If I had a subscription box service, this month's theme would be Summer Reading, and here's what you would get:
Personal Library Kit so you can lend your favorites to your friends in style (and know who to bug to get them back!)
This Superfudge shirt from Out of Print Clothing to wear your reading pride, even when you aren't actually reading.
This "Feeling Austentatious" tote bag from the awesome people at Forever Young Adult so you can tote your books to your favorite summer reading spot.
Moleskine Book Journal to help keep track of everything you read.
Two Moons in August by Martha Brooks-- a perfect summer book that I reread every summer.
Check out the Pinterest board for more Summer Reading Goodness!
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Keeping Organized
I am a complete and utter scatter brain, but I have a lot of responsibility and stuff to do in my professional and personal life. Organization is the only way I stay on top of things and am at all functional.
A few weeks ago, the #readadv chat was on how we stay organized. People were pretty interested in each other's systems and wanted more in-depth info than Twitter really allows. Kelly kicked off some posts here for people to share their systems.
People seemed especially interested in Bullet Journaling, which is my personal system. Here's how I do it. (Followed by why it works for me, and how I organize my reading and blogging, too.)
When I was working and in grad school, I swore by the BusyBodyBook planner, but they no longer make them. I loved the columns for different aspects of my life (work/school/blog/LIFE) and I tried a few other things since then, but nothing that I loved as much. I started doing Bullet Journaling this spring and LOVE IT.
So, if you are unfamiliar with the concept of Bullet Journaling, read all about it here or watch this video.
One of the things I love about this system is that it's very flexible. It's incredibly easy to modify it to fit your needs. I don't like how he does calendars, because I need the visual of a typical calendar, so I printed some out and taped them in:
Also, I need to do a certain amount of pre-planning, so I do a few months at a time, and then have another list for events further out. The calendar print-outs are a free download from the Organised Housewife. I like that they have the to-do list on the side of monthly things. I also have a "master to-do" list for things I'm thinking about (like winter holiday presents I want to make, or very long-range projects that are still percolating, or little things that don't have a definite timeline like scheduling a fall dentist appointment.)
I also use a modified version of this key:
(I found it on Pinterest and it doesn't link to anywhere. Does anyone know who created this key? It's GENIUS and I'd love to give full credit.) The big thing I modify is, much like a c and e in the box for "call"/"email" I have a t for "text" and an r for "review" I especially love the half-filled box for things I worked on, but didn't finish. I do break projects into smaller steps, and do that in my journal, but it some steps just take a really long time. I also use the half-shaded box for things I need feedback on, like I needed to talk to someone, but they weren't in, so I just left them a voice mail. The half box lets me know that I may need to follow-up and try again later, but I don't need to worry about it for awhile.
Here's my page from yesterday:
You'll see some other things I modify on my daily pages. I the bottom I have section called "5 things" where I try to write down 5 good things about the day, every day. This is really helpful in combating some of my own personal negativity. I also track my water intake.
For all of this, I use extra-large Moleskine Cahier with gridded paper The extra-large gives me enough room each day, and the gridded paper just lends it self really well to all my to-do squares. I like the cahier because it has a soft cover, which makes it easier to decorate. I embroidered my current one:
a.jpg)
To mark important pages, such as the master list, and the current daily page, I use large colored paperclips, as they're easy to move around and won't rip off in my purse:
I change pen colors every day, so I know if notes were made on the same day, or later. My currently into the Le Pen, because it's a slim line felt-tip that won't leak through a thin Moleskine page and comes in good colors. I also like the Sharpie Fine Point Pen for similar reasons (but it's harder to wash off when you accidentally draw on yourself. Not that I ever do that. Nope. Not me.)
So, this system works for me because it combines everything into one place that I can easily move around with me. My meeting notes are next to my schedule and easy to find again to follow up on. I can easily write down hilarious things my daughter said and other things that happened in a day. I can add in pages for projects or brainstorming that are easily accessible. I like that one days I'm not doing anything, I don't have to make a page--I don't have random blank pages or "wasted" space.I like that I can change it whenever I need or want to. The table of contents at the beginning is so basic, but it works SO WELL. I know some people don't like having to number the pages, but I just do it every time I make a new page--no big deal. I really like the key system because it's neater than crossing something off while still having the same level of satisfaction. It also works really well with the GTD system of time-management (I don't do full GTD, but I do parts of it, including just doing tasks that are under 2 minutes, and breaking down projects into steps and only worrying about the one in front of you.)
I also do Inbox 0 at work. It keeps me from missing important messages and quickly shows me what needs to be done. I don't do this at home.
I also have an entire Pinterest board for this subject, full of ideas and things for planners and organizing (including awesome sticky notes and notebooks).
Now, how do I track my reading and reviewing? Like I mentioned above, I modified the key so there's a symbol for call, email, text, and review. I try to review library books before they're due back and am pretty good about it. I try to review books I own shortly after reading, with less success. I tend not to schedule my reviews or review to a date unless I'm reviewing for someone else (RT Book Reviews and School Library Journal have deadlines, for instance) or a blog tour. Deadlines go on the calendar and get exclamation points on the daily list.
I keep track of my reading in a notebook. I have them dating back to spring of 2006 and printed lists going back to 2003, but wish I had kept track of stuff previous to that! Here's what my notebook looks like:
.JPG)
It's pretty simple. Month, title, author. A check mark once it's been reviewed on the blog, or the review has been linked to on the blog.
To do more in-depth review tracking, I use a Google spreadsheet that I update every few months.
Month and year help me cross-reference with the paper book. You'll see I'm full of typos and shorthand for titles--as long as I know what book I'm referring to, I'm good. Then there's the column I can mark if a review has been written. I have a giant Google doc for reviews. I then edit/update/polish when I paste them into Blogger to preschedule/post. Then I have a notes field, where I can write when things are prescheduled for (if it's further out than the next week or two--I use this a lot with ARCs as I tend to post reviews on pub date or only a day or two before), if it's a review that's posting elsewhere, if it's a committee book so reviews need to be held, or modified, or just not done (depends on the committee regulations/policies), if I have notes on it but no review, etc etc etc. It's pretty basic, but it does what I need it to do. Once a review is posted, I delete that line, so the sheet ONLY tracks outstanding reviews.
So, that's how I do it. I'd be happy to answer any questions!
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
A few weeks ago, the #readadv chat was on how we stay organized. People were pretty interested in each other's systems and wanted more in-depth info than Twitter really allows. Kelly kicked off some posts here for people to share their systems.
People seemed especially interested in Bullet Journaling, which is my personal system. Here's how I do it. (Followed by why it works for me, and how I organize my reading and blogging, too.)
When I was working and in grad school, I swore by the BusyBodyBook planner, but they no longer make them. I loved the columns for different aspects of my life (work/school/blog/LIFE) and I tried a few other things since then, but nothing that I loved as much. I started doing Bullet Journaling this spring and LOVE IT.
So, if you are unfamiliar with the concept of Bullet Journaling, read all about it here or watch this video.
One of the things I love about this system is that it's very flexible. It's incredibly easy to modify it to fit your needs. I don't like how he does calendars, because I need the visual of a typical calendar, so I printed some out and taped them in:
Also, I need to do a certain amount of pre-planning, so I do a few months at a time, and then have another list for events further out. The calendar print-outs are a free download from the Organised Housewife. I like that they have the to-do list on the side of monthly things. I also have a "master to-do" list for things I'm thinking about (like winter holiday presents I want to make, or very long-range projects that are still percolating, or little things that don't have a definite timeline like scheduling a fall dentist appointment.)
I also use a modified version of this key:
(I found it on Pinterest and it doesn't link to anywhere. Does anyone know who created this key? It's GENIUS and I'd love to give full credit.) The big thing I modify is, much like a c and e in the box for "call"/"email" I have a t for "text" and an r for "review" I especially love the half-filled box for things I worked on, but didn't finish. I do break projects into smaller steps, and do that in my journal, but it some steps just take a really long time. I also use the half-shaded box for things I need feedback on, like I needed to talk to someone, but they weren't in, so I just left them a voice mail. The half box lets me know that I may need to follow-up and try again later, but I don't need to worry about it for awhile.
