2011 Books: the books I didn't like edition

Buy-ology by Martin Lindstrom

I admit to enjoying a Malcolm Gladwell book every once in a while, but often those "entertaining non-fiction" genre pieces turn out to just be one massive exercise in stating the obvious. This book claims to revolutionize our ideas about why people respond to advertisements the way they do, and some of the brain studies he mentioned were kind of interesting. But he seems shocked to learn that people lie. Duh. Of course people aren't honest about why they buy things, because the real answers are usually pathetic. I know this, and I am neither an advertising expert nor a scientist.

Additionally, in his afterward about the 2008 financial crisis, he mentions that since the recession, condom sales have gone up. Lindstrom postulates the reason for this is that in times of stress, people find solace in their sexuality. Or maybe people are just worried about getting pregnant during a financial crisis? Sheesh. Idiot.

Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel

Remember Twilight? Of course you do. This is 80s Twilight for the sexually deviant. I hated this book, but I had to finish it because it was part of my banned books project AND I DO NOT ABANDON MY GOALS JUST BECAUSE SOMETHING SUCKS.

I wish I could articulate all the reasons why this book was so awful. The writing was cheesy, and incredibly repetitive. I don't know where/if Ms. Auel got her English degree, but apparently she missed ALL THE LECTURES on showing vs. telling. Here is an exemplary paragraph, written by me:

Krum glared at Ayla, his eyes filled with rage. He was furious. Ayla was sad. Tears ran down her face. She knew Krum was angry. She thought he did not love her. He had told her he loved her before. But maybe now that he was angry, he did not love her anymore. The thought broke her heart. She sobbed.

Imagine 468 pages of that kind of repetition. Hopefully you know understand why this book made me want to claw out my eyes.

Also, in Jean Auel's crazy universe, cavemen did not know that sex makes babies. Somehow, they know that when animals mate, the lady animal gets pregnant, but they have not extended that logic to themselves. Which is basically just an excuse to write a bunch of uncomfortable rape scenes.

Bad writing + bad history + sexual deviance = I will not be reading the rest of the series.

2011 Books, part two

Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began by Art Spiegelman

I didn't realize this until after I bought a copy of each volume, but there are only two volumes in this series and they are more often sold condensed into one book. Art Spiegelman was apparently approached by people who wanted to make his books into movies, after-school specials, etc. I'm glad he didn't.

One of the best things about this series (and about a lot of autobiographical graphic novels, more so than other biographical works, in my opinion) is its unflinching honesty. Spiegelman is very blunt about his flaws and his father's flaws, and it makes the entire work much more humanizing. Whereas sometimes we continue to dehumanize those that survived the Holocaust by refusing to acknowledge their human flaws, this does the opposite. These books are incredible.

Unclutter Your Life in One Week by Erin Dooland

I don't read a lot of this type of non-fiction, but I've been following Dooland's Unclutterer blog for a long time now and I really appreciate what she has to say. I think she does a great job of having a proven system without insisting that it's the perfect fit for everyone. I really like her work.

This book was really fun and a quick read. Not all of it was applicable to me right now because I don't work in an office, but I still liked it. I think her suggested system would be practical to accomplish in one week. You know, if one didn't live with a compulsive hoarder.

In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord

This might sound weird--actually, I know for a fact this is gonna sound weird, but I have lots and lots of memories of browsing through my teacher's library in fifth grade, and this is one of her books that I always noticed but never picked up, probably because I wasn't much of a baseball fan and assumed that's all it was about.

Apparently, my family has a copy as well. Probably because my younger brother loved baseball? I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. I kept putting it down for a few days, but I always came back to it. This book tells the story of Shirley Temple Wong, who immigrates with her family to Brooklyn from China in the 1940s. It describes her assimilation into her school, into the apartment house she lives in, into her neighborhood and community in general. Baseball is a big part of that for her. It's a very sweet story, and it stayed interesting even for someone like me who doesn't love baseball.

