Celebrating stories.

Today Mr. Richards and I went to WonderCon in San Francisco. It's a big media convention - mostly comics - held at Moscone Center. It was a three day event but we just went up today specifically to see the Doctor Who panel, more specifically because Neil Gaiman was on the panel. I don't think it's any secret that I'm kind of a Neil Gaiman fan. I'm also a Doctor Who fan. So when Neil Gaiman writes an episode of Doctor Who, well that's just a perfect storm of fandom. This is a picture of me waiting in line for the panel this morning; I brought a sock to work on in case we had to wait for anything. There was a very large crowd for this panel. And it was very cool - we got a free t-shirt - and interesting but it's not the main thing I wanted to talk about here. I went to two other panels which were more academic in nature; the first was about female spies and private eyes in comics and their evolution, and the second was about comics for kids. Now the interesting thing about this topic is that I think most people would say, "aren't all comics for kids?" And the answer is no, in fact, most comics now days are for grown ups. The people who used to be kids and loved their comics so much that they wanted grown up comics to read when they grew up are now writing, drawing, and painting them. They spent a decade or so convincing the public that comics were not just for kids and not all comics were about costumed superheroes. So the comic book industry grew up and kind of left the kids behind. And now the publishers think that the only people buying comics are adults and teens, according to the panelists, one of whom was Jennifer Holm of Babymouse fame. Babymouse is very popular now but it took several years to get the first one published, she said. This challenge is added to the "not real reading" attitude that many parents still hold about comics. Yet time and time again, when I listen to authors and illustrators speak, many of them talk about how they were inspired by the comic books they read as kids. At the Doctor Who panel I mentioned earlier Toby Haynes, director of the first two episodes of season 6, spoke of his dyslexia and said that the first book he every finished reading without help was a Doctor Who comic book. The stories spoke to him and inspired him and kept him reading.

Something else the panel discussed was writing for children in general. They came to the conclusion that while it is more difficult to write for children, stories that are written with a specific audience in mind tend to feel inauthentic. So again, it comes down to story. Is it a good story? Do I care about the characters? Do I want to know what happens next? A good story will appeal to all kinds of people - male, female, young, old, whatever.

And speaking of good stories, I happened to read the graphic novel Ghostopolis by Doug TenNapel yesterday. I know that this book has been getting lots of good reviews and is landing on a lot of top ten lists so I thought I'd give it a looksee. It is a fantastic book. Frank Gallows is a sort of hard boiled ghost hunter whose work is a bit sloppy. Garth Hale is a kid who's been diagnosed with an unnamed terminal disease. Their paths cross when Gallows accidentally sends Garth to the afterlife with a captured ghost. While Frank must find a way to get Garth back to the living world, Garth discovers he has powers in the after life and uses them to battle the evil ruler of Ghostopolis, and free the city of the dead from his reign of terror. Although this book is at a second grade reading level, the subject matter puts it at no less than a fifth grade interest level, in my opinion. The story is very well written and it only feels a little bit like a book written for kids, it certainly doesn't read like a second grade book! The pictures are dark and edgy and would definitely appeal to the older kids. I was raving about it to Mr. Richards and now he's reading it himself!

So, to wrap up this whole thing, as Mr. Richards and I talked about the day, we came away with the feeling that the thing that everyone at that convention center had in common was the love of a good story, whether it was the people writing episodes for a popular british science fiction TV show, people drawing pictures for comic books, or the people who dressed up as their favorite characters, everyone was celebrating stories and storytelling. We felt pretty lucky to have been a small part of that today.

I stole this comic from the Book List website

I've mentioned on this blog before that I've been reading - and enjoying - graphic novels now that I'm 45.  And while graphic novels are gaining more acceptance as legitimate literature, some folks still think of them as comic books written for children.  But even comic books written for children have improved in variety and quality.  So when I saw this little comic strip it made me chuckle and I had to share it.  I think if you click on it, it might get bigger or it will open in another window and you can zoom in on it.

Back to Kidlit and knitting

Well, looks like February has been a slow blogging month. But I have passed the 2,000 pageviews mark, which is kind of exciting. It's good to know that someone out there is reading what I write here. Hopefully, it's not the same person reading it 2,000 times. That would be worrisome. I've been on a graphic novel kick, but they are not graphic novels for kids so I didn't want to talk about them here. I want this blog to be about books you can find in the Marshall Lane library. I have been growing the graphic novel collection, though, because I'm a convert. There are some really good stories out there in graphic form. When I first started buying graphic novels for the library a few years ago my intention was to bring more boys into the library. I bought a few Star Wars comics and the boys flocked to the library. Those books never make it back to the shelves. They are always on hold and fall apart by the end of the year. Then I started buying Babymouse for the girls and they flew off the shelves as well. Then I noticed that some girls were checking out Star Wars and some boys were checking out Babymouse. So I decided to throw my gender biases out the window and started buying a variety of graphic novels based on quality and interest. I don't have a huge collection but they are hugely popular. And what I've noticed is that while the boys, generally, keep checking out mostly the Star Wars books, the girls are reading everything else. Which is interesting. Not sure what it means. Except that maybe my purchases are still biased towards what girls like. Perhaps I should start buying superhero comics. Well, I've waxed on about this more than I intended. Let's get back to kidlit.

