of how rewarding it is to soak into a story and commit ample time and brainpower to one piece of work. Though I'd never thought it possible, I think maybe I feel a bit of book overload?? Too much, too quickly??

So for 2017, I have a couple new reading goals that have nothing to do with numbers. One, I want to invest more time in reading. I want to read classics that require a mental shift to ride the flow of language; I want to spend 800 pages with a story to feel accomplished at the end. And two, I want to read more diversely - authors, characters, places of color. I want to read stories by voices and experiences vastly different from my own. I know what it's like to be white in America; and while it certainly holds a place in my reading oeuvre, I want to work hard at reading beyond that experience. I toyed with the idea of following Book Riot's 2017 Reading Challenge since I finally finished the 2015, but I think I found a different kind of challenge in Read Diverse 2017 - a challenge with less structure but more community accountability. I'm excited to broaden my reading in a new way.


THE 2016 RUNDOWN

• 75 total books
• 41 children's/YA titles
• 12 nonfiction
• 5 graphic novels
• 3 re-reads (all children's)
• 26 published in the past two years (2015-2016)

Most engrossing: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (also most suprising)

Most boring: No Great Misery by Alistair McLeod

Most memorable: Lookaway, Lookaway by Wilton Barnhardt

Most forgettable: Get in Trouble by Kelly Link

Most enjoyable: A Touch of Stardust by Kate Alcott and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child 

Most gratifying: David Copperfield by Charles Dickens and Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Most disappointing: The Future of Us by Jay Asher

Looking Back, Looking Forward: 2015 in Review

THE RUNDOWN

2015 wasn't a bad year of reading. I met my Goodreads goal, plus some; I embarked on a personal reading challenge. The difference between my reading in 2015 and any previous year, though, is that, for the first time, I feel like my reading choices aren't entirely my own. Technically, yes, I still have 100% reading autonomy, but now, having a job that is entirely enmeshed in the literary realm, I feel a great sense of responsibility to know my collection. I think I probably read more middle grade titles this year than adult titles [I'll find out when I do some tallies in a few minutes.] And though I legitimately love middle grade books (way more than YA), I do feel somewhat pressured to spend most of my time reading them, because it has already proven to be hugely beneficial in my daily job—the personal recommendation is everything to a middle schooler!

THE NUMBERS

• 62 total books read
• 40 middle grade or YA titles
• 11 nonfiction
• 12 graphic novels
• 39 women authors
• 3 re-reads
• 32 published in the past 2 years (2014 or 2015)
• 9 published between 2010 - 2013
• 11 published between 2000 - 2009 (ok, clearly I need to branch out, but this was totally because of middle school books)
• 2 published in the 90s
• 4 published in the 80s
• 2 published in the 70s
• 1 published in the 60s
• 1 published before 1950 (1914 to be exact)

THE STAND-OUTS

Most engrossing: Here, There, Elsewhere by William Least Heat-Moon

Most boring: Letters of a Woman Homesteader by Elinore Pruitt Stewart

Most memorable: A Field Guide to Happiness by Linda Leaming

Most forgettable: TIE // Boys of Blur by N.D. Wilson and Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady by Florence King

Most humorous: Drinking at the Movies by Julia Wertz

Most enjoyable: The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher

Most disappointing: TIE // Forever by Pete Hamill and Mosquitoland by David Arnold

Overall fave: The Miseducation of Cameron Post by emily m. danforth

THE GOALS

I've mentioned many times my lack of attention span during the school year, which is why it comes in handy that the once fall-back/quick-read plan of picking up a JUV or YA book is actually incredibly helpful with my job. In looking at my reading list from the past year, though, I ultimately feel pretty underwhelmed, like I haven't challenged myself much or broadened any horizons. To some degree, it may be unavoidable if I want to keep myself abreast of what's in my school library, but I think I'm going to edit my aforementioned plan of limiting adult reading to breaks only. To get back to being a well-rounded reader, I will:

1. Try to alternate MG/YA books and adult books (or at least keep up the ratio)
2. Finish the Read Harder Challenge, and start this year's version (So, I actually didn't realize it was a 2015-specific challenge until I saw somewhere a 2016 version; I was just chugging along at my own pace. So, I will finish the current challenge and start the new one.)
3. Read Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898 in its entirety. This is the ultimate 1500 page chunkster that I've wanted to commit to for years. I'll tackle it slowly, a chapter at a time, but, by god, I will finish it! You know I love a good reading project.

Happy new year and happy new reading!

