so says the straw hat

By Phillip Pullman I know I have always enjoyed reading YA fiction, but it has turned into pretty much all I am reading. I think I have husband to thank for that. Arguably, it is some of the most enjoyable literature out there, packed full of adventure, light-hearted lessons, empowerment of self...but here I am reading another YA fiction series. And I do not regret it. The Golden Compass is about a girl named Lyra, who lives in a world where all humans have daemons who serve as constant companions. She has an uncle who is an explorer, but she has no mother or father. Raised by scholars at Oxford, she has a tendency to not always listen to lectures, and often go places she may or may not be allowed to go. Sometimes this adventerous spirit of hers can get her into some trouble. But soon her adventerous spirit, through a series of seemingly accidental events and spur-of-the-moment decisions made by a child, turns into a battle for her, her daemon and her friends lives. Thou...

By Herve Bouchard Illustrations by Janice Nadeau This is a short graphic novel about two boys experiencing their fathers death. It is written from the point of view of the older, smaller brother. It seems he is not very well liked, but without any particular reason. He loves a character named Scott Carey...I cannot figure if this is a fictional person or a real athlete or movie star or what. The book has beautiful illustrations and is a pretty and lovely story that manages to show a little about how families and people deal with death, with children, and how strange death can be to a child. Really do check out Janice Nadeau's site--her work is so soft and pretty. In this book it is used particularly well to help emphasize the feelings of loneliness and loss, particularly in one sequence where each page shows more and more people walking away from the scene of tragedy until finally nobody is left but the poor heartbroken mother. On her website, under the books tab, you can ta...

By David Sedaris First, a simple praise to the library for allowing me to read all these books I would have probably not purchased on my own. Now, I have long known, loved, appreciated the library but in the two years since I moved to Austin something has been amiss. Somehow (constantly changing addresses, bizarre branch hours, no texas ID) every time I went to the library I did not manage to get a library card. I still read books. Kindle books and Anis books and bought books and borrowed books. But I did not have the freedom of just taking, giving back, and taking some more. And now that I am back in the library game I can officially say it was a sorely missed part of my life. Once, my friend Jon said sex was like a strange beast that you never really missed when you were not having it (he might be the only guy I know that feels that way about sex) but once you were having it you just wanted it ALL THE TIME. That is how I feel about the library. Alright. This books is an odd little...

By Sherman Alexie Yes. Sometimes I read YA. Because I love it. There is something that touches the gut so much more readily. Something more honest about YA. Or maybe this is just a good book with a simple story. I like the simplicity and the harshness of book written for younger audiences. Especially one like The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, that is not afraid to deal with heavy subjects, curse, and somehow maintains the voice of a believable child protagonist. Super-quick to read, great story, funny and poignant. I think I should never say poignant when I talk about books ever again. I will leave it in right here just to point out that I hope to NEVER write "poignant" again in response to a book. It seems such a trite and poorly thought out response. Like I just got lazy with my adjectives. Regardless, people should most definitely read this book.

By Tina Fey Picked up BossyPants at our local library and just finished reading it. It was great. I somehow feel like if I saw Tina Fey on the street today I would be able to approach her as a friend - big smile on my face "Tina!!" and she would be equally surprised and excited to see me after all these years. Maybe it is because I felt a twinge of understanding when she talked about taking good news and turning it into complete anxiety or because her subject matter was just strange enough to remind me of some papers I got away with writing in my scholarly persuits. Regardless, I loved it. It was funny, honest (I think?), and totally ridiculous at the same time. Good job Tina Fey for working so hard and being so funny! Gold stars. I won't call it my favorite part, because there were a lot of great moments in this book--but definitely a highlight and a change of tone was the chapter where she has "prayers" for her daughter. They were funny, heartwarming (not wo...