Writer's quotes - Jane Yolen and Heidi Stemple

I love alliteration, don't you?

And here's good advice from some of the best writers around:
"Patience.
Persistence.
Passion.
Publication !"

Jane Yolen and Heidi Stemple

p.s. - how many of you know that they are mother and daughter?

A place to write - college libraries

In the fall I discovered college libraries are great places to write. I had used to excuse that my teen would need to use my car if hers was in the shop to get a parking permit in the college lot. She's taking a semester off, but I still want to use the college library for writing. (laundry, housework, and FB are too distracting at home.) So I went to the college Admin building to get a spring semester parking pass.

I was worried about getting a parking permit without being a student there, but it was no problem. I talked about how I was a published author and how useful it had been to be able to write in the library, and showed them one of my bookmarks that shows a selection of 5 of my books.

One of the people there had actually read two of them !!!

So they figured out how to get me a non-student parking pass. Yay!

Adult books I have read in 2018

Trent Reedy challenged us to read 100 books a year. Therefore every year since then I've posted the list of books I have read.  However, this year the list is 11 pages long, so I"m going to post them in two posts.

Here is the list of adult books I read in 2018.  (Children's books in previous post)

Booklist of Adult Books Read in 2018

ADULT FICTION

Bacigalupi, Paolo.  The Water Knife. NY:  Alfred A. Knopf, 2015.

Braun, Lilian Jackson.  The Cat Who talked turkey. NY:  Jove books/ Putnum, 2004. 

Bujold, Lois McMaster.  Miles in Love. NY: Baen, 1998, 1999, 2006. (containing the books Komarr, A civil Campaign, and Winterfair Gifts.)

    ….            Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance.  (Vorkosigan Saga)  NY: Baen, 2014.

    ….                        Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen. (Vorkosigan Saga) NY: Baen, 2016.

Cline, Ernest.  Ready Player One.  NY:  Broadway books (pb)/ Crown, 2011. (all I can say is that the author certainly knows a lot about historic as well as modern arcade and online gaming.) (friends say the book is much better than the movie.)

Clinton, Bill and James Patterson.  The President is Missing.  NY:  Knopf/ Little Brown and Co, 2018.  (Well done spy suspense thriller.)  (catalogued under Patterson in the county library – under Clinton in the city library. Hmmm. I read it twice.)

Crider, Bill.  A Romantic Way to Die, a sheriff Dan Rhodes Mystery.  NY: St. Martin’s Minotaur, 2001.  (Bill was a part of a huge online group of writers that I belong to.  He recently died, so I decided to read some of his books.  They’re small-town mysteries, not romance novels or children’s books, although this story does take place at a Romance Writer’s gathering.)

Deveraux, Jude.  The Temptress.  NY: Pocket Books, 1986. (unfortunately, this reads like an             early attempt at writing a romance. Unlike her deep immersion into             story and characters with an engaging throughline which can be found             In her more recent books.)

    ….             The Raider. NY: NY: Pocket Books, 1987.  (just as poorly written as The             Temptresswith even more stopping the story to have sex.  Not up to             the quality of the writing of her more recent books.)

    ….            The Princess.  NY: Pocket Books, 1987.  (ah – this is more like her normal             quality writing.  I can only conclude that the above two books were             quickly written to fulfill a 3-book contract and this is the one she             spent more time on perfecting.)

   ….             The Invitation.  (three short stories)  NY: Pocket Books, 1994.

     ….            Forever, a novel of good and evil, love and hope.  NY: Pocket books, 2002.

    ….            Holly.  NY:  Atria Books, 2003.

  ….            Someone to Love, a novel.  NY:  Atria Books, 2007.

    ….            The Summerhouse.  NY: Pocket Books, 2001.

    ….            Return to Summerhouse.  NY: Thorndike/Gale, 2008. (large type)

                                    (I love the Summerhouse series and wish she’d write many more.

                                      Ah – check out the Summer Hill series she has just begun.)

    ….            Scarlet Nights.  (Edilean series) NY:  Atria Books, 2010.  (I love the             Interconnectedness of characters in the Edilean series.)

    ….            True Love. (Nantucket Brides series) NY: Ballantine, 2013.

    ….            For All time. (Nantucket Brides series) NY: Ballantine, 2014.

    ….            Ever After. (Nantucket Brides series) NY: Ballantine, 2015.

    .…            The Girl from Summer Hill: A Summer Hill Novel.  NY:  Harlequin, Mira Books, 2016.    

