Category Archives: Bookish

Visits to book releases, signings and any author or book related event.

Oblong Books and Music: Book signing

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Two hours north of NYC is a quaint little town called Rhinebeck and last month I took a road trip to Rhinebeck to attend a book event. Sarah Rees Brennan was going to be there, and as Sarah isn’t a native of these shores, I didn’t want to miss the chance to see her! So, myself, my sister, a cousin and a friend took the long journey from Manhattan to Rhinebeck to see Sarah and fellow authors Cassandra Clare and Holly Black.

It was quite a show! They had some giveaways and my sister won an ARC of Sarah’s newest gothic novel, Unspoken – yay! Sarah also read from Unspoken and performed a small scene from the book, one that involved her unbuttoning her cardigan – which I’m sorry to say, I was too busy laughing to actually take a photograph.

The ladies were all very cool, giving away little presents to audience members who asked questions. Cassandra gave away some jewelry inspired by her books, Holly – the lady with the coolest hair – gave away some white gloves and Sarah gave away some more ARCs of her book. There were also buttons for the taking!

Oblong is a cute little store, there are tons of books there and a good space for events. I wish it was closer to home, but I won’t mind the two hour drive if other out of towners stopped there!

On Zombies and Unicorns

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I’m quite amazed that a lot of search terms that come to my blog contains the words “zombie” and “unicorn”. So, dear searcher, I will do you a favour and help you out with your zombie/unicorn search.

That Starbucks/Barnes and Noble zombie plush that you want? Boom! I found these at a Starbucks inside of a Barnes and Noble.

For that Zombie Identification (Chart), you can thank Think Geek for this lovely little number. If I must have a zombie after me, I’d much prefer the crawler, for all I know, I might want to dance with the Thriller – and that’s how the Thriller gets you … entice you with dance.

If you are looking for Zombie vs. Unicorn, then you’re in look! As a bookish person I know just what you are looking for – Justine Larbalestier and Holly Black’s anthology of the same name. Josh Cochran did the cover for this fun book.

And finally, the person who wanted pictures of “pink fluffy unicorns dancing on rainbows”, well, I think what you really wanted is this video:

BEDA – August Edition!

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It’s August first, which means, blog every day in AUGUST! The last time I did something like this was in April of 2011… I was inspired, and I wanted to blog every single day in April. I missed it this April, so I’ve been waiting for the next “A” month to come along and it’s here!

Throw the confetti, sound the trumpet, let BEDA begin!

To begin let’s talk about books! It’s no secret that I love books, but I don’t think I was ever aware of my bookish love until a few years ago when I realized that there are people out there who don’t read for fun – or at all. I’m not certain how the love developed, but, I do know that reading has become an integral part of my life. I have a book blog, I attend book events, I dabble in writing; the written word is important to me.

There is one thing I want to talk about in regards to books, that is, the importance of fiction.

I know quite a few people who turn their noses up on fiction, it’s not real, so why waste time reading it. It’s true, fiction, by definition is not real, but I tend to believe that people write based on experiences – even the things they imagine have a thread of reality running through it. However, the idea of fiction – to me – isn’t to find reality, it’s to take a step away from reality.

Fiction can engage the mind, stimulate the senses and stretch the imagination; and I love it.

The book to read is not the one that thinks for you but the one which makes you think. – Harper Lee

Maggie … oh my

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I cannot decide whether this book is a big joke or a real book. The description reads:

This book is about a 14 year old girl who goes on a diet and is transformed from being extremely overweight and insecure to a normal sized girl who becomes the school soccer star. Through time, exercise and hard work, Maggie becomes more and more confident and develops a positive self image.

First, let’s take a look at the cover. There is a girl, who we can probably assume – with great accuracy – is Maggie. Maggie is holding up a dress that does not fit her. In the mirror Maggie is seeing a skinnier girl who fits the dress.

Next, let’s look at the description. Maggie is overweight, and insecure but a diet transforms her from an overweight, insecure girl into a normal size – skinny and pretty. The only good thing – and I use that liberally – is that the diet is through time, exercise and hard work.

What upsets me most about the book is that it might lead young girls to think that in order to be happy they must be thin – or, as the author so tactfully puts it, normal size. This doesn’t promote health as much as it promotes low self-esteem. Yes, let’s hand this book to young girls who might already be suffering from low self-esteem and tell them that in order to be more confident they need to lose weight.

Appalling.

Goodbye Borders

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In the summer of 2001 I was entering my sophomore year at Hofstra.  I was 19 years old and working in the computer labs when The Princess Diaries, staring Anne Hathaway, was released. The previews looked funny so I decided to go see it. It was the first time I saw a movie on my own. I don’t know what got into me, I wanted to see it, so I went to see it. I thought it was cute and funny, I knew it was based on a book, and as I researched the book I happened across a Borders bookstore near the university.

I borrowed the family car and took a trip to Borders. The moment I stepped into the store I fell in love. Two levels of books so close to my school, what’s not to love? I found the Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot (who quickly became a favourite author of mine) in the teens section, right next to the anime section, across the stairs from the religious section. For the next three years Border would be my home bookstore and those three sections would be the sections I visited every time.

From When God Whispers Your Name, to Azumanga Diaoh, the majority of the books I read through university were purchased at that Borders. Sometimes I’d blend in so well that people would ask me for recommendations and I’d tell them what to read and where they could find it.

When Borders announced that they were closing stores across the country, I was sad; my Borders was on the list. It was sad walking through it one last time, saying goodbye. Now, Borders is closing all their remaining stores and I’m not only sad to see the Penn Station store go – where would I indulge in my last minute book buying before the train comes? – I’m also sad to see so many people without jobs.

It makes me sad that so many people would be without access to a bookstore. It makes me sad that this privilege that I have – to go to the bookstore around the corner – will be restricted. I wish there was a way to solve the problems that Borders had and thus keep their doors open…

Today I say goodbye. Goodbye old friend, I’m sad to see you go. I met two women in a line at the BEA, they were Borders booksellers. I think of them now as I say goodbye. I hope the people who are without jobs find a way to ride out this rough patch…

I hope …