Reading with my ears - The Odyssey Award

The Odyssey award annually recognizes “the producer of the best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States”. First awarded in 2008, there are 30 titles on the list. Of these titles, there are four that I just couldn’t make myself listen to completely. There are seven titles that I rated 5 stars on Goodreads. Most often it was due to the excellent performance by the narrator. The author’s craftsmanship is considered, of course, but as the award is given for audio productions I place a little more emphasis on the narration.

In order of year awarded, these are my favorite Odyssey titles:
2008 Winner: Jazz by Walter Dean Myers, read by James "D-Train" Williams and Vanneese Thomas
2008 Honor: Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary 'Jacky' Faber, Ship's Boy L. A. Meyer, read by Katherine Kellgren
2008 Honor: Dooby Dooby Moo by Doreen Cronin, read by Randy Travis
2008 Honor: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, read by Alfred Molina
2009 Honor: Martina the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale by Carmen Agra Deedy, read by Carmen Agra Deedy
2011 Honor: The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, read by Nick Podehl
2012 Honor: The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, read by Steve West and Fiona Hardingham

So long, Jacky!

I tried.  I really did.  But I'm sad to report that I did not finish reading the most recent Bloody Jack adventure,  Viva Jacquelina! I made it to the beginning of part 2 - about 92 pages in - before giving up.

While I enjoyed most of the previous titles (there are ten in the series), I wasn't nearly as impressed with the last one, The Mark of the Golden Dragon.  So my lack of interest in the new one isn't too surprising.

Bloody Jack's latest adventures

The wake of the Lorelei Lee : being an account of the adventures of Jacky Faber on her way to Botany Bay by L.A. Meyer

Bloody Jack is back. With hopes of finally being united in holy matrimony with her beloved Jamie, Jacky and crew head back to England. Unfortunately, a couple of people she spurned in the past have it out for her – and the means to wreak serious havoc in her life. Soon after reaching England, Jacky finds herself locked in the dreary, disgusting hole that is a cell in Newgate prision. Jacky’s luck holds out as, instead of hanging from the gallows, she is sent to Australia. To add much insult to injury, she is heading to the penal colony as a prisoner on her own ship!

As with the previous stories, there is a lot of history and adventure to keep the tale interesting. Jacky is her usual self, taking care of her adopted crew, getting into trouble and being an all around unconventional young woman.

Likes
Adventure. Romance. History. What’s not to love?

Dislikes

After so many books, the basic story is starting to feel a little repetitious.

Other

More than likely we haven’t heard the last of Jacky!

Waiting on Wednesday

Last week I ended up with a great reason to look forward to September. My daily email/chat friend, Sharon, and I are going to meet in London, Ontario. Yay! Road trip!! Sharon lives in Canada and will be flying to London, since it is just a few hours from Detroit. So, I will drop off the puppyboy, pick up the mom and we will cross the bridge from Detroit to Windsor.

Today I found a second reason to look forward to September. The next book in the Bloody Jack series by L.A. Meyer is supposed to be available on September 13. I. Cannot. Wait. I think this is my favorite series ever.

September is going to be awesome. Now to just get through the next five months…

Adventures, Ahoy!

Rapture of the deep: being an account of the further adventures of Jacky Faber, soldier, sailor, mermaid, spy by L.A. Meyer

Jacky is back, and another amazing adventure awaits. On what is to be the day she finally marries her one true love, Jacky is kidnapped by British Intelligence and force to serve another mission. This time she is off to the Caribbean to search for missing Spanish treasure. As usual, Jacky finds all sorts of trouble in those waters.

The latest installment in the Bloody Jack series is as wonderful as the previous tales.





The lightning thief by Rick Riordan ; read by Jesse Bernstein

Percy Jackson is not your regular twelve-year-old boy. For one thing, he has been expelled from every school he has attended. He’s not a bad kid. It’s just that odd things seem to happen when he is around. Percy is also has dyslexia and ADHD – two disorders that do not make a stellar student.

There is a reason that Percy’s life is so strange, and he is about to find it out. Percy is not an ordinary human; he is the son of a Greek god and, therefore, half human and half mortal.

Shortly after barely making it alive to Camp Halfblood, Percy is sent on a quest to keep World War III from starting. Percy, along with his friend Annabeth (another halfblood) and Grover (a satyr), travel from New York to Los Angeles, fighting mythical monsters along the way.

As I mentioned previously, I started listening to this book after trying three other audiobooks. I don’t like the narrator of this tale, but his style (or lack there of) didn’t keep me from being sucked in to the wonderful story. I’m already listening to the next book – Sea of Monsters.

This fantastic story is being made into a full feature film.

Waiting on Wednesday

In an attempt to post more regularly, I am going to join in the “Waiting on Wednesday” and “Library Loot” craze. I’ve seen both on other blogs (namely The Magic of Ink). From what I’ve gathered, they were created by the bloggers of Breaking the Spine.

So, without further ado, my first Waiting on Wednesday. Library Loot can wait until later this week.

Wait…am I suppose to pick just one book? Ack! But…but…but there are so many that I can’t wait to get my hands on and sink my bookloving teeth into. Hrmmm….what to choose for this initial post…

Oohers…I know!

