My Reading Frenzy

A How-To Guide for Seeing Authors in Person

One of the best ways to find out about author visits is to sign up for events announcements from your local bookstores or follow stores on social media. Both independent bookstores and chains like Barnes & Noble host author events. Public libraries also announce author visits on their sites and social media. Festivals and conferences have their own sites where lists of authors who will appear can be found. 

Via an e-mail I discovered that on Tuesday, September 2nd Politics & Prose, an independent bookstore in Washington, DC will be hosting an author chat between Louise Penny, Queen of Mysteries and Secretary Hillary Clinton. I am not sure of the connection between the two, but I am eager to find out when I participate in this virtual event. 

 

 

 

See Authors at Independent Bookstores:

Before moving to Washington, DC I had seen few authors in person. This was not for lack of interest, but lack of opportunity. There was only one independent bookstore near enough for me to visit regularly. There I saw the authors Lydia Netzer, Joshilyn Jackson, and Madeleine Miller. 

After moving to DC, the choices of independent bookstores to visit and authors to see became almost infinite. I could see an author every day and choose between options. Even now when bookstores are not hosting live events there are many in this area and the offerings have expanded to events around the world.

My first in DC was Joe Yonan, who is the food and dining editor at The Washington Post, at the Politics & Prose main store. The book was Eat Your Vegetables, a vegetarian cookbook. Since events like this are usually free, attendees are encouraged to purchase a copy of the book from the store, which is required if you want to have the book signed after the reading. In this case I did both. Sometimes you are permitted to bring additional books to have signed, but this is rare, especially for popular authors.  

A note on signed books: I have mixed feelings about signed books. Their ubiquity makes it unlikely that even signed first editions will see a large jump in value. For me the value of a signed book is in the time I have to interact with the author as they sign my book. After having waited in long lines to have 20 seconds to interact with an author, I often skip the signing. This varies though by venue and author. If the venue is small, like the Virginia Association of School Librarians conference, I wait for the signing because the author is committed to interacting more personally. When the venue is large, like the National Book Festival, I skip the signing as the lines are long and for an understandably limited time. When I go to author talks at local bookstores my decision varies based on whether or not I plan to purchase the book or will read it from the library. 

While many author talks at bookstores are free, this is not always the case. 

 

Authors I have paid to see through bookstores: Generally when an author event is a paid event, a copy of the most recently released book is included with the ticket, which sometimes also means the book is signed or there will be an opportunity to have the book signed at the end of the event. 

• Judy Blume - In the Unlikely Event - signed on site
• Neil Gaiman - This was part of his "An Evening with Neil Gaiman" tour and not connected to a specific new release, but signed backlist books were available to purchase
• Hillary Clinton - What Happened - pre-signed
• Louise Penny - A Better Man - pre-signed
• Patti Smith - Year of the Monkey - unsigned
• Bill Bryson - The Body - unsigned

 

Authors I have seen for free: These are in no particular order only as I remembered them. I have included the book I saw them touring for and where I saw them if I could remember it. Often these author talks are recorded and can be found on the store's site.

• Rainbow Rowell - Politics & Prose 
• Stephanie Perkins - Hooray for Books
• Jenny Lawson - Politics & Prose - Furiously Happy
• Jacqueline Winspear - Politics & Prose - The Care and Management of Lies
• Laurie Halse Anderson in conversation with Scott Simon - Politics & Prose - The Invisible Knife of Memory
• Jasmine Guillory in conversation with Nicole Chung - East City Books - The Proposal & All You Can Ever Know (respectively)
• Victoria Schwab - One More Page Books - A Gathering of Shadows 
• Sarah McCoy - One More Page Books - Marilla of Green Gables
• Libby Copeland - East City Books - The Lost Family

 

Authors I have seen virtually: I anticipate seeing more authors this way in the coming days especially with the National Book Festival going entirely online this year. 

• Jesse Dougherty - I believe Jesse organized this himself on Twitter live. - Buzz Saw: The Improbable Story of How the Washington Nationals Won the World Series
• Robin Ha and Malaka Gharib in conversation - One More Page Books - Almost American Girl & I Was Their American Dream (respectively)

 

See Authors at the National Book Festival:

Another reliable way to see authors speak about their work is at the annual National Book Festival. The event takes place in Washington, DC because it is organized by the Library of Congress, and even in non-COVID years, the author's presentations are recorded for viewing on the Library's site. The Festival originally spanned two days on the National Mall under tents, but in 2014 the Library hosted the event in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center over one longer day, and it has been there ever since. In 2013 I introduced Holly Black at the Festival and Rita Williams-Garcia in 2014. These were exciting moments in my bookish life. I have seen a variety of other authors speak including Jack Gantos and Congressman John Lewis. 

This year the Festival will take place online September 25-27.