   ….            As you wish.  NY:  Harlequin, Mira Books, 2018.  (Second book in the town of             Summer Hill series, adding characters from the Summerhouse series)

Follett, Ken.             A Column of Fire. (book 3 of Pillars of the Earth series)  NY:   Viking, 2017.

                        (I finally finished reading this huge trilogy.)

Francis, Dick.  Field of Thirteen.  NY: GP Putnam’s Sons, 1998.  (A collection of 13 excellent short stories, all based in the horse racing world, of course.)

    ….  and Felix Francis.   Second Wind.   NY: GP Putnam’s Sons, 1999.

    ….            Under Orders.   G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2006.  (Although written in Felix’s style and an acknowledgement inside the book to his son, Felix, this book was not listed under both names as authors.)

    ….     ….               Dead Heat. NY:  G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2007.

    ….     ….            Even Money.  NY:  G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2009.

    ….      ….            Crossfire.NY:  G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2010.

Francis, Felix.  Dick Francis’s Gamble. NY:  G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2011.

    ….            Dick Francis’s Bloodline.  NY:  G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2012.

    ….            Dick Francis’s Refusal.  NY:  G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2013.

    ….            Dick Francis’s Damage, a novel of suspense.  NY:  G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2014.

    ….            Front Runner, A Dick Francis Novel.  NY:  G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2015.

    ….            Triple Crown,A Dick Francis Novel. NY:  G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2016.

    ….            Pulse, a Dick Francis novel.  NY:  G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2017.

Heyer, Georgette.  The Quiet Gentleman.  NY:  Putnam, 1952.

Howard, Kat. An Unkindness of magicians.NY:  2017.

James, Miranda.  Murder Past Due.  (a Cat in the Stacks mystery) London: Wheeler Chivers (large type), 2010.  The first book in this librarian/ cat sleuth series)

    ….            Classified as Murder.  (a Cat in the Stacks mystery) London: Wheeler Chivers (large type), 2010. 

    ….            File M for Murder. (a Cat in the Stacks mystery) NY:  Berkely Prime Crime, 2012.  

                        (I wonder when they’ll actually put a Main Coon Cat on the cover, instead of a fat, normal short-haired cat?)

    ….            Out of Circulation. (a Cat in the Stacks mystery) NY:  Gale Cengage Learning, (large type), 2013. (Someone should tell the cover illustrator that the cat he put on the cover is not a Maine Coon Cat.)

    ….            The Silence of the Library.(a Cat in the Stacks mystery) NY:  Berkely Prime Crime, 2014.  (Oh.  Now Diesel the Maine Coon cat has his own facebook page – facebook.com/DiesellHarriscat )

    ….            Arsenic and Old Books. (a Cat in the Stacks mystery) NY:  Berkely Prime Crime, 2015.

    ….            No Cats Allowed. (a Cat in the Stacks mystery) NY:  Berkely Prime Crime, 2016. 

    …..            Twelve angry librarians.  . (a Cat in the Stacks mystery) NY:  Berkely Prime Crime, 2017. 

    ….            Claws for Concern.  . (a Cat in the Stacks mystery) NY:  Berkely Prime Crime, 2018. 

Lackey, Mercedes. The Fire Rose(Elemental Masters)  Riverdale, NY: Baen, 1995.

            (the California San Francisco earthquake and fire)

    ….                        The Black Swan.  NY: Daw Books, Inc., 1999.    (based on the ballet)

    ….                        The Serpent’s Shadow.   (Elemental Masters) NY: Daw Books, Inc., 2001. 

            (based on the story of Snow White, but staged with religion and magic from India)

    ….                        The Gates of Sleep.  (Elemental Masters)  NY: Daw Books, Inc., 2002.  

            (You can figure out from the title that this is based on Sleeping Beauty.)

    ….                        Phoenix and Ashes.  (Elemental Masters) NY: Daw Books, Inc., 2004. 

            (based on the story of Cinderella, set during WWI.)

    ….                         The Wizard of London.  (Elemental Masters)  NY: Daw Books, Inc., 2005.  

            (it’s the first adventure of Nan and Sarah – where they meet Puck, the oldest one 

            when they are involved in Shakespeare’s play - Midsummer’s Night’s Dream.             

            And with the tale about a prince with a frozen heart.) 

    ….                        Reserved for the Cat. (Elemental Masters)  NY: Daw Books, Inc., 2007.  

