Tonight in Libraryland

My comics writing program went really well tonight, despite a snaffu with the news release (wrong date) and the weather. Only 5 people made it, not counting me and Brandon, but the program was definitely a success. Brandon Jerwa was a lovely speaker, funny and full of information about the comic industry. We had a lively discussion and I even felt somewhat knowledgeable, at least about graphic novel genre and Joss Whedon.

EXCEPT! Brandon let me in on a little known factoid. Did you know that Joss wrote Toy Story? Yes, REALLY!!

Now I have to watch that again (for the 50th time, I have a son just the right age to have really liked that movie) with that in mind. I can already see parts of it in a different light.

Thank you Brandon for a delightful evening.

A Little Bit of Neil In My Life

Neil Gaiman was an absolutely fabulous reader. You can view each chapter over on his blog. He has been reading one chapter of The Graveyard Book at each of his appearances (I got to see chapter 4, it was awesome and long--about 50 pages!), has recorded them and has them available to watch.

I am not much of a fan. I don't drool over any celebrities or follow bands around hoping to get a body part signed. There is no actor that I would die to meet. Not saying I would say no to meeting one, it just seems like too much work. That said, I admire Joss Whedon from afar. And now Neil Gaiman.

Part of what I like about these two men is that they give a little of themselves to their fans. They don't act thankful, they act like a friend. They want to give us what we want, and it happens to be what they want as well. I was thinking this about Joss Whedon after watching the series Firefly and the movie Serenity, then watching some special features. I just got the warm fuzzies.

I got the same feeling during the two and a half hours that Neil Gaiman spent with his Seattle audience on Friday. As I said, he read 50 pages of his book to us, with feeling. The story itself made me want to jump into the book and experience the adventure myself. I have loved a storyteller that could do that ever since I was a little girl and had things I wanted to get away from. He showed us some clips from the new movie coming out, Coraline--based on the book. It looks like it is going to be great--I hope they add a picture to the IMDB page soon, because the imagry is fabulous. Stop Action Animation! (Done by the director Henry Selick, who also did Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach.) Then he answered questions from the audience for the last 30 or 40 minutes.

He did not sign books, or rather, he did not sign them individually. Everyone that ordered a book got a signed one, so there were no personalized messages--but really, does that mean anything? I have some totally weird signings from Terry Brooks (like: "Brew a Little Magic of your Own."), very personal... And I guess that last time he did a signing in Seattle he was at the table until 2:30 am. Now that is dedication.

Life limped along at subsonic speeds

As the title suggests, everything and nothing is happening right now. I am very busy with program planning, school visits and meetings, but nothing of note has happened in the last couple of weeks.

I am going to see Neil Gaiman tomorrow night! That is super cool. I have always enjoyed his books, although he isn't one of those authors where I have read everything he has written, the imagry in his books is something that stands fast in my mind. When I think of Neil Gaiman, I think of bright colors and dark streets.

The Boy has been playing football. He is having an awesome time, but it is frustrating to watch. Those poor kids--there are only 12 of them, so they only have one sub. The other teams have more players, have been playing longer and seem to have better direction. The Boy's coach is very nice, very dedicated, but doesn't seem to know exactly what he is doing. Maybe he is learning too. The first quarter of the game was one big mess, although it got better after that. The other team had 40 players and pulled their first string after the first quarter, then they just rotated players in so that after every play they were playing a whole new team. The Boy hurt his back pretty bad at the end of the third quarter and had to stay out the fourth. I am not notorious for my football knowledge, so thankfully Dr. T has been there to guide me through the games.

Long Weekend

I had a great weekend. Family and friends came over on Saturday to hang out. We sang on the Wii with the American Idol Karaoke Revolution game. It rocked. And of course enjoyed the 75 degree weather. Diva brought a picture of our sons in diapers for us all to gawk at and the boys liked it and had fun with us. I thought they would be embarrassed :)

Sunday, The Boy and I accompanied Dr. T down to Kent to meet some of his friends (for those of you wondering who Dr. T is, well, I think I called him The Man before, but I have decided that I hate that name, so now my boyfriend is Dr. T). The friends were a very nice couple that had moved up recently from San Francisco. Dr. T knew the husband from childhood in Spokane. He is a pastor and he and his wife have 2 children. Those of you that know me well, know that I am not religious. Perhaps even anti religious. I was a little worried about how I would come off in this situation, and also how they would judge me. Well, they didn't and I did just fine. In fact, I would say we got along well. They were very nice and The Boy and I really enjoyed the visit. The Boy was really polite and engaging, too (all weekend!). Sometimes he is not, but I see this as a sign of his usually teen-angsty attitude improving.

