II. The Church of Vinyl (Telegraph Avenue Read Along)

I really came down right the wire on this one. It's 10:36 Monday evening - exactly 6 minutes past my normal bedtime and I only just finished. Don't get me wrong - the book is still very good, but also - it's kind of like exercising. I just don't want to do it, but I guess in the end it's rewarding?

II. The Church of Vinyl

"Councilman, you made me realize, thank you, but me and Mr. Jones and Nat Jaffe and our kind of people, we already got a church of our own. You, too, seemed like at one time, up to not too long ago, a member in good standing. And that church is the church of vinyl." 

"...our kind of people..."  - the most interesting line in the quote above. Knowing that Nat is white (finally, officially verified on page 189. Almost 200 freaking pages of confusion on the color of one character's skin) and Archy is black. Our kind of people - the kind that can't live without, can't express who they are without music. Color blind.

I found this section more tedious than the first. My expectation of diving into the conflict and actually getting to know and love the characters fell a little flat. It seemed to be just a continuation of Dream of Cream.

What irritates me the most is Chabon's circular approach to each piece of the story. He drops you in the middle of a situation, teasingly alludes to the point, taunts you with your lack of understanding for a while, before circling back to the beginning and affording the reader some clarity. This approach is not necessarily bad. It's more the abundance of it - the unceasing rhythm. It's like... when a writer doesn't vary their sentence structure and the prose becomes sing-songy and strange, too much of the same.

(By the way, you can join the rest of the read along discussion here, and if you're interested in pre-ordering this not yet released book, go here!)

Some Random Observations (Contains Spoilers!)

- When Nat admits to Archy that he always tacks on an extra thirty-seven minutes for all black people - I laughed so hard. I had a good friend in college, black, who - whenever we discussed what time we had to be at a party or a class, he would ask me, "Is that in CP time?"

- Why is Archy cheating such a non-issue? I know that, by the end of this section, he sort of gets his. But the actual act of him cheating is never addressed. And that bothers me. A lot.

- The insertion of Obama into the narrative was jarring and strange. It took me right out of the story. I was trying to figure out why. I mean, that's a pretty huge choice, to include a "historical" figure that is still in the process of making history. The only thing that I can think of is that - going with the obsolete American Dream theme of the first part - Obama represents the opposite of that? He says to Gwen, "I have seen a lot of people, met a lot of people. The lucky ones are the people like your husband there. The ones who find work that means something to them. That they can really put their heart into, however foolish it might look to other people." I know the point of his campaign was hope, but I kind of forgot how heavily he leaned on the rediscovery of every-man's dream.

- I very deeply related to Aviva in this line, "Only Aviva's long habit of taking the temperature of her own racism, of her biases and stereotypes..." I grew up in a town that was predominately white.  And so, when I went to college and actually made friends of color, I was so conscious of my own racism. That is to say - I am not racist. So instead of acting negatively prejudiced, I had a tendency to show a prejudice in the opposite direction. Acting nicer. Giving more. Forever checking myself to make sure - this isn't racist, right? It wasn't until a friend pointed out that what I was doing was ridiculous that I learned to stop.

- I very much enjoyed the allusion to the 2001 monolith. This Dogpile Thang is something that must come to pass.

- Gibson Goode tells Archy, "I'm not in it for the money." Is that better or worse? To destroy something just because you can?

Saving Bookstores One Store at a Time

As promised, during our drive down to Ward Pound Ridge Reservation on Saturday morning, Matt and I made a celebration of Saving Bookstores by stopping at two along our route. (It also forced us to take back roads down to the campsite, which not only meant no tolls, but also allowed us a gorgeous and quiet drive.) I have to admit that I was a little disappointed that #SaveBookstores wasn't a larger trend, but it seems the Facebook page was bursting with activity.

Blackwood & Brouwer - Kinderbrook, NY

Purchased:

                Divergent by Veronica Roth

This independent bookstore was small - yet quaint. In my mind, I had already chosen the books I'd hoped to purchase on this journey. However, the selection here was rather limited. Instead of being drawn to new titles on the shelf, I found that most of what they had on their shelves in terms of Fiction were titles I already owned (mind you, I own a lot of books, so this was probably my own damned fault.) My purchase of Divergent wasn't anything I got particularly excited about - it's a book I've been told to read by several people and hey - maybe I'll love it - I'm just not breaking out the band yet.

