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| This happens not infrequently. I should be used to it. If I am supposed to know you and I don't...I have no excuse. |
Showing posts with label recommendations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recommendations. Show all posts
Monday, August 3, 2015
Silly Alarmed Bookseller
Monday, November 17, 2014
Monday, November 10, 2014
Alex Is Reading...THE HERO'S GUIDE TO SAVING YOUR KINGDOM
Hi! I'm Alex. Nice to meet you. I've been working in the kids section for a couple months and now I am going to blog to you, with book lists, and approximate age recommendations that you can totally disregard.
Today I am reading THE HERO'S GUIDE TO SAVING YOUR KINGDOM by Christopher Healy *Kylie Recommends*. This is a funny book. No, it is: it's about a bunch of hapless fairy tale Prince Charmings wandering around the countryside trying to accomplish things but mostly just getting in trouble. It is also about fairy tale princesses having strong opinions. I am a big fan of ALL these princesses, including the mean one. There are polite giants, punk kid Bandit Kings, genius little sisters, and dragons. This book is great. (It is also good for ages 9+ and as of this writing you can find it in our intermediate fiction section.)
In keeping with this awesome book I am reading and enjoying greatly, here are a few more books you might like if you like...
Ash by Malinda Lo *Anna Recommends* -- A YA Cinderella story with POC main characters, beguiling fairies, personal strength, and a Cinderella who falls in love, not with a prince, but his Huntress. 13+
Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge *Clarissa Recommends* -- A sharp, fierce, beguiling Beauty and the Beast story about a demon prince and one angry beauty. 14+
Poisoned Apples by Christine Hepperman *Alex Recommends* -- This poetry collection uses the language of fairy tales to take on the pressures and pains of being a teenage girl. Watch out--there's some dark and personal stuff in this little book--but its intensity is full of truth and Hepperman has a excellent grip on her language. 14+
Cinder by Marissa Meyer *Kylie Recommends* -- Welcome to cyborg Cinderella. This is a very cool scifi take on the story, and the first of a series. 13+
In keeping with this awesome book I am reading and enjoying greatly, here are a few more books you might like if you like...
FAIRY TALE BOOKS
The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch -- Was this the first book about a princess that does what she wants? It's definitely one of the best. Girl meets dragon, girl beats dragon, girl ignores a disappointed prince to run off into the sunset an independent hero. We usually have this as a board book and in our spinner rack. 2+
Beauty and the Beast and other fairy tale picture books by Ursula Jones and Sarah Gibb *Clarissa Recommends* -- Absolutely stunning illustrations over excellent, traditional fairy tale retellings. Check our folk lore/mythology section for these--they're often on display! 3+
The Princess in Black by Shannon Hale, Dean Hale, and LeUyen Pham
*Alex Recommends* -- GO NOW AND READ THIS BOOK. Princess Magnolia is a
dainty pink-wearing hostess with perfect manners...but she becomes the
heroic PRINCESS IN BLACK to fight monsters and rescue sheep herders! You
can find it in young chapterbooks--recommended ages 5+. Good for young
independent readers.
Dealing With Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede *Alex Recommends* -- Princess Cimorene doesn't want to embroider or get married to a boring prince. Or any other prince. So she runs away from home to work for dragon Kazul, fights a lot of wizards, and learns to make a mean cherries jubilee. 10+
Twice Upon A Time series by Wendy Mass -- Retold fairy tales by the author of The Candymakers. 8+
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine *Alex Recommends* -- Absolutely my favorite fairytale retelling ever. This Cinderella is "blessed" by a fairy as a baby...to obey every single direct order that's given to her for her entire life. Ella is brilliant. You will read this book over and over. 9+
Summer and Bird by Katherine Catmull *Alex Recommends* -- This is a weird, beautiful book. Two girls find their parents missing--their mother is the swan princess and their father took her feathered skin. They travel into a world of only birds, where a vicious, terrifying false queen is asserting her power--a queen Bird falls for like Edmund and the White Witch in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. 10+
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones *Amy Recommends* -- Everyone buys into the fairy tale stereotypes in Sophie's town, and it's clear she's going to be a docile hatmaking third sister forever. WAIT, NO SHE'S NOT. She's going to be cursed by a witch to look like an old woman and run off on an adventure in the moving magical house of the dread wizard Howl, who as it turns out is the most obnoxious wizard ever. Stop here for sentient scarecrows, fire demons, and wizards obsessed with their hair. 10+
Ever After High series by Shannon Hale -- Shannon Hale writes the best fairy tale retellings. This series is good for 10+.
Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge *Clarissa Recommends* -- A sharp, fierce, beguiling Beauty and the Beast story about a demon prince and one angry beauty. 14+
Poisoned Apples by Christine Hepperman *Alex Recommends* -- This poetry collection uses the language of fairy tales to take on the pressures and pains of being a teenage girl. Watch out--there's some dark and personal stuff in this little book--but its intensity is full of truth and Hepperman has a excellent grip on her language. 14+
Cinder by Marissa Meyer *Kylie Recommends* -- Welcome to cyborg Cinderella. This is a very cool scifi take on the story, and the first of a series. 13+
Happy reading!
Monday, September 8, 2014
Monday, February 24, 2014
Book Recommendations are Hard. Really Hard.
Three books I'm excited we got into kids these last two weeks:
1. Discovery of Dragons by Graeme Base
This is a preview of next month! Have you seen our awesome new author/illustrator of the month display? You should check it out.
2. Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick
None of us have been able to explain this book to each other successfully. But we loved it. It's different and it's lovely. Also, it won the Printz and we finally have it.
3. Locomotive by Brian Floca
Okay, so this one isn't new but we all sighed great sighs of relief when we got this year's Caldecott winner back in stock.
It's not uncommon to walk into the backroom and find a bookseller leaning over a small piece of colored paper with a really frustrated look on their face. We know this look. We are well acquainted with this look. This bookseller is trying to write a recommendation.
You've seen them, I'm sure. They litter the shelves, sticking joyfully out into the aisle (especially back in kids) trying to get your attention and present you with a book you might normally overlook.
I have a deep love/hate relationship with rec writing. I get so excited when I loved a book enough to want everyone to read it. But then I stand there and stare at the little rec card. It sits there and mocks me with it's blank facade. It's a stare down that I never win.
Usually it comes down to one choice, do I want to summarize the book or talk about how I felt about it? Some books are just too hard to summarize. Have you ever tried to explain a book to someone and realized that it sounds ridiculous or it's too complicated when you start talking about it? It's probably best to talk about how you felt. Or if you are so enamored with the main character, talk about them. It's hard to decide sometimes and when a book might not sell you sit there and wonder what else you could write to make it sound more interesting. You wonder if you should focus on something else.
I can't ask the same sort of questions on the rec cards as I can in person. And it's hard knowing that a book can appeal to different people for different reasons and that you can't cover everyone on a card.
Sometimes I love trying to come up with outlandish ways to recommend books. Maggie Stiefvater writes beautiful books. There's something so wonderfully poetic about every single one of her books. There's so much emotion in them without sacrificing the characters, her delightfully elaborate mythology, or her snark. But when people ask which one they should start with I like to ask something like:
"Homicidal faeries, murderous Celtic water horses, heart-wrenching werewolf love, or dead mythical Welsh king?" (I need to come up with a better one for The Raven Boys. No one ever picks that one).
I usually get blank stares in return and hesitant "Horses?"
If you look unsure I elaborate on the titles and then you're stuck listening to me for the next twenty minutes.
The point is, recommending books is hard. My instinct is to give you every book I love and that might not necessarily be right for you. So we ask if you like realism or fantasy. Dystopian or summer romance. It's not the best solution but imagine how uncomfortable we both would be if I asked you "What was the last book you read and loved? How did it make you feel?"
It's a legitimate but awkward question.
We ask the neutral (hopefully...) questions in person and leave our recommendation cards to suggest anything potentially emotional.
