Trend Alert: Buckets and Lists

Trend Starter: The Boyfriend List, All-American Girl

I like lists--who doesn't? There's something so satisfying about doing something and then getting to cross it off. I've found that books with lists make for good reading as well, maybe because the presence of a list gives the entire book structure and something to work towards? The first list-book I remember is All American Girl. Cabot had scattered Top 10 lists throughout the book; they were always funny, interesting or led to important revelations. I fully remember skipping ahead, looking for the next list because they were so funny. Meanwhile, The Boyfriend List is a little more recent example. The entire book revolves around Ruby's list of past boyfriends--one boy for each chapter. It's full of drama--Ruby is a 15-year-old with a shrink who's had a rough ten days. The back of the book is a list of all the crazy stuff that happened.

A lot of new books seem to have picked up on my List = Good Book formula, so I started keeping track of them. Here is my list of (teen) books with lists:

Cancer-Related Bucket Lists:

Side Effects May Vary -- Available Now
Status: Read
When Alice is diagnosed with leukemia, she gets right to work on completing her bucket list. After doing several revenge-related entries among others, Alice goes into remission and has to face the consequences of everything she's done. Excerpt of my review: "Julie's captured something really authentic here, and it might rip you apart a little bit. Basically, Alice doesn't know what she's doing, and I think that's something all of us can relate to. Sometimes she makes bad decisions, and you'll want to grab her by the shoulders and give her a shake. Sometimes she's some sort of criminal mastermind, and you'll want to give her a high-five and compliment her on her originality. But mostly you'll get sucked in, thinking about how love and health can change your priorities, plans and general outlook."

The F-it List -- Available Now
Status: Read
One sentence summary: Alex is asked to complete Becca's bucket list when Becca is diagnosed with cancer. You should be able to tell just from the title that this book's got some mature content, but that's what makes it so great. Sometimes you've got to show the ugly side of things, and let the bad decisions reign. You've got some romance here, but this is very much a book about friendship.

Bucket or To-do Lists:

Dark Days -- June 3rd, 2014
Status: Read, Wishlist
This is a book with a list AND a time limit. Our main character, Sia, only has 15 days left to live. And, not because she's sick or there's an apocalypse coming, but because the world is calling a redo and she hasn't been deemed important enough be included in the new society. But, that's okay, Sia's got her list, and it just might lead her to a boy and a plan.



The Wrap-up List -- Available Now
Status: Read, Own
This is a weird one. The premise is that a rare amount of deaths, called "departures," occur when a creature, called Death, writes you a letter to say your time is almost up. Before you die, you make a wrap-up list of things you want to do before you die, including a pardon, a chance to save yourself by outsmarting your Death. Clever, different, love it.


Since You've Been Gone -- Available Now
Status: Currently Reading
Emily's wild best friend, Sloane, completely disappears, leaving only a to-do list. Hoping the list will lead her back to her friend, Emily starts checking off the tasks. So far, so good.

Popularity Lists:

The List -- Available Now
Status: Read, Wishlist
In the beginning of every school year a list is posted naming the prettiest and ugliest girl in each grade. You cycle through each of the girl's lives, seeing how their title changes things. This could be a good match for fans of Thirteen Reasons Why, because of the "everyone has problems" theme. Bonus: the mystery of who posts the list.

They All Fall Down -- October 14, 2014
Status: Read
Every year at Vienna High a list of the ten hottest girls is posted. For these girls, the changes are instant: new friends and suitors, invitations to the best parties and connections that will make for a cushy future. Oh, and they also might become a target for murder, maybe. One by one, the girls on the list start dying.  I do not remember how this ends, but I do remember how much fun I had reading it.

Also Try:

Play Me Backwards -- August 26, 2014
Status: Read, Wishlist
No list in this one, more like a series of random assignments, but I thought the effect still felt the same. It's like a list where the next entry is a complete surprise--it could be anything. Basically, Leon, a slacker formerly in the gifted program, needs to get his life together. He begins to receive assignments from his best friend, Stan, who is possibly the Devil. It's from a guy's POV, but the mature relationships are portrayed in a respectful manner. I stayed up until 3 in the morning to finish it, because I couldn't put it down.

Are there more out there that I either forgot or haven't read yet?

Old Kids Books are Best Kids Books?

I often meet parents who are browsing the 7-12 wall, unable to make a selection because none of books that they read as kids are still around. Sure, a ton of the books I read as a kid have probably been sucked into a black hole by now, and you really do need to read some new releases to have a good range of recommendations, but I thought I'd compile a list of (great) books I read as a kid that I still find in-store.

Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles -- Julie Andrews wrote this, and I am so glad that she did. Basically a professor befriends some kids and teaches them to travel to Whangdoodleland using their minds. Whangdoodleland is like every kids dream, where gum grows on trees and all the creatures you thought were imaginary live. However, there's kind of a Tinkerbell situation as the creatures have become sparse because less people believe in them. As the title suggests, there is only one Whangdoodle left and he's the king of the land. The professor needs the kid's help because he wants to meet the last Whangdoodle, as he's gotten older, it's gotten harder for him to believe and make it far enough to meet him.

No More Dead Dogs -- The perfect book to read when you have to do a book report on a mystery. The quirky characters are what make this book really work. Basically, Wallace Wallace, a big football star who never lies, writes a book report badmouthing the book they had to read in class because the dog died in it. He then receives detention, which is held in the same place the school production (the musical version of the book they read) is rehearsing. Unable to play football until he rewrites his book report, Wallace Wallace gets sucked up into the drama world and starts making changes to the musical. When someone starts sabotaging the production and Wallace Wallace says it's not him (and he never lies, not that his new friends know that) who is it?

Flipped -- You follow around two characters and watch them grow up and change how they feel about each other.


Holes -- Did not know that Newbury books aren't all totally boring? (Shout-out
to One and Only Ivan and When You Reach Me.) Holes flips back and forth between Stanley Yelnats digging holes at Camp Green Lake and all the stuff that happened there in the past. It's all super interesting and fits together perfectly in the end.

Golden Compass, His Dark Materials Trilogy -- Lyra lives in a world similar to ours, but with definite differences such as every person having a dæmon--an animal that is part of the person's soul outside of their body. When Lyra's best friend is kidnapped, she runs away to rescue him--adventures ensue. This is a book that you have to be careful about recommending because God does eventually become involved and not in a good way. Still, when I had to write a letter to my favorite author in 8th grade, Phillip Pullman is the author I wrote to.

My Father's Dragon -- We read this in school in 2nd grade, but it's still relevant today because Dragons are really popular right now. With a bag full of supplies, the narrator's father runs away from home to rescue a baby dragon. I'm super into books where you know the exact materials the main character has, and you get to watch them gather and trade in order to continue on their journey.

Boxcar Children -- The first book introduces you to the main characters, so that you can spend the rest of the series solving mysteries with them. When I was skipping Hollywood Squares to read these, that's when I knew I was hooked. Shout-out to The Computer Mystery for being my favorite.

Ellen Tebbits -- I was not into Ramona, because, as I explain to parents, I am the "Beezus" of the house, so I like to recommend the lesser-known Ellen. With the exception of not knowing what the crap long underwear is, this book is kind of timeless in the way it captures school-life and friendship. Little things like trying to bring the best item for show-and-tell, wondering if your teacher actually likes you, ballet class, school plays and arguments with friends are all expertly captured.

Henry Huggins -- Yes, more Beverly Cleary. Henry is Beezus's age and he has tons of guy adventures, including finding a dog, forming a bond and then eventually facing off against the original owner. They literally have a contest where Ribsy has to choose between them. It is awesome.

Running Out of Time -- The characters in this book live in a museum reenactment of 1836, although most of them don't know it. When people in the community start getting sick and fail to receive help from modern medicine, Jessie's mother sends her out into the world--where it is 1996--to get help.

Among the Hidden -- In this book, it's illegal to have more than two children, so, of course, our main character is the third child in his house and has to stay hidden all the time. Eventually he becomes friends with another third child--a girl who lives across the street. I read this so long ago, I only remember that I thought it was really interesting, and the third children have some kind of light switch code.

The Giver --  This one is cheating a little bit because I didn't read it until I was like 21. However, the Giver was totally around when I was a little kid. I never had to read it for class, and I ignored it outside of class because the cover was so boring. The book itself is great, though. Pick this one up to read about the Community, roles and sameness.

Nancy Drew -- Mysteries...No explanation needed, right? The Clue of the Dancing Puppet and Mysterious Mannequin are some of my favorites. Also check out the computer games done by Her Interactive.

Harry Potter -- Duh.

Honorable Mention, not found in-stores but orderable:

Fifteen -- I read this at Outdoor School, and, sure, some of it was a little dated even then, but some of this first relationship stuff really is timeless.


Am I missing any of your favorites?

Inspired: Hidden Treasures

Inspired by:  Let's Get Lost -- Adi Alsaid (Coming to the Teen section in July 2014)

Early in Let's Get Lost, one character takes another on a tour of his hometown. This is the kind of tour you can only give if you've lived in one place for your entire life and know all the places that are overlooked or that have history to them. The book really invites the reader to look at life as a treasure hunt, which reminded me of my list of bookstore finds that I refer to as "hidden treasures." It's stuff I love to recommend, because they're books people probably wouldn't find on their own. Stuff I only know is there, because the bookstore is where I spend my time.


