What I Read Over Winter Break or Why the Kindle is so Awesome

Usually, I really miss my old job at the public library, but getting two and half weeks off for Christmas reminds me that being a teacher has its perks! I did a lot of reading on my Kindle this break, mostly Amanda Hocking's stuff. I read both books in the Trylle trilogy (eagerly awaiting the third and final installment on January 15th) and four books from the My Blood Approves series. I really enjoy Amanda Hocking's writing style and the price can't be beat. Although my husband did question all those $2.99 charges from Amazon. Side Note: Torn (Trylle Trilogy #2) had so many typos in the Kindle version. It drove the English major in me nuts!

I also read Lauren Kate's Fallen, but was so disappointed it in that I didn't bother reading the sequel. I really like her book covers, though.

One thing I love about the Kindle is that the prices for young adult books are so reasonable. I wish the adult fiction prices were as low. I just can't bring myself to pay more than $5.00 for a book that I can get from my library for free.

Switched (Trylle Trilogy#1)

I received a Kindle for my birthday this past weekend. I love being able to fit so many books in my purse. My husband loves that he doesn't have to deal with all my books sliding off the dash during road trips. However, as a former librarian, I don't love having to pay for books. So, I have mostly been downloading the free or very cheap books off Amazon. One book in particular caught my eye. Switched by Amanda Hocking. It had a lot of great reviews and I couldn't beat the price (.99). I am so glad I purchased it!

Switched is the first book in the Trylle Trilogy. Trylle are trolls...which is what the book is about. The Trylle take their children and switch them out with human children at birth. Then, when their powers began to develop, they bring them back home to their little Trylle community. When I think of trolls, I think of ugly, squatty things, but in this series, the Trylle are beautiful if not a little cold. Switched has a lot of action, suspense, and even romance (including one hot and heavy make-out scene). I found the story to be completely fascinating and I was really surprised that our public library system does not carry any of Amanda Hocking's books. Which means I now have to pay for the second part in the series and it isn't as cheap! I also plan on downloading Ms. Hocking's other series, My Blood Approves, even though I am getting a little burnt out on vampires. If the writing is as entertaining as Switched, then I am sure it will be worth it!

High School Library Changed Into Coffee Shop

My friend sent me this article about a Houston high school that changed its library into a student-run coffee shop. The print books were removed and replaced with ebooks, 35 laptops, and the coffee shop.

Of course, I'm appalled that there are no more print books. I seriously doubt they have e-manga for students to read. Maybe some e-YA fiction, but I'm not sure. I think ebooks actually make a lot of sense for research, but I'm not sure we're at a point where we can provide all pleasure reading in electronic format. I know my library isn't anywhere near that point, even if we bought tons of ebook readers to circulate. Certainly without that, very few students would be accessing ebooks for pleasure through the library. Yeah, I have a few who do (either through the library or on their own), but not many. I also think about a lot of our really cool books that circulate that aren't available in electronic format. It makes my librarian heart ache to think that these books aren't/wouldn't be available to students. We're also fooling ourselves if we think there is anything resembling equitable computer/internet access for students.

On the other hand, I think a lot about this coffee shop project is cool. It probably will bring in students who wouldn't use a "library." If this is the "library," then it could change the meaning (possibly in a positive way) of making "lifelong library users." If students do access ebooks and databases from laptops, it could help them think of doing the same later in life (or even now) when they're at, say, Starbucks. I wouldn't mind that at all. (Of course, if they go to a traditional library, they'll have to figure out things like navigating the catalog and using print books.) Lamar High School is a HISD magnet program for business, so having students run the coffee shop seems like a great idea. It will probably give them a lot of ownership and they'll probably have great ideas for what to do with it.

I don't know if this is a great reconceptualization of "the library" that will help it to survive and thrive or a sign that the library isn't valued and is on its way to obsolescence.

Article from The Houston Press here

Play Dead Movie

According to Variety, Ryan Brown's Play Dead is going to be adapted for a movie. One of my students picked up the novel today and was going to check it out, but then when he was holding it at the circulation desk, he turned it over. When he saw the picture of Ryan Brown on the back, he decided not to check it out just because, according to him, "he [Brown] looks like his name should be Chaz."

The Story Behind the Photo

Yesterday's Wall Street Journal had an article entitled "Does Her Face Foretell Her Fate." The article explains that this photo ("Lucille Burroughs, Daughter of a Cotton Sharecropper. Hale County, Alabama") is one of 95 portraits chosen for the NYPL's photographic exhibition "Recollection." I found the article really interesting for many reasons, but (a) I'm actually surprised that in talking about the photo's power and history, no one mentioned that it graces the cover of Karen Hesse's Newberry Award-winning Out of the Dust, and (b) I never really thought about the photo as historic. I guess I never gave it that much thought at all, but I certainly never realized it was part of an effort to document the Dust Bowl in photographs.

I think it would be interesting to have students talk or write about the photo and to hypothesize about things like where she lives, what her name is, who took the picture, why they took the picture, and what became of the girl when she grew up. Then they could compare their hypotheses to the actual Lucille Burroughs in the picture.

Bitter Melon

I came across a mention of the upcoming book Bitter Melon by Cara Chow. I need to read this! The main character competes in speech, and I read that Chow also had a positive experience with her speech coach in high school. I myself was in forensics and was a speech coach before becoming a librarian, so this is right up my alley. I'm not Chinese like the main character, but my high school debate partner is. Wonder if I can get my hands on an ARC somehow...

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

The cover attracted me to this book, and the description sounded promising, both scary and with the potential for some romance. Even though it wasn't particularly scary, I wasn't at all disappointed.

Mackie is a teen boy who has always known that he is a "replacement." When the "real" Malcolm was four years old, he was taken by a shadowy figure in the middle of the night and replaced with Mackie (similar but not quite the same as the original). His origin isn't quite known, but Mackie does know he is allergic to iron and metal. His pastor father has always impressed upon Mackie the importance of blending in and not drawing attention to himself (the whole family knows Mackie is a replacement, though). Even though the town seems to know strange things like baby abductions and deaths happen, they don't seem to want to acknowledge it. This state of affairs can't last at the point when the book's narration starts, however, because (a) Mackie is getting sicker, (b) he is confronted with other other-worldy beings who want to claim him, and (c) another baby dies. There is a lot of suspense, but I wouldn't say it's as creepy as the cover might lead one (ie. me) to believe. And there was a bit of romance, which I liked. Over all, I'd say it's certainly worth purchasing and reading. It is similar enough to other paranormal YA books that it will have an audience, but it's different enough to be worth reading and will likely hold the reader's attention.