Cybils Synchronicities

January 4, 2011 @ 11:47 pm | Filed under: Books, Cybils

Synchronicity: 1. the quality or fact of being synchronous; 2. the coincidental occurrence of events and especially psychic events (as similar thoughts in widely separated persons or a mental image of an unexpected event before it happens) that seem related but are not explained by conventional mechanisms of causality

—Merriam-Webster Online

This list of similarities and coincidences among the 2010 Cybils YA Fiction nominees is humbly submitted to you by the seven members of the 2010 Cybils YA Fiction first-round panel. It is no way to be considered completely exhaustive, as we are certain some nominated books and coincidences will have been missed. This list developed as the seven of us read our way through the 182 titles. If you know of a nominated title that should be included in one of the synchronicities below, please feel free to submit it in the comments! To get the entire list, you’ll have to visit all seven blogs:

• Amanda Snow, A Patchwork of Books [TW] 1-10
• Ami Jones, Three Turtles and Their Pet Librarian [TW] 11-21
• Cherylynne W. Bago, View from Above and Beyond [TW] 22-32
• Jackie Parker, Interactive Reader [TW] 33-42
• Justina Ireland, The YA 5 [TW] 43-52
• Kelly Jensen, Stacked [TW] 53-63

…and I’m bringing up the rear with SYNCHRONICITIES #64-72.

64. Swim Lessons: The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin; When I Was Joe

65. Swingsets: Hold Still; Love Drugged; Will Grayson, Will Grayson

66. Taylor Swift: Friend is Not a Verb; Perfect Shot

67. Texting/IM Conversations: The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin; The Secret to Lying; Will Grayson, Will Grayson

68. Thieving Fathers: Compromised; The Daughters; Heist Society

69. Titles with a Little “Little” in Them: A Little Wanting Song; Dirty Little Secrets; Every Little Thing in the World; Little Blog on the Prairie

70. Verse Novels: After the Kiss; The Firefly Letters; Glimpse; Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs; Three Rivers Rising; Wicked Girls

71. War: Abe in Arms; Bamboo People; Revolution; Sweet, Hereafter; The Things a Brother Knows; Thunder Over Kandahar; Woods Runner

72. Non-book-Related: Kelly and Jackie came to the realization they are naming their first born daughters the same thing… And no, they aren’t telling you what that is. (Wilma Grayson?) (Kelly says it’s Xander!)

Comments are off

Music to My Ears

January 4, 2011 @ 7:07 am | Filed under: Betsy-Tacy, Music

Announcing the Betsy-Tacy Songbook

I can finally learn the Cat Duet!

And “Dreaming,”
“Because You’re You,”
“Morning Cy,”
“Same Old Story,”

and all those other good old tunes.

From the Betsy-Tacy Convention site:

Hot off the presses! The Betsy-Tacy Songbook is now available at Willard’s Emporium!

Join Betsy Ray and her Crowd as they gather around the piano and sing the popular hits of their day.

The Maud Hart Lovelace Society has lovingly and painstakingly researched the songs mentioned (and sung, and danced to) in the Betsy-Tacy books and assembled a “greatest hits” list of songs for your musical enjoyment.

The book is 212 pages long, spiral bound in green, and contains 40 songs mentioned in the Betsy-Tacy books, with scanned original vintage copies of the sheet music covers and the sheet music itself. There is information about each song and where it appears in the Betsy-Tacy books, as well as biographical information about two of the musical stars of Betsy’s day, Chauncey Olcott and Joe E. Howard.

More information at the site.