Home again

I'm home from NCTE. The conference itself was pretty quiet, but I did score some wicked cool stuff:

Signed galley of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules by Jeff Kinney
Signed galley of The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Galleys of new novels by Linda Sue Park, Jeanne Birdsall, and Gary D. Schmidt
Overpriced swag from Mary Poppins on Broadway (dude, the Munchkin will totally flip)

Lots of bloggers were out and about, including Fuse, Chicken Spaghetti, Jen Robinson, and Liz B. I also got a goodly amount of reading done (thank you, time alone with no dependents!), so new haiku will come soon.

If I can make it there

Off tomorrow avec bebes for NCTE in NYC. Fortunately, said bebes are spending the weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's, while I bustle about the city gleefully free from small creatures climbing all over me. If I'm lucky, I will get to see Fuse and Alison, too.

But -- poop on a stick! -- the labor movement has decided that I will not get to see The Little Mermaid on Broadway (or, as she is known in my house, "Ariel the Little Mermaid," with nary a pronoun to be found). At least Mary Poppins is still on the docket.

Prayers, karma, and other good feelings for two uneventful ferry rides with the little monsters would be appreciated. (At least the beagle is staying home this time.)

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Review Haiku

You'd think it would bore --
medieval verse monologues? --
but instead, it sings.

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz. Candlewick, 2007, 85 pages.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian: Review Haiku

Yep, it's award bait --
but the thing is, it's also
a damn good story.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie. Little Brown, 2007, 229 pages.

UPDATED: 2007 National Book Award winner for Young People's Literature. (See? Told you it was award bait.)

Guyaholic: Review Haiku

V's looking for love.
It's not her mother's road trip --
and thank God for that.

Guyaholic by Carolyn Mackler. Candlewick, 2007, 192 pages.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: Review Haiku

Wait, this book is full
of Christian symbolism?
But it's so subtle . . .

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis. Geoffrey Bles, 1950, 186 pages.

#23 on The LIST. Listened to on a Playaway device (read by Michael York, who, sadly, is now forever associated with an unfortunate cup of coffee).

Run: Review Haiku

Gorgeous prose lifts an
otherwise superficial
look at race, fam'ly.

Run by Ann Patchett. Harper, 2007, 295 pages.

Frankenstein: Review Haiku

Frankenstein was Swiss?
Almost no monster-making --
just Romantic angst.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Penguin (this edition), 1818 (original edition), 214 pages.

#22 on The LIST.

Now I can sleep again

Boston sweeps Rockies to win the Series; Mikey "The Connectah" Lowell is MVP.

But now I have a problem: History has shown that every time I have a kid, the Sox win the Series. I don't think my lady parts can take this kind of pressure . . .

NaNoReMo: Catch-22

So Defective Yeti is planning to read Catch-22 during the month of November. Coincidentally, it's next (or almost next, if I choose to tackle Anna Karenina) on The LIST. I think I'll join him . . .

Naomi and Ely's No-Kiss List: Review Haiku

Unrequited love
plus ultra-hip urban angst.

(Man, I'm such a square.)

Naomi and Ely's No-Kiss List by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. Knopf, 2007, 240 pages.

Miss Spitfire: Review Haiku

Two little spitfires
battle for the greatest gift:
communication.

Miss Spitfire: Reaching Helen Keller by Sarah Miller. Atheneum, 2007, 240 pages.

Love that dirty water

Oh, Boston, you're my home.

!!!

The Used World: Review Haiku

Eighty other holds
and a so-so first chapter?
Sorry, Ms. Kimmel.

The Used World by Haven Kimmel. Free Press, 2007, 320 pages.

Leepike Ridge: Review Haiku

Lost kid, waterfalls,
treasure hunters run amok:
sounds like The Goonies.

Leepike Ridge by N. D. Wilson. Random, 2007, 224 pages.

Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus: Review Haiku

Ran, runned -- I don't care,
since you kept La Munch entranced
on a long car ride.

Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus by Barbara Park. Random, 1992, 80 pages. Listened to the unabridged CD from Recorded Books, read by Christina Moore.

Spent Saturday at the Rutgers One-on-One Plus Conference in Jersey. Got to meet Fuse, catch up with some old friends, and hang out with a slew of writers and illustrators at various stages in their professional lives. Apologies again for forgetting business cards. At least I remembered to wear pants.

Lord of the Flies: Review Haiku

"KILL THE PIG!" Would you?
Innocence lost, unspooled, with
seductive horror.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Faber & Faber, 1954, 192 pages. Listened to on a Playaway device.

#21 on The LIST.

Life's a Beach: Review Haiku

Nothing much happens,
but it's still a hoot to be
along for the ride.

Life's a Beach by Claire Cook. Voice/Hyperion, 2007, 256 pages.

(And no, it's not on the blankety-blank LIST. I'm working on it, okay? I only have so many hours in the day, and Lord of the Flies takes a while to listen to on my lunch breaks . . . )

Eggs: Review Haiku

Fragile, brittle kids
lay on metaphors thick, but
never crack their shells.

Eggs by Jerry Spinelli. Little, Brown, 2007, 220 pages.

Evolution, Me, and Other Freaks of Nature: Review Haiku

Darwin versus God!
Survival of the fittest
with high-school-high stakes.

Evolution, Me, and Other Freaks of Nature by Robin Brande. Knopf, 2007, 272 pages.