Sunday Salon: Awesomeness in Kansas City

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Friday, I took M and C to the So You Think You Can Dance tour up in Kansas City. Now, before you leave thinking, “But this is a book blog, why is she talking about a dance thing she took her kids to?” I do have something bookishly awesome to share. (By the way, it was a long way to drive, but we had a grand time.)

So, we got up to downtown Kansas City in good time, and not wanting to eat at the bars across from the Sprint Center (and yet, ironically, after an hour of wandering around that’s where we ended up!), we started wandering the streets. We were nominally looking for restaurants, but I was also kind of enjoying looking at the architecture. At any rate, we kept turning down side streets, looking for something open — interestingly enough, in a business district, there’s not much open for dinner — when we turned a corner and saw this:

I don’t know if you can tell (not the world’s best photograph), but that’s — from what we can figure — a parking garage with murals of books on the side. The steps are books, too. We were in awe. The books ranged with their titles, too: there’s poetry by Langston Hughes, The Tao de Ching, Romeo and Juliet, The Tale of Two Cities and, just when I was beginning to despair of any kids books:

There’s Charlotte (if you can see her behind the trees).

The murals were fascinating to look at too; you can imagine that if you were a giant, this would be one awesome bookshelf. The only thing I regret is not finding out what the parking garage was for. (A library, perhaps?)

Oh, and happy Banned Books Week! Go celebrate by reading something banned.

Nine Parts of Desire

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The Hidden World of Islamic Women
by Geraldine Brooks
ages: adult
First sentence: “The hotel receptionist held my reservation card in his hand.”
Support your local independent books: buy it there!

When I read this back in 1995, when it first came out, I remembered being floored by it. It was fascinating, powerful, interesting, moving. It’s what put Geraldine Brooks on the map for me (I loved her husband’s, Tony Horwitz, writing, too), which is not something I regret.

Before I go on, this book is Brooks’ investigation into the lives of women in Islamic countries. It’s something only she can do — obviously, being a woman — and she tries to cover all aspects of how Islam, and the laws in majority-Islamic countries, affect the lives of the women in those countries. It runs the gamut: from veiling, to polygamy, to clitoridectomies, to travel, to politics and education. It focuses mostly on the Middle East: Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and a little bit of Iraq and Kuwait. She does dip into Pakistan and Africa, but only incidentally.

The thing that struck me most, this time around, was how much I wish that there was an updated version of all this. How did the Taliban change things in Afghanistan? Or the second Iraq war? How is the situation now, thirty years on, in Iran? The whole book — while still interesting — just felt dated.

Part of that was me, obviously: I think this was the first book I’d ever read on Islam, and while I’m not as well-read as some (like Amira), I do have a basic idea of the religion these days. And so I noticed things this time around that I didn’t last time. Like, while Brooks has respect for the basic tenets of the religion, she really doesn’t have much respect for those who try and interpret the religion. She’s very critical of most Islamic governments, and many of the individual men. It’s firey feminism at its finest, and while it’s justified in many ways (genital mutilation is just wrong, period.), it’s also heavy-handed. It’s not that it’s a bad thing, but (especially for a convert to Judaism, and someone who grew up Catholic; or maybe it’s because of those things), it’s almost like she willfully doesn’t understand someone who could actually submit to the things these women submit to. Or why they would do it happily. It’s like she’s thinking: doesn’t everyone want what a Western secularist wants? And if not, why?

I’m not sure I liked it as much this time around. Then again, I’m not sure how much it matters anymore. Brooks has written better books, and there are more interesting ones on Islam. Though sometimes it’s nice to revisit old books just to see how well they hold up. Even if it’s not all that well.

The Summer of Moonlight Secrets

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by Danette Haworth
ages: 8+
First sentence: “‘Hey!’ I yell.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy sent to me by the publisher

Sometimes I find a book enjoyable, even though when I finish I have no idea why. This was one of those books. Nice and sweet, but left me wondering at the end just why I thought it was enjoyable. That, and what was it all about, anyway?

Told in alternating chapters, it’s the story of Allie Jo, resident of the Merriweather Hotel in Hope Springs, Florida and Chase, who’s there for a summer with his father while he’s on a travel writing assignment. It’s a little bit of everything: there’s some historical fiction (well, it’s set in the 80s, which calling historical kind of makes me cringe), there’s a splash of fantasy, there’s a bit of a growing up story, and an inkling of romance.

