Joy Kim

Librarian. Book Reviewer. Coffee Addict.

November 28, 2008
by Joy
6 Comments

Young at heart

youngatheart.jpg

I was an enthusiastic reader as a child, but I still managed to miss out on a lot of excellent children’s books when I was in their actual target age group. Fortunately, I’ve never been of the opinion that books for young people are only for young people, so I’ve kept reading them even as I’ve gotten older.

Sometimes I read books for young people now and think, “Oh, I would have loved that at age x.” Sometimes I read books for young people now and think, “I love this to pieces,” and there’s no need for a qualifier.

So here’s a Friday Five in honor of the latter category: five books or book series intended for children that I first read as an adult and loved wholeheartedly anyway.

(I’m restraining myself. The list could be longer.)

Continue Reading →

November 26, 2008
by Joy
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CLA and books for younger teens

Earlier this month I attended one day of the California Library Association annual conference. The panels that I attended were sort of hit-or-miss, which will come as no surprise to anyone who has ever attended a professional conference. My favorite panel of the day was presented by librarians from the County of Los Angeles Library; it discussed creating collections for younger teens and then using those collections as a starting point for services and outreach aimed specifically at that age group. As many of us who work with young people already know, lumping tweens/younger teens/middle schoolers/middler readers/whatever-you-want-to-call-them in with younger children or in with older teens is generally not an effective service strategy. It’s definitely an issue I’m considering as I brainstorm programs for the spring and summer.

I’ve had tween fiction on my mind anyway, since I’ll be leading a sixth grade class visit at my branch next week and need to plan booktalks.1 So far my short list includes The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman and The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex; now I have to think of some non-speculative fiction choices. I do have booktalks already prepared for Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time and Millicent Min, Girl Genius, both by Lisa Yee, but they didn’t go over so well the last time I used them. So new booktalks are probably in order.

I’d love to booktalk After Tupac and D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson, but my system doesn’t own any copies. And most of the other great teen books that I’ve read this year skew rather older. I do have requests on various other candidates, like the first book in the STORM series by E. L. Young, which was mentioned to me as an Alex Rider read-alike. Do any of you have suggestions?

That’s all for now–I’m off to pack for my trip to LA for Thanksgiving. I hope all of you who celebrate have a lovely feast, and that everyone else has a lovely random November Thursday.

1 For the non-librarians reading this post, booktalk = short pitch to introduce readers to potential books of interest. They usually work best with middle schoolers and up; younger crowds tend to respond better to reading aloud and storytelling.

November 21, 2008
by Joy
2 Comments

Mother knows best

fiveauthors.jpg
Like many precocious readers, I began reading adult fiction long before I was actually in its target audience. This is partly because I grew up surrounded by my mother’s book collection, and it was only natural for me to pick up and attempt to read the ones that she liked best. I didn’t get my fondness for speculative fiction and sequential art from her, but she is probably directly responsible for my taste in cozy mysteries and spy stories.

So in honor of some of my recent book purchases, here’s a special Friday Five: five favorite authors who I first discovered through my mother’s book collection.

1. P. D. James: The first novel featuring poet-detective Adam Dalgliesh that I ever read was Devices and Desires, way back when; that squat mass-market paperback sits on my bookshelf to this day. I’ve just finished reading the latest book in that detective series, The Private Patient. James is so careful to tie up the recurring characters’ loose ends that I’m pretty sure it’s the last book we can expect with them; if so, it really is the end of an era.

I’m especially fond of James’ careful prose and evocation of place. At times her books seem a bit removed from modern life; the body counts sometimes rise, but the pace always remains stately or just plain slow. So the Dalgliesh novels aren’t going to be everyone, but they’re worth trying at least once. There’s no particular need to read them in order, by the way; the middle period books are probably the strongest.

2. Agatha Christie: The Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple novels don’t stand up much to rereading, especially now, but this list wouldn’t be complete with Christie. After all, reading the entire Agatha Christie oeuvre was one of the defining literary experiences of my middle school years. (Did I mention that I was a bit precocious?)

My favorites of Christie’s work have always tended to be the earlier ones; her later attempts to reference things like 60s culture are painfully awkward at best, and her detectives’ characteristic quirks became a bit tired over the years.

3. John LeCarre: I suspect my avid reading of all the George Smiley novels set the groundwork for my current fondness for the British spy tv series Spooks (known as MI-5 in the states).

There’s actually still plenty of LeCarre novels that I haven’t read yet; I’ve sort of been saving them for a rainy day. And honestly, I can remember very few details of the ones that I have read. That said, I am sure that Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy was definitely my favorite of LeCarre’s work, and it’s on my list of things to re-read sometime in the not-so-distant future.

