Month: March 2010

• how to say goodbye in robot.

  I’m really horrible about reviews. Unless I really feel like blathering on about a book, I usually just read it and then move on, filing it away in my goodreads so I can refer to it if I’m doing some tricky reader’s advisory. I don’t want to criticize books. I think books need to be…

  Miss Julie

  March 31, 2010

  authors, reviews, ya lit

• I need an idiot’s guide to ALA

  Not only do librarians have to have a master’s degree from an accredited university, we also subscribe to a Code of Ethics, a Freedom to Read Act, and almost every division of librarianship (from Youth Services to Young Adult to Reference Librarians) has competencies that they are expected to meet. Further, we have five laws*…

  Miss Julie

  March 29, 2010

  be the best you can be, censorship, Librarians, librarians…for the CHILDREN!, libraries now!, libraries…of the FUTURE, libraries…of the PAST!, library school vs. real libraries, library workers, OPINIONS!, personal experience, professional development

• things I, the librarian, cannot and can do for you

  I cannot read your mind do your homework for you babysit your child allow you to drop the f-bomb repeatedly in the children’s department, around small children design/create the flyer for your small business reserve a movie for you that is still in theaters I can perform a reference interview, which means I will ask…

  Miss Julie

  March 28, 2010

  be the best you can be, Librarians, libraries now!, personal experience, reference

• leviathan

  Leviathan has been one of my favorite words ever since I read Moby Dick in college. It was even in the title of one of the best episodes ever of Deadwood (“The Leviathan Smiles“). The Leviathan in Scott Westerfeld’s book of the same name is less sinister than those two examples, but no less interesting.…

  Miss Julie

  March 28, 2010

  reviews, scifi, ya lit

• (I am large, I contain multitudes.)

  That line, from Whitman’s “Song of Myself“, popped into my head as soon as I finished reading James Kennedy’s The Order of Odd-Fish, which I shall be reviewing forthwith. (In the spirit of full disclosure, I have met James Kennedy. We were both standing beside the treacle well. I was drawing treacle; he was drawing…

  Miss Julie

  March 24, 2010

  authors, books, fantasy, OPINIONS!, reviews, weirdnesss for the sake of weirdness, ya lit

• 30 Years of IMAGINATION

  *cue the theramin, followed by the pounding of hoofbeats* Good golly, sci-fi and fantasy are my favorite genres as a reader, which is the main reason I wanted to attend the Children’s Literature Conference at NIU this year, seeing as their theme was all about science fiction and fantasy. Thursday evening the speaker was Tamora…

  Miss Julie

  March 18, 2010

  conferences, fantasy, Librarians, librarians…for the CHILDREN!, picture books, professional development, scifi

• author name pronounciation guide.

  Jon Scieszka rhymes with Fresca, and putenesca. Barry Lyga rhymes with Tiger (if you’re from the Bronx; Tie-gah). Tomie DePaola has a POW in the middle. Eoin Colfer is just Owen spelled the lovely Irish way. Neil Gaiman is  Gaym’n, like gamin’. Jake Wizner rhymes with Eisner (eyes nur). Cynthia Leitich Smith: “Leitich” is prounced…

  Miss Julie

  March 17, 2010

  authors, weirdnesss for the sake of weirdness

• castration celebration.

  Fair warning: as you might guess from the title of this post, things get a little explicit. As someone who assisted with and witnessed many a pig castration as a young child, I must tell you that it is not something to celebrate, so rest assured that Mr. Wizner, in titling his novel Castration Celebration,…

  Miss Julie

  March 17, 2010

  authors, OPINIONS!, publishing, reading, reviews, ya lit

• kidlit breakfast

  On Saturday, February 2oth I attended the 10th Annual Children’s Literature Breakfast sponsored by Anderson’s Booksellers. Authors, eggs, coffee–what’s not to like? This event is chock-full of authors. Not only were there the keynote speakers listed, there were tons of local authors. The best part of this event is that authors rotate among the tables.…

  Miss Julie

  March 17, 2010

  authors, conferences, Librarians, OPINIONS!, professional development, ya lit

• scoundrels, swag, and sweeping exits.

  This post contains a bit o’ profanity, so consider yourself warned. I’m not going to lie to you, I don’t know that much about Chicago, even though I’ve lived here since 2004 and I’ve lived in Illinois all my life. I was fully planning on doing some INTENSE RESEARCH regarding Barry’s questions, but time got…

  Miss Julie

  March 11, 2010

  authors, books, interviews, ponies, ya lit