bookshelves of doom

If you sue me, I will win.

 

Even JOSH loves Hank Green.

The Golden Books gown.

 

These photos have rendered me almost physically incapable of communicating without profanity. That is the level of awesome that that Ryan Novelline reached with this creation.

You have GOT to click through and look at the rest of the pictures, if you haven't seen them already.

I'm going to go and swear some more now. (But happy swearing!)

(via In Bed with Books)

"Marry Me" -- Dolly Parton

So, I've been on a Dolly kick this week -- long story short, I ran across the paper dolls from the Trio album, which inspired me to dig that out, along with Little Sparrow -- and I've got to say, this song is three minutes of pure joy:

I noted from YouTube comments that people have even used it as a wedding song. And it can totally, totally be interpreted as this happy, joyful song -- because, in the moment that the narrator is singing it, it IS a happy, joyful moment.

However*. And here's where the Genius of Dolly Parton kicks in**. Because even though it can be interpreted as Pure Happy, lines like "Cause he knows a lot about love and stuff" and "Cause he's done kiss me on the mouth/So he's gotta marry me" make me suspect that the narrator is a really young, really naive girl who has a rude awakening on the way.

And the fact that the song is sandwiched between TWO songs -- "Mountain Angel" and "Down From Dover" -- about Girls Who Get Done Wrong By Guys Who Make Big Promises (and who both get pregnant, incidentally, and who BOTH lose their babies) makes me think that I'm not over-analyzing here.

Regardless, though, great song. And regardless of what happens to the narrator afterwards, it DOES express a moment of pure joy. And therefore, I have no difficulty in enjoying it as such.

_____________________________________________

*A digression: I came in the door last night, and without even saying, "Hello" like an actual human being, I started this exchange:

Me: Ohmygod, so Dolly's "Marry Me" is, like, the Best Song Ever.
Josh: Yeah, it's great -- that's the song that made me buy the album.
Me: Although...
Josh: Yeeeeep.
Me: I kind of think the narrator's relationship isn't going to work out so well.
Josh: Oh, it's going to be a complete disaster.

It was just one of those nice moments that makes me feel really grateful. It's nice to be able to come barrelling in the door blathering about something I've been mulling over on my own and it's even more nice that when I bring it up, offering no background information or explanation, Josh not only knows what I'm talking about, but he doesn't think I'm bananas. Or too bananas, anyway. Anyway.

**Seriously, dudes. You mess with her, you mess with me.

I just unpacked the ILLs, and...

...a copy of I am Number Four came in for me.

Why do I do these things to myself?

Maybe, despite what I've heard, it'll be good? Maybe?

A few short reviews.

I've been posting super brief reviews -- books that don't inspire me to blather about at length (or that have been languishing in my To Be Reviewed pile -- at my tumblog.

Most recently:

• Devil's Kiss, by Sarwat Chadda
• Ask Amy Green: Boy Trouble, by Sarah Webb
• The Visconti House, by Elsbeth Edgar
• Prom & Prejudice, by Elizabeth Eulberg

The Periodical Table of Fictional Elements...

...be sure to mouse over the boxes for more information!

(via Gwenda)

"That's the strongest material I've ever read in my lifetime. It's gutter stuff. I was embarrassed for myself to read it."

Just for entertainment purposes, see if you can guess the title before clicking through.

Hint: It's a classic. And tame enough by today's standards that one wonders what sort of pop cultural intake the quoted man is able to enjoy.

Say what, now?

Jennifer Garner is going to play Miss Marple.

Errr... I actually like Jennifer Garner a lot, and I know that Miss Marple had to be young at some point, but the whole idea just seems weird.

And by weird, I mean INCOMPREHENSIBLE.

Possessed -- Kate Cann

It's late August, blisteringly hot in sixteen-year-old Rayne Peters' fourth-story flat, and the threat of violence hangs over the entire Estate. Her boyfriend relishes the idea of it, the drama of it, but all Rayne wants is space. And quiet. Not just space and quiet, but isolation.

So she applies for, and accepts, a job in the country. It doesn't pay a whole lot, but it'll take her away. Away from her demanding mother and her adorable (but equally demanding) younger brother; away from the heat and the noise and the London crowds; away from her boyfriend, who, in the rare moments that Rayne is completely truthful with herself, she knows she doesn't even like all that much.

Once she's settled, she finds the quiet she so desires. She even finds the possibility of a real, reciprocated romance. But the peace she finds comes with a price: There are dark secrets at Morton's Keep.

I loved Possessed. For one thing, Rayne isn't your typical Goody-Goody Paranormal Heroine -- in addition to lying and manipulating her way out of London, she's perfectly, unrepentantly, ready-and-willing to go after a guy that she knows someone else has her eye on.

Even more attractive to me was the tone and setting: It reads like the YA offspring of the Dark is Rising sequence and a Barbara Michaels novel. Sounds weird, I know, but it really did: It had the heavy, almost muffled atmosphere of The Dark is Rising, as well as the Discovering the Secret Truth Behind Old Traditions storyline, and like any Barbara Michaels novel, it starred an Outsider Heroine Experiencing Suspenseful and Dangerous Gothic Romance. 

My only complaints are that there's a borderline ridiculous Villain Explains All monologue and that the climax feels hurried (especially when compared with the rest of the book), but neither of those things are Major Complaints, as they both jive with the Barbara Michaels feel. TOTALLY looking forward to the sequel.

____________________________________

Book source: ILLed through my library.

An interesting Publishers Lunch item.

From yesterday's deals round-up:

NYT bestselling author Gail Carriger's debut YA historical fantasy series ESPIONAGE AND ETIQUETTE, set in her Soulless Alexia Tarabotti world but 25 years prior, an incorrigible aristocrat is sent off to finishing school to learn how to be lady only to discover that the school trains young ladies alright but for the wrong kind of "finishing," pitched as Ally Carter meets Steampunk, to Kate Sullivan at Little, Brown Children's, in a pre-empt, in a four-book deal, by Kristin Nelson at Nelson Literary Agency (NA).

As I was, like, the only person on the planet* who wasn't completely gaga over Soulless, and as it had fantastic crossover success, I think that'll make a whole lot of people extremely happy.

__________________________________________

*Slight exaggeration -- I just revisited the comments on my review, and re-discovered the fact that I wasn't alone in my not gaganess!

While I don't think these'd hold up long in real life...

...they are WICKED cool, and I love the idea of a bookmark that enhances the book jacket:

 

Just had a little freakout and ordered...

...this t-shirt:

 

Had to physically restrain myself from ordering the Tales from the Jazz Age and the Pop Art Poe as well. Oog.

Penguin Threads Deluxe Classics.

So pretty:

 

Click through to see more -- the covers wrap around! -- as well as a few pictures of her process.

(via Lacy's Twitter)

My column at Kirkus this week is about...

...a book published for the adult market.

I know, I know. Don't worry, it won't be a regular occurrence.

But it's okay, because A) it's a crossover, and B) it's by David Levithan.

Yes. This week, I wrote about The Lover's Dictionary.

Nerdy Personal Ads.

A good number of these are truly, adorably swoonworthy.