June 19, 2010
ALA Annual will be starting later this week in Washington D.C. It is always exciting to get together with other librarians and publishing folk. One can almost overdose on good conversations about great books. I've only got half a book left to read now for discussion at my committee meetings. Unfortunately my committee is meeting at the same time as one of my favorite programs at annual, Science Fiction and Fantasy: Informing the Present by Imagining the Future, a panel discussion by big name SF authors. Cherie Priest author of Boneshaker, a not to be missed steam punk novel with a fierce mother protagonist will be there. So will Brandon Sanderson the talented author who stepped up to the plate after the death of Robert Jordan to finish out the Wheel of Time series but who writes incredibly good fantasy in his own worlds including the forthcoming The Way of Kings. Cory Doctorow who wrote Little Brother, an important must read book about privacy and freedom that has inspired many to pick up and read Orwell's 1984 is also on the panel along with Dom Testa whose Galahad series about space faring teens entices young readers to think about the future. Last but not least is Jane Lindskold who is the author of the Thirteen Orphans series, an inventive fantasy combining parallel worlds, Chinese astrology, and amazing characters that I reviewed for Booklist. The program will be Saturday, June 26 at 4 p.m. in Ballroom B of the convention center.
School may be out now but my life at the day job continues to be crazy busy but professionally stimulating and challenging. Lately I've been mentorning a new librarian, running book clubs for teens and adult-young-adults, redisigning a couple libraries, recruiting and interviewing librarians, and working on a detailed rubric to evaluate teacher librarians. We may still have one Teacher-Librarian position to fill so if you are interested check out the District employment page.
April 18, 2010
It has been a more than busy month. Enjoyed Skyping with Australian Reader's Advisors and want more than ever to visit there. I was so inspired by looking at some of the things they are doing including the reading challenges they set for themselves. What a great idea! I'm going to add it to my RA tool kit.
PLA was a blast. Got to present with some exceptional folks. As a fan girl I was thrilled to share a dais with Kim Harrison and Brandon Sanderson as well as RA luminaries Kaite Stover and Jessica Moyer. I don't know how many times I've presented with Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Paranormal lit divas Bonnie Kunzel and Susan Fichtelberg but I always learn something new and discover great reads I've missed. The best part was seeing so many library and publishing pals and the stimulating conversations about books, library resources, and reader's advisory.
School library month has kept me obsessed and not reading as much as usual. We had a booth at the local Earth Day Celebration yesterday and lots of people stopped by to share their opinions on school libraries. You can hear some of them on Voicethread. I also got to go out to Rimrock Elementary school and booktalk to 5th graders. Next week they will be hosting a visit by Will Hobbs, one of my favorite authors.
The Bistro Book Club teens along with the other 14 Teens Top Ten nominating groups narrowed the nominations down for the final ballot. All teens are invited to vote in August and September.
March 21, 2010
I am very psyched up going into this week. It will be exciting and stimulating as I'll be talking with reader's advisors in Australia at Murder in the Metcalfe : a readers advisory seminar for crime and mystery 23 March 2010. It will actually be Monday afternoon via Skype for me which works well as I'm not good at being in two places at one time and Tuesday morning I'm flying of to Portland for PLA. The PLA schedule is full of great programs for reader's advisors. My programs are all on Thursday when I'll start with a virtual version of Crossover Advisory: Adult Books for Teens and Teen Books for Adults featuring Kim Harrison, Brandon Sanderson, Jessica Moyer, Kaite Mediatore Stover which will be presented in the flesh at 2pm. At 10:30 I'll be presenting with Bonnie Kunzel and Susan Fichtelberg at What’s New in Fantasy, Paranormal, and Science Fiction for Teens and Adults. I'm so excited that I will have the time to attend programs and have a gabfest with my library, publishing, and author pals.
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Reviewing when in a bad mood is to be avoided. I read a book this morning that I had been saving up for when I really, really, needed something fun that would take me away. Alien Feast by Michael Simmons looked like that book but it wasn't so I wrote an uncomplimentary review on GoodReads. I rated it as OK and I did read the book all the way through which means I liked it well enough. In fact I think it was the ending, merely setting up for a sequel, that ticked me off.
