"The demon exploded in a shower of ichor and guts."

I can't imagine a better first sentence to draw the reader into the compelling web that Cassandra Clare has spun in Clockwork Angel. This book, first in The Infernal Devices series and prequel to the well-known Mortal Instruments series, is an amazing trip through a Victorian England that is home to angels, demons and everything in between.

Tessa Gray is an American who has just lost her aunt and her only remaining family is her older brother Nate, who happens to be in London. He sends her a note and a boat ticket and tells her that he will take care of her. But when Tessa arrives, she is met by two strange women that call themselves the Dark Sisters. Soon, she is being held captive by these evil women, being forced to do things that she can't understand and wondering where her brother is. But then she is accidentally rescued by the mysterious Will Herondale and she begins an adventure through a world that most Londoners don't even see though it is right in front of their eyes.

Despite a bit of flowery language (repetitive mentions of Will's blue eyes, for example), this was a gripping and dark story of love and allegiance, right and wrong and so much more. It is the type of book that you want to read again almost immediately because of its complexity and characters. And, as you can probably guess, I can never get enough of alt-Victorian stories so this was a good fit. The second book in this series, Clockwork Prince, won't be out until December and it's going to be a long, long wait until then. Luckily, I can enjoy the four books in the Mortal Instruments series in the meantime.

I read this book for Tif's Tales to Tomes group read and I'm so glad that this was the selection of the month.

Falling into a dream world,
K


Support our site and buy Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, Book 1) on Amazon or find it at your local library. We borrowed our copy from the library.

"Now that I'm dead I know everything."

A couple of weeks ago, Bellezza and Col decided to read Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad together and invited anyone who wanted to join them. I've had this one on the shelf for a while in a box set with a couple of other books in the Canongate Myths series. The purpose of this series is to "[retell] a myth in a contemporary and memorable way". As I had yet to remove the plastic wrap from the box, I took advantage of the opportunity to fit this slim volume into my reading schedule.

The Penelopiad is a retelling of the Odysseus myth from two alternate points of view -- that of Penelope, Odysseus' wife, and, in the form of a Greek chorus, that of the twelve servant girls that were hung when Odysseus returned from his voyage. Penelope's portion is told from a modern point of view and in a semi-modern voice, as she walks eternally through the fields of asphodel in the afterlife. She begins with her birth, then her marriage to Odysseus and finally her long wait while he was away for twenty years. She tells which portions of the myth were accurate and which were a misinterpretation of the actual facts.

I thought this was a clever little novella that seemed to lose its way a bit toward the end when it delved too much into modern day feminist interpretations of Odysseus' behavior. As The Odyssey is one of my favorite stories, I was a bit concerned about the possible demonization of Odysseus but I thought that Penelope was quite fair in her descriptions of him. The chorus of dead servant girls, on the other hand, were less amusing and I wasn't sure whether they were trustworthy or just vindictive and angry in their interpretations of events. I'll be interested to see how the other readers in the group felt about this.

I think that the book contains enough summary information to be readable even by those who haven't read The Odyssey or are only generally familiar with the story. But, as you can imagine, the story is enhanced with a deeper knowledge of the original myth.

Skirting Charybdis,
K


Support our site and buy The Penelopiad: The Myth of Penelope and Odysseus on Amazon or find it at your local library. We bought our own copy.

Armchair BEA Giveaway Winner

And now it's time to announce the two winners of signed copies of The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making ...

Usagi of Birth of a New Witch

and

Holly of Book Harbinger

Thank you so much to everyone who entered! I hope you had a fantastic time with Armchair BEA. I sure did!

Wrapping things up,

K

Armchair BEA Post: Blogging About Blogging

Sadly, we're at the last day of our wonderful Armchair BEA event. Today, we're talking about the more nuts and bolts aspect of blogging as some of our colleagues are meeting up at the Book Blogger Convention. I'm sure that there are things that I could write about seriously here but it's been a long week and so I thought I would go out with a bit of levity. So, without further ado, I bring you

Top Ten Things Not To Do on a Book Blog

10. Write solely about the books your pets are reading.

9. Write detailed reviews of your college textbooks, including intriguing passages from Campbell's Biology.

8. Begin your reviews with the last paragraph of each novel.

7. Write all reviews in iambic pentameter.

6. Simply post links to other bloggers' deep thoughts about the book with the line "what they said ..."

5. Compose a ballad representing the emotional journey of the main character and then set it to play each time someone visits the post page.

