As I stated in my earlier YA post, I’m spending much of my pleasure reading this summer catching up on young adult novels. I didn’t finish as many as I’d planned in June (my advance copy of Per Petterson’s new book arrived mid-month and continues to taunt me, as it keeps getting pushed aside for my YA list and book club obligations), but I’m still making good time to reach my very meager goal of 10 young adult novels by the end of August.

 Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series has gotten tons of attention, especially since the release of a movie based on the first book, and has become our bestselling series for the 9-12 age range. The Lightning Thief  is the first book in the series and it lives up to the hype. Percy is a likable hero and the cross-country adventure full of hellhounds, furies, and angry gods introduces a little U.S. geography into this Greek mythology lesson. Riordan’s steady pace and inventiveness pull Percy along on a thoroughly entertaining adventure.

Weetzie Bat, by Francesca Lia Block, was recommended to me countless times when I lived in Los Angeles. It is, in part, a love letter to LA, with references to the Formosa Cafe, Canter’s Deli, and countless other LA institutions.  The wonder and magic that is the stuff of living minutes away from the Hollywood sign or Sunset Blvd. is perfectly captured here.  Having said that, I feel I must warn those who shop for younger readers, Weetzie Bat has mature themes and is best suited for older teenagers and adults. It is a modern fairytale that illustrates the joy of a family of close friends, but is still grounded in reality, with references to AIDS and the many ways in which love is a “dangerous angel.”

The edition I read contains all five of the books in the Weetzie Bat series and is called Dangerous Angels. I only read the first book, but I was very tempted to read straight through.

The Firefly Fine Arts Festival is this weekend!  Firefly is a fun, free (except for the $3 parking fee) event right here in Dickson, on the grounds of the Renaissance Center. Along with the opportunity to view and buy the work of skilled artists and artisans, there wil also be live music.  It’s a great way to support the arts in your community.

Please see the Firefly website for more information.

All of us at Reading Rock Books want Firefly to be a success. As an extra incentive to attend, if you bring your Firefly program into Reading Rock, we’ll give you 10% off your next purchase. If you bring in a receipt for any art purchased at the festival, we’ll give you 20% off!

Have you been listening to our book reviews on WDKN? As part of “The Local Gourmet,” which airs the 1st and 3rd Saturday at 1pm, Reading Rock Books brings you food-related book reviews. Here are all the ones we discussed in June’s shows:

6/5/10 – Laura discussed Yum! Yum!! by Joanne Fitzgerald and Southern Farmers Market Cookbook by Holly Herrick

Yum! Yum!! is Laura’s favorite board book! Each food-themed rhyme is accompanied by a gorgeous, fun pastel illustration of animals at a farmer’s market. The rhythm will keep babies interested and older children will enjoy spotting the father pig on each page. The perfect baby shower gift.

Holly Herrick’s Southern Farmer’s Market Cookbook is a great resource for your summer cooking. Filled with meals made from ingredients that grow well in this region, this book will help you boost your farmer’s market experience by shopping with these recipes in mind. Plus, there’s a full-color, make-your-mouth-water photo for almost every recipe in the book.

 
6/19/10 – Amy discussed State of the Onion by Julie Hyzy

If you’ve never read a culinary mystery, this first installment of the Olivia Paras series is a good first taste.  Ollie’s journey to become the next White House Head Executive Chef is interrupted by an attempted terrorist act. Ollie gets involved in the investigation after meeting up with an intruder on the White House lawn and assaults him with a frying pan!  A fun mystery, followed by 25 pages of all the recipes Ollie cooks for the first family.

For several years I’ve thought about setting aside my summer to finally read at least part of the ever-growing list of still-unread young adult novels that have been recommended to me. This is the year I’m finally doing it! For June, July, and August, all my pleasure reading will be books from our children’s section, books for readers aged 9-17. The books generally fall into three categories: books that I should’ve read as a child and somehow missed, books that have been recommended to me repeatedly during my time as a bookseller, and a couple rising stars that are just coming out.

So far, I’ve read an advance copy of Misty Gordon and the Mystery of the Ghost Pirates by Kim Kennedy (which is set to come out in August, so I’ll write more about it closer to the release date) and Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. I have been told to read Stargirl numerous times, by fellow booksellers, by teenagers, and by customers who read it as a teenager and still remember it well. I’m pleased to say that it lived up to the hype. Spinelli’s writing is easy-going, never forced, and makes it easy to believe that Stargirl, the girl that narrator Leo Borlock has fallen for, is truly magical.

Other titles on my list include: Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block, The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo, and several others. I hope to post about this semi-regularly, throughout the summer. Please let me know if there are any books you think I should add to my list. If you have any special reading projects going for the summer, I’d love to hear about those, too.

Father’s Day is June 20th! We’ve put together a list of books that are loved by the Dads in our lives. Among the many wonderful reasons to give books, let’s not forget that books ship easily (we will happily ship any books you buy from us directly to Dad for you) and all these titles are available in our online store.

The Big Burn by Timothy Egan

A chronicle of one the most famous wildfires in American history, The Big Burn blends the history of conservationism and the National Parks with biographical information on the major players. Timothy Egan, who won the National Book Award for The Worst Hard Time is a fantastic storyteller and master of his craft. After giving this book to the Bookstore Dad (we’re a family-run business, you know) for Christmas, we all heard snippets that he thought were so good he had to read them aloud to us.

More books for history-buff dads:
The National Parks by Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns
Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell

Moondust by Andrew Smith

Perfect for fans of astronomy, journalism, or Space-Age history, Moondust recounts author Andrew Smith’s attempt to interview all the astronauts who visited the moon. Smith, who grew up in awe of space travel during the Apollo missions, strives to discover what long-term effects their trips to the moon had after they returned to Earth.

More books for science-loving dads:
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam

Geek Dad by Ken Denmead

Filled with projects for fathers to make or do with their children, Geek Dad is perfect for the super-hero-loving, video-game-playing, monster-movie-watching dad in your life. The projects include outdoor activities, like outfitting a kite with LED lights for nighttime flight, and rainy day fun, such as painting with wind-up toys. You could even go the extra mile and wrap this up with all the supplies for one of the projects for an extra geeky Father’s Day.

More books for geeky dads:
The Ten-Cent Plague by David Hajdu
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith

The Bricklayer by Noah Boyd

If your dad loves a good detective novel, The Bricklayer just might be the perfect fit. It follows veteran FBI agent Steve Vail as he solves a case, after the bureau has just fired him and been forced to ask him back. This is the first in a new series with a lot of promise. One of the dad’s in the Reading Rock family couldn’t put this one down!

More books for fiction-friendly dads:
The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan (reviewed here)
The Jesse Stone Series by Robert B. Parker and the movies based on them

by Colton, age 9

Theodore Boone is a 13 year old and knows a lot about the law. He is friends with a judge and is in the courtroom a lot. Both of his parents are lawyers. Everything is fine until one of his friends’ parents is getting divorced, a lot of his other friends have problems, and the biggest murder trial in the history of Strattenburg is happening. Does he have the clues? Does he have the answer? Can he help his friends and solve the mystery behind the murder trial? Read the book and find out.

I really liked this book and I would recommend it to anyone.

Available in our online store.