All of which were enjoyable: it was fun visiting the 80s, even though there really wasn’t a whole lot to indicate that it was the 80s; just a few hints and references here and there. The growing up story was mostly Allie Jo’s; she’s an only child, introverted, and a tad bit ashamed of living in a hotel, even while she’s proud of the legacy the Merriweather has. She has to learn, over the course of the book that she is okay with who she is, and that she’s much stronger than she realizes.

The romance belongs to Chase (though he has a — gasp — divorce in his family to deal with), and it’s a very sweet and slightly awkward one, as should be the case when you’re only 13. But it was the fantasy element — in this case, a twist on Irish folklore — that made the book intriguing. There’s a mystery to it as well, as Chase and Allie Jo meet and befriend Tara, they need to unravel just what it is that makes her special.

Even with all that (maybe it was too much?), I ended the book scratching my head. What was it about, really? What was the point? While I enjoyed it, I never really connected with it, never really felt any reason to think about it beyond when I was reading it. It didn’t really capture my fancy.

But it was enjoyable. Maybe that should be enough.

Library Loot 2010-33

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I missed library loot last week not because we didn’t go, but because I didn’t pick up anything for me and because it was BBAW. This week, however, neither of those apply (I’ve gone off hiatus; hopefully, I won’t go out of control). So, here’s our loot for the week:

Picture Books:
Rain & Hail (Let’s Read-And-Find-Out Science), by Franklin M. Branley/Illus. by Harriet Barton
Wow! Said the Owl, by Tim Hopgood
Palazzo Inverso, by D. B. Johnson
Davy Crockett Gets Hitched, retold by Bobbi Miller/Illus. by Megan Lloyd
Princess Says Goodnight, by Naomi Howland/Illus. by David Small

Middle Grade:
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice , by Phillip Hoose

Young Adult:
Dream Factory, by Brad Barkley and Heather Helper
Howl’s Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones

Adult Fiction:
Girl in Translation, by Jean Kwok

The roundup is either at Adventures of an Intrepid Reader or The Captive Reader. Obligatory FTC note: the links are provided through my Amazon Associates account. If you click through and actually purchase one of these books, I’ll get a teeny, tiny payment. But, since no one ever does, and it’s SO much easier using the associates account to put up these links, I’m going to keep doing it.

I’m Part of the Cybils!

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I’m at a loss for words, amazingly enough. I am honored, thrilled, excited, amazed, and completely tickled to be a part of the Middle Grade Fiction Books panel again this year. And I’m also excited because it’s a great panel of bloggers, many of whom I’ve worked with before and the few that I don’t I’m excited to get to know.

Panel Organizer: Kerry Millar, Shelf Elf

Panelists (Round I Judges):

Ashley Bair and Alysa Stewart, Everead
Jennifer Donovan, 5 Minutes for Books
Sherry Early, Semicolon
Melissa Fox, Book Nut
Kyle Kimmal, The Boy Reader
Sandra Stiles, Musings of a Book Addict
Cheryl Vanatti, Reading Rumpus

Judges (Round II):

Amy Baskin, Euphoria
Eric Berlin, Eric Berlin
Jill Foltz, The O.W.L.
Kerry Millar (see category organizer)
Karen Wang, Kidsmomo

(The following is stolen shamelessly from Natasha at Maw Books because it’s so thorough, and therefore, awesome):

What You Need to Do – Your Checklist
  • Subscribe to the Cybils feed.
  • Follow @cybils on Twitter
  • Get some Cybils bling for your blog if you have one.
  • Buy Cybils bling for your home or office.
  • Spread the word! Particularly if you are a librarian or a teacher – get the Cybils into your schools & libraries!
  • Beginning October 1st and ending October 15th- NOMINATE your favorite book published in the last year in nine different categories. Titles must be published from Oct. 16, 2009 and Oct. 15, 2010. Books must be published in English or bilingual with English. Only one nomination per genre per person. ANYBODY can nominate a title.
    • Easy Readers and Short Chapter Book
    • Fantasy and Science Fiction
    • Fiction Picture Books
    • Graphic Novels
    • Middle Grade Fiction
    • Nonfiction Picture Books
    • Nonfiction for Middle Grade and Teens
    • Poetry
    • Young Adult Fiction
  • And last – get excited! Follow the nominations, read your favorites, make predictions, and check in when the shortlists and winners are announced.