But, I'm not knocking this shop.  Instead, it's selection seemed to support local - local travel guides, history, lore, authors and artists. Which adds it's own charm - small town, small store, big heart. Matt and I were tempted into various corners to look through some of the pictorial histories of the area. The owner (it seemed to be a family operation, but I'm not entirely sure) was incredibly friendly. When I told her I was visiting because of this event and that I'd found her using Indiebound - she was ecstatic. The customers meandering around the store that morning seemed to know and love her well, taking time to chat with her by the counter as their kids picked out new books. All in all - if I lived in Kinderhook - I could see myself stopping by pretty frequently. 

The Book Cove - Pawling, NY

Purchased: 

                A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

                Under the Banner of Heaven - Jon Krakauer 

What a gorgeous store in such a gorgeous town! I'm pretty sure I repeatedly murmured, "Wow," as we drove in. The store itself was pretty large and very well organized. After my customary browsing - drooling over the gorgeous shelves -  I ended up in the section that I'd been hoping to find, housing the two books I'd set my heart on. 

I'm not sure whether or not the woman I spoke with was the owner. I really - I'm so single minded sometimes that I forget to ask important questions. Like - nice to meet you, what's your name? Gosh - anyway SHE (all of the people in the blog post are pronouns. Not confusing at all.) was really excited to hear about Save the Bookstores and offered to take our picture outside of the store. It's too bad we couldn't fit the store's fun lime green bag in the photo. I did take  a picture of the books on my lap with the bag as a backdrop and then forgot to post that photo to Twitter: 

Thank you to Kelly Sonnack for starting this thing. It was a great event set to support something that is very near and dear to all of our hearts - books and the bookstores that sell them! 

Save the Bookstores 2012

It's all about getting out there and supporting your favorite local bookstore. We're heading down to Westchester on the 16th for camping shenanigans - but that doesn't mean we can't stop at a store or two along the way! 

Here's just a few of my favorite independent bookstores: 

East Line Books - Clifton Park, NY

The Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza - Albany, NY

Market Block Books - Troy, NY

Flights of Fantasy - Albany, NY

Half Moon Books - Kingston, NY

If you're unsure where to find bookstores in your area, visit IndieBound. Using the site, I was able to find two bookstores that are on our route: 

Blackwood & Brouwer Booksellers - Kinderhook, NY

The Book Cove - Pawling, NY

Get out there and save the bookstores! 

Giving Away Wintergirls on World Book Night

Last night, I participated in World Book Night - an initiative to spread the love and joy of books and reading across the United States (as well as the U.K. and Ireland). My book of choice was Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson. I picked up my 25 copies from Flights of Fantasy, a local independent bookstore, and set off for Colonie Center Mall to hand out the books. My fear was that I'd chosen a poor location. I asked the girl behind the counter at Flights - where were others giving their books out?  She only knew that one person had decided to give their books out at the family center near the Crossings. A family center! That's so much better than a mall!

However, things were looking pretty amazing from the moment I got there. Not only was I able to approach single shoppers and strike a conversation with them, but I was also able to approach groups of friends who looked as though they might enjoy reading the book together.

Having worked marketing street teams before in New York City, I had a picture in my mind of what to expect. Most people will say no, others will grab and go, and a mere few will stop to ask questions. My expectations were dashed. Most people stopped to ask me about World Book Night and about the book I'd chosen to give away. A couple even told me that they'd pass it on after they finished. You'll see from my Twitter feed below - start to finish, I encountered hardly anyone who said no, and gave away my books in about an hour.

My only regret was not giving the book to any men. Not that I didn't try. I did. That is where most of my Nos came from. But it would have been nice to get at least one man interested in reading a book like this. 

For future World Book Nights, I'd like to create a bookmark to go along with the book. I wish I'd given people my blog url and my Twitter handle so that they could let me know if they'd read the book and whether or not they liked it. I did choose my favorite book from the list, so that I could be confident in my recommendation. I'd very sincerely love to know how others felt about the book. If I was able to make 25 impressions. 

I hope so. 

My Harry Potter Birthday Cake

My brother's boyfriend is a seriously, seriously talented cake decorator. It was a long while ago, but he created the cake for the Oscar Party Matt and I hosted before I moved. Well, last night's cake for my 28th birthday really ... took the cake.

Isn't that gorgeous??? There's a Golden Snitch on the other side too, not pictured here. For a glimpse at Lu's other amazing creations, you can visit his My Cakes Pinterest board. 

Battle of the Kids Books - A Spectator's Commentary, The Finale

Comments: Surprise! Remember when I called this? Okay for Now is back in the game. And now... the final stand.

Judge: Jonathan Stroud

Review Excerpt from Okay for Now: "Enraptured by the art, Doug begins to draw himself out of a bad place...[he] learns, through art, to engage with life: it's a slow, dedcated commitment to embracing the pain as well as the joys."  

