This morning, I read Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore, and I loved it. It's YA fantasy, and drew me in right away. It's the story of Nimira, a girl who ran away from home, sailed across the sea to another land in the hopes of finding her fortune. It's also the story of a fairy prince, Erris, enchanted into the body of an automaton. With hints of Jane Eyre, the story really pulled me along to find out what happened next to the characters. Would Nimira be able to find a way to help Erris? Would they be discovered by those who would stop them? The ending is obviously just the beginning of their story, so in that way it's a frustrating ending, but at the same time, it hints at more to come, so I guess I'll just have to wait for the sequel to find out more!
Here's the official book trailer:
There was some controversy about the cover of this book before it even came out. Nimira, although from a fictional country that is not firmly based on any real one, is described as having brown skin, but the original cover of the book depicted a girl with light skin, because supposedly some people feel that people of color on book covers don't sell books. You can see the original cover here. Fortunately, the publishers listened to what people had to say and designed a new cover which is truer to the author's vision of Nimira, and you can see it on the author's site here.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Semester update and Book Review
There's basically a month left in the semester, and as of this week, I'm done "attending" class. There's one more optional class meeting for my collection development class in a couple weeks to wrap things up, but all the mandatory class meetings (all three of them for the semester), are now done.
The last big projects for both of my classes are starting to come due in the next couple of weeks, and I need to finish up my hours for my ESL field experience in the next couple of weeks as well. I'll just say that I'm really struggling in my ESL class because there has been essentially no human interaction the entire semester. The subject matter is interesting and important, and I'm really enjoying my field work for the class, but the coursework is very time-consuming, the instructions aren't always clear, sometimes there are conflicting instructions in various places on the course website, and the professor is not always easy to get answers from.
Enough about that, on to the book review! I recently won a contest on the blog of the author Jessica Day George for an advance reading copy of her latest book, Princess of Glass, a sequel to Princess of the Midnight Ball, which I reviewed on this blog last year. The author wanted to get 50 amazon reviews of Princess of the Midnight Ball before Princess of Glass was released, so she offered a contest on her blog. If you posted an amazon review of Princess of the Midnight Ball on amazon and then left a comment on her blog with your amazon reviewer name, you got entered in a drawing for an ARC of Princess of Glass. I already posted an amazon review based on the review I did in this blog, so I entered, got lucky, and won one of the copies!
Here's what I got in the mail - it's an uncorrected advance proof of the book, also known as an ARC, and it's autographed inside by the author! Uncorrected proofs are in paperback form, probably contain mistakes, and basically aren't polished or finalized yet. I definitely found some typos and mistakes as I read along, but they didn't distract from the fun story.
Princess of the Midnight Ball, as I mentioned in my blog post about it, is a retelling of the twelve dancing princesses and is the story of Princess Rose. This sequel is the story of one of Rose's younger sisters, Princess Poppy, and it's a retelling of Cinderella, but with a twist. Although I found some of the chapter changes confusing and abrupt, I really enjoyed the book a lot. Instead of a kindly fairy godmother, the godmother in this story is a black magician called the Corley, and she has an ulterior motive when she helps young Eleanora go to the balls to win the heart of a prince. Princess Poppy, so recently released from a curse of dark magic in the previous book, recognizes something isn't right, and with the help of her friends, works to undo the damage that the Corley has caused.
Although I think I liked Galen from Princess of the Midnight Ball better than Prince Christian in this book, Princess Poppy is definitely my kind of princess. She's spunky, beats everyone at cards, swears like a soldier (her brothers-in-law are to thank for that), and yet still carries herself like a princess.
I also really enjoyed the way the glass slippers were worked into the story. They are a recognizable part of the tale, and yet with a new twist that works with the darker tone of the story. Every night before each ball, the Corley's mute servants bathe and dress Eleanora in beautiful gowns and jewels, and then the Corley herself melts and molds magical glass directly on to her feet. It causes her great pain, and if she doesn't get back to the Corley before midnight, her feet start turning into glass. The Corley also puts an enchantment on Eleanora so that every man, but especially Prince Christian, will be crazy about her.
Unfortunately for the Corley, Prince Christian is falling in love with Poppy despite the love spell enchantment to force him to fall in love with Eleanora, and Eleanora is actually in love with someone else as well. The important thing in books of this kind is that Poppy and Eleanora both get their happily ever afters in the end.
