The American Library Association (ALA) has released its annual list of the most frequently challenged library books of the year. We’ve linked to free samples of all the books on the list–follow the links below to read these controversial books yourself.
During the past year, the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom received 326 reports of “attempts to remove or restrict materials from school curricula and library bookshelves.” The list was part of the ALA’s 2012 State of America’s Libraries Report.
Here’s more eBook news from the report: “The rapid growth of ebooks has stimulated increasing demand for them in libraries, but libraries only have limited access to ebooks because of restrictions placed on their use by publishers. Macmillan Publishing, Simon and Schuster and Hachette Book Group refused to sell ebooks to libraries. HarperCollins imposed an arbitrary 26 loans per ebook license, and Penguin refused to let libraries lend its new titles altogether. When Random House raised ebook prices, the ALA urged it to reconsider.”
continued…
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
The American Library Association (ALA) has released its annual list of the most frequently challenged library books of the year. We’ve linked to free samples of all the books on the list–follow the links below to read these controversial books yourself.
During the past year, the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom received 326 reports of “attempts to remove or restrict materials from school curricula and library bookshelves.” The list was part of the ALA’s 2012 State of America’s Libraries Report.
Here’s more eBook news from the report: “The rapid growth of ebooks has stimulated increasing demand for them in libraries, but libraries only have limited access to ebooks because of restrictions placed on their use by publishers. Macmillan Publishing, Simon and Schuster and Hachette Book Group refused to sell ebooks to libraries. HarperCollins imposed an arbitrary 26 loans per ebook license, and Penguin refused to let libraries lend its new titles altogether. When Random House raised ebook prices, the ALA urged it to reconsider.”
continued…
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
The American Library Association (ALA) has released its annual list of the most frequently challenged library books of the year. We’ve linked to free samples of all the books on the list–follow the links below to read these controversial books yourself.
During the past year, the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom received 326 reports of “attempts to remove or restrict materials from school curricula and library bookshelves.” The list was part of the ALA’s 2012 State of America’s Libraries Report.
Here’s more eBook news from the report: “The rapid growth of ebooks has stimulated increasing demand for them in libraries, but libraries only have limited access to ebooks because of restrictions placed on their use by publishers. Macmillan Publishing, Simon and Schuster and Hachette Book Group refused to sell ebooks to libraries. HarperCollins imposed an arbitrary 26 loans per ebook license, and Penguin refused to let libraries lend its new titles altogether. When Random House raised ebook prices, the ALA urged it to reconsider.”
continued…
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Beginning in April, Round Table Companies will offer comic book adaptations of best-selling nonfiction books.
Here’s more from the press release: “In partnership with Smarter Comics, Round Table Companies will release six comic books on April 16, 2011 in bookstores throughout the U.S. and Indigo bookstores in Canada, as well as in Hudson News stores on May 1, 2011. Additionally, readers can download a digital version of the books for free, online or on the SmarterComics Android applications from April 1 to July 1, 2011.”
The titles up for adaptation include The Long Tail by Chris Anderson, Overachievement by Dr. John Eliot, How to Master the Art of Selling by Tom Hopkins, Mi Barrio by Robert Renteria, Shut Up, Stop Whining & Get a Life by Larry Winget, and The Art of War by Sun Tzu.
continued…
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
NYC Teen Author Festival--My First Day...
I arrived in New York on rainy Thursday to catch the last few days of the Teen Author Festival. That afternoon I met my friend Aaron Hartzler (who is the Director, Communications & Design for SCBWI) for a 4 o'clock reading at the 67th branch library featuring Rachel Vail, Courtney Sheinmel, Martin Wilson, Lisa Ann Sandell, and Cecily Von Ziegesar (pictured below in my rather dark photo, L to R, holding up their books).
Oh...I really adore listening to authors reading their own work. There's something sort of magical about it. I'd love to have a continuous bedtime rotation of YA authors reading me a few chapters every night before I fall asleep. Courtney Sheinmel told us she got the idea for her book My So-Called Family, featuring a girl whose father was a sperm donor, from a "The Today Show" story. Cecily Von Ziegesar read a scene from an early Gossip Girl title showing us the book version of why Blair Waldorf didn't get into Harvard (no cocktail parties or text messages involved). Rachel Vail's reading from her upcoming book Lucky offered humor and a great character. Lisa Ann Sandell's writing was lyrical and beautiful and I wasn't surprised to hear that her book A Map of the Known World is her first first prose work, her previous books written in verse. As for Llambda Literary Awards finalist Martin Wilson--after the reading teens were fighting over who got to read his book What They Always Tell Us first as he gave his copy to the library.
