Geeky Covers

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This week it’s all about judging books by their covers! Pick a book–any book, really–and search out multiple book cover images for that book. They could span a decade or two (or more)…Or they could span several countries. Which cover is your favorite? Which one is your least favorite? Which one best ‘captures’ what the book is about?

I’m going with a popular classic, just because there’s so many covers out there. I give you Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen:

There’s the obvious thing to do: put a picture of the author/someone who could be the author on the cover:

Or, better yet, illustrations of people who could be characters in the book (though I don’t quite understand the room; why not go rustic and do the whole house?)


One that has nothing to do with the book at all (what, was P&P Greek?):

For something different, try using the fact that letters were really important:

Ones that scream “chick lit” rather than “stuffy classic”:

Ones that went for the “rustic feel”:

And ones for the English class, because they’re too snobbish to read something with a real picture on the cover:

Shameless movie (or almost movie) tie-ins:

I think I did this book mostly to get this cover out there (though I have yet to figure out what I really think of the idea of the book):

It’s that Time Again

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It’s February… and you’ve been waiting (with baited breath!) for the latest issue of Estella’s Revenge to come on line. (You haven’t? Shhh…. don’t tell me that!) Well, never fear: it’s up (yay, Andi!)! And (like always), it’s a good one, too.

First, my stuff: I have a two-fer: an interview with John Shors, and a review of his recent book, Beside a Burning Sea. I also reviewed Jessica Day George’s newest, Princess of the Midnight Ball as well as the Aussie book Everything Beautiful. (Becky, I didn’t write this, but I agree: that girl on the cover is NOT fat. What gives?)

But the real scoop is Heather’s interview with Lane Smith. (Can I say wow? I can? WOW. Cool.)

And while you’re there, putter around a bit, and read the rest of the issue, too. 🙂

Library Loot #5

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The roundup is over at A Striped Armchair.

I think I need to catch up on my reading before getting any more books; all of my holds came in!

For A/K:
Singing to the South, Vivian French/Jackie Morris
Fancy Nancy: Bonjour, Butterfly, Jane O’Connor/Robin Preiss Glasser**
Peter and the Wolf, retold by Chris Raschka**
The Umbrella Queen, Shirin Yim Bridges/Taeeun Yoo
The Princess Who Had Almost Everything, Mireille Levert/Josee Masse**
If You Give a Cat a Cupcake, Laura Numeroff/Felicia Bond**
Big Sister Dora!

For C:
Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane, Suzanne Collins
The Deep Freeze of Bartholomew Tullock, Alex Williams

For M:
Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment, James Patterson (apparently, you do need to read these in order…)

For me:
Chocolat, by Joanne Harris
The Trouble Begins at 8, Sid Fleischman
The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman (see, I AM going to read this. Soon.)*
Bee Season, Myla Goldberg
Becoming Jane Austen, Jon Spence

*Ones M read.
**Picture books we really liked.

Teaser Tuesday (oops), February 3

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I totally spaced this yesterday!

  • Grab your current read.
  • Let the book fall open to a random page.
  • Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
  • You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
  • Please avoid spoilers!

    • The roundup is at Should be Reading.

    From Matrimony, by Joshua Henkin, p. 167:

    The day the building was unveiled, she’d been here with her parents for the celebration, and afterward she’d gone upstairs to see her father’s new office, where she’d looked out the window at campus, holding a glass of champagne she’d drunk too much of, feeling the ground blur beneath her. “It’s my new perch,” her father said, and she felt as if it were hers, too.

    Skeleton Creek

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    by Patrick Carman
    ages: 10+
    First sentence: “There was a moment not long ago when I thought, “This is it. I’m dead.”
    Review copy received from the author. Release date February 10, 2009.

    First: This is no mere book. It’s an experience, one that (as M said when I told her about it) is a bit before it’s time. See, it’s a book, but it’s also a movie. But, it’s easier to explain using the plot…

    Ryan and Sarah are best friends. Best friends who have been forbidden to see each other. Because they’ve been snooping around town, trying to figure out the mystery of the Dredge. They went out there, late one night, and Ryan had an accident and broke his leg. He’s holed up in his room, doing all the writing (the book part). Sarah, who can still get around, has the video camera, and emails him passwords to a website with her videos (the movie part). Between the two of them, they will get to the bottom of the mystery… (just not in this book, so you’re prepared.)

