Bookseller Chick

Your Grandma Wears Army Boots...

2011-08-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

Mare’s War by Tanita S. Davis:

Meet Mare, a World War II veteran and a grandmother like no other. She was once a willful teenager who escaped her less than perfect life in the deep South and lied about her age to join the African American Battalion of the Women's Army Corps. Now she is driving her granddaughters—two willful teenagers in their own rite—on a cross-country road trip. The girls are initially skeptical of Mare's flippy wigs and stilettos, but they soon find themselves entranced by the story she has to tell, and readers will be too.

Told in alternating chapters, half of which follow Mare through her experiences as a WAC and half of which follow Mare and her granddaughters on the road in the present day, this novel introduces readers to a larger-than-life character and a fascinating chapter in African American history.

Summary from GoodReads.

Octavia (Tavia) and her older sister Talitha (Tali) have had their summer hijacked by their parents. Instead of wiling away those hot summer days babysitting and ogling hot lifeguards, they are stuck in a car, driving across the country with their grandmother, Mare, to go to a family reunion.

Mare’s not like other grandmothers. Despite being in her 80s, she favors high heels, outrageous wigs and drives her little red sports car like a maniac.

Trapped in the confines of a small car, Tavia and Talia are a captive audience to Mare’s stories of growing up poor and joining the African-American battalion of the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) when she was just 17 years old. Though reluctant to listen at first, soon they are asking questions and learning about a part of history really covered in class. Through crazy pit stops, poor road conditions and hot weather, the girls slowly come to understand why Mare is the way she is, and learn what it means to embrace a life lived in spite of the fear of the unknown.

I picked up Mare’s War because I read a moving blog post by Tanita Davis in the wake of the horror in Oslo. This woman’s a writer, I thought to myself, and quick review of her website proved my theory to be true. Mare’s War was available at the library, so I picked it up.

Not only did I end falling in love with Mare (she can be my grandmother any day), but I got to learn something without ever feeling like someone was trying to teach me a lesson. Mare’s War may be narrated by Tavia in the present, but – as the title suggests – this is Mare’s story.

And what a story it is.

Mare’s journey to protect her little sister, and become something beyond being the house girl for the local society maven is captivating. Davis captures her journey during this time period and the politics of WWII (not to mention the irony of fighting freedom for others when you are not complete free yourself) without ever feeling heavy-handed, and the resulting story is a captivating read.

Mare’s personality and journey are so strong however, that her story overshadows that of her Tavia and Tali and their relationship with one another. The periods of time spend in the present while Tavia tries to understand her strained bond with Tali and learn her own strength of character does not have the same impact of the chapters that take place in the past. Mare is just too big of a character. While I enjoyed the present day interludes (and Tavia and Tali’s personalities), I was glued to the couch by what would happen in Mare’s life next.

Mare’s War is highly recommended for readers who are interested in a fictional account of historical events, flamboyant characters, strong women and anyone who enjoys a road trip story.

You can purchase Mare's War from these fine retailers: Powell’s, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Your Local Indie, or you can pick it up at your local library.

Book Source: the library.

Mapping out your relationship highway style...

2011-08-08T18:00:00.000-07:00

Don’t Stop Now by Julie Halpern:

On the first day of Lillian’s summer-before-college, she gets a message on her cell from her sort-of friend, Penny. Not only has Penny faked her own kidnapping, but Lil is the only one who figures it out. She knows that Penny’s home life has been rough, and that her boyfriend may be abusive. Soon, Penny’s family, the local police, and even the FBI are grilling Lil, and she decides to head out to Oregon, where Penny has mentioned an acquaintance. And who better to road-trip across the country with than Lil’s BFF, Josh. But here’s the thing: Lil loves Josh. And Josh doesn’t want to “ruin” their amazing friendship.

Josh has a car and his dad’s credit card. Lil has her cell phone and a hunch about where Penny is hiding. There’s something else she needs to find: Are she and Josh meant to be together?

Summary from GoodReads.

Lillian wakes up the morning after her last day of high school (ever!) to a mysterious voice mail from her default friend, Penny. Although it’s just three words long – “I did it.” – the message is enough to trigger a foggy memory of Penny planning her own kidnapping. Fake kidnappings are just too much trouble to handle alone – which basically sums up Lil & Penny’s entire relationship – so Lil calls in reinforcements: her real best friend, Josh. Aka the boy who is the definition of unrequited love interest.

Lil and Josh go together like peanut butter and jelly, complete with a general “screw those people with nut allergies” attitude, so (unsurprisingly) upon learning of the adventures of one bad Penny, Josh hits upon the perfect solution.

Can we say road trip?

Armed with vague memories of Penny’s destination and a strong desire to avoid FBI interrogation, Josh and Lil leave Chicago for the open road, destination: Portland, Oregon. Along the way they’ll stop to see the more absurd of the road side attractions and explore that spark that always makes them seem more than friends. By the time they reach Portland, will they have reached a new stage in their relationship as well?

Lil and Josh are very, very clearly teenagers and entitled ones at that. With few familial or economic responsibilities , they can just take off. Armed with Josh’s Dad’s credit card and the semi-reliability of his A/C-less van, they are beholden to nothing other than their own questions. Will this road trip help them find Penny? And more importantly will it answer the questions Lil has always had regarding the possibility of upgrading Josh from best friend to boyfriend?

By sending Josh and Lil on a road trip, Halpern is able to intensely focus on their actions, interaction and reactions. Whether or not Lil will forever be stuck in the friend zone (or even if it is better for her there) is what drives the plot and our understanding of Lil and Josh together. The only outside perspective she supplies comes from Penny’s diary entries.

These diary entries both help and hurt Lil and Josh as characters. We get to experience how Penny perceives them – the ultimate couple whose coupling she doesn’t quite understand the dynamics of, but whose support of one another goes unquestioned. This is in clear contrast to Penny’s own abusive romantic relationship and her broken family ties. Thanks to these diary entries, I as the reader could see why Penny had gone to such extremes, whereas Josh and Lil have only their impressions of Penny to go on. Still their ignorance in light of her behavior is hard to witness. Even at the very end when Lil confronts Penny about the kidnapping, she cut’s off the other girl’s explanation of why.

While I know – and the story takes great pains to point out – that Lil viewed Penny as a pity friend, I had a hard time accepting this part of Lil’s character. And the reason has to do with the fact that outside of Josh we never really hear about anyone else in Lil’s life. The reader never gets to see Lil interact with another female character (real friend-wise) because she is so wrapped up in Josh that no one else appears to matter.

Very teenager-y? Yes. And maybe Lil is just one of those girls that enjoy the company of men over women. But there was a certain level of insularity to both her and Josh’s character to kept me from loving them whole-heartedly despite the great rapid dialog, crazy landmarks, and the will they or won’t they romantic tension.

Without the Penny drama, Don’t Stop Now is a light road trip tale of best friends trying to define their relationship – whatever that is – before they pass on into full adulthood and all the requirements and restrictions that come with the title. When viewed through a teen viewfinder, we get to explore the friendship zone with two people full of charm and adventure. Whether these things will transition with them to the next stage of life is what Lil and Josh are trying to discover. In fact, had Penny not been part of this, I think I would have been unfazed by Lil and Josh’s flakier moments. Sadly, I’ve known too many Penny’s this affects my judgment of their reactions to her situation.

Despite this, I did enjoy learning about their different stops along the way. I even learned something new about Portland (I’d never been to/or heard of the Rimsky-Korsakoffee House) that I will have to check out. This does lead me to one correction in the text though. While in the Church of Elvis, Lil observes someone giving them the devil sign for talking to loud:

“Can we get out of here?” I ask Penny. “That woman is giving us the evil eye,” which she is, literally, by staring at us and pointing the devil hand sign in our direction.
-page 213 of Don’t Stop Now.

Guys, that’s not the devil sign! It’s the quiet coyote, the hand symbol used by teachers in classrooms and school assemblies to bring order and silence…as well as the occasional smart-ass howl.* (I’m told by high school teachers it doesn’t work so well for them. )

Even zoos have heard of it:

The inclusion of the quiet coyote, although it was unknowing, made my day. For that scene alone I have told three people about this book.

I picked up Don’t Stop Now because it sounded like a fun “will they or won’t they” novel with the added bonus of some Portland landmarks. In the end, I found that my reservations regarding Penny’s situation and Lil and Josh’s attitude toward that situation dimmed my overall enjoyment slightly. Maybe it’s a sign of my age that I wanted a little more from these characters. Still, this won’t keep me from picking up Halpern’s other titles if my mood and the library’s hold system are in alignment.

Recommended for fans of road trips and the best friends turned lovers trope (or at least an exploration of some of its aspects). Like movie theater popcorn Don’t Stop Now will either be the perfect accompaniment to a summer day or leave you with a hangover from the butter high.

You can purchase Don’t Stop Now from these fine retailers: Powell’s, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Your Local Indie, or you can pick it up at your local library.

*This in itself is amusing because anyone who lives in a rural area with a coyote population will tell you that they are often anything but quiet. It took me many years after I moved out of my parent’s house to get used to going to sleep without their howling.

Links for tea drinkers and introverts and whinos (or tea drinking introvert whinos)

2011-08-03T09:44:00.000-07:00

In my searches I came across this very old article from the Atlantic regarding “Caring for Your Introvert.” In 2003 (March) Jonathan Rauch wrote about Introverts or “people who find other people tiring.”

Extroverts are energized by people, and wilt or fade when alone. They often seem bored by themselves, in both senses of the expression. Leave an extrovert alone for two minutes and he will reach for his cell phone. In contrast, after an hour or two of being socially "on," we introverts need to turn off and recharge. My own formula is roughly two hours alone for every hour of socializing. This isn't antisocial. It isn't a sign of depression. It does not call for medication. For introverts, to be alone with our thoughts is as restorative as sleeping, as nourishing as eating. Our motto: "I'm okay, you're okay—in small doses."

Now, I’ll be the first one to tell you that I’m an introvert, but I do think everyone needs a little alone time sometimes, especially with a book…and perhaps with a cup of tea. Although you had better watch out because apparently tea makers have been lying to us! A recent i09 article states: “High school scientists discover "undisclosed ingredients" in tea.”

What did they find? A kettle full of deception! Although the teas that were not flavored mostly kept honest, with only about four percent having extra plants mixed in, over a third of the herbal teas had unlisted ingredients. The main additives were bluegrass, which grows on lawns, and white goosefoot, which is a relative of spinach. There was also parsley, and a lot of extra chamomile.

That’s right, there might be newspaper lurking in your green tea and undisclosed bluegrass in your chamomile! The article prompted the following conversation with my roommate:

Roommate: …all the more reason to avoid herbal teas
Me: yep. I'm sure some of the paper could be from the tea back itself. I expect a little paper dust because of the bags
Roommate: yeah. I would want to read their paper and evaluate their methods
Me: but damn it, would have totally done that for a high school science class
Roommate: did they choose high quality tea or blah tea? did the herbals declare themselves a blend, or claim to be pure
Me: J, those teas were ladies. of course they were pure. whatever are you implying?
Roommate: and if they examined 33 companies, how many were black teas, so the 4% that had contaminants is probably only one company
Me: yeah, I would like to read the paper, but good on them for doing something different
Roommate: no kidding. I'm impressed at the idea and follow-through, even if I might want to critique their actual methods*
Me: god, we don't have degrees in science or anything

Oh, science nerds…Without them I wouldn’t be able to justify my wine drinking habit. That’s right, according to a new Spanish study, a glass or two of Sauvignon blanc might help fight sunburns and protect your skin.** A license to drink more? Of course! I have to have something to protect me from the evils of tea.

And while I’m having that drink, I’ll take the Daily Beast’s quiz and see if I can tell the difference between lines from Taylor Swift’s songs and Jane Austen’s books. At least I won’t be operating a motor vehicle right?

*Seriously though, if someone could get me a copy of this paper I would love to read it. I want to see how they went about attaining their data and what their margin of error was.

**Thanks to Nate for the link.

But, Mama, he’s a magic man...

2011-08-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen:

It’s the dubious distinction of thirty-year-old Willa Jackson to hail from a fine old Southern family of means that met with financial ruin generations ago. The Blue Ridge Madam—built by Willa’s great-great-grandfather during Walls of Water’s heyday, and once the town’s grandest home—has stood for years as a lonely monument to misfortune and scandal. And Willa herself has long strived to build a life beyond the brooding Jackson family shadow. No easy task in a town shaped by years of tradition and the well-marked boundaries of the haves and have-nots.

But Willa has lately learned that an old classmate—socialite do-gooder Paxton Osgood—of the very prominent Osgood family, has restored the Blue Ridge Madam to her former glory, with plans to open a top-flight inn. Maybe, at last, the troubled past can be laid to rest while something new and wonderful rises from its ashes. But what rises instead is a skeleton, found buried beneath the property’s lone peach tree, and certain to drag up dire consequences along with it.

For the bones—those of charismatic traveling salesman Tucker Devlin, who worked his dark charms on Walls of Water seventy-five years ago—are not all that lay hidden out of sight and mind. Long-kept secrets surrounding the troubling remains have also come to light, seemingly heralded by a spate of sudden strange occurrences throughout the town.

Now, thrust together in an unlikely friendship, united by a full-blooded mystery, Willa and Paxton must confront the dangerous passions and tragic betrayals that once bound their families—and uncover truths of the long-dead that have transcended time and defied the grave to touch the hearts and souls of the living.

Summary from GoodReads.

In Walls of Water, North Carolina, the Blue Ridge Madam was just one more decrepit Southern mansion before Paxton Osgood’s family and the Women’s Society Club decided to resurrect it to its former glory. Despite being a descendent of the former owners, Willa Jackson isn’t too thrilled by the Osgoods or any of the Walls of Water society mavens, but she is happy the Madam is getting her due.

"Whenever I would get too nosy as a child, my grandmother would say, "When you learn someone else's secret, your own secrets aren't safe. Dig up one, release them all." – The Peach Keeper

The Madam’s restoration takes a dark turn, however, when the body of Tucker Devlin is uncovered. A door-to-door salesman and con artist, Devlin blew into town in the 30s and captivated its inhabitants with his face, golden promises and an odd ability to command the elements. Now seventy-five years later the man who claimed to have peach juice in his veins is discovered buried under the estate’s lone peach tree, right next to a cast iron skillet – the possible murder weapon. And the most likely suspect? Willa’s grandmother, now trapped mostly in her mind by Alzheimer’s and living in a nursing home.

Devlin’s death was the birth of the Women’s Society Club, and it will take Willa and Paxton – granddaughters of its founding members – working together to discover what happened in Walls of Water so long ago. Along the way they will have to come to terms with their lost dreams, town roles and the true meaning of friendship.

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen has been making the rounds as the perfect summer novel for book club set, which normally would make me walk in the other direction. Maybe it’s too many years in the business or too many years just hearing the phrase “book club pick” associated with what publishers consider women’s fiction, but the whole marketing process has been done so often that it strips the books of their uniqueness. Not the book’s fault, but with so many other choices out there, it makes it easy for me to pass on by. Sell me on why I would like it, not why it won’t anger the eight other ladies in the group.

And this is what Katy the Pages Worth Remembering tumblr did by posting several passages from the novel:

"Throughout marriages and children, Willa and Paxton would still call each other almost every night, sometimes just to say goodnight. Sometimes Willa would know it was Paxton without her ever having to say a word. She would be in bed, Colin asleep beside her, and the phone would ring and she would pick it up and say, ‘Good night, Paxton. I’m here if you need me.’

That, they knew, was true friendship.

And they knew, if you’re lucky enough to find it, you hold on to it.

Hold on, and never let it go."

A little sweet and sappy? Yes, but that was the mood I was in when I added The Peach Keeper to my library list. I’d had enough books with mean girls and infighting, and I wanted something soothing.

The Peach Keeper is a gentle novel whose magical realism followed in the same vein as Hoffman’s Practical Magic. Despite the magical elements, this is a novel about two women understanding who they are and how important the connections they have with others are to their wellbeing. As Paxton’s grandmother explains her current and enduring friendship with the Alzheimer ridden Georgie:

“We are friends,” Agatha snapped. “She’s still here. I’m still here. And as long as we are we’ll always be friends.”

Connections to last a life time.

This is the heart of the book: friends are there for each other, they stand up for each other and they support one another in times of need. Sweat and idealistic at times, but comforting to read none the less.

The Peach Keeper didn’t break new ground or blow me away, but it did make me smile while I sat on my porch swing enjoying the summer that just finally got here. I don’t necessarily agree with everywhere the story wandered, but its slow Southern drawl pulled me in.

Recommended for readers looking for a long drink of sweet tea on a hot afternoon and book clubs (of course) who want something less edgy, more heartwarming and not Nicholas Sparks.

You can purchase The Peach Keeper from these fine retailers: Powells, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Your Local Indie, or you can pick it up at your local library.

Book Source: The library.

Your Grandmother’s Chicken Soup Recipe

2011-07-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

For many years I was afraid to make chicken soup. It wasn’t something we had a lot when I was a child (and when we did, I think it came in a can and it always involved noodles), and as I began cooking for myself soup-making itself was slightly intimidating. I mean, homemade soup? It’s an entire meal, not just one dish of a whole. What if I screwed it up? That’s a whole meal destroyed (or multiple meals when you take into account a whole pot of soup).

For years I avoided chicken soup, instead using my soup pot for boiling artichokes and upping my multivitamin dosage to deal with the evil that is the cold. When a sore throat had me down, I just microwave some chicken broth – a little protein without the work. Bland as hell, but it did the job.

Then a couple of years ago a friend scheduled a tonsillectomy, and in preparation had a bunch of us over to make soup she could freeze for her post surgery meals. By this point I’d mastered tomato soup (just add wine…and then more wine…that’s right, get in touch with your inner Julia Child) and a cream of asparagus. My soup paralysis was over, but my repertoire was still small. Besides she was going to be on pain killers, how much could she actually taste? I dutifully copied down my recipes with exact measurements and hauled my soup pot and produce over to her house.

When I arrived another friend was already there with her own hodgepodge of veggies and a package of chicken. We began to chop. For ever cup I carefully measured, she would drop in a handful of this or that into her pot. Potatoes, onions, garlic, carrots: in they went. And when I asked what she was making?

Chicken soup.

It was the first time I’d ever actually seen someone make it from start to finish. Soup making is rarely a short process – you want to let is thicken or cook down – so we spent the day watching movies and drinking wine while we chopped, sautéed, stirred and packaged. I learned that day that the key ingredient to chicken soup – good chicken soup – was time. Oh, and chicken. Everything else is up to you.

She wrote down the recipe for me, but it was more a list of possible ingredients and suggestions than instructions. Still, this was enough. Chicken Soup had been demystified and made accessible.

And with these ingredients, made very tasty.

About year, and many batches of soup later, I had a friend come over to deal with a laptop emergency. As he was trying to de-worm my computer I was cooking, and it’s only right to feed your computer tech, I dished up a bowl of soup and sliced up some crusty bread.

“How did you get my grandmother’s chicken soup recipe?” he asked.*

Your Grandmother’s (Or Your Mother’s, Or Your Aunt Minnie’s, Or Your Next Door Neighbor’s) Chicken Soup Recipe

(Remember: these are all more like guidelines anyway.)

The Ingredients:

1 onion - diced
1-2 Leeks - halved and sliced
3-4 carrots – halved and hopped
3-4 celery (ribs) stalks – thinly sliced
1 clove garlic – diced
1 package (3-4) chicken thighs (or breasts)
1-2 containers chicken or vegetable broth (containers should be 28 to 32 ounces)
3-4 small potatoes of your choice – cut into 1 in. chunks (I leave the peel on)
1 handful parsley – chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil

The Suggestions:

To the soup pot add the onion, leek, garlic, celery and carrots and drizzle with olive oil. Sauté over medium heat until the onions begin to turn clear. Add in the chicken, salt and pepper, and one container of the broth of your choice. Bring the mixture to an almost boil and then reduce down to a simmer.

Cover and walk away for 20 to 30 minutes.

Remove cover and check the chicken. If you can break it up with your spatula/wooden spoon/switchit then it’s time to add the potatoes and the parsley. Increase heat to a medium low and leave the lid off the pot.

Go do something else for another 10 to 15 minutes.

At this point you can add more broth (or water), if a lot of your liquid has been absorbed by your ingredients and let it cook a little longer to blend the flavors, or you can turn off the heat. Using two forks, shred the chicken into manageable pieces. Ladle into your favorite soup bowls and serve.

I suggest pairing it with crusty French bread and butter. Oh and wine.

Because everything is made better by wine. In this case a white would be appropriate.

Because you’re not adding noodles to this recipe** you can freeze it in individual sized containers and pull it out in the future when you don’t have time to prep the recipe from scratch.

For spice, serve with Aardvark hot sauce or Rooster Sauce.