As with Princess of the Midnight Ball, Princess of Glass also includes a knitting pattern at the end. Throughout the story, Princess Poppy knits magical protective bracelets for all of her friends in the hopes that they will help them see through the Corley's enchantments; the pattern in the back shows you how to make Poppy's anti-love spell bracelets.
I really enjoyed the book, and I will definitely buy a "finished" copy when the book comes out in a few months. I'll keep it right next to this ARC. I hope Jessica Day George decides to write about this family. There are still 10 more sisters and a bunch more fairy tales to take inspiration from!
The last big projects for both of my classes are starting to come due in the next couple of weeks, and I need to finish up my hours for my ESL field experience in the next couple of weeks as well. I'll just say that I'm really struggling in my ESL class because there has been essentially no human interaction the entire semester. The subject matter is interesting and important, and I'm really enjoying my field work for the class, but the coursework is very time-consuming, the instructions aren't always clear, sometimes there are conflicting instructions in various places on the course website, and the professor is not always easy to get answers from.
Enough about that, on to the book review! I recently won a contest on the blog of the author Jessica Day George for an advance reading copy of her latest book, Princess of Glass, a sequel to Princess of the Midnight Ball, which I reviewed on this blog last year. The author wanted to get 50 amazon reviews of Princess of the Midnight Ball before Princess of Glass was released, so she offered a contest on her blog. If you posted an amazon review of Princess of the Midnight Ball on amazon and then left a comment on her blog with your amazon reviewer name, you got entered in a drawing for an ARC of Princess of Glass. I already posted an amazon review based on the review I did in this blog, so I entered, got lucky, and won one of the copies!
Here's what I got in the mail - it's an uncorrected advance proof of the book, also known as an ARC, and it's autographed inside by the author! Uncorrected proofs are in paperback form, probably contain mistakes, and basically aren't polished or finalized yet. I definitely found some typos and mistakes as I read along, but they didn't distract from the fun story.
Princess of the Midnight Ball, as I mentioned in my blog post about it, is a retelling of the twelve dancing princesses and is the story of Princess Rose. This sequel is the story of one of Rose's younger sisters, Princess Poppy, and it's a retelling of Cinderella, but with a twist. Although I found some of the chapter changes confusing and abrupt, I really enjoyed the book a lot. Instead of a kindly fairy godmother, the godmother in this story is a black magician called the Corley, and she has an ulterior motive when she helps young Eleanora go to the balls to win the heart of a prince. Princess Poppy, so recently released from a curse of dark magic in the previous book, recognizes something isn't right, and with the help of her friends, works to undo the damage that the Corley has caused.
Although I think I liked Galen from Princess of the Midnight Ball better than Prince Christian in this book, Princess Poppy is definitely my kind of princess. She's spunky, beats everyone at cards, swears like a soldier (her brothers-in-law are to thank for that), and yet still carries herself like a princess.
I also really enjoyed the way the glass slippers were worked into the story. They are a recognizable part of the tale, and yet with a new twist that works with the darker tone of the story. Every night before each ball, the Corley's mute servants bathe and dress Eleanora in beautiful gowns and jewels, and then the Corley herself melts and molds magical glass directly on to her feet. It causes her great pain, and if she doesn't get back to the Corley before midnight, her feet start turning into glass. The Corley also puts an enchantment on Eleanora so that every man, but especially Prince Christian, will be crazy about her.
Unfortunately for the Corley, Prince Christian is falling in love with Poppy despite the love spell enchantment to force him to fall in love with Eleanora, and Eleanora is actually in love with someone else as well. The important thing in books of this kind is that Poppy and Eleanora both get their happily ever afters in the end.
As with Princess of the Midnight Ball, Princess of Glass also includes a knitting pattern at the end. Throughout the story, Princess Poppy knits magical protective bracelets for all of her friends in the hopes that they will help them see through the Corley's enchantments; the pattern in the back shows you how to make Poppy's anti-love spell bracelets.
I really enjoyed the book, and I will definitely buy a "finished" copy when the book comes out in a few months. I'll keep it right next to this ARC. I hope Jessica Day George decides to write about this family. There are still 10 more sisters and a bunch more fairy tales to take inspiration from!
Monday, March 22, 2010
Free YA contemporary fantasy e-books
Now that I have an e-book reader, I have been on the lookout for good e-book deals.
