Last change and first chance!
This is your last chance to take your pick of books from the STASH. I’ve got about a cart of books that are priced to move. The price, you ask? FREE! I need them gone. Come and get ‘em. After next Friday, I can’t be held responsible for what happens to them.
This is your first chance to take a peak at the new titles I picked up at ALA in January. Remember, these are proofs and Advanced Reader Copies of books that will probably not be published until later this year. I’ve only got about one shelf right now, but that will soon change. Come in and get reading!
2.05.2006
The Future of STABBBYA and beyond!
First off, I want to say how happy I am with all of the work you guys have done this year to make STABBBYA so successful. I am so glad that you have participated by coming to meetings and helping organize all the books we've received this year. Thanks! To see what you helped create take a look at the final list of 91 titles at: www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists/bbya
Secondly, now that the final list for 2006 is finished we are moving on to build the 2007 list. That means that we are looking at books that are published between September 2006 and the end of 2007. As far as STABBBYA goes, books outside of this time frame do not exist. Sorry. I've got some books from ALA that are eligible, but I haven't had time to organize them yet. Hopefully, by the end of this week I can do so.
Thirdly, in January of 2007 ALA will be in Seattle. That means that you can do what Michelle, Nina, Jackie and Molly did in San Antonio. (You can read about their craziness below.) Except you don't get to spend the night in some swanky hotel. Sorry. But that does mean that you will be able to go and collect a hundred pounds of books, get all sorts of free stuff and get a chance to talk in front of a group of 200 librarians, publishers and literary agents. This last part might sound intimidating, but you have a year to prepare for it. This is something that everyone involved in STAB can and should do. So, if you know anyone who is would be interested in doing this, let them know about it.
I think that is about it for now. Let me know if you have any questions.
First off, I want to say how happy I am with all of the work you guys have done this year to make STABBBYA so successful. I am so glad that you have participated by coming to meetings and helping organize all the books we've received this year. Thanks! To see what you helped create take a look at the final list of 91 titles at: www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists/bbya
Secondly, now that the final list for 2006 is finished we are moving on to build the 2007 list. That means that we are looking at books that are published between September 2006 and the end of 2007. As far as STABBBYA goes, books outside of this time frame do not exist. Sorry. I've got some books from ALA that are eligible, but I haven't had time to organize them yet. Hopefully, by the end of this week I can do so.
Thirdly, in January of 2007 ALA will be in Seattle. That means that you can do what Michelle, Nina, Jackie and Molly did in San Antonio. (You can read about their craziness below.) Except you don't get to spend the night in some swanky hotel. Sorry. But that does mean that you will be able to go and collect a hundred pounds of books, get all sorts of free stuff and get a chance to talk in front of a group of 200 librarians, publishers and literary agents. This last part might sound intimidating, but you have a year to prepare for it. This is something that everyone involved in STAB can and should do. So, if you know anyone who is would be interested in doing this, let them know about it.
I think that is about it for now. Let me know if you have any questions.
1.30.2006
Last but not least, Molly:
A) Michelle I have your shoes!! Nina I have your book! Jackie I love your Peach-Os! Alene I miss you! Rick, to me, you'll always be *doot doot* Library Lad!!!!
B) Never ever go on a trip with some other friends the weekend after finals AND Stab Antonio. You'll receive strange looks after you succumb to laughter when someone uses "poignant" in a sentence, or orders an iced coffee. They just won't understand.
C) As Nina said, people WILL look at you weird if you say "I was in TEXAS!" if they inquire upon where you were last Monday.
D) Beware of such problems on the last Math final of the semester: If a plane leaves somewheres at 9:30, and is going at such and such a speed, and it's delayed in Dallas Fort Worth, and you're starving after the banana and coffee you had before attending the Academy Awards of Librarians, and you've got ten dollars left, should you order a smoothie, a cup of noodles, or a tuna sandwich? ANSWER: Trick Question! You shouldn't order any of them, and go mooch a Peach-O from Jackie. Or Molly. She'll have Clif Bars. She always has Clif Bars.
E) Warning: The above question could cause you to forget to finish your math final.
And finally
F) Molly's Ultimate Rule for Going to STAB Antonio: Go with Michelle, Jackie, Nina, Alene, and Rick! You'll have more fun than anything, PLUS it's impossible to be the nerdiest one there. (Or will you?)
Thanks for everything, mates!! Rickettes forever, yo! Fo Schiz!
A) Michelle I have your shoes!! Nina I have your book! Jackie I love your Peach-Os! Alene I miss you! Rick, to me, you'll always be *doot doot* Library Lad!!!!
B) Never ever go on a trip with some other friends the weekend after finals AND Stab Antonio. You'll receive strange looks after you succumb to laughter when someone uses "poignant" in a sentence, or orders an iced coffee. They just won't understand.
C) As Nina said, people WILL look at you weird if you say "I was in TEXAS!" if they inquire upon where you were last Monday.
D) Beware of such problems on the last Math final of the semester: If a plane leaves somewheres at 9:30, and is going at such and such a speed, and it's delayed in Dallas Fort Worth, and you're starving after the banana and coffee you had before attending the Academy Awards of Librarians, and you've got ten dollars left, should you order a smoothie, a cup of noodles, or a tuna sandwich? ANSWER: Trick Question! You shouldn't order any of them, and go mooch a Peach-O from Jackie. Or Molly. She'll have Clif Bars. She always has Clif Bars.
E) Warning: The above question could cause you to forget to finish your math final.
And finally
F) Molly's Ultimate Rule for Going to STAB Antonio: Go with Michelle, Jackie, Nina, Alene, and Rick! You'll have more fun than anything, PLUS it's impossible to be the nerdiest one there. (Or will you?)
Thanks for everything, mates!! Rickettes forever, yo! Fo Schiz!
1.29.2006
Jackie's take on STAB Antonio:
Ok so one could say just by looking at the pix we had a blast...........too true, but one could also say that we were being lazy, skiping out on our STAB duties, *rases hands in defence* I was not lazy.....I-I-I I was trying to keep myself awake. Do you know how hard that is to do after being sent to San Antonio on a RED EYE. *Glare at Rick* You might say that we were having a vacation, oh how we desrved that. Though we did have fun. Seeing the Alamo, The River Walk, the ALA Convention *that was the highlight of our twilight(Note the use of a BBYA book title)* Sorry I just love doing that. Oh that reminds me, we * Nina, Molly, Alene, Michelle* were walking back to our hotel when we decided to see who could use the most titles from the BBYA list well I didnot win. Come to think of it, I dont think any one did. Oh well being there was GREAT!!! I would like to thank Rick for taking us with him, Alene for coming with us and keeping an eye on us, The Friends of the Shoreline Library for making this posible. Thank you The Jackie out.
Ok so one could say just by looking at the pix we had a blast...........too true, but one could also say that we were being lazy, skiping out on our STAB duties, *rases hands in defence* I was not lazy.....I-I-I I was trying to keep myself awake. Do you know how hard that is to do after being sent to San Antonio on a RED EYE. *Glare at Rick* You might say that we were having a vacation, oh how we desrved that. Though we did have fun. Seeing the Alamo, The River Walk, the ALA Convention *that was the highlight of our twilight(Note the use of a BBYA book title)* Sorry I just love doing that. Oh that reminds me, we * Nina, Molly, Alene, Michelle* were walking back to our hotel when we decided to see who could use the most titles from the BBYA list well I didnot win. Come to think of it, I dont think any one did. Oh well being there was GREAT!!! I would like to thank Rick for taking us with him, Alene for coming with us and keeping an eye on us, The Friends of the Shoreline Library for making this posible. Thank you The Jackie out.
1.28.2006
An update from Michelle:
AIEEEE.
I'm ready to blog now. I had to survive finals first. They are over. I am giddy now.
So, Nina already blogged. Nina, you are PRO. And you are funny. Like, ACTUALLY, you are.
Okay. I'd never, ever thought I'd go to Texas. But I did. W00t! Or, fo' schiz! Let's get the
cheese out of the way: Thank you Rick. You are hip and cool and a smart, brilliant, super-duper librarian. Thank you Alene. Chaperoning is hard work. (I can only imagine). You have so much spirit and cheer and humor, you made San Antonio that much more fun for us. Thank you Friends of the Shoreline Library for the opportunity. It was absolutely amazing. I mean, just thinking about the fact that only us four and a few Cali kids (I choose not to count the local Texans) participated in the teen forum portion of BBYA is mind-boggling. And we are lucky x 100000000 for being able to see and CONTRIBUTE to something like this. It really opened my eyes to the full scope of the library/book/literary world and it showed me how much there was to it. And Thank you Angie (for talking up the publishers and taking us around town). I can see why you are so popular ;).
YUP. So, San Antonio was fun. The tourist spots weren't particularly exciting (i.e. the Alamo). But it was refreshing to be in a city that was NOT Seattle. The landscaping was very different.*gasp* No towering, lush, evergreen trees? There was also a larger Latino & African American population. But getting to stay at a hotel, going to the conference (wearing the spiffy ALA badge, which we dubbed "library bling"), getting loads and loads and loads of SWAG, getting to know fellow STABies, taking "pretty" pictures, hearing about Rick's life story, dressing up for the fancy reception, talking about books, so on and so forth..THAT was FUN.
