And So It All Comes to an End...

Readers Advisory is over for another semester, and once again, it was the best class of the term. Great books, great assignments, what's not to like?

My favourite read of the semester was definitely Karma. The style just drew me into the story and gave it life in such a fascinating and visceral way. The characters were full bodied and had such wonderful voices as they told their stories, it was easy to connect with them even though their experiences were completely apart from my own. I have never experienced living through a massacre, but reading through it in Karma, it was almost like being transported there and getting a glimpse of what it must have been like. I really admire the author for that.

This is something I would most definitely recommend, and I will probably bring it home with me at Christmas and nag my friends into trying it. I think it's a book that readers would enjoy if they were looking for a different style of writing, maybe something that they aren't familiar with. Especially if they already enjoy poetry and books that aren't written according to the norm. Or those who are looking for a really great coming of age story, because this one tells that story in a very impacting way and readers could really enjoy both reading this and then reflecting on it afterwards. 

I loved this book and I loved this class. I can't wait for next semesters RA!!

RA with Teens

I've really been enjoying my RA class this semester. It's really the only class I've been enjoying, actually. The assignments are fun and creative, and it's easy to see how practical they are as well as how they can actually be implemented in a real working situation. The more work I do in the RA courses, the more I think I would like to do this type of work when I do find a job. 

I'm not sure if I would want to work with teens only though. I do like children, though teenagers less so, but I find myself very awkward around them. Especially teens.  When I talk to them, in professional capacities, I find it hard to find the line between being the working, responsible adult and still being a person who is able to have a conversation with them. Knowing what's appropriate language, topics, etc. as opposed to, not inappropriate per se, but....hmm, I suppose, more how an adult would speak to them versus how they speak to their peers? 

Don't know if that makes any sense, but that's one of the things that makes me a little nervous about working with children and young adults.I like them, but I don't know how to relate to them. That, and sometimes teens are scary. I didn't really like them even when I was a teenager. 

I would definitely like to try though. I love the work that can be done for them and with them, with the programs that we as library staff can make available to them. I very firmly believe that all children, no matter their age, need a place where they can come and feel welcome and have services that cater to their needs. Sometimes they don't get that at home, and not even at school sometimes, depending on budget cuts. And if the library can offer that, then I think they have a responsibility as a part of the community to do so. 

Maybe it's cliche, but our children are our future and we need to foster their learning, their ingenuity and creativity, their health and well-being as much as we can. 

So yes. I think I would like to do RA work with teens. Or with anyone really. :)

Verse Novels

Before reading Karma, the most verse I had read was narrative poetry fanfiction. And I instantly fell in love with it. For me, poetry doesn't have to rhyme or follow a certain pattern. It's all about the flow of the words and the story it tells, no matter how disjointed it might get. I think I like verse so much because that's also how I like to write sometimes, so it's easier to enjoy and appreciate it.

Reading Karma was definitely an enjoyable experience, and I am definitely going to look for more verse novels that I might enjoy. For me, the experience of reading a verse novel wasn't about the content of the novel. I'm not a huge reader of realistic fiction, but for Karma, it was the style that won me over and made me love this book. I think part of my problem with realistic fiction is that I don't often find it realistic to my point of view and my experiences, which can make it hard to sink into. But with Karma, it wasn't a matter of relating to my experiences; it was more about getting a visceral reaction from me, the feeling that, yes this has happened. 

Karma is one of my new favourite novels, and I can't wait to find more like it. And who knows, maybe I'll try my hand at writing one too.

All Good Children

So. The CLA YA Book award committee states that "Austen's novel explores the nature and value of creativity, individuality and non-conformity with memorable characters and a gripping plot."

Huh.

Can't really say that I found either the characters memorable, nor the plot gripping. I thought it was a good plot, don't get me wrong. But gripping isn't really the word I would use to describe it. It really reminded me of Brave New World in the beginning, the way Max talked about the throwaways and the genetically superior kids, which I liked because BNW was a really interesting book. But I liked it better because of the faster moving plot. I think when you do a novel like this, creating a new world out of our own, you really need to move fast otherwise the reader can get too bogged down in the details and lose interest. 

The novel definitely explored all of the aspects the CLA states, but I think it could have been done in a more exciting way. This book didn't grip me at all, and I even had a hard time remembering anything about it after I had read it. So it wasn't very memorable at all, which I think is a hallmark of a good book. 

That being said, I can see how this book would appeal to younger readers, as it is intended to. Especially for those younger readers who like a slower paced read, who will really take the time to sit back and contemplate the issues that the book puts forth. I also think it's an interesting dichotomy to The Hunger Games, in which the masses are controlled through fear and violence. Here they are made to be peaceable little zombies. So definitely an interesting compare/contrast study could be done with those two books. 

