tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63323180128068036732024-02-08T10:37:44.079-05:00Tarah DunnWriter, mom, reader, feminist,and pop culture junkie. Follow her adventures as she travels the road to publication with her first novel and reads along the way.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03962195808757078787noreply@blogger.comBlogger163125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6332318012806803673.post-29480822020868605572014-05-23T11:00:00.000-04:002014-08-01T03:24:41.772-04:00A Love Letter to Book and Movie Blog Reviewers<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HAwDw-xDzQY/TzBL1HaXj4I/AAAAAAAAAp4/7dBE4PifTgA/s1600/Behold-the-Heart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HAwDw-xDzQY/TzBL1HaXj4I/AAAAAAAAAp4/7dBE4PifTgA/s1600/Behold-the-Heart.jpg" height="320" width="268" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Dear book and movie review bloggers,</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">As previously mentioned, I hate book
reviews. But I love books. And movies. I find myself searching out movie
reviews after watching each random film Netflix or Amazon Prime or my parents'
borrowed Comcast Xfinity sucks me into, an observer of conversations that took
place long ago. Some people seem to feel like there's a glut of
opinions online, like Rotten Tomatoes' offering of "regular folks"
opinions via blog is an unnecessary addition to the professional reviews which
precede them. But. If you're watching a random movie from fifteen years ago, the regular media has dumped those links that promise reviews.
It's nothing but 404 messages ad infinitum. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Bloggers aren't
constrained by the concerns of the regular media. Their reviews shine
brightly years and years after they first appeared. So, by extension, I would
like to extend my hand to book reviewers. Although not as subject to turnover
as film, the splashing out of opinion about books is a gift to one who
wants to listen to a conversation about a book she just finished at 2
a.m. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">What did I do before all this? As a
child of the '90s, this constant access to information is something that has
bricked over the past. I swim easily in the sea, forgetting how I used to do
things. So what was different? I saw more movies with other people. Watching
VHS or DVD releases was a thing. It's still a thing, and a much more accessible
one, with Redboxes outside every WalMart. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">But in the past, going to the video
store was like going to buy a pair of jeans. You couldn't do it just anywhere.
You had to sift through all of the available categories, the wall of new
releases snaking around the movies shelved by genre. I've worked at a
video store and a library, and my take is that people generally spent more time
picking out movies. Probably because they had to pay to borrow them! And
possibly because the bookstore I worked at had two curtained off closets of
porn at the back, arranged alphabetically by genre. People spent a lot of time
making their selections in the back rooms. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Going to the video store was a treat
when you were a kid and TV couldn't be paused. You weren't subject to the
whims of TV Guide; you could get what you wanted, immediately. I
guess one can see the seeds of our current constant access to practically
whatever we want to watch, read or listen to in the enthusiasm with which we
consumed new releases of all kinds. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Back then, a hive of conversation
happened organically, live and in person. I'd eavesdrop on the opinions of
the moviegoers spilling out of a theater at the Harvard Square Loews or the
Lexington Flick. I'd listen in on people's takes on the new releases at
Videosmith in downtown Lexington. I'd have an actual live conversation
with the people I saw the movie with about whether we liked it or not. Now that
seems passé.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">You needed physical access, back
then, to get the new. You could bike or beg a ride or get somebody else's
mother or sister to drive you. But there was that effort. I don't know if it's
bad or good or just different that we have such immediate access. And
even if I did have an opinion, it would inevitably be tainted by nostalgia.
Maybe someone who's seen it all, the advent of TV up to the present, is best
suited to give an opinion. But then again, maybe they'd just bitch about how
much better the radio was.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Thank you, all
you individuals posting your thoughts across the world, for letting me
listen in on the kind of conversations about a book or movie I liked or hated
or was confused by or just wanted to see what other people thought about in
immediate abundance. I won't look at your thoughts before, but I definitely
crave them post consumption.</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03962195808757078787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6332318012806803673.post-28297664024952332272013-01-12T16:14:00.001-05:002014-08-01T03:23:26.062-04:00Why I Love/Hate Book Reviews<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VbBsB-U13uo/UPHQ-hBhPWI/AAAAAAAABho/EVvl7rRd_Vk/s1600/4192749083_7feb78e9c7_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VbBsB-U13uo/UPHQ-hBhPWI/AAAAAAAABho/EVvl7rRd_Vk/s320/4192749083_7feb78e9c7_o.jpg" height="319" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nationaalarchief/4192749083/">NationaalArchief</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Although I write reviews from time to time, I don't enjoy reading them. This may seem like an odd confession, considering that my blog professes to be about books. But unless I'm consulting a critical review for information about a not-for-pleasure book, I tend to avoid them. Book reviews, especially ones written from a more personal reader's perspective, tell too much. Even with spoiler alerts, they usually go way beyond a basic plot synopsis.<br />
<br />
You might be thinking that an extensive discussion of a book is kind of the point of a review. But after I read one, I feel like I've practically read the book. I've learned the key elements of plot, setting, and characters. But worst of all, I've absorbed the reviewer's experience. The anticipation of reading the actual book has evaporated.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-p2BCdFkw5hU/UPHOXj-5hrI/AAAAAAAABgs/sw7o_dx1Ozw/s1600/dare+me.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-p2BCdFkw5hU/UPHOXj-5hrI/AAAAAAAABgs/sw7o_dx1Ozw/s1600/dare+me.jpg" /></a>But I love talking about books. I love getting recommendations and giving them. So instead of exhaustively reviewing amazing books, I'm just going to virtually hold them out to you, saying, "Oh my god this was awesome read it now" (All in one unpunctuated breath). Think of me as your friend in the computer.<br />
<br />
Megan Abbott's "Dare Me" is about the intensity of teenage female friendships and competitive cheerleading. If you're making a face about the cheerleading part, take a little leap of faith and check it out. It's one of the most real books about being a teenage girl I've ever read. It kept me up all night, which is the highest praise I can give.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03962195808757078787noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6332318012806803673.post-62374986336985703492013-01-10T17:17:00.000-05:002013-01-10T17:22:23.850-05:00Questions for the Future Answered #3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EE2D9OaWpLs/UO8-8rx0OLI/AAAAAAAABfw/gHJvWhpCnTg/s1600/questions+for+the+future+%235+answered.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EE2D9OaWpLs/UO8-8rx0OLI/AAAAAAAABfw/gHJvWhpCnTg/s1600/questions+for+the+future+%235+answered.png" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03962195808757078787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6332318012806803673.post-8481708022894245662013-01-01T19:40:00.003-05:002013-01-10T17:17:02.351-05:00New Year, New Project<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Happy New Year! I hope everyone enjoyed themselves way too much and got to spend today relaxing. This is a resolution free space, but I do want to share something new that I'll be doing this year. Artist Patrick Artazu and I are collaborating on a series of graphic short stories. It's strange, challenging and fun for a writer like me who can't draw a straight line to try to marry words and images. Collaboration carries the added bonus of making writing a little less solitary. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_g414RNuPmg/UON4MHiVMsI/AAAAAAAABdg/Ix-v0nHVzNk/s1600/panel.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_g414RNuPmg/UON4MHiVMsI/AAAAAAAABdg/Ix-v0nHVzNk/s320/panel.png" width="149" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Watch this space in the upcoming weeks for our first graphic story, "Wet Spot." At left is a little teaser panel from the story featuring Anya, an au pair whose seduction by her employer has bizarre and unexpected consequences.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Tangentially related, I recently bought my first comic book as an adult. When I was very young, I loved listening to stories of Wonder Woman on my Fisher Price tape recorder. As a kid, I was very into "Betty & Veronica" (Team Veronica!), but my comic/graphic novel reading experience as an adult has been more "literary." Yes, this is a slippery descriptor that can evoke endless debate, but no one can argue that "Persepolis" is a very different beast than the works of DC and Marvel. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">In an effort to learn all things comic, I've been listening to the <a href="http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/category/3-chicks-podcast/">3 Chicks podcasts</a>. Their motto is "comics should be good," and they raved about "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-1-Phil-Noto-Cover/dp/B009WOJ646/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1357086950&sr=1-4&keywords=ghost+kelly+sue+deconnick">Ghost</a>." I was sold. But when I read volume one, I was surprised by the huge gap in the quality of the art and the quality of the writing. I won't be buying any more of the "Ghost" series, since <a href="http://kellysue.com/">clunky, smug narrative voices</a> make me want to tear my hair out. But the art is so purty. Anyone have a recommendation for a comic that has art as good as Phil Noto's, with writing to match?</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03962195808757078787noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6332318012806803673.post-20639317831948307952012-12-26T21:23:00.002-05:002012-12-26T21:23:45.513-05:00Questions for the Future Answered #2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4Rm1KPLK_RA/UNuw5KbyACI/AAAAAAAABco/Hi8XtL7IlCM/s1600/questions+%235+answered.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4Rm1KPLK_RA/UNuw5KbyACI/AAAAAAAABco/Hi8XtL7IlCM/s1600/questions+%235+answered.png" /></a></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03962195808757078787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6332318012806803673.post-54948719501050271632012-12-23T12:23:00.000-05:002012-12-23T12:23:44.769-05:00Answering Questions from the Future #1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pNcOhUIfxyI/Twm4PSAZi5I/AAAAAAAAAjA/9iAqoqGb5E0/s1600/202872717_a8a4799419_m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pNcOhUIfxyI/Twm4PSAZi5I/AAAAAAAAAjA/9iAqoqGb5E0/s200/202872717_a8a4799419_m.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://tarahdunn.blogspot.com/2012/01/happy-new-year-questions-for-future.html">On the first day of 2012</a>, I started a series of posts that asked questions of the<span style="font-size: small;"> future</span>. Now that the year is almost over, I'm sharing the answers!