I have about 40+ books sitting by my bed, waiting to be read. Like Nina, I also have no shelf space. This is a problem. I might have to buy another bookshelf. The posters were also useful. I gave the baby Einstein poster to my chem teacher and the Presidents of the US poster to my former APUSH teacher. Bwahahaha. xD
And I have been using my Got Books/Got Libraries bag every day since I've back. I *heart* this bag. Ahh, the rewards of reading. I'm going to be on my school newspaper, the Kolus, starting next semester. I ought to write an editorial advocating teen reading. Something like: "EVERYONE SHOULD READ! You might find yourself attending a STAB/STABBYA meeting. Then, you might find yourself reading a load of books and reviewing them. THEN, you might even land yourself a fully-paid trip to a national conference where you get to meet cool people and get free stuff and learn a whole bunch. Doesn't that sound good? Start reading!"
Anyway. Books are swell. Yes, they are.
AIEEEE.
I'm ready to blog now. I had to survive finals first. They are over. I am giddy now.
So, Nina already blogged. Nina, you are PRO. And you are funny. Like, ACTUALLY, you are.
Okay. I'd never, ever thought I'd go to Texas. But I did. W00t! Or, fo' schiz! Let's get the
cheese out of the way: Thank you Rick. You are hip and cool and a smart, brilliant, super-duper librarian. Thank you Alene. Chaperoning is hard work. (I can only imagine). You have so much spirit and cheer and humor, you made San Antonio that much more fun for us. Thank you Friends of the Shoreline Library for the opportunity. It was absolutely amazing. I mean, just thinking about the fact that only us four and a few Cali kids (I choose not to count the local Texans) participated in the teen forum portion of BBYA is mind-boggling. And we are lucky x 100000000 for being able to see and CONTRIBUTE to something like this. It really opened my eyes to the full scope of the library/book/literary world and it showed me how much there was to it. And Thank you Angie (for talking up the publishers and taking us around town). I can see why you are so popular ;).
YUP. So, San Antonio was fun. The tourist spots weren't particularly exciting (i.e. the Alamo). But it was refreshing to be in a city that was NOT Seattle. The landscaping was very different.*gasp* No towering, lush, evergreen trees? There was also a larger Latino & African American population. But getting to stay at a hotel, going to the conference (wearing the spiffy ALA badge, which we dubbed "library bling"), getting loads and loads and loads of SWAG, getting to know fellow STABies, taking "pretty" pictures, hearing about Rick's life story, dressing up for the fancy reception, talking about books, so on and so forth..THAT was FUN.
I have about 40+ books sitting by my bed, waiting to be read. Like Nina, I also have no shelf space. This is a problem. I might have to buy another bookshelf. The posters were also useful. I gave the baby Einstein poster to my chem teacher and the Presidents of the US poster to my former APUSH teacher. Bwahahaha. xD
And I have been using my Got Books/Got Libraries bag every day since I've back. I *heart* this bag. Ahh, the rewards of reading. I'm going to be on my school newspaper, the Kolus, starting next semester. I ought to write an editorial advocating teen reading. Something like: "EVERYONE SHOULD READ! You might find yourself attending a STAB/STABBYA meeting. Then, you might find yourself reading a load of books and reviewing them. THEN, you might even land yourself a fully-paid trip to a national conference where you get to meet cool people and get free stuff and learn a whole bunch. Doesn't that sound good? Start reading!"
Anyway. Books are swell. Yes, they are.
1.27.2006
Ricks says:
San Antonio is strangely quiet tonight. The Rickettes left this morning after spending the weekend steeping in literature and librarians. Alene dragged them out of bed this morning for one last hurrah. We all went to the Youth Media Awards in the morning, where a number of major Teen and Children’s book awards from ALA (like the Caldecott, the Newbery and the Printz) are announced. It is not an exaggeration to say that the event is the Academy Awards of the library world. Ballroom C seats about 1,000 people and it was standing room only. TV cameras were set up to broadcast the announcement live. The room was quiet with breathless anticipation while people waited for the awards to be announced. Basically, it was nerd central and I was proud to be in the thick of things. I would have had a weird perma-smile if I hadn’t been biting my fingernails.
Lots happened, but this was the important stuff, in my opinion:
The Printz Award is given to a book published for teens based on literary merit. BBYA Committees are always a little excited to see who will win the Printz or be named as honor books since these titles will automatically be placed on the BBYA list. I was happy to discover that John Green’s Looking for Alaska won the Printz Award, since it was one of my favorites of the year. It was also one of the STAB’s favorites as well. When they announced he had won I screamed like a teenage girl, probably since I’ve been spending too much time with a bunch of them lately. The teenage girls, on the other hand, just sagely nodded their heads. Whatever professionalism I had was pretty much thrown out the window. It was worth it though.
The honor books were also some great picks. They were John Lennon: All I want is the truth, The Messenger, Black Juice and A Wreath for Emmett Till. I’m so happy with my friends who were on the committee who made such wonderful decisions. So happy, in fact, I’m going to name them: Kim Payone, Jennifer Hubert-Swan, and Deborah Taylor. Great people, smart and oh so fashionable.
The other big excitement at the awards ceremony was that some of my favorite adult books of the year were also honored. The Alex awards are given to books that are published for adults but have high teen appeal. My personal favorites from their list of 10 were Gil’s All Fright Diner, As Simple As Snow, and Anansi Boys. My friend on the committee, Holly Koelling, no doubt had a lot to do with such great choices.
After the Youth Media awards the Rickettes made their way back home to Shoreline. I have to admit, having an entourage was a lot of fun. There was always someone to hang out with and chat with and to laugh at my stories/goof ups. One of my colleagues at ALA referred to me as an “A-Lister” while in San Antonio. I told them that I still felt like I was on the “C-List”. Of course, when a group of people see you and immediately begin screaming and running up to you it sure feels like “A-List’ treatment. This actually happened when the teens first met me at the Exhibits on Saturday morning. But I was quickly brought back to reality as one of my committee members, who was close behind the teens, discovered it was me that they were so excited to see, she stated quite directly, “Oh. I thought it was somebody important.” Definitely a C-Lister. Maybe D.
On the BBYA front, today was our last day of discussions. Tomorrow we will have our final vote to determine what will make the final list. We will try and narrow our 217 titles down to a mere 70-80. Some tough choices will have to be made by the committee tonight. But, before we do our final we can make one final plea for a particular book. My problem is, I have at least 4 books that are short of votes. I’m not sure what I’ll do at this point, but I have a feeling the answer lies somewhere at the bottom of a tube of Pringles.
San Antonio is strangely quiet tonight. The Rickettes left this morning after spending the weekend steeping in literature and librarians. Alene dragged them out of bed this morning for one last hurrah. We all went to the Youth Media Awards in the morning, where a number of major Teen and Children’s book awards from ALA (like the Caldecott, the Newbery and the Printz) are announced. It is not an exaggeration to say that the event is the Academy Awards of the library world. Ballroom C seats about 1,000 people and it was standing room only. TV cameras were set up to broadcast the announcement live. The room was quiet with breathless anticipation while people waited for the awards to be announced. Basically, it was nerd central and I was proud to be in the thick of things. I would have had a weird perma-smile if I hadn’t been biting my fingernails.
Lots happened, but this was the important stuff, in my opinion:
The Printz Award is given to a book published for teens based on literary merit. BBYA Committees are always a little excited to see who will win the Printz or be named as honor books since these titles will automatically be placed on the BBYA list. I was happy to discover that John Green’s Looking for Alaska won the Printz Award, since it was one of my favorites of the year. It was also one of the STAB’s favorites as well. When they announced he had won I screamed like a teenage girl, probably since I’ve been spending too much time with a bunch of them lately. The teenage girls, on the other hand, just sagely nodded their heads. Whatever professionalism I had was pretty much thrown out the window. It was worth it though.
The honor books were also some great picks. They were John Lennon: All I want is the truth, The Messenger, Black Juice and A Wreath for Emmett Till. I’m so happy with my friends who were on the committee who made such wonderful decisions. So happy, in fact, I’m going to name them: Kim Payone, Jennifer Hubert-Swan, and Deborah Taylor. Great people, smart and oh so fashionable.
The other big excitement at the awards ceremony was that some of my favorite adult books of the year were also honored. The Alex awards are given to books that are published for adults but have high teen appeal. My personal favorites from their list of 10 were Gil’s All Fright Diner, As Simple As Snow, and Anansi Boys. My friend on the committee, Holly Koelling, no doubt had a lot to do with such great choices.
After the Youth Media awards the Rickettes made their way back home to Shoreline. I have to admit, having an entourage was a lot of fun. There was always someone to hang out with and chat with and to laugh at my stories/goof ups. One of my colleagues at ALA referred to me as an “A-Lister” while in San Antonio. I told them that I still felt like I was on the “C-List”. Of course, when a group of people see you and immediately begin screaming and running up to you it sure feels like “A-List’ treatment. This actually happened when the teens first met me at the Exhibits on Saturday morning. But I was quickly brought back to reality as one of my committee members, who was close behind the teens, discovered it was me that they were so excited to see, she stated quite directly, “Oh. I thought it was somebody important.” Definitely a C-Lister. Maybe D.