4. Len Deighton: More spy novels, this time featuring everyman Bernard Sampson and his sometimes brilliant, some duplicitous, and sometimes plain sociopathic colleagues in the British spy service and its rivals.

On a side note, I recently discovered that three more Bernard Sampson novels (Faith; Hope; and Charity) have been written since I first read the series back in the early 90s. I have enough fond memories of Bernard and Fiona that I am tempted to read the ones I missed, but I have to wonder how well I’ll understand them. It’s probably been at least fifteen years since I read Winter.

5. John Mortimer: Oh, the Rumpole of the Bailey series. It’s proved to be incredibly consistent over the years; however much Rumpole’s world changes around him, he remains as curmudgeonly (and amusing) as ever.

(Dis)honorable Mention: Thomas Hardy. My mother inexplicably loves his novels, while Tess of the d’Urbervilles (which was required reading for me in both high school and college, such was my bad luck) is perhaps my least favorite novel of all time.

What literary tastes do you share (or not share) with your parents?

November 19, 2008
by Joy
Comments Off on Naruto Nation redux

Naruto Nation redux

Cover of Naruto Shippuuden DVD 1As others in the comics & anime blogosphere have already reported, Viz will be repeating last year’s Naruto Nation in the first half of 2009.

On the manga front, eleven volumes of manga will be released between February and April 2009; after this, the series will go back to its old quarterly release schedule. On the anime front, Naruto.com will start streaming subtitled versions of the Naruto Shippuuden anime, which covers the second half (post-time skip) portion of the manga. ICv2 describes the release schedule as follows:

The new anime streaming initiative kicks off on January 2nd, when eight episodes will be made available, with eight more added each Friday until the catch-up is complete. Beginning on January 15th and every Thursday thereafter, a new episode will be added, only days after its broadcast in Japan.

Various reports on Anime News Network add that TV Tokyo will also be streaming new episodes of Naruto on Crunchyroll an hour after they air in Japan.

To which my reaction is: Wow. That’s seriously cutting the wait time for new anime for US viewers. When I started watching anime a couple of years ago, the wait time for new Japanese series was at least a year, usually more; now we’re down to a matter of hours (for paid Crunchyroll subscribers) and days (for everyone else). This is a distribution model that really could make illegal fansubbing irrelevant.

On the other hand, will we start to see other series distributed in the same way? Or will initiatives like this just be limited to ultra popular series like Naruto? There’s definitely US demand for a wide range of anime series; Naruto is hardly the only series driving fansubbing. (As far as I can tell, Naruto Shippuuden certainly has its share of viewers, but it doesn’t seem to be generating much buzz on anime blogs or fan sites these days.) TV Tokyo is including other series in its agreement with Crunchyroll–and Crunchyroll does have partnerships with Gonzo and Toei as well–but there’s still a lot of in-demand content not being made available through avenues that are both legal and timely.

Anyway, I’ll be interested in seeing how this situation develops.

November 18, 2008
by Joy
Comments Off on One more Lion Hunters book!

One more Lion Hunters book!

Covers of books in the Lion Hunters series

Via Sherwood Smith, here’s an interview with YA fantasy writer Elizabeth E. Wein. She has a lot of interesting comments on her creative process and the inspiration for her books. Best of all, there’s an excerpt from the next book in her Lion Hunters series. I’ve raved about Wein’s series on this blog before, and I’m very excited to hear another story is on the way.

November 18, 2008
by Joy
Comments Off on New directions

New directions

At my previous job, one of my projects was teaching a public computer class on blogging. (It was part of a new series of computer classes on Web 2.0 being offered at that public library.) During that class, I told my students that one way to build an audience for your blog was to be sure to update it on a regular basis.

Clearly I need to listen to my own advice.

So I’ve been brainstorming new directions for this blog that will hopefully make it more worth reading. I’m going to start by posting on a wider range of topics. I originally imagined this as a manga and anime focused blog, but I’ve actually been reading much less manga and watching less anime lately. My love of them hasn’t wavered, but I haven’t been adding many new series to my to-read list. I’m planning to post at least a couple times a week from here on out now that I have a more general “pop culture + libraries” focus.

Finally, I’ve given the blog a new look and feel. Copyblogger has served me well, but I’ve moved on to Gridline Lite. I think I’ve caught and fixed any glitches caused by the theme switch, but let me know if that’s not the case.

