This month, readergirlz is honored to feature author Scott Westerfeld, whose latest book Leviathan we've been discussing.
Read the March issue of readergirlz. There's a playlist for the book, plus book guide questions and party ideas.
Drop by the readergirlz blog to discuss the book with other readers, ALL MONTH LONG!
And don't forget to join us for the LIVE! chat with Scott TONIGHT, Wednesday, March 17th at 6 pm PST/9 pm EST.
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Blog: Miss Erin (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Blog: YALitLovers (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Authors, Reading List, Scott Westerfeld, YALitLovers, Something to Read, 2010, Add a tag
- March – When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead, Newbery winner (SciFi)
- April -ย Going Bovine by Libba Bray, Printz winner (Realistic Fiction)
- May – Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (Steampunk SciFi)
- June – Liar by Justine Larbalestier (Realistic Fiction)
- July – Firefly Letters: A Suffragette’s Journey to Cuba by Margarita Engle (Poetry)
- August – Magicians by Lev Grossman (Adult/YA crossover, Fantasy)
- September – Charles and Emma: The Darwin’s Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman (Non-fiction/Book & Movie: Creation)
- October – 3rd Hunger Games book by Suzanne Collins (Apocalyptic – book releases August 24)
Blog: YALSA - Young Adult Library Services Association (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Kenneth Oppel, Cherie Priest, Authors, Teen Reading, Scott Westerfeld, Add a tag
Well, hello there!ย I know it’s been a long time since my last ATB post (and I know I promised an anti-Twilight edition; it’s still in the works…).ย But I’m back, and this one’s more fun than a barrel of… well, you know.
Now, I don’t claim to know a lot, but there are a few things I do know:
- Zombies are cool
- Airships arecool
- Steampunk is cooler than cool
- Seattle is cool (or so I’ve heard…never been there, actually)
So imagine how beyond cool beans with extra hot sauce a book would be if it threw all of these things together, and even had a cool teen protagonist (with an even cooler mom!)!
Enter Cherie Priest, and our latest ATB: The zombie and steampunk-filled tour-de-force, Boneshaker.
It has been 16 years since inventor Leviticus Blue, supposedly attempting to test a massive drilling machine (the ‘Boneshaker’) to support the gold rush trail between Seattle and Alaska, released a deadly gas that turns people into the living dead.ย The resulting cataclysm has left the Seattle of 1879 a walled-off dead zone, populated by shambling flesh-eaters (called “rotters” herein) and mysterious bands of survivors who have refused to leave.ย The name of Blue has become a curse to the inhabitants of the city outskirts, and life is particularly hard for Blue’s widow, Briar, and their teenage son Ezekiel.
After a lifetime of taunts and fights, Zeke is determined to clear the family name, and he sneaks into the city in search of his father’s house.ย Briar, angered and terrified, sets out as well, determined to bring him back safe.ย To find their way out alive they must find each other while facing air pirates, mad scientists, and an army of the groaning living dead!ย Helped along the way by the city’s strange and steadfast residents (as well as a few colorful and crusty airship captains), the two eventually make their way towards Leviticus’ workshop, where the final mystery is solved, and the terrible secret Briar has been keeping is revealed.
Beyond the obvious cool factors, the draw here for teens is Zeke – an angry, idealistic 15-year-old who is determined, bright and fearless – even if he has no bloody idea what he’s getting himself into.ย Much of the journey of Zeke and Briar is about a mother and son learning to trust, and be truthful with each other, even if it hurts; a journey many teens (and their parents) are probably going through themselves.
Boneshaker is a natural fit with Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan, and Kenneth Oppel’s Airborn series.ย It’s been fairly buzzed about, and is likely already in your library’s adult SF section.
Now go steal it and put in your teen area.
Blog: Day By Day Writer (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: books, Writing, character, plot, novels, Maureen Johnson, Scott Westerfeld, Beth Kephart, Frenetic Reader, reading to write, Add a tag
Revision update: I can always tell the parts of my first draft where I was struggling. This morning, I found one of those parts at the beginning of this next chapter I’m working on, and I found a much better way to get into the story.
One of the many — far too many — blogs in my blog reader is Frenetic Reader, and she had a cool post today called I Would Read ___’s Books Just For ___. As she explains, she would read Beth Kephart’s books just for the writing, Scott Westerfeld’s books for the plots, Maureen Johnson’s books for the charters, etc.
