2011 June » Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog

The Sunday Salon (June 12): Bloomsday!

Posted by Anastasia on June 12, 2011 8 Responses »

Jun 122011

So originally this post was going to be about blogging and changes and how my blog is my job now because no-one is going to hire me, but then I realized that was boring and kind of depressing and I’d rather write about something else. I’d rather write about Bloomsday!

Do you know what Bloomsday is? If you’re not a James Joyce fan (or if you’ve never known a James Joyce fan), then you might not have heard of it: Bloomsday, June 16th, is the day that the events in James Joyce’s Ulysses take place, and Joyce fans celebrate each June 16th by rereading Ulysses and doing Joyceean things and basically being awesome book nerds the whole day.

I was planning on reading Ulysses for Bloomsday, but as I don’t have a copy and as I can’t get to the library because public transportation around here bites the big one (and as the free ebook version is NOT the correct version, according to my Joyce prof), I’m going to read another Joyce book instead: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. It’s sort of related to Ulysses and it’s a Joyce book, so it sort of counts. But not really.

Street party in North Great George's Street, 2004 (Wikipedia)

The day involves a range of cultural activities including Ulysses readings and dramatisations, pub crawls and general merriment, much of it hosted by the James Joyce Centre in North Great George’s Street. Enthusiasts often dress in Edwardian costume to celebrate Bloomsday, and retrace Bloom’s route around Dublin via landmarks such as Davy Byrne’s pub. Hard-core devotees have even been known to hold marathon readings of the entire novel, some lasting up to 36 hours. (via Wikipedia)

Marathon readings! Street parties! General merriment! Doesn’t Bloomsday just sound like the best day ever?

Anyway, are you planning on doing anything for Bloomsday? Doing anything fabulously Joycean that I can be envious of?

Weekly Book Stats

Books read this week:
53. The Undertakers: Rise of the Corpses – Ty Drago [rating: 4.5] B
54. The Wizard of Dark Street – Shawn Thomas Odyssey [rating: TBD] R
55. Toads and Diamonds – Heather Tomlinson [rating: TBD]

Books reviewed this week:
45. First Descent – Pam Withers [rating: 4] B
48. Sparrow Road – Sheila O’Connor [rating: 4] R

Books acquired ~~this week~~ the past two weeks:

The Implosion of Aggie Winchester by Lara Zielin (publisher)
The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong (fellow blogger)
Agatha H. and the Airship City by Phil Foglio and Kaja Foglio (NetGalley)
Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier (NetGalley)

Currently reading:
I’m in the first chapter of Agatha H., which I hope is going to be an awesome steampunk-y adventure story. I’m also a bit into Wanderlust, which I’m reading for a book tour (my first!), and the Cleopatra book I wrote about on Thursday is currently glaring at me. So I’m pretty well set!

REVIEW: First Descent by Pam Withers

Posted by Anastasia on June 10, 2011 2 Responses »

Jun 102011

45. First Descent by Pam Withers
Publication: Tundra Books (September 13, 2011), ARC, 268pp / ISBN 1770492577
Genre: YA Fiction

Read: May 27, 2011
Source: BEA 2011

Summary from Amazon:

Montana-born Rex loves nothing more than to take his kayak out on a river, the faster and more powerful the better. When he gets the opportunity to tackle the well-named El Furioso in southwest Colombia, he is thrilled. He anticipates the river’s challenges, but finds himself in a situation where the real danger is human.

In Colombia, he meets Myriam Calambás, an indígena, who has lived along the El Furioso all her life. Though she loves its rushing waters, she dreams of leaving to get an education so that she can help her people. Her dreams, and her very survival, are in the balance when she and Rex are caught up in the clash between paramilitaries, working for rich landowners, and guerillas, who are supposed to be protecting the poor.

Pam Withers’ skill at writing about extreme adventures combines with a compelling story about an endangered world and a people struggling for their very right to exist.

This book comes out September 13, 2011!

Review

I picked this up from Tundra Books at BEA 2011, lured by the bright red ARC cover. This book, I thought, looks hardcore. This book looks exciting and interesting and like it’ll punch me in the throat with awesomeness.

