- ala.org
monster mash March 15, 2010
The Monsterologist: A Memoir in Rhyme by Bobbi Katz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book is physically gorgeous, and lots of fun to read. The pictures had lots of mixed media, which is so hot these days for a reason – it’s lots of eye candy! I was pleasantly surprised by how fun and diverse the poems were. This would be lots of fun to share with kids in April for some really fun and funny poetry.
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cassette tapes still exist? January 8, 2010
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I listened to this as an audiobook which I highly recommend for this novel. I wonder if I would like it quite as much if I had read it – the story is extremely well-suited for listening (the majority of the story is a boy listening to a series of tapes), but I’m sure I still would have liked it nonetheless. A YA novel about suicide is hardly a new concept, and I was wary at the beginning of a book wherein a dead girl is telling everyone why it’s their fault she died (don’t worry, I’m not giving anything away!). However, I quickly became emotionally invested in not only her story, but also our narrator, a boy who was barely more than an acquaintance of the deceased. I needn’t have worried, Asher does a great job of surpassing the “problem novel” formula, making this book unique and truly memorable.
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Hungry for more August 30, 2009
I can only add my accolades like everyone else. I didn’t want to like this book for the perverse reason that everyone else did, but hey, there’s a reason it’s a crowd pleaser! The story is grim, and there’s no mercy for the squeamish, which is why it one my heart. Collins set about to tell a rough story of a world where kids are forced to battle with other kids to the death for their own survival, and she had me on the edge my of seat the whole way through. As a book with an inevitable sequel, I approve of Collins ending. I HATE books that leave you on the edge of a cliff, sometimes waiting a year for the continuation! It makes me feel manipulated, which I hate more than anything. I believe a responsible and talented storyteller should be able to write a real ending well enough that I will choose to come back for more when the sequel is published, not be forced to just to see if my character makes it out alive or some nonsense like that. This story is definitely not over, but I can wait in pleasant anticipation of the sequel (September 2009), not in torment. It’s so much nicer that way, isn’t it?
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Retail Free August 3, 2009
To celebrate quitting my last retail job ever (oh please, oh please let this be true), here’s a top ten list of the things I will not miss one little bit:
10. People asking how much an item is while standing right in front of the sign that says how much it is.
9. “Do you work here?” Sadly, I get this in stores I don’t work in too – something about me screams menial worker
8. Sales goals which are completely useless for part-time employees that work 4-8 hours a month!
7. People on cell phones that expect your complete, undivided attention while giving you about 25% of theirs
6. Liars – some people will lie terribly (both terrible lies and poor execution)to your face for just about anything, large or small
5. Kids - or more specifically, parents who think it’s fine for their kids to play with and destroy things that we are trying to make a living from selling
4. Even more than that, parents who keep their small children up until 10pm shopping and don’t understand (or care) why they are crying and throwing tantrums and giving me a migraine
3. Retail companies that expect their lowest paid employees to make only the most positive impressions on customers with no support by way of equipment that works, products that are universal between stores, catalogs, and online, or current and reliable information on company policies and promotions
2. The Customer is Always Right mentality, usually pulled out by people who are blatently wrong
1. People who think that the $9.99 they’re spending on any given item includes the right to treat sales clerks like morons/peons/slaves/whipping boys or long lost friends
Good & Good July 31, 2009
Ice cream and libraries may not go together like peanut butter and jelly (melting cream and sugar in library book pages; the stuff of nightmares!), but there’s a group of people that think an ice cream flavor inspired by public libraries is just what the reader ordered!
Who am I to disagree?
How do you like the following suggestions, or can you think of something even better?
Gooey Decimal System: Dark fudge alphabet letters with caramel swirls in hazelnut ice cream.
Sh-sh-sh-Sherbet!: Key Lime or a chocolate/vanilla combination.
Rocky Read: Vanilla with chocolate-covered nuts, chocolate chunks and raisins.
Writer’s Block: Coffee with fudge chunks and nicotine stains.
Chick Lit: Fat-free Peach-Mango swirl with pieces of Chicklet chewing gum.
Chexy Librarian: Demure vanilla on the outside, chocolate-covered cherries and Chex cereal pieces on the inside.
Twilit: Pale-white lemon sorbet with red shoestring licorice and the hair of Robert Pattinson.
Over-Goo Fudge: Chocolate with marshmallow and fudge.
Bookworm: Vanilla with gummy worms and annelid chunks.
Periodicals Cream: Glossy strawberry syrup, some eye-popping sprinkles, but mostly regular vanilla.
Chocolate Chip Bookie-Dough: Banana with chocolate-chip cookie dough. Decent odds.
Of Ice and M&M: M&Ms, Chocolate powder, Vanilla, Fresh bananas. It’s a good plan, but it never fully works.
Out-of-Print Pistachio: Even the nuts have freezer burn!
Reading Rainbow: PBS-sponsored Rainbow sherbet.
Probably won’t last long… July 23, 2009
Apparently this is a leaked trailer, so it’ll probably disappear soon.
This is just the beginning July 21, 2009
Rossamund Bookchild (unfortunate name for a boy), a foundling raised in a Marine orphanage, has always dreamed of the dangerous life of a vinegaroon (sailor), hopefully fighting lots of monsters and saving civilization, thereby earning his very own monster blood tattoos. Instead, he’s saved from being the oldest foundling in the building by being recruited by the lamplighters, which sounds quite safe and dull to Rossamund. We join him as he enters the wide world at last, and we all learn a thing or two about where to find real monsters and what’s safe and what isn’t.
I think the cover of this book is a little misleading; while monsters are a big part of this world, they’re not such a big part of this story. This book is mostly laying the foundation for the very rich fantasy world we are entering, which is not to say there’s no excitement, but I worry that readers looking for immediate action and possible gore will be disappointed, while readers who will be enchanted by the richness of this imagined world won’t pick it up! Also, the size of the book is a bit daunting, but almost a quarter of the book is a hefty addendum for the detail oriented.
I really enjoyed this book, and I look forward to moving on to the sequel for more action and to see if my hypothesis of a great secret (I KNOW I know something Rossamund hasn’t yet figured out) is correct. I highly recommend supplementing your reading of this book with a visit to the author’s website as well – a feast for the eyes.
Betrayal July 20, 2009
Shannon, I don’t blame you; I know where my anger is to be directed, and it’s Bloomsbury USA, oh yes it is. How can I make you see what a betrayal this cover for the next Bayern book is? How, when I shouldn’t even have to tell you!
I totally get it. Someone’s decided this new cover is more eye-catching, more likely to sell, and maybe you’re right (I don’t think so, but you could be); for people that are starting the series now, maybe this series of covers is just what they want. But what about us? What about all the people who have been collecting these beautiful hardcover books as they come out, and now our fourth book is a radically different (and in my opinion, inferior) design than the rest?
I think this abrupt cover change totally unfair and disrespectful to loyal Bayern book fans; just in case you were wondering.
Alice in Teenland June 23, 2009
Check out this link for a little info on the upcoming Tim Burton adaptation of Alice in Wonderland – I hope, I hope, I hope it’s as good as it could be!!
In the movie, Alice is 17, I wonder how that’ll be…
