Tidbits

• Did you do a little "I smell drama!' gasp upon finding out the Pulitzer Committee choose not to award the Fiction prize this year?  Juror Michael Cunningham wrote about the selection process and his thoughts on the maybesortapossible snub of the three finalists. 
• If you read other book blogs, or perhaps have gone to professional conferences in the past year, you've probably heard about the beef between the librarians and the bloggers in attendance over slightly greedy snatching of ARCs.  My two cents?  Everyone calm down and join NetGalley. 
• Quite an interesting take on the lack of parents/horrible parents/dead parents/parents in need of parenting trend in YA, and in some children's books.  I'd personally extend it to reliable, trustworthy adult role models, but that's just me, liking to see reliable, trustworthy adults in teenagers lives, even if they just happen to be background chatter in the story.  I think my authorgirlcrush, Melina Marchetta, deserves some snaps here.  
• Which is probably why I'm going to interrupt my beach vacation, and head to NYC on July 17th, to bask Melina Marchetta's glory.  Melina, brace yourself! I'm really, really excited to share oxygen with you in a totally non-creepy way.  Okay, maybe that is creepy.  Ima play it cool, and hope I am not suddenly struck mute, as I was in 1992 when meeting Ann M. Martin. 
• Remember when I reviewed City of Bones yesterday and told you it was going to be a movie, which you probably already knew about because I'm light years behind these days?  Well, friend.  WELL.  Now there is a sort of unexciting teaser poster you can feast your eyes on, and more information about the movie. 
• The lovely Arianna at Wandering Librarians is not just lovely; she also went to ALA and met my other other Australian author crush, the babely Craig Silvey.  Swoon! (PS. Way to take my cute-author advice, Printz committee.  Well played!) Also?  SHE SAW THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER.  Arianna, just stop making me so swoony jealous over he-yah! 
• Remember last year when I reviewed The Name of the Star, and pretty much dug everything about it except for the lame-o cover?  WELL, my friends, WELL.  Thank GAWD books, like people, can change jackets.  Although this one just kind of says Scandanavian Mystery to me...but I'll just shut up because SO MUCH BETTER. 

Tidbits: 2 for 5 on the Printz, Panem is a pretty map?

• GUYS.  I gleefully report my excellent taste in books to you.  Since I've become lazy exclusive with my book reviews (only posting those that I love or hate), I am tickled to note that two of my favorite books of the year were named 2012 Printz Honor Books.  Plus, at work we totally just happened to have purchased a third.  2/5 personal reads and 3/5 titles at work is a darn good ratio, considering in certain years (I'm looking at you 2010) I've been rocking more of a 0/5 ratio.  But enough with me being an egomaniacal soothsayer.  The books this year either sound great, or are straight up great.   Perhaps if I ever finish Monte Cristo, I will pick up the other three!  If you want to know more about my two personal picks, here are the links to the reviews:
• The Scorpio Races, by Maggie Stiefvater: The book I set out to hate but fell in love with instead.  
• Jasper Jones, by Craig Silvey:  I retrospectively realize I haven't talked this one up enough, probably because I read it before leaving the country to speak Spanish for a month.  Do yourself a favor and read this gorgeous book.  Best sidekick of the year!  Same sleepy town on the brink of social changes vibes as to Kill a Mockinbird!  Hilarious and yet heartbreaking!  Get at it, team.  I like to think the Printz judges took my Printz dinner party advice...
• Look you guys, a map of Panem!  To me, it looks like the NBC Peacock and a hurricane map had a baby over North America.  Here is more about the process of creating the map.  

Tidbits: Drew Barrymore gets Uncommon while I reveal a secret shame and a hankering for ancient beer

Vacations:

• Sparkling Witt: Becky and Jeff are super, and not just because they love to eat my Le Creuset experiments!  Becky is blogging about their current adventures (like learning to say baking soda) in Finland and it is faaantastic.  Bonus points: visit jeffreycwitt.com. 
  

