Young adult challenge 2009

I think I've read more the 12 YA books this year, but they weren't those that I chose originally. I didn't like changing the list completely, because it felt like cheating. So as I said, this year no choosing before hand. The rule is to read 12 YA books, one for each month. Is it really a challenge? nahhh...
To join go to J. Kaye's!

Quick post

This is not about books but if you like music read on!
I just found a link to download an album for free (I like those things) by an Irish songwriter, Adrian Crowley. I had never heard of him but I'm listening to it now and I really like it! He reminds me a bit of Nick Drake, but with a deeper voice. You have time till the 18th, so hurry up and let me know what you think!
To download go here.

Book Binge!

Today I came back home with a bag full of books. OK, they've been sitting in my locker in work for ages but today I decided to actually adopt them and give them a real home among the other legitimate books! I've no excuses, they were FREE and I couldn't resist. But the fact that they are home now means that they're gonna go to the Master List of Books to Read for next year, which I plan to follow religiously. So it was a serious decision to make.
What did I get?

#1 - Mr Toppit by Charles Elton


The cover itself made me want to read it straight away. You can't see it but there's a little round window on the bee, and if you lift the flap jacket you see the "other" cover, which is a children's book called "The Hayseed Chronicles". But this is not a children's book. It's about a series of children's books, and the power that one of its character has on the real world. Or at least that's what I got from reading the blurb and an article on The Bookseller.
To be published in February 2009.




# 2 - The Unicorn Road by Martin Davies

"On the coast of medieval Sicily, and expedition prepares to venture into unknown lands in search of the mysterious beasts of the East.

Five thousand miles away, a young girl prepares to leave the water meadows of her childhood to travel to the Emperor's court.

Neither Journey is destined to run smoothly."

Doesn't it sound intriguing? This proof reading copy also came with an attractive see-through dust jacket, which just reads "Uncover and Discover the magical journey that awaits you". Published in January 2009.

#3 - Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson



This has been out a while but will only be published in Uk and Ireland in January. I've only heard good thinks about Speak, another YA book by the same author, so I have very high expectations for this one. But it's strange how Speak hasn't been published here, isn't it?



#4 - Firmin - adventures of a metropolitan lowlife by Sam Savage

This looks like a kid's book but in fact is not! It's a memoir of a rat who loves literature. "A debonair soul trapped in a rat's body".
I heard it was a publishing sensation in America, but not so much here. I'm very curious!





#5 - Instructions for living someone else's life by Mil Millington


I found myself flipping through it and giggling at what I had read, without even knowing what was going on. So I had to take it home and give it a chance to develop its full potential!
It's about a 25 -year-old guy in the 80's who all of a sudden wakes up in 2006, realising he has missed 18 years of his life. Stuck with a middle-aged body, a stranger for a wife and a life that hasn't turned out what he had hoped for. Nightmare or metaphor? Can't wait to find out.



#6 The Burnt-out Town of Miracles by Roy Jacobsen




I didn't even bother to stop and see what the book is about. I just liked the look of it. Plus it's a lovely, thin hardback. Free. Anyway, let's see what kind of book is it, shall we?
From the back: "My town was ablaze on 7 December, after all four thousand inhabitants had been evacuated, except for me. I was born here, had lived here all my life and couldn't imagine living anywhere else...There is always one, at least one, who doesn't follow the crowd, he doesn't even need to know why, and here in Suomussalmi it was me."
Hmm I still don't know much, but it sounds interesting. Creepy but interesting.

# 7 and last The Birthing House by Christopher Ransom


My proof copy looks much better. It has old-looking, sepia cover, which only says "Do you dare to enter?". I kind of hope they change the colour back to sepia, it looks much more intriguing.

From Amazon: "When Conrad Harrison impulse-buys a big old house in Wisconsin, his wife Jo doesn't share his enthusiasm, reluctant at the idea of leaving their LA life - so Conrad is left to set up their new home as she ties up loose ends at work. But Conrad's new purchase is not all that it seems. Soon Conrad is hearing the ghostly wailing of a baby in the night, seeing blood on the floor and being haunted by a woman who looks exactly like Jo. With his wife away, Conrad becomes obsessed by the pregnant girl next door, Nadia, who claims to be a victim of the evil in the house. The crying leads him to a bricked-up body, and the mystery of the Birthing House unravels, pulling in Jo, Nadia and leading Conrad to a nightmarish conclusion."

This is published in January but I think I'll leave it for Halloween and the RIP Challenge, it sounds perfect.

And that's it! If I ever wonder how I managed to accumulate so many books in so little time..here's the answer. I just can't say no, especially when I don't even have to open my wallet :P
But next year will be different. Oh yeah.

