Sorry I'm Booked

Hello!

I'm Booked Spr ing 2021

Hello!

Letter From the Editors

Sorry, I'm Booked Salutations1, dear readers! We appreciate your interest in the amazing world of books. The book chooses the reader, the reader doesn?t choose the book2, but still, we're glad you chose to read our magazine. We hope you learn about literature and storytelling, and come to appreciate those bound pages just a little more.

To start our Ezine, we had to decide what we wanted to write about. The consensus?We all loved to read. So here we are. The results of our months of interviews, writing, and designing are open in front of your eyes. We do have one request, though; if you have ever said that you ?hate reading,?YOU SHALL NOT PASS3. Well, we guess you can, but you've gotta promise to give it another chance. You might even change your mind? after all, it is your choices that show who you truly are, far more than your abilities.4 And if you decide not to give reading another chance, you can go chase a donut, Seaweed Brain5.

May the odds ever be in your favor 6, Sameer, Miguel, Hadley, Oscar, and Alondra

P.S. Did you see all the hidden book references?Here they are: 1Charlotte?sWeb, 2Harry Potter and theSorcerer?sStone, 3The Fellowship of theRing, 4Harry Potter and theChamber of Secrets, 5Percy Jackson, and 6TheHunger Games.

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Keep i n g Au sti n Read i n g

The Most Popular Genres

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Austin Authors

Bu il din g an En gr ossin g W or l d

H ow Covid-19 h as Affected Book Stor es

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Cover photo by Sam eer Agr aw al Inside fr ont and back cover design by M iguel Lathr op Letter fr om the Editor s design by Hadley Wr ight Table of Contents design by Sam eer Agr aw al "Hooah!" stor y by Hadley Wr ight "W hich Book Is Right For You?" design by Oscar Alvar ado Back cover design by Sam eer Agr aw al

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Sorry, I 'm Booked | 3

By Oscar Alvarado

How Cov i d-19 has Affected Book Stores ar ch 13, 2020 is a day alm ost no one w ill for get. Covid-19 str uck har d and has affected alm ost ever yone in the w or ld. Austin bookstor es str uggled just like anyone else, m aybe even m or e so.

M any bookstor es have had to go thr ough changes dur ing this tim e. Som e w er e in ver y ser ious situations that could cause them to go out of business. Covid-19 pushed people into their hom es and into the online w or ld, affecting bookstor es that w er en?t pr epar ed. Today, a year after the beginning of Covid-19, bookstor es ar e still her e to pr ovide us a safe w ay to buy books.

W hen the pandem ic fir st star ted, it w as extr em ely difficult for bookstor es, especially a dow ntow n Austin ar ea bookstor e, M alver n Books. ?We closed on

M

Malvern Book?s mascot , Malvern t he lion, is now wearing a mask as well in t he front of t he st ore.

Phot o court esy of Becky Garcia, Malvern Books manager.

M ar ch 13, the last day w e w er e open last year ,? said the ow ner of M alver n Books, Joe Br atcher. ?We w er e closed until June 1, absolutely closed. And then w e opened to cur bside pick up and w e shor tened our hour s and days. We w ent fr om 7 days a w eek, 9 to 10 hour s a day open to five days a w eek and open for 5 hour s.? M alver n Books also str uggled financially. Covid-19 didn?t allow people to be near each other and for safety r easons, M alver n Books had to cancel events that helped them financially. ?The stor e?s biggest sour ce of incom e, letting people into the stor e, events, book clubs, book sonnings, poetr y r eadings, things like that 4 to 5 tim es a w eek . Nothing. Now w e can?t do that,? said Br atcher.

M alver n Books isn?t the only bookstor e that str uggled in these har d tim es. BookPeople is another dow ntow n Austin bookstor e that had to change their plans and cancel m any events. ?We?r e nor m ally dow ntow n m aking pr esence and selling books at schools and having book fair s, that?s definitely the biggest change.? said BookPeople stor e m anager , Char ley Rejsek .

A w ay m ost com panies stayed in business w as by sw itching to the online w or ld. Both bookstor es agr eed that the vir tual w or ld is som ething com pletely differ ent and not as enjoyable. ?We did have a lot of our events online but that?s a r eally differ ent type of par tner ship.?

"I want to

open again but I want to do it safely and reasonably, hasHas Effected Bookstores 4 |How |HowCovid-19 Covid-19 Affected Bookstores

whenever I feel that it?s absolutely safe" - Joe Bratcher, Owner of Malvern Books

Malvern Books, a communit y bookst ore near t he Universit y of Texas at Aust in.

Phot o Court esy of Becky Garcia.

Rejsek said. Since m ost sales w er e online, ther e w er e a lot less custom er s in the actual stor e. M any people believe that the safest w ay to pur chase books is online. ?Befor e COVID, a lot of people cam e on the w eekends and now it?s m ostly the sam e num ber s on the w eekends or higher ,? Rejsek said. ?I w ould say it?s about a 35% r eduction in foot tr affic.?

For M alver n Books it w as m or e difficult. Befor e

Covid-19, M alver n Books didn?t have an online stor e. ?Our inventor y system does not w or k that w ay so w e don?t ship books r egular ly,?

Br atcher said. But w ith Bookshop.or g, M alver n Books now has a sm all online site that helped them thr ough difficult tim es. ?W hatever Bookshop.or g sells,?

Br atcher said, ?if a per son buys it thr ough your little w indow then you get a sm all per centage in that.

We w er e able to put an adver tisem ent to put our books at Bookshop.or g so w e do in that w ay have an online pr esence. That w as helpful even though w e got a per centage of w hat they sold. But other than that, you can?t say it?s been anything but ter r ible. I?m lucky to be open.?

Although Covid-19 has had a lar ge negative im pact on people, ther e ar e a few positive effects too. ?We w er e r eluctant to Sorry, 'm Booked| ||555 Sorry, Booked Sorry, I 'mII'm Booked

Charley Rejsek, BookPeople st ore manager, waering a mask at work.

Phot o court esy of Charley Rejsek.

Texas?leading independant bookst ore, BookPeople in downt own Aust in, Texas.

hashas Effected Bookstores 6 |How |HowCovid-19 Covid-19 Affected Bookstores

do any stuff online because that?s not how our stor e w or ks, and so this tim e it ener gized that m or e,? said Br atcher. A benefit of Covid-19 w as that it pushed bookstor es to m ove into the vir tual w or ld causing stor es like BookPeople?s online sales to skyr ocket. ?We w ent fr om 5% online, befor e COVID, and then w e closed our door s and then it w as 100% online. It also acceler ated any plans to upgr ade our w ebsite,?

Rejsek said. ?We definitely used our w ebsite but w e didn?t use it to its full capability. And now w e do, w e r edesigned our w ebsite.

Covid pushed us to acceler ate that pr oject on a

m uch quicker tim eline.?

Bookstor es also had to change their w ays in letting people into the stor e. In M alver n Books, people m ay only enter by appointm ent. ?We can have six appointm ents per day. If you m ake an appointm ent you can com e in w ith tw o other people. We can have up to 18 people a day in the stor e,? said Br atcher.