             (Bookended by the tale of two wizards battling by changing shapes and sizes.)

    ….                        Unnatural Issue. (Elemental Masters)  NY:  Daw Books, Inc., 2011.  (exploring

             the bad/ dangerous side of wizardry. The second book to take place during WWI)

    ….                        Home from the Sea.  (Elemental Masters)  NY: Daw Books, Inc., 2012. 

            (uses the folk tale of the Selch/ Selkie – seal people who marry humans. The second

             adventure of Nan and Sarah.)

    ….                        Steadfast.  (Elemental Masters) NY:  Daw Books, Inc., 2013.

            (Dancer/contortionist running from an abusive husband finding safety.)

    ….                        Blood Red.   (Elemental Masters)  NY: Daw Books, Inc., 2014. (Werewolves

            This one read more like a collection of short stories about her adventures.)

    ….                        From a High Tower.   (Elemental Masters)  NY: Daw Books, Inc., 2015.

            (based on the tale of Rapunzel with the addition of the heroine from Blood Red.)

    ….                        A Study in Sable. (Elemental Masters)  NY: Daw Books, Inc., 2016.

            (a third adventure of Nan and Sarah plus Sherlock Holmes and John and Mary

             Watson, involving a Lorelei.)

    ….                         A Scandal in Battersea.  (Elemental Masters number 12)  NY: Daw Books, Inc., 

            2017.  (fourth adventure of Nan and Sarah, Holmes and John and Mary Watson 

            involving an invasion from another dimension. ) 

    ….                        The Hills Have Spies, Book one of Family Spies, a novel of Valdemar. NY: Daw

             Books, 2018.  

            (continuation of the adventures of Herald Mags in Valdemar except this series will 

            feature his children.  Book one = Perry.  Too bad the jacket copy talks about an 

            entirely different story with an entirely different child’s name – not one of the three 

            mentioned in this story. Mercedes says, “P.s. if you own a copy with this mistake 

            keep it, it’ll be valuable some day.”)

McCaffrey, A.. and Elizabeth Moon.  Sassinak. (The planet Pirates, vol. 1) NY: Baen, 1990. 

            (I used to own the sequel to this, but I must have tossed it when moving west.)

McCaffrey, Anne and Jody Lynn Nye. The Ship who Won.  NY: Baen, 1994.  

            (The shellperson spaceships series.)

    ….             The Ship Errant.  NY: Baen, 1996.  (The shellperson spaceships series.)

Moon, Elizabeth. Cold Welcome.  (Book 6 in Vatta’s War series)  NY: Del Ray, 2017.

            (Hurrah!  More adventures of Ky Vatta)

    ….                        Into the Fire. (Book 7 in Vatta’s War series)  NY: Del Ray, 2018.

            (Hurrah!  Even more adventures of Ky Vatta)

Pratchett, Terry. Guards! Guards!  London:  Corgi Books, a division of Random House, 1989.

Pratchett, Terry and Neil Gaiman.  Good Omens, the nice and accurate prophecies of Agnes

             Nutter, WITCH.  NY: William Morrow, 1990/ 2006.  (is going to be a movie)

Putney, Mary Jo. The marriage spell.  NY:  Ballantine Books, 2006.

Quinn, Julia and Lisa Kleypas and Kinley MacGregor. Where’s my Hero?  NY:  Avon Books, 2003.

Quinn, Julia. Dancing at Midnight. NY:  HarperCollins, 1995.  (one of her earlier books and not as well written as her more recent ones.)

    ….            Ten things I love about you.  NY: HarperCollins, 2010.

    ….            The Bridgertons: Happily Ever After, some endings are only the beginning…. NY:  Harper Collins/ Avon, 2013.  (a collection of 2^ndepilogues – the story that comes afterthe story.)

    ….            Because of Miss Bridgerton.  (A Bridgertons Prequel)  NY: Avon Books, 2016.

    ….            The Other Miss Bridgerton.  ( A Bridgertons Prequel)  NY: Avon Books, 2018.

Shaffer, Mary Ann and Annie Barrows.  The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, a Novel.  NY: Dial, 2008.  (a lovely story which made me want to read more of her work, only I discovered that this was her only published work before she died. She was assisted by her niece, the author of the popular series Ivy and Bean.)

Springer, Nancy.  The Oddling prince. San Francisco: Tachyon, 2018.