<span style="font-size: small;"> Though some questions rem<span style="font-size: small;">ain unanswered, <span style="font-size: small;">oth<span style="font-size: small;">ers were as predicted. A few were a complete sur<span style="font-size: small;">prise. In the final tally, I think <span style="font-size: small;">my<span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-size: small;">almost 2013 self has far fewer answers than my past self wanted. B<span style="font-size: small;">ut the questions are still a useful <span style="font-size: small;">yearbook of bookish and <span style="font-size: small;">cultural events of <span style="font-size: small;">2012.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OuCTFl8tYqY/UNc63aTRB_I/AAAAAAAABbw/VJxBmrS3poo/s1600/Questions+for+the+Future+%236+Answered.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="515" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OuCTFl8tYqY/UNc63aTRB_I/AAAAAAAABbw/VJxBmrS3poo/s640/Questions+for+the+Future+%236+Answered.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03962195808757078787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6332318012806803673.post-26117397807036249742012-12-06T17:30:00.000-05:002012-12-06T17:30:19.206-05:00Easing My Way Back In<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XOwJrD731W4/UMEcTNwcwSI/AAAAAAAABaw/HX4CYDgZlDo/s1600/3110131546_0c6cf174e8_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XOwJrD731W4/UMEcTNwcwSI/AAAAAAAABaw/HX4CYDgZlDo/s1600/3110131546_0c6cf174e8_o.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03962195808757078787noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6332318012806803673.post-11577584513275375402012-08-25T12:34:00.001-04:002012-08-25T19:52:13.559-04:00(Almost) Back From Summer Break<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g5JP3g-rB9Y/UDj0ndTxy7I/AAAAAAAABZA/IQPYounvz5A/s1600/swimming.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="235" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g5JP3g-rB9Y/UDj0ndTxy7I/AAAAAAAABZA/IQPYounvz5A/s400/swimming.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: black;">(</span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/center_for_jewish_history/7736438394/sizes/o/in/photostream/" style="color: black;">Source</a>)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
I've been on vacation from the blog for much of the summer. Like returning to school, I'm both dreading and excited about resuming my usual posting routine. But come Labor Day, I'll be back in my seat in Blogland.</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
I couldn't resist popping in to talk about <a href="http://www.npr.org/2012/08/07/157795366/your-favorites-100-best-ever-teen-novels">NPR's Top 100 List of YA Books</a>. Argument over the value of this list has been heated, and several have <a href="http://foreveryoungadult.com/2012/08/08/npr-why-you-gotta-do-me-like-that/">eloquently discussed it</a>. I won't rehash the discussion here, but it's <a href="http://www.shakesville.com/2012/08/on-nprs-very-white-best-young-adult.html">worth checking out</a>. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
The most interesting thing about the list is how off some of the entries are. They're simply not YA. There are a number that are borderline: <i>The Hobbit</i>; <i>Fahrenheit 451</i>; <i>To Kill A Mockingbird</i>. I don't think they're YA, but an argument could be made about their audience. But the books below are unarguably children's books. And in a survey of over 2,000 people, a fair number voted for these books. Someone probably could approximate the statistics, but that someone is not me. Bottom line--people do not know what YA is. But don't ask me to define it. Like obscenity, I know it when I see it!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
Without further ado, my top 10, next to the spot the book or series was given on the list:</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<u>1/100</u> The<i><b> Betsy Tacy </b></i>series<i><b><br /></b></i></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<u>2/33</u> <b><i>T</i><i>he Call Of The Wild </i></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<u>3/14</u><i> </i>The<i> <b>Anne of Green Gable</b></i> series</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<u>4/30</u> <i><b>Tuck Everlasting</b></i></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<u>5/41</u><i><b> Dune </b></i></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<i><b><br /></b></i></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<u>6/51</u><i><b> Treasure Island </b></i></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<i><b><br /></b></i></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<u>7/44</u><i><b> The Dark Is Rising </b></i>series</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<i></i></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<u>8/18</u><i><b> Lord Of The Flies</b></i></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<i><b><br /></b></i></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<u>9/3</u><i><b> To Kill A Mockingbird</b></i></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<i><b><br /></b></i></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<u>10/7</u><i><b> The Lord Of The Rings</b></i></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<i><b><br /></b></i></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
There you have it, folks. The above are by and large awesome books, but they're not YA. Even worse, NPR actually <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2012/07/24/157311055/best-ya-fiction-poll-you-asked-we-answer">made an attempt</a> to weed out books meant for younger readers. If this sloppiness bugs you, consider the following: for all anyone knows, <i>The Hungry Caterpillar</i> and <i>Good Night Moon</i> could be in the mix, below the one hundred mark. Oy.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03962195808757078787noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6332318012806803673.post-25820325138384134342012-07-10T06:56:00.002-04:002012-07-10T06:58:36.654-04:00Bookish Marry, Fuck, Kill: Female Psychological Thriller Authors<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<b> </b><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The Rules:</b></span> </div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
Marry means this will be a book or author you will read for
the rest of your life. Fuck means you get to read once, in a
literary one night stand, and never again. You're attracted to the
boo or author, but you don't want to wake up next to him/her/it every morning for the
rest of your life. Kill means you eradicate the book or books from the world.
You may even be reaching back in time and strangling the work before it
was ever written.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;">
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>The candidates:</b></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Sophie Hannah, Tana French and Carol Goodman</span></div>
</div>
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<div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b> My choices:</b></span><br />
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EU9VUrkAnM8/T_wKHh1bTGI/AAAAAAAABYE/FZgJy9SnL_M/s1600/carol+goodman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EU9VUrkAnM8/T_wKHh1bTGI/AAAAAAAABYE/FZgJy9SnL_M/s200/carol+goodman.jpg" width="132" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bwIq50SYeHQ/T_wJrg9XG9I/AAAAAAAABX8/vqViAG0mcdw/s1600/tana+french.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bwIq50SYeHQ/T_wJrg9XG9I/AAAAAAAABX8/vqViAG0mcdw/s1600/tana+french.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Marry:</i> Tana French. She's a genius, full stop. She's also one of the very few writers whose books I enjoy rereading. Typically I don't love books in a series that follow different characters in the same universe, but French makes you feel like every new protagonist is worth spending time with, no matter how much you loved the last. I'm totally proposing. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O2EBvdYmNzo/T_wJc8m_8-I/AAAAAAAABX0/06-Q53lYquc/s1600/sophie+hannah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O2EBvdYmNzo/T_wJc8m_8-I/AAAAAAAABX0/06-Q53lYquc/s200/sophie+hannah.jpg" width="149" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Fuck:</i> Carol Goodman. I've never read another author who uses water as a central thematic element in every single one of her two billion books (more like seven, probably). Water is really conducive to obsession. Sailors, fish, flowers: if they like water, I like them. If I could, I'd marry her too. But since I can't, this will be a long cherished literary one night stand. I will keep a folded photo copy of a cover of one of her books in my wallet until it's falling apart at the folds.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Kill:</i> Sophie Hannah. I like Hannah's work. I've been reading a lot of it lately, and have no real desire to erase it from existence. But since I have to choose, I'm going to eliminate Hannah's books. While compelling, they're also unnecessarily confusing at times. Please don't hate me, Sophie Hannah! </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03962195808757078787noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6332318012806803673.post-31561542988806306822012-06-24T12:43:00.000-04:002012-06-24T12:44:43.085-04:00Book Review: Between You And Me<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nAmWiguJ3YU/T-dC17DZqgI/AAAAAAAABW8/H8vR7BFKGbw/s1600/13259657.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nAmWiguJ3YU/T-dC17DZqgI/AAAAAAAABW8/H8vR7BFKGbw/s320/13259657.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Title:</b> Between
You And Me</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Authors:</b> Nicola Kraus and Emma McLaughlin</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Publisher:</b> Simor
& Schuster</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Imprint:</b> Atria
Books</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Pub. Date:</b> June
12, 2012</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>ISBN:</b>
978439188187</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The publisher’s summary:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i><br />
</i><i>In <i>Between You
and Me</i>, twenty-seven-year-old Logan Wade has built a life for
herself in New York City, far from her unhappy childhood in Oklahoma. But when
she gets the call that her famous cousin needs a new assistant, it’s an offer
she can’t refuse. Logan hasn’t seen Kelsey since they were separated as kids;
in the meantime, Kelsey Wade has become one of <i>Fortune</i> <i>Magazine</i>’s
most powerful celebrities and carrion for the paparazzi. But the joy at
their reunion is overshadowed by the toxic dynamic between Kelsey and her
controlling parents. As Kelsey grasps desperately at a “real” life, Logan risks
everything to try and give her cousin the one thing she has never
known—happiness. As Kelsey unravels in the most horribly public way Logan finds
that she will ultimately have to choose between saving her cousin and saving
herself. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Between You and Me </i>has
the kind of ripped from the headlines plot you expect from an episode of <i>Law & Order</i>. That’s not to say that
this kind of inspiration is illegitimate; even Joyce Carol Oates took this
route with her JonBenet Ramsey inspired novel<i> My Sister, My Love</i>. The allure of <i>Between You & Me</i> lies in how closely
it shadows the story of Britney Spears’ personal struggles. People like gossip, and it’s fun to
read a story that allows you to imagine you’re discovering all the inside dirt
on a (fictional) pop star so similar to Britney Spears that their names are
almost interchangeable. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">So far, so good. But the problem is that Kraus and McLaughlin
have established a pattern of novels that have happy endings. Coming to the
tragic ending of <i>Between You & Me</i>
feels like being mauled by a chihuahua: while not truly painful, it’s totally
unexpected. Surprising the reader is usually a good thing. But when you read a
book by Kraus and McLaughlin, you expect glossy, fast-paced fun. <i>Between You & Me</i> adheres so closely
to its inspiration that it forgoes the necessary happy ending of a fun read. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Kraus and McLaughlin alter the outcome of Kelsey’s tumultuous
life to make her ultimate situation even worse than that of Britney Spears.