*I think that all Chicken Soup recipes have the same point of origin…and no, it’s not the broth and the chicken. Although to be fair, there were two degrees of separation between the friend who taught me how to make chicken soup and the friend who was fixing my computer. Regardless, the recipe I was following that night was based on what I had in my fridge, so maybe his grandma’s chicken soup recipe really was in the all that and the kitchen sink style.

**If you are going to add noodles you will want that to be in the very last step and serve the dish after the noodles have cooked as long as their package instructs. You can also cook the noodles separately and add them right before serving. Personally I find that noodles get slimy too quickly in leftovers and I love the way that potatoes thicken the broth.

Please note: this will make for some mushy soup as the ingredients all cook for so long. This is the way I like my chicken soup because it feels so damn nice when you are under the weather. If you want your veggies to keep some form, let the chicken simmer in the broth and sauté your veggies on the side. Add them all together and allow to cook for 15 minutes or so to mingle the flavors.

Saving You 15% or More on Links for the Past, Present and Future

2011-07-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

Courtney Milan talks the future of agents in a self-publishing world in “An open letter to agents,” the first of (what sounds like) two columns. Milan, whose self-published novella Unlocked is currently sitting at spot # 102 in the Kindle store, has an amazing mind, and her dissection of agents and their role in a world where author’s don’t need them to publish raises some very important points. She writes:

Agents, I don’t think you have any idea how much your writers are talking about you right now. Seriously. I don’t think you have any idea. I am getting multiple e-mails every day from writers who are worried about what their agents are doing, and who are worried about how to handle agents, and who want to be fair to their agents but also don’t want to pay them a percentage when there’s little to no work involved, and/or the agent handles little of the risk.

If you haven’t already, I would suggest adding her to your feedreader of choice. (Link via Kalen O’Donnell)

For you SciFi fans looking for out of print lost loves there is good news – “Gollancz, the SF and Fantasy imprint of the Orion Publishing Group, announces the launch of the world's largest digital SFF library, the SF Gateway, which will make thousands of out-of-print titles by classic genre authors available as eBooks.” Check out the Book Trade Announcement pressrelease for more information. (Link via io9’s Charlie Jane Anders)

The Apple store has started to enforce it’s in app buying policies and this just adds to the hard couple of weeks the publishing world has experienced. Mike Shatzkin suggests that “Publishing is living in a worldnot of its own making.”

“…the happy symbiosis between the ebook retailers and Apple, by which the retailers got access to customers they would not otherwise have had and Apple was able to readily deliver their customers content they hadn’t otherwise aggregated, appears to have come to an end.”

(link via TeleRead.)

Flavorwire highlights Christian Jackson’s “MinimalistPosters for Your Favorite Children’s Stories.” I’ll take the one of Little Red Riding Hood.

As if the Borders news wasn’t sad enough, GalleyCat says that BAM has dropped its bidfor the 30 stores in the NE. That said, the “Help Ex-Borders Employees” continues to add new job postings every day.

I've been getting hits daily for people searching "When will Borders.com close down?" or some variation there of. While I don’t know when the Borders website will be closing, I assume that it will be posted to the Borders Group, Inc Case Administration website soon. For those of you looking for information on the bankruptcy or how it will affect your ability to buy books, this is the site to check. Currently it states:

On July 21, Borders Group received Court approval of a previously announced proposal from Hilco and Gordon Brothers to purchase the store assets of the business and administer the liquidation process under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. Liquidation of 399 stores nationwide commenced July 22 and stores are expected to close by the end of September.
During the liquidation period:
Borders gift cards will be honored in stores throughout the sale.

In addition to store liquidation discounts, Borders Rewards PLUS members will continue to receive additional discounts on qualifying purchases through Aug. 5. In addition, all existing Borders Bucks can be redeemed until they expire on July 31.

Borders.com and the Kobo eBook store, which can be accessed through Borders.com, are operating. In addition, Borders gift cards are being honored on Borders.com.

And finally, this sign my roommate sent me this sandwich board for the Between theCovers Bookstore in Bend:

This does raise the question though, if I go to bed with a new book every night does that make me a slut?

In the Vespers I see...

2011-07-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell:

It’s the summer of 1889, and Amelia van den Broek is new to Baltimore and eager to take in all the pleasures the city has to offer. But her gaiety is interrupted by disturbing, dreamlike visions she has only at sunset—visions that offer glimpses of the future. Soon, friends and strangers alike call on Amelia to hear her prophecies. However, a forbidden romance with Nathaniel, an artist, threatens the new life Amelia is building in Baltimore. This enigmatic young man is keeping secrets of his own—still, Amelia finds herself irrepressibly drawn to him.

When one of her darkest visions comes to pass, Amelia’s world is thrown into chaos. And those around her begin to wonder if she’s not the seer of dark portents, but the cause.

Summary from GoodReads.

Baltimore, 1889. Amelia van den Broek has been sent down from her small town in Maine to find a husband. In this city she’ll experience many things for the first time: balls, archery, and mysterious visions that come on at sunset. These visions – some innocent, some sinister – open doors into a high society fascinated by spiritualists and the supernatural. Equally mysterious is Nathaniel, Amelia’s unacceptable suitor, who appears and disappears from her life at will.

As the visions become more horrifyingly true and her obsession with Nathaniel grows, Amelia must take control of her future and her heart.

Saundra Mitchell has an amazing ability to set a scene. In her first book, Shadowed Summer, I sweated along with the main character as she braved the humidity and sun in a search for ghostly answers. In The Verspertine she transports her readers back in time to 1889 Baltimore capturing the feelings of change and the supernatural that captivated the upper and middle classes.

Amelia’s cousin Zora and her parents are lodged somewhere on the upper scale of the emerging middle class – able to provide for dresses and dinner parties – but pinching pennies by doing most of the housework and food prep themselves. It is through this class window that Amelia experiences what Baltimore has to offer. The balls they attend are public, and Zora’s father hires young men to round out their dinner parties. This is how Amelia meets Nathaniel – a poor portrait artist from a bad neighborhood – beginning one of the most intense relationships I have read in young adult fiction.

Amelia and Nathaniel burn for each other and it comes across in every illicit touch and clandestine meeting. Their actual physical contact is very limited – a touch of bare hands through lace gloves should not smolder this much – but with each connection their bond grows stronger and hotter.

I used the word obsession in my summary and the more I look back on the novel, the more I feel it’s an accurate descriptor of their relationship. They are equally in thrall with each other, caught up in a first love that threatens to be all consuming. It is a testament to Mitchell’s writing ability that I was able to accept this level of feeling from both of them as real and not destructive. It helps that this is not the only example of love in the book (for example, Mitchell allows Zora and Thomas’s relationship to build on their mutual respect). In fact, it is the myriad of relationships – romantic and familial – that make the story so strong and the results of Amelia’s visions so devastating.*

When you see the future, you take the good with the bad.

After reading The Vespertine, I found myself wondering not how it would do as a YA novel (although I hope it does well…very, very well), but how it would do as a book club selection for a more adult audience. As keeping with the YA genre, Amelia is clearly a teenager attempting to find herself and understand her place in life, but the aspects of Amelia’s visions and her relationships with family, friends and Nathaniel, as well as the time period itself, would make for great discussion topics for mature readers of any age.

Very much recommended for teens looking for a historical novel with romance, drama and a touch of something more, and to all readers looking for something a little different. Fans of Franny Billingsley’s Chime should also check this out. I’m looking forward to the next book and what she plans for the companion novel.

You can purchase The Vespertine from these fine retailers: Powells, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Your Local Indie, or you can pick it up at your local library.

Book Source: The library, but I will be purchasing my own copy soon.

*Read the whole book and then read the acknowledgements. I’m with Jackson Pearce.

Borders Closing Round Up: News, Memories and More...

2011-07-21T06:49:00.000-07:00

These aren't the first (and the certainly won't be the last) stories on the Borders Liquidation, but they are worth checking out for their unique take:

Edward Nawotka of Publishing Perspectives has a run down of the damage done under CEO Greg Josefowicz: "Can you treat books like orange juice and shampoo? Josefowicz seemed to think so and soon implemented the controversial strategy of “category management,” a program that limited the number of titles that would be on sale in a particular genre, say cookbooks or biographies. It wasn’t as draconian as pay-to-stay “slotting” — the norm in the grocery business – but was nevertheless widely criticized as favoring large publishers over small presses and for catering exclusively to mass market tastes."
Dennis Johnson of MobyLives rounds up the new articles out there and points out that most miss the boat on the real estate aspect: "The story of Borders failure is, first and foremost, a real estate story."
This Week gives us "Why Borders failed and Barnes and Noble hasn't: 4 theories."
The Brand Channel gives a good timeline of Borders online and ebook activities (and how they compared to the competition.
TeleRead rounds up some Elegies for Borders and points out the nostalgia for what the company once represented wasn't enough to get people to go there and buy books. Of all the links within the story, check out "On Endings and Sugar Free Raspberry Lattes."
Romance author Sarah MacLean gives thanks to Borders for the memories and the job she once held in a Borders cafe.
The Nappy Bookseller, who has done this story closing thing before, gives advice on "How to Work/How to Shop at a Liquidated Borders."
And finally in a move that is so very corporate, the Borders website and the Borders Twitter account still do not reflect any news regarding the liquidation.

A World Without Borders

2011-07-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

When I was young, our local bookstore was a Waldenbooks that took up one corner of our Fred Meyer shopping complex. There a bookseller suggested I try LJ Smith’s Night World series while I wiled away the hours browsing the shelves as my mother shopped for groceries. It was at this store that I met the woman who would one day lead me from the reading world into the bookselling one, giving me my first job.

Waldenbooks became part of the Borders empire in the mid 90s when Borders left K-mart. The stores were re-branded as Borders Express, but even rehabbed they were the first closed when Borders began to experience financial problems several years ago. My store, my final store in my bookselling history, was one of the first closed. Now the rest of Borders will be shutting down as well. On Monday the company announced that they will seek approval for liquidation. Soon 399 stores will close and 10,700 people will lose their jobs.

When our Borders Express closed back in 2007, it was clear that the company was having trouble.

“Why are you closing?” customers would ask as we filled their bags with 50% off books. “You always look so busy.”

We were profitable. We were out performing our plan, but it wasn’t enough to save us. “Over-expansion overseas,” we’d reply. “We don’t have the online presence.”

Funny how those were clear even then.

Despite what some claim e-books were not the cause of Borders' downfall. E-books weren’t even on the horizon. The first Kindle would not be released until November of that year.

Closing a store is heartbreaking. Not only do you have the lead up, where the feeling of something bad shadows ever move, but then you have the after. You have the weight of the questions asked - “Why? Where will you go? What will happen next? Will you discount even more?” - along with the boxes you will have to fill and the books you will have to strip.

Those Borders stores will be stripping a lot of books - romance, mystery, any genre where paperbacks are the size of choice to drop in your purse or tuck in your computer bag. As the New York Times points out “Borders was known as a retailer that took special care in selling paperbacks, and its promotion of certain titles could propel them to best-seller status.”

With Borders gone the print runs will be smaller and the market for new paperback titles will be reduced. The loss will be far-reaching.

But right now, it’s about the employees who have held on for months hoping for a continuance even while they knew the end was coming. It’s about the relief that they can finally cry openly about they changes they will need to make in their lives. It’s about the realization that some of these customers they have grown to care about will no longer be part of their daily routine.

When you close your store you want to believe you’ll stay in touch, that the heartache and sweat that went into those last few days will find you together. Maybe it will. Maybe it won’t.

But you’ll always have books.

I would like to believe that everyone remembers their first bookstore, and for the generation that has enjoyed Borders it will live on forever. For me a Borders always meant an escape from life’s pressures thanks to well stocked shelves and friendly people. A Borders in whatever city I was visiting meant a familiar place to go.

Thank you, Borders, for seeing me through the hard times, for giving me a job, and for being a place I could always find something to read. Thank you to those many thousands of booksellers who will continue to do their job until the end.

I’m sorry we had to part like this. Even as my store closed I had hope for the rest of you.

You can read more about the Borders closing at GalleyCat, or follow the topic on Twitter (#Borders and #ThankUBorders).

As I write this the Borders website has not reflected the liquidation on their main page. The About Us page only mentions the filing on February 16th.

Feel that Heavenly fire...

2011-07-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

Angel Burn by L.A. Weatherly:

Willow knows she’s different from other girls, and not just because she loves tinkering with cars. Willow has a gift. She can look into the future and know people’s dreams and hopes, their sorrows and regrets, just by touching them. She has no idea where this power comes from. But the assassin, Alex, does. Gorgeous, mysterious Alex knows more about Willow than Willow herself does. He knows that her powers link to dark and dangerous forces and that he’s one of the few humans left who can fight them. When Alex finds himself falling in love with his sworn enemy, he discovers that nothing is as it seems, least of all good and evil.

In the first book in an action-packed romantic trilogy, L. A. Weatherly sends readers on a thrill ride of a road trip — and depicts the human race at the brink of a future as catastrophic as it is deceptively beautiful.

Summary from GoodReads.

While reading Angel Burn by L.A. Weatherly, I was struck by how easily this could have transitioned to the adult Urban Fantasy market. Despite being teens, both main characters act older due to the situations they’ve experienced. It would be easy to just age the main characters up a few years and let them follow through on certain actions, and voila! This book could go live in a second section at the bookstore. Really, I mean it. The characters – one of whom is a trained killer – experience end of the world making events and make decisions in accordance with these situations. While Willow certainly reads younger than Alex, one could argue that it’s due to her lack of life outside her small town, not age. The resulting story manages to overcome a few faltering steps to tell a compelling adventure.

Here’s the deal: Willow is one of those girls. You know, the ones that wear funky retro clothes and work on cars. She’s an outsider, who makes herself even more of one by acting as the living, breathing Oracle of Pawtucket , NY. Sure, her classmates value her ability to divine what college will accept their middling grade point average, but they are just not that excited to invite her to the next beer bash. The exception to this is her one and only friend Nina who accepts Willow for who she is because she doesn’t believe in all that fortune telling nonsense.

Obviously this makes it a little hard for Willow to share the burden of the darker futures she foresees. With her Mom mostly off in la la land (see: semi functional coma), and her aunt resentful of her presence, Willow has pretty much been making her own decisions for years, which is why she barely hesitates to give a reading to her popular classmate Beth. Instead of seeing SATs and college admissions, her vision shows the impossible: Beth has seen and interacted with an Angel – one who is sucking the energy from her with every meeting.

You see, in Willow’s world Angels exist. Only instead of passing on heavenly enlightenment and being guardians to all things great and small, they harvest our energy and leave their human victims with Angel Burn. The burn manifests during the feeding as euphoria, but this brain suck results in a whole spectrum of physical and mental illnesses. The drainee doesn’t realize this, of course, and its this compelling desire to once again be an Angel’s fruit smoothie that has driven the masses to build places of worship to these heavenly beings.

The Church of Angels is nationwide, mega-sized, and coming to a city near year.

Working to combat these parasitic faux saviors are the Angel Killers (the AKs for short*) - a cobbled together band of hunters started by Alex’s father after his wife became an Angel victim. The AKs recently became the jurisdiction of the CIA – despite the fact that the CIA does not operate on US soil – who now texts solo hunters the address of disguised Angels so that they can go blow some halo.

Still with me?

Good, because that was just the back story. You see, Beth – the originator of Willow’s not so heavenly visions – tips off her Angel to our psychic friend, and he realizes that Willow is an even bigger threat to Angel-kind than Miss Cleo.

Seeing as how she is actually half angel. That’s right, if biblical history has taught us nothing else, it’s that nephilim will not be tolerated.**

Next thing you know, Alex gets a text and makes his way to Pawtucket, to go hunting.

Props to Weatherly for giving Angels the soylent green spin, and creating a couple of characters who have a habit of making the right decisions. Once Willow and Alex head for the road, Willow does not give in to the need to call home, and Alex is willing to see beyond the Angelic obvious. Combine this with the author’s use of the hysterical religiosity of the Church of Angel followers with a splash of current social networking, and suddenly there’s a creepy sense of halo-ed Big Brother hunting our protagonists.

Angel Burn is a road trip story, an Urban Fantasy and a new creationist tale all rolled into one. As the only two people out to save the world, Willow and Alex have to set aside their differences and grow to love and understand one another while trying to stop a massive Angelic influx.

It is the building of this relationship where the story experiences the occasional hiccups. Due to her isolation with Alex, Willow’s feeling read a little Stockholmish, while Alex overcomes his prejudices and goes a bit flowery pretty quickly. Truthfully, I was willing to completely accept both of these things until the couple has some Garden of Eden time up in the mountains. They choose to acknowledge the physical, but not go all the way. Not because they don’t have any birth control or that it wouldn’t be the best time for Willow to get knocked up before they save the world, but because Willow isn’t ready. Sentiment appreciated? Yes. Is the behavior all sorts of gentlemanly? Of course. But truthful to the situation? Eh, I fully believe that given a chance those two would have been getting it on like the Rapture was tomorrow.

Alternating between first person (Willow) and third (Alex, the villian, and others), L.A. Weatherly creates a story of action and adventure that reads like a movie. Readers will be compelled along as Willow and Alex fight to bring down the Church of Angels, and save us all from unknowing from their touch.

Angel Burn is the first of a planned trilogy that has even this paranormal burnout interested in what will happen next.

Recommended for paranormal fiends looking for something new, YA-oholics who don’t want an Edward/Bella/Jacob love triangle and any reader who wants something to burn with over the summer break.

You can purchase Angel Burn from these fine retailers: Powells, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Your Local Indie, or you can pick it up at your local library.

Book Source: My church of choice – the library.

*Yep, and just like the 47s, you just aim them and fire.

**and that it’s okay to get it on with a sibling in ye olden times.

Make me a bird so I can fly far, far away from here...

2011-07-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

Lark by Tracey Porter:

When sixteen-year-old Lark Austin is kidnapped from her Virginia hometown and left to die in a snowy forest, she leaves behind two friends who are stunned by the loss. As Lark's former best friend, Eve can't shake the guilt that this tragedy was somehow her fault. Meanwhile, Nyetta is haunted each night by Lark's ghost, who comes through the bedroom window and begs Nyetta to set her soul free. Eve and Nyetta realize that Lark is trapped in limbo, and only by coming together to heal themselves will they discover why.

Tracey Porter's stunning narrative about love and loss demonstrates that forgiveness can never come too late.

Summary from Goodreads.

Lark is a slim volume that tells the story of After. After Lark Austin is kidnapped from gymnastics practice and found in the woods of her Virginian town two days later – tied to a tree and dead from exposure. It’s the story of the two people who knew her best – her former best friend Eve and Nyetta, the little girl Lark used to babysit. It’s the story of Lark, trapped in the forest and doomed to become one more lost girl unless someone will acknowledge and remember what happened to her. Alternating between point of views, Lark (the book) chronicles the livings’ attempt to move on and Lark’s attempt to escape from the in between in which she is trapped.

While never overly graphic, Lark is a disturbing tale that layers the stages of grief with Lark’s immediate afterlife. In trying to save Lark from the horror of becoming a lost girl, the story explores the often contradictory messages young women receive when one of their own is lost to violence.

I don’t remember why I added this book to my reading list – it might be that it reminded me of the Miranda Gaddis/Ashley Pond murders (which it obliquely references), or the beauty of the spare cover. Porter’s lyrical writing style is compelling, lending itself to Lark’s transformation and Nyetta’s dreamy experiences with her ghost. Occasionally the prose made it harder to differentiate between Eve, Nyetta and Lark’s first person narration. It wasn’t until Nyetta and Eve finally interact that Nyetta’s much younger age became apparent despite being referenced several times before in the text. That said, the story and the message are incredibly important and handled with a great deal of care.

A lot has been said about teen reads with dark themes* and their importance in YA literature. As many, many people (see #YASaves) have already provided eloquent and cogent defenses, I can only add this:

If you want to know what your child is reading, you have to read those books as well. Don’t forbid it, instead talk about it. Use it to be engaged in their life and discuss your feelings on the subject matter. Lark has some very strong passages in which Eve deals with her anger towards Lark’s death and her guilt over the disintegration of their friendship. It allows the reader to look at the mixed messages and abuse that girls receive from authority figures within the context of a greater story.

These are things you need to talk about, not bury your head in the sand. Bad things happen to good people, bad people and the random who are in between and it is left up to the living to deal with this.

Lark is not a perfect book, but it’s a book that deserves to be read, shared and discussed. Read it with your daughter.

Talk.

Talk about grief and guilt and the fear of letting go. Talk about what right and wrong and what truly is acceptable.

Talk, damn it.

Yes, there are wonderful books out there that let us escape to a better place, but there are those out there that help us realize how to cope with the bad place we may already be in. Books impart knowledge, make us question, engage and look beyond ourselves to the great what if.

Why would you want to take something so wonderful away?

You can purchase Lark from these fine retailers: Powells, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Your Local Indie, or you can pick it up at your local library.

Book Source: One of those places where people go to learn – the library.

*Ironically, the most popular “dark issues” book that I sold to teen girls? A Child Called It. That’s right, an autobiography shelved in the self help section…no where near where our YA books lived.

