Eight Things on a Tuesday

1. The National Book Awards. I was super excited to hear that Franny Billingsley's Chime is included in the nominations. But I was less than thrilled to hear about the colossal faux pas that followed the botched nomination announcement. If you haven't already heard, Lauren Myracle's Shine was accidentally named a nominee. Libba Bray wrote a wonderful (and very swear-y) post on the rest of the story:

However, the NBA stated afterward that, based on its merits as a work of excellent literature for young adults, SHINE would remain on the finalists list. Crisis averted. Or so it seemed.
 
What happened after that is worthy of a soap opera called “As the Incompetence Turns.” Over the next few days, a back-and-forth of “we’re keeping it,” “no, we’re not keeping it,” “it’s worthy,” “no, it’s not worthy” was played out in the media and over the Internet in a very public, very hurtful way that did not seem to take into account that at the center of all this was a real live human being, an excellent writer, whose work and reputation were being dragged through the mud as if it were no big thang while the ruffled feathers of injured egos were patted down in a backroom somewhere.

Lauren Myracle was asked to withdraw from the award proceedings.

I haven't read Shine yet, but I interviewed a high school librarian last week for a grad school application essay who said that one can feel light shining through this book. "It's one of those books where the sun just rises," she said.

There's a good round-up of more reactions at A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy.

2. RainyMood.com. The website that does nothing but make it sound like it's raining outside. I visited the website last week, and for a few minutes, I forgot that it wasn't really raining. (via Stephanie Perkins)

3. Books. I'm in the middle of Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone, and I have Stephanie Perkins's Lola and the Boy Next Door waiting on my bookshelf . . . but I cannot pick them up again until I finish my English colloquium revisions and the books I'm supposed to be reading right now. Sigh.

4. Cat pictures. They make life better. My kitty turned eighteen last week. Here are some pictures my mom took of her last fall:

Kitty yawn! There has to be a hilarious caption for this photo, but my brain is too fried to come up with one right now. Suggestions?

5. Pumpkins. We have a happy one in our living room:

6. Veggie pizza. Last Friday, my friend Kirstie and I went to the grocery store and picked out some random ingredients. We give you yellow squash, yellow pepper, and potato pizza with basil:

And FYI, putting potatoes on a pizza turned out to be a surprisingly good idea. (And if you try it, you should know that we fried the veggies in some olive oil on the stove before putting them on the pizza, because otherwise they would have spent only 10 minutes in the oven, and they would have been very, very crunchy...)

7. My Judy Moody doodle was still alive on Sunday. The kids at the library left the whiteboard alone for TWO WHOLE WEEKS. Unbelievable.

8. Pan Am. I got mostly caught up on the TV show this weekend, and am enamored with the clothes and all the spoken French. Also, I can't get over how the ladies carry their purses. I'm not sure I could do this all day:

Happy Tuesday,

Embrace messy hair.

I love this print by Rachel Roellke, which I spotted at funnel cloud, her etsy shop. I've been trying to do as the print says, leaving my curls alone in the morning instead of always reaching for my straightener.

But I shouldn't be talking about hair when I'm supposed to be drafting a paper on who my artistic parents are (think influences from art history or literature, not actual parents) for Senior Thesis for my art major.

Happy Saturday, what's left of it! Also, happy Second Day of Fall! I baked Nutella-swirled sugar cookies and drank pumpkin-spice lattes with a friend yesterday to celebrate the start of my favorite season. What are you most looking forward to this fall?

 

Fall Wreath

The instructions for this project can be found at The Spotted Fox. I saw it last year, bought a wreath form in January, and finally had time to make it this August, just before moving into my on-campus apartment for this school year.

I sure wouldn't have time to make one right now, which is unfortunate, because our living room is still undecorated and rather sad. This wreath hangs in the tiny entrance hallway.

Happy (non-Musical, because--once again--I do not have time to track down a video) Monday,

 

That's my girl

A little girl brought Max and Ruby's Perfect Pumpkin to the checkout counter at the library this morning:

Image from bn.com

Me: Are you excited for fall already?

The girl's mother: I think she is. Yesterday she told me she wanted it to be colder outside.

Me: I want it to be colder, too.

The mom gave me a look.

Me: But not too cold! Just a little colder.

The mom: Yes, not like winter.

Me: No. No, not like winter.

The mom nodded as if to say, "Good. For a second there I thought I'd have to take our DVDs to the next checkout desk, because you are insane."

But, honestly? I like winter better than the recent heat wave that's been sizzling over the Midwest. And I'm so very excited for fall and pumpkins and hot chocolate and apple orchards and . . . Oh well. I will enjoy summer while it's here, but that doesn't mean I can't look forward to my favorite season.

Waiting for September,

Happy Fall! + Pictures and a Library Story

Happy Belated First Day of Fall! This is my favorite season, and I'm so pleased it's here. I don't know about your neck of the woods, but the first day of October where I live was like a switch: leaves that were holding on in September started falling like crazy. I loved it.



I also love apple orchards, and I visited one with some friends a couple weeks ago.

If you look at the banner, you'll see I decorated for fall. It's the same one as last year because I like it, even though it has some design issues and showcases my very low knowledge of Photoshop. (But I did make the trees the duck is walking through out of paper bags and felt.)

Some of the apples were amazing. We know this because we sampled them straight from the tree.

School is super busy right now, and I'm sorry I've been such a poor reader and commenter--I don't mean to be. The first 8 weeks of my semester are outrageous as far as homework goes. I'm also participating in Academic Mentoring this year, which means I'm leading two discussion groups of freshmen a week until Midterm. It's part of the freshman orientation class, which meets separately. I've got lesson plans, I take attendance, I grade small assignments...I feel a little bit teacher-y. It's a little spooky.

Not all of the apples were so good.

I'm still working at the library, too. Last week a gentleman (an immigrant and non-native English speaker) came to the circulation desk and asked:

Gentleman: Do you have any movies about people who die and rise from the dead?

Silence.

Me: ...do you mean like Jesus? Because we have--

Gentleman: No, no, no. Like, like--

Me: Oh! Do you mean like zombies?

Gentleman: What are these zombies?

 

Me: Um, they're dead people who rise out of their graves and...well, they're not like they were. They're monsters. They usually want to eat people.

Gentleman: ...Are you scared of these zombies?

Me: Um, ah, they're in movies--Would you like a copy of Night of the Living Dead? That's a zombie movie.

Gentleman: No thanks.

And then he walked away. Maybe he wanted a movie about a ghost?



Ready for the homework avalanch to stop falling and hoping you're having a lovely autumn so far,

Happy Fall!

Yes, I made fall cookies. With pre-made dough. But it's the thought that counts.

I also emerged from my homework pile to have hot chocolate, go on a walk, and find some leaves to crinkle under my feet. I love fall, and I had a marvelous first day of it. I hope you did too :)