Instead of suffering from an actual mental illness, Kelsey is the victim of a
Gothic plot cooked up by her parents to retain control over her. After she
rebels against her parents, Kelsey is placed under conservatorship despite the
fact that she’s healthy and able to run her own life. It’s hard to decide which
is more appalling: the real life example of Spears, in which a mentally ill
woman legally under the control of her parents is pimped out for millions, or the
fictional example of a healthy woman who accedes the legal control of her life
to her parents because she’s sick of fighting for freedom from their pimping.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">For the most part, the novel is well written enough to make
you ignore the stock descriptions, constant label-checking and sentences so
sloppy they weigh down paragraphs like lead balloons. But you don’t read a book
like <i>Between You & Me</i> for its
fine prose, and the novel fulfills its promise to entertain. Fans of Kraus & McLaughlin will enjoy the book, as will
anyone who is looking for a decent beach read. The ending may even appeal to
those who haven’t gotten a dose of fictional schadenfreude lately. Being
forewarned about the ending should make the reading experience as reliable as
it typically is for this genre and these authors. </span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03962195808757078787noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6332318012806803673.post-71303739303082656942012-06-19T06:00:00.000-04:002012-06-20T09:05:51.573-04:00Book Review: The Unquiet<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-t49_tt_Xx2E/T-HKcQKEvUI/AAAAAAAABWQ/kks4-Rzch7I/s1600/The+Unquiet+by+Jeannine+Garsee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-t49_tt_Xx2E/T-HKcQKEvUI/AAAAAAAABWQ/kks4-Rzch7I/s320/The+Unquiet+by+Jeannine+Garsee.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">As I read, I kept waiting for <i>The Unquiet</i> to improve. It has an interesting premise and an engaging narrator. But issues with plot, characterization and plausibility torpedo the novel. <i>The Unquiet’s</i></span><span style="font-size: small;"> central theme of the ghost seeking vengeance is very common in both YA and adult literature. It’s common because we as readers enjoy experiencing it over and over again. But it's employed predictably and without sufficient logic, the ubiquity of the trope makes the book that much more disappointing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Rinn, who suffers from bipolar disorder, and her mother move back to her mother’s hometown in small town Ohio. They are dealing with the destruction that her illness has wrought in the lives of her and her family. Almost immediately, Rinn is embroiled in the mystery of Anneliese, a ghost who supposedly haunts a “tunnel” like hallway that connects a half-built pool to the rest of the high school school. There are some areas where the novel succeeds. <i>The Unquiet</i> is an interesting exploration of a teen struggling with bipolar disorder, yet at times the descriptions of her manic episodes feel too generic. The depiction of Rinn’s relationships with her family members is the greatest strength of the novel. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">One of the main problems with <i>The Unquiet</i> is that underdeveloped characterization prevents the reader from caring about what the evil ghost does. We don’t develop enough of a connection to the new friends that Rinn’s made in Ohio to really care when the ghost starts to punish them. Similarly, the “instalove” romance that erupts overnight between Rinn and Nate, the boy across the street, doesn’t feel like it’s founded on anything more than a running gag about Rinn being a city girl and Nate being a country boy. However, Rinn has moved from L.A. to a small town in Ohio. Both Rinn and Nate act as though they’re in an isolated spot in Montana or Idaho. They’re not even in Iowa! Ohio just doesn’t fit the bill as the setting for a truly country bumpkin town. Minus the plausibility of the subject of the constant teasing between the two, the relationship feels completely random. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Garsee states in an author’s note at the end of the novel that her inspiration came from a real life “tunnel” at her school that was believed to be haunted. Garsee’s genuine attachment to this element of the novel is clear, but the underdeveloped plot feels like window dressing designed to enable the author to write about the tunnel. The final revelations of the ghost’s motivation in harming the teenagers of River Hills High School and Rinn’s ability to banish the ghost aren’t very logical. Without giving away too much of the plot, I was left feeling that Rinn beat the ghost because she was the main character, and that’s who's supposed to save the day. Needless to say, that’s not a great ending.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">It's easy to find examples of recent, better written YA novels that I would direct fans of the ghost seeking vengeance theme to first. <i>Anna Dressed in Blood</i> is a much more satisfying read. Laura Whitcomb’s <i>A Certain Slant of Light,</i> while a totally different take on teenage ghosts, is another great book. But those who can't read enough books in this particular vein will still find some enjoyment in this book, as the appeal of the narrator helps smooth over the problematic spots in the book until the inadequate ending . For everyone else, I'd classify <i>The Unquiet</i> as a bench warmer, an adequate back-up for when you must read something but don’t have anything better at hand.</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03962195808757078787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6332318012806803673.post-19001069274871388202012-06-17T17:02:00.000-04:002012-06-17T17:02:00.381-04:00Bookish Public Service Announcement: Don't Reread<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zDuoFCTNjpI/T95CeDJMLqI/AAAAAAAABVo/hIvyjv3iSb0/s1600/6410717851_5a859a097a_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zDuoFCTNjpI/T95CeDJMLqI/AAAAAAAABVo/hIvyjv3iSb0/s320/6410717851_5a859a097a_b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Danger! Danger! On their <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2012/jun/15/childrens-books-avoid-rereading">Books Blog</a>, the Guardian recently asked "Which children's books should you avoid rereading as an adult?"<br />
<br />
All of them! Don't do it! Rereading is like the popular conception of time travel: just being in the past will inevitably change things in unexpected ways. It's not that an adult reader can't get a lot out of a book that was a favorite in childhood. I think preserving those first memories is much more important than revisiting a book. As a child, you haven't accumulated hundreds of reading experiences, so any impression is stronger. Books take up emotional and mental space that isn't already cluttered.<br />
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When you layer the adult reading experience over the childhood one, inevitably the childhood one is retroactively altered. The first memory is harder to access, because you have to fight through the film of the most current read. The poignancy of the emotional response evoked by the book will never again be so sharp.<br />
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Here's my top five list of books I will never open again:<br />
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<i><b>A Wrinkle in Time</b></i><br />
Everything<i> </i>about this book was special. Meg's strength, her interesting little brother (I wasn't big on the idea that little brothers couldn't be interesting when I was a child) and the terrifying alternate universe they journey to were different from anything I'd ever read. I can't remember the names of people I met two hours ago, but I can remember almost every detail of this series.<br />
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<i><b>Bridge to Terabithia</b></i><br />
This book is special because it opened my eyes to issues of class for the first time. It's also special because it was the first book in which I saw my own tendency to create pretend kingdoms reflected back at me. Finally, the death was so unexpected and painful. I couldn't ever feel that punched-in-the-gut feeling again if I reread it. For some reason, I want to hold on to that.<br />
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<i><b>Tuck Everlasting</b></i><br />
I hated the fact that Winnie didn't choose immortality. I hated it so much I almost hated the book. But it forced me to confront the idea of mortality. Maybe that's not a memory one should want to hang on to, but it's a big part of who I am. I wouldn't want to change that.<br />
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<i><b>Jane Eyre</b></i><br />
Okay, this book is different because I've actually reread it multiple times. I still hold on to some of the feelings evoked by my first read. But I've lost the fear and loneliness evoked by the beginning, and the awe at the unique character whose brain I was inside. It's such a good book that I don't know how anyone could resist the temptation to reread. But I wish I did.<br />
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<b>The Wolves of Willoughby Chase</b><br />
My first experience of a Gothic thriller kicked off a lifelong obsession. The child heroines who beat the evil adults were pretty awesome too. I made the mistake of choosing this to read aloud to my resident Young Reader. I only got through about a paragraph, because the dense prose wasn't engaging to my listener. Honestly, I wasn't that impressed either. My surprise about not being swept away again is what I associate with the book now.<br />
