Sooo...

...thinking of doing format changes in any upcoming blog posts.  While I can't say it's not been enjoyable so far, I'm not entirely happy with my updating (and lack thereof).

Redwall: The Long Patrol

Every few years, I go back and reread all the Redwall books.  This series is one that slips to the back of my mind, perhaps too often, but as soon as I pick up one book I'm reminded all over again why I loved Brian Jacques as a child and why I still love him as an adult.*  There is so much I could say about his books, and most of it applies to the series as a whole, not just one or two individual books, so I think I'll just talk about one or two points per book, instead of repeating the same things over and over or making one huge massively long post.  I'm not fond of massively long posts, in case you couldn't tell.

The Long Patrol is one of my favorite in this series, and is probably up there in the top three.  I just think Cregga and Tammo and Tansy's storylines mesh very well together, without a crazy amount of running around and riddle-solving.  It's also enjoyable to see how creatures that were young in a previous book--Pearls of Lutra, for those of you not "in the know"--have grown up and grown wiser.

But the singular Redwall-generic point I'd like to make first is FOODOHMYGODTHEFOOD.

Seriously.  I dare you to read a description of a Redwall feast and not start drooling.  I'm actually now in the habit of skipping all those lovely descriptions, because when I read through them I get hungry and go start eating.  I don't even like most the food he describes.  I read somewhere that Jacques--pronounced "Jakes," by the way--speculated that it was because he grew up during WWII in England, when food was scarce.  And if I remember correctly, until he was eight or so, he thought that an orange was a made-up fruit.  I think it's hard for most people to comprehend that level of not-having.

...and now my mouth is watering.  I ate dinner not even two hours ago!  Curse you, Brian Jaaaaacques!  Only not really, because his books are awesome.  And I know he will never see this, but it needs to be said anyway: Thank you, Brian Jacques, for writing these books and sharing with us your world.

*Oh, God, I'm old enough to use the phrase "as an adult."  When did that happen?  I was a teenager just yesterday!

Girl, Stolen

So this was the second book from the 2011 Best YA Fiction list that I read, and I think I actually enjoyed it a little more than Hold Me Closer, Necromancer, despite the fact that I prefer fantasy over contemporary.  Then again, debut novels really aren't my thing.

I picked up Girl, Stolen, by April Henry, because (duh) I thought it sounded interesting: A blind girl currently down with pneumonia is resting in the backseat of a car while her step-mother fills her prescription, when BAM, the car--complete with our heroine, Cheyenne--gets stolen on impulse by Griffin, who was originally just looking for packages.  But really, leaving your keys in the car is like asking someone to please steal it.

At any rate, I did indeed enjoy this book, and I swear it's not just because of my weird obsession with borderline-bad-boys.  (Just me?)  It's very well-written, and gives us the point of view of both Cheyenne and Griffin, and how an accidental kidnapper and a reluctant kidnappee (though I doubt there's any other kind) react to their situation(s).  It was a fairly short, quick read, but if I have to complain about anything, it would be the ending.  I know a lot of people enjoy an open-ended book, where the "rest of the story" could potentially go in many different directions--maybe because of the open-endedness of life or something, I don't know--but unless it's done in such a way as to indicate a sequel, then I'm usually not a fan.

And in case you couldn't tell, Girl, Stolen has an open ending.  Yaaaaaaaaaaaaay...


But if you think it sounds interesting, I do suggest you give it a try.

And Now...Something Completely Different!

Gonna take a quick break from talking about books, to talk about something that without which would make books impossible:

Words.

I love words.  I'm a logophile!  I'm not concerned with whether or not words are sesquipedalian, or requires a lexicographer's intuit to understand (sorry, I had to use some big words in a post about words!).  I just love the way some words sound, and how choosing a synonym of a word can help you be more precise in what you say.

And while I was talking with my mother one day, I began listing off some of my favorite words (does that make me a nerd?), and realized as I did so that I apparently have a favorite letter of the alphabet: P.  There's just something about the way that letter pops when you say it, especially at the beginning of a word.

