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The Amazingness of Libraries

I’ve rediscovered the library. Oh, I have loved libraries since I was a kid and have spent a large chunk of my adult life working in them. As a new parent I took my kids to storyhours and flooded them with library books. Now they are at that awkward in between stage where they’ve outgrown storyhours but aren’t old enough for much of the library programming that intrigues them. I spend time in their school library now, and it’s a really great place.

But I have rarely gone for myself since I became a parent. My community’s library has an amazing first floor children’s department, but I have to take an elevator up to the adult stacks. The few times I have been up there it’s been kind of dusty and I’ve had difficulty finding what I want. I have a card for the Indianapolis library system, but the nearest library there is still a 20 minute drive for me. With ereaders at hand, I have not felt that I have a lack of reading materials. It’s very easy to get a book I want when I want it, so why cause inconvenience?

Yet I noticed my list of books I wanted to read, or thought I should read, or wanted to try, was getting longer and longer. I didn’t want to pay full price for books I might only read once that would take up the limited space that I have for my very favorite books. And so I gave up the convenience of my ereader and headed to the library, where I had a stack of holds waiting.

Now, there are two ways you can approach turning in your books or picking up holds. The first is the targeted approach– you are there to do one thing and that’s it. When you have lots to do or little kids waiting this is the way to go. The second is the “since I’m here, I’ll just look around” approach. Clever library pages display intriguing titles on the tops of shelves. Maybe I decide to see if there’s a particular title that I want that I just thought of (chances are slim, but I did find A Grief Observed this way) or to see if any books by an author I like are on the shelf. And just walking down the aisles of books chances are I will discover something that looks interesting enough to take home. Probably several things.

Which is how I ended up going to the library yesterday to collect holds of Station Eleven by Emily St. James Mandel; Get in Trouble by Kelly Link; and Waistcoaats and Weaponry by Gail Carriger, and also ended up with one of Laura Resnick’s Esther Diamond paranormal mysteries (these are FUNNY– in one of them, Esther plays a Jewish departments store elf named Dreidel); an update of Jane Austen’s novel Northanger Abbey by Val McDermid; two Discworld novels; and a book that I am not familiar with by Mark Haddon (author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time).

This library also does something that I think is rather unusual– it puts new nonfiction up front. Typically, I would expect new fiction to be in front, but the effect this has on me is that I pick up and read nonfiction that I would never seek out on my own. I’m working my way through The Republic of Imagination by Azar Nafisi, and she almost has me convinced to go back and read books I haven’t touched since high school.

What neither my community library or this library does is separate horror out from general fiction. They do try to pull the science-fiction and fantasy books together in one location, and you might find something there that will rock your socks off, depending on your definition of horror (one of Booklist’s editors named John Scalzi’s Lock-In as one of the top ten horror novels of 2014– I love John Scalzi, but I think that’s a stretch). So you may be in this same situation where you can’t find what you want without putting it on hold or having a librarian lead you to a specific title… but don’t limit yourself. You aren’t buying a book– you’re trying out something new. Don’t like it? Put it down. But with a visit to the library where you can take your time, try wandering the stacks, looking through the books, and seeing what out there, that you might not normally read, looks like it’s worth trying. For me, it’s like falling in love all over again.

Posted on May 15, 2015 by Kirsten, Reply

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children: What Next?

When I first read Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, I didn’t realize it was intended to be a young adult title, even though the narrator is a teen. Obviously a lot of other people missed out on that too, as it became a bestseller read by teens and adults alike. A sequel, Hollow City, is scheduled to be released in January, and I expect a lot of the people who were oblivious to the first book will now discover Miss Peregrine and her charges. What to read next, as they impatiently wait for a third book (and there practically has to be a third book, so this can make up a trilogy)?

I think that much of the appeal of Miss Peregrine comes from how atmospheric and surreal it is, while at the same time being grounded in history and reality by the use of real photographs obviously taken long before the advent of the modern camera. The mix is one that will be difficult to replicate, maybe impossible, but I think there are titles that might be of interest to those who enjoyed Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, as well.