    On the one hand, this is a brilliant idea. Really. Not just for reluctant readers, but for fans of mysteries… I loved the mood of the book, and that the mood carried over to the movies. I was concerned about it being hokey, but it actually works quite well. There’s no soundrack, so it’s all a bit eerie, which works in building suspense. The mystery itself is quite intriguing, but fairly complex (about halfway through the book, I figured there would have to be a sequel, because there’s no way it was wrapping up before the end of the book, at least not satisfactorily). There’s also a bit of mystery about the mystery: is it a straight-forward ghost story? Or a murder? Or a conspiracy? Very nice.

    The technical side, at least for me, left something to be desired. Since I read while my kids watch TV, and the computer is in the same room, it often made it hard for me to hear on the videos what was being said. Especially since the videos entailed a lot of whispering and quiet or faint sounds. And then there’s the fact that my computer’s ancient, and the screen overly dark, so I couldn’t see what I was supposed to be seeing half the time. Frustrating. (But not the fault of the book or the author.) M suggested that it would be cool if it were all in one package (the Kindle perhaps?) where you could read the text and watch the videos without having to switch mediums (it is also not a book for reading in school… again, having to find a computer, and a quiet room, to watch the video “chapters”).

    Still, I am intrigued by the idea, especially as a way to keep the book publishing business alive. I don’t think print books are dead, but there’s always room for experimentation. And this is one experiment that worked fairly well.

    Indigo’s Star

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    by Hilary McKay
    ages: 10+
    First sentence: “For the first time in his life Indigo Casson had been properly ill.”

    Have I said how much I love the Casson family? I have? Oh. Well. I’m saying it again:

    I love the Casson family. Adore them. These books make me so utterly happy.

    The basic plot of this one involves Indigo and his troubles at school. He’s been bullied by the local “rabble” and, after being out for an entire term with mono, has to go back and face them at school. Once there, he discovers that there’s a new target for the rabble’s ire: Tom, who’s spent the year visiting from America. Indigo and Tom fall into a sort of friendship, which blossoms into a real friendship, which means that Tom is now a part of the Casson family.

    But, like all these books, it’s not so much about the plot as it is about the family. Caddy’s going through boyfriends, mostly because she’s trying to figure out what they all already know: that Michael is the one for her. (The boyfriends, by the way, are hilarious.) Saffy (and Sarah) are just Saffy and Sarah, presences that add a certain spark, but don’t actually do anything. Eve is still delightfully daffy, and Bill is less anal, mostly because he’s mostly absent (which surprised me, until I figured out sometime near the end that Bill and Eve got a divorce. Makes sense), but turns out to be a halfway decent fellow. But the book-stealer, right out from under Indigo’s nose, is Rose. Oh, Rose made me laugh until I cried. Her letters to her dad were priceless, as was the wall mural and her refusal to wear her glasses except for when she looks at stars. And the end… oh the end (which I won’t give away), had me in tears. 🙂

    A short example of Rose, because I can’t resist:

    Darling Daddy,

    This is Rose.

    So flames went all up the kitchen wall. Saffron called the fire brigade adn the police came too to see if it was a trick and the police woman said to Saffron Here You Are Again because of when I got lost haveing my glasses checked. But I was with Tom whose grandmother is a witch on top of the highest place in town.

    Love, Rose.

    How can you not love her?

    At least the next book in the series is ALL about Rose (or at least has her in the title!).

    Geeky Hobbies

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    We’re sharing hobbies this week:

    #1. What are you passionate about besides reading and blogging?

    Tell us why you’re passionate about it. Post photos of what you’ve made or of yourself doing whatever it is you love doing.

    #2. Get us involved. Link to tutorials, recipes, Youtube videos, websites, fan sites, etc, anything that will help us learn more about your interest or how to do your hobby. Maybe you’d like to link to another hobbyist whose work you admire or tell us about a book or magazine related to your interest.

    #3. Visit other Weekly Geeks. Link in your post to other Geeks who’ve peaked your interest in their passion. Or maybe you might find a fellow aficionado among us, link to them.

    So, what do I do when I’m not reading, blogging, driving the kids somewhere, chasing the kids, playing with the kids, or sleeping?

    Hmmm.

    I wish I could say I was truly passionate about something, but I’m not. I’ve dabbled in crafty stuff in the past — sewing, cross-stitch, decoupage, and the like — and decided that it’s all just a way for me to spend money at Hobby Lobby. (Even though I do like my knick-knacks…) I don’t really *do* anything with it. And since I’m the anti-pack rat (I throw things out regularly), I can’t stand things just collecting for collecting’s sake.

