Tag: Lists

Happy Holidays everyone! Winter is the perfect time to snuggle down with a cozy blanket, a cat, and a great seasonal book. And in celebration of this great time of year, we’re highlighting our favorite holiday reads!

 Book: “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” by C. S. Lewis

Publication Info: Geoffrey Bles, October 1950

Not only is the Narnia series a fantasy classic, but this, the first book (let’s not get into the chronological debate, this will always be the first one!!) is a perfect Christmas read, because we all know that the premise is so true: Winter with no chance of Chirstmas would be the worst! Everything about this book makes it a great winter read: the fur coats, the snowy setting, the White Witch, and, of course, Santa Claus. Whether you’ve never read this book before, or read it a million times, this is a great one to check out this winter season!

Book: “Breadcrumbs” by Anne Ursu

Publishing Info: Walden Pond Press, September 2011

There are a few winter fairytales that must make this list, and my all time favorite “The Snow Queen” is first up with this middle grade retelling. This book features the perfect mix of familiar elements from the original story (a young boy and girl who are friends, boy’s heart becomes frozen, girl goes on adventure to save boy) and many new twists. It’s great for fans of fantasy as there are fun references to other works like “Harry Potter” and “The Wizard of Oz” all over the place. It also features a diverse cast and, bonus!, is set in our hometown of Minneapolis (let’s be honest, Minnesota is the perfect setting for any winter-based story).

Book: “East” by Edith Pattou

Publishing Info: HMH Books for Young Readers, May 2005

Another classic winter fairytale is “East of the Sun, West of the Moon” featuring a girl who is stolen away by a snow bear king who lives in a castle full of secrets. This fiarytale eventually evolved in “Beauty and the Beast,” but also remains popular in its more original form. There are a million re-tellings of this story, but this is one of the best as it is basically a straight up novel-length version of the fairytale with very few major changes to the plot. A perfect read for fans of “Beauty and the Beast!”

Book: “NOS4A2” by Joe Hill

Publishing Info: William Morrow, April 2013

No, don’t look at us like we’re crazy. “NOS4A2” is definitely a good pick for a cozy holiday read! Sure, maybe that’s because a child kidnapper takes his victims to a surrealistic dream scape he likes to call Christmasland, where it’s the worst Christmas ever…. But hey, it’s also a really good book that has to do with family, friendship, independence, and facing your fears. Plus, the main character is a kick butt lady named Vic who rides a motorcycle and is determined to save her son from Charlie Manx, the man who is head of the demonic Christmas town. An the holidays are a time for family.

Book: “The Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming” by Lemony Snicket and LIsa Brown (Ill.)

Publishing Info: McSweeney’s, January 2007

So maybe this is a picture book, but Lemony Snicket brings a lot of humor and heart to this story about a Hanukkah latke who is trying to explain his holiday to a bunch of Christmas objects. It’s a witty take on the dilemma that many Jewish children face around Christmas time, when people aren’t as in tune with the menorah and dreidels as they are to Santa Claus and reindeer. Plus it stars a frustrated screaming latke who wants others to know why he is significant.

Book: “In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash” by Jean Shepherd

Publishing Info: Broadway Books, October 1966

No doubt many of you are familiar with the holiday cult classic film “A Christmas Story”. But maybe you didn’t know that it was based on a book by Jean Shepherd (who served as narrator in the original film). This book goes far beyond the movie, however, as it focuses more on the hometown exploits of a boy named Ralph and the things that (possibly) went on in Shepher’s own childhood. But never fear. The authentic Red Rider BB Gun and the ‘Special Award’ still makes appearances! Shepherd is heralded as the original Garrison Keilor, and his dry wit and humor will keep you laughing on cold winter nights.

What are your favorite books to read during the holiday season? Let us know below in the comments! And have a Happy Holiday Season and New Year!

