ALA's top 10 most frequently challenged books of 2010

The ALA has just released its list of the 10 most frequently challenged books of last year. And Tango Makes Three is at the top again if you can believe it.

1. And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson

Reasons: Homosexuality, religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group

2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Reasons: Offensive language, racism, sex education, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, violence

3. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Reasons: Insensitivity, offensive language, racism, sexually explicit

4. Crank by Ellen Hopkins

Reasons: Drugs, offensive language, sexually explicit

5. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Reasons: Sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, violence

6. Lush by Natasha Friend

Reasons: Drugs, offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

7. What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones

Reasons: Sexism, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

8. Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By In America by Barbara Ehrenreich

Reasons: Drugs, inaccurate, offensive language, political viewpoint, religious viewpoint

9. Revolutionary Voices: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology edited by Amy Sonnie

Reasons: Homosexuality, sexually explicit

10. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Reasons: Religious viewpoint, violence

Really? Having read over half of this list it's not only hard to believe but makes me want to go out and read the others. And, er, ironically aren't books banned in Brave New World?

Readergirlz suggest putting one of these books out in the world on Thursday (tomorrow) for Rock the Drop and make a statement against book banning. What a great idea. To read more about this, click here

Cassandra Clare and Holly Black - Tonight

Just wanted to remind you all that Cassandra Clare and Holly Black, two of our favorite authors, will be at the Menlo Park Library tonight at 7.00 to talk about City of Fallen Angels and Red Glove respectively. If you live in the area, don't miss this chance to meet with such talented writers.

Name a Character Contest for Becca Fitzpatrick's Silence

Sorry, haven't been blogging recently. SO busy. We hosted Kelley Armstrong yesterday for the Gathering (photos soon), and are hosting Cassandra Clare and Holly Black tomorrow (7.00 at the Menlo park Library (if you live in the bay Area, you shouldn't miss this!) and MaryRose Wood on Thursday. So am reading like crazy. Am almost finished White Cat (and love it), read The Dark and Hollow Places (what a great end to the series)and am told I must read Die for You (so I will, next week, when I can catch my breath).

But I just saw this contest and had to share. Becca Fitzpatrick is holding a name that character contest on her blog (click here to enter).

Here's what she says:

So...I am holding a contest! A name-this-character contest to be exact. I'm in the final stages of editing SILENCE, and believe it or not, I still have a character I haven't named. Use the form below to send me your character name suggestion (first and last name, please).

Contest ends at Midnight on Friday, May 6. I'll announce the winner at some point before SILENCE goes to print.

Now for the really cool part: If I select your entry, not only will you get to name a character in SILENCE, but I'll thank you personally in the book's Acknowledgments.

Good luck!

How awesome is that? You get to name the character and get to be thanked in the acknowledgments. So I'm heading over to fill out the form now. You should too!

NCIBA Books of the year

Here are the winners of the 2011 Northern California Independent Booksellers Association Book of the Year Awards, all for books written by authors living in the region, including four honorable mentions for books that had strong second place finishes. Congratulations to all.

Fiction: Gold Boy, Emerald Girl by Yiyun Li (Random House)

Nonfiction: Packing for Mars by Mary Roach (Norton)
Nonfiction honorable mention: Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 1 (University of California)

Poetry: Come on All You Ghosts by Matthew Zapruder (Copper Canyon)

Food Writing: My Calabria by Rosetta Costantino with Janet Fletcher (Norton)

Children's Picture Book: The Quiet Book by Deborah Underwood (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Children's Picture Book honorable mention: Zero by Kathryn Otoshi (KO Kids Books)

Teen Lit: The Sky Is Forever by Jandy Nelson (Dial)
Teen Lit honorable mention: The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney (Little Brown Books for Young Readers)

Regional Title: Infinite City: A San Francisco Atlas by Rebecca Solnit (University of California)
Regional Title honorable mention: State of Change: Forgotten Landscapes of California by Laura Cunningham (Heyday

Two More Actors Cast in the Hunger Games movie

It appears that Lionsgate has added two more actors to the cast of The Hunger Games. Deadline.com reported that Josh Hutcherson (The Kids Are All Right) will play Peeta and Liam Hemsworth (The Last Song) is set to play Gale. They join a cast that already includes Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss. The movie is scheduled to be released March 23, 2012.

So - what do you think? I always pictured Peeta blond and thought Gale and Katniss were meant to resemble each other. Let's hope for the best.

Red Glove by Holly Black - Review

We are so very excited about our upcoming event with Cassandra Clare and Holly Black - two of my favorite authors for teens - on April 12. Today I'm posting Megan's review of Red Glove - the follow up to White Cat (and the book I plan to read next!)