I love this. But it also gave me an idea about research for us writers.
If there’s an area we want to work on — plot, characters, word choices — we can read books that excel in those areas. We can learn something new, something good in every book we read. But, like Frenetic Reader points out, writers tend to be strongest in one or two areas, and the rest follows.
If you want to know what books to read for these different areas, read the reviews. Look at what’s on the bestseller lists and honors lists that are in the genre you’re writing and read what reviewers say. If you’re looking for books strong on plot, read the books reviewers say have a strong plot, or Google search review, your genre and plot and see what kind of results you get.
Most of the books in my must-read list I’ve found through reading about them in blogs, but I was only looking for popular books in the genre I write. From now on, I’m going to scour reviews and let them be my guide based on what I’m looking to build on.
Blog: Young Adult (& Kid's) Books Central (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: scott westerfeld, YABC reviews; steampunk, Add a tag
Enter the alternate world of 1914 Europe, where mechanical machinery is in odds with gentically engineered beasts. Leviathan is a fun, exciting YA steampunk tale where science fiction meets fantasy. Once again Scott Westerfeld has created a fantastic world that will take readers away to imaginative places. Read more of my review at YA Books Central.
Blog: 3 Evil Cousins (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Sci-Fi, Scott Westerfeld, creepy future, Space Travel, Nara Oxham, Laurent Zai, Rix, Add a tag
But the empire is not alone in the galaxy. The Rix are a civilization of cyborgs, and their domain lies just outside the Risen Empire. The Rix have no leader and no culture. They are a Spartan civilization with only one goal- to propagate an artificially intelligent โcompound mindโ across the digital network of every populated planet. They worship these minds just as Imperial citizens worship their emperor. Because of this, the Empire and the Rix are constantly on the edge of war. As the novel opens, the Rix have succeeded in capturing the Child Empress, and in planting a compound mind on the planet Legis XV, the location of the Imperial palace.
Captain Laurent Zai is in command of the most powerful starship in the Empire- the Lynx. He has been assigned the task of rescuing the Empress, and the penalty for failure is death by ritual suicide. Light-years away, a senator named Nara Oxham is also becoming entangled with the Rix conflict. Together and apart, destinies closely intertwined, they must both find a way to succeed, or perish in the rising tide of war.
What can I say? Itโs by Scott Westerfeld; therefore, itโs amazing. The plot was truly original, which is hard to find in sci-fi these days, and the major cliffhanger at the end left me craving the sequel. Though I donโt think The Risen Empire is actually YA, it reads like one, with cool plot twists and exciting action. The book also makes use of flashbacks and multiple points of view- both common narrative devices, but this time, theyโre actually done well. All the events in the book- military, political, dramatic, and romantic- are well executed and convincing.
The real genius of this book, though, was in the details. Scott Westerfeld has managed to convey a vast world with minute precision. Everything, from microspaceships to smartalloy bullets to induced synesthesia to the four types of gravity, is described with a ridiculous amount of detail. While reading this book, I didnโt just feel like I was there. I felt like I knew absolutely everything there was to know about the Rix, the Empire, everything. I was a military officer, a scientific expert, a master pilot, a Rixwoman, and a politician. The world that Scott-la has created is so real, down to the last nanometer.
Strangely enough, this bookโs biggest strength is also its biggest downside. Plotwise, it tended to forgo explanation in favor of action, and several times, I found myself rereading the same passage three or four times, trying to figure out what in heavenโs name it was talking about. Most of the cool made-up technical and political jargon is just thrown in there, and explanation comes much later, if at all. I have to admit, the book was more than a little hard to follow. And be warned- itโll be even harder to follow without a little knowledge of physics, relativity and quantum mechanics.
Still, though, once I figured out what was going on, I enjoyed The Risen Empire enormously. This book has it all- futuristic technology, political intrigue, romance, secrets, lies, cyborgs, undead cats, and obscure, geeky allusions, all woven together in a captivating story. I loved Laurent Zai, Nara Oxham, Rana Harter, H_rd, Alexander, and yes, even the Emperor. I loved it all. I canโt wait for the sequel. Four and a half sixteen-molecule-wide monofilament daggers.
