Weekly Geeks #18 and other stuff

Weekly Geeks theme this week is to catch up on "something." (There's more to it, but I'm trying to be concise.) I've already caught up on my book blogs, and I did it over the weekend, so that counts. I also plan to catch up on the rest of my Google Reader, both on my "home" account and my work account. Things have been so out of whack since Ike that I have quite a bit to catch up on. I'm also planning to catch up on my reading, in general. You'd think that with having no power for over a week that I would have gotten a lot of reading done, but no. I was just too distracted to want to do much of anything. I didn't even knit or crochet! I'm not actually sure what I did! Anyway, my goal is to finish Heart-Shaped Box this week and start either Spook (which I picked up at Book People in Austin today) or Mistress of the Art of Death, which I found on the bargain table at Borders recently. That will get me caught up on the RIP III challenge.

I'm bummed that I can't participate in the read-a-thon this go 'round. I have to work that day. Maybe I'll sign up to be a cheerleader in the evening.

We went to Austin this weekend to get away, since we were still without power. We came back home to no power, but we got it back within 30 minutes of our arrival. Yay! I'm so looking forward to curling up with a book tonight!

yIKEs!

I haven't read more than a handful of book blogs in the past week, thanks to dear old Ike, so I just, sadly, marked them all read. Hopefully now I can start fresh and keep up.

We made it through the hurricane ok here just outside of Houston. We're still without power, so I'm checking in here and there at work. I've hardly read anything at all since last week - maybe a chapter of Heart-Shaped Box. Hopefully today I'll get some reading in...

Weekly Geeks #16

This week for Weekly Geeks, I interviewed Bart from Bart's Bookshelf about The Invention of Hugo Cabret, and he interviewed me about Tithe. Here are both interviews.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Somer: Do you think the storyline in The Invention of Hugo Cabret could have effectively stood on its own, or do you think its success was wholly a product of the illustrations?

Bart: Hmm... Good question! There's no doubt that there would need to be some work added to the story as, so much of it is conveyed in the images, and despite the size of the book, it is actually quite a slim story (and I don't mean that in a derisory manner as it is only intended to be a short story, not an epic!) even with added text though, I think it would suffer, as the story itself is about a visual medium (film). It'd be a bit like a recipe book without pictures, it'd work, but...

Somer: Do you think that your impression of the book as an adult is different than that of, say, a 10-year-old boy?

Bart: Yes, I don't think (at least I know I would not have at 10!) a ten year old would appreciate the detail in the artwork, and the cleverness of it's execution in quite the same way ;) However I think that as an adult, in that appreciation, I miss out on the simple "Cor! this is cool"-ness (or whatever phrase the hip-kids are using) of it all.

Somer: Avoiding spoilers, as I have yet to read the book, what was your favorite part?

Bart: The art-work, easilly the art-work, you really do have to sit down and 'read' the book to appreciate it fully, you can stand in the bookshop and look at it, and ooh and ahh, all you like, but the moment you sit down to read and see it working properly, it takes it to a whole other level of brilliance.

Somer: This book is huge, and the size could be intimidating to a reluctant reader. How would you convince a young reader to pick it up?

Bart: I don't know, after Harry Potter and Twilight, are big books as intimidating as they used to be? Even if they are, it's not an intimidating book when you start to flip through it, the vast majority of pages have no text on and those that do have nice large print and lots of 'white-space'. I'd probably ask them to just have a look at the pictures on the first few pages, honestly if you can get them to do that, you won't need to do anything else.

Somer: Have you read anything else by Brian Selznick (or illustrated by Selznick), and, if so, how does Hugo Cabret compare?

Bart: No, I've not read anything else he has been involved in. 

Tithe by Holly Black

Bart: What made you read Tithe? Was it the book itself or had you read some Spiderwick stuff?

Somer: I don't actually remember how Tithe originally made it onto my TBR stack. I think the cover must have caught my attention at some point, and I added it to my Amazon wishlist. I got the book as a Christmas gift in 2006 (thank you, LibraryThing tags!). Libba Bray (author of A Great and Terrible Beauty and sequels) has raved a lot on her blog about Holly Black, which also influenced my decision to read Tithe. Even though I realized Holly Black co-authored Spiderwick, it really didn't have anything to do with my decision to read the book at all.

Bart: How would you describe the atmoshere of the book? (Scary, disquietning, moody etc.)

Somer: Overall, Tithe is very dark. The main character, Kaye, is a high-school dropout with a troubling homelife. That sort of sets the tone for the whole book. 

Bart: What was your favourite bit and why?

Somer: I always have a hard time with this type of question. I really enjoyed the entire book. I think my favorite parts were any of the parts set in the faery realm because I like the departure from reality.

Bart: And what as your least favourite bit and why? (I'm thinking here not so much of something that was wrong or did not work, but more of something did exactly what the author wanted it to and either scared you or squicked you out etc. :o) )

Somer: Well, I don't want to give spoilers, so I'll do the best I can. To tell you the truth, my least favorite aspect of the book is the switching of the princes in the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. This is an important part of the book, but I had a really hard time keeping track of which courth Nephamael and Roiben actually belonged to and which queen they were serving. But that may have just been me. 

Bart: And finally, who would you recommend read this book to and why? And/or who would you not recommend the book, and why?

Somer: Anyone who enjoys urban fantasy would likely enjoy this book. Fans of Libba Bray, who haven't already discovered this would probably like it. Kids who have outgrown Spiderwick. I wouldn't recommend this for tweens, as it's just a bit too gritty (speaking as the mom of an almost-12-year-old). Teens, yes, but I would probably want my daughter to wait until she was 13 or 14. Mainly because there are some mature themes (a mom that parties a lot, some sexual content (though no actual sex that I can remember)).

The 39 Clues

I just read this article about The 39 Clues, Scholastic's new series that combines reading, online gaming, and card collecting. I was already thinking this sounded like something Eli might actually get into (he likes to read, but it really has to grab him!), and then I saw that the first book in the series will be authored by Rick Riordan. Yes! Eli has loved the Percy Jackson books so far (we're 1 chapter away from finishing Sea of Monsters, and I've already brought home The Titan's Curse from work). I think we may have a winner.

The Myth of You and Me by Leah Stewart

I enjoyed this book by Leah Stewart. Sonia and Cameron became friends when they were 14 years old and quickly became inseparable - in fact, they often referred to themselves collectively as "Cameronia." In the beginning of the book, Cameron is living in Oxford, Mississippi where she is the assistant for an aging historian. A letter from Sonia sparks the curiosity of Oliver, Cameron's boss, and, when Oliver dies, she finds herself charged with the task of delivering a wedding gift to Sonia from Oliver. Over the rest of the book, we learn all about Sonia and Cameron and the downfall of their friendship. Stewart does a fantastic job of recreating the love between two closer-than-close teenage girls, as well as the love between the girls and various other characters. I felt like I knew both Cameron and Sonia by the end of the book.

I listened to this on my commute, so this is my impression of the audiobook. The narrator was ok, but at times, the book felt a bit slow, and I think this was a product of the narration. I also didn't think the narrator's Southern accents were particularly convincing, but this was a minor complaint.

Short Story Sunday...err Monday

I forgot yesterday that I had planned to devote my Sunday reading to short stories, so, since it was a long weekend, I decided to do it today instead. I read a handful of stories from Nocturnes by John Connelly.

1) "Mr. Pettinger's Daemon" - mildly creepy; short enough that I don't want to tell anything about it other than the title for fear of giving away details
2) "The Erlking" - This one reminded me a little of The Book of Lost Things. A little creepier than "Mr. Pettinger's Daemon."
3) "The Inkpot Monkey" - This one has a traditional theme, I think, but I can't think of another story like it off the top of my head. An author with writer's block acquires an unusual inkpot, which cures him of his affliction, but at a price.
4) "Some Children Wander by Mistake" - This one was the creepiest of the bunch. Clowns. Enough said.

I think I'll wrap up the evening by reading a bit of Tithe, which I've gotten about halfway through since Friday. I brought home Heart-Shaped Box from work in case we got hit by the hurricane (we didn't see even a drop of rain), so that's next up.

Michelle Moran book giveaway

Lezlie at Books 'n Border Collies is hosting this awesome book giveaway!

Grand prize: Personally autographed hardback copy of Michelle Moran's new book, The Heretic Queen, sequel to Nefertiti. Also included is a hardback copy of Nefertiti with an autographed bookplate.