4. Write each post as white text on a white background with the heading SPOILERS when there actually are none.

3. Post a vlog of you reading your previous day's blog post out loud.

2. Read only books you know you will hate so that you can get "controversy traffic".

1. Set your blog to private so that you can trash friends and family members in your reviews.

I hope everyone had a fun week! I'll announce the winner of my giveaway tomorrow so be sure and get your entry in today!

Putting the fun back in blogging,

K

Armchair BEA Post: Relationships in Blogging

Today's post topic is about relationships with publishers, bloggers, bookstores, etc. The thing is, I'm really bad at this part of blogging! It takes a lot for me to make an effort with even a small number of other bloggers. I have pretty weak relationships with publicists and haven't gotten the courage to approach any local indie bookstores yet with some ideas that I've had stewing for a while. But, I still feel that my place in the community is becoming a bit less tentative and here are a couple of the things that have helped.

Twitter - I resisted Twitter for the longest time because I didn't feel I had time for it and didn't see what a bunch of chatter could possibly bring to my life. But, having been on there for a reasonable time now, I feel like I know fellow bloggers and some publicists and authors in a much different and more intimate way. It also helps me stay in the loop on local bookstore events. Yes, it can take a lot of time to keep up with Twitter (though honestly, you can jump in and out of it as much as you are comfortable with) but it's time well spent if you are trying to have real relationships with people past a single comment on a post or a short e-mail thread. You also get fun tidbits from publishers and sometimes get a sneak peak at something cool!

Meetups - I know that many of you are introverts in real life just like I am but it is really worth it to attend any sort of local blogger meetups, even if you don't know any of the other bloggers or their blogs. I've now met with bloggers in Portland, Seattle, Victoria (Canada) and Los Angeles and even though some of the meetings were rather brief, I still feel like it was a good investment in both relationships and community. You probably won't get a chance to meet your best blogging buddies right away but you may be surprised at how your relationship with another blogger changes after meeting in real life.

Read-alongs - These group reads are not always convenient and are sometimes not the book you would have chosen at the time, but the chance to have a deeper interaction with your fellow bloggers and to have immediate feedback is something that you shouldn't pass up. There's no quicker way to find out if you are literarily-compatible with someone else than to read the same book at the same time and compare thoughts. You can form an immediate friendship over a good (or bad) book!

Anyway, those are just a couple of things that have helped me in my long quest to "belong" in the book blogging community. What has helped you?

Always moving forward,
K

Armchair BEA Post: Our Blogging Friends

I wasn't quite feeling up to an interview when they were doing sign-ups so instead I'm going to take this opportunity to introduce you to a few of my favorite bloggers!

If I'm looking for someone who is possibly reading the same thing as me or else is reading something that I should be reading, I turn to Karen of Books and Chocolate.

If I want an intelligent and honest discussion about any book, I am guaranteed just that from Teresa and Jenny of Shelf Love.

If I need to read the posts of someone who writes with a southern accent, loves Diana Wynne Jones and is always amusing, I seek out Jenny of Jenny's Books.

If I need a belly laugh and some healthy snarkiness to perk up my day, I can always count on Jenners of Life ... With Books.

If I'm feeling isolated and too stuck in my American ways, I get some direction from Natalie (Tanabata) of In Spring it is the Dawn.

If I want access to awesome giveaways and need to keep up with the best children's books out there, I can never go wrong with Danielle (The1stDaughter) of There's a Book.

If I want a friend who also spends her time with one foot in the adult book world and the other in the kids' one, I head over and visit Tif of Tif Talks Books.

And I definitely don't want to forget to mention these other darn good bloggers --
Danielle of A Work in Progress
Cecelia of Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia
Diane of Bibliophile by the Sea
Amanda of Dead White Guys
Rebecca of Lost in Books
Frances of Nonsuch Book
Lenore of Presenting Lenore
Jane of Reading, Writing, Working, Playing
Simon of Savidge Reads
and Selena of the heart rang like glass

So, head out and meet some of these fine people today and tell them I sent you!

Loving what everyone brings to the table,
K

Armchair BEA Post: Giveaway!

I spent a few days trying to think of an awesome giveaway that tied in to BEA specifically and I finally came up with something that made me excited and I hope it is the same for you!

