Favorite YA Books

Last year I started reading a lot more YA novels.  Most of the ones were recommendations or heard of by word-of-mouth. I liked most of the books I read, but these five were the standouts, in my humble opinion.

I plan to keep reading books furiously until April, which by then I will hopefully be working in the garden and staying outside until it gets dark.  I read and watch TV during the winter, but once spring comes it doesn't happen.

It's a Midwestern thing.

1. Ship breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

2. Divergent by Veronica Roth

3. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

4. Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

5. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

January Book List

I'm still not done with my book revisions, but that doesn't stop me from reading other books.  Maybe it should.

But it doesn't.

Last year I posted that I wanted to read a book a week.  That worked for a while.  Approximately two months before it went the way of most resolutions.

I did read a lot of books last year I just don't remember how many, but I'm thinking of joining GoodReads just to keep track of everything.

Here are a few books I've just read.  I won't write about books I didn't like, probably because I have a hard time finishing something I don't like.

But these books I did like.  The genres range from fantasy to dystopian to contemporary.

These happen to all be YA books, but here are a few others I'm currently reading that are both excellent.  One fiction, the other non-fiction.

Happy January Reading!

Hunger Games Trailer

I know everyone is salivating to see Breaking Dawn, and believe me, I will be taking a visit to the theater myself.

But this is the movie I cannot wait to see.  These books are phenomenal, and if you haven't read them or are looking for a great gift to give for Christmas, these books are it.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away....

For those who are interested, I'm posting a recent interview I did for Query Tracker, the website that helped me find my agent.  If you are a writer with a finished book and looking to find that book a home, this is the website for you.  It's a comprehensive listing of literary agents and agencies, who's new and who's looking (and what they're looking for) as well as contact information and exactly how to submit your query, whether by email or post. I can safely say I would not have found an agent without this website, or it would have taken me at least another ten years.

My interview explains the process I went through, as well as the query letter about what my book, POLARIS, is about.  And no, it's not about snowmobiles....

A Long and Winding Road

Approximately ten years ago I got a weird idea in my head.

I wanted to run a marathon.

I wanted to see if I could do it.

I always ran, but never long distances.  I thought it was some kind of boring torture for masochists.

But I started with a mile, then three, then five.  I started to like it - the solitude, the repetition, the stress relief, the calm that comes from working so physically hard that you have no room left for anxiety or fear or disappointment.

I would think a lot of random thoughts on those runs, training for that race.

The one I kept coming back to was this:
I want to write a novel.

So I did.  I approached it the same way as running a marathon.  A few yards, a few miles at a time, but in this case they were sentences and paragraphs and chapters.

I ran my first marathon in 2000.  It was horrible.

I wrote my first book, a three hundred page novel, in 2001.  It was horrible, too.

But I finished it.

And then I decided to keep going.

I even decided to go back and take writing classes.  I would take a class or two each semester, practicing and getting better, learning how to give and take critiques.

It's hard to believe it took a decade to get to where I wanted, but in some ways, I think it needed to happen the way it did.  For the first time in my life, I had to work really hard at something I wanted.  It wasn't just going to fall into my lap.

As a kid, I never had to work particularly hard in school to get good grades or kill myself to get on the varsity team.  Usually I would quit if I thought something was too hard or I wouldn't even try if I couldn't be sure I would succeed on the first try.

Not this time.  I really learned what rejection and failure felt like.  It sucks.

But then I got over it.

I promised myself I wouldn't quit until I got there.

They say, at least they do in Apocalypse Now, that victory smells like napalm in the morning.

I don't know about that.  I don't necessarily consider this a victory, but more of a vindication of sorts.

Vindication smells even better.  And it tastes like champagne.

So I would like to introduce my new agent, someone who apparently gets my sense of humor, God help her.

Her name is Hannah Bowman, and she is a literary agent for Liza Dawson Associates in New York.

I will write more about the book I wrote and the query letter that got her attention in a later post.

Why didn't they have this book when I was in school?

Strunk and White are rolling in their grave.  Maybe.

If I had used this book I might have actually known what a dangling participle is.  Dangling... heh, heh.

Thanks to Laura of Fetch my Flying Monkey's fame for putting this on her blog.

All I know is that my birthday is coming up soon. Hint, hint.

Good Book Titles

This is an actual picture book title.  And over 100,000 pre-orders on Amazon.

I shit you not.

