Top 5 books for a roadtrip

"Babies are born with the instinct to speak, the way spiders are born with the instinct to spin webs. You don't need to train babies to speak; they just do. But reading is different."
— Steven Pinker

Today's list is courtesy of the fabulous Anne, Libraries Advisor Youth Service Development. Take it away, Anne :)

We had a discussion earlier this year about whether or not reading was natural. Like we all know from experience – babies make noise. It comes to them as naturally as some of their other bodily functions. In fairness there is an element of learning as they pick up the sounds and make sense of them, but in much the same way I believe movement is a babies first language, sound (or speaking) comes in a very close second. However reading is something that they have to learn to do.

And that may be one of the reasons why the joy of listening to a story never grows old. I am a fan of stories, storytelling and, by extension, this year have become a fan of the audio book. It may be something to do with an increasing commute and disillusionment with some of the random radio stations my car tuner picks up. It may just be one way to read a book without having to turn a page. It certainly does have its up side as while I am still number well down the list waiting my turn for a copy of J.K. Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy, I have already read it... on audio book. There might not be as many copies available through the library system, but as many people have not yet discovered the advantages of the audio book, they still come through much quicker.

So for those of you about to embark on the traditional long holiday haul to other parts of the country, here are my Top 5 to make the drive more bearable (and with something for everyone).

5 items I watched/listened to because that's what being a fangirl makes me do, ie. stupid things :/

Fangirl: A rabid breed of human female who is obesessed with either a fictional character or an actor. Similar to the breed of fanboy. Fangirls congregate at anime conventions and livejournal. Have been known to glomp, grope, and tackle when encountering said obesessions."
- UrbanDictionary.com

Let the record reflect that I am not obsessed, I don't glomp, grope or tackle. I do, however, hang out on LiveJournal and I attend Armageddon (which is a Con). By Urban Dictionary's definition I'm not much of a fangirl. My kind of fangirlness is a little less cray cray. No less silly, however, I'll own up to that now. When I like, I like *intensely* To the point where I request/watch everything we have that features whatever current film/tv show/actor I'm 'in like' with. More recently: Supernatural, Sherlock (the BBC modern adaptation), Teen wolf (yes, the teeny bopper one, and don't judge me for it), Inception (tell me that didn't do your head in and that you don't need fanfic to sort out the threads and put them right) and, more recently, Chuck and Gossip girl (yes, the show I said I'd never watch), both of which I'm about to start BECAUSE OF REASONS that's why.

THAT MAN *points up* attached to THIS POST *stamps foot* is Ed Westwick. Dark, brooding, ridiculously good looking, cheekbones so sharp they can cut glass. I've never met him. I very probably never will. Lately, though, I find myself thinking I should watch Gossip girl JUST BECAUSE he's in it. Not for the looks (although those certainly don't hurt). More because I like the character that he plays. Chuck Bass is filthy rich, pompous, hedonistic, ambitious, clever, somewhat rude, quick with a response, rocks a business suit like nobody's business and schemes with the best (the worst?) of them. I watched an episode in passing the other day (sibling IS a fan) and Westwick/Bass delivered a line that had me going, "What? WHAT? GIMME!" *makes grabby hands* And I did that thing I do where I get all SQUEE and indulge my weird behaviour by working my way through his movies and audiobooks (he's British, who WOULDN'T want to hear that voice?) (Ok, so that's not a rational reason, but I never ever said I was rational now, did I?). Now I've run out of everything of his we have in our libraries... except Gossip girl itself. So, this week I bite the bullet and give it a go. The Ed Westwick thing, though, isn't the worst of my fangirlness. Oh no, it gets better/worse. As you'll see from this post: 5 items I watched/listened to because that's what being a fangirl makes me do, ie. stupid things for awesomely irrational reasons :/

What crazy, mad, wonderful things does your fangirlness/fanboyness make you do?

