It's even good on pizza. Trust me.

I'm having a mad craving for Peking Duck right now. This presents a problem, as all food eaten between now (noonish) and 9pm will be eaten in the car. That means I'm scheduled to eat a lot of Cheerios and Teddy Grahams. That's because today is schoolday, so I have to drive all over the metro area in pursuit of book learning. We're work-shopping my seminar paper today. I am dreading this.

PEKING DUCK!

Anyway, some book reviews for y'all

Ruby Lu, Brave and True Lenore Look

In the proud vein of Clementine and Ramona comes Ruby Lu. She has a best friend and a baby brother and things are going pretty well--she even has her own magic show in her backyard.

Then her brother decides to start talking and announces to everyone how Ruby's doing her magic tricks.

Then her mother makes her go to Chinese school. Ruby's heard about Chinese school. It was held on Saturdays, which was a bad idea. The building was cold and dark. A fire-breathing dragon lived in the dungeon. The teachers were former prison guards from China. They served snacks of roasted snakes. Children who forgot their homework were turned into crickets. Children who learned Chinese spoke English with an unshakable Chinese accent.

But Chinese school is not so bad--there's even another Ruby! And when Ruby Lu decides to be helpful and drive herself to Chinese school? Watch out!

It's pretty funny, and a good bet for something harder than the "I Can Read" beginning chapter books. You can even learn some Cantonese! Anne Wilsdorf's black-and-white line drawings, with Ruby's pigtails performing feats of gravity that Pippi Longstocking would be envious of, add greatly to the humor.

Ruby Lu, Empress of Everything

At the end of Ruby Lu, Brave and True we learned that Ruby's aunt and uncle and her cousin, Flying Duck, were moving to the US. Ruby's heard about immigrant relatives. She's not so sure about this...

BUT! Flying Duck is awesome. And she's deaf, so everyone gets to learn Chinese sign language. But... also, everyone at home is speaking Cantonese. And using chopsticks (which Ruby isn't so good at) Ruby's not entirely sure about this.

And then when summer rolls around, Ruby and Flying Duck have to go to summer school. And swimming lessons. Ruby isn't so sure about swimming lessons. She's not a fan of drowning, so she stays in the shallow end, attached to the wall, with all of her personal flotation devices. Sadly, Emma is also in swimming and attached to the wall. Emma is Ruby's best friend. Sometimes. This is not one of those times.

How much worse can Ruby's summer get?

A fantastic follow up to the first one, this one even has an illustrated dictionary of some Chinese sign language! The glossary at the back is also great, covering some of the Chinese words, as well as some English ones such as e-mail Do-it-yourself, easy mail. No stamps. No mail delivery person. Just type and click! Grandparents love it.

All in all, Ruby is a great character that kids will enjoy.

Sadly, typing about Flying Duck has not helped my urge for Peking Duck...

One more book:

Unicorns? Get Real! Kathryn Lasky

You know, I wasn't a big fan of the last Camp Princess book I read, so I'm still not entirely sure why I read this one. But I did.

In the princess book genre, these aren't great. Which is sad, because there is promise there. I'm not a fan of the different "ethnicities" representing the different kingdoms-- they seem a little stereotypical.

In this one, the girls of North Tower are back for the second session. Only, Princess Gundersnap has discovered that her mother (Empress Mummy) has taken her beloved pony into battle, where he's sure to die. Empress Mummy has a good track record of winning battles, but not keeping ponies alive during them.

Meanwhile, there's a unicorn round-up going on and Empress Mummy says unicorns don't exist, so obviously they don't! Plus, they're competing against Prince camp and there's going to be a ball. How can Gundersnap save her pony amidst the chaos? And what is the magical tapestry and the witch in the woods trying to tell her?

This is one of those weird series where I don't really enjoy it, but I have a feeling I'll read every single volume in it. WHAT IS WITH THAT? WHY DO I DO THAT? Do you ever do that? I do it all the time! There's so much good stuff out there? Why do I read stuff I don't like? Why do I read books I know I won't like? WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?

Wednesdays

Um, I started this post LAST Wednesday, so this news is a little late:

I finished my 1930 v. 1960 Nancy Drew battle over at Geek Buffet.

Ah well. Let's review, shall we?

The Red Queen's Daughter Jacqueline Kolosov

Katherine Parr was the last wife of Henry VIII. Her daughter by her last husband, Mary Seymour, died in early childhood. In this book, Kolosov imagines what her life would have been like that Queen Elizabeth's court been a little like Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell.

Mary has a few guardians after the early death of her parents, but it is Lady Strange who teaches her how to be a white magician, to serve the Virgin Queen. Once at the Queen's court, Mary has to be on constant guard against harm--both to herself and to the Queen. It is quickly apparent that Mary's cousin Edward is a dark magician, and up to no good. Not only that, but he knows Mary is a white magician. To keep an eye on her, Edward starts to woo Mary. Mary is confused--she has vowed to stay single and chaste, to not fall prey to a scoundrel like her father, and yet Edward awakens strange feelings in her.

But Edward is not Mary's, or the Queen's, only enemy and Mary needs to keep her head about her and remember her training if she's going to save the Queen.

The "all boys will hurt you and I don't need one" theme wore a little thin for awhile, but it's a theme I would have greatly appreciated in junior high. Kolosov incorporates the folkloric properties of flora, fauna, colors, and gemstones into Mary's magic, weaving a powerful story.

A good bet for fans of historical fiction and fantasy. I liked it better than Rebel Angels because it was still that blend of history and fantasy, and Mary still had power while never appearing too anachronistic.

The Wild Girls Pat Murphy

Newt has just moved from her nice house in Connecticut to a subdivision in California. While wandering through the fields outside the subdivision, she meets Fox. Together, they form a friendship and write a story that wins them a competition and a place in a prestigious summer workshop. Where they write more stories.

That's the plot, but it's not really about that. It's about truth and finding yourself and being OK even when your world is crashing down and your dad's a jerk and always screaming and your mom wants you to be friends with the normal girls and be perfect.

It's a hard sell, but the writing is captivating and the story, as well as the characters, really draw you in.

Who Doesn't Like the Bangles?!

It's just another manic Monday
I wish it was Sunday
'Cause that's my fun-day
My I don't have to run-day
It's just another manic Monday

First things first:
Monday brings us the new March/April issue of The Edge of the Forest. There are many fantastic features, including Spring Books, a podcast, and author interviews. It was contains my reviews of three awesome titles:

Gamma Glamma Kim Flores (fun book featuring scientifically based makeovers)
Toby Wheeler: Eighth-Grade Benchwarmer Thatcher Heldring (feel good sports book)
Smart Dog Vivian Vande Velde (girl tries to save talking dog from having his brain dissected. It's a funny one.)


But Mondays are also all about nonfiction, right? I bring you 2 titles for older teens and adults. One depressing, one hilarious.

First up:

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier Ishmael Beah

Technically, this is an adult book, but it has massive teen appeal (content skews it towards older teens, although Beah was a much younger teen when he lived it) and is listed as one of YALSA's 2008 Top 10 Best Books for Teens, as well as a 2008 Alex Award winner. For our system's Notable Teen Books discussion, this is the one book everyone has to read. (There are 10 books being discussed, you have to read at least 5 or 7, I can't remember because I'm a dork and read all 10, but there's one book that everyone has to read. This year, this is it.)

