It is not so much an apology as it is an explanation

It is not so much an apology as it is an explanation

I was sending an email to my mother about all the books I have to read for the one class I am taking right now (Library Materials for Young Adults), and I figured that you all might be interested in exactly what is keeping me from you.

Keep in mind that all this is going on while work is crazy. One of my fellow managers quit, so I am working 45 hours a week to make up for the lack of another manager. I know – YAY money, but still! Free time? In the immortal words of Mike La Fontaine, “I don’t think so!”

So – for class next Monday (a week from today) I have to read Feed by M.T. Anderson, Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card, and then I get to pick two of the following:

Adams, Douglas. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Harmony, 1979.
Bechard, Margaret. Spacer and Rat. Roaring Brook, 2005.
Dickinson, Peter. Eva. Delacorte, 1988.
Philbrick, Rodman. The Last Book in the Universe. Blue Sky, 2000.

And that's just for the first half of the class - Science Fiction. For the second half (Fantasy) I have to read Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale by Holly Black and Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman (FINALLY! I have been wanting to read that for ages!), and I then get to pick two of the following:

Billingsley, Franny. The Folk Keeper. Atheneum, 1999.
Gruber, Michael. The Witch's Boy. HarperTempest, 2005.
Kibuishi, Kazu. Daisy Kutter: The Last Train. Viper, 2005.
Morris, Gerald. The Squire’s Tale. Houghton, 1998.
Patterson, James. Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment. Little, Brown, 2005
Peet, Mal. Keeper. Candlewick, 2005.
Pratchett, Terry. Wee Free Men. Harper, 2003.
Westall, Robert. Yaxley's Cat. Scholastic, 1992.
Wooding, Chris. Poison. Scholastic/Orchard, 2005.
Westerfeld, Scott. Uglies. Simon & Schuster/Simon Pulse, 2005.

The fun doesn't end there! For Tuesday (Humour) I have to read Christopher Paul Curtis' Bucking the Sarge and Louise Rennison's. Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging.

AND (select three)
Benton, Jim. It’s Happy Bunny: Life. Get One. Scholastic, 2005
Hiaasen, Carl. Hoot. Random House,
Limb, Sue. Girl 15, Charming But Insane. Delacorte, 2004.
Paulsen, Gary. How Angel Peterson Got His Name and Other Outrageous Tales of Extreme Sports. Lamb, 2003.
Pinkwater, Daniel. The Education of Robert Nifkin. FSG, 1998.
Strasser, Todd. How I Spent My Last Night on Earth. S&S, 1998.
Williams,Carol Lynch. My Angelica. Delacorte, 1999.

LETS MOVE ON TO WEDNESDAY, shall we? Wednesday is Biographies, Nonfiction, and Semi-realistic Fiction. We start with Jack Gantos. Hold in my Life and move on to Anita Lobel's No Pretty Pictures: A Child of War

AND (select one):
50 Cent. From Pieces to Weight: Once Upon a Time in Southside, Queens. Pocket Books, 2005.
Freedman, Russell. The Voice that Challenged a Nation. Clarion, 2004.
Greenberg, Jan & Sandra Jordan. Vincent Van Gogh: Portrait of an Artist. Delacorte, 2001.
Myers, Walter Dean. Bad Boy: a Memoir. HarperCollins, 2001.
Partridge, Elizabeth. John Lennon: All I Want Is the Truth. Viking, 2005.

Then I also have to read
Winick, Judd. Pedro and Me: Friendship, Loss, and What I Learned. Holt, 2000.
AND (select one):
Armstrong, Jennifer. Photo By Brady: A Picture of the Civil War. Atheneum, 2005.
Bartoletti, Susan. Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow. Scholastic, 2005.
Farrell, Jeanette. Invisible Allies: Microbes that Shape Our Lives. Farrar, 2005.
Frank, Mitch. Understanding the Holy Land: Answering Questions about the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Viking, 2005
Hamanaka, Sheila. In Search of the Spirit. Morrow, 1999.
Nelson, Marilyn. A Wreath for Emmett Till. Houghton, 2005.
Perel, David. Bat Boy Lives! Sterling, 2005.
Philbrick, Nathaniel. Revenge of the Whale: The True Story of the Whaleship Essex. Putnam, 2002.

By then I will be flat out dead. Completely and utterly. This class is over at the end of June, so in July I might be back. We'll see. At the very least, I get to read some fantastic Young Adult books, which nobody should ever complain about!