BEDA fail? I DON'T THINK SO!

Yes, so this whole "Blog Every Day April" thing hasn't worked so well for me so far, but it has gotten me to be very conscientious about the fact that I don't blog as often as I should. That's something, right? PLUS the whole "I could be having a baby at any moment here" drama just keeps distracting me. BUT my favorite librarian blogger ever just posted her picks for SLJ's battle of the books and I am totally going to copy her.

(BTW - this just goes to show how completely and utterly dense I am sometimes. When SLJ posted the Battle of the Books Brackets I immediately put them up in my small corner of the Children's Services workroom and looked over them and thought "that is awesomely awesome" and made predictions in my head. But share those predictions? That completely didn't occur to me!)

(And also BTW - Abby predicted who she thinks is going to win, sometimes even pointing out that she is predicting the one she likes less. That's a good strategy on her part but I am a SELFISH and SELF CENTERED BLOGGER today, so I am going to write these predictions as if EVERYONE IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD AGREES WITH ME ABOUT EVERYTHING! So therefore the books I like the most will win, right? Lets assume so!)

1) The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation: Volume II vs. Ways to Live Forever judged by Roger Sutton.
I just started the first volume of Octavian Nothing yesterday. It is beyond amazing! I have no idea why I waited this long to start these. And from what I've been told it just gets better. Ways to Live Forever was good. I read it back when it was on the new books shelf. I remember what it was about, but I don't remember any of the specific plot points. Octavian Nothing on the other hand has already given me ample bits that I know will stick in my head for years to come. So while I technically haven't read it, I am still going to declare:

Winner: Octavian Nothing

2) The Graveyard Book vs. The Trouble Begins at 8, judged by Jon Scieszka. (Full Disclosure? I thought I had Scieszka spelt properly, but Google fixed it for me.)
This is another easy one. While The Trouble Begins at 8 is brilliant and funny and well written, very little can beat The Graveyard Book in my head. And if you have a chance to listen to the audio version - DO IT! Some authors should not read their own works aloud. Neil Gaiman should. He's a born storyteller.

Winner: The Graveyard Book

3) Chains vs. Washington at Valley Forge, judged by Elizabeth Partridge.
Wow - three easy ones in a row. I loved loved LOVED Chains. I love pretty much everything Laurie Halse Anderson does. I hadn't even heard of Washington at Valley Forge before the brackets were announced and I haven't gotten around to this title yet. If it somehow beats out Chains I'll read it before making next week's predictions, but I don't see how anything could beat Chains.

Winner: Chains

4) Here Lies Arthur vs. Tender Morsels, judged by Meg Rosoff.
I knew a hard one would come eventually! Two I haven't read yet going up against each other! And they're both fantasy-ish (from the mini descriptions at Indiebound ... ), so I can't just plead a fantasy bias and go with that. BUT I can mention that I got very annoyed with Arthurian rewrites a few years ago and that bias is still in place, PLUS I've always had a thing for books about liminal spaces. I blame one specific college professor for that, but it has stuck! So ... I am going to have a very full week on the reading front, but assuming bambino #2 doesn't show up during it, I am required to spend a lot of time with my feet up, so it shouldn't be a problem for me to promise to read the winner of this bracket as well! Actually - knowing me I'll read them both, but I'm only giving myself a deadline for the one.

Winner: Tender Morsels

5)The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks vs. We Are the Ship, judged by Rachel Cohn.
We Are the Ship is beautiful, well written, and important. It has won tons and tons of awards, and rightfully so! However ... my thesis in college was on Foucault's Theories of the Panopticon and How that Relates to the Female Bildungsroman. (Yes, I pull that out at cocktail parties just to sound pretentious. It is beyond fun.) The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks is a Female Bildung (those of us "in the know" about bildungsromans call them "Bildungs" as a nickname. Because we're just that cool), and the main character becomes increasingly obsessed with Foucault's theories of the Panopticon. E LOCKHART, YOU HAVE SOME 'SPLAININ' TO DO! Were you reading my senior thesis? So ... I have to vote for Frankie, because ... well ... I have to.

Winner: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

6) The Hunger Games vs. The Porcupine Year, judged by Ellen Wittlinger.
This one is very similar to Bracket #2 for me. I haven't read The Porcupine Year and while I'm sure it's lovely I can't imagine it beating out The Hunger Games. I'm not sure I can tell you how much I loved THG. And anyone who gets an ARC of Catching Fire will be FOREVER in my debt if they share it with me! /love

Winner: The Hunger Games

7) Graceling vs. The Underneath, judged by Tamora Pierce.
Y'all already know how I feel about The Underneath. BLECH! And I adored Graceling ... so this one is a no brainer.

Winner: Graceling

8) The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary vs. Nation, judged by Ann Brashares.
AUGH! I love The Lincolns. Bit of trivia for you? Candace Flemming kinda wanted to name it Abe and His Babe. Well, she might have been joking when she said that, but it's still pretty awesome. I haven't read Nation yet which is a TRAGEDY because I love Terry Pratchett. I love him with a passion! And knowing him ... knowing how much I love him ... if anything could beat The Lincolns, it'd be Mr. Pratchett. Please don't make me pick?

Winner: a TIE! (:

And with that, I go to curl up with the cutest toddler the world has EVER seen.

<3