World Book Night Kick-Off at CPL!

AKA where awesome people give out books to encourage reading (fun fact: the concept for World Book Day (and Night…for adults, because they stay up later) comes from Spain, where Cervantes’ birthday is traditionally celebrated by women giving men books and men returning the favor by giving women…flowers. Which might not be as appreciated, unless you’re Vanessa Diffenbaugh, author of The Language of Flowers.)

Vanessa Diffenbaugh (left) and Lisa Genova (right)

Neil Gaiman

Diffenbaugh was one of the speakers, along with neuroscientist and author Lisa Genova and writer Neil Gaiman. They spoke about how they began writing, their writing process, books they wish they had written (Neil Gaiman, as a young boy, carried with him at all times a copy of The Lord of the Rings, in the event he ever found himself transported to a parallel universe where Tolkien did not exist, and where he could claim credit for the series) and how they are sometimes surprised by plots that run away from them. All in all, it was a funny, interesting, and inspiring night–especially hearing their advice to budding writers: be persistent, make time to actually write (Genova recommends three pages of stream-of-consciousness as a daily warm-up), and you will get better.

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Downton Withdrawal? Meet the FitzOsbornes!

Our motion picture related post got us thinking about the silver screen. Now that Downton Abbey is on hiatus, might we suggest the Montmaray Journals, which we think would be perfect as the next big period drama. Exiled royalty, a vengeful (and borderline insane) servant, debutante parties, the onset of WWII, and an opinionated great-aunt that could give Maggie Smith’s Dowager Countess a run for her money, the FitzOsbornes have it all as they zip in and out of world events with dignity, humor, and style.

We’ve decided to do some wishful casting for The Montmaray Journals, but despite all the Doctor Who, Sherlock, and Downton Abbey we watch, our knowledge of actors is fairly limited. So please chime in with your own fan casts!

Sophie FitzOsborne: Saoirse Ronan (aka the girl from Atonement)

Veronica: Jessica Brown Findlay (aka Lady Sybil from Downton Abbey)

Toby: Eddie Redmayne (aka Marius from Les Mis)

Henry: Ramona Marquez (aka Karen from Outnumbered)

Simon: Skandar Keynes (aka Edmund from Narnia)

Daniel: Arthur Darvill (aka Rory from Doctor Who)

Rebecca: Siobhan Finneran (aka O’Brien from Downton Abbey)

Aunt Charlotte: toss up between Catherine Tate (aka Donna from Doctor Who) and Penelope Wilton (aka Harriet Jones! from Doctor Who)

The Colonel: toss up between Hugh Laurie (aka House) and Benedict Cumberbatch (aka Sherlock)

Rupert: Tommy Knight (aka Sarah Jane Smith’s son from Doctor Who)

Julia: Jenna Louise Coleman (aka Oswin Oswald/Clara/??? from Doctor Who)

Anthony: Thomas Howes (aka William from Downton Abbey)

(Yeah, it’s basically one big Doctor Who party, with some Downton thrown in as well. Conclusion: we watch way too much television.)

Update: Author Michelle Cooper has actually thought this through before. See her picks and many more here.

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Books We Actually Want To See As Movies…

Usually we prefer books to stay books, because the movie versions rarely turn out as good as what we’ve envisioned in our heads (set design aside…) But there are always exceptions to the rule, and we think these books would be brilliant as films:

1) Team Human by Justine Larbalestrier and Sarah Rees Brennan

Twi-hard fans and Twi-hard avoiders will adore this clever and comic take on high school with vampires. Subverting a genre has never been so fun. (Even the cover looks like a movie poster!)

2) Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce

Kids in a dangerous rocket ship. What could go wrong?

3) Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber

This is a teen action-spy movie waiting to happen. Plus, everything goes down on prom night.

4) Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword by Barry Deutsch

This graphic novel would make a quirky animated film. A quirky animated cartoon film. With the panels drawn in for good measure!

5) The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger

If George Lucas/Disney is bringing us Star Wars Episode 7 and more, why not go all out? This is the ultimate homage. We’re thinking live action with Kellen’s doodles. (But please don’t let George write the script!)

What are some books you’d like to see as movies?

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Son by Lois Lowry: a Google Chat Review

Where Lisa and Jen agree on the strengths and weaknesses of the book, but arrive at different conclusions in terms of likability.

(Warning: here be spoilers).

Jen: ah, the long awaited SON.

Lisa: where the son is absent for half of the book, and an infant for another quarter. It should really be called MOM

Jen: agreed. So, Lisa, what did you think of SON?

Lisa: I liked the first third of the book the best. Seeing the Community from the birthmothers’ POV…so creepy. And their adult lives are so boring, it makes the kids’ regimented days look terribly interesting

Jen: I also enjoyed how Claire’s story paralleled the events of THE GIVER, but from a different angle. And I was so delighted to learn how Jonas and Kira named their kids!!!

Lisa: yes, Annabelle and Matty : ) And, it wasn’t weird at all to see Jonas and Kira as grownups, and married. Gabe as a stubborn teenager was ok too.