But I just didn't find it all that memorable or exciting. :(

Realistic Fiction

Of the two books that we read for our section on Realistic Fiction, I have to say I preferred neither of them. While I really did not like Luna, I felt nothing for True Diary. 

When I read True Diary, and sad moments occurred, I had a moment where I could accept that it was sad and I would pause for a second in my reading. But then I just shrugged it off and went back to reading the rest of the book. And once I finished the book, I felt like something was missing. Generally when I read, I prefer for the story to be wrapped up at the end with some sort of conclusion, whether it be happy or sad. I don't read realistic fiction, where things can't be tied up, because that's not how life works. And so for me it was difficult to enjoy the book, especially when I didn't feel anything for the character either. 

As for Luna, I started off hating this book. And that was due to the characters. I thought they were all ridiculous and stereotypical, and the only emotions I felt toward them were anger and frustration. Really, I just wanted to throttle all of them. So, completely opposite to True Diary, I had a difficult time getting into this book because of how I felt towards the characters. The frustration made it difficult to truly enjoy the journey that the story was taking us on, but in the end I only disliked the book instead of hating it. I could at least appreciate the love that Reagan clearly had for Liam/Luna, and I did like that the book got such a visceral reaction out of me.

Would I recommend either of these books to a teen? I'm really not sure, and since I don't read realistic fiction, and I'm not sure what else is out there, it's hard to say what I would do. 

I can say that I doubt either would have appealed to me as a teen reader. I think I still would have been apathetic towards Junior, and angry/frustrated with Reagan and her family. For me, reading about Liam and Reagan was frustrating because I would never associate with people like them in real life, but them being characters in a book, I had to force myself to wallow through their lives. And by that, I mean that Reagan was irresponsible and had no spine, and Liam was also irresponsible and more than a little selfish. Not the kind of people I like to spend time with. 

Over all, I didn't really enjoy either of these books. One because it didn't evoke any response in me, and the other because it only evoked a negative reaction. But I'll still give realistic fiction a fighting chance, because maybe there will be a story out there that resonates with me. A book for everyone, and for everyone a book, after all. 

Manga, Manga, Manga.....and Graphic Novels Too!

I have been reading manga and graphic novels for quite a while now. And most of the choices on the reading list for reader's advisory were very different from the type that I normally read. The only one on the list that I would have picked up myself was Cardcaptor Sakura, a series that I have been considering collecting. I enjoyed the anime when it was on television, and the first volume of the manga seemed like it would be just as good. 


As for the other three, well, they weren't really my type. I have tried to read Treasure Island before, and I didn't enjoy it either time, even with pictures included this time. I didn't really enjoy the artistic styles of Treasure Island, Smile or American Born Chinese. Which is a big reason for reading a graphic novel in the first place. That's not always the case, since some of the series that I read get different artists for different volumes, such as Sandman or Lucifer. But in those cases, the textual material is so fascinating that it compensates for graphics that I don't find as appealing.


With Cardcaptor Sakura, I enjoy that classic manga style, and I have a lot of series that are drawn like that. What I like about it is how it's not a 'realistic' style, like Treasure Island was. Nor was it a little too cartoony, like Smile and American Born Chinese. 


I did however like the story of Smile, especially the fact that it was the author telling her own true story through the medium of a graphic novel. I thought that was just brilliant, and I loved it for that fact. But I wouldn't have looked at it based on the visual elements, because it would not have appealed to me. 


For me, I very much judge a book by its cover, especially when it's a graphic novel or manga. I read them half for the story and half for the visual appeal, so if it doesn't catch my eye and intrigue me, or make me want to spend hours just looking at the art, then chances are I won't read it.


Does that make me a manga snob? I'm not sure, and it's hard to explain, but there it is. And I'm okay with that. 

Oh Genre, My Genre!

When I was a child, a very young one, I didn't really think about genre all that much. I simply read what interested me. The older I got however, the more I began to lean towards the fantasy genre, with a bit of sci-fi and light horror/supernatural.


I think what I liked about those types of stories was that they transported me to a different world. Whether that was a literally different world, like for fantasy, or if it was a different time and setting on Earth, it didn't really matter to me. I loved following the characters through their journeys, journeys that I could never have except for within the pages of those books. I also loved the use of magic in the fantasy genre. To me, fantasy realms just seemed so much more exciting than the real world.


I still love fantasy; it's my favourite genre. It's definitely my preferred reading as well as my preferred writing realm. Probably for the same reason: I get to immerse myself in another world for a time, and when I'm writing it's exciting to get to create my own world and all of its back story.


But as I've grown older I have definitely expanded my reading to include most genres. I have never been a big fan of mysteries, and I'm still not, but every once in awhile I'll find a good author or series that I enjoy. The only really horror/supernatural ones I read are Christopher Pike's and the occasional other series involving angels and demons. Sci-fi catches my eye slightly more often, but nine times out of ten when I'm going to make a reading choice, it's going to be fantasy. 

