Blog/Wiki Assignment

We tried out the Wiki book review assignment (http://erhslibrary.pbwiki.com/) for the first time today & I think it was a good start. Hopefully some of the participants will take a look here at the blog and leave a comment on how it's going for them. Onward & upward...

Clay & Liz

I finished Clay by Marc Almond over the weekend. It was an interesting turn on the "good kid gets in over his head" story, but ultimately I didn't love it. One thing I really liked about it was the distinct "accent" the story has. It's set in northern England and the author's use of slang and phonetic writing brought the thick, almost Scottish brogue to life. The characters had promise, but never really got beyond 2-dimensional. Still, I wanted to finish the story and I'd recommend it as a mildly engaging tale. I just started The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray by Chris Wooding. I've been curious to read this guy for a while now & so far, I love it.

Restless Dead

I finished Restless Dead (edited by Deborah Noyes) last night. Overall, I thought it was a stronger collection than her previous one (Gothic! - see my earlier post). A couple of the same YA authors are featured, along with some new ones. I especially liked Kissing Dead Boys by Annette Curtis Klause and The Necromancers by Herbie Brennan. Both collections are good, creepy fun. I'm still working on Clay - should finish tonight. It's pretty bizarre...

Regan's Summer Reads

I spent a lot of the summer doing yard work (which was a good thing), but I also managed to squeeze in some reading. As promised, here's my list of summer reads, with quick notes:

Fiction:

• Rowling - Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows (obviously!!). What can I say? I loved it, but I was sad to be at the end of the journey with Harry. I was SO proud to see so many of "my kids" waiting in line for their copy at midnight.
  
• Dietrich - Napoleon's Pyramids - my favorite genre (adventure, with ancient artifacts, intrigue & mystery), but not the best. Good historical context, but kind of a chore to finish.
• James - Pure Sunshine - interesting, gritty look at a drug problem, from the inside.
• Cohn/Levithan -Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist - one of my summer faves. The story of a guy & girl who meet unexpectedly & spend the night chasing bands in NYC, told from both points of view. Just really well-written.
• Clare - City of Bones - dark, gritty, supernatural creatures in NYC... loved it, but I was frustrated by the fact that it's first in a trilogy, and the other two aren't written yet.
• Mieville - UnLunDun - maybe the strangest thing I read all summer. Very clever, in a Lewis Carroll Through the Looking Glass kind of way. A fun read for those who can handle a bit of the absurd.
• Vizzini - Be More Chill - I really like this guy. I read his It's Kind of a Funny Story earlier this year. He's got a great voice as a writer. Strong characterization, interesting stories.
• McCarthy - The Road - heavy, really heavy, but it blew my mind (in a good way). As the father of a 7-year-old, it really resonated. Really more adult than YA.
  
• Westerfield - Peeps & Last Days - a cool twist on the vampire idea (scientific rather than supernatural), Last Days is only a sequel in the sense that it takes place in the same "world". I really like these.
• Hamamura - Color of the Sea - this one got under my skin. It's historical fiction about a Japanese-American before, during and after WWII. He's drafted while most of his friends & family are in interment camps. Really well-written, and thought-provoking.
  

Graphic Novels:

• Hellboy 1-8 (Mignola) - really fun stuff - ancient evil, Nazis, and a big red guy who kicks butt.
• Ultimate X-Men 1-4 - not as much fun as Hellboy, but not bad.

Restless Dead came back yesterday, so I started it. Loving it so far! I've read 3 of the 10 short stories & they were great. Very creepy. I went shopping last night & picked out some new Graphic Novels - mostly superhero kind of things. I'm going back tonight to pick out more & seal the deal, so those should be hitting the shelves in the next week. The shop I went to is light on Manga, so I'm going to order some of those from Amazon. I'm hard at work on setting up a wiki for the freshmen to start writing reviews. This is exciting new stuff - can't wait to get it up & running. I kept a list of what I read over the summer & I'm going to post that with some comments in the next few days.

Just finished reading Gothic! 10 Original Dark Tales, edited by Deborah Noyes. It's 10 creepy short stories by well-known YA authors (Neil Gaiman, Celia Rees, Garth Nix among them). It was kind of a mixed bag - some I liked a lot, others not so much. It's definitely worth a look if you're in the Halloween mood. We just got a similar new collection, same editor, called The Restless Dead. I'm definately going to check it out (when it's returned!).

Just started 2 new ones: Clay by Marc Almond and Black Swan Green by David Mitchell. They're both set in England & focus on teen boys, but otherwise have very different vibes. Reviews to come...

I'll be going shopping for new Manga & comics in the next couple of days - stay tuned...

Welcome to the ERHS Library Blog

Regan enters the 21st Century!! I'll use this space to muse on things I've been reading and what's happening in the library. Students are encouraged to post comments.