A Couple from the List

So I've had a chance now to read a couple of the books from the Pop Candy Teen Survival Guide that I hadn't read before.

The first was King Dork by Frank Portman. This was a good, solid read, and I got a good number of chuckles out of it. Having spent a fair number of hours of my life trying to come up with band names, I was really amused by this pastime of main character Tom Henderson. As the guy who loves to recommend "Catcher in the Rye" to students, I was both amused and chagrined by his complaints about, well, people like me! The story meanders into lots of different areas, but always stays engaging. The author is actually a professional musician, and songs related to the book can be heard via amazon (click the book cover to go there).

The next was I Love You, Beth Cooper, by Larry Doyle, and I LOVED it. The book is a laugh-out-loud, fast-paced, teen-social-disaster that reminded me equally of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and the John Hughes films of the 80's (16 Candles, Breakfast Club, etc.). I can't recommend it highly enough, especially to those who have embraced their inner geek and can laugh at themselves. Great stuff!

I'm currently about 2/3 of the way through 2 others: Otherworldlies by Jennifer Anne Kogler (fiction), and The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes - and Why, by Amanda Ripley (non-fiction). The Kogler is fun, about a girl with a mysterious past and some strange new abilities. It reminded me in many ways of the Alchemyst and the Magician by Michael Scott (not the Dunder-Mifflin one). They all follow lead characters who are thrust unexpectedly into bigger events involving long-held conflicts between supernatural forces. If you like a little magic in your teen angst stories, any of these 3 are good choices. The Unthinkable is fascinating in it's focus on extraordinary events and how different people respond to them, how quick reactions and minor personality traits can mean the difference between life an death in extreme situations. I guarantee you'll listen carefully to the flight attendant's pre-flight spiel after reading this book...

Later.
B

Oy! September Already!!

OK, so here we are, back at it. Things have been a bit crazy (so what's new, right?), but I'm ready to make another crack at keeping this thing alive (thanks Mrs. Willard for inspiring this morning's post). Here are a couple of cool things I've come across lately that may be of interest:

Pop Candy is a great pop culture blog that wastes a few minutes of my day each day. Whitney Matheson's job is to explore all the cool stuff that's out there & package it up neatly for the rest of us.

A few months ago she put together this Comics Crash Course that's definitely worth a look, whether you're a comic nut or just a little interested. I've used it to inform some of my comics purchases in recent months, so many of the titles are now on our shelves.

She also recently put together a High School Survival Guide for a worried Freshman reader of the blog. With contributions from readers, she's compiled lists of the "essential" books, movies, albums and TV shows for current high school students. I've actually adapted the book list for a booktalk I'll be doing later today.

That's it for now. Later.

B

CIL 08 (Computers in Library Conference)

Hey - checking in from the coolest conference I've ever been to - Computers in Libraries 08 near DC. This is GREAT!! I've learned more about things I had already tried (wikis, blogs), better understand some things I hadn't used yet (RSS) and discovered whole new vistas I'd never heard of before (Drupal - WOW). Chris Harris from GV Boces is here presenting fish4info (based on Drupal) - just saw his presentation & was very impressed.

I'm here with Glen Huot from Penfield HS & we're both having a great time. My brain's about to pop, but I'm really stoked to get back & start using some of the things I'm learning. More to come!

BR

Chaos Code

The Chaos Code by Justin Richards starts off with a lot of promise. There's the teen being bounced between his self-absorbed techie Mom and eccentric archeologist Dad. It's fast-paced, with multiple changes of cool locations, kidnappings, ancient artifacts, hi-tech code breaking and more. But ultimately, it never really comes into focus. Some of the story elements I found most intriguing wind up as red herrings, and some of the technical elements just feel bogus. For some, the pacing and adventure might be enough, but for me, I want my adventures to have at least a hint of plausibility.

BR

Minx Comics

Hey -

just finished Confessions of a Blabbermouth by Mike & Louise Carey (father-daughter team, which plays into the story a bit). It's one of several new graphic novels we have published by Minx. Other Minx titles I've read include Clubbing and The Plain Janes, and we have Good As Lily - haven't gotten to that one yet. Kimmie66 is on my next book order.

These are pretty cool. Some are British, some are US, all feature sassy teen girls making their way in the world. The art is Manga-inspired and super energetic, and the characters are fun. Fans of Georgia Nicholson will eat these up. I hope Minx will continue to produce new titles. Check them out!

