Nice ta Meetcha-- Monday, October 29th: Ingrid, Laina, and Susan

As I mentioned in the previous post, the next few weeks, I'm taking some time to introduce y'all to our lovely staff members so you know whom to speak with about your particular book queries. This week, I'm continuing the streak of posting about all female booksellers (the boys are shy, I guess).

Ingrid--

•  When did you start working at BBS?
• I started working at Boulder Book Store in September, 2012.
•  What is your role on the floor?
• I'm the one trying to appear like I'm not forcing the Reader's Guild membership on you at the register.
•  Where are you from originally and what brought you to Boulder?
• I'm originally from Park City, UT. My husband is currently attending law school at CU Boulder.
•  What are some of your favorite genres/specific titles?
• I read all kinds of stuff. Some of my favorite genres are memoir (especially memoirs about living in polygamous marriages,) Native American literature, women's studies, some philosophy, and general literary fiction. My favorite book of all time is War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. I also love Margaret Atwood, Thomas Hardy, Edith Wharton, Cheryl Strayed, Jeffrey Eugenides, Joan Didion, Louise Erdrich, and Sylvia Plath. 
•  What is your favorite thing about working at BBS?
• I love keeping up on new releases and talking to customers about the books they are buying. 
•  What is one unique/interesting fact about you that one wouldn't necessarily learn in ordinary conversation?
• Starting in elementary school I developed a somewhat unhealthy obsession with WWII history. I read everything I could possibly find about WWII in my elementary and middle school libraries, and every day after school would scan the yahoo search results for "holocaust," "nazi," "d-day," and other general WWII terms. I had an intricate folder system in my closet in which I would store and organize what information I had printed from the internet. When I graduated from high school, my grandfather took me on a special trip to Europe where we visited all the major WWII sites.

Laina-- 

• When did you start working at BBS? 
• Fall 2009
• What is your role on the floor? 
• Bookseller/Assistant Buyer (DVDs, Out-of-Print Search Service, Buyer for several smaller backlist sections (ask me which ones!)) 
• Where are you from originally and what brought you to Boulder? 
• Pleasantville, NY (No, it's NOT black and white (just white)). I moved here in July of '08 to join my sister and my cousins for the excellent skiing. And also to go to Massage Therapy school. (Yes, I'm in practice)
• What are some of your favorite genres/specific titles? 
• Graphic Novels, SciFi/Fantasy, Fiction, Kids and teen! Titles - too many to count :)
• What is your favorite thing about working at BBS? 
• Other than the books and fine company? I love being involved in the book market as a whole. I'm proud to work for an Indie, and it is important to me that the outstanding customer service that goes hand-in-hand with Indies stays outstanding. We are what keeps bookstores alive, and no town should be without one.
• What is one unique/interesting fact about you that one wouldn't necessarily learn in ordinary conversation? 
• I share a birthday with Billie Holiday, Ravi Shankar, Francis Ford Coppola, Russell Crowe and Jackie Chan!

Susan-- 

•  When did you start working at BBS?
• August 2010
• What is your role on the floor?
• I'm the Corporate and School Sales assistant which means I handle offsite sales and large orders for schools, corporations, and - on occasion - individuals. I also buy used books and process all of our internet sales. 
• Where are you from originally and what brought you to Boulder?
• I've lived in quite a few places, but Leadville, CO has always been home. I moved to Boulder to strike out on my own while still saying close enough to family.
• What are some of your favorite genres/specific titles?
• Neil Gaiman never disappoints me. American Gods, Stardust, Graveyard Book - all of them amazing. Robert Kirkman's comic book series The Walking Dead has and continues to inspire me. I just read Redshirts by Jonh Scalzi - hilarious - and The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making which is seriously a must read for everybody. I love fantasy, science fiction, horror, and I have a particular weakness for good children's books like new author Nikki Loftin's title The Sinister Sweetness of Splendid Academy. 
• What is your favorite thing about working at BBS?
• What? You mean aside from the books? The people. My amazing coworkers who are each unique and passionate and all of our quirky customers. 
• What is one unique/interesting fact about you that one wouldn't necessarily learn in ordinary conversation?
• I'm writing a zombie novel. The mindless, slowly decaying kind. Oh! The zombies, not the novel. Well, hopefully not the novel. Eek.

