Bookshelves of Lesser Doom

“Ricki Jo, herself, is a likable, believable heroine who...

Tue, 21 Aug 2012 15:54:22 -0400

“Ricki Jo, herself, is a likable, believable heroine who reads the Bible (almost) every night, but who makes mistakes and sees the sexiness in Song of Songs. When she makes mistakes, they’re almost always especially cringeworthy because she knows that what she’s doing is wrong, and so at times, it’s a painful, painful read. In a good way.”

“If you like paranormals, I’d definitely recommend...

Mon, 20 Aug 2012 15:53:11 -0400

“If you like paranormals, I’d definitely recommend that you give this series a try—Nastasya’s got a great perspective (lots of flashbacks of different time periods and so on) and a snappy voice, and it’s a much more thoughtful spin on immortality than you’ll find in most other places.”

“It has a great sense of place, in that I always felt like...

Sun, 19 Aug 2012 15:59:01 -0400

“It has a great sense of place, in that I always felt like I was right there with Hadley: in the airport, on the plane, in the bathroom being done over by the other bridesmaids, crossing London, at the reception. The characters aren’t all super-hip like the crew in Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, but the up-all-night-falling-in-love vibe is similar.”

“Okay. Short version? Read this book. It’s...

Sat, 18 Aug 2012 16:00:10 -0400

“Okay. Short version? Read this book. It’s beautifully written—and the translator should get an award, because, WOW—it’s layered and beautifully crafted, the prose is gorgeous, Leonard Cohen’s lyrics are a perfect fit, and the story is dark and tragic and devastating (I wasn’t joking about blubbering at work) and it made me want to crawl under my desk until it was time to go home. In a good way.”

“Yes, Adam does do her wrong, but it was mostly innocently...

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 15:55:58 -0400

“Yes, Adam does do her wrong, but it was mostly innocently done. She, on the other hand, was perfectly happy breaking up his relationships, creating and spreading rumors about other people, and just being generally unpleasant. I really didn’t like her. I’m not sure I can remember having such a negative reaction to a heroine in a long, long time. I adored the excerpts from her romance novel, though.”

“In the pro-column, once I got into the rhythm of the...

Thu, 16 Aug 2012 15:54:22 -0400

“In the pro-column, once I got into the rhythm of the narration, I quickly developed an interest in the girls and in their situation, the emotions rang true, the storyline was engaging, and all that good stuff. I do think that some readers will take to it, though I think it’ll be a smaller audience than Marcelo.”

WPA poster: October — A Good Time to Read!

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 16:05:05 -0400

WPA poster: October — A Good Time to Read!

The Double Eagle Has Landed, by Anthony Horowitz.

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 13:00:05 -0400

The Double Eagle Has Landed, by Anthony Horowitz.

"This is a population of young people who don’t remember a time when the country was not at war. It..."

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 13:13:06 -0400

“This is a population of young people who don’t remember a time when the country was not at war. It makes perfect sense that their literature would allow them a way to exercise their thoughts about the nature of good and evil, and that it might reflect violence and great loss.”

- Rosemary Stimola, on current YA fiction.

"I hate them. It’s like making believe there’s another kind of sex. There isn’t..."

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 20:47:05 -0400

“I hate them. It’s like making believe there’s another kind of sex. There isn’t another kind of sex. There isn’t another kind of book! A book is a book is a book.”

- Maurice Sendak on ebooks.

"Whenever anyone says teen writing is crap, I tell them to read the first paragraph of a James..."

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 17:21:05 -0400

“Whenever anyone says teen writing is crap, I tell them to read the first paragraph of a James Patterson book out loud.”

- Maya Escobar

The Future Of Books: A Dystopian Timeline.

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 14:11:05 -0400

The Future Of Books: A Dystopian Timeline.

"I don’t have a problem with her forbidding her daughter to read my book. But imposing her..."

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 19:16:05 -0400

“I don’t have a problem with her forbidding her daughter to read my book. But imposing her personal beliefs on every child at the school makes her no better than a book burner. As the playwright and journalist Clare Booth Luce once put it: “Censorship, like charity, should begin at home; but unlike charity, it should end there.””

- Sonya Sones, on the many challenges to the ever-fabulous What My Mother Doesn’t Know.

INFOGRAPHIC: Top Ten Banned Or Challenged Books Of 2010.

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 16:16:06 -0400

INFOGRAPHIC: Top Ten Banned Or Challenged Books Of 2010.

Sesame Street: At Your Library.

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 13:36:06 -0400

Sesame Street: At Your Library.

prongsifyme: Minimalist movie poster for Harry Potter and the...

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 19:25:06 -0400

prongsifyme:

Minimalist movie poster for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

See the others here.

Edgar Allan Poe's extremely short military career.

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 16:10:06 -0400

Edgar Allan Poe's extremely short military career.

"The truth is, that when a Library expels a book of mine and leaves an unexpurgated Bible lying..."

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 17:00:05 -0400

“The truth is, that when a Library expels a book of mine and leaves an unexpurgated Bible lying around where unprotected youth and age can get hold of it, the deep unconscious irony of it delights me and doesn’t anger me.”

- Mark Twain

"What they’re doing is making books available to students only if parents or guardians..."

Sat, 24 Sep 2011 19:01:05 -0400

“What they’re doing is making books available to students only if parents or guardians physically come to the school library to check out the books. The books are otherwise being held in a “secure location” within the library, where students cannot access them. These barriers are tantamount to the banning of books and are clearly inconsistent with our democratic freedoms and the free flow of ideas represented by the First Amendment. How do we expect our children to grow up to be inquisitive, educated, participating citizens if we set up such barriers to accessing classic American literature, such as Slaughterhouse Five?””

- Julia Whitehead, executive director of the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library, on Republic High School’s decision to keep Slaughterhouse Five and Twenty Book Summer in a ‘secure location’ in the library.

Edward Gorey’s Never-Before-Seen Letters and Illustrated Envelopes.

Sat, 24 Sep 2011 16:11:05 -0400

Edward Gorey’s Never-Before-Seen Letters and Illustrated Envelopes.