I read the book.  It's pretty good, but I'm lucky I can't relate.  Sena, so far is an excellent sleeper.  This statement will probably come back to bite me in the butt later on.  Karma sucks like that.

The other day I was perusing a picture book dummy I mocked up a while ago for my story Bad Fruit.  This is one of the illustrations for the book.

Now if I could only find an agent who gets my sense of humor, because as the above book shows, there's definitely a market for this.

Booklist Recap - April

Well, I said my goal this year was to read a book a week. 

I need to pick some shorter books.

In January I read six.  February two.  March I forget.  April I read 3.5.  So here's what I've read in the past 2 months.

Clash of Kings - Book 2 by George R.R. Martin

Let the Great World Spin - Collum McCann

Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen

Away - Amy Bloom

I loved them all.  Straight A's across the board.  And these are all very different kinds of books.  I'm certainly no book snob.  I will read just about anything  so long as it holds my attention.  If you are looking for a good book club read, I recommend Water for Elephants and Away.  Very quick reads, but also very satisfying.  I must admit, Amy Bloom's novel broke my heart.  In a good way.

Books I'm reading for the month of May?

Just started:  Zeitoun - by Dave Eggers

And slowly getting through Storm of Swords - Book 3 by George Martin



Plus, there's a whole bunch of YA books I'm been meaning to get a hold of.  We'll see how it goes.

Game of Thrones

Holy Moly!  I just saw the trailer for HBO's new series Game of Thrones, based on the book by George R.R. Martin.  These books are awesome.  Epic fantasy at its finest.  Honestly, I like this stuff way more than Lord of the Rings.  Partly because these are definitely for adults.  Plenty o' sex and violence, which is probably why HBO is making the series. 

Last night I finished book two in the series, which is Clash of Kings.  968 pages.  Yeah, they are long and full of characters.  The character list alone is a good 30 pages, which is why you should read the books before watching this show.  Otherwise you will be completely confused by what's going on. 
 
But here is a taste.  Be warned, the beginning is scary.  Scary good!

Unfortunately, I don't have HBO.  Or cable.  So I guess I will only have to wait a whole year to see it on Netflix.  Ugh.

Game of Thrones Exclusive Preview

Prologues

Some people hate prologues.  Some people don't care about prologues.  And some people don't know what a prologue is.

I happen to like them.  They are like the fun little appetizer before the main course, and really, who doesn't like appetizers?  Especially if cheese is involved.

So anyway, I put a prologue in my novel.  I know, you are super excited to read it.  I'm gonna post it here because I entered it in a writing contest... yeah, I know.  Which means other people are supposed to visit the blogs of the writers in the contest and make comments.  You can say things like, "This is obviously the next great American novel."  Or, "I'm so intrigued!  I must read more!"  Or, "My God!  The imagery!  The awesomeness that is your written word!  I'm stunned by your talent."

Those are just a few suggestions to help in your critique.  You're welcome.


Author: Melinda Braun
Title: Starlight
Genre: YA sci-fi

PROLOGUE

“You damn girls are all the same!”

I didn’t reply, too relieved just to be able to breathe again, and now that I could the searing pain shot through me. I clutched my arm to my chest wondering if anything was broken.

“You think you can do whatever you want, say whatever you want, act however you want!”

Still I said nothing. With my good arm I reached behind my head, fingertips probing gently across my scalp, searching for the angry throb. My hair was sticky; the slick warmness confirmed my guess. Blood.

“Goddamn teases!”

I glanced up – the moon was so bright, so close, so huge in the night sky that for a second I thought I could reach out and grab it, use it as a shield. “I’m not teasing you.” Speaking felt strange. My face was numb, my left cheek still tingling from the force of his slap. My head ached, my elbow ached, my teeth ached, and now, sitting on the jagged outcropping of the bluff’s edge, so did my tailbone. “I’m not teasing you,” I repeated, wanting him to calm down. I needed him to calm down. Before it got any worse. But when I saw his face, so perverted with rage in the clear moonlight, I knew it was too late. It was going to get worse.

His smile was cruel. “No, you aren’t are you? Not like your little friend.”

He was big, much bigger than me. Thick neck, barreled chest. His forehead glistened with sweat and he licked at his lips, the gesture reminding me of some kind of reptile.

I shook my head. “No.”