Here's my page from yesterday:
You'll see some other things I modify on my daily pages. I the bottom I have section called "5 things" where I try to write down 5 good things about the day, every day. This is really helpful in combating some of my own personal negativity. I also track my water intake.
For all of this, I use extra-large Moleskine Cahier with gridded paper The extra-large gives me enough room each day, and the gridded paper just lends it self really well to all my to-do squares. I like the cahier because it has a soft cover, which makes it easier to decorate. I embroidered my current one:
a.jpg)
To mark important pages, such as the master list, and the current daily page, I use large colored paperclips, as they're easy to move around and won't rip off in my purse:
I change pen colors every day, so I know if notes were made on the same day, or later. My currently into the Le Pen, because it's a slim line felt-tip that won't leak through a thin Moleskine page and comes in good colors. I also like the Sharpie Fine Point Pen for similar reasons (but it's harder to wash off when you accidentally draw on yourself. Not that I ever do that. Nope. Not me.)
So, this system works for me because it combines everything into one place that I can easily move around with me. My meeting notes are next to my schedule and easy to find again to follow up on. I can easily write down hilarious things my daughter said and other things that happened in a day. I can add in pages for projects or brainstorming that are easily accessible. I like that one days I'm not doing anything, I don't have to make a page--I don't have random blank pages or "wasted" space.I like that I can change it whenever I need or want to. The table of contents at the beginning is so basic, but it works SO WELL. I know some people don't like having to number the pages, but I just do it every time I make a new page--no big deal. I really like the key system because it's neater than crossing something off while still having the same level of satisfaction. It also works really well with the GTD system of time-management (I don't do full GTD, but I do parts of it, including just doing tasks that are under 2 minutes, and breaking down projects into steps and only worrying about the one in front of you.)
I also do Inbox 0 at work. It keeps me from missing important messages and quickly shows me what needs to be done. I don't do this at home.
I also have an entire Pinterest board for this subject, full of ideas and things for planners and organizing (including awesome sticky notes and notebooks).
Now, how do I track my reading and reviewing? Like I mentioned above, I modified the key so there's a symbol for call, email, text, and review. I try to review library books before they're due back and am pretty good about it. I try to review books I own shortly after reading, with less success. I tend not to schedule my reviews or review to a date unless I'm reviewing for someone else (RT Book Reviews and School Library Journal have deadlines, for instance) or a blog tour. Deadlines go on the calendar and get exclamation points on the daily list.
I keep track of my reading in a notebook. I have them dating back to spring of 2006 and printed lists going back to 2003, but wish I had kept track of stuff previous to that! Here's what my notebook looks like:
.JPG)
It's pretty simple. Month, title, author. A check mark once it's been reviewed on the blog, or the review has been linked to on the blog.
To do more in-depth review tracking, I use a Google spreadsheet that I update every few months.
Month and year help me cross-reference with the paper book. You'll see I'm full of typos and shorthand for titles--as long as I know what book I'm referring to, I'm good. Then there's the column I can mark if a review has been written. I have a giant Google doc for reviews. I then edit/update/polish when I paste them into Blogger to preschedule/post. Then I have a notes field, where I can write when things are prescheduled for (if it's further out than the next week or two--I use this a lot with ARCs as I tend to post reviews on pub date or only a day or two before), if it's a review that's posting elsewhere, if it's a committee book so reviews need to be held, or modified, or just not done (depends on the committee regulations/policies), if I have notes on it but no review, etc etc etc. It's pretty basic, but it does what I need it to do. Once a review is posted, I delete that line, so the sheet ONLY tracks outstanding reviews.
So, that's how I do it. I'd be happy to answer any questions!
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
Monday, July 07, 2014
The Taming of the Tights
The Taming of the Tights Louise RennisonTallulah is back at school, ready to put Cain and the kissing behind her. Even if Charlie has a girlfriend. She also has bigger issues--Dother Hall is still very financially unstable and while it’s not in danger of closing, it is very much in danger of falling down. And while Sidonie recognizes Tallulah’s talent, not everyone else does and the more she tries to prove herself, the more hilariously she fails in the eyes of her teachers (but never to us, dear reader.) And there is still the Cain thing. Tallulah may be willing to ignore the kissing, but Cain has no problem telling others about it.
I love Tallulah and her craziness. I like that only some of her drama is self-invented. I love the insanity that is Dother Hall and the Dobbinses and the Tree Sisters and her fun size pal and the crazy dog Ruby. Overall, very hilariously funny. I don’t think it gets near as much love as Georgia, which is too bad.
Book Provided by... my local library
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
Friday, June 27, 2014
Sex Criminals: One Weird Trick
Sex Criminals Volume 1: One Weird Trick Matt Fraction and Chip ZdarskySuzie works at a library that’s about to be foreclosed on. While at a fundraising party to try to save it, she meets a guy she likes and they sleep together. It’s only in the afterglow that Suzie discovers that Jon shares her secret--after orgasms, time stops until she’s ready to go again. When she sleeps with Jon, they’re in trapped time together (she calls it The Quiet. He calls it Cumworld.) Jon works at the bank that’s foreclosing on Suzie’s library and hates it. So… why not make the best of their talents in order to rob the bank so they can give the money back in the form of the library’s mortgage payment?
My brother-in-law has a comic book store and last time I was visiting them, my sister was SO EXCITED about this series, so I was excited when the omnibus showed up.
I love the premise and it’s executed so well. Suzie narrates and it goes between the present and the past, and how she figured out about The Quiet. It’s really funny and a great introduction to a world that I want to know more about (Jon and Suzie aren’t the only ones with this talent, and they will get caught breaking the rules, even if time is standing still.) I also love the artwork when time’s standing still, so you know what’s going on. But most of all, I love Suzie. I love that she robs banks to save her library. I love her voice. I love the idea of her as a librarian. She isn't mousey and quiet, isn't too in-your-face cool. She is very cool, and very committed to books and research and helping people who came in to find their information--reminds me of a lot of the librarians I know and love. It was nice to see in pop culture.
I also like the back matter for this one. In addition to the regular offerings of page/cover sketches and rejects that we usually get in omnibus back matter, this had some great stuff on process, and the complete brain-storm list of made up positions.
Obviously, with this premise, it’s an adult title. But while the gimmick is lewd, the execution is beautiful and the actual story is worth digging into--there’s definitely some there there.
Cannot wait to read more.
Book Provided by... my local library
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Dancer, Daughter, Traitor, Spy
Dancer, Daughter, Traitor, Spy Elizabeth KiemMarina may be a teen in the Soviet Union, but her mother is the country’s premier prima ballerina, so her family lives in privilege. Marina herself trains for the Bolshoi. Like her mother, she sometimes sees visions. These visions cause problems when, on the eve of Breshnev’s death, her mother sees something she shouldn’t--one of the USSR’s dark secrets about testing biological weapons* that gets her taken away.
Suddenly, it’s not safe anymore. Marina and her father must leave quickly, and end in Brighton Beach where her scientist father struggles to find a job and a way to rescue his wife. All Marina wants to do is dance, and her father is convinced this will help him make contact with the KGB so they can negotiate. Meanwhile, he gets tangled in with the Russian Mob as Marina tries to lead a normal life in a new country while fearing for her father’s safety and sanity.
I really liked this one and Marina’s father’s mental descent. You could see why he thought the things he thought, while still seeing how wrong they were. I liked how the romance was handled. Marina likes Ben, whose parents also escaped the USSR, but he has a girlfriend, Lindsay. Marina and Lindsay are also friends, and while it’s complicated, and slightly heartbreaking, it’s not overly dramatic and the way the characters handled it made me really like and respect them. Lindsay often didn’t know what she was talking about, especially when it came to the KGB and the Mob, but she was a really good friend and a great character.