A History of Violence by John Wagner

There are some graphic novels where I know that a movie exists but I am not positive I want to see it. Even though graphic novels can be disturbing, violence or cruelty in a inked-out panel is just not as harrowing as violence on a screen. I wish I had gotten to Ashley and told her to read Watchmen BEFORE seeing the movie, but sometimes these things just happen. Sorry about that, Ash.

Anyway, I liked this book, but there is NO WAY I am going to see the movie. I do not care how many awards it got or how handsome Viggo looks. Do I even need to explain why I don't want to see this? The story is violent. I don't like seeing movies about mafia dudes torturing people. No thanks. But the book was fairly interesting. I didn't hate it.

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Part of my banned books project. I think this book was even in the top ten. It only took me a few pages to figure out why.

INCESTINCESTINCESTEWWWWWWWWWWWWW

Anyway, this book was really great. A little slow at times, but the characters were amazing. Some decent redemption at the end, along with a lot of tragedy. Reminded me a lot of Precious, with a slightly happier ending. I think people should read this book.

Wire Mothers: Harry Harlow and the Science of Love by Jim Ottaviani

So the funny thing is, I found this via library browsing and had no idea what it was really about. Turns out, it's about a famous study I've read about a number of times that demonstrated the importance of parent-child emotional bonding. Really short, but cool book. SCIENCE!!!!!!

2011 Books, part one

I know you've been waiting for this on the edge of your seats. I promise to try to blog every 5-6 books from now on instead of every 10+, to make these posts easier to digest. Starting next time. Pinky swears.

Anyway, these are the books I have read so far this year:

Go Ask Alice by Anonymous

This was not the cover on the copy I read, by the way. It was green and a little less YA-looking. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Diaries are often considered YA fodder, anyway.

This was part of my banned books project, and it was another one of those books that made me cry and sent me into a brief period of despair when it was over. Not to be a Spoiler Spencer, but the end of this book is really, really sad, and also very unsatisfying. The girl who wrote this diary is an amazingly talented writer. It makes me angry that this is the only piece she ever had published.

I will probably force my teenage children to read this book and they will be like, geez, Mom, already knew drugs were bad, thanks; and then I will be like yeah, but this book shows you why drugs are so bad, and they will roll their eyes.

The End by Lemony Snicket

I chose this cover even though it is clearly for the audio version because OMG, Tim Curry? Why was he not cast as Lemony Snicket in that decent-but-could-have-been-better film?

I spent an entire summer a few years ago hanging out in the children's section of the BYU library reading this entire book series as had been published at the time. Because I am cool. Then I got really busy and wasn't able to read the last two books in the series until fairly recently. Snicket did a good job of tying the series up, I think. I have heard good things he has written under his real name, so I'll have to check those out later.

Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata

This was one of those books I had checked out once or twice before, but returned before I had a chance to read it. It's a really sweet story. Definitely deserved the attention it got. I had a hard time at first placing exactly what era it was set in at first, but that's really secondary to the plot, anyway.

I would totally read this to a fifth or sixth grade class.

In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak

Another one from the banned books project. I am making serious headway on it this year.

When I think Maurice Sendak, I think of two things. One, he designed the sets for the Pacific Northwest Ballet's yearly production of the Nutcracker, and they are breathtaking. Two, Where the Wild Things Are, quite possibly the best, most timeless picture books of all time.

I had never heard of this book before seeing it on the list, and it was OK, but not nearly as tightly written or as expressive as WTWTA. I figured out why it was banned really quickly--the young male protagonist is naked for much of the story. Some people are freaked out by nudity even when it's with little kids, I guess. The nudity did seem kind of unimportant to the story however, so it would have been easier to just leave it out ... who knows why he made the choice he did.

Some people find this book very Freudian. Just a thought.

The Reader by Bernhard Schlink

I found this book while browsing aimlessly at the library. I had heard of the Academy Award-winning film for which Kate Winslet, one of my favorite actresses, had received a Best Actress Oscar, but I hadn't got around to seeing the movie. Now I'm glad I did, because this book was incredibly compelling, and I liked being able to be surprised by the story as it developed.

Oddly, I identified with the main female character, even though she is not the heroine by any means. The whole book is very sparse and kind of cold, even though it is about a love affair that it describes in vivid detail.

