That metal sculpture you see was made by the greatest boyfriend in the world (I might be slightly partial in these matters). Obviously he knows me pretty well, since like that statue, I usually have my face in a book, and of course it has taken up residence on a bookshelf where it feels right at home.

As if making me that awesome sculpture wasn’t enough, he went and got me a new iPod, as well. That could have something to do with the fact that he’s tired of hearing me complain about my broken one or tired of listening to the same mix CDs over and over again anytime I drive him somewhere.

My mother also made me a gift – a scrapbook chronicling my life up to this point, and speaking of books my sister gave me The Dead Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan – that didn’t come as much of a surprise since she called me en route to the book store to ask me what I wanted. I also wound up with some birthday cash that will likely go towards adding a few more books to my library.

Oh, and what would a birthday be without cake? If you want to know how old I am, you’re going to have to count those candles.

You can read the first chapter here, but I should warn you that the book will not be available until January. After reading this chapter, you’re going to wish you could get your hands on the book right away!

What books are on your to-read list?

Not long ago writer, blogger and book recommender Heather McCorkle recommended Sucks to Be Me: The All-True Confessions of Mina Hamilton, Teen Vampire (maybe) by Kimberly Pauley and I added it to my list. I’m so glad I took Heather up on her recommendation.

This is a fun book that turns the whole vampire genre on its head. Forget everything you thought you knew about Vampires. It’s just not true. Vampires aren’t scary. They don’t go around attacking innocent people. They also don’t sparkle in the sun. Mina is the daughter of Vampires and Sucks to Be Me deals with her decision on whether or not to follow her parents in their unlikely lifestyle choice. While that may sound like a pretty serious decision, Sucks to Be Me manages to be a fun, light-hearted read. Even better Kimberly has written a sequel. Still Sucks to Be Me is due out next month.

Thanks to her recommendation of Sucks to Be Me, Heather joins an elite group that includes friends, family, librarians, my local bookstore owner and assorted book bloggers whose book recommendations are to be trusted. Of course, as a result of this ever growing circle of book recommenders my little brown book is pretty full of books to read.

Where do you get your book recommendations from?

Read What I Saw And How I Lied by Judy Blundell, and you should too. This YA book won the National Book Award. Even though,historical fiction is not my favorite genre, I decided to give this one a try, and am glad I did. It’s set in post-World War II America, and does an excellent job of capturing the mood of that time in a coming of age tale. Judy Blundell has been writing some different series books under other names for years, but this is the first book she published under her own name using her own original idea. Something tells me that this will be the first of many Judy Blundell books.

Laughed out loud while reading The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin by Josh Berk. I had the opportunity to meet Josh when he was in town signing books. His debut YA novel is set in a region of Pennsylvania I am well familiar with and tells the story of Will Halpin a deaf teenager suddenly trying to adjust to life in a mainstream high school while also helping to solve the murder of  one of his classmates in a former coal mine, but don’t let all that heavy stuff bring you down. This is a fun book! Reading The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin, I was reminded of another author I had the chance to meet many years ago when he visited my school, Gordon Korman. Just like Don’t Care High and A Semester in the Life of a Garbage Bag, The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin was laugh out loud funny, while still telling a serious story. It’s a delicious dark comedy, that you should definitely read.

Saw Elvis Costello and The Imposters in Atlantic City. This was in honor of my mom’s upcoming birthday. It was a great show. Here’s a fan video (not mine) from the concert:

What have you been up to this week?

I just finished reading What I Saw, and How I Lied by Judy Blundell, and here is the song I have chosen for the soundtrack:

The song is “In the Mood” and in this clip is performed by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra.

As for why I chose the song, What I Saw, and How I Lied is a YA historical fiction set just after World War II. The main character’s stepfather has just returned home to New York after fighting in the war. “In the Mood” fits the time period of the story, and I believe was even mentioned once in the book.

Fun fact: according to my grandmother she and a friend of hers listened to this record so many times that they actually wore it out!

The novel tells the story of a family on vacation, (well, technically, they’re “on holiday” since they are British) when a mysterious woman shows up in their lives and has a profound effect on each member of the family: a teenage son and daughter, a mom and the stepfather. The audio employs different readers to tell the story of each of the characters.

When it was either the son or the daughter’s turn in the spotlight I found myself interested in the story, but when it was either of the adult characters I found myself more likely to zone out. At least in this novel, the young people were more interesting.

I read a lot of young adult fiction because I enjoy it, and perhaps because I find the characters more interesting than some grown-up characters. What are your thoughts on young characters vs. old characters in books? What, to you, makes a character interesting and a story compelling?

Chances are, if you are reading this, you already know that most YA fiction is not dumbed down, and can be just as challenging as any adult book out there. In fact, I’ve found that many of the people who take a dim view of YA literature aren’t spending their free time reading challenging masterpieces of literature or deep, incomprehensible philosophical tracts. They’re reading popular fiction. Sure, the characters are over the age of 18, but otherwise the book is no more complex than your average YA title.

Still, sometimes I wonder if all the YA books I’m reading is making me soft. I worry that I don’t read enough grownup books, that I am regressing. Usually, these thoughts plague me when I am having a hard time getting through an adult book.

I’m reading a grownup novel, and I’m about 100 pages in, and I’m just not that into it. My first thought is that I have lost the ability to read books for grownups.

Then I think of all the grownup books I read recently that I loved and had a hard time putting down, and I realize maybe it’s not me. Maybe it’s the book. Maybe it’s not my sort of thing, not because grownup books aren’t my thing, but because this is a book that just doesn’t grab me.

Have you ever experienced reading self doubt? Do you read YA books? Grownup books? A pleasant mix?