Jen: But pacing was an issue. That training sequence dragged forever. I mean, I appreciated the price that Claire had to pay to leave that place for the sake of her son, even before Trademaster got involved, but it was slow going…

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Peter Has Us Star-Caught!

“When I was a boy I wished I could fly. Out the window and over the trees….then loop the loop and up to the stars. Eventually of course, we dream other dreams. We change. We grow up. It always happens. Nothing is forever. That’s the rule. Everything ends. And so our story begins…”

Lisa and I had the thrill of catching Peter and the Starcatcher at the Brooks Atkinson theater the day it closed (we braved the cold to put our names in the ticket lottery–without success–but yay for lottery loser tickets!) Other than that the plot has something to do with Peter Pan and that the show has received rave reviews and not a few Tonys, we had no idea what to expect. Would it be a homage? A play? A musical?

As it turns out, it’s a bit of everything.

Better yet, it’s a play for children and adults in touch with their inner child. While the dialogue and the jokes zip along faster than the Wasp (commandeered by pirates, of course) in hot pursuit of the S.S. Neverland, the set and “special effects” are magically low-tech. At the start of the show, we are asked to imagine “a grown cat in flight”, but it’s not long before our imaginations are rewarded by an ordinary length of rope that morphs into a tiny cabin porthole, narrow passageways, flapping saloon doors, whatever the scene calls for, really. It was like playing pretend and having only the stuff in your garage to make your creativity soar.

The cast was flawless as well, playing their roles with panache and then melding back into the company (a precisely, synchronous unit) to bulk out two very different crews, a gang of pirates, a jungle tribe, and transformed mermaids. (Did we mention there’s only one female in the whole cast? Those mermaids, not a pretty sight.) Still, standouts include Molly, an intelligent, competitive Starcatcher-in-training who befriends three orphan boys, Mrs. Bumbrake, her fussy but neglectful nanny (played by a man, a la British pantomime), and the comic duo of Black Stache and Smee.

Like the best children’s books, this play (which is based on the book Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson) speaks to adults and kids on different levels. We were struck by the melancholy take on the Peter Pan theme–of those who grow up and the ones who don’t–especially because we’d just reread Code Name Verity, where Peter Pan has a role to play as well.

Even as the last pieces of what will become the Peter Pan mythology fall into place, the ending is bittersweet. After an adventurous, transformative journey of self-discovery and identity (literally, Peter doesn’t even get a name until the end of Act 1!), it’s the adults who determine Peter and Molly’s futures in the end. And though it’s not what they’d choose, it’s one they must and do accept, whereas I wanted their story to continue straight on till morning. But we were warned: Everything ends. New stories begin.

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Pet Peeves on the Loose: Bloggers Chime In, Part 2

As promised, here’s part 2 of our pet peeves survey, starting with Charlotte Taylor at Charlotte’s Library

1.  Series titles that overshadow the title of the actual book you are reading.  Egregious example from 2012--WINGS OF FIRE The Dragonet Prophecy.  I hate not being certain which is the title of the book and which is the title of the series!

2.  Prologues that aren’t necessary.  Which I think is most of them.   It is hard to try to care about a prologue, knowing that in just a few pages you’ll be thrust into the actual story, and even though you may be confused (this is particularly true of action-packed prologues)  you have to concentrate because there are probably Valuable Clues.  I don’t mind mythological prologues about the world being created, though–they tend to be rather soothing and don’t come back to bite you.

3.   Authors using words that have no place in the English language because we don’t actually need any more nouns becoming verbs thank you very much.  Egregious example of 2012–a dragon “gifting” the kingdom with magic in Iron Hearted Violet, by Kelly Barnhill.  The word is GAVE.  Especially if you are quasi-medieval.   (Please, anyone who might have a present for me, just give it to me as a gift.  Don’t gift it).

Ack, but now I remember that [as you yourselves point out]  I detest intrusive narrators of a particular stripe with a passionate intensity–the ones who pretend to be my friends even though I Have Never Met Them!  I am no one’s dear reader, not even Megan Whalen Turner’s (not that she would).  And then, after presuming on an acquaintance of just a few pages, they act like they know what I’m thinking!  They don’t.  My heart isn’t racing, breaking, trembling, or any of the other things they say it is.  It is becoming increasingly hostile.  A narrator who knows her place, however, can be tolerable.  (Question:  are extroverts more tolerant of intrusive narrators?)

We’re not exactly extroverts, but some intrusive narrators are okay (ie the Dear Reader in The Tale of Despereaux). And ditto on the “gifting,” though we’re sometimes guilty of being lazy like that.

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Pet Peeves on the Loose: The Bloggers Have Spoken (1)

After last month’s post about our personal pet peeves, we reached out to various bloggers for their input, and they responded with thoughtful lists of their own of what sets them off. The responses are quite original–no repeats yet!

