The 13th Printz winner was announced this morning at ALA’s Midwinter Conference. (Congrats John Corey Whaley, you’re next on my list, seriously!)  Helpfully I already have one 2012 honor in the bag, The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater which was also one of my favorite audiobooks.  In fact for each of the years I have read at least one title, except 2010.  Why, I have not a clue, it wasn’t not intentional just a crazy happenstance.  As of today I’ve read 24 of 62 Printzes (Printzz? Printz’? Printzi? Prizies?) so overall I have a strong head start which will hopefully lead to finishing.

For the next few months I’m going to be reading the ones I’ve miss or intentionally skipped and rereading other I haven’t read in a long time (Looking For Alaska, Jellicoe Road *note buy more tissues*).  I also plan to write a small review for each title, my take, thoughts on why it won and it’s place in the canon (does YA have a formalized canon? Hold please…okay Google is unclear, will investigate further.)

First up tomorrow will be Kit’s Wilderness, 2001 Winner, and Skellig, 2000 Honor, by David Almond, mostly because I’ve just finished them.  Yeah, I won’t really be doing this in any real sort of order so deal.  To the Printzmobile!

Finish all the ARCs I currently have.

I’ve gotten better at not letting my eyes be bigger than my…uh..reading stomach.  I pass on all but the most “OMG where did you steal that??!!” titles.  Never the less I still have a whole bookcase full of them I need to read.   So that’s February’s task as January’s is cycling through the books I have checked out and trying very hard not to check out anymore.

Read all the Printz Medal and Honor books.

I’ve already gotten through 50% of them anyway so it shouldn’t be too hard.  Do we have Going Bovine on audio?

Examine Books More Closely

I like many books I read.  It’s not hard.  Have a clear voice, a good writing style and decent characters and I’m pleased.  But there are some books I love.  I worry when I’m in this speed reading mode I miss out on important insights and revelatory quotes.  I’m an English major dammit and I need to analyze some shit sometimes.

Blog About that Shit More (see above)

(You thought I was going to say read the “classics.”  Ha!  Everyone says that and no one ever does.)

Image Credit: seasonal wanderer via flickr

Library conventions need more cos playing!

No, not 50 Nancy Pearls running around.  Show some creativity.  Most library conventions come down hard on the side of professional.  While I never balk at the chance to pull out my super cute wear that I deem too fancified for everyday use, others seem to follow their everyday uniforms.  This is our chance to show off not just our professional accomplishments but our unique personalities.  And where’s the librarian’s Masquerade?  There could be different categories, favorite fictional characters, best dead author impersonation, Harry Potter.

Hi Eye Candy. Aren't you scrumptious?

More entertainment panels!

Not saying run out and get low-rent celebrities but what about mixing things up with the presentations.  Conferences offer a unique opportunity to share ideas and best practices but sometimes the presentations can be dry and one-way conversations.  There should be a wider mix of types of presentations and dear lawd, less POWER POINT!  Some hot eye candy wouldn’t hurt either.

More videos!

I want to take a second to give a big hell yeah to the ILA Video Shootout team.  They encouraged con goers this week to shoot and edit videos from scratch.  It probably got some people out of their comfort zone but also gave them hardcore skills they can take away.  (Why didn’t I make one? See above various excuses.  Lame.  I Know.)  Library cons need more of these active, rather than passive activities to get people mixing, mingling and gasp, playing!

More hype!

My C2E2 peeps are already gearing up for our third year of rocking the McCormick Center, nerd style.  There is year round anticipation.  While some library cons attract that kind of dedication for many it just inspires jealousy and heartache.  Library conventions aren’t cheap.  It’s the sad fact that it’s cost prohibited for many people to attend the bigger library cons unless they get help from their organizations.  They are also, oddly, on weekdays.  I understand there’s probably some discounting and flexibility in scheduling a conference during the week but it also limits attendance to those that can/afford to take the time off their jobs.

So what are some ways we can get library cons up to comic con standards?  First, make them cheaper.  Second, make the presentation selection process as simple and transparent as possible.  Third, encourage cosplay.  Fourth hold smaller, informal events (think Librarian Bar Crawl, Kidlit Drink Nights) throughout the year to keep interest and excitement up.  Fifth, incorporate more active participation like video contests.  Sixth, invite more eye candy.  Yum.

So let’s be even more like the real library superheroes we are and we need right now!

Oh hai, Eye Candy. You seem to have lost your shirt. Shame.

So I have this bad habit of thinking about my NaNo at inopportune times, like driving in my car or shopping at the grocery store.  I start playing around with a scene in my  head and get snatches of dialogue or observation.  But the problem is I’m nowhere near a computer or even pen and paper.  And even if I was it’s really bad timing to jot all that done before it’s gone out of my mine.  Annoying.