“That’s right. You’re a good girl.” He staggered forward, still slightly drunk. Not drunk enough, I thought. I should have hit him harder the first time. I should have just kept on hitting him until he dropped.

I wasn’t drunk at all. If I had been, I probably wouldn’t have found myself in this situation, which I think a lot of people would consider ironic. I know I did.

He walked over the rocks to where I sat crumpled on the edge of the bluff. Ten feet. Nine.

I exhaled slowly through my nose.

Eight.

Only four days ago my life had been perfectly normal, perfectly boring.

Seven.

But I had promised myself that things would change.

Six.

And they did, just not the way I had planned.

Five.

The best laid plans of mice and men… I forgot how the rest of the sentence went. A wave of heat passed over my face.

Four.

I couldn’t see anything - everything went blue, hot electric neon blue. A strange voice shuddered through my brain. This is your last night on earth, Geneva.

Three.

My fingers were on fire, acid sparks shot across the surface of my tongue.

Two.

“Good girl,” he said softly, his voice floating somewhere above me. But he was wrong about that.

“I’m not a good girl,” I whispered.

One.

He was about to find out exactly what kind of girl I was.

And so was I.

February Recap: Booklist

So because I read six books last month I took a little break and read only 2.5 this month.  I'll hopefully finish the rest of that book this week.

So the two books I read are classified as science fiction, which is also how I'm classifying the novel I wrote.

These books, however, are completely different.

The first one is Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro.

Very well written, nice pacing, and even though I already knew what the book was about, the author had the ability to construct each chapter with enough tension that I felt like I needed to continue to the next.

The downside of this book?  Depressing material.  Depressing ending.
The upside?  There is a movie you can watch if you don't have time to read the book. 

The second book is I am Number Four, by Pitticus Lore (aka James Frey - yeah, the same one who brought down Oprah's wrath for his "memoir" A Million Little Pieces).

Anyway, this book was interesting.  At first, I didn't want to read it - I thought from what I had heard and seen from the movie trailer that the book I wrote was very similar to this.  I was thinking, "Crap!  Someone already had the same idea as me."

However, the book is not the same at all.  Which is a relief.  I've noticed with this book and several other YA books that I've read that are on the best seller lists have something in common.  They are written in first person, PRESENT tense.  I notice sometimes that using present tense can give an urgency and immediacy to what otherwise might be a regular scene.  I also wonder if I should be doing that with my book.  My novel is first person, past tense, which tends to be the way a lot of people write stories.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with writing a book this way.  However, the first chapter of my book is written in the present tense, which I think a lot of agents liked.  I got a lot of good feedback and requests to see more based on this first chapter, so it makes me wonder if that should be applied to the rest of the book as well.

So this book was pretty good but at the same time I didn't really connect with the characters.  And the climax at the end seemed a little anti-climatic for some reason.

The upside?  There's a movie you can watch!

January Recap - Book List

As I mentioned, my resolution was to read about a book per week for 2011, and I checked back to see how many books I read for January.  I was shocked, then impressed.

I read 6 whole books.  Some short, some long, some literary, some not, most all of them I enjoyed for different reasons.

Here they are, and the grade I gave them.  If you only read one book off this list, my recommendation is Room, by Emma Donoghue.  Completely original, completely believable, completely disturbing, but in the end, also completely beautiful.

Matched
by Ally Condie
Grade: B

Outliers

by Malcom Gladwell

Grade: B

Room

by Emma Donoghue

Grade: A

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe

by Charles Yu

Grade: A-

Freedom

by Jonathan Franzen

Grade: A

Half Broke Horses

by Jeannette Walls

Grade: B+

Check it Out

Last Wednesday the staff at my place of employment had our bi-annual staff day. And we spent it at the Minneapolis Public Library.

Now I remember once, vaguely, after moving to Minneapolis in 1995, and found myself downtown. I don't know why I was downtown but I saw the public library and decided to go in. I must have thought, "Cool! The public library! I'm gonna go get me a library card!"

So I walked in.

I remember there were escalators. Everything was grimy beige. I couldn't find the circ desk. I couldn't find the stacks. All I seemed to see were smelly, greasy-looking men huddled by the magazines. Probably looking for pornos. It smelled like musty paper and pee. This was pre-Internet and dirty old pervs had to shuffle down to the library to flash people in the stacks before heading over to Schinder's to pilfer the boobie/butt books.

I left.

And didn't return until 2010.