 

See Authors at Non-Book Festival Library of Congress Events:

• Lois Lowry - I saw Lowry at the Library of Congress in conversation with Nikki Silver about making The Giver into a movie.
• Mukoma Wa Ngugi - I attended college with Mukoma and even sat next to him at our graduation where his father Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o was our commencement speaker. Mukoma visited the African and Middle Eastern Division of the Library of Congress to discuss his work.
• Jonah Solkoff Eskin Memorial Program 2015: National Ambassadors for Young Peoples Literature: A Tribute to Walter Dean Myers - This event took place on May 6, 2015 and included the Ambassador Kate DiCamillo, along with past Ambassadors Katherine Patterson and Jon Scieszka along with Myers's son author and artist, Christopher Myers. 
• Tim Gunn - I was invited by a friend who had secured two tickets to this event to hear Gunn speak about Disco fashion as part of the Library of Congress's Bibliodiscotheque in May of 2017. His memoir The Natty Professor is wonderful. 

 

See Authors at State and Local Book Festivals:

Every year (except 2020) the NOVA Teen Book Festival takes place at a high school in Northern Virginia. As part of that event, the authors come to town the day before to visit local schools for free. Schools are responsible for planning a program that will involve interested students in a small setting with the author. As part of this, my school was visit by:

• Rachel Hartman - Tess of the Road
• Heidi Heilig - The Girl From Everywhere and The Ship Beyond Time

This list of Writer's Conferences and Book Festivals from around the world has links to all the events it lists.

 

See Authors at Conferences: 

I attend the Virginia Association of School Librarians conference every year that I am able, which has worked out to 8 times in the last 10 years. Many authors are invited to the conference as presenters, panelists, and keynote speakers. I have seen a number of children's and young adult authors talk about their work in small group settings.

• Joseph Bruchac
• Libba Bray
• Ruta Sepetys 
• Maggie Stiefvater
• Meg Medina
• Sarah Dessen 

 

See Authors at the Public Library:

Brad Meltzer -History Decoded: The 10 Greatest Conspiracies of All Time

 

See Authors at Other Cultural Institutions:

I saw both of these through the Smithsonian Associates program which makes available books talks, lectures, and classes.  

• John Irving - Avenue of Mysteries - pre-signed
• Jodi Picoult - Leaving Time - signed on site

 

 

Writing this post has been a lot of fun, bring back many memories of sitting entranced listening to the authors I admire talking with passion about their writing.

 

What authors have you seen live and virtually?

 

Yes, comics and graphic novels are REAL reading.

I am not the first writer, nor will I be the last to make the case for the legitimacy of comics and graphic novels as "real" reading.

• "Raising Super Readers: Benefits of Comic Books & Graphic Novels" from Scholastic 
• "The Power of Comics" from the International Literacy Association

The reason I am writing about a topic that has been addressed by experts in reading and the ways our brains get involved in different types of reading is because even colleagues of my own, high school English teachers AND librarians sometimes still want to debate if students are really benefiting when they read comics and other graphic works, which leads them to forbid graphic stories as choice or free reading in the classroom. I believe this is harmful to students who need opportunities to read what they choose rather than what has been assigned.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let's start with the difference between comics and graphic novels:

from "The Power of Comics" -

"Stylistically, comics and graphic novels are very similar. Comic books are usually about 24 pages and are released in single issues usually once or twice a month. These individual books often form an ongoing story that spans several issues. Like TV shows, they are published regularly and collected in what are called trades. Batman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Bone are all popular examples of comics.

Graphic novels are basically longer versions of comics. Usually, graphic novels tell one full story and can be a couple hundred pages long. Examples include Amulet, The Witch Boy, and Smile."

 

There is also a fabulous book called Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud, who is a graphic novelist, in which he covers in great detail how visual communication works and the ways in which artists use pictures and words to convey meaning.

When I began reading comics, my first was the Sandman series by Neil Gaiman. The series was published between 1989-1996, but I did not read any of them until they were complete and I could get them in trade paperback form. I like reading comics this way because I am not usually able to acquire the next installment every month and fall behind. I would prefer to read them quickly to remember the story line. The books tell the story of Dream and his fellow Endless: Destiny, Death, Desire, Despair, Delirium, and Destruction. 

I am glad I began here because these are considered a triumph in cartooning. The series won more than 26 Eisner Awards among many others. Gaiman wrote the story but a variety of artists were brought in for the visuals. This means that each comic book or chapter in the story has a different look. This makes it vital for the reader to closely engage with the art to see and "read" details important to the story. 

While visual literacy is one of the reasons comics are good for the brain, it is also where I stumbled when I first began reading. I start by reading just the words and skipping the pictures, assuming I was getting the gist of it, but I wasn't. Facial expressions, gestures, and other body language as well as background details were telling parts of the story that I was missing. It took little time for me to slow down and modify my reading style to engage fully with the story. 

I have continued to read the work of Gaiman, but have added other comics. Some of my favorites have been 

• Saga by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples
• Monstress by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda
• Giant Days by John Allison, Lissa Treiman, Max Sarin, Whitney Cogar, and Jim Campbell
• Ms. Marvel by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona with a changing group of additional authors
• Rat Queens by Kurtis J. Wiebe, Roc Upchurch, and John Upchurch

Some of these are teen friendly but most are for an adult audience. 

 

When choosing graphic novels to read, I focus on those I have or will order for my high school library.