Nice ta Meetcha-- Monday, October 22nd: Nicole, Madeleine, & Ashanti

The holiday season is coming up quicker than you can imagine here in the book world (and, really, any retail environment). We've also had a lot of turnover the last 6 months or so, which you've probably noticed. In order to better acquaint you with all the new faces (and some of the more familiar ones), and so you know just whom to speak with about that uncle of yours who is very particular about the type of science fiction he likes or that cousin who only likes historical romances set in Napoleonic France, I'm taking the next few weeks to feature some of our staff members. 

This week we have three (mostly) lovely ladies Nicole, Madeleine, and Ashanti:

Madeleine--

• When did you start working at BBS?
• May-ish 2009
• What is your role on the floor? 
• Bookseller, Spo-enterer, Calendar Wrangler
• Where are you from originally and what brought you to Boulder?
• A (very) small town in Oregon. My family came here for business and then suddenly college happened.
• What are some of your favorite genres/specific titles?
• I will read (almost) anything, but i love... The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski, Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, A Natural History of the Piano by Stuart Isacoff, Postcards from the Brain Museum by Brian Burrell, and all the Sandman Graphic Novels
• What is your favorite thing about working at BBS?
• I love the layout of it -- cozy but not (too) cluttered. Also, it smells like brownies sometimes.
• What is one unique/interesting fact about you that one wouldn't necessarily learn in ordinary conversation?
• When I was six, I used to hide in my school's library and read books about various historical figures and how they died. Also, I like The Ramones, which always surprises people for some reason.

Nicole--

• When did you start working at BBS?
• September of 2011
• What is your role on the floor?
•  I primarily work in the Used Book Department but I also help out with bookselling, the store's Pinterest
• Where are you from originally and what brought you to Boulder?
• I am from the exotic and not-so-distant land of Longmont. I have left this region many times, only to return because it appears to be one of the greatest places on the planet.
• What are some of your favorite genres/specific titles?
• My favorite genre hands down is magical realism. I love falling into a world that appears solid but eventually cracks and gives way to magic. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and any Haruki Murakami are my favorites. I am currently reading Cloud Atlas and enjoying it a lot.
• What is your favorite thing about working at BBS?
• Every day I am exposed to whole books full of new ideas. While shelving or processing books I can take a couple of seconds to get a grasp on what the book stands for and the message that the person writing it was trying to get across. I feel that I have learned more than you would expect by these fly-by encounters with books I would have not otherwise ever laid hands on.
• What is one unique/interesting fact about you that one wouldn't necessarily learn in ordinary conversation?
• I live on a farm.

Ashanti--

• When did you start working at BBS?
• July, 2008 (yes, over four years ago).
• What is your role on the floor?
• I am Princess DOS, which means I benevolently rule over the people of DiskOperatingSystemia. Or rather, that I am one of the Supervisors who fixes things when they are broken, like all the Supervisors do. I also write the schedule for the staff and buy used books for the store.
• Where are you from originally and what brought you to Boulder?
• Birth brought me to Boulder. I graduated from the same High School as Jello Biafra. Yup.
• What are some of your favorite genres/specific titles?
• I want to expound undying, nerdgirly love for Glen Duncan, who has written I Lucifer, and The Last Werewolf. I have read nearly everything by Chuck Palahniuk, (Haunted and Invisible Monsters were my favorites) and as far as genres, I adore sci-fi (The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch or Hamlet in high Klingon) and contemporary literature that doesn't shy away from blending high and low art. I also really like art criticism and history (like The Art of Cruelty by Maggie Nelson) and any graphic novels I can get my hands on (Killing Joke by Alan Moore or Habibi by Craig Thompson)
• What is your favorite thing about working at BBS?
• Taking large steps up and down the stairs. Not having to resort to lifting some lead off the roof of the Holy Name church for cash.
• What is one unique/interesting fact about you that one wouldn't necessarily learn in ordinary conversation?
• Most of my life I've hated mayonnaise, but when I went to Osaka, I ate a ton of onigiri out of convenience stores, which usually have a bit of mayonnaise in the middle and love it! I still make special trips to the Asian Seafood market to get Kewpie Mayonnaise, and my mother cannot stand it.

