One Crazy Month (Part 2)

I’ve been entertaining visitors.

People have been in and out of Charlotte like whoa.

First, it was me, gone in New York. Then, my parents went up to Boston – to watch my little bro’s squash final. The next weekend, they went to Mardi Gras.

During those times, I was in charge of taking care of our dear bulldog Churchill. You see how cute he is? Adorable. This is him after our walk, not moving – until I opened the door and we went for a second walk.

Then my good friend Angela and her boyfriend came in from DC. The next day, my sister arrived from Charleston. And a few days later, my grandmother arrived in town, and the next day, my aforementioned brother came home for spring break.

It’s nice. I’ve been social. I’ve talked to people in person rather than over the phone or over BBM (umm, I mean, Blackberry Messenger for those of you who love your iPhones or other devices). It’s sad and odd to rediscover how much you miss someone – even if you talk to them every other day. Sometimes, digital communication really isn’t the same.

I’ve been sick.

(Disclaimer: this may be a TMI section. Feel free to skim/skip.)

It’s so weird: I’ve basically been sick for over a month. I’ve got one of those stubborn sinus infections, which really won’t go away, and I’ve been on three different antibiotics since February 9. (But please don’t be alarmed. An ENT doctor told me what was up, and life is back on track.) The low-grade fevers finally went away this week (yaaaay!), but guess what I got instead?

The stomach bug of doom. It was ridiculous. Tuesday morning, I woke up and rushed to the toilet. I rushed back three more times before noon. God, I haven't been so violently ill since I got food poisoning in high school.

(But don’t worry: I don’t have any pictures, and I definitely wouldn’t force them on you even if I did have them. :-P)

But there is one good thing about being sick: TONS of reading time.

….And I’ve been reading awesome things. :-)

Really awesome things. Awesome like whoa, in fact.

I’ll only talk about four – briefly, because I plan to devote whole posts to some of them.

Divergent – OMG, I feel like I’ve been waiting to read this book forever (but it’s really only been about a year)!

(Jo was nice enough to sign me up for an ARC tour, and it came to me right before I went to New York. And then it went straight on its way again, so unfortunately, I can’t send the ARC along to any of you readers.)

And it. Was. AWESOME. No, really – I wouldn’t just say this. I didn’t rush through it the way many other people said that they did. I forced myself to go slow, to savor it, because I knew when it was over, I couldn’t read it anymore. When I read the last page, I immediately wanted to start over at page one (but I couldn’t…I had to send it on…Sadness…).

The MC, Tris (short for Beatrice), lives in a dystopian Chicago, where the whole population is split up into five factions, which all try to become the epitome of one virtue: Abnegation (which is big on Selflessness), Candor (Truth), Erudite (Study), Amity (Kindness or Peacefulness - basically, comfortable living), and Dauntless (Courage).

I’m not totally sure I can write a real review yet, but here’s what I loved the most: Tris and her relationship to her fear. Her initiation into Dauntless forces her to confront all of her fears, and she gets ranked among the other Dauntless initiates in relation to how well and how easily she conquers these fears. Tris is a person small in stature, but with nerves of steel. But she has next-to-no recognition about how brave and awesome she is. She tackles her fears, and conquers them, one by one. Which leads her to do what she needs to do to keep the people she loves safe.

Which translates to awesome awesome AWESOME.

Can't wait to read it again come May.

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate – Okay, I’ve been keeping this in the TBR stack for a couple months now, on the recommendation of a trusted bookworm friend. But I couldn’t bring myself to read it. I mean, a girl-scientist in 1899 Texas? (Of course, I also had an ulterior motive for keeping it close: it’s just pretty to look at. I’ve always had a thing for the Victorian silhouettes (ie. the cut-out profile look), and this cover gives me happy flashbacks to the picture searches in the Highlights magazine I read in my youth. But in a nice way.)

But it was so funny!! I never thought I could love biology so much. Calpurnia herself is the kind of character who latches onto you – she’s so flawed, so smart, and so loveable. There’s not really a plot in the strictest sense of the world, though lots of stuff happens, but there’s a great feeling in it: the sense of wanting more from life, and not being sure you’ll be able to get it.

The Rotten Adventures of Zachary Ruthless – This book is for everyone who wanted to be an evil villain when they grew up, or maybe just…everyone with a sense of humor.

Seriously, it was AWESOME! I laughed so freaking hard, and I kinda now just wanna make a shirt like Zachary’s that says, "Born to Be Rotten." And get some zucchini-flavored gum – also like Zachary’s – so I can trick people into thinking that it's spearmint or something.