2014 in Review

Well 2014 was a year for the books. It was a busy one, as evidenced by my total absence from this blog—so I guess from your perspective, it wasn't one for the books at all! (Pun!)

On day 2 of 2014, I moved 898 miles across the country.

From days 19 to 79, I traveled halfway around the world.

On day 219, I started a new career.

On day 255, I bought a house.

As much as I've abandoned communication on this blog [all forms of communication in my life—both virtual and non-virtual—have seriously suffered as of late!], it was actually a pretty great year of reading. This was the year I fell in love with a Kobo [a serious necessity for worldwide travel] and became addicted to eBook checkouts from the library. I crossed many titles off my to-read list that had been there for who knows how long. And I seriously binged on middle school selections [comes with the job].

As far as Goodreads is concerned, I completed my annual goal of 52 books—surpassing it, even, with a total of 57. Much of that is thanks to my 7 months of vacation in 2014 when I joyously had all the time in the world to read and relax. [It's a good thing, too, because once school started, my reading pace CRASHED.] Of these 57:

• 10 were nonfiction (5 of these were memoirs)
• 5 were YA (4 of which were by Sarah Dessen—obsessed?)
• 12 were middle grade
• 36 were by woman authors (21 by men)
• 14 were by non-American authors (and most of those were English...ick, this is what happens without Idlewild book club)

And I received TWO lovely, amazing, inspiring emails from authors whose books I wrote about [2 more than ever before!].


Here's the rundown of my year of reading:

Most enjoyable
Tie: Relish by Lucy Knisley & all the Sarah Dessen

Most surprisingly enjoyable
Flings by Justin Taylor

Most disappointing
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy by Helen Fielding

Most surprisingly disappointing
Tamar by Deborah Challinor

Most engrossing
The Magus by John Fowles

Most satisfying
American Dervish by Ayad Akhtar

Most thought-provoking
The Evolution of God by Robert Wright

Most entertaining
Tie: The Great Greene Heist by Varian Johnson & How to Build a Girl by Caitlin Moran

Most moving
I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

Most memorable
The Magus by John Fowles

Most forgettable
Girl Walks Into a Bar by Rachel Dratch


Happy reading in 2015! Here's to better updates, branching out, & memorable stories!

What's ACTUALLY on the Shelves...

Yup. Seems about accurate.

Living in a small NYC apartment, I used to purge my shelves frequently and mostly kept books I'd file as either "Intending to Read" or "Loved Enough to Share With Someone Else." Now that I will (eventually) have more space, I imagine my collection won't be as discerning.

What takes up the most space on your shelves?

Cartoon by Tom Gauld as found on the Picador Book Room.

Sneak Peek: The Boy Who Was Raised by Librarians

Despite having been out of college for five years, my mom still occasionally sends me care packages of goodies since we still reside 800 miles apart. Usually, she's sending me something I've requested or that she's told me about, but she always fills the box with other little surprises.

In my most recent package containing some Target shoes I couldn't find at the crappy NYC Targets, she included this picture book—The Boy Who Was Raised by Librarians by Carla Morris, illustrated by Brad Sneed. She babysits my 2-year-old nephew twice a week, and library visits are part of their routine. Apparently, they were reading this one together, and she realized that it's my story and decided to share with me.

The Boy Who Was Raised by Librarians is about a boy named Melvin who grew up as a frequent library patron, bonding with the librarians as he researched for school projects, discovered new books to read, and attended library events. And who can guess what career path he chose by the end?? It's a cute story and a good tool for inspiring that library love all of us bookworms hope our future progeny possess! Just wanted to share with you all.

Hello? Are you there?

In case you haven't noticed ("you" being anyone out there who may or may not still be reading this little blog space on the Internet), the past few months have been swarmed with YA reading and lots of other generally busy busy things. In real life, my job has gotten busier than ever as we just keep releasing more and more material that I have to market. And, did you know that I am getting married in June? To Colin, one time contributor to the very blog you are reading.

So there are those things on top of all that reading. And though January–June are looking to be just as busy with wedding planning and thesis writing (ugh), I hope I can have a little more time to read as I like reading—to relax and drop off the earth into another world.

With the start of 2013, we're approaching this little blog's 4-year blogiversary. But in much of that time, thanks to many of the things mentioned above, I have almost completely dropped out of the bloggy community. And that saddens me. I don't have time to read what other people have to say, and not too many people seem to stop by here to say much of anything anymore either. And that is exactly opposite of why this was started in the first place. I wanted to encourage discussion, promote books I love (or don't love), and basically just talk about books with other book-minded folks. 