Top 5 picks from the American Children's Poets Laureate

List by Danielle

'Read and write! Write and read! Think about words, play with them, taste them in your mouth, turn them into games...'
~ Mary Ann Hoberman

In May, the Poetry Foundation named their third Children's Poet Laureate, J. Patrick Lewis. Like the previous Laureates, Mary Ann Hoberman and Jack Prelutsky, Lewis will serve a two year term as a champion of children's poetry in the States.

I've been taking a wander through Prelutsky, Hoberman and Lewis' works, trying them out on my two pre-schoolers, who love a good, bouncy rhyme. Mary Ann Hoberman has a lovely wise warmth to her stories-in-verse, touched with a neat sense of whimsy, and Jack Prelutsky is just so much plain, silly fun that it takes a while to realise how sneaky-clever he is with words!
J. Patrick Lewis does seem to pitch many of his poems for a slightly older audience than my kids; they're full of in-jokes, riddles and references and the sort of language play that really suits older children.

All three poets have been teamed up with a variety of wonderful illustrators that make their books a real visual pleasure for any age group. Here are a selection of some of the titles that have been especially popular with my kids.

Top 5 most requsted Auckland Libraries titles as of right this minute

List by Tosca

"This nice and subtle happiness of reading, this joy not chilled by age, this polite and unpunished vice, this selfish, serene life-long intoxication."- Logan Pearsall Smith

Here's a first for me: a nice, short and uncomplicated post that is, very simply, the top 5 most requested Auckland Libraries titles as of right this minute! I'm not quite vicarious about other people's reading habits (ok, maybe I am a little) but I do like to stalk the 'Recently Returned' shelves and trolleys. I have this idea that if other people have read these books they must be fantastic...of course, they may be terrible in which case that's why they've been returned. I'm almost 100% certain that 'terrible' is *not* the case with these titles below :)

Top 5 car-trip distractions for little kids

List by Danielle

"I have found out that there ain't no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them."
~Mark Twain

I was recently the back-seat passenger on a long-ish car journey (5 hours or so), wedged between two car seats with two occasionally-fractious pre-school kids. The trip went much more smoothly when I hauled the stack of books I'd packed for the trip out of the boot, and kept them handy for whenever distraction was needed. Amongst them were some of our favourite author/illustrators of late.

Top 5 romance audiobooks that made me blush

"Who, being loved, is poor?"
- Oscar Wilde

Who, being loved, is poor? Indeed! And who, listening to romance audiobooks, has blushed? Or gotten the giggles? Or started laughing and almost choked to death? Why, that would be me :) I heart romance books. I truly, truly do, but as much as I enjoy them I do find myself skipping the 'romantic scenes' if they are appallingly long. I mean, seriously, 20 pages?! Sometimes I find that 20 pages of seduction serves only to put me to sleep. I also find that when reading certain authors (think Laurell K. Hamilton) the ménage scenes leave me feeling conflicted because all I can think about is, 'Where are everyone's limbs?' and how if they're not in motion or use, is some poor sod feeling neglected and left out and cold? Yes, it's a sad and beautifully weird place inside my head. But romance novels in audio? Yikes. They're a different kettle of fish altogether.

Top 5 processing trolley titles I have my eye on this week

List by Tosca

"A story to me means a plot where there is some surprise. Because that is how life is - full of surprises."
- Isaac Bashevis Singer

Working right next to the cataloguing area is a little like having my own personal magical lucky dip barrel that never runs out. My week is constantly full of surprises. Seriously *nods seriously* I see it as a treasure trove. It's kinda like Christmas every day :) Another bonus for me (because it's all about me) is that the staff who run that area are exceptional to work with and they are, now, quite used to my mooching around looking for interesting/quirky books, conversation, ideas or inspiration. In fact, when I popped in there today, the wonderful Claire had already anticipated my visit and had a title ready to suggest. She gave it such a great talk up that I've placed it at number #1 for this list :)