Bookslingers Media Page

The Bookslingers Bookslinging Podcast #24: Murder, murder, murder

2013-05-04T15:07:00.001-06:00

Congratulations CLA Book Award winners! (Dear CLA, your website needs some work.)

It's TD Book Week, so check out bookweek.ca for events in your community.

If you don't know about WikiWars and the way female American Authors is being divided into "American Authors" and "American Women Authors," and you really enjoy being infuriated, you might want to check that out.

Puffin is releasing new editions of four beloved Canadian children's classics! Included are Awake and Dreaming by Kit Pearson, Mama's Going To Buy You A Mockingbird by Jean Little, Run by Eric Walters (which oops, neither of us has ever read) and Underground to Canada by Barbara Smucker. And none of them has an inexplicable buxom blonde on the front, so they're already a vast improvement on the last time somebody tried to revive a Canadian children's classic *coughAnneofGreenGablescough*.

This week's book is the latest and greatest (maybe? my feelings are confused) in the Flavia De Luce series by Alan Bradley: Speaking from among the Bones. If that title gives you the shivers, you're already in just the right mood for this book.

Books from this week's podcast:

Speaking from among the Bones by Alan Bradley
The Fire Chronicle by John Stephens
Grave Mercy by Robin Lefevre
Scarlet by Marisa Meyer
The Madness Underneath - Shades of London #2 by Maureen Johnson
Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan
The Phryne Fisher series by Kerry Greenwood
The Pigeon Pie Mystery by Julia Stuart

The Bookslingers Bookslinging Podcast #23: Dragony intrigue and another in the long list of authors that make us feel inadequate

2013-02-21T11:06:00.001-07:00

Aaaaaaaaaand we're back! Our first podcast of 2013! Wooooo!

Yes, our iTunes feed still appears to be broken. No, we don't know why. Yes, we are working on it. Sorry!

While we were away, the 2012 Cybils were awarded. The Early Chapter Book winner, Sadie and Ratz by Sonya Hartnett (illustrated by Ann James), includes the scariest shadow puppets in living memory.

Are you reading Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong? Because you should be. Written by Prudence Shen and drawn by Faith Erin Hicks! Politics! Chainsaws! Killer robots! Nothing can possibly go wrong!

The first Bookslingers contest is on now: enter to win a copy of A Plain Scandal by Amanda Flower! Find out more in the blog post.

Neil Gaiman's Chu's Day, the thoroughly adorable picture-book story of Chu, a little panda with a big sneeze, came out in January (illustrated by Adam Rex). His new novel, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, comes out in June.

Like totally excellent radio plays filled with equally fabulous British actors like James McAvoy, Natalie Dormer, David Harewood, Sophie Okonedo, Benedict Cumberbatch and Anthony Head (and that's just the top of the list!)? The new BBC radio play adaptation of Neverwhere debuts on March 16th. It will be available on iPlayer, which means that we non-Brits will even be able to listen to it!

Our book of the week is Seraphina by Rachel Hartman. Dragons! A totally new take on dragons! No really! Also beautiful, beautiful worldbuilding and tension and politics and did I mention the dragons? And did I mention this is her debut novel? Welcome to the list of authors who make us feel inadequate, Rachel Hartman! I'm sure you, Kristin Cashore and Megan Whalen Turner will get along famously.

Books from this week's podcast:

The Fire Chronicles by John Stephens
The Gates by John Connoly
Here, There Be Dragons by James A. Owen
The Seeker by Isobelle Carmody
Ordinary Magic by Caitlen Rubino-Bradway
Swim the Fly by Don Calame
Beat the Band by Don Calame
The Appleseed Creek Mysteries by Amanda Flower
Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore
Crown Jewel by Sherwood Smith
Grave Mercy by Robin Lefevre
A Tale of Two Castles by Gail Carson LeVine

Download the Bookslingers Podcast #23! (Right-click and Save As...)

The Bookslingers Bookslinging Podcast #22: Special Hobbit Edition!