November 18, 2008
by Joy
Comments Off on Usui, Yoshito: Crayon Shinchan, vol. 6

Usui, Yoshito: Crayon Shinchan, vol. 6

Crayon Shinchan is a gag manga about a cheeky five-year-old boy whose obsession with bodily functions, pretty girls, and his mother’s clothing tends to make life very interesting for his family, friends, and classmates. Though I haven’t read the earlier volumes in this series, I imagine volume 5 is pretty much more of what’s come before and what comes after: a collection of brief episodes characterized by spectacularly low-brow humor and cartoony, scribbly art. Continue Reading →

October 30, 2008
by Joy
Comments Off on Nakaji, Yuki: Venus in Love, vol. 5

Nakaji, Yuki: Venus in Love, vol. 5

In volume 5 of Venus in Love, romance is finally blossoming between Suzuna and Eichi, and their relationship grows stronger as various holidays provide opportunities for each to demonstrate their affection to the other. But complications loom on the horizon in the form of Yuki, another boy in their group of college friends, and once again, Nakaji has added an extra sexually ambiguous twist. In previous volumes, Eichi became Suzuna’s romantic rival when both developed crushes on their friend Fukami. Here Yuki initially enters the story as Suzuna’s rival for Eichi’s attention, but that very rivalry soon becomes a basis for a tentative friendship. Before long, Eichi’s the one who has reason to be jealous, as he begins to wonder about the amount of time Suzuna and Yuki are spending in each other’s company. Continue Reading →

October 21, 2008
by Joy
Comments Off on Kusakawa, Nari: Two Flowers for the Dragon, vol. 3

Kusakawa, Nari: Two Flowers for the Dragon, vol. 3

twoflowers3.jpgIn Two Flowers for the Dragon, Shakuya, the teenage princess of the Dragon Clan, finds herself in the uncomfortable situation of having not one but two fiancés. The cause of her predicament? The unexpected return of Lucien, her first fiancé, who was lost in a sandstorm five years earlier and presumed dead. Since both Lucien and Kuwan, her current fiancé, have legitimate claims, Shakuya’s mother decrees that her daughter’s flower-shaped betrothal tattoos will decide the matter; thanks to Shakuya’s magical bloodlines, the tattoos multiply to reflect her feelings for her suitors and will thus reveal whom she loves best. But love is hardly the only thing that Shakuya has on her mind. As her mother’s heir, she is responsible for protecting the oasis, and she must also learn to manage her sometimes inconvenient ability to transform into a dragon. Continue Reading →

October 16, 2008
by Joy
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Link roundup 2008-10-16

Don’t mind me–I’m just clearing out my library-related RSS feeds:

I suspect I had more interesting library-related links, but they were probably lost when I accidentally hit the “mark all read” button in Google Reader last week. Oops! (Wish there was an undo button for that.)

October 15, 2008
by Joy
Comments Off on CLAMP: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, vol. 16-18

CLAMP: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, vol. 16-18

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle Vol. 16 coverCLAMP kicks the plot of Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle into high gear in volumes 16-18 of this ongoing series. Readers of the first fifteen volumes would have been somewhat justified in wondering if the story’s determined group of travelers–Sakura, Syaoran, Kurogane, Fai, and Mokona–would chase feathers forever. After all, the plot had fallen into an easy rhythm, as the gang hopped from one world to the next in search of the feathers that embody Sakura’s scattered memories. In these volumes, however, CLAMP finally begins to reveal the truths toward which all these pleasant but rather repetitive adventures have been leading. Continue Reading →

October 3, 2008
by Joy
Comments Off on Manga worth re-reading

Manga worth re-reading

John Jakala at Sporadic Sequential has recently shared his list of re-readable manga. David Welsh at Precocious Curmudgeon has also chimed in with a post on why he re-reads. Since I’m always re-reading books I love, I thought this would be a great subject for a Friday Five!

In general, I’ll re-read a manga series for one of the following reasons:

  • to refresh my memory before starting a new volume;
  • to see how revelations from recent volumes were foreshadowed or set up in early ones;
  • to wallow in the sheer joy or fun or [insert emotion] of my favorite scenes (aka “the good bits re-read”).

I think that very long manga series particularly reward re-reading, especially for the second reason I mentioned above. However, my sense of this may be skewed by my fondness for such series.

Anyway, five series that I find particularly re-readable are:

1. Saiyuki and Saiyuki Reload: This is one of the first manga series that I fell in love with, and it’s remained a favorite. The new volumes come out infrequently enough that a refresher is usually helpful, and the occasional revelations also make me scurry back to consult earlier volumes. In addition, as the series has gone on, I’ve become more interested in a certain characters, and re-reading gives me a chance to see their appearances in early volumes again in a new light. Finally, Minekura’s a very clever storyteller–she’s very adept at using foreshadowing and parallels to underline her character development. Being able to enjoy those subtleties in re-reads has significantly added to my love of the series.