Keep checking in to meet more booksellers over the weeks to come -- I'm hoping to post these on Mondays (when I have time). Stop in and say hi and meet these lovely folks in person next time you're looking for something to read! 

Why Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis Rock, and why you should read the Wildwood Chronicles

I should start out by saying that I have always been passionate about a good story. If it’s also a creepy or unusual story, I usually like it even more. This is a large part of what I love about one of my favorite bands, The Decemberists. Their songs tell beautiful, sad, haunting stories, and sometimes they even need multiple songs to tell the story, like with “The Crane Wife”, and they’ve even used a whole album (The Hazards of Love, my favorite of their albums to date) to focus on one story from beginning to end.

So, naturally, I was quite excited when I learned that Colin Meloy, the frontman for The Decemberists, had written a children’s book. I immediately set out to get my hands on an Advanced Readers Copy, and it was well worth the effort. Since its release in September 2011, I’ve convinced many booksellers and family members to read it as well, and everyone seems to get a feel of an old childhood classic from the story. One person compared it to Alice in Wonderland, as the protagonists stumble upon a different world hidden in the woods. Another compared it to the Narnia books because of the talking animals. One bookseller said the story reminded her of the movie Labyrinth, since it begins with the heroine’s baby brother being stolen and taken into another realm, and she must go to this realm in order to bring him home.

For my part, I was too caught up in the story to think of these comparisons until after I had finished. The language and characters captivated me, and the Impassable Wilderness felt familiar but also unlike any place I’ve been. However, once finishing Wildwood, my first thought was of the elements of the story that felt familiar to me because I’d heard similar elements in Decemberists songs; The feel of the late 19^th century, some of the roguish characters, the horror of war, the thirst for revenge, and of course the lyrical language.  In addition to Colin’s wonderful words, I loved the lush illustrations from his wife, Carson Ellis, who also illustrated The Composer is Dead by Lemony Snicket and The Mysterious Benedict Society. Her artwork gave flavor and spirit to the text without changing the mental images I already had of the characters and the setting. Rather, her work enhanced the story experience, giving more scope and depth to the world I had imagined.

Needless to say, I loved Wildwood and eagerly awaited the sequel, Under Wildwood. And it was so worth the wait. While I loved Prue (our main heroine) in the first book, I didn’t feel that I saw the same type of development in her that I saw in Curtis (our main hero), who really blossomed and discovered his potential in Wildwood. I was very happy to see this development in Prue in Under Wildwood, and I felt her development was just as wonderful as Curtis’s development.  I found book 2 of the Wildwood Chronicles to be just as beautiful and haunting as book 1 – in fact, I’m still haunted by a scene at the end of the book that involves two hooks and a horrible sound. I won’t say more about it here, you’ll just have to read the book, and I promise you’ll know which scene I’m talking about.

I am now eagerly awaiting the final book in the series. As such, I plan to do my best to weasel plot points for the finale out of them when they are at BBS on Saturday,September 29th at 4:00pm. So far, the only thing I don’t like about Under Wildwood is that I don’t have the next book to read right now.

So why should you read these books? Because I’ve talked to so many adults who have read and fallen in love with the series. Because I’ve overheard a 9-year-old girl in our Children’s Department tell a friend of hers that she’s read Wildwood nine times. Because it has the same classic feel as so many other beloved children’s stories, and I think the Wildwood Chronicles has the sort of staying power that will keep children reading it for years to come. And because Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis are both wonderful people who very politely listened to me ramble on about how much I love their book and were willing to talk to me about literature instead of looking at me like I’m crazy (yeah, that’s right, I’ve met them before). So do yourself a favor – read these books, and come meet Colin and Carson next Saturday. I’ll definitely be there.