What a difference 15 years makes.

It also helps that they demolished the old building and designed a new one. Well, Cesar Pelli designed it. He's the same dude that did the Petronas towers in Kuala Lumpur.


And this is the new library.





It's pretty cool. And it's beautiful. And wide-open and designed to be accessible for everyone. It has a huge center atrium, a bookstore, a coffee shop, an amazing children's section, a green roof, their own bindery, free piano rooms, and a section just for and designed by teenagers, complete with beanbags and vending machines. It is also totally wireless.

Of course, you'll still find the old pervs, but they designed the library with many low stacks so there is an open line of sight throughout the floors.
Plus there are cameras everywhere.

And obnoxious people like me who take pictures like this.



I guess even the pervs like to see what the starlets are wearing on the red carpet.


The coolest part was the tour of the special collections.
They had stuff like this:


page of Deuteronomy from the Gutenberg Bible. Yes, really.

A first edition of Walden by Henry David Thoreau. Inside the book was a personal note by Thoreau thanking the U of M professor who had taken him up to Duluth to visit the Dakota Indians in the summer of 1861. This was one year before the infamous Dakota conflict of 1862.

But I saved the best for last.



Yes, a photograph of Prince from his high school yearbook. He is the one labelled P. Nelson in the top center of the middle six.

But that's not the best part. The dude below him...on the bottom left. A. Paule. Oh man, the picture is just priceless. He looks like he just came back from smoking a blunt in his car. After school it looks like he will probably hang out with his burnout friends and then go and shoplift Marlboros, Slimjims, and Hubba Bubbas at the 7-11.

I wonder what A. Paule is doing today.

The things I wonder....

Lazy Eye

Don't know why I haven't gotten around to posting about this song...too busy I guess. I suppose most have already heard it. The first time I did I was immediately transported back to high school. This band (Silversun Pickups) instantly reminded me of another band I used to listen to when I was a young pup. The Smashing Pumpkins. With a little bit of Sonic Youth thrown in for flavor.

I also love the video. Don't you remember doing this? Feeling like this? Waiting for that certain person to walk through the door? The person who could make or break your day if he/she acknowledged your existence?

I do.

Well, if that novel of mine ever gets published, and if the movie ever gets made, I would like to include this song on the soundtrack.

Best lyric:

"I've been waiting for this moment all my life. But it's not quite right."

Been there...

Mostly Martha

About a week ago I was at my sister-in-law's house. And I spotted this book.



It's a monstrously large book; I liked it because it explained everything. I mean everything. Martha's nothing if not thorough.

So I ordered it.

Because I really want to learn to cook. Properly. I think it's an important thing to know how to do. And I figured if Martha Stewart couldn't teach me, nobody could.

The book isn't cheap, but I found a brand new copy online for $10. Click. Click. I bought it.

Last Monday it came in the mail. I was really excited. I get excited when I get things in the mail. Especially things like magazines and books.

After the baby goes to bed, I pour myself a glass of wine and sit down on the couch. Okay, Martha, I think, show me what you got.

I read about the basics. What kinds of tools to have. What kinds of knives. Check. Check. How to sharpen them. And check.

I learn about herbs. What to do with them. How to prepare them. What they look like. All the photographs are stunning.

I'm getting really excited. I think about all the amazing meals I will prepare.

I finish my glass of wine, and read about citrus. How to zest. How to supreme. Wait... What? Supreme? Huh. I read about something called mirepoix. Mirepoix?

I pour a second glass of wine.

I studied French for 5 years and I never heard anything about mirepoix. Mirrrpwaaah.... I decide it sounds like a contagious disease from the 1800s.

Then I start the chapter on stocks. How to make your own stock. White Stock. Brown Stock. Veal Glace.

I finish the second glass.

When I start reading about fish fumet I'm done for. Fish Fumet. Fuuuumaaaay! I imagine myself going up to my local fishmonger and asking for a bunch of old fish bones and heads. Fish heads! For my Fish Fumet! From my fishmonger! I start laughing.

But I don't have a fishmonger. I try to stay away from mongers. Fishy or otherwise. I start a rhyme in my head.

Mirepoix and Fish Fumet
Veal Glace
Creme Brulee
Oh Hooray!
This is totally gay...

I close the book and realize I'm drunk.

Thanks, Martha.

Review: The Vampire Diaries

So.
So.....