One day Ishmael, age 12, goes to town with some friends. While there, he village is attacked and his family flees. He never sees them again. He and his friends run from the war-- trying to stay in front of the fighting so they don't get caught, don't get killed. Still, a group of boys traveling together is a thing to be feared. Eventually, Ishmael is caught and forced to join the army fighting against the rebels in Sierra Leone. He's given massive amounts of drugs, a gun, a little bit a training, food, and a hatred and desire to kill the people who killed his family. Eventually he is taken by UNICEF and undergoes rehab and moves to New York.

The chronology is kinda jumpy, but the horrific story is beautifully told. I had to keep hitting myself to remind myself that Beah and I are the same age. While he was fighting for survival, snorting coke, and watching people he cared for die, I was freaking out about chemistry class.

It's a hard read, but the Beah's story is one that needs to be told, and he does it really well.

There have been some criticisms of the accuracy of the book, but frankly, I don't think there's much merit. (If the claims were true, there'd be much wider coverage, I think. Also, Beah addresses all these accusations here.)

And now to something completely different...

Bringing Home the Birkin: My Life in Hot Pursuit of the World's Most Coveted Handbag Michael Tonello

Do you know what a Birkin is? It's a handbag made by Hermes. I've always found them extremely ugly, but, in a brand of "it" bags, they're the ultimate. They also cost an insane amount of money. ($10-$100K. My college education was cheaper!) Remember that Sex and the City episode where Samantha really wants a Birkin but the list is years long and so she uses Lucy Liu's name to get one? She loses the bag, and Lucy as a client. Too bad she hadn't read this book first. I've always preferred the Kelly bag, featured in the movie version of Le Divorce. (It might be in the book-- I haven't read it. Anyway, the Kelly might not be as rare or hold as much cachet, but a cuter handbag by far. And smaller. The Birkin is the size of a diaper bag. UGLY. Of course, most of my purses were free. Yes, one initially housed a lotion/bubble bath duo. And my latest one looks like a Nancy Drew cover, so what do I know?)

ANYWAY!

In this hilarious, dishy memoir, Michael tells of deciding to move to Barcelona on a whim. Quickly, the job he had lined up fell through--he's broke with mounting debt. He also has a closet full of clothing appropriate to his old life on Cape Cod, but not so suitable for sunny Spain. So, he sells it on Ebay. He quickly catapults himself into a career buying Hermes scarves that are easy to get in Spain, not so easy in the US.

This escalates in trying to hunt down the elusive Birkin. He finds a formula that works almost every time, no waiting list needed. Waiting lists are for mere mortals who don't have the formula.

Along the way he finds himself, true love, eats some really fabulous food, and has to hire some thugs when a bag is taken hostage.

This book is great, because it's dishy, but not in a bad way. It's mainly dishy about Michael, and there are very few celebrities, so it's a nice dishy. It's also HYSTERICAL. Michael's list of stock Hermes employees alone is worth the book. What I love is that he never takes the Hermes lifestyle as serious as his clients, which allows him to poke fun at the crazy ones, while at the same time singing the praises of the nicer ones. Michael's easy tone makes it seem like the whole story is being told over a lavish dinner with some good wine. I couldn't put it down.

(The Birkin is the one on the left at top. The Kelly is the one down here on the right. I even picked matching leather and textile to get a better comparison. See how HONEST I am?)

Full Disclosure (see! more honesty!) ARC was provided by publisher via LibraryThing's early reviewer program.

Look for it next month.

Poetry Friday

Happy Poetry Friday! It's a gray day and raining cherry blossoms here in DC. AND it's time to sign up for MotherReader's 48 Hour Challenge!

You made crusty bread rolls...
by Gary Johnson

You made crusty bread rolls filled with chunks of brie
And minced garlic and drizzled with olive oil
And baked them until the brie was bubbly
And we ate them thoughtfully, our legs coiled
Together under the table And then salmon with dill
And lemon and whole-wheat cous cous
Baked with garlic and fresh ginger, and a hill
Of green beans and carrots roasted with honey and tofu.
it was beautiful, the candles and linens and silver,
The winter sun setting on our snowy street,
Me with my hand on your leg, you, my lover,
In your jeans and green T-shirt and beautiful feet.
How simple life is. We buy a fish. We are fed.
We sit close to each other, we talk and then we go to bed.

Becky's Book Reviews has the roundup!

Non-Fiction Monday

It's Non-fiction Monday! Start your week with a heavy dose of reality! But not heavy reality. Well, one of mine is kinda heavy. Now I'm just babbling.

The facts are as follows:
1. It's Monday. NON-FICTION Monday.
2. Anastasia has the roundup.
3. I have a headache.
4. Numbers 1 and 2 are related. Number 3 has nothing to do with anything except that my head hurts and I felt like complaining.

Malcolm X: A Graphic Biography Andrew Helfer and Randy DuBurke

This book is pretty much what the title promises--a biography of Malcolm X in graphic novel format. I can't comment too much on content, as I knew very little about Malcolm X before hand and therefore have no frame of reference.

I will say it's extremely engaging for both heavy readers (me) and reluctant readers as well. The drawing style is pretty straight forward black and white. There's a lot of information, and sometimes quite a few panels on each page--it's not crowded but it's a bit intense. But, intense in that way that draws you further into the story, not intense in the way that gives you a headache and makes you put the book down. (Not that my current headache was caused by a book. Well, maybe by 3 linear feet of books strewn across the floor, but...)

I especially enjoyed the little photo essay at the end of the book that showed where the artist got some of his background material--however I could have used more of it--more photos, and maybe an artists rendering, or which panel the material was used in...

Overall, a good pick. It makes me want to read more about Malcolm X (how sad is it that I haven't?!)

And now, a really old book (I read it in April of 2007)

Sister Bernadette's Barking Dog: The Quirky History and Lost Art of Diagramming Sentences Kitty Burns Florey

Go read this book. Read it NOW. It seriously warped my brain and was one of my favorites of 2007. After reading about the history of grammar education in the US, and of diagramming sentences, as well as Florey's own history with loving to diagram sentences, plus how famous authors have viewed grammar (who knew Gertrude Stein loved grammar? Just because she broke every rule didn't mean she didn't know the rules) with lots of examples... I became obsessed with diagramming sentences. I taught myself how to diagram. Sometimes, I still do it for fun. It also inspired me to be more into the grammar rules (not necessarily follow them, as you are aware, but more aware of them)... I also now lust after a copies of The Elements of Style Illustrated (Strunk and White) Spunk & Bite: A Writer's Guide to Bold, Contemporary Style and The Chicago Manual of Style

Yes, this book will inspire you to new levels of geekdom. Embrace it.

But more than anything, it's a fascinating look at a practice most school kids dread.

Mr. Lee, I'm sorry I never paid attention when you tried to explain this stuff.

Nancy Drew

I'm spending my weekend over at Geek Buffet, detailing the differences between the 1930 and 1960 editions of Nancy Drew and the Bungalow Mystery by Carolyn Keene. I'm doing a complete chapter-by-chapter comparison, so head on over and check it out!

At this moment, I've done the first 4 chapters, but I'll be updating throughout the weekend!

Queen Bees, Wanna-Be and MySpace rip-offs

Poetry Friday:

I UNPLUGGED THE MACHINE
TO SEE WHAT WOULD HAPPEN
IF I STARTED BREATHING
ON MY OWN

ALONE
TO FACE WHAT I OWN
BENEATH SKIN AND BONES
THIS PEN IS MY NEEDLE
BLOOD IS MY INK
I WILL LEAVE MY MARK ON THIS PAGE

THE TATTOO IS WHAT I
CHOOSE TO SHOW YOU

DIG DEEPER IF PAIN
DOESN'T SCARE YOU
GO BEYOND SKIN & BONES

FIND MY HEART--
LOUD, CONNECTED TO YOURS
BREATHING ON YOUR OWN

It's from The Secret Life of It Girls by Dakota Lane

A collection of short stories told in teenage style about real teenage life.