Some of my favorite authors are:

Raina Telgemeier 

Lucy Knisley

Gene Luen Yang

 

Some recent favorite books are:

Hey Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka, which is a graphic memoir and was a National Book Award finalist

The March Trilogy by Rep. John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell, which has won Coretta Scott King awards as well as a Robert F. Kennedy book award among others. The idea for Lewis to write about his experiences at the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was prompted by "Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story," a comic published in 1957. 

Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson, a book I enjoyed but is beloved by my 10-year-old niece

New Kid by Jerry Craft, which was the winner of the Newbery Medal, Coretta Scott King Author Award, and Kirkus Prize for Young Readers’ Literature

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson and Emily Carroll, which is a graphic version of Anderson's 1999 novel of the same name. It is powerful reading for any teen. 

 

It would take a novella for me to list and discuss all of the graphic novels I have read over the years, but I believe it is an important format for readers because of the need to visual literacy skills when we are surrounded by images in the news and social media. 

 

What are your favorite comics or graphic novels?

 

When the world isn't funny, satire still is.

I have always enjoyed the subtleties of well-written satire. Three favorites are by Jonathan Swift, Oscar Wilde, and Joseph Heller.

In one of my British literature courses as an undergrad at the fabulous Albright College, (Just ask, I could talk all day about what a good fit a small, liberal arts college was for me, and may be for others.) we read Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal." My mind was blown. What an example of satire in all its glory. Unfortunately, I did not have the same reaction to Gulliver's Travels (1725) no matter how many times it was assigned in class after class (AP Literature, British lit, Great Novels, etc.). It feels overwrought and too long while "A Modest Proposal" is a master class in brevity and precision. What surprised me on my first reading was its publication date of  1729. This is 291 years ago, but there are parts relating to abuses by the government that could have been written yesterday. 

For instance when Swift writes "I grant this food will be somewhat dear, and therefore very proper for landlords, who, as they have already devoured most of the parents, seem to have the best title to the children," he is acknowledging the way the landlord system in 18th century Ireland "devoured" the livelihood of poor parents leading him to wonder why they might as well devour the children too. To me, this is akin to the way employers wring out employees who are just barely able to survive on the current minimum wage. A good, modern book about this topic is Nickel and Dimed. It is non-fiction, not satire, and both interesting and informative. 

I loved to read "A Modest Proposal" aloud to my students. Those who were paying attention would start to look around with questioning looks on their faces at, "It is true, a child just dropt from its dam, may be supported by her milk, for a solar year, with little other nourishment: at most not above the value of two shillings, which the mother may certainly get, or the value in scraps, by her lawful occupation of begging; and it is exactly at one year old that I propose to provide for them in such a manner, as, instead of being a charge upon their parents, or the parish, or wanting food and raiment for the rest of their lives, they shall, on the contrary, contribute to the feeding, and partly to the clothing of many thousands." Every year in every class, someone would look up, shoot a hand in the air - or maybe just shout out - "Did he just say people were going to 'eat' babies?" YES!  That is exactly what he is saying - satirically. And that would launch us into a full discussion of the power of satire.

For 8 of my 15 years teaching English I taught 11th grade British literature, which can be a hard sell to 17 year olds, who I find delightful in many ways, but not when I am trying to engage them with literature that is far removed from their own experiences. I found success with both "A Modest Proposal" and The Importance of Being Earnest, by Oscar Wilde. This is a play I find so compelling that when I saw a performance in Washington, DC in 2014 I was so overwhelmed by its perfection that during intermission, I bought a ticket to see it again.

The play aims its pithy satire at a number of facets of life in Victorian England (If this sounds at all familiar it is because a number of my favorite mystery series also take place in that time and place.) including romantic love, marriage, familial relationships, and materialism. The word play is fast paced and highly entertaining if you can keep up. One of my favorite segments is when Algernon (who is going by the name Ernest) and Cecily meet for the first time:

Algernon.  I hope, Cecily, I shall not offend you if I state quite frankly and openly that you seem to me to be in every way the visible personification of absolute perfection.

Cecily.  I think your frankness does you great credit, Ernest.  If you will allow me, I will copy your remarks into my diary.  [Goes over to table and begins writing in diary.]

Algernon.  Do you really keep a diary?  I’d give anything to look at it.  May I?

Cecily.  Oh no.  [Puts her hand over it.]  You see, it is simply a very young girl’s record of her own thoughts and impressions, and consequently meant for publication.  When it appears in volume form I hope you will order a copy.  But pray, Ernest, don’t stop.  I delight in taking down from dictation.  I have reached ‘absolute perfection’.  You can go on.  I am quite ready for more.

Even now, I am chuckling and tempted to stop writing this post and instead re-read the play in its entirety. 

A newer example (1961) is Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, which lampoons the bureaucracy of war and those who have made it their life's work. If The Importance of Being Earnest is farcical, light satire, Catch-22 is its dark cousin as the ridiculousness of the regulations and inept leadership have terrible consequences. I have not read this one in over 10 years, but it is on my shelf to re-read in 2020. There is also a TV series available on Hulu, but I have not seen any of it and cannot speak to how well it stays true to the book. 

