Blog - Page 139 of 227

New Book Smell

5 Comments / Books / By Gwenda / April 14, 2007

We went out to Joseph-Beth — which has been reconfigured in a not entirely pleasing way (not entirely displeasing either, to be fair) — to check out the Kids Bargain Book Blow-Out, which claimed to be selling off tons of remaindered YA books for $1.50 a pop. Well, of course, pretty much everything that was for sale sucked eggs, except for the things for younger readers and the books we already owned. I’d set myself a budget expecting to clean-up and I more or less stuck to it and I did clean up. At least, if you consider three new hardbacks cleaning up. And I do, when the books in question are:

Holly Black’s Ironside (YAY! You know what I’m doing tonight…)
Cassie Clare’s City of Bones
Ellen Klages’ The Green Glass Sea

It’s a remarkably aesthetically lovely trio to look at — all three are gorgeously designed books that I expect will be utterly fabulous. I feel better now.

If only the rain would stop (making the dogs sad), the tax refund would arrive, and my book would start to write itself, life would be damn near perfect.

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Friday Hangovers

2 Comments / Hangovers / By Gwenda / April 13, 2007

Yes, I know things have been scattered and lame around these parts lately. Chalk it up to spring-that-feels-like-winter fever, or just being incredibly busy. I’m attempting to keep up with email, but am still running a few days behind.
Meg Rosoff applies the lessons she learned in her advertising day job to writing. (Via Literaticat, who rightly identifies the commenters as mostly boobs.)
Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast interviews John Green.
Thoughts on science fiction as (not being) the literature of ideas and the work of Ted Chiang.
Freshly banned words in the capitol. (Via Maud.)
Meghan on the implicit assumptions underlying NYT articles about sex.
The fabulous Betsy has Ellen Klages’ Scott O’Dell speech. Being a writer is all about shiny things. It’s true.

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R.I.P.

Goodbyes / By Gwenda / April 12, 2007

On NPR this morning, Gore Vidal was suddenly there, calling Kurt Vonnegut a "good science fiction writer," and so I knew he was dead. His work was very important to me growing up and I got to see him read once. I’m grateful for the work, and the reading, and his life. But, boy, does his dying suck.

Here he is on The Long View, judging the state of modern society.

Updated: Christopher’s Vonnegut stories — that’s the same reading I went to that he describes in part 2.

And see Karen Meisner’s post too.

And Ed has a ton of good links.

As does Maud.

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They Were Always Disturbing

Little Movies / By Gwenda / April 11, 2007

Dick and Jane, that is. (Via Karen.)

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Gender Balance & Genre Ballots Redux

Scientifiction / By Gwenda / April 11, 2007

Ellen_Kushner has a thoughtful reaction from Geoff Ryman on the lack of women nominated for this year’s Hugos. A taste:

We seem to have reverted to type. It’s time at least to ask the question: is there something fundamental to the SF tradition that excludes many things women live through and write about? Or which tolerates those writers and their works while delivering an essentially masculine dream? Maybe in ORDER to deliver that masculine dream. Is this dream so deep and enduring that no amount of conscious political correctness can undo it? Is it the case that men find SF easier to write? Or do fine writers like Liz Williams, Gwyneth Jones, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro and Suzy McKee Charnas simply write material that is regarded as fantasy or slipstream and so doesn’t make the cut?

Please do go read the whole post and the comments; there are no easy answers, that’s for sure.

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Wednesday Hangovers

4 Comments / Hangovers / By Gwenda / April 11, 2007

Cruise ship decorating. (Via Jenny D.)
A lovely brief account of a St. Paul panel on teen fiction featuring Tobin Anderson, Pete Hautman and Alison McGhee.
Please, someone pay Maureen McHugh to do a book just of food writing: "She has dark red hair and those black cat’s eye glasses which are hip now, but which were the bane of my existence in seventh grade. She was not born when I was in seventh grade. When I was her age, I was not making ragu. I still thought creamed spinach was a pretty big deal. I was working two jobs and writing stories that collected rejection slips and taking Chinese lessons so I could move to China. When I got home at night at ten (having left in the morning at seven) I sometimes had glazed doughnuts and beer for dinner. Oddly enough, I was quite slim. But not tall or, obviously, sophisticated." Do yourself a favor and read the whole post.
Rachel Swirsky wants to know what you love in short stories, and she’s also featured over at Scalzi’s Ficlets.
Why do I have Roberto Bolano’s Distant Star open in a tab? Anyone?
Why are plagiarists always so sloppy?