And that was another wonderful thing about this reading: teens. There were a bunch of them. And they (pretty much all) paid attention and they asked thoughtful questions and they seemed to have a relationship with the YA librarian which was wonderful to see.
After the reading we were off to Books of Wonder for the debut of Tiger Beat, the first-ever all-YA-author band including Libba Bray, Daniel Ehrenhaft, Barney Miller, and Natalie Standiford. Tiger Beat's opening act was David Levithan and Rachel Cohn (rockin a flannel shirt and eye liner) offering readings from their book Naomi and Eli's No Kiss List (in both English and German!) and a reenacted scene from the movie version of Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist.
Then Tiger Beat seriously rocked (they were, like, good) and everyone cheered.
And waved foam Tiger Beat rock'n'roll hands.
Oh--and attached to Books of Wonder: a cupcake place! Aren't they pretty. (The chocolate icing was fantastic.)
Last, here's a reenactment of part of Aaron's conversation with the girl who sold us cupcakes. (I forget her name. I will call her Kara.)
Aaron: Hi Kara. Are you excited about the authors here in the store?
Kara: Oh. I'm not really into young adult books.
Pause.
I'm sixteen.
Aaron: What do you read?
Kara: Neil Gaiman.
I'm giving away the banned book of your choice--see the bottom of this post for details.
I figured that this week all my reviews will be related to Banned Books Week.
I was never interested in reading Gossip Girl, but when it appeared on ALA's Top Ten Most Banned Books list, I had to see what all the fuss was about. I immediately fell in love with the series. (It's banned because there is sex, drinking, and lots of swearing. These books are populated with not-nice people.)
WARNING: I'm reviewing series books so there will be spoilers for the previous books in the series--it's the nature of the beast.
I really really enjoyed the first 6 books in this series. I did not like the last 6. Well, I guess I didn't like the last 5 and kinda liked the prequel. Sadly, I was too attached to the characters, so I had to keep reading to find out how everything would eventually go down.
There is a marked decline in quality of the books in later half of the series, which spend a lot of time setting up the spin-off series, and then things really get bad in the last two titles, when the ghost writer takes over.
Nobody Does It BetterBlair and Nate spend all their time having sex. Randomly, Blair moves in with Vanessa (WTF?!) Jenny's about to get kicked out of Constance Billiard for hanging out with rockstars and is talking Rufus into boarding school (Hello, we have a new series,
The It Girl please buy it!).
Jenny's turned into this major bad girl, which I don't like, because she doesn't even do it well. Dan's gone completely off the deep end in a way I don't understand and... I mean, really? Such a decline! I really thought this was the book where the ghost writer takes over.
Nothing Can Keep Us TogetherGraduation Day! Blair's moved into the Yale Club and on with her love life. Nate's just always weeping and Dan just gets weirder. And, OF COURSE they're doing a remake of
Breakfast at Tiffany's. Uh-huh. But it is the graduation party to end all graduation parties.
Also, you know things are bad when even
I know that your brand-name dropping is messed up. There's a scene where Jenny and Elise are in the lower school bathroom and everything is Hello Kitty, because one of the parents happens to own Hello Kitty. Except, where you could own Sanrio, I don't think you can actually own Hello Kitty.
Also, all anyone ever talks about is how big Jenny's boobs are. As such, there is no way she would be able to wear tops from Anthropologie. Trust me--those clothes are not made for the well-endowed.
Only In Your DreamsBlair's off to London, where she shops like a fiend. Serena's filming her movie and living Audrey Hepburn's life, all the while hoping to seduce her costar. Meanwhile, Dan has discovered yoga and Vanessa is homeless... and a nanny? And Nate's picked up some skanky town girl in the Hamptons. Hello Summer Vacation!
Would I Lie To YouEveryone's in the Hamptons for the summer, including some sketchy Eastern European Blair and Serena look-alikes. Ok, Dan's not in the Hamptons, but he got drunk and made out with a guy, so he's obviously gay. Yes, obviously. Um...
This is the book where the ghost writer picks up and all the characters get even more weird. Dan, especially, gets really out of character. Also, general quality has gone down as well--typos all over the place!
Don't You Forget About MeThis is the final goodbye. But Serena loves Nate! And Nate loves Blair! And Serena! And given that he ran away, he's not going to Yale because coach is withholding his diploma. And Blair's parents are wackier than ever which leads to the perfect set-up for a brand-new series they want you to read,
The Carlyles. But... there's a going away party to end all going away parties... and the curtain falls as our characters scatter across the Ivy League.
It Had to Be YouCecily von Ziegesar came back to write this prequel and the writing quality is definitely back up there with the earlier volumes of the series but... I still had some problems with it. This takes place the winter, spring, and summer before Serena goes off to boarding school.