Yours,
Tay
Blog: Ypulse (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: scott westerfeld, self-esteem, plastic surgery, Books, uglies, Add a tag
In anticipation of a "Post-Apocalyptic Teen Fiction" panel I'm attending on Thursday (look for a post early next week,) I've been catching up on Scott Westerfeld's "Uglies" series. I'm in the middle of the first book right now and loving it. It's a... Read the rest of this post
Add a CommentBlog: A Chair, A Fireplace and A Tea Cozy (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: YA, science fiction, reviews, adventure, middle school, steampunk, simon and schuster, scott westerfeld, publication date October 2009, Add a tag
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld. Illustrated by Keith Thompson. Simon Pulse, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing. Publication Date October 2009. Reviewed from ARC from BEA.
The Plot: Prince Aleksander, 15, is the only child of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie. He is awaken in the middle of the night and flees the palace; his parents have been murdered and, while he is not a direct heir, his life is in danger. Alek is a "clanker" -- part of the world that is all about machines.
Deryn Sharp, also 15, is pretending to be a boy named Dylan to get a chance to fly with the British Air Service. But she's not learning how to fly machines. Deryn is a "Darwinist" -- the part of the world that has created living creatures to fly, to use for messages, as pets.
The assassination of Alek's parents starts a World War. As Alek runs for his life, and Deryn finds danger and adventure on the flying living ship Leviathan, their paths grow closer and closer.
The Good: If you know what "steampunk" is, skip forward in the review. If you don't, here it is, quickly: alternate universe science fiction, set in the past, with fantastical machines; a glorified Victorian age, as it were. OK, yes, I'm sure others have better explanations but that is my quick one. The ARC of Leviathan provides a definition; and while it may just be there for reviewers like me, I hope it stays for readers who may not have heard of "steampunk" and just need that brief explanation. From the ARC: "Steampunk is a genre of science fiction set in an era or world where steam power is still widely used -- usually the nineteenth century, and often set in Victorian-era England -- but with prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy, such as fictional technological inventions."
I know what steampunk is; but I haven't really read much of it. For someone like me -- so, I assume, many kids and teens -- this works as a great introduction into steampunk. And if you want to recommend some other steampunk titles to me, please do so.
Westerfeld uses two types of technological inventions. In the Austro-Hungary Empire/Germany, it's about mechanics and machines, all more developed and different from what was in our timeline. For example, instead of tanks with tractor treads there are "walkers", fortified tank-like structures that "walk". In the British Empire and France, instead of mechanical technology, it's scientific technology, with Darwin not being the father of evolution but the father of DNA manipulation, the creation of entirely new creatures for things such as flying airships and messenger lizards and attack bats. One can quickly see that philosophy is involved here, also; making with ones hands versus playing with life.
What also works well is Thompson's illustrations. Both the clankers and Darwinists have machines and creatures we've never heard of; instead of Westerfeld wasting words with trying to describe them (and losing people like me who would be all "um. ok. let's skip to action and dialogue, ok?") we get to actually see what these machines look like (OH, we think, that's how big it is, there are the turrets, that is how it works).
Alek may be a Prince; he may be rich; but right now he's a teenager on the run, and because his father married someone beneath him, Alek cannot inherit. That doesn't mean Alek is ignored with his father's death. Far from it, which is why right now he's adjusting to life without servants. Alek is always sympathetic, even as he does impulsive things. With Alek, we are hunted, staying one step ahead of bigger ships, plunging through forests in a sweaty, noisy walker.
Meanwhile, Deryn is full of adventures, trying so hard to be the boy she pretends to be. She embraces it, charging into danger, having to be the best. We are flying in the sky, enjoying the freedoms, trying not to let it slip that she's a girl, thrilling to battles with aeroplanes.
Alek and Deryn are on two distinct adventures; the reader knows that ultimately they will overlap, because hello, we cannot have two heroes in one book who never meet! It's not till the book is halfway through that we get that meet and greet; before then, we get to know and sympathize with two very different people (and look forward to the meeting.) And yes, the meeting is everything a reader wants. By that point, we are cheering both teens, sympathize with both the clankers and the Darwinists, and wonder how the heck two such opposites can get along.