Stewart, Amy. Girl Waits with Gun, a novel.  NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015.

   ….            Lady Cop Makes Trouble, a Kopp Sisters Novel.  NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016.

    ….            Miss Kopp’s Midnight Confessions, a Kopp sisters novel.   NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017.

ADULT BIOGRAPHY

B Alexie            Alexie, Sherman.  You Don’t have to say you love me, a memoir.  NY: Little, Brown and Co., 2017. 

B Caine            Caine, Michael. Blowing the bloody doors off, and other lessons in life.  NY: Hachette books, 2018

B Clapper            Clapper, James R. with Trey Brown. Facts and Fears – hard trughs from a life in intelligence.  NY:  Viking, 2018. (Excellent background from one who was part of the depths of the USA Intelligence world.  As usuall, too many abbreviations of departments. Imagine my surprise to discover a translation of all those abbreviations in the back of the book.  Wish they had been in the front so that I could flip back and forth.)

B Clinton            Chozick, Amy. Chasing Hillary, Ten years, Two Presidential campaigns, and One Intact Glass Ceiling.   NY: Harper, 2018.  

                        (Probably should be in the 973s instead of biography Clinton because it really is Amy Chozick’s memoir, not really a biography of Clinton.)

B Comey            Comey, James. A Higher Loyalty - truth, lies and leadership.NY:  Flatiron Books, 2018.

                        (The head of the FBI during the election of Donald Trump explains his decisions and his surprising firing by President Trump. Very well written and compares well with the testimony he gave to Congress. Asserts that Trump acts very much like mob bosses that Comey has known, demanding loyalty – which the head of the independent FBI could not give him.)

B Edison            Stross, Randall. The Wizard of Menlo Park – how Thomas Alva Edison invented the modern world. NY:  Crown Publishers, 2007.

B Graham            Graham, Katharine. Personal History.NY:  Alfred A. Knopf, 1997.

                        (Owner of the Washington Post tells the back story of the Pentagon Papers and Watergate, among other events and how the Post was involved.

B Simon            Simon, Neil. Neil Simon Rewrites, a Memoir. NY:  Simon & Schuster, 1996.

B Steinbeck            Steinbeck, John.  Travels with Charley, In search of America.  NY: Penguin Books, 1963. 1997.

B Van Dyke            Van Dyke, Dick.  My lucky life in and out of show business, a memoir.  NY: Crown, 2011.

ADULT NONFICTION

305.420…            Traister, Rebecca. Good and Mad, the revolutionary power of women’s anger. NY:  Simon & Schuster, 2018.  (How women’s and POC anger upset the midterm election in 2018.)

324.9730..            Tur, Katy. Unbelievable, my front-row seat to the craziest campaign in American history.   NY:  Dey St. (William Morrow), 2017.  (Diary of a reporter who followed and reported on Trump from his announcement to run until he won the election.)

332            O’Rourke, P.J.  None of my Business— P.J. explains money, banking, debt, equity, assets, liabilities, and why he’s not rich and neither are you. NY: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2018. (a series of his columns. Humorous and flows together nicely)

363.325..            Sanger, David E. The perfect Weapon – War, sabotage, and fear in the Cyber Age.  NY: Crown, 2018. (Information about cyber attacks that President Trump should know – but probably doesn’t.)

364.1523            Fox, Margalit. Conan Doyle for the Defense, the true story of a sensational British murder, a quest for justice, and the world’s most famous detective writer. NY:  Random House, 2018.

327.73            Farrow, Ronan. War on Peace, the end of diplomacy and the decline of American influence.  NY:  W.W. Norton & Company, 2018.  (excellent examination of our State Department and how the Trump government not only ignores the excellent advice from experienced diplomats, but has cut the department drastically, removing most of the most experienced ones.)

641.5092            Bourdain, Anthony.  Kitchen Confidential, Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly.  NY: HarperCollins (paperback), 2000, 2007. (If you ever thought you wanted to be a cook in a restaurant, this might change your mind.)

812.54            Sedaris, David. The Santaland Diaries and Season’s Greetings. NY:  Dramatists Play Service, Inc., 1998.

917.3            Ratay, Richard. Don’t make me pull over! An informal history of the family road trip. NY:  Scribner,2018. 

919.404…            Bryson, Bill.  In a Sunburned Country. NY: Broadway Books/ Random House, 2000.  (title refers to the bad sunburn he got there.  Reads as if it is a collection of various articles written for Journals or newspapers because of some repetition.  But as usual, enjoyable.)

