Childhood Favorites

This morning I awoke tangled in strands of cotton batting. Maybe it is finally time to replace the quilt my mother made me about thirty years ago. Sometimes I find it difficult to forget items filled with childhood memories. Looking at my stock of children’s books, I’m not the only one.

The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes was an Easter tradition in my house and still holds a special place in my heart. The illustrations alone bring me back to better days.

I remember trying to scare my little sister with The Monster at the End of This Book only to join in her giggles when we reached the end.

Before I knew it I moved on to Nancy Drew and The Boxcar Children. Times haven’t really changed that much, have they? Sure a few vampires have been added to the mix, but many children are still enjoying the same favorites their parents cherished.

How about you?

Do you have a favorite book from your childhood?

Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better

In Annie Get Your Gun , Annie Oakley and Frank Butler show their competitive sides as they sing the well-known song Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better. Does this include reading?

According to a recently released survey women read more than men. This didn’t really come as a surprise to me. It very well may start in childhood. Typically if you can get a youngster hooked on books at an early age, male or female, they will be hooked for life. The trick is finding a series that they will get caught up in and continue to read. Twilight did this for many. Plenty of customers have discovered the joy of reading with this series and have asked for other similar stories. These are mostly teenage girls and women of all ages, though. What can be done to encourage boys and men to read more? Is there something publishers can do to make reading more appealing to men?

From my experience as a bookseller, I do see more girls reading than boys. Lately it seems I’ve had a lot of parents and grandparents choosing books for boys as an alternative to expensive video games. The number of boys that choose books for themselves is still way below that of girls, though. As for men, I sell a lot of history/military, and business/economic books to them, which tells me many read to learn, not simply for enjoyment. On the other hand, mystery/suspense and science fiction/fantasy seem to be very popular with teen and adult men alike.

Men may read less than women, but they do read. Could it be a lack of reading material that interests them or do they just not see reading as a worthwhile way to spend their time? Come on guys! Chime in and let us know what you think. Do you think there is a difference in reading habits between men and women? If so, why do you think that is?

To Be a Book

Did you ever wish you were a book? This is completely different from wishing your life were like a storybook. Who hasn’t wished they were Stephanie Plum or Jane Eyre? I mean did you ever wish you were literally a book?

I have wished to be one of my cats once or twice as they lounged around the house. I have wished to be my pillow on many cold winter mornings. I’ve spent half my life wishing I could fly like a bird. I’m pretty sure this fantasy of being a book is a first for me.

This week I have sent books to California (I hear it is warm there) and New York City (I consider myself a small town gal by choice, but there is nothing wrong with new experiences). A used hardcover went to France (Paris!!) and a paperback bestseller to Australia (How can you not melt when you hear that accent??). If I could only travel with them! If I hand deliver these books I could use that as a business write off, couldn't I?

Time to Vote!

The Children’s Book Council has announced the finalists for the second annual Children's Choice Book Awards! Close to 15,000 children and teens from around the US spent months reading and evaluating books submitted by publishers. The five favorite books published in 2008 in each category are open for a nation-wide vote. Stop in at BayShore Books to vote or use the handy widget on the left. The winner in each category will be named as part of Children's Book Week(May 11-17, 2009), the oldest national literacy event in the United States.

This year’s Children’s Choice Book Award finalists are:

Kindergarten to Second Grade Book of the Year:
The Donut Chef written and illustrated by Bob Staake
Katie Loves the Kittens written and illustrated by John Himmelman
The Pigeon Wants a Puppy! written and illustrated by Mo Willems
Sort It Out! written by Barbara Mariconda, illustrated by Sherry Rogers
Those Darn Squirrels written by Adam Rubin, illustrated by Daniel Salmieri

Third Grade to Fourth Grade Book of the Year:
Babymouse: Puppy Love by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm
One Million Things by Peter Chrisp
Spooky Cemeteries by Dinah Williams
Underwear: What We Wear Under There by Ruth Freeman Swain
Willow written by Denise Brennan-Nelson and Rosemarie Brennan, illustrated by Cyd Moore