Truly contemporary satire can be found in The Onion, an online publication that has new "news" stories every day. One recent headline I enjoyed: "Ian McKellen Waiting In Line At Buckingham Palace Administrative Office To Get Knighthood Renewed Before It Expires" with an accompanying picture and "NCAA Reminds Boosters That Full Bribes Still Due Even If Football Season Canceled." They are fun to follow on social media as well as a break from the news sources I follow to keep up to date. 

Do you have a favorite work of satire?

 

How I started reading mysteries, or much love to the somewhat controversial Nancy Drew

In my previous post, I introduced the queens of my favorite sub-genre of science fiction - time travel. 

This time, I'd like to explore my second most read genre: mystery.

My love of mysteries began with the gift of a box of Nancy Drew books that had belonged to my mom. I am not entirely sure how they came to be mine, but I believe that during a trip to Michigan one summer or at Christmas, I was presented with this box that contained a wealth of reading material, not just Nancy Drew. 

As I recall, I started reading immediately. And by immediately, I mean I read the entire 13 hours home in the car. This was when I could read in the car without becoming nauseated. Since then I have switched to audiobooks or sleeping to get me through long car rides. 

I re-read all the Nancy Drew books and would also check others out of the library or ask someone to buy new ones for me. First published in 1930, Nancy Drew's stories were still being written in the 1980s and beyond. In 2018, Smithsonian Magazine  explored the beginnings and history of these popular tales that were not ever written by anyone named Carolyn Keene.

 

 

My favorites were: 

• The Clue of the Broken Locket (1934)
• The Secret of the Wooden Lady (1950) 
• The Scarlet Slipper Mystery (1954)

but while looking through a list on line, many of the titles struck a chord. I don't think there were any I did not like, just some I liked a bit better and re-read more often. 

My first school librarian job was in a middle school. A group of students asked to start a Nancy Drew book club. I agreed to read the first choice along with the club members - this was a mistake. Whichever book we read was not well written or anywhere near as exciting or engaging as it had been when I was a tween. This is not a surprise, since many books written for young people do not transfer well to adult readers. While not a part of the mystery we read, the original version of at least one Nancy Drew story contained overt racism and others contained characters who were negative stereotypes. If schools still have these versions, many of which have been revised to remove these elements I think parents, teachers, or librarians should find a way to engage readers with conversations about the problematic elements. The end of the story is that the students loved the book and had an intense conversation during lunchtime book club, then promptly lost interest and moved on to a Rick Riordan book club. 

When I was ready to move on from Nancy Drew, my father gave me a copy of Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie, this means my first Christie detective was Hercule Poirot, not a bad place to start. I really enjoyed moving to "adult" mysteries and Christie was a good choice since her stories are low gore and horror and high intrigue.

Now, my favorite mysteries are those in series that feature a crime solver I can get to know. The two queens of mystery writing for me are Louise Penny and Elizabeth George. Penny's books often take place in the town Three Pines in Québec. Her sleuth is Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of Sûreté du Québec. I am drawn to these novels because every character, including all the towns people and Gamache's family and co-workers are complex characters who each take a central role in one or more books and a smaller role in others.

Elizabeth George's books feature Inspector Thomas Lynley of New Scotland Yard. The stories themselves take place both in London and around the UK. Lynley's partner Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers features prominently while other characters come in and out regularly. 

Even after having read 14 by Penny and 6 by George I have not yet felt them to be repetitive or possible to figure out until the characters do or only just before. Both series work best if read in order, because the events build from book to book. I started to read the Lynley series because I was going to run out of Penny books, so now I have one more Penny to read before her next is released in September. 

Honorable Mentions go to:

• Tana French - these take place in Ireland and feature various members of the Dublin Murder Squad. My favorite has been The Secret Place. 
• Charles Finch - in these, British gentleman Charles Lennox, a member of Parliament, moves around Victorian London solving murders. There are 13 books in the series currently. I have read the first five and particularly liked A Burial at Sea which takes place on a ship making it a little like And Then There Were None since everyone is trapped with a murderer. 
• Alan Bradley - Flavia de Luce is the 11-year-old sleuth with an expertise in chemistry. The 10 novels, all of which I have read, take place in Bishop's Lacey, a small town somewhere in rural England. My favorite so far is As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust in which Flavia is sent to the same boarding school in Canada her mother once attended. 
• Laurie R. King - Of all the honorable mentions, I may be fondest of these because they feature the husband and wife team of Sherlock Holmes and Mary Russell with a focus on Mary. The books sometimes take place in parts of England but there is also some exciting case-based travel. I have read 14 of the 16 in the series. My favorites are The Language of Bees and The God of the Hive which work together more closely than the rest in the series. 
• Jaqueline Winspear - The Maisie Dobbs series begins just after the end of World War I during which Maisie served as a field nurse. She is now back in London solving murders and other crimes as a private investigator. There are 15 books in the series; I am caught up and looking forward to 16. A favorite is A Dangerous Place which takes place primarily in Gibraltar in 1937. 