Once you finish, you too will want to perfect your evil cackle: Bwa-ha-ha!!

Stay tuned, dear friends: I’ll do a giveaway once it pubs next month. :-D

This is Dream...with his chipper older sis, Death.
He's kind of moping. He does a lot of that.
(This scene comes from the end of Volume One, by the way.)

The Sandman series: They call this the comic book series that redefined comic books. And they should.

(Disclaimer, though: this is not for kids.)

If you write for children, you might know about his novel Coraline or The Graveyard Book, the 2009 Newbery Award winner. If you read fantasy, you might have read Neverwhere or American Gods.

But this is one of Gaiman’s earliest works. The main characters is Morpheus (a.k.a. Dream), one of the seven Endless: Destiny, Death, Dream, Destruction, Desire, Despair, and Delirium - siblings, older than gods, who have lived from the dawn of time and rule over their respective dominions.

But it’s really a writer’s comic, because it’s really about Story (which is also about Dream’s realm). We see Shakespeare, we see the Muses, we see the Fates, we see Mark Twain, we see Lucifer with a mention of Milton, and also, an Alice in Wonderland type world with evil Cuckoos. We see Norse gods, and Egyptian gods, and Babylonian gods, and we see comic book heroes.

It shouldn't work, but because it's Gaiman, it does.

It also defies description without spoilers, so I would just go check it out. All ten or eleven volumes. Like literally, from your local library. :-)

Faves of 2010: The Year In Reading

First off,

HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE, EVERYONE!!!

But secondly, I have a confession: I made an Excel spreadsheet of all the books I read this year.

(I debated admitting it, you know. I don't want to seem totally weird - like a neat freak, who organizes obsessively. I didn't always make a list of the books I'd read. Definitely not when I was in school. Or even when I started working in the publishing industry. But sometime last year, I started listing what I read in the back of my journal. And this year, I up'ed the OCD-ness with Excel: noting the title, the author, the date I finished, the intended age group, whether or not it was part of a series, whether or not I'd read it before, whether I read the book for fun or for a specific project, and also, just for kicks, fiction or non-fiction.

See why I was hesitant to mention it? Now, the depths of my weirdness have been revealed. My good friend Angela would say that I did it because I am a Virgo. Sigh. I always thought Virgos were the most boring sign ever. This may prove it.)

But because of Excel, I have some stats to share with you:

In 2010, I read a total of 104 books. Muahahahahaha. (Yes, I proud of myself. I reached my 100 book goal). :-D

But another confession: Yes, I snuck in 29 books I'd read before. Many people can't stand to re-read books or re-watch movies. I am definitely not one of those people. I have lost count of how many times I've read certain favorites, such as Gail Carson Levine's Ella Enchanted, Sherwood Smith's Crown Duel, and the Harry Potter series (both of which I did indeed read again this year).

I read 47 middle-grade books, well more than any other age group. Since it's my fav, I'm totally not shocked by this. I was surprised that the age group in second place was actually Adult books (37), and I actually read fewest books in the YA category (20).

But 17 books were nonfiction! FYI, that's ridiculously high for me.

Last but not least, I have some awards to give out. These are not necessarily the best of the year, because I'm really way too particular to judge that. But these are definitely, without further ado, my....

FAVORITE READS OF 2010

FAVORITE REREAD
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

You know when you read a book, and it's like taking a much-needed vacation with some of your favorite people? For me, this book was like taking that vacation again - with the added comfort of familiarity.

FAVORITE YA CONTEMPORARY
The DUFF, by Kody Keplinger

I know. I told you all about this book already here. But seriously, it's completely fantastic. The main character feels like someone you've known your whole life...and somebody you want to keep around for the rest of it too. :-)

FAVORITE NONFICTION
Traveling with Pomegranates: A Mother & Daughter Journey to the Sacred Places of Greece, Turkey, and France, by Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor

No description necessary here, because the memoir's subtitle really says it all. :-P It's a very good book in its own right, but I love this one for entirely personal reasons: a) I was in a traveling mood when I bought it, and b) after I read it, I passed it onto my mother, who enjoyed it too.

FAVORITE ADULT FICTION
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, by Helen Simonson

This one came from my ex-roomie Angela - a birthday present. I put it off for months (we usually have very different tastes in books), but she kept asking if I'd read it yet. So, I did. Wonderful! Totally worth the first hundred or so pages of slow "good manners" Britishness.

