Dewey is not a family value

[cedarlibrarian]

Today, a twelve-year-old (she looked older) girl came into my teen section and picked up a copy of Meg Cabot's All-American Girl. Since it's on a required reading list for the local junior high, I asked her if she needed help finding other required books. No, she's okay, she goes to a different school with a suggested reading list. Note that

Comments

[ex_zeisgeis]

I love it when you walk us through stories like this.

AND I loved loved loved SLEEPING FRESHMEN NEVER LIE. I'm so glad that David's genius is being recognized and rewarded, especially after DUNK-aliciousness.

Also, have I mentioned how much I love VOYA reviews?

[nostrademons]

I highly suspect that most parents don't read. They watch TV, and then listen to what TV says their kids should be reading.

I really liked Skellig too. But I do think it's much "darker" than Heir Apparent. The latter seemed to just end in a romantic cliche, despite the strong female lead. I did find Skellig to be very...uplifting, I guess, despite the darkness.

And I disagree about Margaret Peterson Haddix. I haven't read Turnabout, but I read the Shadow Children series, and Running out of Time, and Escape from Memory. Her books are strongly plotted, and the characterizations are kid enough that they didn't make me run away. My only complaint is that all of her books are basically the same...but that applies to Dan Brown, J.K. Rowling, Tamora Pierce, and most fantasy authors too, doesn't it?

[cedarlibrarian]

I supposed it could be worse: they could be reading the Wall Street Journal and then say what their kids should read

[tartanshell]

Wow, you've just given me one hell of a summer reading list. *g*

...Not that my local library will probably have a third of these, but you never know.

[kokopoko]

I had no idea being a librarian could be like that!

[cedarlibrarian]

*grins* Stick around. Librarianship can be a lot of things.

[burningtoast]

Reminds me of an encounter I had recently, in which a woman (not an old lady by any means, probably late 30s-early 40s) wanted me to recommend a good book. She expressed absolutely no preference for genre, theme, setting, etc. She asked me point-blank what the best book was that I had read recently; I said Confessions of a Pagan Nun, which I had just read for the first time and loved.

Of course, upon hearing the title her face falls - I give her a rough overview of what the book's about. "Does it contain white magic?" she asks worriedly - as if that term really means anything - and I tell her again that the main character is a young Druid. "Is it anti-Christianity?" she asks then, and I very vehemently said no - because to me it certainly wasn't, but was instead very spiritually positive. It was only after she took the book that I started thinking about how her perceptions of the book may be radically different than mine and how, any day now, she'll probably come back to angrily wave the book in my face

[cedarlibrarian]

I just checked out Confessions of a Pagan Nun and I blame you entirely.