Westerfeld's end note explains some of the historical changes in this alternate history; for example, that Franz Ferdinand and Sophie didn't leave behind a fifteen year old son named Aleksander. They did leave behind three young children, Sophie, Maximilian, and Ernst; and according to Wikipedia, in the 1930s they were living in Austria, opposed the Nazis, and ended up in Dachau. I cannot find much more than that online; except all three survived. If anyone can recommend a book that covers this in more detail, I'd appreciate it.
Back on topic.
A great adventure pick; and a great book for science fiction readers who don't want fantasy (i.e., unicorns and elves), thank you very much. If a dragon shows up here, it's going to be man-made and engineered. This is book for younger teens; but older teens will enjoy it, also.
Why younger teens? Easy. When a teenage girl is pretending to be a boy and never worries about her period? It's a book that is being marketed to the younger set.
Teaser
Twitter Review
ยฉ Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
Blog: Cheryl Rainfield: Avid Reader, Teen Fiction Writer, and Book-a-holic. Focus on Children & Teen Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Uglies, free ebooks, ebooks, Scott Westerfeld, free ebook, free YA ebook, Add a tag
Like Scott Westerfeld’s writing? Then you might be excited to know that you can download his Uglies ebook for free this month. The ebook is in PDF format. You just have to sign up with your email address, birthday, and zip or postal code on the Simon and Schuster site, and you’re good.
Westerfeld says that the first chapter of his new book Leviathan is included in the ebook, along with an illustration you probably havenโt seen before.
What great book promotion!
So tell me–are you going to download the ebook? I am. (smiling)
Blog: Book Moot (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Maureen Johnson's blog and tweets are always worthy of your time, but this account of her dinner with Justine Larbalestier and Scott Westerfeld is possibly, one of the funniest, laugh-out-loud things I have read in a long time.
Blog: 3 Evil Cousins (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Tay, Vampires, Peeps, Scott Westerfeld, Add a tag
Okay, so weโve all read vampire novels. You know, Twilight (excellent!!), that kind of thing. But Peeps gives us a new angle on the whole vampire theme. In Peeps, vampirism is a disease, actually a parasite, transmitted through saliva. Cal, an otherwise average kid in his early twenties, has had the misfortune to be infected with the parasite after a wild night with an enigmatic woman named Morgan. But heโs one of the lucky ones. The ordinary symptoms of the parasite are insanity, bloodlust, and intense aversion to light and to the things the infected person once liked. Cal is just a carrier, one of the lucky 1% of โpeepsโ- parasite positives- whose only symptoms are an extended lifespan, superior reflexes and strength, and intense cravings for meat.
Before Cal knew he had the parasite, though, he infected several girlfriends. So now, heโs a member of a secret organization, the Night Watch, dedicated to eradicating the parasite. But when Cal discovers a secret basement with a peep-cat, even though cats are not supposed to be a host for the parasite, and other mysterious occurrences, the Night Watch is stunned. Something odd is going on, and itโs up to Cal to find out what.
This is a fairly entertaining book. Granted, not one of Scott-laโs best works, but not his worst either. The first two-thirds of the book were awesome, but then I kind of lost interest and the ending was pretty lame. I still have to say, though, worth reading. I especially liked the way the book included information about real-life parasites (although donโt read these if you have a weak stomach!) Itโs got that typical Scott-la style that makes you want to keep reading, even when you get to the lame ending.
I rate this book three-and-a-half daggers, and I will be reading the sequel, The Last Days.
Yours,
Tay-la
Blog: 2k8: Class Notes (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: gail giles, scott westerfeld, lynda sandoval, sleepless, laura weiss, gabrielle zevin, kelley armstrong, neal schusterman, meg cabot, john green, class of 2k8, terri clark, Add a tag
Ask a teen librarian to name her top ten teen books and there's apt to be a long pause while she flips through her mental reading record, but eventually Terri gave us an answer. In no particular order, Terri's Top Ten....
4. This is, without question, my favorite book to booktalk. I always get a great reaction from kids. I'll just give you the short and sweet: Teens between the ages of 13-17 can be retroactively aborted. Dubbed unwinds, they supposedly "live on" by having every last part of their body medically donated. Some of them aren't willing to accept that fate and go on the run, this is their story. UNWIND by Neal Schusterman is a must read for EVERYONE.
5. Gail Giles is one of my all time favorite authors. She writes raw, real and gritty stories. There's no happily-ever-afters, but her characterizations are incredible. SHATTERING GLASS is my favorite of her books. Check out this opening paragraph. "Simon Glass was easy to hate. I never knew exactly why, there was too much to pick from. I guess, really, we each hated him for a different reason, but we didn't realize it until the day we killed him." 'Nuff said.