Plethora.  Palindrome.  Perpendicular.  Precipitate.  Preposterous.  Persistent.  Penultimate.  Pyrrhic.   Prestidigitation.  Pulchritude.  Pusillanimous.  Penchant.  And possibly my favorite: percolate.  There's just something about the "puh" and the "kuh" so close together, and it's a bit longer than perk and perky, which just makes the word sound bubbly, even though it basically means filtering something.  Oh, and "pulchritude" up there?  It sounds so putrid, but really it's quite beautiful.

And of course, there are other words I love that don't start with P, like lickspittle (it's a word!), syzygy, interdigitation, or magnanimous.

...okay, yeah, most of these are sesquipedalian words, but come on.  Say them out loud!  Aren't they awesome?

I even have preferred words for body parts (although a blog post about that may push this into NC-17 territory...).  A SFW example:  I was reading a love scene, when all of a sudden there was a line: "He kissed her tummy."

Wait, what?  Tummy?  Really?  In this love scene (between adults, obviously), you decided to use a word that invokes an image of children?  Because really, to me, "tummy" is what you say to children as you tease them with tickles.  Not adults who are in the process of skoodilypooping.  Even "belly" would've been better, although I think "ab/domen" or even a generic "stomach" would've been the best alternatives.

At any rate: words.  Spread the love.

Llama Llama Mad at Mama

Okay, so confession time: I've been putting off doing this blog, Llama Llama Mad at Mama, by Anna Dewdney, because I wanted to have more than one thing to say.  But really, honestly, the more I thought and worried over it, there was really only that one thing I have ever really wanted to say about this book.

Even llamas don't like llama drama:

Thank you, and good night.

Geronimo Stilton: Lost Treasure of the Emerald Eye

Lost Treasure of the Emerald Eye is the first in a series of...a lot...and is written by, uh, Geronimo Stilton: an anthropomorphic scaredy-mouse journalist and editor of The Rodent's Gazette who would really rather not get caught up in the adventures that his younger sister (Thea), cousin (Trap), and nephew (Benjamin, age 9) are always dragging him into.

Originally published in Italy, there are now 49 Geronimo books (with two more planned for July and October 2012), spin-off Thea books, spin-off Creepella books, special editions, graphic novels, and even a television series and audiobooks.

It's popular, is what I'm trying to say.

And honestly, I'm not sure why it wouldn't be popular.  Because this is what it looks like as you read:

HOW AWESOME IS THAT?!  It's as if a bunch of typographers attacked a novel!  For those with children who are reluctant to read--and who don't want to give them comic books, for whatever reason--then this series is probably what you should slip them.  They get checked out almost as much as The Magic Tree House and Junie B. Jones series, and I'm forever straightening them up after the "hurricane kids" sweep through, plucking out the ones they want to read.

Probably my only complaint would be that Mr. Stilton is a little too scaredy-mouse; I would rather have a more confident main character.  But ah, well; can't have everything we want.

We Are in a Book!

We Are in a Book! is one of the Elephant and Piggie books (why it isn't called Gerald and Piggie, since those are the characters' names, I do not know) by Mo Willems, a very popular children's author who started off winning Emmys on Sesame Street, and is collecting Caldecott Honors.  He has written such books as Pigeon Wants a Puppy, Knuffle Bunny, and--oh, yes--Time to Pee!  


Also, a few days ago I got to work just as a co-worker was reading aloud from The Duckling Gets a Cookie?, and thought that was one of the cutest books ever.  I was also informed that I simply had to read Edwina, The Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct.  So I will definitely be flipping through that at work, and it may turn up in this blog later on.

The Elephant and Piggie books are what are referred to as Easy or Early Readers; and if you want a clear definition instead of a vague idea of what that means, it's simply a book intended for children just learning to read.  Easy/Early Readers are often available for children anywhere from kindergarten (or pre-) to second or third grade (or later!).  This series, as far as I can tell (though I am no expert, so don't take my word!), are more for kindergarten/first graders, with few, short words per page.

And although several of the other books in the series are perfectly adorable, I love this one because it's one of those break-the-fourth-wall, speak-to-the-reader, someone-is-watching-us! kind of books.  Piggie makes the reader say a funny word (that is, assuming the reader is reading aloud), which sends the two of them into peals of laughter.  And then Gerald asks when the book ends, at which point Piggie checks and informs him:

...which then makes Gerald panic, since that means the book is not nearly long enough for his taste.  And of course, the more he panics, the more pages he uses, and the faster the book comes to the end.

...or is it?