In the past few weeks (or has it been a month?) I've read some good books like TO TIMBUKTU a new graphic novel memoir from First Second written by Casey Scieszka with art by boyfriend Steven Weinberg. It's a big book detailing their adventures from teaching in China to visiting in SE Asia to a Fulbright scholarship in Mali. The pencil drawings are great but it's the narrative that really carries it. Great book for teens who dream of seeing the world (or creative types which is why it's going in my July column). Also for July is the YA bio of Leonard Bernstein: MUSIC WAS IT. Part of what I like about reviewing for teens is the zillion things I learn from the NF. I knew beans about Bernstein before reading this book - easy to jump into, quite informative and nice to read. Good stuff (has book report written all over it) and any kid out there who dreams of becoming a musician would go nuts for this against all odds tale.

And let's see - also creative type books for July are OPEN STUDIOS by Lotta Jansdotter which lets you peek into twenty-four artists' spaces (my idea of a good time) and THE BEST ART YOU'VE NEVER SEEN which is sorta like peeking but more highbrow. Plus it's pretty, really really pretty. (This will likely be my "cool read" next month.)

I've been enjoying the heck out of reading for my July column by the way - all sorts of artsy/crafty books.

CORRESPONDENCE by N. John Hall is a bit similar to 84 CHARING CROSS ROAD in that it's an epistolary novel about books but it's much more informative. A retired bank clerk finds a cache of letters from his great great grandfather from Dickens, Eliot, Thackeray, etc and enters into an email correspondence with Christie's about selling them. Over the course of the months that follow he not only learns more about his ancestor but the literary greats themselves. As someone who never spent time with literature before it's all a bit of a brave new world and he enjoys seeing what he missed. I liked all of that - a lot actually - it was only in the end that it sort of dropped off a bit. I thought there was a real friendship between the retiree and Christie's seller he'd been emailing but it's almost like Nash wasn't sure how to end it. (Of course CHARING CROSS ROAD is the model for perfect endings -sad but brilliant.) Still a good read but a bit shy of wonderful.

And there is ZAZEN which I'm not quite sure how to explain but I'll say that I originally was taking notes on what to mention in my review - memorable passages, etc - and then realized I was note taking every bit of it and needed to stop. I'm reserving judgment until I'm done but utterly and completely original (in a good way) thus far.

Oh - and I finally read THIRTEEN REASONS WHY. I know I'm a zillion years behind everyone on this but when everyone starts to review a book I tend to let it slide by and focus on something a wee bit more overooked. Anyway, yes it's as well written as everyone says and I did enjoy reading it. My only thought was that it was bit too much - getting drunk, a rape, then another rape, and culpability in vehicular homicide and just, well, throw in a weapon and you have cliches a plenty. Does that diminish it? Maybe only for an adult reader. I'm sure teens love all the added drama so yes, I get why it is so popular (and very easy to recommend) but by that last scene in the hot tub I knew what was coming a mile away. Would have been nice to be a tiny bit surprised.

My favorite current read is CROSSING TO SAFETY by Wallace Stegner. It is sort of keeping me sane at the moment. My great uncle Ben recommended Stegner to me years ago (and sent me at least one of his books) but I wasn't ready for him yet. (I was in my 20s at the time.) Now though - now he is perfect and I adore this novel, completely and totally.

Just passed on a Booklist book - very disappointing - and realize that I need to grab something else to read. August is the SF column so it shall likely be very outer spacey or futuristic. We shall see....