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Of course, because I am perverse, all of the above books carry bittersweet memories strongly involving either death, sadness or fear. No happy frolicking adventures here! I think I'd extend this public service advice announcement against rereading to practically everything important of childhood that's been left left behind: schools, houses, friends, toys and foods. If you try to go back, you only experience a pale echo in the present.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03962195808757078787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6332318012806803673.post-43013079376748916192012-06-14T12:00:00.004-04:002012-06-14T12:00:59.809-04:00Trash or Treasure: See It & Say It In Spanish<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i4rAGflrn-s/T9oJTU9PDyI/AAAAAAAABUw/4t4VCawTxPg/s1600/guide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i4rAGflrn-s/T9oJTU9PDyI/AAAAAAAABUw/4t4VCawTxPg/s400/guide.jpg" width="231" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-b713F3jHGa8/T9oDQvvhVcI/AAAAAAAABTY/kDQcj31YTsc/s1600/cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-b713F3jHGa8/T9oDQvvhVcI/AAAAAAAABTY/kDQcj31YTsc/s320/cover.jpg" width="225" /></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Title:</b> <i>See It & Say It In Spanish</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Author:</b> Margarita Madrigal</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Publisher:</b> Signet Reference </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Date of Publication</b>: 1961 </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">I picked this book up at a Goodwill because of the kooky cover.<i> See It & Say It In Spanish</i> epitomizes everything that confuses me about books that claim to teach you a foreign language. The book does not speak to you! How are you supposed to learn how to say words in a foreign language if you don't hear them spoken? Ah, but the author Margarita Madrigal has come up with a handy pronunciation key, at right.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I may just be very slow, but I am positive that I would not be able to utilize that key to accurately pronounce any of the words in this book. Maybe it would be useful in learning how to read Spanish, but it's advertised in the title as teaching you how to speak Spanish.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">If you had no prior experience learning Spanish, and took this book as a guide to any Spanish speaking country in hopes of communicating in the language, I'm pretty sure no one would understand a word you said. In the moment, while frantically flipping to the right page that teaches how to order chicken in a restaurant, the average novice is going to ask for "polo," not "poyo." Hopefully whoever utilized this book encountered waiters who were exceptionally gifted at guessing games. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Amd8X_06SG8/T9oF96p0o8I/AAAAAAAABUA/2rUK25iX9Gk/s1600/dinosaurpic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Amd8X_06SG8/T9oF96p0o8I/AAAAAAAABUA/2rUK25iX9Gk/s400/dinosaurpic.jpg" width="247" /></a><b>Pluses:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">+It might be better than having no language guide book. Maybe.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Minuses:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">- The drawings are so bad. Is it just me, or does the dinosaur in the picture at left look like it's praying?<br />
- The book never mentions accents or tildes. The reader is left to assume that these are just visual decorations randomly sprinkled over various words, not an integral part of the language or anything. <br />
<b> </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Final Verdict:</b> Trash! Totally trash. I feel sorry for anyone who actually tried to use this book for educational purposes. It's part of a Signet series that includes books on learning Italian, German, French and English. It might be fun to </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">collect the set, so that you could brag you have the worst language books ever. Otherwise, just say no.</span></span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03962195808757078787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6332318012806803673.post-81899950667170657712012-06-12T12:01:00.000-04:002012-06-13T16:14:31.768-04:00Book Review: Dark Companion<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lSiqQ93qKHY/T9dmzYrSFXI/AAAAAAAABSk/E_6B7l6rRdc/s1600/12436013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lSiqQ93qKHY/T9dmzYrSFXI/AAAAAAAABSk/E_6B7l6rRdc/s320/12436013.jpg" width="214" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Title:</b> Dark Companion</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Author:</b> Marta Acosta</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Publisher:</b> Tor/Forge</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Imprint:</b> Tor Teen</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Pub. Date:</b> July 3, 2012</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>ISBN: </b>9780765329646</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">First, the publisher’s summary: </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Orphaned at the age of six, Jane Williams has grown up in a series of foster homes, learning to survive in the shadows of life. Through hard work and determination, she manages to win a scholarship to the exclusive Birch Grove Academy. There, for the first time, Jane finds herself accepted by a group of friends. She even starts tutoring the headmistress's gorgeous son, Lucien. Things seem too good to be true. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>They are. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>The more she learns about Birch Grove's recent past, the more Jane comes to suspect that there is something sinister going on. Why did the wife of a popular teacher kill herself? What happened to the former scholarship student, whose place Jane took? Why does Lucien's brother, Jack, seem to dislike her so much? </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>As Jane begins to piece together the answers to the puzzle, she must find out why she was brought to Birch Grove--and what she would risk to stay there... </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I love paranormal thrillers set at boarding schools for girls. I love school stories in general, but if I could only read one sub-genre for the rest of my life, the PTBSG would be it. Yes, that’s a pretty unwieldy acronym, but how often do you make up one in every day life? Never. It’s good to seize the opportunity to create one when it presents itself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Among my favorite PTBSGs are Libba Bray’s Gemma Doyle series and Lois Duncan’s <i>Down a Dark Hall</i>. There are tons more potential favorites that I haven’t read yet: <i>Hex Hall,</i> <i>Vampire Academy</i>, <i>The Name of the Star.</i> One could make the argument that there isn’t the need or room for another PTBSG. But <i>Dark Companion </i>has its own compelling spin on the sub-genre, and is definitely worth reading.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Warning: this review will be totally spoilerish. If you don’t want to know pivotal plot points and secrets, read no further!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">For those of you who are on board, the deep dark secret of Birch Grove is that the headmistress’ family and various other powerful figures are vampires. At a certain point, <i>Dark Companion</i> feels poised on the edge of a free fall into the clichéd. But the twist of human girls serving as “companions,” in arranged relationships that focus on providing blood but can also get romantic, is captivating enough to keep you reading after you figure out that the central paranormal secret involves vampires. The key to <i>Dark Companion</i> is that vampires serve more as metaphors for the tough choices that girls face, and less as supposedly fascinating supernatural beings. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The novel is at its weakest in scenes set in the impoverished urban neighborhood of “Hellsdale,” where Jane grew up as a foster child. Acosta is able to depict stereotypical characters such as the evil foster mother, the prostitute with a heart of gold and the kingpin who is generous as well as lethal with enough flair that you gloss over how stock these minor characters are. But the setting of “Hellsdale” is problematic because there’s no real sense of a physical environment. The neighborhood feels a bit like something out of <i>Harold and the Purple Crayon</i>, in which the picture of the setting starts, but never really gets completed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Dark Companion</i> is at its strongest in Birch Grove, while exploring the bonds of female friendship and Jane’s challenges. The theme of female empowerment is subtly woven throughout the novel. Jane must choose whether or not to become a vampire companion, and she’s presented with the inspiration of various examples of adult women who’ve chosen different paths. The most interesting of these women is her friend Mary Violet’s mother. Initially, she’s just someone rich enough to have the leisure to paint over sized canvases of female genitalia that are mocked by her children. But by the end of the novel, she’s a strong woman who helps Jane as both a mother and mentor figure.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Though the novel is advertised as a modern <i>Jane Eyre</i>, <i>Dark Companion</i> feels much more like the feminist answer to <i>Twilight</i> and the Sookie Stackhouse series. These vampires aren’t going to sweep you off your feet and ride off into a sunset of violence and romantic obsession. They’re the self-centered socio-economic elites who use a girl as an object, imagining that material compensation justifies the harm of the transactional relationship. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Jane’s journey to achieve a better life without selling herself out is very engaging. Even if you’re not obsessed with school stories, you should read <i>Dark Companion</i> to vicariously enjoy the triumph of the disadvantaged but smart girl when she’s pitted against the big, bad world.</span></div>
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<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03962195808757078787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6332318012806803673.post-33051473521647291932012-06-09T13:07:00.001-04:002012-06-10T08:37:17.002-04:00Back From BEA: 2012 Superlatives Awards<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><i>The Best, Worst and Weirdest</i></span><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0QKQJQz01Cw/T9N5f1oXSZI/AAAAAAAABOw/PHv7KlmzudA/s1600/060612140931.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0QKQJQz01Cw/T9N5f1oXSZI/AAAAAAAABOw/PHv7KlmzudA/s320/060612140931.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9bh2X-cC4yI/T9N011J2s1I/AAAAAAAABKQ/GcC-J5R6iKw/s1600/Photo+315.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9bh2X-cC4yI/T9N011J2s1I/AAAAAAAABKQ/GcC-J5R6iKw/s200/Photo+315.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Worst Book:</b> S<i>ix Weeks to OMG: Get Skinnier Than All Your Friends</i>, by Venice A. Fulton. Is there really a need or market for an anorexia handbook? The internet is already crawling with thinspo and fitspo. Craziness.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Z2CvumdE4i0/T9N5cGldiTI/AAAAAAAABOo/hgdHimPOiF8/s1600/060612103730.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Z2CvumdE4i0/T9N5cGldiTI/AAAAAAAABOo/hgdHimPOiF8/s200/060612103730.jpg" width="150" /></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">New Book I’m Most Excited About: </b>There were so many awesome books, but I’m currently reading the ARC of Jussi Alder-Olsen’s new Nordic thriller, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Absent One</i>. Apparently Alder-Olsen has written a number of books in this series, but this is the second that’s been translated into English. I’m seriously thinking about learning Danish so I can read through without waiting for the next book to be translated.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PYnyEymrris/T9N5XaFALZI/AAAAAAAABOg/WmX0HMOx1aM/s1600/060512093301.