rgz Newsflash: A Night of Awesome was Awesome

Did you all catch John and Hank live? The show in Carnegie Hall was amazing. So much fun! readergirlz are Nerdfighters. Thanks, brothers! We celebrate with you!

Book Fight: Cancer Books Don't Suck

So, I had this book fight in my head. I just finished The Fault in Our Stars. It's beautiful 

and wonderful, and I, as always, give a standing ovation to John Green. His wit, 

philosophy, theology, and worldview are packed inside this work I will remember.

That said, my mind hung on protagonist Hazel Grace's statement that "cancer books 

suck." She goes on to explain the kind she means, and I totally get it. But wait, I thought. 

I wrote a book about cancer! It wasn't but a second later that I began to question my 

own work, and even worse, "Do I suck BECAUSE I wrote a book about cancer?" It 

doesn't take much, right? I know. Try living in my brain.

Anyway, I felt I had the right to speak back to Hazel as I sorted through my thoughts. 

Like her, I had thyroid cancer. I had thyroid removal and follow-up radioactive iodine 

treatment. I was radioactive in isolation for two weeks. I still have autoimmune diseases, 

one of which raises my chance of lymphoma 44 times more than others. Last week, 

doctors were checking for leukemia. Nope. But I am under watch regularly to verify I'm 

not lighting up the scans.

That said, I want to make the case that cancer books don't suck if they are honest. 

I loved the touchpoints between The Fault in Our Stars and my own work Loose Threads. 

There are themes, moments, and choices that echo between them because of common experience. But then there are divergent thoughts around the why and what for. 

Worldviews that split from each other; truths we wouldn't agree upon but are so

 thought-provoking and challenging, regardless.

Eventually, I did realize: Wait! Hazel loves a cancer book. The Fault in Our Stars is a

cancer book. John wrote a cancer book. He doesn't suck. Loose Threads is equally 

honest and doesn't suck either. And neither do I. Well, for the moment. In this realm.

Here's to authors speaking the truth about cancer with realism and honesty. And 

here's to those on the journey themselves. "There's hope. Look." Loose Threads

Reading Right Now: The Fault in Our Stars

Flipping through TIME magazine, February 6, and ran across a full page review of John Green's latest, The Fault in Our Stars. I'm guessing this is what I think of as a life work, not that there won't be further great works from John. I shot it into my Kindle, and now I am s-a-v-o-r-i-n-g it. I encourage you to do the same.

Bravo, John. Once again you've dropped the divider from between YA and adult, and you engage us with your intellect and heart. Bravo!

The Fault in Our Stars
by John Green
Dutton

New Year Revolution: Give Something Away

Just found this video thanks to John Green sharing it on Twitter. It brought Operation Teen Book Drop to mind, so I thought I'd share it.

Rosianna was inspired by the New Year Revolution to give something away. She selected four novels by John Green, wrapped them up with a pretty bow and topped them off with a personal note encouraging someone to pick up the books and read them.

Kudos to you, Rosianna! I hope the person who finds the books enjoys them - and I hope this post prompts you to come say hi at the readergirlz blog!



If you can't see the video above, click here.

Follow John Green on Twitter: @realjohngreen
Follow Rosianna on Twitter: @papertimelady
Watch Rosianna on YouTube: missxrojas

Gentle readers, what are your New Year's Resolutions? Are you going to make this a New Year Revolution a la the Channel 4 project? Like the Superchick song says, "I'm a one girl revolution." :)

rgz Newsflash: Congrats to Green and Levithan!

The Children’s Book Council (CBC) announced the winners of the fourth annual Children’s Choice Book Awards. Our congrats to John Green and David Levithan for Teen Choice Book of the Year, Will Grayson, Will Grayson. 


Way to go, guys! 

Reach Out: Friends of Esther, Vlog by John Green

This month's theme is Family. We recently lost a young member of our extended internet family. As posted by John Green on Vlog Brothers:

If you'd like to honor Esther's memory, please visit Friends of Esther, where donations will help Esther's family with expenses related to her care. Checks may be sent to:

Friends of Esther Earl
118 Billings Street
Quincy, MA 02171

You may also make donations in her name:
The HP Alliance
PO Box 441640
West Somerville, MA 02144

Stand There for Esther

Thanks, John. We will remember.

rgz, our September Outreach will be for Esther's family. xox

June: Discussion Roundup

Did you miss any chatter with John about Paper Towns? Here's the list of links to access them all. Thanks again, John!

Discussion about Paper Towns with John
Life-changing discoveries
People as mirrors and windows
Who is your accomplice?
Revenge
Best friends

Running away and being found
Music that inspires
Finding the lost
Which cover is true?

False impressions

Reactions
The end of the book

Extras
Welcome, John!
Street Team review, Jacqueline
Things to know about John!
Playlist for Paper Towns
Welcome, Nerdfighters!

Reach Out: The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

The TWITTER CHAT recap!
Party it up!

John on the Manic Pixie Dream Girl
Thank you, John!

Thank You, John Green!

We have loved spending the month of June with John Green, discussing his fantastic novel Paper Towns! Things we've learned:

* John's next book involves a beach.

* John is super-fast on Twitter (read the chat recap!)

*John believes the world is essentially broken, and true endings are ambiguous.

This deep thinker inspires us. Thanks for joining us here, John, and making our month full of Awesome!

June: PAPER TOWNS, The End of the Book

John asks, "Why do you think Q makes the decision he does at the end of the book? Do you agree with his decision regarding the invitation?"