So, dear readers, what do you like to hear about? Would you like me to shutup about YA books forever (I promise I won't bore you with them much longer)? Do I need to be reading whatever is the best-selling follow-up to 50 Shades of Scandal (just kidding, I'm not gonna hop on that bandwagon so quickly)? 

What's your favorite thing to read about and explore? What gets you excited? What's going to make you sit up a little straighter in your chair with piqued interest?

But in the meantime, hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and a great start to 2013. Happy reading!

How to Be a Rebel: Read a Banned Book

Image credit: bannedbooksweek.org

I've known that Banned Books Week was coming up this week for quite a while, but I've never really prepared anything to say about it. But as a prospective librarian (and even more specifically, a Young Adult one), I would be remiss not writing something about it! So this post may be all over the place, but its intent is to highlight an important part of reading and education, particularly as it relates to children and young adults.

My day job in publishing has connected me to a number of librarians nationwide, and I love discovering how they are keeping their kids engaged. One such librarian is Michelle Luhtala, a rockstar in the world of librarians. She was the keynote speaker at a school district conference I attended for work, and I overheard her presentation on how she encourages her students to use the Internet to its full potential, because this level of worldwide real-time connectivity—through Twitter, Facebook, news feeds, etc—is the present and it is the future. She organizes a Banned Websites Awareness Day every year (her school library has no bans or filters) to remind her students that not everyone enjoys the same access that they do.

And that's it in a nutshell. That is purpose of Banned Books Week and other events that recognize censorship—to remind us that access is not equal, whether its prevented by a web filter or by a close-minded teacher or librarian or parent.

One of the fundamentals of librarianship is to ensure access of information and material to all, and I think there's no more important group for that apply to than children and young adults. Because books, and movies and websites are how you experience the world. This is how you can learn opposing viewpoints, experience different lifestyles, and relive history without ever leaving your seat. And in a society that is increasingly global, it's imperative that children grow up knowing what's out there and knowing how to experience it.

I would've liked to have had a list of books I'd read and discuss during this week...but I just have so much to read as it is. (The day I get to read as book that is NOT considered YA will be a joyous day.) Instead, here's a list of the most frequently challenged books of the past decade. What's your favorite from the list? Do you think the challenges are warranted? Are you surprised to see any of these on the list?

I recently had to read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian for school, and I loved it. In fact, compared to many other books I've read, I am continuously surprised this one has such a history of frequent challenges. I think it has a wonderful overall message that yes, life can be hard, but here you have this character who is defying the society around him and taking control of his own life. It's optimistic, it's realistic, and it's inspiring for anyone in a similar position.

As to the rest of that list, I actually shrieked a little bit when I saw the cover of It's Perfectly Normal, a sex ed book by Robie Harris. My mom bought this book for me when I was about 10 and left it in my room with the intent to have "the talk." I have never been so terrified of anything in my life, and I avoided physical contact with this book as if it held a communicable disease. That book was the stuff of my nightmares for at least a year of my adolescent life. Luckily, "the talk" was somehow avoided, and the book is probably at the top of a closet by now. Whew!

Movie Trailer: Cloud Atlas

Despite having read David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas two years ago, it is still the book that garners the most reads and comments of all my posts. I think it has something to do with intrepid readers Googling the book during their own Cloud Atlas journeys; comments range from scathing judgment of my apparent "lack of intellect" during my initial and confusing encounter with the story (clearly these readers did not care to follow up and continue reading my own Cloud Atlas experience, and I think I ended up deleting that anonymous comment) to a sort of relief and found camaraderie of mutual questioning.

These comments really do get entertaining, as the commenters have begun a sort of unraveling discussion and debate with each other, despite comments appearing months apart. My heart always jumps a little when I get the email about a new comment on Cloud Atlas, because I want to shout to these comments (except for the insulting ones, obvs), THANK YOU. THIS IS THE POINT OF THE BLOG.

Anyway, because of all this, I feel it necessary to post this newly released trailer for the upcoming film adaptation of Cloud Atlas. I cannot even begin to imagine the difficulty in translating Mitchell's words from paper to movie screen. It's beyond me.

Watch. Think. Discuss.

The Missing Piece

Anne of Green Gables has been one of my favorite stories for as long as I can remember, ever since I saw the CBC movies as a wee one and received a set of the first three novels from someone I can't even remember.