Monica Edinger at Educating Alice wrote

I saw your post and have been trying to think of pet peeves.  I guess the one that tops it for me isn’t really about what is in a book, but the way people keep using the term “young adult” for children’s books.  There is an attitude from certain adult readers who clearly read children’s books that it “doesn’t matter” and “why make age matter” and so forth.  But in my opinion it DOES matter because it is eliminating a whole group of people who are not speaking for themselves as they are not aware of the issue and won’t be until they are older.  I feel so strongly that there are a particular group of books that are written for children and not teens and not older folks. That they want to read them is great, but calling them young adult to differentiate them from adult titles, but otherwise figure it doesn’t matter is wrong in my book.

Sorry to go on, but I saw a variation of this attitude in the comments to my HuffPo post about The Hobbit.  So it is my top of the top pet peeve.  A commenter on my earlier screed wrote perceptively that adults do this because saying they are reading a YA book is acceptable, but a children’s book would be embarrassing.

Otherwise, I’m never a fan of copycat material from something unique. For instance, I’m seeing some buzz for books using old photos as did the guy for Ms. Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. The books sound so copycattish and that bugs me.

Lastly, I’m not a fan of books that are overly earnestly didactic, well-intentioned, but too clearly trying to point a moral or make a lesson.

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Everything On a Waffle (Pancake) Feast

After reading Everything on a Waffle, by Polly Horvath, we both had the same thought–let’s test Primrose’s recipes. We chose four: shepherd’s pie, asparagus, pear soup and waffles of course, except they’re pancake shaped because we didn’t have a waffle iron. And in honor of The Girl on the Red Swing restaurant, we had to serve everything on a waffle. Except the soup. How did Miss Bowzer manage that?

First Lisa segregated the carrots (because they’re evil, she claims) from the mixed veg for the shepherd’s pie.

The finished pie.

Pear soup: tastes better than it looks. Key ingredients include pears, blue cheese, and Chardonnay.

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Christmas/Holiday Book Gifting List: 2012

Basically, a year-end roundup of our favorite books from 2012. Any of these titles would make an entertaining and enriching gift, whether it’s for the holidays or just because you are the definition of awesome and enjoy gifting books.

Picture Book 

What’s great about Extra Yarn is that while everyone has a different opinion on the story’s takeaway message, they’re all absolutely right. Also wonderful are illustrator Jon Klassen’s quirky pictures of a boring gray town bursting into variegated color as a result of Annabelle’s knitting, particularly when it’s worn by Klassen’s recurring Hat animals. Finally, this story celebrates yarn bombing. What’s not to like?

Middle Grade

We can totally see Liar and Spy or In a Glass Grimmly winning accolades in the coming year. Other standouts include The Secret of the Fortune Wookie and The One and Only Ivan.  However, if you’re looking for that (elusive) distinguished book starring a female protagonist, look no further than Earwig and the Witch for some wonderfully ordinary magic.

YA fiction

It pleases us to proclaim what a good year 2012 has been for YA. On the top of our list is the not-very-festive but absolutely gripping Code Name Verity, which features a fantastic friendship between two very different young women. Also in the depressing but good category are The Wicked and the Just and The Drowned Cities (the prequel/companion novel to Ship Breaker.)  Alternatively, if you’re looking for something more upbeat, we recommend Team Human, which cheekily references the vampire genre yet has fully-fleshed characters (human and otherwise) and a story line that stands on its own.

Bonus

For those who enjoy book sets, the third and final installment of The Montmaray Journals was published this year. Like the previous two books chronicling the plight of the noble (literally) but penniless FitzOsbornes through WWII, The FitzOsbornes at War is a wonderful mix of frothy and serious drama.

We’ve shared our favorites. What are your recommendations for 2012? 

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Pet Peeves on the Loose

They may induce sighs or eye-rolling.  More serious offenders may cause erratic page flipping or even book slamming. Surely you have come across them: the terrible horrible no good very bad pet peeves. We’ve recounted our top five for your viewing displeasure.

1. Orphans attached to prophecies. Harry Potter is the obvious example. Lyra and the Pevensies count, too.

Comment: Can’t orphans have character arcs without “fate” aka author hand waving to explain everything?

2. Precocious kids, idiotic adults. How does a society where all the adults are less intelligent and less capable than their progeny function at all?  A Series of Unfortunate Events comes to mind.

3. When authors think their main characters are more amazing than they actually are. Obviously this is subjective, so we won’t give examples.

Comment: Let readers determine whether they like a character or not. Don’t hit us over the head with a character’s amazing perfection.

4. A corollary of Pet Peeve #3. When characters are perfect, except for one teensy-weensy “flaw,” like being too noble, stubborn, or self-sacrificing. And there are no long term consequences to possessing this “flaw.” Basically, everyone Finnikin looks up to and tries to emulate. Mary Poppins counts, too, but at least we weren’t supposed to be invested in her.

5. Long fantasy names with a string of apostrophes and rarely used letters of the alphabet, like x, v, k and z.

See Prince Balthazar and Trevanion from Finnikin of the Rock and the Ra’zac and Queen Islanzadi from Eragon for a phonetic headache.

What about you? Feel free to gripe about your kidlit pet peeves in the comments below. Or email us at readsforkeeps@gmail.com. We’ll feature your pet peeves in a future post. 

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