2012-12-11T11:51:00.000-07:00

Well, it's... been a while. We actually did record an episode near the beginning of November, but it seems that between my visit to the Albertan wastes (newsflash: Ari is still allergic to Alberta) and my return to Vancouver, the files were lost, or eaten, or otherwise rendered unfindable. So you'll just have to imagine what it was like. It was about the Hope Larson graphic novel adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time! Our feelings were generally positive (apart from some disagreement on the appropriate size and gravitas of evil disembodied brains)!

It was, in fact, the best podcast that ever was. And there is no evidence to the contrary, so you'll just have to take our word for it, won't you? :)

This week in books: it's an All Hobbit podcast! Okay, it's a 78% Hobbit podcast. The first of a trilogy based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit is out this Friday, December 14th (or Thursday, if like me you are going to an early showing). Do you have your tickets yet?

The Goodreads Choice Awards are out! Did you vote? 1,156,852 people did.

J.K. Rowling's The Casual Vacancy is going to be adapted into a BBC miniseries.

As is Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell!

Did you know that The Hobbit was originally published in 1937? And has been adapted nearly thirty times to various formats, including stage, screen, musical, video game, audiobook, radio play, board game, and graphic media? And that there's a version only licensed for performance in Canada? This episode includes a brief (abridged) history of Hobbit dramatizations, good, bad, and baffling.

Books from this week's podcast:

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
The Tough Guide to Fantasy Land by Diana Wynne Jones
The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements by Sam Kean

Download the Bookslingers Podcast #22! (Right-click and Save As...)

The Bookslingers Bookslinging Podcast #21: Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey, or: Eldest Child's Burden

2012-10-10T22:27:00.000-06:00

If you're a grown-up (which I mention because a couple of the selections are definitely not kid/YA-rated), you might want to check out the Humble eBook Bundle, brought to you by the same folks who brought you the Humble Indie Bundle, which is a bundle of indie games offered for Your Price Here. A portion of the proceeds goes to charities like Child's Play and the bundle includes works from authors like Kelly Link, Neil Gaiman, Mercedes Lackey and Cory Doctorow. It's also DRM-free! So you should check it out (even if, like Corene, you harbour anti-eBook sentiments).

Apparently J.K. Rowling isn't the only kids' author striking out into adult lit: R.L. Stine, author of many of our pre-teen nightmares, has released a book for adults: Red Rain involves a hurricane and a set of evil twins... like you do, I suppose, if you're R.L. Stine.

It's book awards season! The National Book Awards finalists have been announced! As have the finalists for the Governor General's Literary Awards, including the Children's Illustration category, to Corene's particular delight.

This week's book is The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens.

Incidentally, since The Hobbit is one of our If You Liked This Then books for this week, a friendly reminder: The Hobbit: THE MOVIE - or at least, the first part of three - comes out in December. That means right now would be a good time to start re-reading the book! Like I'll be doing. :)

Books from this week's podcast:

The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens
Son by Lois Lowry
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
The Spy Princess by Sherwood Smith
Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
Chronicles of Prydain series by Lloyd Alexander
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Download the Bookslingers Podcast #21! (Right-click and Save As...)

The Bookslingers Bookslinging Podcast #20: Like Game of Thrones for Kids

2012-09-20T21:43:00.000-06:00

Banned Books Week is from September 30 to October 6th, celebrating the freedom to read vs. increasing numbers of challenges and bans. I think we went over the 2011 list of most challenged titles a little while ago, but in all there were 326 challenges reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom in 2011, according to the American Library Association. This is technically an American event - in Canada we have Freedom to Read Week in February - but why limit ourselves, right?

The lists for the 2012 Cybils - the Children's and Young Adult Bloggers Literary Awards - are out, and you can see them on the Cybils website.

In other news, Ben Hatke's second Zita the Spacegirl - Legends of Zita the Spacegirl - is out, and I will give one hundred dollars to anyone who can put it in my hands by the end of the week (kidding; no actual hundred dollars will be forthcoming, though I could probably muster up a cup of tea).

Our Book of the Week is actually a series of graphic novels - the gorgeous, magnificent, exciting, dark and breathtaking Amulet books by Kazu Kibuishi. The fifth book, Prince of the Elves, has just come out, and is as shivery and wonderful as its predecessors. This is a series-in-progress, but we promise, it is so, so worth it. Also, the Scholastic site has a pretty cool walk-through/question-asking game for the titles and characters.