Hand in Glove...

2011-07-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

Warning: This review contains spoilers for the book in the Curse Worker’s Trilogy: White Cat.

Red Glove (Curse Workers Book # 2) by Holly Black:

Curses and cons. Magic and the mob. In Cassel Sharpe's world, they go together. Cassel always thought he was an ordinary guy, until he realized his memories were being manipulated by his brothers. Now he knows the truth—he’s the most powerful curse worker around. A touch of his hand can transform anything—or anyone—into something else.

That was how Lila, the girl he loved, became a white cat. Cassel was tricked into thinking he killed her, when actually he tried to save her. Now that she's human again, he should be overjoyed. Trouble is, Lila's been cursed to love him, a little gift from his emotion worker mom. And if Lila's love is as phony as Cassel's made-up memories, then he can't believe anything she says or does.

When Cassel's oldest brother is murdered, the Feds recruit Cassel to help make sense of the only clue—crime-scene images of a woman in red gloves. But the mob is after Cassel too—they know how valuable he could be to them. Cassel is going to have to stay one step ahead of both sides just to survive. But where can he turn when he can't trust anyone—least of all, himself?

Love is a curse and the con is the only answer in a game too dangerous to lose.

Summary from GoodReads.

After the events in White Cat, Cassel Sharpe spends the summer in Atlantic City reluctantly pulling cons with his mother and actively trying to avoid his feelings for Lila. The start of school is a chance to once again escape from everyone except his friends and embrace the normal, or at least for Cassel to con himself into believing that normal is what he wants.

But with just two shots a blurry figure with red gloves rips his fabricated existence apart – bringing the FBI in to investigate the loss of an informant and upping the pressure from Zacharov to join the ranks of the family. Cassel will have to con the government, the Mob and those he loves if he’s going to survive.

Only the ultimate con just might include telling the truth.

I cannot stress how much I enjoy this series. Black has created a gritty world where the magic of the curse workers is so easily and deeply entwined with our own, and provided us with an engaging, sarcastic character to guide us through.

I can’t tell who Cassel is working harder to con: the characters around him, the mob, or both the reader and himself into believing he doesn’t care. As with the first book, we are treated to his rapid, noir narration, but Black continues to grow his struggle with his dark side and the maneuvers he is willing to make for family, friends and love. Cassel is growing*and that growth extends to his moral ambiguity. He’s no longer the only Sharpe without the touch and every move he makes forces him to deal with the death he’s dealt in the past.

Not surprising, since the lack of bodies isn’t keeping anyone from asking questions.

Black’s tight narration once again impresses by the ease at which it comes across, and builds upon the revelations of the first book’s revelations. While he may currently be the smartest guy in the room, it’s clear that Cassel won’t be able to keep conning everyone forever.

Highly recommended for adult fans of mystery and paranormal (the Dresden Files specifically) and anyone who enjoys a good con.

You can purchase Red Glove from these fine retailers: Powells, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Your Local Indie, or you can pick it up at your local library.

Book Source: I borrowed my copy from the library as soon as I finished White Cat. I’ll buy the whole series once they are out in paperback.

*As a character in a series should, damn it. I’m looking at you, Plum.

The con it comes on little cat feet...

2011-07-04T09:59:00.000-07:00

A little late in posting this thanks to the joy of Independence...and a day off. Hope you're having a lovely day!

White Cat (Curse Workers Book #1) by Holly Black:

Cassel comes from a family of curse workers — people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all mobsters, or con artists. Except for Cassel. He hasn't got the magic touch, so he's an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail — he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.

Ever since, Cassel has carefully built up a façade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his façade starts crumbling when he starts sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He's noticing other disturbing things, too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him, caught up in a mysterious plot. As Cassel begins to suspect he's part of a huge con game, he also wonders what really happened to Lila. Could she still be alive? To find that out, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen.

Summary from GoodReads.

Imagine a world where some had dab hands – some magic ability transferred through touch. Now imagine that these Curse Workers were feared, leading to the general population to wear gloves for protection and for the workers themselves to have no other recourse but the Mob to get by. Now imagine that’s happening here. Now. How would you get if you had the touch? How would you survive if you were the only person in your family who didn’t?

As the only non-curse worker, in a family celebrated for its generations of powers, cons, and mob connections, Cassel Sharpe is anything but a made man. However he did inherit some of his family’s more peculiar mental problems – surely that’s why he killed his best friend, Lila, in his basement in a rage he doesn’t remember – which makes it hard to stay in the family home. In desperation, he cons his way into a private school and some semblance of a normal life, only to be dragged back into the family. Of course, the sleepwalking incident that resulted in him clinging to the dorm roof in his boxers didn’t help matters.

Hey, at least he had some clothing on.

With a white cat haunting his dreams and his family in full scheming mode, Cassel will have to work to stay ahead everyone else to figure out if he’s really going crazy, and what really happened to Lila.

Normal never seemed so far away.

I have a deep love for con artists, and Cassel is definitely one for the books. Not only does have to deal with the typical high school identity problems along with trying to fit in, but he’s got the mob, a possible murder and his mother to cope with as well.* He deals with it all with a hard-boiled, but wry narrative. Cassel knows he’s being conned, but he’s also trying to con us into not noticing that underneath all that sarcasm is someone who just wants to love and trust. Unfortunately love and trust are not synonymous with con men and mobsters.

I enjoyed Cassel’s adventures in this book so much that I immediately went and checked out the second book in the series, Red Glove (review coming soon). Sure in the first book, the mystery wasn’t much as a who done it as a why is it being done, but the characters and their interactions made up for it. It’s killing me that the third novel, Black Heart, will not be out until April 2012. This is one paranormal YA series that I can see myself fan-girling. Cassel’s narrative never falters, and the cast of supporting characters (especially his mother) remain just as well defined long after you’ve finished. Additionally, Cassel’s story and the plight of his friends/family have threads that are easily discernable in our own world.

Recommended for lovers of the con, smart asses, wise guys, reluctant male readers, and anyone who enjoys a good story.

You can purchase White Cat from these fine retailers: Powells, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Your Local Indie, or you can pick it up at your local library.

Book Source: I borrowed my copy from the lovely Rosey of Rosey’s Reviews, but I will be buying my own.

*Paging Joan Crawford.

Random Recipes: Black Bean, Avocado and Pepper Salad

2011-07-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

Black Bean, Avocado and Pepper Salad

Serves 4| Hands-On Time: 10m | Total Time: 10m

3 Avocados – cut into 1 in chunks

1 Can of Black Beans – drained and rinsed

1 Red Pepper – sliced and cut into 1 in pieces

1 Yellow Pepper – sliced and cut into 1 in pieces

1 to 2 Jalapeño Peppers – de-seeded, and diced

¼ to ½ cup of cilantro – chopped

1 lime – halved

½ tsp of Salt

Combine the avocados, beans and peppers in a bowl along with the cilantro. Sprinkle with the salt and squeeze the juice from the lime across the top. Toss until the juice and salt is evenly distributed.

Serve as a side or make it part of a burrito or taco night filling. The avocado and lime cut the spice of the peppers and make this a great dish to serve to anyone – no matter how they rate on the heat scale.

Abandon all hope? Don't be so pessimistic...

2011-06-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

Abandon by Meg Cabot:

New from #1 New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot, a dark, fantastical story about this world . . . and the underworld.
Though she tries returning to the life she knew before the accident, Pierce can't help but feel at once a part of this world, and apart from it. Yet she's never alone . . . because someone is always watching her. Escape from the realm of the dead is impossible when someone there wants you back.
But now she's moved to a new town. Maybe at her new school, she can start fresh. Maybe she can stop feeling so afraid.
Only she can't. Because even here, he finds her. That's how desperately he wants her back. She knows he's no guardian angel, and his dark world isn't exactly heaven, yet she can't stay away . . . especially since he always appears when she least expects it, but exactly when she needs him most.
But if she lets herself fall any further, she may just find herself back in the one place she most fears: the Underworld.

Summary from Goodreads.

When Pierce Oliviera was fifteen, she died – but only for an hour. Not a very long time when compared to fifteen years of living (or 131,487.19 hours, give or take a decimal), but long enough to accidentally run into a Underworld-ly gatekeeper, John. What two ships, passing on hellish waters became something a little more since she’d previously met him when she was seven. That time she’d just shown him a little kindness, this time she maybe, kind of, sort of promised herself to him for all of eternity.

Oops.

Was there some love at first, er, second (and considerably more legal) sight going on? Possibly. Maybe even some lust, but that wasn’t reason enough for Pierce to stick with death for the rest of her afterlife. So she made for the exit. Whether it was due to her fast thinking or medical intervention in the form of epinephrine and defibrillators, she found her way back to the land of the living only to discover that dying – even if it’s only for an hour – has some serious repercussions. Within two years of her near-death experience her parents had split, her former best friend committed suicide, and Pierce has been moved to the rather morbidly named Isla Huesos (Island of the Bones) to start a new school at the bottom rung of the social ladder. Oh, and that John guy is still popping up whenever near-death comes to call.

Which is more often than you would expect from your average teenager who doesn’t have a death wish.

Meg Cabot has re-imagined the Persephone/Hades Greek myth and updated it for the modern teen. The Underworld, though still a cave beneath the earth, is staffed by biker bar-style, bad boy bouncers and the Furies who wish to torment them. Cast in the Persephone role, Pierce proves that she actually listens to the advice every girl has heard from her mother (don’t ever accept food from strangers, know your exits). This, along with some fast thinking, allows her to give only an hour of her life to John (now a gatekeeper instead of a god) instead of six months or all of eternity. Good thing too, as her own mother is too nice to call down Winter upon the land.

Thanks to Cabot’s breezy style and Pierce’s direct personality/acknowledgement of her more questionable behaviors, the author keeps her main character from verging into TSTL* territory. Still many of the plot points of the first book (in this planned trilogy) hinge on reactions that result in Pierce in life and death situations. Well this, and her inability to effectively communicate with John.

In flash backs Pierce compares herself to Snow White, the events of that hour long death creating a separation between her and the rest of the world. Her near death experience has caused her to disengage from school and her parents and friends. Because, really, how do you explain that life after death is far more complicated and a lot less beautiful than seeing a bright light at the end of tunnel? Refreshingly for paranormal YA, it’s not the infrequent visits from her otherworldly would-be lover that wakes her, but the death of her former friend. This propels her back into (destructive) action and ultimately leads to her move to Isla Huesos where the reader joins the story.

Due to Pierce’s fear, and his act first/think later attitude, John’s character appears only partially drawn in this first book. Pierce doesn’t know if she wants to get to know him, and due to the narrative being from her point of view, we are not allowed to know him either. Due to the events at the close of the story, however, I hope that both she and the reader will understand more about his character soon.

I will admit, Abandon isn’t my favorite Meg Cabot book – too many situations could have been avoided if Pierce and John had just had a straightforward conversation – but that still means its better than 50% of the other paranormal YA books out there. I have faith that Cabot’s doing something interesting with the Hades/Persephone Myth. Despite my YA paranormal/mythological fatigue, I’ll be checking out Underworld when it comes out in 2012.

You can purchase Abandon from these fine retailers: Powells, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Your Local Indie, or you can pick it up at your local library.

Book Source: Βιβλιοθήκη (that’s library in Greek according to the Internets).

*Too Stupid To Live

Random Recipes: Peach, Basil and Mozzarella Salad

2011-06-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

The original version of this recipe in Real Simple, but its so...wait for it...simple that we just go by memory now. It’s fast, easy to make and a hit at every party. Perfect for any summer BBQ.

Peach, Basil and Mozzarella Salad

Serves 4| Hands-On Time: 10m | Total Time: 10m

3 to 4 Ripe Peaches

1 Cup Basil

1 container Ciliegine Mozzarella *

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

Pepper to taste (2 to 3 twists of the pepper mill)

A sprinkle of Salt (not required)

Remove the pits and slice peaches into bite size chunks. Rip basil into manageable size (1 by 1 in) so as to avoid awkwardness when eating. There’s nothing attractive about a leaf sticking out of your mouth as you chew. Slice Ciliegine Mozzarella in half (you can replace the Ciliegine with the Pearl size if you want to make this even quicker by negating the whole cutting process). Toss the peaches, basil and Mozzarella in a bowl with the olive oil and pepper until the olive oil is evenly distributed.

Serve and enjoy.

*Cherry Sized. It’s important to use the soft fresh mozzarella, just drain off the water.

Dig this.

2011-06-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Restorer by Amanda Stevens:

My name is Amelia Gray. I'm a cemetery restorer who sees ghosts. In order to protect myself from the parasitic nature of the dead, I've always held fast to the rules passed down from my father. But now a haunted police detective has entered my world and everything is changing, including the rules that have always kept me safe.

It started with the discovery of a young woman's brutalized body in an old Charleston graveyard I've been hired to restore. The clues to the killer—and to his other victims—lie in the headstone symbolism that only I can interpret. Devlin needs my help, but his ghosts shadow his every move, feeding off his warmth, sustaining their presence with his energy. To warn him would be to invite them into my life. I've vowed to keep my distance, but the pull of his magnetism grows ever stronger even as the symbols lead me closer to the killer and to the gossamer veil that separates this world from the next.

Summary from GoodReads.

Amelia Gray’s childhood of caring for graveyards and dodging ghosts shaped her adult life. In her world, ghosts will siphon off your warmth and energy, feeding like psychic vampires. As a cemetery restorer she spends her days resurrecting to the resting place of the dead and carefully following the rules her father taught her:

1. Never acknowledge the dead. Not their presence or their touch.
2. Never stray too far from hallowed ground.
3. Keep your distance from those who are haunted.
4. Never, ever tempt fate.

But this lifetime of training and daily isolation is destroyed when the cemetery she is working at becomes a crime scene. Enter Detective John Devlin who needs her help identifying the grave symbolism behind the body’s burial. Although attracted to his magnetism, Amelia fights to stay away from a man haunted by the ghosts of his wife and daughter. But with the discovery of more bodies, does she risk becoming involved with a man walking with death? And is there more to the dead than her father taught her?

A serial killer, a secret society, a cemetery with possible ties to the Underground Railroad and the paranormal combine in The Restorer, the first book in The Graveyard Queen series by Amanda Stevens. As our narrator through all things ghostly, Amelia Gray is a character who embodies her name – living a half life caring for graveyards and getting most of her interaction through her blog “Digging Graves.” While she has friends (and her family) that she is close to, she maintains a distance between her life and the life of those who do not deal with the paranormal.

Everything changes when she meets Devlin, the handsome, mysterious and haunted detective. Stuck between the pull of his dead wife and child and the life going on around him, Devlin has also separated himself from long lasting connections. Able to view the dead that walk him at all times, Amelia starts to break through that barrier, only to discover that her knowledge of the dead is incomplete, and what she doesn’t know…well, yeah, it just might kill her. This also sets the reader up for the inevitable oscillations of John and Amelia’s relationship throughout the series.*

In first book tradition, there are some awkward passages and dialogue involved in the introduction to the world and the characters that inhabit it. We’re treated to the city of Charleston, SC in all its hot, southern glory, and although Amelia’s narrative occasionally verges on the lavender side, Stevens otherwise provides unique insight into the world of malevolent ghosts and the ceremony behind cemeteries. Despite being someone who has always found the idea of burying people in ground creepy, I’m intrigued enough by Amelia’s imparted knowledge that I’m considering going to one of the pioneer cemeteries in my area.

As The Graveyard Queen series continues, I believe that the issues I’ve highlighted above will fade and Amelia will join the ranks of the paranormal heroines that have come before her. Unlike other series leads however, Amelia is not out to kick ass and ask questions later. Her job and life reflect her nature as an observer (although often a covert one), and this is reflected in her quiet nature. With the dangling threads of Amelia’s origins, her mother’s health, Devlin’s ghosts and the hold Emerson’s secret society has over Charleston yet to be explored, Steven’s has plenty of fodder for future novels.

Recommended for mystery and urban fantasy readers who are looking for something a little different.

You can purchase The Restorer from these fine retailers: Powells, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Your Local Indie, or you can pick it up at your local library.

Book Source: The library, where books go to live forever (or at least until they fall apart…. And are resurrected, like zombies).

*Steven’s also introduces two side characters who will (probably) later serve as possible love interests.

Just One More Question...

2011-06-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Interrogation of Gabriel James by Charlie Price:

Eyewitness to two killings, fourteen-year-old Gabriel James relates the shocking story behind the murders in a police interrogation interspersed with flashbacks. Step by step, this Montana teenager traces his discovery of a link between a troubled classmate's disturbing home life and an outbreak of local crime. In the process, however, Gabriel becomes increasingly confused about his own culpability for the explosive events that have unfolded.

Summary from Amazon.

Cults, murder, drugs, hate crimes: there’s a lot going on behind the scenes of Billings, Montana, and Gabriel James has (unintentionally) seen it all. What begins as an interest in a girl in his class leads to two dead boys and Gabriel sitting in an interrogation room. Was he involved or did the wrong choices leave him as the not-so-innocent bystander?

I picked up The Interrogation of Gabriel James because a review called indicated it was the Usual Suspects of Young Adult fiction. If by The Usual Suspects, they meant a story framed by the interactions in the interrogation room, then yes. But let’s be clear, Gabriel ain’t no Keyser Söze. As someone who likes to believe that Kevin Spacey unconsciously drags his foot whenever anyone references Keyser Söze, I can see how someone going into this story with that in mind could be disappointed. Not only is Gabriel not a criminal mastermind, he’s not even an unreliable narrator. Sure, he has his ramblings, but their the ramblings of a teenager who’s nervous. He’s distracted by the girls in his life and wanting to be better at cross country – not giving hidden meaning to picking beans in Guatemala.

Got it?

Good, now you’ll enjoy the story without that expectation. Gabriel is a rather aimless teenage boy who, in trying to do a good thing, makes everything a lot worse. He’s seen too many procedurals and this increases his nervousness with the cops (much like I imagine I would be in the same situation). This true-to-life teenage boy mentality and nervous mental state combined with the interrogation room set up make for a story that jumps back in forth from the present and the past events that led up to the deaths.

It’s a rather windy path, but worth it. Charlie Price has created a very accessible character in Gabriel, one who genuinely wants to do the right thing. His motivations, horniness, aimlessness and curiosity all ring true. This kid is the teenage everyman. To that everyman’s plot we throw in a cult who believed in share and share alike when it came to their partners, murders, and multiple personalities.

The crimes in Billings might start out with the occasional missing pet and recreational drug user, but things escalate until Gabriel and the reader are desperate to put together the clues.

The Interrogation of Gabriel James will appeal to reluctant readers who want a fast-paced story to keep them interested. While the interrogation scenes toward the end strained my sense of believe, I can see why someone not in the Keyser Söze state of mind wouldn’t question the situation. The story will leave readers with the answers they need and the ability to feel their legs. The same cannot be said for some of the characters in the book, however.

You can purchase The Interrogation of Gabriel James at these fine retailers: Powells, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Your Local Indie, or you can pick it up at your local library.

Book Source: this place down the street that lets you just take books. For free! All you need is a card. No interrogations necessary.

Random Recipes: Chicken and Couscous

2011-06-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

Chicken and Couscous
Serves: 4 as an entrée, more as a side| Hands-On Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:
1 package of Chicken breasts or thighs
3 tablespoons Olive Oil
½ to 1 Red Pepper
1 small package (or two handfuls) of Sugarsnap Peas
1 container of plum tomatoes
½ small container of crumbled feta (dry, not in brine)
1 cup Couscous
1 ½ cups water or chicken broth
½ to 1 cup torn basil (depending on how much you love it)
Salt
Pepper
Additional Seasonings for the adventurous:
2 teaspoons Cumin
1 teaspoon Paprika
1 ½ teaspoons Curry

Instructions:

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil at medium heat in a skillet. Salt and pepper the chicken to taste (and add your choice of the additional seasonings), and then add it to the warmed oil. Thoroughly cook the chicken until it is golden brown on the outside and white on the inside. Remove the chicken from the pan and let it cool until you can handle it enough to chop it into bite sized pieces. Place these pieces in a large mixing bowl.

Heat the water (or chicken broth, depending on what you have on hand) and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a sauce pan on high until it comes to a boil.* Add the couscous, cover, and remove from the heat. Let the couscous remain cover for at least five minutes while you chop up the veggies.

Half the snap peas and tomatoes. Chunk the red pepper into quarter to half inch pieces. Add them to the mixing bowl with the chicken. Add the ripped basil.

Uncover the couscous and add it to the mixing bowl. Throw in as much feta as your little heart and stomach desires. Thoroughly mix all the ingredients together with a fork.

This recipe is perfect served hot with pita and hummus on a cold night (the better to pretend you are in a warm desert climate) or chilled as a salad at your next summer BBQ or potluck. If you choose to serve it chilled, prepare the recipe at least two to three hours ahead of time.

*I like to add 2 tablespoons of onion and jalapeños to my water to start so that the flavors are infused in the couscous. You don’t have to do this unless you want to.