 

Who are your favorite mystery authors and sleuths?

To travel in time, all you need is a book - about time travel.

What do the movies:

• Back to the Future (1985) and its sequels (1989 & 1990)
• The Terminator (1984)
• The Time Traveler's Wife (2009)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) AND
• Groundhog Day (1993)

                                                have in common?

They are all stories wholly or in part about time travel. When I searched for time travel movies I was overwhelmed by the number and shocked at how many I have not seen. Shocked because time travel is my favorite sub-genre of science fiction.  

Because this is a beloved sub-genre I have read far more time travel books than I have seen movies. 

For my reading life, the crown for Queen of Time Travel Writing is worn by two authors:

1. Connie Willis

The first I read by her was Doomesday Book (1993). The story introduced me to a group of Oxford students traveling from the 21st century. In this book, Kivrin travels to the 14th century to witness life in this harsh time. While there are moments of lightness, joy, and humor in all of Willis's books, I find her attention to historic detail to be my favorite element. I originally listened to this book, one of my earliest audiobooks (perhaps even on cassette) and it was an excellent way to experience this adventure.

I next read To Say Nothing of the Dog (1998). This one is meant to be and is hilarious. 

It has been far too long since I have read either of these, so they are on a list of books I intend to re-read. I don't re-read often because there aren't enough hours in the day for all the new books (the lament of avid readers the world over). But I will reread these.

The next I read was Firewatch (1984), a collection of short stories. I don't remember these as clearly as I would like, but the title story (1982) (or novelette, for which category it won both the 1982 Nebula and Hugo awards) (Willis has won many awards over the years, in a variety of science fiction categories.) is set in the same world as the novels I have discussed. 

This brings me to the two books I consider Willis's masterpieces: Blackout and All Clear. Both take place c. 2060 (Oh, how I wish time travel were a possibility this soon.) and during World War II. The stories are so intricately crafted that you HAVE to read them twice in order to suss out all of the brilliant hints and connections Willis peppers about. I feel confident I saw the outer web, but am fairly certain I missed at least some of the inner web. Both of these are on my current TBR shelf because I will be rereading them in 2020. I read them the first time when they were released in 2010 and 2011 respectively. Even just a year apart, I know I forgot or missed details I will catch when I read them back to back this fall. 

 

2. Jodi Taylor

I have read the first 8 titles in her The Chronicles of St. Mary's series: 

Just One Damned Thing After Another (2013)
A Symphony Of Echoes (2013)
A Second Chance (2014)
A Trail Through Time (2014)
No Time Like The Past (2015)
What Could Possibly Go Wrong? (2015)
Lies, Damned Lies and History (2016)
And the Rest is History (2017)

I will read the others as well:

An Argumentation of Historians (2018)
Hope For the Best (2019)
Plan For the Worst (2020)
Another Time Another Place (April 2021)

While time travel is of course serious business, this series is also hilarious, romantic, thrilling, and altogether delightful to read. There is a regular cast of characters who are irresistible in their humanity which includes strengths, foibles, and passions all carefully wrought by Taylor. I rarely read this many books in one series. As a side note, Taylor's website says: "the Chronicles of St Mary’s series [is] the story of a bunch of disaster-prone historians who investigate major historical events in contemporary time. Do NOT call it time travel!"

There is also a spin-off series afoot that chronicles the adventures of the Time Police who do appear from time to time (pun intended) in the Chronicles of St. Mary's. 

I have read many more books featuring time travel, but I think a reader cannot go wrong starting with either of these two masters.

What are you favorite time travel books and movies?

Listening to a book IS reading! - Some recent favorites.

When I drive, go to the gym, or do work around the apartment, I listen to a book. Only two of those three things is happening consistently now since I am not commuting to work or going to the gym.

I have an ipod to use with the bluetooth in my car and with a small speaker (this is not an affiliate link, Bose has no idea I exist, but I really like the versatility of this speaker and the quality of sound is very nice) at home, and a tiny old ipod for the gym. I will be happy to have these options when I start my serious packing to move at the end of August. 

Most of my audiobooks are non-fiction. Sometimes I buy, but more often check out from the library. I know it is good for my brain to experience books through audio, which is why I choose this as my entertainment for the car and gym instead of music. In the house I split evenly between books and music.

I rarely listen to fiction, with two exceptions. I have listened to the entire Harry Potter series a number of times. I choose one of the books whenever there is a lull in check outs from the library or when I need a comfort listen. I find Jim Dale, who reads the American version of the books, to be a soothing reader. I also choose audio if the book and ebook have a long wait at the library, but the audio is available sooner. This means though that if it is a series, I will want to listen to all the books to be consistent. An example of this is The Diviners series by Libba Bray. I am 4th on the list for the audiobook of the 4th in the series, The King of Crows. 

I started writing this post upon finishing Untamed by Glennon Doyle. Before listening, I knew little about Doyle, but kept seeing other bloggers I follow talking about the book, so I went ahead and checked it out when it was available from the library. Doyle reads the audiobook which is something I value in all audiobooks, but especially in memoirs. I discovered that Doyle first established herself with a Christian parenting blog. This explains why I did not know much about her as I am neither of those things. This book is her 3rd, and it was partly about parenting and faith, but more about love and identity. I think I want to either purchase the book or check it out of the library to take some notes. She had some wise things to say that I would like to revisit. 

