Winnie-the-Pooh: Review Haiku

Despite way too much
Disneyfication, he's still
a silly old bear.

Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne. Methuen UK, 1926, 147 pages. The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne. Methuen UK, 1928, 180 pages.

#26 on The LIST.

ONE: Birthday Haiku

Happy birthday, John!
Gotta do something about
that combover, kid.

Cover Up: Review Haiku

He would've gotten
away with it if not for
those meddling kids!

Cover Up: Mystery at the Super Bowl by John Feinstein. Knopf, 2007, 298 pages.

Beige: Review Haiku

Can non-punks read this?
Don't get me wrong: it was good,
just a bit obscure.

Beige by Cecil Castelucci. Candlewick, 2007, 307 pages.

James and the Giant Peach: Review Haiku

Aunts, peach, seagulls, shark . . .
Lots of plot, but nothing really
happens, does it?

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl. Knopf, 1961, 160 pages.

#25 on The LIST.

Laika: Review Haiku

Good God, cut my heart
out with a spoon, why don't you.
Merry (sob!) Christmas.

Laika by Nick Abadzis. First Second, 2007, 205 pages.

Schooled: Review Haiku

Hippie kid upends
the middle school ruling class.
A commune-ist plot.

Schooled by Gordon Korman. Hyperion, 2007, 224 pages.

Home to Holly Springs: Review Haiku

"God's grace!" -- I get it.
But this? Just lazy plotting.
Coincidence much?

Home to Holly Springs by Jan Karon. Viking, 2007, 368 pages.

Heh. So unsexy.

Your Score: Marcie

Wishy-Washy: 50%, Mental: 84%, Physical: 31%

Marcie is Peppermint Patty's best friend, and secretly loves Charlie Brown. She is always willing to help Patty through class and with homework, and plays on her sports teams even though she would rather be doing something else. Always address people you respect as "sir".

Link: The Peanuts Character Test written by timberlineridge on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Thanks to Bookshelves of Doom for the link.

2007 Year-End Random Roundup

I heart year-end lists, and God knows, this is the season for them. If I bought every magazine that enticed me with the promise of The Best and Worst [Insert Category Here] 2007, I would have . . . a lot of magazines. So I figured it couldn't hurt to do my own.

Since I am a huge slagass, however, there is neither rhyme nor reason to my list, nor a tidy symmetry of best and worst, nor even a semblance of order to the number of items. (I am also baffled by Blogger's concepts of "page design" and "image placement," so forgive me if this post looks all monkey on your screen.)

Enjoy.

The Emilyreads 2007 Year-End List of Things

Favorite new picture book
What Happens on Wednesdays by Emily Jenkins

Most bizarrely awesome/awesomely bizarre mystery
Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann


Best designed/design-y picture book
A Good Day by Kevin Henkes


Best jacket, possibly EVER
Schulz and Peanuts: A Biography by David Michaelis



Best uncategorizable books
The Arrival by Shaun Tan
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick






Books that had the greatest impact on my psyche
Life As We Knew It and the dead & the gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer
(see woodstove, obsession with and moon, sinister cast seen in all images thereof)




Favorite new middle grade/YA novels
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
The Off Season by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
The Talented Clementine by Sara Pennypacker


From The LIST
Best re-read (adult)
To Kill a Mockingbird


Best re-read (children's/YA)
Charlotte's Web

Most disappointing classic
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Most enjoyed classic
Brave New World

A Crooked Kind of Perfect: Review Haiku

Heartbreak and triumph
with a Rock #3 beat.
Boom, chuck-a awesome.

A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban. Harcourt, 2007,
213 pages.

The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World: Review Haiku

Art/history class
for eggheads. Moving, but with
limited appeal.

The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World by E. L. Kongisburg. Seo/S&S, 2007, 244 pages.

The Abstinence Teacher: Review Haiku

Perrotta's genius?
Never letting us hate those
whose views we deplore.

The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta. St. Martin's, 2007, 358 pages.

The True Meaning of Smekday: Review Haiku

Aliens attack!
J.Lo and Tip save the world
allegorically.

The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex. Hyperion, 2007, 432 pages.

The Careful Use of Compliments: Review Haiku

Can someone be an
ethicist, yet still wholly
tactless? Sure seems so.

The Careful Use of Compliments: An Isabel Dalhousie Novel by Alexander McCall Smith. Pantheon, 2007, 256 pages.

Well, that's a surprise

Harry Potter Personality Quiz by Pirate Monkeys Inc.

Pontoon: Review Haiku

The name-dropping grates,
but the final tableau is
pure comedy gold.

Pontoon by Garrison Keillor. Viking, 2007, 256 pages.

Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuart Little: Review Haiku

Procrastination,
thy name is Moxy Maxwell.
Small story, big heart.

Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuart Little by Peggy Gifford. Random, 2007, 92 pages.

Kampung Boy and Town Boy: Review Haiku

Coming-of-age in
Malaysia, country and town.
Delightfully weird.

Kampung Boy by Lat. First Second, 2006, 144 pages.

Town Boy. First Second, 2007, 191 pages.