Make it Better NOW

Rick Mercer on Teen Suicide

Rick Mercer recently (October 25th) did a very good 'rant' on the problem of teen suicide because of bullying and homophobia. It was so good that I wanted to re-post it to try to get more attention to it.

He is always very funny, but this is not a laughing matter. He puts it as it is, very forward. Teens need more gay role models - not only in the public eye, but everywhere. In literature, in schools, in community centers, everywhere. 300 deaths in Canada is far too much. Things get better, trust me. I have been there with the scars to prove it.

Click here to watch the rant on youtube.
Click here to read the rant on Rick Mercer's blog.

Seriously... I'm Kidding

Seriously… I’m Kidding

by Ellen Degeneres

This was my ‘reading-week treat’ as I am a big fan of Ellen Degeneres. This book did not disappoint. I thing that it would be a great read for anyone from 13+, including reluctant readers. It is a nice, easy to read book that made me literally laugh out loud (which was awkward on the train, but it was worth it). As with her other two books, The FunnyThing Is... (2004) & My Point...And I Do Have One (2007), it is based on situational comedy. This is nice because there is no real plot to follow, so it is easy to pick up and put down on a busy schedule. There are some really random stories (fictional) and then some true stories that begs the reader to relate to the situation. Even if the situation is difficult, Degeneres incorporates a good amount of humour that made me laugh. This is a great book, and a definite MUST READ!!!! Seriously! I’m not kidding!

101 Ways to Dance

101 Ways to Dance 

by Kathy Stinson

This book was inspired by a writing exercise that the author used in a creative writing course. This is very appropriate as it is a very creative way to approach the topic of relationships for young adults.

Follow up on Eating disorders

Here is a good site on how to recognize eating disorders in other people, especially your children. I also want to include more sites about eating disorders that have been very, very helpful.

German Town Patch

Something Fishy

Sheena's Place

Homewood's Eating disorder program - this is one of the best programs, really taught me the skills I needed to get better

Surviving your Stupid, Stupid Decision to go to Grad School

Surviving your Stupid, Stupid Decision to go to Grad School
by Adam Ruben

I decided to read this book as a celebration of my last semester of my MLIS.  I absolutely fell in love with this book from the beginning where the author has a forward, a preface, a prologue and an introduction but explains that as a grad student “you could skip to chapter 1 and begin reading the actual book. But out of obligation to the printed word, or out of inertia, or out of a misguided need to finish what you start, you’ll keep reading and waiting”. As with the rest of the book, it is sadly true – though I did resist the urge to take notes!

Unbearable Lightness

Unbearable Lightness
Portia de Rossi

De Rossi's book is also very good, but a tough read as I have gone through it myself so it is very, very real to me. It is hard to remember those feelings and obsession. I would not recommend it to anyone still suffering from Anorexia or bulimia because it can be very triggering, but it is very useful for family or friends to try to begin to understand the horrible disease. It can become such an obsession and it is extremely hard to overcome. It is also very useful for anyone who works with teens to help recognize the possible symptoms or behaviours.  Although it is impossible for someone who has never had an eating disorder to fully understand, de Rossi's book does give a very detailed and honest look into her struggles with her disease.

Kobo

I finally broke down and bought a new Kobo reader. I really enjoy reading from it. I realize that there is no satisfaction of "turning the page" but I actually find it easier to concentrate than regular books. This also means that I can read far more books at once! I am currently reading Wanda Sykes'  "Yeah, I said it" and Portia de Rossi's "Unbearable Lightness".  I love Wanda Sykes, so that is usually the one that I read first.

Final Management 'Paper'

Okay, this one is a better version because the music actually syncs up now!

Interesting article

Here is an interesting article about the importance of editing to ensure confidence in the work from the New York Times...

http://topics.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/after-deadline/?scp=1-spot&sq=after+deadline&st=cse

Specials by Scott Westerfeld

“Tally thought they were a rumour, but now she’s one of them. A Special. A super-amped fighting machine, engineered to keep the uglies down and the pretties stupid.”

With classes and essays finally done for the semester I finally got a chance to read the third book in the Uglies series – the Specials. This book definitely lives up to my expectations based on the first two books, and made it very difficult to put it down.

Paranormal is the New Normal: Generation Dead by Daniel Waters

How would you feel if you went to school with zombies, or to be politically correct, the “differently biotic”? In Generation Dead, there is a new phenomenon where sometimes teenagers who died don’t really go away but remain as the undead. Just like living teenagers, they still go to school, but they don’t eat, their organs don’t work, and their brains take longer to process information. As such, they face significant discrimination in the high-school. With the gap between the living and the differently biotic, it is socially forbidden for a living girl to date a zombie, but Phoebe Kendall finds herself attracted to Tommy Williams, one of the differently biotic teens. Can true love break the barriers between the living and the dead?

YA Material Review - The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill

Hill, L. (2007). The Book of Negroes. Toronto: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

 “Pink is taken as the colour of innocence, the colour of childhood, but as it spills across the water in the light of the dying sun, do not fall into its pretty path. There, right underneath, lies a bottomless graveyard of children, mothers and men. I shudder to imagine all the Africans rocking in the deep... Some people call the sunset a creation of extraordinary beauty, and proof of God's existence. But what benevolent force would bewitch the human spirit by choosing pink to light the path of a slave vessel?” 

– The Book of Negroes, page 7

Marijane Meaker

Marijane Meaker

Pseudonyms: M. E. Kerr, Ann Aldrich, Mary James, M. J. Meaker and Vin Packer.
Marijane Meaker grew up in Auburn, New York until she went to boarding school in Virginia. She recalls the joy she experienced when borrowing her father’s books at a young age: “My father was an ardent reader of everything. Our living room was lined with bookcases. I was always borrowing books from them to take up to my room and devour. Anything about writing or writers interested me. I romanticized them as other children did movie stars or royalty.”  While reading these books, Meaker remembers dreaming about writing under different names, especially because she was not fond of her own. As an author, Meaker used five different names to publish her novels.

The Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

Okay, I have been getting a lot of pressure to update this more (thanks to Theresa, Sarah, Nads, Mark...) so I will try.

Uglies

For this week’s Top Trending: Dystopian YA Lit, I read The Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. I have really mixed  feelings about this book. At the beginning I found it rather boring and difficult to get through. There were parts that were interesting, but definite parts that were not. However, by the end I could not put the book down. I enjoyed the ending and look forward to after this semester when I can read the next book in the series.

Reading across Media

Now I am the first to admit that I have not read Harry Potter, Twilight, or Scott Pilgrim, but I do have respect for the fact that the franchises encourage literacy for young adults. I will use this opportunity again to emphasize the growing trend of fan fiction. It is a really popular medium among young adults, and a great way to encourage young readers to work on their creative writing. On Fanfiction.net, Twilight alone has 122,298 PAGES (25 stories per page) of fanfiction. Harry Potter has 404,141 pages (as of today). Here are the links to some of the pages:

Twilight: http://www.fanfiction.net/book/Twilight/

Harry Potter: http://www.fanfiction.net/book/Harry_Potter/

Scott Pilgrim: http://www.fanfiction.net/comic/Scott_Pilgrim

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

"Life is a constant struggle between being an individual and being a member of the community" (p. 132)

Although I may not classify this book under the Getting the Laughs category, I really enjoyed this book – my favourite to date from the class readings. I found Junior, the main character, very relatable in many ways. Sherman Alexie is able to fully develop a character yet give him a universal feeling that allows the reader to easily relate to him. This is a rare skill that he has mastered in this book.

Better Book Titles

I recently came across this website which never fails to make me laugh. It re-writes the titles of well-known books with added humour. It contains both YA and adult literature titles.

My favourite is Bush's My Bad.

"From Zero to Hero" - Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini

“So what do you want Jeremy? … I utilised quantum teleportation to mine other squips for information; I delved deep into my own human modelling engines; I planned driving routes, verbal one-liners and points of attack on the female body; I set you up with a girl to bring you here and a few back-ups in case you made mistakes, and I made sure they were all, hands down, the most gorgeous females in your limited universe. And you threw it all away. So what? What do you want?” – page 222

YA Material Review - Fanfiction.net

Fanfiction.net is an internet place where people can post their fiction writing as well as read posts by other people for free. With the slogan “Unleash your Imagination” the site allows people to exercise their creative skills as well as learn from other people.

Weetzie Bat and the Censorship challenge

Francesca Lia Block wrote her novel Weetzie Bat with a storyline of an urban fairy tale, but her teen main characters encounter obstacles that are very real that other young adults must often confront as well.

YA fiction online

Rutherford, Leonie Margaret. 2009. “Industries, artists, friends and fans: Marketing young adult fictions online. First Monday 14(4): http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2443

I am looking forward to the discussion for this week’s class because I really enjoy reading what I know as fanfiction.

Lindsay Public Library

Lindsay Public Library
The left side of the photo is the original Carnegie building, with the addition seen on the right.

            

 The Lindsay Public Library first opened in March 1899 as a free library to meet the needs of the town.  In June 1904 the library was re-built with the funds that were granted to the town by the Carnegie library funds. The original Carnegie building still stands but now contains only the children and young adult collections while the addition that was built in 1977 serves as the adult and reference section. Additionally, the Lindsay Gallery also operates out of the second floor of the library, sharing its space with the reference department. The Gallery offers the community art classes, courses and workshops for adults and children in addition to varying art exhibits.

YA Literature: Information Resources

I am just putting the finishing touches on my presentation for tomorrow's presentation on resources for YA literature. The amount of resources that are out there is outstanding. I am particularly impressed by the availability of reader’s advisory lists that can help librarians (as well as teachers, parents, clubs, teens… really anyone!) find a variety of materials that will ideally appeal to young adults. It is also nice that the ALA offers courses to help expand our awareness of YA lit, something that would be beneficial to take every few years to keep up with trends and new published materials.

Let’s hope that the presentation goes well and that my anxiety doesn’t show too much!

"Forever" by Judy Blume

"About school, I have two things to say. One, senior year is a bore, except for activities and history..." (p. 118)

Okay, so that quotation has little significance to the actual storyline, but it is still my favourite line!

Forever chronicles the life of Katherine as she finishes her last year of high-school with all of the feelings of social awkwardness and desires to be accepted that are often associated with one’s teen-aged years. Katherine soon finds herself “head-over-heels” in love with Michael,

YA section of the library

Although many of my classmates were disappointed with the YA section of their library or bookstore, I was pleasantly surprised by the one at the new branch of the LPL. It was in the front corner of the library with lots of windows and posters on the wall. The one poster that I noticed the most was of the actor who played Harry Potter that said READ (See below). The display of the books also corresponded with some of the theories that I have been learning about in Philosophy of Libraries, mostly the Principle of Least Effort. Most of the books had the cover facing the reader, rather than the spine, which attracts more readers.

I was impressed with the YA section at the new library and I imagine that it will attract many young adults who are stuck there while their siblings are taking swimming lessons at the YMCA in the same building.

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

"I had taken the long way around, but I was finally home. To stay." Chapter 6, p. 99

Hinton's book follows a group of young boys (approx. 16 years of age) in mid-century America. The boys in the town are divided by social class, a typical characteristic of the '50s, and are struggling to discover who they are despite the labels that are put on them. For example, the narrator of the story is from the "Greasers" who are mostly poor and often abused youths.