Deb's Rules for Books and Reading

Yes, hiatus, I know. But I can only look at so many pictures of cats taking baths before I need to do something else. This post, about personal rules from reading, from Bookshelves of Doom, was in my reader feed and was a response to a post on Book Riot. And I like lists and quizzes, so I thought I'd give it a go.

So. Deb's Rules for Books and Reading

1. I will write in books, and I will dog-ear pages, but only in books that I own. I don't write in books a lot, and mostly I confine annotation to underlining passages because I want to allow myself to change as a reader, to grow, to react differently to passages, and I find it difficult to do that if I put comments in the margins. I do have bookmarks. I use pretty ones that I got as gifts, ticket stubs, pictures, post cards. But I am not averse to the dog-ear. I know that makes me a savage in the eyes of many, but too bad.

2. I'm a re-reader, but mostly, I re-read series I loved as a kid.

3. I give myself about 2 chapters to abandon a book. It's hard to abandon books. I feel like a quitter, but there are too many good books waiting to be read for me to waste time on boring/crappy/stupid books. This year, I've abandoned two books. Abandonment isn't necessarily permanent, but I'm not likely to go back.

3. I read three or four books at a time. This has become easier to do since I got a Nook (and Nook app for my phone) because I can keep several books with me. For example, today, while I waited to get a flat tire repaired, I read The Laughter of Dead Kings until the battery died on my Nook, then switched to the phone and continued reading The Hobbit. (TLoDK is a library book and didn't transfer to my phone). I've read The Hobbit in line at the post office, the coffee shop, while waiting for a movie to start. It's a great book to dip into whenever I have a few spare minutes, especially since I've read it before.

4. I don't treat books like sacred objects anymore. I'm better at lending books to friends, letting go of books that only gather dust. I use the library all the time. That said, if you fuck up one of the books that I have chosen to keep in my small personal library, I will cut you.

5. I try not to buy a book with a movie tie-in cover. It's crass. I'm a scholar, Jim, not a floozy who sells her book love to the highest bidder. But I will happily cast the characters with actors. Like my beloved BC as John Tregarth.

I really like this picture. Le sigh.

6. I check out books that I have no real intention of reading (or have only the slimmest intention of reading). I do not feel guilty about taking these books off the shelves. I might need them. What if one of the books I have goes south and I chuck it away? Usually, I do not renew these books. I keep them for their allotted check out time. Usually.

7. I read what I fancy. Even in grad school, I read books for fun. I'm lucky to be a fast reader. I'm lucky to absorb things quickly (Heidegger aside). I feel pangs of sorry for my fellow program scholars who, upon graduating, are now allowing themselves the luxury of reading whatever they want. I did not do this. Sure, my "fun" reading slowed down a bit while I was in school, but reading for myself is not something I consider a luxury. It was necessary to keep me sane. I believe that because I didn't stint myself on books I wanted, I avoided a major grad school melt down.

8. I over think everything. I will go into full on literary analysis mode no matter what I read. For example, when I was telling a friend about Vicky Bliss, I also confessed to some guilt that I recognized these books present a pretty heteronormative world view, and I liked it anyway. Bless her dear literary analyzing heart, my friend (a graduate of The Program, which is henceforth how I will refer to the MA/MFA program from which I graduated) talked me through my academic guilt. I like over thinking. I've also made friends (like the aforementioned Program Chum) willing to indulge me in analysis shop talk, and even better, willing to participate! So I'm giving in.

And that's about it. My golden rule for reading is Read What You Love; Don't Read What You Don't Love. Everything else tends to sort itself out.

The Dreaded Slump

Good evening, Gentle Readers. A couple weeks ago, I decided I needed a hiatus from blogging, but what I've really done is take a hiatus from reading. I've hit a wall, Gentle Readers, professionally, personally, creatively. I've hit a wall in just about every part of my life but literally (because ouch).

Oh, I'm putting a few books away here and there, but not like I used to. Not a book or two a week. I've been sewing. I've been catching up on TV. I've been trying very hard not to think too much (although I blew that resolution away when I went to see The Great Gatsby* with the nerdiest of my nerdy friends, and afterwards, we had ice cream and deconstructed the film and generally had a marvelous afternoon).

But I've only read two books in a month. TWO! But let me be my normal, fangirly, self here for a minute and say that Night Train to Memphis struck every chord in my appallingly sentimental heart, and I LOVED every moment. Also, I'm picturing John Tregarth as played by Benedict Cumberbatch, which doesn't hurt things. I said before that I wanted to be like Elizabeth Peters's creation Jacqueline Kirby, and I do, but maybe when I'm in my mid 40s. I think it would be fantastic to be Vicky Bliss (minus the blond, buxom part -- too much pressure) right now, even with all the death defying and sleuthing. Yes, I'm in such a deep personal and professional malaise that I would take gangs of unscrupulous art thieves and personal peril in a hot second.