2. Fruits Basket: Like Minekura, the creator of Fruits Basket, Takaya Natsuki, is wonderful at foreshadowing later developments. Some of the huge revelations and events of the most recent volumes are established very early on through seemingly light-hearted episodes and off-hand comments. Re-reading the early volumes with knowledge of these later events makes the story of Tohru and the Sohmas as a whole even more moving and interesting.

3 and 4. Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle and xxxHolic: These two series from CLAMP feature numerous crossovers, both with each other and other CLAMP series. This might seem like a gimmick, but at least it’s an incredibly effective gimmick. The revelations in one series can shed light on the mysteries of the other, which means that re-reading can add a lot to the total experience of both series. And half the fun comes from catching the small crossovers as they happen, like the way that Watanuki’s errands for Yuuko sometimes have consequences for Syaoran and Sakura and vice versa.

5. Fullmetal Alchemist: Like Tsubasa and xxxHolic, this series encourages re-reading because its mysteries are so complex. Each new volume is basically a challenge to readers to try to figure out what’s going on, which means consulting previous volumes for clues is a must. I’m still terribly confused by what Ed and Al’s enemies are up to, but that hasn’t stopped me from trying to puzzle it out.

Honorable mentions: Bleach, Naruto, and Hikaru no Go. The first two call for re-reading because they’re such long series-in-progress, while the latter rewards second, third, and fourth reads because it gives you the pleasure of seeing the lead character grow up before your eyes.

It’s worth noting that there are some series that I like a lot but have not owned for very long time (see: Honey and Clover and Mushishi). I suspect my list might change when I’ve owned them long enough to get a sense of how enjoyable they are to re-read.

Also, there’s something to be said for making a distinction between series that are fun to re-read relatively often (usually those in regular serialization) and those that are fun to re-read every once in a while. For example, I’m a fan of Blade of the Immortal by Hiroaki Samura, but it’s not something that I want to re-read very often: it’s too graphic and intense for that. However, I have enjoyed my occasional re-reads of my favorite volumes of that series; just last month I re-read and loved volumes 12-14 of it.

What have all of you re-read lately?

October 1, 2008
by Joy
2 Comments

Farewell to Minx

The big news in the comics world last week–sorry, I’m a little behind on my RSS feeds–was the demise of Minx, DC’s imprint aimed at teen girls. Many wonderful comics bloggers have written thoughtfully on this situation, so here are some links:

Over at Precocious Curmudgeon, David Welsh wrote in Half measures:

My strongest impression of the Minx books I’ve read (all of the books in the first wave and some of the subsequent ones) is that they felt incomplete, that they were at least two rigorous edits away from being a finished piece of entertainment. Whether DC was assuming lower standards among the books’ target demographic or not, I have no idea, but all of the marketing in the world really shouldn’t excuse generally mediocre product.

And Heidi MacDonald has a series of great posts on the news over at The Beat:

My own take? Well, like a lot of manga readers, I had some doubts about Minx from the start. To me, DC’s attempt to make inroads into the teen graphic novel market showed no respect for teen readers: they seemed to assume that teen girls were only reading shojo manga because DC hadn’t yet deigned to write comics aimed at them. The name of the imprint itself also didn’t help, with all its problematic connotation, nor did predominance of male creators. Finally, I was incredibly disappointed by the one title from the Minx line that I actually read: Re-Gifters by Carey, Liew, and Hempel. After that, I pretty much gave up on the imprint in disgust, since that graphic novel’s flaws reflected poorly on both the creators and the publishers.

I’d be interested in hearing what the librarians among my blog readers think about the end of Minx. Will your teen patrons miss its titles?

September 30, 2008
by Joy
Comments Off on L. M. Montgomery, depression, and stigma

L. M. Montgomery, depression, and stigma

Anyone who works in a library or bookstore could probably tell you that L. M. Montgomery’s stories and novels for young people continue to be beloved today. At my library, the Anne of Green Gables books are still fairly popular, though I don’ t see much interest in Montgomery’s other works. These books about rural life in early 20th century Canada may not be relevant to all kids today–then again, what book ever is?–but there’s still a niche that they fill very well for some readers.

When I was a middle schooler, there was a phase when I pretty much read anything by L. M. Montgomery that I could get my hands on: the Anne books, the Emily books, the Pat books, and the various and sundry standalones (of which The Blue Castle remains my favorite). Her books–with all their strengths and flaws–were a significant part of my childhood reading experience. So I paid attention when Montgomery’s descendants recently announced that Montgomery, who struggled throughout her life with depression, committed suicide.