The first is a page on mydamnspace.com with the queen bees commenting on some drama they created and had to pay for. (Well, kinda. Queen bees never really have to pay for the damage they inflict--that only happens in books, but not in this one.)

There's letters to fathers, diaries, a fake Spanish book, and school assignments. Lots and lots of photos and handwriting that makes you feel like you are reading somebody's scrapbook or diary.

Absolutely scary in its realism and absolutely fantastic, both for content and form.

Cuentecitos has the round-up!

O Canada!

So, Chasing Ray has us set up with another Around the World One Shot, this time, it's all about Canada.

I've been under the radar lately (yay for school and work) and just found out about this today. Luckily, this afternoon I read a book by a Canadian. I love it when serendipity works in my favor.

Bull's Eye Sarah N. Harvey

Emily's life is going along fine until her crazy aunt commits suicide. Then everything is turned upside down when she discovers that her crazy aunt was really her mother and that the woman she thought of as her mother is really her aunt.

Emily cannot forgive her un-mom for keeping this information from her for so long. She runs away to Vancouver in an attempt to find her biological father (not the sperm donor un-mom always said he was). When she returns, she turns to vandalism to get some of her anger out. When caught, she starts to see things in a new prospective.

Now, this is an Orca Soundings title (high interest, low reading level) and is a fast read on purpose. As such, it's very plot-driven without time for anyone's character development besides Emily's. However, in keeping with the purpose of the series, the characters are all very real and believable, even if they appear flat because they're only "on screen" for a flash or two and the plot is compelling enough to propel the story, and the reader, forward. A good bet for teen girl reluctant readers (or someone who hasn't picked a book yet and the paper is due TOMORROW.)

Harvey is from British Columbia! And the book takes place in a BC town, and Vancouver. Orca is a Canadian based publisher and the Orca Soundings line of books is a sure-fire hit with reluctant readers. They all have relevant, contemporary themes and rely on plot to move the book along. The vocab is easier and it has short sentences (the reading level is usually between second and fourth grade, but the content level is definitely high school). The books NEVER talk down to the reader though, which is why they are so successful. I cannot recommend this series enough for the reluctant readers in your life.

And now we're going to move down the coast to LA, because I need to turn this book in tonight.

Homeboyz Alan Lawrence Sitomer

Y'all know this is not the type of book I normally read.

Tina Anderson was killed as an innocent bystander to a gang-related drive-by. Her brother Teddy is bent on revenge. When executing his plot, he gets caught by the police. After spending 2 weeks in juvie, Teddy ends up under house arrest and stuck mentoring a 12-year-old gang-banger wannabe.

In the meantime, Teddy has an elaborate computer virus scheme set up to (1) Spy on his enemies (2) Finish the revenge for his sister's murder (3) Bilk the school district out of 3/4 million dollars so he can set up a new life somewhere else.

Sitomer is an inner-city high school teacher and it shows. His frustration and anger at the lack of funding for schools, a juvenile detention system set up to punish rather than prevent, and the idiocy of the code of the streets oozes from every page.

On one hand, I can't doubt the authenticity. On the other hand, will the target audience relate to a narrator that talks down to street life, not just in the plot and characters (which is ok and understandable) to in the general narration so it starts to seem didactic? (Subtly, but still.)

I'm also confused by Teddy's mad computer skillz. First off, I really cringe at books that deal with high end technology sophistication. In a year, it's going to look lame because this stuff dates SO QUICKLY. (Don't believe me? Go reread The Boggart) Secondly, Teddy and the narrator spend a lot of time bemoaning the public schools that Micah (the boy Teddy's mentoring) and Teddy go to-- where did he acquire this talent? And does the NSA really recruit high school boys to come do encryption for them?

It's also really sad because you can see the only reason Teddy ever had a chance of not being caught in the system was because he came from a "good" family. His older brother and sister graduated from, or attended, really good colleges. His mother has a job, and his father is still around.

It's a damning look at the system.

Wimpy Kids Everywhere UNITE!

So today we have one book from the "way back files" and a book I just read.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Jeff Kinney

Greg Heffley is the perfect 21st century every boy. A dorky best friend, a horrible older brother, an annoying little brother, and parents that mean well, but they're parents. Can you get any more embarrassing!?

Starting out the school year, Greg's mom makes him keep a journal in exchange for no longer having the scrub the toilets on Saturday mornings. (This is NOT a diary. It's a journal.) 75% hand-lettered prose, 25% comic, Greg's trials and tribulations will be a hit with girls and boys, heavy readers, and the most reluctant. Also, a sure hit for grown-ups remembering their own childhood.

I swear I went to school with Greg. I think I had crush on him at some point.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid started out as a webcomic on Funbrain, where you can still read large chunks of Greg's adventures.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules

Another school year, another journal. Only this year, Greg still has the cheese-touch. Also, he did something really embarrassing last summer, and older brother Roderick saw, so he's kinda Roderick's slave.

Roderick's band is always over playing their "music" and Manny (Greg's little brother) continues to make life difficult. It doesn't help that Rowley (Greg's best friend) is as dorky as ever.

Can't a guy catch a break? A FANTASTIC follow up to the first.

My favorite is the Wimpy Kid phenomenon. When the first one came out, I put it on display and it eventually got picked up. My favorite was when a 12-year-old boy came in and started leafing through it. I looked over a little while later, and he was sitting down, deeply engrossed. He read the whole thing in one sitting.

But now! With the second book? Hold lists out the wazoo! For both books! Kids have been waiting FOR-ever (their word) to get their hands on this book. Does it just have great word-of-mouth with the kids? It's fantastic!

Non-Fiction Monday

I promised you the rest of the Cybils books and then never delivered, didn't I? Well, have no fear, my opinion is here!

Also, my Top 9 for March is up at the Biblio File store. Check it out!

But first, I showed a bunch of kids the Glister books. They have pronounced them "Awesome" and "Totally cool."

Marie Curie: Giants of Science #4 Kathleen Krull

A very well done biography of the chemist Marie Curie. I learned a lot I didn't know and Curie's life is always easy to book talk to kids who need a biography. She's not well known and she's, you know AWESOME. Krull makes this fascinating story accessible and engaging. The only problem is kid appeal-- kids will LOVE it if they ever read it, but I don't seem them ever reading it unless they have to. Curie's not famous enough and the book itself isn't eye-candy enough for them to pull it off the shelf. Also, some photos would have been nice.

The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain

When I was in the 4th grade, one day we were lining up in the cafeteria to go outside for lunch-time recess. Miss Anderson (who I would have for 6th grade, but now her name is Mrs. Gosz and she teaches kindergarten) came in to tell us that the Berlin Wall was being torn down. It was the first time I had ever heard of the Berlin Wall. She was extremely frustrated that this room full of kids had no idea the history that was taking place at the moment.

Peter Sis understood. He grew up in Prague, during the Cold War. This autobiography straddles the line between graphic novel, biography, and picture book. He tells the story of a little boy who wanted to draw, of having to draw approved things, of getting in trouble for drawing the wrong thing. He tells of the story of trying to escape, of Western music, of crackdowns, of neighbors spying on neighbors.

The book is scant on background information though, so, like the 4th grader I used to be, it might confuse some children. It's beautiful and well done, but the older audience it's aimed at might need some selling, as it looks like a picture book on the surface.

