Sunday, August 31, 2008

Six Word Memoirs

Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure by Rachel Fershleiser & Larry Smith

Really, really cool. Some of my favorite six word memoirs:

Almost a victim of my family.
--Chuck Sangster

Taking a lifetime to grow up.
--Mirona Iliescu

And he nerded as never before.
--Jon Thysell

An unusual turn of gender circumstances.
--Dragana Varadinac

Verbal hemophilia. Why can't I clot?
--Scott Mebus

Boys liked her. She preferred books.
--Anneliese Cuttle

After your jump, the net appears.
--Vincent Lauria

Without me, it is just aweso.
--Chris Madigan

Can't read all the time. Bummer.
--Rina Bander

Not quite what I was planning...
--Summer Grimes

Straight jacket on the gentle cycle.
--Stewart Rudy

Asked to quiet down; spoke louder.
--Wendy Lee

Say no now, I now know.
--Steve Woodruff

Good, evil use the same font.
--Arthur Harris

Man, slightly disgruntled, may throw poo.
--Egan Fowler

Just a rockin' readin' knittin' kitten.
--Emmeline Friedman

We were our own "Springer" episode.
--Michelle Hoogerwerf

I started writing some of my own...but I'm not ready to share them. :)

Sunday, August 24, 2008

The end of an era

As of today, I am no longer working at the library. They were unwilling to work with my schedule to let me participate in a research study for a month, so I quit.

I'm very sad that I will not be around all those books all the time. I will probably reapply, but due to crazy politics (and the fact that certain higher ups don't like me much for some reason), I may not be hired back.

What sucks most (besides not getting to see all the cool people I loved working with)? I'm going to have to pay a non-resident fee for my card. :(

Saturday, August 16, 2008

I am changing the world

I am making people's lives better by encouraging them to read Scaredy Squirrel, Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend, & Scaredy Squirrel Goes to the Beach by Melanie Watt.

Go on, read them. I know you'll love Scaredy Squirrel!!

Thursday, August 7, 2008

...and some awesome poems

Again, from Word Warriors. Sorry, couldn't resist. :)

Subtle Sister by Alix Olsen

So we've learned karate,
carry knives on our runs
wield words like weapons
prepare glares like hidden guns,
we've deconstructed, demystified
tried retribution, remythologized,
we've been diagnosed with your diseases,
and still tried pleases, tried tears, tried Jesus.

You wanna see what it's like down here
in this pool of someone else's rules, well
jump in, take a swim or just sit in this pit
squishing bare toes in someone else's bullshit,
we do it all the time.

Still we've tried being patient,
collected, calm, nice
trying praying, tried laying you
paying the price,
we've learned to scream
until our throats throbbed
what else do you do
while your cunt's being robbed.

And they say "you've made progress, girls,
take a rest in between"
but see while you're resting,
someone else is progressing,
it's what i've seen.
So i take back the whispers,
the cute mute act,
and the high-pitched giggles, yeah
i take them back,
i won't avoid your stare, evade your step,
nothing of that kind,
won't help you help me victimize
the only space that's mine.

See now i'd put my life on the line just to see them trip,
frown and say "funny love, i never saw you slip."
i say, "my life on the line--"
you say, "man, she's jaded."
i say, "maybe control's overrated."
like when we cackled, they called us witches,
now we don't giggle they call us bitches
well i'm cacklin loud, taking it back, full of hiss,
cacklin loud, cackling proud now.

And they're getting nervous with this kissing each other,
scratching their heads,
what's going on brother
and they yell feed your husband, stop feeding the fire!
and we just cackle,
we're a fuckin witches choir.
and we sing "sharpen your knives, sharpen your daughters
steam up the mirrors, bake us some dreams,
cook up some riots, fry up some screams,
and when you're sick of your skirts
slice open the seams
cause they want domestics,
they'll give us needle and thread
for patching their egos.
we'll sow revolution instead."

And i hear you saying
"subtle, sister,
less bite, more bark
you can make your point without leaving such a mark.
subtle, sister,
stop your seething,
i think we got it, i think we're even."

subtle like a penis pounding its target?
subtle like your hissing from across the street?

subtle like the binding on my sisters' feet?
subtle like her belly raped with his semen,
draped in his fuck, funny,
doesn't seem even.