OK. I was totally unfair to this book. For one thing it is not A Wrinkle in Time which was my favorite book the summer following 3rd grade. It isn't even one of Eleanor Cameron's fabulous Mushroom Planet books (the only other books with a rocket & atomic symbol on the spine, I could find in the children's section of Naha AFB Library in 1963). So, who knows what I would have thought? I am now a grouchy old, out of sorts granny, with a totally new knee accompanied by unrelenting pain. What I really needed was a new humorous David Lubar book but of course he never writes a book exactly when I need it. I am feeling much better now that I unearthed Antsy Does Time one of Neal Shusterman's funny books that I had hidden away for emergencies.
By the way, 3rd grade really sucked. I changed schools 3 times and it was libraries and books that got me through so I could live long enough to be a grouchy viejita.
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March 2, 2010
CLiC Spring Workshop in Grand Junction. This morning enjoyed Jamie LaRue's presentation but I always love it when folks appreciate the value of story.
Being around folks who feel the vital importance of libraries always energizes and excites me.
Handouts from my program. Just so you know the handouts are pretty much meaningless unless you attended the program so unless you were at Two Rivers on Tuesday, March 2, 2010, they won't be very helpful for you.
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Libraries are essential! Today has been one of the crazier days in my life so of course it is the day that news comes out that the President of the United States of America is not supporting libraries with his budget which is absolutely horrifying. I’ve been very good at keeping this website focused on books for the last fifteen years but by golly, it is time to speak out. If we want a future filled with readers, who care about the world around them, who know how to learn on their own, who can synthesize information and create new knowledge, we need to provide them with the laboratory for that learning. That laboratory is not only a place, not only a service, it is a library. Hopefully a library that reaches throughout the community it serves not confined to place but rather a state of mind.
School libraries are of special importance. With so much of what is needed for success in this world, not only personal success but success for the larger world, hinging on information literacy we need to fund school libraries. School libraries need librarians, people who can teach our kids how to find, use, learn, and create knowledge. If you care about the future of libraries, please contact your representatives and push for national legislation to put certified librarians in every school and funding to provide the necessary resources to keep our libraries alive and well. Buffy Hamilton, an extraordinary school librarian wrote an eloquent letter to President Obama today in her blog about the issue. Please read it.
Votes on this format or the glog style are finally in and this format won.
I've been reading a lot, mostly for Quick Picks, and haven't found a lot of books that I've loved. Unfortunately some that I did love, I postponed writing up and as a result have spaced out details.
January 2010
Just discovered a major drawback to using the GoodReads widget for Books of the Week. Sometimes I read a book a few months ahead of its release date and I like to save my review for closer to when readers can actually get their hands on the book. I put those books on my Books of the Week Soon list so I can update them to Books of the Week at the appropriate time. Unfortunately the widget only shows the most recent books I've added to my account so books added months ago with a recent status change get short changed.
This Week's Books May 24, 2008
I had a great time in Massachusetts. The libraries and regional library systems seem to be staffed by extraordinary, caring individuals. As I was preaching to those who attended my workshops I realized that even though I advocate the importance of a reading plan in being an expert reader's advisor my books of the week selections don't always show that I am following one. After Sarah Statz Cords penned the marvelous RA tool The Real Story, I decided I had to add non-fiction to my reading plan so this week you will see a memoir featured as well as a SF/Romance with a kick-ass heroine and a teen SF novel.
A couple of years ago my teen readers were begging for more new science fiction and it just wasn't being published. Yes, there were a few titles a year and the ones I read were of very high caliber but there just weren't many of them. It seems that the trend I saw of readers wanting SF may have finally translated into what is being published. It looks like a terrific year for teen SF, perhaps the best in the last few decades. I'm glad to see one of the other speculative fiction genres ramping up now that it looks like the fantasy bubble is going to burst.
Happy reading,
D
It's been a week filled with great books again. I did read some adult books including Finding Stefanie by Susan May Warren, a nice wholesome romance that didn't get preachy, Manhunter by Jennifer Crusie, a humorous romance, and Spider Mountain by P. T.Deutermann, a page turning thriller.
