Stacked Shelves

I was hoping Paperboy by Vince Vawter would be in Newbery contender when I first saw the book and ordered it for my library. And I gave it four stars on Goodreads because I liked it. But I didn’t love it. I think too much is packed into a little book and not enough gets fleshed out. The plot is built around a boy who stutters and who is taking over his friend’s paper route for the month of July. Along the way, he meets many people who help him grow – Mr. Spiro, who treats him as an equal; Mrs. Worthington, a beautiful lush; TV boy, who spends hours glued to the television set, among others. But the conflict in the book is confusing: Is it his stuttering? Is it what happens with his knife? Is it his relationship to his parents? It's just not clear. Additionally, kids aren't going to get that his mom is poorly educated but married well. And kids may not understand his discovery of being illegitimate. What kids will see instead that his mom doesn’t pay that much attention

Those of you who read and love Neil Gaiman’s works know his books always take readers on adventures. I’m not sure how he did it, but he has two books out this year – one for adults and one for children – and both are magical. In The Ocean at the End of the Lane , the adult book, a young boy gets caught in a battle between ancient beings -- one malevolent, naturally, and the others, well, they are forces for good and older than the universe. The good ones (Lettie, her mother, and her grandmother) know how to keep the evil where it belongs, but our young protagonist cluelessly lets the bad ‘un into this world. Lettie vows to protect him by any means. And that’s all I’ll say. The novel is short, but it will linger in your memory, just as it does the protagonist’s, who is drawn back time and time again to the end of that lane. And just as our unnamed protagonist must relive that story over and over, you will have to read Gaiman’s Fortunately, the Milk a few times for the shee

I’m doing something new: I’m listening to an audio book. And it’s working just the way I wanted it to. The CD player in my beloved old car broke a few years ago and I don’t like wearing earbuds, so while I’ve been tempted to download audio books to my iPhone, I knew I wouldn’t bother to listen. Then, viola!, a new car with a CD player that works. I am going to listen to all those YA novels that sound so good (from their reviews), but then bore me to tears or kill me with angst when I try to read them. And so far, it’s working. I’m listening to Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell, and it’s not bad. The downside is that my commute is less than 15 minutes one way so I’ve been listening to this book for more than a week. I could have probably read it in one night. But I feel good: I’m saving my reading time for books I really want to read and using my car time to keep up with YA books. Now, back to grown-up mysteries. 14. Sophie Hannah Sophie Hannah’s books will not be fo

I enjoy novels in verse. So, when I received both Salt by Helen Frost and The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan, I decided to read them one after the other to compare and contrast! Both are novels in verse (obviously), both are written by women who are mostly known for their YA work, and yet both are for the younger set. Salt will perhaps get more notice. It’s historical fiction and Helen Frost is probably the more well-known author. But I didn’t like it as much. The story is told in alternating poems by the two protagonists: Anikwa, 12, is a member of the Miami tribe and James, also 12, is an American boy. We are on the verge of the War of 1812 in the Indiana Territory. Anikwa’s poems look like “patterns of Miami ribbon work,” according to the author, while James poems are like stripes on a flag. It’s a nice conceit and works well. Unfortunately, the conflict between the characters (war is coming, whom can you trust?) is set up and resolved rather quickly. And there are a lot of

I wrote a short post telling other librarians where I think Brian Sanderson's The Rithmatist should be shelved on a site I created for the Children's Services Division of Nassau County .

So thrilled to be up to "F." If I had remembered I was up to "F," I would have written this post sooner. 10. Gillian Flynn I know everyone is excited about Gone Girl and how it's going to be made into a Major Motion Picture, but if you have the time, read Flynn's first two novels. They are so much better. I don't consider myself a reader of thrillers -- remember, I like police procedurals (and I enjoy a good night's sleep) -- but Dark Places and Sharp Objects are so well-written and tightly plotted they converted me. Sharp Objects was Flynn's first novel and was an Edgar Award finalist (it also taught me that southerners often put syrup on pork projects, which is a very tasty thing). Dark Objects is probably a little better, just as suspenseful and rich with characterizations. And it too is being made into a movie. Flynn's stories don't always have likeable protagonists (see Gone Girl ). But that fact just adds to the storytelling.