Books from this week's podcast:

The Amulet Series by Kazu Kibuishi
Flight Anthology by Kazu Kibuishi (and others)
Daisy Kutter by Kazu Kibuishi
Copper by Kazu Kibuishi
Legends of Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke
The Year of the Book by Andrea Cheng, illustrated by Abigail Halpin
The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens
Avatar: The Last Airbender, Graphic Novel (3 parts) by Gene Luen Yang
The Three Thieves by Scott Chantler

Download the Bookslingers Podcast #20! (Right-click and Save As...)

The Bookslingers Bookslinging Podcast #19: Twisty and wonderful minds of Oceania

2012-08-30T21:42:00.000-06:00

J.K. Rowling, AKA basically in control of everyone's imaginations for the past, um, how long? Ten years? Fifteen? Million? has a new book coming out, but this one is for adults: The Casual Vacancy comes out September 27th in Canada, the U.S., the U.K., Australia, New Zealand and Germany.

August 28th is Women Read Comics in Public Day! One of these days this sort of thing is going to fall when I can legitimately take the day off work and sit on the steps of the library all day, surrounded by Young Avengers and Captain Marvel.

Raina Telgemeier has a new graphic novel coming out! Drama will be available September 1st, and since we have, so far, loved everything Raina has ever done, we are sure this will be amazing too.

Our Book of the Week is Maddigan's Fantasia by the inestimable Margaret Mahy.

Books from this week's podcast:

Maddigan's Fantasia by Margaret Mahy
The King of Attolia by Megan whalen Turner
Rebel Angels by Libba Bray
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
Ingo by Helen Dunmore
Drama by Raina Telgemeier
Blood Red Road by Moira Young
The Cardcaptor Sakura series by Clamp
Betsy-Tacy by Maud Heart Lovelace
Glamour in Glass by Mary Robinette Kowal
The Dalemark Quartet Diana Wynne Jones
The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis

Download the Bookslingers Podcast #19! (Right-click and Save As...)

The Bookslingers Bookslinging Podcast #18: Which is mostly just about Terry Pratchett and how awesome he is

2012-08-20T20:35:00.000-06:00

This week in books, it looks like Gen Y is finally beating the Baby Boomers at something, namely book-buying. Hah! We'd say it's not a competition, but who are we kidding? It's absolutely a competition.

It seems that always-prolific James Patterson has declared Nevermore to be the final installment in his now-eight-book Maximum Ride Series. We're not sure we believe him, but either way, he's put up the first 16 chapters for free on his website, a practice we heartily endorse.

Our Book of the Week is The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett. It should, naturally, surprise no one that our If You Liked This Then segment is essentially a backlist of most of Pratchett's other wacky, magnificent titles for YA.

Books from this week's podcast:

The Maximum Ride Series by James Patterson
Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore
Insurgent by Veronica Roth
Home for the Holidays, Mother-Daughter Book Club #5 by Heather Vogel Frederick
Wish You were Eyre, Mother-Daughter Book Club #6 by Heather Vogel Frederick
Palace of Stone, Princess Academy #2 by Shannon Hale
Messy (sequel to Spoiled) by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan
The Wee Free Men series by Terry Pratchett
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett
The Boston Jane series by Jennifer L. Holm
Gypsy Rizka by Lloyd Alexander
The Bromeliad by Terry Pratchett
The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett

Download the Bookslingers Podcast #18! (Right-click and Save As...)

The Bookslingers Bookslinging Podcast #17: Cyborgs, Drama, Line Friends, and Other Tales

2012-07-26T20:20:00.001-06:00

Greetings, Bookslingers! It's been a while.

We've both been on a work-related, no-wait-I'll-be-on-vacation-in-Banff, sorry-I'm-going-to-be-in-San-Diego hiatus, but now we're back! Our book this week is Cinder, by Marissa Meyer, which neither of us realized, while reading, is the first in a quartet. So... see you again in 2015! (Kidding.)

