Archive for November, 2009

I am thankful for:

• Family and friends–amazing, diverse, intelligent people that are full of love and life
• The opportunities I have been given this year, including more responsibility at work and graduate school
• My new apartment and my amazing roommate
• A fresh look on life and the beginning of many great things for me

I read about this intriguing livejournal post on the YALSA blog and had to share my own thoughts. I’ve heard this point of view before: Edward as the creepy, stalking, possibly emotionally (even physically) abusive “boyfriend” (can you call him a boyfriend if he’s dead?). I’ve read all of the Twilight books numerous times. I was into the books before they became popular. I’m not a fan of the movies, but I’ve seen both of them now.

What do I think? You can’t argue with the points made by the author of that post. Edward clearly exhibits some behaviors of an abusive person. C’mon, he’s so creepy. He does stalk Bella. He watches her sleep. He threatened and tried to commit suicide because he couldn’t live without her! Honestly, I had some of these thoughts before reading this, but didn’t realize how horrible, how awful this relationship between Edward and Bella really may be.

From the point of view of a fan–the reader gets lost in the book. It’s not amazing writing, it’s not even an always believable story, but there is something about it that sucks (ha) you in. Edward and Bella’s relationship is compelling to the type of person (young female) that gets drawn to this story. If you leave the story and take it for what it is on a superficial level, a novel, maybe you don’t see the fact that there is something seriously wrong in the way he treats Bella. Or maybe you do and you ignore it because sometimes he says great things or does something right. Or maybe you’re lonely and you can’t see beyond your own emotions.

Whatever the reason, I didn’t see this so clearly, and I’m glad for this post. I agree with many commenters on the YALSA blog. Education is always important. Equal access should be made to the Twilight books and to materials on abusive relationships. Communication is also important. Friends and families should discuss the content of these types of books–and recognize it for what it is: a story. And in your real life, if you know an Edward, it is not OK to be bossed around, abused–emotionally, verbally, or physically, or treated as a second-class citizen.

This is a very interesting topic and I hope it will be continued to be discussed across the blogosphere. I am very interested to hear others’ thoughts.

I’ve finished my first semester of graduate school with great grades and awesome learning experiences. I’m very satisfied with the classes I took and what I’ve learned. I’m very happy to have succeeded in both despite time constraints with work and other stresses. I have a really good feel on the basics of this profession I’ve chosen to enter and can’t wait to take more courses that are further specialized for my specific interests. A few things I’ve learned thus far:

• Online courses are very different than what I thought and I feel that they take more time on the part of the student than an onsite class might, because of the online discussions and online lectures.
• I had no clue what was involved in cataloging, and now I realize just how complicated it is. Everything is very standardized–kudos to all cataloging librarians! This has given me some good insight into why you need a professional degree to be a librarian. It’s not easy!
• There are many different fields and organizations that a person with an MLIS can work in after graduation, including nontraditional library settings.
• The profession of library and information science is a passionate, dedicated group with people out there willing to share their knowledge and also gain more.

Can’t wait for my next semester next year!

Fanboys and fangirls have been drooling over this novel ever since Scott Westerfeld released it’s super-shiny cover on his blog. As a huge fan of the Uglies books, his Peeps books, and almost all of his works, I had long anticipated this next venture.

Leviathan is the first book in a trilogy, telling the story of an alternate past–instead of World War I being a war fought by infantry, mine fields, and air raids, this Great War is fought by fabrications and machines. The War is between the Darwinists, nations that follow the teachings of Darwin (and in this alternate world, he has discovered how to “fabricate” many type of unique beings, including the Leviathan, a great airship composed of a whale and multitudes of other creatures), and the Clankers, the nations that fight using machinery and great metal Walkers that roam the land.

The story is told through the alternate stories of Deryn (also known as Dylan), a girl that pretended to be a boy to join the Darwinist air service, and Alek, heir to the Austria-Hungary (a Clanker nation) throne. As you can probably suspect, their stories become intertwined on the great ship of the Leviathan, which becomes in jeopardy of destruction.

Leviathan is a superb tale of adventure and suspense, a fantastically thrilling novel that is completely unique and refreshingly new. In a genre full of the paranormal and romance, a steampunk, warmongering novel is sure to rock the boat!

I recommend this novel for fans of Westerfeld, for young girls and boys, alike, and for anyone of any age that is intrigued by the story–it can be confusing at first, but by the end you are fully immersed in this alternate telling of one of the most famous stories of our world’s past.

One of the latest, and very popular, websites to hit the teen lit online scene is inkpop.com a literary social networking site brought to you by HarperCollins publishing. What’s inkpop? It’s a site for teens, young adults, adults, and authors to view and post literary works that appeal to teens. The site is based around a system of comments and ranking. The most popular items are ranked at the top, and, the top 5 items each month are reviewed by the HarperCollins editorial board. Awesome, right?

It seems like a popularity contest, but the community is composed of the audience any teen lit writer would dream for: teens and young adults, primarily females, that love the genre. And it’s a great way for young writers to share their work and get feedback from their peers.

I’ll be keeping an eye on this site and contributing to it. Who knows, maybe I’ll be the next inkpop trendsetter!