Smart-opedia: The Amazing Book About Everything

This is more of a browsing book then a sit-down and read book. Think DK Eyewitness style to a bunch of different topics. It's a fun read, but I had 2 main complaints:

1. It's heavily illustrated with cartoon-y pictures, and real photographs would have worked just as well and would have been better.

2. Because it covers everything, it doesn't cover anything in depth. Because of this, some things are glossed over to the point of no longer being entirely correct. They're not wrong, but they're not right either, you know? You lose the subtleties of a situation.

And there's the nonfiction report!

Picture Book of the Day has the round up!

All that Glisters is totally Gold

I was going to blog about totally different books today, but we just got the first two volumes of Glister in at the library and I'm obsessed. In a weird way.

From the guy who brought us Clubbing (Minx) we have an odd little comic that's... almost old fashioned? Is that the word I'm looking for?

Short stories, no real subplots, with illustrations that remind you of 60s children's books (I'm thinking Drina here--totally different style from the super-slick Clubbing), witches, magical houses and ghosts, Glister still has spunk to spare. You can see examples of what I'm talking about at Watson's Flickr pages.

Glister 1: Haunted Teapot

So, in this first issue, we see Glister Butterworth as she receives a random teapot. It quickly transpires that the teapot is haunted. A Victorian author whose dreary works have fallen out of favor lives in the teapot and wishes to complete his last novel.

Glister is not fond of being the secretary stuck transcribing a book where something awful happens to the main character on every page. Can Glister get out of this?

It also has a mini-story from Watson's Skeleton Key which was very entertaining.

Glister Vol. 2: House Hunting

Glister loves Chilblain Hall. It's constantly sprouting new wings, has ballrooms that come and go, the occasional Masonic temple, visiting Questors, and even a troll under the bridge. But, when the village of Gravehunger Moss enters the bonny village competition, the man in charge of getting the village up to snuff isn't so sure about Chilblain Hall. With the house's feelings hurt, it decides to run away. Glister and her dad are homeless, and Glister is board without the entertainments her house provided. Can she find it and convince it to come home?

I have been obsessed with this series since I read the first one last night. I've scoured the internet for more information. Especially as volume 3 came out in December, but isn't available through the major book retailers. It *is* however available other places on the 'net, mostly comic retailers. I don't know enough about comic publishing to know if it will eventually show up on Amazon or Powells? Anyone out there know?

Anyway, Glister is a comic for the smart girl, especially the ones that like things a little off-beat. I will definitely be talking this up when my after-school kids come back next week after spring break. I think the girls will go for it.

Also, I really want Glister on a shirt. The muted colors on the cover lend themselves to hipster wear so easily! I LUST!!!

Anyway, check this one out. It's probably not everyone's cup of tea, but it will make some people, like me, veeeeeeeeery happy.

Poetry Friday + a review or two

La la la la la... last week, I was talking about how the daffodils were out along the Potomac. The ones in my yard have certainly gotten taller, and my next door neighbor's are out!

Just yesterday, a friend of mine in Ohio was complaining because her car is still buried under a mountain of snow and ice. I went to the university library in a long sleeved shirt and no coat and everything just smelled green and of spring. I'm also reminded of Daffodil Lament by the cranberries off of No Need to Argue (that's the album that had Zombie on it) I'm going to have that in my head all day now... I have decided to leave you forever, I have decided to take things from here... and the daffodils look lovely today, ay, ay ay, and the daffodils look lovely today, ay, ay, ay...) Anyway, HERE'S A DAFFODIL POEM!



I WANDERED lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed--and gazed--but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
--William Wordsworth

I love how Thursday's grandma gets trapped in this poem during the various Thursday Next books.

Jama Rattigan has the roundup and is asking for our favorite Dylan lyric. I love to refrain from It Ain't Me, Babe

But it ain't me, babe,
No, no, no, it ain't me, babe,
It ain't me you're lookin' for, babe.

I love how sure he is of himself while telling someone, I'm just not what you're looking for and I never will be! I like how the "babe" is pretty sarcastic, especially in the last line. (Also, I like the line telling her to "walk away from my window") Plus, it's just fun to sing, especially the "no no no" bit.

Anyway, for some book reviews because I need to turn these back in...

The Bermudez Triangle Maureen Johnson

Nina, Avery, and Mel have been best friends since forever. Then, the summer before senior year, Nina goes off to pre-college camp and falls in love with Steve. Avery and Mel fall in love too, but with each other. Well, Mel falls in love, Avery might just be... exploring.

When Nina returns, she's suddenly the third wheel whenever she's with her friends, and when things start to break down when Avery realizes that, while she likes Mel, she's not a lesbian, or even bi, Nina gets caught in the middle.

This is an excellent look at what happens when you date your best friend, and how that changes everything around you. Especially if your best friend is the same gender you are.

I loved Johnson's characters and where they drove me up a wall, I think their actions and reactions were spot-on.

Also, it's been banned! Because girls can't make out with each other! (And really, that's all they do. Make out.)

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Sherman Alexie

On his first day of high school, Junior breaks his math teacher's nose. He wasn't mad at his teacher, but when he saw that his textbook was the same one his mother had 30 years ago (the same copy, even) he just gets fed up with everything that sucks about being poor. So he threw the book and it hit the math teacher.

In the aftermath, Junior decides to transfer high schools-- to the one in town, the one outside the reservation. No one from the reservation high school goes to college. They just stay on the reservation and drink to forget how poor they are. Junior needs out.

Now, he's seen as a traitor by his tribe and school's not much better, because no one likes a scrawny little Indian kid.

This is a tragic book-- life on the reservation is hard and Junior loses a lot of important people before the story is done.

That said, it's hysterical. Junior's voice is angry and bitter, but funny. He's a cartoonist, so there is a lot of art included in the short chapters that helps tell the story. Alexie really explores reservation life, as well as outsiders perceptions of it, both good and bad. He has a really good handle on what American poverty entails. In a tale that could be mired down in self-pity, Alexie has a character that knows how hard is life is, but also sees a future that could be different, without going to far to the other side to be overly schmaltzy. Plus, there isn't nearly enough fiction about contemporary Native life.

Book Blast

I have a stack of books that needs reviewing. Not the metaphorical stack that I always have, but a real stack, right next to me. We'll see how many I get through before I get to class!

London Calling Edward Bloor

As with most Bloor, the plot is pretty dense and complicated, which makes it a little hard to explain.

Martin is a poor kid at a snooty rich school. He doesn't want to be there. After getting in a fight with the son of one of the school's heros (and financial benefactors) he decides to do an independent study from home for a semester.

When his grandmother dies, he is given an old radio that his grandfather had when he worked at the embassy in London during the Blitz.

Through that radio, Marin ends up traveling through time to the days of the blitz. What he sees there sparks research and discoveries that seemed impossible and is about the blow the lid off several family secrets, for several different families.

The time travel bit sounds a bit hokey, I know, but Bloor is a master. I like the hard look he gave the Blitz on many different levels. It's a fascinating book that I couldn't put down.

Confessions of a Serial Kisser Wendelin Van Draanen

Evangeline is sick and tired of moping after her parent's divorce. Inspired by a romance novel found under her mother's bed, she is on a quest to find the perfect Crimson Kiss.

So, she gives herself a make-over and starts kissing every guy in sight. Drama ensues.

Overall, it was a nice book about finding yourself and how you won't be crimson without some attraction. There was friend drama that I didn't fully understand, because there were some serious flaws in that relationship even before Evangeline starts going kiss-crazy.