Look, no mincing words here. We’re very disappointed with how last weeks Presidential Election turned out. We’re sure you guys can guess why, though that shouldn’t be too hard because the list is long and terrifying. But there were a few small glimmers of hope on Election Night. In our own Minnesota, Ilhan Omar became the first Somali-American  to be elected to the Minnesota House. Tammy Duckworth won the Senate seat in Illinois. And Kate Brown secured the Governorship of Oregon. In honor of the women who didn’t win and the women who did, we’ve put together a list of books with inspirational women, be they fictitious or not, to share with you all.

Book: “I am Malala” by Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb

Publication Info: Little, Brown and Company, October 2013

At fifteen years old, Nobel Peace Prize recipient Malala Yousafzai was an outspoken activist for women’s and girls’ education in Pakistan. At the time the Taliban had moved into her home country and had started imposing that girls not be allowed to go to school, and Malala spoke against this. It was because of this that she was shot in the head while riding a bus to school. She survived, and her story has taken the world by storm, putting a spotlight on education for women the world over. Malala’s memoir details her life before her activism, the fallout after her attempted murder, and how she continues to strive and fight for the right for girls to go to school. It’s poignant, inspirational, and incredibly relatable, and you see her courage and determination in her writing and storytelling.

Book: “Shanghai Girls” by Lisa See

Publication Info: Random House, May 2009

Starting in pre-WWII Shanghai and moving through the Red Scare era of Los Angeles, “Shanghai Girls” tells the story of two remarkable Chinese women who live and fight against adversity. Pearl and May are sisters growing up in 1930s Shanghai and having the time of their lives. But then their father informs them that he has sold them as brides to pay off his debts, and they are going to marry two Chinese men who are moving to Los Angeles. But before Pearl and May can join their husband (in Pearl’s case) and future husband (in May’s), the Japanese invade. Their fight for survival in China is devastating, and their adjustment to life in America is jarring. But both Pearl and May show strength and resolve in spite of the horrors and hardships that fall upon them, and their fight against oppression of all kinds will inspire you.

Book: “V for Vendetta” by Alan Moore and David Lloyd

Publication Info: Vertigo, 1990

Though many people probably immediately think of V, the Guy Fawkes mask wearing vigilante, in the groundbreaking comic by Alan Moore, “V for Vendetta” also features Evey Hammond, his mentee turned critic turned partner. Evey turns from a victim within the dystopic London she lives in to someone who is actively fighting against the oppressive system, and could be argued to be the true protagonist in this story. V is very much the symbol of the revolutionary ideals at their most extreme. Evey is there to show how a normal woman can take power back in her life and help lead a revolution, and not only shape it, but claim it as her own and keep it going. She has her moments of self doubt and struggle, and questions the morally ambiguous decisions that come before her. She’s a tough gal with a lot to relate to.

Book: “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins

Publication Info: Scholastic Press, September 2008

Okay, so maybe this is an obvious one. But it’s hard to deny that Katniss Everdeen from District 12, aka The Girl on Fire is a force to be reckoned with within her story. A girl who comes from humble beginnings in a poverty stricken society offers herself up to a battle to the death to save her sister, only to spark a revolution. Sure, the love triangle is a bit much, and sure, last book in the series has a lot of criticism thrown its way, but Katniss is always a well rounded and reluctant hero, with realistic problems and a fortitude that leaps off the page. “The Hunger Games” is the start of her journey, and Katniss really is at her best here.

Book: “Hidden Figures” by Margot Lee Shetterly

Publication Info: HarperCollins World, September 2016

So many stories have been suppressed and removed from history when it comes to scientific achievement, and a new book and movie are making waves about some ingenious women who made their mark in the mathematics field. A group of African American women working for NASA were some of the pioneers behind the space race, working numbers and data that would eventually propel rockets into the air and send man into space. Though their story has been overlooked for a long time, a newly published book shows that these women were essential to the propulsion of the American Space Race. If you like science and STEM things along with American history, this could be the book for you.

Book: “Rad Women Worldwide” by Kate Schatz and Miriam Klien Stahl (Ill.)