On the BBYA front, today was our last day of discussions. Tomorrow we will have our final vote to determine what will make the final list. We will try and narrow our 217 titles down to a mere 70-80. Some tough choices will have to be made by the committee tonight. But, before we do our final we can make one final plea for a particular book. My problem is, I have at least 4 books that are short of votes. I’m not sure what I’ll do at this point, but I have a feeling the answer lies somewhere at the bottom of a tube of Pringles.
1.24.2006
Nina writes:
What's up!? I guess we're doing our individual blogs now, so here's mine for Rick to post later, when he's done deciding which books shall make the BBYA list we are so desperately waiting for. I'm home now, but it took awhile... our plane was delayed for about a year, and I was late to youth symphony *gasp* which wasn't really that big of a deal, as it turned out: people were impressed I came at all, after living through the horror that is Texas, (general Seattle opinion). I was still wearing all my library gear, when I walked in, too. I looked reeeeeallly cool, with my "I read banned books" pins and my "got libraries?" tote bag. Like, actually a nerd to the max. I was even still wearing my badge. There was no way I could have possibly looked cooler.
Today was amazing, because we were able to go to the "Oscars of Young Adult and Children's Books" and witness the giving of the Newbery, Caldecott, Printz... talk about incre dible. The fact that "Looking for Alaska" won the Printz was just the icing on the cake. I cheered so loud my throat is sore. For the people (and I know who you are) that don't like this book: take THAT. Okay that's a bit unfair. I understand why people might have a problem with it... no, sorry, actually, I don't.
It was sunny today... the day we left... as if we were imposters in Texas and it was going back to normal now that we rainy Seattle people were leaving. Given the weather, though, I'm not sure why our plane from San Antonio to Dallas was sooo delayed. There was no wind, rain, snow, or any other natural or extraterrestrial disaster. What was the deal?? I mean, they could have packed us all in a bus and drove us to Dallas, and it would have taken less time.
Nina's Rules for Surviving Texas:
-Don't buy any food of any kind in the San Antonio airport. You will regret it as long as you live.The specialt ies available today were a fruit smoothie with threads/hair/other unnatural textured material in it, pasta drenched in oil, and stale bread.We survived on Michelle's stash of Lemonheads, Jackie's bag of Peachy-Os, my gum, and Molly's Clif bars and trail mix.
-If you must buy food in Texas, do Italian. Order pizza or some nice Caesar salad. Never go into Gunter's bakery, ever. They serve less than half the food on their menu and we already went over their idea of iced coffee. And beware of terrifyingly spicy food at art benefits masquerading as cute dumplings and sausage rolls.
-Although buying a cowboy hat, boots, and a "don't mess with texas" T-shirt may seem like a good idea upon entering the state, think hard about these decisions. Will people laugh and throw things at you when you return to Seattle? Will you ever be able to wear your new duds anyplace except Halloween? Put your rodeo dreams away and spend your money on other things, such a s ice cream, cat sombreros, or books you will have to buy. Unlike us. We VIPS get all our books for free.
-If you do encounter publishers eager to give books away, make sure your suitcase weighs less than fifty pounds. Paying extra at check-in, and permanent back and neck problems from trying to lug your suitcase off the conveyor belt put a serious damper on book euphoria.
-Say, "I went to the ALA conference in San Antonio to talk about teen books" when asked. People will ooh and ahh and remark on your cleverness. Not, "I was in Texas." This will only induce remarks from people who think they are hilarious, such as "Did you see George Bush? har har har. Did you go to the rodeo? yee-haw! har dee har."
-Frequently post blogs while you are there to let off steam and get all your semi-rude comments out, where they can be laughed at harmlessly by friends and family. If you don't, you might find yourself going up to a complete stranger Texan and aski ng them about their inability to put up traffic lights in the correct way, or why the Alamo doesn't have a basement, or why you would name a bar "Steers and Beers."
-Make a big deal about the Seahawks winning, so no one will mistake you for a Texan and will instead mistake you for someone a )from Seattle (true), and b) a Seahawks fan (hahaha...ha.)
-Listen intently to your supervisor's life stories whenever they feel the need to pour their hearts out, even if you have other things on your agenda such as writing more blogs or reading your free SWAG or going to sleep or making up songs about library lads. Librarians are sensitive souls. They need to feel appreciated, especially in Texas.
With all of that said, I just want EVERYONE who is reading this to know that I had a wonderful weekend, and that being able to voice my opinion on books I read was just so amazingly sweet. I would also like everyone to know that my suit case full of SWAG (43. 5 pounds) is now sitting on my floor, with books pouring out of it. I'm unsure of what to do with them. I don't have any more shelf space.
Rick, you are a great hobbit/manager/book-talker/librarian. Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to be on STAB and go on this trip!
Alene, you are my hero. If someone asked me to chaperone four teenagers in Texas for a weekend, I would have run screaming from the room. You did an awesome job and I'm so glad we all got to know you better!! :-) We all love you so much!
Angie, I will never forget your fabulousness. Way to get us VIP treatment!
Friends of Shoreline Library - thank you SO much for sending us to San Antonio! In case you couldn't tell already, we had the time of our lives!!!!!
And to Jackie, Molly, and Michelle - WE DID STAB SAN ANTONIO!!! (it was ACTUALLY poignant) and I love you all to pieces, I had such a great time with all you girls!!! and now good luck on all that homework we waited until tonight to do!!
~Nina
What's up!? I guess we're doing our individual blogs now, so here's mine for Rick to post later, when he's done deciding which books shall make the BBYA list we are so desperately waiting for. I'm home now, but it took awhile... our plane was delayed for about a year, and I was late to youth symphony *gasp* which wasn't really that big of a deal, as it turned out: people were impressed I came at all, after living through the horror that is Texas, (general Seattle opinion). I was still wearing all my library gear, when I walked in, too. I looked reeeeeallly cool, with my "I read banned books" pins and my "got libraries?" tote bag. Like, actually a nerd to the max. I was even still wearing my badge. There was no way I could have possibly looked cooler.
Today was amazing, because we were able to go to the "Oscars of Young Adult and Children's Books" and witness the giving of the Newbery, Caldecott, Printz... talk about incre dible. The fact that "Looking for Alaska" won the Printz was just the icing on the cake. I cheered so loud my throat is sore. For the people (and I know who you are) that don't like this book: take THAT. Okay that's a bit unfair. I understand why people might have a problem with it... no, sorry, actually, I don't.
It was sunny today... the day we left... as if we were imposters in Texas and it was going back to normal now that we rainy Seattle people were leaving. Given the weather, though, I'm not sure why our plane from San Antonio to Dallas was sooo delayed. There was no wind, rain, snow, or any other natural or extraterrestrial disaster. What was the deal?? I mean, they could have packed us all in a bus and drove us to Dallas, and it would have taken less time.
Nina's Rules for Surviving Texas:
-Don't buy any food of any kind in the San Antonio airport. You will regret it as long as you live.The specialt ies available today were a fruit smoothie with threads/hair/other unnatural textured material in it, pasta drenched in oil, and stale bread.We survived on Michelle's stash of Lemonheads, Jackie's bag of Peachy-Os, my gum, and Molly's Clif bars and trail mix.
-If you must buy food in Texas, do Italian. Order pizza or some nice Caesar salad. Never go into Gunter's bakery, ever. They serve less than half the food on their menu and we already went over their idea of iced coffee. And beware of terrifyingly spicy food at art benefits masquerading as cute dumplings and sausage rolls.
-Although buying a cowboy hat, boots, and a "don't mess with texas" T-shirt may seem like a good idea upon entering the state, think hard about these decisions. Will people laugh and throw things at you when you return to Seattle? Will you ever be able to wear your new duds anyplace except Halloween? Put your rodeo dreams away and spend your money on other things, such a s ice cream, cat sombreros, or books you will have to buy. Unlike us. We VIPS get all our books for free.
-If you do encounter publishers eager to give books away, make sure your suitcase weighs less than fifty pounds. Paying extra at check-in, and permanent back and neck problems from trying to lug your suitcase off the conveyor belt put a serious damper on book euphoria.
-Say, "I went to the ALA conference in San Antonio to talk about teen books" when asked. People will ooh and ahh and remark on your cleverness. Not, "I was in Texas." This will only induce remarks from people who think they are hilarious, such as "Did you see George Bush? har har har. Did you go to the rodeo? yee-haw! har dee har."
-Frequently post blogs while you are there to let off steam and get all your semi-rude comments out, where they can be laughed at harmlessly by friends and family. If you don't, you might find yourself going up to a complete stranger Texan and aski ng them about their inability to put up traffic lights in the correct way, or why the Alamo doesn't have a basement, or why you would name a bar "Steers and Beers."
-Make a big deal about the Seahawks winning, so no one will mistake you for a Texan and will instead mistake you for someone a )from Seattle (true), and b) a Seahawks fan (hahaha...ha.)
-Listen intently to your supervisor's life stories whenever they feel the need to pour their hearts out, even if you have other things on your agenda such as writing more blogs or reading your free SWAG or going to sleep or making up songs about library lads. Librarians are sensitive souls. They need to feel appreciated, especially in Texas.
With all of that said, I just want EVERYONE who is reading this to know that I had a wonderful weekend, and that being able to voice my opinion on books I read was just so amazingly sweet. I would also like everyone to know that my suit case full of SWAG (43. 5 pounds) is now sitting on my floor, with books pouring out of it. I'm unsure of what to do with them. I don't have any more shelf space.
