More than 160 books bought off the list - all books they requested and wanted and now can thoroughly enjoy. Thanks so much for participating and watch this fall when we jump back on the list for a holiday book fair!
Thursday, May 16, 2013
The last, wonderful word, from the Book Fair for Ballou High School
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Around the World by Matt Phelan
Ever see or read Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 Days? It tells the story of a gentleman named Phileas Fogg who accepts a wager requiring him to circumnavigate the earth in 80 days' time or forfeit quite a lot of money (£20,000, which, accounting for inflation and all, would be a bit more than $1 million dollars (US) these days). It's a great story, and one I highly recommend for its character development, adventure, and derring-do. But that is not precisely what I'm here to talk about today.
Today, I'm talking about three real-life people who were inspired by Jules Verne's story to travel around the world themselves: Thomas Stevens, who made the trip by bicycle, Nellie Bly, one of the first American reporters to become a celebrity, and Joshua Slocum, a retired sea captain who sailed solo around the world. Specifically, I'm talking about Matt Phelan's remarkable graphic novel about those three individuals, each of whom had their own reasons for their journeys.
Thomas Stevens, 1884
Thomas Stevens decided to leave his job in the mines to seek fame and (hopefully) fortune by riding first across the U.S., then around the world. After traveling from San Francisco to Boston, Stevens secured a sort of sponsorship from the Pope Manufacturing Company. The owner of the company didn't believe that cyclists ought to be paid professionals (hear that, Lance Armstrong?), but he agreed to pay Stevens for his written accounts of his journey.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Scowler by Daniel Kraus
How do you defeat a monster without becoming a monster
yourself? Nietzsche warned us of
this danger years ago (“Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do
not become a monster... for when you gaze long into the abyss. The abyss gazes
also into you.”).
That’s the big question in Scowler, a brutal Midwestern gothic novel by Daniel Kraus. Ry’s
father, Marvin, is a monster by any definition. He abuses his wife, terrorizes
his children, bullies everyone he comes into contact with. Marvin even bullies
the very land he farms.
read more
Thursday, May 9, 2013
The Ultimate Teen Book Guide
The Ultimate Teen Book Guide is a collection of more than 700 book recommendations put together by editors Daniel Hall, Leonie Flynn, and Susan Reuben.
Open this Guide and you'll be opening the door to tons of lovable heroines, deplorable villains, or fantastical worlds....
Ever wonder what your favorite author's favorite book is? Many of today's most popular authors have weighed in on the books they love the most. There are also recommendations by other teens, as well as by librarians, illustrators, editors, and other people who work with and love books.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Interview: Prudence Shen & Faith Erin Hicks
Last week Craig reviewed the new graphic novel Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong, and as excited as I was to see it here at Guys Lit Wire I was extremely bummed because I wanted to review it myself! No matter, I got the chance to interview author Prudence Shen and illustrator Faith Erin Hicks about their influences, the competitive passions of jocks and nerds, and as a bonus one of my favorite expressions – chuckleheads – makes an appropriate appearance.
A million thanks to Gina Gagliano at First Second for making it happen.
read more
A million thanks to Gina Gagliano at First Second for making it happen.
read more
Monday, May 6, 2013
The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks
Iain M. Banks's Culture novels are the best of the modern space operas.
Centering on the Culture, a post-scarcity utopia devoid of hierarchies and
overseen by hyper-intelligent AI Minds, they tend to focus on clashes between
the ideals of the Culture and other galactic civilizations. For that reason,
the novels center around Contact and its secret service Special Circumstances,
whose goal is the delicate balance between nudging other civilizations towards
the Culture's philosophies without becoming conquerors themselves. The Player of Games, the second Culture
novel to be published, places this conflict front and center with the game of
Azad.
With a certain amount of subterfuge, Contact orchestrates the Culture's
greatest game-player, Jernau Morat Gurgeh, to visit the Azadian Empire, a rare
interplanetary empire that has managed to cohere together around Azad, a game used to determine fitness
for government positions. Azad is a fantastically complex board game, played on
three giant boards hundreds of meters across, and capable of encoding philosophies
and politics in the gameplay. The driving force of the novel once Gurgeh
arrives in Azad is the clash between Gurgeh's Culture-influenced philosophies
and the Azadian imperialist philosophies, both on and off the game-board.
Friday, May 3, 2013
Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea
I'm going to avoid a long speech about judging books by covers. I don't actually think the cover to Luis Alberto Urrea's hilarious and fascinating novel, Into the Beautiful North, is bad or off-putting. But I can see how, if you're a guy that doesn't just pick books up and read the first few pages to decide what books to read, you might not see all the qualities this book has to offer.
