Books in Bed

More Cybils

2 Comments / 2009, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Comics & Graphic Novels, Fiction, Queer, Young Adult /

Chester’s Back was a bit of a disappointment. I just don’t get that kind of humor and I’m not sure picture age kids get it either. But then again, maybe they do and I’ve just forgotten?

The Savage was too much “book” and not enough “graphic novel”. I see now why Liz could not get into it – particularly after just finishing Rapunzel’s Revenge. Too many white pages full of text and no graphics – too “savage” of a story.

Skim was excellent and I’m glad Liz read two pages and put it down. It’s too old for her. I wish RJ would read graphic novels, I think she’d like the story quite a bit.

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The last of the Cybils Easy Readers

2 Comments / 2009, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Cybil Challenge /

I just read the last of the easy readers from the Cybils finalist list and while I liked Maybelle Goes to Tea  a lot and thought Mercy Watson Thinks Like a Pig was amusing in a dumb sort of way, I loved, loved, loved I Will Surprise My Friend!. I laughed all of the way through it.

I’m thrilled that Mo Willems won but I think he should have won for I Will Surprise My Friend instead of I Love My New Toy.
















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Rapunzel’s Revenge

3 Comments / 2009, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Comics & Graphic Novels, Cybil Challenge, Favorites, Fiction /

Of all the graphic novels on the Cybils list, I was most interested in Rapunzel’s Revenge. I almost put off reading it ’til last because I was afraid it would interfere with my reading of the others. I was so sure it was going to be the BEST – and apparently I was right about that since it did win the Cybil.

Rapunzel’s Revenge is a great book. It’s wonderfully drawn. It has fantastic characters. It’s just “tense” enough for young kids to read without being too scared but “tough” enough for older kids to not be bored.

If all graphic novels were like this one, I’d be a total convert to the genre. And by the way, Liz loved it too.

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Skinned

2009, Books in Bed, Fiction, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Young Adult /

RJ and I were talking about books one day and for some reason or another she mentioned Skinned. I thought it was a title on the Cybils finalists list so I told her I wanted to read it. She brought me her copy and it was then that I realized it wasn’t on the list at all. So, I didn’t read it. It’s been sitting on my desk for a month.

When I finished the Percheron Saga and had no book waiting for me on the library shelf, I picked it up.

And I hated it.

I read 20 pages, put it down and bugged TW. I picked it up and read 30 more pages. Put it down and ranted about what a horrible book this was.

The next day, I read 20 more pages and wanted to call RJ to ask her why in the hell she liked this book. I read 50 more pages and told TW I did not want my brain cut up into pieces and downloaded so it could be put inside of a machine body. She questioned my decision because she apparently thinks this sounds like a good idea. She. Is. Whacked.

I read 30 more pages and went to bed.

The writing isn’t great. The characters have no redeeming qualities. None. Not one.

I finished it today and it was only in the last 30 pages that I found myself enjoying it – wondering what would happen next to these people I don’t like even a tiny bit.

All of that writing and only the last 30 pages made me glad I read the thing? Ugh. I don’t think I’ll bother with the rest of the series – unless RJ talks me into reading them.

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Goddess

2009, Books in Bed, Fiction, Sci Fi and Fantasy /

Well. I didn’t see that coming. Or that. Or that. Or that. Or that. In fact most of Goddess was not what I expected. Or I expected bits and pieces but those bits and pieces did not at all go in the direction I expected them to go in.

I cannot decide if I loved it or hated it. Which is maybe a good thing? Or not so much since I was so much in love with both book 1 and book 2.

I would like a new series written about the “giants” and what they did off in the mountains. That would be a fun series, I think.

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Emissary

2009, Books in Bed, Favorites, Fiction, Sci Fi and Fantasy /

Every “new year” I go back through my reading list for the previous year and try and reserve books in series that we started but haven’t been able to keep up with for one reason or another. I also click into my “favorites” category and look for books written by authors who I really enjoyed the year before.

One of the series we didn’t keep up with was the Percheron Saga by Fiona McIntosh. I think the problem was that our library in Florida only had the first book and I never made the time to ILL the next book.

Well, thank goodness for our new library system (damn I love living here!) because Emissary was excellent.

It took me awhile to remember all of the characters but within the first 50 pages, I was deep into the story again and could barely put the book down. Goddesses, demons, dwarfs, odalisques, eunuchs – what’s not to love?

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I Know It’s Over

1 Comment / 2009, Books in Bed, Cybil Challenge, Fiction, Queer, Young Adult /

I think I need to take a break from the Cybil YA books, they’re all going to pale in comparison to Disreputable History etc… Take I Know It’s Over, for example.

Damn good YA relationship book. No pulled punches on the abortion issue and a fairly good job with the gay issue. But, I was bored and I think it’s because I kept thinking “it’s nowhere near as good as Disreputable History….” I bet if I head read it before Disreputable History… I’d be raving about how good this book was.

But I’m not.

So no more Cybils YA for me for awhile. Middle grade fiction and graphic novels, here I come!

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My two favorite Cybils

3 Comments / 2009, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Cybil Challenge, Favorites, Feminism, Fiction, Young Adult /

When TW was reading The Disreputable History of Frankie Ladnau-Banks she made it sound like just another coming of age story… turns out, it’s a hell of a lot more than that. It’s not even just another girl dates one boy but likes another, boarding school, coming of age story.

This little book is one of the best pieces of YA I’ve ever read. Ever. But, then again, it speaks to the feminist in me.

I see that my behavior disrupted the smooth running of your patriarchal establishment.

Heh.

I’m buying it. A couple of copies actually. Maybe one of our girls will develop just a little bit more “Frankie Landau-Banks-ness” if they read it.

After I finished DHoFLB, I picked up the middle grade, Diamond Willow written by Helen Frost (whose Printz Honor book, Keesha’s House, I loved.) I was a little worried about it because it’s prose… written in diamond shape…with bolded words that tell another mini story.

I worried for nothing.

I loved this book. Totally different from Keesha’s House.

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Based on the Movie

2009, Books in Bed, Fiction /

I found Based on the Movie sitting on the “just back” shelf at the library and I tossed it in my bag just because I liked the name.

It started slowly – I read a chapter and it almost put me to sleep. When I picked it back up the next night, I thought I was going to have to fight my way through it but 25 pages later I was hooked. And laughing. I’m glad I’m not in the movie business, just sayin’.

I don’t really love how it ended, but I don’t hate how it ended, either. And, I’m not sure what kind of ending I’d have preferred. There was just something a little unsatisfying about it.

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