A fortuitous visit to the library's Book Barn a few years ago led me to most of the rest of the series—in the same imprint (very important!)—but I was still missing one: the elusive #5!

Since then, I have searched. I have scoured used bookstores as well as sites like Paperback Swap, Amazon, and Half.com where it's next to impossible to ensure that the book I need is of the same imprint, size, and series as the rest of them. Thus, my collection has had a hole for the past 3 years (at least!).

And then a serendipitous trip to the new and pretty McKay's in Nashville led me to the missing piece of the puzzle, and $1.75 later, the collection is complete!

This series will get a re-read very soon! Anyone interested?

Sneak Peek: Farm Anatomy by Julia Rothman

It's no secret that I really want to live on a farm. I don't want it to really be a working one, because frankly, I'm too lazy for that—utmost respect for all working farmers. I just want to be surrounded by nature and know all the little details about plant and animal life that my mom seems to know. (How does she know these things?? She can ID any flower in about 3.2 seconds.) And I want at least two pigs, two goats, two sheep, two horses, and two chickens (so they can each have a friend, obviously). And lots of cats and a farm dog. And some owls.

I saw this book on display in the Workman booth at PLA, and it was just so awesome that I came home and special ordered it from my local bookstore, WORD. It's like a guidebook to rural living, and soon I'll be able to tell you how to make maple syrup and what kind of apple it is you're eating. The only thing it lacks, to me, is a quick guide to common flower and tree species, but I guess that's not specific enough to a farm. Oh well!

I'm sharing some photos I took of the illustrations, because I think they're wonderful. I hope you do too.

A PLA Conference Recap

Part of my job in publishing is attending book industry conferences, which can be both incredibly exhilarating incredibly and exhausting. This week, the Public Library Association had its biennial conference in Philadelphia, which was easy travel—only a short train ride away. I was particularly excited to attend PLA because the public library is my intended area of work once I finish my MLS degree!

Conferences are great when you work in publishing because A) it's a nice change of pace from sitting at a desk in front of a computer all day [the worst!!!] and B) you get to chat with the people who actually use your product and it's nice to hear what is working and what isn't. Of course, the thing that stinks for me as an exhibitor, at this conference in particular, is that I'm stuck in a booth all day when I want to attend the sessions and book signings and absorb it all.

However, I did randomly run into a former colleague from the library I used to work at during high school—the job that cemented my future in libraries in the first place. And in the exhibits' closing hours, I did manage to rack up a small collection of some solid books, which is always a plus. But just as a helpful hint, booth representatives from certain major trade publishers: just because I'm wearing an "Exhibitor" badge is no reason to be a jerk to me; we're not even competitors, and I STILL LIKE TO READ AND MAY BUY YOUR BOOKS.

My swag includes:

• Rez Life by David Treuer—a recent recommendation from Jill that I happily stumbled upon; and this booth rep was lovely, fyi
• The Lost Saints of Tennessee by Amy Franklin-Willis—because any book with the word Tennessee in the title immediately interests me
• Heft by Liz Moore—someone I know through Tumblr and was happy to stumble upon her book
• Barnheart by Jenna Woginrich—recommended by the Workman rep who was super nice once I showed interest in an awesome book I will buy called Farm Anatomy that is like an illustrated guide to rural living; he told me the author lived in Brooklyn and decided to move and live on a farm, and I do live in Brooklyn and dream of moving to live on a farm

March 1 (ok, 5th): Next On the List

Ok, so I'm a few days late with the beginning of the month update, and that is just representative of my February and March so far. February was a pretty pathetic reading month for me. I finished a whopping two books, which is pathetic considering I have more time than usual to read as I haul 75 minutes to and from class twice a week.

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I've officially given up on Jonathan Raban's essay collection, Driving Home. I got up to page 180 or so and was intending to read and post on it in stages. I reached a stopping point so I could read Sea of Poppies for book club, and as you can see, I still have not written about that first chunk of Driving Home (or Sea of Poppies, for that matter). Once I tried to get back into it and write about the first part, I couldn't even remember anything significant, and it was just looming as something I thought I should read but wasn't really enjoying. And I think this ended up holding me back for a lot of last month. Overall, this book was just not what I expected. A couple of the essays were really good, particularly one about Mark Twain, but the rest were not a journey of America, per say. They felt more like literary analysis of various authors, some of them not even American! In a nutshell, I was looking for a road trip, and this was not one. Oh well.