I do think it needs an end note. Teens today don’t understand Soviet communism and the Cold War. (And trying to explain the terror of the Cold War to kids who’ve grown up in a world of terrorism and suicide bombers is really heart-breakingly hard.) Heck, when this came out a librarian only a few years younger than me was confused about what was so scary about that time. I also wanted to know if the testing episode that Marina’s mother knew about was real. It’s real in the book and seems more than plausible to me. A quick google doesn’t turn anything up, but was it based on other incidents?
I’m also not sure the paranormal psychic-vision thing was necessary. It was the lynch-pin as to why Marina’s mother was taken, and Marina’s visions added some moody foreshadowing, but there might have been another way for Marina’s mother to find out about the testing and made the book straight historical fiction, which would have made it stronger. 99% of the book is realistic historical fiction, and it’s tricky, because it’s a time period that many adults (read: parents and other gatekeepers) remember living through, but many readers (read: teens) don’t know much about, and the 1% that is paranormal makes the rest of the story easier to dismiss as “pure fiction.”
Overall though, I did really like it. It’s hard to go wrong with something that involves the KGB, the FBI, the Russian mob, and ballet. And, as someone who has very vivid memories of the end of the Cold War, I am loving all the YA fiction we’re seeing now about it. (Plus, not a book, and not for teens, but let’s just think for a minute how awesome The Americans is.)
Book Provided by... my local library
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Inside Man
The Unwritten Vol. 2: Inside Man Mike Carey and Peter Gross
We open with a scene from “Song of Roland” and then switch to Tom’s legal issues as he’s being tried for the murders at his father’s villa. There he meets a fellow inmate/embedded journalist. Meanwhile, Lizzie is asking books questions and they’re answering back. Frankenstein’s monster shows up, and when the Cabal attacks the prison that’s holding Tom, the results are disastrous for everyone. At the end, we get a comic about someone (from the cabal?) trapped as a bunny in a fairly insipid children’s story, desperate to escape.
I love how they incorporate Song of Roland into this. I still have no idea what, exactly, is going on, but I’m really enjoying trying to figure it out and I assume it’ll make sense at some point.
Book Provided by... my local library
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
We open with a scene from “Song of Roland” and then switch to Tom’s legal issues as he’s being tried for the murders at his father’s villa. There he meets a fellow inmate/embedded journalist. Meanwhile, Lizzie is asking books questions and they’re answering back. Frankenstein’s monster shows up, and when the Cabal attacks the prison that’s holding Tom, the results are disastrous for everyone. At the end, we get a comic about someone (from the cabal?) trapped as a bunny in a fairly insipid children’s story, desperate to escape.
I love how they incorporate Song of Roland into this. I still have no idea what, exactly, is going on, but I’m really enjoying trying to figure it out and I assume it’ll make sense at some point.
Book Provided by... my local library
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Predators and Prey
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Vol. 5: Predators and Prey Joss Whedon et al.Harmony gets a reality show and when a loner slayer tries to stake her on camera, the world turns against the slayers and is suddenly very pro-vamp. Meanwhile, Giles and Faith walk into a trap, Andrew’s plans have backfired with major consequences, and we wrap up Dawn’s mystical enchantment storyline. Oh, and there are some very cute, and very evil, stuffed animals that may just destroy the world.
As annoying as Harmony is, she's a great character (in small doses). I love the fact that she's the one that turns the world pro-vamp, I mean, OF COURSE SHE DOES. The cute, evil, stuff animal story line is pretty funny.
BUT BUT BUT
Best part about Harmony’s return? She’s hanging out with Clem, so Clem’s back. I love Clem. CLEM.
Book Provided by... my local library
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
Friday, June 13, 2014
Hypothetical Box Curator: Garden Party
I love subscription boxes. The Kung Fu Princess's birthday was this week (3!) and my parents signed her up for Kiwi Crate. I'm a user of Birchbox and Ipsy (let me know if you want invites) and am currently lusting after a For the Makers subscription. I'm also part of WORDs of Love club and BookRiot's Riot Read (and lusting after their Quarterly box). I love getting monthly packages in the mail and opening them up to see the surprises inside.
So, just for fun, I thought it would be fun to put together a hypothetical monthly box. SO, if I had a monthly box, here's what you'd be getting in June...
I love a good garden party--something fancier than a normal cookout, with a cute dress or suit jacket and wine and cocktails and heavy h'ordeuvres. So, this box will help you with all your garden party needs...
Tanto Tempo by Bebel Gilberto is the perfect soundtrack to set the mood.
Slurp: Drinks and Light Fare, All Day, All Night by Nina Dreyer Hensley covers all your drink and food options from morning to night.
Hinterland Trading Air Plant Tillandsia Bromeliads Kit Teardrop Terrarium with Pebbles and Moss Great Little Houseplant to bring the garden party inside
And of course, you need something to wear. I love all of Frosted Willow's bangle sets, but think this honey bee bangle set is perfect for a garden party. I also think t this ombre polka-dot pocket square from J. Z. Richards is a must for your coat pocket.
Thanks for indulging me. What do you think of the box? Would you subscribe? What would you put in your box if you got to curate one?
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
So, just for fun, I thought it would be fun to put together a hypothetical monthly box. SO, if I had a monthly box, here's what you'd be getting in June...
I love a good garden party--something fancier than a normal cookout, with a cute dress or suit jacket and wine and cocktails and heavy h'ordeuvres. So, this box will help you with all your garden party needs...
Tanto Tempo by Bebel Gilberto is the perfect soundtrack to set the mood.
Slurp: Drinks and Light Fare, All Day, All Night by Nina Dreyer Hensley covers all your drink and food options from morning to night.
Hinterland Trading Air Plant Tillandsia Bromeliads Kit Teardrop Terrarium with Pebbles and Moss Great Little Houseplant to bring the garden party inside
And of course, you need something to wear. I love all of Frosted Willow's bangle sets, but think this honey bee bangle set is perfect for a garden party. I also think t this ombre polka-dot pocket square from J. Z. Richards is a must for your coat pocket.
Thanks for indulging me. What do you think of the box? Would you subscribe? What would you put in your box if you got to curate one?
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
Thursday, June 05, 2014
It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want to Be
It's Not How Good You Are, Its How Good You Want to Be: The World's Best Selling Book Paul ArdenI saw this one come in through the bookdrop and it caught my eye.
Mostly aimed at advertisers/marketing people with a broader theme for all, it’s some pithy platitudes in an excellently designed package.
I liked some of the advice--don’t hoard your ideas--give them out freely, make the most of the opportunity you have now instead of looking for the next one, don’t knock the competition, it’s ok to be silly, it’s ok to make mistakes. I also liked some of the more advertising-specific ones-- pencil sketches sell the client on the idea more than finished product, put your client’s logo front and center, don’t try to win awards*
But after awhile, it just gets pithy and clever and not actually worthwhile. BUT, it is very well designed. Clean layout, lots of big bold text and colors, and photographs for graphics and lots of classic ads as examples. I loved all the classic ads. There’s not a lot of text (the whole thing can be read in about an hour) and it is a joy just to look at.
*Here’s the explanation for “Don’t Try to Win Awards,” which I really, really like, even if it’s just something I tell myself to make myself feel better
“Nearly everybody likes to win awards. Awards create glamour and glamour creates income. But beware. Awards are judged in a committee by consensus of what is known. In other words, what is in fashion. But originality can’t be fashionable, because it hasn’t as yet had the approval of the committee. Do not try to follow fashion. Be true to your subject and you will be far more likely to create something that is timeless. That’s where the true art lies.”
Book Provided by... my local library
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
Wednesday, June 04, 2014
Pointe
Pointe Brandy ColbertTheo is a ballet dancer, one with a real shot at going pro. She’s startled the day a guy from school--who she mainly knows as a pot dealer-- shows up as the new pianist at her studio. Then she goes home and sees that her best friend--the one who was kidnapped 4 years ago and presumed dead--has been found.