I have been to San Diego Comic-Con, which if you are of the geeky persuasion I cannot recommend highly enough, and is extremely exhausting. Back in the real world, according to Corene, The Parasol Protectorate by Gail Carriger has been optioned for TV! This would be excellent news even if Gail Carriger hadn't just endeared herself to me forever by still having a LiveJournal. ^.^

Books from this week's podcast:

Once Upon a Toad by Heather Vogel
The Changeling Phillipa Gregory
Hellboy by Mike Mignola
Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
The Parasol Protectorate by Gail Carriger

Download the Bookslingers Podcast #17! (Right-click and Save As...)

The Bookslingers Bookslinging Podcast #16: Which podcast is this again?

2012-05-28T22:01:00.000-06:00

The 2012 Canadian Booksellers Association Libris Awards Shortlist has been announced! As have the 2012 Joe Shuster Awards.

No Book of the Week this week, but instead, a theme: pirate books! Some good pirates as well as some bad pirates, and some discussion of how if you attack other ships and steal their stuff, you're still a pirate, no matter what you call yourself or how favourably you are looked upon by the Queen of England.

Books from this week's podcast:

The Sleeping Army by Francesca Simon
Once A Witch by Carolyn MacCullough
The Book of Wonders by Jasmine Richards
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (and because this book is now in the public domain, have an e-book link!
Lady Grace Mysteries: Betrayal by Grace Cavendish
Peter And The Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

Download the Bookslingers Podcast #16! (Right-click and Save As...)

The Bookslingers Bookslinging Podcast #15: Twin Spica Special

2012-05-21T19:53:00.001-06:00

This week in books, there has been a predictably pearl-clutching study revealing that - DUN DUN DUUUUUUN - there are swear words in young adult novels. The "study" comes out of Brigham-Young University, so take that with a grain (or a canister) of salt, since this is the same university that requires its student body to sign a pledge enforcable by the morality police. More important info about said "study:" apparently "fart" is an obscenity. Who knew? (Normally this is where we would link to the article, but we don't really want to give this thing more links, so if you really want to read it, you are more than welcome to Google) I don't know about you guys, but as a teenager, I'm pretty sure most of my cussing vocabulary was not coming from such "profane" tomes as Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Maybe I was just reading wrong?

Also, Steve Jobs has been made into a children's book, this time in the form of his very own volume in the "Who Was" series, which is meant to educate children about important historical figures. Please enjoy the highly entertaining cover.

The Nebula Awards have been... awarded! Winners of various Nebula-related prizes include the ever-excellent Neil Gaiman and Her Awesomeness, Connie Willis (this is her new title).

This week is our long-promised (and possibly very disappointing?) Twin Spica Special! It is composed mainly of long, fraught pauses and mournful sighs. Pro Tip: We recommend not reading the last three issues of this manga on public transit (unless you really enjoy crying in public, then go nuts).

Books from this week's podcast:

Twin Spica by Kou Yaginuma
Snow in Summer by Jane Yolen
The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place by E.L. Konigsburg
Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman
Water Wars Cameron Stracher
Blood Secret Kathryn Lasky
Witch & Wizard by James Patterson

Download the Bookslingers Podcast #15! (Right-click and Save As...)

The Bookslingers Bookslinging Podcast #14: In Which Miss Corene Suffers from Political Distraction

2012-04-23T22:11:00.000-06:00

Today is World Book Night! Day! Night!

If you're in the UK, US or Ireland, anyway. If you're not, it's just Monday.

It's the 60th anniversary of Charlotte's web!

Also, Charles Dickens and J.R.R. Tolkien's heirs are writing a children's book! It will probably be very long. (And probably also good! Which I say so that Corene won't hit me! (I kid. I'm sure it will be awesome. But she's a little... intense about Dickens. A little.)

Books from this week's podcast:

Download the Bookslingers Podcast #14! (Right-click and Save As...)

