Top Ten Underrated Books

Hosted by The Broke and Bookish

Books that I think are underrated and haven't received the recognition they deserve. (In no particular order.)

1.  Couch by Benjamin Parzybok--- a modern-day epic journey remotely similar to The Lord of the Rings, except this time the object of fascination is a couch.  This book is very, very funny. I wish more people would read it. Here's my review. (2008)

2.  The Highest Tide by Jim Lynch--- set in Olympia, Washington this coming-of-age story is poignant and funny and environmentally accountable. I love the local references.  I wish I could talk students and teachers into giving this book a try. (2005)

3.  The Dairy Queen (and sequels) by Catherine Gilbert Murdock--- a delightful YA series about a girl, DJ, who works her Dad's dairy farm and is very athletic.  She is asked to help out the neighboring school's Quarterback with his skills and a budding romance develops. I love this series and so do all the girls who read it on my recommendation, but it seems like I'm the only one saying how good it is! (2006+)

4.  The Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness--- I've been singing the praise of this futuristic/dystopian series every chance I get, yet it hasn't caught on the way it deserves.  Try it. First book is The Knife of Never Letting Go! (2008+)

5.  Tales of the Madman Underground: A Historical Romance, 1973 by John Barnes---I know, I know.  Every chance I get on this blog, I sing the praises of this book.  Isn't it time you give it a try? It was my favorite book of 2010 and hardly anyone knows it. Read my review. (2009)

6. Tales of Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan---a collection of 15 vignettes by a talented artist.  Every kid at my school who has read this book loves it and so do I. Graphic novels. (2009)

7. The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson---everyone I know who has read this book loves it.  I think it deserved more attention in the award categories last year. What I said about the book. (2010)

8. The Cardturner by Louis Sachar---recognize the author? He wrote Holes! Sachar says this book is his best and he wrote Holes!  This book is amazing and deserves more attention. Read about it here. (2010)

9. Half Brother by Kenneth Oppel---I liked this book so much that I wrote the author and told him so!  It is about human and animal rights.  It has a lot of discuss and to think about.  My review. (2010)

10. The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan---this book by well-known YA author David Levithan is considered an adult book.  It think this book is very clever with each chapter similar to a dictionary entry. This is one of my favorite reviews I've written. (2011)

Monday. What am I reading?

Hosted by Book Journey

It's Monday.  Here is what I am reading and listening to this week.

What I'm reading:

Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey. "This award-winning coming-of-age novel was written by Australian Craig Silvey out of his passion for the southern Gothic fiction of Twain, Lee and Capote." ---Suite 101. I'm just getting started so the jury is still out if I'll like it.

What I'm listening to: 

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater.  This is the sequel to her popular paranormal romance, Shiver, which I liked tremendously.  I'm not in the car much these days so this book is taking an eternity to listen to.

What I recently finished:

Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo. A sweet and revealing memoir about a young boy, Colton, who has a life after death experience then comes back to life to share with his family and to tell them what heaven is like; nonfiction.  Written by Colton's father.

What I hope to read next:

Maine by Courtney Sullivan.  This is my book club selection for the month.  I actually don't have a copy of the book yet, so I hope I can finish it in time.

What are you reading this week?

Sunday Salon: August 7, 2011

I've noticed a lot of other bloggers participate in a version of Sunday Salon so I thought I'd give it a try. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to "sign-up" somewhere. If so, please let me know so that I can give appropriate credit.


Outside: The weather is gorgeous.  Summers in the Pacific NW can be so glorious, if they aren't being grey and rainy.  Today it is cool but sunny with blue skies. (Currently 69 degrees Fahrenheit at noon.)

I'm watching: reruns of I Love Lucy episodes in honor of her 100th birthday week.  My favorite episode is Vitameatavegamin.  See the YouTube blurb of it on my blog.

I'm thinking about: Summer is waning and school starts up in less than a month.  I need to get up to my library to get things set for the new school year.

I'm listening to: The audiobook of Linger by Maggie Stiefvater, sequel to Shiver. I usually listen to audiobooks as I drive and from school (work) but since I'm not in the car as much this summer, the book is going very slow for me.

I'm reading: I just finished a book late last night.  I hope to start Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey today, which has won international recognition but has only recently been published in the USA.

Lists I am making: I am working through a list of books which may make up my list of Mock Printz books for the workshop I hold in January before the actual Printz award winners are announced. Jasper Jones may be on my list, who knows? So far, the only "for sure" book for my list is Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys.

Today's Scripture in church: 1 Kings 19:9-18.  God talks to the prophet Elijah not in hurricanes, fire, or earthquakes but in a still, quiet whisper.

I'm praying for: The Parr family who lost Gordon their father, husband, grandfather this week.

Around the house: We had new landscaping put in this past week so I am having to water, water, water, the newly planted trees and shrubs.  It looks lovely, though.