I don't know what else to say about the story, but seriously, read this book.

The Stupids Have a Ball; The Stupids Take Off; The Stupids Step Out, all by Harry Allard

This entire series is on the banned books list, and I read all of them except for one. They are pretty consistent in theme so I don't think I'm missing a whole lot.

I imagine these books were banned because it's not very nice to call people "stupid." I can't think of any other reason why. The family is basically an oblivious group of idiots who blissfully go through life sleeping in clown suits, letting the cat drive the car and walking on their hands. I think a lot of children find it fun and gratifying to be able to look at a group of people behaving contrary to norms and knowing that they know better (another example of this is the character Mr. Noodle on Sesame Street). Recognizing when something is out of the ordinary is one of the test criteria for autism, as I understand it. So while it is not nice to call people stupid, I think these books have value for very young children.

NOTE: here is what it says on Wikipedia: "Challengers of the books claim that they describe families in a derogatory manner and may encourage children to be disobedient. They also claim that they promote low self-esteem and negative behavior." How's that for some ridiculous?

Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam

First of all, this book was awesome. It was another kids' book from the banned books list. Second, it was obviously banned because it has references to the devil and the supernatural. Third, people need to lighten up because the poems were hilarious and scary stories are good clean fun. Here is a sample poem from the book.

Apple

Apple,

sweet apple,

what do you hide?

Wormy and

squirmy,

rotten inside.

Apple,

sweet apple

so shiny and red,

taste it,

don't waste it,

come and be fed.

Delicious,

malicious;

one bite and

you're dead.

See what I mean? The poem is funny, a little spooky, but the kind of spooky like in a Disney movie where you know the villain has a bumbling sidekick and probably a really hilarious weakness. I really wish people would think these things through.

Sleepwalk with Me and Other Painfully True Stories by Mike Birbiglia

I was really excited to read this book because Mike Birbiglia is one of my favorite comedians and contributes to my two favorite podcasts, The Moth and This American Life. Unfortunately, because I have heard so much of his work, some of these stories I had heard before. But they were still funny and delightful. Great book .

Blubber by Judy Blume

From the banned books list, and surprisingly, one of the few Judy Blume books I had not read. I had always assumed this book was about what it was like to be a chubby kid. In fact, it is told from the point of view of another girl in Blubber's class. It's mostly about bullying. At first everyone in the class, including the protagonist, who is so boring and forgettable that I have already forgotten her name, bullies Linda, AKA Blubber. The bullying is the kind of vicious stuff from your childhood that you always assume you just remember wrong as an adult, but then realize is actually universal. Then the class switches targets and everyone bullies protagonist, including Linda.

That is really depressing, and I want to believe that most (some?) bullied kids would refuse to bully others. Am I being too idealistic? Maybe.

My Life as a Furry Red Monster by Kevin Clash

Yes, yes indeed I am a TOTAL puppet nerd. I remember seeing this charming interview with Kevin Clash a while back, and being like, "Dude, the guy who performs Elmo is a tall, good-looking black guy? This is the same kind of cognitive dissonance I experienced when I found out Miss Piggy was played by a balding bespectacled British dude!"

Anyway, this is a typical famous person memoir: ghost-edited by someone with a better handle on writing, lots of shout-outs to famous mentors, loving memories of family members. However, I still ate it up. Good times.

It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis

This is another one of those books that is so good I am worried about doing it justice. The back cover described the story as "eerily timeless" and that is a pretty apt summary. It was written in 1935, but the narration and characters feel so modern, it really was eerie. There are a lot of political issues and trends that I assumed had only been around for the past 30 years or so, but I was totally wrong.

Assuming my Wikipedia skimming did not fail me for the first time, this book was written after Hitler had come to power, but before the United States was involved in the conflict, possibly before they even cared what was happening in Europe. Sinclair explores the idea of how a Hitler-like Fascist dictator could easily come to power in the United States. It is brilliant. Also creepy.

