- March 11th, 2008 at
11:08 pm by --KALEB NATION-- -
An enjoyable read that has genuinely funny characters is getting rare these days, but Jeff Kinney pulls it off with Diary of a Wimpy Kid. The thing that makes many books good is that it can really be picked up by anyone no matter how old they are and still be enjoyed. This book doesn’t come across as simple, and the organization of the book is a wonder. The jokes are written in a way so that you usually have to turn the page to see the punch line, which lines it up great.
The ending was a bit abrupt and you can tell that some had to be cut from the original story, but other than that it flows smoothly and there are no drops of character. Obviously, the world likes this book as well, because it owns the #2 NY Times spot, residing there only because it’s newer sequel is at #1. I had the wonderful luck to actually attend a very small panel given by Jeff at the Texas Book Festival, before he was such an enormous hit. Nowadays, he’s been nominated for a Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards and was recently in the top 10 of searches on Yahoo.com (right up with Britney Spears). How better to start a new series?
- February 6th, 2008 at
9:27 am by --KALEB NATION-- -
Super congratulations to Jeff Kinney, who happens to own the top two spots on the New York Times Bestseller list, his first book at number two and his latest one debuting at number 1. I know Jeff through slight acquaintance and attended his panel at the Texas Book Festival. Since I doubt he’ll brag about it I’ll do it for him, and point out that he’s six places above the National Book Award winner and has been up there for over 41 weeks.
On other news, I’m passing this around as something you should keep an eye on. The first book in this series is coming in March and already things are starting with their grassroots hype. I absolutely love the music on this site, and if it’s got anything to do with the feel of the book it’ll be spectacular. I emailed James Dashner, the author, and he is so excited about this book coming out. Once I get my hands on one I’ll write something up here.
Also, I just got word that my friend and bestselling author Kaza Kingsley has finished the third book in her series! As you read in my interview with her, the book will be called Erec Rex: The Search For Truth and continues the adventures of Erec on his journey to become king. Kaza will have all the latest news on it at her site. My site also had the honor of debuting the first word of the book as it stands now, which happened to be ‘It’.
As for me, I watched Pan’s Labyrinth last night and was captivated all the way through. I will write up a short review soon.
- November 19th, 2007 at
6:00 am by --KALEB NATION-- -
I realized this morning that I never posted anything about the Texas Book Festival weeks ago. I went there to meet with authors and mingle with other book-minded people. There were plenty about, an entire schedule of big names including Rick Riordan, the big kids author of the moment who is writing the Percy Jackson series.
There was secret service everywhere, because Jenna Bush and Lynn Cheney were coming. I almost ran into all these guys with suits, little diamond collar pins and curly headphone wires. They were serious. I went to the end where Jenna was going to come in, without knowing where I was, and they were all looking at me, a whole group of them and police. I realized she would be coming from that street because it was filled with black SUV’s. I spun about and started right off in the opposite direction.
I went there hoping to see Rick Riordan, Kimberly Willis Holt (I won an autographed book from her 2 weeks ago), Jenna Bush and meet with April Lurie, who I have met over email. I ended up seeing none of those, but I did get to see Rick Yancey, Sherman Alexie, Neal Shusterman and this oddball:
One of those things you only get to see in places where authors congregate.
- November 15th, 2007 at
1:36 pm by --KALEB NATION-- -
Congratulations to Sherman Alexie for winning the YA section of the National Book Awards! While missing Rick Riordan at the Texas Book Festival a few weeks ago, I unknowingly stopped by Sherman’s panel. It was held in a packed Methodist church — and for a Young Adult book, I couldn’t spot a single Young Adult in the crowd! I didn’t even know who he was. Now I’m so glad I stopped by.
He was hilarious, and even though I planned to leave early, he kept me standing in the back all the way to the end with his stories of growing up on a reservation and all the unusual and funny happenings in his life. So congratulations to Sherman.
An enjoyable read that has genuinely funny characters is getting rare these days, but Jeff Kinney pulls it off with Diary of a Wimpy Kid. The thing that makes many books good is that it can really be picked up by anyone no matter how old they are and still be enjoyed. This book doesn’t come across as simple, and the organization of the book is a wonder. The jokes are written in a way so that you usually have to turn the page to see the punch line, which lines it up great.