Put simply, I wish this book's sense of humor and rapid plot were more readily broadcast by the cover. Consider the setup: 19-year-old named Nayeli is inspired by the classic western film The Magnificent Seven to take back control of her home village in Mexico when she realizes there are no men in town to help fight off the recently arrived bandidos.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Being Friends With Boys, by Terra McVoy
Here's a thing that's strange: I like reading YA books.
On the face of it, that doesn't seem strange, except that I'm a guy, and that doesn't seem to be acceptable to publishers, book designers, marketing departments, and a whole host of other folks who are responsible for getting YA books onto shelves. No surprise, it's why guyslitwire exists, really.
But yesterday, a new book came into the store, and, despite having a generic YA cover with a girl's face(seen here on the book's goodreads.com page), and an awkward/not quite punny title: Life After Theft, I took a look at the description (maybe it was because of the awkward title?).
It's about a guy who's haunted by the ghost of a klepto, and he agrees to return the stuff she stole so she'll stop haunting him.
That's a book I'm interested in! That's a book with a hook, one which (I think) guys as well as gals will be intrigued by. But the cover and the title? Especially the cover? No guy will ever read it.
That's something deftly avoided by Terra McVoy's newest paperback release, Being Friends With Boys. It's about a girl in high school who's part of a band (she's their manager and writes the songs), and everyone else involved is a guy. The cover is understated, and has a heart in the coffee cup, but it's dark blue and doesn't chase me away. No, I'm intrigued. And for good reason.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
ASTRONAUT ACADEMY: Re-Entry by Dave Roman
I laughed out loud several times while reading this book, which includes subtle pop culture references as well as different characters' definitions of OTP. Yes, you read that correctly. At one point, someone goes "Squee!" Then there's this great exchange between two characters:
"Labels can't define who we are on the inside."
"Are you being sarcastic?"
"Only if you want me to be."
"I [heart] sarcasm. (No, seriously.)"
The cast of characters is multicultural, which is delightful. Roman's black-and-white-and-gray illustrations clearly show kids with different skin colors, different hair styles, and different fashion senses. Some are shy, some are outspoken. Some are bullies, some are friends. A few are spies. A few are ninjas. Did I mention there's also a raccoon or two, a rabbit or two, and that this is book two in the line? Read the ASTRONAUT ACADEMY graphic novels in order:
#1 Zero Gravity
#2 Re-Entry
When I dropped by Dave's blog , I discovered that he's signing copies of his books for his local bookstore, WORD, which is also holding a really cool contest. Want to get an Astronaut Academy-style portrait of yourself (or a friend), hanging out with the character of your choice? Click here to learn more.
ASTRONAUT ACADEMY: Re-Entry will be available May 14th, 2013 from :01 First Second Books.
Related posts at Bildungsroman:
Interview: Dave Roman
Graphic Novel Review: Teen Boat! read more
Monday, April 29, 2013
What It Looks Like When 100+ Books Arrive at Ballou High School
Follow this link for all information on how to buy books off the Powells wish list for Ballou High School.
I think in this case, pictures are worth a thousand words, right? We have sold just over 100 books off the Powells wish list for Ballou Library and it is truly wonderful to see these titles unpacked with so much excitement. This is why we do the book fair - because we know how much the books are wanted and will be enjoyed.
In all honesty though, sometimes I feel as if I am nagging the entire internet with posts and tweets trying to cajole folks to spread the word and help us sellout. I wish it was easier; heck, I wish it was unnecessary. I wish that I didn't get emails from people disappointed that we were staying with the same school as years previous, that we had not found someplace "needier". I wish I did not have to explain why Ballou still needs our help and I wish I didn't get frustrated and even a little angry at how a school library in our nation's capitol that has not money for new books deserves lots of novels and science fiction and romance (even with vampires) and all of those other types of books that don't sound serious enough to some folks but are desperately wanted by teenagers everywhere.
Just look at that girl with Redshirts - pretty darn happy, don't you think?
The spring book fair formerly ended yesterday but I'm going to leave the list open for just a little while longer. I can't help but think that seeing these pictures might prompt a few folks to buy a book or two or let some folks know about the book fair who might have missed the initial Guys Lit Wire post. I do hope everyone will share these pictures far and wide though - it's pretty cool to see how excited teenagers can be about the gift of books, isn't it? They make me feel hopeful in a thousand different ways; hopeful and pretty damn happy.
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