xxxHolic and other kinds of Holics

There is a lot of Librarianing going on right now. At the end of June I successfully planned and pulled off a Twilight Prom with 3 different kinds of trivia quizzes (regular book trivia, who said it, and guess whose car?), a ton of prizes, fanart and fanfiction, and a costume contest. It was an intense program attended by upwards of 50 kids, many of whom were in their prom finest. Had it not been for the desk staff and the teen volunteers who helped me with it, there would not have been a Prom. And I didn't realize how much time and effort I'd put into until I got to back work after an extended recovery weekend and realized all the end/beginning of the month things I have to do hadn't magically been done while I was away. And I haven't even mentioned our awesome Summer Reading Program yet. It is awesome. That's actually all you need to know about SRPs in general. Anyway, now that I'm getting back into the groove post-prom, I've been ordering books. And, I recently put a bunch of new books out on our brand new display wall in the Teen Zone at my Library.(Did I mention the beginning of June we completed a month-long renovation project? Our Popular Materials department is even MORE WONDERFUL now.)

Even better, today the head of our Children's department handed me the motherlode of YA ARCs (sent to her by accident of being added to a list at one time and never removed) to read and review! So, with summer on the downhill slide I'm anticipating a bit more time to read and review. I think that my new philosophy on reviewing is to not review what everyone already knows and loves. I think I'd like to have a long bout of discovering the undiscovered. So, if you read this and you'd like me to discover you, feel free to contact me. But even if not I've got plenty to keep me busy reviewing for a while. And, here's the other thing I've decided about my reviews: I'm turning into Kirkus with their all-negative all-the-time approach to reviews. I don't hate everything I read, but for some reason it is mostly the stuff I don't like that motivates me to review it.

That changes right now when I tell you about the series xxxHolic by Clamp. I haven't watched the TV series, and I know next to nothing about Tsubasa, but I love love love love love love love love xxxHolic. I'm starting book 11 tonight. The series follows Watanuki, a college student who can see and interact with spirits, as he begins to work for a woman named Yūko Ichihara who can help him...for a price. The series expertly weaves serious issues and "lessons" about respecting oneself, friendship, and upholding values into wacky highjinks and silly crushes. Like all manga, the fact that it is a comic doesn't make it suitable for all ages, but for those who are mature enough to get it, it will make them think and laugh at the same time.










My Holic is reading, but I seem to have fallen off the wagon and need to get back on. My own Summer Reading Log only has one book and several manga on it! Must.Find.Time.