Stacked Shelves

I tweeted last night that I wanted to hug The Story of Owen: Dragon Slayer of Trondheim by E.K. Johnston. Today, none of the glow has worn off. But … there had to be a but … I’m still learning how to recommend YA novels.   Part of the problem is I don’t love many YA novels. In fact, I can’t stand YA novels with too much angst. Or mean girls. Or unrealistic situations. You may find that last one funny when I tell you the YA novels I recommend over and over again:   Feed by M.T. Anderson: In the not too distant future a customized World Wide Web is piped directly into our brains. Having the system know everything about you is both helpful and harmful, though. Seraphina by Rachel Hartman: A half-dragon girl is able to pass for human and become an important member of the royal household. But where will her loyalties lie if humans and dragons go to war? The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater: A group of private school boys are on a quest to find an ancient ley lin...

I plan to wrap up my tour of favorite mystery writers in two posts. I was updating all sorts of lists this morning and did some counting … I try to keep track of more than 25 mystery writers. No wonder I’m so distracted. But it helps in the library. I have a patron who, though an adult, comes to me when he wants to put an entire series on hold. Yes, I have worked to, say, put all of Tony Hillerman’s books on hold for Mr. J.—all 18 books, but as he requests, not the ones we have here in this library, not the ones he’s read, and not all at once. And I've never once hidden when he’s come into the library.  24. Jo Nesbo Quite possibly my favorite of the Nordic Noir set, unless I think too long about how Harry is when he’s drunk. Then I get sad and say the Carl Morck series from Jussi Adler-Olsen is my favorite. I recommend this series to everyone in the universe and while I had to start in the middle with The Devil’s Star (first one translated and published in the States?), ...