It's also interesting how it's only about kissing. Kissing is taken very seriously in this book and where I can see why randomly grabbing guys and making out with them will damage your rep (because people think if you're willing to do that in the cafeteria, you're willing to do a whole lot more elsewhere) but at the same time, it's high school. Also, a guy who smokes pot is A TOTAL DRUGGIE AND THAT'S BAD BAD BAD BAD. The whole thing is a little... innocent. (I can understand not wanting to date a pothead, but... he's not an ax-murderer.)

Out in May 2008.

Life Sucks Jessica Abel, Gabe Soria, Warren Pleece

You know I love First Second.

Anyway, being a vampire today in LA totally sucks. All Dave wanted was a night job at the convenience store, but who knew his boss was a vampire? And he made Dave a vampire, and now Dave is bound to his Master, spending all night every night at the convenience store. It doesn't help with the day shift guy is late and Dave has to rush to make it home before the sun comes up.

There's surfer god Wes, who was such a bad employee, Dave's master rides him even harder, which Wes just loves to rub in Dave's face.

Then there's Rosa, the goth girl who hangs out at the juice bar by the sore. Beautiful Rosa who seems to maybe like Dave. And Wes. She also thinks being a vampire would be awesome. How can Dave tell her how much it totally sucks?

Well thought out and funny, the graphics have a pretty dark, muted palate that fit the all-night all-the-time setting.

Look for it at the end of April

Barb and Dingbat's Crybaby Hotline Patrick Jennings

One afternoon in 1975, Barb calls Jeff and dumps him on behalf of her friend, Viv. As it turns out, Jeff likes girls. He's not that picky, or that observant, he just likes girls.

Throughout a series of phone calls, we see Jeff as the ultimate clueless guy, but Barb is willing to help him. Maybe.

Funny and true to all of those random phone calls made and received in junior high and high school, the quick read of phone call transcripts makes is a good pick for reluctant readers.

I'M A GROWN UP!

Alright, I'm over at Geek Buffet today, totally agreeing with Roger Sutton's controversial post. TOTALLY AGREEING. You can go read it and find out why and disagree with me over there.

But, in light of that, I thought I'd review adult books today.

The Translator: A Tribesman's Memoir of Darfur Daoud Hari

Daoud Hari grew up in a village in Darfur. He went to college and then got a job in Libya. Lured by higher wages, he illegally crossed the border to find work in Egypt, then again to Israel, where he was caught.

When he made it back to Sudan, to Darfur, his people were under attack. Shortly after returning, his village was attacked and his brother killed. He fled with the other villagers to the refugee camps in Chad. Using is language skills of English, Arabic, and Zaghawa, Hari offered his skills as a translator to investigators and reporters.

He led 6 trips back to Sudan to help get the story of his homeland told to the wider world. Eventually, he was caught with a reporter and tried as a spy. American pressure to free the reporter freed him as well.

Hari writes a brutal account of Darfur, telling his story and many of the stoies he heard along the way. He makes an impassioned case for more help, and gives thanks for the help that has already been given. He also makes clear and concise work of an extremely complicated and nuanced political and cultural situation.

On sale March 18.

Full disclosure: ARC recieved from publisher through LibraryThing's early reviewer program.

Lili: A Novel of Tiananmen Annie Wang.

FINALLY! A "bad Chinese girl" novel that's well written!

Now, this doesn't take place in current boomtimes, but rather during the previous boomtime of Deng Xiaoping's newly opening China in the last 80s. (As the title gives away, it tends with the Tian'anmen Square massacre in June of 1989.)

Lili has just been released from jail, where she served three months for hooliganism. She's been a hooligan ever since she ran away from Monkey Village, where her parents were sent for reeducation during the Cultural Revolution. She joined a gang when she got to Nanjing. A man was stabbed to death over her.

Lili's a dissapointment to her parents, a wealth of wasted talent and unfulfilled promise. She moves in with a white guy who speaks flawless Chinese, but doesn't get China.

Part cultural exploration as Lili and Roy try to understand each other and their homelands, part self exploration as Lili tries to find meaning her life, Wang paints a stunning portrait of China on the verge of something massive. Fantastic!

Thursday Next: First Among Sequels Jasper Fforde.

Man alive, I read this one back in July. I also saw Fforde read the day after it came out-- hilarious!

So, this is the latest installment in the most excellent Thursday Next series.

It's been 16 years since Something Rotten. The literary crime unit has been disbanded, so Thursday and the crew are now carpet installers (of course, investigating literary crime on the side.) She also has a profitable sideline in cheese smuggling. Not that Landon knows any of this. In the land of JurisFiction, Thursday's gone through a rash of partners. Her last one is the worst though, as this last one is... herself. Only, it's her fictional self, who's just a little more rock and roll than Thursday actually is.

Her son Friday has shown no interest in joining the Chronoguard, which is throwing time seriously into whack. And Goliath is about to turn Pride and Prejudice into a reality show. Yep, the general public is about to vote the Bennets out of Longbourn, even before Mr. Collin's has it entailed onto him. But Thursday's not about to let that happen. Of course, she's having a much harder time book jumping these days...

Hilarious and awesome. If you like the series, READ IT. If you haven't read the series yet, WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU? Pick up The Eyre Affair: A Thursday Next Novel today!

Series Explosion

It's an odd week so far here at Biblio File. First off, I was really hoping to get The Sisters Grimm Book 6: Tales From the Hood, but Amazon is saying that they don't know when it will ship. (It was supposed to ship Monday.) All the other book sites say that it's not coming out until May. Poo.

Then, a book I had ordered used, Libricide: The Regime-Sponsored Destruction of Books and Libraries in the Twentieth Century got refunded because the used seller ran out of copies. (WTF?!) So, no book for me. It's a little on the pricey side to be buying new. Luckily, it looks like my school library has it, so I can still read it for the paper I'm writing.

Also, I'm having serious problems understand how to assign LC classification numbers to books (last week's lecture was a very, very bad one to miss. Stupid back.) I'm also completely blocked on this paper that's due tomorrow, and I need to come up with about 1,000 more words. I also fear that the 1,500 words I have so far don't make much sense. Oh, the insecurities of school.

AND THEN BRETT FAVRE RETIRED FROM FOOTBALL! I mean, ok, he's had a good career and it was a good season to end on (even though the last pass he threw in his career has to be one of the most painful) but... still. I feel like I should go home to Wisconsin so I can mourn with my people.

But! I found the rest of the Drina series at a price I'm willing to pay. And, inspired by the movie Helvetica, I added some super-fun buttons to my Zazzle store. More fonts will be added soon.

Also, I started physical therapy today, which I know a lot of people complain about. Yes, it's hard work, but it makes my back feel so much better! So, in the end, it's all good! And, while driving up the GW Parkway this morning to get to my appointment, the Potomac was super muddy and brown, because of the rain we got last night, but there were daffodils! In bloom! A whole host of little yellow heads that were so... jocund. (So, we all know what Friday's poem will be. 9th grad English has severely warped my mind when it comes to daffodils.) The ones in my yard are only about 7 inches tall, but there's a clump of them coming up.

Did I mention it might snow on Saturday?

But, let's talk about some books, m'kay?

She's a Witch Girl Kelly McClymer

Pru, our magical cheerleader, is back! In this latest installment, Pru is out of remedial magic classes, which means doing even more studying and homework--to the point where she's almost failing math--the one class she was good at. It's a good thing she doesn't have time for boys, because the only way she can get head cheerleader Tara to buy into mortal cheer competitions is by giving Tara along time with her Pru's super-hott next door neighbor, Angelo.