Publication Info: Ten Speed Press, September 2016

Why have one or two awesome ladies in a book when you can have a whole lot of them?! In this collection of biographies and essays, a large number of women from all over the world are given their time in the spot light. The backgrounds run the gamut, from artists (like Frida Kahlo) to musicians (like punk icon Poly Styrene to world leaders (like Hatsepshut). This collection for younger readers will open a world of really neat ladies who will inspire kids for all kinds of reasons.

There are, of course, many more super inspirational books about women, fiction and non fiction alike. What are some of your favorites? Let us know in the comments!

 

All Hallows Eve is nearly upon us, readers, and while we’ll be putting some scary stories out there for you to think about on Halloween proper, this week we have a selection of some good Halloween movies. But maybe not the too scary kind. After all, we can’t all be scary movie junkies like Kate is, as not all of us like being scared. But there are plenty of non scary movies that are perfectly appropriate for the Halloween season. And we thought we’d share some of our favorites with you. Whether they have Halloween settings or spooky themes, these movies are milder, but just as fun to watch during the season of the witch.

Film: “The Craft”

Premiere Date: May 3rd, 1996

What do you do when you infuse a 90s movie with a healthy dose of witchcraft and teen angst? Why, you get “The Craft”, aka the movie that almost every Goth girl in the late 90s and early 2000s took as a how to guide (including Kate). It’s a story of four teenage girls, Sarah, Nancy, Bonnie, and Rochelle, who find out that when they are together they have magical powers. Though they hope to use magic to make their lives better, it becomes all to clear that sometimes magic is too hard to control and has unintended consequences. All four of the actresses do a good job, but the stand outs are Robin Tunney’s Sarah, who plays reluctance and strength with subtle edges, and Fairuza Balk’s Nancy, whose desperation makes her both tragic and terrifying. It’s “Mean Girls” meets “Macbeth”‘s Weird Sisters, and it drips 90s girl power like few other films from that time do.

Film: “The Lost Boys”

Premiere Date: July 31st, 1987

Joel Schumacher may be remembered these days for his campy and much reviled Batman films (“Batman and Robin” in particular). But the camp and schlock he is good at really added a certain something to the 80s cheese o-rama that was “The Lost Boys”. When brothers Sam and Michael (Corey Haim and Jason Patric) move to a small seaside town in California, they run afoul a group of vampires led by Kiefer Sutherland’s David. They enlist the help of two teen vampire hunters (one of whom is Corey Feldman) and hope to save themselves from the danger they’ve found themselves in. “The Lost Boys” may have some tense moments, but it’s so overwrought with earnest campiness that it isn’t terribly upsetting, just a lot of fun.

Film: “Tucker and Dale vs Evil”

Premiere Date: December 9th, 2010

There are many classic tropes in horror movies, and two of the most overused are backwoods hillbillies, and remote cabins in the woods. “Tucker and Dale vs Evil” takes both of those tropes and makes a movie with a lot of laughs and a whole lot of heart. Tucker (Alan Tudyk) and Dale (Tyler Labine) are two guys who are excited to renovate Tucker’s new vacation home, a cabin in the middle of the woods. But when a group of college kids arrives and makes assumptions about who they are based on their ‘hillbilly’ appearance, a comedy of errors (with some grisly deaths) ensues. Though this is kind of a gory movie, both Tucker and Dale are so hapless and bemused by their situation there are many laughs to be had.

Film: “Beetlejuice”

Premiere Date: March 30th, 1988

Maybe this is an obvious one, but “Beetlejuice” is a classic haunted house tale that is far more funny than it is scary. When the Maitlands (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) die in a tragic accident, their house is bought by New York yuppies with no taste. They enlist the help of an obnoxious demon named Betelguese (portrayed famously and perfectly by Michael Keaton), but then have second thoughts when the goth and morose teenage daughter of the house Lydia (Winona Ryder) is far sweeter than they anticipated. Filled with lots of Tim Burton staples and dark humor, “Beetlejuice” is an enduring classic that stands the test of time. And will never make you look at “Day-oh” the same way again.