The LAST Book vs. Movie: The Hunger Games

Hello Owyn is here for the last time *sobs while eating ice cream straight from the carton in the dark while listening to emotional music*. For my last Book vs. Movie, I have decided to compare The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

 VERSUS

*WARNING! ALERTING THERE ARE SPOILERS AHEAD*

Have you ever heard the saying "Parents are always right"? Unfortunately I have, from my parents. They are constantly trying to get me to "try new things" and "stop being indoors so much" and "get a life". Back in summer of 2011, their mission was to get me to read The Hunger Games.
I would never define myself as a conventional rebel when it came to going against my parents. I don't smoke, drink or party. Instead I refuse to read or watch things they want me to. They even got my sister to try to convince me to read the series, but I was stubborn and possibly a bit ignorant.
Then I heard they were making a movie of it. And I had read the back of the book, and it seemed vaguely interesting. When I realized my parents would never let me watch the movie without reading the book, I finally decided to read it around Thanksgiving.
I honestly could not put it down. I finished it in three hours. Then I finished the next two books in the next days. I thoroughly and completely enjoyed them, even with my parents smugly smiling at me when I admitted they were right.
When the first movie of the trilogy came out, I went to see it with my best friend Ana. Since we're odd we didn't go in the opening first weeks, we went when it was out in its fifth week because we wanted to sit wherever the hell we wanted without having to deal with people. Then my bladder became my enemy since when I had to go pee, I missed the kissing scene.
I remember walking out with Ana saying: "Did I miss anything?" And she's all "No not really, well wait... did you leave right before the Mutts?" I nodded. "Oh, then you missed the kissing scene." After almost falling to my knees in front of the movie theater while shouting: "WHY??!!!!?", since I REALLY wanted to see that, I accepted my fate and vowed to get the movie to watch that scene when the movie comes out on DVD.

Differences:

• They didn't have the Mutts look like the past contestants. That was something I was really looking forward to
• They changed the point of view so you can see more of the inter-workings of the Capitol and Gale's reactions to the Katniss/Peeta love plot that you didn't get in the book.
• I didn't really feel the whole connection between Katniss and Rue in the movie, it seemed very fake and forced. I definitely felt it in the book though. 
• There's a lot of focus on the preparation for the games when the contestants are in the Capitol. I didn't like that so much because I just wanted to see the epic death match.
• There's no Avox-girl. And I liked that whole back story.
• I don't know about you, but I pictured the Tracker Jackers bigger. I wanted those things to be scary demons from hell the size of your hand. 
• A difference that I did like was the fact they didn't make Katniss shove Peeta into a vase. I found that ridiculous. 

The Love Triangle: A Rant by Owyn the Intern (the last rant)
I enjoyed the book and the movie, but there is something I'd like to rant about: Love triangles. I don't like them. I haven't liked them since Twilight came out with Bella/Edward/Jacob. Why? Because I was upset how these random girls could get two boys pining after her when some people can barely get one. *stomps foot like a petulant child* It's not fair! Why does Katniss get Peeta and Gale and other girls don't! Therefore, I don't like it. And, ignoring my personal bias, they aren't realistic. You never really see love triangles in real life and only serve as a plot device. And it pisses me off when people root for Gale/Jacob when obviously Peeta/Edward are gonna win. I seriously want to wring their necks shouting: WHY ARE YOU ROOTING FOR THE LOSING TEAM? YOU'RE SETTING YOURSELF UP FOR FAILURE AND LITERARY UNHAPPINESS!!

Which did I like better?:
I liked the book better. Granted, everyone says that (about every book-to-movie adaptation when you ask them this question) but I have specific reasons why in this case. Like I said in the differences, they cut out the Avox girl, probably for time. That kind of pissed me off. I thought it added a nice back story since I found it extremely interesting. And who cares about the time? It's a huge series with a fanatic fan base. If you made the movie 24 hours long, people would probably still watch it. Another reason is the whole changing-focus thing. I didn't like how they showed Seneca Crane with the berries or the riot that broke out in District 11. I liked the first-person aspect of the book; it made the teenagers-killing-each-other-in-a-giant-organized-death-match human and real. In my opinion, they lost that in the movie.