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente is a YA fantasy novel that's already receiving rave reviews for its whimsy and sense of adventure (and it debuted at number 8 on the NYT Children's Chapter Books Best Sellers List!). And, coincidentally, the wonderful author was in town yesterday and I took the opportunity to pick up a couple of extra signed copies just for you, my friends who are also missing out on ARCs and author signings this week!

I am willing to open this up internationally, so please just fill out this short form to enter for one of two signed copies of this novel. A winner will be chosen and announced on Saturday around noon Pacific so please get your entry in before then.





Sharing the adventure,
K

Armchair BEA Post: What Is It and Who is WeBeReading?

If you're stopping by WeBeReading for the first time as a participant in Armchair BEA, Welcome!

If you're not sure what Armchair BEA is, it's an event in its second year. A few bloggers were sad about missing out on BEA and the Book Blogger Convention last year and decided to create a version for those who weren't able to travel to NYC. They're back this year and the event looks to be even bigger and better! If you would like to read more about Armchair BEA from one of the founders, head on over and see what Tif of Tif Talks Books has to say about it.

We'll be posting on various topics all week long and will be hosting a giveaway (or two) tomorrow! Today, the topic is Who Are You and How Do You Armchair?

The "we" of WeBeReading are a mother and son team, Kristen (K) and the now seven-year-old Z. We've been blogging since July 2008 -- so almost 3 years now! We review most of the books that we both read so this ends up being quite an eclectic mix. You will see picture books, chapter books, classics, literary fiction, international fiction, mysteries, non-fiction and more in our archives. We decided right from the start not to have a genre blog simply because we are not genre readers! We love to explore many facets of the world through books and we hope to get other readers to try something new every once in a while too.

We're in the Seattle area which makes the actual BEA/BBC events quite far away (and inconveniently right at the busy end of the school year). We're so happy to have this opportunity to participate from a distance and to have the chance to meet new bloggers, to discuss why we blog, to enter a few contests and to find out about upcoming book releases!

If this is your first time stopping by, please leave a comment. We would love to be able to visit you as well!

Looking forward to a fun-filled week,
K and Z

Graphic Retellings of Classic Stories

I'm starting to think that I might not really be a fan of graphic novels made from classic stories. I seem to find them to be okay but never awesome, never improving on the experience of reading the original. I felt this way about The Picture of Dorian Gray graphic novel that I read last fall and now a graphic version of The Wizard of Oz that I read last week. I appreciated that this book was based on the original novel rather than the well-known movie. And I do think it could be a good stepping stone for children who might only be familiar with the film's version of things (for example, the ruby slippers). But I think it pales in comparison with L. Frank Baum's wonderful storytelling. I simply finished the book and wanted to go read the original -- to experience the full range of emotions that the novel portrays and not just a few brief action scenes.

Have you read any graphic novel versions of classic stories? What are your thoughts on them? Do you have any suggestions for me of one that you thought was well done?

Pondering the magic of the original story,
K

New Release: The White Devil

The White Devil by Justin Evans is as heavy with history as it is with shocking twists and gruesome detail. Drawing its title from a play by John Webster, this story links together modern day life at the famous boarding school, Harrow, and a period two hundred years earlier when a young Lord Byron attended the school.

Andrew Taylor is a seventeen-year-old who has been kicked out of his school in the States. His father believes that his only chance for a future is to be sent far away to the prestigious Harrow School in England. And yet, from the moment he arrives, he attracts all sorts of attention, not all of it good. His housemaster, the drunken poet Piers Fawkes, sees him as the spitting image of a young Lord Byron and casts him as the lead in his new play about Byron's loves. The only girl in the school, Persephone Vine, sees him as a chance to start over without the weight of her past. And a mysterious white-haired ghost boy seems to take an interest in him as well after Andrew sees this figure assaulting and killing his new friend Theo. The only way forward is through the past in this creepy story.

If you are compiling a list for the RIP Challenge this fall, this book would be a good one to add. The weather here turned grey and rainy just after I started this novel and it added to the palpable atmosphere of gloom and terror that already emanated from the pages. While the story wasn't perfect, it was certainly a memorable reading experience and a fascinating use of the story of Lord Byron and his loves -- both male and female. I will just warn you that the ending of this story is rather disturbing and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it.