So since I'm waiting for the new Twilight movie to come out, and I've seen the first season of True Blood, I decided that to get my vampire fix I would migrate over to the CW, that is, the new show called The Vampire Diaries.

The show debuted a few weeks ago and I was hooked. After the first episode I realized it was based on a popular series of books. Matt was nice enough to go out and buy them for me as a birthday present.

There are four books. Each around 250 pages. And they are terrible. TERRABULLLL! And as I sit here typing this I'm still trying to figure out why, exactly. Now, the Twilight books are no Cormac McCarthy or Toni Morrison either, but they are still monumentally entertaining. Shoot, they aren't even on the same level as Harry Potter, which by the way, I just finished Goblet of Fire, and have to say those books are just wonderful. Wonderfully imagined and wonderfully written.

Despite the awfulness of these books, or maybe because of it, they are fairly quick reads. I then look at the copyright date. 1991. In 1991, I was 14? going on 15? I don't remember. I was definitely in high school, and definitely the target market audience for these books, though I never had heard of them at the time.

We didn't hear about anything in 1991. No Internet. No Google. No cell phones. No nothing. I only heard about what I saw on TV (not much) or from my friends and relatives (even less). Bubble city, baby.

It makes me wonder if, had I read these books at that age, would I have loved them? Or thought them complete drivel? Hard to say. I do know for a fact that even if I HAD heard of them, I would of had to check them out at the library; there would be no way on earth that my mom would have bought books like that for me when I was 14. Which is funny, because there is nothing salacious in them, just very, very mild innuendo.

What is even funnier, is that because at that age I had never been exposed to this thing called "Young Adult Literature", I went from reading books like Little House on the Prairie and Anne of Green Gables, directly to Stephen King, V.C. Andrews, and Sidney Sheldon.

Basically, I jumped from 12 to 21.

I still remember the conversation I had with my mom when she caught me reading If Tomorrow Comes, by Sidney Sheldon, which definitely had its share of dirty parts. I think I was 13 at the time.

"You shouldn't be reading that."
"Huh? Why?" (yeah, I knew why...)
"Because."
"Because why?"
"Because THAT is NOT an APPROPRIATE book."
"It isn't?"
"It's trashy."
"Oh," I said, knowing this was coming. But I can't help myself from asking one last question...

"Then why do YOU have it?"

Ah, the pleasures of raising a smart-ass teenager. I can't wait.

Homestretch

Here's an update on the YA (Young Adult) novel I'm working on... for those who might be interested.

I'm now in the official wrapping up. On page 222 and seeing the faint, yet growing light at the end of the tunnel. I'm not sure what the official page count will end up being, but it is looking like it will be between 260 to 300 pages.

I've also realized that this is only the first book in what is looking like a 3-part series.

So now that I'm definitely under the gun (time-wise) my plan is to finish the rough draft in two weeks (slightly crazy, yet possible. Remember, Ken Kesey wrote One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in a weekend). Then again, I'm no Ken Kesey.

Anyway, I have made a list of 15 or so acquisition editors and literary agents. I suspect that I will get immediate form rejection letters from at least half. That tends to be the way it goes these days.

I'm optimistic, however, that at least one will want to read a sample chapter(s). If I'm really lucky someone will want to read the whole thing right off the bat.

More about the book...I've decided that it would be classified as urban fantasy/science fiction/ bildungsroman. Urban fantasy is a relatively new term for books that means fantasy set in the contemporary world. So I've read. Bildungsroman is another favorite German word of mine, which means "development novel". Or usually called a coming-of-age tale.

So there it is. If I have not found any agent or publisher for this book by this time next year, my plan is to start posting chapters right here on this blog. And keep it open for comments. Yes, I'm crazy. And a glutton for punishment. I can't wait for strange trolls to write things like:

Ur book suxs! i cood rite a way coooler storeey. with way mor baleevable careactchurs... 4 shur!

Stuck Between the Stations...and on page 168.

I don't know if this holds true for many writers, but not only am I deeply influenced by things I read and see, but I'm also skewed by the music I listen to.

I listen to a lot of music.

And right now I'm in the thick of my novel, typing it out page by page. The initial grandiose feeling of beginning is over. I'm in the middle of the woods, but still on the trail, with the end still out there (I have a good idea) but I still have to make my way toward it. Word by word. Sentence by sentence.