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PYnyEymrris/T9N5XaFALZI/AAAAAAAABOg/WmX0HMOx1aM/s320/060512093301.jpg" width="240" /></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Best Celebrity Sighting:</span></b></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PYnyEymrris/T9N5XaFALZI/AAAAAAAABOg/WmX0HMOx1aM/s1600/060512093301.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It’s a tie between<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>Tom Wolfe & Tim Gunn. Tom Wolfe was being interviewed in a mini TV studio booth. His white hair perfectly matched his white suit. He looked exactly like you’d expect, except older. Tim Gunn was signing in a booth, and looked very pleasant and elegant.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Nicest Industry Professional</b>: </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Joanna Volpe. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Most Intimidating Industry Professional: </b>Lynn Nesbit. Watching her on a panel made me sit up straighter in my chair and quit fidgeting.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2gSO1sgqxfQ/T9N5s0SVZUI/AAAAAAAABPc/rRyJZhH70k4/s1600/060712114540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The perfectly turned out young women who were </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">working the publishing booths all day long in high, high heels. They were like the Ginger Rogers’ of BEA.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Best Booth: </b>All of them? Seriously, it was a paradise of books.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Worst Booth:</b> Dianetics, aka Scientology. It was front and center, and very red. The booth and its workers oozed creepiness.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8wo49Z0ncRk/T9N08iDlggI/AAAAAAAABKo/XNCch1hNCZY/s1600/Photo+322.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Coolest Promotional Gimmick Smaller Than a Bread Box:</b> The postcard for Claire Legrand’s forthcoming <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls</i>. Check out the bug! <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7CgHX8rquVg/T9N04rc03XI/AAAAAAAABKY/Aerz1p3Jyc4/s1600/Photo+319.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7CgHX8rquVg/T9N04rc03XI/AAAAAAAABKY/Aerz1p3Jyc4/s200/Photo+319.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Best Tote Bag: </b>Olivia the Pig.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iCcgjCyOf5E/T9N5mYWob4I/AAAAAAAABPA/al2DAQkJNkk/s1600/060612141638.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iCcgjCyOf5E/T9N5mYWob4I/AAAAAAAABPA/al2DAQkJNkk/s200/060612141638.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Best Purveyor of Confusion:</b> The cart selling nuts at the back of the exhibition floor. Every time I passed by it, I thought I was smelling cookies baking and got excited. Nope. Just nuts.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Grx5iSHRAEA/T9N5jAYhSeI/AAAAAAAABO4/2h6M8Q6XIlQ/s1600/060612141011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Grx5iSHRAEA/T9N5jAYhSeI/AAAAAAAABO4/2h6M8Q6XIlQ/s320/060612141011.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Worst of the Javits Center: </b>The most easily accessible bathroom while wandering around the exhibition floor was a </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Best of the Javits Center: </b>The<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>pretty views available from perches on high staircases.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">BEA was awesome, exhausting and something everyone should go to once. Luckily, none of my anticipatory worries came to pass. I had lots of fun, and I'll definitely be back.</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03962195808757078787noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6332318012806803673.post-21109827486087792532012-06-04T06:00:00.000-04:002012-06-04T07:48:30.228-04:00BEA Bound!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I leave this morning for my first trip to BEA. I'm more of a country mouse than a city mouse, so my preparations have involved mentally gearing up for the psychic onslaught of hordes of people, in addition to packing and all the usual things you do.<br />
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I'm not sure if I'll get the chance to do much blogging, but I'll be Tweeting my little heart out! If I accomplish the following three things while at BEA, I will die (or just go home) a happy woman.<br />
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1. Get Zadie Smith or Megan McDonald to sign a book. I will say really ridiculous things like "you are so amazing,"and she will wearily smile at my lack of originality and over-enthusiasm. But I will still be filled with glee.<br />
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2. Pick up ARCs without feeling guilty. They're free? And I can just take one? It just doesn't seem right! I'll be the one hanging out behind the crowd stacked three deep at at a both, waiting to get someone's expression permission to take a copy.<br />
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3. Not snoop around the apartment I am staying in with <a href="http://www.phoebenorth.com/">Phoebe North</a> (author of <i>Starglass, </i>forthcoming in 2013! Get psyched, people!) via airbnb. I blame the writer in me. I visually case people's homes on a regular basis because I'm constantly curious. With the owner gone, I'll be like a kid in a candy store. The temptation to open drawers will be excruciating. If only I could feel worse about violating a stranger's privacy and better about taking free things!<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03962195808757078787noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6332318012806803673.post-39160200318968341402012-05-31T21:47:00.000-04:002012-05-31T22:55:43.393-04:00Feature & Follow Friday #21<a href="http://parajunkee.com/category/ff" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7053/6778552714_5a75be99b4_o.jpg" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" width="164" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"></span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PcjGvR_Nb18/TrACJDDS0SI/AAAAAAAAAHs/6FOkIn1wa50/s1600/the+cranky+divorcee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PcjGvR_Nb18/TrACJDDS0SI/AAAAAAAAAHs/6FOkIn1wa50/s320/the+cranky+divorcee.jpg" width="251" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Feature & Follow Friday is a weekly social blog hop between book bloggers. There are two regular hosts: <b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><style="font-weight: normal;=""><a href="http://www.parajunkee.com/" style="font-weight: normal;">Parajunkee</a><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></style="font-weight:></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and Alison of </span><a href="http://www.alisoncanread.com/" style="font-weight: normal;" target="_blank">Alison Can Read</a></span></b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">, and two special guest hosts every week. If you want to join in, click on either of their blogs to get the details. The FF question of the day is: </span></span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><i>Q: You are a matchmaker — your goal, hook up two characters from two of your favorite books. Who would it be? How do you think it would go?</i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This question makes me laugh, because I've <a href="http://tarahdunn.blogspot.com/2011/10/make-believe-mondays-ask-cranky.html">advised </a>many fictional couples <a href="http://tarahdunn.blogspot.com/2011/11/cranky-divorcee.html">not to be together</a> on this blog as <a href="http://tarahdunn.blogspot.com/2011/10/make-believe-mondays-ask-cranky.html">the Cranky Divorcee</a> (at right). It's really hard to turn it around and be proactive! But for Feature & Follow Friday, I'm going to play Miss Lucky in Love (lower left). She's very sweet. See, she even has kittens!</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-svLlDAIdsTU/T8grz9YrfpI/AAAAAAAABJA/BEheBGqwf30/s1600/3122875223_eb327aef47_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-svLlDAIdsTU/T8grz9YrfpI/AAAAAAAABJA/BEheBGqwf30/s320/3122875223_eb327aef47_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I'm matching up Katniss Everdeen and Four from the Divergent series. This is assuming an alternate plot/world scenario in which neither of them is attached, because I like Peeta/Katniss and Tris/Four, and Miss Lucky in Love would never ever try to come between two sweethearts. But I think Katniss and Four would have even more sparks and crazy times together than Tris and Four. Plus, they'd move between both of their worlds really smoothly.</span></div>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03962195808757078787noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6332318012806803673.post-32900813280266974532012-05-30T12:39:00.003-04:002012-05-30T12:45:43.026-04:00YA Highway: Road Trip Wednesday #19<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VQdb3edouHU/TsQCWnMT8vI/AAAAAAAAAKU/S0HBmo2Pc28/s1600/2163470598_fb7571cdab_m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VQdb3edouHU/TsQCWnMT8vI/AAAAAAAAAKU/S0HBmo2Pc28/s320/2163470598_fb7571cdab_m.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">"Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered. In the comments, you can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic." Today's question on the YA Highway Road Trip is:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>What book and/or writing conference would you love to go to?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">This question is particularly timely for me because I am going to BEA for the first time next week! The YA Highway conference theme posts have been giving me some good ideas. Take snacks, for example. I wouldn't have thought of snacks, which is surprising, because as a mom, I am always carrying snacks!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Maybe I should prepare for BEA like I prepare for an outing with my child: arm myself with food, drink, wipes and distractions to pass the time? As you may have gleaned, I'm very excited about going. Here's a list of some of the things that I'm most looking forward to, and the accompanying supplies:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cufVocifwRI/T8YumyJZb7I/AAAAAAAABGw/f-_NriuUhk0/s1600/Photo+302.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cufVocifwRI/T8YumyJZb7I/AAAAAAAABGw/f-_NriuUhk0/s320/Photo+302.jpg" width="320" /></b></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">1. Free books! Okay, glorying in the potential literary loot is a little tacky. But I love being in any place that's full of books, whether it's a library, bookstore, or a conference that's been described as "the Disneyland of Books." And being in a place full of books that people just want to give you? Heaven. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I'm preparing for this exciting aspect of BEA by bringing tote bags. I have dozens of them. In my home, totes are the opposite of the universal disappearing sock. The bags multiple when left alone together in a closet. Let's hope they keep performing this trick at BEA, in case I run out of bags!