James Munkers Super Freak by Lindsey Little

It’s always exciting when a friend gets a book published; it’s even more exciting when the book is actually really good.  Sometimes a friend gives you something to read and all you can say “well, ahhhhh...I really liked that bit right at the end!” (you know, that bit where the drivel finally stopped).  But then sometimes a friend gives you something to read and it’s rivetingly-un-put-downably-can’t-wait-for-the-sequel good.  Happily, the latter was the case with my good friend’s soon to be published book, James Munkers Super Freak, and all I can say is thank Bragi for that!  

I got to read about James last November when I was visiting my lovely friends for their wedding in Tasmania.  I’d been pestering James’s author for quite some time to let me read the book—after all, I worked in children’s books for a long time so I could give a professional opinion.  Finally she relented and handed over her computer: all it took was a flight to rural Australia, a not-exactly-hostile honeymoon takeover (with help from other friends!), and couple demands that bordered on hysterical.  Easy peasy.  

Within 24 hours I’d read James 1½ times.  I eventually had to stop reading and be “social” with my friends.  I’d been hearing about this book and about James for so long long I was worried that finally reading it would be a letdown after all the anticipation.  But—O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!—all that waiting and pestering was worth it!  James is funny, and smart, and engaging, and perhaps just a bit mad, exactly as a 15 year old reluctant hero should be.  The writing is excellent (I know I’m biased, but I’m also a bit of an expert in the field so I think my opinion can be trusted), and James’s voice is just so engaging I wish we could have been friends when I was in high school.  I read the whole thing in one day, I wanted to really savor it but once I started it several hours passed very quickly and I’d suddenly run out of story to read.  I guess I shall just have to savor it the next time.

While I can’t guarantee that everyone’s first reading of James will be as memorable as mine, I should note that after the first read through two whales appeared and started frolicking right in front of our rental and if that’s not magical I just don’t know what is.  Alas, there were no more whales while I was reading it though again, but I can’t really blame James I suppose, he did have rather a lot to do in the story without breaking through from the world of fiction to fetch me more whales.  

Recommended: emphatically 
Published by IP Kidz
 

Asynchronous Frustration

Being a student again is...weird.  I have to participate in discussions, which is really really hard.  Normally when I am in school, I do the reading, go to class, and am relatively quiet.  It’s not that I don’t participate or prepare, it’s just that I’ve just never been one of those students who always has to be at the centre of every week’s discussion.  If I have something to add that isn’t just reiterating everyone else I will add it, otherwise I am probably going to pretty much stay quiet.  I don’t really like discussions where everyone just says the same things over and over.  I think that’s why this whole online discussion thing is so damn hard; I, and everyone else is my class, types out our discussion contributions before sending them off into the void of the internet to wait until someone deigns to read and respond.  It feels as though everyone is screaming their opinions at everyone else without listening to most of what is being said.  When I read the “responses” to posts I’ve made most of the time they aren’t really responding to what I’m saying, and when they do respond there is little more than “I agree!”.  That’s not to say I’m not totally guiltless in this, part of our grade is based on contributing to discussions so I’ve been just as guilty as everyone else of posting not to further discussion but to just get something out there for the week.  And then of course there is the fact it’s all asynchronous, nothing flows because it could be hours or days between the initial post and the response.  I’m trying to get used to it, and I try to make sure I respond (really respond, not just saying “I agree!” or hitting “reply” and saying something that has nothing to do with the post to which I am ostensibly replying) to at least one post a week, but sometimes it is just too hard to add to the noise knowing that whatever I say is just going to be drowned out by everyone else trying to make sure they meet the participation requirement.  It’s a frustrating system, metaphorically screaming my opinions into the silence and hoping to get an answer from someone in the void, but at least if my best ideas about the reading come to me in the middle of the night I don’t have to try and remember them until the next time the class meets!