Ah, Those Good Ol' Days

And the days that I'm taking about were when I was young and able to read whatever chapter books caught my fancy. I can't rightly say that I actually remember what chapter books I was reading between the ages of 7 and 10. My memory is just not that good. Neither is my mother's, though she should be excused on the grounds that I am the youngest of four children. (Why on earth would she remember that?)


I do remember that she would usually let me choose whatever I wanted for reading material, as long as it wasn't too adult. I was a fairly advanced reader, and I don't remember having a fondness for any easy reading material. My favourite book at that time (around age 6-7) was The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. I'm not sure if that really counts as a chapter book, per se. It had chapters, yes, but the writing was a bit more dense.


I also loved The Babysitter's Club books. I had quite the collection of them. My other favourite books were the Little House on the Prairies series. So, again, not really chapter books, but I really don't remember being interested in reading those types of books at that age. They seemed too short, too easy, too boring.


I like Babysitter's Club because the girls seemed so much older, so mature. And I wanted to be like that. It impressed me, all the different things they did, and the issues that they went through. Like when Kristy's parents got divorced, or when Mary Anne and Logan broke up. I suppose it was that glimpse into a more adult world that I really liked. The language helped as well I'm sure, not being as easy as books aimed at the 7-10 range would be.


 And while Babysitter's Club didn't have illustrations, the Little House books had a few. I did enjoy them, since they usually showed glimpses of such a different world, being set back in the 1800s. But they weren't integral to the story for me. At that point in my reading, I didn't need pictures. They were a bonus for me, because I could use my imagination just fine, and I usually didn't need illustrations as any sort of clarifying point that went with the text to make it clearer.


All in all, I don't remember reading chapter books on my own. I'm sure I did while I was in school, for the curriculum that we had to cover or for little projects. But on my own, I generally chose "older" books, ones that were intended for an older audience.

Rhyme Time

Did you have a favorite poem, nursery rhyme or song as a child? Describe what you remember liking about it.

I didn't really have one specific nursery rhyme that I liked as a child, but I do remember loving Mother Goose rhymes. When I was about four, we had a computer game of Mother Goose. The goal of the game was to go around Mother Goose land and find all the different parts of the different rhymes and put them back together. So you would have to find Jack and Jill and lead them back to their hill so that they could tumble down it.

I think what I enjoyed so much about Mother Goose was the rhymes themselves, as well as the stories they told. The rhyming schemes were easy and sing-song, so they were easy to follow along with and to remember. And the stories themselves were often quite funny or silly, like the old lady who lived in a shoe. I love the commercial that's out now, about the old woman with a bunch of children and the agent who found her the perfect house, which is of course in the shape of a shoe. I think it was always that little touch of fantasy that I liked, knowing that something like that couldn't really exist, but it was just so much fun to imagine that it did. What would it really be like to live in a shoe, or to see a cow jumping over the moon?

After all, the fantasy world outstripped the real world most of the time. I was an extremely shy child, the type who would cry as soon as you looked at her. So I suppose for me, it was much easier to lose myself in the world of fantasy, where nobody would ever bother me, rather than having to endure a much more painful reality. Luckily, I outgrew the shyness (for the most part) and retained my love of reading and make believe. I still enjoy silly children's rhymes and singing the songs I learned as a child. The ones I can remember at least. When looking for a selection of rhymes for our next assignment, I happened upon the most wonderful book. 

"Spinster Goose: Twisted Rhymes for Naughty Children"

I think I may have found a few new favourite nursery rhymes :)

Reader's Advisory Journal #1

So the question is: What was your reading life like as a child?

And my answer: Extremely avid

I have loved reading for as long as I can remember, and probably even before that. I was definitely reading on my own by the time I went to school, and my reading usually consisted of chapter books. I don't ever really remember reading too many picture books like the ones we have looked at in class. There were some exceptions of course. I loved anything Dr. Seuss, and Robert Munsch. The Berenstein Bears were some of my favourites, alongside the Chronicles of Narnia. My taste was very diverse when I was a child and it still is today.

I think that is definitely due to my mother's influence. She is also an a very avid reader and the one thing she never said no to when I was a child was books. When the Scholastic order came, she would definitely set a limit as to how many I could buy otherwise I probably would have wanted them all. But if I really wanted it, she wouldn't hesitate to buy it for me. And they always got read, some of them to the point of falling apart. I remember, I would try to stay up late, sneaking a flashlight under my blankets, just so I could read one more chapter of the book I was reading. Sometimes I even managed not to get caught.

I have always loved reading, and I always will and I definitely have my mother to thank for that. So, thanks mom!