944.9084            Mayle, Peter. My twenty-five Years in Provence, reflections on then and now. NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 2018.  (Peter Mayle died January 2018. This seems to be a collection of chapters from several of his previous books about Provence, France.)

973.932            Isikoff, Michael and David Corn.  Russian Roulette, the inside story of Putin’s war on America and the election of Donald Trump.   NY:  12, Hachatte Book Group, 2018.  (A gathering of the facts about the covert hacking operation to influence the U.S. election and help Donald Trump gain the presidency.)

973.93209            Lewandowski, Corey and David Bossie.  Let Trump Be Trump, the inside story of his rise to the presidency. NY and Nashville:  Center Street/ Hachette, 2017. (as written by his fired campaign manager and assistant, which purposefully overlooks Trump’s flaws, skips a large part of Trump’s illegal actions, and has a paragraph or two of groveling praise in each and every chapter)  

973.933            Wilson, Rick.  Everything Trump touches dies, a Republican strategist gets real about the words president ever. NY:  Simon & Schuster, 2018.  (a conservative lobbyist, never-Trumper examines the first year and a half of Trump’s presidency – with humor.) 

973.933            Wolff, Michael.  Fire and Fury, inside the Trump white house.  NY: Henry Holt and Co., 2018.  (Well written, complete with quotes from the people working and fighting inside the Trump white house.  His information matches everything I’ve learned about this strange situation the USA is in.)

973.9330            Woodward, Bob. FEAR, Trump in the White House. NY:  Simon & Schuster, 2018.  (famous author/ Washington Post reporter uses many actual inhabitants of the White House as sources to show their view of things that happened and how Trump reacts to the stress of the job.  Revealing.)

976.6…            Grann, David.  Killers of the Flower Moon, the Osage murders and the birth of the FBI.  NY: Doubleday, 2017l

Childrens books I have read in 2018

Trent Reedy challenged us to read 100 books a year. Therefore every year since then I've posted the list of books I have read.  However, this year the list is 11 pages long, so I"m going to post them in two posts.

Here is the list of Children's books I read in 2018.  (adult books in next post)

 Booklist of Books Read in 2018

PICTURE BOOKS: 

 Barnes, Derrick. Crown, an ode to the fresh cut. Illus Gordon James. Chicago:  Bolden, Agate, 

            2017. (FOUR #ALA awards—Newbery Honor, Caldecott Honor, Coretta Scott King

             Author Honor, and Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor!)

Bauer, Marion Dane. Little Cat’s Luck.  NY: Simon & Schuster Books for young readers, 

            2016.  (Texas Bluebonnet Award)

Bellairs, John. The House with a Clock in Its Walls. Illus. Edward Gorey. NY:  Dial Press, 

            1973.  

Blackall, Sophie. Hello Lighthouse.  NY:  Little Brown & Co., 2018.  (Could have been 

            classified as children’s nonfiction, but CIP shows as Easy Fiction.)

Cordell, Matthew. Wolf in the Snow. NYL Feiwel and Friends, 2017.  

            (Caldecott medal winner 2018)

Dale, Elizabeth.  Nothing can frighten a bear. Illus. Paula Metcalf. Somerville, MA: Nosy Crow, Candlewick Press, 2016.

Dillon, Diane. I can be anything! Don’t tell me I can’t.  NY: Blue Sky Press, Scholastic, 2018.

Fogliano, Julie. When’s my birthday? Illus. Christian Robinson.  NY:  Neal Porter Book, Roaring Brook Press, 2017.  (I’m not impressed) 

Higgins, Ryan.  We don’t eat our classmates. NY:  Disney/ Hyperion, 2018.

Hopkinson, Deborah and John Hendrix (illus). Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek a tall, thin tale.  NY: Swartz and wade, 2008.  Fictionalized account of a possible young Lincoln adventure.

Mattick, Lindsay.Finding Winnie, the True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear. Illus Sophie Blackall.  NY:Little Brown and Co., 2017.  (2018 Caldicott Winner.)

Phi, Bao  A different Pond. Illus Thi Bui. North Manakato, MN: Capstone Young

             Readers, 2017.  (Caldecott Honor book) (Publisher is claiming it won- it didn’t)

Robinson, Nikki Slade. Anywhere Artist. NY:  Clarion, Books, 2016.  