Some of the chapters revolve around an answer that Doyle has written to someone who has emailed her for advice. One, featured in the chapter "Islands," was from the mother of a teen who just told her family she is gay. The mother is wondering how to handle her own parents who will be visiting for the holidays and will subject their own granddaughter to intolerance and attempts at "conversion." Doyle's concept of the island says that in a family you build a moat around your island and only put down the drawbridge for those who will be bringing in love; no fear, no judgement allowed. Doyle used her own mother's feelings about her relationship with her wife as a personal connection. 

The chapter was a powerful reminder that those who can't or won't cross the moat with love should be prevented from doing so. This is not the only time in the book that the right decision for Doyle and her family is sometimes the most difficult choice of many options. I found the stories to be realistic and straightforward which I prefer to slogans and cheerleading. 

The book I listened to just before this one was Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, which I bought in book form before deciding to listen to it instead. I am glad I did though because I have also referenced it again after listening and know a few people I will lend it to. Gilbert, who is best known for her memoir Eat, Pray, Love (which I did not like) explores her beliefs about living a creative life. I was drawn to the book because this is something I am working toward for myself. She also reads the audio version.

While I love cozying up with a weighty hardback or a comfortable paperback, I have more time in my day than I can devote to sitting with a book. Instead, I am grateful for audiobooks with which I have had mainly good experiences. Rarely, I run across a reader I cannot listen to for an entire book, so I either decide to check out the book or ebook, or I just skip it. 

I had no idea before making this list how many books I have listened to and enjoyed over the past year and a half:

1. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain - This one gave me insight into the importance of introverts as a balance to the world's extroverts. Made me feel good about my own introvert characteristics. 
2. Kitchen Confidential:Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain - This was one part hilarious, one part informative, and one part sad, knowing the towering Bourdain would die by suicide in 2018. 
3. Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed by Lori Gottlieb - Gottlieb does not read this one herself, but the reader was engaging and the stories gave me valuable insight into the world of therapy for both those who are and are not therapists.
4. The Lost Family: How DNA Testing Is Upending Who We Are by Libby Copeland - Just before everything shut down in March, I was fortunate to hear Copeland speak about this work at my local bookstore. I was interested  after having read Inheritance by Dani Shapiro last fall. Both books explore the ways that at home DNA tests are changing what people can know about themselves and their families. Shapiro's story is personal while Copeland interviewed individuals and families who had been shaken by surprising test results. 
5. Just Kids and M Train by Patti Smith - These are both poetic memoirs by Smith, exploring her friendship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe and her own creative endeavors respectively. Smith did an author talk after the release of Year of the Monkey in September 2019. I am still on the waiting list for the audio version at the library. Patti Smith reading it will be worth the wait.
6. We are Never Meeting in Real Life and Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby  - Both of these are "tears down your face" hilarious books of essays about Irby's life and reflections on the world. They are not for those sensitive to profanity and scatological humor, but what fun! She is also a unmatchable reader of her own work. 
7. The Happiness Project: Or Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun, AND Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter & Organize to Make More Room for Happiness AND Happier at Home: Kiss More, Jump More, Abandon a Project, Read Samuel Johnson, and My Other Experiments in the Practice of Everyday Life AND Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of our Everyday Lives by Gretchen Rubin - It is possible that I really enjoy the work of Gretchen Rubin, who reads all of these. While there is some overlap in the content of these works, I find something new and valuable in each. Rubin has been tweeting through the pandemic and isolation that she is working on a book about the senses. I'll request it at the library as soon as I can. 
8. The Body by Bill Bryson - I have listened to others by him, but none have been better than A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail, which is hilarious with interesting detail about the trail. As far as I know, Bryson reads all his own audiobooks.

My current audiobook is: 

Tough Sh-t: Life Advice from a Fat, Lazy Slob Who Did Good by Kevin Smith - I have only listened to the first hour of this so far. It is from 2012 which I did not realize when I borrowed it, but it is so far a fun tour through Smith's early movies, read by him. (Warning: Smith spends a lot of time singing the praises of the Weinstein brothers, including Harvey, who was an important mentor in Smith's movie making, but this was before his criminal behaviors were brought to light in 2017. I do not know if Smith knew of Weinstein's behaviors.)

My next listens:

1. Notes from a Young Black Chef: A Memoir by Kwame Onwuachi - I have watched both seasons of Top Chef on which Onwuachi appeared. And he has been chef at two different DC restaurants Shaw Bijou and Kith and Kin, both of which he has since left.
2. Who Thought This Was a Good Idea?: And Other Questions You Should Have Answers to When You Work in the White House by Alyssa Mastromonaco with Lauren Oyler

If you have never explored audiobooks, but have time to give some a listen, these are some I have enjoyed, but I think few books are published in the mainstream press without an accompanying audiobook. 

What are your favorite audiobooks?

Can I love books AND be a minimalist?