The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis

I have read the first book in this series (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) probably five or six times, and I am pretty sure I had the next three or so read to me when I was little, but I recently decided to read the entire series. I did some research about whether or not to start with this book, seeing as it's a prequel that was written after the series (just like The Hobbit, which I also read first). I decided that I wanted to read the prequel first, especially considering that I had read the "real" first book in the series so many times already.

Aslan is quite possibly my favorite allegory for God/Jesus outside scriptural canon. The scene where Digory tells Aslan about his mother made me cry.

Also, Do you think this is where J.K. Rowling got Cedric Diggory's last name?

Post-2010 Report

It's common for bloggers to take stock of their lives at the end of the year and write about their goals, hopes, etc for the upcoming. I am not going to do this because 1. 2010 kinda sucked and 2. 2011 is shaping up to be AWESOME but I don't want to jinx it.

However, it is quite important for me to take stock of my reading every year, so here are some graphs. I read 67 books this year, which is pretty good considering none of them were assignments for school, but pales in comparison to rock stars such as Janssen. As you can see, my split between kids/YA/adult books was reasonably even, with all three genres represented, although I showed a strong leaning towards books written for adults. This is because I am an adult.

NOTE: sometimes, it is hard to determine if a book is a children's book or a YA book. Obviously picture books are meant for children, but some chapter books can be kind of nebulous. I used a mathematically proven algorithm known as "thinking about how old the protagonist is and whether the book has adult themes, then guessing."

Clearly, I show a strong preference for fiction over non-fiction.

Shockingly, most of the books that I read, I liked. Spoiler alert--two of the books I did not like were Twilight. Additionally, contrary to popular belief, I do not ONLY read comic books.

This may or may not have been interesting to anyone who is not me.

The rest of the 2010 books!!!!

The Big Kahn by Neil Kleid

This graphic novel is about the son of a Jewish Rabbi whose last name is Kahn, who turns out to have a compelling secret: he is a former grifter who was not born into the Jewish faith! A CON artist! Con? Kahn? Get it?

Sorry about that. Aside from this books puntacular title, it was really, really good. I liked how they focused equally on the religious faith and the religious culture and how both of those draw and repel people at different stages of their lives. I think my Mormon readers will find a lot of parallels. Especially with the role of gossip in even the most high-minded religious communities.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

The thing I am really proud about is that I read this book without buying it or getting it from the library or borrowing it from a friend. I read the first section at Borders, the second at Third Place Books and the third while I was baby-sitting for a friend after the kids were asleep. Bam!

This means I had heard some spoilers by my hardcore friends who finished the book the first week it came out, but it didn't ruin the experience for me. I was relatively satisfied by the romance, although I wish the ending had been less abrupt. Nevertheless, the whole series is kick-ass. I hope the movie doesn't suck too bad.

Gooney the Fabulous by Lois Lowry

Another Gooney Bird book for the K-2 set. I find these books fun and age-appropriate but sometimes I get a little bored. However, I stand by my statement that Lowry is a genius. It's not her, it's me. One thing that really hits home with these books is how realistic the kids dialogue is. They sound like real kids. It's great.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

I have started this book a million bajillion times and finally, FINALLY succeeded in finishing it. I actually liked it a whole lot. I found that the varying levels of compatibility between various partners was realistic, rather than an attempt to snag everyone a husband before the story ends, which is how a lot of the (versions of the) movies sometimes seem. There is a guy in my ward who totally reminds me of Mister Collins. That is all.

Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman

This book is part of my Banned Books Project. I guess it's not a surprise that this book gets some people's hackles up, but honestly, kind of like Daddy's Roommate, to me it seemed pretty tame, even boring. But maybe that's because it's easy for me to think of families with homosexual parents being just like families with heterosexual families BECAUSE THEY ARE. These books do a good job driving home the point that homosexual parents love their kids and do normal household things just like any parent, but at this point I think we're past that. Stories about homosexual families need to start being actual stories, not just focusing on the one difference that doesn't actually make their family that different.

I read a newer edition that had edited out a small section about how Heather was conceived. I'll try to find an original edition one of these days.