Today, bookstor es ar e doing a lot better than befor e. W hen Covid-19 fir st star ted, it cam e out of now her e and like m ost businesses, bookstor es w er en?t r eady for it. Rejsek said, ?I?m sur e you r em em ber it kind of happened r eally quickly and w e closed our door s and w e just had to scr am ble and r egr oup because w e didn?t r eally have a plan. We r egr ouped r eally quickly and I w ould say that betw een Apr il of last year and M ar ch of this year , w hich is alm ost a one year differ ence, w e?r e in a w hole new bookselling w or ld. We cr eated all new differ ent types of system s in or der to help us sur vive in this tim e per iod. Som e of them w e?ll car r y w ith us after Covid-19 is over and som e w e w on?t because w e w ant to get back to w hat w e used to do, that?s w hat w e love to do. We just know it?ll take tim e to get ther e.?

Bookstor es ar e now taking action in their stor es to m ake sur e ever yone is safe. Br atcher said, ?The m ask is absolutely r equir ed. The only other thing is w e ask you to sanitize your hands w hen you com e in. Another thing

that?s changed is w e used to have a lot of chair s ar ound.

We encour aged people to sit dow n, look ar ound, look thr ough books and stuff.

We?ve taken all the chair s out of the stor e.?

On M ar ch 2, Gr egg Abbott lifted the m ask m andate, allow ing Texans to not w ear m asks, but bookstor es continued to m aintain their pr evious r ules. ?We?r e not changing any of our pr otocols,?

Rejsek said. ?We?r e keeping ever yone has to w ear a m ask . We have a lot of bookseller s that w or k w ith the public that haven?t been vaccinated because they?r e not par t of the

gr oup that ar e eligible in Texas. Ever ybody has to be safe and because not ever ybody is vaccinated, it doesn?t feel safe not having a m ask so w e?r e gonna keep having m asks for all em ployees, gender s, and all custom er s until w e feel like w e?r e safe.?

The m ajor ity of people in Austin w ant things to go back to nor m al.

M ost people m iss the concer ts, book events, and m or e that can?t happen anym or e.?I w ant to open again,? Br atcher said, ?but I w ant to do it safely and r easonably. W hen I feel that it?s absolutely safe.?

Malvern Books st ore owner, Joe brat cher, at t he front desk.

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88 || Building an Engrossing World

Sorry, I 'm Sorry, I 'mBooked Booked || 99

Au st i n

By M iguel Lathr op

Author s

W hy Th ey Love I t Her e has a r eputation A ustin for an im pr essive cr eative landscape in w hich anyone w ith talent can thr ive. The liter ar y landscape in Austin is no exception, and is absolutely som ething w or th explor ing.

Tw o aw ar d-w inning dw eller s of Austin?s liter ar y landscape, author s PJ Hoover and Sam Bond, spoke about just w hat m akes Austin such a hub for w r iting. Hoover , or iginally fr om Vir ginia, m oved to Austin in 1994 after getting a job w ith M otor ola, and star ted w r iting in 2004. ?M otor ola cam e to my college and r ecr uited m e and I got the job offer , and I alw ays thought Texas 10 | Austin Authors

sounded like a r eally cool place to live, so her e I am ,? she said.

Bond gr ew up in Shr ew sbur y, England, and m oved to Austin after living for 12 year s on Am er ica?s East Coast, but visits her hom e countr y often as w ell. ?M y husband at the tim e, he w as fr om Texas,? said Bond, ?and w e m oved her e so that our childr en w ould gr ow up together.?

Although neither of these author s or iginally cam e to Austin for w r iting pur poses, they have found their voice in a sizable, healthy com m unity, and gone on to love the city for m any r easons. ?I fir st cam e to Austin

w hen I backpacked ar ound the w or ld, and that w as back in 1991,? Bond said. ?I actually m isjudged the am ount of tim e by Gr eyhound bus it w as going to take to get fr om San Diego to New Or leans, and by the tim e w e got to Austin, I w as like, let m e off this bus. And so it w as a com pletely unexpected stop, and it tur ned out to be one of my favor ite places. I spent the w hole w eek her e, and I had m et a lot of Austonians, they took m e out to Ham ilton Pool, I fell in love w ith it back in the ear ly 90s.? Bond had no idea she?d r etur n to the city one day, and stay m uch longer than a w eek .

One char acter istic of our city that both of these

Sam Bon d (l ef t ) an d PJ Hoover (r i gh t ). Photos cour tesy of Dave W ilson Photogr a phy a nd PJ Hoover , r espectively.

author s love is the com m unity. ?Austin has an am azing com m unity of author s,? said Hoover , a local author. ?I don?t know if you?ve had other author s visit your school or gone to book signings or anything like that, but the com m unity her e is unbelievable. Ther e ar e so m any people, so m any author s, ever y w eek w e go to Book People and go to a book signing for a differ ent fr iend?s book that?s being r eleased. Just

the joy of having such a gr eat com m unity - because this is my best piece of advice for any field, not just w r iting: w hatever you w ant to do in life, is for you to find your com m unity.

And w hen you live in Austin w her e ther e is such a gr eat w r iting com m unity, it?s just fantastic.?

Since Hoover m oved to Austin and began to w r ite, she has author ed over tw enty books and her Cur se of King Tut ser ies

has landed on the Texas Lone Star r eading list, an annual collection of differ ent books cr eated to encour age young people to r ead a var iety of new r eleases.

Ther e ar e m any or ganizations set up her e that r eally m ake Austin a gr eat city for anyone w ishing to star t a car eer as an author , Hoover explained. ?I?m par t of a gr oup called the Society of Childr en?s

Sorry, I 'm Booked | 11

Book Wr iter s and Illustr ator s (SCBW I), and w e have a gr eat chapter her e in Austin. Ther e?s also a r eally good or ganization called the Wr iter ?s League of Texas, and that?s based her e in Austin, and the Texas Libr ar y Association is one of the best libr ar y associations in the entir e countr y, and that?s based her e in Austin. We have the Texas Book Festival ever y year at the capitol, and in addition to the people that ar e her e ther e?s just so m any gr eat com m unities and w ays that people can star t m eeting people,? she said.

The societies and clubs that author s have built for them selves her e have also left a lasting im pr ession on Bond. ?I m et so m any people at SCBW I confer ences. And this is star ting out like 12 year s ago, w hen w e w er en't published, and now so m any of us ar e published.

And that's been lovely, being in a r eally cr eative city w her e ther e ar e so m any other people doing w hat you do,? Bond said. ?You know , w her e I gr ew up, if som ebody had said they w er e an author - I gr ew up in a tiny tow n on the nor th Welsh bor der called Shr ew sbur y - if som ebody had been an author ther e, it w ould have just been this m assive deal.

12 | Austin Authors

Nobody w as an author , you did proper jobs. If ther e w er e I didn't know of any.

And her e, I have m any fr iends w ho ar e author s. I think w e landed in a r eally gr eat place for w r iting. I think I w as r eally lucky.?

Wr iting can be closed off, as it usually involves a sole author. How ever , the know ledge that other s ar e endur ing the sam e thing has pr oven to be quite unifying. ?It r eally is, because w ith w r iting, it?s a ver y lonely car eer , because you?r e just at hom e a lot," Hoover said.

