Bookish Links du Jour 3/1/15

Here's one way to enjoy the snowy weather...

Is that a #Hogwarts snow sculpture we see?! MT @PeteKotsonis: Lumos! #harrypotter pic.twitter.com/vGSUlTqY0o
— Scholastic (@Scholastic) February 25, 2015

There's a new Dr. Seuss book is coming out this summer. What Pet Should I Get? is a continuation of One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish and makes for the seventh posthumously published Seuss book (not counting the 40 plus Cat in the Hat adaptations put out by Tish Rabe and Bonnie Worth.)

Grinches are looking to shut down Little Free Libraries, usually citing building codes and permits. What a shame. The basic idea behind Little Free Libraries is so charming and beautiful - to share favorite books with the community and foster neighborliness. If I had one argument with Little Free Libraries, it's that sadly, I see too many people treat them as "dumping grounds" for books of questionable quality. I've seen far too many moldy books, tattered newspapers, outdated appliance manuals and the like stashed in LFL's around town. C'mon, people! Use them in the spirit that they're intended and the world will be a better place.

People are talking about Pattern Recognition's blog post about shamefully low library director salaries in the rural U.S. Check out the comments for some interesting opinions.

The Winner's Curse review

The Winner's Curse
by Marie Rutkoski
Farrar Straus Giroux
March 2014

First line: "She shouldn't have been tempted."

In a world that seems loosely based on ancient Rome and Greece, 17 year old Kestrel's father is one of the leading generals of an invading army of Valorians that has conquered their more culturally sophisticated, but less warlike neighbors the Herrani. Under pressure to either pick up a career in the military or choose an appropriate young man to marry and settle down with, Kestrel starts to rebel against her father's authority in small ways while biding for more time to sort out her own feelings on the matter.

After impulsively purchasing a handsome young slave, Kestrel begins to question more and more of her society's demands. Her interests in music and the arts, while valued by the Herrani, are considered nearly useless by the Valorians.

Kestrel's slave is called "Smith" by his captors for his blacksmithing skills, but his true name is Arin. The two of them gradually strike up a friendship (as much as possible under the circumstances) and set society's tongues to wagging when it's apparent that their friendship is deepening into something more. Arin is more than he appears at first, and readers will not be surprised to discover his connections to rebel forces.

The horrors of slavery aren't fully explored in this book. While they are bought and sold, the "slaves" in this society are mostly treated like valuable servants. The difference in their class status adds a frisson of interest to Arin and Kestrel's flirtations. This is a light fantasy romance, seasoned with a dash of dystopian rigid class roles and customs that the characters must struggle with.

Compare to:
Conspiracy of Kings - Megan Whalen Turner
Legacy - Kayla Cluver
Graceling - Kristin Cashore



I purchased a copy of this book.

Top 10 Heroines

This week's topic from The Broke and Bookish is Top 10 Favorite Heroines From Books.
Let's see!


1. Katniss Everdeen (Hunger Games)
Okay, sure, Katniss is kind of emotionally clueless. Some might even say, a bit dead inside, especially after all the ordeals she goes through. But, I love that she is such a talented archer, and so protective of her family. She's one tough lady!


2. Hermione Granger (Harry Potter)
She makes being nerdy and well-read look so very awesome. She is the brightest witch of her age, and loyal to her friends.

3. Charlotte (Charlotte's Web)
Can we count her? A spider? I love Charlotte. I love how pragmatic and sensible she is, and what a great friend she is to Wilbur, a lunk of a pig who doesn't always deserve it.


4. Beatrice "Tris" Prior (Divergent)
She reminds me of Katniss in a lot of ways. She holds true to her ideals as she struggles with feeling so out of place in her segmented society. Also, she's tough as nails!

5. Katsa (Graceling)
Here's another tough fighter of a heroine. I love her journey, as she struggles with her supernatural "gift" of being such an able assassin.

6. Elizabeth Bennett (Pride and Prejudice)
Here's a girl who doesn't take any sass - whether it's from Mr. Darcy or her own mother. Love her, so much.


7. Dorothy Gale (The Wizard of Oz)
Forget everything you've seen in the movie. The book is far trippier. Dorothy is one of the bravest, most determined heroines ever. Nothing fazes her. Anyone who can make allies of a talking scarecrow, a lion, a field full of mice, animate china dolls, a tin man and rulers of several magical countries is really something.

8. Cinder (Lunar Chronicles)
Forget the traditional Cinderella who sits back and waits for a Fairy Godmother and later, the Prince, to come and rescue her. This Cinder is a cyborg tinkerer who takes matters into her own hands.


9. Karou (Daughter of Smoke and Bone)
She starts out as a beleaguered art student in Prague, burdened with gathering teeth for her secret magical family... and things only get more intense from there!

10. Sabriel (Old Kingdom Trilogy)
Here's another character who is so brave, and doesn't even give herself credit for how badass she is. She ventures into the realm of death on a regular basis in order to save her country and her friends!

Bookish Links du Jour 2/22/15

Enjoy this video: Book nerd problems: Getting a book wet! This is a major emergency. Help is needed, STAT.



Experience every dystopian novel trope at once, in this delightful twitter send-up of the genre: @DystopianYA For example: "It's the night before my 17th birthday, which means in a few hours, I'll have to face the mysterious Test to determine my future."