Okay yeah this post is weak.  Tomorrow’s will be better.  Promise.  Yeah, I know, you’ve heard that before.

Here listen to this.  Some musical inspiration for my writing.

Awful Library Books – An ongoing pictorial thesis on why we weed.

YALSA’s The Hub – But only the days I write for it.  Just kidding.  I’m in some very good company and there’s always something new and interesting in the world of YA Lit.

iLibrarian – Everything tech and libraries you can handle.  A good mix of applicable and theoretical.

Awesome Storytime – A friend’s blog about all things storytimes.  She’s one of the best storytellers I’ve seen and I always steal learn so much from her.

Librarian Unafraid – Another friend’s blog that always gives something to think about.

The AV Club – So not exactly tied to libraries but they do have book and graphic novel reviews so I can easily pass this off as a collection development tool.  Plus I don’t think I could do without Great Job Internet!

Forever Young Adult – Again another review source that I’m not sure counts as professional but damn is it entertaining.

Recently finished THIS and holy cow was it good.

It is, as usual, Harry Potter’s fault.  Well not totally.  The Chosen One is a tale as old as time.  Literally.  You can trace its origin through ancient mythologies, religious texts and classic literature.  No, that alone isn’t the problem.  The issue lies when the main character’s position as the Chosen One drives the plot.  Harry Potter begins as The Boy Who Lived, a great Chosen One title.  But that was the beginning.  From there JK Rowling moves Harry through a unique and exciting world where he has to deal with the fallout of being the target of Voldermort’s violence.  But she allows Harry to move away from that initial role.  He grows, dates girls, makes mistakes, USES ALL CAPS EMO ANGST FOR ALMOST AN ENTIRE BOOK.  As the series moves on we’re even given reason to doubt his Chosen One status.  Maybe it was supposed to Neville all along.  What starts as a choice made external to the character becomes his internal struggle to define who he is and who he wants to become.

Then we moved to paranormal romance which is really where trouble begins.  So many of our main characters find themselves going about their lives and then bam! They find out about some latent supernatural abilities, inherited magical artifacts or just have good smelling blood.  Yep.  Fragrant Type O – (I made this up. I don’t know Bella’s blood type and please, don’t tell me.)  What bugs me is how it takes the onus off the main character to make choices that effect their actions and their outcomes.

In a supernatural world that can be forgiven to a certain level.  It’s a kind of fantasy finding out you’re not just a lonely orphan but have something extra to elevate your situation.  But in dystopian stories, most are working on the premise that events are happening in a real, non fantasy world.  So the free pass of being the Chosen One becomes harder to pull off.  It’s easy when the defining feature of the dystopian world is a controlling government or society to let the major decisions come from that external source instead of from the characters.  The Chosen One has decisions made for her.  And it annoys me to no end.

For tomorrow’s homework please come to class with examples of both kinds of Chosen One tropes.

Image Credit: Soksia via Flickr

Still Untitled

Four women travel to Ireland for a two-week vacation.  Vere – recently single and very fed up with dating.  Her sister Aran – hopeless romantic who has a good heart but can be ditzy.  Cousin Violet – successful lawyer, first vacation in years and doesn’t quite understand the meaning of relaxing.  Mom Cecila – warm, loving and great at planning.  Grandma Fern feisty, on the lookout for cup of tea, a snack and someone to chat with.

In Ireland they meet the family that owns the B&B/pub they’ll be staying in matriarch Dara, oldert son Ross, and younger son Bran O’Clune.  After a night of too many Guinnesses Vere and Bran get acquainted and hilarity ensures.

Okay so as far as an outline it pretty much sucks.  But that’s all I got.  Oh and I think I narrowed my setting to either County Galway and Clarinbridge or Doolin in County Clare.  Our sightseers will also visit the Cliffs of Moher, Cork, Dublin, Galway, Aran Islands, Shannon and of course, the Blarney Castle.

My end goal is a mix of romance and family relationship.  I’m hoping to layer the Vere/Ross story with Vere and her family.  I also hope it ends up funny.  Maybe.  In any case here’s some more of my pretty pictures from Ireland to get you in the mood.  But seriously if you have a really good idea for a title please let me steal it.

A gorgeous sun set in Cork. I have something special planned for here.

#1 Thou shalt be proactive not reactive.

Jason Griffey gave a presentation today about future trends in libraries, charging us to think about what’s coming next, not just what’s here.  He brought up the interesting point that it can be hard for our patrons to ask for what they want because they’re not aware of what we can do.  Basically the old Henry Ford adage of “If I had asked people what they wanted they would have said a faster horse.”  Seek out new technologies, new methods, new products even if you can’t fully adopt them.  We should be a step in front of our patrons where ever they are.