Review Excerpt from Life: An Exploded Diagram: "It's all rationing, resentment, religious mania, sexual repression. Luckily our guide, Clem Ackroyd, has an eye for the telling detail that renders everything bright like crystal." 

Review Excerpt from Between Shades of Gray: "Ruta Sepetys has passed the message on to us, sketching the incomprehensible in plain, clear lines. She shows us love, hope and tenderness flourishing in hell, and in doing so has created an unputdownable book." 

Comments: Well... all I'm going to say is... this didn't turn out at all like I thought. And even though I want to read all three of these book, I still think that Between Shades of Gray is the clear masterpiece. Okay, so I haven't read and I don't really know. But I KNOW! 

Want to know the winner? Visit the SLJ Battle blog to read the full review and feedback from the Commentor, kid reviewers and other readers! 

Battle of the Kids Books - A Spectator's Commentary, Week 3

Judge: E. Lockhart
Review Excerpt from Chime: "And so for me, the incredibly romantic ending of Chime had great strength, because it wasn't a fantasy of a bad man tamed - it was the fantasy of loving a deeply good man, and how healing that can be."
Review Excerpt from Daughter of Smoke and Bone: "A terrific read that took me to several worlds I didn't want to leave. It is full of innovatively creepy monsters. The heroine, blue-haired and covered in tattoos, is satisfyingly violent and smart-mouthed."

Comments: I loved this review, from start to finish. E. Lockhart seems to share my views about this genre - "I like my men reasonably but not terrifyingly handsome, funny, and nurturing rather than powerful and remote. I am not interested in danger as an aphrodisiac. It quite turns me off." AND - she managed to completely change my opinion on Chime. It's gone from a book that I didn't care to read to one that I think I might be interested in. 

Want to know the winner? Visit the SLJ Battle blog to read the full review and feedback from the Commentor, kid reviewers and other readers! 

Purchase Now from Amazon: Chime

Purchase Now from Amazon: Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Judge: Jewell Parker Rhodes

Review Excerpt from Drawing from Memory: "A full-fledged imaginative assault. Part memoir, historical narrative, graphic novel, Say uses drawings, photographs, and prose to express his journey from young boy to master artist, and how he immigrated to America and learned to "write a story...in the language of the people who were bombing" Japan."

Review Excerpt from Inside Out & Back Again: "Stunningly, it's Lai's precise language and characterization, which creates emotional restraint and makes an unbearably sad story, readable. Tragedy becomes triumph and I want Ha to tell me her story all over again." 

Comments: This battle is precisely why I can't take a back seat anymore. I pledge, here and now, to get my hands on and read ALL of next year's contenders so that I can properly comment. All I did with this one was race to the end of the review to see who'd won (had my heart set on Inside Out & Back Again). Drawing from Memory could have been the one that deserved this win, but I won't know until I read it. And until then, I'll keep being sad that I didn't vote for Inside Out to come back Undead.
Want to know the winner? Visit the SLJ Battle blog to read the full review and feedback from the Commentor, kid reviewers and other readers! 

Purchase Now from Amazon: Drawing From Memory
Purchase Now from Amazon: Inside Out and Back Again

Judge: Chris Lynch

Review Excerpt from Life: An Exploded Diagram: "The history of modern Britain, as it pertained to the regular Joe and Joan of rural Norfolk, is delivered with precision, exquistely judged detail, and above all sly, delicious humor." 

Review Excerpt from Wonderstruck: "Reasonably enough, the pictures take more time to accumulate as narrative, but they steadily gain in power and wind up having at least as much impact as the words." 

Comments: Again, I raced to the end of the review to get a glimpse of who won. And again, it isn't fair for me to throw a tantrum about Life taking the lead just because all I had time for this year was Wonderstruck. Still, Selznick's work is so unique and so impactful - I do hope it gets a chance to come back from the dead.
Want to know the winner? Visit the SLJ Battle blog to read the full review and feedback from the Commentor, kid reviewers and other readers! 

Purchase Now from Amazon: Life: An Exploded Diagram
Purchase Now from Amazon: Wonderstruck

Round Three! 

Judge: Maggie Stiefvater

Review Excerpt from Between Shades of Gray: "...is about a collective power: how filling yourself up with personal identity can be armor against everything but death, which is only the most obvious of enemies." 

Review Excerpt from Chime: "... is a personal sort [of power]: showing just how much damage we can do to ourselves." 

