On the Outskirts of the Kidlitosphere

I’m okay with missing the Kidlitosphere conference. Mostly because I’m too new to feel like part of the Kidlitosphere - I’ve only been posting for a couple of months now. But I do have to extend a huge thanks to MotherReader for putting up a summary of her session on blog promotion. This is exactly the sort of information I need, being a newbie and all. The problem, of course, is that I don’t know if I have anything important enough to say about children’s literature and food. At least, nothing important enough to warrant blog creation. So the jury is still out on that. Nevertheless, I found MotherReader’s stuff enormously helpful.

One question, though: will I be completely ostracized for not taking part in Poetry Friday? I really don’t like poetry, for the most part. Shel Silverstein, Pablo Neruda, and Walt Whitman are about it. And everybody likes them, right? And I’m not posting Whitman every week – his poems can be damn long. Is posting only excerpts from his poems completely blasphemous? Hmmm…I’ll have to think more on this.

COMING UP: I swear, I really am going to post reviews of Miss Spitfire and 100 Cupboards. Seriously. I will.

YAY! WEDNESDAY! NYT Dining Section!

I know, it's been awhile. I thought things were supposed to slow down after summer reading, but I feel like I'm in the thick of it now. Not surprisingly, I've become completely run down and am home sick today. Which sucks, on one hand. On the other hand, I have time to blog now. Woo hoo! So here's the Dining section round-up:

• Studies have just revealed that picky eating is in the genes, not the cooking! Seriously! On one hand, I think it’s fantastic to hear – it’ s no wonder my girl is so picky because I was up for the award as Pickiest Eater as a kid. She can’t help it – it’s hereditary. I shouldn't take it so personally that she won't eat the food I cook.
  
  On the other hand, doesn’t it seem a little bit like Convenient-Theories-4-U? Well, I guess I’ll keep making Annie’s Organic Mac and Cheese because…well…my daughter has a hereditary condition. That doesn’t seem quite right either, you know?
  
  For me, I'll keep trying. The key is to give lots of healthy, delicious options...and hope that she zeroes in on one.
  
  
• I loved this little article about making pesto. This is how I make pesto…at least how I used to make it before I moved to an apartment that gets only three hours of sun a day, thus making basil nearly impossible to grow. Either way, it’s good to know I’m not the only one who would never use a mortar and pestle to make my pesto. My mortar and pestle is right where it belongs…at the top shelf of my pantry.
  
  
• Corn’s effect on our environment, our country’s economy, and our health is getting more press in a new documentary coming out, King Corn. It’s being advertised as a cross between Super Size Me and Sicko, but the article in the Times makes it sound like the film is a little less sensationalistic than that. The point isn’t necessarily about corn’s evils but, rather, on why we should be more aware of what goes into our bodies. Obviously, Michael Pollan was an early adviser on the movie. I’ll probably check this out on Netflix, but I’m sure it won’t tell me anything I don’t know already: we are all made of corn!
  
  
• And this article isn’t actually from today’s Dining section; it’s from Sunday’s Week in Review section. But it’s written by Frank Bruni so it counts. He talks about sidewalk cafes in NYC. The city just approved the use of more natural-gas heaters in sidewalk cafes, thus extending the café season all the way through “late October”. The article really nails NYC culture – for one, I think Bruni’s theory that NYC wants to be a European city is right on the money – but it hints at a bigger issue. Prolonging the sidewalk café season goes hand in hand with the issue of seasonal food and cooking. Why should I only be able to enjoy tomatoes in the summer? If I can get them from Mexico in November, I can prolong the tomato season. It’s the same idea with the cafes. Part of the joy in them is the anticipation of their season. Not to mention that there’s something special about a glass of light wine, tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, and basil outside on a gorgeous summer day. But butternut squash, steak, fennel? Not so much. Put me by a cozy fireplace for that meal, thanks.
  

And that's the round-up. At some point, I plan on posting another menu of what we're eating in our house...except that Adam is giving me a break this week and he's cooking. So Lemon Spaghetti (courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis) and Brodetto di Mare (courtesy of Michael Chiarello) are on the menu. Delicious and simple. And I'm not cooking it. Huzzah!

COMING UP: Reviews of Sarah Miller's Miss Spitfire and N.D. Wilson's 100 Cupboards.

Movin' on Up to a Deluxe Apartment in Skyyyyy!

Guess who just got selected to participate in ALA's 2008 Emerging Leaders program.





Just guess.





Who could it be?





Guess. Come on.





????????

Does that give it away? If you haven't guessed now then there's no hope for you. Seriously.

Wait, should an emerging leader heckle her readers? Probably not. I'll have to change my ways.

"Anal retentive"? Me?

My daily Shelf Awareness email was particularly fun this morning. It talked about a website I was previously unfamiliar with: Urban Dictionary. It works kind of like a wiki (at least my novice understanding of a wiki): people can log in and define the word any way they want. So Shelf Awareness mentioned Urban Dictionary’s definitions of “librarian”. They range from complimentary: “aspire to make a difference in a constantly changing world, are some of the most interesting individuals you will ever meet, are more excited about technology then you think.” Some are just outrageous: “an overly anal retentive bitch that glares over your shoulder while you’re typing on the computer making sure the little 10 year old next to you doesn’t see the porn you’re watching.”* And then there’s the ambiguous: “A chick who seems really sweet and nice and shy when out. But, once you get her alone turns into a raging sexual freak.”** It depends on whether or not you think being a “sexual freak” is a good thing…

But I think this one was my favorite: “A person who is so anal that they have sought a job to define their compulsive tendencies. As librarians, these 'overly enthusiastic' individuals can not only revel in their compulvieness, they can force it on other people too.” Some people may find this one mean too…but in my experience, what this man speaks is absolutely true.

