We have a (Round 2 Match 4) Winner!

We have a (Round 2 Match 4) winner in the Battle of the (Kids') Books! Nancy has declared a victor in the battle of Graceling v. The Lincolns. Take a look and celebrate, or mourn, or pay up, or collect.

N.b. In case it's not clear as you're navigating the site, you can find the judge's verdict under each match up by clicking the "...Read more" link just below it.

On your mark, get set...oh, you're reading already.

Impossible is one of 25 nominees for YALSA's Teen's Top Ten list for 2009. If you're of a certain age, you get to vote. You've got 25 weeks to chow down all 25 books -- which, let's face it, is way more time than you need -- or to savor just a few. Regardless of how many you read, you get to have your say on your favorite books from this year.

For want of an adverb...

...yadda yadda...the book was lost. Round One of the Battle of the (Kids') Books is, er, in the books, and inevitably some have lost that others might win. Congrats to the winners, which you can discover by clicking on the link for each matchup.

Next week it'll be Nancy's turn. Will it be The Lincolns or will it be Graceling? With my inside position alongside Nancy on the couch, I believe that I know, but I further believe that I ain't tellin'...

Getting the girl

Garrison Keillor weighs in on Poetry Month. Tell me something I didn't know, Garrison.

But I have to take issue with this part: "Don't send it by e-mail ... ... so that you're right there when she turns to embrace you." As though the two are mutually exclusive. Amateur.

No coincidence

Nancy's hometown, Peabody, MA, is once again in the news: Forbes has ranked it 14th among America's Most Liveable Cities. It has an outstanding culture index and relatively low crime and unemployment rates, which characteristics are perpetuated in its favorite daughter.

They read it!

I still get a kick out of seeing Nancy's stuff in bookstores and libraries, but I've grown to expect that. It's more fun when her books turn up in unexpected places. A friend who frequently makes home visits has seen Impossible in not one but two houses in recent weeks, where it was being read by a couple of different teenage girls. Seeing it available for reading is one thing, seeing it actually being read is heartwarming.

Irony alert (the real kind, not the lame hipster version) -- possibly the one word in the English language that creates the most confusion upon being read describes the very act that created the confusion. The past tense of read is no sweat when you're speaking and listening, but it's tricky when you're reading and writing, especially if the sentence doesn't give you any clue what is meant: e.g. "I read. I read today." What did I just say, exactly? Even I don't know. We oughtta use a different spelling for the past tense, such as red (which as a verb wouldn't clash with the adjective) or redd. Of course that can't/won't happen; I'm just sayin'...

Battle of the (Kids') Books commences

OK, it seems I misspoke last time when I wrote that the School Library Journal's Battle of the (Kids') Books had begun. Only in the sense that the books had been written and the judges had begun reading. But the website is up, and it won't be long now before we're underway -- the first round is next week.