Comments: Poor Chime. It never stood a chance in this one, did it? I wouldn't be surprised if Between Shades of Gray won this whole battle. CALLING IT RIGHT NOW! Between Shades of Gray for the WIN. (Also, I've never read Maggie Stiefvater, even though I have all of the books on my shelf. I need to get on that.)
Want to know the winner? Visit the SLJ Battle blog to read the full review and feedback from the Commentor, kid reviewers and other readers! 

Purchase Now from Amazon: Chime
Purchase Now from Amazon: Between Shades of Gray

Judge: Ron Koertge
Review Excerpt from Drawing from Memory: "...a real visual experience. But, man, as far as the story goes he is really reined in. How did he eat? Did he go shopping and cook for himself? was the only friend he had another cartoonist who worked for Noro Shinpei?"
Review Excerpt from Life: An Exploded Diagram: "'Clem's father works for Frankie's father, so when the two kids fall in love and meet secretly they're playing with fire. If they're discovered, Clem's father is out of a job and Clem will never see Frankie again.' I finish with this, "And that's all set against the Cuban Missile Crisis. So Clem and Frankie's world is liable to explode and so is the real world."

Comments: Man-o, was this review interesting or what? Ron Koertge writes his review as a conversation between himself and two friends at the Turf Club. How refreshing! I mean, it's no real fault of the judges that many of their reviews start exactly the same - they are given two tough to judge books to pick from based on their own opinions - but still, this was a nice change right at the end of things. I want to read this guys books

Want to know the winner? Visit the SLJ Battle blog to read the full review and feedback from the Commentor, kid reviewers and other readers! 

Purchase Now from Amazon: Life: An Exploded Diagram

Purchase Now from Amazon: Drawing From Memory


Additional Comments Before the End: Well, tomorrow a book comes back from the dead. While I'm hoping it'll be one of the ones I read - Wonderstruck or Inside Out & Back Again - I'm going to guess that it'll be Okay for Now. And I'm still sticking to my earlier call on the winner - Between Shades of Gray. Again - Undead tomorrow. Then the whole battle comes to a head on Monday, April 2nd.

Happy Hunger Games! er... I mean.... Let the Battle Rage On? 

Battle of the Kids Books - A Spectator's Commentary, Week 2

Judge: Barbara O'Connor

Review Excerpt from The Grand Plan to Fix Everything: "So there you have it. Fascinating and unique subject. Indefinable genre. Sometimes lyrical. Sometimes campy. A Bollywood movie theme woven through ribbons of unbelievable coincidences culminating in an all-star cast of a scene worthy of the best fillum."

Review Excerpt from Drawing from Memory: "I don't feel as if I read it at all. I feel as if I experienced it...And the experience felt personal, intimate, and casual, as if Say might whip out a napkin and draw a sketch while talking, or pull out a few paintings tucked lovingly in a box from long ago."

Comments: It was amazing - the change in the tone of the review from one book to another. I knew who was going to win before I even reached the bottom. Though O'Connor gives The Grand Plan to Fix Everything a favorable review, it really does seem as though she feels rather 'meh' about it. It's incredibly apparent (to me, anyway) once you hit her review for Drawing from Memory - a book you can immediately tell she loved completely. I'm definitely looking forward to reading Drawing from Memory. 

Want to know the winner? Visit the SLJ Battle blog to read the full review and feedback from the Commentor, kid reviewers and other readers! 

Purchase Now from Amazon: Drawing From Memory
Purchase Now from Amazon: The Grand Plan to Fix Everything

 


















Judge: Sarah Weeks
Review Excerpt from Heart and Soul: This book is a history not only of the Afican-American experience in our country, but of Mr. Nelson's family. Though [the] characters are not actually based on members of Mr. Nelson's family, we are told that the book was inspired by stories the author's relatives passed along to him. Aside from the masterful artwork, what sets this book apart from the traditional history books is the voice of the narrator whose folksy tone is woven throughout the text."
Review Excerpt from Inside Out & Back Again: "The choices the author makes as to which moments in this difficult journey to show, demonstrates what a truly gifted writer she is. Every word and every image is there for a reason."
Comments: When I saw that Inside Out & Back Again was going up against Kadir Nelson, I panicked. Mr. Nelson is an award-winning picture book author, and deservedly so! Still, I loved Inside Out and I desperately wanted it to win.
Want to know the winner? Visit the SLJ Battle blog to read the full review and feedback from the Commentor, kid reviewers and other readers!