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">2. </span><span style="font-size: small;">Taking pictures of everything and tweeting random reactions. Because if you're not documenting and tweeting it, it's not really happening, right?! </span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-USjkj5bSrX8/T8ZK2hn3aoI/AAAAAAAABII/tZk9HgMhALA/s1600/Photo+307.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-USjkj5bSrX8/T8ZK2hn3aoI/AAAAAAAABII/tZk9HgMhALA/s320/Photo+307.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"></span><span style="font-size: small;">3. Getting some of my favorite books signed by their authors. Although this makes me nervous, and arguably there's not much to the interaction--you push your book towards the Author, like the dozens before and after you, trying not to embarrass yourself--I'm so excited about it. </span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RGEbjJcmJVs/T8ZKrsKLM-I/AAAAAAAABIA/PRmfrGqazcE/s1600/Photo+306.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RGEbjJcmJVs/T8ZKrsKLM-I/AAAAAAAABIA/PRmfrGqazcE/s320/Photo+306.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: small;">4. Going to the YA Teen Author Carnival (and similar social things). I'm bringing my lucky t-shirt. I may not wear it, but having it with me makes me happy!<b><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">5. Seeing the spectacle. I'm looking forward to just being a part of such a crazy, whirlwind, enormous gathering devoted to books.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I would be really, truly, pretty-please-with-a-cherry-on-top grateful if you could share your tips or thoughts about BEA! What would you suggest to do, bring or see?<b><br />
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</b></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03962195808757078787noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6332318012806803673.post-69412223297792438882012-05-28T05:00:00.000-04:002012-05-28T05:00:04.134-04:00Memorial Day: Dulce et Decorum Est<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L_-HGZefHAY/T8KrSZF4PRI/AAAAAAAABF8/E1ued8QYKUs/s1600/5165057670_923896123b_o.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L_-HGZefHAY/T8KrSZF4PRI/AAAAAAAABF8/E1ued8QYKUs/s400/5165057670_923896123b_o.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h1 class="photo-title" id="title_div">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">(<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/usnationalarchives/5165057670/" style="color: black;">Soldiers carry a wounded comrade through a swampy area, 1969</a>)</span></h1>
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If you do nothing else this Memorial Day, read the following poem by <a href="http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/wilfred-owen">Wilfred Owen</a>. <br />
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Dulce et Decorum Est </div>
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Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, </div>
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Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, </div>
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Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs, </div>
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And towards our distant rest began to trudge. </div>
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Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots, </div>
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But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind; </div>
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Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots </div>
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Of gas-shells dropping softly behind. </div>
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Gas! GAS! Quick, boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling </div>
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Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time, </div>
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But someone still was yelling out and stumbling </div>
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And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime.—</div>
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Dim through the misty panes and thick green light, </div>
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As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.<br />
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In all my dreams before my helpless sight, </div>
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He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. </div>
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If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace </div>
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Behind the wagon that we flung him in, </div>
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And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, </div>
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His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin; </div>
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If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood </div>
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Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, </div>
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Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud </div>
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Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,— </div>
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My friend, you would not tell with such high zest </div>
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To children ardent for some desperate glory, </div>
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The old Lie: <i>Dulce et decorum est </i></div>
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<i> </i></div>
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<i>Pro patria mori.</i><br />
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In a letter home, Owen translated the Latin phrase from Horace as: “It is sweet and meet to die for one’s country.” Wilfred Owen died in combat in World War I. He was twenty-five.<br />
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I remember exactly where I was when I first read Dulce et Decorum Est: in a Brit Lit survey class at Grinnell College, with sun coming over the page of my Norton anthology from the window behind me. If this is your first time reading the poem, maybe it will haunt you too.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03962195808757078787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6332318012806803673.post-26862914111781969842012-05-21T12:23:00.001-04:002012-05-21T15:48:03.517-04:00Book Review: Burn Mark<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kmZDfTV1pio/T7mFflgWr1I/AAAAAAAABEs/euxZG9wMCKk/s1600/Burn+Mark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kmZDfTV1pio/T7mFflgWr1I/AAAAAAAABEs/euxZG9wMCKk/s320/Burn+Mark.jpg" width="219" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Title:</b> Burn Mark</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Author: </b><a href="http://www.laurapowellauthor.com/">Laura Powell </a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Publisher: </b>Bloomsbury Children's Books</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Pub. Date: </b>June 19, 2012</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>ISBN:</b> 9781599908434</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">If I wrote reviews in the form of Monopoly cards, <i>Burn Mark </i>would get "Advance to Go: Collect $200." It's that awesome. I could stop here, really. You could click away now to pre-order a copy and start counting down the days until June 19. But then I wouldn't get to write about <i>Burn Mark</i>, and I'm bubbling over with things I want to share about this novel.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">First, the publisher's summary:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>"In a modern world-where witches are hunted down and burned at the stake-two live interact. Glory is from a family of witches, and is desperate to develop the 'Fae' and become a witch herself. Lucas is the son of the Chief Prosecutor for the Inquisition and his privileged life is very different from the witches he is being trained to prosecute. And then one day, both Glory <i>and </i>Lucas develop the Fae. In one fell stroke, their lives are inextricably bound together, whether they like it or not." </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">In this alternate reality, the classicism of English society is alive and well. Witches are the impure underclass, and non-Fae families such as Lucas Stearne's rule the country. The novel initially focuses on Lucas' world of privilege, giving enough context to measure just how much Lucas loses by becoming Fae. Our immersion in Lucas' life heightens the shock of entering Glory Wilde's world. As part of a family coven that desperately clings to memories of its long gone heyday of power, Glory lives in the Fae area of London, surrounded by poverty and sexism, with few options for her future.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">After several twists and turns, Glory and Lucas reluctantly collaborate in a mission to stop a new anti-Fae uprising. Thankfully, there is no "instalove" in this novel. Their friendship is slow to develop, and seems to have the potential to be
something more. But their allegiances to their very different worlds run deep. Glory and Lucas are too busy and conflicted to get sidetracked into the obligatory romance. While I love YA romantic relationships, and even the controversial love triangle, it was refreshing to read a novel in which the main characters can interact without falling in love.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Burn Mark </i>is reminiscent of Holly Black's <i>Curseworkers</i> series. Both are set in a modern alternate reality in which supernatural powers and their possessors are controversial, in which gangs and the government dual for supremacy in a battle where each side has equal faults and virtues. But Powell delves more deeply and satisfyingly into the structure of the society Lucas and Glory live in, thoroughly examining both the witch gangs and the government entities designed to suppress the Fae. In the end, both Lucas and Glory realize their worlds are much more similar than they are different. But this realization does not simplify anything.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Lucas and Glory come to terms with being witches, but their futures are complicated and will be difficult to navigate. While I don't know if <i>Burn Mark </i>is the beginning of a series, it stands alone beautifully as the story of the beginning of Lucas and Glory's passages to adulthood.