The True Meaning of Smekday is another great book for all ages. Looks like science fiction is really making a comeback.
I was so excited to see that Jean Ferris penned a sequel to Once Upon a Marigold, a book that hits me just right. Readers who enjoy it and the sequel reviewed this week will also enjoy the classic novel The Princess Bride by William Goldman or one of John Moore's hilarious fairy tale type fantasy novels. It must be the sequel season as I just received a copy of the sequels to Skulduggery Pleasant and Eighth Grade Bites. I can't wait to dig in.
Now that the weather is finally beginning to get a little bet warm my poor brain is suffering from spring fever. I've been having a hard time remembering what I read last week, or even yesterday so I was going through my book database trying to remember what I had been reading. To my surprise I found several books that I thought had been featured and had slipped through the cracks so some of this week's books were read months ago.
So many of the books I've read recently and loved were ones I reviewed for Booklist so they aren't reviewed here. Check Booklist out for Dragon and Liberator by Timothy Zahn and The Immortal Prince: Book One of The Tide Lords by Jennifer Fallon.
My favorite RA tool is Reader's Advisor Online and I absolutely love the free blog with Cindy Orr's excellent RA Run Down every week. She puts together a bestseller mashup and a few other lists each week that I really enjoy perusing.
Spring is finally in the air. Today, though, there is lots of air blowing at high velocity melting the snow. Lots of great new books keep showing up.
This Week's Books
I love science fiction. I remember as a kid walking through the stacks in the library looking for spine labels that showed a rocket ship with the atomic symbol superimposed on it. I know a lot of people don't think they like science fiction but it is a diverse genre. This week I'm featuring a novel that feels like a teen problem novel dealing with family and health issues but is actually a near future sf novel. The adult pick this week is great for anyone who like hard-boiled detective noir. The detective just happens to be a robot.
Happy reading,
D
Had a terrific time in Virginia Beach. I was quite impressed with all I met at the All Staff Training Day. It was an extremely well planned and organized event. The library put me up at a resort hotel on the beach which made for a lovely stay. Carolyn C. who served with me on the YALSA Fantasy Genre committee several years ago gave me a tour of Virginia Beach including a gorgeous state park.
This week's books are both debuts. Both are historical fantasy, rich in authentic details of the era.
Jo Graham's Black Ships is an extraordinary novel, lush, rich, and descriptive. It is the kind of historical fantasy that makes the reader want to know more about the era and lands depicted.
Marissa Doyle's Bewitching Season is a delectable combination of magic and the Victorian era.
I read several other great new books that I enjoyed. Robert Fate's new Baby Shark's High Plains Redemption, the third Kristin Van Dijk novel is full of 50's noir. Unquiet Dreams, Mark del Franco's second urban fantasy detective novel featuring Connor Grey made my flight back from Virginia Beach pass quickly. Matt de la Pena's Mexican WhiteBoy really resonated. Teens have enough trouble discovering their own identities but when one is of mixed ethnicity he or she can feel like an outsider everywhere. Currently I'm in the middle of Small Favors, the tenth in Jim Butcher's excellent Harry Dresden files.
March 8, 2008 Update
Just discovered that the updates to Recent Reads had not been saving. Sheesh! Anyway they are back now and linked to the reviews.
Updated the Genre Links. Roll over links on the left to click on Genre Links. If you know of some great sites for genre fiction information please feel free to send them to me at dherald @ sff . net
I'll be in Virginia Beach next week for the Virginia Beach Public Library All Staff Training Day. Looks to be great fun. When I lived on the east coast Virginia Beach was a favorite destination.
Just finished reading Stephanie Meyer's forthcoming adult novel The Host. I'm now reading Jacqueline Winspear's An Incomplete Revenge in which Maisie Dobbs has taken up the fiber arts which is a topic near and dear to my heart. Also read Will Hobbs' middle school novel Go Big or Go Home. As always a very enjoyable experience.
I've been totally swamped lately. Then to top it off I got the chance to take a week off in Mexico with my dh, sis, and b-i-l so off I went. I did get to read some terrific books while I was there. Since I was reading them to review for Booklist you will have to look there or at your library's subscription to the hard copy to read about them. I had to almost wrestle my reluctant reader husband to the ground to get Lonely Werewolf Girl away from him so I could read it.
