The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book

Neil Gaiman happens to be one of my favorite authors. Between The Graveyard Book, American Gods, and The Sandman comic series he's written a little something for everyone. He's a fan friendly author, reaching out with his prolific Twitter account and a fighter for libraries. He's endeared himself to me, and earned a lovely spot on my bookshelf. With that being said, I adored every single moment of The Graveyard Book. Gaiman's writing style lends itself to the darker parts of the human spirit, but he often reminds his readers that in that darkness the light shines brighter.

When Nobody Owens was a toddler his parents were murdered. Bod, being a spry child, escaped this fate and  ran into a graveyard. Adopted by ghosts he's raised among the dead and learned their ways. Lets stop for a second and ponder this. I'm going to go back to an argument that I've made on this blog in the past. All great young adult literature includes moments of darkness. The conflict created by this beginning lends a weight to the rest of the book. It overhangs ever scene, waiting to be resolved. Gaiman then weaves Bod's struggles as a young adult within this complex story. True to his style, Gaiman doesn't let Bod off the hook. He gives him flaws, has him try and fail at things, and gives him unfair resolutions to complex problems. This isn't a book where a happy ending happens and everything is okay. We, as the reader, get and ending, it's moderately happy, but Bod still has a lot of growing to do. Too many stories have the Full House syndrome. Give characters conflict, watch them stumble a bit, everyone gets exactly what they want, the end. This isn't life, this isn't a reflection of reality. Gaiman takes the fantastic, a boy being raised by ghosts, and makes it a cleaner reflection of life than nearly any other young adult book I've read.

So, dear readers, pick this up. It's a short read, but it's beautiful. Gaiman's prose doesn't disappoint, the illustrations* are wonderful.  It's a great bridge book from the dog days of summer to the early moments of fall.

Next up is A Visit from the Goon Squad. This book won a Pulitzer Prize for fiction, so I hope that I like it as much as I think I will. Later on this week, I'll post a list of my vacation books.

* The illustrations in The Graveyard book are done by Dave McKean. His work is as macabre as it is brilliant.

(Image brought to you by: aaberg) 

Small update

I'm still reading The Graveyard Book. Under normal circumstances I'd be done with it by now, but one of my cats had a full on urinary blockage over the weekend. One trip to the Emergency Vet  and $1200 later he's going to be fine. However, I'm slightly behind on, well, everything. I should be done with the book some time by the end of this week. Also, I will have a reading list for my vacation some time in the next few days.

Thank you for all the kind thoughts.

Link Round Up

Amazon created a list of Customer Selected Essential Books for Young Adults. There are some great books on that list. I may create a reading project out of it.

Hollywood Studios Sued For Pirating A Movie Script. An author had his novel ripped off to write a movie script. With all the massive complaints about pirated work from studios you'd think they'd know better. This makes me so angry, authors put blood, sweat, and tears in their work, and to have it stolen is an affront to the entire process.

Discovered Mark Reads this week. He blogs books one chapter at a time. I'm taking notes and may do this for some books in the future.

20 Celebrities With Stunning Home Libraries. I've seen images of Karl Lagerfeld's library in the past. Did you know that Mr. Lagerfeld also runs a bookshop in Paris? Well, now you know.

Is it OK to run an illegal library from my locker at school? Yes. Next question.

Study This: E-Textbook Readers Compared. A smart comparison guide. For those going back to school this information can be invaluable.

And Huffington Post has a list of the most anticipated books for fall, Fall Books: `Wimpy Kid,' `Heroes Of Olympus' Among Tops.

(Image brought to you by: tatertotsandjello. Link includes instructions on how to make the tent.)

World War Z

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

I was drawn to this book by Max Brooks calling himself the Studs Terkel of zombie journalism. Terkel used oral histories to tell the story of an unknown America. His book Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression is a hybrid of storytelling and journalism. It brought home the suffering of the Great Depression and put a human face on it. Now, how does that relate to zombies? Excellent question.