6. I loved Gabrielle Zevin's ELSEWHERE because it was so unique. When Liz dies she finds herself on a ship to Elsewhere where she lives her life in reverse until she's reborn as a baby.9. Meg Cabot's MEDIATOR and 1-800-WHERE-R-U paranormal series, originally written under the name Jenny Carroll, is the series that made me fall in love with YAs and got me started writing.
Blog: Cheryl Rainfield: Avid Reader, Teen Fiction Writer, and Book-a-holic. Focus on Children & Teen Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Neil Gaiman, Justine Larbalestier, Holly Black, Sarah Beth Durst, Scott Westerfeld, YA author, Graham Joyce, Locus Magazine, YA fantasy fiction, Add a tag
The July issue of Locus Magazine, a magazine about SF/fantasy publishing, focused on young adult fantasy fiction. It contains essays by Neil Gaiman; Holly Black; Sarah Beth Durst; Justine Larbalestier; Scott Westerfeld; Graham Joyce; and more.
How did I miss this? Well, I don’t frequent magazine stores. Still, this is exciting. I wonder if I can still get my hands on a copy. Maybe eBay? How about you–have you checked it out?
I just discovered this through Sarah Beth Durst’s blog which I discovered through Bookshelves of Doom
Blog: The Hip Librarians' Book Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: neil gaiman, young adult fiction, technology, cool science, terrorism, scott westerfeld, videogames, cory doctorow, little brother, Add a tag
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (Tor Teen, 2008).ISBN-13: 978-0765319852Hardcover: 382 p. List Price: $17.95***** (5 out of 5 stars: excellent; nearly flawless; a must-have for all libraries serving youth)“What’s the big deal? Would you r
Add a CommentBlog: Alice's CWIM blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: summer reading, Scott Westerfeld, MAC, Uglies trilogy, Jane O'Connor, Fancy Nancy, Anna Smudge, Add a tag
Authors Offer Summer Reading Tips for Kids...
Check out this interview from WABC-TV featuring three authors who share tips for getting kids to read over the summer. Picture book author Jane O'Connor (Fancy Nancy), middle-grade author MAC (Anna Smudge: Professional Shrink) , and YA author Scott Westerfeld (Uglies) are interviewed.
My favorite tip came from MAC, a new author who recently sold out of her debut novel at its sneak preview during NY Comic Con, who advises parents to run over the video game console with the vacuum cleaner. Here's her book cover.
Blog: Gratz Industries (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: books, art, Wendi, crafting, etsy, jewelry, Add a tag
Well, Carpe Librum took all of the pendants and ornaments I brought for them to choose from, so I've been busy making some more. I just finished two today (I do have a day job) and I'm very happy with them.
I love the work of David Lucas. One of my favorite picture books ever is his Halibut Jackson. Whale is his newest book and I've had the art as my screensaver ever since it was available. I see it - and love it - every day, so I was thrilled to find a copy I could cut up without guilt. Here's the first pendant - front. . .and back. . .Olive, the Other Reindeer is a really fun Christmas story with groovy art by J. Otto Seibold. This is my favorite image and line from the book - can you imagine how excited I was that it was the perfect size for an ornament? Here's the front. . .and the back. . .Both are available now in my Etsy shop.
Blog: Gratz Industries (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: art, Wendi, Alan, Something Rotten, crafting, jewelry, Add a tag
Alan's been on the road all week promoting Something Rotten (which just went on sale today!) so I've had to take care of all kinds of things myself. Can you hear the violins?
We're all heading to Carpe Librum for the Something Rotten launch party on Sunday. They also want to buy some of my pendants and I promised nice packaging - so I had to do my labels myself. Alan is the VP of Graphic Design here at Gratz Industries so I floundered around quite a bit. I used Illustrator to make the stripes, but I spent a good hour going through my big Illustrator book and still couldn't figure out how to crop out a square, so I had to upload the stripes into Photoshop to do that. Of course, I couldn't figure out how to lay out a sheet of labels and add text to a doc in Photoshop. I tried it in Quark but I can't remember how to do anything there either, so I finally managed to finish the thing in (horrors!) MS Word. Alan HATES Word so he mocked me a bit when he found out that's what I had resorted to. Buy - hey - it got the job done. So here is my new fancy-schmancy packaging for my pendants. Nice, eh?