Of course, then it turns out that Angelo might not be as mortal we we thought, and when Agatha finds out about the squad's mortal cheering, she puts a stop to it completely, including cheering at games against mortal schools. This might just get the squad actually working together.

With Pru worrying about things like school and getting Agatha to change her mind, she doesn't spend as much time worrying about being kewl--her social status isn't as precarious as it was in previous volumes. Pru's greater concern about bigger issues, as well as more exploration of the mortal/witch divide takes away some of the plot lines that were becoming annoying and opens new doors for the series to stay fresh. My favorite installment to date!

When Irish Guys Are Smiling Suzanne Supplee

A new Students Across the Seven Seas!

This time we have Delk, who's moneyed Nashville, but after her mother dies, the whole debutante scene just isn't for her. This is especially true when her dad remarries someone young enough to be Delk's sister!

So, Delk is off to Ireland. Holed up in a castle in the Irish countryside, Delk tries to hide her mother's death from her new friends, trying to get fresh start, plus there's the super-cute Pather, who works at the school and lives at a farm down the lane.

Delk's having so much fun, she may never want to go back to Tennessee!

This is my favorite SASS book so far (ok, it's tied with The Sound of Munich). There isn't a lot of drama between Pather and Delk--there's is a pretty straight-forward romance. Delk's drama is much more internal, and her friends have some serious drama, which breaks the mold of this series a little bit.

Miki Falls: Winter Mark Crilley

This is the last volume of the Miki Falls series! And just when Miki and Hiro think they're going to get away with their forbidden love...

Well, we wouldn't have much a story if they didn't get caught, now would we? Of course, all traces with Hiro's existence in Miki's town have been erased, so people are thinking she's a little cuckoo...

I continue to adore Crilley's unusual framing structure, lots of trapezoids and small and large frames on one page--many of his pages remind me of a shattering mirror.

There's also a cool feature-ette at the end of the book on the making of Miki-- including early character sketches, and how the story line has changed over time.

This book will make NO SENSE if you haven't read the previous 3, but I adored this series and highly recommend it.

Cybil-tastic

So, while I was buried under that mountain called "real life," I missed a totally important announcement:

The Cybil winners were announced. I had the most awesomest extreme pleasure to serve as one of the judges for Middle Grade/Young Adult nonfiction.

So, in today's super-long post, I'm giving the run-down of all of our nominees-- they were all fantastic!!!

But, it's Friday, so first, a poem:








A Song for Alef

Alef the letter
Is a refugee.
From paper
To paper
He knows
No home...

To read the rest, you'll have to read this year's winner, Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood Ibtisam Barakat

Ibtisam was 3 1/2 when the Six Day war forced her family to fell from their home in the West Bank. After the harrowing experience of being seperated from her family in the confused mob, she finds them and they manage to escape to Jordan.

The Barakat family live as refugees in shelters, in a classroom, and on a new friend's kitchen floor for nearly 5 months before being allowed back home. But, once home, there is still shooting, still fighting. It's not safe, so it's to an orphanage. There, here brothers are sent away for brawling.

Eventually, they move. Through it all, Barakat's solace is language and her love of the letter alef--the first letter of the alphabet in Arabic and Hebrew.

But, underneath it all, Tasting the Sky is a story of growing up, of losing a pet and sibling rivalry, of making friends and worrying about school, of moving and saying goodbye. While there is sadness in Barakat's tale, there is no anger or hatred, just a hope for peace. And that's a hope we call all share.

Who Was First?: Discovering the Americas Russell Freedman

Dude, it's Russel Freedman, you know it rocks.

This time, the master of children's non-fic takes on the discovery of America. He starts with Christopher Columbus and then works backwards through time, discussing who discovered America before Columbus, who discovered him before that and on and on. He also devotes a fair chunk to current theory and theories we've discarded over the years.

It had a great design--good use of white space and lots of pictures and maps. However, some of the illustration captions were a bit confusing.

He spends a whopping 10 pages discussing Gavin Menzies's theory that the Chinese discovered the US in 1421. Although Freedman gives both sides of the debate, it seems like a lot of page space to devote to a theory that not a lot of historians credit.

I was most impressed by Freedman's sources and his amazing ability to take very complex, academic arguments and make them accessible to a children's audience without dumbing them down.

The Periodic Table: Elements with Style Adrian Dingle

This is a fun look at the elements. Going through the periodic table, it presents basic information about selected elements including atomic weight, color, date of discovery as well as what it is used for and random fun facts. All of this information is accompanied by a fun drawing of the element, looking awesome and anthropomorphized. Where it might not be the best reference book, it's a really fun book for browsing through and learning about the elements. It also has an awesome pull out poster of the periodic table with all the cool cartoon guys in their little squares. 2 complaints-- not all of the elements are covered in the book. Also, when discussing radium, there was no mention of radiation (which seems like a pretty big oversight!) and when discussing bismuth, there was no mention of Pepto (a lesser oversight, but one that would have been fun to include!)

Ok, so that's 3 of the 6 nominees. Stay tuned for more!

Oh! and Poetry Friday round-up is hosted by the ever-lovely Kelly over at Writing and Ruminating!

Books with parallels to the news

My Top 9 for February is up! Going through this site to buy things from Amazon helps me support my habit. (You don't even have to buy what I linked to! Just click over to Amazon from here!)

So, after some x-raying this morning, it turns out that I'm pinching a nerve in my lower back. It's really not fun.

At least I can still read. Last time I messed my back up, they had me on so many muscle relaxants that I couldn't make my eyes focus enough to read. If you're going to be laid up for a week and are unable to read? Ergh. At least Bravo was running a Project Runway marathon that week. I saw all of season one and most of season two, just in time for season two's finale. And! So soon! The season 4 finale! I'm excited.

But, let's talk about some books, shall we? Both books today parallel something happening in the news, sadly, both books deal with some very current events about fear and hate.

This first story hasn't gotten nearly as much press as it should. On February 12, Lawrence King was shot. He died on February 15. He was gay and sometimes wore make-up and women's clothing to school. He was teased and picked on for his sexuality, for "freaking out the guys." So, one Tuesday, his classmate decided to shoot him in the school's computer lab.

Lawrence King was 15. The boy who murdered him was 14.

Although James St. James's book, Freak Show, is ultimately a heart-lifting tale about waving your freak flag, being yourself, and accepting one another, Billy Bloom is horribly bullied for being effeminate. Even when trying to be "normal," he gets it horribly wrong. So, he decides to be his bad-ass drag queen self.

His first period biology classmates beat him into a coma.

The basic plot is that Billy Bloom, gender-bender, cross-dresser, drag queen, queer, and freak, has been sent to live with his all-American father in Florida. He's sent to school with the Stepford children, who think "gay" is contagious. He asks to be transferred to a different biology class (his worst in terms of bullying) but the teacher never noticed there was an issue.

After failing at all attempts to fit in, he gives up and comes to school in full swamp goddess drag. He wakes up 3 days later in the hospital.

After this, everyone has to be nice to him, as the school is hoping desperately his father won't sue.

He decides to run for Homecoming Queen and it turns into a media circus and a lovely tale of the non-popular kids coming out of the wood work and trying to kick some popular ass.

Billy's voice alternates between his dizzying, frenetic, exclamation point riddled highs and his desperate lows when he's hidden himself in the linen closet. But, Billy knows who he is. He isn't always sure how to handle that, but he knows who he is and generally has the attitude that everyone who has a problem with that can go stuff themselves.