Purchase Now from Amazon: Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans
Purchase Now from Amazon: Inside Out and Back Again

Judge: Lauren Myracle
Review Excerpt from A Monster Calls: "...Damn if Patrick Ness didn't surprise me in the end with how he pulled everything togheter. Huge weepy kudos for that, as the book's conclusion turned me inside-out, which - frankly- is exactly what I was hoping it would do."
Review Excerpt from Life: An Exploded Diagram: "I did not predict that Life would suck me in as hard and fast and with such slurpy ferocity as it did, especially not on the tail of Monster. and yet, it did. It blew me away in large part because of its characters (beautiful and quirky), its scope (epic), and its humor (both broad and sophisticated), but most of all because of the novel's tight, vibrant, crackling language."
Comments: Both of these sound fantastic! I'm sure this had to be a really hard pick for Lauren Myracle - it certainly sounds like it was. I've read more books than most people do in their lifetime, and so - I'm a sucker for the distinctly unique. The very well written. Both of these seem to be exactly that. So, I'm down.
Want to know the winner? Visit the SLJ Battle blog to read the full review and feedback from the Commentor, kid reviewers and other readers!

Purchase Now from Amazon: Life: An Exploded Diagram
Purchase Now from Amazon: A Monster Calls

Judge: Jeff Kinney
Review Excerpt from Okay For Now: "Fourteen-year-old Doug Swieteck's voice rings clear as a bell, and by the third page, I felt like I knew him. In some ways, Doug is your typical middle schooler. He can be sarcastic and he puts up a tough front for his peers and teachers, but it's easy to see through these defense mechanisms to the basic goodness right below the surface. It's Doug's vulnerability that makes him the most appealing."
Review Excerpt from Wonderstruck: "Wonderstruck is told in simple prose and charcoal drawings, but its emotional impact is visceral. It's not often that I'm moved by a book... that's what movies are for, after all... but Selznick has created a new medium and mastered it all at once. His book, in a word: "Wondrous.""

Comments: I just adore Jeff Kinney. Please, please go to the SLJ blog and read his full review. He writes so well... I wanted to quote the entire review. Anyway, I read and loved Wonderstruck so I was gunning for it to win. I even voted for it to come back in the Undead Round - I'm desperate for it to never go away. But Okay for Now sounds amazing as well. I'll have to add it to my ever-growing list.
Want to know the winner? Visit the SLJ Battle blog to read the full review and feedback from the Commentor, kid reviewers and other readers!

Purchase Now from Amazon: Okay for Now
Purchase Now from Amazon: Wonderstruck

Round Two! 



Judge: Marc Aaronson
Review Excerpt from Between Shades of Gray: "... a novel, based on considerable research, which adds an important and tragic true story to the shelves of literature for young readers. Its power comes from bringing to light what has too long been hidden: Stalin's use of the gulag to crush the artistic and intellectual flower of Lithuania."
Review Excerpt from Amelia Lost: "...makes use of an innovative narrative structure more conventionally employed in fiction to retell the familiar story of the adventurous life and mysterious disappearance of Amelia Earhart.
Comments: An interesting round because, as Marc notes - "We have fiction whose largest claim is nonfiction, and nonfiction whose power comes from its resemblance to fiction." Wow, it's getting harder to comment in Round Two! I've already noted that I want to read both of these books. They sound fantastic. And Marc Aaronson's review makes them seem all that much better. Even without reading, I harbored a secret desire for Between Shades of Gray. I'm going to have to buy/borrow that one and read it sooner rather than later. It sounds like the kind of book that can put all other books to shame.
Want to know the winner? Visit the SLJ Battle blog to read the full review and feedback from the Commentor, kid reviewers and other readers!

Purchase Now from Amazon: Between Shades of Gray
Purchase Now from Amazon: Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart

A Countdown to Hunger Games!

I finished re-reading Hunger Games over the weekend, after I'd given it to Matt to read and then promptly, greedily, snatched it away for myself. What a great, great book. I'm sure I'm only one of millions who are anxiously awaiting this movie.

Here's a snippet from my original review:

I can't even remember the last time I devoured a book with such voracity. I finished in less than a day, choosing to spend the entirety of one evening reading instead of cleaning/cooking dinner/watching any sort of TV like I normally do after work. It was all cereal, ice cream and HUNGER GAMES. I had to force myself to go to sleep and save the last bit for the next morning. And then, it took everything in me to keep from flipping the book back to page one and starting all over again. That's how good it was. 

In other Hunger Games news - have you seen China Glaze's ad for their Colours of the Capitol campaign? It features the one and only, Effie Trinket! I'm posting it extra large so you can see her fabulous butterfly eyelashes.