There’s a lot going on here--when Donovan comes home, Theo has to deal a lot with what was going on in her life when he disappeared. Then she sees a picture of the man who’s been arrested for kidnapping Donovan. Chris Fenner is 30, but when Theo knew him, he said he was 18 and his name was Trent. She was 13 and he was her boyfriend and they were in love.
As Theo gears up for her summer intensive auditions, the things that can lead her pro, she must confront some very large demons. Does she tell what she knows about the man who took Donovan? Does she risk being branded “That Girl” forever, knowing that any ballet company in their right mind will pass on her because of it?
After Donovan and Trent left, Theo stopped eating. Now they’re back, she’s stopped again.
How does she navigate the town gossip and other student’s reactions and theories when Donovan returns?
Donovan and Trent were friends--did Donovan want to go?
There’s a lot going on here, but it works really, really well. I love that ballet is Theo’s life, but it’s not the focus of this novel. I appreciated that her eating issues weren’t about ballet. She uses ballet as way to keep herself “in check” with her dieting, but it’s obviously really about controlling something when she can’t control the other things in her life. It’s not the “you’re too fat and have to lose weight” thing that we so often see in ballet novels.
There is sex and drug use and sometimes there are consequences and sometimes there aren’t. It was all realistically done.
There are heavy things going on, but Colbert keeps all the issues and plot lines balanced and you know that Theo should just tell what she knows, but you believe her reasons for not wanting to. The back and forth narrative as Theo tries to piece together Donovan’s disappearance with his reappearance and how Theo reveals information is so well crafted. I don’t want to say Theo’s unreliable, but there are (major) pieces she holds back for awhile. It adds new layers to the stories and avoids there “this is what happened then” massive info-dump.
ALSO. Can I just say how much I love that there are really good adults in this novel? With the obvious exception of the Chris/Trent aside, most of the adults in Theo’s life--her parents, her teachers, etc, are really good adults. They’re there for Theo and also hold her accountable for her actions without being horrible. And as an adult reader, I knew she could trust them, but I also totally understood why Theo wasn’t sure and I didn’t want to grab her shoulders and shake some sense into her.
You guys… so good and powerful. I’m going to be thinking on this one for a long, long, long time.
Book Provided by... my local library
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
Tuesday, June 03, 2014
Wolves at the Gate
Wolves at the Gate (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 3) Joss Whedon, Drew Goddard, Georges Jeanty and Jo Chen.Buffy left TV after Season 7, but Season 8 (and 9, and soon, 10) exist in comic form.
Weird vamps that can shift into fog and werewolves attack the slayers and steal the scythe. The Scooby gang quickly figure either Dracula’s behind it or someone’s stolen his powers.
I like this one because it takes the slayers to Japan and it involves lots of werewolves Also, DRACULA. I love Dracula and Xander together--they are hilarious. A very unlikely Bromance. That works really well. Plus, some interesting developments on Buffy’s love life and Dawn puts her giantness to good use.
It doesn’t really advance the overall plot arc, but it’s a really fun diversion. (Seriously, the banter between Xander and Dracula alone makes it more than worth it.)
Book Provided by... my local library
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
Monday, June 02, 2014
Bad Science
Bad Science: Quacks, Hacks, and Big Pharma Flacks Ben GoldacreeGoldacre is seriously pissed off at the lack of scientific literacy in the media and general public. Luckily, he’s rather funny in his rage. (To get a taste, check out his Guardian column by the same name)
He looks at several issues, mostly related to health, how they’re marketed, why we buy the claims, and how horribly wrong it all is. Along the way, he teaches the reader how to understand things so they can cut through the crap and know what lies and lines they’re being fed.
It’s a great mix of condemning the system and teaching you how to buck the trend. It’s also a bit disheartening-- we fall for this stuff SO EASILY. Even I do. But, now when I hear a new health claim, I find myself really thinking about it-- the most basic question be--does this even make SENSE, and then looking at how studies were constructed.
Goldacre looks a lot at alternative therapies, the claims they make and how they’re utter crap. But he also looks a lot of mainstream medicine and they claims THEY make--especially Big Pharma (which he explores a lot more in his new book, Bad Pharma: How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients). He has a few things about the beauty industry--many of the lotions and potions contain ingredients "clinically proven to X" even though those studies usually had the vitamin ingested, not applied topically--enough that I want an entire book on it.
But, the best part is, Goldacre’s voice. His writing is clear and easy to understand (even if you don’t have a degree in science) and is just plain funny. He feels very strongly about this-- it’s not a dispassionate book, but a plea for us to think about what’s going on and to stop falling for clever lies and disguised gimmicks.
Oh! Also, I learned that carrots do not improve eyesight. Turns out that old chestnut is WWII propaganda. The Allies had invented radar and the Nazis couldn't figure out how British pilots could see so well at night. In order to mislead them (last thing England wanted was Nazis with radar) they said that their pilots just ate a lot of carrots and it helped their eyesight.
An Outstanding Book for the College Bound.
Book Provided by... my local library
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
Friday, May 30, 2014
Hollow City
Hollow City Ransom RiggsThis sequel to Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children picks up exactly where the last one left off. Having been a few years between books, it was a little confusing in the beginning as I tried to remember plot details and the world that Riggs has built.
Jacob and his friends are out of the loop, but still in the 1940s, traveling from their island to London, trying to find another ymbryne who can hopefully fix Miss Peregrine. Along the way they discover more about the Peculiar world, finding other loops and allies, all the while fighting hollows and wights. Of course, once they get to London, they still have to find another ymbryne (it’s not like they’re in the phone book) and deal with the dangers that the Blitz creates when you’re no longer in a timeloop. It all concludes in another wrenching ending that will leave us waiting desperately for the next book.
I do still love the interplay of the photos and the text, but I feel like the photos didn’t work quite as well--maybe because Riggs used all his best ones in the first book, of what needed to be illustrated wasn’t as peculiar, or because I was already used to it from the first book. I’m not sure why. I didn’t NOT work, it just wasn’t as awesome as the first book in that regard. It is still really well designed as a book though. I like the brown papers marking new chapters--it really adds to the feel created by the photographs and the story--retro paranormal, as well.
I did like the further exploration of the world, and the problems with their weird place in time--being out of a loop, but not being in the present creates issues. Some of the things I liked about the first one aren’t here there-- there’s not that is he/isn’t he on Jacob’s reliableness as a narrator. There’s not the slow reveal of this other world, or the slowly building tension--this is a lot more fast-moving action-- and I think that’s where the story needed to go, but it didn’t wow me in the same way. That’s not to say I didn’t like it--I liked it a lot, I just wasn’t as absolutely floored by it the same way I was floored by Miss Peregrine. I do look forward to getting back into the this world with the next book--I just hope it doesn’t take two years before it comes out!
Book Provided by... my local library
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic
Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic David QuammenWe’re all going to die. And it’s probably bats or monkeys that will do us in.
As you may remember, I’m a huge fan for medical epidemic books and stories so I was very excited to come across this one, which is about diseases we get from animals, and the science of how a spillover works-- what makes something go from an animal to a human and then make large numbers of us very sick?
Quammen looks at several zoonosis (infections we get from animals) throughout history, and the history of how it made people sick, how they figured out what was going on, and what made it spillover and spread. And he looks at A LOT of diseases such as Hendra, Ebola, SARS, AIDS, Malaria, Lyme, and a host of others. Along the way, he also talks to many scientists about what they’re doing now to be ready for the next one-- what will it be, where will it hit, what can we do to be prepared.
One on hand it’s fascinating. On the other, it’s terrifying (even though he doesn’t want us to freak out too much. I mean, we will all die at some point. And probably not of the next BIG ONE. Which will probably be a flu. And probably from bats or monkeys. Man, I really like bats.)
It’s very interesting, but it does occasionally get bogged down (I found the AIDS stuff a little too academic and wasn’t a fan of his speculative fiction about how it spread in humans).
It was a weird one, because I LOVED it, but it took me FOREVER to finish. Not sure why.