"Especially because you send your w or k out, you get r ejections, and having people to talk to about that is gr eat.?

Bond had the sam e thoughts. ?It's a ver y solitar y pr ofession,? she said, ?And so know ing that ther e ar e other people out ther e sitting day after day in fr ont of their com puter , getting w r iter 's block, figur ing out plot points, and people that you can - befor e Covid - get together w ith and talk about m ar keting, and w hat you'r e doing on Facebook, and how you'r e putting your public per sona out ther e, and all types of things, w ho under stand, it's been such a blessing.?

The sheer am ount of people in one place, doing the sam e thing, and

inter acting w ith one another has m anaged to conquer that lonely feeling of w r iting. ?I occasionally com e acr oss people w ho live in the absolute m iddle of now her e and don't know another single w r iter , and I think ?I know 100 w r iter s, easily.?That's just been w onder ful,?

Bond said. ?I didn't take it into consider ation m oving her e to Austin. It w as pur ely for fam ily, but it has been definitely one of the gr eat side effects.?

"An d w h en you l i ve i n Au st i n w h er e t h er e i s su ch a gr eat w r i t i n g com m u n i t y, i t 's j u st f an t ast i c."

-PJ Hoover , Au st i n au t h or It?s har d to m ention any com m unity now adays w ithout m entioning how the vir us has affected it.

Covid-19 has left a m ar k on ever yone, and the author s ar e no exception. ?Ther e's so m uch vibr ance her e, r ight? Ther e's so m uch,?

Bond said. ?And that's one of the things I've m issed in lockdow n. I'm w r iting my thir d book, my second book cam e out today in my m ur der ser ies, and I had w r iter 's block for the fir st tim e in my life. And I just thought, it's because I'm

Hoover sh ow n h er e at a v i si t , si gn i n g a book . Sh e of f er s m an y oppor t u n i t i es f or v i si t s, i n cl u di n g si gn i n g book s an d del i ver i n g pr esen t at i on s. Photo cour tesy of PJ Hoover .

not getting out enough, exper iencing life and seeing things.?

the futur e, or alw ays r em ain a bit sim ilar to how it cur r ently is.

Som ething any Austinite m ight ponder is the futur e of our city. Like any other gr ow ing ar ea, Austin pr ovides a constantly shifting landscape. And w hile som e feel that change adds to Austin, other s believe that each new shift is detr im ental to our char acter istic ?w eir dness?.

?I think that?s inevitable that it w ill [change],? said Hoover. ?We have a lot of big festivals and stuff like that, that people go to, and because of that m or e and m or e people com e and it?ll be har der to get tickets to stuff, you know. Like ever yone tr ies to get a ticket to ACL and m aybe that gets to be a har der thing to do in the futur e.

Or SXSW , a lot of people fr om out of tow n com e her e for SXSW and a lot of Austin people leave tow n

Our r esident author s had an intr iguing take on the m atter of w hether our city w ould change gr eatly in

dur ing that tim e, because they know it?s gonna be cr ow ded. So it?ll change, but it?ll still be kind of aw esom e and cool.? Bond agr eed. ?I fear that it w ill change. I think the change is inevitable, r ight? Like I said, in 1991, I didn't live her e, but I spent a w eek her e. So I r em em ber w hat it w as like back then. And it's changed a lot over the last 30 year s, but it's still lovely. I don't r eally know if I can answ er that question, but I do hope that it w ill contain that nugget of w onder fulness.?

Sorry, I 'm Booked | 13

The M ost Popular Liter ar y Genr es (Am ong Austin Ar ea High Schooler s)

Gau gi n g Th e Gen r es In the w or ld of liter atur e, ther e exists no shor tage of genr es for r eader s to enjoy. Fantasy, YA fiction, myster y, sci-fi, r om ance, histor ical fiction, hor r or , the list goes on. Reader s ar e know n for their intellectual cur iosity, and intellectual cur iosity often m eans asking questions. One m ight ask about genr es. W hat m akes this genr e appealing to so m any? How m any people favor one genr e over another ? Now , w ith the w onder ful technology of online sur veys, these questions can be answ er ed.

1. Fan t asy (38.5%) 2. YA Fi ct i on (25.6%)

3. M yst er y (21.8%) 4. Sci en ce Fi ct i on (20.5%)

14 | T he Most Popular Genres

W h at Th e Reader s Have To Say...

In fir st place com es fantasy, w ith it's appeal of adventur es and m agic.

"I've alw ays loved the concept of other w or lds, fantastic places and people, and m agic in gener al," said LASA fr eshm an Sabr ine Petusky.

"I've w anted to live in a fictional w or ld since I w as a little kid, and I guess I have yet to fully gr ow out of that."

M yster y cam e thir d, w ith it's allur e of... w ell, myster y. It's a genr e that m akes one think har d about evidence and outcom es, tur ning you into a detective. LASA junior M ar y M ar tinez had the sam e idea, saying, "I like myster y books because I like to pr oblem solve. These books allow m e to enjoy a stor y w hile being able to think of possible outcom es."

Sci-fi, w ith its w ide var iety of subgenr es and im aginative pr edictions of the futur e, cam e four th. "I guess the sim ple r eason is that it's just so 'out ther e'," said Louis M ata, another junior at LASA. "A lot of these stor ies spar k my im agination or have cer tain plot elem ents that I w ould have never thought about."

And last but cer tainly not least, w e have nonfiction. This genr e is not only infor m ative, and the ster eotype that only a bor ing ner d could appr eciate nonfiction is quite untr ue. Well, m ostly untr ue. As Lily W ilker son, a fr eshm an at LASA, put it,"I'm just a big ner d. I like facts, lear ning about things, etc... Nonfiction books do a good job of that!?

Page Design by Miguel Lathrop

5. Rom an ce (12.8%) 6. Hi st or i cal Fi ct i on (7.7%)

7. Hor r or (5.1%) 7. Non f i ct i on (2.6%)

Sorry, I 'm Booked | 15

Carol McHorse, Program Coordinator with Generation SERV E, reads a book to volunteers. GS is an Austin based nonprofit dedicated to bringing volunteering to the youth. I mage Courtesy of Generation SERVE.

K eeping Austin Reading

By Sameer Agrawal

H ow Austin Based Nonpr ofits H ave H elped Br ing Books to Mor e People etim es, a sim ple pr inted S om book can change the w or ld.

Thr oughout Austin, ther e ar e m any volunteer or ganizations dedicated to im pr oving som e facet of the com m unity. An issue tackled by m any or ganizations is giving books to people w ho other w ise w ould not have access to liter atur e. Though shar ing a com m on m ission, each or ganization has a unique w ay to addr ess the over ar ching goal of pr oviding books to all.

One Austin-based nonpr ofit is

16 | Keeping Austin Reading

Gener ation SERVE, an or ganization dedicated to br inging volunteer oppor tunities to the youth of Austin by or ganizing volunteer activities in par tner ship w ith other or ganizations for the benefit of both par ties. Car ol M cHor se has been the Pr ogr am Coor dinator for Gener ation SERVE since July of last year , and Gener ation SERVE's m essage speaks to her on a per sonal level.

said. "That it doesn't m atter how young you ar e, you can alw ays m ake a change in som e w ay."

