Reading – jenn reese

Nat’l Poetry Month!

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Apr 30, 2010 |Inspiration, Reading

Not sure why I waited to talk about poetry until the last day of National Poetry Month, but better late than never. Since high school, one of my favorite poets has been e. e. cummings. I fell so in love with his poem “anyone lived in a pretty how town” that I included a line [...]

Instructions by Gaiman & Vess

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Apr 16, 2010 |Inspiration, Movies, Reading

In case you haven’t seen this yet (or you want to see it again), settle in, turn up the volume, and enjoy: I’m not sure what I love most — Gaiman’s words, the way he reads them, or the way the colors spread across Vess’ illustrations as if they’re soaking into the paper. I also [...]

Mouse Guard: Fall 1152

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Apr 13, 2010 |Reading

A few years ago, I stumbled across David Petersen’s booth at Comic Con and picked up an issue of Mouse Guard. I was blown away by the art — the colors, mood, and general design, as well as the adorable but fierce mice heroes. Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 collects the first six issues into one [...]

Read Re-Gifters!

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Apr 10, 2010 |Los Angeles, Martial Arts, Reading

I just read a fabulous graphic novel called Re-Gifters written by Mike Carey and illustrated by Sonny Liew and Marc Hempel. The book was published as part of DC Comics’ Minx line — “the first graphic novel imprint designed exclusively for teenage girls.” Dixie is a Korean American high school student living in LA. She’s [...]

An Unladylike ARC Contest!

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Dec 14, 2009 |Reading

The talented Stephanie Burgis is holding her first-ever ARC (Advance Reader Copy) Contest. Yes, that’s right! Now’s your chance to win an ARC of her forthcoming book The Unladylike Adventures of Kat Stephenson: A Most Improper Magick! I was lucky enough to read this wonderful book — the first in a trilogy — last year, [...]

2009: YA Reads

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Dec 10, 2009 |Inspiration, Reading

I read fewer young adult novels than middle grade this year, but really loved several of them. I have Steph to thank — she recommended three of these, and I spent almost a week raiding her bookshelves when I visited her in May. Again, these are in no particular order. 2009: GREAT YOUNG ADULT READS [...]

2009: MG Reads

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Dec 7, 2009 |Inspiration, Reading

I didn’t read widely in 2009, but I did read well. Here are some of my absolute favorite middle grade reads of the year. 2009: GREAT MIDDLE GRADE READS The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex I gushed about this book back in September, and my opinion hasn’t changed. It’s like an Earth-based Hitchhiker’s [...]

Futurismic Needs You!

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Dec 1, 2009 |Geekery, Reading, Writing

As most of you know, Chris is the fiction editor for a fantastic site called Futurismic (which owned and managed by Paul Raven). Their tagline reads: “Near-future science fiction and fact since 2001.” Futurismic’s array of bloggers posts great essays and finds all sorts of fascinating science fictional tidbits for your enjoyment. And, on the [...]

Nebula Recs?

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Nov 18, 2009 |Reading

The Nebula Award nomination period is now open! The rules have changed a lot this year, and I’m excited to see how those changes are reflected in the preliminary and final ballots. Sadly, I’ve read almost nothing but middle grade and young adult novels in the last year, and am woefully behind on shorter works. [...]

Why I Love Middle Grade Books

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Nov 5, 2009 |Inspiration, Reading, Writing

A few years ago, I wrote about how poor reading skills eventually landed me in a special reading program in 4th and 5th grades. (Here’s the entry on SF Novelists.) I ended up skipping the official “reading” class and heading to the library, where I was allowed to read any Newbery book in their collection. [...]