The Bookslingers Bookslinging Podcast #13: It isn't that we hate ALL the books

2012-04-13T23:39:00.000-06:00

The American Library Association has released their list of Most Challenged Books of 2011. On this year's list are Lauren Myracle's TTYL series (for "religious viewpoint," whatever that means, among other reasons), the ever-favoured (see what I did there?) The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, whose most hilarious reason is "occult/satanic" (WE HAVE NO IDEA EITHER) and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie. Check it out! As responsible adults we are honour-bound to recommend you read every single one of these books, in the spirit of things-people-want-to-make-sure-you-can't-read-are-probably-worth-reading-for-one-reason-or-another.

This year's School Library Journal Battle of the Kids' Books has come to an end, and the winner is... *drumroll* Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt!

We... were not overwhelmed with awe and amazement over this week's Book of the Week. We promise, we're going to review a book we actually like for next podcast.

Books from this week's podcast:

Agatha H and the Airship City by Phil and Kaja Foglio
The Apothecary by Maile Meloy
Freshman: Tales of 9th Grade Obsessions, Revelations, and Other Nonsense by Corinne Mucha
Liesl and Po by Lauren Oliver
A Study in Sherlock edited by Laurie R. King
Twin Spica Volume 11 by Kou Yaginuma
The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman
The Countdown by Deborah Wiles
The Inquisitor's Apprentice by Chris Moriarty

Download the Bookslingers Podcast #13! (Right-click and Save As...)

The Bookslingers Bookslinging Podcast, Special Video Edition: Nerds in the Wild; Emerald City Comicon 2012

2012-04-04T23:07:00.004-06:00

Sorry guys, no download link for the video - yet. I'm still fighting with Premiere, which has gotten a good deal more complicated to use since I last used it in 2003. o.O

This week's Special Video Edition is brought to you on-location at Seattle's Emerald City Comicon, with Special Guest Host Pippa of coincidentalreality.com. Learn about cons (if you've never been to one), nerds in the wild, and watch as I conscript those around me into taking part. Good times!

Books from this week's podcast:

Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey
Feed by M.T. Anderson
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
The Adventures of Tintin by Hergé
The Wump World by Bill Peet

The Bookslingers Bookslinging Podcast #12: All the horrible stuff is already in your head

2012-03-26T22:03:00.000-06:00

Have you seen The Hunger Games yet? Despite Miss Corene's reservations, I recommend it. It was pretty great.

The Atlantic Book Awards shortlist is out! Check it out here. It has Janet McNaughton on it.

Are you following the School Library Journal's Battle of the Books? Because it's getting pretty intense.

Books from this week's podcast:

Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien
I, Coriander by Sally Gardner
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Everything by John Bellairs
Lips Touch: Three Times by Taylor Laini
The Ogre of Oglefort by Eva Ibbotson
So Many Books, So Little Time: A Year of Passionate Reading by Sara Nelson
A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka
Samantha on a Roll by Linda Ashman
Dumpling Days by Grace Lin
In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
My Name is Mina (Skellig, #2) by David Almond
The Locked Garden by Gloria Whelan
Pie by Sarah Weeks
Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George
Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin

Download the Bookslingers Podcast #12! (Right-click and Save As...)

The Bookslingers Bookslinging Podcast #11: Why you shouldn't trust swamp logic

2012-03-12T22:59:00.000-06:00

You probably already know this, unless you've been living underneath a rock, or possibly a rock at the very bottom of the ocean, but the movie based on Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games comes out March 23rd. Apparently tickets are already nearing sold-out status in a lot of North American cities, to a point that might actually surpass the sales for the last Twilight movie. While I plan to see the movie and Corene does not (citing lingering trauma from the first book), we can agree on greeting this as positive news~~, if only to beat out Twilight in something~~.

It's Children's Book Week soon, and voting opens on March 14th! You can see the 2012 finalists here.

Books from this week's podcast:

Chime by Frannie Billingsley
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Timeless by Gail Carriger
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Horton Halfpott OR The Fiendish Mystery of Smugwick Manor OR The Loosening of M'Lady Luggertuck's Corset by Tom Angleberger

Download the Bookslingers Podcast #11! (Right-click and Save As...)

The Bookslingers Bookslinging Podcast #10: A disproportionate number of poisonings and a couple of assassinations

2012-03-07T22:35:00.000-07:00

This week in books: Scholastic's new Storia e-book platform - and did you know that 500 new fairytales were recently discovered in Germany? You can thank Franz Xaver von Schönwerth, apparently.

