Graphic novels | Readers Be Advised

The 31 Days of December: Literary lunchbox

A fellow librarian colleague, Stacey Rattner, who I’ve mentioned in the past and I presented last month about how our reading lives as librarians affect our students’ reading lives. We asked questions to think-pair-share about and then coupled them with reading recommendations.

During one of these sections, we talked about having time/making time to read and Stacey shared that I read during my lunch period. Yes. Every day I read during my lunch period. Other than when my intern and I were eating together this fall or if I can’t take my lunch for some reason, you’ll find me with my feet on the opposite chair, eating my snack, and reading. And it was recently reinforced when I was listening to the audiobook Do Nothing: How to Break Away From Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving by Celeste Headlee that what I’m doing has work and personal benefits similar to this BBC article from 2019 that also references how brain breaks at work lead to happier employees and feelings of productivity. I didn’t start doing this because of these reinforcing studies, I did it because I knew it would help me detach for a brief time in the middle of the day and do something I loved. It resets me and I started sharing on my public Instagram my lunch time reading it, using the hashtag #literarylunchbox. They tend to be graphic novels or short nonfiction that I can either read in a period or over a few days.

Here are some of the titles I’ve read recently during my lunch period:

What do you do during your lunch break?

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Posted by Alicia Abdul on December 21, 2021 in Adult, Articles, Blogging, Fiction, Graphic novels, Middle grade, Nonfiction, Young Adult

The 31 Days of December: Excellence in Nonfiction finalists announced

17 Dec

I’m a little biased because over the past year I’ve worked with a group of phenomenal librarians: Ginny, Laura, Laura, Yolanda, Jeana, Mike, Janet, and Rebecca. Together we make up the 2022 Excellence in Nonfiction Award Committee through YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association), a division of the American Library Association. Our charge is to select the best written, researched, presented nonfiction writing targeted toward kids ages 12-18. We read through hundreds of books, nominate the special ones, debate their merits, whittle it down to five finalists, and then by next month, select the winner to be announced at the Youth Media Awards. It’s the most rewarding work. And here are our finalists:

Check out the full release with annotations on YALSA’s website. I’ll sign off so I can go pop a little bubbly that they’re out in the world!

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Posted by Alicia Abdul on December 17, 2021 in Blogging, Events, Graphic novels, Nonfiction, Young Adult

The 31 Days of December: When one thing leads to another

12 Dec

You can agree that once a word, an item, a phrase is introduced to you or you learn about a topic, it then seems to be everywhere– but it’s about what’s in your consciousness. And I’m always entertained when it happens in my reading. I’ve explained that I’m a mood reader– I always have a mountainous stack of books at home so that I have a range of options to pick from. So when there is no real strategy, it’s delightful to make connections between books. Here is that tale in three books yesterday:

Book 1: I’m taking my time reading John Green’s The Anthropocene Reviewed. It’s essentially a collection of short stories– his reviews. I’m entertained and enlightened by his stories, so I’m reading a few a day. The other day I read his review on the Lascaux Cave Paintings. I knew a little about what they were, but now I now more.

Book 2: Science Comics are cool. I’ll always pull one of them aside if I haven’t read it even if it’s not a topic I’m super interested in (though I don’t know if I’ve ever really felt that way about any of them thus far). One of the new ones that came into our library was Crows: Genius Birds by Kyla Vanderklugt. In the graphic novel between a dog and a crow, it’s mentioned that there’s a sketch of a crow in the Lascaux Cave. BINGO!

Book 3: Then ding, ding, ding! I wanted a quick transitional book in the afternoon, so I picked up Singer’s picture book illustrated by Fotheringham from a recent box delivered to my front door called A Raven Named Grip: How a Bird Inspired Two Famous Writers, Charles Dickens, and Edgar Allan Poe. Crows and ravens– all part of the corvidae family.

From caves to crows… I love when one thing leads to another.

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Posted by Alicia Abdul on December 12, 2021 in Adult, Blogging, Childrens, Graphic novels, Middle grade, Nonfiction

The 31 Days of December: Morning reading joy

02 Dec

A few years ago I decided that I wanted to incorporate 15 minutes of reading into my morning routine. It’s looked different each year, especially last year but it gave me a sense of accomplishment along with my workout and first cup of tea to have at least 15 minutes to read. This year, I tend to do it through Hoopla on my tablet since I’m already using my tablet to read the newspaper. Usually Hoopla is reserved for my graphic novel titles because they have an awesome selection but I like how their comics reader is done that if the full page is too small, double-tapping will allow you to scroll panel by panel.