Newly terrified by the word "cistern",
K


Support our site and buy The White Devil on Amazon or find it at your local library. We received an uncorrected proof for review from the publisher.

New Release: The Emerald Atlas

The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens is one of those books that you almost regret reading so soon after it's published because you want so badly to be able to read the second and third books in the series immediately after finishing the first. The up-side is that when the second book in the Books of Beginning trilogy is released, there won't be any hesitation in doing a quick re-read of this one first! In fact, I think there would be a lot to get out of a re-read of this complex story.

This is an intense middle grade novel that follows three pseudo-orphans: Kate, Michael and Emma. Their parents were forced to give them up at a young age for their own safety and, though they promised to return for them, the kids have spent years going from one orphanage to another. Finally, they have hit what they hope is rock-bottom and are sent to the mysterious Dr. Pym and his decrepit orphanage in a town that may or may not exist and where they appear to be not only the lone children in the mansion but also the only children in the town. It's not long after they arrive there that they are swept up in the world that they were supposed to be protected from -- the world of magic.

Even as a stand-alone novel, this is a wonderful story. There were some elements that were a bit derivative of other fantasy stories but that is true of almost all fantasy these days. The way this book was written is fresh and exciting and I had a great time reading it. For a middle grade novel, I was impressed by the depth of some of the plot lines and the terrible things that the children had to face. And yet nothing seemed inappropriate for a young, adventurous reader. There were also some great adult characters in the story -- the caretaker Abraham, the warrior Gabriel and the charming Dr. Pym. In fact, I'm having trouble finding my next read because nothing else seems interesting after finishing this adventure!

I have to admit that I'm even tempted to use these iron-on templates to make myself an Emerald Atlas t-shirt. And as for which copy to buy (since we have an ARC, which is not very satisfying when contemplating a re-read), it will be very hard to choose between the U.S. cover (above) and the U.K. one to the left. They are both pretty awesome!

Waiting for the rest of the adventure,
K


Support our site and buy The Emerald Atlas (Books of Beginning) on Amazon or find it at your local library. We received an Advance Review Copy but will be buying a finished copy for our home library.

The LA Times Festival of Books and Other Vacation Fun

Last Sunday, we went to the University of Southern California for the second day of the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. We tried to get there early to see Mo Willems read but we ran into some traffic issues and ended up getting there a bit late. Our first stop was at the DIESEL, A Bookstore tent where they featured books from Scholastic. We picked up

Copper by Kazu Kibuishi

and Amelia and Eleanor Go For a Ride by Pam Munoz and Brian Selznick.

This turned out to be a very good idea as our next stop was to see Ted Danson talk about his new non-fiction release,

Oceana. Z's books kept him occupied and we were able to listen to a very interesting talk about ocean conservation and activism. After the talk, my mom bought me a copy of Oceana and I was able to get it signed!

Next, we walked across campus to see a dinosaur exhibit that they had apparently packed up early. I was bummed but then we heard from Danielle (@the1stdaughter) from There's A Book and we were able to meet her and her husband before they left for the day. She was just as sweet as you would expect her to be and I'm hoping to see her again at the Kidlit Conference in Seattle this fall!

After the meet-up we had some lunch and then roamed a bit. Z and I stopped by the Chronicle Books tent but there was nothing there we had to have (except for one book that was far too large to carry around with us and we'll have to order it later). We also saw a few minutes of Daniel Kirk, author of the Library Mouse books, doing a bit of a reading and performing a song.

It was a really hot day and we didn't have a lot of energy and eventually we just decided to call it a day. Then, on our way out, we happened to see one more tent that had a familiar graphic novel on the table. It was A Cheese Related Mishap by Ray Friesen -- a book Z had borrowed from the library a couple of months ago and totally loved. Well, the author/illustrator was there and so Z was able to pick up two more of his books and got both signed --

Piranha Pancakes

and Cupcakes of Doom! He also got a poster and a penguin sketch from Friesen, who was a really nice guy. So, Z came out with the biggest haul from the Festival but I couldn't be happier with what I left with.

The rest of our trip was spent with friends and family, part of the time near the beach and part at Disneyland. So, I'll leave you with a few more photos --

Huntington Beach Pier on a slightly hazy day

And again on a clear day

Z getting ready to fight Darth Vader

Always celebrating books and enjoying life,
K and Z

Discussion: Literacy in the U.S.