#2 Thou shalt not ignore the world outside of libraries.

How can you discover new things coming down the path?  Read Wired or other tech magazines, follow blogs on User Experience design or hell any kind of thoughtful design.  Griffey brought up that our patrons’ experiences in other environments become the expectation universally even in libraries.  If Amazon is quick, cheap and easy, libraries should be as well.  We should look at our competitors and take their successful models and adapt them with things we do well.

#3 Thou shalt not covet other libraries.

It’s easy to look at other libraries and become jealous and depressed.  They have shiny new toys that walk, talk and more!  They have amazing community support.  They have money growing on trees.  As lame as it sound each library IS a unique and special snowflake.  We need to assess, with quantitative data. the needs of our communities and work from there and not a place of pouting jealousy.

#4 Thou shalt not get mad at techno-challanged coworkers.

Frustration at coworkers slow or out right resistant to implementing new technology is a common emotion.  I struggle the most with this.  Constant training that have direct impacts on people’s work flow along with recognizing everyday teachable moments help calm the anxiety on both sides.

#5 Thou shalt not ban.

Obviously.

#6 Thou shalt value our patrons above all else.

Yes, they do in fact pay your salary.  While that does not give them a right to mistreat and harass it does mean all goals and assessments must come back to the ultimate question, will it help the patron?  Will they benefit or see an improvement?  Are we making our jobs easier or their lives better?  Answer carefully because we need patrons to be our partners and not enemies to be kept at bay.

#7  Thou shalt not let the technology win.

You are at all times technology’s master and liege.  It must bend to your will and desires.  It is your tool, not the other way around.  If not might as well lay down now and wait for robots and AI to evolve enough to overpower us and take over the earth.  Laugh all you want but just know when it all goes to hell, I told you so.

Dunguaire Castle in Kinvara, I might be using this in my novel. Think rain, wind, sexy Irish man, dinner but no tournament.

For some reason fall weather inspires me to write.  It’s the combination of cool weather, turning leaves and afternoon naps in the sun.  Mostly though it’s probably NaNoWriMo’s fault.  I have an idea for this year’s attempt.  Well I always have an idea, hopefully this year that idea will translate into an actual completed novel.  I’m going lowball this year, no supernatural, no steampunk, no YA, straight up contemporary romance with a slight chick lit vibe.  I’m going to set it in Ireland, mostly because I want to go back desperately and writing about it will be close enough.  I don’t really have a clever temporary title.  Maybe something lame like Holiday Fling or Green Love.  Yeah, that good.  But like I said it gives me a chance to go through my Ireland pictures and day-dream while munching on apples and sipping cider.

The day of an old friend posted on her Facebook wall that even though she was invited she didn’t think she was cool enough to attend.  I didn’t response back or mention it to anyone there but it bugged me.  This was a girl I was really close to.  So close we spent New Year’s Eve on a highway overpass because we were too chicken shit to go to a party we’d been legitimately invited to.  That one comment brought back memories of how many things I didn’t experience or events I didn’t attend because I was too intimidated or hesitant.  And hanging out with my old classmates last night I realized, not for the first time, there’s nothing to be scared of.  It was a room full of people living their lives, some married, some single.  Some still at home and some flew in for the weekend.  No one cared about being cool enough.  And if they did it didn’t make a difference to me.

My ALA 2010 Haul, a Proud Moment

So maybe that’s why I read YA and find a connection to the characters and their story.  I’ve been confronted with it before, why don’t I read “adult” books and what I could possibly get out of stories about teenagers and their high school drama.  It’s not the usual assumption that I’m immature or want to be back in high school.  More I think I’m discovering a lesson I wish I learned then but instead took a lot of growing after high school.  It’s become my golden rule, if you’re always yourself and you love yourself, not much anyone else thinks will change that.  If YA lit was as robust and expansive when I was in high school as it is now maybe I would have looked differently at my small world.  Maybe I wouldn’t have needed to chase after so many experiences in college and later.  I might have trusted more, made more mistakes and let more people in.  Because in the greater scheme of things it wouldn’t really have hurt anything.

Of course this could all just be the perspective of ten years talking but I think about the books I read then and the books I read now and can’t help but wonder if John Green, Cecil Castellucci, Malina Marchetta, Gayle Forman and David Levithan were on my radar how I would have seen my world differently.

I did learn one other universal truth this weekend, people for the most part stay the same or become more like their parents.  Now that is a truly scary and hopeful thing.