But that's just my opinion. Leave a comment on what you think or which you prefer or what differences you noticed.
Unfortunately this is my last time, so you can send your goodbyes in present form. Preferably cash.
;)
Owyn

My Book to Movie Adaptations: Paranormal

Hello Owyn is back for my last Book to Movie adaptation blog post. For this week, I decided to be open minded and pick books that are definitely not of my favorite genre that I still believe should be made into movies. This genre is:
Teen Paranormal/Dystopian Romance.
Just typing it makes me want to gag.
Now the main reason I hate this genre so much is because I think it's stupid how teen authors can't just write about two humans falling in love. It has to be a human and a vampire, a vampire and a werewolf or a human and a toaster. And when it comes to these romances, "love" is used very loosely.
But, of that genre, there are some diamonds in the rough. Books that I love regardless of the fact they involve some *really* crazy circumstances.

*SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD*

Gone by Michael Grant. WHY: Okay, these might be a little more dystopian than paranormal, but I'm still putting in the category. The reason why I think this book should become a movie is because of the special effect aspects and its general plot. The kids in this book develop powers from living in their hometown which is surrounded by an energy barrier. Tell me that isn't badass. While reading, I just kept picturing the kids using their powers in a big-screen setting. Also, the plot has a lot of intertwining stories, like the love between Astrid and Sam, the Coates kids trying to destroy the town, and Lana and her dog escaping from their car wreck.

Evermore by Alyson Noel. WHY: As a definite part of the Teen Paranormal Romance scene, this book has what are referred to as "Immortals" (which is also the title of the series). Or basically, people who have taken an elixir which lets them live for hundreds of years without looking older than 17. The main character Ever deals with falling in love with the new kid Damen, seeing the ghost of her dead sister and whenever she touches people she feels their history and sees their auras. This book would be a great movie because of the success of book-to-movies like Twilight. If you just subtract the vampire and add an immortal, you'd basically have the same book.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson. WHY: When I read this book, I was 12-years-old, still developing in my literary identity. I decided to try a range of books that were recommended to me by my lovely librarian and this book was one of them. This book is about a girl who wakes up from a coma in the future and no one will give her a straight answer on what happened to her. What would make this book a great movie is the whole conspiracy aspect of it. Not just the whole hiding the truth-from-Jenna, but the whole hiding-Jenna-from-the-government. *EPIC SPOILERS AHEAD* When she was salvaged from a huge car accident, she lost most of her skin/body to burns but her father, practically a mad scientist, rebuilds her skin using bio-gel and she might be able to live for 200 years. But bio-gel is extremely illegal so Jenna is a secret. So with the whole teenage-secret-conspiracy-hideaway, this book would make a great movie.


P.S. A general reason for all three of my selected books to become movies is because they are all the first in series but each of my three picks have their own individual reasons.


Leave a comment on what book you would like to see become a movie or maybe what you thought of my choices.
Until later,
Owyn

Book vs. Movie: Romeo and Juliet

Hey it's Owyn here again. For this week I'm going to compare the iconic play Romeo and Juliet with the 1996 movie version with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes.

VERSUS    

DISCLAIMER #1: There are probably spoilers. But if you haven't read this or you are unfamiliar with the plot then what rock have you been living under for your entire life?
DISCLAIMER #2: I know it's not exactly a book but it's still an iconic piece of literature. Do you want me to retitle this blog series as "Literature vs. Movie"? It doesn't have the same ring to it.

