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Let’s judge that book cover!

The inspiration for this post comes from my (mostly) weekly update of the new books panel of this Library blog (yes, this is the place where you can find out about new books!). The Library gets a lot of new stuff every week, and I go ahead and select about 10 books, give or take, to be featured. It’s not a difficult process: I mostly choose the ones that have covers that catch my eye.

New book at the Library (J AL28g). The cover reminds me of one of my favorite books/movies, Howl’s Moving Castle.

In the Library’s case, the books have already been carefully selected so I don’t have to think about content when judging which ones get featured. However, I find myself doing this outside of the Wheelock, gravitating and picking up books with interesting and/or attractive covers and ignoring the plain, generic ones. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think everyone does this to some extent.

A little sad that the Harry Potter series will be getting new covers in the US. I’m so attached to this one!

I don’t believe it is necessarily a horrible thing to judge books by their covers and to place so much importance on covers. Entire marketing departments, artists, models, and sometimes, even authors, have worked hard on them (at least, I like to think so). And a cover is often the first piece of information we get about a book and the first image around which we build our vision of the book’s world and characters. Sometimes, it is the only piece of information that we remember about a book or the only image we associate with the book. For those of us into specific genres of fiction, the cover is a great indicator as to whether the book is a mystery, romance, science-fiction, or fantasy. Thousands of titles are published each week so it is easy and fast to choose based on instant reactions to the aesthetics.

I wonder if Emily Bronte was rolling in her grave when she saw this. Book (with different cover) also available at the Library

Due to all of this, even when we are not judging the book itself by its cover, we can and do judge the intent behind the cover. Sometimes tacky, sloppy, or blatantly misleading covers can be a source of ire, snarky remarks, and spirited discussions. Would Twilight fans pick up Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights if it has a Twlight-esque cover with a reminder that it’s Bella and Edward’s favorite book (Yes)and should we care if it’s getting readers to explore the English lit classic? Have you noticed the racism in YA covers and why do publishers think we’re not going to notice if the cover features a white female when the story’s main character is black? Where does the UK’s recent 50th anniversary edition of Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar land in the kitten-to-suicide scale? And would E.L. James’s Fifty Shades of Gray have done so well if it had a less tame, less genre-ambiguous cover?

What are your thoughts about book covers? Have you discovered a good read or a new favorite author after choosing a book based on its cover art?

Isn’t this a story of a young woman’s descent into clinical depression? This book (with a different cover) is also available at the Library.

Claudia Kishi and the quest for personal style

Remember Claudia Kishi? Junk food hoarder, terrible speller, burgeoning artist and founding member of The Baby-Sitters Club.

If you don’t know Claudia, you should. But not necessarily because of her role in one of the biggest pre-teen book series of the 1990s (the last title was published in 2000), or because she was one of the few literary role models for Asian-American girls coming of age in that decade (OK, actually, you should definitely know about that). What’s important here is that in the 21st century Claudia Kishi has taken on a new life: Style Icon. The internet is bursting with blogs and tumblrs dedicated to Claudia and her unique, thoroughly DIY, and ultimately undefinable fashion sense.

Here’s a fan art rendering, from the claudia kishi diaries tumblr linked above, of a typical Claudia outfit (if there is such a thing):

And here’s the description, from the Baby-Sitters Club Super Mystery #2: Baby-sitters Beware:

“Claudia was wearing leggings, too – purple ones – with black Doc Martens, red slouch socks, black bicycle shorts over the leggings, a big t-shirt with the words “This Might Be Art” scrawled on it in purple (I knew she’d made it herself), and an old black suit jacket of her father’s, with the sleeves rolled up… Claudia’s earrings were purple feathers (she made those herself, too).”

Here’s the thing about Claudia: even if the shorts-over-leggings or homemade jewelry look isn’t for you, she represented (and still represents) something very important for young girls on the verge of adolescence: fearless self-expression. Her modern style icon status isn’t so much about what she wore (check out this great quiz for examples of how Claudia’s outfits wouldn’t necessarily look so amazing on actual people), but about why she wore. Fashion is frequently dismissed as frivolous, superficial, too girly, and a host of other descriptors meant to deny it as a topic worthy of serious consideration. And while a simple search for “fashion studies” or “fashion theory” or “fashion history” will swiftly disprove this assumption, there remains the very consideration-worthy matter of personal style.