See, sometimes anger's subtle, stocked in metaphor
full of finesse and dressed in allure
yes, sometimes anger's subtle, less rage than sad
leaking slow through spigots you didn't know you had.
and sometimes it's just

fuck you.
fuck you.
you see, and to me,

That's poetry too.


Book of Rules: A Girl's Guide to Doing What You're Told by Nomy Lamm

Part 1.

you don't get to decide what you are
what happens is, you are nothing, and then you pop out
and the doctor says "boy" or else "girl" and that's that.
for the rest of your life you are trying to be "boy" or else "girl."

if you are very lucky, you will be called a man
and you will feel like a man and everyone else will think
you are a man and you will do all the things that real
men are supposed to do and you will score lots of chicks.
then you will be on top of the world, the pinnacle of success,
a very powerful person. this is a catch-22 though,
because if you are called a man and you feel like a man
and everyone thinks you are a man and you do all the things
that real men are supposed to do, then chances are
you are a fucking asshole and i hate you.

if you are called a woman and you feel like a woman
and everyone else thinks of you as a woman and you do all the things
that real women are supposed to do, then you are probably miserable.

if, like most people, you lie somewhere in between or beyond,
then you are also probably miserable.
(tough life.)

Part 2.

The First Thing You Have to Do if You Want to Be a Woman Is Be Pretty.

this is simple.
To be pretty, all you need is to fulfill at least three of these requirements:
(a) a great tan; (b) long legs (two of them); (c) blonde; (d) perky tits;
(e) button nose; (f) smooth skin; (g) slender waist; (h) stare dumbly;
(i) you are a doll; (j) a shimmery lipgloss; (k) a can of diet coke;
(l) a short skirt; (m) be on television

okay, count your points.
don't worry if you didn't quite make it
being pretty is all in the mind.
do this exercise:
every night before you go to sleep,
look in the mirror and say
"please god, you can take away all my friends and family,
make me into a moron,
send me to hell when i die, just please,
make me as beautiful as tori spelling."
if you don't want to look like tori spelling then too bad for you
because it doesn't work any other way.
when you wake up you will be pretty.

Part 3.

your body is a whole entire beautiful magical universe
of its own, exactly right and perfect.
i know that this is not what you have been taught, but it is The Truth.
how could anything so incredible ever be denigrated,
scoffed at, invaded, discounted, spat on, violated, ridiculed?
your body is magic.

what you are thinking now is:
why was i told to look at charts, diagrams, scales
and teen magazines to tell me what is wrong with me?
why wasn't i told to trust myself?
why did they make me feel like a horrifying ugly
pathetic puking loathesome monster,
if the truth is that i am magic?

as woman, you must learn to identify as an object.
you must learn to be objectified, made ugly and disgusting,
but not in a way that is powerful or frightening to them--
you will be made ugly in a putrid, rotting way.
your soul is the first to rot.
then your heart, then your mind, then your flesh...
whatever is left is the magical part that will live forever.
this is the part of you that is eternal.
your silicone implants.


Say More by Sini Anderson

I want to run into the insane energy of love
I want to run into every wall the upper class puts up in our path
When you think you have nothing to say,
Stop and remember what you tell your friends
And when someone is trying to silence you,
Scream louder
I want to spit on sidewalks in front of men who take up way too much space
And when you're walking down the street, if you're a woman or a queer,
Take up more space
I think we should be making out more in front of people who are uncomfortable with it
And don't be afraid to be a punk-rock hippie
And don't be afraid to tell people how much you love them

If you are fortunate enough to have two working legs and a mind,
Run more
If you're not, demand that your people push you
Stop telling yourself you're dumb with nothing to say
And demand that your opinion be heard by your government
Remember that they work for us
If you're hurting, tell someone
If you can't afford your medication, demand that your state provide it for you
Remember that you're not the only one in the room right now who's panickig
And remember that health care in this country is a luxury, and that,
That is just simply wrong
Remember that you deserve clean needles if you need them
And remember that at some point in your life, you can live alive and thrive without self-medicating
I want you to run into the idea that people think you're great, and smart
And I want to be really cool to someone who's talking a bunch of smack about me
Because that, that feels better
Remember it's not okay for anyone to physically, verbally or
mentally abuse you, anyone, not your friends, anyone, not
your girlfriend...anyone.
Listen to your family when they praise you
And tell them to fuck off when they are hurting you
intentionally
Remember that art is a very, very valid form of employment
Know that we couldn't survive without it
Remember right now you're thriving, you're thriving, you are thriving.
Hey you know that sliding scale?
I don't always pay the bottom, and I'm poor.
Run to the stage when you're scared
Run to the kitchen when you're hungry
Stretch more, it feels good
When you hear someone say something fucked up to a young girl on a bus,
stick up for her
And when you hear someone say something fucked up about someone you care about,
stick up for them
Love can hurt, we'll live I swear
Know the power of positivity
And know that I really, really need you
And know that this,
This feels much, much better,
Than when I was writing it alone in my room