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This Post Brought to You By

3 Comments / Nattering / By Gwenda / April 11, 2007

The wonderful thing about my new lunchtime addiction, aka Dr. McDougall’s Vegan Miso Soup cups, is that no one expects you to eat thin soupy noodles daintily. This is good for me, since, as you know, I am not a dainty person. I am a clumsy person who would probably be better off going through life sporting a Level 3 Biohazard suit.

Of course, on the downside, you do have to brave boiling water to make the soup — but, well, I’m being more careful and my hand’s almost healed. It only has a faint phantom continent from that whole deadline-fueled pouring of boiling water all over it in the simple quest to make a cup of tea business last week.

Anyway, happy sigh. I love miso soup cups. If only someone would bring me a cupcake now…

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Sorry Chickadees

Excuses, Excuses / By Gwenda / April 11, 2007

For disappearing again so soon. Lost in One of Those Days and to Writing the Novel, but I’ll be back later with some Actual Content.

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Monday Hangovers (Updated)

5 Comments / Hangovers / By Gwenda / April 9, 2007

Just so you know, this is what happens when I play catch-up.
Josh Bell plays in a D.C. Metro Station and few people notice. See also: Chance’s dissent. Updated: And here’s a chat with the author’s article, Gene Weingarten, where he answers similar criticisms, and the full audio of Bell’s performance, which is jaw-droppingly gorgeous. To me, it’s not so much about beauty, as the inability to appreciate something extraordinary. I agree with the people (defensively) saying that beauty is everywhere, but the extraordinary isn’t, by definition. It’s worth keeping an eye out for.
The Ray Davis/Jonathan Lethem emails. (Via Matt Cheney.)
Tightrope Girl, who currently writes for House, has two excellent posts on point of view: the first, the second.
Betsy at Fusenumber8 wonders when the first great YA illustrated novels will appear, following several fantastic ones for younger readers. (Note: This is illustrated novels, not graphic novels.) I just read The Invention of Hugo Cabret and adored it; more on that soon.
I really am going to have to resub to New Scientist to get these fab articles Paul Collins is writing for them. Or at least visit the library more often.
Richard Larson seconds Kelly’s controversial recommendation of Slither. Guess I may have to break down and watch it after all.
China Mieville visits Bat Segundo — Un Lun Dun is another book I’ll be talking about when I finally manage a reading update. I had some issues with the beginning, but ending up adoring it.
Oh, and Ellen Klages also visits Bat Segundo — finally read her wonderful short story "In the House of Seven Librarians" (originally published in Firebirds Rising, but I read it in The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year antho) over the weekend. Seek it out. Bonus: Betsy has the goods on the award ceremony (party!) for Ellen for winning the Scott O’Dell Award for Gleen Grass Sea, which I still really, really need to read.
Jim Munroe, my karaoke hero, has some thoughts as the Perpetual Motion Roadshow comes to an end.
Little Prince illo in Japan.
Joan of Arc relics are forgeries. (Via Jenny D.)
Cynthia Leitich Smith on a book I MUST own — Don’t You Forget About Me: Contemporary Writers on the Films of John Hughes. (Hey, nice publicist…?)
Colleen on the dangers of adults reviewing books for teens.
Libba Bray has a glass eye. That is awesome.
Liz Hand’s Generation Loss is winning fans right and left.
Scalzi interviews Alma Alexander, whose Worldweavers is in the TBR stack.
RE: Oprah and The Road: What Darby said. Although I’m skipping The Corrections.
The ever-fabulous Literaticat interviews Justine about the Magic or Madness books.
Christopher’s teaching another SFF and allied genres’ workshop starting Wednesday night at the Carnegie Center. If the past is any indicator, you’ll get me as a "bonus" critiquer. Show up, sign up, have fun, local types. The info is here.