Posts Tagged ‘leigh bardugo’
Perfect Book Gifts! (For YA and Little Kids)
One of my favorite projects is picking out books for my nieces and nephews for Christmas each year. I have conversations with my husband about the kids and what they’re into lately (soccer, theater, Halo, art, wilderness, princesses, philosophy). I talk to my own kids about their cousins. I have email conversations with some of my sisters about what books their little kids have already read, and I scroll back through my own favorite reads of the year.
The ideal book is a perfect match for the niece’s or nephew’s time of life and personality, a surprise, and something he or she hasn’t discovered yet.
At risk of giving away my surprises, (my nieces and nephews have far better things to do than keep tabs on my blog, but in case they see this, I’m keeping recipients vague), here are the titles my husband and I are giving this year. If you’re looking for gift ideas, too, maybe one will strike you.
And no, I don’t send them my own books for Christmas. Where would be the fun in that?
For the college-aged and teens:
Genn Albin, Crewel
Leigh Bardugo, Shadow and Bone
Kate Burak, Emily’s Dress and Other Missing Things
Trish Doller, Something Like Normal
David Levithan, Every Day
Yann Martel, Life of Pi
Marie Rutkoski, The Shadow Society
Neal Shusterman, Unwholly
Dan Wells, Partials
For the little ones, ages 2-9:
David A. Carter, Builder Bugs
Ian Falconer, Olivia and the Fairy Princess
Tommy Greenwald and J.P. Coovert, Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Not Reading
Irene Latham, Don’t Feed the Boy
Barbara Lehman, The Red Book
Gail Carson Levine, Ella Enchanted
George MacDonald, The Light Princess
Ray Marshall and Wilson Swain, The Castaway Pirates, A Pop-up Tale
Mo Willems, Knuffle Bunny
Photo Essay of a Fierce Reads Tour
From October 16-21, 2012, Genn Albin, Leigh Bardugo, Marie Rutkoski and I spoke each day at a library or bookstore in a different city. We visited Gurnee, IL; Bethesda, MD; Columbus, OH; Oxford, MS; Haverford, PA; and New York City, NY.
Our panels began with each of us briefly introducing our books, and then we answered questions. First stop: the Warren Newport Public Library in Gurnee, IL.
We spent a lot of time traveling. Media escorts would meet our planes and drive us to our hotels and events. En route, we stopped at additional bookstores to sign stock and snack it up.
A blogger or two would interview us at each stop. Some simply chatted with us. Others, like Lily and Stephanie in Bethesda, came prepared with thought-provoking questions about government, individual responsibility, and world building. Their interviews are appearing online, and links can be found via Twitter with #FierceReads.
It was lovely to meet so many readers who were passionate about books. They brought their families and stayed to talk. Cover to Cover Books, Columbus.
One of Leigh’s Pennsylvania fans came in a home-made kefta to show her delight in Shadow and Bone.
We rarely had time to be tourists, but we couldn’t resist a detour to Rowan Oak, William Faulkner’s home. It was steeped in Southern atmosphere.
A couple of readers like Emily, who is also a writer, skipped their Homecoming Dance to come to our panel in Oxford, MS.
After our panels and visiting, we signed stock. The mountain of stock at Off Square Books in Oxford, MS, was the biggest I’ve ever seen. Jill Moore and her crew plied us with brownies, wine, coffee, iced tea, pizza, chips, spinach dip, sweet potato pie, and promises of future fishing trips.
We finished up at Books of Wonder in NYC, buddies. The tour vastly exceeded my expectations and I’m so happy I had the chance to go. From left: Genn Albin, Marie Rutkoski, Leigh Bardugo and me, Caragh O’Brien.
Tour Stops: Oblong Books and Books of Wonder
Jenn Bosworth, Emmy Laybourne, Caragh O'Brien, Jennifer Laughran, Suzanna Hermans, Anna Banks, and Leigh Bardugo at Oblong Books, June 17, 2012
I joined the end of the Fierce Reads Tour with Leigh Bardugo, Anna Banks, Jenn Bosworth and Emmy Laybourne last week. Many thanks to Jennifer Laughran and Suzanna Hermans of Oblong Books and Music in Rhinebeck, NY for having us by. Your readers were absolutely wonderful with their questions and it was great to see so many writers in the gathering.
The next night, we stopped at the iconic Books of Wonder in New York City. Thanks Peter Glassman, Sam Walters, and Kaila Waybright for your warm welcome. I couldn’t believe when I looked down at my watch and saw we’d been talking and visiting for two and a half hours. The time flew.
In case you missed it, here’s the gig on video.
Fierce Reads Tour, Books of Wonder, June 18, 2012