However, I can't imagine it's not the beginning of a series, as Powell has set
in motion so many questions and possibilities in a fascinating world that the reader wants to
explore further.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">As an added bonus to the well rendered universe and compelling plot of <i>Burn Mark</i>, Powell's prose is gorgeous. The character development is masterful as well. Even the depiction of a minor character such as Glory's dad deepens the reader's understanding of the life of the fae through a handful of short but poignant scenes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I stopped reading early one night because I wanted to prolong the experience another day, which in my rubric is an even higher mark than finishing the book in one sitting. But whether you devour it all in one day or at your leisure, move <i>Burn Mark</i> to the top of your summer to-be-read pile. </span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03962195808757078787noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6332318012806803673.post-44841363644864176252012-05-19T06:00:00.000-04:002012-05-20T19:53:56.341-04:00Writing a Pinterest Story<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--8gNfboAWjo/T7blMMJRqZI/AAAAAAAABEg/UZM-fNV2xC4/s1600/1223658039QrGILrz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="248" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--8gNfboAWjo/T7blMMJRqZI/AAAAAAAABEg/UZM-fNV2xC4/s320/1223658039QrGILrz.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(<a href="http://www.robotnine.com/2008/10/portraits-interesting-faces-from-around.html">Source</a>)</span></td></tr>
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<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Story starters, or writing prompts, are a staple in the teaching of creative writing. I've never been a fan of this method of jump starting the writing process. I'd rather use my time and energy on the work that I've already begun. But sometimes, trying something new can make your brain work in different, productive ways. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I've talked before about how Pinterest is a great writing tool, for games like <a href="http://tarahdunn.blogspot.com/2011/12/speed-pinterest-writing-trick-or.html">Speed Pinterest</a> and <a href="http://tarahdunn.blogspot.com/2012/04/ya-highway-road-trip-wednesday-14.html">collecting inspiring images</a> for your work in progress. Switching from the verbal to the visual is a fun way to recharge your mind. (I swear I'm not shilling for Pinterest; I'm just another obsessed fan.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The most recent way that I've found to use Pinterest is in creating a story through pictures, using a story starter. <a href="http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/storystarters/storystarter1.htm">The Scholastic Story Starter Machine </a>is a great option. Yes, it's meant for children. But it's fun! The machine generated prompt was: "Write a funny story about a million year old inventor who is shipwrecked on a desert island."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The result was <a href="http://pinterest.com/tarahd/the-shipwrecked-inventor/">The Shipwrecked Inventor</a>. I left out the funny part of the prompt, because I only write short stories about sad things. It's a problem. Since I wasn't taking the whole thing very seriously, there was no pressure to create something "good." I thought I'd left that mind set behind in high school. So, basically, yay!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I'll definitely be creating more Pinterest stories via prompt, despite the fact that Pinterest's inability to rearrange pictures on a board can be intensely frustrating. You have to start with the first part last. Even then, Pinterest positions pictures visually in a way that doesn't lead the eye from one to the other in the order you've arranged them. But again, creating a mini-story backwards is another way to stretch before starting your real writing.</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03962195808757078787noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6332318012806803673.post-77363885650718774432012-05-17T21:42:00.000-04:002012-05-17T21:42:17.322-04:00Feature and Follow Friday #20<a href="http://parajunkee.com/category/ff" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7053/6778552714_5a75be99b4_o.jpg" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" width="164" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Feature & Follow Friday is a weekly social blog hop between book bloggers. There are two regular hosts: <b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><style="font-weight: normal;=""><a href="http://www.parajunkee.com/" style="font-weight: normal;">Parajunkee</a><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></style="font-weight:></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and Alison of </span><a href="http://www.alisoncanread.com/" style="font-weight: normal;" target="_blank">Alison Can Read</a><span style="font-weight: normal;">, and two special guest hosts every week. If you want to join in, click on either of their blogs to get the details. The FF question of the day is: </span></span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JIPc-WyBBtc/T7WkfFrtDgI/AAAAAAAABEE/3MaXAx2KOrU/s1600/Snapshot+2012-05-17+21-20-37.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JIPc-WyBBtc/T7WkfFrtDgI/AAAAAAAABEE/3MaXAx2KOrU/s400/Snapshot+2012-05-17+21-20-37.png" width="400" /></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Q: Summer Break is upon us! What would be the perfect vacation spot for you to catch up on your reading & relax?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Since this is a fantasy hypothetical, I feel like I should pick someplace exotic that I've never been. But the place that I'd most like to read a book is Nantucket, an island off of Cape Cod in Massachusetts where I was fortunate enough to live for several years.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M1o4gdPBotI/T7WmY3xFLtI/AAAAAAAABEU/CAti3LI9WEQ/s1600/Snapshot+2012-05-17+21-30-15.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M1o4gdPBotI/T7WmY3xFLtI/AAAAAAAABEU/CAti3LI9WEQ/s320/Snapshot+2012-05-17+21-30-15.png" width="230" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Nantucket is special for dozens of reasons, but it's uniquely suited for summer beach reading because you can frequently find an uncrowded stretch of sand to make your own. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">You're not part of a hive of humanity crammed onto the beach, so close to the people around you that you're forced to listen to their radios and chit-chat, smelling their sunscreen and snacks. On a good summer day at the right spot on Nantucket, the nearest people are far enough away to be little blobs moving back and forth between the ocean and their umbrella. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">In every other season, you can sit on the beach for hours reading and never see another soul. There's also the <a href="http://www.nantucketatheneum.org/">gorgeous library</a> and <a href="http://www.nantucketbookworks.com/">cool bookstore</a>(s), but the biggest attraction for me is privacy. Between the bluff and the ocean only your book exists, until the sun sets.</span></div>
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03962195808757078787noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6332318012806803673.post-7608556146178274812012-05-17T06:00:00.000-04:002012-05-17T20:24:54.266-04:00Bookish Marry, Fuck, Kill: V.C. Andrews<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hntqhe387p4/T7QNgT5EvbI/AAAAAAAABDI/xV1hUJ2WD7Q/s1600/vc-andrews.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hntqhe387p4/T7QNgT5EvbI/AAAAAAAABDI/xV1hUJ2WD7Q/s200/vc-andrews.jpg" width="195" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.nndb.com/people/228/000044096/">V.C. Andrews</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The second round of Bookish Marry, Fuck, Kill belongs to V.C. Andrews. The first smut I ever read was handed to me by a friend on the bus in middle school. Not to blame this now-forgotten friend; I would have discovered Andrews on my own eventually. But the sharing of these scandalous books was a rite of passage</span><span style="font-size: small;">. Before Andrews, reading was something good for you.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> But our parents wouldn't have approved of us reading V.C. Andrews, even if they didn't realize it. <i>Flowers in the Attic</i> felt like my tween version of <i>The Anarchist's Cookbook</i>. In hindsight, I realize that illustrates just how sheltered I was.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v7suxjdJe-c/T7QQhD5BCfI/AAAAAAAABDU/dMH49tg2y1U/s1600/audrina.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v7suxjdJe-c/T7QQhD5BCfI/AAAAAAAABDU/dMH49tg2y1U/s1600/audrina.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Sweet_Audrina">Source</a>)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>The Rules:</b></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> Marry means this will be a book you will own (and presumably read) for the rest of your life. Fuck means you get to read it once, in a literary one night stand, and never again. You're attracted to the book, but you don't want to wake up next to it every morning for the rest of your life. Kill means you eradicate the book from the world. You may even be reaching back in time and strangling the book before it was ever written.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ql4F4ipLkgI/T7QRp1Qzp2I/AAAAAAAABDk/twflNEnSv-g/s1600/flowers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ql4F4ipLkgI/T7QRp1Qzp2I/AAAAAAAABDk/twflNEnSv-g/s1600/flowers.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flowers_in_the_Attic">Source</a>)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>The Candidates:</b></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: small;">Flowers in the Attic</span></i><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>My Sweet Audrina</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Dark Angel </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>My Choices:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><u>Marry:</u> I'm getting hitched to the least of these three evils, </span><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Dark Angel, </i>which is part of the Casteel series. Most of what I remember about this book is the lengthy descriptions of the main character's new school wardrobe. There may well be a high creep factor that I'm forgetting, but in this literary marriage, I'm going to cling to that amnesia.