Hello, you devastating art thief, you.

I'm reading the last (sob) Vicky Bliss book now, The Laughter of Dead Kings, which I like for a lot of reasons. Primarily, there is a LOT more John in this book (sa-wooon!). But there is something a little strange going on with the series, something I never really thought about because most series I read keep some sort of internal continuity. No so with Vicky Bliss. Doctor Bliss first came into the world in 1973, and the story most definitely reflects the time in which it was written. Flash forward 35 years, to TLoDK. Vicky and company have only aged a few years, but they are using cell phones and email, firmly ensconced in Modern Life. Peters addresses this in her forward.

Recently, I discussed, with several mystery writer friends, the problem of what we call "the current now." One of my mysteries is set in real time; the characters age appropriately with each passing year and with each volume. The Vicky series, and those of many of my friends, don't work that way. Vicky made her first appearance in 1973. She was not yet thirty. The most recent volume was published in 1994, more than twenty years later, but Vicky had aged only a few years. She's still in her early thirties, although the world in which she lives has changed a great deal. The Cold War has ended, the horror of Iraq is under way, the Internet has its tentacles into every body's lives, and people go around with cell phones glued to their ears.

So how do writers explain the inconsistencies and anachronisms? We don't. We can't. So please don't bother writing to point them out to me, ignore them as I have, and place yourself in the "current now."

-- from the Forward to The Laughter of Dead Kings, Harper Collins ebook edition

This "current now" was something I'd never considered, as a reader or a writer. As a writer, I find it an interesting technique. I don't currently plan on writing a series like Vicky's. If I did, I think I would stick with an internal continuity, as Peters does with the Amelia Peabody series, although those books are historical fiction, and it seems like it might be easier to work with continuity in historical fiction than in contemporary fiction. As a reader, I thought it would bother me, but it really hasn't, except for a few moments' pause whenever they zip through airport security. At any rate, Vicky is still smart, capable and complex, Schmidt is still a joy and John is still super swoon-worthy, and that's all I really care about in these books.

So for now, Gentle Readers, please forgive the slump. Hopefully, I'll shake myself out of it soon. Til then, enjoy another picture of John Tregarth, er, Benedict Cumberbatch.

Helloooooo nurse!

*Quick review: I thought it was great, worth the price of a matinee and ice cream after.

Loki's Wolves by KL Armstrong and Melissa Marr

Loki's Wolves by KL Armstrong and MA Marr

Matt Thorsen and his family have a secret. They are descendants of Thor, god of thunder. In fact, most people in his small hometown of Blackwell, South Dakota, are descendants of Norse gods, including Matt's classmates Fen and Laurie Brekke, who are descendants of Loki. Which is trouble enough for the 8th graders, but now, Ragnarok is at hand, and Matt has been chosen as the champion of Thor's descendants, the one who will fight the giant Midgard serpent. As Loki's descendant, Fen is expected to help thwart Matt's attempts to stop the end of the world, but instead, Fen and Laurie team up with Matt, at the behest of the Norns, to join forces with other descendants of the gods, to change the story and prevent the ice age and end of the world they believed Ragnarok would usher in.

In general, I liked this book (the beginning of a trilogy). I'm a huge fan of Norse mythology and have been looking for something along the Percy Jackson lines in this myth system, and for the most part, Loki's Wolves fills the bill. The writing isn't quite as vivid as Riordan's series. It's rather heavy on exposition, relying on info dumps to set the scene. I liked that the characters (well, Matt and Fen) knew of their godly heritages instead of suddenly learning about it and then being thrust into battle. As a result, the exposition isn't handled quite as smoothly as I'd like, and because of this, I think the books are better suited to younger middle grade readers -- not that these kids don't deserve good writing. I'm just remembering myself as a burgeoning novel reader, and I was more forgiving of clumsy exposition. And it's not all exposition. There's plenty of action. Matt, Laurie and Fen face off with trolls and maras and wolves. And this book ends with a rather exciting cliffhanger. So while I was occasionally put off by less-than-deft info dumps, I do think that kids looking for more Riordan-esque mythology series will enjoy this series.

But I have a few things to add. This blog is cross posted at Guys Lit Wire, and generally, I like to keep the tone as positive as possible because I want readers to find the recommendations on there useful, not full of rambly, semi-academic stuff. That's why you come to THIS blog, dear readers! ;-)

For myself, I was rather disappointed with the quality of the writing. The book really has a lot of info dumping.  This book is shelved in the YA section at my library, and the characters are 13 years old (maybe a little older -- the secondary characters that are introduced along the way aren't given a lot of back story -- they feel like they're just there to round out the myth, but they are really flat), but this is definitely a book for upper elementary and lower middle grade readers.

