Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd
Here’s the back story to this YA anthology: Editors Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci were at Comic-Con 2007 and got to talking about how many Jedi and Klingons were present at such conventions. They thought it would be fun to write a story about a Klingon and Jedi who wake up together after a late night partying. Awkward “morning after” meets forbidden geek love. Except, who would publish such a story for them? The obvious answer was to contact other geeky YA authors and create an anthology to be this story’s home. Contributors include Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, John Green, David Levithan, Garth Nix, and Scott Westerfeld.
If the premise of said story sounds hilarious to you, buy/borrow/steal this book today. If you are confused or bored, it’s probably not for you.
The stories and comics in this anthology cover a wide range of geeks: Sci fi / fantasy; theater and band; role playing, video playing, and cosplaying; comics and graphic novels; and my favorite, the literature geeks. I only fall into a few of those categories, but I understood the culture more than enough to enjoy these stories.
I was disappointed to find that a lot of geek stereotypes were upheld, including geeks being less attractive and popular than their non-geek counterparts. Who says someone who is a geek in one area also has to be less athletic and deficient in personal hygiene? Why is there always one token girl geek? I won’t even get into the nomenclature of geek vs. nerd. (I generally identify more as a nerd, but in the end it doesn’t matter.)
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Tags: anthology, barry lyga, book review, bryan lee o'malley, cassandra clare, cecil castellucci, coming of age, cynthia and greg leitich smith, david levithan, fantasy, garth nix, geek, geektastic, graphic novels, holly black, hope larson, john green, kelly link, libba bray, lisa yee, m. t. anderson, sara zarr, science fiction, scott westerfeld, tracy lynn, wendy mass, young adult
First a quick note: John Connolly’s latest book was released yesterday in the UK with the title Hell’s Bells. In the US, it will be released in October under a different title: The Infernals. Who can wait another 5 months, though? I recommend ordering a copy from the UK today, although this should in no way interfere with your plans to buy the US edition in October. You can thank me later.
Connolly is best known for his crime fiction series (starring PI Charlie Parker) and the previously-reviewed The Book of Lost Things. The Samuel Johnson books, however, are more humorous and adventuresome and generally not as dark. Read these with tongue fully in cheek!
Hell’s Bells is a sequel to The Gates, featuring a boy named Samuel Johnson and his trustworthy dachshund, Boswell. In The Gates, the Great Malevolence and his minions tried to invade Earth, but found themselves thwarted by young Samuel, the ever-loyal Boswell, and a very minor demon called Nurd. Hell’s Bells sees Samuel and Boswell lose the home court advantage as they are transported to Hell by a demon who has fallen out of favor after the failed invasion. Along for the ride are a group of notorious dwarfs, a couple of policemen, and an ice cream truck. Throughout, Samuel’s ordinary life problems (divorced parents, unattainable girls, and the like) are superseded by the demons he encounters and the battles he witnesses. His perseverance and continued good humor keep these books light, despite heavy subject matter.
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Tags: book review, coming of age, fantasy, folklore, hell's bells, john connolly, must read, mythology, science fiction, the gates, the infernals, young adult
An M16 transformed into a teddy bear. A phone booth that finds new life as a fallout shelter. A typewriter that has a waffle press on its keyboard. A car that has become a working telephone.
These are just a few of the projects pictured in this book covering the artistic vision of Kevin O’Callaghan. O’Callaghan teaches a 3D art course at the School of Visual Arts in New York. Many of his class projects become exhibitions in large New York venues, or even go on tour throughout the country. This is the kind of book you can open at any page or read cover to cover, finding extraordinary creations on every page.
Some of the collections include: “Yugo Next”, where students took one of the least successful cars ever made and gave it new life; “Horsepower”, which reinvents the buggy for use in the modern world; “Disarm”, which pulls the most common and deadly assault rifle into non-violent contexts; and “Off Roading”, where a gas-guzzling pickup truck is dismantled and turned into apartment furnishings.
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Tags: art, book review, kevin o'callaghan, monumental, non-fiction
I hav
e the complete collection of My Naughty Little Sister books. If you can find them on eBay or Amazon get them! These stories are narrated as memories of an older sister’s about the mischievous behavior of her naughty little sister. I grew up on these stories and shared them with my children, who loved them as much as I did. Children love to hear about bad children, danger and the consequences of our behavior.
The first line of the book is: “This is such a very terrible story about my naughty little sister that I hardly know how to tell it to you.” Each story continues to recollect the horrible actions of this child, but the language is wonderfully lyrical and fun to read out loud.
“Do you like climbing? My naughty little sister used to like to climb very much indeed. She climbed up fences and on chairs and down ditches and round railings.”
“You wouldn’t think there could be another child as naughty as my naughty little sister, would you? But there was. There was a thoroughly bad boy who was my naughty little sister’s best boy-friend: Bad Harry.”
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Tags: book review, children's books, dorothy edwards, must read, my naughty little sister, shirley hughes
I bought this book because it had a giant bite taken out of it, and it said it was about a rat who grew up in the basement of a bookstore. What’s not to like? (Well, okay, I kind of have a rat phobia, but I was willing to give it a try.)