"I think it's gr eat to be able to tr ain kids and teach them the im por tance of helping," M cHor se

"Dur ing Covid, w e've [Gener ation SERVE] had volunteer activities that ar e done over Zoom ,"

Unfor tunately, m any of Gener ation SERVE's for m er ly inper son volunteer activities have had to be shut dow n because of Covid-19. For tunately, the or ganization has been able to adapt to the new situation, intr oducing Zoom activities instead.

M cHor se said. "And som e of those activities r equir e supplies to be picked up fr om us. So w hat I do is I gather ever ything the fam ilies need, and put them in a bag and label them . And then the fam ilies can com e and pick them up cur bside w ith no contact."

M any of Gener ation SERVE's online volunteer activities ar e book-r elated. BookSpr ing, an or ganization dedicated to pr oviding liter atur e to childr en under the age of 12 w ho do not other w ise have access to books, has begun to use videos and other online platfor m s dur ing Covid-19 to spr ead the love of r eading and liter acy to m or e fam ilies.

A par tner or ganization w ith Gener ation SERVE is the

Wom en's Stor ybook Pr oject, an or ganization w ith a unique and yet cr ucial m ission. The nonpr ofit sends volunteer s to a w om en's pr ison unit, and they

"I t doesn't matter how young you ar e, you can always make a change."

Car ol McH or se, Pr ogr am Coor dinator with GS r ecor d an incar cer ated m other as she r eads a book aloud, and then send the r ecor ding to the child.

Often, a m other w ill w r ite a special m essage along w ith the r ecor ding and a copy of the book to be sent to her child.

"So it just depends on how old

their kids ar e and w hat they w ant to say," Char li Kr ause, Volunteer Coor dinator w ith the Stor ybook Pr oject, explains. "But it's just a per sonal m essage for the child, and r eading som e of then just totally br ings tear s to my eyes."

W ith the advent of Covid-19, how ever , the r ecor dings have no longer been possible. Now adays, Kr ause explains, "We have volunteer s w r ite letter s and then the m om s w r ite back to us and r equest books for their kids, and r equest that w e w r ite m essages in the books. And so w e have volunteer s select a book fr om our donated libr ar y, and then w e w r ite a m essage that their m om w anted us to w r ite and then send it to their kids." Although the childr en can still m aintain som e connection w ith their incar cer ated m other s, the "per sonal feeling just isn't quite ther e anym or e," Kr ause said.

Even dur ing Covid-19, suppor t am ong the com m unity has alw ays been high for the or ganization and its m ission. "It's not har d to find volunteer s for Stor ybook Pr oject," Kr ause said.

"People w ant to do that. It's som ething that r eally connects w ith a lot of people."

Another or ganization r elated to br inging liter atur e to inm ates is the Inside Books Pr oject. The m ission of this nonpr ofit is "r eduction of r ecidivism by handing out liter atur e to inm ates," accor ding to longtim e m em ber of the or ganization, Adam Kar lin. "The inm ates w r ite us a letter , and w e'll r espond and send them the books that w e have," he explained.

Charli Krause , the volunteer coordinator with the Women's Storybook Project. I mage Courtesy of Charli Krause.

Inm ates often r equest fantasy or adventur e books, because they "ar e such a good escape, and a w ay to take your m ind aw ay

Sorry, I 'm Booked | 17

fr om ever ything," Kar lin said.

But ther e is a m or e pr actical r eason inm ates r equest books as w ell. M any letter s r equest tr ade books, to "help educate them selves and so that they can m ove tow ar ds a job once they get out of pr ison," accor ding to Kar lin.

as a r ew ar d and/or punishm ent," accor ding to Kar lin. But w ith or ganizations like the Inside Books Pr oject, "w e can send people books that the inm ates can use as their ow n pr oper ty and at their ow n w ill. They can r ead w hen and w her e they w ant to."

The or ganization has halted nor m al volunteer activities due to Covid-19, but ther e is still a w ay to help. "Getting us books and r aising m oney thr ough fundr aising is r eally the best thing that you can do for us r ight now ," Kar lin r em ar ked.

Along w ith sending m uch needed liter atur e to pr isoner s, the or ganization also ser ves another , m or e per sonal, pur pose. "Often or ganizations such as our s ar e the only w ay for inm ates to m aintain contact w ith the outside w or ld," accor ding to Kar lin. "I r em em ber that one tim e a guy w r ote in, and talked about how about thankful he w as to r eceive the books, and that they cam e just in tim e for Chr istm as Day. So he w as able to pr etend that the books w er e fr om his fam ily, because his ow n

And keeping the or ganization's libr ar y stocked is cr ucial, because these donated books ar e often the only liter atur e available to inm ates.

"M any pr isons use the libr ar ies

fam ily had not contacted him for longer than a decade."

Liter atur e is a cr ucial com ponent of anyone's life, and the ear lier one star ts r eading, the better.

Texas Kids Read is an or ganization dedicated to br inging liter atur e to the youth.

Specifically, the nonpr ofit tar gets students in Title One Elem entar y Schools.

"Title One Elem entar y Schools ar e those w hich have a m inim um of 45% of their population qualifying for fr ee lunches," Roseanne Cr um p, Pr esident and Co-Founder of the or ganization explained. "We tar get those schools, because their student population is in the m ost need of the books."

"W hat w e do is w e have 3 book distr ibutions per year. And the

Adam Karlin, long time member of the I nside Books Project, packages a book to send to an inmate. Books sent to them from nonprofits like these are often the only literature they own. I mage Courtesy of Folktale Creative, LLC.

18 | Keeping Austin Reading

Children pick books at a Texas Kids Read Shopping Day. T his annual event is Texas Kids Read 's largest book giveaway occasion. Photo Courtesy of Roseanne Crump.

com bined populations of the thr ee schools is ar ound 1700 childr en, so that's 17,000 books a year that w e w ould give aw ay," Cr um p said. Due to Covid-19, the or ganization has begun to send school supplies such as pencils and notebooks to the childr en as w ell, "but w e tr y to keep books as our m ain focus."

Befor e Covid-19, the or ganization also had an annual book distr ibution event called "Shopping Day" in M ay so the kids could have books to r ead over sum m er.

"The kids line up outside their school libr ar y and ar e given bags pr eloaded w ith a few basic supplies such as a pencil or pen," Cr um p said. "Then they can go in and they have 10 to 15 m inutes to pick out their books. "We have volunteer s ther e to help them .

They pick out the books fir st; then they can go over and get their sw ag stuff like their keychains and color ing books."

"Reading is the basis of all education. I f you can't r ead, you can't succeed."

Roseanne Cr ump, T K R Founder Ther e ar e a few w ays to volunteer w ith the or ganization.

"We have our book cleaning events, and as soon as it's safe for ever yone to get back together again, they w ill have those tw ice a m onth," Cr um p explained. "You can also have your volunteer gr oup com e and sor t them by gr ade and things like that. But

even now , any sor t of donation or fundr aising is alw ays helpful."