Ahoy, Ladies...

2011-06-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

Soon after I reviewed Steel by Carrie Vaughn, Slate's Brow Beat posted "A Short History of Lady Pirates" in honor of the newest Pirates of the Caribbean movie. I thought it important to link to this as it features Anne Bonny and Mary Read, who both have cameos in Steel.

The column culls its history from David Cordingly's Seafaring Women: Adventures of Pirate Queens, Female Stowaways, and Sailor's Wives, which seemed appropriate as Cordingly's Under the Black Flag sailed on to the non-fiction bestseller lists with the first Pirates of the Caribbean.

For those of you looking for a jolly good pirate read on the fiction side, you should check out the Bloody Jack series by LA Meyer.

Nothing Rotten Here...

2011-06-06T18:00:00.000-07:00

Spoiled by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan (aka The Fug Girls):

Sixteen year old Molly Dix loves her ordinary life in suburban Indiana, so when her single mother passes away, she is shocked to discover that her biological father is Brick Berlin, world famous movie star and red carpet regular.

Equally intrigued and terrified by her Hollywood lineage, Molly moves to Southern California and plunges head-first into the deep end of Beverly Hills celebrity life. Just as Molly thinks her new life and family couldn't get any stranger, she meets Brooke Berlin, her gorgeous and spoiled half-sister whom welcomes Molly to la-la land with a healthy dose of passive-aggressive "sisterly love."

Set against the backdrop of a sparkling and fashion-filled Los Angeles, this deliciously dysfunctional family soap opera will satisfy every reader looking for their next lifestyles-of-the-rich-and-famous beach read.

Summary from Goodreads.

Molly Dix has had a rather shocking year – not only did her mother die, but she found out that the deceased father she’d never met is actually alive, physically well* and living in Los Angeles. Oh, and he happens to be Brick Berlin, the famous action movie star turned director. Now she’s leaving her childhood sweetheart, best friend and grandparents all behind, and moving to LA to live with Brick and her half sister, Brooke.

Brooke Berlin is not amused. She can barely get her father’s attention with a temper tantrum that rivals a category five hurricane. Her newly discovered half sister getting all of Daddy’s attention, and she’s even hogging the spotlight that should be firmly focused on Brooke at her big birthday party. What’s a girl to do but sabotage the scene stealer and reveal her for the homewrecker** she actually is? Brooke’s going to have to be sneaky though if she’s going to ride this new Hollywood scandal to her inevitable stardom because her enemy is about to become Molly’s frenemy.

As parents go, Brick’s not as spacey as he seems (even if he does sound like a cross between Bruce Willis and Cocks and Morgan’s Lagerfeld impression), and soon he’s imposing his own interesting brand of parenting to this sisterly hatefest. From sharing a room to working on the school play, Brook and Molly are going to have to work out how to live with each other, their shared father’s absenteeism, and the Hollywood rumor mill at its worst.

I’m a long time reader of Go Fug Yourself, and throughout the years of columns I’ve often thought that they should tackle fiction. These two funny ladies can make you laugh out loud with just a few lines and know how to skewer bad fashion. So when I heard they were writing a YA novel, I decided that it was worth taking my hard earned gift card*** down to B&N to pick up a copy (which they had well before the release date). Spoiled is everything I expected from Heather and Jessica: over the top characters, fashion critiques, and fun times.

Through Molly we get to experience Hollywood (and the Berlins) from the outside looking in, while Brooke provides the perspective of self-focused starlet with a secret pain. Once Brooke gets over mean girl-ing Molly, and Molly stands up for herself with an added dose of vengeance, the girls realize how important it is to have family, especially a sibling, to help you deal.

With all the name dropping of designers and celebrities, I’m not sure how well it will age, but I said the same thing about 90210 back in the day. And like 90210: original flavor, Spoiled might just stand the test of denim jumpers and Tori Spelling, acting as a captured point of time worth revisiting whenever you need a pick me up. From the ending, I’m definitely going to tune in for the next episode.

This is a frothy read that will entertain you just as well on the bus commuting to work as it will beside a pool. Why limit sunny books to summer reads?

You can purchase Spoiled from these fine retailers: Powells, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Your Local Indie, or you can pick it up at your local library.

Book Source: bought it at B&N.

*Mentally Brick is a little Woo-woo. If Spoiled were made into a movie he should be played by a slightly younger Harry Hamlin.
**And closet drunk.
***A girl only turns 30 once.

The Girl with Lana Turner's Smile

2011-05-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell:

When Evie's stepfather returned home from World War II, the family fell back into its normal life pretty quickly. But Joe Spooner brought more back with him than just good war stories. When movie-star handsome Peter Coleridge, a young ex-GI who served in Joe's company in postwar Austria, shows up, Evie is suddenly caught in a complicated web of lies that she only slowly recognizes. She finds herself falling for Peter, ignoring the secrets that surround him . . . until a tragedy occurs that shatters her family and breaks her life in two.

As she begins to realize that almost everything she believed to be a truth was really a lie, Evie must get to the heart of the deceptions and choose between her loyalty to her parents and her feelings for the man she loves. Someone will have to be betrayed. The question is . . . who?

Summary from GoodReads.

Growing up in the shadow of a beautiful and witty mother, Evie spends a lot of time observing those around her. Unfortunately her mother’s desire to keep her a child has undermined her ability to understand the subtext of the opinions that make up her world. A last minute trip to Florida – supposedly as a vacation to celebrate her step-father’s return from the war, but quite possibly just to get away from the mysterious man calling the house – finally gives Evie the chance to reinvent and grow.

Basking in the attention of the mysterious and godly Peter, Evie slowly becomes aware in a way she never was before. The opinions she’s been living her life by just might not be right, and maybe everything is not perfect with her mother and stepfather. The intensity of the Florida is searing away the cover not just on the Spooner family secrets but those of the other hotel guests as well, and the situation comes to a head with a slur, a hurricane, and a possible murder.

What did Evie really see? What sacrifices will she make for her family and love?

And most importantly, what will she say on the witness stand?

What I Saw and How I Lied illustrates the opposites of the post WWII to era where people celebrated the fall of Germany even as they discriminated against people with Jewish last names. Evie’s awareness of the dichotomies in class, culture and her own life grows as she is forced to step out of her innocence and into a role filled with the kind of decision making that would break grown adults. Blundell weaves Evie’s innocent observations with an undercurrent that hints at the problems around her, and slowly builds the character and reader’s awareness. The time period and the historical details never overwhelm, layering into the plot to build the tension of the story.

I admit that I was slightly intimidated by the idea of a book set post the Great War. While I love the occasional classic movie, my own knowledge of the period is kind of glossed over by my high school AP History rush to cram everything in before the test. Blundell overcame this within the first few pages with her imagery of Evie pretending to smoke a chocolate cigarette. Her descriptions managed to convey that rush to grow up and capture a very iconic image I have in my mind of my own mother smoking. From there she creates a story so filled with layers that each page is a discovery building on the real contest of what Evie saw.

Does Blundell give us all the answers? No. And I can definitely see people having problems with Evie’s decision to lie and how she goes about it. But Evie has problems with it. That’s the point. The entire story is built on the effects of the lies we tell ourselves and others even when we know differently.

And now I’m afraid I’m making this sound like an “issues” book, when in reality I think it was a really accessible, wonderful story that will allow readers to discuss it long after they have finished reading. It highlights a time period that had a lot of issues that get glossed over in the greater history of the US of A. But really, it’s the story of a girl growing up and the decisions that come with that.

And if that’s too issue-y, then here’s Blundell's description: a “coming-of-age story involving blackmail, adultery, and possible homicide.”

All the things America still loves today.

What I Saw and How I lied was the National Book Award Winner for 2008.

You can purchase What I Saw and How I Lied from these fine retailers: Powells, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Your Local Indie, or you can pick it up at your local library.

Book Source: Got it from the library, recommended to old movie lovers.

A Pirating we will go...

2011-05-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

Steel by Carrie Vaughn:

Sixteen-year-old Jill has fought in dozens of fencing tournaments, but she has never held a sharpened blade. When she finds a corroded sword piece on a Caribbean beach, she is instantly intrigued and pockets it as her own personal treasure.

The broken tip holds secrets, though, and it transports Jill through time to the deck of a pirate ship. Stranded in the past and surrounded by strangers, she is forced to sign on as crew. But a pirate's life is bloody and brief, and as Jill learns about the dark magic that brought her there, she forms a desperate scheme to get home—one that risks everything in a duel to the death with a villainous pirate captain.

Time travel, swordplay, and romance combine in an original high-seas adventure from New York Times bestseller Carrie Vaughn.

Summary provided by GoodReads.

Jill is still recovering from a devastating loss at her last fencing bout when the family vacation in the

Bahamas

comes around. Self-doubt has her distancing herself from the family fun in the sun, and upping her solitary walk on the beach intake. It’s during one of these walks that she finds the tip of an old rapier. Unwilling to give the tip up to a museum – who wouldn’t appreciate it as much as a fencer – she tucks in her pocket before embarking on the latest family sanctioned activity, the boat tour. A sunny trip on the high seas quickly progresses to high waves, and over the side Jill goes.

And who should pull her from the water, but pirates. This must be a tourist thing, right?

Hauled to their ship, she is introduced to their Pirate Queen Captain, her hardened crew, a saucy cabin boy, and the fact that she’s no longer in the 21^st century. Instead she fallen back to the 1700s and smack dab in the middle of a pirate war, all thanks to that sword tip. A sword tip, it turns out, that belongs to the most evil pirate of all. Now instead of agonizing over a lost fencing bout, she’s got to learn how to duel for blood, swab the decks and stay alive until she can get home.

In Steel, Carrie Vaughn takes “live by the sword, die by the sword” and applies some teenage piratetude. Jill has only ever experienced fighting in her fencing whites and by scoring electronic points, so it’s a big shock when the sword she now holds could kill someone with one wrong swing. If anything can jerk you out of a depressing loss though, it’s fighting for your life. The captain and crew of the Diana teach her about hard work and living each day like it might be her last.

In truth, I checked this book out because, duh, PIRATES. Scurvy, wicked and pillaging they may be, pirates just hold a little piece of my heart. Besides, I was interested in what Carrie Vaughn would do with a 21^st century girl, a 21^st century sword-fighting girl no less, who is thrown into the reality of a pirate’s life. What I got wasn’t quite what I expected. The story gives us this pirate tale through Jill’s eyes, but the limited third person made me feel distanced from the connections the character was making. This was compounded by Jill as a very distant narrator who never commits to the life she’s fallen into since she’s just trying to get home.

As a story, Steel skims along the surface like the pirate ship Diana, but never really delves too deeply. For a summer read, this makes for a fun light read, but for someone who looking for a little more booty to their pirate stories, this one might be lacking. Just when you think it’s going to commit to the fight, it runs away.

You can purchase Steel from these fine retailers: Powells, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Your Local Indie, or you can pick it up at your local library.

Book Source: la biblioteca.

There's a new kid on the block...

2011-05-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

Feel like GoodReads, Shelfari, and LibraryThing aren’t meeting your personal library or social networking needs? According to Netted there’s another option out there (in beta): ShelfLuv. Created by Pek Pongpaet, ShelfLuv has the ability to instantly search/add books with Amazon, and then share your purchases and recommendations with your friends through Facebook and Twitter.

Although to me the bookshelf looks similar to Shelfari’s shelving set-up, ShelfLuv is being written up for its appearance. The interface allows you to stalk your friends’ shelves and provides book recommendations based on what they are reading and also by what’s in your Twitter account (somehow). If you grab an invite (I believe some might still available here and here), you can see if this is the personal library that will fit all of your reading needs. At this time I can’t find an official release date and you’ll need to use your Facebook login to sign up.

I would love to hear what people who currently have a different library set up think of this one. Since I don't really use my GoodReads account in conjunction with Facebook/Twitter, I think I'll hold off to see the finished ShelfLuv product.

No Plain Jane Here

2011-05-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

Jane by April Lindner:

Forced to drop out of an esteemed East Coast college after the sudden death of her parents, Jane Moore takes a nanny job at Thornfield Park, the estate of Nico Rathburn, a world-famous rock star on the brink of a huge comeback. Practical and independent, Jane reluctantly becomes entranced by her magnetic and brooding employer and finds herself in the midst of a forbidden romance. But there's a mystery at Thornfield, and Jane's much-envied relationship with Nico is soon tested by an agonizing secret from his past. Torn between her feelings for Nico and his fateful secret, Jane must decide: Does being true to herself mean giving up on true love? An irresistible romance interwoven with a darkly engrossing mystery, this contemporary retelling of the beloved classic Jane Eyre promises to enchant a new generation of readers.

Allow me to state this as a simple proof*:

Jane Eyre, a novel = enjoyable reading

Jane Eyre, a novel = Jane Eyre + Edward Rochester

Jane Eyre, Governess = Jane Moore, Governess

Edward Rochester, reclusive, but rich, employer = Nico Rathburn, reclusive, but rich, rock star

Jane Moore + Nico Rathburn = Jane, the novel

Jane, a novel = Jane Eyre, a novel

Jane, a novel = enjoyable reading (for the 21st century)

Kids, I stayed up way too late reading this book and I definitely didn’t miss lack of moors. It is clear from the very beginning that the author, April Lindner, adores Jane Eyre and has fought to modernize the story as directly as possible in Jane. In doing so she strips away the extraneous moor wandering, surprise inheritances, and evil school clergy men, and gives us the story of Jane the girl – who despite her lonely upbringing – has a strength of self that resonates so strongly that it draws in those around her and the reader as well.

Jane tells her story as quietly and cleanly as she lives her life. She recognizes the hardships that have led her to be the governess for Nico’s daughter (with DNA tests there’s no excuse not to know for sure), and drop out of college. Instead of blaming others for putting her in this position, she simply moves forward with her life, living it the best she can with the information she is given. And unlike Miss Eyre, Jane Moore has the power of the internet at her fingertips. This gives her both more information on Rathburn’s coked up rock and roll past, but still leaves many mysteries to be answered. Why is the third floor off limits? Who is the cause of the maniacal midnight laughter? Can a rock star really fall in love with a governess?

Readers who love Jane Eyre (and are open to adaptations) will enjoy the name hat tips Lindner gives to different characters from the original, and be intrigued by the changes and updates she’s chosen to make. New readers can use Jane as a gateway to the original – a way to make the timeless story accessible when reading a classic may seem intimidating. It’s definitely made me want to reread Bronte’s novel (or check out the recent BBC mini-series, or the move starring Mia Wasikowska) to see what I missed.

You can purchase Jane from these fine retailers: Powells, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Your Local Indie, or you can pick it up at your local library.

Book Source: So…Hate to sound like a broken record and all, but I got this at the library. Cool place. Maybe you should check it out (bah dah dum).

* Not guaranteed to be mathematically sound as it has been many, many years since I’ve done proofs and I don’t think I was ever that good with them to begin with. Truthfully all I remember about high school calculus was that our teacher did voices for story problems. Oh, and he wrote X-Files related story problems.

His Scully voice was hilarious.

Fish like Soylent Green too...

2011-05-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

If only this were true:

From the last frame of this wonderful Questionable Content comic.

Or is it? Yes, Hipsters, come to Portland. Find out what it is all about.

So rides the Goblin Rider in the night...

2011-05-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Hollow by Jessica Verday:

When Abbey's best friend, Kristen, vanishes at the bridge near Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, everyone else is all too quick to accept that Kristen is dead and rumors fly that her death was no accident. Abbey goes through the motions of mourning her best friend, but privately, she refuses to believe that Kristen is really gone. Then she meets Caspian, the gorgeous and mysterious boy who shows up out of nowhere at Kristen's funeral, and keeps reappearing in Abbey's life. Caspian clearly has secrets of his own, but he's the only person who makes Abbey feel normal again...but also special.

Just when Abbey starts to feel that she might survive all this, she learns a secret that makes her question everything she thought she knew about her best friend. How could Kristen have kept silent about so much? And could this secret have led to her death? As Abbey struggles to understand Kristen's betrayal, she uncovers a frightening truth that nearly unravels her—one that will challenge her emerging love for Caspian, as well as her own sanity.

Summary provided by GoodReads.

Abbey’s in denial. Her best friend has been missing for months, believed to have drowned in the river, but despite the evidence and the funeral service Abbey clings to the idea Kristen might still be alive. The mysterious boy who appears at the memorial offers her something to focus on beyond where Kristen could possibly be. Caspian seems to understand her floundering and shares her love of the Sleepy Hollow cemetery where Washington Irving was buried. And with that understanding comes a possible romance. Good thing something is going her way because her status as the best friend of the girl “who may have committed suicide” has left her ostracized at school, and nightmares keep plaguing her sleep. Caspian, the cemetery and her perfume making are the only things keeping her sane.

Or are they? Because suddenly Caspian’s keeping secrets, a chance discovery of Kristen’s diary reveals her friend’s second life with her own mysterious boy, and there’s a new caretaker at Washington Irving’s grave.

I picked up Jessica Verday’s first book after reading about the Wicked Pretty Things debacle (you can find a round up of links here). I wanted to throw some support behind her and also check out the writer who had started it all. What I found in The Hollow was a very interesting premise, but a story I kept waiting to move faster. Setting her story in the town of Sleepy Hollow, New York, Verday weaves the Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow with the tale of Abbey, Caspian, and Kristen. A quote from the original story heads each chapter, and the town as a whole works to make Washington Irving and Sleepy Hollow an acknowledged part of their lives and tourism trade. As the child of City Council members, Abbey relates the various Sleepy Hollow events as she narrates her life in the months of after Kristen’s disappearance. This narrative follows a long, winding path of high school events, Caspian’s courting, and edges the mystery behind Kristen’s death to build up to a cliff hanger of sorts for Abbey’s mental state and Caspian’s secrets.

As the first book in a trilogy The Hollow successfully sets the scene for the rest of the series, and acts as one third of the overall story, but on its own I didn’t feel that it answered enough questions in relation to the many plot threads left open for the next book (or books). This lack of any payoff detracted from the interesting and unique story that Verday brings to the paranormal YA subgenre. While a mysterious boy is nothing new, Abbey, unlike many other characters in all of literature, has a hobby that she enjoys doing, actually does during the narrative, and uses as a focus for something she can spend her life doing. This life plan still remains significant to her even after she meets Caspian and tries to learn more about what caused Kristen’s drowning. The Hollow’s mythology itself is firmly rooted in Irving’s Headless Horseman tale, and even features characters who have a connection to the original “Legend.”

The Hollow was Verday’s first book, and I will definitely be checking out the next book in the series, The Haunted, to see if it will provide the answers (and a narrative tightness) that The Hollow did not. As a writer Verday has some very interesting ideas, and I would like to see how she grows and carries them out.

I would recommend the series to anyone who liked Twilight, but wanted Bella with a bit more personality. And I would love to hear what they (or you) thought.*

You can purchase The Hollow from these fine retailers: Powells, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Your Local Indie, or you can pick it up at your local library.

Book Source: L. I. B. R. A. R. Y. What’s that spell? LIBRARY – a word that looks kind of weird in CAPS, now that I look at it.

*I read this novel right after finishing What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell (review to come), and I would be interested to see if my review was shaded by this proximity.

Nothing Dumb about it

2011-05-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John:

The Challenge:
Piper has one month to get a paying gig for Dumb—the hottest new rock band in school.

The Deal:
If she does it, she'll become manager of the band and get her share of the profits, which she desperately needs since her parents raided her college fund.

The Catch:
Managing one egomaniacal pretty boy, one talentless piece of eye candy, one crush, one silent rocker, and one angry girl who is ready to beat her up. And doing it all when she's deaf. With growing self-confidence, an unexpected romance, and a new understanding of her family's decision to buy a cochlear implant for her deaf baby sister, Piper just may discover her own inner rock star.

Piper has reached her breaking point – her brother is sneaking around and her parents have used her college fund to pay for her sister’s cochlear implants without even telling her. It’s no wonder that the band Dumb’s “unscheduled performance on the school steps first thing Monday morning” prompts a primal scream. Sure, she may not be able to really hear the music, but her deafness doesn’t keep her from feeling the vibrations and feeling traveling through the ground. So when the lead singer challenges her to act as their manager, she sees it both as a chance to earn some money and to prove that she can’t do any worse than a group that has downgraded their collective intelligence with their name. Before she knows it, she’s shepherding band members to practice and recording sessions, guiding their online presence and helping to create original songs.

But being the manager of a rock band isn’t all sunshine and roses. She’s got to deal with a newbie who’s more groupie than guitarist, member infighting and then there are those mysterious emails urging her to explore the Seattle’s rock heritage. Can Dumb make it to an actual performance or will they fall apart? And will Piper ever figure out how to live with her family’s, and her own, decisions?