    I do enjoy cooking… I’m no gourmet, or even very good. But I do enjoy cooking meals. I call it my “unwinding time” (I try to let the girls help, because I know that they need to learn, but honestly, I like getting into a groove and going with it.) and actually enjoy the process of cooking. Especially the smells. I love my house to smell like something I’ve just recently made. Especially bread. I love the smell of fresh-baked bread… I also really like decorating cakes (not too good at baking them, though…) for my girls birthdays. I’m going to post some here, and cross my fingers that they don’t end up on Cake Wrecks…


    As for question #2… if you’re even remotely interested, find a good Wilton class and take that. It’s really the best starting place. I’d love to be able to do this kind of stuff, though (from Charm City Cakes):

    I just lack time, resources and artistic talent.

    The other thing I like taking pictures. I’m not very good at it, either, but it’s also something I enjoy doing to relieve stress. (I really like looking at other people’s photos, too. Lisa at Bluestocking has some beautiful ones, as do my Nook friends Corinne, Cami and Kelly.) Anyway. A couple that I’ve taken that I really liked:

    As for question 3, I found that there are quite a few cooks out there — Michelle, Jackie (she posted recipes!), and Gautami Tripathy — are among the ones I found. As for (aspiring) photographers, I enjoyed looking at everyone’s photos. 🙂 Lou and softdrink have the one passion I’d love to have: that of travel. Sigh. There’s always living vicariously…
    Staci

    WSR Challenge Roundup #4

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    Happy February, everyone. I, for one, am glad that it’s only 28 days; it somehow makes the month more bearable… The first month of the challenge is come and gone; I’m glad to see everyone (mostly) enjoying their books. And my TBR pile thanks you.

    This week’s quote is from last week’s reviews: Nicole’s of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, to be exact:

    “I don’t think of myself as the type to ply turkey menfolk with brandy and hoodwink them into fatherhood. But a girl needs to know her options.”

    I have no idea the context of the quote, but it made me giggle.

    If you have any quotes from the books you’re reading, leave them in the comments or email me. Contact info on the side.

    It was a light week, overall. Perhaps we were all distracted by the Newbery news?? Or maybe January is getting to us after all. 🙂 You can see all the reviews here.

    Corinne read a graphic novel, Aya, the story of the Ivory Coast in 1978. Corinne writes, “Despite the very post-adolescence nature of the plot, I think the book as a whole sheds a revealing light on a another side of African life than we usually read about. Wealthy businessmen, working class “peasants” and villagers interact in a society that is constantly changing.” Sounds fascinating.

    Tricia read Dear Exile and hit upon the main drawback of memoirs, possibly especially those that consist of letters, “I have a hard time trashing the characters here, because they are real people with real feelings. But, if you are going to publish your private correspondence for all the world to see, I guess you open yourself up to a lot of scrutiny. ” At least half the book was good, though.

    And yes, Amira checked in with a couple more books, this time it sounds like dinner: Pomegranate Soup and Salt: A World History. Though, I suppose, I wouldn’t want to eat just salt. I did like what she had to say about Salt, though: “But it did feel as if the author was scraping to find mentions of salt besides the big ones. Of course salt is important, and so are lots of other things that aren’t very noticeable, like water.” True. I can see it now, the next big book: Water: A World History.

    She also provided our stop in China this week, reading Serve the People: A Stir-Fried Journey through China, on Corinne’s recommendation last week. Amira liked it, though she said, “There are a couple of brief mentions of some other regions of China, but the focus of the book is unquestionably Beijing and China, which was disappointing to me.”

    Happy reading, everyone!

    Maus I and Maus II

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    by Art Spiegelman
    age: adult
    First sentence, Maus I: “I went to see my father in Rego Park.”
    First sentence, Maus II: “Summer vacation.”

    These are two books, but like Persepolis, they’re essentially one story, so they get lumped into one review.

    One review in which I’m not sure what the heck to say about the book. I’m always at a loss for words when it comes to the Holocaust; it’s so depressing — humanity at its worst — that I almost would rather not go there. However, these graphic novels — stark and depressing, yet somehow ultimately hopeful — are worth reading.

    I’m not sure if this is a story that couldn’t have been told in a different form, but for what it’s worth, it works as a graphic novel. It’s spare, but then, I’m not sure the story of a survivor of Auschwitz could (or should) be anything but spare. Even though Spiegleman didn’t go into detail about the situation, or the harshness, it was all there in its stark, depressing reality.

    I was fascinated by the relationship between Spiegelman and his father — how did the Holocaust fit into it? Did the Holocaust make his dad into the grumpy, miserly, bitter, racist person? He fits squarely into the Jewish stereotype, and yet I could sense that Spiegelman was trying to understand his father, understand why their relationship was so strained. I’m not sure any of us got any answers — Spiegelman or the rreader — but I appreciated not having it spelled out or sugarcoated in any way. Something like this shouldn’t be.