The actual cover is fine, but I’m really fond of the stark design of the ARC cover (not that it’s properly a design). It doesn’t give you any hints as to the story or the writing or what’ll happen when you read the book, and I like that. Gives the experience of reading First Descent an extra kick of excitement– or am I the only person who likes to go into a book not knowing anything about it but the title?

Anyway, to be honest the first chapter or so of First Descent threw me off. I didn’t like the dialogue, which felt stilted and unreal, and I didn’t like the “voice” of Rex, which also didn’t feel lifelike. I stuck with it, though, because I was hoping it’d get better once the story moved to Colombia. It did, thankfully, and luckily also the character voices got less stiff and more enjoyable to read. The story also started getting more exciting and fast-paced, and by the end I was flipping pages so hard I nearly ripped them a few times– that’s how much I needed to find out what happened next.

By around chapter three a new character was introduced: Myriam. Myriam is one of the best heroines I’ve found in a YA novel! She has so many layers and depth and she’s strong without being impossible, and basically she’s what I wanted Lola to be. Best of all, Myriam never becomes Rex’s mother or his consciousness, and I think she only has to tell him he’s being ridiculous a Western White Dude maybe once.

I liked that First Descent never turned into “educate the white man about his stupidity.” It’s more like “hey, did you know this horrible stuff was going on?” and “maybe you should think more about the world beyond yourself.” Myriam and her family weren’t tropes or stereotypes; they were fully fleshed-out characters who were just living their lives as best they could.

The changes Rex went through were really organic– because he spent time with Myriam’s people but also because he finally got away from his grandfather’s poisonous influence. I think it also helped that he wanted to change himself as well, that he didn’t want to stay the same ignorant person he was in the beginning of the book. Willingness to both listen and to alter your worldview when needed are two important things I think a lot of kids need to learn about, and First Descent tells them that in such a way that it never felt like preaching. Which is great, don’t you think?

So, despite the fact that it started off a bit rough, by the time Myriam showed up I was hooked hard. The plot is exciting and fast, but it slows down when something important (emotionally and otherwise) happens. The pacing is fantastic, basically, and I love how First Descent doesn’t skip over emotional development or, well, emotions in general!

The only downside is that Rex’s dialogue and “voice,” while better after that first chapter, never entirely felt real. His family has the same problem, which is weird because Myriam and her family did feel real. It might just be a literary technique that I don’t mesh with (to highlight the differences between cultures/peoples?), but it did bring down my enjoyment of the book quite a bit.

On the whole, however, I really liked First Descent. I liked the story and Myriam and the meshing of adventure and emotions, and the emphasis on increasing global awareness. I wish Rex’s voice had been a bit smoother, but overall I think this is a great book and I’d definitely recommend it.

Rating

I liked it a lot!

And

Pre-order your own copy @ Amazon or BookDepository.com and support Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog!

I’ve seen some people posting reviews for BEA books already, so I figured it was sort of okay to do that? And since I really liked this book I figured I should just go ahead and post my review. I’ll put up reminders about it’s release closer to the actual pub date!

I think this is the first book I’ve read that focused on kayaking. Definitely the first YA book, anyway! Kayaking seems like such a hard thing to do; I’m already scared enough of the water, so I definitely wouldn’t be able to do any hardcore sports on it!

Thursday Tea (June 9): Cleopatra the Great

Posted by Anastasia on June 9, 2011 3 Responses »

Jun 092011

The book: I’m (slowly) making my way through Cleopatra the Great by Dr Joann Fletcher. It’s about Cleopatra! Well, duh. But anyway, despite some rather over-the-top declarations about Cleopatra’s importance (and awesomeness), it’s actually really good. I’ve just gotten done with the bit about Alexander the Great (Cleopatra’s greatest influence, according to Dr Fletcher) and I’m excited to keep going forward.

The tea: I’ve still got a stockpile of Stash holiday teas, and I’m trying to finish it off before Christmas actually rolls around again. So: holiday chai! It’s yummy and delicious and, unfortunately, really out of season. Not just because it’s “holiday” chai, but because it’s got gingerbread and rum flavors in it as well. Gingerbread and rum? Yeah, totally winter. Drinking winter tea in the summer makes me a bit…grumpy.

Do they go together? Not really. For one thing, when I think of Egypt I don’t think “hot tea.” For another thing– did they have gingerbread and rum in ancient Egypt? I don’t think they did.

Really I should be drinking a more fruity tea or something. Oh well!

Other tea drinkers

Sarah is reading The Violets of March and drinking matcha green tea!

Whitney is reading The Kitchen Boy and drinking Good Strong English Tea!

Beth F. is reading Seeing a Large Cat and drinking sun tea made from Adagio’s Apricot Tea!

(Leave a link to your TT post in the comments and I’ll add you to the tea drinkers list!)

REVIEW: Sparrow Road by Sheila O’Connor

Posted by Anastasia on June 7, 2011 4 Responses »

Jun 072011

48. Sparrow Road by Sheila O’Connor
Publication: Putnam Juvenile (May 12, 2011), ARC, 248pp / ISBN 0399254587
Genre: MG Fiction

Read: May 28-29, 2011
Source: Publisher

Summary from Amazon:

It’s the summer before seventh grade, and twelve-year- old Raine O’Rourke’s mother suddenly takes a job hours from home at mysterious Sparrow Road- a creepy, dilapidated mansion that houses an eccentric group of artists. As Raine tries to make sense of her new surroundings, she forges friendships with a cast of quirky characters including the outrageous and funky Josie.

Together, Raine and Josie decide to solve the mysteries of Sparrow Road-from its haunting history as an orphanage to the secrets of its silent, brooding owner, Viktor. But it’s an unexpected secret from Raine’s own life that changes her forever.

An affecting and beautifully written story of family and forgiveness, Sparrow Road is an incredible gift.

Review

I have been reading a lot of cute books lately, and this one’s no exception to that. It’s adorable! It’s also very emotionally touching, without ever getting cheesy or draining or silly. Pus it’s got great characters, a lovely story, and just enough mystery and excitement to keep the pace moving quickly

You know E.L. Konigsburg’s best books? Where she talks about difficult subjects, like death or loneliness, and she does it in such a way that you never feel talked down to? That you could understand what the characters were going through, even if you have never dealt with that stuff personally? That’s what Sparrow Road does. It focuses on the difficulties that arise between family members, on the relationship between parent and child, and on not being afraid to think of things beyond the here and now.

One of my favorite things about Sparrow Road was the descriptions of the town and of summer itself. I love reading books set in the summer during the summer– it just brings home the fact that the season’s changed and something new is happening. That’s one of my favorite feelings in the world! And Sparrow Road captures it perfectly, even twisting it into the plotline itself.

The only bump in the road (ha) was that the beginning of the book made me think the mystery was going to be more about the house than about Raine’s family. It seemed more like a potential ghost story to me, in those early chapters, than anything else, and the switch from that line of thinking to the other was a bit of a jar. I like the way the storyline turned out, but I wish it had been more clearly defined earlier on.

By the end of the book I was smiling my face off. I loved the characters, I loved the story, and I think if you enjoy sweet books about family, being creative, and the importance of dreams, you’d enjoy Sparrow Road.

Rating

I liked it a lot!

And

Get your own copy @ Amazon or BookDepository.com and support Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog!

Other reviews:
Leafing Through Life: “Let’s just get to the point, though. I loved Sparrow Road. It’s not surprising that you can often expect that the younger an audience a book is aimed at the more things like character development get neglected in favor of action. Not so with Sparrow Road. These characters leap off the page.”

Books and Literature for Teens: “The beginning of the story was very strong and though confusing, it made me want to keep reading. I felt the storyline slowed a bit toward the middle which may disinterest younger readers to a point, but it retained its poetic and emotional narrative quite nicely.”

Lisa is Busy Reading: “a patiently written story, Sparrow Road is about forgiveness, the hard truths of life, broken relationships, and restoring relationships by meeting someone where they are. each of the characters bring another little element to the story, like spices to a well seasoned entrée. while written from Raine’s perspective, this felt more like a retrospective narrative in the themes and ultimate resolution.”