Film: “Hocus Pocus”

Premiere Date: July 16, 1993

I mean, of course. “Hocus Pocus” is quite possibly the Grand Queen of non-scary Halloween movies. The story of the Sanderson Sisters, three Salem Witches awakened in 1993 to the (then) modern world, is a cult classic. The witches may be fish out of water, but that doesn’t stop them from trying to take the souls of Salem’s children to grant themselves eternal life. But three kids and a talking cat named Binx are out to stop them. Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy bring the hilarious, and sometimes genuinely creepy, Sanderson Sisters to life with unforgettable performances. We would be remiss to leave them off our list, because it is not officially Halloween until “Hocus Pocus” has been watched.

What about you guys? What are your favorite non scary (or scary!) movies to watch during the Halloween season? Let us know in the comments!!

Hey readers! Given that it’s October, we thought that it would be fun to tackle something strange and spooky, and since “The Walking Dead” television show is coming back after a pretty obnoxious cliffhanger, we thought it could be fun to give you some readalikes. That way, if you’re so tormented and angry with the reveal of who Negan killed, and if you need to get your fix some other way for awhile you can look here (swear to God, if Daryl dies we’ll hate it as much as he hates salad). “The Walking Dead” isn’t just about zombies, though. It covers themes of power, the human condition, and just what lengths humans will go to in order to survive… sometimes with brutal results. So if you like that grab bag of existential crises, do we have some books for you! (Note: We aren’t including the comics on here just because that’s obvious. That said, they’re pretty good too, and you should check them out if you’re into crying deeply into the void because everything is hopeless!)

Book: “The Stand” by Stephen King

Publishing Info: Doubleday, 1978

Though there aren’t any zombies in this one, “The Stand” is definitely about the end of the world. When a man made biological weapon called Captain Tripps is accidentally released from a government facility, most of the world’s population dies. The one percent of the population left, immune to the disease, has to survive in a world after a man made apocalypse. But it isn’t just violent nomads, the elements, and decay that threatens these survivors. In Las Vegas, King’s greatest villain, Randall Flagg, is conspiring to end humanity once and for all. “The Stand” examines how humans cope with the world after it ends, and tells a chilling tale where a charismatic demon isn’t the scariest part. The scariest part about “The Stand” is that the whole ‘man made plague’ thing? It’s incredibly plausible.

Book: “World War Z” by Max Brooks

Publishing Info: Crown, September 2006

Max Brooks followed up his tongue in cheek “The Zombie Survival Guide” with a gritty and in depth oral history of the Zombie Wars. True, the Zombie Wars haven’t really happened, but “World War Z” is so complex and intriguing that you would think that they had. Compiling interviews, documents, and primary sources, Brooks creates a story that shows not only how society crumbled during a zombie apocalypse, but also postulates just how humanity would react to it, document it, and sort of come back from it. At times very dark and at other times very funny, “World War Z” is a must read for any zombie fan out there.

Book: “Station Eleven” by Emily St. John Mandel

Publishing Info: Knopf, September 2014

The same night that famed but troubled actor Arthur Leander dies on stage playing King Lear, a flu virus takes hold and begins to wipe out the world’s population. Twenty years later, a band of survivors travels the Great Lakes region, putting on Shakespearean shows for colonies and settlements in hopes of holding on to the arts and cultures of the past. But when they stumble into a strange commune with a charismatic and violence leader, they are reminded all too well of the darkness that still plagues humanity after it has ended. Haunting, wondrous, and written with a literary flourish, “Station Eleven” connects all of it’s characters while telling a beautifully tragic tale of how we as a species cope and move on in the face of a catastrophe of global proportions.

Book: “The Passage” by Justin Cronin

Publishing Info: Ballantine Books, June 2010

The U.S. Government has been experimenting on death row prisoners hoping that they can create a drug to greatly extend human life. They got their base ingredient from a bat virus in South America. When it turns the prisoners into blood thirsty monsters they try it on Amy, a little girl abandoned by her parents. But then the original twelve prisoners escape, and a plague is released upon the world. Nearly 100 years later a colony of survivors is trying to survive against the ‘flyers’, who are out for blood. And Amy is still a young girl, mostly unchanged. The end of the world is not zombies but vampires in this horror novel, and Cronin’s epic is nightmarish and incredibly original in many ways. It’s also the first in a trilogy, so if you want more after you’re done, you can certainly find it.

