Visit Adriana Trigiani @ ALA Tomorrow!

Adriana Trigiani will be at the ALA Conference in Boston tomorrow. Can't see her? Check out this video of her doing a walking tour through Greenwich Village, NYC!

A Very Valentine Contest!

Are you a secret reader of my blog? It's time to reveal yourself... because you could win a prize!

To celebrate the paperback release of Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani (I'm sure you noticed the <----- addition to my blog over there- click on the link for more info), HarperCollins will be mailing 3 special winners a copy of the book! How do you enter this fabulous contest? Just comment on this entry! You will need to include your e-mail address. This contest is only running for one week. The last day to enter will be Friday, January 22, 2010. Winners will be notified by e-mail, then will need to e-mail me their physical address in order to receive their prize. Pretty simple, right? You may remember Ms Trigiani's first YA novel, Viola in Reel Life was featured on my Top YA books of 2009 list.

As the month of love approaches, look for a lot more Very Valentine madness. The sequel, Brava, Valentine is being released on February 9, 2010. You can look forward to reviews of both titles right here.

CURRENT: World Without a Superman

I just finished Peck's Sprout this morning. Much better than I thought. It might be too little too late... the supporting characters who are so important at the beginning essentially fade away into nothingness during the second part, and I still know that I liked the book in the end. Kind of sad, but ends on a hopeful note. It's the type of book that makes you long for a redneck boyfriend from Kansas.

Speaking of Kansas... guess what I just bought? I'll give you a hint. It is neither bird... not plane... yep. That guy. After springing for The Death of Superman last year while I was building my NYC graphic novel collection, I decided to follow it up by purchasing the sequel as well. It's justified, since as a kid I had most of the Reign of Superman individual issues (who didn't love Superboy and the Cyborg Superman? I know I did!). I had only actually read the second issue from what this trade paperback collects, a story focusing on Supergirl trying to quell the riots in Metropolis following the Man of Steel's death. I'm not all the way through it... I probably will be this afternoon. While there are a lot of convoluted characters, especially Dubbilex, the Guardian, and those weird Time Twisty (not their actual names, but doesn't that sound comic booky?) dudes who breifly argue over changing history to bring Supes back, the story is a pretty accurate depiction of, if there was a Superman, and that Superman died, what would happen? The police and the government have a standoff over his body, Lois is basically a mess during the whole thing, and his parents don't even initially believe it's happened- they just quietly wait for Clark to come back. I like it. They don't make stories like this anymore, kids.

Coming soon is my review of the first 5 issues (collected in the Volume 1 Trade Paperback) of X-Men Forever. The great thing about reviewing graphic novels and trade paperbacks? I can read them and review them fast, so you get more from me. P.S. I accept all Marvel/DC donations.

The Vast Fields, Top 10, and Chocolate

Since it will be a New Year in just two short days, I believe I am obligated to come up with a Top 10 list of my favorite books of 2009. It's an annotated bibliography, naturally. Got to get it done with that library style. New Year's Resolution? Um, to blog more obvs.


A late addition which didn't make the Top 10 list was Nick Burd's The Vast Fields of Ordinary. This was probably the best book I read all year. It's about a quiet kid named Dade who's not really popular in his high school. He's gay and regularly hooks up with a latin jock on the football team who essentially treats him like crap. His relationship with both his parents is strained, and it's clear at the beginning of the novel that their family unit is essentially falling apart. Dade befriends a new neighbor- Lucy, a lesbian from L.A. who guesses his sexuality and is the first person he can talk openly with. Early on, he ends things with the jock. Soon after, his father throws him a curveball and tells him that he's having an affair. Finally, Dade meets a boy named Alex... and suddenly things don't seem so grim. Alex is fun and kind of likes him, too. Dade is a relatable guy, whether you're gay or not. He just doesn't really get people... I feel like that constantly. I feel like I know someone like every character in this book from growing up in New Hampshire. I finished it on my long holiday bus rode home and enjoyed every minute. Worth the read, I promise.

Also, new addition to sidebar links and fellow book blogger shout-out: Jennifer Hart's The Book Club Girl ran a book club contest that is awarding my library free chocolate, so you should totally check out her blog and see what's up. Great site with interesting interviews.

CURRENT: 'Sprout' by Dale Peck

I could apologize for not updating, but the truth is... I'm not sorry. I've trying to read people. That takes up a lot of my time, mmm k?

I have been promoting my blog a little bit more (which gives me added pressure to update more). One of the things I've been promising people is that they can come to my blog to see what I'm reading. While this is more or less accurate, I have to say I have a newfound addiction to the reading-friendly website Goodreads. Goodreads allows you to list what you're currently reading and what page you are currently on! which has been a godsend since my bookmark is constantly falling out of my book in my bag. I know that you can also list a "currently reading" title on LibraryThing, but... they haven't given me any new Early Reviewer books in a really long time. If I sound bitter, I am. I reviewed every book they sent me so far. And a lot of them were bad.


