Dauntless Movie Night

Things are really heating up over the upcoming release of Veronica Roth's Insurgent, sequel to the oh-so awesome Divergent.

Anywho, there's another challenge this week for the Dauntless Street team, and it isn't too late to sign up if you're still interested! You can also help out the Dauntless faction by going to either our Tumblr, or by clicking on this link for Insurgent at Harper Teen. Heck, if enough of us pre-order Insurgent Veronica Roth will release a scene from Four's perspective! It's the gift that keeps on giving!

Back to buisness: the challenge prompt that I picked is, "Movie Night: List of movies that would be shown for a  Dauntless movie night."

So, of course anything action-y and exciting, all with people doing extraordinary things...

Waiting on Wednesday (3): In Honor by Jessi Kirby

From Goodreads:

A devastating loss leads to an unexpected road trip in this novel from the author of Moonglass, whose voice Sarah Dessen says “is fresh and wise, all at once.” 

Hours after her brother’s military funeral, Honor opens the last letter Finn ever sent. In her grief, she interprets his note as a final request and spontaneously decides to go to California to fulfill it. 

Honor gets as far as the driveway before running into Rusty, Finn’s best friend since third grade and his polar opposite. She hasn’t seen Rusty in ages, but it’s obvious he is as arrogant and stubborn as ever—not to mention drop-dead gorgeous. Despite Honor’s better judgment, the two set off together on a voyage from Texas to California. Along the way, they find small and sometimes surprising ways to ease their shared loss and honor Finn’s memory—but when shocking truths are revealed at the end of the road, will either of them be able to cope with the consequences?


Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Release Date: May 5th, 2012
Amazon, Author's Website

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I'm not usually into books that don't include some sort of magical/ sci-fi/ supernatural element, but I'm willing to make an exception for more books about road trips. Just the idea of getting in a car and setting off on an adventure is exciting to me. That cover is just stunning too.

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Waiting on Wednesday is hosted weekly over at Breaking the Spine.

Review: Death Watch by Ari Berk

When Silas Umber’s mother moves him back to his birthplace of Lichport, Silas hopes that he can use the time to discover more about his father, the resident Undertaker, who disappeared almost a year ago. But once he arrives and settles into the house of his uncle, an enigmatic man with locked rooms and an obsession with preservation, he finds not his father, but the shadows of him: a man who was more than a mortician, the Undertaker of Lichport, a staple in the community, and a treasured friend of many who still call the aged town home.

Amongst his father’s books and possessions, Silas also finds the Death Watch, a timepiece that allows its owner to see the dead, and realizes how little he knew of his father before his disappearance. As his despair over his father grows, Silas learns that it is mostly likely he who will become the next Undertaker; after all, someone has to appease the town’s residents, both living and deceased.

Death Watch is probably one of the most artful, beautifully written novels that I’ve had the pleasure of reading recently. The imagery and metaphor that is wound into every chapter shines in today’s young adult literature market. The dialogue is very well done; the lines reveal not so much about the person speaking them as they do about the constructs of Lichport itself, this little town where everyone is intertwined with the lives of one another, and with their inevitable deaths.

The only true issue that I have with Death Watch is that the combination of its length—over five hundred pages—and the carefully constructed sentences makes the read a little slow at times. This is certainly not a book for those who like fast car chases and edge-of-your-seat fistfights, and it took me around a hundred pages to really begin to get into the story. After Silas acquires the Death Watch, my reading began to pick up speed and I became more invested in the story. The story moves at a sleepy pace, much like the town of Lichport itself, but the weight of hypnotic detail in every action makes this story worth much more as an artful piece than an action-packed one.

Despite the length of the book and the time that it took me to read it, I believe that Berk made the right choice in every last word and phrase he placed into his work, and would not change a thing. In fact, I was rather surprised by the fact that this is the first book in a trilogy, as everything wraps up so well in the end it would fare equally well as a stand-alone novel. However, since it is not, I will be eagerly awaiting word of Berk’s next novel and tales of the mysterious town of Lichport that will come with it.

Amazon, Goodreads, Figment Review
Author: Ari Berk
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Book for Young Readers
Publication Date: November 15, 2011
Pages: 544

Literary Tattoos and Dauntless News

Dauntless Faction News reblogged an awesome photoset from fourbiased of different factions and their symbols. With the one from Dauntless showing off a tattooing needle, I thought, might as well make this a post about literary tattoos!

From The Handmaid's Tale

Literary tattoos have become a lot more popular in recent years, and I think that they're awesome! For those comfortable with getting them, they're the ultimate devotion to books and stories.

From the Harry Potter series

I've been reading through a lot of the background stories over at The Word Made Flesh, a Tumblr dedicated to literary quotes as tattoos, and to the people that have them they're everything from expression of a love of a certain passage or author, from a personal connection felt with a story or book, or even a way to help reach out to other fans of the series you're tattooed with.

