Talking about Lisa Yee

 Although my blog may look like I have only been reading board books and short picture books, I actually have read some great MG and YA books.  I have also been forcing my husband to read some of these books with me, and in turn I have created a bit of a monster, since he has read some MG/YA books on his own. I guess, like many of us who never grew out of teen reads, he finds the genres well written, easy to get lost in, and perhaps just a bit nostalgic.  I admit, often as I read MG/YA books these days, I am thinking about how this book would have been received by myself as a teen.  Often I know the book would have been a hit, as with some of the cutesy, romantic, even drama filled books.  Sometimes, it’s the distance from childhood though, that lets me reflect on some of the lessons and themes in the book.

Back to the general idea today is sharing books that my husband suggested that I read.  I thought it would be best to get him to add his ideas about the books today too.  We are looking at books written by Lisa Yee.  From everything I could read about Yee from her blog, website, and from her content in her books, it appears that Yee is a less than apologetic humorist with a bit of a geeky side.  I think my husband might have a bit of a crush on her too, given her ability to make him laugh out loud.  I first recommended that he read Warp Speed since the main character is a Star Trek kid who is an outcast dealing with bullies on a daily basis.  My husband moved onto Yee’s  first set of books, starting with Millicent Min, Girl Genius.

So, you must have really liked Warp Speed?

Yes, I did.  As a long time Star Trek fan, I loved all the Star Trek references!  There were also references to star wars and comic books.  I may not have been in AV club myself, but I had a few friends that fit the mold.

Would your teen self have liked this book?

Sure.  I would have it, you know back when I was in junior high, there were far less references to Star Wars/Star Trek in books.  Just in general it was difficult for me to relate to books with main characters who were popular and atheletic.

What kind of books were you drawn to as tween/teen?

Well, in junior high I read mostly non-fiction books about history, baseball, and some biographies.  By the time I was in high school I started reading adult novels about Star Trek and Star Wars.

So, were you a big reader in High School?

I read magazines, newspapers, and lots and lots of comic books.

Oh, yeah I could see that.  So, tell me what made you want to read more from author Lisa Yee?

I really enjoyed Warp Speed and as I was finished, I checked on the internet and saw that Warp Speed was part of a series of books which originally told the story of 3 students in the summer before 7^th grade.  Warp Speed had some of those characters, so I was interested in the backstory.  Plus, I liked Lisa Yee’s humor and style.

So, you enjoyed finding and reading the rest of the series?

Yeah, so far.  I still have to finish So Totally Emily Ebers.

Did you think the books were geared specifically for girls or boys or had universal appeal?

I think the books had universal appeal.  Millicent Min, Girl Genius would probably be more accessible to girls.  But, with that story, I was just really intrigued by the story of her being a genius and socially awkward too.  I wasn’t in the same situation, but I was in some gifted classes and could relate to some of what she was going through.

That’s interesting.  So, overall how do you feel about being an adult reading YA/MG fiction?

To me it’s fun and nostalgic.  Plus, a good story is a good story no matter the age level.  Given the shorter books and lower reading levels they are also easy to pick up and quicker to get into.  I will keep reading YA/MG books, as long as you keep giving me good recommendations.

That’s some pressure on me.  Thanks for helping with the blog today. 

Guest Blog: Ready Player One Review

My blog is new.  New to me, new to everyone.  I enjoy reading these books and really enjoy writing the reviews and making any connection I can with other bloggers, authors, teachers, readers, and mothers.  As I continue to read more and more, I noticed my blog is having an impact on others in my life including my husband who reads my blog daily and has picked up a few of the books I have reviewed or talked about.  Recently, he read a YA book that he thought deserved a little blog time, so I thought I would do a short interview about the book and write about it for the blog.  Here we go:

So, you read a YA book and want me to talk about it on my blog.  What’s the book and what made you want to read it?  The book is Ready Player One, the first novel by Ernest Cline.  He is the screen writer of one of my favorite movies, Fanboys.  I heard about it while listening to a podcast.  He was interviewed and the book sounds like a lot of fun.

Is this book outside your reading genre?  I usually read sci-fi novels, so this is close to what I usually read.  The book is science fiction.  It takes place about 30 years in the future in a dystopian society.  Most common and popular form of information is this thing called OASIS.  It’s like a on-line game/internet/virtual reality.

So, Dystopian society books are really popular with readers in YA.  Did you enjoy reading this type of book?  Would you read more books like that? Yes, but the real draw for me wasn’t the portrayal of the bleak future.  It was a book just packed full of 1980’s pop-culture references.  The plot of the book centers on finding a series of Easter eggs left by the creator of Oasis.  This guy was a big nerd growing up in the 80’s.  Whoever solves the puzzle gets a multi-billion dollar fortune.  All the clues to the puzzle are just these references to 80’s pop-culture.  The egg-hunters all study 1980’s pop-culture to educate themselves for the ‘game’.

So …. Were you a big nerd growing up in the 80’s? Yes.

It sounds like you really enjoyed reading this book.  Who else do you think would enjoy reading it?  Middle school and high school students who have a love of video games, as well as Fanboys in their 30’s and 40’s who fondly look back on growing up in the 80’s would really like this book.  

Anything else you want to share about reading this book?  The book did make me laugh and I really didn’t want to put it down once I started reading.  I don’t think I have been this pleasantly surprised about reading something that I didn’t know a lot about going into it since I read the first Harry Potter book.  I have a couple of friends I would really like to recommend read it.

Excellent, that is what a reading community is all about, sharing your reading, great reads, thoughts during reading, etc. with others.  Thanks for talking with me.  I am going to post this on the blog.  Do you have a next book that you are going to read now?  I think we are going to read Darth Paper Strikes Back together, right? Yep.  Love reading together.  :)