Second prize: paperback copy of Nefertiti with an autographed bookplate

First prize: Paperback copy of Nefertiti

To win, visit Lezlie's blogs and comment on the giveaway post. You can get more entries by posting on your blog and referring people back to Lezlie's blog. (So, if you head over after reading this post, please say I sent you!)

The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Horror by Christopher Moore

I think my tags for this book in Library Thing say it all: Christmas, humor, fiction, Santa Claus, zombies

How can you not love any book that matches Santa Claus with zombies???

This is only the 2nd book I've read by Christopher Moore, but I have every one on my wish list on Amazon, and I can't wait to read them all. Moore is brilliant.

In this book, the Angel Raziel comes to Earth to perform a Christmas miracle and sort of flubs it up a bit. A little boy's wish that Santa, who he saw killed, be brought back to life. This, of course, leads to mayhem.

I particularly liked the fruit bat named Roberto.

Here is one of my favorite passages from the book:

Sour Nerds? Cinnamon Geeks? Or Gummy Boogers? Sam Applebaum's mom was picking out a "nice" reasonably priced Cabernet, and Sam was allowed one item of candy from the rack at Brine's Bait, Tackle, and Fine Wines. Of course the Boogers would last the longest, but they were all mundane green-apple finish, while the Nerds proffered a fruity variety and an impudent little top note of tang. Cinnamon Geeks had a rich nose and a bit of a bite up front, but their tiny certified-public-accountant shape betrayed their bourgeois origins.

R.I.P. III Challenge

It's that time of year again, and I'm so excited! Carl V's challenges are so much fun! The R.I.P. II challenge last year was one of my first challenges, and while I didn't care for the one book I chose (House of Leaves), I did enjoy taking part. So here is my game plan.

I hope to read 4 books this year. I'm still up in the air about which pool to pick my books from - only ones I have at home or should I allow myself to branch out to the library? Since I work in a public library, I won't have any problem getting pretty much any book I want, so I think I'm going to make my list and let the randomizer do the rest of the work.

Here are the books I plan to choose from (subject to change).

From my own collection:

100 Cupboards
Billy Bones: A Tale from the Secrets Closet
Tithe
Witch Child
Nature of Monsters

From the library:

The Sister
Heart-Shaped Box
The Bone Key
The Terror
Gil's All-Fright Diner
Mistress of the Art of Death
The Ghost Writer
World War Z
Anna's Book
Wicked Lovely
Spook

I noticed that there's no official short story portion of the challenge this year, which was one of my favorite (yet largely unsuccessful) parts of the challenge last year, so I'm going to create my own "short story sunday." I have several books in the house that fit this category this year: a couple of Neil Gaiman short story collections, John Connelly's Nocturnes, a Stephen King collection, and a dark faery story collection (Black Pearls).

I'm almost finished with The Stupidest Angel, which technically fits the challenge, but I'm going to be a purist and only count books I started after the challenge was announced. So I will dive into my first challenge book tomorrow, which will be Tithe.

Booking Through Thursday - Libraries

Inspired by Booksplease

Whether you usually read off of your own book pile or from the library shelves NOW, chances are you started off with trips to the library. (There’s no way my parents could otherwise have kept up with my book habit when I was 10.) So … What is your earliest memory of a library? Who took you? Do you have you any funny/odd memories of the library?

Well, since I'm a librarian, I couldn't pass up this question (even if it's a few days late).

My earliest library memory is browsing in the children's section when I was probably in kindergarten, maybe a little younger. I can remember my mom showing me Madeline and Make Way for Ducklings. (Funny, until now, I wasn't sure if that was the same memory or maybe even a false memory, but seeing that they both start with MA, I think I'm probably remembering correctly.) I know for certain I was a regular at the library before then, since I have pictures to prove it. I also can clearly remember the chairs that were in the children section: they had a white wire frame with green fabric cushions. I can even remember how they felt.

Funny memories of the library? Hmmm...the only thing I can remember is when I was in maybe 4th or 5th grade, certainly after my mom and I had "the talk" (I got "the talk" when I was in 3rd grade after a 14-year-old classmate of my brother's got pregnant), I checked out some type of "how babies are made" book. The librarian in my small-time library asked, incredulously, "Does your mother know you're checking this out???" (such a bad library practice!) to which I calmly replied with something along the lines of "Oh, she doesn't care."