Friends, if I wanted to be honest, I would say I have been in a reading slump all year long. I have read a whopping 46 books and various manga series, and I just marvel at all the other people reaching triple digits going, “that used to be me! O, sad bygone days where I used to READ BOOKS!”

I should probably count the fanfic I’ve been reading since tons of it often turns into me reading 50,000 word fics in one long stretch when I should be sleeping, but! BUT. I don’t really review fic, I squee over it so that’s right out AND ALSO most of it is Real Person Fiction with Adam Lambert and Sparkles (like this) and you know, I have a reputation to—oh wait nevermind, no I don’t I am totally a pariah! HELL YEAH ADAM/KRIS FOREVER. \o/

Meanwhile, I am not sure what’s wrong with me besides being fluctuating interests, various Life!Fail as well as attempts to go back to school and finish out my degree which is like trying to make a snowman in Miami during July (ADMISSIONS: FEEL FREE TO GET A GENITAL RASH AND BE VERY UNCOMFORTABLE FOR DAYS). I imagine that I am filled with weird desires to read what everyone else is reading so I can talk about it with them, but if I am not interested, well! What am I supposed to do? I’ve acquired a bunch of books that are boring me! HILARIOUSLY TRUE STORY.

Also, Nerds Heart YA is an issue. Because I am going back to school this is going to be nigh impossible for me to host. I am very sad about this, but I thought I would put out feelers to see if anyone else would be interested in getting it together. It’s really not that much work—figuring out the books was the hardest part, matching books and readers so people get to read new books the second hardest, and making sure everyone read and posted on time the third. Last round we only had one issue, and it was disappointing but I expected at least one default, but it can be avoided with some EPIC WHIP CRACKING, I am sure. I am willing to walk people through things and be available via e-mail because by then I will have e-mail on my phone! And, you know, I don’t think that you have to be widely read to host this, because it is about finding new books and reading them. Because fuck guys, I am not widely read in YA. I just pretend to be, and also use big words.

So there’s that. Interested parties can e-mail me at ya.fabulous@gmail.com and if there’s more than one I am totally playing matchmaker. If there are zero, uh, well, Nerds Heart YA will be on hiatus until 2012 and we can host it amid shock and horror that I actually acquired a real degree. >.>

POSITIONS FILLED and the world rejoiced, etc, etc.

I never imagined whining about the fact that a book tournament was ego-stroking books that needed no more ego stroking would result in this. I had no idea, none, zilch, no clue. I am in awe and touched and honored that this idea spread so far and reached so many people (like the authors! Oh gosh guys Drew Ferguson commented on my blog excuse me while I go have a fangirl attack. WHO NEEDS EDWARD CULLEN WHEN YOU HAVE YA AUTHORS.)

The winner of the tournament was My Most Excellent Year, although going into this I wanted to be clear that winning was subjective—as all reading was. The point was to read these books we might not have otherwise read. It was a haphazard project, because on top of doing it and running a very complicated writing exchange and working full time at $dayjob, I dropped the ball a lot (oh ffffff was there more than one ball? I feel like I dropped 1,000 of them, if you were a judge and I dropped your ball I am so sorry).

I dropped the ball in organization, especially. Foreign YA, YA with POC, just to name a couple, were not very well-represented. The process for choosing the books was hard, too, because we all had different opinions. There were many books nominated that deserved to be on the list, and there were many books overlooked that deserved to be on the list.

People have been making noise about Nerds Heart YA 2010 and to them I say: maybe. I’m not sure, for as much fun as I had, I worry that the same issues will crop up. How do we make the nomination process better? How do we evaluate which books didn’t get enough attention? What, really, is our scope? This is the question we need to answer. For instance, if we chose to make our scope book blogs in general, how does that change the process? If we say: what books didn’t get very much love on book blogs last year? Is that more helpful than trying to guess at sales statistics we don’t have access to and word of mouth?

I love that Nerds Heart YA put GLBTQ YA on the map in a very real, focused way, because I don’t see it reviewed often and when I do oftentimes it reads like the summary was lifted from a publishers website with no citation (boy, can we have a Blogging With Integrity site for that?) and most of the reviews spend copy time talking about how the book has gay characters but it’s still totally okay and it doesn’t matter that they’re gay!