Antony John creates one kick-ass main character in Piper. This is not a story about a deaf girl who manages a rock band. This is a story about a high school girl who manages a rock band and who also happens to be deaf. It’s not a handicap, but a strength she uses to read others, catch people unaware and gain Dumb the recognition it just might deserve. In coming to terms with what it means to be the manager of a rock group, she finds the strength to stand up for herself and her friends, as well as the ability to understand what it means to be deaf in her family.

Cheers to Antony Johns for creating a family (and the friends that become family) of a characters as well rounded as Piper’s. Motivations make sense. We’re not just looking at evil parents and wicked siblings, but people who have strengths and faults and are just trying to make their way. Cheers also for taking the Kallie/Tash dynamic and taking it from girl-on-girl hate to true understanding. Yeah, it helped that they had a common enemy to unite them, but what started out with that blossomed into a true friendship.

Highly, highly, highly recommended for teens and adults alike. Dumb will teach you about Seattle, rock and roll and what it takes to be a girl in high school (whether or not you happen to be deaf).

You can purchase Five Flavors of Dumb from these fine retailers: Powells, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Your Local Indie, or you can pick it up at your local library.

Book Source: Well, I got it from the library first, but now I love it so much that I bought it at Borders.And then, I loaned it to a friend...a friend who read it, loved it, and suggested it to her high school's library. Full circle, baby.

Random Recipes: Maple Roasted Chicken and Sweet Potatoes

2011-04-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

Maple Roasted Chicken and Sweet Potatoes

Original (practically verbatim) recipe from Real Simple:

Serves 4| Hands-On Time: 15m | Total Time: 1hr 40m

Ingredients

• 1 3 1/2- to 4-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces
• 2 large shallots cut into 1-inch wedges
• 2 small sweet potatoes (or nicely colored yams), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400° F.

2. Rinse the chicken and pat it dry. Arrange the chicken, onion, and sweet potatoes in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Drizzle the oil over the chicken and vegetables and season with the salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Drizzle with the maple syrup and top with the sprigs of thyme.

3. Roast, stirring the vegetables once half way through, until the chicken is cooked through, about 1 hour, 15 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Perfect for a cold rainy day, or when it decides to hail in the middle of April.

In honor of the Royal wedding...

2011-04-28T19:19:00.000-07:00

Reblogged from the Pages Worth Remembering tumblr

Because that will be much more fun than watching the ceremony and you know it :)

Hear the Ghost Lights Chime...

2011-04-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

Because every story must start somewhere, Briony, of Franny Billingsley’s Chime, starts hers with this:

If Eldric were to tell the story, he’d likely begin with himself. That’s where proper stories begin, don’t they, when the handsome stranger arrives and everything goes wrong?

But this isn’t a proper story, and I’m telling you, I ought to be hanged.

And so begins the story of Briony the Witch, who can hear and see the Old Ones in the swamp; Briony the deceitful, who damaged her sister’s mind and burnt down the library; Briony the poisonous vine, who let her stepmother die.

Just outside of London, Briony lives in Swampsea with her distant Reverend father and her mentally damaged sister. In this fantastical world, the inventions of the early 20th century – railways, motorcars and gaslights – are still trying to find their way into a small town where the swamp is haunted by the Old Ones, and witches are hanged by the neck until they are dead. Bad news for Briony who has been hiding her wicked state and wickeder deeds behind a mask of bland amusement and a soul filled with self hate. Especially now that the railway is coming, along with plans to drain the swamp, something the Old Ones will fight with every weapon they have.

And that weapon happens to be the only girl who can hear them.

With the railway come Eldric, the fidgety boy-man with the lion eyes who sees everything that Briony keeps hidden and asks questions of those things she knows to be facts.

In the town of Swampsea Franny Billingsley creates a lush, decaying world inhabited with one of the barbed characters I have read in a very long time. Briony hates herself for the wrongs she believes she has committed and for being a being she perceives to be sinful, truly hates herself. This is not an emo play for attention; she prides herself on never letting anyone see what is going on, but a deep hatred of self. Yet at the same time, she has this prickly sense of pride and humor that wind their way through her narration. This self loathing that Briony feels will make it hard for some readers to connect with her – I admit that I find it eye opening, and after a few pages momentarily wondered what I’d gotten myself into – but once you do connect, she is one of the most interesting characters I’ve read in quite sometime. Briony is a puzzle – to herself and to others – and it takes Eldric’s arrival and his curiosity to make her question some of the pieces she’s already put in place.

It is because Briony is so inwardly focused on examining the pieces that Eldric may come across as a bit of a cipher. His character is there, but it’s doled out in bits and pieces as he questions and reconstructs our heroine. It is his arrival that allows Briony to escape from the monotony and preconceptions that have clouded her mind. It is his support that allows Briony to tell us the true stories…or at least as true as she can see them.

Chime is making its way on to many “Best of” lists and the awards are well deserved. Franny Billingsley has created a truly unique world filled with mystery and characters that capture you long after you stop reading. With its slightly antiquated language and self loathing main character, though, I know it won’t appeal to all readers. This is not an easy read, but if you stick with it, I believe you’ll find that it is a wonderful one. Highly recommended.

You can purchase Chime from these fine retailers: Powells, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Your Local Indie, or you can pick it up at your local library.

Book Source: why, my local library, of course. I read this book thanks to your tax dollars.

Random Recipes: Cheater Pot Pie

2011-04-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

Cheater Pot Pie

Olive Oil
1 package of chicken breasts
½ Onion diced
1 to 2 leeks halved and chopped
4 celery stalks diced
1 bag Country style Potatoes
3 to 4 carrots cleaned and chopped
Mushrooms (I use the pre-sliced baby bellas)
2 garlic cloves diced
12 to 18 ounces of Potato Leek soup (I use the Imagine low sodium – comes in a box)
1 bag pre-shredded Tillamook Cheddar Cheese (I like sharp)
2 sheets (one package) Pepperidge Farms Pastry Sheets
1 tablespoon melted butter
Spices to taste: salt, pepper, thyme, marjoram, whatever sounds

In one pan, cook up the chicken breasts in a light drizzle of olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste (add thyme for additional flavor if you so desire). When the chicken is fully cooked, remove from heat and shred or chop it up into small pieces.

In another pan, sauté the potatoes and carrots in olive oil until they are almost fully cooked, then add the onions, leeks, celery, garlic, mushrooms. Again, salt, pepper, or add herbs to taste (I added thyme, marjoram and a light dusting of a mixed Italian herb). When finished, toss in the fully cooked chicken and mix together.

Roll out the Pepperidge Farm sheets. Layer the first sheet in the pie tin so that the extra dough hangs off the sides, then lay day a layer of shredded cheese (I like cheese so I added almost half the bag). Pour in the veggies and chicken mix, and then add ¼ of the remaining package to the top. Pour the potato leek soup over this and then tap/shake the pie tin gentle to help it settle throughout.

Now sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top because you can never have too much.

Wet the rim of the pie tin crust and then cover with the remaining sheet of dough. Cut the excess off so that only about an inch (or inch and a half) remains hanging over the edge of the tin. Rolls and pinch this up to create the pretty crust edge. Create a vent in the top of the pie (I use a knife to cut in a decorative S). Brush the melted butter on to the pie top.

Bake at 400 degrees for 45 to 55 minutes (you will probably need to cover the pie with tin foil for the last 15 minutes to prevent burning).

Allow to cool for 10 minutes at least before serving.

The Day the Saucers Came...for National Poetry Month

2011-04-21T07:00:00.000-07:00

A poem by Neil Gaiman:

Enchanting to meet you...

2011-04-18T18:00:00.000-07:00

From the website/jacket cover for Enchanted Ivy by Sarah Beth Durst:

A story about getting into college. You know, taking the campus tour, talking to the gargoyles, flirting with the were-tigers, riding the dragons...

While visiting the campus of Princeton University, 16-year-old Lily discovers a secret gate to a magical realm and must race against time to save herself, her world, and any hope she has of college admission.

It’s Class Reunion weekend at Princeton and Lily’s grandfather has invited Lily and her mother along for the first time. Finally it’s a chance for Lily to visit the university of her admission dreams and to have a break from being the child of a woman who regularly experiences “brain hiccups” – hiccups that have obscured her mind so completely that she cannot even remember her marriage to, or the subsequent death of, Lily’s father.

With their arrival on campus, grandfather reveals that this is not just a weekend away, but Lily’s chance to win her way into Princeton. To do so she must pass the test set forth by his fellow members of the Vineyard club. Simple really, just a scavenger hunt. And if she fails? Well, she’s still welcome to apply through admissions. A win-win situation, right?

But then the boy with the tiger striped hair shows up and the campus gargoyles start moving and talking. Her mom’s remaining sanity is fast depleting and if Lily wants to keep her focused on the here and now, then she’s got to find this Ivy Key. But that’s kind of hard to do when she might be experiencing “brain hiccups” of her own.

I’ve previously read Sarah Beth Durst’s Wild series – Into the Wild and Out of the Wild – and enjoyed her ability to take the fairytales that Disney taught us and twist them back to their darker origins. She does this even while acknowledging the greater truth: in real life heroes can often be villains and villains can sometimes save the day. It all depends on who is telling the story.

As with the Wild series, Durst uses pre-existing mythological creatures – fairies, dryads, were-animals, and gargoyles – but adds them to the world and mythology many of us would not be familiar with: the history and architecture of Princeton. The gates and gargoyles of Princeton animate to help guide Lily through her adventures and into other worlds, while working within the confines of established Princeton lore. This gives a rather unique spin on the creatures that inhabit much of the Young Adult literature being written today. (Gargoyles do not get nearly enough love if you ask me.)

When I first heard about Enchanted Ivy, I thought that this would be aimed at an older (read YA) audience. While Lily is definitely older than Julie from the Wild series, in some ways she reads the same age. Part of this is due, I’m sure, to the isolation Lily experiences having a mother known for her eccentricities and moments of crazy. What small glimpses we are given of Lily’s pre-Princeton weekend life, are of a girl who is shunned by the other students and spends her non-school hours taking care of her mother. This has caused her to miss out on many benchmarks that other high school students in their Junior year would have experienced. Still, given that she has been taking care of her mother, I didn’t expect her to read as young as she did. Especially since she too worries about suffering from her mother’s mental illness.

That said, Enchanted Ivy was a quick, fun read that would work as a great transition book for Middle Age readers looking for a gateway into YA or a light, but mythology filled novel for older readers looking for entertainment on a sunny afternoon. The violence of the fight scenes rank low on the scare scale and Lily’s romantic interactions with the two male protagonists go no hotter than a kiss each. Tye, the tiger haired boy, does vibe a little too heavily on the “but we’re soul mates” side of things, but not to the point of restricting Lily’s activities or other stalkerish (read: Edward-ian) traits.

Sometime this summer when it finally warms up, I’ll probably be adding her other novel, Ice, to my reading list. The idea of a modern day adaption of the fairytale “East of the Sun and West of the Moon” that includes arctic travel sounds like just the thing once the weather actually hits the 80s.

You can purchase Enchanted Ivy from these fine retailers: Powells, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Your Local Indie, or you can pick it up at your local library.

Book Source: I picked this up at the fantastic branch of my local library. My library rocks! Congrats on the new book scanners, guys.

Random Recipes: Baked Risotto

2011-04-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

Here's the deal, I'm not the world's greatest cook (nor do I pretend to be), but I do enjoy cooking. And I enjoy sharing the recipes that work out. Lately though, I never have them on hand to share with someone at work when I want to, so I'm going to post them here. Now all I need is access to the internet.

The recipe below was adapted from the Baked Rissoto recipe from Williams-Sonoma. You can find the original here.

Baked Risotto

Serves 4 to 6| Hands-On Time: 30m | Total Time: 50m

Ingredients

3 Tbs. olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion minced
1 ½ cups Arborio rice
½ cup dry white wine
4 ½ cups chicken broth (warmed – but only if you have time)
½ - 1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
3 Tbs. cold salted butter, cut into 6 pieces

Possible Vegetable Combinations

1 – 2 cups mushrooms
2 cups tomatoes diced (recommend a mix of yellow and red for color and flavor)

1 ½ lb. asparagus, tough ends trimmed
2 leeks, white and light green portions halved and thinly sliced
1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme

Diced up pre-roasted Squash (this is the newest version of this, so you kind of have to wing it if you want to go the Squash route. I would suggest using delicata squash you've cut into rounds and roasted at 400 degrees for 20 minutes)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400° F.
Choose which vegetable combo you are going to enjoy:

If leeks and asparagus: In 3 ½ qt. wide Dutch oven over medium heat warm 2 Tbs. oil. Add leeks (and onion); cook, stirring occasionally, until soft (about 8 minutes.) Add garlic, thyme and salt; cook 1 minute.
If mushrooms and tomatoes: In 3 ½ qt. wide Dutch oven over medium heat warm 2 Tbs. oil. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until soft (about 8 minutes.) Add garlic and salt; cook 1 minute. Add rice; cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly toasted, 2-3 minutes.

Add rice; cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly toasted, 2-3 minutes.
Add wine; cook 1 minute.
Stir in 3 cups broth, increase heat to medium-high and bring to simmer.
Cover; bake, stirring once halfway through, until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed, 25-30 minutes. (You may want to add an additional 1 ½ cups of broth halfway through.)
Meanwhile:

If you chose asparagus: In a skillet coat asparagus with 1 tbs. oil; season with salt and pepper. Preheat pan over medium-high heat. Cook asparagus in batches, turning occasionally, until tender, 7-8 minutes per batch. Cut on bias into 2” lengths. Add to risotto with the 3 Tbs. of unsalted butter when you remove it from the oven.
If you choose mushrooms and tomatoes: sauté tomatoes until soft in preheated grill pan (medium to medium-high) with 1 to 2 Tbs. butter (or you can substitute olive oil). Add to risotto at baking halfway point. Sauté mushrooms until browned slightly in preheated grill pan (medium to medium-high) with 1 to 2 Tbs. butter (or you can substitute olive oil). Add to risotto at baking halfway point.

Remove risotto from the oven and stir in cheese, salt and pepper.
Serve.

Things to Know. Links for Later...

2011-04-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

Originally from Without Romance, Life Is..., reblogged from Pages Worth Remembering, a tumblr worth checking out.

From the Smithsonian by way of Dear Author, I want this book when it finally comes out...whenever that is (No one seems to have it listed as existing): Pink and Blue: Telling the Girls From the Boys in America.

Free Young Adult Novels...for as long as they last

2011-04-12T18:00:00.000-07:00

Easily in the top five reasons people come here from Google is Free Young Adult Novels, so here you go. Leila from Bookshelves of Doom let her readers know that Amazon is giving away Maureen Johnson's 13 Little Blue Envelopes and Aprilynne Pike's Wings.

From the free Kindle version's product description for 13 Little Blue Envelopes:

Inside little blue envelope 1 are $1,000 and instructions to buy a plane ticket.In envelope 2 are directions to a specific London flat.

The note in envelope 3 tells Ginny: Find a starving artist.

Because of envelope 4, Ginny and a playwright/thief/ bloke–about–town called Keith go to Scotland together, with somewhat disastrous–though utterly romantic–results. But will she ever see him again?

Everything about Ginny will change this summer, and it's all because of the 13 little blue envelopes.

I loved 13 Little Blue Envelopes enough when I read it several years ago that I went out and bought it. It's sitting in the YA section of my bookshelves as we speak. Ginny, despite what she thinks, has more guts than I will ever have when it comes to taking off by myself, and Maureen knows how to write a great character to carry you alone for the ride. When I found out that the followup, The Last Little Blue Envelope, will be available on April 26th in hardcover and ebook, I even made a note on my calendar.

While I can't vouch for Wings because I haven't read it, apparently the publisher is aiming for the Twilight* set. From the product description:

For a limited time, the book that Twilight Saga author Stephanie Meyer lauded as "a remarkable debut" is available for free.

Laurel was mesmerized, staring at the pale things with wide eyes. They were terrifyingly beautiful—too beautiful for words. Laurel turned to the mirror again, her eyes on the hovering petals that floated beside her head. They looked almost like wings. In this extraordinary tale of magic and intrigue, romance and danger, everything you thought you knew about faeries will be changed forever.

Apparently its about Fairies? Let me know if they're evil (I like 'em evil) and I'll check it out. Illusions, the conclusion to the Wings Trilogy, will be available on May 3rd, 2011.

*I know, I know, you can read. Thank you, Captain Obvious.

Oh Vera, I'd never ignore you

2011-04-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

From the cover copy of Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King:

---Is it okay to hate a dead kid?
---Even if I loved him once?
---Even if he was my best friend?
---Is it okay to hate him for being dead?

Eighteen-year-old Vera's spent her whole life secretly in love with her best friend, Charlie Kahn. And over the years she's kept a lot of his secrets. Even after he betrayed her. Even after he ruined everything.

So when Charlie dies in dark circumstances, Vera knows a lot more than anyone—the kids at school, his family, or even the police. But will she emerge and clear his name? Does she even want to?

An edgy, gripping story, Please Ignore Vera Dietz is an unforgettable novel: smart, funny, dramatic, and always surprising

This is the story of more than Vera Dietz. This is the story of Vera and Charlie – their friendship, his death, and the death of their friendship. This is the story of Vera and her father, Ken, and Vera’s mother. This is a story of past mistakes driving future actions, children fearing to follow in their parents’ footsteps, trying to be invisible and trying to live.

Oh, and this is a story about a Pagoda, inanimate though it may be, that watches over Vera, Charlie, Ken and the town.

Vera Dietz is a high school senior and full time Pizza Delivery Technician who’s desperately trying to not wind up a pregnant teenage stripper (her mother’s early path). She’s trying to drink through the grief and forget her best friend Charlie’s death and all the pain and confusion that came before and after.

Of course, this would be easier if he would just stop haunting her, but then so would a lot of things.

A.S. King has the amazing ability to create amazingly three-dimensional characters that capture the beauty of living even as they suffer the pain and the loneliness of being left behind. Vera’s wry humor in the face of her sorrow and the mystery and destruction that was Charlie is matched by her father’s journey to grow from his past, recover from his divorce, and raise the best daughter possible.

I knew that A.S. King could write wonderful prose and interesting characters thanks to her previous novel The Dust of 100 Dogs, but with Vera she captured the grieving process and my heart.

Recommended for adults and teens alike, this book definitely deserved to be a Michael L. Printz Honor Book for 2011.

You can purchase Please Ignore Vera Dietz from these fine retailers: Powells, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Your Local Indie, or you can pick it up at your local library.

Book Source: I picked this up at the fantastic branch of my local library. My library rocks!

Check this out

2011-03-08T18:00:00.000-08:00

The Guardian posted an article by Cory Doctorow on the new HarperCollins library ebook policy (link via Bookshelves of Doom):

Ebooks have loads of demerits, especially as they are marketed to libraries. They are sold at full price, while print editions generally go at a hefty discount to reflect libraries' volume purchasing. They can only be read with certain, proprietary readers, something analogous to insisting that the libraries require patrons to read their books by the light of one preferred manufacturer's lightbulb. They can't be sold on as a library discard once the library no longer needs them for the collection...
…

Of course ebooks don't wear out. Programming them to self-destruct after 26 checkouts is tantamount to asking librarians to embrace entropy. Anyone who thinks that this is going to happen has never spent any time with a librarian.

“And why do we need libraries?” some might ask. I think that Courtney Milan puts it best:

Libraries are the future of reading. When the economy is down, we need to make it easier for people to buy and read books for free, not harder. It is stupid to sacrifice tomorrow’s book buyers for today’s dollars, especially when it’s obvious that the source in question doesn’t have any more dollars to give you.

I want this to be more than me quoting other people, but unfortunately my time is short. So here are the facts as they relate to me (as that’s what it’s all about). In the last year I have checked out 29 paper books from the library, and at least 10 ebooks (I can’t find a quick way to export my data for the ebooks). For the sake of argument, we'll pretend that the format of the books don't matter, although I would prefer ebooks because my reader is much lighter than most novels. So, of those 39 books, 30 of those were new to me authors. That means 76% of those books were the first time I’d read these authors.

Did I like them all? No, but I tried them. And of the whopping nine remaining books, five were by authors from that original list. In most cases these were books that were part of the series. Four are part of ongoing series. Of those four, I dropped two due to a dislike of how the second book played out.* The remaining two?

I want them. I want them now – quite possibly enough to buy the whole series to own once they come out.

Of these 39 books I’ve recommended at least 10 of the titles to friends. That’s 25%, and I know that half of those will result in current or future sales (12.5% for those playing at home). I know that doesn’t seem like a very high number, but that’s just based on word of mouth to my friends/mom’s book group/etc. This does not count any additional sales that I might “make” by putting my thoughts out on the internet for just anyone to read.

And in a bad economy that still does not lend itself to excessive book shopping that's nothing to discount.

* this does not mean I’m adverse to trying out other books by the same author.

Bookselling Confessional

2011-03-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

I have a confession to make.

I almost went back to bookselling last year.

Hell, that’s not totally true – I actually almost went back to bookselling the year before that.

