Newtown

I grew up near and still live very close to Newtown, CT. I am so overwhelmed by the tragedy there, and last night I took a break from watching the news because I just couldn't see anymore. A friend of a friend of mine was killed during the shooting. I can't believe that a place I know well is on international news. I don't want to go into the debate of mental illness and gun control and whatnot, I just wanted to blog to say that we should all keep our loved ones close and remember what happened last week. Also, there are relief efforts and scholarship funds being set up, so check those out and determine their legitimacy before you donate. You may also go to the website of the Newtown Town Hall here and get the details of the fund set up by the United Way of Western Connecticut.

Ex libris,

Marissa

Do you remember September?

It is a universal truth that I'm not the best blogger. I am busy or I forget. Looking at the blog archive, I realize I didn't post in September this year. I could be tricky and backdate this post, but let's pretend it's September. What was I doing in September?
I visited my Aunt Marcy in early September. In addition to being all-around cool, she's an author and illustrator. Her story "Runaway Blue" was in Highlights magazine in 2010 (alas, they used a different illustrator). She's going to hit it crazy big one day with her art and writing, I know it. If you are a publisher and you have somehow found this blog, contact her immediately (just click on her name). You won't be sorry!
I went to the Goshen Fair in Goshen, CT with my friend Andrea. I love fairs, but mostly to see the animals. I'm not big on rides, although the occasional Ferris Wheel is ok. I like the sheep best of all (see the fourth book in the list below).
Finally, here are the books I read or listened to in September (that is, I finished them in September): 
  Rabid: A Cultural History of the World's Most Diabolical Virus by Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy
  Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
  This Dark Endeavor: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein by Kenneth Oppel
  No Idle Hands: The Social History of American Knitting by Anne L. Macdonald
  Erebos by Ursula Poznanski
  Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz


There you have it! Our trip back to September is over. Now back to your regularly scheduled December.

Ex libris,

Marissa

La crème de la crème

"La crème de la crème" means "the best of the best." I learned that from Judy Blume's Just As Long As We're Together, one of my favorite books from elementary school. (When the phrase first appears in the book, I believe someone is commenting on brownies at a bake sale, so at first I thought it meant delicious and fudgy, but it was later explained.) But what is "the best of the best"? As Rachel says in Just As Long As We're Together, "Best is best." Although Rachel may be right when it comes to friendships, I think there can definitely be more than one "best" when it comes to books. Apparently, so do all sorts of publishers, book reviewers, and websites. The fine folks at Random House collected the multitudinous "Best Books of 2012" lists on their Tumblr so you can choose "la crème de la crème." I will post my own "best" list from this year in the near future, but for now, you can see what the other professionals have to say. ;)

That cute sweater showed up a lot when I did an image search for "la crème de la crème" and is designed by Zoe Karssen. If you want to purchase it, you may click here. Note that I have no affiliation with Ms. Karssen. I just want that sweater and if you like my blog you can get me one.

Finally, someone remind me not to blog when I'm tired because I solicit sweater gifts, use words like "multitudinous," and use Judy Blume books as a lens through which to see the world. And I write sentences like that.

Ex libris,

sleepy Marissa

My brilliant book reviewing career.

I read, on average, about 50-70 books a year. Reading has always been one of my favorite activities, in addition to binding my own books and any craft involving yarn (I just started spinning-- next step is sheep shearing school). I also enjoy the occasional bout of doing nothing, and I watch TV. So I'm quite pleased with my yearly book average. Then when I finished my Master's degree (huzzah!) I thought to myself, aha! Now I can continue working on the 1001 Books Project with my sister (she's in the C books, I'm still in the A books), and read more in general, and read galleys on Netgalley, and continue my TV-crafty-nothing-doing. I admit, I may have been overambitious in this quest. I know of several librarians who work at their day jobs, write reviews for major publications, serve on committees, present at conferences, and also seem to get their laundry done. And they usually have more familial obligations than I do (I have one dog). That being said, I am considering applying to be on the Nutmeg Book Award committee, which will kick my reading into super high gear. I think it will be quite cool to have a hand in the Nutmeg nominees. I may never be a professional book reviewer, but I can still be a good librarian.

Ex libris,

Marissa

Every Day was new.

I hope I mentioned somewhere in this blog that I love David Levithan. I finished his latest, Every Day, weeks ago but it was late and I didn't get to write about it until now. I made some notes immediately after reading it. Here they are: "Stunning and heartbreaking. Unfair. Mind existing without body. Time Traveler's Wife-ish. Cried. Cried after I already cried. Doomed to wander forever? Wanted to make it last. Read the last third of the ARC in one go."
Every Day is the story of A, who wakes up in a different body every day of his life. It's clear that (he? she?) is used to this as it has been happening since (he? she?) was born. I'll refer to A as "he" from now on because he's a he when we first meet him. A wakes up in the body of a guy named Justin and spends the day with his girlfriend Rihannon. A is connected to Rihannon but is never the same person twice, so how can he make it work? Levithan explores the idea of being connected on a cerebral level, no matter what. A wakes up in bodies of those similar in age to himself, but sometimes he's a girl or a boy, popular or a loner, pretty or ugly. He's able to "access" key information about who he is that day in order to make it through, but he has no home for his soul. After meeting Rihannon, though, A wants to get to know her. He does all he can to get back to her (he wakes up in roughly the same geographical area as long as the body he's in doesn't travel). He meets her in many of his different forms in hopes that their connection can transcend the physical. But will Rihannon feel the same?

It blew my mind. Go read it.

Ex libris,

Marissa