Rick, you are a great hobbit/manager/book-talker/librarian. Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to be on STAB and go on this trip!
Alene, you are my hero. If someone asked me to chaperone four teenagers in Texas for a weekend, I would have run screaming from the room. You did an awesome job and I'm so glad we all got to know you better!! :-) We all love you so much!
Angie, I will never forget your fabulousness. Way to get us VIP treatment!
Friends of Shoreline Library - thank you SO much for sending us to San Antonio! In case you couldn't tell already, we had the time of our lives!!!!!
And to Jackie, Molly, and Michelle - WE DID STAB SAN ANTONIO!!! (it was ACTUALLY poignant) and I love you all to pieces, I had such a great time with all you girls!!! and now good luck on all that homework we waited until tonight to do!!
~Nina
1.23.2006
STAB Antonio: Day 3
The Rickettes had their first and last full day in San Antonio. Today was the main event! The Teen Participation section of the Best Books for Young Adults committee took place in a room filled with about 200 people. Teens from all over the country were there, coming to grand total of 73. Only 10 of the 73 represented public libraries. I can safely say, without a trace of hyperbole, that the Rickettes were the best prepared, most eloquent, and snazziest dressed of all of the teens. A number of BBYA Committee members came up to me afterwards and commented on what a great job they did. I couldn't have been more proud of them! Take a look out the pictures from today's activites at:
http://homepage.mac.com/hrunting/PhotoAlbum13.html
Here is what our group had to say:
San Antonio Day #2
Hello again! You have no idea how long this blog took us to actually write, because every other sentence Rick starts talking and we’re like, “HELLOOO we need to finish our BLOG!!!!!” So Ricko has been regaling us with tales of his college days. He had research book piles as tall as HIM in his room. Talk about wild. He studied about death in the middle ages. Whoo-hoo.
Another FANTASTIC day in San Antonio. WE! GOT! SO! MUCH! SWAG! There were books, and pencils and books and candy and movie trailers and books and comics (excuse me graphic novels) and bags and books and books and books and books and books and books and books and some people were selling chairs. They weren’t free, so we didn’t get any… Molly really wanted one… it would have been so easy to carry them back on the plane!!
Let’s start from the beginning!!
1. Woke up!
2. Nina took a shower. The other three did not, which made Alene and Nina freak out about how they can function without showers in the morning. The two clean (OCD positive) and the three grimy (laid back) ones went off to the coffee shop next to our hotel.
3. The coffee shop. Supposedly, they served “Seattle’s Best Coffee.” However, everyone knows that Seattle’s Best Coffee is really Starbucks, which makes their title not only pretentious, but wrong. Anyway, it was a Seattle’s Best Coffee. We admit it: we are spoiled. We are Seattle girls all the way, and we have standards for our coffee. So first, we tried to order breakfast, and they were out of, like everything. Their cupcakes were “too hard” so they wouldn’t let Molly have one. They didn’t have yogurt. Then Nina tried to order a latte, and the woman was like, “No, we can’t do that.” Like hello can’t you just pour milk and coffee into a cup? And so Nina did. By herself. There are no standards for service here. And then Michelle ordered an iced latte. An “iced” latte. Brewed coffee with 3 pieces of ice in it. What in the….?! So that turned into lukewarm diluted coffee. NO. This is unacceptable. I just want some coffee, darnit. (quote Michelle).
4. Walked to the convention center. See the “WE-GOT-SO-MUCH-SWAG” part. Books, etc, and this FABULOUS lady who has tall and red hair and she’s fabulous. This woman’s name is ANGIE and Nina wants to be her, and she is absolutely the coolest woman IN THE WORLD. This is what she did. She took us around to all of the publishers, and said magic words, like, “these teens review books and tell the library which ones to buy.” People were THROWING books at us. THEY asked US what kind of books WE like to read. So Molly got all the sci-fi ones, and Nina got all the pink girly ones, and Angie was just like, on to the next publisher!!! We actually love her. ACTUALLY. THANK YOU ANGIE!!! We love you. Out bags were breaking with the weight, and it was like, Christmas on steroids. With free books. AHHHH! AMAZING!!
5. More books.
6. More SWAG.
7. More books.
8. More euphoria.
9. Some boring chairs.
10. Then we had a fantastic Italian lunch on the River Walk. Fabulous. We listened to an eclectic Mariachi band and started freaking out about the BBYA book talk.
11. We went back to the Convention Center for the Teen BBYA Participation Conference. Yay, exciting! No, really, it was. It was the whole point of our trip. Lots of publishers. Lots of local teens. Too many middle schoolers.
12. The room was “ginormous” according to our fearless Ricko Baggins. About the size of a short gym, it was filled with chairs (only about 5/6 full – guess we’re not the superstars we thought we were.) We were easily the oldest ones there – middle schoolers galore. This disturbed us. We sat down and made friends with people around us who had read only 3 books each. We almost died right there in our chairs. 3 books?!?! I guess they were just there for kicks or something. There were many different kinds of people there that irritated us. There were the young middle schoolers that were like, “This book was too old for me.” Yeah, no, really?? Then there were the kids who got up every single time, and said, “I didn’t like this book. It was awful. It was the worst book I ever read.” There was this kid who got up every single time and did that and Nina said, “If this guy likes the next book he talks about, I’m going to die from shock.” And then Nina did, because he actually did like one book. One.
Then there were the waste-of-time kids, who would get up and say something like this:
“I read ____. I kind of liked it. I mean, it was okay. Well, the part I liked was blah blah blah blah blah. And that was good. But then there were times when it was like blah blah blah blah blah. So I really don’t know how I feel about the book. I mean, it was okay. I don’t know if it should be nominated. Well, maybe it should. Well, I don’t know. I don’t know if I liked it or not.”
HELLO, WASTE ALL OUR TIME, WHY. DON’T. YOU.
Then there were kids who had note cards that quoted every single thing and dragged on FOREVER. There were also kids who were totally unprepared who said, “I liked this book. It was really good. Yeah.” And then they sat down.
THEN there were the alternate, I-am-so-above-the-masses kids who were like, “Harry Potter is so dull and boring. I don’t read them. There’s so lame. And the sixth one is the worst of all. I am too good for Harry Potter. I am so original. I read better books.” Like, why don’t you just go out, and walk around some, and GET A LIFE?! And while we’re at it, why don’t we add a big tall glass of YOU’RE NOT THAT COOL?!?!?
There was also one short kid who got up every single time Nina did, and got in front of her every single time, and talked to her. He was like, talking to her, like, “hey, how’s it going?” He asked her what time it was, and Rick wanted to go up and say, “What are your intentions towards my volunteer???” and “if you get any closer I will poke your eyes out.” Stuff only Rick can say.
Books We Talked About:
Nina: Looking for Alaska, (heart!) Orpheus Obsession, (love!) and Prep (reamed that into the ground. With a metaphor!)
Michelle: Peeps, Talk, Where I Want to Be, Kipling’s Choice, and Boy Proof – all positive.
Jackie: Cry of the Icemark, Gill’s All-Fright Diner, Poison, and Phoenix Dance – all positive
Molly: Superman, Flight, and King of the Pygmies –all positive
Also: the word of the day was poignant, which Nina used in her speech about Looking for Alaska. She also used the word “Touching” (ew – sorry!) but redeemed herself by using poignant.
Molly talked about two graphic novels which were amazing even though she is just starting to like them. Our favorite quote from her was “definitive and bold artistry.” We pet her a lot because she is so lovable.
Michelle wins the “Best Italian” award because of her use of hand gestures while talking about books. It was pretty sweet.
Jackie had a lot of passion while talking about her books and that’s the way it should be. (See annoying kid type number 3 for how not to be when talking about books.)
Our Rules for Talking About Books:
- Be passionate. Don’t talk about a book you don’t care about.
- If you don’t like a book, give reasons. Don’t be lame.
- Keep it short and sweet. If people in the audience look like they are done listening, you’re done talking.
- Don’t dis Harry Potter. We know you’re lying when you say you don’t like it.
- Don’t get up just because a girl you want to hit on is getting up too, or in the words of Rick, “Don’t use book discussions to mack on chicks.”
- Don’t rattle your bags when Michelle is talking. We can’t hear. When we can’t hear, we get angry and will shoot you the death glare. It kills. Whatever is in your bag that you desperately need, it’s not as important as what Michelle is saying, ever. Also, do you really want to die?
- Don’t go up to the microphone and say, “I read this book and this book and this book. I want to talk about every single book.”
-Be positive! J
And last but not least:
“Poignant.”
After we got out of the talk, we were all standing around the lobby when Nina gets a call on her cell from one of her friends telling her that he fell off his skis and knocked half his teeth out.
So anyway.
We went back to Angie’s hotel and got all our SWAG, and toted it back to our hotel, for about a half a mile. It was excruciating. We really wanted Thurston the Bell Captain to help us, but we couldn’t find him in the streets of San Antonio. Why wasn’t he there?? Since we didn’t have him, Michelle dropped all her SWAG and Alene had to save her from being squished for the sake of “Being Chloe.”