Firmin is born in a nest made of a shredded copy of Finnegan’s Wake, in the basement of a 1960s-era Boston used bookstore. He’s the runt of the litter and often gets shorted at feeding time. As a result, he turns to the books surrounding him for something to chew on and finds that he can’t stop.
Like many things that start as small, illicit pleasures, paper chewing soon became an imperative, and then an addiction, a mortal hunger whose satisfaction was so delightful that I would often hesitate to pounce on the first free tit. (17)
In this way, Firmin becomes a literal consumer of literature. After a while, however, he learns to read what is written on the pages, and switches to only chewing on the margins. Soon he is better read than most humans, and he migrates to the ceiling where he watches the bookstore below. I love his description of what he observes, because it reminds me of the joy inherent in having a bricks-and-mortar bookstore to visit:
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Tags: animals, book review, fiction, firmin, sam savage
Written in 1939 for his daughter, this is a very feminist tale.
In a world where there are 5 Easter Bunnies a little girl rabbit says “Some day I shall grow up to be an Easter Bunny – you wait and see!” But soon she has 21 babies. She teaches them life skills and teamwork, so when it’s time to pick a new Easter Bunny she goes out for the job. She proves that her children are self sufficient and will be fine for one night without her.
This is a story every girl should have. It has an important message that you can do it all…… just not all at the same time.
Tags: animals, book review, children's books, classics, du bose heyward, feminism, the country bunny
Margret and H.A. Rey escaped Nazi Germany on their bicycles and in their belongings was the first draft of Curious George. Then, in 1945, Spotty was written. Often only available around Easter, this book is not about Easter bunnies but the intolerance of difference that exists in our world.
Spotty is a spotted rabbit born into a white rabbit family. Because he is different he is left out home while his family goes to Grandpa’s Birthday party. Grandpa would not approve of a spotted rabbit. Sad and alone Spotty runs away. In the woods he meets a spotted rabbit who brings him home to his spotted family. There in the corner is an all white rabbit. Like Spotty She did not fit into her family. He explains how his family is all white and he is the different one. The families meet and the story ends with a message of tolerance and acceptance.
Tags: animals, book review, children's books, classics, diversity, margret and h. a. rey, spotty
The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman
The Grimm Legacy begins as a tale of an ordinary life: Elizabeth Rew is adjusting to her mother’s death, her father’s remarriage, and switching to public school so her father can help pay tuition for her two new stepsisters. She has nobody to sit with at lunch time and feels lonely and virtually invisible. After writing her term paper on the Grimm brothers, her friendly (if eccentric) history teacher offers her an after school job, which she accepts gratefully.
Elizabeth soon learns, however, that this is no ordinary job. She has been hired as a page at the New-York Circulating Material Repository, a sort of library for objects. The repository stores and lends out everything from china tea sets to Marie Antoinette’s wig. But what really surprises our fair heroine is when she learns that the basement of the repository houses the Grimm Collection – magical objects bequeathed to the repository straight out of fairy tales and folklore.
I love this premise for a young adult title, because not only does it make the mundane magical (how many high school students wish their after school job was a bit more glamorous?), it also takes the enchanted and makes it ordinary. Though apprehensive of these items at first, by the end of the book all the young repository pages have used magical objects in their everyday lives, with varying degrees of success and many unforeseen consequences.
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Tags: book review, coming of age, fables, fairy tales, folklore, mythology, polly shulman, the grimm legacy, young adult
“I had an idea to staple my brother’s hair to his pillow. I am not allowed to use the stapler anymore.”
“I had an idea to walk backwards all the way to school. I am not allowed to walk backwards to school anymore.”
“I had an idea to do my George Washington report on beavers instead. I am not allowed to do reports on beavers anymore.”
This is a fabulous story of a curious child whose constant experimentation gets her in trouble. She is obsessed with beavers and taunting her little brother. Her imagination is both naughty and brilliant. The adult expressions of frustration are priceless and the simple text is hilarious. Recommended for ages 7 – 90 yrs, because adults will enjoy this picture book as much as children.
Tags: 17 things i'm not allowed to do anymore, book review, children's books, jenny offill, must read, nancy carpenter
Stiff by Mary Roach
If you’re anything like me, you watch those formulaic detective shows. You know, the ones where everything is packaged in a neat bow at the end – usually with the help of a medical examiner who knows the exact time and date the victim was murdered. And if you’re any more like me (which, creeeepy!), you’ve wondered at the accuracy of that time and date. I mean, is it even possible to know stuff like that?
Apparently, it is.
In one of the disturbingly engaging chapters in Mary Roach’s Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, she describes a section of the University of Tennessee’s campus devoted to the study of decomposing bodies in various states of…disposal? Eek, that sounds a little indelicate. But get this: some are splayed naked under trees while others are dressed to the nines but stuffed in a car’s trunk. Still others are in shallow graves or dumped in marshy lake water. All of this is done under the scientific eyes of Professors and soon-to-be medical examiners to determine the rate at which the human body decays in various circumstances. E. GADS. Let me warn you right now: if you are at all queasy about this subject matter, for the love of all that is good and holy, do not do an image search of the University of Tennessee body farm. What is seen cannot be unseen.
Tags: book review, cadavers, creepy, Mary Roach, must read, non-fiction, Stiff
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