I want to run into the insane energy of love
I want to run into every wall
The upper class
Puts up in my path...

I want you to run into the insane energy of love
I want you to run into every wall
The upper class
Puts up...in your path...

bits and pieces from Word Warriors

Just a few of my favorite bits and pieces of poems from Word Warriors.

tell me you don't matter to a universe that conspired
to give you such a tongue, such rhythm
or rhythmless hips, such opposable thumbs--
give thanks or go home a waste of spark
speak or let the maker take back your throat
march or let the creator rescind your feet
dream or let your god destroy your good and fertile mind
this is your warning / this
your birthright / do not let
this universe regreat you.
--Marty McConnell from "instructions for a body"


Girl words the way girls word, the way pussies poem.
--Eve Ensler


the man's always had a plan
to slow down the velocity of a woman's journeys
to lower the volume of woman's voices
saying hush now honey be calm be still
the powers that be saying
there's an appropriate level for your grief and
there's a healthy range for your rage
and when woman exceeds
the emotional speed limit
society puts on the brakes
--Leah Harris from "revenge of the crazy wimmin"


she's wondering how many women are walking around this world
feeling the tingling of their amputated wings
remembering what it was to fly to sing
--Andrea Gibson rom "Blue Blanket"


praise the vens that river these wrists
praise the prolapsed valve in a heart
praise the scars marking a gallbladder absent
praise the rasp and rattle of functioning lungs
praise the prearthritic ache of elbows
and ankles
praise the lifeline sectioning a palm
praise the photographic pads of fingertips
praise the vulnerable dip at the base of a throat
praise the muscles surfacing on an abdomen
praise these arms that carry babies
and anthologies
praise the leg hairs that sprout
and are shaved
praise the ass that refuses to shrink
or be hidden
praise the cunt that bleeds
and accepts, bleeds
and accepts
praise the prominent ridge of nose
praise the strange convexity of ribcage
praise the single hair that insists on growing
from a right areola
praise the dent where the mole was clipped from the back
of a neck
praise these inner thighs brushing
praise these eyelashes that sometimes turn inward
praise these hips preparing to spread
into a grandmother's skirt
praise the beauty of the freckle
on the first knuckle of a left little finger
--Marty McConnell from "instructions for a body"

Sunday, August 3, 2008

reflections on books read july 2008

most excited that the library now has:
  • Owly #4: A Time to Be Brave by Andy Runton
  • the Click series by Youngran Lee

favorite graphic novel of the month:

  • Spiral-Bound by Aaron Renier

newest manga addictions:

  • S.A.: Special A series by Maki Minami
  • Demon Flowers series by Mizuki Hakase

favoritest Meg Cabot book of the month:

  • All-American Girl by Meg Cabot

art i am most taken with:

  • in Demon Flowers series by Mizuki Hakase

biggest disappoinment (b/c i had such high expectations):

  • The Pigeon Wants a Puppy! by Mo Willems

finally took the recommendation:

  • Revolutionary Girl Utena series by Chiho Saito & Be-Papas

guiltiest pleasure of the month:

  • The Darkest Kiss by Keri Arthur

books i've read july 2008

7.1.08
  • Born to Rock by Gordon Korman (YA)
  • The Black Book of Secrets by F.E. Higgins (Y)

7.2.08

  • Micrographica by Renee French (GN)
  • Owly: A Time to Be Brave by Andy Runton (GN)

7.3.08

  • Tumble Bunnies by Kathryn Lasky & Marylin Hafner (PB)
  • Spiral-Bound by Aaron Renier (GN)
  • Rex Libris: I, Librarian by James Turner (GN)
  • As the World Burns: 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Stay in Denial by Derrick Jensen & Stephanie McMillan (GN)

7.4.08

  • Erec Rex: The Monsters of Otherness by Kaza Kingsley (Y)
  • Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen (YA)