Ricko Baggins got us invited to this fancy shmancy reception thing (NOT for a wedding. Molly sorta thought that, but she was wrong.) “Harcourt Children’s Books: A Year in Art Show.” The pictures were really morbid actually (mice burning?? What type of kids like these???) and then there were some multi-cultural dinosaurs on a train that would’ve squished the cars. It prompted a very interesting debate about interspecies marriage between dinosaurs, and what the child of a T-rex and Triceratops would look like. Short stubby arms and horns. (sorta like rick!)
After WAY too many mini-chicken-quesadillas, and some spectacular Sprite, we headed back to the hotel, where we are now chilling, stuffing our faces with Pringles and chocolate mints, and listening to Rick pour out his heart about his life story and his job, and library school, and his first girlfriend. We listened like the good STABBBYA groupies we are. Now Rick wants to go swimming because we’re bugging him.
Quotes from the Day:
“And then, I was like, the Library Lad!” -Rick
“I know what Bundling Boards are! * weird look *” –Alene
“AHHHHHHH!!!” –Nina, after being given the advance copy of Sarah Dessen’s new book
and also, when she had a Marilyn Monroe moment walking over a grate on the street of San Antonio.
“Yo, fo schiz!” – Molly
“I would have asked for my money back, but I didn’t want to be that kind of person.” – Michelle, after being given her pathetic excuse for an iced coffee
“I didn’t just like it just because it wasn’t another coming of age story.” –Jackie
By the way, Rick found a rat in his room today. Way to go, Gunter.
I’M REALLY SHORT!1 I’M REALLY COOL!
I’M THE * doot doot * LIBRARY LAD!!!
I’VE GOT HUGE SHINS! SHIN SHIN SHINS!
HEY! TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF MY SHINS!
I’M THE * doot doot * LIBRARY LAD!
LIBRARY LAAAAAAAD!!! LIBRARY LAAADD……!!
We have to go now, because Alene says we have to go to bed, and Rick says “We’re killing him.” Good night!!! THANK YOU FRIENDS!!! We’re having the best time. We will continue to have a good time. And we won’t go back to that coffee shop.
BYE!!!!
The Rickettes had their first and last full day in San Antonio. Today was the main event! The Teen Participation section of the Best Books for Young Adults committee took place in a room filled with about 200 people. Teens from all over the country were there, coming to grand total of 73. Only 10 of the 73 represented public libraries. I can safely say, without a trace of hyperbole, that the Rickettes were the best prepared, most eloquent, and snazziest dressed of all of the teens. A number of BBYA Committee members came up to me afterwards and commented on what a great job they did. I couldn't have been more proud of them! Take a look out the pictures from today's activites at:
http://homepage.mac.com/hrunting/PhotoAlbum13.html
Here is what our group had to say:
San Antonio Day #2
Hello again! You have no idea how long this blog took us to actually write, because every other sentence Rick starts talking and we’re like, “HELLOOO we need to finish our BLOG!!!!!” So Ricko has been regaling us with tales of his college days. He had research book piles as tall as HIM in his room. Talk about wild. He studied about death in the middle ages. Whoo-hoo.
Another FANTASTIC day in San Antonio. WE! GOT! SO! MUCH! SWAG! There were books, and pencils and books and candy and movie trailers and books and comics (excuse me graphic novels) and bags and books and books and books and books and books and books and books and some people were selling chairs. They weren’t free, so we didn’t get any… Molly really wanted one… it would have been so easy to carry them back on the plane!!
Let’s start from the beginning!!
1. Woke up!
2. Nina took a shower. The other three did not, which made Alene and Nina freak out about how they can function without showers in the morning. The two clean (OCD positive) and the three grimy (laid back) ones went off to the coffee shop next to our hotel.
3. The coffee shop. Supposedly, they served “Seattle’s Best Coffee.” However, everyone knows that Seattle’s Best Coffee is really Starbucks, which makes their title not only pretentious, but wrong. Anyway, it was a Seattle’s Best Coffee. We admit it: we are spoiled. We are Seattle girls all the way, and we have standards for our coffee. So first, we tried to order breakfast, and they were out of, like everything. Their cupcakes were “too hard” so they wouldn’t let Molly have one. They didn’t have yogurt. Then Nina tried to order a latte, and the woman was like, “No, we can’t do that.” Like hello can’t you just pour milk and coffee into a cup? And so Nina did. By herself. There are no standards for service here. And then Michelle ordered an iced latte. An “iced” latte. Brewed coffee with 3 pieces of ice in it. What in the….?! So that turned into lukewarm diluted coffee. NO. This is unacceptable. I just want some coffee, darnit. (quote Michelle).
4. Walked to the convention center. See the “WE-GOT-SO-MUCH-SWAG” part. Books, etc, and this FABULOUS lady who has tall and red hair and she’s fabulous. This woman’s name is ANGIE and Nina wants to be her, and she is absolutely the coolest woman IN THE WORLD. This is what she did. She took us around to all of the publishers, and said magic words, like, “these teens review books and tell the library which ones to buy.” People were THROWING books at us. THEY asked US what kind of books WE like to read. So Molly got all the sci-fi ones, and Nina got all the pink girly ones, and Angie was just like, on to the next publisher!!! We actually love her. ACTUALLY. THANK YOU ANGIE!!! We love you. Out bags were breaking with the weight, and it was like, Christmas on steroids. With free books. AHHHH! AMAZING!!
5. More books.
6. More SWAG.
7. More books.
8. More euphoria.
9. Some boring chairs.
10. Then we had a fantastic Italian lunch on the River Walk. Fabulous. We listened to an eclectic Mariachi band and started freaking out about the BBYA book talk.
11. We went back to the Convention Center for the Teen BBYA Participation Conference. Yay, exciting! No, really, it was. It was the whole point of our trip. Lots of publishers. Lots of local teens. Too many middle schoolers.
12. The room was “ginormous” according to our fearless Ricko Baggins. About the size of a short gym, it was filled with chairs (only about 5/6 full – guess we’re not the superstars we thought we were.) We were easily the oldest ones there – middle schoolers galore. This disturbed us. We sat down and made friends with people around us who had read only 3 books each. We almost died right there in our chairs. 3 books?!?! I guess they were just there for kicks or something. There were many different kinds of people there that irritated us. There were the young middle schoolers that were like, “This book was too old for me.” Yeah, no, really?? Then there were the kids who got up every single time, and said, “I didn’t like this book. It was awful. It was the worst book I ever read.” There was this kid who got up every single time and did that and Nina said, “If this guy likes the next book he talks about, I’m going to die from shock.” And then Nina did, because he actually did like one book. One.
Then there were the waste-of-time kids, who would get up and say something like this:
“I read ____. I kind of liked it. I mean, it was okay. Well, the part I liked was blah blah blah blah blah. And that was good. But then there were times when it was like blah blah blah blah blah. So I really don’t know how I feel about the book. I mean, it was okay. I don’t know if it should be nominated. Well, maybe it should. Well, I don’t know. I don’t know if I liked it or not.”
HELLO, WASTE ALL OUR TIME, WHY. DON’T. YOU.
Then there were kids who had note cards that quoted every single thing and dragged on FOREVER. There were also kids who were totally unprepared who said, “I liked this book. It was really good. Yeah.” And then they sat down.
THEN there were the alternate, I-am-so-above-the-masses kids who were like, “Harry Potter is so dull and boring. I don’t read them. There’s so lame. And the sixth one is the worst of all. I am too good for Harry Potter. I am so original. I read better books.” Like, why don’t you just go out, and walk around some, and GET A LIFE?! And while we’re at it, why don’t we add a big tall glass of YOU’RE NOT THAT COOL?!?!?
There was also one short kid who got up every single time Nina did, and got in front of her every single time, and talked to her. He was like, talking to her, like, “hey, how’s it going?” He asked her what time it was, and Rick wanted to go up and say, “What are your intentions towards my volunteer???” and “if you get any closer I will poke your eyes out.” Stuff only Rick can say.
Books We Talked About:
Nina: Looking for Alaska, (heart!) Orpheus Obsession, (love!) and Prep (reamed that into the ground. With a metaphor!)
Michelle: Peeps, Talk, Where I Want to Be, Kipling’s Choice, and Boy Proof – all positive.
Jackie: Cry of the Icemark, Gill’s All-Fright Diner, Poison, and Phoenix Dance – all positive
Molly: Superman, Flight, and King of the Pygmies –all positive
Also: the word of the day was poignant, which Nina used in her speech about Looking for Alaska. She also used the word “Touching” (ew – sorry!) but redeemed herself by using poignant.
Molly talked about two graphic novels which were amazing even though she is just starting to like them. Our favorite quote from her was “definitive and bold artistry.” We pet her a lot because she is so lovable.
Michelle wins the “Best Italian” award because of her use of hand gestures while talking about books. It was pretty sweet.
Jackie had a lot of passion while talking about her books and that’s the way it should be. (See annoying kid type number 3 for how not to be when talking about books.)
Our Rules for Talking About Books:
- Be passionate. Don’t talk about a book you don’t care about.
- If you don’t like a book, give reasons. Don’t be lame.
- Keep it short and sweet. If people in the audience look like they are done listening, you’re done talking.
- Don’t dis Harry Potter. We know you’re lying when you say you don’t like it.
- Don’t get up just because a girl you want to hit on is getting up too, or in the words of Rick, “Don’t use book discussions to mack on chicks.”