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tU_hVXFnspQ/T7QlQdH07dI/AAAAAAAABDw/zm9HFCGVcdY/s1600/762029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tU_hVXFnspQ/T7QlQdH07dI/AAAAAAAABDw/zm9HFCGVcdY/s320/762029.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(<a href="http://simania.co.il/bookimages/covers76/762029.jpg">Source</a>)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><u>Fuck:</u> I really don't even like thinking about this category</span><span style="font-size: small;"> in the context of V.C. Andrews' books.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> But I'm going to hold my nose and pick </span><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Flowers in the Attic</i>. It was the first Andrews book I ever read. I wish I'd stopped there, but the lure of the forbidden led me to read what felt like dozens. <i>Flowers in the Attic</i> falls near the middle of the Andrews Wrong-O-Meter. The children imprisoned in the attic are victims, and their decisions are easier to understand in this book than in any of those that follow in the Dollanganger series. And by easier to understand, I mean less gruesome and illegal.</span><span style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><u>Kill:</u> <i>My Sweet Audrina</i>. God, I rue the day I picked up this book. I can count on one hand the books I wish I'd never read, and this tops the list. It's an extremely creepy take on the sexual assault of a child. You thought nothing could be more I-have-to-take-a-shower inducing than the Dollanganger<i> </i>series? Think again, friends. I believe book burning is far worse than flag burning, or any other kind of object burning, but I'd be tempted to throw this one on the censorship pyre.<br />
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Has your sordid fascination with Andrews been reawakened? Check out <a href="http://vcablogorama.blogspot.com/">The Complete Annotated V.C. Andrews Blog-O-Rama</a>, a site devoted to the rereading and analysis of Andrews' body of work.</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03962195808757078787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6332318012806803673.post-61794237299547435222012-05-16T06:00:00.000-04:002012-05-16T07:36:48.841-04:00YA Highway Road: Trip Wednesday #18<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VQdb3edouHU/TsQCWnMT8vI/AAAAAAAAAKU/S0HBmo2Pc28/s1600/2163470598_fb7571cdab_m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VQdb3edouHU/TsQCWnMT8vI/AAAAAAAAAKU/S0HBmo2Pc28/s320/2163470598_fb7571cdab_m.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">"Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered. In the comments, you can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic." </span><br />
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Today's question on the YA Highway Road Trip is:<br />
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<b>What book brings back memories?</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nVOKpFOvvOw/T6w5fMHpMjI/AAAAAAAABAA/LtDYEmviXt8/s1600/Little-Women-book-cover-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nVOKpFOvvOw/T6w5fMHpMjI/AAAAAAAABAA/LtDYEmviXt8/s320/Little-Women-book-cover-2.jpg" width="236" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(<a href="http://hookedonhouses.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Little-Women-book-cover-2.jpg">Source</a>)</span></td></tr>
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The better question for me would be what book doesn't bring back a memory? Just like songs and smells, I associate books with the time and place in which I experienced them. Those connections accumulate with favorite books, as I form new associations every time I reread them. <b> </b></div>
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I suppose one of my favorite book memories is a little strange, because it's sad. I was about 8 or 9, and reading <i>Little Women</i> in our finished basement. Incidentally, it's starting to feel like I talk about <i>Little Women</i> every other post. Note to self: blog moratorium on Alcott.<br />
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Back to the basement. My zebra finches lived down there, and so did my <a href="http://www.target.com/p/Radio-Flyer-Blaze-Interactive-Riding-Horse/-/A-11262268#?lnk=sc_qi_detailbutton">plastic pony </a>on a spring frame that almost seemed real when you rode it. When I came to the part where Beth dies, I sobbed and sobbed. Crying over art was not a new experience, because I was a pretty weird little kid. I cried so hard at the end of <i>E.T.</i> that we were the last ones to leave the theater. My mom had to pry me from my seat. I also used to cry as a toddler when my parents told me sad nursery rhymes, like "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hush,_Little_Baby">Hush Little Baby</a>." (The theme is deeply depressing, people!) <br />
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But I hadn't read a book that broke my heart until <i>Little Women</i>. A little bit later, <i>Black Beauty</i> would wreck me, but <i>Little Women </i>was the first book that hurt me<i>.</i> It was so heart-wrenching in part because Beth's death is drawn out for maximum effect. But she's also the epitome of female virtue, so it was like if Beth can die as a result of doing a good deed, the rest of us are screwed! I resolved to never do a good deed so that I would live forever. Okay, not really. But I'll never forget wiping my eyes on my sleeve, looking up from the book and feeling like the world had become a little more lonely. </div>
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03962195808757078787noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6332318012806803673.post-31304924076228280402012-05-15T11:01:00.000-04:002012-05-16T15:57:52.405-04:00Trash or Treasure: The Collector's Guide to Dollhouses and Dollhouse Miniatures<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jZFNi0gNXms/T7Jj9woQuLI/AAAAAAAABCc/LUMNUimLxxw/s1600/cover+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jZFNi0gNXms/T7Jj9woQuLI/AAAAAAAABCc/LUMNUimLxxw/s400/cover+2.png" width="290" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Confession time: I've been obsessed with dollhouses since I was a kid. It's the kind of interest you're supposed to outgrow, like candy necklaces or flicking your brother on the arm during car rides. But for a few adults, the allure of a miniaturized world persists. Marian Maeve O'Brien is one of my tribe.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I found the <i>The Collector's Guide</i> on the permanent sale shelves of a local library. It's the kind of book I would have looked at as a child. It has a certain familiarity, but I can't say whether that's because there are lots of similar books, or because I've seen this one before. What I would have loved as a child are the pictures. Though they're mostly black and white and not very sharp, they're of dollhouses! I'd devour them even if they were as bad as the pictures in <i>Real Boys and Girls Go Birding</i>. </span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Up3HVGP8xrM/T7JlW8Ca2TI/AAAAAAAABCs/dYZhm15ZH_I/s1600/insidde+3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Up3HVGP8xrM/T7JlW8Ca2TI/AAAAAAAABCs/dYZhm15ZH_I/s400/insidde+3.png" width="290" /></a><span style="font-size: small;">As an adult, I actually read the book. The harrowing anecdotes about the author's personal dollhouses made me glad I bypassed the text as a kid. O'Brien says of her childhood dollhouse,"On the day I moved into a new house as a bride, I came home and found it in flames in the driveway." </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Her next dollhouse, a copy of her home complete with electricity and running water (my inner child is squealing with delight and envy) was destroyed by an angry child brought to an adults only party. </span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eV57M1QMw3Q/T7JkPmkH-MI/AAAAAAAABCk/TgY4NvmwboU/s1600/Photo+291.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eV57M1QMw3Q/T7JkPmkH-MI/AAAAAAAABCk/TgY4NvmwboU/s320/Photo+291.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">I sympathize with O'Brien's tales of dollhouse tragedy. My own beloved dollhouse was taken to the dump after 20 years of abuse by eager little fingers, but it was a dump where a shack was reserved for items to be given away. I fantasize that some child is currently playing with the miniature replica of my childhood home. At left is some of the flotsam and jetsam from my dollhouse that's survived.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Title:</b> The Collector's Guide to Dollhouses and Dollhouse Miniatures</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Author:</b> Marian Maeve O'Brien</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Date of Publication:</b> 1974</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Publisher:</b> Hawthorn Books </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b> ISBN: </b>0801514045 </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Pluses:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">+ The book is extremely thorough in its coverage of all the various aspects of dollhouses and their contents. The dollhouses of various ladies are described in exhaustive detail.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">+ There are a number of decent photographs.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">+ The author offers suggestions for how the reader can make or acquire items similar to those described.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Minuses:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">- The narrative is a bit dry. When you can't tell how the author feels about her husband lighting her dollhouse on fire, it's a pretty good indication that the book is lacking in verve and enthusiasm. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Final Verdict:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">In a decision which I'm sure will surprise no one, I rate this book as Treasure. I'd probably rate any dollhouse book Treasure unless it was a expose on the dangers of the obsession.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"> Like the other books featured thus far in Trash or Treasure, </span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><i>A Collector's Guide</i> is <a href="title:%20Real%20Boys%20and%20Girls%20Go%20Birding%20%20Author:%20Jack%20Van%20Coevering%20%20Date%20of%20Publication:%201939%20%20Publisher:%20J.P.%20Lipincott%20%20ISBN:%20None%20given.">widely available.</a></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"> Until next time, happy Trash or Treasure hunting!</span><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</span></span></b></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03962195808757078787noreply@blogger.com0