The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place by E. L. Keonigsburg

I really like this author, she has written several Newberry Award books, which is a pretty big deal. I listened to this book on tape and I got REALLY EXCITED because the two main adult characters are Hungarian and they use several Hungarian words in the text!! The book was read aloud by Molly Ringwald (??) and she tried her darndest to pronounce the Hungarian correctly, but sometimes failed.

That aside, this is a really fun story, keeps you guessing the whole time. The main character is a really funny kid with a super entertaining voice. Nice message too, about accepting differences instead of rejecting them.

Maus 1: My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman

This is one of the few graphic novels with a non-superhero theme that I was aware of as a child. Never got around to reading it until now, though. I am hooked. It's an incredible story. Moving and honest. Not that I didn't know this before, but holy crap the Holocaust was brutal.

Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner

Jennifer Weiner was one of my favorite novelists when I was in high school. Now that I'm older, I can recognize that her writing doesn't exactly reinvent the wheel, but her stories are still really inventive and fun. I think her work is pretty representative of the "beach book" genre, which isn't meant as a criticism at all.

This book was a sequel to Good in Bed, which was her first novel. Like I said, I enjoyed it, except my favorite character dies at the end. That's not a spoiler because you don't know who my favorite character is. Ha!

Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher

I have heard of this book before, but I read it because I have a Kindle app on my phone and you can download a lot of "classics" for free. I love free. Also, it was a quick read and I was able to finish it in one plane ride while Carlos was sleeping.

I assumed this was a period piece, but it was actually written in 1916 so it was actually just writing about that time period! The story is about a coddled Victorian orphan named Elizabeth Ann who lives with her overprotective aunt and cousin. When her cousin becomes ill and needs to go to the seashore (remember when that's what sick people got to do? I wish I could have been sick back then) Elizabeth goes to live with her other cousins who live on a farm in Vermont. They are not only awesome but teach her that she is capable of much more than she thought--she walks to school alone, takes care of the farm and tutors younger students in her one-room schoolhouse. She also takes the nickname Betsy.

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

This is a really good book, but guess what? The movie follows the plot of the book amazingly well and is actually better. I think the book is still worth reading, but it kinda blows my mind that I find the film adaptation more effective. What's next, processed food tasting better than real food? Oh, what a world, what a world ...

The only problem with the movie is that I think a lot of the people missed the fact that the whole thing is satire. The book makes that a lot more clear. It also makes the big reveal (you know what I'm talking about) a lot more obvious than the movie does, which is a bummer.

Also, get a newer copy of the edition with the forward/afterward that talks about fight clubs cropping up at BYU. What the what?

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

I finally read this! It is the first Dickens novel that I have actually finished (Sorry Mr. Berkbigler, I didn't finish Oliver Twist--it sucked). It's short enough to be a Christmas tradition if you like that sort of thing. And it's a great read. Here is what I learned from this book:

1. A lot of modern brushes paint Scrooge as selfish, but the weird thing is he doesn't even spend his money on himself. He just hoards it. This is not what most rich Americans do.

2. A Muppet Christmas Carol was shockingly faithful to the original and even used a number of direct quotes from the text.

3. Accordingly, I can ONLY picture Ebenezer Scrooge as played by Michael Caine. This takes nothing away from my reading experience, however. I think it adds to it.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

This book moved me so much I not only cried, but I was depressed that it was over. I was also depressed because the book was kind of depressing. I can't explain why because that would give too much away. There are so many books about introverted awkward teenagers. I wish I had known about all of them when I was an awkward, introverted teenager.

Even if you never were, you should read this book.

In Odd We Trust by Dean Koontz

Another graphic novel, this one of the supernatural-crime genre. Apparently Dean Koontz is kind of a big deal in the non-graphic novel world, but I had never heard of him before this. Apparently this series continues in various novel/graphic novel forms, but I may or may not pick it up. This story was entertaining enough--Odd Thomas is a guy who sees dead people who uses his supernatural powers to solve murder mysteries--but I wasn't completely enthralled like I was with masterpieces of the genre like V for Vendetta. There are just a lot of books out there. And I am pretty busy, OK?