The next installment of one of my all-time favorite series: Bloody Jack. The seventh book of the series is: Rapture of the Deep: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, Soldier, Sailor, Mermaid, Spy

Amazon.com has September 28, 2009 as the release date. Here is the product description from the site:

On the very day that Jacky Faber is to wed her true love, she is kidnapped by British Naval Intelligence and forced to embark on yet another daring mission—this time to search for sunken Spanish gold. But when Jacky is involved, things don't always go as planned.

Jacky has survived battles on the high seas, the stifling propriety of a Boston finishing school, and even confinement in a dank French prison. But no adventure has quite matched her opportunistic street-urchin desires—until now.

Have I mentioned how much I adore this series? How about how much my sister G and my mom also love this series? Or how at least one coworker and two patrons are now hooked on the series do to my raving about it?

I. Cannot. Wait. Is it September yet?

And the winner is...

Hello from Denver!

I attended the Youth Media Awards press conference. It’s the highlight of the ALA Midwinter Meeting for most – if not all – youth librarians.

I need to do some reading. There were several titles that I wasn’t familiar with that were either award honors or winners.

What I’m exited about:

The Graveyard Book – something that I’ve read (and recently) won the Newbery award!

Curse of the Blue Tattoo: Being an Account of the Misadventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman and Fine Lady, written by L.A. Meyer, narrated by Katherine Kellgren won an Odyssey honor. I haven’t listened to this book, but I have read it, and did listen to the first Bloody Jack book (it won an Odyssey honor last year). Kellgren wonderfully portrays Jacky’s voice.

Just in Case - illustrated by Yuyi Morales, is the winner of the 2009 Belpre Illustrator Award, and a 2009 Belpre Author Honor. While I have yet to read this book, I LOVE Morales work in Los Gatos Black on Halloween (written by Marisa Montes), which was a 2008 Belpre Illustrator Award (2008 Belpre Author Honor).

We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball, written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson, is a big winner this year! I love Nelson’s illustrations. This book won the following awards/honors:

• Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor
• Coretta Scott King Author Winner
• Robert F. Sibert Medal (for most distinguished informational book for children)

And lastly, I’m excited that the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the most distinguished book for beginning readers was awarded to Are You Ready to Play Outside?, written and illustrated by Mo Willems. I adore the Piggy and Elephant books by Mo Willems (as well as Willems’ other works).

Some links for you:

• http://ala.unikron.com/index.php - supposedly the video is coming.
• For the complete list of winners/honors, check out this press release.

2008 in review

According to my GoodReads list, I read/listened to 69 books in 2008. Granted, that doesn’t count the many children’s picture books that I read for work (and for pleasure). I’m sure that number is well over 200.

Listed below are my top picks for 2008. If you look at my ratings on GoodReads, you may notice that some books that were rated with 5 stars didn’t make the list. Why? Because as I looked over the titles, I picked the ones that stood out. I may have LOVED a book when I first read it, but if months later I don’t think of it to recommend to others, then why should it be on my top list?


My top 10 books read in 2008 (in no particular order)

1. Unwind by Neal Schusterman (Teen)
2. The Wee Free Men: A Discworld Novel by Terry Pratchett (Children's/Tween/Teen)
   
3. My Bonny Light Horseman: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, in Love and War by L. A. Meyer (Teen)
4. Babymouse: Queen of the World! Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm (Children's/Tween)
   
5. Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning (Adult)
   
6. The Host: A Novel by Stephenie Meyer (Adult)
   
7. Spanking Shakespeare by Jake Wizner (Teen)
8. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory (Adult)
   
9. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher (Teen)
10. Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale by Holly Black (Teen)

Top Audiobooks listened to in 2008(in no particular order)

1. Poison by Chris Wooding; read by Virginia Leishman (Teen)
2. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon read by Davina Porter (Adult)
   
3. Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon read by Davina Porter (Adult)
   
4. Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz read by Christina Moore and a full cast (Children's)
   
5. Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber, Ship's Boy by L. A. Meyer read by Katherine Kellgren (Teen)
6. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray read by Jo Wyatt (Teen)
7. Rebel Angels by Libba Bray read by Josephine Bailey (Teen)
   
8. The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray read by Josephine Bailey (Teen)
   

Long overdue update

I've been slacking in the blog department.

Recently, I've finished a couple of books. One was great. One was just OK. My favorite recent read was the latest installment in the Bloody Jack series: My bonny light horseman : being an account of the further adventures of Jacky Faber, in love and war by L.A. Meyer.

Our dear Jacky is enjoying life on the seas, transporting goods between the Caribbean and Boston. But, when she is captured - again - by the British, she is unable to escape. As usual, she befriends the captain and crew of the ship transporting her to her final destination - Newgate prison in London. But when the ship is attacked by the French, Jacky is off on another adventure - this time as a British spy in France.

Full of adventure, and lots of fun, this series is one of my absolute favorites. My mom and sister can't wait to read it. My good friend Tammy said she thinks it's her favorite of the series. It is definitely a well written tale. I would love to see the series made into movies.

The other book I finished recently was Valiant : a modern tale of faerie by Holly Black. I liked it well enough, but not nearly as much as Tithe. The characters and setting weren't as well developed as in Tithe, and the story left me wanting more - more information about the characters, etc. Also, I felt the ending was a bit weak. However, this is not keeping me from reading another book by this author, as next on my list is Ironside : a modern faery's tale, which I think is a sequel to Tithe.