Food Porn:

•  The Beer Archaeologist: this. is. so. cool.  Indiana Jones of BEER!  I read this while waiting to get a typhoid, yes, typhoid shot at 10am.  And wasn't disgusted by my craving for beer.  I dare you to read this and deem it not cool.  Or crave ancient beer!

Movies:

• Remember when I gushed about how I want to be an art thief ala Ally Carter's Heist Society?  Heist Society movie rights were optioned at like, the same time publishing houses were duking it out to win the hand contract of the fair Ally Carter.  And yesterday, I was pumped to see via the twitters that Drew Barrymore will be producing and directing it! SQUEE.  I am, as they say in France, le pumped.  Bring on the art thieves!
• Neil Gaiman has crazy hair and talks here about the adaption of American Gods, which I'm getting more excited for after thinking about the general code of crazy/awesome in Game of Thrones and True Blood, and really, HBO adaptations in general. 
• Gushed about Reviewed Jasper Jones, by Craig Silvey yesterday.  And then immediately after posting read some other things and realized it's already been optioned down under.  Huzzah!  If it ever actually gets made, and gets made as fantastically, gothic, creepily, gorgeously as that book trailer, well, I'll just have to run away to Australia. 

Books:

• In case you missed it, this is a great article/interview with Jay Asher about Thirteen Reason's Why.

Secret Shame:

• I don't like to talk about it (much).  BUT.  The Vampire Diaries is my secret favorite show that I get overly excited to watch. Don't judge me!  Or do, because according to this article, I have EXCELLENT taste.  It's delightfully crazytown, they're not afraid to kill people off, and Damon, oh Damon...trust me, you will never get bored of this crazy parade. 

Jasper Jones, by Craig Silvey: Australian YA for the win, rave #4320

Jasper Jones

by Craig Silvey

New York: Alfred A. Knopf

ISBN: 978-0-375-866661

Thirteen-year-old Charlie Bucktin is sick of his small Australian town and looking forward to spend his summer writing and hanging out with his best friend. However, the moment he awakens from a midnight knock on his window and opens it to find the local teenage pariah Jasper Jones seeking his help, his plans and life derail. Charlie, not wanting to seem immature, agrees and climbs of out the window into the night.  In doing so, he becomes privy to Jasper's horrible discovery: a body hanging from a giant hollow eucalyptis in the isolated grove that Jasper hides in when his alcoholic father gets to be too much.  To protect Jasper from taking the blame for a crime he did not commit, the boys hide the body, vowing to find the killer on their own.  Holding onto this unspeakable knowledge, Charlie is catapulted too soon into adulthood in a town filled with fear, racism, and finger pointing, experiencing first love and the agony of both keeping secret this terrible and unraveling a few more in the process.  This timeless coming of age tale is haunting, and charged with emotion, humor, and the unbearable sadness of growing up and away your own childhood.  Skillfully written, this novel often operates from very nostalgic, almost adult voice, and is strongly recommended to teens grades 9-12 who will best understand this way of thinking. 

Book Talk Hook:  Summarize the sitch.  Then ask what they would do.  If you have AV capabilities (are we still calling it that?), show the below book trailer to do the dirty for you. 

Okay, peoples.  Maybe it is the fear of imminent death due to everything being poisonous that prompts Aussie authors of YA to write like every book is their last, best, book.  Maybe there is something in the Australian water.  I like the first explanation best.  Irregardless.  I know I rave about it a bit, but the YA coming out of Australia is just so. so. good. you. guys.   Jasper Jones, by Craig Silvey is no exception to this rule.   But enough with my Aussieloveparade.  I also think that the book trailer for this movie is one of the best, if not the best I've ever seen:

This book.  Is seriously fantastic.  After moping my way through Monsters of Men being horribly overlooked for American awards this past year, I don't know if I'll be able to contain my rage if this one doesn't get any nods stateside.  Seriously.  Let me tell you all the reasons I scribbled down illedgibly on a post-it while reading it to remember exactly what captivated me about it: