Young Adult fiction editor

I want to read young adult books for a living. I want to edit them. How can I do that? Someone tell me! :) I love young adult books.

I was talking to some of my students about young adult books the other day and it was so much fun. And my partner's daughter and I talk about them too--she even recommended a good series to me by Shannon Hale that is her favorite.

Why can't I just read for a living? Or at least read and get paid for it? How do people end up doing that?

What It Is by Lynda Barry

I've always liked Lynda Barry. And her newest book is the best yet. It's a book about writing, but it's all these drawings and collages and she tells her own personal stories too. I love it. Maybe what I liked best were the questions she asks in her collages at times. Here are my favorites.

What is the difference between imagination and memory? Which is stronger?

To follow a wandering mind means having to get lost. Can you stand being lost?

Is reminded the same as remembered?

What is the difference between lying and pretending? There is no lie in pretending.

And a favorite quote:
I believe there is something in these old stories that does what singing does to words. They have transformational capabilities, in the way melody can transform mood. They can't transform your actual situation, but they can transform your experience of it. We don't create a fantasy world to escape reality, we create it to be able to stay. I believe we have always done this, used images to stand and understand what otherwise would be intolerable.

Cool book. You should check it out.

books i've read february 2009

2.2.09

• Suddenly Supernatural: School Spirit by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel (Y)
• Unbelievable by Sara Shepard (YA)

2.3.09

• Museum ABC by the Metropolitan Museum of Art (PB)
• The Museum Book: A Guide to Strange and Wonderful Collections by Jan Mark & Richard Holland (Y-NF)

2.4.09

• Broken Angels #4 by Setsuri Tsuzuki (M)
• Broken Angels #5 by Setsuri Tsuzuki (M)
• To Quote a Queer edited by John Lessard (A-NF)

2.5.09

• Bleach #16 by Tite Kubo (M)
• Bleach #17 by Tite Kubo (M)
• The Garden of Eve by K.L. Going (Y)

2.6.09

• Get Backers #8 by Rando Ayamine & Yuya Aoki (M)
• Lulu Atlantis and the Quest for True Blue Love by Patricia Martin (Y)
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney (Y)

2.8.09

• Better Read than Dead by Victoria Laurie (A)

2.9.09

• Hip Hop Speaks to Children: A Celebration of Poetry with a Beat edited by Nikki Giovanni (Y)
• Rhinoceros by Kelly Enright (A-NF)

2.10.09

• The Grasshopper's Song: An Aesop's Fable Revisited by Nikki Giovanni & Chris Raschka (Y)
• The Odd Egg by Emily Gravett (PB)
• Nana #12 by Ai Yazawa (M)
• Bleach #18 by Tite Kubo (M)

2.11.09

• The Wallflower #18 by Tomoko Hayakawa (M)

2.12.09

• A Wise Man Sleeps #1 by Mick Takeuchi (M)
• The War at Ellsmere by Faith Erin Hicks (GN)
• The Great Paper Caper by Oliver Jeffers (PB)
• Bleach #19 by Tite Kubo (M)

2.13.09

• serafina67 *urgently requires life* by Susie Day (YA)

2.14.09

• Six-Word Memoirs on Love & Heartbreak edited by Smith Magazine (A-NF)
• Nana #13 by Ai Yazawa (M)

2.15.09

• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (Y)

2.17.09

• What's a Ghoul to Do? by Victoria Laurie (A)
• Platinum Garden #6 by Maki Fujita (M)

2.18.09

• Wonder Bear by Tao Nyeu (PB)
• Previously by Allan Ahlberg & Bruce Ingman (PB)
• You Wouldn't Want to Be a mayan Soothesayer!: Fortunes You'd Rather Not Tell by Rupert Matthews & David Antram (Y-NF)
• Boogie Knights by Lisa Wheeler & Mark Siegel (PB)
• Oliver Button Is a Sissy by Tomie dePaola (PB)
• The Last Polar Bears by Harry Horse (Y)
• Bleach #20 by Tite Kubo (M)
• Bleach #21 by Tite Kubo (M)
• You Can Save the Earth: 7 Reasons Why & 7 Simple Ways: A Philosophy for the Future (A-NF)
• Tupac Remembered: Bearing Witness to a Life and Legacy edited by Molly Monjauze, Gloria Cox, & Staci Robinson (A-NF)

2.19.09

• Curiosa: Celebrity Relics, Historical Fossils, and Other Metamorphic Rubbish by Barton Lidice Benes (A-NF)
  
• Nana #14 by Ai Yazawa (M)
• Wicked by Sara Shepard (YA)

2.20.09

• You Wouldn't Want to Be Cleopatra!: An Egyptian Ruler You'd Rather Not Be by Jim Pipe & David Antram (Y-NF)
• You Wouldn't Want to Be an Egyptian Mummy!: Disgusting Things You'd Rather Not Know by David Stewart & David Antram (Y-NF)
• You Wouldn't Want to Be a Pirate's Prisoner!: Horrible Things You'd Rather Not Know by John Malam & David Antram (Y-NF)
• Sailor Moo: Cow at Sea by Lisa Wheeler & Ponder Goembel (PB)
• You Wouldn't Want to Be a Greek Athlete!: Races You'd Rather Not Run by Michael Ford & David Antram (Y-NF)
• You Wouldn't Want to Be an Aztec Sacrifice!: Gruesome Things You'd Rather Not Know by Fiona Macdonald & David Antram (Y-NF)
• Bleach #22 by Tite Kubo (M)
• Bleach #23 by Tite Kubo (M)
• The Last Gold Diggers by Harry Horse (Y)
• The Last Cowboys by Harry Horse (Y)

2.21.09

• Cattitude: The Feline Guide to Being Fabulous by Kim Levin & Christine Montaquila (A-NF)

2.22.09

• Snakehead by Anthony Horowitz (YA)

2.23.09

• The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart (YA)

2.25.09

• I'd Rather We Got Casinos and Other Black Thoughts by Larry Wilmore (A)
• You Wouldn't Want to Be a Medieval Knight!: Armor You'd Rather Not Wear by Fiona Macdonald & David Antram (Y-NF)
• You Wouldn't Want to Be a Suffragist!: A Protest Movement That's Rougher Than You Expected by Fiona Macdonald & David Antram (Y-NF)
• A Vision of Murder by Victoria Laurie (A)

2.26.09

• Bleach #24 by Tite Kubo (M)

02.09 total: 62

10 youth fiction; 5 young adult fiction; 8 picture books; 9 youth non fiction; 18 manga; 7 adult non fiction; 4 adult fiction; 1 graphic novel

Holiday appropriate books

I had purchased Six-Word Memoirs on Love & Heartbreak some time ago. It was short, I knew I could finish it in a day. But I left it for awhile. I wanted to savor it at an appropriate time because I know how much I liked the first six-word memoir book.

About a week before Valentine's Day, I decided that was when I'd read it. And I did.

I actually read in the restaurant where my partner and I had reservations during the hour that he was late for said reservations. Kind of bittersweet, you know? And the book was good, as I suspected. There were memorable memoirs, but of course, I wasn't in the mood or place to write them down, so I'll have to read through the book again. And I even got him to read a bit of the book.

It also inspired me to write my own six word memoirs (again), but I decided to do them on my previous relationships--my own little zine of six-word memoirs on love & heartbreak. :) I'm working on it now...

It's the first time I've ever read a holiday appropriate book on the actual holiday. Well, maybe I've read picture books before, but... It was fun.

Awwww....

"I don't think there's any limit on True Blue Love. The more the merrier, I say," said Harry.
--Patricia Martin from Lulu Atlantis and the Quest for True Blue Love

look at all these new books!

They've been piling up next to my computer desk...

From Vault:

• Tactics #7 by Sakura Kinoshita & Kazuko Higashiyama
• The Gentlemen's Alliance Cross #8 by Arina Tanemura
• After School Nightmare #10 by Setona Mizushiro

It's so time to do a MY manga challenge again...

From Borders:

• Six-Word Memoirs on Love & Heartbreak edited by Smith Magazine
• Special by Bella Bathurst

Paperbackswapped/bookmooched:

• Hug Time by Patrick McConnell
• Snog: A Puppy's Guide to Love by Rachael Hale
• Y: The Last Man: Cycles by Vaughan, Guerra, & Marzan Jr.
• Charmed Knits: Projects for Fans of Harry Potter by Alison Hansel
• Jimi's Book of Japanese: Hiragana by Peter X. Takahashi
• The Psychology of Harry Potter edited by Neil Mulholland

I've had good luck with the swapping sites lately. :)

Librarything Early Reviewers books:

• The Singing by Alison Croggon
• The Highly Intuitive Child by Catherine Crawford
  

books i've read january 2009

1.2.09

• Scorpia by Anthony Horowitz (YA)

1.3.09

• The Naughty Bits: The Steamiest and Most Scandalous Sex Scenes from the World's Great Books edited by Jack Murnighan (A)
  
• Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (YA)

1.4.09

• Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard (YA)
• Psychology: A Very Short Introduction by Gillian Butler & Freda McManus (A-NF)

1.5.09

• Stormbreaker: The Graphic Novel by Anthony Horowitz, Antony Johnston, Kanako Damerum, & Yuzuru Takasaki (GN)
• B.P.R.D.: Killing Ground by Mike Mignola, John Arcudi, & Guy Davis (GN)
• Utterly Otterly Day by Mary Casanova & Ard Hoyt (PB)
• Mouse Noses on Toast by Daren King & David Roberts (Y)

1.7.09

• La Corda d'Oro #5 by Yuki Kure (M)
• La Corda d'Oro #6 by Yuki Kure (M)
• My Heavenly Hockey Club #4 by Ai Morinaga (M)
• Skim by Mariko Tamaki & Jillian Tamaki (GN)
• Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo by Obert Skye (Y)
• Down to the Bone by Mayra Lazara Dole (YA)

1.8.09

• Flawless by Sara Shepard (YA)

1.9.09

• Best Erotic Comics 2008 edited by Greta Christina (GN)
• Yellow Elephant: A Bright Bestiary by Julie Larios & Julie Paschkis (PB)

1.11.09

• Boogiepop Doesn't Laugh #1 by Kouji Ogata & Kouhei Kadono (M)
• Challengers #1 by Hinako Takanaga (M)
• Almost Crying by Mako Takahashi (M)
• In the End by Pink Psycho (M)
• Hot Gimmick S by Megumi Nishizaki & Miki Aihara (YA)
• Ark Angel by Anthony Horowitz (YA)

1.12.09

• Zombies Calling by Faith Erin Hicks (GN)

1.13.09

• Stuck in the Middle: Seventeen Comics from an Unpleasant Age edited by Ariel Schrag (GN)
• Ida B...and her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World by Katherine Hannigan (Y)

1.14.09

• Broken Moon by Kim Antieau (YA)

1.15.09

• Night of the Beasts #2 by Chika Shiomi (M)
• La Corda d'Oro #7 by Yuki Kure (M)
• The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan (PB)
• Singular Pleasures by Harry Mathews (A)

1.18.09

• Chickenhare: Fire in the Hole by Chris Grine (GN)
• My Heavenly Hockey Club #5 by Ai Morinaga (M)
• Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye by Victoria Laurie (A)

1.19.09

• Ottoline and the Yellow Cat by Chris Riddell (Y)
• CLAMP: North Side by CLAMP (A-NF)
• CLAMP: South Side by CLAMP (A-NF)
• The Trouble with Dragons by Debi Gliori (PB)
• Queen of Halloween by Mary Engelbreit (PB)
• Art Dog by Thacher Hurd (PB)
• Albert by Lani Yamamoto (PB)

1.20.09

• American Widow by Alissa Torres & Sungyoon Choi (GN)
• Suppli #1 by Mari Okazaki (M)

1.21.09

• Oh, Theodore! Guinea Pig Poems by Susan Katz & Stacey Schuett (PB)
• Bleach #11 by Tite Kubo (M)

1.23.09

• Goodnight Bush: A Parody by Erich Origen & Gan Golan (A)

1.24.09

• Fables: War and Pieces by Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha, Niko Henrichon, & Andrew Pepoy (GN)

1.25.09

• Fresh Off the Boat by Melissa de la Cruz (YA)
• Bleach #12 by Tite Kubo (M)
• Suppli #2 by Mari Okazaki (M)
• The Little Yellow Leaf by Carin Berger (PB)

1.26.09

• Demonkeeper by Royce Buckingham (Y)
• My Heavenly Hockey Club #6 by Ai Morinaga (M)

1.27.09

• Writ in Blood by James A. Moore (A)

1.28.09

• Perfect by Sara Shepard (YA)

1.29.09

• Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed by Mo Willems (PB)
• Not So True Stories & Unreasonable Rhymes by Carin Berger (PB)
• Rosa by Nikki Giovanni & Bryan Collier (Y-NF)
• The Monster Who Ate Darkness by Joyce Dunbar & Jimmy Liao (PB)
• Ahwoooooooo! by Yannick Murphy & Claudio Munoz (PB)
• Bleach #13 by Tite Kubo (M)
• Suppli #3 by Mari Okazaki (M)
• Bicycles: Love Poems by Nikki Giovanni (A)

1.30.09

• The Genie in the Jar by Nikki Giovanni & Chris Raschka (PB)
• The Inner City Mother Goose by Eve Merriam & David Diaz (Y)
• Bleach #14 by Tite Kubo (M)
• Bleach #15 by Tite Kubo (M)
• Ghost of a Chance by Yasmine Galenorn (A)

01.09 total: 69

10 young adult fiction; 7 adult fiction; 3 adult non fiction; 9 graphic novels; 14 picture books; 6 youth fiction; 19 manga; 1 youth non fiction