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June 03
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Dale
gave
 
to:
The True Meaning of Smekday (Hardcover)
by Adam Rex
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in May, 2008
Dale said:
"I hated this book. Every page made me feel worse and worse about myself as a writer. The book is crammed with seemingly effortlessly cast witticisms and asides that not only propel the story, but bring you closer to the characters in a way that is tr...more
I hated this book. Every page made me feel worse and worse about myself as a writer. The book is crammed with seemingly effortlessly cast witticisms and asides that not only propel the story, but bring you closer to the characters in a way that is true to the age group (with a few authorly deviations).
I'm not going to go into the plot too much, as this wasn't the main strength of the book (a girl is asked to write a series of essays pertaining to the Earth's alien invasion and occupation). It's in the kinetic weirdness of the world, the journey, the details. Adam Rex is another in a slew of writer/illustrators that seem to be emerging as of late, and I can't stand it. They are just so freakin' talented. It's not fair. I don't laugh out loud when reading, unless something is so boring that my mind goes back to a moment in school where a popular kid was publicly humiliated. But Adam Rex made me laugh out loud! But the book isn't one-note…it packed with poignancy as well. It's a quirky ride, even if it doesn't feel as if there is a fixed destination half the time (Mark Leyner for the pre-teen set?). Anyway, I loved this book and hated loving it.
...less
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February 04
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Dale
gave
to:
Ubik (Paperback)
by Philip K. Dick
bookshelves:
currently-reading
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in January, 2008
Dale said:
"Can't go wrong with a little Dick. Wait…let me rephrase that. His books are small, but the concepts are big. Like so many of Philip K's work, it will strangely echo the concept du jour currently plaguing me. This one is about death as not so much a...more
Can't go wrong with a little Dick. Wait…let me rephrase that. His books are small, but the concepts are big. Like so many of Philip K's work, it will strangely echo the concept du jour currently plaguing me. This one is about death as not so much an On/Off switch, but as a progressively dimming series of portals, or sub-realities. I can barely keep the characters straight—that's not really his bag—but they help to midwife his amazing takes on the nature of what is real and what is not....less
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January 14
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Dale
gave
to:
Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go (Hardcover)
by Dale E. Basye
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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recommended for: jennpidgeon@yahoo.com
read in November, 2006
Dale said:
"I had a lot of fun writing this book. It was very cathartic. I read the Advanced Reader Copy while I was immersed in the second book, and I was surprised that I still enjoyed it. Sure, there are things I would change now, but this experience—writin...more
I had a lot of fun writing this book. It was very cathartic. I read the Advanced Reader Copy while I was immersed in the second book, and I was surprised that I still enjoyed it. Sure, there are things I would change now, but this experience—writing my first book—made me realize that one could very well spend their life writing and rewriting one book. Sometimes you just have to let it go. Actually, make that, all of the time.
What I like best about Heck (and what my spanking new agent had to say about it as well) was that it was so subversive. That was the biggest thrill writing it: the feeling that I was getting away with something that surely couldn't be printed for middle-readers. Of course, much of it didn't make the final cut, but I am excited now that I am polishing the second book and preparing for the third of what I can get away with now!
Someone asked me why I write for this age group (at least that's what it sounded like through the duct tape). When I think of the books that formed me, that really influenced who I became today, they were all books I read when I was between the ages of 9-12. That's a lot of influence. Writing for adults just doesn't interest me as much. I don't feel that I can make as much of a difference that way. But if I can help make a kid feel better about the "heck" of being a pre-teen, then that makes me really happy. Especially if they buy a dozen copies, and whatever toys, games, and assorted merchandise I have rights to....less
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