Follow-up: What do you think makes a good book ending, as a reader? What do you like to be left feeling or thinking?

June: PAPER TOWNS, Reactions

John asks, "Discuss the scene where Q finally finds Margo. How does her reaction to seeing her friends make you feel?"

Follow-up: Have you ever been in a situation where someone reacted to you in an unexpected way? How did that feel?

Paper Towns: John Green on the Manic Pixie Dream Girl

Little Willow remembered a discussion that went on a little while ago that centered around an article in Onion A.V. Club about the "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" (MPDG), girls like Natalie Portman in Garden State (shown) who--according to writer Nathan Rabin--"exist solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures." Jezebel weighed in too, and so did our featured author John Green, in regards to Margo of Paper Towns:

"Margo is certainly presented by Q as a Manic Pixie Dream Girl at the beginning of PT. Absolutely. But that only acknowledges that some boys believe in Manic Pixie Dream Girls; it doesn't argue that MPDGs actually exist, or that Margo is one." --JG

Read John's full post here. What do you think of the MPDG?

June: PAPER TOWNS, False Impressions

John asks, "Do you think that Margo meant to give her friends a false impression of herself?"

Follow-up: Have you ever given anyone a false impression of yourself?

June: PAPER TOWNS, Which Cover is True?

John says, "The Paper Towns hardcover was released with two different covers (below). What does each version say about Margo? Do you think either one is 'correct'?"

June: PAPER TOWNS, Finding What's Lost

John asks, "If you were in Q's position, would you look for Margo or let her go, like her parents did? Why?"

Follow-up: Have you ever had to find someone who seemed lost, either physically or emotionally?

Party It Up: Paper Towns

Planning your own book group get-together for Paper Towns? Here are some party ideas from author John Green!

Invite: A coded message

Décor: A dozen tulips, maps, mirrors

Food: Gas station snacks, a la road tripping

Project: Scavenger hunt

June: PAPER TOWNS, Music That Inspires

John asks, "Radar says, 'Coltrane's playing is literally the most convincing proof of God's existence I've ever come across' (p. 112). What music would be this important to you?"

June: rgz LIVE! Twitter Chat Recap!

Okay, this is a tad long, but I really only picked highlights! This is for our non-Twitter peeps! Listen in to John, rgz:

I hope to tour again sometime next year, but we'll see.

I'm a very amateur philosopher, but I'm fascinated by the same big ?s that obsessed me as a teen.

I really liked Vonnegut, Toni Morrison, and Salinger.

I think I was inspired by the IDEA of books--using ink on paper to communicate something--more than particular books.

Yeah, I was really deeply engaged in the religion classes I took as a student (but that was in college).

In a very broad sense, my current novel is set on a beach.

I started writing as a kid, but I got serious in high school and more serious in college.

I can't find just one thing I love about nerdfighteria. It's a huge, huge part of my life.

Well, I believe the world is essentially broken, and I guess I think the only true ending is an ambiguous one.

Oh sure, sometimes I feel misread. But my books don't belong to me. They belong to their readers.

I feel happy if I write more than 1,000 words in a day, but sometimes I make more progress deleting 1,000 words.

No, I write alone these days (well, aside from skype friends).

My advice to other writers is to read and read and read and read. And listen to criticism. It hurts but it's right.

I write for my readers. I am inspired by them, and I feel challenged by them.

I am inspired by this infuriatingly broken world we live in. I want to put it back together in my head.

Well I think one of the general challenges in life is being sociable without being untrue to one's self.

I loved the babysitters club when I was growing up. I loved series. I was like Eudora Welty in a sweet devouring.

Hank takes it personally that I've never written a protagonist with a sibling. I haven't stolen much from Hank.

Nerdfighteria has profoundly influenced my writing by showing me how smart and engaged contemporary teens are.

I wrote Alaska because I was obsessed with the problem of theodicy--how evil can exist with an omnipotent god.

Well I think one of the points of literature is to help us understand how to be human in a compromised world...

Although you won't like this answer, I think intense critical analysis of literature is a hugely important skill.

Broadly speaking, I wanted to write because I loved reading and wanted to be on the other side of the page.

I still don't think of writing as a career. I love it, but I don't know that I'll be able to do it in 20 years.

That was fun! AND CRAZY! You guys are the best.

It was a super fun chat. Join us next time if you can!

rgz LIVE! Twitter chat with John Green!

Join us tonight for a twitter chat with this month's featured author, John Green! We'll be talking about Paper Towns, spontaneity and well--who knows???

The chat will start live at the top of the hour over at twitter. John Green can be found on twitter at realjohngreen and don't forget to put the #rgz tag on your questions to him!

We're chatting with John Green on Twitter

We can't wait for our chat with John on June 16. (Seriously. It's like a giddy, pre-prom feeling. We only hope our curling iron doesn't get stuck in our hair. Again.)

If you've never used Twitter before, here's how to do it in three easy steps:

1. First, create a Twitter account if you don’t have one already. It’s easy and free, and all you need is an e-mail address.

2. Log onto Twitter at 6 p.m. Pacific, 9 p.m. Eastern on June 16.

3. Type @realjohngreen plus your question, followed by #rgz. This asks John your question and funnels it into the readergirlz chat stream.

To follow along the chat, go here (the #rgz Twitter stream).

Going forward, you’ll be able to follow rgz and lots of your favorite authors on Twitter. You can find us and everyone we follow here: http://twitter.com/readergirlz

Questions? Post them in the comments and we'll take care of you.