Books I Have Read in 2010, part one

I have gotten really, really far behind in this whole "keeping track of all the books I read" thing. But since I'm homebound and sick and got nothing else/better to do, here you go. These are the first ten.

Stop Forgetting to Remember: the Autobiography of Walter Kurtz by Peter Kuper

Another autobiographical graphic novel I found whilst browsing aimlessly at the library. Kuper mixed it up a bit by making it an autobiography not of himself, but of a fictional person who happens to have had a very, very similar life to his. Wink. The whole book is like a very long version of one of those "this happened to a friend of mine" stories that you hear at parties. Sometimes even in Sacrament Meeting!

I am like 95% sure one of the stories I heard in my most recent Sacrament Meeting was one of those. Anyway.

An autobiographical graphic novel kick is for sure a good kick to be on, and this is a good one, even though it technically breaks the most crucial convention. It's still powerfully honest, and breaks the fourth wall in really cool ways. It's not often that one finds a magical-realism-infused book about parenting and male friendship that still manages to be so touching. I feel like now that I have read this book, I totally understand men. NOT.

Going Rogue: An American Life by Sarah Palin

I decided recently that it's really important for me to read the books of the people with whom I disagree most vehemently, because I want to make sure that I sincerely disagree with their ideas and not just a straw man version of them. Which is often what people I dislike do, argue against ideas they claim their opponents have instead of their actual ideas. But I digress.

I disagree pretty heartily with most of what Sarah Palin says, does, is, represents. After reading her (albeit heavily ghostwritten) memoirs, I can now say with a certainty that I wasn't just imagining things. I really do disagree with her, even dislike her as a person, which is too bad. Someone who reviewed this book on Slate described this book as a "1000 page paean to willful ignorance." That pretty much sums it up.

The thing that really, really bothers me about Sarah Palin, more than her trumped-up claims about her governmental experience, more than her sick parading of her kids for the press, and more than her irritating lack of diplomacy, was that multiple times in her book she claimed that as a child she was a "bookworm" and "a nerd" who spent all her time reading.

First of all, no way could any well-read person have the stunted vocabulary and incomprehensible syntax that Palin seems almost proud of. Secondly, Palin claims that her favorite books are Animal Farm and The Pearl. AKA two of the shortest books on any middle school teacher's required reading list. She makes no mention of any book longer than the two aforementioned. Please. Bookworms read books. You can't spend decades reading and only have those two (very good, let me be clear) books on your hit list.

If Sarah Palin is a nerd, then I'm prom queen. I really feel very strongly about this. You can't grow up as a superstar teen and then try to play your past as a brainy outcast so you seem relatable. Can't have it both ways, sister.

I better stop because I keep getting angrier and angrier at Sarah Palin.

My Rotten Life: Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie by David Lubar

Carlos and I listened to this on CD while we were driving to and from Spokane the week before my birthday. It was a fun, fast-paced book, meant for about Carlos' age group. It took a few cues from Harry Potter (likable everyman hero, goofy-but-loyal best friend, genius female sidekick) but was still reasonably original. Also played around with the ideas of zombiehood in some interesting ways.

The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katharine Paterson

Another one from the Banned Books List. Another strong piece from Ms. Paterson. It's about a little girl who has been in foster care for most of her life and is (understandably) angry at the world and slow to trust anyone. Of course, she gets taken in by a diverse cast of characters and comes to love them. That part was predictable. The ending was not. Really good book.

Hold Me Tight: Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love by Dr. Sue Johnson

It's kind of embarrassing to admit that I read this, especially since it wasn't for any project or goal. I read it because Natasha Parker of The Mormon Therapist recommended Hold Me Tight as a good book about relationships and she is my favorite Mormon blogger and speaks a lot of truth. Anyway, this book had some very interesting ideas about attachment theory as it related to adult relationships rather than just parent-child relationships. I think she is pretty spot-on. This would be a good book to get on your Kindle so nobody in public would know you were reading it.