Yesterday, I saw a link to this story on Good--Almost Half of Detroit Residents are Functionally Illiterate--and was rather distressed. Although it is likely a flawed supposition (based on some deeper digging into the 20-year-old data source, small sample size and more), it is still a scary number. Even more disturbing is the estimate that half of the "low literacy" adults have high school diplomas or GEDs (the others are likely not-yet-English-speaking immigrants and dropouts). So, how do students get through high school without anyone noticing that they can't read at higher than a fifth grade level? English classes are mandatory and I would assume that teachers would notice kids that aren't able to read the books, pass the tests or write the papers but my assumption must be wrong.

If you look at these global literacy numbers from about five years ago, the U.S. reports that it has a 99% adult literacy rate on the whole. But this is a very generic "can read and write" definition and does not truly indicate a competent literacy, which might be at something more like 65-85%. Only about 15% of Americans are "fully literate", the equivalent of college literacy levels.

Are there any teachers out there who can give me some insight into what might be happening here? And I don't really believe the argument that this happens because of a lack of money. A teacher can evaluate a student's reading level for free by just sitting down with him/her and a book for a few minutes. Do some teachers simply not care or are there outside pressures on them that make them incapable of even taking these small amounts of time to help their students succeed? Are there any good sources out there that discuss illiteracy? What are your thoughts on the causes of illiteracy?

And now, since I would like to be part of the solution, here is a press release for an event to get books to Detroit's children --

Media Alert

May 2, 2010 

Operation Kid Equip Partners with The Giving Effect

to Collect Books for metro Detroit Kids

Inaugural Book Drive Hopes to Collect and Distribute

Thousands of Books for Area Students 

What: Operation: Kid Equip (OKE), a nonprofit organization dedicated to supplying metro Detroit kids with free school-day supplies and books, will host its first mail-in book drive in partnership with The Giving Effect. Between now and May 14th, people from Michigan and across the country can donate new or gently used books to OKE without leaving the comfort of their own home. The postage is free too.

"I was fortunate to connect with Menachem from Operation: Kid Equip. Their progressive views on social media and their willingness to join us were a tremendous inspiration for building this system,” said Mitchell Silverman, Founder of The Giving Effect. “I look forward to working with them to get many more donations to the thousands of kids OKE serves.”

Local businesses are getting involved in the initiative, too. PublicCity PR has offered to be the first business to cover the cost of postage to donors who mail the first 1,000 books.

“We couldn’t have picked a better organization to partner with. The Giving Effect has helped us take our message to a whole new level,” said Menachem Kniespeck, Founder & Director of OKE. “It’s important to ensure the children of metro Detroit have the proper books they need to become the future of our great state.”

Details: To donate simply collect 10 or more books, put them in a box, weigh it and log onto http://books.operationkidequip.org to print the packing slip. Each donor will receive a tracking number and when the books are received by OKE, the donor will get an in-kind donation receipt via e-mail.

To donate locally, drop books off at

OKE Teachers’ Annex & Operations Center
1830 Stephenson Highway, Suite B
Troy, Michigan 48083

Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 2:30p.m. – 6:30p.m.
Saturday from 10:00a.m. – 2:00p.m.

About Operation Kid Equip
Operation: Kid Equip’s long term vision is a community where every child’s basic needs are met. To accomplish this in the short term we provide free school supplies, books, hygiene and food items for children who are at-risk. To effect long term community improvement, we work to increase awareness of the issues facing school-aged children to help them succeed in school and in life. For more information about Operation Kid Equip go to http://operationkidequip.org

About The Giving Effect
The Giving Effect (www.thegivingeffect.com) helps donors connect with organizations that distribute essential items such as clothes, shoes, and food to people in need. Nonprofits use the site to publicize their needs and to create stories around each item donated: donors can share these stories online to increase support for the causes they care most about. Sponsors use The Giving Effect to promote their pro-social message: they provide postage to donors who mail items for free to people in need. The Giving Effect is headquartered in Brooklyn, NY.

About PublicCity PR
PublicCity PR is a publicity company, focused on quickly and effectively garnering publicity and raising the visibility of its clients through the development and execution of strategic media and community relations programs and initiatives. Based in Beverly Hills, Mich., the company is committed to providing its clients the personal attention they need and the results they deserve at a budget they can afford. For more information about PublicCity PR and its services, visit,www.PublicCityPR.net.

Trying to understand and help,
K