view/request
This book was amazing! The twists on the original Rapunzel and the strong female lead make for an amazing read! It still has some of the original aspects, but a lot has been changed.
Tagged: Fairy tales
view/request
British novel about a hearing impaired retired professor of linguistics. Well written, interestingly plotted, with a sort BBC/Masterpiece Theater feel to it. It is very much a character driven story that explores the former professor’s challenges with retirement, his increasing deafness, and his family concerns. The professor explores various literature about and by the deaf and attends lip reading classes where he learns all sorts of interesting trivia. The story is spiced up by his involvement with a possibly psychotic American grad student writing her doctoral thesis on the linguistics of suicide notes.
Tagged: Aging, Fiction, Psychological fiction
view/request
Do you ever send or receive text messages? Did you take English in high school or college? If you answered “Yes” and “Yes”, you will LOL at Mallory Ortberg’s witty, imaginary e-conversations between famous literary figures.
Besides Jane herself the classics are all here, from Homer and Shakespeare to Harry Potter and the Hunger Games. My favorite was Moby Dick:
do you ever worry
that the whale is like
a metaphor
a metaphor?
yeah
sometimes
me too
me too
do you wanna nail stuff to the mast?
yeah
Some of the poets are great too (Lord Byron is down in the dumps because he realizes that he can never have sex with the rain).
YMMV depending on what books you’ve read and enjoyed, but feel free to skip around and cherry-pick your favorites. This a perfect “bathroom book” to dip into at random and experience in a non-linear 21st century modality.
Tagged: Humor
view/request
This is a fun book, the kind that pulls you in and keeps you turning the pages. If you read it in a public place, however, you are likely to be interrupted by fans of the book who cannot help themselves and are eager to share their enthusiasm. Once I was even told, “I’m so jealous that you are reading it for the first time! I will never get to do that again!”
The Name of the Wind is a fantasy novel, and, to tell the truth, much of its plot sticks close to the cliches of the genre. A young boy discovers an aptitude for magic, learns all he can those around him, overcomes many obstacles, is accepted into a university where he excels beyond expectation, and goes on to do great things. And the hero, Kvothe, must, of course, confront a great evil, one that he takes seriously while those around him consider it only a fairy tale. Unlike most such stories, however, Kvothe, is a musician, and his changing relationship to his music is important throughout the book.
The world is richly built, full of detail, and the mechanics of its magic feel far more convincing than those in many other fantasies. The story is told from the perspective of an older Kvothe, now an innkeeper, who has done much since the events of the story he tells, but who has much more to do and learn as well. (This is the first book in a trilogy, after all.) Upon finishing the book you are left hungering for two stories—what happened to the young Kvothe in the stories, and what will happen to the innkeeper Kvothe, who you sense has much, much more in store for him.
Tagged: Fantasy
view/request
Horace couldn’t stop drawing. He drew all the time and said, “Pictures just come to my mind…and I tell my heart to go ahead”. Horace never stopped making pictures. Not while working hard every day to provide for his family and not even when he was in the trenches in France during WWI. Of the war, Horace said, it “brought out all the art in me”. He painted war scenes, bible scenes, and what he saw of everyday life. This is an engaging picture book that will introduce children to a great American artist.
Tagged: Art, Non-fiction, Picture books
view/request
In his introduction to Jeff Chang’s book Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip Hop Generation, DJ Kool Herc says, “Hip-hop is the voice of this generation.” This picture book tells the story of the beginning of hip hop in the Bronx. Clive wanted to be a DJ since he was young. He grew up in Kingston, Jamaica and looked up to a DJ named King George. Clive moved to New York to live with his mama when he was 13 years old. He started going by the name Kool Herc and became DJ Kool Herc when he was able to rewire his father’s sound system to get a really big sound! He was the first person to use two turntables to extend the break so people could really dance to the music. DJ Kool Herc was in high demand for house parties and street parties. He would plug his sound system into the lampposts to get power. The music was just one part of the budding hip hop culture in the Bronx. Hip hop has its own music (rap and beats), its own dance (break dancing) and its own visual art (graffiti). DJ Kool Herc loved music and his contribution to hip hop is something kids should be reading about!
Tagged: Hip-Hop, Picture books
view/request
Fangirl is about a young woman named Cath who leaves for her freshman year of college with her twin sister Wren. Both of them are obsessed with Simon Snow (think Harry Potter) and Cath writes fan fiction obsessively. Although Cath and Wren were extremely close, their new college lives get in the way of their relationship with each other, their father, and her fanfiction.
view/request
I was going to have a photo taken of me reading this in front of a pile of boxes we haven’t unpacked since the last move, but I couldn’t find the camera.
Stuffology is a refreshing contrast to The life-changing magic of tidying up even though it promises similar benefits to getting rid of excess stuff. They’re serious about their subject but light-hearted in their approach. Get rid of the accumulated objects that are weighing your life down and you’ll be better able to focus, function and live fully in the present. Plus they coined the acronyms CHAOS (Can’t Have Anybody Over Syndrome) and POOP (Piles Of Overwhelming Paperwork).
Tagged: Clutter, Non-fiction, Organizing
view/request
This poetic book is beautifully illustrated with scratchboard and watercolor. Set on a family farm in New England, Blue on Blue is the story of a rain storm from dark skies to mud everywhere.
Tagged: Animals, Farms, New England, Poetry, Weather
view/request
These stories of queer moments, crushes, fantasies, and coming out will make you smile, cringe, and maybe even tear up. Trachtenberg arranges the stories to oscillate between the quippy and the emotionally charged and highlights something amusing from each story with a provocative illustration. Although I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I would have loved seeing a broader representation of queerness and more stories from POC. Check out more of our LGBT Teen staff picks!
Tagged: Coming out, Humor, LGBTQ, Non-fiction
view/request
Rowan Tripp has been fighting fires since she was 18, and is the daughter of a retired forest fire fighting legend. We meet the new crop of rookies, and get to see the intense ways they train, as well as meet the surviving crew from the previous season when they lost one of their own. The fire season is difficult enough on its own, but we find that someone hasn’t let go of last year’s tragedy. The suspense is more in the people vs. fire, with a lot of details including training, equipment and on the line fire fighting. Although this definitely qualifies as a romance, I didn’t find it too over the top, and felt the steam came more from the water vs. fire than the relationships. There is a secondary romance that adds an interesting element.
Tagged: Romance, Romantic suspense, Suspense, Wildfire
view/request
This is a beautiful wordless picture book with woodcut illustrations. A dog finds a red ball and begins to play until a raven appears. With eyes red like the ball, the raven takes the ball from the dog. Defeated and exhausted after chasing the raven, the dog stops to rest only to be pleasantly surprised by the red ball falling from above.
Tagged: Animals, Fiction, Picture books, Woodcut prints