On Monday I did my usual volunteer gig, then met my dad and sister in bell town. My sis is publishing in the SCC school paper. It was very cool to see. Then dad and I hit Serious Pie for dinner. The food was pretty good, but the waitress was a little scratchy. I don't have anything I can pinpoint to complain about, but it was kind of disappointing. Then we went to see Marjane Satrapi at the Moore. She is the author of the comic series Persepolis and has a lot to say about the state of the world. She was remarkably well spoken, especially since English is her 3rd or 4th language and even she says she is far from fluent. I had already heard much of her prepared speech from a dvd that I got from the library, but the question and answer portion made me tear up with emotion (which is not surprising for me, since cheesy commercials about caring can get me misty).

Caucus, Caucus

This is what my last two days should have been like--ok, sans 3 year old. Or perhaps I would have just jumped on my friend's coat tails--or maybe her mink tales. I love that little red eyed crazy guy.

Basically what I am saying is that I wish I could have gone to the caucus and the Obama rally. Oh well. Hopefully my psychic wish for Obama to win the caucus will have some effect.

Instead, I had to work both days. Last night I went to Pies n' Pints in Roosevelt and heard about the rally from a co-worker who was awed speachless (thus it was hard to hear), had yummy meat pies and pints of the frosty stuff with another coworker and her boyfriend, then went home AND...went to bed. How lame is that? And still I am tired. Not fair. Maybe tomorrow will be a more rested day. Since I don't have to work and have no plans :)

Except maybe seeing my dad. I am just realizing the phone call I forgot to make this week. But I am also not quite done reading Persepolis either, and I know he wants to borrow it. Of course, the copy he got me is different from the one I linked to in the catalog--it has all 4 books in one. He and I are going to see the author, Marjane Satrapi, at the Moore Theater in April. From what I have read, I think she will be very interesting and possibly funny.

Le Guin Again

Going to Ursula K. Le Guin's author event was like a blast from the past for me. Not only because I have seen her before, but because her author visit was so much like the author readings of old. When I first moved back to the Seattle area from Tulsa, OK, I was thirsty for literary entertainment. I so wanted to be smart and well read! I enrolled at Shoreline Community College, I joined a book group and I went to author readings. Most of the readings were from authors I didn't know, but I didn't care. I saw Ursula Hegi and Arthur Golden before I even read Stones from a River or Memoirs of a Geisha. There was a certain cadence to author visits then--they were definitely "readings." The author would read a chapter of their book, then answer a few questions from the audience--who were usually older folks with a lot of writers looking for tips--then sign books at the end of a very long line.

I have recently started going to author visits again and without even noticing the difference, been very happy with the changes that I have seen. Authors are not necessarily reading passages of their books at the beginning. Scott Westerfeld did not read ANY of his book to the audience at all! He just answered questions--it was more like a lopsided conversation. Other authors are doing theirs more like a lecture, giving information or background, talking about their subjects with enthusiasm and using their books as punctuation marks. I also like that the audiences have become more diverse--young and old, fewer writers asking their usual ~groan~ questions about how the author came up with a plot or how they do revision. Read a frickin interview why don't cha? Or better yet, one of the many books that authors write about writing: Steering the Craft, Anyone?

Ursula K. Le Guin read a section of Powers then answered those ~groan~ questions. Despite the celebrated book of the evening being a YA book, the youngest people I saw there would have been freshmen in college (aside from the smaller children being hushed in the corners). When I asked what inspired her to write a series for young adults, she told me that it was her agent's idea--they told her it would be easy to get teens to read anything. That is when I really groaned... It really isn't! They are picky! Le Guin is just lucky that she already writes amazing books! I did like hearing her and I enjoyed the poetry she read as well. I have read almost every book she has written and loved almost all of them. I keep her short stories around for when I am feeling stressed out and need a little literary pick me up. But man, is she behind in the author visit times...

And yes, I do realize that most of my complaints aren't caused by the author. She is awesome. Maybe it is just that the same people go to see her every time and ruin it for the rest of us? My main point is that I appreciate those authors that are doing more with their time, thinking innovatively and attracting more than the traditional fan.