For some reason, many of this week's books involved poisoning. A couple of them had assassinations. Corene's convinced this has something to do with The Ides of March. ~~This feels like a good moment to re-iterate that we at Bookslingers.com are only in favour of fictional murders.~~

Books from this week's podcast:

A Tale of Two Castles by Gail Carson Levine
Chime by Frannie Billingsley
Timeless by Gail Carriger
Horton Halfpott OR The Fiendish Mystery of Smugwick Manor OR The Loosening of M'Lady Luggertuck's Corset by Tom Angleberger
Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris
Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
The Silver Bowl by Diane Stanley
The Lady Grace Mysteries by Grace Cavendish

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The Bookslingers Bookslinging Podcast #9: How to run away from home and live happily ever after

2012-02-13T23:06:00.000-07:00

Did you know that Robert Munsch has had three of his magnificent books translated into Inuktituk? Well, he has! But we don't know what the third one is. Do you?

Just for fun, here is the thoroughly awesome picture of Robert Munsch that was attached to the article at the CBC:

(ABC CANADA Literacy Foundation/Canadian Press)

Robert Munsch: we love you. That is all.

In other news: Corene hates zombie/vampire/etc. adaptations of classical literature. They make her cry.

Except apparently Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith, which is going to be a movie soon.

This week we talked about a classic children's book: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg. This book may or may not have inspired a couple of generations of kids to plan running away from home to live graciously in museums - fortunately very few of us ever followed through.

Books from this week's podcast:

Just One Goal by Robert Munsch
A Promise is a Promise by Robert Munsch and Michael Kusagak
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
Twin Spica Volume 10 by Kou Yaginuma
The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter">Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith
Journey to The River Sea by Eva Ibbotson

Download the Bookslingers Podcast #9! (Right-click and Save As...)

The Bookslingers Bookslinging Podcast #8: The book that made me want to bicycle through Ireland in a cape

2012-02-07T20:47:00.000-07:00

This week: did you hear that FOX 2000 has has already optioned John Green's The Fault in Our Stars? (Yeah, our brains hurt, too.)

In happier news, February 6th marks Charles Dickens' 200th birthday! If he were any other author, and had indeed lived to 200, he still would not have been able to write that many words.

This week's book was a joint life-long favourite: O.R. Melling's The Hunter's Moon. If you have not read this book, go and read it immediately.

Then come back and listen to the podcast.

No, seriously. We'll wait.

Books from this week's podcast:

The Hunter's Moon by O.R. Melling
The Snow Spider by Jenny Nimmo
The Grey King by Susan Cooper
Entwined by Heather Dixon
The Thorn of Lion City by Lucy Lum
A Tale of Two Castles by Gail Carson Levine
The Hounds of the Morrigan by Pat O'Shea

Download the Bookslingers Podcast #8! (Right-click and Save As...)

The Bookslingers Bookslinging Podcast #7: In which there are mixed feelings (and our first special guest!)

2012-01-31T22:20:00.000-07:00

This week we talked about how e-books are definitely not destroying literature, no matter what Jonathan Franzen says; that some Canadians made it onto YALSA's Best Books for Young Adults list this year, and Maureen Johnson's The Name of the Star, on the subject of which we had... mixed feelings. But fear not! Guest speaker and fellow blogger Pippa was here to balance things out.

Books from this week's podcast:

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce

Download the Bookslingers Podcast #7! (Right-click and Save As...)

The Bookslingers Bookslinging Podcast #6: We would never ACTUALLY want dogs to talk

2012-01-25T23:21:00.000-07:00

It's that time again - ALA Book & Media Awards season! Namely, we talk about the Newbery, the Caldecott, and the 1,567,834 other awards that the American Library Association likes to give out at this time of year.

Books from this week's podcast:

Plain Kate by Erin Bow (Three thumbs up! Six between us! Wait...)
Maphead by Ken Jennings
The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzales
A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce

Download the Bookslingers Podcast #6! (Right-click and Save As...)

