RTW: Best of February!

Happy Leap Day, everyone!  Are you all wearing blue and yellow and making plans to watch everyone's favorite Jim Carrey movie, Leap Dave Williams?  Me too!

But I'm also road tripping!  Today, Road Trip Wednesday asks:  

What was the best book you read in February?

Goodreads is making this so much easier!  Looking back at what I read this month, I can tell you without a doubt that my book of the month was Cinder by Marissa Meyer.  I posted my review here a few weeks ago, but really?  Don't even worry about going back and looking at it, just go read Cinder.  If you like humor or romance or suspense or, I don't know, dreamy-but-grounded princes, just go do it.  You know you wanna.

And look at this gorgeous cover, to boot: 

 

Happy Leap Day!  Take a leap--read Cinder!

What Day Is This?

I've got vacation-head, where I completely lose track of what day and/or time it is most of the time.  But I'm pretty sure it's Friday, and that I'll go back to work bright and early Monday morning.  Yikes.

I've had a great vacation, and done very little that might be considered productive.  I read, like, a third of a book (but oh man, what a book--finally got around to Across the Universe by Beth Revis--it's excellent but a little stressful) and got my new sewing machine set up for some last-minute costumes (our school production of Annie opens three weeks from yesterday.  I also sketched out an outline of the TV Writing and Production course I'm going to be teaching next trimester...but it's a very, very rough one.

Other than that, I've been neglecting work a bit (I'll have a normal weekend this weekend, where I put in a good 8-10 hours of work...you know, those easy-peasy teacher hours.)  I've also neglected this blog.  So:  time for catching up!

First of all, Road Trip Wednesday had a question I definitely did not want to pass by:

February is Black History Month and it's also the month of Valentine's Day. So let's show some writerly love by answering the following question: Who is your favorite African American author or fictional character?

I also wanted to think about this one.  The first character who came to mind was Calpurnia, from To Kill A Mockingbird.  And I do love her.

But I knew I could come up with more contemporary favorites.  Mr. S. reminded me of Sticky Washington, from the Mysterious Benedict Society books by Trenton Lee Stewart.  (Seriously, if you have not read these--do it now.  They're completely hilarious and clever MG mystery novels about a group of gifted kids fighting the good fight blah blah blah stop reading this and go read the books.)

And of course there's Rue from The Hunger Games.  Annnnnd...that's what I could come up with.  I think I'm suffering from Monoethnic Dystopia Syndrome.  I'll have to keep an eye on that.











And today is Friday!  So, let's have some Friday Fives time:

How I Spent My Winter Vacation: A Guide to Awesome Entertainment

by Mrs. S

1)  Since I'm getting ready to teach a TV class, I thought I should probably take one as well.  So I'm doing an online course through Gotham Writers' Workshop.  It's only in its second week, but so far, so good.  The course is structured around writing a spec script, so I've been re-watching the series I've chosen to write, Happy Endings.  I had planned to write for Parks and Rec, but this season they're doing a bit more of a long plot arc than they have before, which makes it hard to write something that fits in.  Anyway, Happy Endings is excellent.  It's like if Friends was faster-paced and sharper and I was the age of those characters when it aired.  I'm looking forward to writing for it.

"Draw an alligator, swimming in a pool, eating Pinkberry."

2) Godspell again!  I went back on Wednesday, and scored a seat in the pillows-on-the-floor-in-front-of-the-stage section through the ticket lottery and the kindness of a stranger, who let me take his winning lottery ticket since he preferred standing room to the (rather tightly squashed) seating on the floor.  So, long story short, I got pulled onstage to do some audience participating, had to draw in front of people (Pictionary style), and had a blast.  Although my students will not be surprised to learn that after the show, when the cast was kind enough to sign my drawing for me, Hunter Parrish looked at my drawing, frowned a little, and said, "Um, alligators have feet."  (For the record, the alligator was swimming, as per Hunter's instructions, and therefore his feet were under the water.  But I digress.)

3) And have I mentioned that Godspell has the hardest working cast of any show on Broadway?  Not only can they sing and dance and play guitar and trampoline at the same time, many of them have other projects going on.  We saw two of those on Wednesday night.  The first was Missed Connections, a very funny (but definitely not family-friendly, so don't get any ideas, students-of-mine) show taken from the Missed Connections section of Craigslist.  On this particular evening, it featured George Salazar, maybe the goofiest member of the Godspell cast.  He was great, and super-friendly.  

4) After Missed Connections, we headed over to see Morgan James do a set at the Rockwood Music Hall.  That. Girl. Can. Sing.  She's got serious pipes and knows how to bring it old school.  She said she'll have a recording out later this year and I'm pretty excited for that.