Brooks took Terkel's use of oral history and tells the story of what happened during the zombie war. Now, I know the zombie war hasn't happened, but Brooks makes it seem real. While I was reading it, it was difficult to separate the fantasy from reality. Zombies could easily be subtracted out of the book, and any other widespread viral infection could take it's place. World War Z is not about zombies as much as it's about the response to any global pandemic.  It's also a testament to the author that he was able to craft so many different, and convincing, voices. Usually authors take on the perspective on one character. Brooks has upwards of  20. Each has a unique story, each tells it in their own way, and felt very real.

Between this book and Feed I feel like a new door to horror fiction has been opened. Romero's Night of the Living Dead is, to this day, a massive social commentary. The modern use of zombies has created a sharp and scathing criticism of media, government, and how we respond to a crisis. Using zombies is a way to create a evil monster that looks, and acts like us, but isn't. We may be able to separate ourselves from the idea that they were once human, but a small part of humanity still remains. Zombies have been twisted and shoved backwards and forwards though time revealing the worst parts of us.

Readers, pick this up and read it. It's got a quick read time, and could be knocked out over a low key weekend (ie Labor Day). Also, a movie version is coming out in 2012 so you may want to pick it up now before it's re-released with a movie tie in cover.  I absolutely loathe the movie tie in cover. It's the bane of my reading existence, and I refuse to buy them. Also, I've never seen ONE look attractive. Have you seen the covers for the Lord of the Rings books? Hideous. So, if this is on a To Read list buy it now.

 The Graveyard Book is next, and seems to be a lovely YA title. It's short, so I should be done with it by the end of the weekend.

(Image brought to you by: Bridgemarker Tim)

Ready Player One

Ready Player One

Ernest Cline is the kind of author that makes me proud to be a geek. When I was 16 I felt like I was the only girl in the world that read science fiction and fantasy. It seemed like I had to keep it a secret. Then, with the encouragement of my mother, I made friends with similar interests. I realized that I needed to be me, and that my intricate knowledge of the Star Wars movies, Star Trek, and the Lord of  the Rings books wasn't something I needed to be ashamed of, it was a point of pride.

Ready Player One is set in a dystopian future. Oil has run out, people have fled to cities, poverty and crime are rampant. The only escape is to log into an immense video game called OASIS. (Think World of Warcraft but MUCH larger.) We meet Wade, a kid with no money, no power, socially awkward, but is immensely smart. He is on the hunt for an Easter Egg in OAISIS. If he finds it it gives him the keys to the kingdom. As simple as this story is, Cline spins the yarn well. He coats it in 80's pop culture references, drops funny lines all over the place, and made me smile the entire time I read the book. It's a book about geeks, written for geeks,  that is immensely satisfyingly. At a certain point the book became a bit meta for me. As my cat 8-Bit (named after the Nintendo Entertainment System) curled up on my lap, and I listened to my husband and roommate discuss Angry Video Game Nerd, I realized that I needed to walk away for a moment. I reached the point where things became a bit too self referential. Also, it made me want to invite the author over for a drink because I finally reached the point where I put a book down because science fiction felt a bit too realistic. As I type this post my roommate is playing Cadash. See what I mean?

It's worth noting, that this is Cline's first book. As fun as it is, there are moments where things feel a tad forced. This isn't necessarily a flaw, it's something that gets better over time. As Cline publishes more, and keeps honing his craft this will improve over time. I'm willing to forgive a few clunky parts, because it's a matter of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Ready Player One isn't perfect, but it's an amazing start for a brand new author. I can't wait to read his next book, and the one after that, and the one after that. If Cline stays focused he could become one of the next great science fiction authors.

My next book is World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War. I'm a few pages into it, and I can already tell this is a wonderful horror novel.

(Image brought to you by: unplggd) 

Link round up!

It's that time of the week again. 

Here's a lovely tumblr, Teaching Literacy. I get a lot of my pictures from this site. 

I posted this earlier this week, but I'm going to add it again. Slate did a great article on what books are Overrated. 

Independent bookstores add a new chapter. This story gave me hope. Independent book sellers are the heart and soul of a community. I'm glad there are more opening though out the country. If possible, try to find one in your area. 

Eudora Welty's Jackson: 'The Help' In Context. The book world has been talking about this all week. I've never read The Help, nor do I plan to, but I felt like NPR treated the topic well. 

Three Guys One Book did a lovely write up On Jennifer Egan. I'm reading her book A Visit from the Goon Squad in the next few weeks. 

One of my friends bought me this Library Kit. It was so thoughtful. 

Also, if you missed it, here's a South Park clip that made me laugh so hard I cried. 

The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs
Tags: SOUTH
PARKmore...

(Image brought to you by: thereisnosecondtry)

Reading update...

I know that this month was supposed to be classics, but the Texas heat has finally fried my brain. Reading complex literature in 105 heat was a bad idea. So, upon realizing that I simply couldn't get though the the list I had created for myself. So I'm revising it. Here are the next five books that I'm going to read. 

Ready Player One

A Visit from the Goon Squad

The Graveyard Book

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

A Storm of Swords

Also, I'm getting together a list of books for my vacation. I'm flying up to Alaska right around Labor Day, and I'm really excited. I'll take plenty of pictures. 

(Image brought to you by: noseinabook)

It's so controversial....

Slate just ran an article called Overrated, and when I was reading The Daily Dish yesterday, I happened upon this clip of South Park. It made me laugh so hard I cried.

The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs
Tags: SOUTH
PARKmore...

It's a Revolution...

I found myself saying that yesterday to a coworker. What is happening in publishing today is nothing short of a revolution. We, as consumers, are witnessing the introduction of the new Gutenberg's press. 

I know, I just got ahead of you, so let me explain. When I was an undergraduate I was forced to buy large expensive text books. Here's a good example Chemistry: Matter and Its Changes. This book weighs six pounds, would take up space in my backpack, and I'd have to lug it across my three mile campus on a regular basis. Yes, I realize this was a first world problem, but it was annoying none the less. Now, students can download the text book onto an e-reader. 

Let's ponder the implications of this, shall we? The above mentioned book weighs six pounds. That may not seem like a lot to you or I, to a student Ghana it is a millstone around the neck of a drowning man. Six pounds means that the book costs roughly $335 to ship. So, the cost of the text book is $184 + shipping of $335=  $519. The gross annual wage for an average Ghanain is $689. See the problem? Okay, now lets factor these costs using a Kindle. The cost of a Kindle is $114. Cost to ship to Ghana is $211.00. Price: $325. The average Kindle can hold up to 3500 books. For half the price it cost to ship one Chemistry text book it's possible to ship an entire library. The best part? Older Kindle models are dropping in price, and as Amazon comes out with new versions people are going to want to upgrade. Meaning, as the technology advances the older versions of the Kindle are going to become much less expensive. If the price today is $325 to ship one, imagine what the price will be in October when Amazon announces the newest version? 

Now you see why I call this a revolution on par with the Gutenberg press. The advent of e-readers, iPads, and laptops are going to create a newly educated class of people in the most unlikely of places. We are standing at the starting line of this. It will happen faster than thought possible. As Hunter S. Thompson once said, "Buy the ticket. Take the ride." 

Indeed. 

(Image of a Gutenberg Bible)

I saw this on Google + and I just had to share.

I have no idea if this actually exists, but if it does, odds are it's in Texas. Bless their hearts. 

The Wind in the Willows

The Wind in the Willows

In 1903 Kenneth Grahame was shot during a bank robbery. Injured and in ill health he retired from banking and began to write down the bedtime stories he had told his children. What proceeded was The Wind in the Willows, and all time classic of children's literature. Willows is, what I like to call, a bridge book. Written in the early part of last century, it bridges the gap between Aesop and Aesop's Fables and the new revolution that would happen 20 years later with Steam Boat Willy. Insomuch as it uses animals to convey and teach children a moral message. 

Willows mostly concentrates on the British class (or caste depending on how one looks at it) system. Rules are hard fast, unspoken, and not breached. Characters like Badger will point out to the reader that in the animal world it's a serious breach of  etiquette to question why an animal disappears suddenly in the middle of a conversation or why an animal may drift off to sleep in the middle of the day during winter. Books like this create an easy way of teaching societal lessons by using something that a child can identify. Toad, for example, becomes obsessed with automobiles. So much so, that it's cause for the rest of the animals to have a bit of an intervention. Toad fails and is sent off to prison. The story is cute, but also creates a foundation of how to behave when someone who is deeply loved has something that is a abused. Friends rise to the occasion, not shrink from it.

I've shelved Wind in the Willows for now. It may end up being given to a friend with children for bedtime reading. It may also be on it's way to be sold when I need to weed down my shelves. As much as I loved reading it, it just didn't catch me as it did years ago. It felt more like a homework assignment and less like visiting old friends. Some books just don't read well outside of a given time period.

Next up is A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. I've not read much Twain, so this will be new to me. I'm already a few chapters in and it's very enjoyable.

(Image brought to you by: tembolat)

Link round up!

The Bell Jar at 40. Sylvia Plath's novel turns 40. I'd argue that it's one of the most important books for women ever written. Please pick it up if you haven't.

We Can't Teach Students to Love Reading I felt like this article was really off base. You can teach a child to love reading, you just have to know HOW.

OverDrive CEO drops hint that Kindle library lending launches in September. Big big BIG deal in the book world. This could revolutionize libraries. Imagine a small community in the middle of nowhere. They can't get to a library, but the library can get to them.

The case for raunchy teen lit. I stand in agreement with this article. As raunchy as it is, it's also very teachable. A good outlet for young people to experience bad relationships without actually going though one.

Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library Offers Free Slaughterhouse Five Copies to Students at School that Banned the Book I like to call this, how to fight a book ban.

10 Real-Life Places That Inspired Literary Classics Loved this article.

Bookshops avoid major damage in London rioting Good news coming out of the London riots.

Publishing Gives Hints of Revival, Data Show Told you publishing wasn't dead, it's just being reinvented.

‘I Hate Reading’ Facebook Page Earns 438,700+ Likes Le sigh.

Top 100 Science-Fiction, Fantasy Books. I've read nine out of the top ten. I stand by my thoughts that Dune isn't my favorite. In fact, I can't stand it.

Waterproof book makes reading in the pool easy This should have been invented YEARS ago.

Finally, A Where the Sidewalk Ends tattoo. Tattoo

(Image brought to you by: mhel02)

The Pearl

The Pearl by John Steinbeck 

When I started this month my goal was to show how classics are building blocks of storytelling. The Pearl, Stienbeck's 90 page novella, is just such a story. First, some background. This book is based on a Mexican folktale called The Legend of Mechudo. Seems familiar doesn't it? Nearly every culture has examples of this story. Change the place, setting, and desired object and it turns into an Irish, German, or Japanese story. The ending is the same, the moral stays relevant, and we all walk away learning something. Think of stories like The Pearl as the original classroom. Passed down verbally for generations, children learned moral lessons from their outcomes. It set up the structure of a community, and made society possible. I'm not vastly overstating this. Walk in the DVD section of Best Buy in the next few weeks. They are impossible to miss. Is that a shaking of the head I'm detecting? Fine. Rent Final Destination and try not to spot the urban legends in it. We are still taught using this method, we've just made it slightly fancier with CGI.

After this quick read, I was able to see how Stienbeck's work has inspired others. His use of language drew distinct and direct parallels to Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude. Stienbeck may have been more overt with his story telling, meaning it's difficult to miss the plot, Márquez is slightly more subtle. It's a deconstruction of reality, magical realism, that exists in his storytelling. Márquez takes elements of Stienbeck's story telling and breaks them apart. He leaves them strewn in the pages.  A character like el Mechudo exists, but he's often the butt of a joke, or dies a whimsical death. Where Stienbeck stopped Márquez continued often times creating a beautiful reality out of horrific conditions.

My next book is The Wind in the Willows. Also, my post for Little Women is saved and ready to go, but I'm waiting on a friend to do a write up for a cross post. That should be some time at the end of this week or the start of next.