And what goes inside? Carpe Librum does really well with the classic authors and illustrators, so they're getting Richard Scarry (from Richard Scarry's Great Big Air Book)
Raggedy Ann by Johnny Gruelle and The Fuzzy Duckling, a Little Golden Book by Jane Werner, illustrated by Alice and Martin Provensen.I'm also making up some holiday ornaments, starting with a few from How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Here are the first three I've done (still missing their hanging loops)and here's my favorite - frontand back.The pictures are too yellow - but that's because our camera doesn't adjust for tungsten light. Or if it does I have no idea how to do it. But they're still much better than what I usually take. Why? Because I took Greg's advice and built a white box using the directions found here. I've had this page bookmarked for several months now, but Greg's comment got me to actually make it. Here it is.And if you think this looks ghetto, you should see my soldering setup. I use a wooden clothespin to hold the pendant. The wood won't scratch the glass. I use a vice-grip clamped to the clothespin to weight the thing down. Then I rest the whole setup in my lap so it's easy to shift to any angle. That's right - I solder in my lap. I know that's a bad idea, but until I get a decent clamp like this or this that's the easiest way for me to work.
Blog: 3 Evil Cousins (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Scott Westerfeld, Hovercams, creepy future, Hovercams, Uglies, Fame, Scott Westerfeld, Add a tag
The fourth book in the Uglies 'trilogy', Extras, takes place in post-'mind-rain' Japan a couple of years after Tally Youngblood destroyed the Pretties system. Japan, along with the rest of the world, is adapting to the freedom of thought that people had so long been deprived of. New cultural norms have emerged, and Japan's 'reputation economy' is one of these. It ties wealth and fame together at a whole new level, making most everybody want fame more than anything else.
Enter fifteen-year-old Aya Fuse, who's just as desirous of fame as the next person. She's a kicker, and always has Moggle (her hovercam) by her side. She is constantly searching for a great story to kick, one that might take her out of panic-making obscurity. One that might make her famous. But with a face rank of 451,369 (out of a million), there is little chance of that happening. That is, until she stumbles upon the story of a lifetime. But she gets more than she bargained for when she kicks it, and fame ends up being difficult. And, in her case, dangerous.
For an Uglies/Pretties/Specials fan such as myself, it was awesome to return to Westerfeld's creepy future earth. I couldn't help but notice that the reputation economy makes a lot sense. Which is creepy. We're already fame obsessed enough as it is.
Extras is really quite a wonderful book. It was well tied-in with the three preceding books, but has enough new developments so as not to be repetitive. Aya is a great character. She's endearing but imperfect. And sometimes you get really mad at her.
Which means, of course, that Westerfeld has done his job very well.
Five daggers out of five.
Wanting to mag-lev surf*...
*What is mag-lev surfing, you ask? I don't think I'll tell you. Read the book.
_________________________________________________________
Dude, Extras is awesome.
And, as many of you probably know (on account of the link from his blog), we saw Scott Westerfeld talk/sign books... it was pretty darn cool, yo. Justine Larbalestier was also there (author of the Magic or Madness trilogy), which was also pretty darn cool, yo.
So... five out of five. Yep.
*Which would possibly work better than our current economy. I mean, it's creepy, but it would totally work.
Hoverboarding, kicking, mag-lev-riding, fame-seeking,
PS Reese: email us! Quick, before the dark lord of all evil finds out!
I finished reading Extras and I adored it. Tally-wa...Tally makes me incredibly happy. I love her super-specialness and "I'm a loner" attitude and her "just accept me or don't - - I don't care" outlook.
I give this wonderful book, the full 5 daggers.
Nonbubble-headedly yours,
Twyla Lee
Blog: Gratz Industries (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Swell Stuff, Wendi, crafting, etsy, jewelry, Add a tag
The next three Chicken Soup with Rice pendants are up on Etsy. I have four more to make from this book but I'm waiting on delivery of more glass. I hope to have them finished and up by this weekend.