5) And tonight, we're going to a show that somehow has nothing to do with Godspell!  It's called The Total Bent and it's by the creative team behind Passing Strange, Stew and Heidi Rodewald.  Mr. S and I loved Passing Strange when it was on Broadway a few years ago, and in a wacky coincidence, this show is also designed by a guy who taught at Williams when I was there, AND directed by a woman who directed a show I was in there.  Basically, we HAD to get tickets.  Should be a good way to round out the break. 

Sunday Sunshine: Special Edition

Why special edition, you ask?  Let's see:

• Well, first of all, I'm on break from work this week!  That's special enough all by itself.
• I'll be posting reviews #19 and 20 this week--I'm pleased with myself for keeping on track to my 150 book goal for the year.  Twenty books by February 19th is pretty good--it reflects a lot of time at home, when I would normally be playing dopey computer games or reading the internet, which is a change that makes me feel better about myself and life in general.
• I have a bonus, non-book review--because I saw Godspell on Broadway last weekend and can't stop talking about it.
• AND on top of all of that--this is my 50th post!

So, welcome to this very special edition of Sunday Sunshine!

Yay Jaime!

Hey y'all--

Just a quick note that my friend Jaime is having a great giveaway at her blog to celebrate her 100th follower!  Go check it out (and follow her, if you don't already--she's always got something funny and insightful to say!)

And happy Friday!

Road Trip Wednesday: I Hate The Word

Today, Road Trip Wednesday over at YA Highway asks a great question:

What words do you absolutely hate? Which ones do you adore?

I've been thinking about this all day.  See, there is a word that, without a doubt, takes first place in the "words I hate" competition.  And in fact, I hate it so much that I won't print it here.  But to give you an idea, it's the OTHER F-word, one used as an anti-gay slur.  It once meant a bundle of sticks, or if you're British, the short form can (could?  I'm an American, what do I know) mean a cigarette.  If you want to see the word, as well as a history of its evolution provided by GLSEN, you can click here and scroll about halfway down (but of course they use the actual word, so...just know that.) 

But here in the States, and now in 2012, it really only means that at best, the person speaking is completely ignorant of the import of the word.  And at worst, it's absolute hate speech.  You know the word I'm talking about.

As a teacher, I hear kids toss around words that they shouldn't all the time.  "That's so gay" and "that's retarded" and worse.  And I always try to put the kibosh on that.  But when I hear That Word--lord help that child.  Because that business gets Shut. Down.  See, unlike the words I mentioned above, which have uses that are appropriate, if they're not being used casually as insults, That Word has no acceptable modern-day American use.  None.  So rather than entering into the English Teacher Usage Hour like I am prone to do with the other words, I simply inform the kiddo in question that what I just heard them say was hate speech and it's not ok, not ever.  

I've had kids ask me what the big deal was, and it's possible that my position sounds extreme.  But when I see a kid pounding on another kid, I don't first try to calmly educate them about non-violence--I end the fight.  Talking can come later.  As far as I'm concerned, The Other F-Word is just as violent and damaging as actual physical fighting (maybe more).  

And you know what?  I've been at my current school for two and a half years.  My first year, I heard that word at least every other day.  Now?  I'm actually not even sure the last time I heard it.  I'm not naive and I'm sure some of my students still use the word.  But I've at least gotten them to stop using it where I can hear them, and once they have to think before using it some of the time, I hope they will think before using it more and more of the time.  Granted, I think the reason they don't use it in front of me is that they're just sick of hearing me talk about it, but it's a start.  

Ok, end-of-soapbox.  But I had to say it.  

And words I love? 

• Inexplicable
• Actually (but only the way it sounds when Lola says it on Charlie and Lola, a totally adorable TV adaptation of an equally adorable picture book series by Lauren Child.)  So, "Act-ually".
• Anthropophagi, a recent discovery in Othello, which I'm teaching.  I just love words that I can look at and put together the word parts.  Ironically, after the above screed, one of my favorite word roots is "phag", meaning to eat.  It crops up in the weirdest places!

I don't know--there are definitely more of them, and I go through phases.  But "inexplicable" will, somewhat inexplicably, always be my favorite.

Whew--it's practically Thursday.  I promise to keep it shorter next time!

Sunday Sunshine: A Productive Week

So...I read three and a half books this week.  This was due in large part to the arrival of an ARC of Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver...yesterday.  I won it from the Vault over at YA Confidential and I wanted to get it read this weekend so I could pass it on to my students ASAP.  But first I had to finish Finnikin of the Rock.  So I read a book and a half today.  The other books were Cinder by Marissa Meyer and half of The Glass Collector by Anna Perera, which I had already read half of sometime back in December.  Anyway:  I read a lot this week.  And it was awesome.

