02.28.10
Posted in Favorite Books at 9:02 pm by Janet
I wish I could say I could have identified with Allie, the heroine of Vinyl Princess, but let’s face it, I was never that cool. Allie works at Bob & Bob Records on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley. She’s got a huge collection of vinyl, she’s a walking music encyclopedia, and she’s got the vinyl/music blog to prove it. She’s the sort of person I would have tried really hard to impress with my purchases once upon a time.
But Allie doesn’t feel as cool as she really is. She’s got an unrequited crush on a mysterious customer; her recently-split parents are developing their own, possibly sketchy, love lives; and she’s afraid to sign her anonymous blog. Plus Bob & Bob isn’t doing the business it used to, and stores on laid-back Telegraph Avenue is being targeted by armed robbers. Over the course of a summer, Allie tries to manage her love life, get used to her new family situation, keep the record store open, and own up to her coolness.
My favorite section reminds me of working in the library: Allie is helping a customer who doesn’t realize that the Frank Zappa records are under Z (duh). “Should I have taken him by the hand and led him over to the Zappa? No. I won’t spoon-feed the customers. If you don’t know your alphabet, you have no business leaving your house, let alone shopping for premium music.” I feel the same way sometimes (except that some of my patrons are, like, one, and I probably shouldn’t give them a hard time about not knowing the alphabet).
Check out the book’s website/Allie’s blog: http://www.thevinylprincess.com/
Somebody on the blog called this a High Fidelity for teens. I have to admit that High Fidelity is one of my favorite [adult] books, mostly because of its insights into the inscrutible minds of music guys. Note I say guys. Doesn’t matter if the book is about teens–this one’s for the geeky music ladies, who deserve their moment in the spotlight, too. Author Yvonne Prinz knows what she’s talking about. She founded this place: http://www.amoeba.com/
The one thing I didn’t like was the cover. Headphones? Smacks of the i-pod age. I feel like the designers could have done something more with, you know, actual records.
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02.27.10
Posted in Louise Rennison at 4:25 pm by Janet
A couple weeks ago I spent a Saturday afternoon watching Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging, the movie version of the first two (?) books in the Georgia Nicolson series. Sadly, the movie didn’t live up to the books. Masimo didn’t appear and Dave the Laugh only had a small part. Georgia showed actual warm and positive feelings toward her parents. There was NO MENTION of the Tarts Wardrobe. Probably my biggest problem was that my mental image of Georgia (a teenage British Bridget, as I have mentioned before and of course mean in the best possible way) didn’t match up with the girl on the screen. Alas, this is the danger of watching any film adaptation of a movie. This adaptation was particularly disappointing because Georgia’s hilarious internal voice, expressed so uniquely in the books, just didn’t come through.
OK, OK, to be fair, if I hadn’t read all the books AND if I were 12, I would have liked this movie. It was a fun little romp with cute rocker boys. And there were some bright spots: Angus (even though he didn’t look like a Scottish Wild Cat) and Georgia’s kissing lesson. But long story short, I’m here to tell you that I watched it so you won’t have to.
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02.25.10
Posted in Uncategorized at 12:52 am by Bridget
Oh, Janet, you crack me up! I wish that I had such interesting non-blogging excuses such as Jasper, but I’m afraid I don’t.
I do have a literary crush suggestion for you, Janet. Okay, maybe he isn’t actually literary yet, but it’s only a matter of time.
Ready?
Daniel Franco. 
Yes, THE Daniel Franco from not just Season 1, but Season 1 AND Season 2 of Project Runway who then went on to start a wedding business in Vegas followed by a wedding dress design business followed by trying to get on American Idol and now trying to get on X-Factor. Surely, writing books for young people are a natural next step.
Think about it. He can plan your wedding, design your dress, and sing at the wedding.
Plus, he has mussed up hair.
Cheers!
Bridget
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02.14.10
Posted in Random at 6:56 pm by Janet
(This post has nothing to do with Valentine’s Day, a holiday I try not to celebrate.) For the longest time I had a literary crush on John Green. I figured that if my crush were consummated, it would ruin John Green’s life for awhile, thereby giving him some new material. Now, as I get older and my life-ruining abilities slip away, I think I’m over John Green. Sorry, John, I know you’re heartbroken. I’m ready to move on. I need a new literary crush. Unfortunately, I’m out of ideas. I need to find a writer, male or female, of any age, whose books make me laugh and cry and think really hard. An attractive jacket photo is a plus and a new author would be best. And it has to be someone who writes YA lit. A certain je ne sais quoi is required, obviously.
Any suggestions?
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02.07.10
Posted in Random at 11:03 pm by Janet
Many of you know that I have wanted a dog since I was, oh, nine months old. This November I FINALLY got a dog. His name is Jasper and he’s a year-and-a-half old Dachshund. Obviously I have to spend a lot of time doting on the little fellow.
Jasper is a very sweet social butterfly, but he can also be a little punk. He likes to chew on books. Does that mean he likes books? Or does that mean he hates them? Should I be embarrassed that this librarian’s dog treats books so poorly? Or proud of his good taste? Anyhow, Jasper demands to be the center of attention at all times, making it hard to blog sometimes. Or eat. Or shower. Or do anything. But we’re working on his manners and I hope that more blogging is in my future.
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