The other pitiful part of February is that I've been reading the same two books for 2-3 weeks. I don't usually read more than one book at once, because my brain can't focus in depth on more than one story. I've been reading the new graphic novel Marzi by Marzen Sowa since before Valentine's Day. I really like it, but this is something I'd usually breeze through in a weekend. When I didn't finish it one weekend, I needed a novel to read, because I didn't want to carry the large graphic novel in my purse, so I started West of Here by Jonathan Evison, which is a chunkster. It's almost 500 pages, so it's just taking a while for that reason. Plus, I don't really like any of the characters too much. The ones in the present day sections are just so miserable, and I hate reading about miserable people. It puts me in a miserable mood. So perhaps this is also why I'm not flying through it. Add to this the numerous children's books I have to read each week for class, and my leisurely reading is just subpar right now.

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This week...THIS WEEK...I will finish BOTH of these books! On the coming agenda, I have a couple things:

• The Go-Between by I. P. Hartley, finally another NYRB classic for my next book club meeting. The meeting isn't until the 22nd, so I've got a bit of time.
• The Unseen Guest by Maryrose Wood, the third in the Incorrigible Children series. I was so excited to receive an advanced copy for an author tour which will happen later this month!
• Lions of the West by Robert Morgan is still on my agenda...I just have to get through these two books first!

Did you know that this month is the Public Library Association conference in Philadelphia? I am attending for work, but I'm especially excited since the public library is the realm I intend on entering once I finish my MLS program. (And I am also very excited for the cheesesteaks.) You know what conferences mean...NEW BOOKS. I only hope to duplicate my awesome book score from ALA in January!

Happy March!

February 1: Next On the List

In an attempt to mentally organize and motivate, I think I'm going to start taking a monthly mental pause to assess what I want to read, where I am with any reading goals, and what exciting things are on the horizon. It sounds silly because reading should be a relaxing, enjoyable activity, but it can sometimes get a little overwhelming to think of all I have and want to do!

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In January, I started my own personal Westward Ho! reading project, for which I read two books (but only blogged on one; I'll get there!). I don't have anything on the immediate agenda for this, only in the abstract future—the next couple of months. I am going to be reading Lions of the West with Aarti, but that's not going to start until at least March.

Yesterday I started the book for my February book club meeting, Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh. I've been taking a bit of a break from book club for the past two months. It's not that I grew tired of it, it's just...well, the last two meetings went on for two and a half hours. I mean, I enjoy talking about books, but that is a long time to discuss one book. The discussion is great for about an hour and then it gets too detailed, like people are grasping for straws for something to discuss, and it's the same couple of people who just keep talking. It is possible to over-discuss a book. Anyway, I just needed a breather and now I've had one, so I'm excited for next week's meeting! The book, by the way, is "eh" so far (I'm 100 pages in). Like every book I've read for this book club, I probably won't love it but I will enjoy the discussion of it.

I started Jonathan Raban's essay collection, Driving Home, last week, and it is a chunkster. I took a break from it for a bit to start my book club book, but it's a library book so I plan on finishing it in the next two weeks. (The only time I'm able to start a new book in the middle of another one like this is if it's essays or short stories!) So far, some of the essays are interesting and some are boring. I thought it would be more of a travelogue, but a lot of his essays are just analyzing other authors' works and have little to do with American travel. It's not really what I expected from the book as a whole.

I got some fabulous books from ALA Midwinter, including:

• Marzi, a new graphic novel that the girl at the Random House booth generously let me take
• Maggie Now, a Betty Smith novel I'd never heard of, thanks to the HarpeCollins booth
• Come In and Cover Me, the new Gin Phillips (I loved The Well and the Mine) thanks to Penguin's $5 all-you-can-hold sale
• The Man in the Wooden Hat by Jane Gardam (I have Old Filth but haven't read it yet!)

Conferences are fun, but when you're working at one and have to stand in your exhibition booth all day...well, you miss out on the fun of discovering new books! Luckily, the last day was pretty slow and I got to wander a bit.

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If you live in Brooklyn (or even just in NYC) and you don't know about WORD yet, you should. It's an independent bookstore in Greenpoint, and they have some fabulous events. It's where I've gone to readings with Emily St. John Mandel and Jon Michaud. In December, I missed Haley Tanner, who was coincidentally there as I was reading her book. But in February, they have some great things coming up, including an event with Jonathan Evison (of West of Here) which I will sadly have to miss because of class, one with Joe Wallace who I met there once and subsequently read his book, and one with Michael Showalter of comedic fame. 

