It's been years. I had another blog that was related to library technology, reader's advisory and teen books and let this one lapse.
I also was laid off in the fall of 2012 when my library district cut the entire web team (now I hear they are looking to have content librarians again next year when a new web site launches).
I left libraries for a more lucrative position but have a substitute position at a local library to keep my skills up. Eventually I want to come back to libraries but I earn more money now and have two kids in college.
Had an experience last night that reminded me why I love being a librarian. Since it might be several years before I am interested in returning to libraries full-time, I wanted to write it down.
I was at the teen desk. The teen desk at this library is little more than babysitting the teens at the computers and gaming stations. It's a rarity when someone wants a book and usually they know just what they want and I either locate it or place it on hold.
A girl came over to my desk. I asked if she needed help and she told me she was bored. She wanted a break from doing her homework. Disarming her with my charm (um, my sarcasm), I said, "well, you happen to be in a library. There are these things here called books that are wonderful for boredom."
She smiled and said she really needed to do her homework.
Me: What's the last book you read that you liked.
Girl: Peace, love and baby ducks
Me: So you like realistic fiction.
Girl: Shrug
Me (trying to figure out what she likes): Did you read "The Hunger Games"?
Girl: partly
Same scenario with Harry Potter (but she liked the movies)
Me: Do you like romance?
Girl: Nods
Me: I know just the book (luckily I had just been thinking about "The Summer I Turned Pretty" by Jenny Han and had seen all three of the series on the shelf."
Me: (after walking over, pulling it from the shelf and handing it to her. Now, trying to play it cool and walking away): Why don't you read a page or two and see what you think
The girl came back out from the stacks with a smile on her face. She told me she read the back cover and it sounds really good. I told her if she likes it, there are two more books in the trilogy.
This is why I love being a librarian.
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Friday, January 14, 2011
Ship Breaker review
I finished reading Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi yesterday.
Nailer is a teenage boy in a future Louisiana that's pretty much submerged under water from climate change. The area is devastated: extremely poverty stricken and the only work is found clearing stranded, abandoned oil rigs of any materials that can be sold. For those who can't find work on ships, income is very limited - you can sell organs, girls can sell their bodies, or you can beg and steal. After another hurricane (they're increasingly more frequent), Nailer finds a crashed ship. He thinks it's his lucky day and that he'll be able to strip it before others find it... until he finds the lone surviving girl aboard.
It was a really good book and a very fast read - I couldn't put it down. It was well-written and the dialogue was spot-on. Was it worthy of the Printz? I'm not sure. I've read better books in 2010 - and better dystopian books too.
Very good - if you like dystopian reads and haven't read this yet, go check it out. Now.
Nailer is a teenage boy in a future Louisiana that's pretty much submerged under water from climate change. The area is devastated: extremely poverty stricken and the only work is found clearing stranded, abandoned oil rigs of any materials that can be sold. For those who can't find work on ships, income is very limited - you can sell organs, girls can sell their bodies, or you can beg and steal. After another hurricane (they're increasingly more frequent), Nailer finds a crashed ship. He thinks it's his lucky day and that he'll be able to strip it before others find it... until he finds the lone surviving girl aboard.
It was a really good book and a very fast read - I couldn't put it down. It was well-written and the dialogue was spot-on. Was it worthy of the Printz? I'm not sure. I've read better books in 2010 - and better dystopian books too.
Very good - if you like dystopian reads and haven't read this yet, go check it out. Now.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Printz Award
Normally I don't care about award winning books. I think they tend to be pretentious and literary, whereas I read for pure entertainment value.
However, I was a little dismayed when Shipbreaker by Paolo Bacigalupi won the Printz award. Because it's a bad book? No, far from it. Because I had never heard of it and I'm a teen librarian and dysto
pian reads have long been my favorite genre (after time travel but there's not as many time travel books as there are dystopian.)
I started reading it yesterday and have been devouring it! I've got 100 pages to go.
So, I'm not going to write a review now. I'm just going to say that my perception of awards has been changed. At least slightly....
However, I was a little dismayed when Shipbreaker by Paolo Bacigalupi won the Printz award. Because it's a bad book? No, far from it. Because I had never heard of it and I'm a teen librarian and dysto
pian reads have long been my favorite genre (after time travel but there's not as many time travel books as there are dystopian.)I started reading it yesterday and have been devouring it! I've got 100 pages to go.
So, I'm not going to write a review now. I'm just going to say that my perception of awards has been changed. At least slightly....
Monday, January 3, 2011
Some YA books that Adults will like more than teens
There are some books that are meant for teens that I think adults like better than teens. Here's a few.
Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin
Fifteen year old Liz is killed in a hit-and-run and goes to Elsewhere, which is basically heaven. There she learns she will live backward from 15 until birth, and then be reincarnated. Liz is not at all happy to be in Elsewhere: she was looking forward to turning 16 and learning to drive.
Good for adults because of the aging in reverse concept. Basically, being able to go back in time with your older brain.
Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt
Doug goes to a school where everyone leaves on Wednesday afternoon for religious eductaion - except for him. He's stuck in the class with a teacher that hates him who makes him read Shakespeare. This book takes place in 1967. A sequel's coming in April 2011 called Okay for Now.
On the Blue Comet by Rosemary Wells
This wa
s a fantastic read. It starts in Chicago at the beginning of the Depression. Oscar and his dad build model railroads... until his dad loses his job and loses their home and is forced to sell the railroads. Oscar's dad goes to California to look for work and Oscar moves in with his aunt. He witnesses a crime and ends up on a train bound for California - with a young Ronald Reagan. The train travels through time and Oscar ends up in 1941 and in 1926. In his travels, he meets Alfred Hitchcock and a very young John F. Kennedy. Normally you don't see illustrations in teen books but this book has some full-page color illustrations that are beautiful and reminiscent of Norman Rockwell. Better for adults than the teens. Teens aren't going to care or get the references to the historical figures.
Stuck in the 70s by D.L. Garfinkle
Another time travel read. Tyler is a nerdy teenager in 1978 until he discover
s a hot (and naked) girl in his bathtub. Shay has traveled to 1978 from 2006 and wants to go back. She and Tyler make a deal: she'll help him become popular if he helps her get back to 2006. Absolutely hysterical... but more fun for those of us who actually remember the late 70s than for those who weren't born for another 20+ years.
Unwind by Neal Shusterman
In a fut
ure world, parents have the option of "unwinding" their children between their 13th and 18th birthday. The politically correct definition of "unwind" means the child's organs are transferred to other people and all of the child is used to help others. The actuality of it is kids are killed. This story follows three teens who are about to be unwound: Connor's parents find him too difficult and troublesome, Risa is an orphan, and Lev is a tithe, meaning his religious parents chose to unwind him before he was even born. This dystopian novel is full of action and suspense and is horrific in its descriptions of unwinding. Nevertheless, what parent of teenagers hasn't had momentary feelings of wanting to unwind of own children...
Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford
Will Carter is 14. He stutters, has ADD, and he's a virgin. He and his friends are determined to have sex. His older sister gives him awesome dating advice. Carter and his friends are rude and crude and I was rolling on the floor laughing. Carter is definitely not a boy I want dating my 14 year old daughter.
Better for adults than teens mainly because every adult who has read it has loved it but it hasn't circulated as well among teens.
Deadline by Chris Crutcher
Seventee
n year old Ben has fatal cancer. He keeps diagnosis secret from family and friends and tries to live the rest of his life to the fullest. I loved the conversations with "Hey-Soos," who is God or Ben's spiritual advisor. It's a tearjerker.
Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin
Fifteen year old Liz is killed in a hit-and-run and goes to Elsewhere, which is basically heaven. There she learns she will live backward from 15 until birth, and then be reincarnated. Liz is not at all happy to be in Elsewhere: she was looking forward to turning 16 and learning to drive.
Good for adults because of the aging in reverse concept. Basically, being able to go back in time with your older brain.
Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt
Doug goes to a school where everyone leaves on Wednesday afternoon for religious eductaion - except for him. He's stuck in the class with a teacher that hates him who makes him read Shakespeare. This book takes place in 1967. A sequel's coming in April 2011 called Okay for Now.
