New Reads for Old Series

Sisterhood Everlasting - Ann Brashares (June 14th, 2011)

I was so excited to discover that there was going to be a fifth book to follow up with the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. I love Bridget and Lena and Tibby and Carmen and all the secondary characters as well. They're all so real! (In fact, I even signed up for summer soccer - for 3 years, no less - because, hey, Bridget plays soccer!) But most of all, I love Brashares' writing. I love the diction choice, the phrasing, the voice. There are so many memorable quotes that have just stuck with me, even though it's been years.

The Last Little Blue Envelope - Maureen Johnson (April 26th, 2011)
Again, Johnson is another writer who's prose I adore. It's quirky and fun, unique and amusing. And similarly here, 13 Little Blue Envelopes (the first book) is one that really resonated with me. The whole concept of bumming around Europe, just kind of getting off the grid for awhile, living with freedom and gusto, experiencing a boho sort of life ... it really appeals to me. Especially in the past month, while the beginning tendrils of panic about finding something to do for this summer have begun to curl in, I've been thinking a lot about what it'd be like, to have that kind of bohemian freedom. But realistically speaking, even though my parents are very flexible and modern for Asian parents, being a professor and an engineer, they're pretty rational - bumming around for the sake of it without direction the summer after first year university would be still be pushing it.

Live vicariously through books, right?

I think, at the same time, because what little time I have for for-fun reading is spent on dystopian / science fiction / futuristic speculative fiction these days, I don't really read books like [these ones above] any more. A throwback to old times, perhaps - some nostalgic reading in the vein of what I used to, a few years ago.

Just reminiscing.

What's Your Font?

I'm curious - how do you guys feel about fonts?

For me, there're specific fonts that I've simply come to associate with certain books or franchises. I'm sure the obvious ones come to mind for you guys as well - Harry Potter, the Twilight series, etc. all have very distinctive ones.

A little more subtle, the interior text of books often have unique fonts as well. Those favoured series that are often read seem to convey a certain personality through their specific respective fonts, each rounded loop, each serifed stem, each sloping line.

Unfortunately I don't know the fonts of these books off-hand (perhaps you do?), but there are a few that stick out particularly. Gail Carson Levine's fractured fairy tale books always seem to contain the same font, and I've come to have a fond spot for the innocent yet regal letters. Ann Brashares' The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series has one specific typeset throughout the novels, another one for opening chapter quotes, and then each Tibby, Bridget, Lena and Carmen have associated "handwriting"s. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Jaclyn Moriarty's characters (especially in The Year of Secret Assignments) have different writing as well.

Awhile ago I remember opening an MG book and literally thinking, "Oh my gosh, wow, it's Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants - font!"

How about you, do fonts play a role in your reading experience? Do you find yourself attached to a few in particular, or associate them with where you first saw them? What's your font?!