Suppor ting or ganizations such as Texas Kids Read is im por tant because of the visible im pact they have on the childr en's lives.

"M eeting the kids is a hear tw ar m ing exper ience," Cr um p said. "They'll ask m e, 'W hen do I have to br ing these [books] back?' And I say, 'You don't have to, they'r e your s.' And they'll go to their par ents, and say, 'We get to keep these!' And their excitem ent r eally r em inds us, 'This is w hy w e ar e doing this.' " It's easy to take books for gr anted, but it is cr ucial to br ing books to as m any as possible.

"Reading is the basis of all education," said Cr um p. "If you can't r ead, you can't succeed."

Sorry, I 'm Booked | 19

T h e H er o O ver T i m e

Step 12: Retur

The hero finally ret adventures with the

Step 11: Metamorphosis This is a "2nd version" of the Main Ordeal. This is the hero's closest brush with death, and he must emerge victorious.

j

Step 10: The Road Back The hero begins his journey back to the ordinary world. This is almost a reverse version of the Call to Adventure.

Step 9: Reward After facing his biggest foe, the hero emerges stronger than before, often with some great prize.

Step 8: The Main Ordeal This is the hero's biggest problem or challenge. Defeating or overcoming this challenge would be the hero's main goal.

T h e H er o Cy cl e i s a com m on p l ot l i n e f ou n d i n a var i ety of st or i es. I t d escr i bes th e "jou r n ey " taken by var i ou s p r otagon i sts t h r ou gh ou t m an y n ovel s. T h er e ar e d i f f er en t ver si on s of th e Cy cl e w i t h d i f f er en t am ou n ts of st ep s, an d t h i s i s on e of i ts i ter at i on s.

20 | T he Hero Over T ime

Step 7: Approach The Dark Cave The Dark Cave me be a literal place, but it figuratively represents the main problem or danger that the hero has been avoiding thus far.

Step 6: Tests, A

This is the "bul adventure. These prepare the hero against the ma

Source: MovieOutline Page Design by Sameer Agrawal

urn With Elixir

turns home from his e "elixir", or his prize.

Allies, Enemies

lk" of the hero's se small trials help o for the big fight main antagonist.

Step 1: Ordinary World The environment that is familiar to the hero, a place that is usually mundane and unmagical compared to later lands.

Step 2: Call to Adventure The hero receives a call to leave his ordinary world and go on an adventure. The call may come in the form of a literal call, or some other sign.

Step 3: Refusal of the Call Most heroes don't wish to leave their ordinary world, and initially refuse the call.

Step 4: Meeting the Mentor Upon starting the adventure, the hero meets a mentor to get him started on his way. Think Frodo and Sam meeting Aragorn.

Step 5: Crossing the Threshold This is when the hero officially leaves his ordinary world and enters the magical unknown. Think Percy when he enters Camp Half Blood.

Sorry, I 'm Booked | 21

Book s Acr oss Lat i n Am er i ca

By Alondra Aguirre

w r ite books for m any differ ent P eople r easons, be it for enter tainm ent or know ledge. Latinx books ar e w r itten for m any differ ent r easons, and they not only help people per sonally, but also give know ledge of w hat people go thr ough as a Latinx per son. How ever , r eader s ar en't the only ones w ho benefit fr om these books, but also the author s w ho w r ite them .

The population of Latinx people is alw ays gr ow ing. Unfor tunately, they don't alw ays feel like they belong, but a single book can

change ever ything.

Fr om com ics, to m em oir s, to other differ ent genr es, author s thr oughout the w or ld alw ays tr y to convey their m essage thr ough their books, especially per sonal exper iences thr oughout their life.

Latinx com ic books affect people fr om ar ound the w or ld in m any differ ent w ays. Publishing these books has as m uch to do w ith the author them selves as the r eader s.

Latinx com ic book author Henr y Bar ajas w r ote La voz de M . A. Y. O, w hich is a m em oir about his gr eat gr andfather. Although par t of his intention w r iting the book w as to help other people, it w asn't the only one.

Henry Barajas , Selling his memoir L a Voz De M.A.Y.O. I mage Courtesy Of Henry Barajas.

22 | Books Across the Globe

? I hope that by telling his stor y and the stor y of the or ganization, La Voz de M . A. Y. O. honor s my

gr eat-gr andfather and helps infor m people about the incr edible accom plishm ents that he and his or ganization did,? Bar ajas said. ?Not change histor y but am end the stor y by telling the stor y of my gr eat gr andfather.?

Author s w ho focus on books sur r ounding pr oblem s and cultur es ar ound the w or ld ar e m ost likely going to have a per sonal stor y about it. For exam ple, take the Latinx book author s.

Henry Barajas, author of memoir L a Voz De Latinx people ar e fr om both Latin M.A.Y.O. Am er ica and the United States, w hich Photo courtesy of Henry Barajas. is one the m ain r easons w hy they feel like they don?t belong .

?I w as so alone in my fam ily, I didn?t feel like I could connect w ith anyone.

W hen I found out that my gr eat ?Not change histor y but amend gr andfather w as a self taught the stor y by telling the stor y of my jour nalist like myself, car ed about gr eat gr andfather.? his com m unity and w as ver y - Henr y Bar ajas, La Voz de M. A. politically active, and politically Y. O author savvy , w hich I alw ays felt that it inspir ed m e," Henr y said. "It w as ver y difficult for m e to have such as feeling asham ed of not being conver sations w ith my fam ily fully Am er ican. because our alignm ent didn't have any com m on gr ound or inter est.? ? I w as bor n in M exico city; my m om is Guatem alan Ir ish Am er ican, and But it doesn?t stop ther e. Although Bar ajas had tr ouble connecting w ith she w ent dow n to M exico city w hen his fam ily, other s faced bigger issues, she w as 18 on her w ay to Sorry, I 'm Booked | 23

Guatem ala," said Fr eder ick Aldam a, a Latinx com ic book author.

"M et my dad and m ade a fam ily, but things didn?t quite w or k out so she put us kids in a bus and br ought us back to Califor nia.

W hen w e cam e to Califor nia w e w er e told that w e w er en?t supposed to speak that dir ty M exican, and I felt r eally asham ed of speaking Spanish. It w as com ic books that I found at the local stor e that w er e my liter ar y device. They show ed m e that I could lear n English and I could lear n it in ver y exciting w ays; it w as also a w ay to finding a r efuge fr om all the things I w as having to deal w ith as a little kid, having m oved fr om M exico."

24 | Books Across the Globe

People fr om all ar ound have felt asham ed at som e point, because of the ster eotype about Latin Am er icans that is so pr evalent today. ?I think the nar r ative is changing.

Latinx, M exican- Am er ican people ar e not just gangster s felons and dr ug dealer s, but they?r e political activists,?

Bar ajas said.

Wr iting books about these topics ar e helping change the view s of the ster eotypes.

Photos: Left, Henr y Bar ajas poses w ith som e of his com ic books. Top r ight, the cover of one of Aldam a's com ic books. Bottom r ight, Bar ajas' com ic books in a bookstor e. Images Courtesy of Henry Barajas.