The Seer of Shadows by Avi. It is 1872, and Horace Carpentine, taken on as an apprentice by a photographer of dubious character, discovers, to his disbelief, that he can bring back the spirits of the dead by taking photographs. This is an unforgettable tale of ghostly vengeance, well-grounded in historical fact. While there aren’t actually any photographs in the book, readers will learn a great deal about early photographic processes and how they could be manipulated, something that ought to appeal to people who are curious about the early photographs that appear in Miss Peregrine. While the target audience is (theoretically) ages 9-12, this should appeal to older readers as well.

Cryer’s Cross by Lisa McMann. In this spine-chilling read, Kendall Fletcher is drawn into a terrifying supernatural situation that stems from incidents in her isolated town’s dark past (yes, I know it’s a trope). Kendall is a unique and likable character who also has OCD, something that plays into the story without overtaking it. There are creepy alternating chapters from the malevolent force’s point of view, which ratchet up the suspense and give the story a surreal edge. While this is a contemporary novel, the focus that triggers the supernatural is a physical object, and there is a boarding school involved, and Kendall ends up digging into local history to find answers to her questions. The ending is so intense, I almost forgot to breathe. This book is targeted at older teens, but I definitely enjoyed reading it. All the Lovely Bad Ones by Mary Downing Hahn, while much more of a middle grade novel, is another excellent novel that deals with a similar tragic situation.

The Photo Traveler by Arthur J. Gonzalez. Gavin escapes from his abusive adoptive family through photography. He discovers that photography is more than a hobby for him– it gives him the opportunity to travel through time. Although this is also a contemporary novel, there’s family twistiness, time travel, photography, and historical detail, things which will probably be appreciated by someone who enjoyed Miss Peregrine.

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff. Mackie Doyle has a secret– he’s a “replacement”, or changeling child, in a town where, for the sake of keeping the residents prosperous, a human child is traded away every seven years. Kind of like “The Lottery”, which has always given me the chills. When another child is stolen, Mackie and his friends decide to rescue her. This novel plays up the surreal and the atmospheric setting has been described as one of misery and hopelessness. According to Yovanoff, there is no sequel in the works, but maybe this is a good lead-in to introducing readers to her other books (she has a new one coming out soon).

Asylum by Madeleine Roux. This is about a teenage boy who is sent to a camp for gifted students inside a former mental hospital. Because nothing could possibly go wrong by sending gifted kids to an insane asylum for summer break. Roux has written two books for adults, which we read and reviewed (and I highly recommend the first one, Allison Hewitt is Trapped), and this is her YA debut. I haven’t had the opportunity to read it, but reviews seem to be all over the place as to whether it works as a crossover title. It does take advantage of the photo-novel aspect of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, however, with both genuine and (in this case) altered photographs from early asylums. I imagine that increases its creep impact at least tenfold. While it doesn’t have the realism that photographs offer the readers of Asylum, another excellent book, aimed at middle grade students, with the similar background of gifted youngsters isolated in a haunted school is Down a Dark Hall by Lois Duncan.

Talking Pictures: Images and Messages Rescued from the Past by Ransom Riggs. This is a book of “found” photographs that captured an important moment in the photographed person’s life, noted by an annotation or message written on the photograph. These are not the bizarre photos used in Miss Peregrine, but people intrigued by the photos in Miss Peregrine may be interested to see into the lives of other people, who live on through photographs that might otherwise be filed away in a shoebox.

Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link. Putting aside the visual and historical aspects of Miss Peregrine completely, there is a surreal feel to many of the stories in Pretty Monsters that some readers of that book might appreciate. Illustrations by Shaun Tan, a brilliant visual artist, complement the stories beautifully. Link’s stories will ring true to a lot of readers, and many of the stories in Pretty Monsters first appeared in editions published for adults. I’d also like to mention Shaun Tan again here, as he has produced some gorgeous and surreal artwork both on his own and in collaboration with author Gary Crew. The Viewer. The Viewer is not easily available, but does play with images, and did involve photography in its production (I will note here for clarity that Amazon’s suggested age range of ages 6-11 is radically different than what I (or most people) would suggest as an appropriate title for children– I wouldn’t give The Viewer to any child under age 10, and then only if I planned to sit down, read it with them, and discuss it afterwards).