I didn’t need this feature yesterday morning for my reading and I wanted to share my morning reading joy on a humdrum Wednesday. It was In Love & Pajamas: A Collection of Comics About Being Yourself Together by Catana Chetwynd which had come to my attention during the Goodreads Choice nominations. And I fell in love. Because Chetwynd’s story is a celebration of connection with a loved one. The characters are as adorably delightful as the communication (verbal and nonverbal) between the couple. I chuckled. I sighed. I felt warm and tingly. It was the perfect side for my morning *three* cups of tea. Then I proceeded to borrow the other two that were there as well.

I sat and finished it before getting ready for the day because I had the time and the want but whether it was a simple 15 minutes or a whole comic collection, I find joy in the bit of time I do spend to read because if something is important, we make the time for it. What is that for you?

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Posted by Alicia Abdul on December 2, 2021 in Adult, Blogging, Cover Love, Graphic novels

Outstanding book of the month for October 2021

31 Oct

It’s been a long month, but October for educators is akin to March in many ways.

As my secret reading (reading for a committee which I cannot share) ramps up, I was still able to sneak in some books that do not fit the committee’s profile to pick my outstanding book of the month. And you know how I like to cheat. This month’s outstanding book is actually a trio, part of a series written by Kami Garcia and illustrated by Gabriel Picolo.

Their Teen Titans graphic novels will see the release of Robin some time in 2022, but until then I dove into the first, Raven, the second, Beast Boy, and the third, Beast Boy Loves Raven within days of one another via Hoopla where you never have to wait! And maybe that adds to the excitement but I also recognize that these three so far are written beautifully in both the dialogue and narrative and Picolo’s illustrations compliment it with vivid colors and exquisitely drawn character, situational, and action scenes which flowed scene by scene.

Meeting Rachel, then Garfield, and then building the suspense to when they meet and discover they both have hidden abilities meant that the stories had to stand on their own but then come together. With a backstory for each character it was easy to move from one to the other and then the meet-cute between the two. It’s as simple and complicated as two veterans can make it, to the celebration of readers.

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Posted by Alicia Abdul on October 31, 2021 in Book of the Month, Cover Love, Fiction, Graphic novels, Upcoming Releases, Young Adult

Trifecta

08 Sep

Today is my sixteenth year in education. Fifteen of them have been right where I am today, as the high school librarian.

I have seen one facelift and one major update with the third around the corner– a completely new space to move in to next fall to the facility. I have had more than a dozen direct supervisors, building principals, and superintendents. With a graduating class hovering around six hundred students, I have likely interacted with close to 9,000 teenagers and hundreds of teachers. And whatever each school year brings, it always circles back to the kids. I saved this post to make on the first day of school, but it’s really a post that could have been shared on the last day of school last year. And it’s been sitting with me all summer long.

The three major subgenres of books that were most circulated last year– specifically reflecting why they were the most circulated as I often do at the end of a calendar year when making “best of” lists or the books most likely to be missing from the shelves and of course, when I’m putting new orders together for purchase.

Yes, we still checked out physical books through the curbside pickup method, the small number of students who were physically in the building, and the handfuls of drive-up to their curbside. And then there was the robust digital offerings. I booktalked until I couldn’t booktalk anymore– Google Meets, 1:1, and in-person.

What were they?

Murder
Romance
Humor

Let’s break this down: the three most asked-for books in the library came down to murder, romance, and humor. And then I say, it was 2020. And you nod your head. Of course!

True crime is prevalent in Netflix series and podcasts, books and casual conversation. It’s a thing. And it’s a thing with our teenagers too. Being home with their families rather than playing team sports and attending school every day, I’m sure there was some level of interest in the subgenre because of these massive shifts in daily business. It’s easy to go to a darker place. And books are nothing if not a reflection of inner thoughts and feelings.

We all needed some love. We missed family gatherings and meeting up with friends. And for teenagers, a whole chunk of their socialization went out the window when schools shut down. Really, all they needed was some love. So can you see how a little romance went a long way?

And humor, there is comfort in the familiar. Yes, we have Diary of a Wimpy Kid in our high school library and no I couldn’t keep them on the shelves. They wanted the escape from the seriousness of the news and the pandemic. They wanted to laugh. And who can blame them?