?Ther e is a long w ay to go as far as pop cultur e and Latinx r epr esentation and enter tainm ent, but it's good to see com ic books and other for m s of m edial that's expr essing a less affected char acter of the people and m or e of a w ell r ounded.

Because w hen you say Latinx ther e ar e people fr om all differ ent par ts of M exico and South Am er ica that don?t have the sam e patter n w ay of life, and that have differ ent aspects and I think the pop cultur e is helping ever yone r ealize that.?

Comic book author Frederick Aldama, Photo courtesy of Frederick Aldama

the w ater that I w as dr inking ever since I w as a kid,? Aldam a said.

Wr iting these stor ies ar e im por tant because of the help they can give to other people, especially kids ar ound the w or ld, but at the M any people have fam ily end of the day ever yone deser ves to be m em ber s that have been happy, no m atter w her e they'r e fr om . tr ying to speak up about ?Instead of us feeling asham ed of w ho w e Latinx people. ar e and our cultur e, and languages I hope to ?M y m om , seeing w hat w e show you all that not only should w e not be w ent thr ough, becam e a asham ed but r eally pr oud,? Fr eder ick said. bilingual education teacher ?We should be celebr ating and telling our as a single m om , and r eally stor ies in w hatever w ay w e can tell our dedicated her life into public stor ies." education and m aking a differ ence w ith new gen, so Latinx cultur e has been in Sorry, I 'm Booked | 25

Top Ten YA Book s At AISD area schools

1 3 5 7 9

The Harry Potter series

by J.K. Rowling

2

The Percy Jackson series

by Rick Riordan

4

TheFault In Our Stars

by John Green

6

TheHobbit

by J.R.R.Tolkien

8

TheBook Thief

by Marcus Zusak

10

Holes

by Louis Sachar

TheHunger Games

by Suzanne Collins

TheHateU Give

by Angie Thomas

TheMazeRunner

by James Dashner

TheGiver

by Lois Lowry

26 | Top Ten YA Books

?I l ik e th ese book s becau se th ey h ave open ed m y m in d to th e pr obl em s of th e wor l d an d h ave h el ped m e appr eciate th e th in gs we h ave r igh t n ow.?

- Yad i r a Ram os

?Th ese ar e th e book s th at r eal l y tau gh t m e th e m agic of l iter atu r e, en abl in g m e to see h ow on e can im m er se on esel f in a bel ievabl e an d en joyabl e u n iver se."

- Sar i m Ah m ad

?I l ik e cool adven tu r e wor l ds, especial l y with m agical or oth er wor l dl y el em en ts. I th in k wor l d-bu il din g is wh at m ak es a good stor y m ost of th e tim e.?

- H en r y Ed gi n gt on Im ages cour tesy of: Scholastic, Disney Publishing, Dell Publishing, Dutton Books, Picador , Allen and Unw in

By Hadley Wr ight, Alondr a Aguir r e

Sorry, I 'm Booked | 27

Book s On t h e Bi g Scr een

By Hadley Wr ight

On the set of Drawing Tinkerbell, nor th of Los Angeles. Photo courtesy of Barbara Autin.

28 | Books On the Big Screen

Wh at 's An Adapt at ion ? people have a favor ite book, w hether it?s The M agic Treehouse or The Grapes M ost of Wrath. So in or der to capitalize on people?s new est inter ests, pr oduction com panies tur n those bestseller s into m ovies. Cur r ent r eader s get to see their favor ite books on the big scr een, w hile potential new fans ar e intr oduced to the novel. It seem s like a w in-w in, but m any book adaptations have been deem ed failur es by the fandom .

W ith the new est technology com es the new est inter ests, and cr eator s of all kinds have to find w ays to get their w or k out ther e. That?s w her e the w or d ?adaptation? stem s fr om ; they have to adapt to the changing opinions and styles of the audience.

Author s, especially, need to get their published w or k optioned, ensur ing that som eone w ill eventually have the oppor tunity to tur n it into a m ovie or TV show.

Once they get to that point, they need to ensur e the loyalty of the adaptation.

Wh er e To St ar t Lots of elem ents go into the pr oduction of any m ovie, including adaptations.

How ever , som e ar e m or e im por tant than other s.

Bar bar a Autin, a scr iptw r iter for Her o M edia and co-author of a nonfiction book, said, ?If you don?t have a gr eat scr ipt, you can have the best actor s, and it?s still going to be disappointing. You [also] have to get a pr oduction com pany or a studio inter ested som ehow.?

Com m on com plaints about m ovies based on books ar e the changes m ade, such as char acter s being aged up, or a section being cut out. M any fans have gotten their hopes up, only to be let dow n by a disappointing adaptation. But especially for the author , deciding w hich elem ents to keep and w hich to get r id of can be painful.

Lisa Duchon is a m em ber of ?M or tified,?Austin, a r ecur r ing stage pr oduction that featur es adults shar ing their m ost em bar r assing childhood ar tifacts. ?They say you have to kill your babies Som etim es you just have to let stuff go. And I think that's har d. But it's r eally necessar y to m ake a w or k of ar t.? Duchon said.

Ever yon e Wan t s To Be Har r y Pot t er But the author doesn?t alw ays have ver y m uch contr ol over w hat goes in the film .

Tr acy Tr ivas, author of W ish Stealers and A Princess Found, talked about her exper iences as an up-and-com ing author. ?If you ar e allow ed to go on the set, if you'r e allow ed to be a consultant or a pr oducer , if you ar e allow ed to go m eet the char acter s, go to pr em ier es, that's pr etty m uch spelled out by your agent in a contr act,? Tr ivas explained. ?I think ever yone w ishes they w er e J.K. Row ling. The m or e your book is w ildly fam ous, the m or e contr ol you can have on how it tr anslates to the scr een.?

Know ing this, som e author s take a pr eem ptive str ike, cinem atic w r iting, to guar antee them selves a better adaptation. ?The second I star ted w r iting it, I thought it could m ake a cool m ovie.? said Jay Asher , author of Thirteen Reasons W hy. ?W hen the fir st r eview s of the book cam e out, a lot of people used the ter m cinem atic, w hich m ade m e happy that people w er e visualizing it as opposed to just r eading.?

Tr ivas had sim ilar thoughts. ?A lot of author s w hose w or k has a loyal tr anslation, they alm ost w r ite the book as if it's a m ovie.?

Sorry, I 'm Booked | 29

'Good' Adapt at ion s Som etim es, things in the book don?t tr anslate w ell to the scr een. As the co-author of a book cur r ently being adapted, Bar bar a Autin has fir st-hand exper ience dealing w ith this kind of thing. ?W hat m akes a good book is not necessar ily going to m ake a good scr eenplay,?

Autin said. ?W hat I have lear ned fr om the pr ocess is that, in a scr eenplay, you r eally have to nar r ow your focus dow n, you have to figur e out, ?w hat is the jour ney that I w ant to take the audience on? W hat do I w ant to leave w ith that audience at the end???

In a r egular m ovie, the m ain idea stem s fr om m any people at once, and is constantly changing as new additions ar e thought up. It?s this exact pr ocess that can spell disaster for book adaptations. Changing the author ?s or iginal stor y w ithout thinking about it can have ser ious r eper cussions. * cough, sequels, cough*

30 | Books On the Big Screen

For exam ple, Percy Jackson and the Olympians. As an im pr essive five-par t ser ies, this fr anchise could have been ver y successful, as expr essed by fans in countless YouTube videos and social m edia posts.