This is exactly like mile 14 in the marathon. Actually miles 14-20. Your legs start to hurt but you are nowhere near completion. So you try to suck it up and stay motivated. And you let your thoughts wander.

In both instances, writing and running, this is where the play list comes in handy.

I've been listening to quite a few specific bands in the writing of this novel and that has influenced everything from chapter titles, the title of the book itself, to things my characters say and unexpected (for me) plot changes.

Sometimes when I start I know exactly what I'm trying to accomplish. Sometimes. But more often than not I will start with a particular idea, a random thought, a sentence I find amusing, or a weird description and I will just run with it and see where it goes. Sometimes nowhere, but sometimes I will surprise myself. This is the most rewarding part, I think, besides holding the finished product in your hands.

So I have been whittling down a specific play list for this book, and this is one of the songs. Stuck Between The Stations, by The Hold Steady. Not only is it a great song, it seems to capture all that teenage angst/wonderment that I remember from that time. And I can definitely see my main characters listening to this song.

Most everyone from Minneapolis has heard of The Hold Steady. Though they now live in Brooklyn, most of their lyrics pay tribute to this area because this is where they grew up and started the band.

My favorite line: "He loved the Golden Gophers but he hated all the drawn-out winters."

Absolutely Shameless Promotion Ahead

Well, my publisher Mike Savage sent me an email yesterday about the Ellen Show. Namely, that they want to get me on it.

I like the Ellen Show. I like Ellen. This is one of the many shows I watch during the day if I happen to, ahem, call in sick to work.

I also watch Tyra and Martha Stewart. One time when Martha was on, she was demonstrating how to perfectly fold a fitted sheet. Because I'm a Virgo I immediately perked up.
"Ooooo goody! The secret to the universe shall REVEAL itself."

I memorized what Martha was doing; it was sensational. My mom can also do this; she's showed me several times. When my mother is done with them you CANNOT tell which sheet is the flat and which is fitted. They are both perfectly creased rectangles, it's like watching a Zen master make origami.

I can't do it, and this hurts me. Emotionally and psychologically.

My fitted sheets always look like I folded them with my cat stuffed inside.

But back to Ellen. If you want to see me act like a jerk on national television, and believe me, YOU KNOW YOU DO! you can click on this link and bombard the producers with requests for my appearance. The more obnoxious the better.

My sister-in-law Becca is already giving me grief over the "angelic author" bit. Also the expression: Going Viral
That just conjures up all kinds of images. Hmmmm... ducks going viral = bird flu

PLEASE HELP LUELLA GO VIRAL!

Here's the deal: National Children's Book Week begins May 12th. We've offered to give a copy of Melinda Braun's book Luella to audience members of the Ellen show one of those days if they will have Melinda on to tell the sweet, sweet, TRUE story of the orphan duck raised by a Pug named Pancake. Would you be willing to help make this a reality by emailing Ellen's show and "encouraging" them to have Melinda on as a guest? Tell ALL your friends to do the same. If this goes viral and enough people ask, maybe they'll invite Melinda to the show and she will be able to meet one of her favorite stars. Plus, children around the world will get to know a true story of love and acceptance. Please email Ellen for us! Ask your friends to do the same! Thanks! Go to: The Ellen Show and help get the plucky ducky, the pugnacious pug, and the angelic author on Ellen for National Children's Book Week!

Visit www.savpress.com for more info.

Newberry Medal

The Newberry Medal is the Oscar trophy of the children's literature world, and the winner was announced today.

It was Neil Gaiman!

I posted a Neil Gaiman quote about a month ago (one of my favorites):

"You can know anything. It's all there. You just have to find it."

Neil Gaiman, if you are not familiar, has written many novels and comic stories, his most famous being Sandman. He also wrote American Gods and Stardust, which was made into a movie a few years ago. His latest film out is Coraline, and the book he won the Newberry Medal for is called The Graveyard Book.

The other thing about Neil Gaiman is though he was born and grew up in England, he now lives in the Twin Cities area. There is a large poster of him in the copy room of my office, so also I see him everyday at work.

Maybe someday I will have my own poster. Hmmmm.....we'll see.

I read American Gods a while ago and I think I'm going to hit the library and see how many of his books I can find. I'm betting now that we will be getting quite a few requests for his stuff. This happens every time a National book award, a Pulitizer prize, a Booker prize, a Nobel prize, or an Oprah book is announced.

Or a Newberry Award.