So, take a second to read the recommendations, it's possible a bookseller wept great tears of frustration over one. Or, if you want me to come up with a ridiculous series of questions like my Maggie Stiefvater set come find me (and give me a second to put one together) and I'll happily oblige. We work hard to make ourselves and our opinions available even when we're not in the store in person (the break room couch isn't big enough for everyone to sleep there at one time).
If writing a recommendation is this hard I can't even imagine what trying to write the summary for a book jacket is like.
-Amy
1. Discovery of Dragons by Graeme Base
This is a preview of next month! Have you seen our awesome new author/illustrator of the month display? You should check it out.
2. Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick
None of us have been able to explain this book to each other successfully. But we loved it. It's different and it's lovely. Also, it won the Printz and we finally have it.
3. Locomotive by Brian Floca
Okay, so this one isn't new but we all sighed great sighs of relief when we got this year's Caldecott winner back in stock.
It's not uncommon to walk into the backroom and find a bookseller leaning over a small piece of colored paper with a really frustrated look on their face. We know this look. We are well acquainted with this look. This bookseller is trying to write a recommendation.
You've seen them, I'm sure. They litter the shelves, sticking joyfully out into the aisle (especially back in kids) trying to get your attention and present you with a book you might normally overlook.
I have a deep love/hate relationship with rec writing. I get so excited when I loved a book enough to want everyone to read it. But then I stand there and stare at the little rec card. It sits there and mocks me with it's blank facade. It's a stare down that I never win.
Usually it comes down to one choice, do I want to summarize the book or talk about how I felt about it? Some books are just too hard to summarize. Have you ever tried to explain a book to someone and realized that it sounds ridiculous or it's too complicated when you start talking about it? It's probably best to talk about how you felt. Or if you are so enamored with the main character, talk about them. It's hard to decide sometimes and when a book might not sell you sit there and wonder what else you could write to make it sound more interesting. You wonder if you should focus on something else.
I can't ask the same sort of questions on the rec cards as I can in person. And it's hard knowing that a book can appeal to different people for different reasons and that you can't cover everyone on a card.
Sometimes I love trying to come up with outlandish ways to recommend books. Maggie Stiefvater writes beautiful books. There's something so wonderfully poetic about every single one of her books. There's so much emotion in them without sacrificing the characters, her delightfully elaborate mythology, or her snark. But when people ask which one they should start with I like to ask something like:
"Homicidal faeries, murderous Celtic water horses, heart-wrenching werewolf love, or dead mythical Welsh king?" (I need to come up with a better one for The Raven Boys. No one ever picks that one).
I usually get blank stares in return and hesitant "Horses?"
If you look unsure I elaborate on the titles and then you're stuck listening to me for the next twenty minutes.
The point is, recommending books is hard. My instinct is to give you every book I love and that might not necessarily be right for you. So we ask if you like realism or fantasy. Dystopian or summer romance. It's not the best solution but imagine how uncomfortable we both would be if I asked you "What was the last book you read and loved? How did it make you feel?"
It's a legitimate but awkward question.
We ask the neutral (hopefully...) questions in person and leave our recommendation cards to suggest anything potentially emotional.
So, take a second to read the recommendations, it's possible a bookseller wept great tears of frustration over one. Or, if you want me to come up with a ridiculous series of questions like my Maggie Stiefvater set come find me (and give me a second to put one together) and I'll happily oblige. We work hard to make ourselves and our opinions available even when we're not in the store in person (the break room couch isn't big enough for everyone to sleep there at one time).
If writing a recommendation is this hard I can't even imagine what trying to write the summary for a book jacket is like.
-Amy
Friday, May 17, 2013
Super Cheesy Love Story
Maybe it's the advent of spring, maybe it's string of boring non-fiction I've just plowed through but for some reason I got it in my head last week that I really wanted to read an engrossing novel that is just a basic love story. Something cheesy. Something simple. But something well-written. It's a hard balance to strike but here are some recommendations if you're in the mood for love, too:
Old Favorites
A Room With a View. Genteel girl, social outcast boy. Will they, won't they, love triangle, Italy. This book has it all!