Barnes & Noble Collectable Leatherbound kids classics for $10  
Hidden in: Juv Bargain
Featuring titles like Peter Pan, Anne of Green Gables, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Blue Fairy Book, etc...These books make the best gifts because they're totally readable and look amazing on the shelf. They're the kind of gift you can give a little kid and they'll want to hold onto them when they're grown. However, because they're in bargain instead of with the other classic kids books, I fear a lot of people miss them.  (Also, just $10!)

Talk Show Murders -- Al Roker (and Dick Lochte)
Hidden in: Mystery
I came across this book one day while shelving. Admittedly, mystery is one of my weaker sections to recommend in, because I only like to recommend things I really enjoyed, and my to-read list is where most of my mystery books are. In addition, some of my favorite mysteries are shelved in fiction or teen, causing me to forget about them completely. When possible, I like to recommend Talk Show Murders, because, as I say, it's a book, but it's also a conversation starter. "Did you know Al Roker had a mystery book?" No, you probably did not. It's a great gift to give the person who reads mystery but has everything. Everything...except for this.

Battle Royale -- Koushun Takami
Hidden in: Sci-fi/Fantasy
It is rumored that Suzanne Collins (author of Hunger Games) stole a bunch of ideas from Battle Royale, a Japanese novel... Collins claimed she'd never heard of the work before writing Hunger Games. I love to challenge readers to pick up this 800-page mammoth of a book and see the similarities and differences for themselves. However, be warned: Battle Royale is more graphic than Hunger Games.

A. J. Jacobs
Hidden in: Humor
Looking for a gift? Tucked away in humor are a few books written by journalist A. J. Jacobs. He'll take a year of his life and do something crazy with it, like read the entire Enclyopedia Britannica or dedicate himself to following instructions from the bible. They are fun to read, but you learn things too. I think they're a pretty good gift idea for a hard-to-buy for older gentleman. (Also check out the trivia section--that entire section is a hidden treasure.)

Attachments -- Rainbow Rowell
Hidden in: Fiction
While everyone in the Teen section is going crazy over Eleanor & Park and Fangirl (and rightfully so), poor Attachments is sitting over in the Fiction section, mostly ignored. Attachments is about a guy whose job it is to monitor the company emails and the girl with constantly flagged emails, who he falls for.



Les Petits Fairytales --

Previously hidden in: Juv Fairytales
It used to be that while everyone was browsing for toddler books in the Little Books for Little Hands section, these super cute board books were sitting in the Fairytale section, where no one would think to look. But, it looks like someone finally moved them--huzzah!  Also check out the Little Books for Little Hands section for a babylit version of Pride and Prejudice. That's a treasure as well, albeit not a hidden one.


What are your hidden treasures?

Response to Hank Green’s Rant on Books

I've been meaning to make a video response to Hank Green's rant on books since the day he uploaded it. But, alas, my house is cold, and I cannot be bothered to leave the comfort of my pajama pants. Also, my bookshelf is right in front of a window and does not lend itself to vlogging. So, now I have a blog. Hellooooooo, Internet.

1. Hank's complaint: spoilers on the back of books. My complaint: a photo of the author instead of a synopsis.

Picture this: while browsing in a bookstore, you see a book that looks interesting. You pick it up and flip it over to read the back and to find out what it's about, only to be greeted by an author's face and nothing else. What do you do? Well, if you're me, you throw that book right back on the display you found it on, and don't give it a second thought. Authors, you are lovely people, and I'd love to see your face, but your face does NOT tell me what the book is about. I don't want to have to open up the book and read the inside flap to figure it out.

2. Hank's comment: if the book is part of a series, tell us. Put a little number on the bottom. My comment: what he said.

I'm talking to YOU, Princess Diaries series. There are ten of you and every single title has the word "Princess" in it... Why did you make it so hard to buy the right one? I know one of the mass market versions used to have the numbers on them... What happened to that? Hmmm?



3. Hank's complaint: Don't lie to me. Me: I have a story...

Behold: the back cover of #32 of the Sabrina the Teenage Witch series, Reality Check. In the second paragraph, you'll see one of problems listed is "Val resigns as school newspaper editor." However, if you actually read the book, she doesn't. That never happens, and it's interesting that of all the Sabrina books that could have had an error on the back cover, it happened to the book titled "Reality Check."

I have so many questions about how that mistake came to be...



My additional complaints:

1. When you re-release books, don't shove all the sequels together with the first book in one volume. Christopher Pike is my favorite author, and I want everyone to read his books, but Remember Me was better than Remember Me 2 and 3. (The sequels don't need to be read at all, really. You can and probably should stop after you read the first one.) If you republish them all together, I can't recommend them.

2. Put the main character's name in the summary somewhere. I read 915 books last year. I'll be halfway through a book, when I realize I don't know what the main character's name is. Make it easy for me to  find while I'm trying to review it.

3. Book texture. Have you ever picked up a book with a cover that felt like chalkboard? Well, it is deeply unpleasant. If you want physical books to continue to sell, maybe you should pay attention to how they feel when you're holding them.