The Bookslingers Bookslinging Podcast #5: For those of you who like spelunking

2012-01-09T22:42:00.000-07:00

This week, we talk about a lot of very deep books.

By which I mean that a lot of them take place underground, in creepy dark caves, both literally and figuratively (two words we also talk about rather a lot).

Book news!
Chris Columbus, of Harry Potter directing fame, is writing a children's book series. We're really not sure what to think about this.

The ALSC Notable Children’s Books – 2012 Discussion List - Some of these will probably be Newbery finalists, if you want a heads-up!

Books from this week's podcast:

Specials by Scott Westerfeld
The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope
Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder
Tam Lin by Pamela Dean
Sherwood Ring by Elizabeth Marie Pope

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The Bookslingers Bookslinging Podcast #4: Best Books of 2011

2012-01-04T23:58:00.000-07:00

On this week's Bookslinging podcast, we tell you about our best books of 2011: five books in both Tween and Young Adult categories.

Tween/Middle School

5. The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place, Book 2: The Hidden Gallery by Maryrose Wood
4. Amulet, Book 4: The Last Council by Kazu Kabuishi
3. Fatty Legs: A True Story by Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton
2. Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu
1. Zita The Spacegirl by Ben Hatke

Young Adult

5. Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol
4. Chime by Franny Billingsley
3. A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley
2. Twin Spica by Kou Yaginuma
1. The False Princess by Eilis O'Neal

Admittedly, there was a bit of a gap, there, between podcast #3 and podcast #4. We were... on holiday.

We totally planned it that way! Absolutely.

Download the Bookslingers Podcast #4! (Right-click and Save As...)

The Bookslingers Bookslinging Podcast #3: We Only Like READING About Murder

2011-12-20T00:19:00.000-07:00

On this week's Bookslinging podcast, we talk about:

The upcoming Tintin movie
P.D. James' new Pride and Prejudice murder mystery
The western world's weird fascination with (fictional) murder (we swear we're not terrible people, really)
The magnificence of Flavia De Luce!

This marks podcast number three! Statistically we are ON A ROLL.

Download the Bookslingers Podcast #3! (Right-click and Save As...)

The Bookslingers Bookslinging Podcast #2: A Bookslinging Miracle!

2011-12-13T23:41:00.000-07:00

Bookslingers, it's a miracle: we're back!

More or less.

After more than a year's hiatus (that's what we call it when we're too bogged down with school and work to even think about doing anything fun), your favourite book-slinging heroines have returned, with a brand new podcast for your enjoyment.

This Week In Books we talk about Scholastic's One Million Books for One Million Bookprints campaign, and Rob Lowe's new book, Love Life.

We don't have a theme this week, but we talk about Megan Whalen Turner's surprisingly, confusingly amazing The Thief, and fail to talk about Alan Bradley's Flavia De Luce series. Ah, well. There's still time.

Download the Bookslingers Podcast #2! (Right-click and Save As...)

The Bookslingers Bookslinging Podcast #1

2010-05-07T16:28:00.001-06:00

Patient readers, it seems we have actually managed to do it. We have recorded a podcast. Rest assured that either of us accomplishing anything of significance that is neither school nor work-related is a big deal.

Anyway. Hopefully I've set this up properly and you can actually listen to it. Please let us know either way, either so that I can fix it or we can delight in your company.

Welcome to the inaugural Bookslingers Bookslinging Podcast. This involves mainly Corene and myself rambling aimlessly with some occasional actual content.

This Week In Books we talk about the CNIB's Right to Read campaign and the CLA's book of the year winners.

This week's theme is Girls Who Kick Butt, and the podcast features (and will probably continue to feature) mini-reviews of our Top Six books in the theme. This week's books are:

#6: Podkayne of Mars by Robert A. Heinlein
#5: Faery Rebels by R.J. Anderson
#4: Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
#3: Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
#2: The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

And this week's #1 Girls Who Kick Butt Book is Graceling, by Kristin Cashore. The #1 books get twice as much aimless rambling as the other books, because their greatness demands it. This book? Definitely demands it.

Download the Bookslingers Podcast #1! (Right-click and Save As...)