- Don’t rattle your bags when Michelle is talking. We can’t hear. When we can’t hear, we get angry and will shoot you the death glare. It kills. Whatever is in your bag that you desperately need, it’s not as important as what Michelle is saying, ever. Also, do you really want to die?
- Don’t go up to the microphone and say, “I read this book and this book and this book. I want to talk about every single book.”
-Be positive! J
And last but not least:
“Poignant.”
After we got out of the talk, we were all standing around the lobby when Nina gets a call on her cell from one of her friends telling her that he fell off his skis and knocked half his teeth out.
So anyway.
We went back to Angie’s hotel and got all our SWAG, and toted it back to our hotel, for about a half a mile. It was excruciating. We really wanted Thurston the Bell Captain to help us, but we couldn’t find him in the streets of San Antonio. Why wasn’t he there?? Since we didn’t have him, Michelle dropped all her SWAG and Alene had to save her from being squished for the sake of “Being Chloe.”
Ricko Baggins got us invited to this fancy shmancy reception thing (NOT for a wedding. Molly sorta thought that, but she was wrong.) “Harcourt Children’s Books: A Year in Art Show.” The pictures were really morbid actually (mice burning?? What type of kids like these???) and then there were some multi-cultural dinosaurs on a train that would’ve squished the cars. It prompted a very interesting debate about interspecies marriage between dinosaurs, and what the child of a T-rex and Triceratops would look like. Short stubby arms and horns. (sorta like rick!)
After WAY too many mini-chicken-quesadillas, and some spectacular Sprite, we headed back to the hotel, where we are now chilling, stuffing our faces with Pringles and chocolate mints, and listening to Rick pour out his heart about his life story and his job, and library school, and his first girlfriend. We listened like the good STABBBYA groupies we are. Now Rick wants to go swimming because we’re bugging him.
Quotes from the Day:
“And then, I was like, the Library Lad!” -Rick
“I know what Bundling Boards are! * weird look *” –Alene
“AHHHHHHH!!!” –Nina, after being given the advance copy of Sarah Dessen’s new book
and also, when she had a Marilyn Monroe moment walking over a grate on the street of San Antonio.
“Yo, fo schiz!” – Molly
“I would have asked for my money back, but I didn’t want to be that kind of person.” – Michelle, after being given her pathetic excuse for an iced coffee
“I didn’t just like it just because it wasn’t another coming of age story.” –Jackie
By the way, Rick found a rat in his room today. Way to go, Gunter.
I’M REALLY SHORT!1 I’M REALLY COOL!
I’M THE * doot doot * LIBRARY LAD!!!
I’VE GOT HUGE SHINS! SHIN SHIN SHINS!
HEY! TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF MY SHINS!
I’M THE * doot doot * LIBRARY LAD!
LIBRARY LAAAAAAAD!!! LIBRARY LAAADD……!!
We have to go now, because Alene says we have to go to bed, and Rick says “We’re killing him.” Good night!!! THANK YOU FRIENDS!!! We’re having the best time. We will continue to have a good time. And we won’t go back to that coffee shop.
BYE!!!!
1.21.2006
Here is our first post from San Antonio. See the pictures at http://homepage.mac.com/hrunting/PhotoAlbum11.html
&
http://homepage.mac.com/hrunting/PhotoAlbum12.html
The following is what the STAB Antonian's (our BBYA group) has to say so far:
HELLLLOOOOO STABBBYA GROUPIES!!!!!
We all know you want to be here, but we’re here instead of you. HAHAHAHA. In San Antonio. Having the greatest time… ever.
“THE STARS AT NIGHT ARE BIG AND BRIGHT…”
Things that we have done so far:
1) thanks to Rick, left on a red-eye flight at 11 PM from seatac and arrived at dallas fort worth airport in the middle of the night. Staggered blindly through the airport trying to find our gate. Bought huge cups of starbucks and sat waiting for the flight to san Antonio. Molly spilled her chantico all over her pants and Alene’s bag. It was not happy, but we had snacks for later.
2. finally got to san Antonio, with about 3 hours of sleep between us. Found a van. Nina had to pay for it, because the responsible chaperone had no cash. Jackie and Molly almost had to brave the freeways of San Antonio without seatbelts, because the poor taxi-van had none for them. Nina also pinched herself. Hard. She blamed it on her
suitcase. See picture Blister from Hell.
3) We attempted to arrive at the hotel. They wouldn’t let us check in. But Thurston the Bell Captain was really nice, and directed us to an office cubicle disguised as ladies room, where we attempted to look more….human. We’re not sure it worked.
4) A random woman came in and talked to us about Seattle and books. We didn’t know her.
5) We got directions from Thurston to the Alamo, to go see if there was a basement. Disappointment of the Century: there is no basement, only a bunch of rocks piled on top of each other with random flags from different countries, that have nothing to do with Texas or Mexico or the Alamo… also, some memorials from dead people, and every possession Davey Crockett ever owned.
6) Then we went to the Convention Center. It was freezing. Though it wasn’t supposed to be. Rick lied. We theorize that Rick made up the weather report he gave us. Inside the Convention Center it was toasty warm, but outside it was like, 20 degrees. Maybe.
7.) We waited in like twenty different lines to get little slips of paper that let us into a big room with lots of SWAG! Here we met Rick. We screamed and cried like the groupies we are when we saw him. All the librarians passing were shocked that Rick knew such fashionable, charming, adorable, attractive, and likable people (that’s us). Then some guy who knew Rick was like, “hey, it’s Rick’s girls!” Um, hello, weird? So the guy who knew Rick said we were now the “Rickettes.” Which kind of sounds like rickets, which is like, a disease. But whatever. It was supposed to sound like Rockettes, like the dance group. We only do high kicks for a considerable fee. (We really are the next big thing,)
8) After we scored all kinds of swag, I mean SWAG, (sorry), including weird pencils and American history posters (YES!) we went to the mall and had lunch: orange chicken, according to Texas. It was actually more like elevensies, and now Rick thinks he’s a hobbit, which is really kind of sad because if you look at him closely he actually does resemble one. So now his new name is Ricko, like Frodo, and he’s going to stop shaving his feet and start living in a hole in the ground so he will stop hiding his true identity. At last! Molly also spilled on herself again, and has since stated that “Orange Chicken” sauce goes quite well with leftover Chantico Starbucks chocolate.
9) We tried to get Jackie’s ears pierced, but the fascists at Claire’s wouldn’t let us because her mom wasn’t there. We’re now on the lookout for red-headed people willing to go back with us.
10) We went BACK to the Convention Center, into HBC-214A (the room where they talk about teen books.) Also, coincidentally, the room farthest from the elevator. We put all our SWAG in the room which was a relief because our backs were actually broken, and our shoulders were going to pop out of our sockets, and our feet were melding to our shoes. We then proceeded to lie across three chairs each and fall into a deep slumber. Except for Molly, who kept watch for us, reading free graphic novels. Rick and the other librarians talked about teen books, which was fun for them.
-We take a short break for a passage from the Holy Bible. –
“And when Rachel saw that she beared Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, give me children, or else I die.”
BY THE WAY: WE LOVE ALENE LIKE WE LOVE OREOS, and that’s a lot of love, right there.
Back to the blog.
11) We heard Ricko Baggins dis Loyola Chin, and yet support Sandpiper all the way.(WHAT?) Then one guy was like, “Sandpiper begins where Rainbow Party ended.” Uh…. How about not? Let’s not even go there.
12) So then, we met Angie and her roommate, Jerene. WE went back to the hotel to freshen up. Nina was adamant that she takes a shower because she’s very aquatic. And so, we went back down to the lobby late because of Nina Aquatica.
ANYWAY, Angie & Jerene ditched us. SO, we traipsed around San Antonio without their help. We went to the MERCADO and bought lots of touristy stuff. Then we thought we’d get dinner but ended up getting ice cream instead!! And Nina almost had a near disaster with the point of her cone, which apparently you’re just supposed to shove in your mouth instead of chewing like a civilized person. It was determined that Nina didn’t know anything at this point, about ice cream or otherwise.
13) After this ice cream adventure, we walked down the River Walk, where you basically walk down the fake little river. Michelle took many pictures of Hitchcock-esque Birds(f.y.i: they were called Grackles), pretty things, and Molly waving to random boaters on the river. Alene called her mom, Nina spaced out as she shivered, and Jackie chilled.
14) We went back to our hotel, and Nina went upstairs to change. Again. A half hour later, she came back downstairs, where the party was goin on in the hotel lobby, where Ricko Baggins had just showed up in a dashing suit and yellow tie, and was about to go to a party we weren’t invited to. What a jerk. He did, however, buy us Oreos and Red Vines, so we allowed him to go and forgave him somewhat.
15) We are currently in Alene’s room, which is much bigger than ours, by the way, and watching a movie that every single actor in Hollywood seems to be in, including Will Smith, Jason Lee, Jack Black, Jon Voigt, Regina King, and Seth Green. And some little kids that play video games. We’re ordering pizza (Alene had to speak sharply to the pizza delivery people, since they were unfortunately not very intelligent.)
THAT’S ALL FOR TODAY! Stay posted for more of our adventures in San Antonio. Tomorrow we’re going to unscrew all the traffic lights so that they hang the right way. People in Texas are incapable of putting them vertically and think they look best sideways. What a state.
