Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld

Romance novels are a guilty pleasure of mine.   I have very high standards for my romance novels, though.  I think probably because the first one I ever read was Pride and Prejudice.  There’s very little that can compete with the tale of Darcy and Elizabeth.  I remember when I found the BBC Pride and Prejudice miniseries on VHS in my public library during my college years.  I watched the three half hour tapes that I could check out and raced back down to the library to return them and check out three more.  So imagine my surprise, delight, and trepidation on learning of Curtis Sittenfeld’s modern retelling of my favorite romance novel.

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That all being said, Eligible is fantastic.  It takes what is a very period story and updates it in a suitable fashion.  Nothing really feels forced about the update (besides Fitzwilliam remaining Darcy’s first name); Liz is a modern woman with normal problems and quirky sisters. If one wasn’t familiar with the original inspiration (God forbid), Eligible would just seem like a contemporary romance novel.  Sittenfeld’s writing is masterful as Eligible reads just as deliciously as Austen’s own, similarly peppered with wonderful witticisms.  The magic is there and reading Eligible was like getting a bear hug from a great friend you haven’t seen in years. 

My digital copy courtesy of Edelweiss and Random House.

I Wanna Be a Great Big Dinosaur by Heath McKenzie

This is the perfect story for a little boy or girl who loves pretending to be a dinosaur.  I Wanna Be a Great Big Dinosaur is for fans of Bob Shea's Dinosaur Vs. series and Jane Yolen's How Do Dinosaurs...books.  A little boy learns first hand from a dinosaur how to roar, stomp, and EAT, and then turns around and teaches the dinosaur a few tricks of his own.  The illustrations are gorgeous - a cute rumpled little boy in a homemade dinosaur costume, accompanied by a little T Rex.  The nature of this galley made it a little difficult to get the whole picture with some of these illustrations, but I got the gist.  (Not to mention the little treat on the last set of endpapers.)  I will definitely purchase this for my library when it comes out.   

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Life Without Nico by Andrea Maturana

Maia and Nico are best friends.  They do everything together until Nico's father tells them that the family needs to move away for a while.  Maia isn't sure what to do without Nico, but she finds a new friend and comfort from a kitten.  When Nico comes back, she isn't sure if she'll have room for him in her life.

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This is an important book.  I don't know of many books off the top of my head that deal well with the loss of a friend.  This one is well written, short, and a good read aloud.  From friends moving away to those who just go to a different school, this situation is one that is common in childhood and not addressed in picture books as often as it should be.  Francisco Javier Olea's illustrations are beautiful and pair well with the text.  I love what he did with the shadows when Maia is feeling empty.  The line drawings combined with the fully painted elements reminds me of Radioactive by Lauren Redness about Marie and Pierre Curie.  

My digital copy courtesy of Kids Can Press and Edelweiss.

The Sword and the Stove by Frank Dormer

The knights are getting ready for dinner. They pull on their oven mitts, they tie up their aprons, and they open the oven to find....a SWORD?? How did that get there?
 

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Dormer has created a wonderfully creative story that turns the typical tale of knights on its head. The paint and pencil drawings and a perfect companion to the silly stories that the knights think up to explain why everything but food is in their oven. The twist at the end is reminiscent ofMr. Wolf's Pancakes and Everyone loves Bacon and sure to leave preschoolers and kindergartners in giggles. Perfect for a storytime about knights.

My digital copy courtesy of Atheneum Books for Young Readers and Edelweiss

Reading Goals 2016

I've always set unofficial reading goals, but this year, I think it's time to put them down officially this year.  

1. One of my goals is always to read outside of the box.  I've attempted to do this in multiple ways.  At first, it was just to introduce a little more nonfiction into my life.  I found I loved well-written nonfiction about adventure, true crime, survival, and mystery.  I fell in love with Erik Larsen via Devil in the White City.  This year, I'm looking at fiction and nonfiction.  I want to introduce a little more historical and contemporary adult fiction into my line-up.  
2. Read two to one - for every two library books I read, I need to read one book I own.  I'm a book hoarder.  I've come to terms with it.  I think part of me is waiting around for the apocalypse where I'll hunker down in my basement with my books and read read read read.  But I have more than enough books for a lifetime so I'll start whittling down my at home TBR piles.
3. Read at least one galley a month.  I get access to so many advanced copies and galleys and I don't take full advantage of them.  I'm getting better, but am still not quite there yet and I'm planning on upping the number of galleys I read to up my feedback ratio.

That's it.  Nothing major or overly ambitious, but still things to work for in my reading.   I think most people wouldn't think to make goals for their reading, but it's part of my job, as a librarian, to know what's out there and what people might like.  