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And now I want to thank Zoe, who gave me the "I love your blog" award! Thank you thank you thank you!
So I'm supposed to:
) Add the logo of your award to your blog.
2) Add a link to the person who awarded it to you.
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4) Add links to those blogs on your blog.
5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.

But I'll skip nominating anyone, I love all the blogs on my Reader (wow I've only recently discovered it and it's FAB!) and I don't want to choose only seven...
But thanks you so much again Zoe, I love your blog too:)

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One last thing: I went to cinema twice in the past few days. Saw "Inkheart" and I gotta say it was entertaining! I haven't read the book but I can feel they cut through it a lot, which can't be too bad because I remember when I started reading it, it was very long-winded. Now I have to decide whether to read Inkheart or skip it and read Inkspell instead. Touch decision.
I also watched "Changeling" and it was excellent! I loved the 1930's setting and Angelina Jolie gave a wonderful performance. Beside she was stunningly beautiful every second of it. She just earned a new fan.

The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman

The more I think about this book that more I'm convinced of how good it was. It gives me a warm feeling remembering all its characters, the strange atmosphere of familiarity and safety of the graveyard, its...cosiness. Although not a very long book, this story allowed me to find my comfortable place in the pages, making feel at home. I felt sad reading the last page, I wish it had gone on and on. But it's what readers have to go through all the time they finish a good book. Say goodbye to a world and its inhabitants, and maybe wish to meet them again in a sequel. Since I don't believe there will be one, I will have to wait till the story has faded a bit more in my memory, to read it again and feel as if it were new.

So, why was is so good? Since I'm basically the last to review this book, it shouldn't be a mystery. The story of Bod, who is adopted by the ghosts of an old graveyard when he is only a baby, is well known by now. I normally wouldn't think I'd like books made out of different episodes, like short stories. But Neil Gaiman did a great job. We follow Bod as a baby, then a boy, and then as a lonely teenager. Although he is different from all the people he knows (he's alive!) he is given the freedom of the graveyard. So he learns how to fade, how to go through walls, even how to haunt, when necessary.
The only friend he makes is a girl named Scarlett, who comes to play with him in the graveyard,when they're both very young. But when she leaves town, he is only a fading memory for her, a sort of imaginary friend who only belongs to childhood.
Bod has a guardian. A mysterious figure named Silas, who protects him and advises him. He has all the features of a vampire, although I hadn't noticed them and was still wondering who he was, when a friend pointed it out to me! Silas is the nearest thing to a fatherly figure that Bod has. It's only natural that when Bod decides he wants to go to school, Silas is against it and Bod defies him. It's the first time Bod confronts his guardian so openly and refuses to do what he's told. So reluctantly Silas acknowledges that it's time to let him make his own choices and faces the consequences.
But Silas is right. The outside world is full of dangers. Someone is after him. Someone who wants to finish the job he had started many years ago. Eventually Bod will have to face him and use all his resources to defeat him.
Aside from the main storyline of the man Jack, which was suspenseful and exciting, what I loved most were the characters. Miss Lupescu, Liza the witch, Silas, the Owens, and of course Bod. Kind, honest, impulsive Bod. If I will reread this book, it will be for them.

Now, I had said I've been to Neil Gaiman's signing so let me tell you something about it. It was VERY exciting! He read the first chapter from The Graveyard Book because the majority of the people in the audience hadn't read it yet. I wish he had read the whole book to us. He knew when to pause and where to put the emphasis on and just how to read it properly. I think he's one of the best readers I've listened to and he should have a career in audiobooks :P But that wouldn't probably leave him much time to write and to do signings so maybe not!
After that he answered questions from the public. I wish I could have formed a thought properly, and asked a question, because people asked questions non related to the book,while I would have been more interested in the process of writing it. Did he have a fully formed story when he started writing it? Where all the characters already there? What's the meaning of the danse macabre? and the Lady on the horse? None of these things were discussed and I regret it. Next time I'm going to a signing of a book I've read, I'm going to start thinking about the questions BEFORE!
Anyway, he mentioned his next book, which will be a poem he wrote for Tori Amos' baby called "Blueberry Girl", which will be illustrated by Charles Vess. Take a look here, it looks like it's going to be gorgeous.
He then said that his next actual book will be a non-fiction, travel book, called "Monkey and Me". I love travel books, so I'm looking forward to it.
He said many other things, for example that he doesn't like working on sequels, because new projects are always more exciting. But even though sometimes I didn't know what he was talking about, I just enjoyed listening to him talking. He's funny and fascinating, and now I want to go and read all this books.
I got Coraline and The Graveyard signed, but again I couldn't think of anything good to say so I kept my mouth shut. I leave you with this little video I took of him reading. Enjoy.
(Sorry it's a bit shaky)



other blog reviews:
Nymeth
Orpheus Sings the Guitar Electric
The Written World
Jenny’s Books
Stuff as Dreams are Made On
Stainless Steel Droppings
Books & Other Thoughts
The Bluestocking Society
dreaming out loud
Melody's Reading Corner
Booknotes by Lisa
A High and Hidden Place
Bart's Bookshelf
You Can Never Have Too Many Books
Bold.Blue.Adventure
Nothing of Importance
Fizzy Thoughts
The Hidden Side of a Leaf
Becky's Book Reviews
Hello, My Name is Alice
Sophisticated Dorkiness
Fyrefly's Book Blog
Andy Wolverton
Real Book
Em's Bookshelf
Mariel