More than just a means to look good, personal style is a path to self-exploration and self-expression. It’s not the only way, of course, but it should be respected as a valid option. It is also a way to take back some control from the usual channels that get to define what is trendy, or beautiful, or worthy of admiration. I suspect the reason many now-grown former readers of the Baby-Sitters Club, as well as new fans, identify so strongly with Claudia is that she beautifully illustrates how creating your own hard-won, trial & error, always-evolving fashion sense can be a crucial part of a person’s development.

And, since Claudia would likely roll her eyes at how serious I’m getting about this, we should allow her the final word:

“I think clothes make a statement about the person inside them. Also, since you have to get dressed every day, why not at least make it fun?”

(BSC #2, Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls)

The Book that Inspires Crimes Against Food: Redeemed

I had very lofty goals for this round of food-in-books blogging. I had been mentally preparing to make the Lamb and Prune Stew from Hunger Games for about 2 weeks. But there was a hitch: I’m not a big fan of lamb. Or prunes. And I hadn’t yet figured out how to get around that seeing as those two ingredients are the only ones listed in the book. So I waited, and thought, and waited, and thought. And the next thing I knew, it was the day before this blog needed to be done and I had not gotten any closer to making the stew. I needed another option and FAST. And one classic food book popped into my head: Green Eggs and Ham. We’ve all read it. And now, I was going to cook it.

I did not make the prunes and lamb, instead I made Green Eggs and Ham. (Ok, Seuss-ing over.)

A quick google image search turned up some pretty attrocious versions:

Clearly taking this dish literally could lead to some dark places. I knew I had one rule: no food crimes could be committed in the name of this adventure. Setting aside any food-coloring methods of turning this classic combo green, there was clearly only one choice: basil pesto. This simple sauce is naturally green from the basil, and I predicted (correctly) that the flavor would go nicely with eggs and ham. I put the items together–the green, the egg, and the ham–in the form of a sandwich, and BOY did that turn out great. My ham in this tasty concoction was proscuitto that I crisped up in the toaster oven. I layered that with a fried egg on a toasted a brioche roll.

photo-4

After a healthy dollop of basil pesto (store bought–sorry fans, I was SUPER lazy this time around) and a few shavings of pecorino cheese, the sandwich came together. And what a sandwich it was. Salty from the proscuitto, bright from the basil, creamy from the slightly runny egg yolk–this sandwich had it all. Just as Green Eggs and Ham may be the quintessential Dr. Seuss book, this sandwich should be the quintessential version of the dish itself.

photo-5

I do so like

green eggs and ham!
Thank you!
Thank you, Sam-I-Am!

With All Due Respect and Apologies to Louisa May Alcott

I have spent a lot of time reading young adult fiction, and even more writing about young adult fiction. I decided that it was time that I try my hand at it. I drew inspiration from both classics and newer popular works. I selected what I thought to be the most beautiful aspects of each and loving stitched them together to form a perfect narrative. For isn’t that what one gets when cobbling together fragments of perfection—perfection even more glorified? Wasn’t there a book exactly to this effect? I’ll make a note to look that up later.

Here for the first time, please find my synopsis for the first of my trilogy, “Lord of the Files.”

The story begins in a barren wasteland. The Earth has been decimated by nuclear war that caused technology to evolve into consciousness and rebel against the remaining humanity. Computers amassed a robotic army. However, a clever human resistance developed a virus that caused the robot army to turn into zombies. The zombie computers turned on one another; further mass destruction ensued. Unfortunately, this also backfired against the human resistance. The computer virus similarly attained consciousness, evolved, and infected most of the remaining population. The humans turned to vampires, werewolves, and witches.

Into this brutal landscape, young Chastinence is introduced. She is a witch, pure of heart and spirit. Her mean surroundings do little to diminish her beauty, her musical talent, and her kindness. Her mother, the most powerful witch the world has known since the fifth apocalypse, dies tragically from consumption shortly before Chasitnence’s fifteen birthday. This is particularly calamitous because Chasitenence’s mother was to pass on the Knowledge of the Ages when Chassy came of age at fifteen. “My birthday just won’t be my birthday without any presents,” Chassy grumbles.