Speaking of books (although, not bad ones) - want to know what I'm reading right now? Sprout by Dale Peck. So far, the book is cute. It's a little bit confusing, mainly because of the word choice and placement of the protaganist who is aptly named Sprout. The main gist of the plot is that this witty, smart kid from Long Island is uprooted by his father into the middle of nowheresville Kansas after his mother dies. Like a few of the YA novels I've been reading, there really isn't a chapter format - they are seperated by weird quotes. I'm meeting Sprout's favorite English teacher right now, but I have to admit that my favorite character might be his alcoholic father who, so far, is more comedic and sad than any of the other characters. I still have a long way to go, and I'm going to push through since I'm kind of interested... I just wish the title was more compelling. I usually don't write about what I'm reading this early in, but I thought it might be fun to tell you my lukewarm feelings for a book right now to see if maybe they change later on.

Look forward to some possible adult fiction and nonfiction reviews in the coming month, then I'll probably venture back into forthcoming young adult literature. Enough about me, what are you reading?

In Review: Beauty Salon

Because two books is never enough, I started in on a third:

To be fair, Mario Bellatin's
Beauty Salon is not a full length novel. It's a very tiny, thin book that ends a little after 60 pages. Hence why I chose it. I'm about halfway done. Probably the first depressing book I've read in awhile (although, The Monster Variations had it's moments). It's basically about this cross dressing hair dresser who converts his beauty salon into a clinic for the sick and dying. I guess the people are dying of HIV/AIDS, although the novella never explicitly states that. I went back to "Sky" last night during a long train ride (I missed reading that book, so...) when I could have finished "Beauty" ... I keep trying to read at work but it's just not happening. I honestly don't know how librarians find the time to read, blog, tweet and do everything else... I'm pooped. Hopefully, I'll get through both "Beauty" and "Sky" this weekend.

So Many Books...

...and you know the rest. After taking a week or two off from reading, I am now reading not one but two really interesting books that I'm really enjoying. It's hard to pick which one to finish first.

A colleague of mine put this book in my hand and told me I have to read it. He also describes it as "the gayest book ever" (which I usually reserve to "Running With Scissors" but okay) so I was initially intrigued. It's likely I'm going to finish this one first since it's on loan and I really need to give it back to the person I took it from. I kind of literally stole it off her desk, but she was watching the whole time and smiling so I guess it's okay. The format is very similar to "Sophomore Switch" (I think, at least) in that there are two different characters and chapters alternate between them. The title refers to the fact that both boys have the same name. One of them is gay and one of them is not. The way the book is written though... you could almost see the characters being the same character, so I think it's being deliberately ambiguous. Or we're already supposed to know. I'm not sure. I'm making this book sound super confusing, huh? Well, it's not... it's actually kind of sweet. The language is natural and the supporting characters, including the obese "Tiny" are a joy to discover and read about. So far, I haven't found anything I didn't like so I guess we'll see how the novel progresses. It's a little bigger than I like my books, but since it's good I guess we can let it slide.

The "Sky Always Hears Me..." might just be the first book that I have started reading that I absolutely love. I don't usually bother my friends and family about books I'm reading... I honestly didn't think I was one of those people. Turns out, with this particular book, I am. Each "break" - I call them that because the book really isn't in chapter format - are interspersed with a fortune you would get in a fortune cookie. This is partially because the main character likes writing little fortunes and leaving them everywhere and partially to give you insight into the section you are about to be reading. I usually hate books that cover a vast amount of time... probably the weakest part and only criticism of "Sophomore Switch" actually... but with this story, you don't really notice. I've been reading reviews which describe the main character as "whiny" but I'm not finding her to be so at all. More than anything, she's confused about life and her place with the people in it. Maybe I'm loving it because I'm just relating to her confusion, but I can't say enough nice things. I'm about 100 pages in. Nothing has really happened yet. Maybe nothing will. But I, for one, am I super excited to see how it ends.

That's what I'm reading. What are you?

Also, if you get a chance, be sure to check out my featured "guest spot" on the NY Librarians' Meetup Blog for the Beta Phi Mu sponsored tour of the American Numismatic Society.

In Review: The Pride by A. Campbell

Have you ever read a book and not know how you felt about it? That's my experience while sifting through Alexi Campbell's "The Pride" - a play set in two time periods, one the 1950's and the other more modern times. The book is bizarre, especially since the 1950's piece seems somewhat more interesting. Though, not by much. The story kind of drags, but I suppose that's to be expected in a play. Especially one with homosexual content where you want the readers or viewers of the work to be moved emotionally, which ultimately takes time.

If I wasn't used to reading plays (remember my wondeful work with
The Rivier Theater Company?), I probably wouldn't like "The Pride" very much. As it happens, I'm slightly into it. It's also a pretty quick read, and in dramatic stage setting terms wouldn't be that hard to produce; you would just need to find three characters to play the lead parts and learn a buttload of lines. I also think the female character, who plays an important role in the '50s story as the wife of a gay man, is a little forced in the modern version; she supposedly has one of those co-dependent relationships that gay men and straight women form that are always doomed to fail. Hmmm... maybe I'm being oddly pessimistic there? Anyway, she's just not that interesting in the modern version but then, none of the characters are. Had this book stuck to one time period, I may have liked it more. It also makes it slightly confusing, what the the characters in the past and in the future having the same names and all. Still, I'm not sad that I read it, and I might even recommend it to someone looking to do an offbeat and bizarre play.

Also, is it just me... or does "The Pride" seem like a really bad a title?