"It reminds you that love really can conquer all," Angela told me when she handed it over, and the book also shows you how love can transform you and your entire life - even if you're a widower passing your retirement in a tiny, conservative English village.

Honorable Mentions: Garth Stein's The Art of Racing in the Rain and Carlos Ruis Zafon's The Shadow of the Wind

FAVORITE MIDDLE GRADE
A Tale Dark and Grimm, by Adam Gidwitz

Jo kindly gave it to me this galley, because she knew it was totally my cup of tea. And OMG, I loved it. It has old school fairy tales (which means blood, gore, and very brave kids), but the narrator's voice makes it fresh and new. Gidwitz brings the old stories to life so well goosebumps sprout on your arms - as only the best storytellers can do.

Honorable Mentions: Rebecca Stead's When You Reach Me and Neil Gaiman's Coraline

FAVORITE YA FANTASY
Finnikin of the Rock, by Melina Marchetta

I left this one for last, because I don't know how to describe it...besides just saying, awesome, Awesome, AWESOME! That's generally what happens when I want to talk about any of Marchetta's novels: every page packs a punch, the plot carries a million different subplots, and her characters are so layered, so complex, and so real that the book hits you at your core.

I read this somewhere: a great book is the one that alters you and your perception of the book's subject forever. I can't think about a young monarch assuming a throne - one of my favorite fantasy plots, btw - without thinking of Finnikin of the Rock and all its themes.

Go read it.

Actually, go read them all. :-)

Okay, I think I'm gonna go be a geek, grab a book, and read until 2011 rolls in.

In case I don't get around to it tomorrow,

Happy New Year!!!

The Year of the Tiger

I know, I know. You just heard from me. It's hard to imagine that I could have anything else to say after the last epicly long blog post, but I forgot to say something.

Happy Valentine's Day/Chinese New Year!

These are actually two holidays that I always forget to celebrate, but this year, they're special to me - and not just because they occur on the same day.

This is the Year of the Tiger! That's my year!

My dear friend Angela - who is Chinese, ie. was born and raised there until the age of 13 (when she met me) - alerted me to the holiday's significance. She's a Tiger, too. She also says that if it's your year, you can expect a great many challenges and also a lot of positive change. We're both crossing our fingers.

I'll keep you posted. ;-)

5 Fantastic Things About Going to DC

5. Not missing my flight home. I almost did. I didn't read the itinerary closely enough, and I thought my plane took off an hour and a half later than it actually did (ie. the time it arrived at its destination). I checked in less than thirty minutes before its departure time, realized my mistake, and ran. I only tripped once, but I slid across the floor, very surprised at the lack of friction. And I made my flight - JetBlue has forever won loyalty points from me. :-)

4. A trip to Georgetown Cupcake, where I split a couple cupcakes - one red velvet and one pumpkin - with my dear friend and ex-roommate, Angela. We were lucky enough to walk by early on a rainy Friday afternoon, so the wait was just over 10 minutes.

3. A trip to the National Zoo with my other dear friend Ems and her boyfriend Nick. I haven't been to a real zoo since I was eleven. This was an incredibly exciting venture for me. I took well over a hundred pictures. I won't force them all on you now. Just the ones of the baby gorilla climbing on her mom's head. :-)

Other highlights include:

• watching one of the pandas eat a ridiculous amount of bamboo
  
• staring at the prehistoric, epic-sized fish
• seeing a convergence of elephants (we believe they were going to move to another pen for an early dinner)
• visiting the small monkey house, and
  
• catching a prairie dog with his head in a pumpkin.

2. Where the Wild Things Are. The cinema was perfect for a rainy Sunday. I can say with assurance now that it's a quality movie.



That said, I'm not sure how I feel about it. I agree with the filmmakers, who call it "a movie about childhood" rather than a kids' movie. It brought a lot of childhood memories back - and not necessarily good ones either. But I am glad that I saw it. (I even bought the soundtrack, because I kept humming the score by Karen O and the Kids.) It helps you remember how much of you was already there when you were nine, and how much you've forgotten.

1. Old, old friends. There's something fantastic about old friends. Angela, Ems, and I have known each other for ten years. Considering that we're all in our early 20's, that's a significant chunk of time. There's no posturing, and there's definitely no BSing. It's not possible. We've known each other too long. We already know all our fault, and we guess at each other's reactions even before they happen. We understand the history behind a comment without having to be told.

There is much, much love.