Link Lovin’

Casting for the Hunger Games Movie has been creating buzz over at Shelf Life. And even more buzz over how they’re going to make it PG-13. Personally, I think they can do it. It’s not necessary to have all of the violence on screen in order to effectively show the twistedness of the Games. And honestly, after Mockingjay, I’ve got low expectations for the movie. Sorry Suzanne, LOVE your books but Mockingjay just felt rushed. I blame editors and us greedy greedy readers who wanted the book NOW.

Galleycat has some links for literary costume ideas

More kidlit links over at omnivoracious for those so inclined. (Boo Amazon, yay quality blog….)

And finally. Read THIS if nothing else. Thank you Libba Bray. Thank you thank you thank you.

Looking Forward…

Once I finish a certain Swedish Novel I’m planning on going through my stacks of YA. I’m kind of behind the times, but here are a few that I can’t wait to start:

I Am Number Four (Lorien Legacies #1)
by Pittacus Lore

So I don’t know much about this one except that when I went to go see the Social Network there was a preview for the movie…. um dudes, the book has been out for maybe a month and there’s already a movie?! And the movie has Quinn from Glee in it…so I have to go see it. Which means I should read the book first. It’s something about aliens…dude is the fourth alien to come to earth and the three before him have been captured. Something like that. I’ll let you know.

 

The Knife of Never Letting Go
By Patrick Ness

I heard that they should change the title to “The Book of Never Putting Down.” This is the first of a trilogy that has gotten a TON of hype.

Stolen from Goodreads:

Prentisstown isn’t like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else’s thoughts in an overwhelming, never-ending stream of Noise. Just a month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd and his dog, Machee – whose thoughts Todd can hear, too, whether he wants to or not – stumble upon an area of complete silence. They find that in a town where privacy is impossib …more Prentisstown isn’t like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else’s thoughts in an overwhelming, never-ending stream of Noise. Just a month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd and his dog, Machee – whose thoughts Todd can hear, too, whether he wants to or not – stumble upon an area of complete silence. They find that in a town where privacy is impossible, something terrible has been hidden – a secret so awful that Todd and Manchee must run for their lives.

But how do you escape when your pursuers can hear your every thought?

Sounds good, yes?

Ship Breaker
By Paolo Bacigalupi

Set initially in a future shanty town in America’s Gulf Coast region, where grounded oil tankers are being dissembled for parts by a rag tag group of workers, we meet Nailer, a teenage boy working the light crew, searching for copper wiring to make quota and live another day. The harsh realities of this life, from his abusive father, to his hand to mouth existence, echo th …more Set initially in a future shanty town in America’s Gulf Coast region, where grounded oil tankers are being dissembled for parts by a rag tag group of workers, we meet Nailer, a teenage boy working the light crew, searching for copper wiring to make quota and live another day. The harsh realities of this life, from his abusive father, to his hand to mouth existence, echo the worst poverty in the present day third world. When an accident leads Nailer to discover an exquisite clipper ship beached during a recent hurricane, and the lone survivor, a beautiful and wealthy girl, Nailer finds himself at a crossroads. Should he strip the ship and live a life of relative wealth, or rescue the girl, Nita, at great risk to himself and hope she’ll lead him to a better life. This is a novel that illuminates a world where oil has been replaced by necessity, and where the gap between the haves and have-nots is now an abyss. Yet amidst the shadows of degradation, hope lies ahead.

This one was just nominated for the National Book Award, and I want to read his other book–The Wind Up Girl, which was the Nebula Award Winner. Go Paolo!

So dear readers (all…2 of you?) what are you looking forward to?

xoxo,

Book Shop Girl

 

 

 

Snippets

In attempt to get back into blogging, rather than take on an ENTIRE BLOG POST, I’m going to share a few goings on in my life and the book world.

Currently Reading:

The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larson

I know, I know…. EVERYONE and their mom (and my mom!) is reading these books. I wasn’t planning on reading past the first one, but a coworker let me borrow her copy and I’ve got to admit, it’s kind of nice to sit down with a frothy mystery. I mean, there’s a reason these things are selling like hotcakes, hello escapism!

 

On My iPod:

I’ve recently discovered books on tape. Excuse me, audiobooks, hello technology! I just finished listening to The Likeness by Tana French, read by Heather O’Neill. I found O’Neill’s reading so compelling I had to buy the book so that I could run home after work and keep reading. She has such a fantastic voice. Each character was distinguishable and I felt that she gave them all a unique personality. The story is a bit far-fetched, a detective looks exactly like a murder victim so she implants herself into the victim’s life, impersonating her, without telling the suspects that the woman is actually dead. But French’s writing is exquisite. I’m looking for more amazing books on tape if anyone out in the interwebs has any recommendations PLEASE let me know. I keep finding crap compared to this one.

I’ve also been enjoying Slate’s Culture Gabfest. If you want to keep up on pop culture and are a podcast junky I highly suggest you check it out. And if there are more podcasts like this, tell me! I want more brain candy!