More Challenges

OK, I like joining challenges but then I don't like following them, feeling obliged to read certain books I decided to read months before. So what I'm going to do is, not choose the books! I'll join the challenges only if it's possible to pick the books along the way.
So far I've picked:

Dewey's Reading Challenge, in memory of Dewey.



We can pick 6 books for each year that Dewey blogged, or 5 books from any year. I've browsed her blog and there's so much to choose from! From my experience is more fun to choose books that I don't already own, and wouldn't have picked, if not for the review. It doesn't help tackling the pile, but it's more fun!
For now I've noticed a couple of books I might want to read, for example Spelldown by Karen Luddy, Misfits by James Howe, Dykes to watch out for and some others.

The second, and last for now, is the Manga Reading Challenge, hosted by Rhinoa.



I have no idea what I'm going to read and that's part of the fun of it. I was an avid manga reader in Italy. Here there isn't such a big selection, so I'll have to search for some good ones, and hope for the best.
As in my comments to Rhinoa's blog, I'd like to suggest a few manga that I've loved in the past, and some others that could be interesting too.

Anything by Rumiko Takahashi is great. She's funny and incredibly inventive. My favourite of hers is Maison Ikkoku. Set in a shared house full of quirky characters, is the story of awkward student Godai, who falls madly in love with the manager of the house, the lovely Kyoko. This manga is a lot about romance and humour and misunderstanding, but in dealing with all this, it shows japanese culture in a way I haven't encountered in any other manga.
There's also an anime of this series, like for most of Takahashi's works. She's one of the most famous mangaka, so if you don't know where to start, I think she's a good introduction.

Another author I've read as a teenager is Masakatsu Katsura, a sort of legend for any manga lover. He's the creator of Video Girl Ai. This manga was so popular in Italy that I remember going to a theatre representation of it! OK it wasn't very good, but it gives you the idea.
The drawings are gorgeous, and kind of erotic too, but not XXX! It's a very tender and romantic story, with elements of science fiction. It's essentially for young adults, although I think anyone should try it at least, because it's a classic.
It's about Yota, a young guy hopelessly in love with Moemi. When he realises that Moemi is in love with his best friend, Yota finds himself in a video store to rent a porn movie and console himself. He ends up taking a video starring a girl called Ai Amano. What Yota doesn't know is that the video is a special one. It contains a Video Girl especially created to cheer up the renter of it, by physically coming out of the video in human form. Unfortunately Yota's vcr is broken so when Ai jumps out of the screen she's not what she should be. First of all she's cranky. But most importantly, she starts feeling emotions towards Yota. Something a Video Girl should never do. If it sounds weird, it is! But it's also incredibly emotional and tender, and it deserves to be discovered.

Another favourite author of mine is Tsukasa Hojo. He's the author of City Hunter, but I'm not mad for it. As a child I loved the anime Cat's Eye, but as a manga, my favourite of his would be "Under the dapple shade". It's the poetic story of a girl who can talk to trees. It's really beautiful, both graphically and storywise. It's not on Amazon but it can be read on-line here. If you can bear to read on a screen, it's absolutely recommended. There's also tons of other manga to read on this website!

Other honorable mentions are: RG Veda by the Clamp. The artwork is fabulous. The story is interesting, but some of the morals of some characters, I think, are questionable, depending on what you make of them.
if you like fantasy comedy, try Those who hunt elves. I should actually look for it as well, cause the series was interrupted in Italy.
For sci-fi and action fans I'd choose Battle Angel Alita . Also Ghost in the shell (although I've only seen the anime), Eden, and obviously Akira (again, never read the manga, should probably pick it myself!)

Right now, I'm really into a manga called Nana. It's still in progress, and since Italy is publishing at the same time as Japan (plus the time for the translation) it's going really slow! I hope I can pick up the latest issue when I go home for Christmas :)
There's a lot of smoking going on but if you manage to bypass that it's kind of addictive. Darla has reviewed the first two issues on her blog. I love the relationship between the two Nanas ( I secretely have a little crush on punk Nana) and right now I'm waiting to see what will happen to their friendship. Ai Yazawa, couldn't you draw and write faster??