Lastly, I'll leave you with my favorite someecards. It basically sums up my reaction anytime the trailer is played on TV - minus the goosebumps and the tears. I've already planned my movie viewing attire: black hoodie with the hood up to hide my puffy face + pockets full of tissues. 

Battle of the Kids Books - A Spectator's Commentary

Judge: Matt Phelan

Review Excerpt for Amelia Lost: "As I read the perfectly balanced alternating chapters detailing Amelia Earhart's life up to the last flight and the tense hours after she vanishes, I felt the book pulling me along, leading me on her journey and then placing me in the search." 

Review Excerpt for Anya's Ghost: "[Vera Brosgol's] drawing delivers everything you need to know, every beat, every mood. She doesn't merely draw, she acts with her brush. If that weren't enough (and in graphic novels, it actually isn't), Brosgol can write. Her dialogue is sharp and funny and is always in service of moving the story forward." 

Comments: Both of these books seem incredibly read-able to me. I wasn't so sure about Amelia Lost prior to this review though. I understand the importance of interactive books in today's reading climate - but do I, as an already avid reader that doesn't need to be tricked into it, need that? However, it seems like avoiding this book because of that would be like cutting off my nose to spite my face, or whatever that old saying is. 

Want to know the winner? Visit SLJ Battle Blog to read the full review, and feedback from the commentator, kid reviewer and other readers! 

Purchase Now from Amazon: Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart
Purchase Now from Amazon: Anya's Ghost

Judge: Gayle Forman

Review Excerpt from Bootleg: "...so much of Blumenthal's lively and often-funny book is about how everyday folk skirted Prohibitions strictures and how hifalutin folk didn't have to (during the height of Prohibition, upstairs at the White House was lousy with whiskey). Rule-breaking and hypocrisy? A glossary that includes terms like blind pig? What's not to love?"

Review Excerpt from Between Shades of Gray: "...a harrowing, page-turner of a novel that shines a light on a piece of history too long shrouded in the darkness." 

Comments: I want to read both of these! I've got the adult non-fiction novel Last Call sitting in the TBR pile on my nightstand. Pairing it up with the YA Bootleg might be a great activity. And Between Shades of Gray is a no-brainer, isn't it? Go read the full review - it sounds utterly fantastic. 

Want to know the winner? Visit SLJ Battle Blog to read the full review, and feedback from the commentator, kid reviewer and other readers!  

Purchase Now from Amazon: Between Shades of Gray

Purchase Now from Amazon: Bootleg: Murder, Moonshine, and the Lawless Years of Prohibition

Judge: Sy Montgomery

Review Excerpt from The Cheshire Cheese Cat: "Which is what brings [Skilley] to Ye Old Cheshire Cheese, a popular London inn frequented by, among other characters, Charles Dickens (who we learn from excerpts from his diary, is having a dickens of a time writing the first lines of A Tale of Two Cities.) Skilled parodies of his writing, scenes taken right out of Dickensian London, and even names taken from characters of his novels make The Cheshire Cheese Cat even more fun to read."

Review Excerpt from Chime: "But when we meet Briony, she is suffering a fate worse than death. She's drowning in guilt and self-loathing. She thinks she caused the flood that nearly destroyed her minister father's house. She believes she set fire to her family's library. She's sure she killed her beloved step-mother. Her self-imposed sentence for all these sins? A lifetime of caring for her screaming, damaged sister while remembering, always, to hate herself."

Comments: I have to admit that I had no inclination to pick these two up before I read the review and still have no inclination afterwards, through no fault of the reviewers. Perhaps I'm doing what no one is supposed to do and judging the books by their covers. But, I'm not a Dickens fan (I know, right?) and I'm not a fan of talking animals. And, I'm getting really tired of paranormal teen romance. Nothing about it gushes - unique! I've already read the ones I like and I'm ready to get out of this genre-rut. Maybe I just need some more convincing. 

Want to know the winner? Visit SLJ Battle Blog to read the full review, and feedback from the commentator, kid reviewer and other readers!   

Purchase Now from Amazon: Chime

Purchase Now from Amazon: The Cheshire Cheese Cat: A Dickens of a Tale

Judge: Sara Zarr

Review Excerpt from Daughter of Smoke & Bone: "It's a book for lovers of lush language and exotic locales, a velvet sofa of a book, something you sink into. Karou is a compelling heroine and the stakes for her story are high."

Review Excerpt from Dead End in Norvelt: "The book has a lot of charm, true laugh-out-loud hilarity, and is full of enough historical detail and information to keep any teacher or librarian happy. And I'm sure boy readers especially appreciate the thorough descriptions of Jack's chronic nosebleeds and his dad's cool World War II stuff, not to mention how he manages to save a deer in one of the funniest scenes in the book."