Not because I wanted to increase public literacy. Not because my icy heart melted a little when a customer celebrated a new author find. Not even due to my subversive need to get people hooked on new genres by introducing them to a gateway ~~drug~~, er, book.

Nope, I almost went back to bookselling because I missed the perks – specifically my discount, my ability to check out new releases and the ARCs.

Actually, that’s also a bit of a lie. I don’t really miss the ARCs we’d get at my store because we weren’t really on the radar for the titles I thought I wanted.

But the discount? The ability to use the store as my own personal library? Those things I miss, almost enough to try and pick up a shift shelving, lugging and greeting to get it back.

I know this doesn’t exactly come as a newsflash to the greater reading population,* but books are expensive, and as a single income household who would eventually like to use that single income own her own home, that cost is oftentimes prohibitive. I can’t afford to drop a lot on books I may or may not like, and even if I could, I don’t have that much room in my house. The majority of my current book buying is done digitally as it allows me to expand my reading without expanding my bookcases, and allows me to indulge in the appearance of impulse shopping.

I say appearance because 90% of the books I buy digitally are by authors I’ve read and liked previously. The other 10% I bought based on very strong recommendations and my ability to access free content (excerpts, first five chapters, etc).

When I was a bookseller, I was willing to take a chance on the new to me author with the pretty cover because I had the option to check out the title to read, or buy it at discount even if I was on the fence/wanted to be encouraging. If I was feeling a little wishy-washy I could always take it to the backroom and read a little on my lunch break. In ye ol’ bookselling days, there were several books I purchased simply because I knew other people would like them.** With my discount, this kind of expense wasn’t as much of a barrier, but now any book I buy in paper has to go through the checklist:
• Do I like this author?
• Will I read this again?
• Is there a digital version that is less expensive or do I have a coupon?
• Will I want to loan this out?
• Can I get this from the library soon?

Before I even walk into a bookstore I have answered most of these questions, and this pre-shopping (if you will) has resulted in a decrease in my actual aisle browsing. Because I go knowing what I want, where it’s located, and how much I have to spend, I don’t wander like I used to. I don’t discover in the same way. And that’s pretty sad, for someone whose job used to be telling people about the greatest, newest thing.

So, once, or twice, or even three times a year, I think about going back to bookselling and taking on a fifty hour work week. I consider taking on the stress of customer service to get that old thrill of opening boxes full of new stock. I long for the ability to be the first to know.

And right about the time I get to filling out the application I realize, if I went back, if I really committed to taking on a second job, I wouldn’t have the time to read those new books anyway.

Sometimes it’s better to just see what the library has instead.

*Someone told me recently that the first thing all financial planning books tell you is to stop buying books, and use the library. I love my library and make great use of it, but this just made me cry.

**Sure, I might get around to reading them one day, but I could think of three people who would read them now.

Literary Love and Links

2011-03-07T20:57:00.000-08:00

I just spent the evening trying to clean up/update all the sidebar links, which resulted in a lot of deleted dead links. I know that in some cases people have started up somewhere else, so if you've got an update that I missed, please let me know. In meantime, here are some links new and old that are good for passing the time:

According to Flavorwire, Moleskine is launching a new product line; something that fills with me glee because I love Moleskine. The collections will be for Writing, Reading and Travelling, and "will include bags, pencils, pens, reading glasses, computer cases, a USB rechargeable reading light, and an e-reader stand." I'm very excited to see what the Travelling line will be.

The Fug Girls will now be fugging it up literary style! Heather and Jessica have written a YA novel, Spoiled, that will be out June 1st, 2011.

“The closest sixteen-year old Molly Dix has gotten to the red carpet is watching it on E!; gorgeous, spoiled Brooke Berlin was practically born on one in Beverly Hills. Their worlds couldn’t be farther apart, until Molly discovers the long-kept secret that sends her spinning into Brooke’s orbit: They share a father, Brick Berlin, world-famous movie star and tabloid regular. Intrigued (and a little bit terrified) by her Hollywood lineage, Molly dives into the deep end of celebrity life by moving to Southern California — where Brooke is waiting, armed with a smothering dose of ‘sisterly love’… and a plan.”

Both novel and fashionable (though not in the same vein), the ladies from Fashion from Old People tumblr did a lovely drawing inspired by Geek Love (among other things).

In other literature/tumblr news, if you haven't been following Slaughterhouse 90210 then you should be. It truly is a match made in pop culture heaven.

It’s a Bird. It’s a Plane!

2011-03-02T11:53:00.000-08:00

No, it’s the resurrection the blog of (a former) Bookseller (who’s still a) Chick!

I know, I know. You’re not exactly blown away. You might not have even remembered subscribing to this blog once upon a time and now that it’s popping up, you’re like, “Oh, Honey, no. We haven’t so become desperate as to resurrect the early 00s yet. We’ve barely even touched the 90s.”

Yeah, well, then adjust your flannel because I’m bring this Chick back anyway (and life is just made better if you put a bird on it right?)*

A lot has been happening in the book world lately—the flood of great Young Adult books, the rise of the self-publishing success, the increased sales of ebooks, Borders’ bankruptcy, HarperCollins’ new electronic policy for libraries, and Apple’s new reading app requirements—and these things are really starting to make fundamental changes in publishing.

Regardless of whether Old School wants it to or not, publish or perish has taken on a whole new meaning.

These shifts from the past to present, be they good or bad, are things that I dreamed of being part of when I was trying to transition from bookseller to part of the publishing world. And while I never made it into the publishing stratosphere, I’m still affected as a consumer of the end product: books. Ebooks, library books, mass market, trade and hard backs, I still read across the board despite the lack of discount.

So why not talk about these things on the internet right? I mean, while I’m no longer a bookseller, I am still a chickadee who reads books. I’m sure the last thing the internet needs is another reader blog, but this one still registers daily traffic, and if nothing else I can follow up those high traffic topics with current updates. Apparently people will don’t know if they should go with Goodreads, Shelfari, or LibraryThing yet. Maybe I should figure out why.

So here’s to a new decade of publishing, bookselling, reading and blogging. I’m sure we can find something to talk about. Along the way, I hope to tradition of handselling and review some of the great books I’ve read lately, as well as link to some of the amazing people who turned me on to those books.

*

Oh, Portlandia, the hilarity of this is I truly can name four stores right now who subscribe to this policy, and the newest Pottery Barn catalog is over flowing with birds as well.

Which reminds me:

That's right, Hipster Kitty, you tell 'em.

Me in OZ

2009-09-09T17:55:00.001-07:00

A new comic (featuring my very windblown hair) is up at Skidmore Bluffs. The U-Store place, next to 84, definitely has some interesting photo opportunities.

Sony PRS-700 Review: El Segundo

2009-09-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

I’ve had my Sony PRS-700 for over a month now, and in that time I’ve downloaded over 40 plus ebooks. In the same time, I’ve bought around eight paper books. Of those paperback books I bought, almost all were mass market and purchased for the following reasons:

I will want to read them again and again (away from an electronic device that I may not have in the future).
I will want to loan them to friends.
The print version was cheaper than the e version. (Never discount the power of a coupon to push a book browser over the edge to become a book buyer, bookstores.)

Of the 40 some-odd books on my Sony, I’ve read about 46. These 46 books range from the free Harlequin downloads (60^th anniversary love,) to excerpts on authors sites (Courtney Milan,) to books that I picked up due to web discussion (Delilah Marvelle,) to authors I’ve just been interested in reading for quite some time (Naomi Novik.) As a reader I’m much more likely to give an author a chance in ebook form because if I don’t like it, well hey, I can just hit delete.

Unlike other readers I really haven’t had any compatibility issues beyond my basic ignorance of the Sony’s formats. This may be because I’ve got a PC and the Mac peeps have been getting the Sony cold shoulder until recently, or it may be because I refused to read the directions. If you don’t know what you are supposed to do, then you can’t misinterpret right?

My test download was the free pdf of Bettie Sharpe’s Ember. Originally posted in a serialized format, Ember was my first taste of Sharpe’s writing and it was why I eventually picked up her first novel from Samhain to read on my laptop oh so long ago. The pdf format transferred to my Sony no problem, but the font was incredibly tiny upon viewing. Unfortunately increasing the size only destroyed the paragraph formation. Still readable, sure, but also still hard on the eyes. It wasn’t until I downloaded a novel in Adobe ePub that I realized that this was a result of the file format, not the Sony. With the fluidity of ePub format, I was able to use the Sony’s ability to increase text size for my poor eyes without losing the formatting that makes it possible to actually read the story.

From the looks of Sony’s latest press release, it seems I’m not the only one who likes ePub. Sony announced that it will default to ePub as the format of choice for the Sony bookstore and the Sony readers. In an effort to increase market awareness they have also partnered with Independent bookstores, Booksonboard, Net Galley, Powells.com and created a program called Library Finder to hook you up with ebooks from your local library.

Of these partnerships, the ones with Library Finder and Net Galley have me the most excited. One of the worst issues I had with writing book reviews was not the actual writing the review itself, but finding the time to review a book from a publisher when I might have had other books I want to read more. With the Sony the “I don’t have it with me” excuse is gone, and I’m (at least) much more likely to flip it open and start reading when the mood strikes. As for the library partnership? Well, what better way to test drive an author before buying. In this economy I like having some idea about the person’s style before I put money down for paper or a file (…and this is why you should have excerpts on your website.)

As I mentioned in my earlier review, I’ve continued to have issues with the contrast, but I’ve compromised by either turning on more lights in my room, or just reading something in print (if I must read) before going to bed. In rare—stubborn—cases I’ve also increased the font size. I hear that the contrast improves in the 600 (and also possibly in the web connected Reader Daily Edition,) but still suffers due to the touch screen technology.

Which brings me to the reason this test drive has taken place: having tried it, would I buy a Sony?

The answer: I still don’t know. I love the convenience. I love always having a library of books with me without adding more to my already overflowing bookshelves. I love all the new and exciting things Sony is doing. That said, in this last week I maybe picked up the Sony once or twice. Since I’m currently not commuting or running a lot of errands where I’ve got sitting around time, the Sony has been relegated to a break-time or home-time device. Also a lot of books that I’ve been waiting for finally hit the bookstore shelves (in many cases, before the ebook was available.) Since I knew that I would read them again and again, I didn’t mind buying those books in paper. It should be noted that not a single book belonged in the new-to-me-author category. All were discovered via previous books and some, like G.A. Aiken, were authors whose previous books were only available online.

With so many changes going on with Sony—three new ereaders and multiple new partnerships—part of me feels like I should sit back and see how it all goes. What if I buy a 600 and next year its obsolete like the 700 is now? What if I get the Daily Edition despite its high price point only to have its price drop (see: the iPhone) or for its internet access to get restricted or costly (a la Amazon?) And despite all of these great updates, the Sony store remains long to load and odd when it comes to navigation. More and more often I’ve just bypassed it completely and bought from BooksonBoard.

That said, we’ll have to see what happens after I send the Sony back to SB Sarah. I’m sure there will be horrible withdrawals because even if I’m not reading something on it, it doesn’t mean that it’s not available. It’s entirely possible that the absence will not only make my heart grow fonder, but also make me take a good, long look at my checking account balance (or at least my Christmas List.)

Friday Night Links

2009-09-04T17:23:00.000-07:00

For Art History fans, Christopher Moore has been touring the French Art World and giving his interpretation of famous pieces. That and his other french adventures are being covered on his blog. Check it out.

The Social Media for Writers Blog has great advice on how to use Social Media for writers and for publishers (check out the story regarding Chelsea Green and twitter).
Thanks to Midge Raymond for the link.

The Story Siren has a post up regarding Blogging Etiquette. This goes well with the Dear Author column on how to get into book blogging.

Rock Reads, as Flavorwire calls them, were quite popular in our store since we had two booksellers who hand sell the hell out of them. They were all nonfiction though, so it would have been interesting to see how these went over: From Great Jones Street to Garden State: Six Essential Rock Fiction Reads

This makes me smile. I tried taking inventory of what people were reading back when I was on a MAX route, but it mostly consisted of me trying to discern some sort of pattern (a la, the next reading theme will be Asian) or whether or not the books were from my store. This takes it to a whole new (sub) level.

Eric from Pimp My Novel asks "Self-Publishing: Great Idea... or Worst Idea Ever?" I'm not sure I agree with his conclusion because I've seen people who have really made the self publishing model work. It's interesting to note that all of those people have now been picked up by major publishers, but they were also (for the most part) niche books that turned out to have a wider audience than first believed.

Sony PRS-700 Review: The first

2009-09-01T05:00:00.000-07:00

Back in June, I got the wonderful chance to test drive a Sony PRS-700 from the lovely ladies of Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. By partnering with Sony, SB Sarah was able to put 30 refurbished Sonys (both 700s and 505s) into the hands of people who might not have otherwise ~~dropped E~~ picked up an ebook. You can follow all of the Sony adventures and discussions here, the reviews (and the comics) are worth a read through for anyone considering an ebook reader. Below you can find my first Sony review as well as a picture of my Sony getting the harem treatment (Loretta Chase's Don't Tempt Me deals with a former harem girl, don't you know). My follow up post will be coming next week.

* * *

I was waiting for the bus, reading The Virgin Secretary’s Impossible Boss on my Sony 700—finally HPs and I could once again indulge in our secret love!—when the guy next to me leaned over.

“Hey, is that a Kindle?”

Sadly this was not the first time I’ve been asked this question during the test drive, and it wouldn’t be the last. Oh, Sony marketing fail.

“Nope,” I explained, “it’s a Sony PRS-700 ebook reader.”

I showed him the touch screen with its iPod like icons, and I showed him the catalog function. I even did a little demo to illustrate how the touch screen could be used to flip pages with a swipe of the finger.

“Best of all,” I ended my little sales pitch, “it has the ability to operate outside of Amazon!”

“Nice,” he agreed. “Where do you get one?”

Ah, yes, about that. They’re extinct, and it’s pretty hard to convince someone to go Sony when your model is already obsolete. Even as I write this review the 700 is nowhere to be found on the Sony website and the only 505s remaining are the specialized versions. According to reports, in the next several months we’ll see two new Sony models: the 300 and the 600. Both sound like they have advantages over their predecessors—which is good. Although I like the ability to catalogue my books, shop where I want, and the fact that no one can take my books away from me with a click of a button, there are features I hope they improve.

While I’m a fan of the 700’s touch screen, the e-ink technology being used makes the screen far too dark to read on in anything other than direct light. I find myself using the backlight more often than not, just so I can provide enough contrast between the screen and the text to read.

When I first discovered this issue, I got online to see if there was any quick work around, only to find that the best suggestion involved taking the Sony apart. I’m pretty sure that would void my warranty.

Constant use of the backlight in turn wears down my battery so quickly that I find myself taking the 700 to work in order to charge it daily. Why take it to work, you ask? Because the 700 needs between two to four hours to charge. I’m not on my laptop that long on my off work hours, and the 700 cannot receive a charge from the USB port when the computer is asleep.* If I had actually purchased the Sony, instead of just test driving it, I definitely would have broken down and bought an a/c outlet cable. As it is now, I ration** my weekend reading so that the battery will last until my next work day.

With these issues, along with the store’s slow connectivity issues and the basic evil that is DRM, it’s hard to say if the Sony ebook reader is right for me. I’m glad that I got to try out the 700 instead of just buying it, but there is still a great deal of room for improvement. Hopefully the 600 will go a long way towards addressing those concerns, but until I see some reviews I’m not adding it to my Christmas list.

It’s interesting to note, that right after my talk with bus stop boy, my 75 bus showed up. The bus was full of people reading books—paper books—some definitely from the library, others rereads, and some clearly new. The kid I ended up sitting next to though was reading on his iPhone. While he didn’t even glance my Sony’s way, I was tempted to ask him several times what he was reading, and how he liked it.

And I definitely did not mistake his iPhone for a Kindle.

* If only I had realized that right away on the day it arrived. I could have avoided a lot of “Hey, it’s done!” “Oh wait, no.” “But yes!” “But no?” Yes, the Sony and I enacted our own scene of forced seduction. Come to think of it, the USB thingie is kind of phallic looking.

**Rationing, otherwise known as reading books made of dead trees. When participating in said rationing, I highly suggest printing off one of the many, many Borders coupons going around out there and checking out Meredith Duran’s newest.

The Magic of Music

2009-08-31T18:00:00.000-07:00

If you wrote Bobby McFerrin off for "Don't Worry, Be Happy," here's something to change your mind:

And by the by, how cool would it have been to go to this?

Links for Later

2009-08-18T04:00:00.000-07:00

Because god forbid I actually post links when I come across them:

Oh so long ago Flavorwire posted links to book trailers of the artsy variety. Flavorwire is fast becoming one of my favorite daily reads with offbeat reviews. I still need to check out Britten & Brülightly (samples of the illustrations can be found here).

As a follow up to the BSU Tweet Camp, check out these examples of Publishing Professionals using Twitter.

The Greenlight Bookstore is almost on its way, and they're looking for a few good volunteers. If you're in the greater Brooklyn area, you should check them out.

Tales from Tweet Camp

2009-07-08T21:05:00.000-07:00

I believe that Kirk Biglione may well be the Bob Ross of Twitter.* Not only does he have a soothing voice and easy-to-follow style that would make him perfectly suited to Scott Brick’s Share the Experience audiobook contest, but in just an hour’s worth of sessions (spread conveniently over five days) he manages to explain the ins and outs of the Twitter experience in a way that even the newest online member could follow. A good thing, too, because before participating in the beta version Booksquare University’s Tweet camp the only thing I knew about Twitter was that it had a character limit.

Oh, and that people who Twitter were not called twits (apparently some even actually find that insulting).

Broken out into short videos (averaging ten minutes), the BSU Tweet camp explains how to set up your Twitter account, the vocabulary of twitter (hashtags, retweets, and followers), and how to use your Twitter account to promote yourself. Each video, narrated by Kirk, is accompanied by various articles (often written by Booksquare herself, Kassia Krozser) with links to other helpful Twitter related sites. Despite the short length, the videos do everything but tell you when to breathe and the articles follow-up and enlarge upon the concepts related in the videos.

After completing the course, you should be a perfectly proficient tweeter, capable of following conversations and enticing followers of your own. Use it to promote you next book, your website or your business. Use it just to join the conversation. Hell, you’ll use it just to follow the conversation (although that has gotten easier now that Twitter has hyperlinked the hashtags—try #sbtd #sbtd#amazonfail).

Additionally, upon completion, you might learn that tweeting is not your thing; something that I think is just as important. It was after BSU Tweet camp I realized something that has been plaguing me for a long time—I’ve been suffering from computer fatigue. I get home from work and I don’t want to type. I don’t spend as much time on the computer as I used to, and when I am on, it’s usually to read a book. This fatigue transfers to Twitter as well, despite its short character requirements, which is not surprising as I also don’t text. I’m following some very interesting people, and I’ve definitely used my page to follow lit flair ups (Alice Hoffman et al), but beyond posting a few links I don’t have much to add at the moment. That may change now that I’ve started my Sony adventure as part of the Smart Bitches Sony test drive #sbtd

*I believe this to be a compliment, by the way, as I have very pleasant memories from my childhood of Bob teaching me to paint happy little trees.

For you Zombie Vamp lovers: The Strain (book trailer)

2009-06-03T18:08:00.000-07:00

I knew that The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan had come out, but I hadn't seen the book trailer.

Nice.

I expect this will transition well to the big screen when they get around to it.

Please (sort of) Steal This Book

2009-03-12T18:37:00.000-07:00

Every time I run across commentary on DRM and ebooks I'm reminded of the xkcd comic on DRM and music. This time it was Smart Bitches column DRM-free publishers that triggered my quick search of the xkcd archives. The idea that readers would want to read something on whatever device the own? Absurd!

Everyone knows those computer thingies will never catch on!

The quote from Elizabeth of Dreamspinner press as it gets to heart of books and readers:

Ultimately happy customers buy more books and the type of reader that seeks out free pirated titles isn’t going to buy them in the first place.

So true. Although the key words here are "free pirated titles." As the SB column goes on to drive home (in both the column and the comments) it's that a lot of people stripping DRM from ebooks are doing so because they've already bought the content but want/have to--for whatever reason--switch it to another device. It's not because they want to send it to everyone in their family or give it to the population of China, they just want to put it on their Sony reader from their Kindle.

Or download it onto their new laptop.

God forbid we would want to reread the book.

It lives...at the library

2009-03-11T18:51:00.001-07:00

Since the move I've been visiting the library a great deal more than I used to and I've been reminded of what a great catalog we have here in Portland. My reasons for library-ing it instead of buying are many-- the proximity, the economy, the fact that I no longer receive free books--but the result is the same:

I'm wait-listed, like everyone else.

It seems the world has rediscovered free:

Check out all the coolness of the most wonderful library comic of all at Unshelved.com.

Too bad a crappy economy means that while circulation is up, the money for library budgets is probably in the tank.