In honor the upcoming release of Melissa Marr's newest YA release on 4/20, there are a few related free e-book releases.
You can already download part 1 of a new story ("Stopping Time") set in the same world as her upcoming book, and tomorrow you'll be able to download part 2. I'm not sure if these two parts make up a short story or a novella, but it's not a full-length novel from my understanding.
It looks like on 4/6, you'll also be able to download the first book in the series, Wicked Lovely, with some additional bonus content. The link above lets you download directly from the HarperTeen website, but you can also download from B&N website or amazon directly to either your nook or Kindle. The "Stopping Time" downloads show up as free in both places. I assume that on 4/6, amazon and B&N will show Wicked Lovely as free, even though currently it costs approx. $5.50.
I believe these are only going to be free for a limited time - probably only until Radiant Shadows release on 4/20 or shortly after. I've read the first three books in the series, and definitely those who enjoy darker, contemporary urban fantasy will probably enjoy these. They are very popular YA books right now and appeal to the same teens that might like Twilight, although a bit darker. I liked these better than Twilight, but honestly, I kind of hated Twilight. (Don't tell any teenagers this or I will probably lose any credibility as a cool librarian.)
For those without e-book readers, both amazon and B&N have Kindle/nook apps you can download onto your computer to let you read their e-books on the computer as well.
In honor the upcoming release of Melissa Marr's newest YA release on 4/20, there are a few related free e-book releases.
You can already download part 1 of a new story ("Stopping Time") set in the same world as her upcoming book, and tomorrow you'll be able to download part 2. I'm not sure if these two parts make up a short story or a novella, but it's not a full-length novel from my understanding.
It looks like on 4/6, you'll also be able to download the first book in the series, Wicked Lovely, with some additional bonus content. The link above lets you download directly from the HarperTeen website, but you can also download from B&N website or amazon directly to either your nook or Kindle. The "Stopping Time" downloads show up as free in both places. I assume that on 4/6, amazon and B&N will show Wicked Lovely as free, even though currently it costs approx. $5.50.
I believe these are only going to be free for a limited time - probably only until Radiant Shadows release on 4/20 or shortly after. I've read the first three books in the series, and definitely those who enjoy darker, contemporary urban fantasy will probably enjoy these. They are very popular YA books right now and appeal to the same teens that might like Twilight, although a bit darker. I liked these better than Twilight, but honestly, I kind of hated Twilight. (Don't tell any teenagers this or I will probably lose any credibility as a cool librarian.)
For those without e-book readers, both amazon and B&N have Kindle/nook apps you can download onto your computer to let you read their e-books on the computer as well.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Book Review: Sewing Tiny Toys - Creating Your Own Bean Bag and Plush Toys
I got the book Sewing Tiny Toys by Carolyn Vosburg Hall as a gift from a friend several years ago, but I never got a chance to put it to use until recently.
Overall, I'd say it's a pretty good book, although definitely for someone with at least medium sewing skills. What I like about the book is that the patterns are all full size, so you just need to trace them out or photocopy them at regular size. The instructions are somewhat complicated, but fortunately there are photographs next to every step to help you along. Still, even with the photographs, I was unable to figure out how to do certain steps on one of the patterns I tried, so I sort of made it up as I went along. There were also times when I didn't understand why the author chose the order of steps she did. For instance why did she have you wait until assembly and stuffing was complete before having you embroider the facial details? It seems like it would be easier to do that before stuffing, and even before completing assembly. Part of the reason I say these patterns require at least medium sewing skills is because there are a lot of pattern pieces for most of the stuffed toys in the book, assembly is a little bit complicated, and the size of the toys add an extra challenge because they are so small. I sewed both of the stuffed toys below completely by hand.
Now, on to the pictures! In honor of March, which supposedly comes in like a lion and out like a lamb, I give you the lion and the lamb stuffed toys from Sewing Tiny Toys! (I hope Caelan enjoys the lion!)
The lion stuffed toy. He's made out of felt, and has articulated legs made with button joints. He's sitting on this year's Caldecott Medal winner, The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney.
The lamb stuffed toy. Not the best picture, but you can see it came out pretty cute. The sherpa fabric I used for the fleece was very stretchy, and unfortunately, I don't think this came out sturdy enough to be an actual toy because the stretchiness of the fabric made it shred as I sewed, so too much handling may make the seams come apart completely. Still, that's not the pattern's fault!