For more realistic manga try Mars by Fuyumi Soryo. It's oh so romantic.

Ok I'd better stop here, I'm getting carried away again. Please, if you've read any good manga, feel free to recommend it to me, I'm very open to try anything:)

Two reviews

I feel like I've lost the ability to review after such a long time. It feels a bit strange now, to sit down and write my thoughts on books I've read, as if I haven't done this in ages, while it's only been a month or so. Oh well, I want to catch up so I'll talk briefly about some books now and see if I can get back on track!

The first is Girl meets Boy by Ali Smith

Ok, I have to admit, after reading this and The Accidental, that Ali Smith is not for me. I enjoyed this more than the Accidental, probably because it was shorter, but it didn't stand out at all. It's part of the canongate myth series, reinterpreting Ovid's myth of Iphis in a modern tale that defies genders. It sounds interesting and it was, I just wished the author spent more time with the two lovers and less with all the rest, including a very long (considering the length of the book) lecture of how to call a bottle of mineral water. It started slowly, and by the time I was interested, it was over.
I can only clearly remember one quote and I love it:
She was the most beautiful boy I had ever seen in my life...She was as brave and handsome and rough as a girl. She was as pretty and delicate and dainty as a boy. She turned boys' heads like a girl. She turned girls' heads like a boy. [...] She was so boyish it was girlish, so girlish it was boyish, she made me want to rove the world writing our names on every tree.
Some parts were really moving, especially those about love. And I also liked that there was a political, rebellious side, even if a bit naive. It's just that I'm not comfortable in Smith's style, and I grow tired of it pretty quickly. The endless flow of words that lose meaning after a while, the fragmentation, the vagueness. It's too abstract for me. I like that in painting but obviously not in prose.
I'm ready to try one more book and then I give up. I was told Hotel World is brilliant. But I don't expect at this point to be blown away by it, so I won't run and buy it any time soon...

Gold by Dan Rhodes
I wanted to save this for a longer review cause I think it deserves one, but time is slipping away and I don't want to be left with lots of old reviews in the new year.
Anyway, this was brilliant! A funny, cosy, original, and quick read that's perfect for these cold winter evenings. With a hot cup of tea, wrapped in a duvet, possibly in front of a fire.
It's about Miyuki, a British girl of Japanese origins, who spends her holidays in the same seaside village in Wales every year, in January. She and her girlfriend had both agreed that, once a year, each had to be able to spend a month alone, away from the other. This is supposed to strengthen their love and their relationship. That's why Miyuki choses the semi-deserted town by the sea, where she can read a book a day, drink gallons of beer at the pub, and go for solitary walks sipping hot tea. She can also binge on junk food as much as she likes and observe the quiet but interesting village life, always from a distance. Only this year will be different. And by breaking the rules and interacting with the locals, her holiday takes a completely unexpected turn.
For some reason, probably because it's very funny and very British, it reminds me of Nick Hornby. The characterisations are wonderful. I loved tall Mr Hughes, short Mr Hughes, Septic Barry and the Children from Previous Relationships. Only by flipping through the pages now, it makes me want to read it again.
Gold is a little gem. Clever, quirky, but also moving and heart-breaking. (You'll see why).
And yes, you'll never think about sneezing in the same way again :)

Weekly Geeks# 27: for Dewey

Even though I've only known Dewey through her popular blog and even though we weren't the closest of friends, I was deeply shocked and moved when I heard the sad news. It still feels really strange to think that she is not here anymore. Hers was a blog I would visit almost every day, to check on the new weekly geeks, to read her insightful reviews and her sunday coveting. I remember being envious of her beautiful house by the woods, not knowing what was going on behind the walls. I thought she was some kind of superwoman. Managing her reviews, her challenges, and building the blog community. She recently participated in Nanowrimo, and still kept posting reviews. I thought she was amazing. Now I think she was phenomenal. I can't imagine what kind of pain she was going through, but to us, she always managed to be the usual ultra-organised, motherly, kind, and funny Dewey.
The Read-a-thon was one of the best thing I've ever done this year, it was incredibly fun, and it was all her idea. It started off with few people and went on becoming a huge event. I hope, next time, we will manage to keep her legacy alive, and have a Read-a-thon in her memory, although it will never be the same without her.

It's only a coincidence, but I'm reading Toni Morrison for the first time now, and it's absolutely amazing. I've always loved her quote that gave Dewey's website its name, and now I'm glad to discover the writer behind it.
Also, Dewey was reading or had read "The Elegance of the Hedgehog" Another coincidence. A friend of mine just finished it and left it for me to read it. It's supposed to be incredibly funny and witty. Just like Dewey.