Related: Wet Hot American Summer is one of my top 5 movies of all time, and in college, my friend Gretch and I once spent an entire three-hour studio painting class throwing Wet Hot quotes back and forth until, at the very end of class, a guy sitting next to us finally asked, "Are you guys quoting Wet Hot?" I asked Colin if I could tell Michael Showalter that story, and he said no, it would not impress him. I think it would. We quoted the movie longer than the movie itself.

Happy February!

Lessons on Reading

As a raging bookaholic, I'm constantly looking for the next book to add to my shelf. There are so many options. I want to read more; I want to read it all. As a result, I'm certain that I miss some of what is there. I often skim the surface instead of dive down deep. My analytical skills suffer. I miss the subtleties, the nuances, the hidden themes and allusions.

It's poignant, then, that I just started Jonathan Raban's essay collection—his diary of America—and he begins it with these words on reading:

The first lesson Empson taught was to drastically slow down; to read at the level of the word, the phrase, the line; to listen, savor, question, ponder, think... A single paragraph in Seven Types of Ambiguity was like a street closely punctuated with traffic-calming speed bumps: you had to study the relationship between one sentence and the next—and often one clause and the next—to see the logic that connected them, and if I tried to read them in my usual skimming style, I instantly lost the thread.

The second, more general lesson required one to greatly enlarge one's understanding of what writing is and does... Empson illustrated his arguments by sentences from novels, book titles, newspaper headlines that had caught his eye, and so forth... Every piece of writing was like a pond, sunlit, overhung by willows, with clustering water lilies, and, perhaps, the rippling circle made by a fish rising to snatch a daring fly. This much could be seen and appreciated by any passing hiker. But the true life of the pond lay below the surface, in deep water where only the attentive and experience eye would detect the suspended cloud of midge larvae, the submarine shadow of the cruising pike, the exploding shoal of bug-eyed small fry. It was with the subaquatic life of literature that Empson...was concerned.

Beneath the clean line of type on the page lay the muddy depths of the living and changing language, a world of stubborn historic associations, swarming puns, suggestive likenesses and connections, meanings that were in a continuous process of education and decay, sometimes enriching the word in print, but as often subverting it...

Empson's preternaturally sensitive ear and eye for the deep-water workings of the language enabled him to share with his readers a myriad subtleties, shades of meaning, richness, in lines they might otherwise have skated over, in ignorance of this buried treasure...

—From Driving Home: An American Journey, Jonathan Raban, pgs. 7-8

Do you meticulously savor the books you read or fly through them and move on to the next?

Thoughts on 2011 and Looking Forward to 2012

The year is over, and I completed my goal of reading 60 books in 2011! Actually, I read 61 and beat my previous record of 60 from 2009. [Last year, you may recall, Howard Zinn slowed me down at the end and I didn't quite make 60. Thanks, Zinn.]

Looking back on my list of reading from the past year, I'm not inspired to create a "best of" list like I'd usually do; there are not a handful of books that stand out as utterly magnificent in every way. Instead, I'm going to make a few lists. (A couple books don't have reviews up yet...they're coming!)

Sucked me in the most:

1. New York: The Novel by Edward Rutherfurd
2. Tomorrow River by Lesley Kagan
3. Coming Home by Rosamunde Pilcher

Entertained me the most:

1. Bossypants by Tina Fey
2. I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley
3. Anastasia Again by Lois Lowry

Pondered the most:

1. The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamad
2. I Totally Meant to Do That by Jane Borden
3. Vaclav & Lena by Haley Tanner

Learned the most:

1. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
2. Travels in Siberia by Ian Frazier
3. The Lost City of Z by David Grann

Bored me the most:

1. The World As I Found It by Bruce Duffy
2. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
3. The New York Stories of Elizabeth Hardwick [So bored that I didn't even bother reviewing.]

Disappointed me the most:

1. The Summer Book by Tove Jansson
2. Life With Mr. Dangerous by Paul Hornschemeier
3. Swamplandia! by Karen Russsell

2011 wasn't a very profound year for reading in the sense that I wasn't very adventurous in what I read with the exception of the World Reading Challenge, which expanded my international oeuvre. It was a fabulous way to make me read a larger variety of voices. I didn't sign up for it again, though, because of my new reading goals...