Comments: Again, I'm kind of done with the paranormal teen romance, the star-crossed passionate, eyes met across a classroom love. And again, Daughter of Smoke & Bone, from this review, really doesn't scream UNIQUE at me. But Dead End in Norvelt sounds like a book I could really get behind. I'll have to add it to the list. 

Want to know the winner? Visit SLJ Battle Blog to read the full review, and feedback from the commentator, kid reviewer and other readers! 

Purchase Now from Amazon: Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Purchase Now from Amazon: Dead End in

Write Here: An Albany Writer's Conference

Last Saturday, I attended the Write Here! conference at The Arts Center. Attending these events always sparks crazy creativity. I was disappointed in myself for not bringing my laptop - all I wanted to do while I was there was write. There's just something about being around local talent that makes you want to just jump right in and start - start writing, start creating.

The sessions were great - advice from writers and teachers that was absolutely invaluable. In this post, I hope to share the knowledge I learned from the sessions I attended, as well as point you guys to several different resources and local writers.

Session 1 - Submittors & Rejectors
Panelists: Daniel Nestor, David Holub, Nancy White, Rob Arnold, Matthew Klane, Chloe Caldwell, Benjamin Harris

This session was primarily about the several different literary journals and small presses that you can submit to as an author.

Advice:

• Editors are looking for reasons to reject a piece. Let's face it, there's so much work out there. I know that, in my own work as a Reader, or even for what I do within educational publishing - if you've submitted something unpolished, or that didn't follow my directions - I won't bother to follow up with you. There are too many other writers who are willing to take the time to do it right. 
• On that note, make sure you look at the guidelines set forth by journals, small presses, publishing houses, and/or agents. 
• Same note - make sure you know the specialty of what you're submitting to. Even with agents - some agents focus on specific genres. One of the gentleman on the panel today runs a Literary Humor journal and he actually said that sometimes he'll receive pieces that definitely aren't humor. 

Links: 

Kuglemass - A journal of literary humor

The Word Works - a small press

flim forum press - another small press

Duotrope - allows you to track submissions and search for literary journals that are within your own genre. 

Submittable - another submissions manager.
Thoughtsmith - an online literary journal

Session 2 - The Writing Life

Panelists: Amy Halloran, Elaine Handley, Robyn Ringler, David Goldschmidt, Dan Wilcox

I found I got a lot more out of this session than the first. The panelists discussed their writing routines, sources of inspiration, revision process, and their thoughts on writing groups. 

Writing Routines: The processes varied for each panelist, which was actually pretty relieving. I thought I was going to be told - wake up early and write! But, one of the panelists actually admitted to the fact that he hasn't written a word in two months, because it just hasn't been there for him. One panelist had this to say though, and I thought it was good advice: 

"Show up at the page." 

That's it. Just show up there. Make a date and show up. 

Inspiration: 

• Look for it in anything out there in the world. Anything. Politics, nature, love. Anything. 
• Read a lot of books, all different kinds. It's a great way to expand your mind, but also a great way to get to know your market. 
• Life events. Be it memoir or fiction - the next action your character takes could form around something that happened in your life.

Revision:

• Read out loud. If you stumble over a line, your readers are going to as well. 
• Leave something and then come back to it later. Allows you to actually be the reader. 
• Write fast! Get it all out before you stop to revise.
• Use different colored highlighters to highlight the senses. This is something I've never thought of before, but was such a cool suggestion. Assign a color to each sense and highlight as you go. If you see a lot of one color, maybe it's time to go back and insert some touch or smell to the descriptions in your work to bring it to life a bit more. 

Writing Groups: 

• One of the panelists doesn't like writing groups. Instead, he likes to attend events because he's more interested in the people in this community. 
• When in a writing group - look for consensus. 
• Even when looking for consensus, remember that YOU are the author. 
• Choose the right people who can give you positive, but also honest, feedback. 
• Try to remain non-competitive with the group members. 

Links: 

The Synonym Finder / Family Word Finder: A New Thesaurus of Synonyms and Antonyms in Dictionary Form - both are apparently better sources than your normal thesaurus.
Hudson Valley Writer's Guild - along with a lot of great resources, you can easily search for or start your own writing group (if you're in the area)

From Where You Dream: The Process of Writing Fiction - this book was referenced pretty often by all of the panelists. It's about writing from dreams and/or finding that dreamlike state when writing.