In June 2020, Rick Rior dan , the author of the Percy Jackson ser ies, expr essed his feelings for the m ovies in a tw eet.

"Well, to you guys, it's a couple hour s enter tainm ent.

To m e, it's my life's w or k going thr ough a m eat gr inder w hen I pleaded w ith them not to do it."

The Lightning Thief m ovie chose to m ake a ser ies of cr eative, although questionable, decisions. These decisions failed to pr oper ly lead into the next book, and by the tim e they w er e r eady to m ake the second m ovie, all the char acter s w er e in the w r ong places and

nothing had been set up r ight.

Im ages: Top left, Jay Asher on the set of Thirteen Reasons W hy. Bottom r ight, Jay Asher (left), Kather ine Langfor d (r ight), and Dylan M innette.

Top r ight, Jay Asher (left) and Br andon Flynn. Im ages cour tesy of Jay Asher.

That w as an exam ple of an adaptation w her e the author had ver y lim ited contr ol.

Unfor tunately, ther e ar e too m any author s in the ?Bu t t h at pr ivat e space w h er e sam e boat. In som e cases, though, the author w as ver y you h ave t h at qu iet t im e t o deeply involved in the r ead, an d t o im agin e, an d t o pr oduction.

Suzanne Collins w as extr em ely involved in the m aking of The Hunger Games, even w r iting por tions of the scr ipt and scr eenplay. The r esult w as a ser ies of hugely successful and popular film s, incr eased book sales, the cr eation of a new national phenom enon, and a new piece of the ?Holy Tr inity?of YA books, r ight up ther e w ith Harry Potter.

dr eam , t h at 's h u ge. An d w e r eally can't lose t h at .?

By com par ing the tw o, it?s clear that author contr ol is cr itical. Ther e ar e changes that need to be m ade in ever y adaptation, but they need to be done by som eone w ho under stands the book . W ho better than the author to look at their w or k and decide w hat w ill im pact the them es, char acter s, plot, and over all outcom e?

Tr u st In a per fect w or ld, author s w ould have tr usting, open r elationships w ith ever yone involved in the pr oduction of their adaptation.

But finding people w ho w ill take the tim e to tr y and under stand your w or k, and help tr anslate it so other s can too is m or e difficult than it sounds.

Jay Asher could r elate. ?I actually said 'no' to sever al people, w hich w as ver y scar y. Because you know , they'r e offer ing you m oney. And it's also kind of the dr eam to see it film ed. But usually, they w ould say som ething that just m ade m e r eally uncom for table, and I r ealized that ther e ar e going to be a lot of people involved w ith adapting it. If at the ver y beginning you'r e alr eady uncom for table, it's pr obably going to get w or se instead of better.?

-Tr acy Tr ivas, au t h or of Wish Stealers

tr y to under stand it as you do, it?s w or th it. ?The per son in char ge of w r iting it com pletely got it. I think that's exactly w hy it tur ned out so w ell,? Asher explained. ?Just fr om a cr eative standpoint, as the w r iter , I knew that if they get it, and they under stand w hat I'm tr ying to say, and they under stand the char acter s, then letting them feel cr eative and feel tr usted is pr obably going to get the best r esult.?

Tr ivas seem ed to be thinking along the sam e lines.?M y job is to w r ite the best stor y I can. Then, if you have good r epr esentation, their job is to r epr esent your book, or your stor y, or your m ovie the best w ay they can.?

So, tw o of the m ost im por tant things an adaptation can have ar e author involvem ent and m utual tr ust. The scr ipt, the dir ector , even the actor s, they ar en?t going to m atter if the stor y gets lost along the w ay. ?It's lovely to w atch a m ovie. But you'r e also using your br ain in a differ ent w ay than w hen you'r e r eading. Because w hen you'r e r eading, you'r e having this quiet exchange of im agination.

And w hen you'r e w atching a m ovie, you'r e just having kind of a visual exper ience.? Tr ivas said. ?But that pr ivate space w her e you have that quiet tim e to r ead, and to im agine, and to dr eam , that's huge. And w e r eally can't lose that.?

But w hen you can find the people w ho w ill

Sorry, I 'm Booked | 31

DI NOSA URS It Strengthens The Brain Using MRI scans, scientists and researchers have discovered that when you read, you use a complex system of circuits and signals in the brain. The more you read, the stronger that system gets, improving brain function and increasing activity.

The long-lasting benefits of reading on your mind and body.

It Reduces Stress

It Helps Prevent Cognitive Diseases Age-related illnesses, such as Alzheimer's and dementia, can be combated and prevented by stimulating the brain through reading.

Studies have shown that people who were mentally stimulated for most of their lives are less likely to develop symptoms that lead to these conditions.

Studies and experiments have proven that when you read, your stress levels can be reduced by as much as 68%. Just 30 minutes of reading can lower your heart rate, blood pressure, and feelings of psychological distress.

It Improves Memory

All new elements of a story create new memories, which means new synapses are firing and existing ones are being strengthened . Your short-term memory and recall capabilities are being enhanced by the effort it takes to remember that characters, plot, and themes of the book.

It Builds Vocabulary

Reading improves your vocabulary, especially if you begin at a young age. Learning new words helps you communicate more effectively, a Papy skill that many employers look for in Scro potential employees.

4t h m illen n iu m

32 | Dinosaurs Didn't Read, Now T hey're Extinct

By Hadley Wr ight

didn't read.

NOWTHEY'REEXTINCT...

History of Books Ebooks First dictionary Sh ak espear e

Invention of the printing press

Agat h a Ch r ist ie Bar bar a Car t lan d

Dr . Seu ss

First Printed Book

J.K. Row lin g Leo Tolst oy

Codex

R.L. St in e

yrus

St eph en Kin g Joh n Gr ish am

lls

m B.C. 1st 2n d-5t h Cen t u r y 1439 Cen t u r y

J.R.R. Tolk ien

C.S. Lew is

1582

1971

Ch ar les Dick en s Jam es Pat t er son

Sorry, I 'm Booked | 33

Hooah !

How Su zan n e Col l i n s' Li f e As A M i l i t ar y Ki d I n f l u en ced Her Book s

A w elcom e hom e cer em ony for the 1st Br igade Com bat Team "Ir onhor se," 1st Cavalr y Division. Photo by Sgt. Kimberly Browne.

lots of people, books ar e an escape fr om T or eality.

They can take us anyw her e w e w ant, w ithout ever leaving our r oom s. Som e novels, dystopias, take us to a futur e w or ld, based on w hat?s happening in the pr esent. In m any dystopias, w e don?t like w hat w e see.

M aybe it?s an author itar ian gover nm ent, or a com plete societal lack of m or ality, or a natur al disaster that alter ed life as w e knew it. They ar e designed to m ake us think about r ight and w r ong, and the best ones m ake us think about

34 | Hooah!

r eal-w or ld pr oblem s w ithout even r ealizing it.