“…DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS!!!!!!”
&
http://homepage.mac.com/hrunting/PhotoAlbum12.html
The following is what the STAB Antonian's (our BBYA group) has to say so far:
HELLLLOOOOO STABBBYA GROUPIES!!!!!
We all know you want to be here, but we’re here instead of you. HAHAHAHA. In San Antonio. Having the greatest time… ever.
“THE STARS AT NIGHT ARE BIG AND BRIGHT…”
Things that we have done so far:
1) thanks to Rick, left on a red-eye flight at 11 PM from seatac and arrived at dallas fort worth airport in the middle of the night. Staggered blindly through the airport trying to find our gate. Bought huge cups of starbucks and sat waiting for the flight to san Antonio. Molly spilled her chantico all over her pants and Alene’s bag. It was not happy, but we had snacks for later.
2. finally got to san Antonio, with about 3 hours of sleep between us. Found a van. Nina had to pay for it, because the responsible chaperone had no cash. Jackie and Molly almost had to brave the freeways of San Antonio without seatbelts, because the poor taxi-van had none for them. Nina also pinched herself. Hard. She blamed it on her
suitcase. See picture Blister from Hell.
3) We attempted to arrive at the hotel. They wouldn’t let us check in. But Thurston the Bell Captain was really nice, and directed us to an office cubicle disguised as ladies room, where we attempted to look more….human. We’re not sure it worked.
4) A random woman came in and talked to us about Seattle and books. We didn’t know her.
5) We got directions from Thurston to the Alamo, to go see if there was a basement. Disappointment of the Century: there is no basement, only a bunch of rocks piled on top of each other with random flags from different countries, that have nothing to do with Texas or Mexico or the Alamo… also, some memorials from dead people, and every possession Davey Crockett ever owned.
6) Then we went to the Convention Center. It was freezing. Though it wasn’t supposed to be. Rick lied. We theorize that Rick made up the weather report he gave us. Inside the Convention Center it was toasty warm, but outside it was like, 20 degrees. Maybe.
7.) We waited in like twenty different lines to get little slips of paper that let us into a big room with lots of SWAG! Here we met Rick. We screamed and cried like the groupies we are when we saw him. All the librarians passing were shocked that Rick knew such fashionable, charming, adorable, attractive, and likable people (that’s us). Then some guy who knew Rick was like, “hey, it’s Rick’s girls!” Um, hello, weird? So the guy who knew Rick said we were now the “Rickettes.” Which kind of sounds like rickets, which is like, a disease. But whatever. It was supposed to sound like Rockettes, like the dance group. We only do high kicks for a considerable fee. (We really are the next big thing,)
8) After we scored all kinds of swag, I mean SWAG, (sorry), including weird pencils and American history posters (YES!) we went to the mall and had lunch: orange chicken, according to Texas. It was actually more like elevensies, and now Rick thinks he’s a hobbit, which is really kind of sad because if you look at him closely he actually does resemble one. So now his new name is Ricko, like Frodo, and he’s going to stop shaving his feet and start living in a hole in the ground so he will stop hiding his true identity. At last! Molly also spilled on herself again, and has since stated that “Orange Chicken” sauce goes quite well with leftover Chantico Starbucks chocolate.
9) We tried to get Jackie’s ears pierced, but the fascists at Claire’s wouldn’t let us because her mom wasn’t there. We’re now on the lookout for red-headed people willing to go back with us.
10) We went BACK to the Convention Center, into HBC-214A (the room where they talk about teen books.) Also, coincidentally, the room farthest from the elevator. We put all our SWAG in the room which was a relief because our backs were actually broken, and our shoulders were going to pop out of our sockets, and our feet were melding to our shoes. We then proceeded to lie across three chairs each and fall into a deep slumber. Except for Molly, who kept watch for us, reading free graphic novels. Rick and the other librarians talked about teen books, which was fun for them.
-We take a short break for a passage from the Holy Bible. –
“And when Rachel saw that she beared Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, give me children, or else I die.”
BY THE WAY: WE LOVE ALENE LIKE WE LOVE OREOS, and that’s a lot of love, right there.
Back to the blog.
11) We heard Ricko Baggins dis Loyola Chin, and yet support Sandpiper all the way.(WHAT?) Then one guy was like, “Sandpiper begins where Rainbow Party ended.” Uh…. How about not? Let’s not even go there.
12) So then, we met Angie and her roommate, Jerene. WE went back to the hotel to freshen up. Nina was adamant that she takes a shower because she’s very aquatic. And so, we went back down to the lobby late because of Nina Aquatica.
ANYWAY, Angie & Jerene ditched us. SO, we traipsed around San Antonio without their help. We went to the MERCADO and bought lots of touristy stuff. Then we thought we’d get dinner but ended up getting ice cream instead!! And Nina almost had a near disaster with the point of her cone, which apparently you’re just supposed to shove in your mouth instead of chewing like a civilized person. It was determined that Nina didn’t know anything at this point, about ice cream or otherwise.
13) After this ice cream adventure, we walked down the River Walk, where you basically walk down the fake little river. Michelle took many pictures of Hitchcock-esque Birds(f.y.i: they were called Grackles), pretty things, and Molly waving to random boaters on the river. Alene called her mom, Nina spaced out as she shivered, and Jackie chilled.
14) We went back to our hotel, and Nina went upstairs to change. Again. A half hour later, she came back downstairs, where the party was goin on in the hotel lobby, where Ricko Baggins had just showed up in a dashing suit and yellow tie, and was about to go to a party we weren’t invited to. What a jerk. He did, however, buy us Oreos and Red Vines, so we allowed him to go and forgave him somewhat.
15) We are currently in Alene’s room, which is much bigger than ours, by the way, and watching a movie that every single actor in Hollywood seems to be in, including Will Smith, Jason Lee, Jack Black, Jon Voigt, Regina King, and Seth Green. And some little kids that play video games. We’re ordering pizza (Alene had to speak sharply to the pizza delivery people, since they were unfortunately not very intelligent.)
THAT’S ALL FOR TODAY! Stay posted for more of our adventures in San Antonio. Tomorrow we’re going to unscrew all the traffic lights so that they hang the right way. People in Texas are incapable of putting them vertically and think they look best sideways. What a state.
“…DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS!!!!!!”
12.26.2005
Just a reminder that we will have a work party tomorrow starting at 4. However, if you have time before Thursday, you can come in anytime to volunteer. Even if I'm not here, Gaye or Laurie (our Children's librarians) will be able to put you to work.
If you are artistically inclined (even moderately) this is a great opportunity for you to do some interesting work.
If you are like me and don't even know what end of the paintbrush to use, I still have plenty of stuff for you to do that is not "arty".
Thanks STABies! Hope to see you this week!
If you are artistically inclined (even moderately) this is a great opportunity for you to do some interesting work.
If you are like me and don't even know what end of the paintbrush to use, I still have plenty of stuff for you to do that is not "arty".
Thanks STABies! Hope to see you this week!
11.17.2005
Shoreline Teen Advisory Board Primer
Pretty much everything you need to know about S.T.A.B.
Important STAB Acronyms:
• STAB: Shoreline Teen Advisory Board-The name of our illustrious group.
• BBYA: Best Books for Young Adults-The national committee that we are working on to choose the Best Books of the Year.
• STABBBYA: Shoreline Teen Advisory Board Best Books for Young Adults- The arm of STAB dedicated to working on and discussing BBYA titles (pronounced “stab ‘ya”). See the next page for more information.
• STASH: Shoreline Teen Advisory Store House- Also known as The Closet. Where we keep the STABBBYA books and other STAB supplies.
• STABLog: Shoreline Teen Advisory Board Log- http://www.shorstab.blogspot.com/
Important Websites:
• STABLog: Keep up to date on all things STAB related- www.shorstab.blogspot.com/
• BWI: The STAB resource for our lists and our review sources (Check with me for login information)- www.bwibooks.com/
• BBYA Homepage: Look at past lists and keep up with current nominations- www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists/bbya
Process for the “Monthly” STAB Meetings:
• Go to www.bwibooks.com and access the STAB account. If you don't remember the login, let me know and I'll e-mail it to you.
• Click on "Your lists" on the right side of the page. Find the list with your name and open it. If you don't see one with your name, e-mail me and I can set up a list for you. If you can't get a hold of me, review the list "Extra1" or "Extra2".
• Once you open the list, you’ll notice many of the books have "Full Text Reviews" done by professional publications. You can access them by clicking either the big red "FTR" link or click on the "Details" link to access the cover art, the reviews and a summary of the book.
• Or, if you want, you can look them up in a place like Amazon.com. Remember to look more closely at the professional reviews than at the customer reviews.
• Based on the reviews, what you read in the summary, the cover art and anything else that strikes your fancy, give me a score for the book on a scale from 1-5. 1 is low (don't you dare buy this thing) and 5 being high (I just might go buy this book myself).