Also, a great quote from this session:

"Beware of advice, even this." John Steinbeck

Session 4 - Social Networking for Writers*
Presenter: Carolee Sherwood

An awesome quote from this presentation:

"Many of us became writers because we were silenced in some way, and the written self on the page speaks more authentically than we do as individuals." Polly Clark

• Find someone doing something well that you'd like to emulate. 
• Use some commonly searched words for your blog genre either withing the title or the first few lines of your post to increase searchability. 
•  Don't violate blog manners and etiquette. 

Links: 

Klout - a way to measure your own influence on social media. 

The Writers Network - for connecting with writing assignments and other writers. 

Inked-In - like LinkedIn for writers. 

Editorial Freelancer's Association - for job listings. 

Winning Writers - resources for writers and poets

Bookfair
There were so many local writers represented here, but these are the books that really caught my eye. I either purchased these, or will purchase them in the future. 

Lump: 19 Monologues from a 27-Year-Old Breast Cancer Survivor, by Leena Luther - I started this while I was in between sessions, and it's wonderful. I should have a review up by the end of the week.
What Time Do the Crocodiles Come Out? A Travel Memoir of Mexico, by Kathe Kokolias
How to Be Inappropriate, by Daniel Nestor - the cover for this is hilarious and it just seems so good!
The Death of Pringle, by Justin Katko - about a pringle that comes to life, I think he does some singing, before he meets his untimely end in someone's stomach. 

*Yes - I skipped Session Three because it was all to do with poetry, and I don't really like that stuff. 

World Book Night - Giving away 1,000,000 books in ONE NIGHT!

I just registered to give away a mere 20 books on World Book Night - as part of the attempt to give away 1 MILLION books in one single night. You have to register before February 1st to be chosen as a book giver. World Book Night happens on April 23rd.

World Book Night List of Books

I applied to give away either Wintergirls, The Poisonwood Bible, or Hunger Games

Apply to Be a Giver

Harry Potter - The End

Thank goodness for Pottermore. Shit must be seriously saving lives. Because without the anticipation of what's in store for J.K.'s newest initiative, this Friday would have been the saddest day in all the days of Potter fanatics.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 premieres.

I wish I could go see it Thursday at midnight, but as I'll be in Pheonix and as I'll have a 7am flight home the next day, I don't think I'll be able to. We'll see. Who needs sleep anyway? NOT ME.

I've been preparing, though. Have you?

- Listened to Deathly Hallows audio book not once, but TWICE in the last six months. It's no easy feat, let me tell you. Especially when you're trying to drive and sobbing all at the same time.

- Hit up abcFamily's Harry Potter weekend marathon. It was a slow, boring weekend because the boy is on a cruise. So I literally watched every movie except Half Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows 1. I even watched Goblet of Fire TWICE (once on Saturday, then again for the full sweep on Sunday).

- I might bring Sorcerer's Stone with me on my flight to Pheonix. I've got my re-read of Song of Ice and Fire to get through prior to Dances with Dragons (um. That comes out TOMORROW), but it might be nice to revisit the first book in the HP series as a nostalgia factor prior viewing the final movie.

Purchase Now from Amazon:  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Skills USA

Last week, I attended a competition/conference known as Skills USA. If you know nothing about the organization, you should really go to their website and check them out. Skills USA events are annual and begin with state level championships in a multitude of vocational studies - from machining to cosmetology; masonry to crime scene investigation; welding to culinary. The state champions move on to compete in the national championship, which was held last week in Kansas City, MO.

It was, quite literally, one of the coolest things I've ever seen. The competition floor was upstairs in the conference hall and was pretty much just a three block long area of uninterrupted space - filled to the brim with vocational study after vocational study.

Photos of the event:

The convention hall is to the right. The competition took place on the top floor of that entire building.

A Diesel engine with the truck it came from in the background. Shit was huge.



Masonry competition. I stood and watched this kid for a good 20 minutes. I thought it was pretty amazing.




Culinary competition. I think this one gives you the best idea just how big each competition space was.

Welding.

Collision Repair. Next to the this was Finishing - they had like 6 or 7 cars lined up. I couldn't get close enough to take a good picture, whatever they were using to finish the cars smelled too potent to get too close.

Machining. My machinists. Okay - well they aren't mine, per say, but most of them will be using the book I published next fall. Because of my relationship with the people running this competition, I was actually allowed inside this one. I have about a million pictures of these kids programming and of the CNC machines on the floor.

Next up: Pheonix for the HTEC conference. I'm a little nervous about this one because I won't know as many people as I did at Skills USA and I won't have anyone else from Cengage with me either. Also - it will be about 120 degrees and, apparently, if I forget eye drops my contacts are screwed.