Suzanne Collins?The Hunger Games is a good exam ple of this.

Suzanne Collins w as bor n August 10th, 1962, in Har tfield, Connecticut. She w as the youngest of four kids, and her fam ily m oved fr equently ar ound the countr y. Her father w as a lieutenant colonel in the Air For ce and taught m ilitar y histor y at West Point, so she and her siblings gr ew up hear ing about his exper iences over seas dur ing the Vietnam and

Kor ean w ar s.

In a 2008 inter view , Collins descr ibed their fam ily vacations to var ious battlefields, and their dad?s insistence that they lear ned the stor ies behind the w ar s that took place ther e. ?You had to under stand how [the w ar ] played out and w hat the consequences w er e. It w as extr em ely im por tant to him that w e under stood histor y and the histor y of w ar.? she told New sw eek .

Her m iddle-gr ade YA ser ies, The Underland Chronicles, dealt w ith differ ent types of fighting, like biological w ar far e and genocide. The Hunger Games had childr en fighting against each other as a w ay to keep society in line. On m ultiple occasions, Collins has been asked w hat she w ants kids to take aw ay fr om her books. ?I'd like to take topics like w ar and intr oduce them at an ear lier age. I w ant kids to be aw ar e of these topics, to think about them , and r eally, the sooner the better.? she said in an inter view w ith New sw eek .

One of Collins?fir st books, The Year of the Jungle, r eached out to a younger audience. It w as a pictur e book about her life w hile her dad w as deployed to Vietnam , and it allow ed childr en to lear n about w ar in a safe and cr eative w ay. The Underland Chronicles m ade it possible for m iddle-schooler s to do the sam e, and The

" I 'd l i k e t o t ak e t opi cs l i k e w ar an d i n t r odu ce t h em at an ear l i er age. I w an t k i ds t o be aw ar e of t h ese t opi cs, t o t h i n k abou t t h em , an d r eal l y, t h e soon er t h e bet t er ."

-Su zan n e Col l i n s, au t h or of The Hunger Ga mes

Hunger Games gave that sam e chance to high-schooler s and adults alike.

Image

Suzanne Collins, author of The Hunger Games. Image courtesy of Scholastic, photo by Todd Plitt.

?The Hunger Games is par t of a lar ger goal I have, w hich is to w r ite a w ar appr opr iate stor y for ever y age of kids, w hich I sor t of com pleted in Septem ber w hen I had a pictur e book com e out called Year of the Jungle.? she said to TIM E m agazine.

Her father ?s w ish to educate people about the m any r ealities of w ar is car r ied out by Collins in The Hunger Games, and in her other w or ks as w ell. ?If w e w ait too long, w hat kind of expectation can w e have?? she said in an inter view w ith the New Yor k Tim es. ?We think w e?r e shelter ing them , but w hat w e?r e doing is putting them at a disadvantage.?

Sorry, I 'm Booked | 35

Looking for a new book to read? Here are the top 10 books for young adult readers based on a survey for high schools in Austin. Start by picking either fiction or fantasy.

36 | W hich Book I s Right For You?

Image courtesy of: Scholastic, Dell Publishing, Scriber, HarperCollins, Dutton Books, Tor Books, Allen & Unwin, Disney Publishing Worldwide, Puffin Books, and Miramax Books

Sorry, I 'm Booked | 37

Editor Picture

Hadley Wr ight Book t o m ov i e adapt at i on s Hadley likes to r ead. A lot. Her favor ite book ser ies is Per cy Jackson. She r eally likes other books too, though, like dystopias and YA novels. She plays volleyball and spends m ost of her spar e tim e --you guessed it-- r eading, although she does like to bake. She lear ned a lot fr om m aking this Ezine, but the m ost im por tant thing she lear ned w as that com m unication is a r eally im por tant skill to have. The second m ost im por tant w as that it IS possible to talk about Per cy Jackson ver sus Har r y Potter for an hour and a half str aight.

38 | Editor Bios

Sam eer Agr aw al Book s an d vol u n t eer i n g As you have undoubtedly guessed, Sam eer also loves to r ead, and his bookshelf is alw ays in im m inent danger of collapsing. Though he loves fantasy the m ost, he'll gobble up anything w ith bound pages.

Except books for school. Never that.

Cr eating this Ezine ar ticle w as a r oller coaster r ide of inter view ing, w r iting, and designing, but w hen all w as said and done, Sam eer r ealized how m uch he took his books for gr anted, and has lear ned to appr eciate them a w hole lot m or e.

Alondr Book s f r om di

Alondr a likes to but one of her fa do is r ead. She l differ ent ser ies, favor ites is Har r to go into a diffe for get ever ythin r eading. She en and hanging ou and fr iends w he r eading. Alondr things w hile doi one of the m ain lear ning how to com m unicate be people.

r Bios

Oscar Alvar ado a Aguir r e f f er en t cou n t r i es

o do m any things, avor ite things to likes to r ead , but one of her r y Potter. She likes er ent w or ld and ng else w hen she is joys sw im m ing, t w ith her fam ily en she isn?t r a lear ned a lot of ing her Ezine, but n things w as o w or k and etter w ith other

How Cov i d-19 h as af f ect ed book st or es Oscar enjoys all types of books, pr efer ably novels. He enjoys histor ical fiction, m em oir s, r ealistic fiction, and thr iller s. He also enjoys spending his tim e w ith fam ily and fr iends. Oscar didn?t r eally enjoy r eading as m uch as he does today w hen he w as in his younger year s.

He got a love of books dur ing m iddle school w hen he lear ned that ther e w er e m any books out ther e and w or lds to be in. Dur ing Ezine, Oscar lear ned com m unication skills and how fun it is to w r ite. He also got help in lear ning how to type w ithout looking at the keyboar d.

M iguel Lathr op Au st i n au t h or s An avid r eader and a pr oud ner d, M iguel loves tw o book genr es the m ost: histor ical nonfiction and fantasy, although he?ll r ead pr actically anything you give him .

That?s as specific as you?ll get w hen it com es to favor ites, because he is com pletely unable to decide on a best ser ies (m aybe Er agon?) and especially not a best book . The m ost significant takeaw ay he got fr om this w hole or deal w ould be a new found under standing of just how im por tant social connections ar e, w hether they be on the per sonal or com m unity w ide level.

Sorry, I 'm Booked | 39

The editor s fr om left to r ight: Sam eer Agr aw al, M iguel Lathr op, Hadley Wr ight, Alondr a Aguir r e, Oscar Alvar ado

Som e par ting w or ds...

"W hen in doubt, put the stuff in w eir d shapes and call it a day." -Hadley Wr ight "I am an im m or tal fifth dim ension dw elling cr eatur e w ho sells em pty bow ls of r am en and ow ns a business that r elies on nothing m or e than cour tesy and happiness." -M iguel Lathr op

"Design isn't a science as m uch as it is fooling ar ound w ith fonts and color s until som ething looks good." -Sam eer Agr aw al "I've never r ead Har r y Potter." -Oscar Alvar ado

"W hen I don't r ead I need to r ead m or e, but w hen I r ead I need to stop r eading." -Alondr a Aguir r e

40 | Group Picture

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