Happy Holidays

2008-12-24T11:15:00.000-08:00

Merry Holidays everyone. We've been in the new house a few weeks, but we just got the kitchen up and there are still no bookshelves (so it feels really, really naked). I'll be back after New Years!

Happy Belated Thanksgiving

2008-11-29T10:31:00.001-08:00

I've been in the process of moving for the last few days so I apologize for the belated Thanksgiving (to all those in the United States, a very, very belated Thanksgiving to all you Canadians, and to everyone else, happy weekend). Between getting the house ready to move into and trying to weed through four years of accumulated stuff, blogging has been the last thing I've had energy for. Once we get internet at the new place though we should be back up and running.

Can’t see the Books for the Trees: A bookstore experience

2008-11-12T17:08:00.000-08:00

I’m hanging out in a bookstore the other day, waiting on a car swap when I happened to overhear a cell phone conversation going on a couple sections over. A woman with serious cell phone voice* was talking to her daughter.

“What table was it on?”

She asked this about three times as she circled some display tables.

“I don’t see it, what was it called again?”

More circling of the tables before wandering into the children’s section.

“Honey, I don’t see any book by that title.”

Back when I was bookselling this would have been my cue to pop over and ask if she needed help finding anything, but as I was no longer bookselling I just continued to eavesdrop as it was obvious that the daughter WANTED THIS BOOK (yes, the caps were necessary).

“Honey, I just don’t see a book called Twilight anywhere. Are you sure that’s the title?”

Suddenly it was all becoming clear—but even clearer then the daughter’s need to read the book all of her friends had was the huge display of Stephanie Meyer’s books on one of the tables the woman had looked at. I’m talking gigantic, with the books in a water fall display down over the side of the table to the floor with Twilight in both paperback editions playing a central part.

“I just don’t see it. You’re going to have to come to the store with me next time and we’ll look then.”

Call it latent bookselling syndrome or whatever, but I couldn’t take it anymore. I grabbed a copy of the trade sized Twilight** off the table and walked over to where the woman was still talking.

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to interrupt, but I think you’re looking for this.” I held it out to her in a manner—now that I think of it—reminiscent of the book’s cover with its apple. As I walked away I heard her tell her daughter:

“Some girl heard us talking and just found it for me.”

She also handed you the more expensive copy, lady, but bookstores can use all the up-sells they can get right now.

*Cell Phone Voice: the phenomenon where cell phones users voice automatically becomes three decibels louder when they are having a conversation on their phone. Note: Studies have shown that Cell Phone Voice is not necessarily a reflection of the quality of reception the user is experiencing.

**I’m anti Movie Tie in (MTI) covers as for the most part they are ugly. The Twilight MTI cover makes me think that Robert Pattinson is contemplating eating my face.

Happy Halloween: The Great Pumpkin Link edition

2008-10-31T16:30:00.000-07:00

I know that it has been (the living) dead around here lately, for which I apologize for the shallowness of another link post, but in honor of the holiday I wanted to post these links:

In case you were on the fence about buying it, the SF Signal reviews the zombie anthology The Living Dead as well as several other Halloween appropriate books. Somehow I don't think my mustket will protect me...Note to self: Buy crowbar.

In honor of Zombies, how about a little Yuppie Brain Juice from i09. Yum!

While you're having a drink, you can check out Bookgasm's review of Zombie Movies: The Ultimate Guide to plan your movie viewing during los dias de los muertes (which I believe is the name of a very bad zombie movie I saw on the scifi channel not too long ago, but I could be wrong).

Lynda Hilburn investigates "Why do Women love Vampires."

And finally, here's a little treat from the man made for Halloween--Christopher Walken interprets Poe's "The Raven" (via Bookshelves of Doom)

Happy Halloween everyone!

Google me this: Weighing in on the Google Book Search Settlement

2008-10-28T15:32:00.000-07:00

I've been in painting lala land the last several days (someday we will be able to move into the house, I know we will), but this had to be posted. An agreement has been reached in the Google Book Search dispute and you can read the actual settlement here.

The O'Reilly Tools of Change for Publishing blog has a round-up of blogging reactions to the the settlement. If you've got the time, it's worth reading how people are taking the news, and how they think it will impact the future of how we read.

Personanondata, Michael Cairns, has posted his own thoughts as well.

Brave New World refers to it as the Great Book Bank Robbery?

The digitalist coins the word Googlezon in Googlezon: Good or Bad?

Book stripping

2008-10-24T13:27:00.000-07:00

Colleen Lindsay of the Swivet has a link to J. Steven York article (on a bookstore who loved their books so much that they wouldn't strip them for returns) as well as an explanation of the book-stripping.

My own explanation on stripped books (from 2005, yikes!) can be found here.

Entering the SciFi Zone

2008-10-22T10:30:00.000-07:00

The Science Fiction Genre has been a hot topic on the interwebs these last few days. To catch you up:

First we have io9s Why Science Fiction Still Hates Itself--a look at science fiction shows on tv and their attempts to distance themselves from their genre.

Next we have a the SF Signal's response in Fear and Loathing in Science Fiction.

SF Signal follows up with a round up of links and an overview on the Borders' decision not to stock as many Scifi authors and titles in Do You Care if Borders Doesn't Stock All Science Fiction Books?.

Here is my take on the Borders decision: SciFi probably isn't the only section affected. Their new concept stores are based on the idea of fewer titles to allow for more face outs. More face outs means a better chance at that title catching a browser's eye, but it also means there is not as much shelf space for other titles and authors, especially stock that may run one or two books per store.

This doesn't stop people from special ordering a book for in store pick up. I've read that booksellers are saying they can't order the books in, but personally, I read that as booksellers can't order books in to put on the shelves. If you want a Tobias Buckell title, they can special order it for you in the store or you can set it up via their website. If they show a high number of special orders then they might change their mind about a particular title. I could be wrong--I have been before and will be again--and these titles might not show up even on the website, but it is worth a try.

And is there a moratorium against ordering SciFi on all the stores? That depends on the management. If you've got a bookseller who thinks they can really hand-sell a title, it’s up to the manager whether or not they order in the book be it from the warehouse or from Partners West, etc. While big box stores don't specialize to the level of the independents you do have to know your customer base. We were crazy about ordering specifically for our clientele at my old store, and we had the sales numbers to back it up.

Borders is making a business decision, but if a particular store can prove the stock is necessary to not miss out on the business (e.g. you are the Borders in Gregory Frost's home town), then an argument could be made to stock a title or author on a case by case basis. Lord Tophet, for example, is available on the Borders website.

This is not a defense of the Borders decision, so much as a perspective. Do I agree with the decision? Not in the way it has been phrased, a bookstore is there to sell books, and the best bookstores know their customers. As a company Borders has a tendency to forget that by simplifying everything down to price per item, upselling at the register, and other numbers that forget about the very human aspect of bookselling. The best booksellers are people who love books and know how to talk books to other people. The best booksellers have titles that they would walk across hot coals to hand-sell--to convert the non-reader to whatever the bookseller loves.

Measuring the Immeasurable: The Who, What, Why Edition

2008-10-21T12:00:00.000-07:00

more music charts

When I first heard about Internet Explorer's new Incognito Mode, I reaked out. Immediately I emailed all my techie friends with questions like "What does this mean?" and more importantly, "How will I ever get an accurate viewer number from my Google Analytics program now?"

Reactionary? Very much so. Not only was I not posting with any regularity at this moment (nor had I been for some time), but I wasn't looking at the big reader picture. Why should I care whether or not someone is using a version of the Incognito mode to read my blog when there are already many other possible readers I can't quantify?

Google Analytics, as well as any other analytics programs, can only measure hits to my actual web page and therefore cannot measure any syndicated content or people reading via RSS feeds. This means that not only can I not measure any possible readers on JacketFlap or LiveJournal (where this site is syndicated), but I can't "see" anyone using bloglines, Feed Burner, Google Reader or another program. Since I've authorized a full content feed the only reason someone would need to visit my actual URL would be to comment or to view content that doesn't transfer (e.g. Flash content like Sprout is not viewable in Google Reader), and even then the information I receive is negligable as you can see below.

So is there anyway to measure your RSS feed readers?

You can always look on the blog reader sites. A quick search of Google Reader the following information regarding my blog and others.

But whether people are actually reading the content, skimming, or even using the Google Reader account anymore remains to be seen.

You can set up a web bug (a concept I don't really understand in practice) or a bounce page to measure anyone who signs up for you blog through a certain reading device. Still this tells you nothing about who is reading your content and what they would be interested in reading next. Are they readers? Your family? That creepy person who won't leave you alone on Facebook?

In the end, unless you are really looking to make money from your blog (via click throughs on ad content, etc) numbers won't matter as much to you. Instead you should keep the following in mind:

If you are referencing something in the side bar, that side bar will not be visible to anyone using sydicated content, so you'll need to be specific so readers can decide if they want to click though to see it.

If you're just posting flash widgets, let people know, as with Google Reader at least, no one will see it.

If you're using a blog reading device yourself, I would suggest you sign up to follow your own RSS feed. This way you can see how long it takes scheduled content to actually hit your reader* and also to see what (if anything) does not transmit (that's how I found out about flash).

Analytics programs can be addicting if only for the randomness of why someone clicks on your blog,** I know I'm a recovering addict, but as an author don't let your readership drive your content unless it is something you are interested in writing about. Blogging shouldn't be something you dread.

*Edited to add: for example, this post didn't hit my Google Reader until three hours after its scheduled post:

** For the person who keeps searching with the term "the sale of this book without its cover" I can tell you that means the book was stripped and therefore cannot be sold legally.

Hodge Podge Links

2008-10-16T17:00:00.000-07:00

Stephen King talks about what makes "Manfiction," although I know a lot of women who read these books as well.

readergirlz has been celebrating YALSA Teen Read week all week with Night Bites, and tonight they are hosting a fit of fantasy. Go chat with Holly Black, Ted Naifeh, Dia Calhoun and Tamora Pierce at the readergirlz Forum on MySpace.

Wendy the SuperLibrarian has an interesting post up on publishing, the economic crisis and how it is affecting librarians.

For those of you writers who feel that despite being successful you've never done your best, apparently that is a good thing.

Please Pass the Brains

2008-10-16T03:00:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed that the recommendations leading up to this Halloween have been a little Zombified. This is not due to any great love I have for the horror genre in general, but due to a very personal fear I have of zombies specifically.

You see, right up there in the top five things that I fear above else—ranking higher than spiders and abandonment even—resides zombies.

Of all the mythical out-to-get-me creatures, I find zombies to be the most horrifying. Vampires seem like someone you might be able to reason with (or perhaps he’ll spare me due to realizing that I’m the other half of his tortured soul), werewolves can be stopped with bullets (if you shoot them, do they not yelp in pain?), but Zombies are unstoppable unless you whack off their heads and even then its questionable. With no pain censors or thought process to convince them of possible failure they just keep mwaaaaahing along, eventually knocking through walls, crashing through fences or otherwise compromising your safety zone.

Yes, I know they are not real. Fast zombies from 28 Days Later are not going to get me, I should not worry about the possible creation of a Monster Island.

Yes, I know I should worry more about the economy being in the crapper and the possibility of going broke. Even someone breaking into my apartment is a much more likely scenario, but that is not what haunts my Benadryl-fueled nightmares. That is not what lurks in the shadows and follows me down dark streets at night.

Zombies scare the hell out of me, and because they do, I’ve found myself oddly fascinated and unable to turn away from Zombie related literature. I swear, it knows my neuroses and calls to them.

At the store I became the defacto zombie expert because we didn’t have a horror fan working for us at the time, and through this I found David Wellington and Max Brooks before they became the Zombie lit go to guys they are today. And while I don’t sell books any longer, I still seem to be subconsciously on the lookout for Zombie related stuff which may very well tie in to my constant vigilance for actual Zombies.

Part of my sick fascination/fear dichotomy with Zombies has to do with a need to understand the science behind them. If you buy into the idea that they are, in fact, out to eat your brains as opposed to your flesh, then how do they create more Zombies? If the brain has been devoured what’s sending out signals to those jittery body parts to keep them moving in the drive for replacement brain sustenance? If in fact Zombie actually just crave flesh, why do they stop eating the body so that new Zombies arise? Why don’t they eat it all?

Is it like the fact that we don’t the whole pig/chicken/cow?*

And then the little part of me that contains the remnants of my biology degree starts thinking about Zombieism and how it would relate to Creutzfeldt-Jakob, Kuru, and other spongiform encephalopathic diseases. What if the need to eat brain is due to the disease’s need to replace the misfolded prions with untainted nerve matter? If so, wouldn’t that make Zombies much more likely to attack children as nerves cells continue to grow and produce up until a human is seven years old (at least I think that is the age)? And if that is the case, could you treat zombieism as a disease by injecting the infected with nerve cells grown in a lab environment?

Which makes me want to know if this would lead to Republicans finally backing stem cell research as a way to keep their kids from becoming Zombie snacks?

Welcome to my brain. Could I overthink this anymore?

Why, yes, yes I could.

But I’ll keep it to myself and instead provided some more zombie related books and merchandise that will have you craving raw brain (with or without the Chianti and fava beans):

Combine your love of zombies with that of 1950s pin up girls in: The Zombie Pin up Calendar 2009.

Canvas a zombie crime scene with the Zombie CSU.

Check out a youtube video of Max Brooks talking about Zombie Survival.

If you buy into the whole zombieism as a rage disease, then you should browse Scott Sigler's new novel Infected.

Please feel free to add your zombie recommendations and add to my related neuroses below.

*And were we to do a zombie survey, would we discover that humans taste like any or all of the above? Does it matter whether or not the person ate meat?

Thoughts on Site Connectivity...

2008-10-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

Which, if you're interested, you can check out on my guest blog over at Romancing the Blog.

Free Online Young Adult Novel

2008-10-14T17:00:00.000-07:00

John Green's cohort Alan Gratz has posted a free online version of his Young Adult mystery novel, Something Rotten, on his website. This freebie is brought to you by its sequel--the forthcoming Something Wicked--Hamlet and the letters W and S.

More Zombie fun...For Free!

2008-10-13T17:00:00.000-07:00

If you're looking for something a little gory and different check out this very cool looking photo novel called Night Zero (thanks to Skidmore Bluffs for recommendation). I don't know how often the artist/writer posts, but Zombie-esque disease taking out most of Seattle and the rest of the world looks to be keeping with the Halloween spirit.

Just in time for Halloween

2008-10-07T12:00:00.000-07:00

Available through PartnersWest.

In Honor of Halloween: Zombies and links

The Zombie Apocalpyse...in Legos because Lego Zombies really were the final frontier. While you're hanging at i09 you can also figure out if you'll survive a real zombie apocalpse (because while you definitely be able to out run the legos, books and movies in recent years have let me to believe that the real things are a bit faster.

Free books, Books for the presidential campaign and more

2008-10-07T11:28:00.000-07:00

Huh, I thought I had posted this a long time ago (read: a week), but just discovered it my drafts folder. Ah, well, here you go:

In honor of the election season, any indecision you may have can be laid to rest by checking out "6 Schience Fiction Classics to Help You Choose the Next President"

For book lovers everywhere, you can check out "Interesting Inscriptions" from famous writers at Abe Books.

Cory Doctorow is offering up his newest book Content for free. Unlike his other works, this is filled with the nonficiton pieces he's written over the years. What's even better is that readers have created different formats of the book which are all available at his site. Go,Read!

GoodReads, LibraryThing, Shelfari: One to Rule Them All?

2008-10-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

Unless we’re reading aloud, reading is an inherently solitary act; however it doesn’t stay that way. Whether we love the book or hate it, more often than not we then discuss what we’ve read with friends and family, our book group, or via some other venue (email, blogging, etc). By cataloging our books through an online library program we have another way to take the reading experience from its private state and make it communal. It allows us to create a visual or textual database to view, rate and review our collections, and share that process with others.

"My friend just turned me on to this site: www.goodreads.com. It's like if myspace didn't suck and was occupied by book nerds. Crack, I tell you. Crack." — kxm (GoodReads.com Press page)

Finally the literati have a place to congregate and talk about what they love—books. From 2006 on, online book cataloguing sites like Shelfari, LibraryThing and GoodReads have provided venues for readers to connect with other readers. What may begin with the simple act of uploading an ISBN or entering a Title or Author into a site search engine can evolve into a review, discussion, friendship or newly discovered favorite author. And through that same ability that allows a reader to find other readers who liked (or hated) a particular book an author can connect with their fan base.

In my previous post “GoodReads, Shelfari and LibraryThing: a Features Comparison” I outlined some of the similarities and differences in the features found on each site. For anyone just looking for a place to load their books and keep track of what title is loaned to which friend, the choice of site will be a matter of taste. But for an author, these sites can become a place to cultivate and connect with readers on and offline, so it’s important to decide based on the options they provide.

Since not all social book networking sites are built equally, for the sake of this discussion we are going to focus on the two that are really working to connect authors to readers: LibraryThing and GoodReads.com. Shelfari, while visually appealing, does not appear to have any programs in place to bridge the author/reader divide.

The LibraryThing Early Reviewers program allows the author to get their book out there before publication date and build word of mouth via reviews. The book giveaways are organized on a monthly basis, with the new book list added near the beginning of every month. Each book is posted along with a corresponding flag representing the countries the publisher is willing to ship to. Once the winning names have been chosen, LibraryThing provides the publisher with the names and address of the winners so that the books may be sent out.

The GoodReads Book Giveaway program operates similarly to that of LibraryThing, although it is not organized on a month to month basis. As with LibraryThing, the publisher or person who listed the book is responsible for the books distribution to whatever countries they indicated. Any discussion regarding the title will then appear on the books page along with any reviews the giveaway might prompt.

While book giveaways and early reader programs help generate word of mouth, events listings give the author an opportunity to connect with fans offline as well. An event placed in LibraryThing Local will appear on the home page of any reader within five miles of the address. These events are also reflected on the author’s own profile for their fans to read should they click through. LibraryThing Local also includes a comprehensive list of bookstores found in the reader’s area, and this function can be useful to authors looking to plan formal signings or drop ins.

GoodReads also has an event program, and this event program links to individual reader homepage that fall within a radius of the event site. The event listings are not as comprehensive as those found on LibraryThing which has actively cultivated relationships with local bookshops. Also local bookstore listings are currently no where to be found on the GoodReads site, but as GoodReads gains in popularity and continues to grow, this may change.

Active LibraryThing user authors are distinguished from their non-participating counterparts by an emblem, which comes with the possibility of being highlighted as featured author, inclusion on the LibraryThing author page, and allows the author complete control over their author profile. LibraryThing Authors can also participate in LibraryThing’s new Chat program. These chats are scheduled over a series of days (two weeks max) to allow authors to talk up their new books or just open up discussion with readers.

Unfortunately LibraryThing Author Chat does not seem to have a corresponding link to the authors profile at this time, which means the author would have to publicize the chat in some other fashion. Authors could advertise their Chats on other social networking platforms, blogs or websites and that their fans will be able to access the ongoing conversation without having a LibraryThing account. Please note, however that they will not be able to comment unless they are a member.

The GoodReads author discussion program suffers from the same disconnect. While the discussions can be started informally at any time (to last a maximum of two weeks) they do not correspond to the writer’s profile. This means that once again the reader must actively search for it, the author must update their profile to reflect it, or have advertised through some other social venue to bring in readers. This is slightly easier on GoodReads as they offer applications for Facebook and MySpace (as well as applications for various web blogging sites) whereas LibraryThing has just finished their beta versions of their LiveJournal and MySpace applications.

An area that GoodReads has used to differentiate their own author program from others is to enable authors to post excerpts or samples of their writing. Any GoodReads member can post writing on the site, but for authors this allows an opportunity to provide more for their readers by posting first chapters, short stories, scenes, etc. These writing postings are then reflected on the author’s profile for anyone who clicks through to view.

Authors can also add book trailers to their profile. These trailers also appear on the GoodReads author page where a round up of all GoodRead authors are placed. GoodRead members can comment on their effectiveness by voting for whether or not they enjoyed the trailer and also by commenting on the author’s profile (if the author has enable comments).

Unlike LibraryThing, GoodReads appears to have an option for ebooks, which would make it perfect for the writers who currently have published works only in that category. However it doesn’t appear that the system will be able to find it unless a Kindle edition is listed on Amazon (its default book library) or if it has been added by someone with Librarian status.

After several days of research and exploring I believe that LibraryThing currently has the most comprehensive author program when viewed in conjunction with LibraryThing Local, however GoodReads offers several options that LibraryThing does not and looks like it will continue to improve in the future. If using either site appeals to you as an author I would suggest exploring all the options, and don’t be afraid to sign up for both.

The positive return found in using either of these sites depends solely on how much work the author (or possibly the publisher) intends to put into it. Just taking control of the author page and not updating beyond the first book makes the profile a static entity with little to draw in readers. It also gives nothing back to the social community on which these sites are based. By updating your events, adding trailers and excerpts or by giving away titles you can reach out to the people who are interested in the same thing you are: Books—specifically yours. Through these actions you can not only build your presence within the site, but your readers will be able to take their response and post it elsewhere through widgets, reviews and comments and thus increasing the spread of people the information can reach.