When I moved to Washington, DC, it was not going to be permanent; after seven years it seems to be permanent. In that time, I have significantly reduced my possessions through necessity and a change in mindset - I have become a minimalist. I am not a hardcore minimalist like The Minimalists or Joshua Becker, but I have moved in that direction and prefer living with fewer possessions. 

I still struggle with books. In both of my DC apartments I have lived within walking distance of a library branch where I can have anything from the entire system delivered for pick-up, which means accessing books for free and returning them so they do not need to be stored in my living space. But, as I said in this post, COVID-19 has changed my relationship with reading and affected my book purchasing habits. 

My questions are: Can I call myself a minimalist if I still buy books? AND Can I keep the books I already have and those I have bought recently?

I think the answer to both of these is YES!

I have read the work of the minimalists mentioned above as well as Marie Kondo (she is less a minimalist and more of a clean up and clean out guru) but all agree that minimalism does not require one to rid oneself of ALL possessions, and definately not those that bring joy. Additionally, they also discuss that minimalism does not look the same for everyone.

When I first moved, I brought books I had not yet read and some of my favorites. At the time I had two tall IKEA Billy bookcases in white with 5 shelves on each. I like the white because they make the colorful covers pop. (I do not arrange my books by color, but by genre and then alphabetically by author. I am a librarian after all.) I bought the skinny bookcases because I thought they would be more flexible for arranging in small apartments. I was right and now have 4 book cases. Soon, I am moving to a slightly bigger apartment and am thinking about getting a fifth shelf.

Currently, the shelves hold books I have not yet read, some decorative items, and beloved books, such as my fifteen copies of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. (I like to collect copies from different years and publishers. Some are illustrated, others have beautiful covers. They make me smile.) With a fifth shelf I will be able to bring more of my most favorite books out of storage. 

When I initially moved I was able to leave my books in place where I had been living. When the move turned from temporary to permanent I invited over a few friends, poured some wine, ordered pizza, and hosted a packing party. At that time I thought it made sense to separate the books into categories:

• Keep
• Try to sell
• Give to friends
• Donate

I made sure to invite friends who are also book people so they would be supportive and not too critical about my book decisions. I reduced the number of books to keep to a few hundred rather than the many hundreds I started with. MANY were donated to the local public library. One of the helpful friends took quite a few to read and has been passing them along when finished. 

When deciding what to keep I asked myself 3 questions:

1. Will I want to refer back to this title enough times to justify keeping it?
2. Will this book be valuable to others, to whom I can lend it, but then get back (hopefully)?
3. Is this a book by an author I love, whose books I buy before or soon after publication and will keep in my collection?

This situation aside, I try to be discerning about the books I buy, asking the same three questions I used for deciding the fate of my formerly large collection. But sometimes I mis-judge and buy a book I then decide not to keep. In those cases, I:

1. try to sell them online to Powell's, which earns me credit for buying other books. Yes, ironic I know.
2. give them to someone who may want to read a specific title and ask them to pass it on to someone else.
3. donate to the public library for their monthly sale (currently on hold).
4. place them in a nearby Little Free Library.

I know my methods won't work for everyone, minimalist or not, but you might find my philosophy helpful.

I am looking forward to the day I live someplace big enough, hopefully with some built in bookcases, to hold all my books. 

How do you decide if a book should become part of your collection?

 

The Book Awards I Most Often Use for Choosing What to Read Next

Recently, after reading one of my blog posts, my father contacted me to say: "Will you write about awards lists? I use them for mysteries, sci-fi, lit in general. There are many, many awards whose lists are readily available." He is right that there are many books selected each year for national, state, and local recognition. From time to time I receive an email about the long list, short list, and winners of a variety of book awards which I often forward to him because I know he gathers the titles of many books he reads from these lists. 

Other sites and blogs have extensive lists of book awards that can be searched online, so I don't want to repeat what has already been done, instead I would like to focus on a few of the awards for genres I read most and those I use to guide some of the buying I do for the students at my school.

 

 

 

 

 

The ones I am most familiar with and use for my own reading lists:

The Nebula Awards: This is one of my most eagerly anticipated lists because fantasy and science fiction are my two most-read genres. This award is decided on by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. I do wish the Nebulas would separate their YA and middle grade category into two separate awards. I think this would celebrate more books, but also, the titles really are quite different because of the age group they are written for. 

The Hugo Awards: This is also an award for fantasy and science fiction, but a different group, the World Science Fiction Society chooses the award winners. Unlike the Nebulas, this award recognizes a graphic work as well as fan fiction. They administer the Lodestone Award for best YA book, but it is not a Hugo award. 

The Edgar Award (named for Edgar Allan Poe): These are also close to my heart because I love mysteries. The Mystery Writers of America decide these. They include both YA and juvenile categories. 

Those are the genre awards I seek. There are also awards for romance and horror that are of interest. 