Currently Dreading:

We have been having an AMAZING October here in the Pacific Northwest, but winter is just around the corner. While that means hot drinks, sweaters, and quality reading time, it also means rain, eating too many carbs, and complete and total darkness. I’m gearing up and hoping to survive–I’m even looking to buy one of those happy sun lamps. Here’s hoping I make it through. On an optimistic note, I have a TON of great books to look forward to and I’m excited to return to my YA roots, because people, it has been too long since I’ve read some decent YA.

So there you have it. A sort of blog post. I’m going to keep updating this puppy, so keep checking back! If you have any winter survival tips, I’m game!

xoxo,

Bookshop Girl (said in the Gossip Girl narrator’s voice, of course.)

 

She Speaks!

Hello? Is this thing on? Yes… it’s been a YEAR since I’ve posted. But I’m going to be in a panel at PNBA today called Booksellers and Bloggers Unite! Yes, I’m representing the bookselling side of things, don’t worry. You can find more information over at Amy Baskin’s lovely blog. Maybe the panel will help inspire me to return to blogging!

Busy Busy Book Shop Girl

I feel like every time I post lately, I’m apologizing for not posting. So here’s what you’ve been missing in the fabulous life of me. I’ve officially failed at keeping up with NaNoWriMo, but maybe, just maybe, I’ll get better at this blogging thing.

1. Skippy and I made it back from New York, but he still has some more photos to share. He’s still a bit jet lagged, and kind of confused because he got home and now has to share kitty boy duties with my non-finger puppet cat. Poor Skippy is no longer an only child.

2. Go read Maze Runner:

I’ll review it soon. Promise.

3. David Levithan came to my store today. So awesome. Great speaker. Fabulous writer. Amazing editor. Thanks for stopping by!! I’m almost done with Love is the Higher Law, and I have to admit I was hesitant to pick it up because it’s about 9/11 and it just seems like such a difficult topic to write about, but I really liked how David approached it through the eyes of three teenagers. As someone who just came back from New York, and has NYC on the brain lately, I really appreciated his love for the city. He took something that’s still mind boggling and… huge… and wrote about it honestly and beautifully.

There were SO many fabulous local authors a the event, including Suzanne Young, author of the Naughty List. Suzanne got some great pictures of everyone, and you can check them out at her blog. Speaking of local authors…

4. One of our bookstore super hero authors disguised as a Portlander/customer, Laini Taylor, was nominated for a Nation Book Award for Lips Touch. I haven’t reviewed it here yet, and I really really should because WOW it is good. I hate hate hate meeting cool authors before I read their books, because then I have unrealistically high expectations for their writing. But no, not only is she extremely nice, a huge indie bookstore supporter, and has the CUTEST baby, she can write. See for yourself:

Kizzy wanted to be a woman who would dive off the prow of a sailboat into the sea, who would fall back in a tangle of sheets, laughing, and who could dance a tango, lazily stroke a leopard with her bare foot, freeze an enemy’s blood with her eyes, make promises she couldn’t possibly keep, and then shift the world to keep them. She wanted to write memoirs and autograph them at a tiny bookshop in Rome, with a line of admirers snaking down a pink-lit alley. She wanted to make love on a balcony, ruin someone, trade in esoteric knowledge, watch strangers as coolly as a cat. She wanted to be inscrutable, have a drink named after her, a love song written for her, and a handsome adventurer’s small airplane, champagne christened, Kizzy, which would vanish one day in a windstorm in Arabia so that she would have to mount a rescue operation involving camels, and wear an indigo veil against the stinging sand, just like the nomads.

Kizzy wanted.

Can’t you just tell that Laini loves words? That quote is from my ARC, but when I got home from New York, there was a lovely hardcover (signed!) waiting for me, with the completed illustrations, which are GORGEOUS, and done by Laini’s just as fabulous husband, Jim Di Bartolo.

5. I’ve been reading a ton lately, partly thanks to the lovely Portland weather, so there should be more reviews soon. Books that are teetering on the top of my TBR stack include: Leviathan, Splendor, Demon’s Lexicon, Tempted, Hold Still, and I’ve been told by EVERYONE at the bookstore that if I’m going to read an adult book anytime soon, it must be The Help.

So there you have it. An actual post! And now I will curl up with a book, my cat, and some tea.

Going Bovine, By Libba Bray

I  really really wanted to like this one. I had never read any Libba Bray, but I’ve heard that this is quite a departure from her Gemma Doyle series. And I really really want to read the Gemma Boyle books. But this book. This strange book. It just didn’t do it for me. But I REALLY wanted it to. It’s like a relationship that looks good on paper, but in reality there are no sparks, and all you can blame is a lack of chemistry. I wanted sparks.

Going Bovine is about Cameron Smith, a 16-year-old boy who somehow ends up with the unlucky fate of contracting mad cow disease. Cameron finds out that the disease is fatal, and that his body will slowly stop working for him. So he does what any fatally ill teenager would do. He goes on a road trip with his friend Gonzo. But it’s not just any road trip. He learns, from a hot punk-rock angel named Dulcie, that he has to find Dr. X who can cure him of the disease. Along the way Cameron and Dulcie run into a very odd cast of characters–my favorite was Balder, the viking garden gnome.

