| YA request |
[May. 13th, 2008|07:30 pm] |
I just heard about this community in [Unknown LJ tag] which was serendipitous, because I had just given up on finding this book.
I probably read it in the mid-late 80s - I can't really remember and that's no guarantee it was published in the mid-late 80s. I'm quite sure it was set in the U.S. It was a book for pre-teens or so about a girl who is a Quaker, although her religion isn't really the main topic of the book. Two incidents I remember from the book: the main character makes a new friend, who takes her to a store to try on sexy underwear - the main character tried on a merrywidow. I specifically remember it was a merrywidow because I had no idea what that was and had to look it up. Also, the main character enters a best pet contest or something of that sort. Someone wins a prize for "most original pet" after entering an empty jar labeled "germs." Some boys contest the award claiming that if you can't see it or touch it, there's no proof it's there. The school minister (or whatever they're called in Quaker schools) gets very upset as that's an argument against the existence of God.
Oh, one more thing I just remembered - when the main character tells someone she's a Quaker, she's asked if those are the people who roll around in church. She replied that she had never seen anyone rolling around in meeting.
Thanks in advance if anybody has any idea what book this is. I'm mainly trying to locate it because of the main character's religion, as I don't recall every reading any other modern fiction with a Quaker in it. And I think it was my first exposure to that faith. |
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[May. 13th, 2008|01:27 pm] |
I was wondering if you would be able to help me find a book. I read it while I was living in London in 2006, and I don't think it would have been published earlier than the mid to late 90's.
The story is set in England during WW2. A young woman from the country joins the WAAF, and works with Barrage Balloons. A young American man is in the Air force (I think he joins the RAF as the US hasn't joined the war yet, a-la Ben Affleck in 'Pearl Harbour').
She gets injured in a Balloon accident, becomes crippled, and returns to her parents home. I think she has a brother who is in the RAF, and he becomes friends with the American. They get some time off, and go to the country, where the American meets the girl. She has been very depressed (as she is stuck upstairs, bed-bound, the physiotherapist is a bitch). At first he thinks she is much younger, and just feels sorry for her, and she doesn't like him much.
He visits again a few times whenever he has time off, and becomes friends with the girl. He organises for her bed to be moved downstairs so she is not so isolated, and gets a wheelchair for her as well. She starts having feelings for him, but he sees her more as a friend (and I have a feeling that he wants a 'rich' girlfriend). She is slowly learning to walk again. They share a kiss at some point, but there is some misunderstanding - they are still friendly, but now he is unsure of what he wants. He returns to the war. She ends up becoming a teacher at the local school. He returns after the war finishes, they resolve differences, and end up together.
I read a lot of books set in Liverpool/England during WW2 while I was over in London, mainly by Katie Flynn (http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/f/katie-flynn/). I thought this was one of them, but having read the blurbs of her books, none of them fit this description. I can remember some other bits, but I can't say for sure that they are from this book or the others I read(like brother getting killed on a mission, American nearly getting killed in a mission).
Thanks in advance! |
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[May. 11th, 2008|07:43 pm] |
I'm looking for a series of books published by an Australian author. The books consist of short stories that are kind of... odd. One particular story that I can recall involves a child who works hard to make a beautiful Easter egg for a girl he has a crush on. When he brings it to school, a bully crushes it. The kid runs home to quickly decorate another Easter egg. In his hurry, the kid pulls the pan of boiling water over on his face. He has to wear bandages on his face for a long time and there's a twist ending that I can't quite remember.
Anyone have any idea what I'm talking about? |
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[May. 11th, 2008|07:18 pm] |
(To the mods: Sorry for two posts in a row. I meant to ask about three books but completely forgot this one!)
This book was part of a series for kids. It was a mystery series where the girl had a photographic memory and would solve all kinds of mysteries with it. I know this is INSANELY vague.
It's sad. I could tell you the exact location of this series in my library growing up, but I can't remember anything else. I'm holding my breath simply because I assume there were very few books written about little girls who had photographic memories.
Oh, and sorry for the god awful sentence constructions. Writing a thesis and 2 other papers for 2 days straight will fry your mind.
Found! The Cam Jansen series
Although that doesn't ring any bells, whoever mentioned her saying "click" definitely helped. Thanks! |
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[May. 11th, 2008|07:11 pm] |
Hi folks!