I've been reading lots of great books lately. I'll be posting them on Good Reads so you may want to pop over there to see what I've been reading and how I rate it. Other recent reads include Just a Taste, a delicious romance set in Brooklyn written by Deirdre Martin, Suckerpunch, a hard hitting teen issues novel by David Hernandez, Black Ships by Jo Graham, a wonderful take on the Aeneid from the oracle's pov and The Fires of Ares by Michael Ford, a middle grade-middle school novel of ancient Greece.
I love fantasy, especially well constructed believable fantasy with characters I care about. Last year I loved The New Policeman by Kate Thompson but I think, perhaps, that I like her new book, The Last of the High Kings, due out in June, even better.
This has been such an unrelentingly snowy winter, I've need to escape. My second favorite way (since I can't spend the entire winter on a Mexican beach) is escaping into pageturning fiction. The Accident Man, while not warm or sunny, did provide a welcome respite from the snow and cold with its fast paced action and intriguing premise.
I've been reading lots of great books lately. I'll be posting them on Good Reads so you may want to pop over there to see what I've been reading and how I rate it. Other recent reads include Just a Taste, a delicious romance set in Brooklyn written by Deirdre Martin, Suckerpunch, a hard hitting teen issues novel by David Hernandez, Black Ships by Jo Graham, a wonderful take on the Aeneid from the oracle's pov and The Fires of Ares by Michael Ford, a middle grade-middle school novel of ancient Greece.
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I've loved Regency romance ever since my teens when I cleaned house for a woman who worked for Denver Public Library. The best part was that she had a complete collection of Georgette Heyer novels in her basement and I could read them on my breaks and lunch hour. The new Regency era romances are quite a bit spicier than their predecessors but for those who can't get enough of that era it is great to find them.
Sara Zarr's debut novel Story of a Girl really rocked. Her second novel proves that it wasn't a fluke. She is definitely a rising YA lit star.
I'm back from Philly and the American Library Association midwinter meeting. It was great to see all my library and publishing pals as well as seeing some of the new and forthcoming books. Cindy Orr put up some of the awards and links to other on the Readers Advisor Online Blog. There is also a new Readers Advisor News.
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So many books so little time. As I was trying to come up with a list of my favorite books of the year I realized that most of them were books written for teens. As I pondered on this I figured that we are just in a time period when some of the best storytelling is being bought up by the houses that publish for young people. So many authors for adults have jumped on the bandwagon there must be something of a boom going on.
As a result this week I couldn't get my list of books I loved down to two or three so you will see several. I loved all of them but I would have to say Unwind is probably going to end up on my short list of the year's favorites. Defect was also superb. I didn't receive my copy until the deadline for nominations for Quick Picks and Best Books or I would have nominated it.
Several titles were nominated this year for both Best Books and Quick Picks. Take a look at the Reader's Advisor Online Blog for a list and if your library subscribes you can see the annotations and readalikes. If your library doesn't subscribe it can sign up for a free trial. Win - win all the way.
Remember there is a search box at the bottom of this page. If you click on Genrefluent it will search this site. Check for reviews and teen comments on your favorite books or for suggestions of good reads.
Happy reading.
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1st week of December, 2007
Guess what? Today Wildblue's installer/repair person called to set up the repair on my satellite internet. It took them FIVE WEEKS to call to give me an estimate of when they could come out to get my internet up and running again. Gee! I am really glad I switched providers.
Anyway, I've continued to read up a storm despite all the wonderful, enjoyable chaos brought along with Thanksgiving. This week I'm featuring two outstanding books published for teens but that adults will also enjoy. There really seems to be a dearth of great science fiction this year so thank goodness for the publishers of teen fiction for helping to fill that gap. Scott Westerfeld was great when he was writing sf for adults and adults enjoy the sf he writes for teens. Don't miss his work.
Adrienne Maria Vrettos is a new author to me. I missed her debut novel Skin but will definitely have to look for it since Sight was so fabulous. It is another book published for teens that will also appeal to adults.
Happy reading.