Continue Reading →

September 24, 2008
by Joy
Comments Off on Link roundup 2008-09-24

Link roundup 2008-09-24

I know, I know – all work and no blogging makes Joy a dull girl. To make up for my long radio silence, I present you with some recent interesting links on libraries, Asian-American media, and anime. Semi-regular posting will resume eventually.

  • The American Library Association has relaunched its website with a fresh new design. Check it out! It is still a work in progress, so expect to find some areas of the website still in transition.
  • Darien Library has launched its new website/OPAC. Again, this is probably only of interest to the library geeks in my very small readership, but I love the idea that a library catalog’s should be fully integrated into their website rather than a separate portal. But I am biased, having worked at the AADL. :)
  • Asia Pacific Arts has posted a top ten list of the best Non-Asian themes movies directed by Asian Americans. I note there’s a shoutout for my old college classmate, Lee Isaac Chung, whose movie I really will go see if it’s ever playing near me.
  • Viz has announced that it is posting subtitled, uncut versions of some of its licensed anime on Joost. As many of you probably know, the US anime industry has been struggling to compete with fansubs (bootleg fan subtitled versions) of anime, which are widely distributed through BitTorrent and sites like YouTube. I think including Viz’s content on a site like Joost is a good step toward an answer, though I think any true solution will need to find a way to reduce the wait for official licensed versions, which currently is measured in months and years. (Fansubs, in contrast, are available in days and sometimes even in hours.) [Via Comics Worth Reading]

That’s all for now. Coming soon: some thoughts on my recent reading, a 50-book challenge, and a list of my favorite fictional libraries!

August 27, 2008
by Joy
Comments Off on Urushibara, Yuki: Mushishi, vol. 4

Urushibara, Yuki: Mushishi, vol. 4

Ginko is a mushishi, an expert in the primordial life forms known as mushi. He does not have any unusual powers of his own, aside from a tendency to attract mushi and to see them while some others cannot. As he travels around Japan, studying mushi-related phenomena, he draws upon his wits and logic to help those whose lives have been affected by mushi. Volume 4 of Mushishi offers five more stories about Ginko’s journeys.

As with previous volumes in this series, these stories are episodic, linked only by Ginko himself. On the surface, these stories appear to focus on the mushi and their strange effects on the natural world, but at their hearts, they are actually much more concerned with Ginko, the people he meets, the fleeting connections they make, and their lasting loneliness. Continue Reading →

August 15, 2008
by Joy
1 Comment

Novel series-in-progress

steerswomansroad.jpgI am one of those readers who is reluctant to start reading unfinished book series, just because I hate having to wait to read the whole thing. But I end up reading my share of series in progress anyway, usually because I’ve heard good things about them from reliable sources.

So here are five series that I am reading whose next entries can’t come fast enough. For the purposes of this post, I’m only looking at novels–I don’t think I could choose just five if I had to figure in manga and other sequential art as well! Continue Reading →

August 14, 2008
by Joy
1 Comment

Literary merit and manga

Two of my favorite manga blogs are discussing the idea of literary merit in sequential art. Over at Sporadic Sequential, John Jakala asks which superhero comics and manga have literary merit. Many people contribute their opinions in the comments. David Welsh adds his own thoughts over at Precocious Curmudgeon, focusing specifically on coming-of-age comics.

My first instinct was to chime in with my own opinion. “Oh, these examples of sequential art are really good!” (Most of you know there are few things I love to talk about more than what manga I think are entertaining, well-made, and/or well worth reading.) Then I hesitated. My problem? The concept of literary merit. And now, even though I know that a lot of my readers are bored by arguments over semantics, I’m going to start one anyway. I realize that I’m not the only one to make the following observations about the idea of literary merit, but under the circumstances, they seemed worth repeating.

Continue Reading →

August 13, 2008
by Joy
Comments Off on CLAMP: xxxHOLiC, vol. 11-12

CLAMP: xxxHOLiC, vol. 11-12

Volumes 11 and 12 of xxxHOLiC continue the story of Kimihiro Watanuki, a high school student whose inconvenient tendency to attract spirits led him to make a rash bargain with Yûko, the space-time witch, back in volume 1. Now fully recovered from his accident in volume 10, Watanuki returns to the activities of his everyday life–going to school, making lunches for his friends, working in Yûko’s shop–and, along the way, he encounters a number of acquaintances from past adventures. These chance meetings appear innocuous at first, but they become unsettling, especially as the line between dreams and reality begins to blur dangerously for Watanuki. Continue Reading →