If you liked Outbreak and The Hot Zone, you should probably read this one (if nothing else, just to find out that everything you thought you knew about Ebola is false.) Plus! It's an Outstanding Book for the College Bound.
Book Provided by... my local library
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Keeping Corner
Keeping Corner Kashmira ShethRemember The Edge of the Forest? I still have a few reviews that ran in that wonderful magazine that I'm reprinting here...
Leela was engaged at the age of two and married at the age of nine. Next year, when she turns thirteen, she will celebrate her anu and move into her husband’s house. Leela’s excited for her anu but when her husband is suddenly killed, everything changes.
Following Brahmin custom, Leela is forced to shave her hair, smash her bangles, and wear muddy brown saris. She will be unable to remarry and must keep corner—stay in the house—for a full year. Leela’s family is devastated by her loss and their grief permeates the household, making it impossible for Leela to imagine any sort of future.
But India is changing. Gandhi is leading the people to stand up to the English. Leela wonders how a small, old man in a dhoti can change the white men who sit so straight on their horses, but Gandhi is. Confined to the house, Leela is still caught in a struggle between the old and new as India stands on the brink of liberation—both from the English and from tradition.
Based on the true story of her great-aunt, Sheth paints a lush, vibrant picture of Indian home life. Leela’s story moves with the weather and seasons as she marks off her time before being allowed outside. Moving and honest, Leela’s tale of drawing inspiration from Gandhi to find agency in her own life is sure to strike readers and linger long after the last page.
ARC Provided by... a coworker, who picked it up at ALA (maybe? this ran back in 2007-- I don't quite remember)
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
Thursday, May 22, 2014
The Forbidden Rose
The Forbidden Rose Joanna BourneThis is a weird one for me to review. One on hand, it didn't always work for me as a romance. On the other, I freaking loved it.
William Doyle is an English spy, sent to France to assassinate the Marquis de Fleurignac, who has come up with a list of English nobles--nobles that are being picked off one by one at home. The servant girl he finds speaks French too well to be what she claims, but he knows she will lead him to what he's looking for
Marguerite de Fleurignac survived the burning of her chateau, but her network that smuggles aristocracy out of revolutionary France has been compromised--she must tell the others before they're arrested. She doesn't trust the man who looks at the rubble of her home with too calculating an eye, but he may be her only chance at survival.
So, this one was a bit too insta-love for me, and I never really bought into their chemistry. Also, the steamy bits were...not that steamy. BUT. The story is incredible. The politics and intrigue in this one! Where it doesn't always work as a romance, it shines as a spy novel. I also like that what was keeping them apart wasn't the fact they wouldn't just say what needed to be said, or they had closed themselves off to love-- their main obstacles weren't emotional, but the turmoil of revolutionary Paris and their greater causes. When they were apart, they were physically apart (like when William is arrested for being a counter-revolutionary) there are a million sides and games being played-- that's where this novel shines and that's what's added the rest of Bourne's Spymaster series to my TBR.
Book Provided by... my local library
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Attack of Jabba the Puppett
Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett: An Origami Yoda Book Tom AnglebergerThe Fun Time Menace has fully descended on McQuarrie Middle School. All electives have been cancelled and the kids are instead being forced to watch horrible videos (featuring rapping calculators) teach them how to do basic math they already understand.
A Rebel Alliance is needed.
There are a ton of new origami Star Wars characters introduced in this one as Tommy & Co. recruit members to their cause to get rid of FunTime. They’re smart about it--they use math to know how to throw the test to show that FunTime wasn’t effective--if X number of kids fail, then they can get rid of it for next year. They also find ways to work some of their missing electives back in.
The problem is that even though the kids are actually being rather reasonable, Principal Rabbski’s not really listening to them, and they’ll need help from some very unexpected places to get their point across.
I really like the turn the series took. It’s about a much bigger issue than just one student or one piece of maybe magical origami. It’s an entire school movement, and it tackles so many issues we face in education today-- the FunTime menace isn’t real, but it is. (*cough* AR *cough*) We put so much emphasis on test scores, that’s we’ve opened a market for people to cash in without any real benefit to the schools and students and this book really looks at this, in a hilarious manner.
I also really liked how Dwight chose each character for the different kids in the alliance. Much like he showed with the original Origami Yoda, Dwight notices things about people and knows how to nudge them in the right directions.
Book Provided by... my local library
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
No Future for You
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 Volume 2: No Future for You Joss Whedon, Georges Jeanty and Brian K. Vaughn
So, this big thing to know about this one is FAITH FAITH FAITH FAITH FAITH.
I really grew to love Faith as a character ever since they defeated the mayor. She's complicated and fascinating. She's the star of this story, as Giles sends her to put down a rogue slayer, being "advised" by a warlock who works for Twilight (Season 8's Big Bad). Hilariously, this involves Faith pretending to be British aristocracy. The rogue slayer is being groomed to kill Buffy, unless Faith can stop her. Of course, in true Faith/Buffy fashion, no one's clued Buffy in to who's the good guy and who's the bad guy in this situation.
One of the things I loved about this was how it flashed back to the TV series so you see what Faith's demons are, with her narration. It really delves into her character and psyche more than the show did, which makes her even more complicated and fascinating.
At the end, there's a story about Buffy and Willow visiting some mystical forces, which reveals some secrets neither really want revealed, and some movement on Dawn's giant curse.
But, mostly, FAITH FAITH FAITH FAITH FAITH FAITH FAITH. (Also, a brief glance of Robin (Principal) Wood.
Book Provided by... my local library
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
So, this big thing to know about this one is FAITH FAITH FAITH FAITH FAITH.
I really grew to love Faith as a character ever since they defeated the mayor. She's complicated and fascinating. She's the star of this story, as Giles sends her to put down a rogue slayer, being "advised" by a warlock who works for Twilight (Season 8's Big Bad). Hilariously, this involves Faith pretending to be British aristocracy. The rogue slayer is being groomed to kill Buffy, unless Faith can stop her. Of course, in true Faith/Buffy fashion, no one's clued Buffy in to who's the good guy and who's the bad guy in this situation.
One of the things I loved about this was how it flashed back to the TV series so you see what Faith's demons are, with her narration. It really delves into her character and psyche more than the show did, which makes her even more complicated and fascinating.
At the end, there's a story about Buffy and Willow visiting some mystical forces, which reveals some secrets neither really want revealed, and some movement on Dawn's giant curse.
But, mostly, FAITH FAITH FAITH FAITH FAITH FAITH FAITH. (Also, a brief glance of Robin (Principal) Wood.
Book Provided by... my local library
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
Monday, May 19, 2014
My Beloved Brontosaurus
My Beloved Brontosaurus: On the Road with Old Bones, New Science, and Our Favorite Dinosaurs Brian Switek
Guys-- it’s a dinosaur book FOR GROWNUPS. And it’s sad, because it turns out that everything I thought I knew about dinosaurs is TOTALLY WRONG.
Like the fact that dinos aren’t related to birds. BIRDS ARE DINOSAURS. The ones we think of are technically “non-avian dinosaurs.” Just… let that sink in a bit. Seriously, I’ve just been going around like Tracy Jordan screaming DINOSAUR at the pigeons on the street.
The crazy thing is, there is a TON of discovery happening in dinosaurs right now. Switek tells us the new science and explains the history of scientific thought about dinos and why it’s been changing. All while still maintaining his little-kid love of the giant animals. He doesn’t shy away from admitting the pop culture influences his original thoughts and ideas about dinos came from.
He also looks at a lot of the really big questions we ask about dinosaurs-- what color were they? Why did they die? How did something that big reproduce? Were they good parents? What did they sound like? How did they get that HUGE?! Why were they that big? Seriously, did their tails get in the way of mating? (Yes, there is an entire chapter on research into the logistics of reproduction. I, for one, am glad to live in a world where legit scientists have funding to study the physics of dinosaur sex. It warms my heart.)
