10.31.2007

Frankenstein: Review Haiku


Frankenstein was Swiss?
Almost no monster-making --
just Romantic angst.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Penguin (this edition), 1818 (original edition), 214 pages.

#22 on The LIST.

10.29.2007

Now I can sleep again


Boston sweeps Rockies to win the Series; Mikey "The Connectah" Lowell is MVP.

But now I have a problem: History has shown that every time I have a kid, the Sox win the Series. I don't think my lady parts can take this kind of pressure . . .

10.26.2007

NaNoReMo: Catch-22

So Defective Yeti is planning to read Catch-22 during the month of November. Coincidentally, it's next (or almost next, if I choose to tackle Anna Karenina) on The LIST. I think I'll join him . . .

Naomi and Ely's No-Kiss List: Review Haiku


Unrequited love
plus ultra-hip urban angst.
(Man, I'm such a square.)


Naomi and Ely's No-Kiss List by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. Knopf, 2007, 240 pages.

10.22.2007

Miss Spitfire: Review Haiku


Two little spitfires
battle for the greatest gift:
communication.


Miss Spitfire: Reaching Helen Keller by Sarah Miller. Atheneum, 2007, 240 pages.

Love that dirty water


Oh, Boston, you're my home.


!!!

10.17.2007

The Used World: Review Haiku


Eighty other holds
and a so-so first chapter?
Sorry, Ms. Kimmel.

The Used World by Haven Kimmel. Free Press, 2007, 320 pages.

10.15.2007

Leepike Ridge: Review Haiku


Lost kid, waterfalls,
treasure hunters run amok:
sounds like The Goonies.


Leepike Ridge by N. D. Wilson. Random, 2007, 224 pages.

10.14.2007

Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus: Review Haiku


Ran, runned -- I don't care,
since you kept La Munch entranced
on a long car ride.


Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus by Barbara Park. Random, 1992, 80 pages. Listened to the unabridged CD from Recorded Books, read by Christina Moore.


Spent Saturday at the Rutgers One-on-One Plus Conference in Jersey. Got to meet Fuse, catch up with some old friends, and hang out with a slew of writers and illustrators at various stages in their professional lives. Apologies again for forgetting business cards. At least I remembered to wear pants.

10.11.2007

Lord of the Flies: Review Haiku


"KILL THE PIG!" Would you?
Innocence lost, unspooled, with
seductive horror.


Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Faber & Faber, 1954, 192 pages. Listened to on a Playaway device.


#21 on The LIST.

10.10.2007

Life's a Beach: Review Haiku


Nothing much happens,
but it's still a hoot to be
along for the ride.


Life's a Beach by Claire Cook. Voice/Hyperion, 2007, 256 pages.


(And no, it's not on the blankety-blank LIST. I'm working on it, okay? I only have so many hours in the day, and Lord of the Flies takes a while to listen to on my lunch breaks . . . )

10.08.2007

Eggs: Review Haiku


Fragile, brittle kids
lay on metaphors thick, but
never crack their shells.

Eggs by Jerry Spinelli. Little, Brown, 2007, 220 pages.

10.07.2007

Evolution, Me, and Other Freaks of Nature: Review Haiku


Darwin versus God!
Survival of the fittest
with high-school-high stakes.


Evolution, Me, and Other Freaks of Nature by Robin Brande. Knopf, 2007, 272 pages.