7.5.08

  • The Land of Sokmunster by Mike Kunkel & Randy Heuser (Y)
  • Yurara #2 by Chika Shiomi (M)
  • Yurara #3 by Chika Shiomi (M)
  • Catwoman: When in Rome by Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale (GN)
  • Emo Boy v. 1: Nobody Cares About Anything Anyway, So Why Don't We All Just Die? by Steve Emond (GN)
  • Moon Child #1 by Reiko Shimizu (M)
  • Good As Lily by Derek Kirk Kim & Jesse Hamm (GN)
  • Project Princess by Meg Cabot (YA)

7.6.08

  • Translucent #1 by Kazuhiro Okamoto (M)
  • Translucent #2 by Kazuhiro Okamoto (M)
  • Translucent #3 by Kazuhiro Okamoto (M)
  • The Clouds Above by Jordan Crane (GN)
  • Hero by Perry Moore (YA)

7.7.08

  • St. Lunatic High School #1 by Majiko! (M)
  • S.A.: Special A #1 by Maki Minami (M)

7.8.08

  • S.A.: Special A #2 by Maki Minami (M)
  • S.A.: Special A #3 by Maki Minami (M)
  • What's Michael? Planet of the Cats by Makoto Kobayashi (GN)
  • The Recipe for Gertrude #1 by Nari Kusakawa (M)
  • St. Lunatic High School #2 by Majiko! (M)
  • Three Shadows by Cyril Pedrosa (GN)

7.9.08

  • Love*Com #1 by Aya Nakahara (M)
  • Pretty Face #1 by Yasuhiro Kano (M)
  • Skip-Beat #6 by Yoshiki Nakamura (M)

7.10.08

  • The Ticking by Renee French (GN)
  • Jellaby by Kean Soo (GN)
  • The Soap Lady by Renee French (GN)
  • Our Walk in the Woods by Charity Nebbe & Jeffrey Ebbeler (PB)
  • Serenity Rose v. 1: "Working Through the Negativity" by Aaron Alexovich (GN)
  • Doubt!! #4 by Kaneyoshi Izumi (M)

7.11.08

  • Stray by Rachel Vincent (A)
  • The Cain Saga #1: Forgotten Juliet by Kaori Yuki (M)
  • Skip-Beat #7 by Yoshiki Nakamura (M)
  • Skip-Beat #8 by Yoshiki Nakamura (M)
  • Skip-Beat #9 by Yoshiki Nakamura (M)
  • Doubt!! #5 by Kaneyoshi Izumi (M)
  • Doubt!! #6 by Kaneyoshi Izumi (M)
  • Iron Man: Extremis by Warren Ellis & Adi Granou (GN)

7.12.08

  • Uncanny X-Men: Bright New Mourning by Chuck Austen, Salvador Larroca, & Ron Garney (GN)
  • Love as a Foreign Language v. 1 by J. Torres & Eric Kim (GN)
  • Kitsune Tales by Woodrow Phoenix & Andi Watson (GN)
  • Glister #2: House Hunting by Andi Watson (GN)
  • Hellboy: Strange Places by Mike Mignola (GN)
  • Jinx by Meg Cabot (YA)

7.13.08

  • Herobear and the Kid: The Inheritance by Mike Kunkel (GN)
  • American Photobooth by Nakki Goranin (A-NF)
  • When Lightning Strikes by Meg Cabot (YA)

7.14.08

  • Heaven!! #1 by Shizuru Seino (M)
  • Yurara #4 by Chika Shiomi (M)
  • Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz (YA)

7.15.08

  • Flight Explorer v. 1 edited by Kazu Kibuishi (GN)
  • A.L.I.E.E.E.N.: Archives of Lost Issues and Earthly Editions of Extraterrestrial Novelties by Lewis Trondheim (GN)
  • Hellboy: The Troll Witch and Others by Mike Mignola, Richard Corben, & P. Craig Russell (GN)

7.16.08

  • Pimps Up, Ho's Down: Hip Hop's Hold on Young Black Women by T. Denean Sharpley-Whiting (A-NF)
  • Princess in Pink by Meg Cabot (YA)

7.17.08

  • Size 14 Is Not Fat Either by Meg Cabot (A)
  • How to Be Bad by E. Lockhart, Sarah Mlynowksi, & Lauren Myracle (YA)