            (mixture of photographs of nature art with illustrations of sylph like child in a 

            painted landscape. Lovely!)

Tamaki, Jillian. They Say Blue.  NY:  Abrams books for young readers, 2018. 

Teekentrup, Britta.  Moon, a peek-through picture book.  NY: Doubleday Books for Young Readers, 2017.  (Cut outs show the progression of the moon through its phases. Originally pub in Great Britain. Clunky rhythm and rhyme, which made me think it had been translated from another language – but no.)

Underwood, Deborah. Here Comes Teacher CAT.Illus. Claudia Rueda. NY:  Dial, 2017.

    ….            Here Comes Valentine CAT.  Illus. Claudia Rueda.  NY:  Dial, 2016.

Wallace, Adam.  How to Catch a Leprechaun.  Illus. Andy Elkerton.  Naperville, IL:  

            Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2016.  (very disappointing.  Fulfills the need for a

             St. Paddy’s Day picture book, but with dull poetry – ABCB) and an

             ending that does not scan and left me thinking, “Huh?”)

Wong, Janet.  Apple Pie 4^thof July. Illus Margaret Chodos-Irvine. NY: Harcourt, 2002. 

            (I was told to use this as a great example of page breaks.)

I Can Read

 Arnold, Ted, Martha Hamilton, and Mitch Weiss.  Noodleheads see the future. NY: Holiday House, 2017.  (Geisel honor book)

Butler, Dori Hillestad.  King & Kayla and the case of the missing dog treats. Illus.  Nancy

             Meyers. NY:  Peachtree Publishers, 2017.  (2018 ALA/ALSC Theodor Seuss Geisel

             Honor book.)

Kugler, Tina.  Snail & Worm Again. NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017. (2018 Geisel honor book)

Meisel, Paul. I See a Cat.  NY: Holiday House,, 2017.  (2018 ALA/ALSC Theodor Seuss

             Geisel Honor book. A very easy reader but in picture book format.)

Snyder, Laurel. Charlie & Mouse.  Illus Emily Hughes.  San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 2017.  (2018  Theodore Seuss Geisel Award winner)

Yoon, Salina.  My Kite is Stuck! And other Stories.  NY: Bloomsbury, 2017. (2018 Geisel honor book. San Diego, CA author/ illustrator – YAY!)

J – FICTION :

 Aronson, Sarah.The Wish List, The worst Fairy Godmother Ever! NY, Scholastic, 2017.

    ….            The Wish List, Keep Calm and Sparkle On!  NY, Scholastic, 2018.

Cartaya, Pablo.  The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora.  NY:  Viking, 2017.  (Pura Belpre author honor book.

Coville, Bruce.  Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher.  NY: Houghton Miflin Harcourt, 1991 / 2002. (originally published by Harcourt, edited by Jane Yolen.  One of my favorite books, except this time when I reread it I began noticing various writer techniques which I now must think about.)

    ….            Moongobble and Me – the Mischief Monster. Illus Katherine Coville. NY:  Simon & Schuster, 2007.

    ….            The Enchanted Files: Trolled. Illus by Paul Kidby. NY:  Random House 2017. (Book 3 of the Enchanted Files whereby various characters from the land of Enchantment discover themselves in the human world.)

Cowell, Cressida.  The Wizards of Once. (book 1 - Once there was Magic)  NY: Little, Brown and Company, 2017.   (Newbery honor)

Heinlein, Robert. The Rolling Stones. NY: Ballantine books, 1952. (one my favorite books I read as a child and only improves with re-reading.  However, it’s fun at this point to notice the things about the future that he predicted accurately and others that seemed logical, but the modern technology is different.)

Holm, Jennifer.The third mushroom/ believe in the unexpected. NYL Random House, 2018. 

Horvath, Polly.  Mrs. and Mrs. Bunny—Detectives Extraordinaire! By Mrs. Bunny, translated from the Rabbit by Polly Horvath.  NY: Swartz & Wade books, 2012.  (I was wondering how I had missed this lovely book.  But then I noticed the date.  I had retired from library work and that was the year my husband died.)

Houts, Michelle. WinterFrost.  Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2014.

Johnson, Varian.  The Parker Inheritance. NY: Arthur A, Levine Books, Scholastic, 2018. (a great mystery story jumping back and forth from 1900s life for African Americans to kids today.  I predict  Coretta Scott King author Book award for sure, plus possible Newbery.) (Update – Now is a Boston Globe/ Horn Book award Honor book, the same award I won in 2003.)

