Readers Be Advised

It seemed like I was batting a thousand recently with a string of flops. Does everyone else have those streaks where it seems like every book you pick up just isn’t what you’re looking for in terms of topic, readability, or meeting expectations?

I recently tried Rosamund Hodge’s second, Crimson Bound, after adoring Cruel Beauty. In Crimson Bound, her attempt was Little Red Riding Hood meets the tale, The Girl with No Hands, instead of a creepy, gothic horror with a beautifully-illustrated cover, I felt like all I got was a beautifully-illustrated cover. Likewise, I adored The Paris Wife by Paula McLain but Circling the Sun fell short as another period piece and maybe it was because I tried reading Beryl’s story, West with the Night, and couldn’t engage which is why McLain’s attempt at telling her story fell flat too. And last, a new contemporary YA story, Those Girls by Lauren Saft felt so shallow and toxic that the edgy topic (which I can appreciate it many other YA titles) wasn’t my bag for her attempt.

Maybe in another frame of mind, time, or place, I could have kept with them, but frankly, I know I won’t revisit them because there are too many books and too little time for that.

The first time I read To Kill a Mockingbird it was in high school and there was only one scene that engaged me at all and that was the scene where there was a scuffle in the woods. For most of the book I was indifferent to the writing and situation, whether that was the uncomfortable read-aloud time in class or not, it just wasn’t for me.

Recently though I had a conversation about re-reading books, namely the ‘classics’ that are well-read for a reason: because of universal themes, engaging characters, beautiful language, or historical poignancy to name a few. I had read The Great Gatsby in high school and disliked it also, but re-read it in college and it spoke to me. So I know that time does change things. Who we are as people specifically. Joan Didion wrote “I have already lost touch with a couple of people I used to be” and this is so apt. I’m morphing and changing in leaps and bounds. Finding my voice, making a statement, living out who I am.

With the renewed interest in Harper Lee because of an impending release of a new title, I mentioned that I disliked Mockingbird, but that I would consider re-reading it because of who I am today versus who I was as a self-centered sixteen year old. I’m about to crack open by own copy soon and am eager to discover my feelings for it as an avid reader and adult.

Has an opinion of a book ever changed for you?

There are no words- no wait- there are plenty of words. Should I clear my calendar for all of June, make the biggest pot of tea, and pretend like the world doesn’t exist? #bea15 #sljdod15

The last in New York City for the foreseeable future, I’m super-pumped to spend the day at School Library Journal’s Day of Dialog and then popping over to Book Expo Thursday and Friday. Here were some of my favorite ARCs gathered from the past: Gabrielle Zevin’s Birthright series, Holly Black’s The Darkest Part of the Forest, Poisoned Apples: Poems for You, My Pretty by Christine Heppermann, Melissa Marr’s Carnival of Souls, and The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau.

It’s always awesome to come away with books that leave my hands and wind up in the homes of my students just as much as me getting my hands on them to read them and interact with the authors. I love it all. Can’t wait to tweet it out @librarycrazy.

I have been slowly reading Neal Shusterman’s Challenger Deep. Not because it’s awful and I’m postponing ever really finishing it, it’s because it’s so good I don’t want it to end. What books have you spent way too much time reading just because you didn’t want them to end?

It’s rare that I see a movie after loving the book and enjoy, if not fantasize, about it afterward.

Of course, there are also movies I will never watch, just on the principle that it’s a favorite book (ahem, The Lovely Bones), but I was recently flipping through the channels while doing a bit of work and stumbled upon, then became completely entranced in the Sophia Coppola adaption of Jeffrey Eugenides’ The Virgin Suicides. Hands-down an all-time favorite book and hands-down, my favorite movie adaptation.

She was so true to the tone and feel of the story that I’m instantly sucked in (along with the music and casting) that made my buy the CD immediately too. And he (Eugenides) well, he’s a magic man.

A whole other world opened up a few years ago when I started reading some of the exceptionally written young adult nonfiction that was out there, everything from people and issues of the Civil Rights Movement to unsung heroes of World War II and so much more. From there, I started reading and seeking out more nonfiction that make me think or feed my mind. Here are two of my favorites, one recent and one not-so-recent but both exceedingly well-researched as evidenced by the amount of information pouring from their pages.

Culture Crash: The Killing of the Creative Class by Timberg takes the viewpoint that the creative class of people: artists, musicians, writers, innovators are being killed-off because of cultural shifts like the death of the stores/store clerk and libraries/librarians who disseminate culture from their workplaces. The dawn of the internet has poked holes especially in the music industry and how journalists make money. The change in guard from the old writers and poets who collaborated on the doorsteps of colleges and carried the torch. The food for thought explodes in each chapter where he name drops constantly, demonstrating his vast knowledge and making me bookmark plenty of pages to go back and re-read.

The second is A Natural History of the Senses by Ackerman that exudes beauty and precision in its organization. I joke that if I remember even ten percent of what’s within these pages, I would be a hoot at a cocktail party! Each chapter is chosen to highlight each of the five senses and discusses anything that may relate like an odd disease associated with the sense, a scientific shift or research studies about the importance of one, observations about them, and more savory details that the average person couldn’t possibly know. She’s a true professor of sharing this knowledge with the average reader, which is why it’s understandable that it was a national bestseller.