What I Read This Week: 

 Cinder by Marissa Meyer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm still in a daze. It was, without a doubt, a five-star read for me. But I can't put my finger on exactly what elevated it above the many other futuristic fantasy dystopias or fairy-tale re-tellings or however else you might define this. I just know that I'm smitten. I can't stop thinking about this. I mean--the world-building definitely stands out, as Marissa Meyer has created not just one but TWO worlds. I've read that this is the beginning of a bunch of stories about fairytaleish characters, and I sincerely hope that this is true, because: I want so much more. If you like strong, realistic protagonists or charming, conflicted love interests or complex, sprawling, tantalizing worlds, or immensely satisfying plotting--well, you have good taste, first of all, and second of all, you need to read Cinder ASAP!



  The Glass Collector. Anna Perera by Anna Perera
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**This is a book I got for free, in advance through Netgalley.** I read The Glass Collector in two halves a few months apart. The story itself, and the detail with which Perera described the life of the Zabbaleen, were fascinating. The Zabbaleen are a community of people who live in a village just outside of Cairo, and who collect and recycle much of the city's trash. Clearly, Perera has done her research, and it shows in the strongest parts of the book, which depict life in the Zabbaleen village of Mokattam. Most of the book focuses on Aaron, a young man whose obsession with glass makes him both a skilled trash collector and, later, an outcast in his own village. Aaron's story held my attention, but occasionally the third-person narration would shift to give the perspective of a different character, and that jarred me out of the story a bit. Overall, though, I would recommend this book simply based on the chance to read about a community I had never heard of--it almost feels invented, like I want to praise Perera's world-building--but it's very real and essential to the functioning of a major city.


Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After hearing raves about Melina Marchetta's writing from many, many bloggers whose taste I trust, I decided to start with Finnikin of the Rock. My verdict: Ms. Marchetta has not been overhyped. Sometimes I forget how much I enjoy fantasy like this--which, really, is historical fiction with just a touch of magic thrown in here and there. This story had all the ingredients I look for in fantasy--a long journey, a hero to root for, a girl who has to repeatedly prove her grit and strength--along with some things I didn't expect (cussing, casual sex talk) that startled me at first but then added to the reality (I've started to take the absence of casual profanity in many novels for granted, just like I don't worry about the inexplicable presence of light in outdoor nighttime scenes in movies. There was nothing in Finnikin that's any worse than the things I hear in my classroom every day, but if you're someone who'd rather avoid dirty talk altogether, consider yourself warned.) It was a dark read, that only got darker as it went along, but that makes sense given Marchetta's note at the end of the book that she was writing from a place of reality--considering the problems in our own world that she feels are most compelling in a humanitarian way--rather than trying to emulate classic fantasy. That said, the entire thing is about finding hope and rebuilding, so it's not as though it's designed to make you want to curl up in a ball and rock back and forth. Also: the characters are often funny, and I found myself tearing up happily more than once. I'm very excited to have received an e-galley of the sequel, Froi of the Exiles, so look for that review some time next week.


Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Having won an ARC of this book just a few weeks before its release, I resolved to read it ASAP and then pass it on to my students. Well--I opened the package about 25 hours ago, during which time I had to finish about half of the book I was currently reading, sleep (for about twelve hours--it's been a long week), and go out for lunch. Friends, I devoured this one. It's one of the sequels coming out this year that I was most excited for, and it lived up to my anticipation. The thing I admire most about Lauren Oliver's stories is their structure. She doesn't re-invent the wheel, and it sounds like a kind of basic, boring thing to admire. But she just uses story structure like such a pro. It gives this great experience of familiarity overlaid with breath-stealing suspense: I think I know what's coming--but it can't be true. She did it in Delirium and she did it here. I won't say much about the plot, because I don't want to spoil anyone--but listen, if you don't finish this book desperate for the next one (*sigh* Spring 2013? But what if the world ends this year?!?) then I think you must have been Cured or something. Girlfriend knows how to end a book, y'all.

View all my reviews

Waiting In The Wings: 

   (This is a picture of Ivyland by Miles Klee.  He is a friend of mine from college, which is why I snapped this picture today when I picked up his novel on the "New and Noteworthy Fiction" table at McNally Jackson!  I'm really excited to read this and will report back soon.) 

Too Good To Miss

Hey y'all:  if you've ever entered a giveaway, or thought about entering a giveaway, or just don't hate awesomeness, here's something you've gotta check out.  For some reason, Tahereh Mafi feels like she needs to give the world MORE than just the most gorgeous prose ever and an amazingly compelling fantasy dystopia...she's also doing a book giveaway.  And including her own signed books in each of the SIX book packages she's offering.  I mean, really. 

Check out the giveaway here!