I will remember this past school year because it was the year I lost my co-librarian for the majority of the school year to budget cuts and had to manage alone. It was isolating because staff were scattered and hunkered in their rooms talking to computer screens. But I still saw kids each day and I will remember that all they wanted were some books and those books had to do with murder, romance, or humor. And I replied, well then I’ve got a book for you…

Here’s to 2021-22!

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Posted by Alicia Abdul on September 8, 2021 in Blogging, Fiction, Graphic novels, Manga, Nonfiction, Poetry, Reflections, Short Story, Verse, Young Adult

Tags: #books, #schoollibrarian, #ya, #yalit

Outstanding book of the month for July 2021

31 Jul

I’m cheating a little for this month and choosing one graphic novel, one adult nonfiction, and one fiction title for my outstanding book(s) because I had some fabulous reading material (including the secret kind that I can’t tell you about). So here goes for the month:

This memoir is spectacular for its honesty and storytelling. Rosser grew up in West Philadelphia in a large single-parent family and discovered his love and talent for polo when his brother stumbled upon the Work to Ride program set up nearby. Rosser shares the discrimination he and his teammates faced as a Black team but also the resilience of a love of a larger community that wanted to see kids succeed.

I stayed up way past my bedtime to finish the finale to Lee’s Montague Siblings trilogy because it had all of the spectacular action and adventure, wit and tenacity as the first two. It was a delightful end as you follow the much younger Montague sibling (who didn’t know Monty and Felicity existed until the start of this book) on a fact-finding mission about his mother’s death and the spyglass that she had once carried everywhere.

You’ve got to appreciate sass and Charlotte’s got it in spades. She’s a teen detective on her way to *hopefully* win an award for her work until she’s caught up in a plot to frame her and take her down. Boom! Studios is always a favorite of mine with much of what they put out because I vibe with their artistry and bright colors, but also their spunky characters. This one didn’t fail as I continue reading the issues via Hoopla.

What were your favorites of the month?

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Posted by Alicia Abdul on July 31, 2021 in Adult, Authors, Book of the Month, Cover Love, Fiction, Graphic novels, Nonfiction, Young Adult

With all those books

15 Mar

Yesterday’s post was a celebration of reading at least a book a day for 365 straight days. I’ll continue though the rigidity will likely wane, but not today where I was able to finish an audiobook and read two additional books. It got me thinking, how many books did I read over 365 days? That answer was 852 which meant I averaged 2.3342 books per day. What were my favorites? See below. How to you find the time? Well, I have my ways. Therefore, a summary post was in order because I like a good listicle. Here are some mini-listicles about “my year of reading a book a day”.

Locations for reading

Car (audiobooks, people!)
Wherever I have to wait– an office or a long line for example
Anywhere in the house from the kitchen table to standing by the stove waiting for my hot water to boil but also most definitely when I’m cleaning or cooking
The lunch table at work (I often post with the hashtag #literarylunchbox)

Twenty favorites (in no particular order)

Punching the Air by Zoboi
You’re Not Listening: What You’re Missing and Why it Matters by Murphy
Poisoned Water: How the Citizens of Flint, Michigan, Fought for Their Lives and Warned the Nation by Cooper
Witch Hat Atelier by Shirahama
Skyward by Henderson
The School of Essential Ingredients by Bauermeister
All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team by Soontornvat
The Girl from the Other Side by Nagabe
My Life in Dog Years by Paulsen
The Midnight Library by Haig
That Way Madness Lies edited by Adler
Humble Pi: When Math Goes Wrong in the Real World by Parker
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Baum
Sigh, Gone: A Misfit’s Memoir of Great Books, Punk Rock, and the Fight to Fit In by Tran
My Life in France by Child with Prud’Homme
The House in the Cerulean Sea by Klune
Fighting Words by Brubaker Bradley
Jane Against the World: Roe v. Wade and the Fight for Reproductive Rights by Blumenthal
End of Days: The Assassination of John F. Kennedy by Swanson
Up All Night: 13 Stories Between Sunset and Sunrise edited by Silverman
The Beauty in Breaking by Harper
Lives of the Stoics: The Art of Living from Zeno to Marcus Aurelius by Holiday
A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Brown
Chicken Every Sunday: My Life with Mothers Boarders by Taylor
Fangs by Andersen

But how did you do it?