Fifth Grade to Sixth Grade Book of the Year:
100 Most Dangerous Things On the Planet by Anna Claybourne
Amulet, Book One: The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi
The Big Field by Mike Lupica
Swords: An Artist's Devotion by Ben Boos
Thirteen by Lauren Myracle

Teen Choice Book Award:
Airhead by Meg Cabot
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen
Paper Towns by John Green

Author of the Year:
Jeff Kinney, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
Stephenie Meyer, Breaking Dawn
Christopher Paolini, Brisingr
James Patterson, Maximum Ride: The Final Warning
Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Battle of the Labyrinth

Illustrator of the Year:
Laura Cornell, Big Words for Little People
Robin Preiss Glasser, Fancy Nancy: Bonjour Butterfly!
Mo Willems, The Pigeon Wants a Puppy!
David Shannon, Loren Long and David Gordon, Smash! Crash!
Jon J Muth, Zen Ties

What are your predictions?

Don't Judge a Book By Its Cover

But how can you not?

You have to admit, this is an amazing cover:

At first glance, the picture depicts two couples, one on the right and one on the left. After a closer inspection, are those really couples? Maybe the center characters are one couple. See how they are both looking right at you? The other two are turned away as if they want no part of the other two. The entire picture must tell a story, too. The characters seem to be hand drawn, cut, and pasted in front of the sky scape as though they don’t really belong.

And how about this one:

Typically when I see a skull I think horror, however the girl doesn’t appear the least bit frightened. In fact, she looks down right relaxed. And what is the significance of the sailboat when there is no water in sight?

A pet peeve of mine is when publishers re-release a “media tie in edition” of a book. How can you really compare this

with this ?

How about you?

Do you buy books based on what the cover looks like?

What are some of your favorites?

Let's Vent Friday

Did you spend the entire day immersed in a nail-biting edge-of-your-seat mystery

just to have someone tell you the ending?

Did you wait months for your favorite author to release the latest in a series,

pre-order it from your local independent bookstore,

pick it up on the release date,

and absolutely HATE it?

Did you read the first two books in a trilogy

only to have the author die before completing the third?

I know you have something to vent about, so let’s hear it!

Snow Daze

During the warm summer months I find it easy to picture myself surviving the cold winters comfortably curled on the couch in front of a roaring fire with a cup of tea in one hand and the latest release by a favorite author in the other. Outside my window the wind howls and snow accumulates unbeknown by me.

Last night I tried to envision this inviting picture, but was unable to get past the reality of the situation as I drove home through whiteout conditions. I had every intention of skipping out a little early. After all, there was a blizzard raging and it had been an hour since the last customer walked through the door. What harm could it do to close up a few minutes early on an evening when no one in their right mind would be out and about?

As I flicked off the back lights, the door opened and a family of three came in, brushing off the snow and stomping their boots as they looked around with excitement. Chances of a snow day were looking good and they wanted to be prepared. After much discussion and deliberation, they each chose a couple of novels and were on their way.

As I locked the door, I thought that absolutely nothing would make me go out in that weather. Then I thought about being snowed in for hours or possibly even an entire day without anything to read. I was wrong, that thought would be more terrifying to me than venturing out into the storm.

Luckily, I have an entire stack of books waiting patiently on my nightstand for the day I get snowed in and have time to read them all. Currently I am reading Watch Me by Brenda Novak. This romantic suspense still has me guessing over half way through the book. It is no easy feat to keep this mystery fanatic in suspense. Hopefully I will get my answers before the end of the weekend. I have two more of the same genre waiting for reviews and then the latest by my Goodreads friend Ben Tanzer. I had the pleasure of reading his first, Lucky Man and am looking forward to finding out if Most Likely You Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine is just as edgy. One of my favorite YA authors, Sara Shepard, will be releasing her first adult novel in May and I was fortunate enough to receive an advanced reading copy. My daughter and I are still fighting over who gets to read The Visibles first. I may have to move that one up on my list if I can finish my current read before she finishes hers.

What about you?

What books are waiting for your attention?