It's a great book, but ultimately, not realistic. It's more happy-go-lucky in a sigh inducing David Levithan sort of way.

Because, in the end, Billy Bloom comes off ok. I won't spoil it for you, but I will say it's not a tear-jerker of a novel.

In the real world, Lawrence King was executed in the computer lab. He never even made it to high school.

Walk Across the Sea Susan Fletcher

They were heathens. They didn't speak English. They looked different. They would work for less money than decent, Christian, white folk.

It's Northern California, 1886, and Eliza's father's one of the many townspeople who want to kick the Chinese out of town. But when one young Chinese boy saves Eliza's life, a tentative friendship forms. Eliza sees how her fellow townspeople are kicking the Chinese out--she sees women and old men being dragged from their homes in the middle of the night and thrown onto wagons to be shipped to San Fransisco.

Coupled with her mother's miscarriage, Eliza starts to seriously questions God, the Bible and her father.

With strong parallels to modern immigration debates, Fletcher's tale is gripping and reminds us that we're all human.

Eliza's questioning of why bad things happen to good people is something we've all asked and the answers she finds will not off-put a non-Christian reader, nor will it offend Christians.

Based on true expulsions of Chinese communities throughout the Pacific Northwest, Fletcher's history is well detailed and well researched without over-powering the story. Her author's notes at the end are excellent--clearly outlining her research process and explaining what was fact and what was imagination. I also loved the details about light-house keeping. The ending was perfect too, because it was real.

Searching for Something in Modern China

Well, I'm resurfacing here. It's a really busy semester for me, homework wise. Plus, work's been crazy. Also, I've started randomly embroidering tea towels, and wonder of wonders, I've actually had a bit of a social life lately.

Anyway, I'm back now. I not only haven't been blogging, but I've been out of the whole blogosphere for a few weeks. I've probably missed some massive bit of earth-shattering news. Ah well.

In the meantime, I've jacked my back again. So, I'm in a lot of pain. At least this time I can still walk. (Last time I messed it up, I was in a wheelchair for two days.)

I thought I'd made my return debut on Nonfiction Monday with 2 adult books about China.

Inside the Red Mansion: On the Trail of China's Most Wanted Man Oliver August

This is a fascinating account of the lawlessness and decadence that goes along with the New China.

Obstensibly, it's about one reporter's quest to uncover the true story of Lai Changxing--a tycoon that was the Xiamen's darling and the poster boy for China's economic prosperity until he ended up fleeing to Canada on corruption charges.

But, it's more about August's observations of a society in flux and the effect that change has on all manner of people. August focus's on the seamy underbelly that such prosperity brings-- and all those who enjoy it.

Highly accessible, I recommend it for anyone who wants a hard look at modern China as well as well thought out explanations of why things are progressing the way they are. I also recommend it for anyone who likes stories with bandits and pretty ladies and corrupt government officials.

Fried Eggs with Chopsticks: One Woman's Hilarious Adventure into a Country and a Culture Not Her Own Polly Evans

Polly Evans had a really crappy trip to China. Unfortunately, she doesn't realize this. Her "humor" seems to be making cranky, ignorant remarks about things she doesn't understand at all. Her explanation of various aspects of Chinese culture and history are superficially explained that where they're not wrong, they're also rarely right.

Her favorite parts of her trip seem to include
1. Idyllic villages that haven't seen any modernization. (Isn't poverty quaint?!)
2. Four star Western hotels
3. Starbucks

Everything else is described as a "hellhole." Seriously. I also love her rants on the Americanization of the world, followed by how much she can't wait to get to the Sheraton.

At points, she seems to realize that she's unnaturally grumpy and cranky. She chalks it up, understandably, to loneliness and the fact that traveling alone in China, when you don't speak Chinese and aren't a Sinophile is incredibly hard and physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausting. A lot of her comments are what I felt on my lowest days when I lived in China, but...

She's a travel writer. That's what she does. If she can't handle traveling alone in a foreign environment without proclaiming the landscape hellish and the people poisonous, maybe she should get a nice desk job.

I hate my life

No Elif Shafak for me.

There's some nasty weather going on. My way from work to Politics and Prose overlaps with my commute home. I left work at 5:45. I got to the splitting point in the where I had to decide: reading? or home? at 7. I knew by the time I got to the bookstore, I would have missed the event.

I got home at 7:50. I live 10 miles from work.

Ergh.

But, for once in my life, I voted for a winner!

Tonight!

So, I haven't blogged in a while. I've read a ton, but there are several major projects in life, work, and school right now, so... ergh. BUT! I bring you a special report. We will soon return to our regularly scheduled blathering.

So, before I go home and watch to see how the rest of my state voted (dude, it took me nearly 45 minutes this morning!) I'm off to Politics & Prose in DC to see Elif Shafak. I'm really super excited.

So, here I bring you a review of

The Bastard of Istanbul Elif Shafak

Family secrets, denied history and national identity all come to play as two families, as well as the past and present collide.

It's hard to explain the plot without just going on and on and on and on and on.

You have one girl, Asya, who lives with her mother, three aunts, her grandmother, and great-grandmother in Istanbul. She's an angry woman, I think she symbolizes Istanbul well-- modern and thinking she's Western, but pulled to the East and the past by tradition. (One that Asya at least tries to deny. It's easier to deny your past when you don't know who your father is.) All the men in her family die early. She has an uncle that was sent to America to try and break the curse.

You have another, Armanoush, who is Armenian-American, but with a Turkish step-father. In an attempt to understand her Armenian-ness, as well as the genocide and deportation that colors her Armenian family's view of everything, Armanoush runs off to Istanbul, where she stays with her step-father's family.

There's a lot more to it than that, trust me. The two family histories are complicatedly entwined, with the narrative jumping place and time on a regular basis.

More than anything, Shafak has wonderful characters, a love for Istanbul while still admitting her faults, a light touch with magical realism, and a good sense of finding the humor in the absurdities of everyday life.

Shafak was charged with insulting Turkish identity because of her discussion of the Armenian genocide. Luckily, the charges were dropped.

I really liked it and can't wait to read her other stuff.

Hopefully, if you're in the DC area, you can get to P&P; in time to catch this event!

Hanging out at Home

Fun new developments in my world: STREP THROAT! Ergh.

So, because I'm all contagious until I've been on my meds for 24 hours, I'm at home today. La la la la bored. Dan suggested curling up on the couch this afternoon with the dog and some cocoa and watching a movie while the world falls apart outside (we're supposed to get some weather today) but... the main symptom of me being sick is me feeling very contrary and nothing we own or on TV sounds good to watch. Y'all are lucky I'm home alone today. CRANKY CRANKY CRANKY PANTS.

I just got mad at the refrigerator for failing to magically provide cranberry juice even though I know full well that I drank it all last night. WHAT DO YOU MEAN MY FRIDGE DOESN'T MAGICALLY MAKE THE FOOD I WANT? SINCE WHEN?

See, even in blog land, I'm all shouty. Maybe because I have strep, so I can't shout in real life.

Anyway, let's talk about some books, shall we? Today we feature a book written for grownups.

Olive Kitteridge: Fiction Elizabeth Strout

Interestingly, my copy is not subtitled fiction, but rather "a novel in stories" which is more descriptive. For Olive Kitteridge is indeed a collection of short stories, all revolving around the small town of Crosby, Maine or its dominating title character, Olive.

I don't think I've ever read a book before with the elderly as main characters.