Book: “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy

Publishing Info: Knopf, September 2006

Another book not featuring zombies, but most definitely highlighting the brutality of human nature when pushed to its extremes. A father and son traverse a destroyed and grim landscape, making their way for the coast, their last hope for creating a future in this dark, post-apocalyptic world. This book gave me chills. The subject matter is challenging to get through, and yet, through what seems to be a hopeless existence, McCarthy’s narrative is almost poetic in its lyrical depictions. This is the opposite of a beach read, but also a “must” if you’re looking for a story of humanity surviving in an inhumane world.

Book: “The Forest of Hands and Teeth” by Carrie Ryan

Publishing Info: Gollancz, July 2009

We have to end with a zombie book, and since the rest of this list has been made up of “adult” literature, I thought I’d feature a young adult zombie tale. This story follows Mary, a teen girl living in a fenced in compound surrounded by a forest full of the “unconsecrated” (read: zombies). But as she learns more about her own society, she begins to question everything she thought she knew and dream of venturing out into the strange and dangerous outer world. This book is a young adult mash-up of “The Walking Dead” and “The Village.”

What about you guys? Do you have any books that you think would make good readalikes for “The Walking Dead”? Let us know in the comments!

Happy Banned Books Week, everyone!!! Banned Books Week is that very special time of year where libraries and librarians everywhere celebrate the books that offended and shocked people, so much so that they were challenged or removed from shelves or burned in effigy. This time of year is a fun one because you can probably find a library in your area that displays and celebrates banned books, and encourages you to check them out and read them. Why just this month three books were challenged in the Chesterfield County School system in Richmond, Virginia (“Eleanor and Park” by Rainbow Rowell, “Tyrell” by Coe Booth, and “Dope Sick” by Walter Dean Myers) for being ‘pornographic’ and violent. The school district superintendent decided to keep the books on the shelves. We think that book banning is madness and oppressive, so of course we’re going to come at you with our favorite books that have caused some controversy, along with why they were considered so scandalous.

Kate’s Favorite Banned Books

Book: The “Scary Stories” Series by Alvin Schwartz and Stephen Gammell (Ill.)

Publishing Info: Scholastic, Inc, 1981, 1984, and 1991.

Why It’s Been Banned: Violence, scary content, disturbing illustrations. It has been one of the most frequently challenged books in schools in the United States, according to the ALA, and though has been out for 25+ years it stills manages to break the top ten list every once in awhile.

Why I Love It: Look, it’s no secret that the versions with the Stephen Gammell illustrations are straight up nightmare fuel for kids. I read these books for the first time in fifth grade and they messed me up for weeks. But, that said, I loved every bit of them and managed to get my hands on a copy of the treasury before the re-release with tamer, and lamer, illustrations. These books are great because not only are they scary, they also have extensive source notes about the origins of the stories, along with information about American folklore. I still dig these books as a woman in her early thirties, and I STILL don’t like scarecrows. Thanks, Harold.

Book: “A Clockwork Orange” by Anthony Burgess

Publishing Info: W.W. Norton and Company, December 1962

Why It’s Been Banned: Violence, violence, VIOLENCE. Also portrayal of authority. In 1973 a man in Utah was arrested for selling this book (all charges were dropped but he was run out of town on a rail).

Why I Love It: When I was fourteen I asked my Mom if I could see the movie version. She told me a solid ‘hell no’ but then said that if I could find her old copy of the book in the attic, it was mine. I proceeded to bring it to school (specifically detention) and read it in front of the proctor, who demanded if my parents knew I was reading this book. I still love “A Clockwork Orange” because of it’s musings on authority, the idea of choice vs coercion, and the commentary on how society deals with its criminals. The story of the violent criminal Alex has endured the test of time and many controversies, from the depictions of violence to it’s original ‘nadsat’ slang structure. It is incredibly violent and at times hard to read, but it remains a scathing critique of societal power structures.