    I’m sorry I don’t have more coherent thoughts about this one. I think it’s an experience — kind of like the Holocaust Museum is an experience — that’s beyond words. There are horrors out there, and sometimes it’s good to face them. Even if its in a book.

    January Jacket Flap-a-thon

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    I decided I did like doing the jacket flap-a-thon after all. 🙂 Though I think it needs a bit of tweaking. I’ll only post my top few (one per reading “category”, perhaps?), and no worst ones, unless there’s one that’s truly horrible.

    I think that’s about all the tweaking I’ll do, though… On we go. This month’s three:

    The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks (Hyperion):
    “Frankie Landau-Banks at age 14:
    Debate Club.
    Her father’s “bunny rabbit.”
    A mildly geeky girl attending a highly competitive boarding school.

    Frankie Landau-Banks at age 15:
    A knockout figure.
    A sharp tongue.
    A chip on her shoulder.
    And a gorgeous new senior boyfriend: the supremely goofy, word-obsessed Matthew Livingston.

    Frankie Landau-Banks.
    No longer the kind of girl to take “no” for an answer.
    Especially when “no” means she’s excluded from her boyfriend’s all-male secret society.
    Not when her ex-boyfriend shows up in the strangest of places.
    Not when she knows she’s smarter than any of them.
    When she knows Matthew’s lying to her.
    And when there are so many, many pranks to be done.

    Frankie Landau-Banks, at age 16:
    Possibly a criminal mastermind.

    This is the story of how she got that way.”

    Totally, totally draws the reader in. How could you NOT want to read the book after reading the jacket flap?

    Skulduggery Pleasant (Harper Trophy): “Meet Skulduggery Pleasant: Ace detective, snappy dresser, razor-tongued wit, crackerjack sorcerer and walking, talking, fire-throwing skeleton. As well as ally, protector and mentor of Stephanie Edgely, a very unusual and darkly talented twelve-year-old. These two alone must defeat an all-consuming ancient evil. The end of the world? Over his dead body.”

    Short, too the point, and very, very clever.

    A Year in the World (Broadway Books): “A Year in the World is vintage Frances Mayes — a celebration of the allure of travel, of serendipitous pleasures found in unlikely locales, of memory woven into the present, and of a joyous sense of quest. An ideal travel companion, Frances Mayes brings to the page the curiosity of an intrepid explorer, remarkable insights into the wonder of the everyday, and a compelling narrative style that entertains as it informs. With her beloved Tuscany as a home base, Mayes travels to Spain, Portugal, France, the British Isles, and to the Mediterranean world of Turkey, Greece, the South of Italy, and North Africa. In Andalucía, she relishes the intersection of cultures. She cooks in Portugal, gathers ideas in the gardens of England and Scotland, takes a literary pilgrimage to Burgundy, discovers an ideal place to live in Mantova, and explores the essential Moroccan city of Fez. She rents houses among ordinary residents, shops at neighborhood markets, wanders the back streets, and everywhere contemplates the concept of home. While in Greece, she follows the classic Homeric voyage across the Aegean, lives in a bougainvillea-draped stone house in Crete, and then drives deep into the Mani. In Turkey with friends, she sails the ancient coast, hiking to archaeological sites and snorkeling over sunken Byzantine towns. Weaving together personal perceptions and informed commentary on art, architecture, history, landscape, and social and culinary traditions of each area, Mayes brings the immediacy of life in her temporary homes to the reader. An illuminating and passionate book that will be savored by all who loved Under the Tuscan Sun, A Year in the World is travel writing at its peak.”

    This one is so detailed that you almost don’t have to read the book. Still, it does give you a taste of what to expect.

    Other books read this month:
    Aunt Nancy and the Bothersome Visitors (Candlewick Press)
    Chalice (G.P. Putnam’s Sons)
    Paper Towns (Dutton)
    The Hunger Games (Scholastic Press)
    The Musician’s Daughter (Bloomsbury)
    Two Girls of Gettysburg (Bloomsbury)
    Wild Magic (Walker Books)
    Breathing Out the Ghost (River City Publishing)
    Babymouse: Rockstar, Babymouse: Monster Mash (Random House Books For Young Readers)
    The Leanin’ Dog (Joanna Colter Books)
    Saffy’s Angel(Margaret K. McElderry Books)
    Captain Alatriste (Plume Books)
    The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (Candlewick Press)
    The Rule of Won (Walker Books)
    The Underneath (Atheneum Books)
    The Geography of Bliss (Twelve)
    Chains (Simon and Schuster)