Cybilly hiatus

I'm in the middle of Cybils Round Two judging, and since we're not allowed to blog about the books until the winners are announced on February 14, I expect to be on a bit of a hiatus for a while. Could be a couple days, could be a couple weeks. Stay tuned.

Operation Yes: Review Haiku

Two parts DEAD POETS'
SOCIETY to one part

Air Force recruit film.

Operation Yes by Sara Lewis Holmes. Levine/Scholastic, 2009, 256 pages.

Liar: Review Haiku

I still can't figure
out what's true and what's a lie.
I just know I'm scared.

Liar by Justine Larbalestier. Bloomsbury, 2009, 376 pages.

Absolutely Maybe: Review Haiku

How to make good stuff
out of disappointment and
despair. Plus tacos.

Absolutely Maybe by Lisa Yee. Scholastic, 2009, 288 pages.

So how I'd do?

Sometimes having front-runners is a great thing. Back in September I made some predictions about this year's ALA Awards, and my prognosticating skillz were not too shabby.

SWISH: Picked the Newbery winner and two of the honor books; Caldecott winner and one of the honor books; Sibert honor (w00t Day-Glo!); and the Printz winner (well, I thought it would be an honor).

BRICK: Expected Marcelo and Wintergirls to score some Printz love, too.

Congratulations to all the winners (and their fabulous editors and art directors!)

How to Say Goodbye in Robot: Review Haiku

Some plot twists hella
obvious, but still an affecting
un-romance.

How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford. Scholastic, 2009, 276 pages.

Match Day: Review Haiku

Great med-school porn -- but
is it weird to be interviewing
your girlfriend?

Match Day: One Day and One Dramatic Year in the Lives of Three New Doctors by Brian Eule. St. Martin's, 2009, 261 pages.

Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me? Review Haiku

Alas, no more lurkers,
Astonishingly Dim Monica,
or HOOOOOORRRRRRRNNNN!

Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me? Final Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by Louise Rennison. Harper, 2009, 309 pages.

Free-Range Kids: Review Haiku

At last! My slagass
parenting style is validated.
Go, free-range!

Free-Range Kids: Giving Our Children the Freedom We Had Without Going Nuts from Worry by Lenore Skenazy. Jossey-Bass, 2009, 225 pages.

And Another Thing: Review Haiku

Utterly incomprehensible --
which, in this case,
is a good thing.

And Another Thing: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy #6 by Eoin Colfer. Hyperion, 2009, 288 pages.

Candor: Review Haiku

It's a small world
after all -- and they're watching
everything you do, kids.

Candor by Pam Bachorz. Egmont USA, 2009, 249 pages.

The 3-2-3 Detective Agency: Review Haiku

Fun, forgettable
mystery offers proof that
poodles are evil.

The 3-2-3 Detective Agency: The Disappearance of Dave Warthog by Fiona Robinson. Amulet, 2009, 73 pages.

U is for Undertow: Review Haiku

Nothing like starting
the new year off right with the
great Kinsey Millhone.

U is for Undertow by Sue Grafton. Putnam, 2009, 403 pages.

2009 Year-End Round Up

Another year, blah blah blah, here's the round-up.


Favorite Middle-Grade Reads
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
Bobby vs. Girls (Accidentally) by Lisa Yee


Favorite YA Reads
Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork
Fire by Kristin Cashore
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Going Bovine by Libba Bray


Favorite Nonfiction
Marching for Freedom by Elizabeth Partridge


Favorite Adult Reads
The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet by Reif Larson
Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street by Michael Davis


Favorite Graphic Novels
Stitches by David Small
Adventures in Cartooning by James Sturm et al.


Favorite Book from The LIST
Um. I seem to have only read one this year. Fortunately it was good.
Personal History by Katharine Graham


Best Jackets of the Year (among the books I read, anyway)
Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
Why We Make Mistakes by Joseph T. Hallinan


Biggest Accomplishment in 2009
Still finding time to read lots of books and post 169 times even after starting business school. (I shoulda reviewed my Very Boring Marketing Textbook, at the very least . . . )


Here's to more good reads in 2010.

THREE: Birthday Haiku

OH MY GOD YOU ARE
INSANE. Happy birthday to
the Boyest of Boys.

Odd and the Frost Giants: Review Haiku

A wint'ry tale of
bravery and redemption
for a wint'ry night.

Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman. Harper, 2009, 117 pages.

Merry Christmas from the Library of Congress

I don't know where these originally came from -- if you do, please give credit in the comments. I put my favorites in bold.

Merry Christmas!

A selection of Library of Congress (LC) subject headings for the holidays
Shopping malls -- Religious aspects
Muzak (Trademark) -- Psychological aspects
Advertising -- Toys
Advertising -- Confectionery
Christmas show windows
Avarice in children
Temper tantrums in children
Department store Santas -- Protection
Christmas on postage stamps
Camels in art
Jesus Christ -- Nativity -- Juvenile drama
Sheep -- Behavior
Christmas decorations -- Risk assessment
English holly -- Handling -- Accidents
Christmas tree ornaments -- Materials -- Brittleness
Christmas lights -- Defects
Candles in interior decoration -- Safety aspects
Christmas trees -- Fires and fire prevention
Interior decorators -- Wounds and injuries
Reindeer -- Flight
Santa Claus -- Career in aviation
Sleighs -- Handling characteristics
Near misses (Aeronautics)
Chimneys -- Design and construction -- Safety aspects
Chimneys -- Accidents
Sleep disorders in children -- Risk factors
Christmas stockings -- Evaluation
Confectionery -- Materials -- Sampling
Toys -- Materials -- Impact testing
Blister packs -- Materials -- Acoustic properties
Unparliamentary language
Jealousy in children
Impulse control disorders in children
Gift wrapping -- Materials -- War use
Stress (Psychology) -- Religious aspects
Behavior disorders in children
Children in public worship -- Prevention
Brussels sprouts industry -- Seasonal variations
Christmas cookery -- Health aspects
Hanukkah cookery -- Fiction
Abdominal pain in children -- Risk factors
Crying in children
Household animals -- Effects of stress on
Chocolate -- Effects of high temperatures on
Norway spruce -- Effects of drought on
Rug cleaning
Christmas television programmes -- Psychological aspects
Hyperactivity in children
Intergenerational conflict
Violence in children
Headache -- Psychosomatic aspects
Dreidel (Game)
Child behavior checklist
Herod I, King of Judea, 73-4 B.C. -- Philosophy
Alcohol -- Therapeutic use

Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have: Review Haiku

Fat kid rules the world --

temporarily, anyway.
Great YA voice.

Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have by Allen Zadoff. Egmont USA, 2009, 311 pages.

The Dream Stealer: Review Haiku

Odd length, odd story,
but a charming way to pass
half an hour or so.

The Dream Stealer by Sid Fleischman, illustrated by Peter Sis. Greenwillow, 2009, 96 pages.

Bone: Out from Boneville: Review Haiku

Um, how is it that
I've never read Bone before?
Shame, Emily. SHAME.

Bone #1: Out from Boneville by Jeff Smith. Graphix, 2005, 138 pages.