Cassel's family is dangerous. They are mobsters, con artists, murderers, and magic workers; and Cassel might be the most dangerous of them all, except that he still can't remember the entire truth of his past. Everything that he knows about himself is a lie, and there is no one left to trust, not even himself.

This book is an absolute pleasure, a thrill and a high speed vault into a world that is dark, compelling, and cruel. It's a sharp fantasy taken in the company of characters who feel astonishingly real. You'll fall hard for them: Cassel's grandfather, an assassin; his mother, who bends emotions; his lying, mobster brothers; and Lila, the girl he loves and the princess of the criminal underworld. Most of all, you'll be helpless before the charm of Cassel himself and the feeling that these are people you need to spend time with, not because they're nice or good, but because they are fascinating. They are the most dangerous of friends.

In My Mailbox

Am a bit late with this, as ever. I've read recently Beauty Queens by Libba Bray (fabulous), Scorpia Rising by Anthony Horowitz (a great ending to the series), Anya's War by Andrea Alban, The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong (review already posted), and am mid way with Dark and Hollow Place by Carrie Ryan (dar and violent and utterly compelling). We hosted Anthony Horowitz who was incredible. Anf we will host Kelley Armstrong on Sunday 10th sundy afternoon. Can't wait

Now to the books

1. Under Dogs by Markus Zusak
Now The Book Thief is one of my favorite books. This is a trilogy he wrote before the Book Thief about the Wolfe Brothers. And they are rereleasing it in September. Oh, I wish he'd write a new book...

2. Blood magic by Tessa Gratton
I pushed the knife against my skin, puckering it but not breaking through. My whole body shivered. I was about to find out if magic was real. The electric thrill of terror was sharp on my tongue. I cut deep.
Love the cover! And blurbed by Maggie Steifvater.

3. The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group by Catherine Jinks
When Tobias wakes up in the hospital with no memories of the night before his mother tells him that he was found unconscious in the zoo, in a dingo pen.He assumes his friends are responsible but they are freaked out. Then a stranger claims Toby has a rare and dangerous condition - he's a werewolf.

My thanks to the Story Siren who hosts this meme. And if you are in the Bay Area, remember to come and see Kelley Armstrong on Sunday.

Anthony Horowitz

Anthony Horowitz is a rock star among kid lit authors. His fans are legion. Reluctant readers are known to sit up through the night to finish his newest book. And yes, I am a fan. (Can you tell?) Anthony arrived early, signed presolds and stock, posed for photos, made a video, and was generally one of the most charming men I have met. Maybe I should stop gushing now. He worried about how his hair looked (!), worried about the crowd size (will I have enough time to talk to them all?), and laughed when I asked how much of his biography was true (because, well, see what you think).

A little background: Anthony Horowitz's life might have been copied from the pages of Snicket or Dahl. Anthony’s father was "a fixer for Harold Wilson" (a British prime minister) and a very secretive man. When threatened with bankruptcy, he withdrew all his money, deposited it in under a false name, and died shortly thereafter. So the money was never found. That shaped Anthony's view of things. At the age of 8 he was sent to a boarding school where he told stories of revenge to entertain his peers and found solace in the escapism of the James Bond films. And for his 13th birthday his mother gave him a human skull. Explains a lot, doesn’t it?

Anthony has been writing professionally since the age of 20. In addition to the Alex Rider books, the Power of 5 series, The Diamond Brothers series, and the Horowitz horror books, he also writes for TV (think Foyle’s War among others) and has been chosen by the Conan Doyle Estate to write a new full length Sherlock Holmes novel.

We had about 350-400 people in the audience (the largest turnout for his tour apparently), all eager to hear about this last Alex Rider book and why he decided to end the series that they all loved so well. He talked about violence in books, the gadgets he so loved, why he wanted Smithers to be so different to Q, why Sean Connery was the best Bond, why Roger Moore was too old to be Bond by the time he starred in Octopussy, and why 14 year olds are the coolest people on earth. They adored him. They had so many questions. And he charmed us all. Friendly, engaging, entertaining, funny, and oh so charismatic, he posed for photos and took his time with each and every fan. Did I mention that he’s killed off all the teachers he loathed in his books, that he’s depicted as a skeleton on the cover of one of his books, that he loves The Hunger Games, and is grateful to JK Rowling for revitalizing the world of kid lit.

I'll post video soon. And yes that's me dressed as a spy - with Matt who was dressed as security. So much fun! Am now waiting to get my hands on the Sherlock Holmes title.