I have two for you. These should be pretty easy as I remember a bit and as I recall, they were pretty popular. Or so I'm hoping...
Okay. First off we have a book series. I want to say the author had a name like Jennings or Jenkins or something. The books had two word titles with pictures that tried to gross out readers. There was a short story about Santa Claws, one where a kid ended up with a mouth the size of a pea and another (which has stood out in my head for YEARS now) where a girl was raised to think everything was the opposite. That story ends with her father in a fire. Someone asks her if her father is in there and a look of recognition (possibly) dawned on her face as she said "no."
I've asked in book stores and no one seems to know. I know all the story details, just not the important things that could actually track them down...
Found! The author is Paul Jennings and is Un(canny, believable, etc) tales.
Secondly is one I read decades ago. It was a mystery novel, possibly a murder mystery. I remember that the guy the story revolved upon was four people with the last names of the directions (North, South, East, West). Er...I'm really hoping that the popularity of this story back in the day helps, 'cause I don't remember much else.
Found! The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Thanks for any help you can provide! You guys are awesome! Thank you! |
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| Pride & Prejudice |
[May. 11th, 2008|07:00 am] |
I was listening to public radio this morning (Sunday) and caught the tail-end of a discussion about a book that sounded odd and intriguing. But they didn't give the name of the book or the author at the end of the interview, and I couldn't find anything online.
It basically sounded like a choose-your-own-adventure version of Pride & Prejudice. Which is ridiculous, of course, but I'm curious.
Edit: Found! Lost in Austen |
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| India |
[May. 10th, 2008|11:25 pm] |
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I remember reading this book about 1992-1993. I read it in my 5th or 6th grade English class so it had to be written for the 9+ age group. It was set in India. It was about a boy. It also mentioned a two-step snake and water oxen. I remember the snake mentioned frequently. Once with a newlywed couple. The husband died and the wife was accused of killing him, but they found out that it was a two-step snake in the bamboo mat that they slept on that killed him. Another time was when a robber(?) was killed by one that lived in a cluster of bamboo in the boy's yard. If anyone has any recollection of the title and/or author please let me know! |
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| Juvenile SF |
[May. 9th, 2008|02:09 pm] |
Back in the mid- to late-'70s, when I was in elementary school, I read a juvenile science-fiction book that I have been trying to find ever since. All I remember was that one of the characters was a spider-like alien who laid an egg during the story, and was connected to the rest of its race in a constant hive-mind, but was painfully disconnected from that while in "hyperspace" (or whatever term the book used for its faster-than-light travel system). It may have been a Scholastic book, as the size and page quality in my memory are consistent with that publisher.
edit to add: the alien is one of the protagonists. normally, its species survives "hyperspace" or whatever by wrapping up in a cocoon and hibernating, but can't do this while caring for an egg (which causes the distress of the protagonist-alien in the story, as they need to make an emergency faster-than-light journey for some reason). |
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| driving me crazy! |
[May. 9th, 2008|12:51 am] |
This is what I remember about this book:
1. It's from the Young Adults Section
2. The cover was a water color drawing of a girl who looked sad.
3. She was a young girl telling a story about her mom's marriages and relationships and how eventually someone ended up getting shot? Her mom was a loser but her mothers parents were wealthy and they had to live with them for sometime, her mom married a guy who made wooden farm animals that went in peoples front yards, she then dated an older man and left her with him while she ran away. The daughter had to take care of the old guy because he was really sick and she was responsible for paying the bills and such. In the end someone gets shot, and she's telling this story to a counselor and she lives in an all girl home.
Found it!! The Facts Speak for Themselves by Brock Cole. |
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| Kid with Lou Gehrig's |
[May. 8th, 2008|04:56 pm] |
I read this book in Jr. High circa 1977-78 as required reading in English class - so of course I don't remember it well.
It's a fictional story about a boy diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's, and I think (but I'm not sure) Lou G. is his hero, or he befriends him, or... something.
