Celebrate

Here's two dates to add to your calendar:

March 20th is the 40th anniversary of the publication of Eric Carle's classic, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. His later book, The Grouchy Ladybug is my favorite Carle book, but this one's pretty good too. Pick up a copy and get ready to enjoy!

According to readergirlz, April 16th is Support Teen Literature Day. I'm a big believer in YA lit, so I'll help spread the word (because so many people read this blog lol!) The purpose of Support Teen Literature Day is to "raise awareness among the general public that young adult literature is a vibrant, growing genre with much to offer today’s teens." I absolutely agree! There are some YA books that I still go back and re-read because they're so awesome and still appeal to me now that I'm adult. So get out there and read some YA lit!

To help you out, here's the 2008 Teens' Top Ten list. I can't vouch for all of them, but I know
that Laurie Halse Anderson, at least, can be one fabulous author.

1. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
3. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
4. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
5. Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports by James Patterson
6. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
7. The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray
8. Extras by Scott Westerfeld
9. Before I Die by Jenny Downham
10. Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson

Happy Reading!

Quick Book Update

I don't want another year to go by without posting here, so I'm adding a quick updated about what I've been reading lately. I started Master & Commander (the first book in the series) about a month ago. I'm a couple chapters in, but haven't read much further than that. I like the book for the most part, but struggle to get past the early 19th Century sailor's slang--slang that is recreated through a late 20th Century author. We'll see how it goes.

I'm ashamed to admit, but the other night I couldn't sleep and had a craving to read a really crappy, I-don't-have-to-use-one-braincell-to-read-this kind of book, so I pulled out a Barbara Michaels book and read the whole thing in one sitting. She's entertaining, but really, I can shut my brain off when I read her stuff, which is sometimes exactly what I need.

What else? Oh yes. I've been wanting to read Dear Enemy lately, but can't find my copy of the book anywhere. I've searched high and low in my house, but no luck yet. If you've never read the book I highly recommend it. Also, I recommend the book that comes before it: Daddy-Long-Legs. These are two, semi-connected YA books written by Jean Webster; both are enjoyable, but Dear Enemy is my favorite. Now if only I could figure out where I put it last ...