Interested in some additional suggestions? Check out BookRiot’s booklist here. And enjoy the wait for Hollow City by enjoying (and recommending) a few of these.

Posted on December 18, 2013 by Kirsten, Reply

Teen Read Week: Stories to Give You the Shivers

As I’ve said in the past, what better audience could there be for short stories than the teen audience? For every teen who loves hauling around gigantic tomes, there is another who prefers to consume reading material one small, satisfying, bite at a time. October is the season for short and scary stories, in my opinion– a fall campfire is the perfect occasion for the right tale, or a sleepover could involve tempting “Bloody Mary” out of the mirror. There are so many opportunities to fit a scary story in as we approach the day of the dead.

So here’s a short list of short story collections you (and by you I mean anyone, but especially teens) can check out if you’re seeking out a story to give you the shivers.

The Restless Dead: Ten Original Tales of the Supernatural, edited by Deborah Noyes. With authors like Kelly Link and Annette Curtis Klause contributing, you will surely find something here to give you the creeps.

Fear: 13 Stories of Suspense and Horror, edited by R.L. Stine. This collection has an interesting collection of writers, including F.Paul Wilson and Heather Graham, who write thrillers for adults, and Peg Kehret, who writes middle grade mysteries and suspense. So it’s not surprising that the collection is somewhat of a mixed bag– but there’s also quite a lot of variety!

All Hallows’ Eve: 13 Stories by Vivian Vande Velde. This is an individual collection, and again, these are stories of the supernatural and spooky rather than the gory. Vivian Vande Velde is a fantastic writer and this could be a good way to see if you like her stuff before trying out a longer work. And, of course, this collection is thematically about Halloween, so how could I leave it out?

Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link. One of the stories in this book, “The Wrong Grave”, is also in The Restless Dead, mentioned above. So if you tried that and liked it, definitely pick up Pretty Monsters. These are not typical scary stories, but they’ll definitely creep you out! Kelly Link is a favorite author of mine, and I really recommend this one.

Extremities: Tales of Death, Murder, and Revenge by David Lubar is his first venture into the young adult genre. We’re giving a copy away this week, that’s how good it is!

Ghostly Gallery: Eleven Spooky Stories for Young People edited by Alfred Hitchcock. This is just one of a series of short story anthologies that Hitchcock published in the 1970’s and that were available in libraries and through Scholastic book orders in the 1980s as well. It’s really a tragedy that these volumes and others like them are no longer in print, as most of the early exposure I had to scary stories was through these types of books.

Roald Dahl’s Book of Ghost Stories edited by Roald Dahl. You may think of Roald Dahl as a children’s author, but he also wrote for adults and really, even in his children’s books, proves that he is a master of the macabre. His choices here include many older, classic, ghost stories, from authors such as Sheridan Le Fanu, Edith Wharton, and Robert Aickman. These are literary horror stories, some quite frightening, so I’d recommend it for older teens.

The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural by Patricia McKissack, illustrated by Brian Pinkney. These stories have the eerie feeling of truth to them, possibly because of McKissack’s introduction, where she describes listening to the stories the adults around her told when she was a child. This is a Caldecott Award winner, and also a Coretta Scott King award winner, but beyond that, it’s just really good storytelling, made even better by the dramatic illustrations. I have this on Kindle, and I’ve got to say, this is one of the books that you really need to hold in your hands and see the artwork complementing the story across a double page spread, to truly appreciate. Don’t let the award for children’s book illustration fool you: this book is often used with and appreciated by middle school aged kids and older.

The Scary Stories Treasury: Three Books to Chill Your Bones, Collected From Folklore, edited by Alvin Schwartz and illustrated by Stephen Gammell. Make sure you have the books illustrated by Stephen Gammell. I don’t care how old you are, these are still scary. And I’m definitely not the only one to think so– read this article and you’ll see what an impact these books make.