As I said, I really really wanted to like this book. It has a unique premise and amazing characters, but the plot is so wishy-washy. I felt like I was constantly waiting for the “a-ha!” moment, and never got there. My favorite part was the beginning, before the road trip.  And when my favorite part is the beginning, that means the rest of the book was “meh”. There are some tear-jerker moments in the book and Libba speaks so honestly about the state of the world today, and about the fragility of life. I didn’t dislike it, and I didn’t “not get it”, it is a deep and moving book that was well crafted and beautifully written, and very original and witty and hilarious. Which all sounds great, but there were no sparks.

Maybe it’s because I’ve never read Don Quixote, which this is loosely based on. Or maybe it’s because I’ve read a few too many truly BAD Don Quixote knock-offs. But this just wasn’t for me. It’s not Libba, it’s me. Going Bovine has gotten good press, and in case my review just doesn’t do it for you, here are a few fans of the book: KidsLit, Reading Rants, Tea Cozy, Em’s Bookshelf and a review I agree with: Abby (the) Librarian.

Incarceron, By Catherine Fisher

I was going to hold off on reviewing this one until closer to the pub date, but I just can’t wait. I received an ARC of Incarceron at PNBA from my lovely Penguin sales rep, and had heard FABULOUS things about it during my “Children’s Pick of the List” panel at the tradeshow. Booksellers were throwing around words like “steampunk” and phrases like “well, I can’t tell you much about it….” so of course it sounded like my kind of book. I just love books I can’t talk about. Right. So let’s talk about the book, shall we?

Incarceron is set in a postapocalyptic-ish future. Kind of. You see, the powers that be decided that it would be safer if they just stopped time, so they all live in a sort-of Victorian era, but most people cheat and use technology to fake their authentic Victorian lifestyles. Claudia lives in this fake-Victorian-era, and her father is the Warden of Incarceron–a prison that was created decades ago where ALL the bad people of the world were sent to create a new utopia-type-land. Finn lives in this utopian prison. Except it’s more like hell. The chapters alternate between Claudia and Finn, (seamlessly, I might add) and as they learn more about eachother’s worlds many mysteries surface.

Sounds pretty awesome and sort of complicated, right? Well it is. Pretty awesome. It’s really not complicated once you’re entrenched in the book. And I was hooked from the first page. Catherine Fisher does an amazing job of keeping things suspenseful, and she weaves together the different story lines beautifully. Her worlds are so completely original and well shaped. I can’t wait until this one comes out so that I can start selling it. It’s already been out in the UK for awhile, so if you really want it, I’m sure you could find it. Or just wait and buy it at your local indie bookstore. (shameless plug).

EDIT: I just found out that Bookshelves of Doom has a great review of Incarceron too! I think her summary is a bit less convoluted than mine, check it out.

Skippyjon Jones in the Big Apple

"Ay Carumba! You better not stick me in the overhead bin, I requested a window seat!"

After a less than fabulous red eye from Portland, I made it to New York in one piece. I never like to travel alone, so I brought my friend Skippyjon Jones along for the ride. The Kitty Boy has been eating his way through the Big Apple, and has decided to share his journey with his fans:

"El Skippito will save the New Yorkers from the big gold statue man!"

Skippy's first New York bagel. His reaction: "Holy Guacamole!"

Skippy visits the bunny at The Park Slope Community Bookstore. "What a funny looking kitty boy!"

"Dudes, El Skippito could use a new sidekick!"

"Dudes, I thought the water in the city might be brown, but this is a bit much."

Even picture book characters need a night off.

"What a big litter box!"

"Ay yi yi! This pizza is going to go straight to my butt!"

"What a funny looking scratching post!"

El Skippito sizes up the city...

Skippy joined the accordion, tuba, dancing man, act in Washington Square Park, tips accepted.

Skippy Benedict at Bar Tabac in Brooklyn

"I've gotta jet, but I will be back with more adventures! Adios!"

Star Wars: Adventures in Book Dumps

I walked into the back room of the bookstore a few days ago to see this:

Now you can’t tell from my fancy cell phone camera, but this lovely piece of cardboard is supposed to transform itself into what we call a “book dump”, otherwise known as those cardboard displays that crowd the endcaps of our bookcases. I was told by a co-worker that she had tried and failed to put together this dump, and could I please try my hand at it. I gave it a go:

I stared at this lovely mass of cardboard-hell trying to figure out where the books were supposed to go, and what in the world was this X-shaped piece supposed to do. After about ten more minutes of staring at the undecipherable directions, I got this:

I couldn’t quite get the weird middle part to fit properly, but I thought I could try it out. But no, my friends. I remembered that master Yoda said “there is no try”. So I did:

TADA! I still don’t think it’s quite right, but I was very proud of myself.  There you have it, proof that booksellers don’t just sit around and read all day. We are secretly architectural geniuses in disguise.

Back in Action

So I’ve been MIA from the blogging world. I have lots to post about, including a bunch of reviews. But between working two jobs and preparing for my VERY EXCITING trip to NYC, my sad blog has been ignored. More later. For now I leave you with a simple question:

How in the world did this cover get approved?