Dates to Remember

  • October 1-15th: Nominations open to the public
  • New Year’s Day: Short Lists announced
  • St. Valentines Day: Finalists announced

I love this time of year!

Cracked Up to Be

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by Courtney Summers
ages: 16+
First sentence: “Imagine four years.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Parker Fadley was perfect. Head cheerleader, best-ever boyfriend, honor roll (with distinction) three years running. But, it’s her senior year, and she’s been put on a suicide watch. Her grades are in the toilet, she quit the cheerleading team, she broke up with her boyfriend. It’s all she can do to make it to school sober.

She just wants to be left alone.

Enter Jake Gardner, the “New Kid”. He never knew Parker “before”, has no reason to even like her now (she works really hard a making sure he doesn’t have a reason), and yet, he’s strangely attracted to her. It’s work, it’s not fun, but there is a deep, tragic problem here, and he will get to the bottom of it, even if Parker really doesn’t want him to. Because it would be the undoing of everything.

It’s an interesting novel, though not an easily accessible one. It’s harsh, much in the way Laurie Halse Anderson’s books are harsh: unflinching, dealing with subjects — there’s more, but mostly it’s about a desire to be perfect and the emotional and psychological toll that exacts on a person — that aren’t usually tackled. There’s a bit of a mystery as well, as the reason why Parker’s fallen off the edge is slowly revealed. What really could have been so bad that she is desperately trying to throw her life away?

But, it’s also a tough read because Parker is so incredibly unlikeable. Never once did I like her. I felt sorry for her, and by the end I could understand why she was acting the way she did. But, she was not likable in any way, shape or form. She was cruel to those around her — again, it was something she always was, as is slowly revealed through the novel; her cruelness wasn’t a symptom of her desperation — and she was manipulative, using those around her as she saw fit. She cared only for herself, which made what happened that much more tragic. Yes, there is growth there, but — perhaps realistically, which is another reason why it’s so harsh — it’s infinitesimal, with only a glimmer of hope.

Thankfully, there’s Jake. The book is told from Parker’s point of view, but Jake somehow acts as a buffer between Parker and the reader. Because Jake is persistent in his questions and attentions, he is able to get past, albeit slowly, whatever barriers Parker has put up. It’s because of Jake that the story is slowly revealed, that Parker’s terrible secret finally comes to head. And it’s because of Jake that the story is, ultimately (for me, at least), readable. He’s the breath of fresh air in a very stagnant, very toxic environment.

It wasn’t an enjoyable read, on any account. But it did keep me interested, and curious to see just what Parker was punishing herself for. It was tragic on so many levels, and yet not depressing. Which is a mark of a good novel. Even if it’s not enjoyable.

Scumble

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by Ingrid Law
ages: 10+
First sentence: “Mom and Dad had known about the wedding at my uncle Autry’s ranch for months.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Ledger Kane — call him Ledge — has a problem. See, his savvy has hit him full force and it’s a doozy: it seems anything mechanical or man-made (from buildings to cars to watches) falls apart when he’s around. And he’s stuck out at his uncle Autry’s ranch in Wyoming until he can learn to scumble — or control — his savvy. Which, at the rate it’s going, may be never.

Of course, watching Ledge learn to scumble his savvy alone wouldn’t make that interesting of a book. Set nine years after Savvy, there’s a bunch of extended family members around to help Ledge with his issues. Rocket Beaumont’s still trying to figure out how to manage his electrical savvy and have a normal life. And Samson and Gypsy are hanging around the ranch, lending a helping hand, as is Grandpa Bomba (though he’s mostly patiently waiting to die). There’s also cousins Marisol and Mesquite, Autry’s twin daughters, and Ledge’s sister, Fedora, to round out the cousin bunch. It’s a motley crew, with personality conflicts and humor and affection. It made me wish for the throw-back days of allowing kids to wander freely, trying to figure out what to do with the day when there’s no computer or TV or scheduled events to go to. In some ways, it’s incredibly boring. But Law makes it sound like a little bit of heaven.

