You know, I really should try and at least blog once a week. It's amazing, considering how much I love a) blogging b) reading and c) talking about books, that I can't manage to keep this LJ going. But hopefully, now that I've got a new job, I'll be able to be better about blogging.

And, yes, new job! I'm a teen librarian at the main branch of a county library system in Maryland. Things are going very well, and I'm looking forward to working on lots of different projects here.

As a small recap:
--BookExpo was fantastic. Lots of books, lots of good discussions with lizzb and cedarlibrarian. Highlights include Shannon Hale recognizing me on the exhibits floor and asking me how I was doing and having David Levithan note in my copy of Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List that it was the first time he and Rachel Cohn had signed that book.
--ALA was equally fantastic but in different ways. Very very few books, but lots of good hard work with Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults, hanging out with cedarlibrarian, lizzb, and princess_poddy. Oh, and the Printz reception! John Green was funny and self-deferential as always, Markus Zusak was hot and witty, Sonya Hartnett was very very funny, M.T. Anderson was wonderfully reflective, and Gene Yang was funny and smart and brought visual aids, as you'd expect.

I read Life As We Knew It last night and was completely blown away. I should do a fuller review at some point, but since it's unlikely that will happen, let me just say that it was completely and totally amazing.

And now, I need to get to work on fall programming. Yay!

Many thanks to Random House Children's Books for inviting me to the Summer Preview that was held today. Heard about some great books that are forthcoming from RH, and got lots of nice ARCs and swag. Yay! Reports to follow on the books themselves.

Now I'm off to read The Titan's Curse, the third book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.

Gregory Smith and Christopher Eccleston cast in Dark is Rising movie
Woo-hoo! Doctor Who meets Will Cooper! Time for a reread . . .

Hutcherson and Robb escape to Terabithia

Send your ARCs to New Orleans detention centers

Hey, y'all. I've worked a very odd schedule the last few days--Friday off, Saturday on, Sunday off, today on, and tomorrow off--so I feel all discombobulated.

I managed to get some reading done over the last couple of days. I got the ARC of Clementine at BEA, and I had been really looking forward to reading it, because I just adored the cover illustration. Sadly, the illustrations, by Marla Frazee, are really the best part. The story itself was kinda blah. It was cute, don't get me wrong, but it was trying to out-Ramona Ramona.

So that I could read the newest book in the Au Pairs series, I spent last night reading the first and second books by candlelight, since a massive storm had knocked out my power. I love cheesy, over-the-top, no-redeeming-qualities teen lit, and these books fit the bill. So, I've happily started Sun-Kissed and am looking forward to seeing whether the author will be able to set up ANOTHER book in this series.

I also started Kiki Strike, and it's definitely looking good. I can understand why cedarlibrarian was so positive about this book, even though I've only read two chapters. As soon as I finish Sun-Kissed, I'll get back to Kiki Strike.

Oh, and I finished Specials and loved it. I think a post about the Uglies trilogy is in the works for sometime in the near future.

Finally, something TV-related: The WB to Go Out With a Bang. If the WB had to end, I think this is a great way to end it. What a cool idea, to show pilot eps of some of their biggest shows, not to mention the ads and promotions. When I was in college, most of my TV shows were on the WB, so I'm looking forward to a nostalgia evening on September 17th.

Have a happy 4th of July! For those of you in the rest of the world, hope you have a great week!

Well, the Powers That Be at my job put the kibosh on me writing the book review column I mentioned in my last post, but that came down after I had submitted my first column. So here, in all its glory, is my column. I hope y'all enjoy!

( they seek him here . . . )

As the start of summer reading approaches, I'm trying to remember there is more to life than summer reading.

In other news, I finally got a chance to start reading Charmed Thirds and I love it. I want to be Jessica when I grow up, whenever that happens.

More soon . . .

--I really loved this article, found via bookslut, looking at the Opal Mehta/Sloppy Firsts debacle. Not only does it include a dig at Malcolm Gladwell's slam of YA fiction, it talks about this event in different terms than I've seen elsewhere.

--How about NBC completely revising its fall schedule? Be careful, Must-See TV: that light you're seeing is not necessarily daylight.

--My geek joy increases: SCI FI Adds Dresden Files to its lineup. I've been a fan of Jim Butcher's series for several years, ever since James Marsters did an audiobook recording of it. It's nice to see that it's getting picked up for episodes beyond the pilot.

--The book I most wish I had a copy of, and the time to read: Specials by Scott Westerfeld.