Butter Beer

Ever since we went to Hogwarts (okay, okay, it was the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, whatever), my husband Jason has been obsessed with perfecting a homemade boozy version of the butter beer they sell at the park.  We've tried lots of different variations (never the one with actual pudding in it) and he thinks he's hit on a very close approximation. 

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"Butterbeer!" by Michelle Friswell is licensed by CC-BY-2.0

Here's the recipe:

1 shot butterscotch schnapps
1/2 shot spiced rum/vanilla flavored vodka
1 scoop vanilla ice cream
1 bottle of IBC cream soda

Scoop the ice cream into a schooner or large mug.  Mash up the ice cream until it is soft.  Pour liquor over ice cream and stir it around.  Slowly pour in the cream soda and be prepared for the foam!  Enjoy!

Cover Look-a-likes

I popped open an email from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt this morning and found these cover look-a-likes.

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Obviously, they aren't identical like some cover look-a-likes, but they are similar.  The close up image of a crow, wings extended, bleak gray background, and an accent touch of red.  I like both of these.  I like the cleaner lines of Six of Crows, but I think the messier look of An Inheritance of Ashes gives a much more frenzied look to the cover, conveying a much different mood or tone.

Prison Ramen: Recipes and Stories from Behind Bars

How can you resist a title like that? Prison Ramen is a work of love - love of camaraderie and eating good food (or as good as you can make it in prison). Interspersed between creative recipes are little anecdotes about prison life written by various inmates as well as celebrities who've spent time behind bars, including Shia LeBoeuf, Slash, and Danny Trejo. I'll admit that I haven't had the time to make any of the recipes, but they do sound appealing. This would be a great addition to a library cookbook collection. I can see teens and college students picking this up for the recipes. Because really, who doesn't love ramen?

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Kady Grant and Ezra Mason somehow managed to survive their breakup. And an attack on their planet, home to an illegal mining operation. Now Kady and Ezra are separated by the vacuum of space - Kady on the science vessel Hypatia and Ezra on the United Terran Alliance ship Alexander - as both ships barrel through space, trying to escape the Lincoln, the BeiTech dreadnought that attacked their home. Told through a series of chat logs, internal memos, and surveillance footage, Illuminae is an no-name-taking, ass-kicking entry into the growing field of young adult sci fi. 

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I still can't even. I got a digital chapter sampler of this from First in Line and once I'd read the first couple of pages I knew I needed to read the whole thing. In my humble opinion, Kaufman and Kristoff have done what so many other YA authors have tried to do - make a readable, believable science fiction novel for young adults. So many times I've picked up what I thought was science fiction for YAs only to find the hard science aspect (the thing that makes hard SF) completely pushed to the side in favor of a love triangle. Kaufman and Kristoff manage to maintain the teenage connection between Kady and Ezra without it overtaking the main thrust of the novel. Not only is she successful in that, she takes this one action and manages to spin it out into a hugely complicated conflict. The attack by BeiTech results in complete catastrophe for the Kerenza refugees, but the actions and problems that arise from that never feel contrived or shoe-horned in. This is compulsively readable and like the tagline says: You've never read a book like this.

My copy courtesy of First in Line and Netgalley.

Ms. Marvel: Volume 1: No Normal

Kamala Khan has the usual problems teenagers have: overly protective parents, changing friends, and homework. Normal teenage problems. Plus, you know, the ability to transform into other people and embiggen herself at will. And the little issue with being mistaken for Captain Marvel while saving the life of her friend during a weird green smokey-fog. Kamala has to figure out what she's going to do with her powers and how she's going to protect herself and her friends and her family.
 

This is such a strong start for a reboot of Ms. Marvel. Kamala Khan kicks so much butt as Ms. Marvel. I want to give this to every nerdy girl who needs a hero. Wilson does a stupendous job of creating a diverse character who is unique, round, interesting, but also accessible to a non-diverse audience (I know, I know, that sounds really awful - but I can see my teen readers picking up a graphic novel with a Muslim character and putting it right back down. The superhero aspect helps to bridge the gap - it's about Kamala and being a PoC and a Muslim, but it's also about being a superhero. I'm hoping that once they see how awesome this is, it'll be a gateway book to other books with main characters PoC.). As someone who is really just starting to dip her toe into the ocean of superheroes, this was a good intro to Ms. Marvel. I didn't feel like I was missing a ton of backstory or I'd jumped into the middle of an arc. I learned just what I needed to know about Ms. Marvel and Captain Marvel while reading volume one and I felt like Kamala is also learning right along with me. The artwork is superb. My usual comic art preference is bold clean lines and bright colors, but this worked for me. I felt like the art fit the subject well - Kamala was all over the place and long, lanky, and bendy, which feels a lot like adolescence anyway - who doesn't feel like they have hands the size of hams and pencil arms and legs? Overall two thumbs way way way up. This is definitely one for the books.