Life wouldn’t be complete for a 13-year-old boy if there weren’t some 13-year-old girl to give him some grief. For Legde, it’s Sarah Jane Cabot, daughter of the local business mogul. She’s an odd duck, a newspaper reporter, and always at odds with her father: she wants his attention, but she’s also afraid of him. There is, of course, a push and pull relationship between Ledge and Sarah Jane: they need each other to figure things out, but, man, does he drive her batty.

It’s another incredibly sweet, heart-warming (but without being overly smushy) book from Law. Creative, well-written, and thoroughly engaging, you can’t help but want to be a part of their family.

Sunday Salon: The Future

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I missed the final day of BBAW last Friday (something about a birthday…), and so didn’t get to muse about my goals for the future.

It also means that I’ve had a bit more time to think about it.

I have often wondered — sometimes with more angst than others — about where I fit in here in the book blogosphere. I’m not quite an adult book blogger, but I’m not quite a kidlit one, either. Sometimes I wonder if I should just give up with blogging altogether, and other times I wonder if I should put in the effort to work at branding myself, finding that niche and working it for all its worth. I signed up for Twitter last year (nominally because my oldest did, but then I found out that all my bloggy friends were hanging out over there, too), and I sometimes wonder if I’m utilizing it — or Facebook — the way I should.

After thinking about all this, and stressing, and wondering, I came to a conclusion: this blog is, primarily, for me. I don’t get paid to do it. If I’m not enjoying what I do, then there’s really no point. So, if I work really hard at pushing my blog so I get readers, if I retool it so I have a niche, why am I doing it? To be more accepted the community? So I’m more popular? So I can get more free books?

Sure, but why?

There’s no reason I can see that ultimately will benefit me. I don’t want to change my reading habits; I enjoy reading broadly, and while I have a preference for children’s and YA books, I don’t want to restrict my blogging to just about them. I have a reputation for being honest in my reviews, which is something I value about myself. I actually don’t want more free books; while it’s kind of fun to be on the forefront of all the latest trends, I like supporting my local library, and I like the freedom to go with my whims.

So, the goals I’ve come up with for the next little while: I’m not going to stress over readers and followers and numbers. I’m going to write the reviews for myself. I’m going to read what I want, slowing down — why do I need to read over 100 books a year, anyway? It’s not a contest — and indulging in rereading (which I’ve done this year, and found that I really enjoy). I’m going to comment when I have something to say, and not as a way to drive traffic to my blog. I’m going to not worry about “utilizing” the social media, and use them for the purpose that they were meant for: to be social, and as a way to connect with people who have similar interests (or in the case of Facebook, friends old and new) and as a way to find out new and fun and fascinating things. Or to just have a good laugh.

In short: I’m going to find the enjoyment I used to have in blogging. And I’m going to be a fan of all the wonderful bookish things there are out there. If I can’t find that, then after nearly six years, there’s really not much point in keeping it up, anymore.

A Blast from the Past

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Since I have started blogging, I have celebrated four birthdays. I have mused about what life was like when I was a kid, been surprised by my husband (I think that was my favorite), shared a birthday/cake quote, and given you 25 things about me (plus cake).

I have thought long and hard about what I could share for this, my not-quite-40th birthday. And it has occurred to me that what there has not been enough of over the years (though there was this post…) is pictures of me being the crazy child that I was. (Well, that, and possibly embarrassing stories or maybe a bucket list… but those are for other years.)

So. Here is me in all my glory (click to embiggen):

Now I think I’m going to go eat some cake.

BBAW: Forgotten Treasure

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What would a list of wonderful unsung books be without a couple of sources to find great less-popular (or less-well-known books) books, first?

Back in January, Kelly at YAnnabe organized a collection of unsung YA: books that are awesome, but just don’t get the press of the big stuff. Take the time to look through the list; there are some really, really good books there.

Secondly, a plug for the Cybils. It is truly, honestly, one of the best places to find excellent childrens books. Check over the shortlists from last year, and there are many, many great books to be had.

What are some of my favorite unsung books (everything here has under 500 ratings at Goodreads, which is just my way of making sure they really are unsung):



The Night Fairy, by Laura Amy Schlitz
The Lost Conspiracy, by Frances Hardinge
Saving Maddie, by Varian Johnson
Shine, Coconut Moon, by Neesha Meminger
Carter Finally Gets It, by Brent Crawford
The Year My Son and I Were Born, by Kathryn Lynard Soper

There you have it. What are some of yours?