Stacked Shelves

I’m about to start a new book for my management class. (Each semester we have to read a book and review it for the class. I read Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg last semester and I liked it. She didn’t say anything groundbreaking, but I appreciated that she appreciated how much support and help she has from her spouse and how every woman won’t have that in their lives.) The book I’m about to read is Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen. I’m reading it not because I have any problem getting stuff done. I get tons of stuff done. (You’ve heard the saying, if you need something done, give it to a busy person.) But I do sometimes have problem with the stress part. I have a feeling it’s not going to tell me anything new. But maybe I’ll be wrong.   So, here I am. Working full-time (a children’s librarian), trying to look for a part-time gig to help with some college expenses, reviewing (children’s) books on a trial basis for a journal, taking man...

I'm going to post more often. But before I get started on writing about some children's books, I want to take a moment to talk about the mystery I'm reading. Did someone recommend Louise Penny's Chief Inspector Gamache series to me? I'm 2/3 of the way through A Beautiful Mystery (I decided to start in the middle of the series ... or rather, somehow this is the book I put on hold ... there may not have been any real decision on my part), and I'm a bit ... I don't know ... frustrated by the fact that the policemen investigating this crime at a monastery are overlooking two things -- the murder weapon is obviously the piece of metal used to bang on the doors so that you don't hurt your hand when you knock (heavy, heavy wooden doors) and maybe the wrong person was killed, which is why Frere Simon kept saying something about how he wanted to make sure it wasn't the abbot who was murdered. Yes, I could be wrong about those two things, but it's n...

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 .