Ya Books Central: “The author, Sheila O’Conner, does a brilliant job of mixing lively characters with beautiful descriptive language. I fell in love with each and every character, especially Raine. She was wise beyond her twelve years and the (physical) bond that brought her family together.”

Books in Bloom: “Raine is a beautifully developed character. She’s insightful, thoughtful, and trying to find her place in the world. She’s also quite the aspiring writer. She imagines detailed and thought-provoking conversations with Lyman Chase, one of the orphans of Sparrow Road. Her imagined conversations will make readers want to create their own stories using the world around them thinking about “what was or what could be,” making this book perfect for Language Arts classes.”

Birdwatching: Retro Reads for a Sizzling Summer!

Posted by Anastasia on June 6, 2011 13 Responses »

Jun 062011

I was inspired by @KateMilford‘s summer reads table at McNally Jackson to come up with my own list of books I’d include on a summer reads table somewhere. I have a not-so-secret love of retro kids books, especially ones that remind me of my own childhood summers where I’d read about three a day, and then reread all of them multiple times a year whenever I ran out of new books (which was often).

This list is full of some of my favorite older (as in pre-1990) kids books, ones that I think would make a lazy summer afternoon about ten times better than it already is. And the best part is that you don’t even have to be a kid to enjoy them!

The Long Secret by Louise Fitzhugh (1965). Technically you should read Harriet the Spy before reading this one, as it’s a sequel. But when you DO read The Long Secret, it should be while sitting on the beach watching the waves rolling in.
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg (1968). Find a museum, any museum, and read this book while sitting amongst beautiful works of art.
The Sylvia Game by Vivian Alcock (1982). A more spooky and gothic book, perfect for reading during a thunderstorn.
The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder (1971). Probably best read while sitting in an old house, listening to it creaking and groaning. Or maybe while sitting next to a pond, under a willow tree, listening to the birds screeching.
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (1961). Best read while being dragged to some boring thing by your parents, or while sitting in the car waiting for your parents to get back from doing some boring thing.
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin (1979). To brighten up a dull afternoon at summer camp (I’ve never been, but I’m sure there must be one or two boring days at camp).
Behind the Attic Wall by Sylvia Cassedy (1983). For when you’re visiting your grandmother or great aunt and she puts you in the room where she keeps her creepy doll collection.
Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself by Judy Blume (1977). Find a porch and a good supply of popsicles, and then read this book (don’t worry if the popsicles melt on the book; it adds to the experience).
Anastasia Krupnik by Lois Lowry (1979). Read this when you’re grounded in your room for getting the porch all sticky with popsicle juice (ants don’t just get rid of themselves!).
The House With a Clock in its Walls by John Bellairs (1973). For the last days of summer, when the days are getting cooler and Halloween is lurking on the far-away horizon. Best read with a flashlight, under the covers.

Also, I’m kind of thinking of making this list a readalong challenge thingy for over the summer. What do you think? Would you join in if I did it?

Thanks to Once Upon a Bookshelf for the list-y inspiration!

The Sunday Salon (June 5): BEA Books

Posted by Anastasia on June 5, 2011 10 Responses »

Jun 052011

I think I’ve now got all my BEA books listed at my LibraryThing account. Except for two, because apparently they’re so far from the pub date that they’re only listed at Goodreads.

Here’s a picture of them crammed onto my shelf (minus the Urban Farming book as my mom’s borrowed it). I’m kind of surprised I got them all in there, but they fit! Sort of. Anyway:

So: I brought back 44 books from BEA, not including two samplers. I had a double of one book that I’m sending off to Vasilly some time this week (and if you know what book it is DON’T TELL HER. It’s a surprise!), so I’ve actually got 43. So far I’ve read six! Yay!

The review aspect of these books are driving me insane, because while some of them have been published already some others won’t be published until 2012. That’s a really long time to wait for a scheduled post to go through! But I’m going to do that– I’m going to schedule things so far in advance the numbering will be way the fuck off. It’ll be February 2012 and I’ll have a review of book no. 60 or something and you’ll be like “wtf how did she already read 60 books,” and then I’ll have to say “no, this is a review I wrote LAST YEAR for LAST YEAR’S book no. 60 because I couldn’t put off reading it for six months. Sorry.” And that’s how it’s going to go down.