7.18.08

  • I Can Fly by Ruth Krauss & Mary Blair (PB)
  • Max's Words by Kate Banks & Boris Kulikov (PB)
  • Help Me, Mr Mutt!: Expert Answers for Dogs with People Problems by Janet Stevens & Susan Stevens Crummel (PB)
  • Chibi Vampire #2 by Yuna Kagesaki (M)
  • X-Men: The End: Dreamers & Demons by Chris Claremont & Sean Chen (GN)
  • Catwoman: The Replacements by Will Pfeifer, David Lopez, & Alvaro Lopez (GN)
  • The Collected Alison Dare, Little Miss Adventures v. 2 by J. Torres & J. Bone (GN)

7.19.08

  • Days Like This by J. Torres & Scott Chantler (GN)
  • Get Backers #6 by Rando Ayamine & Yuya Aoki (M)
  • S.A. #4 by Maki Minami (M)

7.20.08

  • The Cat in the Hat Beginner Book Dictionary by P.D. Eastman (Y-NF)
  • Scrapbook: Uncollected Work: 1990-2004 by Adrian Tomine (GN)
  • Princess in Training by Meg Cabot (YA)
  • The Princess Present by Meg Cabot (YA)

7.21.08

  • Skip-Beat! #10 by Yoshiki Nakamura (M)
  • Skip-Beat! #11 by Yoshiki Nakamura (M)
  • The Cain Saga #2: The Sound of a Boy Hatching by Kaori Yuki (M)
  • Biker Girl by Misako Rocks! (GN)
  • Crayon Shinchan v. 1 by Yoshito Usui (GN)
  • The Darkest Kiss by Keri Arthur (A)

7.22.08

  • Devi: Namaha by Shekhar Kapur, Siddharth Kotian, Samit Basu, & Mukesh Singh (GN)
  • The Straight Road to Kylie by Nico Medina (YA)
  • All-American Girl by Meg Cabot (YA)

7.23.08

  • Pretty Face #2 by Yasuhiro Kano (M)
  • Revolutionary Girl Utena #1: To Till by Chiho Saito & Be-Papas (M)
  • Love*Com #2 by Aya Nakahara (M)
  • Love Roma #4 by Minoru Toyoda (M)

7.24.08

  • Demon Flowers #1 by Mizuki Hakase (M)
  • Cain Saga #3: Kafka by Kaori Yuki (M)
  • Chibi Vampire #3 by Yuna Kagesaki (M)
  • A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever by Marla Frazee (PB)
  • Big Boned by Meg Cabot (A)

7.25.08

  • Devi v. 2 by Shekhar Kapur, Samit Basu, Aditya Chari, & Saumin Patel (GN)
  • Skeleton Key: Beyond the Threshold by Andi Watson (GN)
  • The Pigeon Wants a Puppy! by Mo Willems (PB)
  • Pretty Face #3 by Yasuhiro Kano (M)

7.26.08

  • Devi v. 3 by Shekhar Kapur, Saurav Mohapatra, Saumin Patel, Edison George, Siddarth Kotian (GN)

7.27.08

  • Ready or Not by Meg Cabot (YA)
  • Code Name Cassandra by Meg Cabot (YA)
  • Into the Mists by Patrick Carman (Y)

7.28.08

  • Demon Flowers #2 by Mizuki Hakase (M)
  • Love Roma #5 by Minoru Toyoda (M)
  • Pretty Face #4 by Yasuhiro Kano (M)
  • Click #3 by Youngran Lee (M)

7.29.08

  • The Cain Saga #4: The Seal of the Red Ram Part 1 by Kaori Yuki (M)
  • The Cain Saga #4: The Seal of the Red Ram Part 2 by Kaori Yuki (M)
  • The Boy Next Door by Meggin Cabot (A)
  • The Great Women Superheroes by Trina Robbins (A-NF)

7.30.08

  • Demon Flowers #3 by Mizuki Hakase (M)
  • Click #4 by Youngran Lee (M)
  • Sidekicks: The Transfer Student by J. Torres & Takeshi Miyazawa (GN)

7.31.08

  • Love*Com #3 by Aya Nakahara (M)

07.08 total: 119

15 young adult fiction; 4 youth fiction; 37 graphic novels; 7 picture books; 47 manga; 5 adult fiction; 3 adult non fiction; 1 youth non fiction