(Image brought to you by: hipsters-in-space)

Not intended to be a feminist statement

When I started this blog it was because I was urged to do so by a group of friends. I was facebooking, tweeting, and talking about the books I read. I thought that it would be a great escape for me from my job, that's not that intellectually stimulating, and political activism, that's sometimes so intellectually stimulating that it makes my head hurt. I had convinced myself that it would be a place for me to not discuss myself as a feminist or as someone who is politically active.

Then I watched Isabel Allende tells tales of passion. And then I looked at my dogeared copy of Half the Sky. Then I started looking up statistics about illiteracy and how it affects women. It's the elephant in the room I've been trying to ignore. Yes, this blog is a feminist statement. Not the bra burning, male bashing, turn off the TV kind. It's the simple statement that I'm a woman who likes to read and I've made it my passion to share it with others. I will blog about and get involved in literacy campaigns because, at the end of the day, the more we help women the better the world will be.

This blog is a privilege. In some areas of the world it simply would be possible because allowing someone like me to read or write simply isn't a priority. In other areas I'd be labeled as a political dissident and tossed in prison. Taking pen to paper, or in this case cursor to screen, has always been a political statement. It's honestly time I've stopped ignoring what this is, and call it out. Now, will this change the content of the blog? No. I will still post about the books I read, and do my regular write ups. What may change is my involvement in literacy campaigns. I may use this space to inform my readers on where to donate and how to get involved. Join me. Let's make this world a better place.

(Image brought to you by: DebbieAllan) 

Link Round Up!

I love link round up. It's one of my favorite parts of the week.

Ned Vizzini wrote up a great article on The Catcher in the Rye called The End of the White Outsider. It's important to put context around Holden Caulfield and why he meant so much to so many people.

Local activists and Boing Boing readers save Troy Public Library. "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead

Top ten books for July 2011: The Millions Top Ten: July 2011

Who says that archive libraries are dull? Computer & Video Game Archive

I know, I know, another "future of books" article. This one is wroth it though, The Future of Books Is Here!

Wherein one learns how to write an adventure novel in three days, Write an adventure novel in three days, the Michael Moorcock way.

The last great bookshop. I could spend hours in a shop like this. I'd end up walking out with my weight in books. How much is that, you ask? Smaller than an elephant and larger than a toddler.

And a bit of a switch up, this site has nothing to do with books, but it's become a frequent visit of mine. Dear Photograph

(Image brought to you by: bookstorecouture)

South Congress Books

South Congress Books

I was having a grumpy morning. August in Texas is like being in Hell's waiting room. It's hot, dry, and the sun seems to have the amazing ability to be hotter than one ever thought possible. It also doesn't help that my area is in such as severe drought that it's being compared to the 1930's Dust Bowl. I'll spare you the rest of the details, but suffice to say I was well into having a bad day. Then things changed, my husband and I were driving on South Congress, and a small shop caught my eye. That's right Austin, South Congress now has a bookstore. I demanded, in a nice way, that we stop, have lunch, and pop in. Oh boy, am I glad I did.

South Congress Books is a charming little shop. It's a used/rare book shop that seems to have been on that street for years. It's addition fits the missing spot that that area has needed for years. The shop is bright and tidy. It contains a wonderful variety of used and rare books that made this bibliophile hum with excitement. It's a bookstore for readers, built by readers, and designed to make those who seek out vintage material very happy. It's not like Half Price Books, it's more a boutique shop for collectors of rare items and vintage material that fit within well established home libraries.

So, if you are on South Congress, and you want to make the bibliophile in your life happy stop inside. Afterwards you can stop in Big Top Candy Shop and have an honest to goodness soda*, a homemade Cafe Au Lait truffle, and skip though the rest of your day happy. That's what I did.

*By honest to goodness I mean made by a soda jerk. This means that they've got the syrup and the soda water and they mix the two together. It will be the best soda you've ever had. Trust me on this.

(Image brought to you by: delightfuldwellings)