It’s super interesting and very readable. I could have used more visuals (mostly to remind me which -asaurus is which) but I really liked it. PLUS! It's an Outstanding Book for the College Bound.
Book Provided by... my local library
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
Guys-- it’s a dinosaur book FOR GROWNUPS. And it’s sad, because it turns out that everything I thought I knew about dinosaurs is TOTALLY WRONG.
Like the fact that dinos aren’t related to birds. BIRDS ARE DINOSAURS. The ones we think of are technically “non-avian dinosaurs.” Just… let that sink in a bit. Seriously, I’ve just been going around like Tracy Jordan screaming DINOSAUR at the pigeons on the street.
The crazy thing is, there is a TON of discovery happening in dinosaurs right now. Switek tells us the new science and explains the history of scientific thought about dinos and why it’s been changing. All while still maintaining his little-kid love of the giant animals. He doesn’t shy away from admitting the pop culture influences his original thoughts and ideas about dinos came from.
He also looks at a lot of the really big questions we ask about dinosaurs-- what color were they? Why did they die? How did something that big reproduce? Were they good parents? What did they sound like? How did they get that HUGE?! Why were they that big? Seriously, did their tails get in the way of mating? (Yes, there is an entire chapter on research into the logistics of reproduction. I, for one, am glad to live in a world where legit scientists have funding to study the physics of dinosaur sex. It warms my heart.)
It’s super interesting and very readable. I could have used more visuals (mostly to remind me which -asaurus is which) but I really liked it. PLUS! It's an Outstanding Book for the College Bound.
Book Provided by... my local library
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Medusa's Gaze and Vampire's Bite
The Science of Monsters: The Origins of the Creatures We Love to Fear Matt KaplanKaplan looks at many mythical monsters and what was going on in the world that people explained with monsters. He then looks at how the roles of the particular monster have changed over the years as our understanding and world has changed. I think it's at it's strongest when talking about the scientific explanation for things that we understand now, but back then Occam's Razor really did logically lead to "vampire." I also found the exploration of the role such creatures play today in our collective psyche (and how it has changed over time) to be interesting--especially when he looks at what we most fear today, and what's going on in our world that makes us fear those things instead of others. (Although, see below, I do have a few complaints about this section.)
Kaplan writes for the Economist, and much of this book has that same tone of sarcastic snark, which is something I personally love but may be a major turn-off for some readers. It's an adult book, but it's written in a very accessible, readable style (again, think Economist) and I think many teens would enjoy it.
My main complaint is when he’s looking at Greek monsters today, he obviously uses a lot of Percy Jackson, but… he uses the movie, not the books. I’m not even sure he’s aware that they are books. *headdesk* *headdesk* *headdesk* He does the same thing with Harry Potter, but we at least mentions the books. When it comes to adult stuff (such as Jurassic Park) he’ll actually talk about the differences between books and movie.
But, I did learn a lot and it was very readable and interesting. It’s mostly European-centric, but he does pull in non-European cultures and monsters occasionally. He does a great job at looking how sometimes different cultures have different monsters that look similar but are very different-- often one sees it as evil, one sees it as an overall benevolent force.
It’s a great look at how humans use monsters to explain what we don’t understand and also as a way to name our fears.
Book Provided by... my local library
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
Friday, May 09, 2014
How I Killed Pluto: And Why It Had It Coming
How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming Mike Brown
Ever since he was a kid, Brown wanted to discover planets. But, when he did discover some, instead of being excited he discovered a planet, he realized that, really, Pluto shouldn’t count as a planet, because that made what he was finding make a lot more sense.
Brown is a hilarious and fascinating as he tells us about the development of thought about the solar system, how modern astronomy works (it’s a lot of coding!), why Pluto isn’t a planet, and his own life. Plus, oh the shennanigans and in-fighting (astronomer politics! who knew?!)
Not a lot of scientists can write like this- heck, not a lot of writers can write like this. It’s a wonderful and fascinating book that really digs into the story-behind-the-story of when Pluto stopped being a planet.
Book Provided by... my local library
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
Ever since he was a kid, Brown wanted to discover planets. But, when he did discover some, instead of being excited he discovered a planet, he realized that, really, Pluto shouldn’t count as a planet, because that made what he was finding make a lot more sense.
Brown is a hilarious and fascinating as he tells us about the development of thought about the solar system, how modern astronomy works (it’s a lot of coding!), why Pluto isn’t a planet, and his own life. Plus, oh the shennanigans and in-fighting (astronomer politics! who knew?!)
Not a lot of scientists can write like this- heck, not a lot of writers can write like this. It’s a wonderful and fascinating book that really digs into the story-behind-the-story of when Pluto stopped being a planet.
Book Provided by... my local library
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
Thursday, May 08, 2014
Five Dysfunctions of a Team
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable Patrick Lencioni
I have a lot of super-awesome volunteers at my library. One of them has a fancy-schmancy day job as a high-level executive. When I became branch manager, we were talking about my new role and management stuff and she highly recommended Patrick Lencioni, this book in general. So I read it.
I loved it. It’s a “Leadership Fable” which made it a much easier read for me. The first 75% of the book is a story about a dysfunctional software company and how a new CEO came in and fixed the team and the problem and successes they had along the way. As a story, it wasn’t that awesome, but as someone who thinks in story, it was a much easier, faster, and accessible read than a normal “how to” management book. I read it in an evening and the points made are going to stick with me for a lot longer because of it. I was skeptical going in, but I really appreciated the style. The last 25% is a little more “how to” that goes a little more in-depth on the 5 dysfunctions, how to spot them, and how to get over them.
I also think Lencioni makes good points on how to make a team work. He really focuses on the overall goal of the team, and not individual success and ego. Part of this is a good dose of conflict (because good conflict creates better buy-in) and holding each other accountable. I also liked how his team-building exercises and overall method wasn’t touchy-feely. (No trust falls!) and stays largely focused on the actual business at hand, while still being broadly applicable.
I also liked how he has five dysfunctions, but they really play into each other and are all part of a larger problem, and how if you have problem in one area, you almost definitionally are going to have problems in another.
Now, I work with an awesome team, so I won’t be putting what I learned into direct process, but I’ll be keeping it in mind to evaluate if we continue to be awesome in the future.
And, I’ll be checking out Lencioni’s other leadership books.
(ooo.. there’s also a manga version)
Book Provided by... my local library
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
I have a lot of super-awesome volunteers at my library. One of them has a fancy-schmancy day job as a high-level executive. When I became branch manager, we were talking about my new role and management stuff and she highly recommended Patrick Lencioni, this book in general. So I read it.
I loved it. It’s a “Leadership Fable” which made it a much easier read for me. The first 75% of the book is a story about a dysfunctional software company and how a new CEO came in and fixed the team and the problem and successes they had along the way. As a story, it wasn’t that awesome, but as someone who thinks in story, it was a much easier, faster, and accessible read than a normal “how to” management book. I read it in an evening and the points made are going to stick with me for a lot longer because of it. I was skeptical going in, but I really appreciated the style. The last 25% is a little more “how to” that goes a little more in-depth on the 5 dysfunctions, how to spot them, and how to get over them.
I also think Lencioni makes good points on how to make a team work. He really focuses on the overall goal of the team, and not individual success and ego. Part of this is a good dose of conflict (because good conflict creates better buy-in) and holding each other accountable. I also liked how his team-building exercises and overall method wasn’t touchy-feely. (No trust falls!) and stays largely focused on the actual business at hand, while still being broadly applicable.
I also liked how he has five dysfunctions, but they really play into each other and are all part of a larger problem, and how if you have problem in one area, you almost definitionally are going to have problems in another.
Now, I work with an awesome team, so I won’t be putting what I learned into direct process, but I’ll be keeping it in mind to evaluate if we continue to be awesome in the future.
And, I’ll be checking out Lencioni’s other leadership books.