Chocolate: Sweet Science and Dark Secrets of the World's Favorite Treat

Picture this: you have in your hand a candy bar. It's a dark chocolate, sea salt Lindt bar, with smooth sweet chocolate with just a hint of bitter and a hint of salt. Perfection in a candy bar, right? But how did this bar get to be made? Where did the chocolate come from? That's the premise for Chocolate: Sweet Science & Dark Secrets of the World's Favorite Treat. In this relatively short nonfiction, Kay Frydenborg outlines the history of chocolate, from its Mesoamerican origins to its current snack status. She details the process by which chocolate is made and how technology has helped to shape the flavor of the chocolate we know today. She also explores the cacao market today and the steps that are being taken to ensure the future of chocolate.

Once we put the dust jacket on our copy, it doesn't look nearly as much like a candy bar as this image does.

This book, like most books, has its ups and downs. Frydenborg's prose is best whens she's exploring the lives of those connected with the chocolate industry. Her retelling of Hershey's rise and Lyndel Meinhardt's Amazon research trip were the highlights of the book. The personal tales flow and are relatable and interesting, unlike some of the chapters of facts and statistics which read like a textbook. I did learn a great deal about chocolate and about the history of chocolate from the text, but I was thankful that it was short. I do think that this might have been better written if it had focused on the faces behind the chocolate industry (much like a Scientists in the Field book ), not to mention if it had been more closely copy-edited. The text was riddled with errors - many letter hs were replaced with > and ek replaced with fi. It was distracting, and I hope that these are corrected in future printings. I would recommend this to tween and teen readers who grew up with Scientists in the Field and are looking for something more.

Smile by Raina Telgemeier

In a semi-autobiographical graphic novel, Raina Telgemeier tells the story of her ordeal with her teeth (and other growing up stuff). After a girl scout meeting, Raina trips and falls and injures her two front teeth. This results in more orthodontics and dental work than anyone really ever wants to think about. As the orthodontist learns to wrangle her teeth, Raina learns about growing up, making friends, and just being a kid.

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I can't wait to bring this to the fifth graders this year. They're going to eat it up; I just know it. Raina's orthodontic adventure brought all kinds of memories back for me. The summer between my freshman and sophomore years of high school, I had maxillofacial jaw surgery - meaning a jaw surgeon cut off my top jaw and moved it back so I wouldn't have such a horrendous overbite. That plus years of braces, retainers, adjusters, spacers, brackets, and tooth extraction gave me the beautiful smile I have today. I think that's why Smile especially spoke to me; just as I was starting to go through the most awkward period of my life (no pun intended), I had to deal with a bunch of metal and pain in my mouth. Like navigating puberty isn't enough. Telgemeier does an excellent job of showing the awkwardness of first "like," learning when to make new friends and how, all while dealing with goofy looking teeth. The art of Smile is great - very colorful and cartoony which will appeal to younger readers, but not too picture book-esque that it will turn off older readers. Telgemeier did a great job capturing the outfits and style of the 80s and 90s, but without making the book look dated. I definitely think that tween girls will love this book.

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend

Sara fears that she has made a mistake.  A BIG mistake.  Everything was supposed to be straight forward.  She was supposed to fly into the United States, take a Greyhound to Hope, Iowa, and get picked up by Amy, her Iowan pen pal, for a two month reading and relaxing vacation.  Only Amy didn't show up.  Nobody showed up to pick her up.  Luckily for Amy, the townspeople of Hope are generous and offer her a ride to Broken Wheel (in spite of their own misgivings).  When she arrives, she learns that Amy is dead.  She is sad and resigned to heading back to Sweden, but the residents of Broken Wheel have another plan in mind.  

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend is a fun, light read.  Katarina Bivald creates a realistic portrait of small town life with Broken Wheel, highlighting the odd residents, the town loyalty in the face of a slow demise, and the intensely gossipy nature of a small, relatively closed-off community.  Bivald does well developing her female characters - especially Sara and Caroline.  I felt like I got a good picture of Tom, but the rest of the men were lost in my mind, and I frequently found myself reading a name and having to pause and think, "John...which one is John again?"  The plot is quaint and reminiscent of The Storied Life of AJ Fikrey, as mentioned in the blurb.  I love the premise and Sara's journey.  I did have a few reservations about one of the subplots (I think you'll know which one I mean when you read it), not because of its content; I'm just not sure it adds to the plot in a real meaningful way.  I really would have liked to see more development of Sara and Tom's relationship rather than this.  I have already passed on my ARC to another librarian and will definitely be adding this to our collection.  I can think of a dozen ladies who would be delighted by it.