Very vague, I know, but thank you in advance! I'll know the title when I hear it. |
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| Two books that I loved ... around ten years ago. |
[May. 8th, 2008|09:58 am] |
Hey all, I'm looking for two books that I remember reading around ten years ago, but I think they were earlier -- from the early '90s, maybe late '80s. They both centered around sixth to eighth grade girls, and here's what I remember of the plots:
1. This book was about a girl band who found they weren't getting gigs because they were girls -- so they got the genius idea of dressing up like boys, instead! I think their new band name was Tommy and the Tigers, and each of them came up with boy names, some got their hair cut short, and there was one girl who had to -- gasp! -- bind her breasts, because she was the first to develop in that way. One of the characters was named Rene, and she was the ironic, sharp-talking one. <lj-cut text="One of the big plot points was..</lj-cut> They had one fan who was -really- into them -- a girl a few years younger than them -- and the band gets a little worried about this. I think the girl had a big crush on boy-Rene. She ended up sneaking into their hotel room and finds out that they're girls. Instead of blowing their cover, she admits to just pretending to having crushes on them, so her mother wasn't worried about her not liking boys.</lj-cut>
Found! It's <u>Sixth Grade Secrets</u> by Louis Sachar.
2. I -thought- this book was called "Sixth Graders Don't Lie", but I can't find that anywhere, so I might be mistaken. This focused on a young girl with really long hair that had never been cut. It starts out, I believe, with her lying a lot, and her parents giving her an ultimatum that if she lies once more, they'll cut off her hair. So she makes an effort to stop lying, but problems with boys and .. dog houses? cause her to accidentally lie again. I believe there was something about becoming class president, and the popular, catty girl in the class screwing her over by asking for her autograph? It's all very dramatic, and <lj-cut text="I think the end ..</lj-cut> I believe in the end she ended up dating the boy who got her hair cut off, despite all the drama.</lj-cut>
Also found! This is <u>Hey, Didi Darling</u> by Stephanie A. Kennedy.
Thanks sooo much, everyone who helped me out. I'm really excited to read these again. |
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| Missing nonfiction? |
[May. 7th, 2008|09:44 pm] |
Okay. So, about two? years ago, I read this really good book about marriage. It was a history of marriage and divorce laws, as well as social attitudes toward them, from the Middle Ages up to modern day. There was a particular focus on the idea of love based marriage and its relatively recent development. The book was roughly chronological in presentation.
The author was a woman- Allison someone, perhaps? I think it was some kind of A name. It was geared towards the lay audience- I think I may have seen the author on the Today Show- but it was a pretty well researched, entertainingly written book.
And, uh, the cover was reddish. I think.
Any clues?
Found! Marriage, a History by Stephanie Coontz |
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[May. 7th, 2008|04:21 pm] |
Does anyone know of a book in which the main characters make banana pancakes and banana milk and fried bananas? All I can remember is that they make all these banana dishes...it's a children's book (probably aimed at about age 10, I think) and I'm pretty sure there aren't illustrations. If anyone can tell me, I will be greatly indebted :)
EDIT: I am so sorry, I was waaay off! This wasn't actually a book at all! Thanks for your help, though! |
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| Yet another YA book search |
[May. 7th, 2008|02:47 pm] |
Read this back when I was around 11 or 12, and the book was definitely in the Young Adult section of the library.
Story: Young heroine has?/develops? strange powers. She gets to know a family of female witches...and the sole male of the family. I remember that this was a huge problem in that family as there needed to be three women to fulfill the role of crone/mother/daughter, but since the daughter is a son, things are out of whack. I think there was a also some other problem which caused the heroine to seek out the help of the family of witches/sole warlock in the first place. I also remember "warlock" as the term the book used, not wizard.
Heroine falls in love with the son - whose name was interesting, Soren or something - and son falls in love with girl. But I remember having such a crush on the Soren boy as he was not your typical hero. He was kind of mean, kind of cruel, ALL HOT.
Please help!
FOUND! The Changeover by Margaret Mahy. Thank you secretrebel for finally putting my mind at rest. |
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| 2008 Fiction |
[May. 7th, 2008|12:01 pm] |
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I saw this particular book on display at the bookstore a couple of months back, some time between January 2008 and March 2008. I can only remember vaguely what I read on the back cover. As best as I could remember, there were 3-4 main characters, and it was something like three central characters seeing the same psychiatrist and at the end of the week, this psychiatrist has sessions with another shrink to deal with his/her personal problems. Unfortunately, this is all I remember, but it's been bugging me so much! I didn't have enough money to buy the book when I saw it :( |
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[May. 6th, 2008|11:55 pm] |
okay, I have no idea how coherent I can be, I skimmed this book years and years ago.