Vacation Reading

Over the February break, I had a chance to do a good bit of reading & thought I'd mention a few of the titles here. My favorite was the "Demonata" series by Darren Shan, starting with Lord Loss.

There are presently 5 books in the series, with the next due in April and several more expected to follow, one every six months. These books are a BLAST. They're gruesome, fast-paced and clever, and feature intertwined stories in a variety of times and places, all dealing with demons (the Demonata) and the people who protect us all from them. If you're looking for great literature, this ain't it, but for beach & plane reading, it was perfect!

So perfect, in fact, I finished them all by mid-week of my vacation. The next thing I tackled was Red Spikes, by Margo Lanagan. It's a collection of short stories, and all I can say is, I hated it. Sorry, I rarely feel so strongly negative about a book, but these stories just annoyed me. The book is well-reviewed, so maybe I just don't get it, but I found them too bizarre (and come on, I LOVE bizarre!!) and the style of writing made me crazy. I petered out after 3 of the ten stories and had to move on to...

Visibility by Boris Starling (the best thing I could find in the limited selection at Publix on Longboat Key). This is a classic-style spy/murder mystery set during the horrendous London fog of 1952 (more people died of respiratory ailments during the fog than died in the whole German Blitz! Who knew?). It's a slow burner, but full of fascinating historical facts and speculation. There are murders, double agents (British, American, Soviet), connections to Nazi medical experiments and more. All the makings of a good spy thriller. It wasn't the best one I've read, but it kept me entertained and I learned a few things.

Right now, I'm about halfway through the latest Neil Gaiman (with Michael Reaves), Interworld. So far, so good. It's more firmly in the YA range than some Gaiman, but the writing is typical for him. Joey goes for a walk and next thing he knows, he's bouncing between dimensions and a bunch of nasties are after him. Turns out he's a "walker". The good news is he can move between parallel universes, and there are others out there who want to help him. The bad news is, the nasties want to kill him, boil him down to his essence and use it to fuel their own movement between dimensions. Finished it - not the best from Gaiman, but pretty good. I'd recommend it to fans of Ender's Game.

I've also been plowing through some graphic novels. Just read the first volume of Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughn, and I LOVE it. Gotta get the rest. Yorick suddenly finds himself the last man standing when a mysterious plague wipes out every male on the planet, except him and his monkey (yep, he's got a monkey). Various factions of women are trying to put the world back together (Amazons, Uber-feminists, former Senator's wives, Yorick's mom - a Senator herself) and they all have plans for poor Yorick. Great stuff. I discovered it through Whitney Matheson's Comics Crash Course feature on the USA Today Pop Candy blog (a guilty pleasure of mine).

Last night I started the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus 3 and so far, it's just not great. Omnibus 1 & 2 were pretty good, jumped around a bit in time (season to season), but had some great stories and art. Omni 3 is all fit into Season 3, and features fewer different artists, but I'm just not loving it. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood. TTFN - Finished it, and it actually DOES get better - I quite enjoyed the last few "episodes" in it. Started Pursuit of Happyness on the recommendation of a student - pretty compelling so far. BR

I'm BACK! (again)

Sorry, life gets crazy, and the first thing to go is the blog postings. I HAVE been reading though, and we've got tons of new stuff in the library. Right now, I'm halfway through a couple of things:

Blasphemy by Douglas Preston: for fans of Preston's adventure stories (with or without Lincoln Child), this should fit right in. A government funded (40B$) particle accelerator project is stirring up the ire of local Navajos, a crooked televangelist, and possibly something a little more "Book of Revelations"-ish. Not his best, but so far it's entertaining. Good beach reading (though I plan to be done before I get to a beach in a few weeks...).

The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi is something I've been trying to get my hands on for months. Originally published in 2 parts, this new edition includes both.

It's a graphic novel that has appeared on every top 10 list I've seen for a year, and the hype is right on mark. I'm going to recommend this to anyone who turns their noses up at the thought of reading "comic books". It's the memoir, told in graphic form, of Satrapi's childhood and teen years growing up in (and out) of Iran in the 70's and 80's. It reminds me that not everyone over there is a crazy terrorist, and that in fact, a lot of good people have been caught up in the maelstrom of the past 30 years in the Middle East. Those that survived the Islamic revolution in Iran have amazing tales to tell. This one comes from such a smart, realistic point of view, it's really amazing. It has just been released as an animated feature that has swept Cannes and other film festivals. I can't wait to see it!

Later!