Parts are really puke-inducing--oh look! Here's Nate getting stoned for the first time, here's Blair watching
Breakfast at Tiffany's for the first time, here's Serena doing her first shot, Dan smoking his first cigarette, Jenny wishing she had boobs, Vanessa shaving her head...
You knew all that was coming BUT here's the big thing...
Serena loves Nate. And almost gets with Nate, but Blair also likes Nate and her life is falling apart (did you know her dad was gay? Because Blair didn't!) and so Serena lets Blair have him and selflessly sits in silent anguish...
First off, if Serena knows she loves Nate NOW, then why is it such a huge revelation when she realizes it two years later? Also, this changes everything in the regular series. Knowing Serena has been consciously lusting after Nate all this time? Really? I feel like I almost have to go back and reread the series with that lens. UGH.
Also, while the book takes place two years before the first Gossip Girl, they forgot to actually set it in that time. The first book came out in 2002, so this book should be taking place in 2000. But... they're watching Marie Antoinette, which came out in 2006.
Usually the series was much better about these details.
sighOk, Book Give Away Details:
To celebrate our right to read, I'm giving away banned books. All you have to do is check out the banned book lists on my sidebar and email me (kidsilkhaze
at yahoo
dot com) with your choice of book (if it's a series, you can choose any volume in the series). If you blog about the contest and email me the link, I'll give you an extra entry. Multiple winners will be selected. The contest ends on midnight on Sunday and is open world wide. GO READ!
I'm swimming in articles about YA literature. These articles mainly just made me love Roger even more than I already do. (We were reading "Problems, Paperbacks, and the Printz: 40 Year of YA Literature.") I read several articles that covered the same ground, but you can't beat Roger's tone of voice.
Which brings us to Gossip Girl in my mind. Somehow. Anyway, you know I love this series. Seriously love this series. I understand why people object, but sometimes I think they need to get over themselves. For class, we had to read another article, this time by Anita Silvey who discusses the rising trend of fantasy or other worlds over realistic fiction and how/why they are appealing to today's YA audience. To quote my friend Mary, who was talking about Sex and the City but the same idea holds, "It's fantasy, except instead of aliens they have men." And instead of wizards, they have shoes. They might not be super spies, but they are super shoppers in ways the majority of us can only be in our wildest dreams. And yes, I realize the irony of me posting this just after reading Liz's post revisiting class in YA lit.
Anyway, the actual books.
WARNING: I am reviewing books 3, 4, and 5 in a series. There will be spoilers for the books that come before it. It's the nature of the best.
Because I'm Worth It Cecily von Ziegesar
February. Fashion week. Nate gets busted for weed and meets an heiress. Serena gets model-discovered while shopping. Blair cuts her hair. Jenny makes a friend. Dan and Vanessa have drama I never expected.
It had been a long time since I had read
Gossip Girl... in fact, over a year (I read a few for last year's 48 Hour Challenge). I had forgotten how fast paced it is. How the characters develop really slowly. (Can you believe I'm starting to feel sorry for Blair?!) How absolutely biting and funny it is.
No, it's not literature, but it's also now as trashy as you'd think.
I Like It Like That Cecily von Ziegesar
Spring Break! Woo! They may not life their shirts like Kitty or Tobias, but these kids still party.
Blair might just finally do the nasty with Serena's brother. Nate's geared up for a romantic getaway with Georgiana. Who might have something to do with why Serena got kicked out of boarding school. Too bad Chuck has shown up. (Dude, what's with Chuck?!) Awkward hilarity ensues. And back home, Jenny's stalking a nice boy and Dan is enduring the internship from hell. Oh, and we finally meet Vanessa's parents. Yikes.
Again, I'm really feeling Blair. I don't know why. And Nate. I was so happy when they broke up, because I was enjoying the series in a catty trash sort of way. I've started actually caring about the characters.
You're the One That I Want Cecily von Ziegesar
And... we all got into college! Or didn't! Serena needs to decide which school to attend, so she falls in love around the Ivies. Nate tries to be sweet by being a jerk. And something HUGE FINALLY happens. I'm surprised they didn't wait until the last book! And Blair is forced to be her mother's birth coach. And Dan and Vanessa play house. And wow Jenny. Wow.
There is SO MUCH going on in these books. I just kinda mentioned a handful of the plots. They're complicated. I had forgotten how much gossip there is in the books and how destructive it is. The characters know it, but can't help themselves, just like most people.
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LOL.
That looked awesome. I loved the pics- and the play by play! Very nice job, Alice.
Ooh! I love your bedtime fantasy. I'd like that, too! And the conversation with Aaron and cupcake Kara...Ha!