This Is What Happens When I Hear About Books

Apparently, you can't take me around a bunch of authors without me wanting to read everything they're written.

 

Read

To read

 
I have accumulated most of the books I ordered during or after USBBY. I've got Andrea Cheng's Marika, based on her mother's experience in Nazi-occupied Hungary, and Siobhan Parkinson's turn-of-the century Irish dancer story Amelia -- I've already pushed through Parkinson's Long Story Short, on Katherine Paterson's sterling recommendation. The story is gritty and quick-paced, a little more YA than MG. I'd love to do this as a read-aloud with a class, since I think there's just enough Irish-isms to require some hand-holding. I also devoured If You Could Be Mine by Sara Farizan. Forbidden love in Iran, an entirely new wrinkle, both interesting and stimulating 

 
It was at USBBY that I'd heard about the historical novel-in-verse, Odette's Secrets by Maryann Macdonald, and wanted to know more about the real-life story that inspired it, so I found the epic Doors to Madam Marie by Odette Meyer, which I hope to get to before the USBBY program at ALA Midwinter Meeting, where Macdonald will be speaking.

I'm still following up on some Southern Festival of Book authors, too. From Tommy Hays, a deft speaker and all-around my type of person, I have In The Family Way and The Pleasure Was Mine on deck. I've also fallen into Gabriele Zevin's Birthright series. I just wasn't into the jacket description for All These Things I've Done, but hearing Zevin read from it out loud sold me on it. I'm onto the sequel, Because It Is My Blood, now, and the third one just came out.... I also read Criminal by Terra Elan McVoy. I heard McEvoy on the same panel as Zevin. I'm not 100% comfortable on the racial aspects of that novel -- Brooklyn, Burning it's not -- but it's brave and I did enjoy it.

My husband has wondered aloud recently why I was suddenly reading "all this horror." Well, it's really much more suspense, and I was turned onto The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James after hearing Sonia Gensler rave about it at the Southern Festival, I've ordered her second book, An Inquiry Into Love and Death, too, and then I adored Susan Hill's The Small Hand and Dolly, which I'd found in a pre-Halloween spooky round-up. Both novellas were superb, and it reminded me of seeing the play based on Hill's novel The Woman in Black in the West End in March, with people in the audience shrieking all around me, an accomplishment for a two-actor play that's been running for decades. 

 

What do I still have TO READ? Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl, which as the only librarian who didn't receive an ARC, I preordered, and now I have the $1.40 electronic version, so what am I going to do with this huge hardback? And Girlchild by Tupelo Hassmann, because I'd meaning to read it -- how can you not with that cover? and just now got to it. And The Freak Observer by Blanche Woolston, because I loved Black Helicopters and am now backtracking because I can't bear that cover. I really can't. And I've got The Resurrectionist by Matthew Guinn out from the public library -- more horror.

 

Good things

I was not going to run for the American Library Association Executive Board. I only have one more year on Council, and while I thoroughly enjoyed my time sitting in on those sessions, I didn't plan on running again.

Then I realized that the nomination I'd received was actually only for the five-month remainder of new AASL Director Sylvia Norton's term. So I said I'd do it -- a school librarian to replace a school librarian type on that Board, seemed logical.

Then I saw the other candidates -- none school librarians, but all people better suited that than me.

Then I started getting the emails about the election, and campaigning, and the Candidate's Forum, and nomination from the floor, all from the Council listserv.

Then a very fortunate thing happened -- I was appointed by YALSA President-elect Chris Shoemaker to the ALSC/Booklist/YALSA Odyssey Committee.

Not only is this thrilling because it will enable me to listen to a lot of audiobooks and simultaneously feel productive, but because that committee service puts me at the limit of possible ALA commitments.

So I'm no longer on THAT ballot, so I don't have to pen a candidate's statement, or be barraged with the first three questions from the floor at the forum, or compete against colleagues I utterly respect.

What a relief!

This and that, of the bookish variety

I participated in a photoshoot for an E. B. Lewis-illustrated picture book about integration in my hometown a couple of week ago. The book will be called Seeds of Freedom. I might appear in an "integrated downtown street scene." Seeing his storyboards and hearing about how he transforms photographs into his artwork was my favorite part.

 

I went to UA SLIS Alumni Day, where I tried to convince people to be more active in their professional organizations. Are you an Alabama librarian? Volunteer for ALLA.

I went to the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville last weekend, and saw an amazing variety of writers, many old friends and writer crushes, but others I'd never caught, including Daniel Woodrell, and Holly Golberg Sloan, whose middle grade novel Counting by 7s has garnered so much award buzz.

Chuck Palahunik's weird interactive light show raised the bar for author events 

The IBBY Regional Conference in St. Louis was perhaps the best professional conference experience I've ever had state-side.... USBBY is an incredible group of kind and thoughtful people, and the turnout from around the world and the very powerful general sessions and intimate breakouts all left me feeling very happy to be a part of this kidlit-loving world. I am saving my pennies for the IBBY Congress in Mexico City next September.



Katherine Paterson signs Jacob Have I Loved for me

And getting to rub shoulders with Katherine Paterson? Just amazing.

Bridget's back!

A few years ago, I had a rash moment and thought I was going to, single-handedly, save print publications. A world without magazines seemed to me simply unimaginable, so I subscribed to everything Conde Nast had on offer. Now, Next Issue would probably save me some money, but I spend much too much time squinting at an LCD display already...and, frankly, all those mags have been worth it for the excerpt of the forthcoming third Bridget Jones book in this month's Vogue. I have scanned in the excerpt for those who don't subscribe below...I know I first encountered Bridget in a magazine excerpt, but I can't remember if it was Vogue or Cosmo. I do know Fielding changed my (and so many other readers') life with this candid, spot-on exploration of contemporary womanhood.

I love the emphasis on the frenetic, wired nature of contemporary life. Again, Fielding gets it just right.  And how terrific is that illustration? 

What I'm up to this fall...

It's that time of the year, and I'm going to be doing some professional travel over the next few months...perhaps I'll see you at some of these conferences or workshops?

School Library Journal Leadership Summit in Austin, September 27-29.
It's been years since I've been to Austin, and I missed last year's Summit.

University of Alabama's SLIS Alumni Day October 11.
I'm on a panel talking about professional service.

USBBY's Regional Conference in St. Louis, October 18-20.
I represent ALA/AASL on the Board of Directors of this fabulous organization.

AASL in Hartford, November 14-17.
I can't wait to catch up with my school library friends from far and wide.

ALAN in Boston, November 25-26. 
The author schedule is up!