greetings from far, far away…

Sorry also for not posting since August 16.  I just started college and the workload is intense.  There are some books I’ve read but never reviewed that might surface, but otherwise I think I will put the blog on hiatus for a while.

Thanks, and Happy Reading!

Winners of the ‘First Ever Giveaway!’

The giveaway is now closed.  I tallied up all the extra entries and split the entrants into the specific books they requested and used Random.org to pick the following winners…

*drumroll*

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead – Wrighty, Erica, and Kay D.
The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale – Kate
Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment by James Patterson – Kelsey

An email will be whizzing your way!  Thank you so much to everyone who entered the contest (61 comments, whoo hoo!), and a million thanks to the bloggers and tweeters who helped make my first contest so big!  you guys rock!  :D  check back for another giveaway soon.

Report on Baby Names

 

Image from Yahoo.com

Social Security just released the list of most popular baby names in 2008.  In the online article “Top Baby Names in the US” Yahoo reports that in the search for a popular yet unique name,

“Many [parents] turn to the Bible; others turn to TV.

Emma debuted in the top 10 in 2002, the same year that Jennifer Aniston’s character on “Friends” gave the name to her TV show baby. In the latest lineup, Emma was followed by Isabella, Emily, Madison and Ava.

“They might want to emulate the stars, but if they do, the name can’t be too far out,” said Jennifer Moss, author of “The One-in-a-Million Baby Name Book” and founder of Babynames.com.”

(Click on the picture to read the full story.)

What if parents also turn to books for a name source, i.e. Twilight?  When I read the series I thought to myself, “Why, what a nice name Isabella is, and isn’t Bella the most darling nickname?  I’d love to name my daughter that.”  Maybe the same was true with other expecting couples and the Twilight series was one of the driving factors catapulting Isabella to the number 2 girl baby name in America.

Also interesting to mention, Jacob remains the top boy name while Edward has consistently fallen since the year 2000.  Does this hint at a werewolf favoritism?  Just kidding!

Yay for literacy!

The Outlaws of Sherwood

The Outlaws of Sherwood
by Robin McKinley

A good read. I took this novel with me on my trip to France this summer and loved being able to draw it out of my purse for a few minutes while riding the metro and trains etc. Some books are just not conducive to such sporatic perusing, but this one was still very good.

I don’t know if I like Robin’s worrywart persona but I love the descriptions of the forest, the practicalities of living in it, and their smart solutions.  The character of Cecil and her falling in love with Little John reminds me of the quirky relationship between Sleeping Beauty and the blacksmith in Robin McKinley’s Spindle’s End.

Here’s a great analysis by Allen W. Wright on a Robin Hood site full of information about the legend:
http://www.boldoutlaw.com/robspot/0902.html

A spot of character description:

“Fortunately, McKinley’s Marian is one of many modern attempts to restore some strength and vitality to the character.  Yes, Marian can easily outshoot Robin (in this book — who can’t?) But again, she’s far more than merely a good huntswoman.  Much of the spirit, the emotional heart, of Robin’s legend (within the book) comes from Marian.  In terms of personality, McKinley’s Marian is as strong as she’s ever been — making great personal sacrifices for the sake of the outlaws and their reputation.”

Fahrenheit 451

by Ray Bradbury

This book is ripe for discussion. So many intricate ideas bursting from the pages.

I liked this book more after I had read the author’s note.  Ray Bradbury sounds so interesting on a personal level!  Did you know he wrote this story intending to show his great love for books and libraries?  As I read these 50’s and other early books I sometimes struggle to get into the story, they seem fundamentally different somehow.

An interesting historical note from GradeSaver.com:

“Developed in the years following World War II, Fahrenheit 451condemns not only the anti-intellectualism of the defeated Nazi party in Germany, but more immediately the intellectually oppressive political climate of the early 1950’s – the heyday of McCarthyism. That such influential fictional social criticisms such as Orwell’s Animal Farm 1984 and Skinner’s Walden Two were published just a few short years prior to Fahrenheit 451 is not coincidental. These works reveal a very real apprehension of the danger of the US evolving into an oppressive, authoritarian society in the post-WWII period.“

The Truth About Forever

 

The Truth About Forever

by Sarah Dessen

as found on http://www.sarahdessen.com/

From Sarah:

When I began The Truth About Forever, I knew that I wanted to write about the idea of being “perfect,” and what that does and doesn’t mean. I was also interested in seeing a character go through a loss, and how that affected the way she viewed the world. When the story begins, Macy is scared, and she deals with her fear by trying to control as much as she can: her appearance, her behavior, how others perceive her. She narrows her life, shutting out everything that could possibly be a risk to her. It isn’t until she meets a group of people who have a total opposite approach—courting, enjoying, and surviving chaos—that she realizes that in reacting to her dad dying, she’s stopped living herself.

During the time I was writing this book, there was a lot happening. The movie based on my first two novels was getting ready to come out, I was under a deadline…the list goes on and on. While at first I felt a certain amount of pressure, Macy and her story soon became a sort of solace for me. I’ve never been so immersed in the writing of a book before, and I had a hard time pulling myself away from it, even when I most wanted to. I think that’s a good sign, although it sometimes meant that my house got dirty and the laundry piled up. But to really disappear into a story is never a bad thing, for writers or for readers.