Read (and by reading I mean eyes on a page or ears open) every day
Always have a stack of books in the house or in a queue online
Sometimes reading won out over straightening up the house, for sure
Encourage a household of readers (because it’s easier to read yourself when everyone else is doing it too)
Participating in events like the Dewey’s 24-hour Readathon and the #24in48 readathon

What genre or category do you favor? (but really this is like asking me to pick a favorite child)

Nonfiction
- Food memoirs
- Animals especially histories, discoveries, and celebrations of
Young Adult short story collections
Verse novel and graphic novel formats
Fiction
- Historical
- Realistic

Who were your cheerleaders? (whether they knew it or not)

Stacey Rattner, a school librarian colleague who I often co-present with at conferences with her own blog and the co-host of the pandemic-inspired Author Fan Faceoff with Steve Sheinkin
My kids, readers in their own right, who read at the table for almost every meal and so many other occasions and places too
Reading communities big and small

Was there a question that I missed? If there was, ask me in the comments.

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Posted by Alicia Abdul on March 15, 2021 in Blogging, Fiction, Graphic novels, Manga, Middle grade, Nonfiction, Reflections, Short Story, Upcoming Releases, Verse, Young Adult

The February friendship tour

13 Feb

This time last year I was beginning my friendship tour. Seriously, that’s what I called it. And it seems prescient upon reflection. I spent my February break from school visiting each of my closest friends be it for tea, a meal, or a stop at the house to catch up. And I made sure I saw everyone on that mental list even if I had to track down the last of them after she returned from Spain in a supermarket. And it filled my cup in ways that are immeasurable.

I also made sure to take a picture with her too because all too often, I have my phone tucked away with good friends and don’t get pictures. When I think about my friendship tour now, I get goosebumps. I saw everyone and got the picture to prove it.

I was hoping to include a review of a book on friendship with a post about the power of friendship and my favorite books that highlight the bond. Unfortunately the book was less focused on human friendship and more about animal friendship from an evolutionary standpoint so instead I’m going to share my six recently-read favorite titles featuring unique or strong friendships and spare you a review of the other book:

Go With the Flow by Schneemann and Williams
Heavy Vinyl by Usdin and Vakueva
The One and Only Bob by Applegate
The House in the Cerulean Sea by Klune
Pumpkin by Murphy (not yet published)
In the Wild Light by Zentner (not yet published)

Who are your favorite friendships in books you’ve recently read? It’s important when recommending books to teens to talk about friendships, so a few years ago I created a bookshelf on my Goodreads account to capture this.

Equally important is to keep in touch with those that you’ve formed friendships with whether you’ve been connected since middle school or met as coworkers and connected. Who are your closest friends? What do they give you? Whether you’re celebrating Galentine’s Day today, tomorrow on the 14th, or every day. Cheers to friendship in literature or in life.

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Posted by Alicia Abdul on February 13, 2021 in Fiction, Graphic novels, Middle grade, Miscellaneous, Reflections, Upcoming Releases, Young Adult

#24in48 whirlwind

10 Feb

I often post about my participation in the Dewey’s 24-hour readathon. It’s a break from reality which involves snack planning and stack prepping in addition to the amazing experience of focusing on your reading life for 24-hours (or as close to that as you can get).

Well from great ideas come more great ideas. One of the participants was inspired by her participation in Dewey’s but also knew that 24-hours straight was an unrealistic expectation for her so she created #24in48 in 2012 which expands upon the concept: in this one you strive for reading 24 hours over a 48 hour weekend that begins at 12am Saturday morning and ends at 11:59pm on Sunday night.

This was my first participation and I’ll now keep these events on my calendar alongside Dewey’s. Did I manage at least 24 hours this weekend? Yes, I managed more than 25 and probably could have done more but I did take the time to enjoy the Superbowl on Sunday night. I filled the time with audiobooks and unadulterated print books throughout the weekend which included finishing two audiobooks and several e- and print books.

What I liked most was the inclusion of social media posts to include in an Instagram story centered around current reads and progress but my favorite was the “quotables” where readers could share a quote from a book they were reading with the book cover. I’m a quote lover, so it’s something I’m going to take from the readathon and share more of on social media: quotes that resonated with me in the hopes they lead to discussions with other readers.

Here’s what I read:

The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist by Balko and Carrigan
Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by May
Witch Hat Atelier #7 by Shirahama
Hunting Whitey: The Inside Story of the Capture and Killing of America’s Most Wanted Crime Boss by Sherman and Wedge (audiobook)
Reef Life: An Underwater Memoir by Roberts
A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Brown
Troop 6000: The Girl Scout Troop that Began in a Shelter and Inspired the World by Stewart (audiobook)
The Low, Low Woods by Machado and DaNi