TitleTales

Great Books for Teens from 2009: by Heather Ji

Young Adult post—10/09/09
Every year I try and guess the winner of the Michael L. Printz Award for young adult literature, but unlike the Newbery and Caldecott, its winner can be any type of book from a poetry collection to a graphic novel, written by an author from any country, making the number of contenders staggering. So this year I’ve cancelled the speed-reading course and decided to share with you some 2009 books for teens that I believe to be great. My personal favorite is Going Bovine, a story with many layers that had me laughing hysterically one moment, and tearing up the next. A few other books I loved that you might not be familiar with are We Were Here, The Vast Fields of Ordinary and Freaks and Revelations, all great stories with very memorable characters.

Career Guides: by Kathryn Lynip

Adult post—10/09/09
The recession is far from over and job growth is sluggish. Many of those who have lost jobs now have to change career paths in order to find a job. Several friends have asked me to help them find resources in the past year so I have put together a list of books that list jobs in different fields and give advice about changing careers. The upside to economic times like this is that people become more creative and sometimes throw caution to the wind and do what they love. One of my friends has now joined the Peace Corps, another is working to help a politician get elected, and a third is looking into using her love of animals to train helper dogs. For the first friend I had suggested the website www.idealist.org as well as their book “The Idealist.Org Handbook to Building A Better World: How To Turn Your Good Intentions into Actions That Make A Difference”. And the dog lover picked up “The Everything Guide to Working with Animals”. I hope that all three of them find fulfillment as well as a paycheck for having the courage to try something completely different.

CMA Awards: by Trisha Rigsby

Music post—10/09/09
Music award season is here, and nominees for one of the biggest of these, the Country Music Association Awards, were announced in September. Billed as “country music’s biggest night,” winners are chosen by members of the CMA and will be announced at the ceremony on Wednesday, November 11, 2009. Brad Paisley, who has dominated the country award circuit in recent years, received six nominations, the most of any performer this year. George Strait, Keith Urban, Taylor Swift, Jamey Johnson and the Zac Brown Band are next with four nominations each. I’m particularly interested in the Entertainer of the Year field, often considered the highest CMA honor. This year’s nominees are Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, George Strait, Taylor Swift and Keith Urban. If Kenny Chesney receives the award it will be his fifth, and he’ll succeed Garth Brooks for most wins in the Entertainer category. And not only is Taylor Swift the youngest person to be nominated for Entertainer of the Year, she’s also the first solo female artist to be nominated in this traditionally male category since Faith in Hill in 2000. Winners will be posted on TitleTales after they are announced.

• Browse our CMA Award Nominees 2009 list

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