Blog: Gratz Industries (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: books, art, Wendi, crafting, etsy, jewelry, Add a tag
Right now Jo and I are watching Where the Wild Things Are. . .and other Maurice Sendak Stories. I also own the Really Rosie CD by Carole King and all the Todd McFarlane Wild Thing action figures. We have a great big stuffed Wild Thing (Bernard) on the chair in our bedroom. The most treasured piece of art we have is promotional poster from Candlewick Press from their very first season in the US, featuring Sendak's illustrations from I Saw Esau. Do you think maybe I'm a Maurice Sendak fan?
Indeed I am. I've been thinking for a while about making some jewelry featuring art from favorite children's books and when I saw an irreparably damaged copy of Chicken Soup with Rice at the fundraising rummage sale for Jo's school, I knew just what book I was going to start with.Please don't send me hate mail for cutting up a book. Anyone who works in publishing (like I do) or at libraries (like many of our friends do) knows just how many books are thrown away, pulped, and recycled every day. If I can breathe new life into a book that's in such bad shape that it has to be held together with a rubber band - I'm not going to feel bad about it at all.
So here's what I did. I searched through the book with a 1 x 3 window to see what kinds of images leaped out at me. That was very fun and made me feel like I was looking at the pictures the way children do - really looking at the tiny details. Then I looked for text to complement those images. Finally I checked the backs of those pages to see if I was cutting into equally awesome images and text. I'm not making copies here - so sometimes I had to make tough decisions.After I had my snips I sandwiched them between two high-quality microscope slides and soldered around the edges. I put a piece of bright white paper between them so there's no show-through between the pages - though if you look closely you can see a bit from the back side of each page. Each pendant has a snip of art on the front and a snip of text on the back, so it looks great from both sides. I soldered a jump ring on the top and strung them on black satin cord - which really sets off the text and the black lines of the illustrations. And done! I've made five of a planned nine pendants and I'll be listing them all at my Etsy shop this week. Next up? I think it's going to be Whale by David Lucas.
Blog: LadyStar (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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“Well, since nobody is going to talk, I’ll just say here’s the new Warrior of the Storms Page. Tons of new stuff. Have fun.”
Blog: Cachibachis (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Take a peek at Sally Jean's website to see her creations. Her collage work, jewelry and Don't forget to check her links too. I am hooked....going to go back and visit soon.
Blog: OUPblog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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The booth across from us at BEA belonged to Kodansha America (which OUP distributes.) On Friday afternoon Ayako Brodek, author of Origami Jewelry, gave a demonstration of her origami jewelry-making techniques. Barely looking at her hands, Brodek swiftly folded swan after swan. I think it is a bit like knitting after a while, the motion becomes meditative and relaxing. Check out the pictures below to see Brodek at work. (more…)
Blog: YALitLovers (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Okay, so here we go….
May: Uglies - Meeting this Saturday, usual place and time.
June: Prom Dates from Hell
July: Twelve Kingdoms vol. 1: Sea of Shadow by Fuyumi Ono
August: tba
September: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
October - December: tba
I’ve been listening to music out of SXSW 2007. KEXP, KCRW and NPR had excellent coverage with lots of live music and interviews. All available in podcasts or mp3 downloads. My favs so far:
- Amy Winehouse
- Peter, Bjorn and John and their MySpace page
- Bluetones
- Lost in Trees
- Lulacruza and the MySpace page
Blog: YALitLovers (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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For May 5, 2007 (Free Comic Book Day), we are reading Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. June’s book is Prom Dates From Hell by Rosemary Clement-Moore. The final Harry Potter book will be for September to give membes time to re-read previous books along with the new one.
I’ve read the Midnighter’s series by Westerfeld, and have been meaning to read the Uglies series as well. With my new position in children’s and young adult books, I’m overwhelmed to how much ya and children’s books are published. I want to read them all. Right. Now.
I’m just wrapping up the third book in the Tiffany Aching series, Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett. Excellent series. There’s a stack of books left to read. I’m going to read through the 2008 Sequoyah Masterlist. There are some wonderful books on those lists.
Great advice. I know that most of the books I read tend to be focused on characters but I’ve recently tried to branch out to find some great examples of plot and setting. Reading is an excellent tool for helping to improve writing. Thanks for sharing this.
Great idea – to read books flagged by reviewers for a particular strength – and to read with a specific strategy in mind.
Thanks, Samantha.
Thanks, Cassandra and Peggy. Yeah, reading is a great writing tool — and so enjoyable.