Friday Rambling Randomness

I'm so excited about the Utah Book Bloggers Bash tonight! It's all Natasha's fault... (I seriously don't know where she gets her energy,) she's "making" us get together to see what we're like face to face. It's going to be so fun to meet everyone... some I've exchanged comments and links with, others I'm not as familiar with. I'm sure I'll be adding to my blog roll once all is said and done. And you can bet I'll be blogging all about how it goes!

Today I came home from work at the library with a book and a movie: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, which I'm very much looking forward too and Wuthering Heights, the movie. The version I ended up with was done in 1970 and stars Timothy Dalton. You may recall I just watched his Mr. Rochester performance in Jane Eyre and loved it. I'm curious to see what kind of Heathcliff he makes.

Which reminds me, I never did blog my reaction to the movie version of To Kill a Mockingbird. Well... let me think... oh yeah... it was great. I mean.... GREAT! I loved it. I'm happy to have finally watched the whole thing, even if it did take me days to do it.

Speaking of Wuthering Heights... I'm re-reading it for my third time (I think... losing track now) for book club next week and Heathcliff still manages to mess with my head. Do you know what I'm talking about? Or do you all just plain hate him? Well, whether hate or love, you've got to admit, he is a fascinating character.

Weekly Geeks starts up again tomorrow! It's going to be bittersweet. Anyhow, be sure to click at the new site that's been set up to see what's happening and join in the fun.

Now a music question. I've got 5 MP3 credits to use at Amazon, and I can't think what songs to nab. Any suggestions? What's the new, cool song going around these days?

Okay, so, enough rambling for one Friday. Have a lovely day!

Review: The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Book: The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Genre: YA, sort of graphic novel-ish, historical fiction

Rating: A

Awards: Caldecott Medal

For: Fun

Last week, I got to sort shelves for the first time at my library job. I did a couple of carts in the teen section, which was quite hazardous since I wanted to check out nearly everything I touched. I resisted pretty well, until I came across this book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Having heard many good things about it, and needing a quick read to reach my last minute 100 books mark, I snatched it up and took it home.

Wow... and I was not disappointed! What a wonderful little... big... book! It's about an orphan boy who hides away in the train station in Paris, winding the clocks, and making it appear that his uncle is still alive, even collecting his uncle's checks but not knowing how to cash them. His sole purpose, besides surviving, is to fix an automaton (a robot type toy) that his dad had been working on before he died. In the process, he discovers who the old, crotchety man who runs the toy store in the station really is!

Great story and full of wonderful amazing pictures. Also, included is a bit of a history of the first movies. Really interesting stuff. Once I finished, I handed it off to my younger kids, both of whom devoured it and are now asking, "What else has this guy written?" So my next quest s to bring home more Brian Selznick from the library for them.

What Jason Castro Is Reading

Jason posted a fun update of his life yesterday, in which, among other things, he once again reveals what he is reading.... The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova! And once again, I'm impressed that this kid, who puts forth such the goofy airheady image, is reading such huge, involved and thought-provoking books as The Historian! Way to go Jason! But please, don't get too involved in that wonderful book and forget to keep working on the cd project! :)

Support Your Local Library Challenge

Yet another challenge that will just happen anyway, so I might as well make it official. In this one, you commit to reading 12, 25 or 50 books from the library. For complete info and to sign up, click HERE. My choice is 25.

Here's where I'll keep track:

1. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

2. How to Take the Ex out of Ex-Boyfriend by Janette Rallison

3. The Wednesday Letters by Jason Wright

4.Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson

5. Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin

6. The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer

7. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

8. Agnes Grey by Ann Bronte

9. The Monster in Me by Mette Ivie Harrison

10. Blue Noon by Scott Westerfeld

11. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

12.Beastly by Alex Flinn

13. And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander

14. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

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2009 Young Adult Book Challenge

.... because you know I have to! This one will be easy as pie. The challenge is to read 12 YA books and list them as you go... you don't even have to decide ahead of time what they'll be! Cool, huh. For info and to sign up, click HERE.

Here's where I'll keep track of the YA books I read:

1. Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Mryacle
2. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
3. Taken By Storm by Angela Morrison
4. How to Take the Ex out of Ex-Boyfriend by Janette Rallison
5. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney
6. The Princess and the Hound by Mette Ivie Harrison
7. The Hunt for Dark Infinity by James Dashner
8. The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
9. Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
10. Pillage by Obert Skye
11. The Absoultely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
12. Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
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13. Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderons
14. Marked by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
15. Memoris of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin
16. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

The 2009 TBR Challenge

And now for the challenge that started it all (this blogging business that is): The TBR Challenge! For the third year in a row I'm joining this challenge and I will try to read these 12 books that have been on my TBR shelf for more than six months. Included is also a small alternate list... you know.... just in case. For more info and to sign up for this challenge, click HERE.

1. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

2. Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

3. The Road by Cormac McCarthy

4. The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

5. The Namesake by Jhupa Lahiri

6. The Map of Love by Ahdaf Soueif

7. The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

8. The Absolutely True Diaryof a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie

9. The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham

10. Oil by Upton Sinclair

11. The House of the Spirts by Isabel Allende

12. The Traveler John Twelve Hawks

Alternates:

1. The Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley

2. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray

3. Bleak House by Charles Dickens

4. The House on the Strand by Daphne DuMaurier

5. The March E.L. Doctorow

I LOVE making this list. I can't wait to get to them all!

War Through the Generations Challenge

I've decided I want to join Serena and Anna on their quest to read more and learn more about the different wars through the generations. For this challenge, I will read five books this year dealing with WWII. For complete challenge instructions and to join click HERE.

After looking through the amazing list Serena and Anna have put together, I've decided to read the following five books:

1. Atonement by Ian McEwan

2. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

3. The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy

4. Lily's Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff

5. The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw

I look forward to the challenge of this challenge! Wish me luck!