I read - or rather, listened to - The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron, which was the Newbery Medal winner in 2008. The story centers around Lucky, a ten-year-old girl living with her guardian in a very small town in California. Lucky's mother has died and her absent father has brought is ex-girlfriend Brigitte over from France to be Lucky's guardian. Lucky worries that Brigitte, who is homesick for France, will abandon her also. Lucky feels sure that if she could just find her higher power, a term that she overhears the 'anonymous people' use, her problems would be solved. I liked this book. But this is one of those Newbery books that doesn't really appeal to most children. And, in fact, this book has not circulated well in my library. But it is a good story and I would encourage people to give it a read. I read it because my friend Mrs. Freeman recommended it. She's reading her way through all the Newbery books and she told me it was a good one. I trust her judgement. She told me that Al Capone Does My Shirts was good and I agree with her. I pointed her towards Odd and the Frost Giants when The Graveyard Book was unavailable and she liked that. So, the point is, get a book buddy. They help you to read things that you might not normally pick up off the shelf.

I've also just finished Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code by Eoin Colfer. This is the third book in the series and I'm really enjoying it. I was going to just stop at the first one but I'm kind of sucked in now. If you don't like series books, don't worry, these books read well as stand alone titles with recurring characters. The stories are a great blend of fantasy and high-tech thrillers. Action, intrigue, and fairy magic. Even though the main character is not always a good guy, he is likable. If you like the Alex Rider series or the Percy Jackson series, I think you'll like Artemis Fowl as well.

Well, I think I've gone on long enough. Looks like it's feast or famine here at the old Marshall Lane Library Blog. I'll close with some pictures of what I've been working on whilst listening to books:

A dear friend of mine and his wife are expecting their first baby so I knitted her some tiny shoes and a blueberry hat to go with the book Blueberry Girl by Neil Gaiman.

The object in the last picture is a Cthulhu. A cuddly one. If you don't know what Cthulhu is, you need to brush up on your H.P. Lovecraft. That is all.

Comics, podcasts, and iPad apps

Apparently, this Saturday is International Read Comics in Public Day. I think this is a good idea. Reading anything in public is a good idea, so why not comics? I have a small collection of comics and graphic novels in the library and they are immensely popular! And for anyone who thinks that comics are not a legitimate art form, I challenge you to read The Arrival by Shaun Tan - I say read but it is actually wordless. It is absolutely stunning! In fact, I might just make it Book of the Week next week.

Now, I'm not a big comics reader, I get a bit overwhelmed by the pictures and tend to just read the words and skip the pictures which means I lose a lot of the story. But I do understand their appeal, after all, a good story is a good story regardless of delivery system. When I have taken the time to pore over the pictures, like when I 'read' The Arrival, I do find they can be enjoyable. I'm just always in to much of a hurry!
Speaking of comics, over the summer I downloaded the DC Comics app to my iPad. The app was free and some of the comics are free so I thought I'd check it out. Well, this turns out to be a great way for me to read comics! The app has a feature where it will either display a whole page at once or you can scroll pane by pane through the page. This helps me not get so overwhelmed by the pictures and helps me navigate through the panes without getting confused. I really like it! I've been reading mostly grown-up comics though, which also makes it more enjoyable!
I've also been using my iPad to read books - can you imagine!? I've bought a few books from the iBook store but I've also downloaded a ton of free books on my Free Books app. These are books that are out of copyright and have been digitized by Project Gutenberg. Lots of great old books. I'm reading one now by E. Nesbit called The Five Children and It from 1905. It's about a group of siblings who find a sand fairy who grants them wishes. It's very english and very old fashioned and very charming.
And speaking of delivery systems, you know I've been listening to audiobooks all summer, but I also like to listen to podcasts. Mr. Richards and I have been listening to old Jack Benny radio shows and Mr. Richards has discovered an old science fiction radio show called Dimension X. These shows are from the '40's and '50's but are still very entertaining. I've also been listening to the Pinkwater Podcast. Earlier in the summer, I listened to The Neddiad by Daniel Pinkwater and then I discovered he produces a weekly podcast in which he reads from his books and essays. Through listening to his essays, you can hear how his personal experiences become part of the stories he writes.

So tell me what you've been listening to.