 

There are also awards for literary fiction. There is a good definition of what that is here. This is a controversial term because sometimes genre fiction and popular fiction are considered of lesser quality because they are less serious than literary fiction. (This is one idea that is argued.) There are authors (Jennifer Weiner is one.) who dispute this more eloquently than I whose thoughts can be searched online. The awards lists I most frequently consult are:

1. National Book Award: These are presented by the National Book Foundation and include five categories - fiction, non-fiction, poetry, translated literature, and young people's literature. The 2020 awards will be announced on November 18th. The long-lists will be announced in mid-September.  
2. PEN/Faulkner: These are decided by the PEN/Faulkner foundation and include one award for fiction and one for short story. 
3. The Booker Prizes: These are presented by The Booker Prize Foundation and include a book published in English and an international prize for a book that has been translated into English. The long-list was released on July 28, and the short-list will be announced on September 15^th. 
4. The Pulitzer Prizes: These awards were provided for in 1904 by the will of journalist Joseph Pulitzer and are today administered by the Pulitzer Prize Board. The 2020 winners listed by category can be found here. 
5. Nobel Prize in Literature: In addition to literature, there are Nobel Prizes awarded for chemistry, physics, medicine, economic sciences, and perhaps the most well-known, peace. But the literature prize may be the most controversial. The 2018 prize was delayed because of a sexual assault scandal in the Swedish Academy. Additional criticism has been levied because of the overwhelmingly white and male winners in the history of the award.  

 

Every year, I watch the ALA Youth Media Awards on their live webcast that takes place at the ALA Mid-Winter meeting. Once I was even lucky enough to be there in person with hundreds of others cheering for the honor and award books. The awards are listed on the ALA site all of which I use to guide the collection development for my library. Though some of the awards like the Caldecott (for illustration) and the Newbery (for a middle-grade title) seem like they are not relevant for a teen audience, it is important to remember that high school students do not necessarily read at a high school level, and that picture books have universal messages appropriate for readers of all ages. 

 

Many states have their own awards for books of all genres, but I focus on Virginia Readers Choice since my school is in VA. These books are chosen each year in four categories by a committee of librarians, teachers, reading specialists, and other educators from across Virginia. I served on the high school level committee for 4 years. In my district, we are encouraged to participate in the year-long program which promotes reading the selections and voting for a favorite in the spring. 

 

Which are your favorite lists to peruse for titles to add to your TBR?

Double, Double Toil and Trouble - So many books about witches

Recently, after having finished reading Magic Lessons (October 6, 2020) by Alice Hoffman, I sat down to start drafting this post, part of which is a list of other books I have read by Hoffman as well as books about witches. I discovered in listing them, that I have read MANY books featuring witches, which means that many books about witches are out there in the world, which made me ask "Why?" To answer this, I am starting with myself. Why do I like to read books about witches enough to seek them out regularly?

1. Many of these books include the history of witch hunts in both the US and around the world

2. For the same reason I read fantasy books in general - the possibility of magic and the supernatural being real leads to exciting day dreams (I have my three wishes all ready to go should I ever encounter a being that would like to grant them.)

3. Maybe it is a cliche, but powerful women are of interest to me. 

The first Hoffman novel I read was Practical Magic. While it was published in 1995, I did not read it until last year and I only did that because a second book had been released and I thought I should read this one first. And though I should have known better, I had seen the movie, and don't often read a book AFTER I have seen the movie, but of course it was far better than the movie, which I liked. This was the first novel Hoffman wrote about the Owens women, but it is not the first chronologically. Magic Lessons takes place first and tells the story of the beginning of the Owens family starting with Maria who is found abandoned in the woods by Hannah Owens who is herself a witch who can "see" that Maria is as well. The Rules of Magic, published in 2017 is a direct prequel to Practical Magic and features Frances and Jet who are aunts to Gillian and Sally. 

While those are three of the most recent witch books I have read, I have also read a surprising number of others that I liked:

The All Souls Series

1. A Discovery of Witches (2011)
2. Shadow of Night (2012)
3. The Book of Life (2014)
4. Time's Convert (2018)

There's just something about witches and vampires that is irresistible entertainment.The first book has been made into a television series and I have heard they are making two more seasons that will correspond to the second and third books.

If you want your witch books to be hilarious, you can't miss with the Tiffany Aching novels by Terry Pratchett. I have read other books by Pratchett, but when I found out he had a young witch character i zoomed through them.

• The Wee Free Men – 2003
• A Hat Full of Sky – 2004
• Wintersmith – 2006
• I Shall Wear Midnight – 2010
• The Shepherd's Crown – 2015

One I read back when it was first published, The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane (2009) by Katherine Howe, has a companion novel, The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs that I have had in my TBR since it was published a year ago.

There are others on my TBR I am looking forward to. I am on a witch roll.

• The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow (October 13, 2020). The Ten Thousand Doors of January by the same author was one of my recent reads. 
• The Age of Witches by Louisa Morgan - This one is witches and historical fiction that takes place in Gilded Age New York and London. 

In case you are looking for a different format, I have read two witchy graphic novels in the past few months as well:

• The Okay Witch by Emma Steinkellner
• The Witch Boy and The Hidden Witch by Molly Knox Ostertag

 

Why are books about magic and witches in particular so popular? What are your favorites?