Serial

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I know that this is a literary blog, and therefore podcasts aren't really in my range of things to write about, but in a sense this series is similar to an audiobook, and I can't recommend it enough.

Let me back up for a second...

If you haven't already heard of Serial, it's a podcast series featured on This American Life. Its narrator, Sarah Koenig, has been following a murder case from 1999 for the past year. Over the course of the season, she's presented the evidence, spoken with witnesses, poured over documents and testimonies, visited the crime scene, reenacted the crime...everything that you think would tell her who actually committed the murder of a high school girl in Baltimore on a January afternoon in 1999. 

As she's recorded and released each episode of the podcast, new evidence has come to light-- even Koenig didn't know how the story would end when it was first released to the public. The result is a scintillating 12 episodes, the twelfth and final one having been released this past Thursday. You can listen to episodes on your phone (with a podcast application), on your tablet, or even on the website, where you can also view pictures and documents from the case.

I first heard about Serial from a fellow blogger, but as soon as I knew what it was, I began to see it everywhere. It's become somewhat of a phenomenon, and I now I am one of those people who has to tell everyone I know that they must.listen.right.now. I put off listening to the first episode until after finals were over because I knew if I got hooked it would be bad news for my final essays. I am so glad that I waited, because (and this is somewhat embarrassing), I got so hooked that I listened to the first eleven episodes in one day. Oops? But really, it's that good.

I will warn, if you're the type of person who needs the ends of your mysteries to be tied up into a nice big bow, this might not be the story for you. I don't want to say much more, but if you're into mysteries and like true crime stories, this is one of the best, most baffling mysteries that I've ever heard.


Oh, and it would make a great conversation piece for your family gatherings over the holidays! I can't stop trading theories with fellow listeners...

Author Spotlight: Eva Ibbotson

Today I'm introducing a new series here on Top Shelf Text, and I think it's going to become a favorite of mine. I'm the type of reader who follows not just series, but also authors. Though I love being able to follow characters as they develop and face new challenges, I also love reading individual works by an author. As part of my Author Spotlight, I'll be highlighting some favorite authors- both children's and adult- and the works that I've enjoyed from them so far. 

Eva Ibbotson was one of my favorite authors when I was younger. I loved her writing, and when I first decided to start collecting children's literature in anticipation of becoming a teacher, she was one of the first authors that I put on my list. Since then, I've been keeping an eye out for books by her at library sales and secondhand bookstores. Ibbotson's stories are exactly what I want my future students to read; she had this incredible talent to write tales that are whimsical but that concern serious themes, so in a discussion about one of her books you might jump from describing your favorite character- a witch, a ghost, a mermaid- to issues that occur in family relationships. She was able to get ideas across that are easy for her readers to understand and then connect to real-world contexts.

A little about Eva Ibbotson, from her Goodreads author profile:

"Eva Ibbotson (born Maria Charlotte Michelle Wiesner, 1925, Vienna, Austria) was a British novelist specializing in romance and children's fantasy. Eva Ibbotson was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1925. When Hitler came into power, Ibbotson's family moved to England. She attended Bedford College, graduating in 1945; Cambridge University from 1946-47; and the University of Durham, from which she graduated with a diploma in education in 1965. Ibbotson had intended to be a physiologist, but was put off by the amount of animal testing that she would have to do. Instead, she married and raised a family, returning to school to become a teacher in the 1960's. Ibbotson was widowed with three sons and a daughter.

She won the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize for Journey to the River Sea, and has been a runner up for many of major awards for British children's literature. The books are imaginative and humorous, and most of them feature magical creatures and places, despite the fact that she disliked thinking about the supernatural, and created the characters because she wanted to decrease her readers' fear of such things. Some of the books, particularly Journey to the River Sea, also reflect Ibbotson's love of nature. Ibbotson wrote this book in honor of her husband (who had died just before she wrote it), a former naturalist. The book had been in her head for years before she actually wrote it. Ibbotson said she dislikes "financial greed and a lust for power" and often creates antagonists in her books who have these characteristics." 

I'm definitely biased, but I love when children's authors have experience with teaching. Here are a few books of hers that are recommended for readers in the 8-12 age range:

Which Witch?

The Secret of Platform 13

Island of the Aunts

The Great Ghost Rescue

Dial-a-Ghost

The Beasts of Clawstone Castle

These six are ones that I've read and enjoyed. Visit her author profile to find even more books for this age range!

And, a bonus! If you're interested in young adult literature or have a teenager at home, Eva Ibbotson is a talented writer for more than just young readers:

A Song for Summer

This is one that I loved and have kept in storage with my favorite books from childhood. I haven't read any of her other YA books, but I'm sure they're in keeping with her excellent writing and worth checking out. 

P.S. Have a favorite author that you think other readers would love? Send me an email at topshelftext@gmail.com!