Things I Read in the Sun :D

What the Librarian Did, by Karina Bliss.    I have a counterpart in the extension office.  We do the same jobs, just for different locations in the system, and we seem to be similar in many other ways as well.  Don't get us started on romances, especially when we're both in the same room, for example.
This is a book she mocked the last time we were complaining together of having to spend the library's money on books like His Convenient Virgin Bride and Twins for the Teacher.  *gag*  The not-subtitle-little-hook-thing on the front of this book is "She's got a secret that's long overdue."  You can see that the cover is a total stereotype.  It made me laugh, so I thought I'd read it just for the giggles.
It's actually quite clean, with no really explicit details.  The story is actually not bad either: the conflict in the relationship isn't because they ignore and lie to each other, but because of actual outside events and external conflicts.  The book is marketed to crap-romance fans (the back cover, the little blurb, etc., all scream "romance") but the story is more like a short novel.  It's not a spectacularly good novel, but it doesn't stand out for being sucktacular, either.  As a romance, it is extremely well-written and tasteful.  This is a $2.50 paperback (with your library discount) I can actually recommend.

If you've been living under a rock (or just aren't a librarian), Summer Reading Program (SRP) is coming up, and this year's theme is "Make a Splash @ your library."  In preparation for doing SRP-promoting booktalks to 8th and 9th graders, I've been reading a number of watery books.  (I'm so excited to finally do my first booktalks!)  Here are some of the books I've looked at.

Drawing the Ocean, by Carolyn MacCullough. 1st person present tense is never my fave but really worked for this book.  The thing that hooked me from the start was the storytelling style. Sadie’s an artist and she thinks in color; she notices where the sunlight is, describes the emotional texture and aura of a conversation, imagines the focus of a sketch of a scene. Because I’m not artistic, it amazed me to be let in on this alternate way of viewing the entire world. This level of detail also gives the reader insight into characters—both Sadie, in her thinking, and the other characters, as she describes them.

Yu the Great: Conquering the Flood: A Chinese Legend, by Paul D. Storrie; illustrated by Sandy Carruthers.    I enjoyed this graphic novel, but I think the reading age is a little too low for the classes I will be booktalking to (like that action verb?) this go-round.  I'm not sure this would be popular among the soft-core graphic novel readers (ones who want an easy, action-packed story and don't really care about the art), but if you have an audience that, at the 6th grade level, can appreciate a quality novel in graphic form, consider this book.  I loved the art, which almost never happens with me.  The story was simple but is a good intro to the world of folk tale histories.

I'm in the process of reading 3 books @ work, 2 @ home, and I just loaded a few onto my mp3 player so I can enjoy them while gardening and walking in this lovely weather.