In 2012, I want to:

1. Read more non-fiction. I feel I've done pretty well with that in the past couple of years, but I think 2011 was the exception.
2. Read what's on my book shelf. I have a billion books to weed, but I can't do that without first determining if they're worth keeping or not!
3. Pay attention to my mood when selecting a book. If I just read southern fiction, read something else next. If I want to read something light and easy, pick up that chick-lit I've been avoiding for months. If you read according to your mood, chances are you'll like the book better than if in the wrong frame of mind.
4. Don't ever stress myself out over finishing a book on a deadline. Reading is meant to be enjoyed, and it's not fair to the book or author if you rush through it!

I'm going to keep a reading goal of around 60 books. As busy as I am, I don't think upping that number is very realistic!

Here's to a great year of literature!

Judy Blume on NPR, and helping the YA audience

“I’m afraid today everybody thinks the sexiest, smartest thing to do is write for YA, and I worry about the middle grade readers, because if they don’t learn to love books when they’re middle graders, when are they gonna learn to love them?”

This, in a nutshell, is why I want to be a youth librarian.

Early on in my quest for Master Level Librarian (aka grad school), I was mostly undecided about where to focus in the public library realm. First off, MLS programs are incredibly expansive. Do you know how broad the library field is? Technical services, records management, digitization, preservation, archives, academic libraries, School Media Specialist, and yes, public libraries. I've known, since day 1, that I want to work where the people are. I love books, and I want to share that, not be closed up alone in a room with them. This pretty much leaves academia, public libraries, and school libraries, but academia bores me and it seems to me primarily information retrieval. I want to be an information guide and promote a love of reading, and I want the diversity of a public library.

Once you get in a public library, though, it's still divided—adult services, children's services, YA services. Do I go Adult where I can share what I myself enjoy reading? Do I go Children's because they're so cute and inspiring? Or the YA group that is probably the most challenging and the most reluctant?

Here's what I've decided. If adults are in the library to read, then they're readers. You just hit a point in life where you're either a reader or you're not. And kids have people encouraging them to read from every angle. Parents reading to you at home, read-alongs in class at school, summer reading programs, Accelerated Reader requirements—things that just encourage you to READ, doesn't matter WHAT you're reading. Then you hit the middle school/high school years and it just seems to drop. You're done with programs like AR; you're done with class visits to your school library to pick out some books; you're given six books you must read for English class that are usually "classics" and therefore pretty boring. And because you have to do it, you don't want to do it. So you start to resist reading. It's not fun; it's boring; books suck. You Google everything, and books are outdated. You develop poor research habits based on what's quickest and easiest, not the most thorough or accurate. Maybe, by some act of divine intervention, you'll pick up reading again in a few years before your adulthood habits and priorities are solidified. But most likely, if you lost interest once, it's gone.

And that's why I want to work with this fragile and underserved group. Yes, YA is the rapidly-growing hot reading genre, but you can't just produce the material. Spending time with teens, teaching them good research strategies and habits, inspiring in them a life-long quest for knowledge and love of learning, using their individual interests to motivate them—that is what I think teens need, and that's where I want to help.

The stash for summer travel

I'm currently in New Orleans for five more days to attend the American Library Association's Annual Conference. I'm attending with my company in a work capacity, but my library school student side is also excited to be around so many librarians and fellow book nerds!

This trip to New Orleans is going to be immediately followed by a day in El Paso, TX (also work-related), a week in Nashville, and then a week on vacation in Destin, Florida. Needless to say, I am pumped to be away from my desk for so long, and with lots of plane rides on the schedule, I'm excited to have the opportunity to just sit and read without other distractions (besides flight-induced panic, of course). I've actually missed my hour-long subway/bus school commute, because that was great reading time.

I've got a couple of books currently checked out from the library that I'm going to read in the next few weeks (actually, hopefully I'll finish these in this first week leg of my travel):

• Tomorrow River by Lesley Kagan, thanks to a glowing review by Fizzy Thoughts
• Life With Mr. Dangerous by Paul Hornschemeier, thanks to a review by Reeder Reads
• Diamond Ruby by Joseph Wallace, which has been on my queue for quite a while 

Beyond this, I'm going to aim to read books that already inhabit my shelves and are desperately waiting to be read. Included:

• The Glass Castle by Jeanette Wells, which I've owned forever but a friend just told me I have to read it
• Paris Was Ours by Penelope Rowlands, because I've been in a French kinda mood lately
• Coming Home by Rosamund Pilcher, because my copy is an old, mass-paperback edition that looks totally like a romance novel, making it a perfect beach read
• Everything Beautiful Began After by Simon Van Booy, which is the newest addition to my shelf and thus excites me

What's on your summer reading list?