(ooo.. there’s also a manga version)
Book Provided by... my local library
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
Wednesday, May 07, 2014
Everbound
Everbound Brodi AshtonJake went into the Everneath in Nikki’s place. Jake is what kept her alive when she was there and she’s not about to let him go that easily. There’s only one solution--she’s going in after him. Of course, to save him, she has to work with, and trust, Cole, who has his own agenda for getting Nikki back to the Everneath.
I do love a good story where the girl saves the guy. I also like how this one builds on the mythology, politics, and world-building of the Everneath. You really get to dig into this world more, as most of the action takes place in the Everneath as Nikki tries to rescue Jake.
I reviewed the third book in the trilogy, Evertrue, here at RT Book Reviews.
Book Provided by... my local library
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
Tuesday, May 06, 2014
Everneath
Everneath Brodi AshtonNikki Beckett is back in town, but everything’s different. She’s been gone for 6 months and there are rumors surrounding where she’s been--most people assume rehab. She knows she was taken by Everliving, an immortal who feasts on human energy. Being feasted on kills you, but Nikki survived, never being able to forget Jake, her boyfriend. But because Nikki survived, she’s not the only one who’s back--Cole, the Everliving who dragged her into the Everneath, is also back, and has to get her to go back to the Everneath with him. Nikki only has 6 months, and then she has to go back for good. 6 months to say goodbye properly and to make everything right, but it’ll be harder than she ever expected.
I liked this one. It’s told in alternating timelines, now, when Nikki’s trying to settle back into life so she can fix the mess she left behind and make things OK for when she goes away again, and then, which shows the beginning of her relationship with Jake, and how she ended up in the Everneath. This allows for a slow unveiling of the backstory, and a slow introduction to the mythology that Ashton’s creating and playing with (overall, the story is Persephone meets Orpheus). I also liked her family. Things are tense with her politician father after her disappearance, but they’re working on it. I like the balance he tries to strike between being a responsible parent and getting her the help he thinks she needs and not being so stifling that she leaves again. And her little brother is awesome.
I also just liked Nikki. I liked her voice. I liked that she didn’t have any superpowers, but could also take care of herself. She wasn’t a shy mousey clutzy girl that everyone actually loved, but was more middle-of-the-road real.
Stay tuned for my review of the sequel tomorrow.
ARC Provided by... the publisher for review consideration (hey look at that! Sometimes I do get around to reading the unsolicited ARCs that I set aside because they look interesting!)
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
Monday, May 05, 2014
Spoken Here: Travels Among Threatened Languages
Spoken Here: Travels Among Threatened Languages Mark AbleyAbley starts in Australia, then travels to Oklahoma, the Isle of Man, Provence, Wales, and then New York, looking at minority languages that are in danger of dying out, and what people are trying to do in order to save them (with varying degrees of success.)
Along the way, he provides a potent argument for the role a language plays in culture and why keeping the small, endangered languages alive is important. (His argument is compelling enough that I personally feel it broadens out well as to why it’s important to learn another language-- not just for trade or commerce, but as a way to provide another way of looking at the world.)
Abley’s not a linguist, and I know that some of this book irks actual linguists and scholars in the field, but I think his non-expert approach really works in making the subject accessible to non-expert readers.
My main complaint is that it’s fairly European/North American-centric. While other areas of the world are touched on, I think it would have been stronger to look at other areas of the world more in-depth.
Parts of it are heart-breaking as languages and cultures die, stamped out by English and other dominant forces. But the things people are doing to try to save their language were inspiring, and, of course, we can always look to Wales and Israel to see how a dead language can come back.
Language death isn’t something one often thinks about, but it’s becoming more and more of an issue, and as a language dies, so much dies with it.
Book Provided by... my local library
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
Friday, May 02, 2014
Diverse Book Reading List
Tweeting about how we need Diversity in Books is all well and good, but in order to make it work, we need to put our money where are mouth is.
Here are some books I bought yesterday:
Code Name Komiko by Naomi Paul
The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson
Charm & Strange by Stephanie Kuehn
Prophecy (The Dragon King Chronicles) by Ellen Oh
Mismatch by Lesley Namioka
These are all books I haven't read yet, so I'm excited to dig into them.
And, I've started to make a Pinterest Board with diverse books that I've read and reviewed, in case you're looking for recommendations of where to put your money.
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
Here are some books I bought yesterday:
Code Name Komiko by Naomi Paul
The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson
Charm & Strange by Stephanie Kuehn
Prophecy (The Dragon King Chronicles) by Ellen Oh
Mismatch by Lesley Namioka
These are all books I haven't read yet, so I'm excited to dig into them.
And, I've started to make a Pinterest Board with diverse books that I've read and reviewed, in case you're looking for recommendations of where to put your money.
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
We Need Diverse Books
There's been a lot of talk for years about lack of diversity in children's and teen publishing. Lately, as mainstream media picks it up, it seems to have reached a critical head. As part of this groundswell, there is the We Need Diverse Books Campaign. It's supposed to start on Thursday, but the hashtag is already all over Twitter.
A lot of people are sharing stories and feelings about not being able to see themselves in the books they read. Or talking about the youth they work with who can't see themselves. I used to work in an area where the vast majority of my users were African or African American. I was always told they wanted a book about kids "like them" (read: black) that "wasn't old, or sad" (read: not historical fiction about slavery or civil rights). And I had books to give them! But not enough to get them through a school year, even if they could/would read every age/reading level. And they need diverse books.
But you know what? White kids do, too. And not just in a feel good "diversity is good for everyone" way (even though I firmly believe that.)
I grew up in NorthEast Wisconsin. When I was growing up, the largest group of non-white people were Hmong immigrants (or, at my age level, children of Hmong immigrants.) Name a book with Hmong people.
There's The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures, which came out in 1998 (the year I graduated from high school) with is nonfiction and for adults.
There's Pa Lia's First Day: A Jackson Friends Book. There are 4 books in the Jackson Friends series. I read the last one first--Stinky Stern Forever: A Jackson Friends Book, so I didn't know Pa Lia's name from the title, but she appears on the first page.
Pa Lia. I read it and stopped. Really? I read it again. And again. Pa Lia? REALLY?! It couldn't really be... no... PA LIA? And I read on and there were other cultural clues and OMFG YES THERE WAS A HMONG KID IN THIS CLASSROOM.
Finally, there was a book with a classroom that looked like mine looked for 12 years. I didn't realize how much that was lacking, and how much I needed a classroom to look like mine, until I saw that name in that book. I literally cried with relief. I was in my late 20s, crying with relief and joy that an early chapter book had a classroom that looked like my classroom.
If I need a Hmong character in books so badly, because I need my world reflected, even as an adult, how the hell did my Hmong classmates feel, never seeing themselves anywhere? What kind of disservice have we done to children, when the page denies their very existence? The 3 books I mention here, plus the other 2 in the Jackson Friends series are the ONLY books I know of with Hmong characters. So, 1 series. 1 adult nonfiction. That's it.
Seriously. All I want are books that reflect the world I live in. I'm a white girl with a middle class background. The books we have on our shelves are supposed to be reflecting me, but their all-white pages aren't even doing that. My experiences are more than me. They are the people around me. I'm white, but my world isn't. Why are my books?
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
A lot of people are sharing stories and feelings about not being able to see themselves in the books they read. Or talking about the youth they work with who can't see themselves. I used to work in an area where the vast majority of my users were African or African American. I was always told they wanted a book about kids "like them" (read: black) that "wasn't old, or sad" (read: not historical fiction about slavery or civil rights). And I had books to give them! But not enough to get them through a school year, even if they could/would read every age/reading level. And they need diverse books.
But you know what? White kids do, too. And not just in a feel good "diversity is good for everyone" way (even though I firmly believe that.)
I grew up in NorthEast Wisconsin. When I was growing up, the largest group of non-white people were Hmong immigrants (or, at my age level, children of Hmong immigrants.) Name a book with Hmong people.
There's The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures, which came out in 1998 (the year I graduated from high school) with is nonfiction and for adults.