From the kitchen: I made Eggplant Parmesan.  I found this wonderful website that guides me step by step.  Everyone loved it.  With the leftovers I made Eggplant Sandwiches.  Sounds odd but very yummy. How to Make Eggplant Parmesan with pictures.

Funny event: Yesterday we showed up for a 75th-Birthday party one day early!!! Talk about embarrassing and funny.  I hope it wasn't a surprise party because it is not one anymore.

Review: Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma

Oh my. Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma is such a suspenseful and sinister story. It is not the typical type of book that I read, though I enjoyed it immensely. This is Suma's first YA novel and she sure did a good job developing a novel that has a creepy, eerie feeling-tone that is both surreal and dreamlike, one that gets a hold of the reader early and builds through the climax.

Chloe's older sister, Ruby, is the girl everyone looks to and longs for...After a night with Ruby's friends goes horribly wrong and Chloe discovers a dead body floating in the reservoir, Chloe is sent away---away from home, away from Ruby. But Ruby will do anything to get her sister back, and when Chloe returns home at last, she finds a precarious and deadly balance waiting for her. As Chloe flirts with the truth...the fragile line between life and death is redrawn by the complex bonds of sisterhood.---from the book jacket

Ruby seems to have some special, supernatural powers which not only holds Chloe enthralled but seems to affect the whole town. However, this certainly isn't like any other paranormal book I've read recently. It takes a sinister look at sisterhood, devotion, and loyalty to the extreme.

I'm sure that this book will find broad readership among my library patrons, especially among those whole like to be scared just a little bit by their books!

Reading in the garden...almost heaven

My side yard, a shade garden

Tiny view into my back yard with dog

Friends home from college: Monica, Emily, Carly.  All readers!

Friday- HEAVEN IS FOR REAL

*First Line Friday at A Few More Pages.
*The Friday 56 at Freda's Voice.

Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo

The family trip when our nightmare began was supposed to be a celebration. ---Opening line.

"'Colton,' I began, 'do you know why you are in trouble?' "Yeah, because I didn't share,' he said...'That's right. You can't do that, Colton. You've got to treat people better than that.' Colton raised his eyes and looked at me. 'Yeah, I know, Dad, Jesus told me I had to be nice.' His words caught me by surprise. It was the way he said it : Jesus told me..." p. 56

This book is a very touching book about a four-year-old boy who has a life after death experience but comes back to tell others about what happened to him in Heaven.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Parajunkee

This week's featured blog is Hands and Home.  Congratulations!!!


This week's question:

Q. Talk about the book that most changed or influenced your life (was it a book that turned you from an average to avid reader, did it help you deal with a particularly difficult situation, does it bring you comfort every time you read it?). 

A.  The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis... I read the whole series as a child/adolescent and I loved them but I missed a lot of the symbolism which I caught when I reread the series as an adult.  I have since read the whole series to my (now grown) children when they were young and again when each new movie is released.  I love them. They really speak to my heart.

 

Review: Level Up by Gene Luen Yang

Level Up is the latest graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang with art by Thien Pham. The central question of this book is one we have all grappled with sometime in our life: What do you want to be when you grow up? Dennis Ouyang, is A Chinese American kid, is obsessed with video games which places him at odds with his father who wants him to be a doctor. After his father dies and Dennis nearly flunks out of college, he is "visited" by creatures that look like angels. They show him his destiny and assist him on the road to medical school.  But is Dennis happy?  Is he making the right decision for his own future?  With each revelation, the reader advances to the next level, as if we too are playing a video game.  Cory Doctorow at Boingboing wraps up the book nicely:

Yang's got a gift for characters who understand their duty but don't fully believe it; Level Up is a great example of that dilemma. It's a manifesto for everyone who's ever wrestled with the expectations of their family, their friends, and their society (and who hasn't?), and it's ultimately both humane and inspiring.

I am never quite sure what I think of graphic novels since I read so few of them.  I did find this one very clever and easy to read.  I have felt the uncertainty of struggling to make the "right" decisions for my own life, though my parents were polar opposite to Dennis's parents.  They basically gave me no input as to what they thought I should do with my life.  Pham's artwork was simple and enjoyable.  "Using a variety of subdued palettes to convey a story set in the present, the past and in a magic realist netherworld, Pham creates a nexus of believable humans"  - NY Times Young Adult Book Review for Level Up Take a look at a few more of the images by clicking on the link.

Level Up by Gene Luen Yang, Art by Thien Pham

Even though the story isn't completely original in its theme, it has a timeliness to it with all the attention given to Tiger Moms today.

Review: Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Libba Bray's Beauty Queens is one funny book.

Let's see, how would I describe it? Well, for starters I'd say it is partly about a beauty pageant and its contestants.  Duh, that is fairly apparent by the title and cover.  But it is also part Lord of the Flies. You know the disturbing book you had to read in high school where a bunch of boys who survive a plane crash end up on a deserted island and basically all hell breaks loose?

