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Tuesday, June 17, 2014

A Few Bookish Tidbits

You guys, June is killing me. I mean, how are we over half way through this month? Where is my lazy summer going? (Oh yeah, I might be sleeping it away).

Anyway, here are a few bookish things from the internet I've been reading/pondering/interested in recently.

1. This article from Slate made the rounds on my Facebook feeds a couple of weeks ago, and I can't stop thinking about it because it made me so angry. Adults should be ashamed to read YA literature!? Obviously, this sad author has lost touch with her childhood, her innocence, and any sense of decency, and I feel bad for her. It's not that I love The Fault in Our Stars so much (I don't), but I will stand up unequivocally for the value of young adult and children's literature. Take, for instance, this paragraph:

Most importantly, these books consistently indulge in the kind of endings that teenagers want to see, but which adult readers ought to reject as far too simple. YA endings are uniformly satisfying, whether that satisfaction comes through weeping or cheering. These endings are emblematic of the fact that the emotional and moral ambiguity of adult fiction—of the real world—is nowhere in evidence in YA fiction. These endings are for readers who prefer things to be wrapped up neatly, our heroes married or dead or happily grasping hands, looking to the future. But wanting endings like this is no more ambitious than only wanting to read books with “likable” protagonists.
How sad! How sad indeed that adults are only allowed "emotional and moral ambiguity" and we should feel ashamed to believe that stories actually should have endings. Excuse me if I believe in happy endings.

2. This little list from NPR last week made me super happy. I can't say I remember the show Gullah Gullah Island, but Reading Rainbow? Wishbone? These were the shows that defined my childhood! There are so many books today that I can't look at without remembering that little dog costumed as the main character. Also, my husband can still sing the entire theme song to Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego. Yep, we had some quality public programming in those days.


3. You guys, I need my favorite bookish bloggers to stop posting summer reading guides, because my to-read list has exploded recently, even as my time devoted to actual reading has plummeted. It's a conundrum for sure. Nevertheless, if you find yourself looking for that next great read this summer, my two favorite guides so far have been this one by Janssen at Everyday Reading and this one by Modern Mrs. Darcy.

4. Okay, so I was totally late to the Lizzie Bennett Diaries bandwagon, but after finally stumbling across it I binge watched all 100 episodes over two days (each episode is only five to ten minutes). It was a fantastic web-video-blog (whatever the word is) adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, and I loved it, so I was delighted to discover Emma Approved last month (still late to the game, but only half-way through this time), which is obviously an adaptation of Emma. I think this new series is a bit less charming (it took me a lot of episodes to warm up to Emma), but I still highly recommend it to all those Austen-obsessed fans out there. However, they're only on episode 53 right now, so you might want to wait until all the episodes have been released and binge watch it all at once (a highly satisfying, if time consuming experience). Either way, it's a fun way to experience Austen.

2 comments:

  1. I love Emma Approved and Lizzie Bennet diaries! I don't know if you've heard but there is one for The Importance of Being Earnest and it is called In Earnest! It is also really good! -Evy :)

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    1. I've not heard of this Being Earnest. Obviously, I need to binge watch it and then we'll need to discuss it. :) Thanks!

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