Volunteering:
There are a number of volunteer tasks available to STAB members. These projects range from the mundane to the strange. If there is something you are particularly interested in doing please let me know and I will do my best to get you involved. Here are some of examples:
• Shelving holds
• Creating displays
• General clean up
• Maintaining the BBYA Database
• Developing the booklist
• Labeling Books
• Shelving BBYA books
• Planning programs
• Processing comics
• Coming to meetings
• Cutting paper
• Filling Displays
• Maintaining the STAB database
STABBBYA Information
Process for the STABBBYA Meetings:
• Read at least one book before each meeting
• Come prepared to discuss what you liked/loved/hated about each book and present a brief description
• It is OK not to like a book
• Respect what others have to say about a book but feel free to disagree
• Ask questions about what others are reading
• I’m looking for your honest opinions
Writing Reviews:
When you write a review for a STABBBYA book, I would like you to:
• Write why you like/love/hate the book.
• A brief description (if the book is not nominated).
• Score it using the Quality/Popularity scale (See Below).
• E-mail it to me.
• As always, I'm looking for your honest opinion about the books
Here is the format I would like you to use when writing a review:
Reviewer's Name
Author Last Name, Author First Name-Title
Review
Q/P Scores
Should it make the list?
So for example:
Rick Orsillo
Conrad, Eustace-Happy funny book
This the true story T.R. McSwiller and his quest for the elusive Hammacher Schlemmer.
I think this book is the worst thing I have ever read. It was neither happy, nor funny. In fact it was a little depressing. I especially disliked the metaphor of the mongoose. Very disturbing.
1Q/2P
List? No
Obviously my review is somewhat lacking, but I think you get the idea.
Use this scale to rate books for STABBBYA:
Here is the Q/P Score I referred to earlier:
Quality
5Q Hard to imagine it being better written.
4Q Better than most, marred by occasional lapses.
3Q Readable, without serious defects.
2Q Better editing or work by the author might have warranted a 3Q.
1Q Hard to understand how it got published, except in relation to its P rating (and not even then sometimes).
Popularity
5P Every YA (who reads) was dying to read it yesterday.
4P Broad general or genre YA appeal.
3P Will appeal with pushing.
2P For the YA reader with a special interest in the subject.
1P No teen will read unless forced to for assignments.
Pretty much everything you need to know about S.T.A.B.
Important STAB Acronyms:
• STAB: Shoreline Teen Advisory Board-The name of our illustrious group.
• BBYA: Best Books for Young Adults-The national committee that we are working on to choose the Best Books of the Year.
• STABBBYA: Shoreline Teen Advisory Board Best Books for Young Adults- The arm of STAB dedicated to working on and discussing BBYA titles (pronounced “stab ‘ya”). See the next page for more information.
• STASH: Shoreline Teen Advisory Store House- Also known as The Closet. Where we keep the STABBBYA books and other STAB supplies.
• STABLog: Shoreline Teen Advisory Board Log- http://www.shorstab.blogspot.com/
Important Websites:
• STABLog: Keep up to date on all things STAB related- www.shorstab.blogspot.com/
• BWI: The STAB resource for our lists and our review sources (Check with me for login information)- www.bwibooks.com/
• BBYA Homepage: Look at past lists and keep up with current nominations- www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists/bbya
Process for the “Monthly” STAB Meetings:
• Go to www.bwibooks.com and access the STAB account. If you don't remember the login, let me know and I'll e-mail it to you.
• Click on "Your lists" on the right side of the page. Find the list with your name and open it. If you don't see one with your name, e-mail me and I can set up a list for you. If you can't get a hold of me, review the list "Extra1" or "Extra2".
• Once you open the list, you’ll notice many of the books have "Full Text Reviews" done by professional publications. You can access them by clicking either the big red "FTR" link or click on the "Details" link to access the cover art, the reviews and a summary of the book.
• Or, if you want, you can look them up in a place like Amazon.com. Remember to look more closely at the professional reviews than at the customer reviews.
• Based on the reviews, what you read in the summary, the cover art and anything else that strikes your fancy, give me a score for the book on a scale from 1-5. 1 is low (don't you dare buy this thing) and 5 being high (I just might go buy this book myself).
Volunteering:
There are a number of volunteer tasks available to STAB members. These projects range from the mundane to the strange. If there is something you are particularly interested in doing please let me know and I will do my best to get you involved. Here are some of examples:
• Shelving holds
• Creating displays
• General clean up
• Maintaining the BBYA Database
• Developing the booklist
• Labeling Books
• Shelving BBYA books
• Planning programs
• Processing comics
• Coming to meetings
• Cutting paper
• Filling Displays
• Maintaining the STAB database
STABBBYA Information
Process for the STABBBYA Meetings:
• Read at least one book before each meeting
• Come prepared to discuss what you liked/loved/hated about each book and present a brief description
• It is OK not to like a book
• Respect what others have to say about a book but feel free to disagree
• Ask questions about what others are reading
• I’m looking for your honest opinions
Writing Reviews:
When you write a review for a STABBBYA book, I would like you to:
• Write why you like/love/hate the book.
• A brief description (if the book is not nominated).
• Score it using the Quality/Popularity scale (See Below).
• E-mail it to me.
• As always, I'm looking for your honest opinion about the books
Here is the format I would like you to use when writing a review:
Reviewer's Name
Author Last Name, Author First Name-Title
Review
Q/P Scores
Should it make the list?
So for example:
Rick Orsillo
Conrad, Eustace-Happy funny book
This the true story T.R. McSwiller and his quest for the elusive Hammacher Schlemmer.
I think this book is the worst thing I have ever read. It was neither happy, nor funny. In fact it was a little depressing. I especially disliked the metaphor of the mongoose. Very disturbing.
1Q/2P
List? No
Obviously my review is somewhat lacking, but I think you get the idea.
Use this scale to rate books for STABBBYA:
Here is the Q/P Score I referred to earlier:
Quality
5Q Hard to imagine it being better written.
4Q Better than most, marred by occasional lapses.
3Q Readable, without serious defects.
2Q Better editing or work by the author might have warranted a 3Q.
1Q Hard to understand how it got published, except in relation to its P rating (and not even then sometimes).
Popularity
5P Every YA (who reads) was dying to read it yesterday.
4P Broad general or genre YA appeal.
3P Will appeal with pushing.
2P For the YA reader with a special interest in the subject.
1P No teen will read unless forced to for assignments.
11.14.2005
The Final BBYA Nominations list is out and it is 217 titles long. You can view the entire list by clicking on the Best Books for Young Adults website link on the right side of the page. I've planned a few meetings for the rest of the year to discuss the nominations. They should all be on Tuesday nights from 4-6. Hopefully you can make all or most of the meetings. The dates are:
November 8th
November 29th
December 6th
December 27th
January 17th
Hope you can make! Look for more updates on the STABlog soon!
November 8th
November 29th
December 6th
December 27th
January 17th
Hope you can make! Look for more updates on the STABlog soon!
9.13.2005
STAB Meeting Review: September 05
For those who missed the 9-13 Meeting we had, here are the high points for a meeting that had too much gossip, ice cream, and clumpy pizza:
~Victor
For those who missed the 9-13 Meeting we had, here are the high points for a meeting that had too much gossip, ice cream, and clumpy pizza:
- Parade and Posters: Thanks for those who helped out in the parade. Get your signs while they last before they are thrown out.
- San Antonio: Interested in going to San Antonio for free? There's a catch, but if your interested, contact Rick. Date for the trip is January 23,24.
- STABBYA: Rick is compiling a report on what the reaction was to the new subdivision group. Voice your opinions to him before he finishes it up.
- Booksale: FOSL is having their annual booksale and they need help. Dates are as follows: Wednesday, September 14th, to 5pm, Thursday, September 15 to 7 PM, Sunday September 18th from 3-5 PM. It is IMPERATIVE you go and help out if you want to go to San Antonio.
- Volunteering: With the school year beginning, Rick needs more grunts and servants..er volunteers to help him. Come individually rather than as a group. Don't forget to fill out time sheets regardless of whetehr you need the hours or not.
~Victor
9.07.2005
More news from the desk of the Chief:
STABies,
I sent you an e-mail earlier this week about the book sale so I won't remind you that the Friends are looking forward to your help on:
Wednesday, September 14th until 5 pm
Thursday, September 15th until 7 pm
Sunday, September 18th from 3-5 pm
Oh. Now look what I've done. Whoops.
Secondly, I'm trying to put together a STAB meeting for Tuesday Sept. 13th from 4-6pm. Let me know if you can make it so I can assign you a list to work on. If you have joined recently and have no idea what I'm talking about, this is one of the meetings that we have occasionally so you can tell me what to buy. I just need to know if you can make it so I know how many booklists to make. If we have time we can talk about the BBYA books we've been reading. Let me know if you can come ASAP please.
Lastly, I'm working on an article about my experiences on the Best Books committee. If you have any comments on what you learned or what you thought of your experiences while doing work on the committee, e-mail me. This has mostly to do with my work last year on the committee when I was the administrative assistant, but if you want to tell me what you have thought about your experiences this year as well, I'd be happy to hear.
Thanks! Hope to hear from you all very soon!
9.06.2005
From the Desk of the Chief:
Am I spamming you yet?
I just wanted to remind you the Friends booksale is going on next weekend and they could use your help! The times for which they are asking assitance are;
Wednesday, September 14th until 5 pm
Thursday, September 15th until 7 pm
Sunday, September 18th from 3-5 pm
Thursday, September 15th until 7 pm
Sunday, September 18th from 3-5 pm
If you have any interest in going to San Antonio, it is imperitive that you come to one or more of these times. Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks,
Rick Orsillo, Teen Services Librarian
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