Gone with the Wind for Wii

A nice little book and tech related cartoon.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Sounds like the most amazing book...ever.

Pop Covers

Of books, no less!

There are some hilarious analyses of old paperback cover art over at Pop Sensation--

Thank god Death was her last lover - that makes a much better title than "Herb the Copier Salesman from Wichita is the Last Lover"

Also, ever want to pretend you're GW? Nah, me neither.

Blogger Beware: The Goosebumps Blog

I think most of us were a little too old for the Goosebumps craze, but this blog is still funny even if you've never read one*:

http://www.bloggerbeware.com/

The author is re-reading all the Goosebumps books and reviewing each one. He keeps track of recurring themes like platonic boy/girl friendships, lack of minority characters, questionable behavior by parents and teachers, werewolf appearances (it's always werewolves!), suspicious scientists, '90s cultural references (one parent worries if her son has become "a grunge"), and gives away each of R.L. Stine's famous twist endings. He also makes a lot of musical jokes, which I always enjoy. Anyone else who can identify the Leonard Cohen reference in the Scream School entry gets to be my new best friend. :)

This retrospective post is a good introduction to the blog, with the author providing a top 10 best/worst Goosebumps books.


*I actually have read one. My younger sister loved these books, and I know I did read one of her's that was about a boy and girl who went to a horror amusement park that turned out to be run by...Aaahh!!! REAL MONSTERS! But judging from the blog there were actually several different Goosebumps books with exactly this premise, including an entire spin-off series, so I don't know which one it was.

Kelly, I think you may have some competition....

Though I think your celeb version is much better.

Dr. Seuss in The Onion

Many of you probably got to see this IN PRINT, but for anyone who missed it:

Stop Making Movies About My Books

Jane Austen + Nelly Furtado

I know I'm not the only Jane Austen fan here...we're a bunch of librarians, after all.

This music video made me smile. :)

A challenge us literary-types can get into

Find an earlier footnote, win a fancy dinner

Though in all honesty, I think I'm too lazy for this....

Like Oscars, but for books!

In case anyone wasn't up at 7:00 this morning to watch the live webcast from Philadelphia (because they have enough sense to get their sleep and just wait for the list to be uploaded), here are the 2008 winners of all the children's and young adult literature awards!

For the slightly less interested, the "big winners" were...

[drumroll, please]

Newbery Medal: Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz, published by Candlewick;

Caldecott Medal: The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, published by Scholastic;

Michael L. Printz Award: The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean, published by HarperTempest;

...and just because I love Mo:

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award: There is a Bird on Your Head by Mo Willems, published by Hyperion.

With all the award winners and honor books, I've got quite the reading list to tackle! Let me know if you want to discuss any of the titles!

I love me some Charles Bronson

Movies that were (suprisingly) books first

J.K. Rowling outs Dumbledore

I don't think I've ever seen a piece of news circulate the Internet so quickly. In case any of you managed to miss the big news, at a Q&A session in New York J.K. Rowling revealed that she always thought of Dumbledore as gay.

Story from The Observer

Story from Time

I can't say I'm totally surprised by this information, but I'm quite surprised Rowling actually said so!

Although to be honest, if I'd ever made a list of "Potentially gay Harry Potter characters", Dumbledore would have been at best #3.

Read a book America

"Democrats, liberals read slightly more books than GOP, conservatives"

The Future is NOW!

Remember the cool reading pad Capt. Picard was always reading? Well, the cell phone is slowly starting to catch up. Oh, the day when smut can be read while standing in line, without the embarssement.

Recycled underwear=more library jobs!

Here's a bit on the relationship between underwear and literacy, which of course translates into a link between underwear and librarians. Why didn't the NYT report that in the coolness article?

Potter Mania - Not so Manic

WARNING: Profession related content

NY Times article, "Potter has limited effect on reading habits" discusses the roll that the Harry Potter books may or may not have had in bringing kids to reading. All I can say is that I have never read Harry Potter. I'm a good person who neither needs to be corrupted by that demonic tale, nor needs to be corrupted by reading in general.

Long live TV, X-box, and GameBoy!

Overheard on State Street

Just moments ago, as I shuffled down State Street on my way home from an exhausting 15-hour day of work, I overheard a 30-something guy say this to his buddy:

"Man! That guy's had the kind of life that people write about... in fiction novels!"

...as opposed to all those non-fiction novels out there??



Sigh.

I suppose this is why we do what we do (or will do once we get jobs!).

Goodreads for Good Librarians!

Perhaps some of you already know about this site, but I just learned about it.

According to their "about us" page, "On Goodreads, when a person adds a book to the site, all their friends can see what they thought of it. It’s common sense. People are more likely to get excited about a book their friend recommends than a suggestion from a stranger." It sounds like a good way to keep in touch and get suggestions for new (or not-so-new) books to read.

For those of us who are still unemployed, here's one more thing we can do to keep busy... or procrastinate when we should be working on job applications!

One problem: They mention they have a "Chief Librarian," but she doesn't have her MLS. Tsk, tsk.

Let me know if you're signed up so we can share lists!