Man, I am tired of reading reviews that are basically defenses of reading a book where people make out with someone of the same gender. I’m not kidding! If Nerds Heart YA shows one thing, it’s that these books are good and no one has to apologize for liking them, or defend them like the book can’t stand on its own unless TEH EVIL GAY inside the pages has been declawed with a warning that it’s there, but it’s okay because you’re warned about the gay! You’re safe.

Seriously, GLBTQ YA can be enjoyed, characters can be identified with…it’s all the same, if people step outside their comfort zone.

I would love for Nerds Heart YA to do that with other books that don’t get picked up: books with minority characters, books by minority authors who don’t get the same publisher push as their white counterparts, and I could go on and on and on. Again, I return to the scope issue: what is our scope?

As for Nerds Heart YA 2009: I loved it and was super glad to be a part of it. It taught me a lot about thinking outside the box, and working with people so very different than me, and uhhh trying to match people with books so they didn’t hate me forever and ever? The judges were great, super awesome folks who went above and beyond—because also, this project was about supporting these authors.

Honestly, everyone did a wonderful job, and I feel lucky to even know these people who made this small, tiny, almost insignificant idea I had not only plausible, but a reality. I am benefitted in my corner of the book blog community, endlessly, endlessly, to know such rockstars. Thanks so much, guys.

For those following at home, here’s the final result for Nerds Heart YA 2009, bolded titles denoting the winners. Read the rest of this entry »

You know I’m sort of babysitting this book tournament? No? OH THAT’S RIGHT, you couldn’t know because I’ve been a giant ass over keeping up with it and making sure everything is working okay and promoting the reviews and such. People had contests for this! That’s how much they believed in the idea, and you know, I’ve been kind of a jerk, not commenting or, you know, paying attention. I could use the $dayjob excuse (it would be warranted!) or the “But I’m running a multi-fandom fanfiction exchange!” excuse (hahahaha I fail at scheduling whhhy did I not check for conflicts) but let’s be honest here: I am not engaged like I should be! I am hoping I am less filled with the everlasting stench of fail in round two and that everyone will know that the first round of judges carried this tournament. Please send them cake and free books. BUT FIRST: let’s recap Round One!

Valentina judged My Most Excellent Year and The Opposite of Invisible, which was a match I was particularly interested in. Here’s her final decision!

Moving on: My Most Excellent Year

Jodie judged What They Always Tell Us and The Last Exit to Normal. Read her final decision.

Moving on: The Last Exit to Normal

Natasha judged I Know It’s Over and Feathered and was also what I considered to be one of the most controversial matches with her review and issues with I Know It’s Over. Her final decision is here!

Moving on: Feathered

Ali and Lenore judged Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One Before and Alive and Well In Prague New York. Their decisions are here and here.

Moving on: Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One Before

Mary Ann judged Cracked Up To Be and The Shape of Water (which had the most interesting cover, in my opinion). Her final choice is here.

Moving on: Cracked Up To Be

Trish and Vasilly judged The Screwed Up Life of Charlie the Second and Debbie Harry Sings In French. Trish shares their decision here.

Moving on: The Screwed Up Life of Charlie the Second

Kelly judged Leftovers and The Latent Powers of Dylan Fontaine; here are her reviews and final choice (one I bet Chris was happy about!).

Moving on: The Latent Powers of Dylan Fontaine

Becky and Kailana judged The City in the Lake and Pretty Monsters. Check out Kailana’s review for the entirity of their decision. Becky also reviewed The City in the Lake.

Moving on: The City in the Lake

If I managed to get all the names and links right, I will be DOING WELL. I will make corrections free of charge! So, what’s up for Round #2?

My Most Excellent Year versus The Last Exit to Normal, judged by Heather

Feathered versus Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One Before, judged by Amy

Cracked Up To Be versus The Screwed Up Life of Charlie the Second, judged by Laza

The Latent Powers of Dylan Fontaine versus The City in the Lake, judged by Stephanie

We’re getting closer and closer to the final match-up! How can you not be excited by the prospect of Chris and Nymeth together! Reviewing two books! I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m bringing popcorn.

Oh, right, I am also excited about the books, too. >.>