Much thanks to Sourcebooks for the ARC!

The Nameless City by Faith Erin Hicks

Kaidu wants nothing more than to go to Dandao, the city of a thousand names. When he arrives there, he finds that the Nameless City is nothing like he imagined. He flails through his training to become a warrior, admitting that he "likes books better than blades." During an accidental excursion into the city, he runs into Rat, a girl who has always lived in the city, someone who will change his point of view of both the city and his own people's role in it.
 

The artwork in this installation is gorgeous. Hicks must have spent hours painstakingly drawing out every landscape. The details are astonishing and the coloring is rich and vibrant. That being said, the story is a little lacking. The world-building is intriguing and I definitely want to find out more about the Nameless City and its origins. The characters were interesting, but no one really stood out from the crowd. Kai was, to me, nothing more than a foil for introducing the reader to the city. This felt more like the prologue of a story than a full story in and of itself. The action really starts happening and the book ends. That being said, I will pick up the next installment to see where the story goes and how the characters develop.

My copy courtesy of First Second and Netgalley. 

Spectacular Children's Biographies

I just spent some quality time with two new-to-us children's biographies: The Right Word: Roget and his Thesaurus by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Melissa Sweet and Little Melba and Her Big Trombone by Katheryn Russell-Brown, illustrated by Frank Morrison

Bryant explores the life of Peter Mark Roget, the man behind everyone's favorite reference text, the thesaurus.  We see Roget grow from a boy who made lists to learn his Latin vocabulary, into a young man inspired by Linnaeus, into a teacher, a doctor, an inventor, and finally an author.  Bryant's text is easily readable and interesting.  She highlights important facets of Roget's life and ties them into Roget's obsession: lists.  For example, when Roget tells his mother not to worry about him, Bryant writes: "Perhaps worry wasn't quite the right word.  What was the right word?  Peter began a new list: worry, fret, grieve, despair, intrude, badger, annoy, plague, provoke, harass.  Enough to drive one mad."  The real treasure of this book is the layout and illustrations.  Sweet's illustrations are a combination of pencil and watercolor illustrations and photographed mixed media collages.  There is so much on each page to peer at and look through, at times it does feel a little overwhelming, but for me, it made the book one I wanted to spend more time with, savoring each illustration.   The author and the illustrator's notes at the end really helped to illuminate the reason behind the book and how the book was put together.  I was overjoyed with the bibliography, further reading, and sources at the end.

Melba Doretta Liston, self-taught trombone prodigy, had a whirlwind of a life, making music with big bands during the 30s, 40s, and 50s.  What Russell-Brown portrays of Melba's life is inspiring.  She teaches herself to play the trombone, graduates early, is invited to tour the country several big bands and composes music for nearly all of the jazz greats.  The details of her life as detailed in the afterword are a little more somber.  She was frequently the only woman on tour with these big bands.  Her tour with Billie Holiday was cut short due to both racism in the South and a lack of appreciation for the new be-bop sound.  She only released one solo album, and she suffered a debilitating stroke only five years after forming her own band.  Russell-Brown's prose really soars when she's writing about music and Melba's connection to it.  The illustrations though steal the show.  Morrison's oil paintings are full of color and look like they're going to burst from the page.  Melba is larger than life in them, she and her horn stretched across the whole page.  Russell-Brown compiled an extensive discography and bibliography to go along with this book, enabling the reader to both learn more about Melba AND hear the best of the jazz virtuoso. 

The Little Gardener Book Review

The little gardener loved his little garden. It was his home and his food and his life. But he’s very very little and isn’t sure that he can keep up with everything all by himself. So he makes a wish…

The Little Gardener is a beautiful book (like most Flying Eye and NoBrow titles). Emily Hughes’ illustrations are lush and rich and remind me of the Secret Garden coloring book by Johanna Basford, wild and tangled vegetation. Every part of the picture is a feast for the eyes. Hughes’ attention to detail is awesome and I couldn’t help but search each page for the little gardener’s earthworm friend and other little treasures. The text is simple but powerful, reminiscent of Margaret Wise Brown’s books. Possibly my favorite part of the physical book itself is the little flower that runs along the edge of the cloth spine. Possibly my favorite part of the text is Hughes’ dedication: “For my Pappy, Petunias still bloom for you, as do I.” Beautiful.

My copy courtesy of Flying Eye Books. Much thanks.