Why So Silent?? A NEW JOB...That's why!

SO...you may have noticed that I haven't posted for more than two weeks. 

TWO WEEKS!

That's one of the longest quiet periods on my blog, well...ever.

I'm so sorry, I left you all hanging, BUT...I had a really excellent reason for my "radio silence."

As of November 12th, I officially became the Adult Services Supervisor at my Library.  A huge promotion with lots of new responsibilities and exciting duties...and well, some adjustment has definitely been in order. 

So, I took a little break to just sort of get some things under my belt at work.  Not that I haven't still been reading a ton at home, but I just had too many things rolling around in my brain to sit down long enough to blog.  

I also finished up my state award nomination reading committee last week, so now (aside from the review books I get from SLJ, VOYA, and AudioFile), I'll be able to READ WHATEVER I WANT!!!!!!

I missed that anticipatory feeling of being able to lazily wander bookshelves until something just screamed out "read me!" I have so many books I want to get to...but the best part is... I can just get to them whenever I feel like it. Amazeballs.

So, you should be hearing a lot more from me now...I'm hoping to revitalize the blog a little bit. Spruce it up. Ramp up the fun.  It's gonna be a whole new year soon!  Gotta make the blog match what I'd like to think I look like professionally now:

Well, maybe not quite that chic...but, hey, it gives me something to aim for right?  

Lots of love to you all for sticking with me through thick and thin... and here's to the beginning of new, great things!!

Ask Elizabeth

Ask Elizabeth
by Elizabeth Berkley

Ask Elizabeth is the complete guide to teen life; the last and only self-help book they'll ever need. Inspired by the many workshops Elizabeth Berkley has conducted with over 30,000 teen girls across the country, Ask Elizabeth brings the spirit of these conversations to life on the page.

Much like a private diary, the book will be a personal resource that girls can turn to when they seek answers to teen life's toughest questions.

The content contains real and practical advice, anecdotes and wisdom in answer to the most asked questions from girls who participate in Elizabeth's workshops such as: what do you do when you look in the mirror and don't like what you see? or How do you get over a broken heart? Elizabeth, along with a panel of experts, and teen girls themselves advise readers in matters of body image, personal relationships, dating, and much more. (description taken from Amazon.com)

This is another one of those non-fiction books that I really wish had come out when I was still in my teen years. Elizabeth Berkley has managed to tackle a TON of topics that really affect teen girls in a very forthright and un-embarassing way. Part of what makes this such a unique reading experience and what really will draw a teen reader in is the formatting. The book is full of handwritten notes and letters from girls all over...sharing their experiences, their feelings, and the wisdom they have gleaned from their own life experiences. It's like having each of those girls writing directly to the reader...and it does not feel at all as if an adult just made these things up to tell readers what they should do or how they should feel.

Even as an adult reader, there were some great pieces of advice to internalize. It took me right back to my teen years and in some spots showed me that I still have a lot of the same insecurities. This is a book to flip through every once in awhile to just mull over again...and to see what things strike you at that moment. I have a feeling every reading will be just a little different as readers grow and change.

The Summer I Turned Pretty

The Summer I Turned Pretty
by Jenny Han

Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer -- they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one wonderful and terrible summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.

This is my first Jenny Han book, though I've heard great things about Shug and I keep meaning to go and read it. This book was wonderful. Belly is a very realistic character...you feel her awkwardness, her earnestness, her yearning for love, her "brattiness." She is what I think I was as a fifteen year old. Han has a beautiful way of drawing the reader in. You know, or at least have an inkling of what's really happening, but still she surprises and tells each scene with such delicacy that it is truly wonderful storytelling.

Having had the experience of finding out that someone in your family has cancer and then having to live with the fallout...realizing that life never will be the same, and yet, needing to continue on in life as much as possible, this book really spoke to me personally. I was pulling for everyone in the book with all my heart. It was realistic and yet, left me filled with wonder and hope. Highly recommended.