A topic-based approach to my reading queue

I'm in a posting slump right now because I'm in the middle of the rather chunky Travels in Siberia by Ian Frazier for the World Reading Party's June country-of-choice (Russia), and I'm all caught up on posting about everything else I've read. Well, mostly. I did recently read NYRB's The New York Stories of Elizabeth Hardwick, but I've decided to not post about it because I was bored with it and have NOTHING to say about it. Sorry guys.

No matter how much I'm enjoying the current book I'm reading, my brain is always thinking to the future and deciding what to read next. The greatest thing about books is learning about places and events you'll never get to experience firsthand (duh!). Sometimes, when I'm adding books to my reading queue, I like to think of topics I want to read about and find a good book that will quench my thirst on a time or a place. For example, I wanted to read something about modern-day polygamy and Mormonism, so I hunted down and found David Ebershoff's The 19th Wife. When I wanted to read about everyday life in Alaska (a place with a lifestyle I will never be able to fathom), I picked up Heather Lende's memoir Take Good Care of the Garden and Dogs.

I have lots more examples like this, and the World Reading Party has been a great contributor to this little personal quest for knowledge. Sure, I could read the news or do a Wikipedia search. But sometimes, I just want to learn while reading something with a voice—that little extra something that puts you in the story and makes it more memorable than just a list of facts.

Some topics for which I'm currently hunting down books include:

1. Homesteaders and the migration west
2. American Indian experience (past and present)
3. Israel/Pakistan conflict
4. Religion (interesting and analytical nonfiction, nothing preachy)

Right now, my list that will fit into these categories include: (more suggestions are welcome!)

1. Letters of a Woman Homesteader by Elinor Pruitt Stewart. I read about this on a book blog long ago, but it doesn't seem to be easily available at any local libraries. Maybe have to just fulfill this wish with Little House on the Prairie books for the JUV FIC Corner.
2. Anything by Sherman Alexie. The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven has been my preference based on reader comments.
3. Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa. Also read about this on a book blog and have been wanting to read it ever since.
4. The Case for God by Karen Armstrong or The Evolution of God by Robert Wright. I found the Armstrong book through Goodreads, and Sal has read the Wright book and reviewed it on here.

Do you have any topics you want to read about? What are your special ways of deciding what goes on your reading queue?

For the love of big books

I'm currently in the middle of the 850 page epic New York: The Novel by Edward Rutherfurd. So while this post is partly serving as filler until I can write about something I've read, it's also going to be a brief reflection on that beloved genre of novel: the chunkster.

I find that there are few reads more satisfying than when you finish a big 500+ page book that was just incredible and completely sucked you in.

Yet, the chunkster read is a risky one. You may get 250 pages in and realize you don't like the characters or the plot. Or you get bored. Or you don't have the time to commit to it. Or, worst of all, you finish and there's an unsatisfying ending that just makes you say, "THAT'S what I spent so much time to get to???" But finish a worthy chunkster and, oohlala, you just want to dive right into the next—if you can bear to move on beyond these characters you now know so well, that is.

Some BIG BOOKS I've enjoyed:

• Anthropology of an American Girl by Hilary Thayer Hamann — This main character had some ISSUES, but I somehow got sucked in anyway.
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett — Yes, I know...me and everybody else.
• When Everything Changed by Gail Collins —Nonfiction and oh-so interesting!
• Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell — I read this in high school and felt oh-so-freakin-smart carrying this massive book with me everywhere I went.

Some BIG BOOKS that have made me go UGH:

• The World As I Found It by Bruce Duffy — O.M.G. Let's not get into it about this one again, m'kay?
• Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel — I didn't really go UGH, but I can't say I really enjoyed it either. It was just meh. 
• The Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami — Umm....WHAT? This inspired me to never read anymore Murakami. Sorry, Murakami fans.

Some BIG BOOKS I'm still waiting to read:

• Roses by Leila Meacham — Generations of a family in Texas? Sounds like Dynasty! Yes, please!
• Coming Home by Rosamund Pilcher — I have this in mass paperback format and haven't gotten around to reading it yet, partly because I'm almost too embarrassed to carry it in public. It looks like an awful romance novel, and I have to look cool on my L train commute.
• Swann's Way by Marcel Proust — Ha, this has been on my list since 10th grade and an episode of Gilmore Girls, so let's just pretend like it won't be another 9 years before I even consider reading it.

Seeing as how this is a genre that ALWAYS perks my ears, what are some of your favorite BIG BOOK reads??