The book: Young Adult fiction. The main (romantic plot) was that there is some kind of boarding house in the 1900s? maybe later than that. There is a girl (name starts with a C? Clare or Clarissa?) who lives with her female relatives (I'm pretty sure her aunts). They have a boarder there who is a blind man and I want to say is name is Mr. Knightley or Mr. Kingsley or something close. The blind man is sort of harsh and also kind of sexy at the same time, and they eventually fall in love.
The book is part of a series, or at least is a sequel to a book I never read (from what I gathered, the first book was about another (orphan?) girl in the same boarding house but who had left by the time of this novel. The blind guy had liked her alot apparently and the current girl was sort of jealous.)
Side details: In the yard or garden is a tree where the characters tie wishes or something to the branches. The aunts are spinster feminists of some kind and hand out pamphlets on the streets about women's rights and birth control and everyone is scandalized.
Please help! |
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| faulkner's translation of the odyssey? |
[May. 6th, 2008|08:15 pm] |
I'm looking for the particular translation of the Odyssey that Faulkner was quoting from when he said that the inspiration for the title of As I Lay Dying was a line from Agamemnon's speech to Odysseus in Book XI: "As I lay dying the woman with the dog's eyes would not close my eyelids for me as I descended into Hades."
I've done some googling and checked out a few of the older online translations that are available, to no avail. Any help would be much appreciated - I'd really like to read this translation!
EDIT: It definitely would have to be a version that was in circulation before As I Lay Dying was written. There's a partial list of translations here. |
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| A Girl from the Sea and Selfish Villagers |
[May. 6th, 2008|12:08 am] |
Hello loves!
I've never posted here before but I visit fairly often. I've never actually known what any of the books in question are, alas, but I have found many books to add to my own reading list.
So here's my own current book in question...
It's an illustrated children's book that I probably read sometime in the early 90's. It was a book about this village...think South Pacific Island style, if I remember correctly. A girl comes out from the sea to visit them, maybe sent by her father or something, I don't recall. For whatever reason the villagers instantly fall in love with her. Maybe she gives them gifts or her presence makes them very prosperous, I don't remember. But they decided they want her to stay there. She starts to greatly miss the sea and then her father or some sea spirit gets very angry that she hasn't returned. The sea then strikes great torment or something on the village and then the girl finally returns to the sea.
I remember that the illustrations were elaborate, kind of twisting and swirling, very expressive. I think they took up the full page and were full of oranges and blues and greens maybe. I believe the girl had long black hair.
Anybody recall this children's book? For some reason it's always stuck with me. I think I was somewhat overwhelmed by the images at the time.
Thanks in advance! |
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| ??? |
[May. 4th, 2008|11:06 pm] |
This screams of something that has been asked about before, so if posting this is redundant, forgive me:
Children's books (well I would say geared toward ages 9-12).
It came out in the 90's.
There were a couple of them, I do believe. The books were made to look like the girl's journal/scrapbook. I think the books might have sometimes had little envelopes with papers in them that you could actually take out and read. There were also lots of drawings in them.
Thanks in advance!
Found: Amelia's Notebook by Marissa Moss |
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| Request from a friend of mine. |
[May. 4th, 2008|08:33 pm] |
Some years ago - and I am talking in the 15 - 20 years ago mark, I found a series of truly awful Dracula books; books so awful that they, like any movie by Ed Wood, transcended the genre. I can only recall that they were set in an approximately modern time (mid to late 20th century) and that someone, maybe Van Helsing or a descendant had captured Dracula and was using him to help detect and foil crimes. This seemingly impossible feat being accomplished by the insertion into Dracula's chest during daylight hours of a small radio-controlled electric motor and magnet affair with a small stake made of a broken match. When the motor was switched on, the stake would me removed from Dracula's heart. When it was off, or the battery failed, the stake plunged back into his heart thus providing an on-off switch.
Found!
Robert Lory.
They include: Dracula Returns, Dracula's Brother, Dracula's Gold, The Hand of Dracula, The Drums of Dracula, and The Witching of Dracula. |
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cold
hopeful