Overall, I'd say it's a pretty good book, although definitely for someone with at least medium sewing skills. What I like about the book is that the patterns are all full size, so you just need to trace them out or photocopy them at regular size. The instructions are somewhat complicated, but fortunately there are photographs next to every step to help you along. Still, even with the photographs, I was unable to figure out how to do certain steps on one of the patterns I tried, so I sort of made it up as I went along. There were also times when I didn't understand why the author chose the order of steps she did. For instance why did she have you wait until assembly and stuffing was complete before having you embroider the facial details? It seems like it would be easier to do that before stuffing, and even before completing assembly. Part of the reason I say these patterns require at least medium sewing skills is because there are a lot of pattern pieces for most of the stuffed toys in the book, assembly is a little bit complicated, and the size of the toys add an extra challenge because they are so small. I sewed both of the stuffed toys below completely by hand.
Now, on to the pictures! In honor of March, which supposedly comes in like a lion and out like a lamb, I give you the lion and the lamb stuffed toys from Sewing Tiny Toys! (I hope Caelan enjoys the lion!)
The lion stuffed toy. He's made out of felt, and has articulated legs made with button joints. He's sitting on this year's Caldecott Medal winner, The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney.
The lamb stuffed toy. Not the best picture, but you can see it came out pretty cute. The sherpa fabric I used for the fleece was very stretchy, and unfortunately, I don't think this came out sturdy enough to be an actual toy because the stretchiness of the fabric made it shred as I sewed, so too much handling may make the seams come apart completely. Still, that's not the pattern's fault!
Overall, despite the challenges, I still think it's a pretty good book, and there are more cute patterns in it I want to try.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
E-books
I decided to use part of my tax return this year to buy an e-book reader. After much research, I decided on the Barnes & Noble nook. Aside from the "E ink" technology that comes on most e-book readers these days, I wanted to be able to read PDF files for school (many of the articles we read are PDF) as well as read books for fun. I also like that the nook lets you change the battery and expand the storage with a memory card.
My nook arrived yesterday, but I didn't get a chance to play with it because it had to fully charge before first use. Because I don't have wireless internet at home, I hooked it up to my computer with the USB cable it came with, downloaded the latest software for it, and then used an open source e-book management software called calibre to load a few books onto it. Calibre allows you to convert e-books in various formats to many other file formats, and lets you optimize the output file for your specific e-reader device. I tried converting a few different files; I converted a free html e-book of short stories to EPUB format, a couple PDF files to EPUB format (the nook handles PDF, I just wanted to see if the conversion did anything), and even EPUB to EPUB, just to take out spaces between paragraphs. You can even use it to adjust margins and other formatting things on files to make them look best on whatever e-reader you have. So far, it seems like a pretty useful e-book manager.
I don't know how the wireless purchase of books from Barnes & Noble works, but I have 6 books on here, 5 free (mostly classics from Project Gutenberg and the short stories I mentioned) and one purchased from Book View Cafe. I also downloaded the Alice in Wonderland free screen saver from Barnes & Noble and put it on my nook.
After playing with it for a little while, I decided to make a protective cover for it. I bought a silicone skin for it and have some protective screen covers on the way, but I wanted something to protect it if I put it in my librarian bag or purse.
Here's what the nook likes like; I have the test guide for the Florida Teacher Certification Exam Educational Media Specialist PK-12 loaded on it.
And here's what my cover looks like. It's a different fabric, but sort of matches the fabrics I used to make my librarian bag. I used the thick cardboard from inside an old 3-ring binder to make the front and back cover hard, covered both in fleece for padding, then sewed the outside cover.
I haven't read more than a few pages on it, but I think it's going to work out well once I adjust to how the page turn makes the screen flash.
My nook arrived yesterday, but I didn't get a chance to play with it because it had to fully charge before first use. Because I don't have wireless internet at home, I hooked it up to my computer with the USB cable it came with, downloaded the latest software for it, and then used an open source e-book management software called calibre to load a few books onto it. Calibre allows you to convert e-books in various formats to many other file formats, and lets you optimize the output file for your specific e-reader device. I tried converting a few different files; I converted a free html e-book of short stories to EPUB format, a couple PDF files to EPUB format (the nook handles PDF, I just wanted to see if the conversion did anything), and even EPUB to EPUB, just to take out spaces between paragraphs. You can even use it to adjust margins and other formatting things on files to make them look best on whatever e-reader you have. So far, it seems like a pretty useful e-book manager.