There's Pa Lia's First Day: A Jackson Friends Book. There are 4 books in the Jackson Friends series. I read the last one first--Stinky Stern Forever: A Jackson Friends Book, so I didn't know Pa Lia's name from the title, but she appears on the first page.
Pa Lia. I read it and stopped. Really? I read it again. And again. Pa Lia? REALLY?! It couldn't really be... no... PA LIA? And I read on and there were other cultural clues and OMFG YES THERE WAS A HMONG KID IN THIS CLASSROOM.
Finally, there was a book with a classroom that looked like mine looked for 12 years. I didn't realize how much that was lacking, and how much I needed a classroom to look like mine, until I saw that name in that book. I literally cried with relief. I was in my late 20s, crying with relief and joy that an early chapter book had a classroom that looked like my classroom.
If I need a Hmong character in books so badly, because I need my world reflected, even as an adult, how the hell did my Hmong classmates feel, never seeing themselves anywhere? What kind of disservice have we done to children, when the page denies their very existence? The 3 books I mention here, plus the other 2 in the Jackson Friends series are the ONLY books I know of with Hmong characters. So, 1 series. 1 adult nonfiction. That's it.
Seriously. All I want are books that reflect the world I live in. I'm a white girl with a middle class background. The books we have on our shelves are supposed to be reflecting me, but their all-white pages aren't even doing that. My experiences are more than me. They are the people around me. I'm white, but my world isn't. Why are my books?
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
Thursday, April 03, 2014
You
You Charles Benoit
You're a largely misunderstood kid that everyone thinks is a troublemaker. You know better but they don't, so sometimes you just go with it. It's what they expect of you anyway. It starts with the blood, something gone horribly wrong. It ends there, too. The in-between is the girl you like. The in-between is the new kid who likes you for some reason. You like him too, until it's all gone wrong. So very wrong.
Overall, it's an enjoyable read. The quick pace of the plot and the second-person narration help drive the reader to turn the pages quickly and draw you in. I liked it but didn't think it was anything special. And then someone pointed out that's a retelling of Othello and my mind exploded. Because it totally is. It's a Shakespeare retelling that will appeal to struggling and reluctant readers-- a fun read with some source material that's really subtly woven in (and then once it's pointed out to you, all you can do is shout OMG DUH and feel stupid for missing it.)
Book Provided by... my local library
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
You're a largely misunderstood kid that everyone thinks is a troublemaker. You know better but they don't, so sometimes you just go with it. It's what they expect of you anyway. It starts with the blood, something gone horribly wrong. It ends there, too. The in-between is the girl you like. The in-between is the new kid who likes you for some reason. You like him too, until it's all gone wrong. So very wrong.
Overall, it's an enjoyable read. The quick pace of the plot and the second-person narration help drive the reader to turn the pages quickly and draw you in. I liked it but didn't think it was anything special. And then someone pointed out that's a retelling of Othello and my mind exploded. Because it totally is. It's a Shakespeare retelling that will appeal to struggling and reluctant readers-- a fun read with some source material that's really subtly woven in (and then once it's pointed out to you, all you can do is shout OMG DUH and feel stupid for missing it.)
Book Provided by... my local library
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
Wednesday, April 02, 2014
State of the Onion
State of the Onion Julie HyzyLast month, the library had an edible books contest. For prizes, I gave away books about food and asked Twitter what were the best food-based cozies out there. A lot of people voted by Hyzy's "White House Chef Mystery" series, so I picked up the first one as a prize. I was intrigued enough by the title that I couldn't resist reading it, too.
Olivia Paras is an assistant White House chef. The Executive Chef is about to retire, and Olivia is one of the final candidates for his job. Her main competition is a TV celebrity chef that Olivia's worked with before-- and does not want to work with again. If she gets the job, Olivia knows she'll be leaving the White House. But the drama and pressure is soon pushed to the side when Olivia is walking back to work and sees a guy fleeing from the Secret Service and clocks him with her frying pan. Suddenly, she's trying to figure out a massive conspiracy that may end up in someone assassinating the President. Before she can solve it, she gets a glimpse of the world's most feared assassin and then she's no longer trying to save the President's life, but her own.
This was a fun one. I liked the behind-the-scenes look at the White House staff and the kitchen-- the differences in preparing a simple lunch for the first family versus a major state dinner and all the planning that happens. I liked the tension between Olivia and the new head of Culture-and-Faith-based Etiquette Affairs (he's such a jerk!!!)
I also liked her secret Secret Service boyfriend and the tension between them as Olivia got herself more involved with the case that he kept trying to push her off of. Overall it was very enjoyable and I didn't guess the ending. The bad guy was on my list of possible bad guys, but there was enough in there that I kept guessing on my choices. It was also often funny-- I especially liked when we finally meet the celebrity chef that Olivia is competing with. I think this is a series I'll continue reading.
Also-- do you have any good cozy recs? Mysteries, especially cozies are HUGE with the adults at my library, and now that I'm the adult librarian, I need to up my reader's advisory game. Leave 'em in the comments if you've got 'em.
Book Provided by... my local library
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
Tuesday, April 01, 2014
Two Boys Kissing
Two Boys Kissing David LevithanAfter Tariq is beaten for being gay, Craig comes up with an idea, and his ex-boyfriend Harry is the only one who can help. Craig wants them to break the world record for kissing.
Tariq is filming and live-streaming it from multiple angles, so no one can question it. They’re doing it in public-- on the lawn of the high school.
We also have other stories woven through-- Peter and Neil, who live a few towns over and have been dating for over a year, Avery and Ryan, who meet at a gay prom the night before the kiss begins, and Cooper, who is closeted and struggling when his parents find out.
The kiss itself is the central plot-point, but what I found most powerful about the book is the narrator-- a generalized “we” of the gay men who died of AIDS in the 70s/80s. It was devastating and made me unexpectedly sob. I wonder if teens will find it as moving as I did, as they leave a lot unexplained. They mention how no one cared until a movie star and teenage hemophiliac died. When talking about the hate and violence, they mention the 19-year-old strung up along the highway. These are small, passing references to things I know and remember. Ok, I don’t remember Rock Hudson dying and he never meant much to me, but I do remember Ryan White. I remember his advocacy and his death. I most definitely remember Matthew Shepard's murder. I know what a huge effing dealPhiladelphia was when it came out. Do teens? And this isn’t to say they won’t “get” the book, or enjoy it, but just that the emotional impact readers of a certain age are getting won’t transfer over.
I love love love love that there’s a trans character. I love that while it creates fear and uncertainty in his life (well, I don’t love that bit, but it’s realistic) it’s not a big deal for the narrators. They never question that Avery is a boy, that he’s a gay boy. They just feel for him that much more because he’s carrying around that much more. Handled so well.
And, let’s just talk about the cover, shall we?
Two boys kissing. You know what this means.
For us, it was a secret gesture. Secret because we were afraid. Secret because we were ashamed. Secret because it was story that nobody was telling.
But what power it had. Whether we cloaked it in the guise of You be the boy and I’ll be the girl, or whether we defiantly called it by its name, when we kissed, we know how powerful it was. Our kisses were seismic. When seen by the wrong person, they could destroy us. When shared with the right person, they had the power of confirmation, the force of destiny.
If you put enough closets together, you have enough space for a room. If you put enough rooms together, you have space for a house. If you put enough houses together, you have space for a town, then a city, then a nation, then a world.
We knew the private power of our kisses. Then came the first time we were witnesses, the first time we saw it happen out in the open. For some of us, it was before we ourselves had ever been kissed. We fled our towns, came to the city, and there on the streets we saw two boys kissing for the first time. And the power now what the power of possibility. Over time, it wasn’t just on the street or in the clubs or at the parties we threw. It was in the newspaper. On television. In movies. Every time we saw two boys kissing like that, the power grew…
Every time two boys kiss, it opens up the world a little more. Your world. The world we left. The world we left you.
And now there are two boys kissing on the cover of a major release book aimed at teens.
Book Provided by... my local library
Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)