I like the choice the author's made to have the Matt and Fen know about their ancestry. I also really liked the character of Laurie. Matt and Fen fell pretty flat for me. I particularly bristled at the patriarchal Girls Must Be Protected vibe from the boys. Which is why Laurie is great, because she fights that attitude through the whole book.  However, when two of the protagonists and all the secondary characters are flat, it makes for a pretty disappointing read. And I was even more disappointed when I learned that MA Marr is Melissa Marr. Wicked Lovely is one of my favorite books, and to know that she can write interesting and complex stories that twist fairy tale conventions around but to read such a meh book? Disappointing is the only word for it. I haven't read any of Kelley Armstrong's books, and while several of my friends have highly rated her Darkest Powers trilogy, I'm not inclined to give the books a go. Nor am I likely to read the rest of the trilogy, which is a total bummer because I'm really looking for more non-Greek/Roman myth stories in modern settings. And I feel like kind of a hypocrite, recommending this book, because the best I can muster about my own experience is "Meh.*" But I do think kids will like this book, especially those looking to fill a Percy Jackson shaped void in their reading lists. And it might even get them more interested in Norse mythology, which is a good thing.

Oh, and also also, I'm totally overthinking this** but why the initials instead of the full names? Probably the authors wanted to distinguish these books from their other works (like Marr's adult horror novel Graveminder). But my brain, fresh from reading about coverflips and gender inequality in movie roles, can't help but wonder if they wanted to avoid immediate association with lady names. I really hope I'm overthinking things on this.

*Although if I am totally honest, I will say that what I really want is more Tom Hiddleston-as-Loki, not myth Loki. Le sigh.
** See rule 8 in Deb's Rules for Books and Reading

Hiatus

Gentle Readers, the Adventures in Reading will be going on hiatus for the forseeable future. I will continue my monthly posts at Guys Lit Wire, which has many good posts.

The Accidental Time Traveller

The Accidental Time Traveller by Janis Mackay (expected publication May 1, 2013*)

Twelve-year-old Saul is on his way to the shops, expecting to pick up some cookies and sweets, when a young girl in old fashioned clothes suddenly appears in the street. She is terrified by the oncoming traffic, dazed and bewildered and clearly not a local. Except, as Saul finds out, she is a local. She's just 200 years out of time. Saul takes the girl, Agatha Black, to his fort and decides he will help her get back to her own time.

I have some mixed feelings about this book. I expected it to be a little more on the adventure and science fiction side, especially with Time Traveller in the title (I'm a huge Doctor Who fan, so that may have unduly influenced my expectations).  The book turned out to be more a "learning about yourself and others" story, as Saul learns to connect with Agatha, stand up to the local bully, be friends with a girl (I'd forgotten how big a deal this is for younger kids). Thankfully, Mackay steers pretty clear of the preachiness to which this sort of story often falls prey. Once I got over my disappointment at the lack of a strong sci-fi element (and at the actual mechanism of time travel -- I won't spoil it, but it is a little bit of a let down), I found I rather liked Saul and his friends. I read something in The Guardian about looking for "normal" boys in fiction -- leaving aside the very problematic and loaded nature of that question -- and I think this book would fill the bill for a "normal" boy quite nicely. Ultimately I like the book and I think upper elementary school readers will like it as well.

*Thanks to NetGalley for my copy.

Ballou High Spring Book Fair

If you follow me here, chances are you also read Guys Lit Wire, the other blog to which I contribute. If not, you should check it out, starting with this post about Ballou High School in Washington DC and the Spring Book Fair. Back in 2011, the good folks at GLW (before I joined up) started working with Librarian Melissa Jackson to stock the shelves of the school library. The school, like many others around the country, faced serious budget shortfalls that didn't allow Jackson to add to the collection. So, with GLW, Jackson started a Spring Book Fair. Basically, it give you, gentle readers, the opportunity to put some books on the shelves for some awesome teens.

If you're able to help out, please read the post linked above -- it gives you instructions on how to get books to Ballou. If you're not able to help out with books, then spread the word. I know this isn't the only school in need, but if you're at all able to help, please do.

And it's also National Library Workers Day, so cheers to my library peeps!

National Library Week!

Yes, it's Tax Day. But it is also National Library Week. While it's easy to dwell on the negative (and believe me, I'm a world class champion gold medal winning DWELLER these days), it's good to remember that Libraries are AWESOME. So come down to your favorite library, give your favorite librarian a hug or a coffee or a good stiff drink and celebrate!