So now you know that our contestants end up on a deserted island after a plane wreck. But the comparisons don't stop there.  I'd say it is also part Gilligan's Island, the zany '70s sitcom where goofy things happen all the time, all of them very improbable based on the supplies at hand. Our contestants carry out many of their kooky tasks with eyelash curlers, flat irons and other beauty supplies.

I know what you are thinking.  This books sounds like a girl book.  Think again, because this book has what every Caribbean island needs to be authentic: pirates, like those in the Pirates of the Caribbean. What boy can resist gorgeous babes and swashbuckling fun?  And to add to male gender appeal, the book also has action you might expect to see in a 007 movie (minus James Bond) and the government sounds a bit like one you'd expect to read about in any good Dystopian novel, think Hunger Games or The Maze Runner. The action is both exciting and funny at the same time.

In addition to all the silliness and improbable situations, this book actually has some meat to it.  Without being preachy, Bray deals with important topics such as the sexual objectification of women, LGBT issues, stereotyping (such as "The Dumb Blonde"), gender and sexuality issues, and the meaning of friendship.  The book actually would be a treasure trove for discussions on a plethora of topics.

Hope I've teased you enough to entice you to read this book yourself.  Happy reading

Top Ten Trends in Literature...the good and the bad

Hosted at The Broke and Bookish

Trends in Literature...the good and the bad
(This list is based purely on my own observations.  No actual research has gone in to the creation of this list!)

The Good
1.  Great authors are writing and publishing wonderful YA novels.  When I was in high school there were very few authors writing for the 15-18 year old age group.
2.  E-Readers have generated a renewed interest in the classics because many of them can be downloaded for free.
3.  YA authors are writing books in series which brings kids back to the libraries and bookstores to get the next book and generates enthusiasm for reading in general.
4.  Lots of YA books cover very tough topics.  Reading books about teenagers dealing with and overcoming challenges can be very comforting for kids who are experiencing similar problems.
5.  Libraries are as popular or more popular than in years past as they embrace technology and find ways to serve their communities.

The Bad
1.  E-Reader popularity is at least partially responsible for book store closures. I fear that soon the only place left to browse for books will be libraries which often cannot afford the latest books on every topic. And publishers may not actually publish books if there is no place to sell them.
2. YA authors are writing books in series!  It is impossible as a librarian to keep track of the next book in each series and often times readers will outgrow or lose interest after the 5th, 6th, 7th, etc. book in a series.  Authors:  use Hunger Games or Twlight as your model and limit series to three or four books!
3. So many YA books cover tough, serious topics that it is hard to find the fun, silly, lighthearted books that some kids, mostly boys, crave.
4. Paranormal romances are hijacking good-ole normal romances. I must admit I'm pretty sick of vampires, zombies, werewolves...but whatever gets kids reading.
5.  Teachers often ignore the books in the library when assigning research projects in preference to the Internet.  Argh.  It is so frustrating! Why not use both?

Review: The Freak Observer by Blythe Woolston

I love it when an author uses a theme around which they build the plot of a book.  That is what Blythe Woolston has done with The Freak Observer. The central theme is physics and she adeptly brings it into the story in ingenious ways that are both surprising and satisfying.  Now before you stop reading because you think to yourself I don't know anything about physics, let me say the book isn't about physics it just uses some of its theories and terms. In fact, the heading of the first chapter is a question on classical lessons on pressure and force that the main character, Loa, presumably saw on her physics test. Clever hook!

Loa has missed a lot of school because grief over the death of her sister several months earlier and the recent death of a friend Esther. Her Physics teacher gives her an extra credit assignment to explain what a Freak Observer is in physics. She discovers that it is a hypothesized self-aware entity that pops into existence in its universe, also known as the Bolzmann brain. In a lot of ways Loa is the freak observer in her own life. She observes how the death of her sister and her friend affect others and herself.

I really, really liked this book, which won the William C. Morris Debut Author Award last year.  At times I felt like I was reading music or being swept into the stratosphere by the prose.  Other times I was overwhelmed by the grief and isolation that Loa was experiencing like the time she trips up the stairway at school and spills her books everywhere.  No one stops to help or even acts as if they notice her.  She feels invisible, the grieving girl that might be contagious if one acknowledges her.

The only thing I don't like about the book is the cover.  The picture of the human heart is very off-putting.  I understand why they selected it as it relates to an event in the first chapter but it is just too creepy looking and not really relevant to the whole story. (Are you paying attention publishers?) A better picture would show an old fashioned orrery.

My family used to work like an orrery. We would have got a prize in a science fair, our gears turned so smoothly and all the parts fit together perfectly. Asta was in the middle, where the sun ought to be. The rest of us kept to our orbits. --p. 53

Smithsonian Orrery