Just fyi.

Anyway, I’m gonna highlight some of the BEA books I’m most excited to read (or have read):

This Thing Called the Future by J.L. Powers (Apr. 2011). This book has been on my want-to-read list since I found out about it back in March . And it was really good, just like I thought it’d be!
Down the Mysterly River by Bill Willingham (Sept. 2011). This book basically has to be awesome, right? It’s Bill “the creator of Fables” Willingham!
A More Perfect Heaven: How Copernicus Revolutionized the Cosmos by Dava Sobel (Sept. 2011). Yay, a new Dava Sobel book! Do I need to explain this more?
Mister Creecher by Chris Priestley (Sept. 2011). It’s a YA retelling of Frankenstein. omg fun.
The Apothecary by Maile Meloy (Oct. 2011). Just– go and read the summary. Well? No wonder I’m excited to read it, right?

Some other books that were at BEA but I didn’t get a copy of that look really good: The Night Circus (Sept. 2011), Wonderstruck (Sept. 2011), Liesl & Po (Oct. 2011), Witch Eyes (Sept. 2011), Wildwood (Aug. 2011).

What BEA books are you most excited to read?

Books read this week:
48. Sparrow Road – Sheila O’Connor [rating: TBD] R
49. This Thing Called the Future – J.L. Powers [rating: TBD] B
50. Jack’s New Power – Jack Gantos [rating: TBD]
51. A Handful of Dust – Evelyn Waugh [rating: 5]
52. Tuesdays at the Castle – Jessica Day George [rating: TBD] B

Books reviewed this week:
36. Love Among the Chickens – P.G. Wodehouse [rating: Borrow it] e
40. The Explosionist – Jenny Davidson [rating: Borrow it]
41. The Warrior Heir – Cinda Williams Chima [rating: Borrow it] e

Currently reading:
I took a break from my BEA books to read some other review books hat’ve been hanging around for a while. Right now I’m a bit into The Wizard of Dark Street (July 2011), which so far has a secret magical part of NYC (yay!), a female protagonist who wants to be a detective (yay!) and hints of some very interesting and, hopefully, exciting plot developments ahead (yay again!).

Monthly Review (May 2011)

Posted by Anastasia on June 3, 2011 12 Responses »

Jun 032011

Thinking Back

May was so great! I think it was my favorite month of the year so far, because despite some unhappy things in the beginning it ended on a fantastic note. I went to BEA! I met tons of other bloggers! I figured out what I want to do with my life! I read some really good books and I have at least two month’s worth of more really good books!

Really, May should just be a month full of exclamation marks. Don’t you think?

For June, my goals are to keep reading my BEA books and get that unread stack smaller. I’m also doing my first book tour, which is exciting, and my Nerds Heart YA decision is coming up soon, too! (Btw, there’s a contest going on!) I’m also going to be working on getting rid of a lot of stuff in my Real Life, so whenever I’m ready to move I won’t have to move two tons of my things. (Maybe just one ton.)

Re:moving, I’m still aiming to leave late August if I can, but now I’m worried I don’t have enough of a savings to get me through an unemployment period (or even an internship + part-time job combo). I’ve been applying to some (non-book) jobs around here and I’m hoping I get something so I can save some more. If I DO get a job I may push back my moving date a bit to give myself a chance to save more. If I don’t get a job I don’t know what I’ll do. But basically: by 2012 I want to be doing SOMETHING in publishing!

And finally, thank you to the people who’ve kept encouraging me to pursue my dream career even after I freaked out at them about, like, everything! ♥

Reading Stats

11 total books read
8 total books reviewed
2 ebooks
0 audiobooks
9 pbooks

9 were by authors new to me
0 were rereads!

Top 3 Books

44. Rebecca – Daphne du Maurier [rating: Buy it]
46. Dead End in Norvelt – Jack Gantos [rating: 4.5]
51. A Handful of Dust – Evelyn Waugh [rating: 5] Continue reading »