Olive is loud and outspoken, moody and unexpectedly and quietly kind. We first meet her in a story largely about her husband and his relationship with an employee as juxtaposed with the his relationship with his wife. We then see her as she talks to one of her former students, a young man who has returned to main to kill himself. We see Olive briefly in a story about a troubled piano player. There are two stories that focus on her son and how Olive effects his relationships with women. There are two stories (one strongly featuring Olive, the other one only having her make a brief appearance) with two different takes on how a marriage changes in the empty nest years.

Throughout the book, Strout offers us a glimpse into the tangled and troubled lives of people in a small town, where everyone knows everyone else. She compassionately tells the stories of people caught in a changing world they don't always understand. She tackles grief and pain and the emotions of aging with a steady and clear hand.

Overall, she tells a wonderful story about a complicated woman--a week after reading the book, I still can't decide if I like Olive Kitteridge or not. Overall, a compelling and strong read.

Publication Date: April 2008

Full Disclosure: ARC provided by Random House through Library Thing's Early Reviewer Program.

Recent Reads

Before I Die Jenny Downham

A few months ago, some friends and I were talking online, because Rachel had picked up this book in a bookstore and read the flap copy. She was slightly disgusted about a book whose premise was that a girl who was going to die of cancer had a list of things she wanted to do before she died like HAVE SEX!

And then everyone was all like, ack! promiscuous sex! maybe! but none of us had actually read the book.

Well, I finally did and it is absolutely amazing. And yes, there is sex, but it's a rather minor part of the overall story.

We're all going to die, but for Tessa Scott, it's going to happen soon rather than later. Before she dies, she has a list of the things she wants to accomplish. Travel. Fame. Love. And because she'll never see her seventeenth birthday, Sex. Drugs. A little law-breaking. A day where she has to says "yes" to everything.

Before I Die is a story about coming to grips, and maybe even peace, with your impending mortality. It's a story about dealing with your family and friends as they try to do the same thing. Tessa's narration through her final months is straight-forward. She's sometimes scared and sometimes brash, but she never veers into the melodramatic.

Heartbreaking and fantastic.

Dramarama E. Lockhart

Sadye and Demi are busting out of razzle-dazzle free Ohio to spend the summer at drama camp. At camp though, Demi is insta-star but Sadye has a much harder time of it. She gets stuck with the straight play (a disastrous production of A Midsummer's Night Dream) and, even thought she's a dancer in the 10-day wonder, she's told to lip-synch the singing bits. It doesn't help that she seems to stick her foot in her mouth whenever possible.

Drama camp was supposed to allow Sadye to be as big and fabulous as she wanted, but she ends up feeling small and worthless.

Lockhart perfectly captures the behind-the-scenes drama, tears, laughter, and glitter. Sadye and Demi's changing friendship is pitch-perfect. Reading it, I relived every horrible audition and spot-lit curtain-call. Wonderful.

January Resolutions

What a weekend. I totally tried to attend the DC KidLit brunch.

But I overslept. And then when I got there, couldn't find anyone.

This might have been because I had it in my mind that the brunch was THIS morning, but really, it was yesterday. I wore my Kiki Strike shirt and everything.

That's kinda been the story of this whole past week, actually. Oiy.

I'm trying really hard to come up with some writing samples for some stuff. Writing samples ABOUT BOOKS. My brain isn't functioning.

And, when I made my new years resolutions this year, one of the things I promised myself was that I would never be more than a year behind in my reviewing. And here it is, February 3 and I never did get around to reviewing those lonely unreviewed books that I read back in January of 2007, so let's do that today, shall we?

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Vol. 1: The Pox Party M. T. Anderson

Octavian Nothing is a slave, but he doesn't know that. He's treated like a prince. He and his mother are the subjects of bizarre human experiments by an Enlightenment society in Revolutionary America. It's only when his mother is killed during a Pox Party experiment that he realizes what's going on. It's through this that Anderson explores the duality of slavery while fighting for freedom from England.

Told entirely in eighteenth century English, Octavian Nothing is a technical feat of writing to be sure, but Anderson keeps up an impending sense of doom and Octavian's frequent change of topic in narration leads to extremely short chapters (most are only 2-5 pages long). So, the language doesn't get in the way of the story or bog it down--the narration moves a steady to quick pace.

Powerful and horrifying, the two parts of the story are meant to be one 900 page book, but this first part stands perfectly well on it's own. That said, knowing there's another part coming, I can't wait. It was the one author question I asked at the National Book Fest this year-- when will we see Part 2? Anderson told me next fall.

Wide Awake David Levithan

David Levithan is pissed off about what's happening to his country, that much is obvious.

Here we are in the not-so-distant feature. The country has undergone another War to End All Wars (except that people seem to think that this one actually will) a Greater Depression, and something referred to as the Prada Riots. Christians have split into two major political/cultural groups-- the Decents (think Falwell) and the Jesus Freaks (Jesus loves EVERYONE.) And Duncan cannot believe that the candidate he was campaigning for--gay, Jewish Abe Stein, just got elected President.

Then the governor of Kansas disputes the results in his state and... well... we remember what happened in 2000, right?

Duncan's boyfriend, Jimmy, is super-militant about his politics and he's off to Topeka to protest. Duncan can't go. Because Duncan doesn't want to run away from home to go, Jimmy turns into a jerkwad. So Duncan goes.

Topeka is ugly. Part Florida 2000, part Ukrainian Orange Revolution, both sides have turned out to protest for and against Stein. It gets uglier.

Usually, the one thing that Levithan does so well--sweet love stories, doesn't really work in this case. I wanted to smack Duncan around and tell him that Jimmy wasn't worth it. Where there are several love stories here, it's the politics that drives the plot. Levithan's future gets a little strident and annoying at times as well (we don't believe in consumerism anymore! We go hang out at the mall after school and buy stuff, but we don't actually keep it! The store restocks and all the $$$ we spent goes to charity! If you really need something, you buy it online later! Puke.)

But I like Duncan, who, when in elementary school, thought the Boston Tea Party was a revolutionary cat fight during a sit down Tea Party. And I like the Bleeding Kansas parallel, as well as everyone sitting through the night with their bright green glow sticks...

But his portrayal of the Kansas protests is believable and real and it's all we can do to hope that we don't actually have to do it in November.

Can we please have a fairly clear-cut win this year? Something that is announced BEFORE I fall asleep on the couch? Preferably having the person I'm voting for winning?

I've voted in 2 presidential elections so far. The first being 2000. I lived in Iowa at the time, so my first primary was in Iowa caucus. That's some pretty intense stuff right there. We all crammed into the gym of the local elementary school, and my history prof was standing on a table telling the Gore people to go out on the hall and the Bradley people to get into groups of 10 so they'd be easier to count. (Bradly gave a great speech at campus earlier that year-- ours was the only precinct he won-- and he won us by a landslide...) And then, for the general, I had to vote absentee and watch the results from China. Where most English language news sites are blocked. Except MSNBC, which was reporting 2 different winners on the front page.

Class got out at noon, which was midnight Central time, so we figured all we had to do was bop by the internet cafe on the way to lunch, see who won, and go on about our day.

No. All afternoon, every internet cafe was full of Americans hitting "refresh" every 30 seconds. I was just waiting until 7pm, or 7am where my parents were so I could call and ask what the #%@##%^@#@#$!@#!@ was going on. They didn't know.

Then I had to try and get election results from Chinese Central Television. "Ger-a" and "Xiao Bu-shi" are two vocab words I definitely learned that semester. Every time I heard one, I'd scream for my Chinese roommate to translate for me....

Let's not do that again this year, ok?