A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck

I thought this book was a true story until I finished it. As it turns out, it sounds like it was kinda one of those "Walter Kurtz" type deals where the author writes a book about a main character with his name and his exact life even though it is supposedly fictional. There is a really graphic description of a pig being slaughtered which made me really sad, but is apparently super accurate, so I can maybe understand why this book was banned. But I think the story is really important, and taught me a lot about Shaker life, a religion I knew very little about beforehand.

Gooney Bird and the Room Mother by Lois Lowry

Another of Lowry's books for younger children. Super cute. Would be great to read to a K-2 class. Reveal at the end caught me totally off guard. I like it when books do that.

The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry

This book reminded me of Lemony Snicket's sense of humor. By which I mean it was awesome. It is also a about smart orphans and dumb adults. I would totally read this to a 4-6 class.

Cancer Vixen by Marisa Acocella Marcello

Yup, another autobiographical graphic novel. By a woman! Exciting!

I think I am going to send a copy of this to my mom because it's about beating cancer and that's what she did.

Sometimes I have a hard time relating to stories, most of which are by women, where the main plotline is like "I was super rich and sexy and glamorous and then this super-hard thing happened to me and now I know what's really important and I brought a turkey dinner to Bob Cratchit's house!" Mostly because I am neither rich nor sexy nor glamorous. But whatevs. This is still a really good book. It makes me wish I knew more Italians (shout out to ma Pearce girls).

Strangers in Paradise, book 1 by Terry Moore

Do you like lesbian-homoerotic-crime-thriller-graphic novels????

Me too. Here is a book that may interest you.

Not really much else to say about this ... I had no idea what it was about when I started (aimless library browsing once again) and by the time I realized that the love triangle was two chicks and a dude, I was like, but what's gonna happen when the mafia finds out? And I had to finish it.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Also, this book is one of very few books where one of the main characters is an overweight woman and the essence of her characters is not TO BE AN OVERWEIGHT WOMAN. She has a role outside of that. Know what I mean?

2010 Books Galore

The Man from Krypton: A Closer Look at Superman by Glenn Yeffeth, ed.

I promise this is the last comic book-related anthology I will review for a while. Maybe. We'll see. You never know.

This was another one of the Smart Pop anthologies that I read over the summer, and this was one of the better ones. Superman has been around long enough that there is plenty to say about him. I would say this one is just as good as Webslinger.

Positive Discipline: the First Three Years by Jane Nelson

I started reading this at my employer's house when I was a nanny and liked it so much I wanted to finish it. In fact, I decided I wanted to read all the books in the Positive Discipline series. It's a really great philosophy for dealing with kids.

The main premise is that kids behave well when they feel good about themselves and their abilities, and parenting's goal should be to empower kids to learn through doing rather than be motivated by rewards and/or punishments. I saw a lot of truth in what they were saying. But all bets are off until I am co-raising a child that is not also my sibling.

Replay by Sharon Creech

I found this book at the library kind of by accident. I really liked Walk Two Moons, also by Creech, so I thought I would give it a shot. It's a really nice little book about a young Hispanic boy who feels like he doesn't fit into his family because he's very introspective and imaginative (his family nicknames him "fog boy"). Really short, nice read. Might have choked me up at the end. But what else is new.

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski

Oh man. If you read only one reworking of Shakespeare set in rural Wisconsin, make it this one.

Kidding aside, this was an amazing book. Earned all the praise it garnered when it first came out. I could see it becoming a classic. The book is a retelling of Hamlet, told from the point of view of Edgar, a mute teenager who raises dogs with his parents. Even though I've read Hamlet so I had an idea of how things are going to end (re: not good) this book was incredibly gripping. The author is able to make everyone's point of view come alive--even the dogs' point of view, which I think is a rare gift.

Of all the books I am posting about today, if you plan to read one of them, read this one.

The Birthday Ball by Lois Lowry

Another fun, easy YA read. Fact: Lois Lowry can do no wrong. Also fact: this is one of those books I would like to read to my class someday (probably fourth grade and up). It's a reworked fairy tale with a pretty traditional-sounding premise, but still turns out to be really fun. I was genuinely curious as to how things were going to work out, which is a good sign.

P.S. Blogger's paragraph spacing rules are SO IRRITATING