Book: “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie

Publishing Info: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2007

Why It’s Been Banned: Sexual contents, racial themes, profanity. In 2013 it was removed from a reading list in a town in Idaho. When a local teen took it upon herself to hand out free copies of the book at a local park, a pearl clutching parent called the police on her.

Why I Love It: “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” is my favorite modern YA book because of it’s warmth, it’s humor, it’s tragedy, and it’s honesty. Sherman Alexie is one of our best authors writing today, and his personal and wonderful book about Junior Spirit is so real and so powerful that it left me on an airplane flipping between laughing and sobbing. Junior’s story addresses the shameful way that indigenous peoples are treated in this country along with the pains of growing up while feeling like an outsider no matter where you go, as Junior Spirit lives on a reservation but goes to school outside of it. This book is a very relatable book for many teens, however, as Junior also deals with crushes, friendship strife, and puberty. I love this book.

Serena’s Favorite Banned Books

Book: “The Giver” by Lois Lowry

Publishing Info: Houghton Mifflin, April 1993

Why It’s Been Banned: Violence and sexuality. Jonas goes through puberty in this book and the story discusses ways that this dystopian society suppresses sexuality and sexual urges. And many of Jonas’s flashback involve war and violence. Apparently, in 1995 a Kansas woman attempted to have it banned because it “degraded the idea of motherhood.” Sigh.

Why I love It: Let it not be said that there isn’t a strong sense of irony in the books that people attempt to have banned. Like “Fahrenheit 451,” another oft-banned book, “The Giver” features a dystopian world where creative thought and, in many ways, storytelling, are banned to society. So…yeah. I read “The Giver” repeatedly throughout middle school and highschool. Not only is the society that Lowry creates terrifying, but Jonas’s sense of confusion and bewilderment while approaching the mysteries of adulthood rang very true for my teenage self. This a beautifully written novel which opens the reader’s eyes to the beauty to be found in the world, even alongside the horror, and how we can often lose sight of what is important in life if we’re too busy policing *ahem* the world around us.

Book: “A Wrinkle in Time” by Madeleine L’Engle

Publishing Info: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, January 1963

Why It’s Been Banned: Fantasy elements, specifically the belief that it promotes witchcraft, crystal balls, and demons. Undermines religious beliefs and complaints regarding the inclusion of Jesus Christ alongside famous artists/philosophers/scientists/etc who fight off evil.

Why I Love It: This is a classic, young adult fantasy novel and one that I feel people are often surprised to find out is on the banned books list. Not only is it on the list, but it has been ever since being published and still routinely comes under fire, even though it is now recognized by many as a classic and has many awards to its name. I loved it as a teen myself just as a staple example of “science fantasy.” This is kind of strange term, but it perfectly illustrates the blending of fantastical elements with themes and ideas more typically found in “science-y” science fiction that is presented in this story. The complaints against it are very bizarre (does writing about magical elements somehow convince people that they might somehow be real??), especially given the resolution of the story with Meg’s love for her brother as the key to everything.

Book: “Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak

Publishing Info: Harper & Row, April 1963

Why It’s Been Banned: More fantasy elements, aghast! Also, dark themes, promoting rebellion in children, and, worst of all, potential psychological damage regarding children’s fear of being sent to bed without dinner by their parents.

Why I Love It: I thought I would change things up and include a picture book on this list, not only because I truly love reading pictures books still as an adult, but also to highlight the fact that picture books make up a good portion of the titles that regularly come under fire by book banners. This is another example of an award-winning novel and a darling of many of our childhoods that is still regularly challenged. Though, again, its true message of the balance between adventure and the love of home that the story presents seems to be lost on some readers. Like Kate’s example above, it’s also thought to be too scary for children, though as a young reader myself, that was part of the reason I, and I suspect many other children, love it! The tension is what made it exciting! A quote from an article regarding the banning of this story: “Boys and girls may have to shield their parents from this book. Parents are very easily scared.” (source)

What banned books are favorites of yours or have you read this year? Let us know in the comments below!