Kalmar, Daphne.  A Stitch in Time. NY:  Feiwel and Friends, 2018. (another book I think will be seriously considered for the Newbery and other awards.)

Kelly, Erin Entrada. Hello, Universe, some friendships are meant to be.NY: Greenwillow, 2017. (Newbery winner) 

King, Amy Sarig.  Me and Marvin Gardens. NY: Scholastic (Arthur A. Levine Boooks), 2017. (Faculty at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Usually writes YA books)

Landis, Matthew.  The Not so Boring Letters of Private Nobody.  NY: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2018.

McAnulty, Stacy.  The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl.  NY: Random House, 2018.  Another book I predict will win awards, maybe Newbery.

Pla, Sally J.              Stanley will probably be fine.  Illus Steve Wolfhard. NY, Harper, 2018.  (don’t be confused by the illustrator. It’s not a picture book. It’s not a graphic novel. It’s a story about a boy who occasionally draws a comic strip.)  (I predict this one will win quite a few awards during the upcoming award season.)

Riordan, Rick.  The Trials of Apollo, Book One, The Hidden Oracle.  NY: Disney/ Hyperion, 2016.  

    ….            The Trials of Apollo, Book Two, The Dark Prophecy.  NY: Disney/ Hyperion, 2017.  

     ….            The Trials of Apollo, Book Three, The Burning Maze.  NY: Disney/ Hyperion, 2018.  (hmmm.  It looks as if this trilogy is going to continue to 4 or more books)

Smith, Cynthia Leitich. Indian Shoes. NY: HarperCollins, 2002.  (short stories about a Native American boy who lives in a city/ town.)

Townsend, Jessica.  Nevermoor, the trials of Morrigan Crow.  NY:  Little Brown and Co., 2017.   (I’ve decided that I really love British fantasies and can’t wait for a sequel.)

Yolen, Jane and Adam Stemple            The Hostage Prince. (The Seelie Wars: Book 1)  NY: Viking/ Penguin, 2013. 

    ….            The Last Changling.  (The Seelie Wars: Book 2)  NY: Viking/ Penguin, 2015. 

    ….            The Seelie King’s War. (The Seelie Wars: Book 1)  NY: Viking/ Penguin, 2016. 

YA Fiction:

 Colfer, Eoin.  Artemis Fowl.  NY: Talk Miramax Books, Hyperion Books for Children. 2001.

Maas, Sarah. A Court of Thorns and Roses.  NY:  Bloomsbury, 2015. 

    ….            A Court of Mist and Fury.  NY:  Bloomsbury, 2016. (more raw sex than a lot of adult novels. Why?) 

    ….            Court of Wings and Ruin.  NY: Bloomsbury, 2017. (series has more raw sex than a lot of adult Science Fiction/ Fantasy books.  Why?) 

    ….            Court of Frost and Starlight. NY:  Bloomsbury, 2018.

Pierce, Tamora.  Tempests and Slaughter, The Numair Chronicles, Book One, A Tortall Legend.  NY:  Random House, 2018.  (Excellent writing style.  I can’t wait for the next few books in this series) 

Putney, M.J.  (Mary Jo)  Dark Mirror.  NY: St. Martin’s Press, 2010.

    ….            Dark Passage.  NY: St. Martin’s Press, 2011.

    ….            Dark Destiny  NY: St. Martin’s Press, 2012.

Reedy, Trent.             Divided we fall.  (Book 1) NY: Arthur A. Levine Books, Scholastic, 2014.

    ….            Burning Nation. (Book 2) NY: Arthur A. Levine Books, Scholastic, 2015.

    ….            The Last Full Measure. (Book 3) NY: Arthur A. Levine Books, Scholastic, 2016.

                                    (Dystopian novels about the breakdown of the USA into multiple countries, plus WW3)

PICTURE BOOK BIOGRAPHIES:

 JB Bader            Levy, Debbie. I Dissent – Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes her Mark. Illus. Elizabeth

                         Baddeley. NY:  Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2016. 

                                    (Orbis Pictus award honor book – and other awards)

JB Burcaw            Burcaw, Shane. Not So Different, what you really want to ask about having a

                         disability – Go Ahead, Ask Me.  Illus. by photographs by Matt Carr.  NY: 

                        Roaring Brook Press, 2017.  (Robert F. Sibert Informational Book   

                                                                       Medal honor book 2018)

JB Chavez            Rau, Dana Meachen. Who was Cesar Chavez?  NY: Grosset & Dunlap, 2017.