Like in my To Kill a Mockingbird post, I have been assigned R&J to read at school and because of all my different schools, I have read it twice.
The first time I read it was when I was in seventh grade. All the teenage girls in my class were gushing and squealing about how "this was the greatest love story ever" and "I want to find my Romeo." Same thing happened when I read it again in ninth grade.
It takes all my restraint not to face-palm so hard that my hand flies through my face.
This is not a love story. Well it is kinda, but it's not a good one. A 17-year-old boy and 13-year-old girl meet, kiss, decide they're in love, get married, kill four people (occasionally indirectly) and then kill themselves. All over the course of four days. That's not love, that's practically Vegas.
Obviously those girls did not read it or didn't read it well. 
When I was in the summer after eighth grade, I saw that the Leo DiCaprio version was on Netflix. I had nothing better to do so I watched it. While watching, I mainly thought about how cute Leo was until he got older. And now I'm here, telling you the differences and my opinions.

Differences:
The movie is set in modern day, not the day that it was written.
The Capulet and Montague parents don't have first names in the play
The fighters have guns in the movie, when in the play they have swords.
I don't recall Romeo doing acid in the play
Mercutio was a lot creepier in the movie (personal opinion)
In the movie, Juliet wakes up immediately after Romeo has taken the poison and they have one last exchange, but that did NOT happen in the play.
They cut a lot of the Nurse's lines (probably for time) and ruined the character.

The Nurse: A Rant by Owyn the Intern
I loved the Nurse in the play; she's my favorite character. She was funny, charming, awkward, necessary to aiding and abetting horny teenagers, and sentimental when she needed to be. My favorite scene is when Nurse kind of betrays Juliet and tells her that she should marry Paris so there is no need for trouble. And it was devastating to Juliet because the Nurse was always there to support her, especially when Lady Capulet wasn't. And that blow wasn't nearly as harsh in the movie. It made Juliet's actions be of those of a rash teenager's, but I think they were trying to prove that they were in love, not horny. So that kind of angered me.

Which did I enjoy more?:
Hands down, no hesitation I liked the play more, even with Leonardo DiCaprio being heart-stoppingly gorgeous in the movie. Now I must admit that I wasn't that crazy about either of them. The whole love-at-first-sight thing just makes me want to commit myself to a mental hospital shouting "IT ISN'T REAL! IT ISN'T REAL!" But if I had to choose between the two, it'd have to be the play because you just can't disrespect my Nurse like that!

Which do you think was better? Leave a comment with your opinions!

Predict Casting: Fallen

Hello! Owyn's back for another Predict Casting. Reminder: these are just my opinions. Feel free to leave who you think should play what in the comments.

So this week I'm doing the book Fallen by Lauren Kate, which has no known date for movie release.

Summary: This book is about a young girl named Lucinda "Luce" Price who is sent to Sword & Cross Reform School in Savannah, Georgia, after she is accused of murdering a boy by starting a fire. At the reform school, she meets Daniel, a handsome boy whom she feels inexplicably drawn to, and believes she has met before.

Lucy Hale

CAST LIST:

Luce Price: Lucy Hale. This book is kind of a dark romance, which Lucy has mastered while doing Pretty Little Liars and when I was reading the book I always envisioned Luce as her. 

Cody Linley

Daniel Grigori: Cody Linley. Besides the fact I think he looks awesome as a blonde, I think he'd be great at capturing this moody, elusive love interest since he has the silent smolder down to perfection. And I bet he and Lucy would have great chemistry.
Arriane Alter: Ariana Grande. First of all, Ariana looks great with the whole black/red hair thing that this character rocks. Second, I think she could play the fallen angel Arriane since they both seem equally spunky.

Tyler Posey

Cam Briel: Tyler Posey. Tyler has the shaggy black hair and awesome eyes, plus he has the experience with the paranormal playing the lead in the Teen Wolf series. And he looks good as the bad boy.
Roland Sparks: Roshon Fegan. Besides matching the character description (minus the dreads), I think Roshon can play the slight-comedic-relief character without making him a jokey character, imitating the character he played in Camp Rock.
Gabbe Givens: Ashley Benson. In the book, Gabbe is described as "Neutrogena commercial pretty", which is the perfect way to describe Ashley and she naturally looks like an Angel. Plus, like Lucy, she has the whole dark acting from working on Pretty Little Liars.


Leave comments on who you think should play who (if you have a different idea) or what other upcoming book-to-movie adaptations I should try!
Until next time,
Owyn