There’s a lot happening in The Truth About Forever. In fact, I think it’s the most complicated book I’ve written, and it was definitely the hardest. Part of this may be because I suffer from a terrible case of perfectionism myself, which led to this awful irony of realizing that I was writing a book about embracing imperfection, and yet I wanted it to be perfect. So, as often happens in my books, I was learning right along with my narrator, struggling with the same issues. I think we both came out okay at the end, though.

Whenever I hear from readers about this book, I’m always interested in what struck them the most. With some people, it’s how Macy deals with the death of her father, how it makes her angry. Others like Kristy’s humor and outfits. But overwhelmingly, I’ve heard the most so far about Wes. I think that in a lot of ways, he was the kind of guy I was always looking for: one who wasn’t so interested in the “perfect,” girl, whoever she might be. A boy who likes flaws, who sees potential in everything. While Delia’s company may represent chaos, Wes to me is hope. To him, nothing is ever finished, or broken. It’s just waiting to be incarnated, to begin as something new, again. And that, to me, is what Macy’s story is all about. How life is a continuing series of beginnings and endings, losses and gains, all folding into one long stretch, one lifetime, and one forever.

Book Description

Macy’s summer stretches before her, carefully planned and outlined. She will spend her days sitting at the library information desk. She will spend her evenings studying for the SATs. Spare time will be used to help her obsessive mother prepare for the big opening of the townhouse section of her luxury development. But Macy’s plans don’t anticipate a surprising and chaotic job with Wish Catering, a motley crew of new friends, or … Wes. Tattooed, artistic, anything-but-expected Wes. He doesn’t fit Macy’s life at all–so why does she feel so comfortable with him? So … happy? What is it about him that makes her let down her guard and finally talk about how much she misses her father, who died before her eyes the year before? Sarah Dessen delivers a page-turning novel that carries readers on a roller coaster of denial, grief, comfort, and love as we watch a broken but resilient girl pick up the pieces of her life and fit them back together.

I love this book just as much as Dessen’s “This Lullaby,” and I really appreciate how she keeps everything fresh and lively.  The message delivered throughout the narrative is one not understood by many but so important: order and perfection are not ways to live.  We must embrace disorder and other human beings, we must learn to live our passions without fear.

Mississippi Jack

Mississippi Jack
by L. A. Meyer

This is one of my most favorite series.  Such an upbeat and adventurous story, every page flies by and the action jumps out at you.  I secretly hope that this will turn into a 15+ book series. :P 

Review courtesy of Harcourtbooks.com:

    ”The intrepid Jacky Faber, having once again eluded British authorities, heads west, hoping that no one will recognize her in the wilds of America. There she tricks the tall-tale hero Mike Fink out of his flatboat, equips it as a floating casino-showboat, and heads south to New Orleans, battling murderous bandits, British soldiers, and other scoundrels along the way. Will Jacky’s carelessness and impulsive actions ultimately cause her beloved Jaimy to be left in her wake?
Bold, daring, and downright fun, Jacky Faber proves once again that with resilience and can-do spirit, she can wiggle out of any scrape . . . well, almost.”

Sabriel

Sabriel • Lirael
by Garth Nix

Wow, quite a series. I love this style so much better than Garth Nix’s other series, Keys of the Kingdom.

One day I sat down at the library with his Across the Wall – a collection of short stories that he has jotted down over the years. It was a neat read, almost like meeting the author in person. The ‘interactive narrative’ was a blast, I was cracking up the whole way and it brought me back to Paris with scenes of the Seine and Three Musketeer-ness. One of my favorite stories was the one about the gardner and the king who kept taking his roses. Interesting how such a powerful feeling can be produced in such a short passage.

Can’t wait to read the next one!

Gregor the Overlandor

Gregor the Overlander and Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane
by Suzanne Collins

Worth reading. It is for a little bit younger audience but I still enjoyed it very much. The author describes it as her New York version of Alice in Wonderland. She has created a fascinating world full of danger but also hope.

The Host

The Host
by Stephenie Meyer

Eeep! Just finished it; the ending is like being hurled from a giant catapult, a crazily spinning carousel with the colors brightening each moment. Awesome.

My only, tiny, inconsequential, and petty qualms: First, I liked Melanie’s body better. Sorry, I can’t help it. I don’t think Meyer was totally enthused about it either; she pointed out quite a bit of difficulties. But it wasn’t what I imagined in my head for the wonderful Wanderer. Still, I find that character description intriguing. A small, very small 17 year old with a silverish palor to her skin, golden specks or freckles, and long golden hair? and I quote Meyer (should be doing this more often) page 603: “The skin on the face had the same silver undertone — silver like moonlight — as the hand did, with another handful of the golden freckles across the bridge of the nose. Wide gray eyes, the silver of the soul shimmering faintly behind the soft color, framed by tangled golden lashes. Pale behind them. A dimple in the chin. And everywhere, everywhere, golden, waving hair that stood away from my face in a bright halo and fell below where the mirror showed.” also page 603, “this half-child with her moonlight face and sunlight hair.”

 

Some good reviews and other info can be seen on Stephenie’s site:
http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/thehost.html

Discussion of a sequel:
http://albanypubliclibrary.wordpress.com/2008/06/30/a-sequel-to-the-host/