I don't know how the wireless purchase of books from Barnes & Noble works, but I have 6 books on here, 5 free (mostly classics from Project Gutenberg and the short stories I mentioned) and one purchased from Book View Cafe. I also downloaded the Alice in Wonderland free screen saver from Barnes & Noble and put it on my nook.
After playing with it for a little while, I decided to make a protective cover for it. I bought a silicone skin for it and have some protective screen covers on the way, but I wanted something to protect it if I put it in my librarian bag or purse.
Here's what the nook likes like; I have the test guide for the Florida Teacher Certification Exam Educational Media Specialist PK-12 loaded on it.
And here's what my cover looks like. It's a different fabric, but sort of matches the fabrics I used to make my librarian bag. I used the thick cardboard from inside an old 3-ring binder to make the front and back cover hard, covered both in fleece for padding, then sewed the outside cover.
I haven't read more than a few pages on it, but I think it's going to work out well once I adjust to how the page turn makes the screen flash.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Free History DVD to every school in the U.S.
This offer got mentioned on one of the library listservs I am a member of. The History Channel has an upcoming miniseries called "America The Story of US." They are offering a copy on DVD free to every school in the U.S. - the school principal just needs to fill out this online form. It is copyright cleared for fair use in the classroom. It hasn't aired yet, so I have no idea of it's a good miniseries or not, but it seems like a very generous offer on the part of The History Channel. The high school librarians on the listserv seem excited about it.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Know any video-game-loving teens?
Tor books has 200 free advance review copies of Cory Doctorow's upcoming YA novel, FOR THE WIN, available to young adults who love video games (19 years old or younger) and want to review the book on their blog or in their school newspaper. You can find the details here. So if any of you know someone who might be interested, pass it on! Too bad Michael is too old (and doesn't have a blog and would never write for his school paper), because a few years ago, he would have been perfect :)
This offer is in honor of the American Library Association's Teen Tech Week, which is this week.
On a side note, Cory Doctorow's other young adult novel, Little Brother, is available as a legal, free e-book download from his website: Little Brother e-book. We read this book in my Info. Needs of Young Adults class last semester; it's quite a discussion starter.
This offer is in honor of the American Library Association's Teen Tech Week, which is this week.
On a side note, Cory Doctorow's other young adult novel, Little Brother, is available as a legal, free e-book download from his website: Little Brother e-book. We read this book in my Info. Needs of Young Adults class last semester; it's quite a discussion starter.
Rapunzel paper dolls
It's spring break this week, so I have a little something fun to post. One of my favorite authors, Shannon Hale, co-wrote two graphic novels with her husband, Dean Hale: Rapunzel's Revenge (a retelling of Rapunzel set in a fantasy Wild West) and Calamity Jack (sequel to Rapunzel's Revenge and a retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk). They are illustrated by Nathan Hale (no relation to Shannon and Dean).
When the first book came out, Nathan Hale drew some Rapunzel paper dolls that you can find and print out from here: original Rapunzel's Revenge paper dolls. Now that the second book just came out, he made some new paper dolls to print, color, and play with:
Calamity Jack paper doll #1 (Rapunzel paper doll and one outfit)
Calamity Jack paper doll #2 (additional clothes for Rapunzel)
Calamity Jack paper doll #3 (Jack paper doll and one outfit)
Calamity Jack paper doll #4 (additional clothes for Jack)
Note: All book links in this blog link to the book on WorldCat, "The World's Largest Library Catalog," so you can see what local libraries near you might have it in their collection.
When the first book came out, Nathan Hale drew some Rapunzel paper dolls that you can find and print out from here: original Rapunzel's Revenge paper dolls. Now that the second book just came out, he made some new paper dolls to print, color, and play with:
Calamity Jack paper doll #1 (Rapunzel paper doll and one outfit)
Calamity Jack paper doll #2 (additional clothes for Rapunzel)
Calamity Jack paper doll #3 (Jack paper doll and one outfit)
Calamity Jack paper doll #4 (additional clothes for Jack)
Note: All book links in this blog link to the book on WorldCat, "The World's Largest Library Catalog," so you can see what local libraries near you might have it in their collection.
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