Month: November 2015

David Almond is a well-known YA author who has written some acclaimed books such as

His novel that he penned last year, The True Take of the Monster Billy Dean, might be one of the most bizarre books that I’ve ever read. It is written phonetically from the point of view of young Billy Dean who lives out his existence in his bedroom, locked away from the outside world, in a small cabin with his young mother. Billy’s father makes erratic and increasingly disturbing visits to the cabin to visit Billy and his mother during which he berates Billy for his illiteracy and preaches about the dangers of the world.

Throughout the novel we come to learn that they reside in a village that had been destroyed by bombs during World War II. When Billy’s father suddenly stops coming back to the cabin, his mother finally exposes him to the world – and Billy is astonished by what he sees. The other residents of the town soon realize that there is something special about Billy. Local medium Missus Malone has her own plans for Billy, and as rumors spread of “The Aynjel Childe” and his power to cure the sick and speak to the dead, the boy becomes another kind of prisoner entirely.

This tale, although disturbing at times, is incredibly fluid and intriguing. The phonetic telling can be hard to get past at first, but it really lends itself to the tale and how Billy views his world and how he experiences it.

Indie Bound is a web site reporting information and best-seller’s lists from independent book stores around the country. Although their best-sellers may sometimes coincide with the NY Times lists, the indie bound lists often have surprises and differences that do not appear on the more common book lists. They seperate sales into categories such as Mysteries, Travel, Cooking, Children’s, Political, Music, Graphic, etc..  Especially useful to support smaller, local businesses, Indie Bound is a site worth visiting.

I just read an article in American Libraries online about the coloring book clubs that have sprung up for adults recently. It mentioned that the popularity of coloring for adults have been helped along by an early coloring book that was published in 2013 by a Scottish illustrator, Joanna Basford, titled Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Coloring Book, which has sold 6 million copies on Amazon. She has several other titles, Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Coloring Book, which was released this past February and Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Coloring Book, just released this past October. Who knew that there was money to be made by designing coloring books for our adult patrons? Check out Anya’s display as well with neat sheets to color, and grab some pencils and markers and get started. A great way to decompress…