Amelia Bloomer Project

There are probably as many "best books of __" lists in existence as there are stars in the sky. And I'm touting yet another one! But this particular list has some very specific criteria, more specific than "decently written" in any event, and one that I think is certainly worth taking (more than) a glance at. I'm talking about the Amelia Bloomer Project, which recently announced its top 10 of 2011 list! This is a really neat organization affiliated with the ALA that creates a yearly booklist for the top feminist books for readers aged 0-18.  Not just a nod to literature featuring plucky, brave, daring and genius female characters navigating their way out of sticky situations, the books on this list (a mix of non-fiction and fiction) must be actively feminist. What does that mean exactly, you might ask? To meet the list's criteria books must openly acknowledge- and confront- the disparities that women face and show them dealing with and overcoming obstacles. Just as importantly, the stories must be told in an engaging, thoughtful, well-written and age appropriate way.  Looking for an alternative to Bella Swan? How about a graphic novel by Jane Yolen about a girl who, in addition to feeling like a misfit at school, is also a master swordswoman? I know I would have appreciated a list like this when I was younger (I most certainly appreciate it now) and look forward to using the list as a gift guide for the egalitarian-minded young people in my life. You can find the list here.

Is this game tax deductible?

I think that it's safe to say that people who love books are people who love words. For all you word junkies today, some excellent free word games you can play at your desk. On your lunch break, of course.

Although, if you play Free Rice during work hours, it seems like you and/or your company should get some sort of tax write-off. After all, you're earning grains of rice to feed the hungry!

Less altruistic is Must Pop Words, which pits the player in a race against an ever increasing shower of letters.

Lexulous (the game formerly known to Facebook users as Scrabulous until Hasbro sued for copyright infringement) continues as a fair imitation of Scrabble (TM), and is still free. You need to create an account in order to play against other people online and save games, but if you'd rather not have yet another user name and password to remember, you can choose to play solitaire or against the computer in a practice game.

Of course, after realizing how popular the Scrabble-esque game was, Hasbro did launch its own, official Scrabble application for Facebook. (I have to admit, being able to play Scrabble with friends and family in other states is the real reason I joined Facebook.)

From one of the ultimate authorities on language, Merriam-Webster's website offers a number of fun, quick, and of course free word games.

Happy Spelling!

P.S. And now for a commercial announcement: The Galaxy Bookshop now carries Bananagrams! It's a portable, simple word game that people of all vocabulary levels can play together. Come by the store to play a demo game or two with one of us anytime.

The Books of Summer: Part 1

Though summer isn't officially here, we are into the longest days of the year, school's out (or nearly), and the summer reading lists have hit newstands and airwaves.

This week, a small selection of lists found around the internet--stay tuned for our personal picks, coming next week!

National Public Radio has a lot of good recommendations, from mysteries to cookbooks; they also link to excerpts from some of their picks.

Also from NPR, bookseller recommendations (always among our favorite lists to peruse).

The L.A. Times book blog Jacket Copy takes the long view with a list of over 50 books that are being published in the coming months.

Wall Street Journal offers their five choices for vacation reading.

Entertainment Weekly has the PopWatch edition and Steven King's picks.

The Seattle Times shares picks from librarian Nancy Pearl.

International summer reading: from Canada - some of these won't be available in the states, but others, like Guillermo del Torro's horror-fest The Strain, are being published simultaneously in Canada and the U.S.

The Indie Choice Awards provide a list of bookseller-approved reading, good for anytime of year (actually, that applies to all of these books, really). Highly recommended: Sarah Vowell's funny acceptance video.

The Onion's A.V. Club has introduced Wrapped Up in Books, an online book club to introduce or re-introduce readers to modern classics. Currently on the table is Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian. Another online book club idea is Paste magazine's Infinite Summer Reading Group, which is honoring the late David Foster Wallace by reading Infinite Jest.

Author Kenneth C. Davis gives history buffs a list of his favorites. (Enough with the "not all summer books are light reading" disclaimers already, though, Mr. Davis. That's been done to death.)

Salon interviewed authors about their favorite books and/or books they plan to read this summer.

Are these some of those frothy books Kenneth Davis was referring to?

[Edited to add:] There it is - thanks, New  York Times, for a list of fiction by women, for women. There are some really good books on this list, though I think we could all do without the condescension towards "chick lit."

And let's not forget younger readers:

The Horn Book has some great suggestions for kids and teens.

ReadKiddoRead says Summer Reading Doesn't Have to Be Punishment, and provides a long list of reasons why, including books like Adele & Simon, Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things, Coraline: The Graphic Novel, and The London Eye Mystery.

Links Galore, or Ways to Pass the Time till the Weekend Starts

What's Friday for, if not procrastinating in anticipation of the weekend? In honor of the day, I give you a multitude of links for your distraction.

Better than CliffsNotes? Get your classic lit in 140 characters or less.

Related to my review last week of The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet, one writer explains why he can't take another book featuring a child prodigy. I can sympathize with him, but really felt like Reif Larsen did an admirable job of balancing precociousness with a real childlike sensibility in his young character.

Photos of  bookstores that will make you drool (or is that just me?). The same site offers a look at truly amazing libraries around the world, as well. Wow.

Along the same lines: University staircases.

"In Toronto, picture standing on the Bloor Street Viaduct and reading about a nun who falls into the abyss at the end of the unfinished bridge and is caught by a man suspended underneath, from Michael Ondaatje’s In the Skin of a Lion. Or reading Dennis Lee’s classic children’s poem, “The Cat and the Wizard” to a young visitor while marvelling at the castle itself." Yet another reason to love Canadians: Project Bookmark Canada

Perseus Books Group invites you to submit "the first sentence for a yet-to-be-written sequel to any book ever published." (For example:  "It turned out not to be the worst of times at all; they got so much worse later." —From A Tale of Three Cities by Charles Dickens) The publisher will collect entries and publish them in BOOK: The Sequel at Book Expo America at the end of May.

Can't decide what to read next? Cynthia Crossen at the Wall Street Journal offers suggestions for some interesting book recommendation sites.

Get something for nothing: The New Yorker offers a free download of John Lithgow reading selected works by Mark Twain.

That free download is legal, of course. Authors and publishers are becoming more concerned (or not) with the increase in pirated ebooks. Please note: do NOT mess with Harlan Ellison. (via Vroman's)

The Outsiders was one of my favorite assigned books in high school, so I loved reading Cecil Castellucci's write-up of Ursula LeGuin's interview of S.E. Hinton. (That's a whole mouthful of excellent YA authors!)

Travel along with Mark Fitten, author of the recently published Valeria's Last Stand, as he tours the country, making stops at 100 independent bookstores.

In honor of Lost's season finale this week, I thought I'd pull out this old article about the show's many literary "cameos." (The final episode contained an extended closeup of Flannery O'Connor's Everything That Rises Must Converge.) (via RIB)


Not at all book related, but too much fun not to share: Tweenbots get people to lend a hand. It helps that they're adorable.

• Local businesses get media attention:

The Galaxy Bookshop and this very blog were mentioned in the Times Argus article about bookish happenings around the state.

The latest edition of Edible Green Mountains features an article about Highfields Institute. (Magazine available, free, at various local businesses.)

Claire's Restaurant chef and co-owner Steven Obranovich was interviewed at Farm to Table.