On the Blue Comet by Rosemary Wells
This wa
s a fantastic read. It starts in Chicago at the beginning of the Depression. Oscar and his dad build model railroads... until his dad loses his job and loses their home and is forced to sell the railroads. Oscar's dad goes to California to look for work and Oscar moves in with his aunt. He witnesses a crime and ends up on a train bound for California - with a young Ronald Reagan. The train travels through time and Oscar ends up in 1941 and in 1926. In his travels, he meets Alfred Hitchcock and a very young John F. Kennedy. Normally you don't see illustrations in teen books but this book has some full-page color illustrations that are beautiful and reminiscent of Norman Rockwell. Better for adults than the teens. Teens aren't going to care or get the references to the historical figures.Stuck in the 70s by D.L. Garfinkle
Another time travel read. Tyler is a nerdy teenager in 1978 until he discover
s a hot (and naked) girl in his bathtub. Shay has traveled to 1978 from 2006 and wants to go back. She and Tyler make a deal: she'll help him become popular if he helps her get back to 2006. Absolutely hysterical... but more fun for those of us who actually remember the late 70s than for those who weren't born for another 20+ years.Unwind by Neal Shusterman
In a fut
ure world, parents have the option of "unwinding" their children between their 13th and 18th birthday. The politically correct definition of "unwind" means the child's organs are transferred to other people and all of the child is used to help others. The actuality of it is kids are killed. This story follows three teens who are about to be unwound: Connor's parents find him too difficult and troublesome, Risa is an orphan, and Lev is a tithe, meaning his religious parents chose to unwind him before he was even born. This dystopian novel is full of action and suspense and is horrific in its descriptions of unwinding. Nevertheless, what parent of teenagers hasn't had momentary feelings of wanting to unwind of own children...Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford
Will Carter is 14. He stutters, has ADD, and he's a virgin. He and his friends are determined to have sex. His older sister gives him awesome dating advice. Carter and his friends are rude and crude and I was rolling on the floor laughing. Carter is definitely not a boy I want dating my 14 year old daughter.
Better for adults than teens mainly because every adult who has read it has loved it but it hasn't circulated as well among teens.
Deadline by Chris Crutcher
Seventee
n year old Ben has fatal cancer. He keeps diagnosis secret from family and friends and tries to live the rest of his life to the fullest. I loved the conversations with "Hey-Soos," who is God or Ben's spiritual advisor. It's a tearjerker.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Why would adults read books meant for teens?
So, today's post was supposed to be on my favorite reads of 2010 but I'll postpone that.
Why would adults want to read teen books? Are they maladjusted in some way? Do they still think they're 16? Can they not read well enough to tackle an adult book?
I supposed those could be valid reasons. In my case, I started reading young adult books when my son was in 4th or 5th grade. He was a big reader at the time and was a pretty advanced reader. Junior books were getting boring (and I had trouble finding ones he hadn't read and that would be interesting for a boy) but I was concerned that the more mature content of teen books would be too mature for him. So I started reading them and passing them on to him.
My findings? Teen books are great! They're shorter, in general, than adult books so a busy mom has time to actually finish. They tend to be more optimistic, even the dystopian ones have happy endings or the potential for better things. There are interesting characters. The authors aren't trying to win awards for literary fiction or show how smart they are so they're not pretentious. They're just more fun!
I think the next post will be young adult books that will have more appeal to adults than to teens. Probably after New Years...
Why would adults want to read teen books? Are they maladjusted in some way? Do they still think they're 16? Can they not read well enough to tackle an adult book?
I supposed those could be valid reasons. In my case, I started reading young adult books when my son was in 4th or 5th grade. He was a big reader at the time and was a pretty advanced reader. Junior books were getting boring (and I had trouble finding ones he hadn't read and that would be interesting for a boy) but I was concerned that the more mature content of teen books would be too mature for him. So I started reading them and passing them on to him.
My findings? Teen books are great! They're shorter, in general, than adult books so a busy mom has time to actually finish. They tend to be more optimistic, even the dystopian ones have happy endings or the potential for better things. There are interesting characters. The authors aren't trying to win awards for literary fiction or show how smart they are so they're not pretentious. They're just more fun!
I think the next post will be young adult books that will have more appeal to adults than to teens. Probably after New Years...
Thursday, December 30, 2010
About this blog
I'm a middle aged woman with 3 children, two of whom are teenagers. Which is fodder for another blog but this one is just about books. I read way more than a mom with three kids should have time to - I've read well over 100 books in 2010. And nearly all are teen books.
Have I read The Help, or The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo, or Eat Pray Love? No, the only adult books I read are written by Harlan Coben, Nancy Atherton, Don Winslow or Ayelet Waldman. Other than that it's YA all the time.
And did I mention that I am sick, sick, sick of vampires, fairies, zombies, and other supernatural books. Lately I've been into some good old-fashioned real girls who have problems with real boys. And dystopian. And time travel.
Next post will be on some of my favorite reads of 2010
Have I read The Help, or The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo, or Eat Pray Love? No, the only adult books I read are written by Harlan Coben, Nancy Atherton, Don Winslow or Ayelet Waldman. Other than that it's YA all the time.
And did I mention that I am sick, sick, sick of vampires, fairies, zombies, and other supernatural books. Lately I've been into some good old-fashioned real girls who have problems with real boys. And dystopian. And time travel.
Next post will be on some of my favorite reads of 2010
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