It is that time of year. Awards. For movies, music, television, football and books. The red carpet, parties, clothes, food, friends, fashion police, tailgating, and chicken wing scandals. The MVP's for music, movies, television, literature and football. Half-time shows, pregame shows, brothers, fans, friendly bets and serious gamblers. The agony and the ecstasy. The National Anthem and America the Beautiful. Boom -- the lights went out, the game went on and the commercials are what we are all talking about today.
I love, love, love football, (the Minnesota Vikings break my heart every year but I always come back hopeful and cheering loudly for them the next season) I watch very few movies and I have a couple of favorite TV shows but I almost never miss the award shows. (I love the clothes and glimpses of the stars and secretly can't wait to hear what the fashion police have to say about the outfits that make me scratch my head in awe or in wonder)
In January I wait with breathless anticiaption to see if I have predicted the winners of this years children's literature awards. I always have one or two of the lesser known titles on my shelf and only once in 22 years as a bookseller have I predicted the Caldecott Winner. That was in 2010 and the winner was "The Lion and The Mouse" by Jerry Pinkney. This year I just knew the Caldecott would go to "The Fantasic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore." The winner was "This is Not my Hat" by Jon Klassen. (a really fun book)
It is always enjoyable to see which authors are being honored. The announcements are much quieter than those given to athletes, movies and music but the minute we know who the winners are we scramble to get copies for ourselves and our cutomers. Wondering how we missed predicting which books would end up with the foil medallions gracing their covers. For a complete list of the winners check out this link: http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia
I spent January rereading one of my favorite authors, Raymond Chandler. I had forgotten how perfectly he tells a story. If you are going to read just one of his books I highly recommend "The Big Sleep." I picked up "Perks of Being a Wallflower" wanting to read it again just in case I do see the movie. It was just as good the second time as the first. "Th1rteen R3asons Why" came into our used book section recently and the cover intrigued me, I took it home. I didn't sleep that night. The book was disturbing, captivating and the characters were at times awkward and infuriating. The book is heartbreaking and made me stop in my tracks and think about how a remark that is casual to one of us can be devastating to someone else. The books I am reading right now (just to name a few) include: "Where'd you Go Bernadette", "A Dog Called Homeless", "My Beloved World" by Sonia Sotomayor, and Meacham's book on Thomas Jefferson. I really want to read "Suspect" by Robert Crais and of course 100's of others if only I didn't have to work and sleep!!!!!
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