You are the only true authority on you, and so rather than leaving your author profile up to be changed wiki style by anyone who comes through, you should take control. Take advantage of the formats these sites offer for free to help publicize what you have created.

NOTE: This post has been cross posted at The Nebula Awards site. Thank you to David, for this opportunity.

Fiction Rule of Thumb

2008-10-03T13:00:00.000-07:00

The Fiction Rule of Thumb by xkcd.

Someone once told me that xkcd was a comic for nerds and geeks and I didn’t qualify enough for either category to be a believable fan. I had to respectfully disagree.*

While some of the physics humor is far and above my level of schooling, more often than not Randall Munroe manages to produce a comic that is both intelligent and accessible. And he’s not afraid to skewer anything, hence the comic above. Sure, there are a few notable exceptions to that graph (see: Tolkien, J.R.R.) if I didn’t know better I would say he got a hold of a self published novel that one of our stores did an author event for.

There are many wonderful self-published novels out there as POD-dy Mouth proved during her blogging tenure, but sadly this novel wasn’t one of them. It was so filled with misspelled words, bad grammar, made up words (again see the comic above), and mishmash of every famous fantasy novel out there that it hurt my brain to even look at the thing when a coworker who worked at both stores brought a copy in.

And it wasn’t like I could avoid the thing as said coworker insisted upon reading passages aloud and then identifying the origin.

“Tolkien. It’s Tolkien. Could he make it a little less obvious?”

“Did he think we wouldn’t have heard of a little thing called Dune?”

This in and of itself would not be that interesting. Books hold author events for all types of authors and booksellers world wide mock one book or the other. It is the circle of book life. What made this interesting was that this author talked our fellow manager into ordering in 700 copies of his title, swearing he could sell them all.

We told the other manager he was a fool. We asked if he were sure he could return them. In short, we gave him hell based on the quality of the book.

A book that the author managed to sell every single copy of.

That’s right. Despite everything working against this book—self-published, bad editing, poor plot—the author hand sold every single one. I’m sure it didn’t hurt that he was an attractive man, but the sales were due to his relentless drive to build word of mouth about the event. He publicized it on his website and talked it up at this day job. He wandered around the store and talked it up to the customers as they came in. He had his elevator pitch down so that it sounded natural and he managed not to come across as overtly pushy.

That novel, which stands out in my mind as one of the worst books I’ve ever had the misfortune to listen to/read, which proves the theorem of the xkcd graph, gave that bookstore one of its highest sales days outside of a Harry Potter release.

I learned a week ago that the bookstore has been closed down, and I have no idea what the author is up to now, but that event lives on in my mind as an example of the power of what an author can do if they're willing to try.

*All respectful disagreements involve cursing right?

The eReader Question

2008-10-02T16:30:00.000-07:00

Taking into account Dear Author's "10 Things Epublishers Should Do for Readers" if:Book would like you to join the ebook dialog on what can be done to make ebook readers more attractive to readers. More specifically they would like you to focus on these areas:

1) Is it more convenient in a pocket-sized device like one of these phones, a Kindle-sized screen, an iRex-sized screen, or a desktop screen? Are you inclined to stick with paperback-sized pages when you read an eBook?

2) Are there certain types of books you would read on one screen rather than another? I assume there are - do you use The Pynchon Test or some other method to determine the best possible reading device for your material?

3) Are there certain features in one of these that really works for you? Specifically, do you care about turning the pages? Scrolling? Reading inside or outside a browser?

4) Do you feel more compelled to buy a digital book if it is scarce? Libraries seem to be wondering whether to loan one ebook out at a time, or take advantage of the infinite resources the digital world provides.

5) Is the problem that screens are too closely associated with your workplace, and that you're afraid of your reading being interrupted by popups, email, etc.?

6) Most importantly: Is there some mysterious intangible thing that books have and eBooks don't? If so, can you describe it? (That library smell and your great-grandfather's marginalia in your prized first-edition don't count.)

Go to if:Book and offer your thoughts. I'll be giving my own opinion after I stop lusting after Tom Stoppard's portable book case.

GoodReads, Shelfari and LibraryThing: A Features Comparison

2008-10-01T05:30:00.000-07:00

After I wrote my GoodReads post the other day, I decided that I needed to take another look at the different library programs out there. Bright, new and shiny aspect aside, what made GoodReads different from Shelfari and LibraryThing other than the fact that I liked the layout?

When too many books happen to good people...

So confused by all the programs out there wanting to help you catalog your library? Overwhelmed by the project before you? Trying to figure out what will work best for you as a reader or an author? Well, benefit for my one day of comparison--all findings based on what I could actually find on the website without any outside research for possible hacks and the like.

GoodReads:

Owned by: Otis Chandler (privately owned)
Membership: Free
Source for book Information: Amazon (by clicking on a book you can choose where you look it up directory-wise, but it appears that GoodReads gets all of its default information from Amazon)
Widgets: Flash, HTML, Javascript
Widget applications: Specifically for MySpace, Facebook and Bebo (also most blogging software)
Amazon Bookmarklet application: allows you to add books from Amazon to your Goodreads account through the Bookmarklet
For Authors:

Book Clubs
Writing Area
GoodReads Author Program

Participate in Online Q&As
Book Giveaway program
Publicize events
Share excerpts and videos

Shelfari:

Owned by: Amazon
Membership: Free
Source for Book Information: Amazon
Widgets: Javascript, HTML, Flash
Widget applications: Myspace, Facebook, Bebo, Blogger, LiveJournal, Typepad, Vox, Xanga, WordPress (Widget application dependent on URL entered)

Your Amazon ID can be entered in your widget
Note: You cannot change the visual presentation of a Shelfari widget, but you can submit any design ideas through Shelfari Feedback.

For Authors:

Featured Author Sheflari profiles on Author page (anyone can edit wiki style)
Writing groups: sub-category called "Shameless Self-Promotion"

LibraryThing:

Owned by: Tim Spalding, 40% owned by AbeBooks (which was recently bought by Amazon)
Membership: first 200 books free--Yearly or Lifetime membership opportunities afterwards
Source for Book Information: Library of Congress, Amazon, over 80 libraries
Widgets: HTML
Widget Applications: Does not work on LiveJournal

Your Amazon ID can be entered in your Widget

For Authors:

Author Chat
Early Reviewer program
LibraryThing Authors: Authors who also have are LibraryThing Members

Author Members receive feature

LibraryThing Local

Allows you to look up local events in your area by plugging in your zip code
Brings up all the bookstores in the area that have been added to the LibraryThing database
You can add a venue or event
Do not have to be signed in to use the LibraryThing Local feature.

EDITED TO ADD: I just found out that Kristi J--a book cateloger of long standing--did a wonderful break down (with pictures and graphs) of these sites as well. Please check out here post "Book Cataloguing--An Analysis of Online Sites." Brings to mind this quote by Chuck Palahnuik from the new intro for Fight Club:

"Now this is the first rule of fight club: There is nothing a blue collar Nobody
in Oregon with a public school education can imagine that a million-billion
people haven't already done... "

Coming Monday (10/13/08): What works best for readers? Authors? Publishers?

A Different Take on the "End of Books"

2008-09-30T12:00:00.000-07:00

Not everyone thinks its the publishing apocalypse, it seems. Dennis McDonald over at Social Media Today blogs on Why Books Will Survive.

Why?

Economics may change, societal preferences for news consumption may change,
but the need to communicate ideas with enough organization and detail to provide
the basis for thought and reflection remains.

It's Banned Book Week

2008-09-29T17:44:00.001-07:00

So get out there and read something someone thought was dangerous enough to challenge.

Friday Links

2008-09-26T07:00:00.000-07:00

A few links with your Friday coffee.

Spined books that together tell a story.
Last Friday wasn't just International Talk Like a Pirate Day, it was also Blumesday. Read about the celebration in LA here and Diablo Cody's praise to the great Judy Blume here.
PersonaNonData takes a look at HarperCollins UK's new Book Army. Who knows how it will do invading territory already occupied by Shelfari, librarything and GoodReads.
SF Signal has a great round up of item on the genre yesterday including some free fiction and a defense of the genre.
Two vampire links for Marta (if she stops back by) and the rest of you involving the giveaway of free stuff by the Fantasy Book Critic.
Sara Lloyd talks digital publishing and feeling a bit like a gold fish at Eoin Purcell's.

GoodReads

2008-09-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

After receiving several invitations over the last few months, I signed up for GoodReads the other day (hence the pretty widget in the sidebar and the one to the left). I wanted to log in all my books as I packed them up to move.*

Why GoodReads in the end? Well, it could be that I couldn’t remember my LibraryThing log in (and I don’t think I still owned most the books I’d originally logged) and I never used my Shelfari widget after DPI, but the truth is I was intrigued by this graph.

Graph from O'Reilly Radar article, "Social Networking for Books: One Ring, or Loosely Joined?"

I wasn’t attracted to it for the same reason Tim O’Reilly was, not for the ability to “follow and [be] followed by a small circle of friends and people whose taste in books I trust.” I wasn’t expecting to have any friends when I signed up, I just wanted the ability to catalog my books and check out all of GoodReads functions.

For authors, I’m intrigued by the Book Giveaways section as a way to set up a focus group on a title, which shows up when you click the authors tab (it's the same page includes a link to the stories and writing area where anyone can contribute their content). This would allow an author to post excerpts connected to the book's profile or otherwise work within the confines of the GoodReads.com system. But LibraryThing has an early reviewer system as well which members can sign up for.

As for author pages, from what I can tell only someone who is the author or has the "Librarian's Status" (which can be applied for, although I have no idea what the requirements for the position might be) can edit an author's page, but any member can edit a Shelfari or LibraryThing page.

I'm sure other differences could be discovered upon closer examination, and I have no idea if any of the sites are more likely than another to capture the search engine bots, but I would love to see a side by side comparison. It is interesting to see how high the unique visitor rate for GoodReads ranks so high at the moment, and I would be interested to see if these numbers level off within the next year. Is this spike due to the number of invites floating around or due to people turning from the other two book catalog systems to this one instead.

Or maybe it is the "ooh, new, shiny" aspect and something else will capture our interest soon.

*And one must not discount the "ooh, new, shiny" aspect that appeals to my inner magpie.

Pirates Cont'd

2008-09-19T13:10:00.001-07:00

A yo, ho, ho and a free bottle of fiction from SCIFI Signal:

Free Pirate Fiction from Elizabeth Bear & Sarah Monette at Wired online who has been celebrating Pirate Week.

Also free, Shimmer Magazine's 2007 Pirate Booty edition. (Today only!)

Consider these additions to our Pirate list, me hardies.

Congrats to the best kind of nerd: A Written Nerd

2008-09-19T13:10:00.000-07:00

Congratulations, Jessica! I know this won't be the last NY Times article we read on your successes.

You can read Jessica's own thoughts on the book world daily at her blog: The Written Nerd.

Talk Like a Pirate Day

2008-09-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Pirate Encyclopedia brought to you by Snorg Tees.

It be "International Talk Like a Pirate Day," me hardies. And tonight I will swash my buckle and down my grog with my maties. In honor of this most holiest holy days, here be a book list for you:

Pirates! by Celia Rees: An oldie, but goodie much beloved by the HTC.

Sea Queens: Women Pirates Around the World by (amazing, wonderful, just not enough adjectives to describe her) Jane Yolen because male pirates shouldn't have all the fun. Read this in conjunction with Seafaring Women: Adventures of Pirate Queens, Female Stowaways, and Sailors' Wives by David Cordingly.

The Pirate Life by "Chumbucket" Baur and "Cap'n Slappy" Summers: The men who (un)intentionally brought us Talk Like a Pirate Day.

The Pirate Primer by George Choundas, so you be speaking the pirate speak while you be living the pirate life.

The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down by Colin Woodard. The sub title be saying it all.

The Sea Rover's Practice by Benerson Little. How else will you learn how to pillage your enemies and come along a victim ship?

To Catch a Pirate by Jade Parker: Swashbuckling, treasure and romance.

The History of Pirates by Angus Konstam et al. A bargain book that is no longer in print, it still has the pedigree of an author who used to run the armory for the Tower of London and the Key West Maritime Museum.

And although they are not out yet...

In November, Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean: How a Generation of Swashbuckling Jews Carved Out an Empire in the N World in Their Quest for Treasure, Religious Freedom--and Revenge by Edward Kritzler. Two words: Pirate Rabbis.

In February 2009, The Dust of 100 Dogs by A.S. King. Go visit the official website.

David Foster Wallace

2008-09-14T18:17:00.000-07:00

I would venture to guess that at one point or another Infinite Jest has lived on the "Employee Recommends" shelf of every bookstore in America. I've certainly seen my share of these earnest, hand lettered signs that touted how its satire and quirk transcended the length which might otherwise turn readers away. I'm saddened by the realization that it will once again find its way onto those shelves, but now as a tribute and obituary to a talent that died to quickly and not as an introduction to his oncoming work.

David Foster Wallace committed suicide this week, leaving the world at very young 46. He leaves behind his family, his students and the millions of readers who have read his work, or are just about to discover him.

Links: Copyright in the News

2008-09-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

A friend and I were discussing the comic and book industries which eventually led to the discussion to the changing nature of copyright. She believes that the future of the creative arts will lie with s/he who creates the intellectual property. I believe we're going to have to come up with a less antiquated way to license and sell that intellectual property to make that work. While I've previously posted the link on the Lenz v. Universal suit, here are some other court cases you should be aware of:

A translation of the Lexicon Ruling from A Chair, A Fireplace and a Tea cozy.
Penguin wins a reversal on the Steinbeck ruling.
Earlier this year a judge ruled that the heirs of Jerome Siegel were entitled to part of the copyright of Superman (rights that were sold for $130).

Note: Jerome Siegel's case was not unique, Jack Kirby did not have rights to many of the characters he created for Marvel. Even today, my comics knowledgeable friend says, there are comic book companies whose contracts strip the writer/creator of all rights to their characters.

Social Media and You

2008-09-09T21:15:00.000-07:00

Universal McCann International created the slide show below on the state of social media (MySpace, Facebook, etc): growth, future, and how it affects you. It's worth watching all the slides.

Universal Mccann International Social Media Research Wave 3

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: socialmedia research)

Under Construction

2008-09-04T20:42:00.000-07:00

Hey, the blog's under construction at the moment while I try to wrangle the new late (larger columns--hopefully--yay) and figure out the error message I keep getting. Unfortunately the layout finagling means the out going links are non existent. Apologies to all, I'll get them back up as soon as I can.

Wednesday Links

2008-09-03T17:00:00.000-07:00

Sarah Weinman has a really great discussion/explanation of imprints going on at Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind. See:

Publisher Imprint Report Card, Part I

And

Publisher Imprint Report Card, Part II

(To which I must confess, that Imprints drove me nuts as bookseller and still have the power to confuse me today.)

JA Konrath debunks “The Myth of the Good Book.”

Penguin has created its own "Peguin Authors Guide to Online Marketing." It's a large PDF so careful about clicking if your downloading speeds are, shall we say, insufficient. The guide has some very useful information in it, but it also lingers a bit in some unnecessary areas. I'll blog more on this later.

Just in case you missed it everywhere else, Cory Doctorow on why "Publishers should have a /covers directory." One of the arguments against this, in the comments focuses on the image rights and whether or not publishers have said rights to display without payment. This got me to thinking how the whole rights system when it comes to cover art is very last decade. With so much focus given to online marketing a cover is necessary for the process. If bloggers can't find the image from the publisher they'll just get a poorer version from Google or Amazon, circumventing the system. Sure, they could be hit with a take down notice, but wouldn't the use of the cover by a blogger constitute fair use if said blogger wasn't making a profit? Where do you draw the line?

In a World…Voiceless

2008-09-02T14:58:00.000-07:00

While not exactly book related, this had to be posted.

You may have never heard of Don LaFontaine, but you’ve definitely heard his voice—his most famous voice over narration being “In a World…” The voice of “of more than 5,000 movie trailers and 350,000 commercials over the last three decades” (TVGuide.com); his vocal intonations are known the world over.

It was Don LaFontaine’s voice that we used to imitate in the bookstore whenever we would read bad back cover copy at the bookstore, and a day didn’t go by when one of us wouldn’t invoke “In a World…” in all his deep toned glory. Though this may sound weird to admit, it is Don LaFontaine’s voice that narrates every teaser snippet and back cover copy I still read today, and I’m saddened to hear that his voice will be silenced for the future even though it will live forever on in movies, television and in my own mind.

Don, you’ve left this world voiceless and we will miss you.

For a Laugh

2008-09-02T06:45:00.000-07:00

Via The Publishing spot, if PBS turned to soaps for its rating boost:

I watched this with a bunch of friends and as soon as the old call sign came on we were all, "Oh my god, I remember that!" Oh PBS, you were my childhood.

DMCA, Fair Use and You

2008-08-27T15:15:00.000-07:00

Just last week U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel handed down his verdict in the Lenz v. Universal case stating that thanks to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) copyright holders must have:

…a consideration of fair use prior to issuing a takedown notice will not be so complicated as to jeopardize a copyright owner’s ability to respond rapidly to potential infringements. The DMCA already requires copyright owners to make an initial review of the potentially infringing material prior to sending a takedown notice; indeed, it would be impossible to meet any of the requirements of Section 512 (c) without doing so. A consideration of the applicability of the fair use doctrine simply is part of that initial review.

This is victory for Lenz as she can now go on to sue Universal for damages due to their unfounded takedown notice. What does this mean to bloggers?

While it might not halt someone for shooting off a takedown notice for content they fill infringes on their rights, it might provide a legal recourse for the blogger to fight back. Of course, this all depends on the situation, but it definitely something to think about before charging into the legal notice fray.

A follow up from the legal point of view on Dear Author: Unsubstantiated Cease and Desist Letters Under Scrutiny.

For Girl Pirates Everywhere

2008-08-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

I want...*

*Yes, even if I don't have a clue what it is about.

UPDATE: You can read all about The Dust of 100 Dogs here, (and you should as it involves pirates, curses, reincarnation, and being a teenager!) and A.S. King here. You can also friend her on MySpace (HTC, this means you).

Barnes and Noble Re-Turn Around

2008-08-26T18:00:00.000-07:00

As I was paying for my purchases at my local Barnes and Noble the other day, my bookseller informed me of their new return policy, even going so far as to highlight it on the back of my receipt. It was obvious from her practiced tone and quick movements that this act had become routine. Not surprising, as she’s probably been saying it since March 3rd.

For those not in the know, B & N now requires that all items be returned within fourteen days of their sale accompanied by the receipt. Though not on the official website as it appears the policy won’t go nationwide until October, it is clearly in affect here in the Northwest.

Though I’m an infrequent Lloyd Center B & N customer, the new return policy was not that shocking. The bookselling businesses in our area have long been the target of thieves. They range from those who try to sell their stolen merchandise to Powells as used to those who simply exchange the goods at another location for store gift cards. Since many book retailers have no recourse when it comes to accepting the returned items due to their broad return policies and inability to prove theft allegations, booksellers are forced to provide store credit. The return credit gift cards they received could then be sold at a discount online.

And for every few people committing out and out theft, there were those who had carefully read their book and wanted their money back to purchase something else. While I have no problem with people returning books they started only to realize they didn’t like—much like I have no problem returning clothes that once viewed in my full length mirror at home reveal their problem areas—I do have a problem with people treating bookstores like the library. Libraries are funded by tax payer dollars and there for a reason. If you don’t want to pay to read the book, then visit one. I’m sorry if you’ll have to wait on a list to get possession of the coveted title, but that’s the price you pay for not paying for the title in the first place.

So, again, new returns policy shocking? No, but I’ll interested to see how it pans out during the holiday season. This small window for returns means that any gift book bought by people who do their holiday shopping ahead time will be giving something that the giftee won’t be able to return even if they have a gift receipt. Too bad for those non dog lovers who receive Marley and Me, so sad for the person who already owns two copies of Tuesdays with Morrie.

Guess you’ll have to try and return that book elsewhere.

I wonder how long until other book retailers make changes to their policies given that they’ll be the ones picking up B & N’s returns slack.

Whirl Wind Tuesday Links of the Pop Culture/Book Variety

2008-08-19T13:53:00.000-07:00

The Cain/Abel/Superman connection would have been in enough, but Joss Whedon in a Book Trailer? Color me intrigued.

Stolen from GalleyCat who has more on the trailer. You can learn more about the book here.

A beautiful spoof of the new Twilight movie trailer:

Via Bookshelves of Doom who also has the real movie trailer up for the cinematic version of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.

Not so much visual, but the link the link building: How to Get LinkedOut on LinkedIn. I admit I have a LinkedIn account that I don’t have a clue how to use. I signed up when a friend joined. (Thanks to the always interesting Publishing Spot for the link).

And since Pop Culture was the theme for today: here’s a definition from the girls from Pop Goes the Library.