JB Choi    Martin, Jacqueline Briggs and June Jo Lee.  Illus Man One. Chef Roy Choi.  Bellevue, Washington: Readers to Eaters, 2017.  (Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal honor book 2018)

JB Keats            Pinkney, Andrea Davis. A Poem for Peter, the story of Ezra Jack Keats and the creation of The Snowy Day. Illus. Lou Fancher & Steve Johnson. NY: Viking, 2016. 

JB Key     Bowman, Donna Janell.  Step Right Up, How Doc and Jim Key Taught the World About Kindness.  NY: Lee & Low Books, Inc, 2016.

JB Newbery            Markel, Michelle. Balderdash! John Newbery and the Boisterous Birth of Children’s Books.Illus Nancy Carpenter. San Francisco:  Chronicle Books, 2017.  

JB Santana            Mahin, Michael. When Angels Sing, the story of rock legend Carlos Santana.Illus Jose Ramirez. NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2018.

JF Say                Say, Allen.  Silent Days, Silent Dreams. NY: Arthur A Levine Books, Scholastic Inc., 

                        2017.   Catalogued as fiction in San Diego Library, but should have been in 

                        biography.  (Schneider Family Book Award)

JB Tubman            Cline-Ransome, Lesa. Illus. James E. Ransome (husband) Before She was Harriet.  NY: Holiday House, 2017.  (Corretta Scott King Illustrator Honor book)

JB  Waters     Mahin, Michael.  Muddy, the story of blues legend Muddy Waters. Ilus. Evan Turk.  NY:  Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2017.

JB  Wright       Old, Wendie. To Fly, the story of the Wright brothers. NY: Clarion, 2002.

J BIOGRAPHIES:

JB Van Gogh            Heiligman, Deborahs.  Vincent and Theo, the Van Gogh Brothers.  NY: Henry Holt and Co, 2017.

J and YA NONFICTION:

YA323.1196…  Brnimner, Larry Dane. Twelve Days in May, Freedom Ride 1961. Honesdale, PA:  Calkins creek, 2017.  (Robert Sibert  ALA award)

J 551            Hale, Christy. Water Land: land and water forms around the world. NY: Neal Porter book, Roaring Brook Press, 2018.  (cutouts illustrate water and land forms)

J 581.467            Stewart, Melissa. A seed is the start.  Washington, DC: National Geographic Kids, 2018.

J 599.7695            Newman, Patricia. Sea Otter heroes, the predators that saved an ecosystem. Minneapolis, MN: Millbrook Press 2017.  (Robert Sibert honor book)

YA 791.4472            Jarrow, Gail.  Spooked! How a radio broadcast and the War of the Worlds sparked the 1938 invasion of America. Honesdale,PA: Calkins Creek/ Highlights, 2018.  (Perfectly published in the fall, just in time for Halloween.)

J 973.7092            Bowman, Donna Janell. Illus. S.D. Schindler. Abraham Lincoln’s Dueling Words. Atlanta:  Peachtree, 2018.  (a little-known piece of Lincoln history told in second person.)

New Year

2019

I remember

I remember when there were no computers
when the room-sized ones were created (run by punch cards)
when they became smaller, ran on tapes, but still had to be in air conditioned rooms and only computer geeks allowed near them
when they became desktop computers with a foot or more of computer stuff on the back and executives refused to use them because - typing was a secretary's job.
when flat screens came out
when cell phones were a heavy brick
when they became hand held
and now we hold a computer in our hand and call it an iPhone

Tips for the Holidays

Just in time for the holidays--some "sensible" tips  (or not)

1. About those carrot sticks. Avoid them. Anyone who puts carrots on a
holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if
you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving
rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. Like fine single-malt
scotch, it's rare. In fact, it's even rarer than single-malt scotch. You

can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares
that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going 
to turn into an egg- nogaholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. 
Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of
gravy. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it
with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk
or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports
car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control
your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat
other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello? Remember college?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New
Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do.
This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the
buffet
table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like
frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position
yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before
becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of
shoes. You can't leave them behind. You're not going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or,
if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always
have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? 
Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the
mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have
some standards, mate.

10. And one final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the
party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention.
Reread tips. Start over. But hurry! Cookieless January is just around
the
corner.


By Craig Wilson, USA TODAY