For the Coursera course I'm taking--"Fantasy and Science Fiction: The Human Mind, Our Modern World" (I do so love typing that)--I'm reading Dracula by Bram Stoker and I am bored to tears. What a tedious book. Someone will have to explain its charms to me one day. So, onward with my mystery lists. 5. Jane Casey I've read all of Jane Casey's three police procedurals ( The Last Girl was published in May) and I think I like them. I wish our heroine DS Maeve Kerrigan was a little stronger and not so odd about relationships, but she's likable. I want to say the series is getting better, but since I though the first one was best, I cannot. (London) 6. Michael Connelly I'm late to the Michael Connelly bandwagon, and still trying to figure out if I want to read these novels. I worry that Harry Bosch is a little too stereotypically hard-boiled. But a friend said to stick with them, and I probably will pick up the series again soon. I've

So, here it goes... some of my favorite authors and series of mysteries. 1. Jussi Adler-Olsen After the worldwide success of Steig Larsson's Millennium trilogy ( The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo , etc.), nordic noir became a thing and many more books from Norway, Denmark, and Sweden were translated into English. That's a good thing for us. Adler-Olsen's Department Q series is thrilling and funny. Carl Morck, our protagonist, has been pushed into the cold case unit because like so many other detectives, he doesn't always follow the rules. There are only three books in the series so far; definitely start with the first: The Keeper of Lost Causes . (Denmark) 2. Benjamin Black I read Christine Falls by Black (the pen name of John Banville, who's known for his literary fiction, among other works), but I didn't really love it and I'm afraid his books are not currently on my must-read list. (Ireland) 3. Alan Bradley Bradley's Flavia de Luce mysteries a

I had wanted this blog to be solely about children's books. But I'm taking a short break from reading children's books while I try my hardest to keep up with a Coursera course I'm taking that started today. It's called " Fantasy and Science Fiction: The Human Mind, Our Modern World ." (I always giggle when I say or read that because it sounds so... so... grandiose.) The course will be over sometime in mid-August and I'll have a stack of children's books waiting for me. (Truth be told, I have a "books to read" list that is more than four pages long. Yes, I keep lists. It's what I do.) I read a lot of fantasy and science fiction as a teen, but, alas, none of those books will be covered in the course. If you're curious about it, click on the link above. It's an 11-week course with an expected workload of 8 to 12 hours a week. (Manic giggling now.) Meantime, I realized that I have placed too many other books on hold (library-s

Several months ago, I was approached by a favorite mom: She asked if I would start a book club. Her daughters are good readers and she thought they’d enjoy a book club at the library. She even volunteered to run it, if I didn’t want to. But of course, I did want to. If I had to pick a group of kids to work with, it would be school-aged children. Unfortunately, these kids are often too busy to come to the library other than to get books to complete assignments. So, while I really wanted to start a book club, I had to make sure my efforts wouldn’t be in vain. I decided to try a “direct marketing” approach. I went through two years of summer reading lists, selecting kids who were active in summer reading and at the grade level I choose. I figure, I love getting things in the mail, so let me send each of these kids an invitation to join. And the results were terrific! I sent out 30 “you’re invited” flyers and about 16 kids responded. Other kids picked up the same flyer at the libr

It’s been months and months and months: I have been trying to write a blog post about fairy tales. But each time I think about it, a new “fractured fairy tale” comes in – today Frogged by Vivian Vande Velde and Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin by Liesl Shurtliff   are sitting on my desk – and I convince myself that I have to read more before I write. Alas, it cannot be done. At least not in this lifetime. Maybe, though, I can just say something quick. First, I have high standards for fractured fairy tales. My two favorites are Into the Woods , the Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine musical, and the Fables series of comics created by Bill Willingham. I like well-written and well-thought-out works. And these two fit the bill. So it may come as a surprise that I really enjoyed A Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy and illustrated by Todd Harris. The story details the true stories of the Princes Charming (otherwise known as Frederic, Gustav, Liam, an