Altered Book Project – Step 1: The Spine Has No Name
It wasn’t exactly easy to paint over the spine but it wasn’t altogether painful. I just needed to do it.
And I did.
And I’m glad.
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2011
Plain Kate
Plain Kate is on the Cybils shortlist in the YA Science Fiction/Fantasy category…. And with that, I take a sigh of relief. Because the ending of this book… wah! While listening, I thought it was middle grade SciFi/Fantasy and that bit seemed a bit much. (It involves cats… and knives… and blood… and fire… and it was rough….)
Anyway, about the book itself, it started a little slowly but once Plain Kate had moved to her father’s stall and Linay arrived, things moved more quickly. The biggest problem with the book, for me, is that Kate didn’t connect the dots more quickly. This lack of understanding made it seem like it was middle grade rather than YA. I cannot imagine a teenager alive who would not have rolled her eyes at Kate’s inability to figure out WHO Linay was. It was almost painful. Kate wasn’t stupid and she should have figured it out much, much earlier.
Other than that… enjoyed it quite a bit.
Happyface
A couple weeks ago, Elly asked me to reserve a book called Happyface… so I did. She read it and then she bugged me non-stop to finish whatever I was reading so I could read Happyface… so I did.
It’s a combination graphic novel/novel. It’s a bit about bullying. A bit about a dysfunctional family. It’s about alcoholism. Dating. Family relationships. Reinventing yourself only to find you’re still who you were, sort of, before the reinvention – because you haven’t dealt with who you were before the reinvention.
It’s a wee bit sad. It’s also funny in the right places. And thought-provoking in others, particularly if you’re a teenager who’s on the outside looking in. Or maybe on the inside wondering how to get out. This could be a Cybils shortlister, I think.
I’m impressed that Elly liked this book so much. Now I have to figure out when I can sit down and discuss it with her. We might have to video chat or something in order to have that conversation before I forget what the book was about. Heh.
Journal Junkies Workshop
My library’s new website (which really isn’t that new) has this little feature when I first log in that shows “recently reviewed books” in a little flippy slideshow thing. I cannot tell you how many books I’ve reserved just because I saw the cover flip by after I’ve logged in.
Journal Junkies Workshop is one of those books.
I’ve read a lot of books about journaling, altered bookmaking etc… and this is actually one of the best. It’s interesting. There’s a nice intro about Dan Elden and visual journalists that really puts you in the mood to play with your own journal. The information about different supplies you might use and techniques you might use with those supplies was also excellent.
I’ve been putting off my altered book project for YEARS (literally) and I swore I would do something before this month ended. I’m ready now. I even have some ideas about what I might do on a few pages.
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Harmonic Feedback
I was leery of Harmonic Feedback because I do not like the cover. Sassymonkey said it wasn’t a bad book so I kept reminding myself of that and she was right. It wasn’t a bad book. I ended up enjoying it, even though I didn’t particularly love the Asperger’s theme. The weird part is that I don’t really know why it didn’t work for me. I liked Drea. I really did. I even believed she is on the spectrum somewhere. It all just felt a little… flat. Like the cover… ?
Two Cybils – One I Loved, One — Not So Much
First, Some Girls Are… Yes, I know. Some Girls Are… a lot of girls are. And some books make reading about some girls a painful, painful experience. It’s not that the book was badly written – it wasn’t. It’s not that it was a bad topic – it wasn’t. It was just a trouble book blown to smithereens by trouble. I kept picturing mean girls reading this book and victims of mean girls reading this book and none of the pictures popping into my head were good ones.
I do not think I can read another Courtney Summers book – so I hope she doesn’t make the Cybils shortlist again. I just… can’t do it. There’s no pay off for me when it’s over.
Now a book that I did love – Ninth Ward. That was a painful book, too. But not painful the way Some Girls Are was painful. It hurt to listen to Lenesha and Mama Yaya all the while knowing what was going to happen to them in the Ninth Ward. That helpless feeling… I remember that feeling. And I loved Lanesha and Mama Yaya and Tashon and even Spot.
When Mama Yaya said “how can it be mandatory when I don’t have a way to go…” yea, that right there… painful.
But the story was beautifully told. The characters wonderfully written. The hope… The universe shines with love….
My goodness I loved this book.
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Rereading Women
I picked up Rereading Women because I thought Michelle might find it interesting. She did but she didn’t read every essay and now that I’ve been reading it for a couple of days, I see way. Feminist theory – oy. Interesting stuff but it can be pretty dry. The first and last essays in the book were the best or maybe I was just more enthusiastic about the specific topics covered in those two? (Collaboration and becoming feminists and mother rites.)
Cybils – 5 Fiction Picture Books
I’m so far behind on my Cybils Challenge that I’m pretty sure I will never catch up. The least I can do is knock the picture books off the list, right? Right! Five down… a bunch more to go. And these five were all pretty darn good. I don’t have any big complaints with any of them (which is rare – since I’m often less than impressed with a couple…)
Interrupting Chicken made me laugh. Then again, I’m all about the chickens right now. (I just don’t want to own them.)
Chalk also made me laugh and I was surprised. On the first page… I thought I was really going to dislike this book. But I didn’t. I do wonder why it had to be the boy who drew the dinosaur while the girls drew suns and butterflies…
A Beach Tail was cute, too. I was confused by the spelling of “Tail”… until I saw that the tail was connected to a lion which stayed connected to Greg the whole time… lol
Flora’s Very Windy Day – brothers are a-noyyyy-ingggggg and I can’t blame Flora for being a wee bit tempted to let the wind carry her brother off.
The Cow Loves Cookies was a rhyming farm story, like most of those you’ve seen before. Each page adds an animal which adds to the rhyme and it’s all about what farm animals like to eat. The cow, obviously, loves cookies. And I’m pretty sure you know why.
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Hex Hall and Demonglass
I could have sworn I read Hex Hall last year but apparently I only thought I read it – or maybe I started it and never finished it? Whatever – I’ve read it and Demonglass and I’m dying for the next book. I really hated the cliffhanger in Demonglass – what in the heck are they going to do NOW? And where is Jenna?? And… and… and… great series. I just need book three immediately!
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The Kitchen Daughter
The Kitchen Daughter is about a young woman with Aspergers. She lived with her parents … until they died in a freak accident while on vacation. She’s left with a younger sister who doesn’t think she can live on her own… no friends… no job… she just cooks and when she cooks, sometimes ghosts come to visit. Real ghosts. I mean as real as ghosts can be? You know what I mean, right?
It’s a good book – I wasn’t sure I was going to like it at first, but I definitely did. I even liked the ending. And the cover is fabulous.
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