The Floating Lush

A Trend With Teeth

This is not news, really. Vampire books for kids and adults have always been hot; they're just going through an extreme cycle right now.

My dabbling in vampiric books includes:

• In Germany in the 1980s I read the extremely popular series Der kleine Vampir by Angela Sommer-Bodenburg (which was turned into a dreadful English-language movie called "The Little Vampire" but had absolutely no relation to the books)


• Reading Dracula in 9th grade, because I had seen it on stage the previous spring; to this day when I read the final scenes, I am transported to the cafeteria in Manhattan Kansas where I first read them


• Devouring Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles in Belgium, but being disappointed by Memnoch the Devil when I read it in college, and therefore giving up on the series (and really, some of the later ones are quite bad)


• Flirting with the Anita Blake series and the Sookie Stackhouse series, but never really getting into either


• Loving absolutely every second of Sunshine because it's by Robin McKinley


• Reading The Historian and thoroughly enjoying it, although I need to reread Dracula now


• Adoring Peeps (except for the gross bits) and having a great time during The Last Days (but I don't want to start a band)


• And then there is the Twilight Saga. Oh, the Twilight Saga--what can I say that hasn't already been said a thousand times before?

Posted by The Floating Lush at 16:47 | 1 comments    

There I was, busily writing a serious post about vampires and popular culture and stuff, when I got a box! In the mail! With things in it! For me!

My very first prize from The Debs Feast of Awesome has rolled in! :D

You Are So Undead To Me by Stacey Jay. With a bonus t-shirt. (Because *of course* I chose The Big Paranormal/Fantasy Prize Pack.)

I now have plans for the weekend.

Posted by The Floating Lush at 11:39 | 0 comments    

from here

Between this and the Moby Dick segment on my old "10 Classics in 10 Minutes" tape featuring John Moschitta, I'm set.

Which is great, because after having slogged my way through Billy Budd and absolutely loathing every second of it, I never ever want to read another word Herman Melville wrote.

Posted by The Floating Lush at 18:28 | 0 comments    

From here

Posted by The Floating Lush at 17:44 | 1 comments    

This is the duck who has built her nest right next to the library's front door. None of us think this was the best location for a nest, but so far everything seems to be progressing without problems.



Perhaps we can enroll the ducklings in the summer reading program once they hatch?

Posted by The Floating Lush at 12:20 | 1 comments    

Posted by The Floating Lush at 09:40 | 0 comments    
Labels: snark, twilight

I recently read Mistress of the Elgin Marbles, which is a biography of Mary Nisbet, Countess of Elgin. She was an absolutely fascinating person, and I enjoyed learning about her adventures. Mary was a cherished only child, and also the wealthiest heiress in Scotland. She married Thomas Bruce, Earl of Elgin, and journeyed with him to his post as Ambassador Extraordinaire to the Ottoman Empire. Her life in Constantinople (not Istanbul) as the wife of the Ambassador is breathtaking, and also quite amazing for what she managed to achieve thanks to her personality and charm. After eventually returning to Great Britain (Napoleon detained them for a time in France), Mary's life was turned upside down, this time thanks to a scandalous divorce. Eventually remarrying, Mary lived a long and happy life with her second husband.

All of the remarkable feats that Mary and her first husband accomplished during their time in Constantinople have been overshadowed by the removal of the Elgin marbles from the Parthenon to the Britain Museum, and the subsequent squabbles between the two countries as to who the marbles belong to, and where they should be housed.

Because of that, this article caught my eye today: "Elgin Marble Argument in a New Light."

Posted by The Floating Lush at 18:01 | 0 comments    
Labels: book revieew

From Bookshelves of Doom, natch.

Posted by The Floating Lush at 15:42 | 2 comments    
Labels: snark, twilight, you tube

All of the women in Lucy's family are under a terrible curse: after giving birth to a daughter at age 18, they go mad...unless they can complete three impossible tasks. So far none of the Scarborough women have succeeded in breaking the curse, but Lucy just might be different. After all, she is smart and logical, she has a loving foster family determined to help and support her in any way they can, and she also has Zach, who might possibly be more than simply her childhood best friend.

This is that very rare breed of fantasy book that manages to successfully merge the mundane and magical worlds, without compromising either. Lucy does not live in an alternate plane of existence where magic is an everyday occurrence; she lives in our world, and magic intrudes on it and her with very real and potentially disastrous results. And even though we only get glimpses of the magical world that crashes into ours, there are very clear (and believable) rules and structures that govern it as well.