Oh my. Here's a book written by a staunch anti-vaxxer, Melanie's Marvelous Measles by Stephanie Messenger. Amazon reviewers have provided some delightfully snarky comments, for example, "As a carpenter who specializes in itty bitty coffins I can't say enough good things about this book, my customer base has been growing at an epidemic rate!" Check out more reviews on the site.

Great Cheese Robbery review

Great Cheese Robbery

by Tim Warnes

Little Tiger Press

March 2015

This British import features anthropomorphized elephants with a subtle nod to Babar. Patrick Elephant looks up to his Daddy who isn't scared of anything, except, of course, for mice. When a cheeky mouse arrives at their doorstep and demands to inspect their household supply of cheese, Daddy Elephant is unable to stop cowering long enough to stop him. 

Before they know it, an army of hungry mice arrive to remove the rest of their food, their refrigerator and most of Patrick's toys, ostensibly for “health and safety” reasons. Fortunately, Mommy Elephant arrives just in time to save the day and restore order. Warmly hued endpapers use a repeating elephant design. 

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
This review originally appeared in School Library Journal.

Top 10 Bookish Problems

This week's topic from The Broke and Bookish is Top 10 Bookish Problems.
Let's see!

10) Self-published authors - I have read some indie-published books that have been great. But there are so very many that aren't. So very many. And because indie authors are usually doing their own publicity and/or are new to the publishing, in my experience they can sometimes be pushy and unprofessional. As a book blogger and reviewer it makes for awkward moments all around when I get multiple e-mails from desperate self-published authors begging me to read and review books that I honestly can't find much positive to say about. Indie-authors! Don't be that guy!

9) Budget - The library I work for has (like many libraries) suffered from budget cuts, and I haven't been able to get books I'd like to have for our patrons. I do purchase books that I'm dying to read on my own, and then donate them to the library - but it's just not enough! It's tough when I know the perfect book to put in a patron's hands... and we don't have it.

8) Gift books - Friends and family will frequently think to themselves, "Ah! I bet I know what Madigan would like! A book!" So, I do get a lot of books as gifts. Which is much-appreciated and fine. The only problem here, is when gift-givers demand to know if I've read the book yet. Uh... it's in the queue! I'll get to it! Eventually. People who don't have professional obligations and piles of books waiting for review simply don't understand this.

7) E-books vs. Paper books - E-books are a wonderful space-saver. I switch back and forth between reading physical books and books on my iPhone or Nook. The problem here, is sometimes I'll read an e-book that is so great, I know I need a copy for my permanent collection, so then I have to buy it twice. Or, I read a paper book that I know I don't want to keep... and then I have to figure out what to do with it.

6) E-library books vs. E-purchased books - Purchasing e-books on my Nook is a dream. One click, and it's instantly there. Borrowing e-books from the library is a different matter. I download library books from Overdrive all the time - I'm sad that publishers don't always seem to trust or like libraries, and feel the need to put all this extra "friction" on acquiring e-books from the library. Using Overdrive is a bit like that old saying, "You never step in the same river twice." They are constantly switching up their website, or changing policies. I'm pretty computer savvy so it's not really a problem for me, but it is a hassle to have to explain the ever-changing ways of the Internet to my senior citizen patrons who ask for help at the library.

5) Space - About 5 years ago, I lost most of my books in a flood. Sadness! After that, I resolved to do better about not hoarding too many and limited myself to just one bookshelf, which worked pretty well for a while. Now, I'm afraid, I've got a couple of bookshelves, plus some built-ins and I'm starting to see piles of books on the floor. How big a space would be big enough? Hmm... that's a good question. If I think about it, I'm certain I could fill up a large space quickly. Which brings me to my next point...

4) Weeding - Well, generally this isn't a problem for me, as I like to go through and thin-out my collection of just about everything. I wouldn't say I live a spartan existence, but I do like to clear out clutter - including books. I guess my problem here is the continuous nature of weeding. I'm never really finished going through and organizing my book collection, as more books seem crop up out of nowhere. I wish I could feel like I was "done" weeding for a bit.

3) Book stumpers - This doesn't happen very often to me. But once in a blue moon, I'll remember a few points of the plot, maybe a hazy detail about the cover... and that's it. So frustrating! Even a key word or two from the title or half of an author's name would get me somewhere, but I draw a blank. Fortunately, I only run into a total stumper like this once or twice a year, but it is super frustrating when it happens.

2) Waiting for the sequel - I'm in the middle of quite a few series where the author has hit a slump. Or maybe they had something come up in their personal lives. Or who knows why - but that sequel isn't coming out soon, and so we all must wait. Get on it, authors! Write that sequel! Finish that series!

1) Too many books, not enough time! There's so many great things to read. I'm always in a constant backlog.

Valentine's Display

Just for fun, I thought I'd put together a Valentine's Day display in my library's teen area of books featuring hearts on the cover. Here are a few to pick from:

The Future of Us - Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler
Sweet Little Lies - Lauren Conrad
This Lullaby - Sarah Design
Triple Shot Betty's In Love - Jody Gehrman
The Lipstick Laws - Amy Holder
Tangled - Carolyn Mackler
After the Kiss - Terra Elan McVoy
The Glimpse - Claire Merle
Recovery Road - Blake Nelson
Twenty Boy Summer - Sarah Ockler
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight - Jennifer E. Smith
All These Things I've Done - Gabrielle Zevin