Literary Liaisons – The New York Public Library

March 25, 2014 by Caitlin

Where: New York, New York What: The gorgeous, iconic 42nd Street library building, three sister research locations, plus a full 88-branch and online library system, complete with over 51 million items from historical artifacts to circulating materials. Oh, and Patience and Fortitude. Details: http://www.nypl.org/ The Scoop: The New York Public Library is a kind of Mecca for me; a pilgrimage I make when I visit the east coast. It serves as a refresher for the soul, an inspiration and reminder […]

Categories: Libraries • Tags: children's literature, library love, literary tourism, literature

So Our Prediction Wasn’t Spot-On – Divergent Movie Review

March 24, 2014 by Ladies On The Shelf

Maybe it was because we were hopeful that the movie would breathe some life into a flat first person narrative, or seeing the action on the big screen would somehow make this weird ill-conceived dystopian government finally make sense, but the Divergent film didn’t provide respite from the faults we found in the book. (Pssst… Generic spoiler alert!) Let’s talk about some overall reactions – was there any improvement over the book? Caitlin: Theo James’ lips. Erin: Theo James is YUMMY. […]

Categories: Adaptations • Tags: "The book is better than the movie", adaptations, boys, divergent, romance, YA

Divergent – For Once, the Movie Might be Better than the Book

March 20, 2014 by Ladies On The Shelf

We, your authors at Ladies On The Shelf, love us some young adult fiction. It’s not something we have ever shied away from – it’s consumed us since we were actual young adults. Divergent hits theaters tonight, and promises to be in line with fellow YA dystopian trilogy The Hunger Games – but despite our YA love, something about Divergent just didn’t hit the same chord. Familiar with the term the “Mary Sue”? Here we discuss whether that’s what bugged […]

Categories: Adaptations • Tags: book versus movie, divergent, fiction, young adult

Harriet The Spy – the Original Hipster

March 12, 2014 by Ladies On The Shelf

Harriet was wearing glasses without lenses before it was cool. In case you haven’t gotten enough Harriet from us yet (we know we haven’t – check out our group reread discussion and Caitlin’s writing tips from Harriet), we took some extra inspiration from the book and made a Pin board. I have to tell you, it’s probably the most fun I’ve had making a board to date. Check it out!

Categories: Literary Style • Tags: children's lit, harriet the spy, Pinterest

Reread Along: Harriet The Spy

March 11, 2014 by Ladies On The Shelf

Happy birthday, Harriet! The classic children’s novel Harriet The Spy turned 50 this year, and we thought that presented a fantastic opportunity to relive her spy routes and misadventures. We use the word “relive” here in a half-truth, as we’ve discovered our own Erin Cloud has not read this childhood gem! Thus, she gets the wonderful opportunity to read this great piece of fiction for the first time, while Jessi and Caitlin relive the magic of the first time through […]

Categories: Book Review • Tags: children's literature, classics, harriet the spy, rereads

Immortal Angst Is Not An Excuse For Being a Creeper (But I Love You Anyway) – Bingo Update

March 9, 2014 by Erin

Erin reads a paranormal romance to tie with Jessi in literary bingo! Cait still holds the lead. Check out the progress of the entire game here. Bingo square: Paranormal Romance Book: Lothaire Author: Kresley Cole Confession: I fell in love with romance novels when I started reading them my senior year of college as a mental vacation from the heavy stuff assigned in my English classes. Romance novels are light and fun and easy to read, with a guaranteed happily-ever-after ending. […]

Categories: Book Review • Tags: literary bingo, paranormal romance, romance novel

Happy International Women’s Day!

March 8, 2014 by Ladies On The Shelf

Today marks International Women’s Day, a day to recognize how far the world has come in gender equality, inspire positive changes for the future and encourage advocacy for women’s rights across the globe. On top of that, International Women’s Day is a day to celebrate the women in our lives who inspire us – from our mothers and sisters, to our friends, to our role models who motivate us to change our world. Of course, we, the authors of Ladies […]

Categories: Events • Tags: authors, fantasy, Harry Potter, International Women's Day, ladies, literature, romance novels

Brace Yourselves – Black Milk Clothing Game of Thrones Line Is Coming March 11!

March 7, 2014 by Caitlin

If you happen to follow us on Pinterest (shameless plug), you’ll notice we love both literary fashion and bookish art. And while we don’t always love the same literature, one thing’s for damn sure: we LOVE Game of Thrones. Books, TV, Wikis… GIVE IT TO US. So of course it’s thrilling that, in conjunction with the upcoming 4th season of GOT, nerdy-chic spandex clothing company Black Milk Clothing has released a line of GOT-inspired clothing. Launching March 11, this line […]

Categories: Literary Style • Tags: black milk clothing, fashion, game of thrones, geekery

Four Lessons For Writers From Harriet The Spy

March 6, 2014 by Caitlin

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Louise Fitzhugh’s beloved children’s novel, the LOTS team took time to re-read Harriet the Spy and record our grown up observations for a book we loved as a kid. As a sort of prequel to our upcoming observations article, I thought I’d take a minute to share some thoughts I had on Harriet’s favorite thing – writing. As a writer, I find I both admire and relate to Harriet M. Welsch’s writing experiences. Sometimes, […]

Categories: Featured • Tags: harriet the spy, lessons, literature, writing