And oh my goodness did I ever and utterly adore this book! Fans of Fire & Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones, Tam Lin by Pamela Dean, and Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception by Maggie Stiefvater should be sure to read Impossible.

Nancy Werlin's Impossible site

Posted by The Floating Lush at 17:17 | 0 comments    
Labels: book review

Twitter Dispatches From a Public Librarian

Friends With Benefits: Do Facebook Friends Provide the Same Support as Those In Real Life?

Twitter and the election in Iran:


Tough times and the library:

Posted by The Floating Lush at 09:41 | 0 comments    
Labels: you tube

Errol Morris posted a follow-up article to his original series today: "More Bamboozling"

Posted by The Floating Lush at 10:34 | 0 comments    

I first read about this over on Bookshelves of Doom earlier today, and then it was featured in the ALA newsletter thingy I get each Wednesday, so clearly I must mention it as well.

There's a current production of Cory Doctorow's Little Brother at the Griffin Theatre in Chicago! *swoons*

Here's some morgue shots, and here's a review in Time Out Chicago.

I so want to see this!!! (Maybe it can tour and come to the Children's Theatre?)

Posted by The Floating Lush at 17:41 | 0 comments    

I put this book on my request list because of all the chatter I had been hearing about it, both in blogs and in Twitter (and even a few things in Actual Physical Journals). And I have to say, I was not disappointed.

A treasured only child, Ai Ling is now of a marriageable age, although she's not quite sure she wants to be betrothed just yet. Her parents were lucky enough to marry for love, so why can't she? And after a few failed betrothal meetings, Ai Ling is more determined than ever to remain free. Then her father is unexpectedly recalled by the Emperor, and has to leave his wife and daughter behind. He expects to be back in three months, but does not return at all. Ai Ling's life is further disrupted when a lecherous merchant wants to make her his fourth wife. Appalled and terrified, she decides to run away and rescue her father.

And that's when things get really interesting! Ai Ling is joined on her quest by Chen Yong and his younger brother Li Rong, and together they battle monsters and demons as they journey on to the Emperor's city.

Ai Ling is a feisty heroine, but I find her flaws to be most endearing: she is impetuous and impatient, and always sure she knows best; in other words, she's just like any 17-year-old. She also loves to eat, which is nice, but given the mouth-watering descriptions of food in the book, it's hardly a surprise. And my very favorite thing about Ai Ling is that she remains a flawed, believable, real person, even after all of this fantastical stuff happens in her life. Her main goal, which never waivers, is to rescue her father so that her family can be complete again. I really really like that.

Oh sure, she learns lessons, and grows, and develops feelings for a boy, but she's still the same impetuous and impatient Ai Ling at the end of the story that she was at the beginning.

I hope to see another book some day about Ai Ling, as I really enjoyed my first excursion into Xia.

I absolutely love the cover:


And this is probably one of the best book trailers I've seen (and I'm not generally a fan of book trailers):


The contest I'm entering: silver phoenix set free, which has the following prizes:
1) an original framed brush painting plus a signed copy of the book or
2) a $100 gift card to a book store of your choice plus a signed copy of the book.

Posted by The Floating Lush at 19:31 | 0 comments    
Labels: book review, you tube

Today I got a package at work. It contained The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe, which I won in a Twitter contest last week. It's autographed, which I had forgotten about, and I'm excited to read it!



I also recently got Secret Keeper by Mitali Perkins. She had sent this to me a long time ago, but through the mysteries of the postal service (and quite possibly a miscommunication at work) it only showed up on my desk last week. I'm looking forward to reading this as well.



I've bumped both of these to the top of my to-read pile. I just have to finish all the books I've already started, of course...

Posted by The Floating Lush at 18:10 | 0 comments    
Labels: book list

Last week the New York Times ran a seven-part series by Errol Morris about the famous Vermeer forgeries that surfaced in the Netherlands before and during WWII. The series starts with art, and moves on from there; it's really quite fascinating and engrossing.

"Bamboozling Ourselves" by Errol Morris:
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7

I read The Forger's Spell when it came out last year, and really enjoyed it. It's very well written, and you don't have to have an artist's understanding of how art works in order to enjoy it. The Man Who Made Vermeers is on my desk, waiting to be checked out, because I want to learn more about the case now that my interest has been re-engaged.

Posted by The Floating Lush at 14:11 | 0 comments    
Labels: book list