Chastinence, blind with grief, leaves the underground paradise her mother created to embark on a journey to find the power that belongs rightfully to her. She is captured by a militant human sect that forces her to participate in a public fight to the death. She considers escape, but realizes thousands will suffer if she does not battle in their stead. She meets Frosh, a dark and handsome opponent. She is intrigued by his obvious secrets. Her desire for him awakens her latent witch powers, and together the two escape the arena, find a cache of zombie robots to destroy the ruling militia, and band together with seven other survivors to rebuild a humanish population.

All should be well, but soon Chastinence discovers Frosh is a vampire werewolf elf. She swears her allegiance, limbs, veins, and changelings be damned. Frosh, touched, emotes. A lot. The two realize they will have to make a new life in a little house on the toxic prairie. Chastinence welcomes the challenge; she is blessed with many werewolf vampire elf daughters. “Oh, my girls,” she says at the end of book one, “however long you may live, I never can wish you a greater happiness than this!”

I’m currently fleshing out book two. But know that a surviving robot Holdon Caufield makes a bid for Chastinence’s affections. A love triangle threatens the peace Frosh has worked so hard to find for himself and his family. Its working title is “Hunger Dawn.” I’m pretty sure these books will be the next best sellers. Get your copies early.

Same Old Story

What if Rumpelstiltskin and the miller’s daughter had an affair? Or if Cinderella held a fencing sword and said something like “I will slit you from navel to nose”? Or if Rapunzel lived in the American Wild West?

I’m a regular viewer of the fantasy TV series, Once Upon a Time (OUAT). I can go on about the show’s many faults, but one of the reasons that I keep going back for more is its retelling and re-envisioning of fairy tales and storybook characters. Not all of the show’s retellings have been successful, but there is comfort in hearing familiar stories, knowing the characters and stories on a meta level, and making connections various incarnations. There is also an anticipation in seeing a refreshing take on the characters and plot and seeing how it can still remain true to the most distinctive aspects of the “original” (if an official original even exists) tale.

The first “what-if” I posited references the stand-out retelling of Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale from a recent Once Upon a Time episode. We have all the well-known ingredients: a young woman having to prove that she can spin straw into gold or be executed; the help of the dealmaking imp, Rumpelstiltskin; a child being promised; the young woman’s marriage into royalty; and an ending where the tables are turned on the Rumpelstilstkin (who is supposed to be the bad guy).

However, the OUAT version fills in all the emotional notes and character motivations. The miller’s daughter, Cora, is not a silently suffering martyr. She is filled with anger at the contempt the royals had shown her because she is at the bottom rung of the social ladder. She wants them to bow to her. Under Rumpelstiltskin’s guidance, Cora channels her rage into creating the sort of magic that allows her to spin straw into gold. The child being promised is not her firstborn, but Rumpelstiltskin’s. And when she turns the tables on him in the end, it is an act of betrayal (they are sort of in a relationship).

Other retellings to check out:

Beauty by Robin McKinley. Beauty isn’t quite beautiful, but her intelligence, practicality, and humor are sources of strength for her family and enable her to build a strong relationship with the Beast, who feels a lot more human than other incarnations I’ve seen.
Ever After (1998 movie). The second “what-if” I posited references this retelling of Cinderella in fictional 16^th century France (where everyone, inexplicably, has a British accent). ~~Cinderella~~ Danielle de Babarac can floor a prince just by quoting Thomas More’s Utopia.
Princess and the Frog (2009 movie). This is a movie based on a book based on the The Frog Prince fairytale. I never really liked the early versions of the tale because I don’t think spoiled princesses deserve handsome princes. However, in this movie, Tiana is a hardworking and talented young woman that I can cheer for.
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine. Ella is gifted with the curse of obedience (or is that cursed with the gift of obedience?), but she knows how to rebel in her own way. She is not going to take it lying down and goes on a quest to remove the curse.

What are your favorite retellings?