The Sky is Everywhere. A heartbreaker of a novel where a girl's sister dies and in the wake while dealing with the grief, the protagonist deals with the seemingly ill-timed first blushes of love.
The Marriage Plot. A love triangle set in the 1980s, with international travel, being in love with someone with bipolar disorder, and unrequited pining. All the good stuff with beautiful writing and super-real characters as only Eugenides can pull off.
And the pile of To-Reads on my nightstand after all my searching:
Delicacy. A French love story in which a young widow finds an unlikely mate in a geeky guy at work.
The Lover. The modernist novella in which a young French teen in Indochina has a saucy affair with a Chinese man.
Justine. Basically a book set in bedrooms. Sold.
Old Favorites
A Room With a View. Genteel girl, social outcast boy. Will they, won't they, love triangle, Italy. This book has it all!
The Sky is Everywhere. A heartbreaker of a novel where a girl's sister dies and in the wake while dealing with the grief, the protagonist deals with the seemingly ill-timed first blushes of love.
The Marriage Plot. A love triangle set in the 1980s, with international travel, being in love with someone with bipolar disorder, and unrequited pining. All the good stuff with beautiful writing and super-real characters as only Eugenides can pull off.
Delicacy. A French love story in which a young widow finds an unlikely mate in a geeky guy at work.
The Lover. The modernist novella in which a young French teen in Indochina has a saucy affair with a Chinese man.
Justine. Basically a book set in bedrooms. Sold.
Friday, January 18, 2013
Go With the Flow
To help you navigate your way through the coolest new arrivals in the UBC, I've made you this handy flow chart:
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Friday, November 23, 2012
Black Friday is upon us!
Retail workers around the world are bracing themselves for the holiday rush, and though it officially starts today, the Booksmith is READY, cowboys and cowgirls. We've already had crowds the last few weeks (THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU), we have a big beautiful gift book table front and center, and we have this fancy gift guide on the internet! And this Tumblr with tons of recommendations on it! You can shop on our website or call us in the store and we'll wrap and ship your presents basically anywhere. If it's a really cool destination, like Hawaii, I think a lot of booksellers would be happy to deliver it personally for a nominal shipping and handling fee. Us Booksmithies are wildly aware of how lucky we are to have such a fiercely loyal customer base that shows up every year and takes our advice on gifts and walks away with presents for most of their family from our humble little shoppe.
But if I can get on my preachy high horse for a minute: if you're thinking of not buying local, reconsider. We may not carry a really obscure copy of an academic book on the statistics of manatee migrations that you think would be a killer gift for your dad, but because of our space, what we do offer is a highly curated and super-considered selection of anything lots of kinds of people will love. So if you re-calibrate your expectations to walk in our doors and see what we recommend, we have 51 years of experience in your neighborhood, and our staff has cumulatively some 20 higher ed degrees and hundreds of years experience reading and seeing what works for our customers. So keep it local this year! Fight the internet conglomerate beast! WE PAY OUR TAXES! Things are cheaper online because companies don't incur the costs of having a shop of crazy brilliant, super-excited booksellers running around helping you, with lights and heat on, with rent costs in our neighborhood and then funneling tax money back into the community we share. So yeah it would be nice to save a few bucks on a book or gift, BUT AT WHAT COST? Those discounts are doing something bigger. They're changing the world, and this year you can put your money where your ideals are and decide which world you wanna live in.
Here at the Booksmith we are eager to help you walk away with the best gift for your friend or family member because, really, gifts and books are all we care about. They're our full-time jobs and our hobbies at home. We know our stuff and we're so excited about it, that we want to help you choose the perfect gift. So stop in, say hi, and let us work our holiday magic!
Here at the Booksmith we are eager to help you walk away with the best gift for your friend or family member because, really, gifts and books are all we care about. They're our full-time jobs and our hobbies at home. We know our stuff and we're so excited about it, that we want to help you choose the perfect gift. So stop in, say hi, and let us work our holiday magic!
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