Extra! Extra...

As promised, a review of Extras by Scott Westerfeld.

I don't know if I can gush enough about this one.

Set in Japan, many eons into the future, Aya Fuse just wants to get noticed. After the mind-rain wiped out all the brain damage forced on citizens of Earth at the age of 16, Aya's city turned to an economy based on fame and merit. In order to make "money" a person either has to do good for society or become famous. Aya definitely prefers the latter, finding the adventure of kicking the latest story a necessity of life. In her quest to do so, she infiltrates the Sly Girls clique--a clique so secret the members change their nicknames periodically to keep off the feeds. Their latest derring-do is surfing on top of ultra fast meg-lev trains. It doesn't take them long to figure out that Aya is not really one of them, but the story they have stumbled on is too city-damaging to keep under cover. More adventure follows, so make sure to check it out!

This book is great for ages 12 and up. I recommend it to anyone who likes a good story. It is fast paced--everything happens in less than 2 weeks--and we get a return performance from Tally Youngblood, the protagonist from Westerfeld's other books in the series. Although Uglies, Pretties and Specials sets up this book well, I don't feel that you have to have read them to enjoy Extras.

Have I mentioned that it has hit #1 on the New York Times Children's Chapter Books best sellers? Oh yes, yes it has! :)

Yay! Ursula K. Le Guin in ... 2 hours!

A Night of Bubbly Goodness

One of my favorite YA authors (ok, one of my favorite authors, period) was in Shoreline tonight and I got to see him. I wanted to giggle like a girl--and maybe I did a couple of times. Scott Westerfeld was as smart and interesting in person as he is on his blog. I was really impressed. The teens in the audience asked a lot of good questions and kept him talking at least 20 minutes over and he wasn't protesting at all even though this is not the first stop on his tour. One of my favorite quotes of the evening came up when he was talking about the many ways that teens are put down by society. When he was a boy he and his friends started skateboarding and a month later the "no skateboarding" signs popped up. When he was in the UK a few months ago, there were signs in the restaurants that said "we will not serve people wearing black hoodies." The quote was (and I know I don't have it word for word...) "when ten 40 year olds come into your store you say 'good for business', when ten 4 year olds come into your store you say 'how cute' and when ten 14 year olds come into your store you say 'call the cops.'" So true :( He was funny and quick, very in tune with the audience and very giving of himself.

I got a book signed by him and he wrote "Srcsmgrl, thanks for being a librarian." I like it. Much better than Terry Brooks signing "sparks of angel fire, always" in my Angel Fire East book. I have seen Terry several times and gotten a few books signed by him and it is usually something pretty corny. I don't want him to pretend to know me or anything, but I don't want to feel like a total sci-fi geek (I don't think I would make much of a groupie). I would have liked a "thanks for reading" message better. Anyhow, Scott!!!! Thank you so much. I only wish I had had a copy of Peeps or So Yesterday for him to sign... but all I had was Pretties, which is the middle book of a series. Uglies would have made more sense. I will cherish the book forever :) I think I will always be a teen girl at heart, with all the giggles and angst that goes with it.

I also ran into a school librarian that I used to work with at my old post and a teen librarian who used to work with my new boss. It was nice talking to both of them. I realized how rusty my networking skills were when my face started to feel like it was going to crack from all my smiling. Is it that I was smiling too much or that I haven't been smiling enough lately in normal life? I guess I will never know....

OMG, library reopening Saturday!!!

So Yesterday

I have so much stuff coming up for both of my branches, I had to make a list on my wiki just so that I wouldn't forget anything I have to do. Have I mentioned that I love my wiki? I have it through wikispaces and I use it to keep track of rss feeds, links and now to-do lists. Of course I also use my gmail calendar, but sometimes you just need to look on one page and see it all laid out.

I have started crocheting again and I have already made two nice scarfs. They are very thick and soft. If you want one, you'd best let me know. I will post some pictures later (no really! I will!) I will be adding other items soon, like the hats and wrist warmers I promised. I realize my skilz are lacking for any glove details.

Scott Westerfeld (author of Pretties, So Yesterday, Peeps....the list goes on and on) will be at the Shorecrest Performing Arts Center in Shoreline on October 11th at 7pm. I love reading his blog and seeing all the teen comments. He posts fun videos and photos, too. He has defintely mastered the art of marketing to teens. I hope to go hear him read from his new book, Extras, and get my book signed.