My friends and I have talked about this, and I know several book-lovers who want tattoos of their favorite novels (including at least two who want the symbol for the deathly hallows on their shoulders). 

From The Hunger Games series

Me? I would be just peachy with a tiny acorn, from the Artemis Fowl novels, somewhere on my neck or shoulders. Especially in the first book, an acorn, found under very specific conditions, is taken and replanted somewhere else to restore ones magic. I love the book series, and the idea that after you replant yourself, you're reborn.

If you have a literary tattoo, or are thinking of getting one, feel free to leave a comment!

*Note: All pictures of tattoos originated at The Word Made Flesh, and the links below all photos go back to their respective posts. Get over there to share some love!

National Library Week 2012: My Job, and How You Can Celebrate

Happy National Library Week!

I work as a page at my local library, and can you believe that I head nothing about this wondrous week while working? (say that five times fast)

Even though I now work at the library, it doesn't mean that I stopped reading their books; most libraries get the hottest releases as soon as they're out, and some do beforehand. Curious about a book, but want to check it out before you commit and buy it? See if a library has it. If your library doesn't, see if they'll do an inter-library loan to find it for you. Have extra books? Donate them! Anything that doesn't end up on our shelves can be sold at our book sale, which is still a huge help to us.

My Day

I work as a page, which is that dedicated (not to float my own boat) person that you see pushing carts of books around to be put back onto shelves. I usually get in to work after school and stay until we close at about eight. 

We have a pretty small library, especially compared to some in neighboring towns, and so my day starts with shelving downstairs books: large type, new books, DVDs, and most magazines. I then move onto the upstairs carts: children's books, teen book, adult books, and non-fiction books. 

Before being shelved, books on carts are alphabetized (or put in numerical order if non-fiction) and put away. If a shelf has to be straightened, or books need to be moved because they're too tight (called "shifting"), that's done too. 

After carts are shelved, our jobs depend on whatever needs to be done. The cart in the children's room that houses all of the books people don't want and don't want to put back themselves* are shelved. More shifting in done. Shelf reading (peeking at the call numbers to make sure that books are in order/ put in the right spot) is also done.

We also help patrons to find what they need, and direct them to where they can find the books that they're looking for. We also sometimes answer questions regarding how the library works (for example, books can only be checked out downstairs, even though the children's librarians have the computers to do it upstairs.) On some days we may have a children's program, and in that case I help children with crafts. This summer we'll have a lot of that going on :)

At the end of the day, chairs are pushed in, computer monitors are turned off, and the children's room is tidied. Lost books are put on shelves or carts for the next day. Lights are turned off, and the day has ended!

Writing it out it sounds a little boring, but it all depends on what you make of it. I always bring an iPod to listen to music and books on tape, and time has been flying faster now that the days are longer. I've also gotten close to one of my fellow pages and talk with her during some of the more boring jobs.

Each library is a little bit different, so I can't tell you everything about the job, but feel free to leave questions in the comments section and I'll do my best to answer them!

Overall, I hope that you take the time to appreciate libraries this week :) They're really such a great place, and it upsets me that some people don't get out there enough. If you've been planning a trip for a while, there's no better time to do it!

*I should clarify. This isn't intended to be mean at all; we pages are expected to shelve books! A lot of libraries will have carts off to the side to save yourself the trouble of having to find and put back a book yourself, especially if you are unfamiliar with the library. It also helps keep things a lot neater.

More things to celebrate: 

Monday- 2012 State of America's Report released (with the list of Top Ten Frequently Challenged Books)

Tuesday- National Library Workers Day

Wednesday- National Bookmobile Day

Thursday- Support Teen Literature Day

Wednesday, April 4th to Wednesday, April 11th- National Library Week Six Word Story Contest

If you're interested in showing your support through Facebook, @ Your Library has a bunch of Facebook cover images (assuming that you have the new layout) available for download. Or, you can share your story of how a library has impacted you.

Follow @ Your Library: Twitter and Facebook

And for a happy send-off, a PBS video about the Biblioburro:

Biblioburro - Trailer on PBS. See more from POV.
Watch

I'm a Member of Team Dauntless!!

I've decided to join Team Dauntless in preparation for Insurgent's release on May 1st!

 The Dauntless faction doesn't shy from danger or excitement; we crave adventure and thrills. Is that the kind of person I am? No way. But Dauntless is about being brave, and doing the things that maybe you can't do otherwise. It may not be the faction I want, but it is the faction that I need.

Do you need a little courage? Then pop on over to Once Upon a Twilight to learn more. Or, you can go over to Divergent's Facebook page, click on Choosing Ceremony, and click the Dauntless button to read our manifesto and see for yourself what Dauntless is all about.

Oh, and did I mention that Katniss Everdeen is listed under examples of people who'd be in our faction?

Well, It's True

My review from Figment on Death Watch by Ari Berk has been quoted on his website, here. I can honestly say that I meant every word, and if my review has convinced one person to read his book I would consider my work a success!