* and ** I fixed the spelling and grammatical errors in the entries. I couldn’t keep them there and let you all think they were mistakes I had made. So these quotes have been altered from the original works.

REVIEW: A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban (Harcourt, 2007)

I’ve had to wait a couple days before writing this review because, otherwise, I would have just come here and gushed mindlessly. I’ll still gush, but just not mindlessly.

Zoe wants nothing more than to own a grand piano, play in Carnegie Hall, and be a prodigy like her hero, Vladimir Horowitz. What does she actually get? A "wheezy, wood-grain Perfectone D-60...organ." Not only that, but her dad is agoraphobic, her mom is constantly working, and Wheeler Diggs follows her home everyday. Zoe enters the annual Perfect-O-Rama competition, at the urging of her organ teacher, and finds that sometimes when you don't get what you want, your life begins to take shape.

I don’t think I’m overstating it by calling this a near-perfect novel. I appreciate its subtlety and gentleness and, yet, it’s interesting and complex enough to keep you turning pages. Zoe is a funny, smart character who has some trouble fitting in, and Urban’s skill shows here because she never has to blatantly state that this is the case. Through events and conversations, Zoe’s social status is revealed in a quiet way. Aspects about Zoe's life come to light slowly, to the point where you don’t actually realize how much you’ve learned about her. And this is true of the supporting characters as well - you'll be surprised by how much character development is hidden in the short little chapters. Little snippets gel into a larger portrait. Zoe’s father is agoraphobic, but that’s never forced upon you as you’re reading. Events unfold and you realize that he is crippled by his phobia. It’s never melodramatic, it just is.

Additionally, Zoe’s voice is right on. She is introspective, but appropriately so for her age. She acts out, but never too much. Some books, recent and otherwise, would have you think tweens are ticking time bombs, mean and whiny and temperamental all the time. Is this the case sometimes? Absolutely. But I appreciate that Zoe isn’t in that mode all the time, which is more true to life. She’s a marvelously sympathetic character. Zoe is the typical underdog and you cheer both her and her family on, knowing that good people with strong hearts will triumph in the end. This story is the epitome of hopeful.

I liked this book better than any of the other Newbery contenders I’ve read this year. Remember I couldn’t come up with a fifth book for my Best of Fiction 2007 list? This one has filled that spot. Even if it is yet another girly protagonist book.

Best passage:

I turn on the Perfectone D-60 and flip the switch for piano. I press a key. I press two keys.

I am not excited.

I am the opposite of excited.

Never trust an exclamation point.

Which made me laugh out loud. I use exclamation points without restraint. Does this make me untrustworthy? It doesn’t matter – get a hold of this book now. Trust me (!!!!).

Postscript:

• Linda Urban has a lovely website and online journal.

• Other reviews of A Crooked Kind of Perfect? Check out the L.A. Times, Fuse #8, and ShelfTalker.

Banned Books Week? Really?

Thanks to the Unshelved guys, of course. How perfectly does this fit into the much-discussed Galleycat article about Banned Books Week?

Seckle Pears from Red Jacket Orchards

How precious are these? I told you they were pretty! They're just small enough that two pears will fit in your hand at a time. And the taste is really versatile - you can eat them crisp, like an apple, but they still taste like a pear. Or, if you wait for a few days, they treat you with that soft, rounded pear texture that almost melts in your mouth. Either way, I'm in love - this is my second pound in four days. And they're from New York state so I get that whole local thing going. Barbara Kingsolver would be proud.

For all you FreshDirect devotees, I highly recommend them.

Short Round-up

Oy. I've been so behind in my blogging. I don't have time at work - and I think it might against company policy, maybe? - and I'm too busy with, you know, life when I'm at home. Better late than never, n'est-ce pas?

• I recently read a fantastic quote from John Constant of Elliott Bay Book Company – unfortunately, it completely escapes me where I read it (perhaps my daily Shelf Awareness email?). Everyone, meaning non-librarian types, asks me for the name of my favorite book. And I could never ever name just one. Well, Mr. Constant phrases it in such a way that I feel he understands me:
  
  "Does anyone over the age of 16 even have a favorite book? Claiming a favorite is only indicative of the fact that you haven't read enough: Out of the thousands of books that I've read, with the enormous palette of ideas and emotions they've represented, how could I choose only, say, five? Why not ask for a favorite orgasm, or laugh, or grain of sand?"
  


• These are about the coolest tribute to Halloween ever! Cannibal pumpkins, puking pumpkins, and the most disturbing – pumpkin giving birth. Check it out and get in the mood! Thanks to Your Neighborhood Librarian for the link.

• Thought the midnight book parties were a thing of the past once Harry graduated from Hogwarts? Not so. Powell’s Books in Portland is throwing a midnight party for Stephen Colbert’s new book I Am America (And So Can You!). The party is in a bar across the street from Powell’s and they’re decorating in red, white, and blue. Not to mention shooting “Truthiness” Tequila. See, NYC isn’t the only place with really, really cool stuff. Again, if you can handle that rain, move to Portland now. While you can still afford to do so.

I know, I know. This is a short post. Coming up? The NYT Dining section tomorrow, a photo of some local succulent mini-pears from New York, and a review of A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban (Hint: I loved it).