September 15, 2004
Congratulations, Judy Blume!
Judy Blume has won a medal from the National Book Foundation for her distinguished contribution to American letters. The future youth services librarian in me is very excited about this, and it's making me want to read/reread (I'm sure I missed a few somewhere) all her books. You should too.
June 30, 2004
June 15, 2004
I want to do this!
Ever wondered how those big literary prizes are judged? Here you go: Read 'em and weep.
May 24, 2004
Oh, to be in England...
I've been sitting here reading a British chick lit novel, and realized it was four o'clock. Tea time! Chamomile tea and real McVitie's plain chocolate digestives, really from England . . . sigh. I want to go back. I will. Someday.
May 11, 2004
Packing Update 2: Book Slut
Note: if any of you had not yet realized the extent of my insanity, this entry will cause you to do so. Just thought I'd warn you.
So. Now comes the time when I need to choose which books to bring with me to New Orleans. Over the years, I've worked out a system for not going (too) overboard on this. I may bring one book per day, plus one extra, just in case. They must all be different genres. I may bring mass market paperbacks only, since they're light and will fit in my purse. I may bring only books that belong to me, so I don't have to worry if something happens to one.
Now. This works out to six books for this trip. Even with the above strictures, a quick scan of my shelves produced twelve candidates. Twelve. And that's actually with eliminating some others I'd been thinking about the past few weeks. (I told you I'm insane.) But yeah. Twelve. A dozen. That means I have to get rid of half of them.
Here are the initial twelve, with genre assignments:
Classic: The Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton
Women's fiction: Light a Penny Candle, Maeve Binchy
Sweeping historical epic: Lion of Ireland, Morgan Llywelyn
Traditional Regency: Friday's Child, Georgette Heyer
History: The Three Edwards, Thomas B. Costain
Contempory mystery: Serpent's Tooth, Faye Kellerman
Historical mystery: Murder on Astor Place, Victoria Thompson
Sci fi: Timeline, by Michael Crichton
Thriller: Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
Classic mystery: Cat Among the Pigeons, by Agatha Christie
Fantasy: Beloved Exile, by Parke Godwin
Cozy mystery: Mistletoe Man, by Susan Wittig Albert
Okay. Let's go. Who shall we eliminate? (See, I'm just like reality TV!)
Must stay: The Age of Innocence and The Three Edwards, because I need a classic and something non-fiction.
First to go: Beloved Exile. I added it in because I wanted fantasy, but I don't know much about it and it doesn't look terribly appealing at the moment.
Next: Cat Among the Pigeons. I have too many mysteries, and honestly, as much as I love Christie I have a hard time getting into her unless I'm in the right mood.
Also gone:Mistletoe Man. I love this series, but as I said, I have too many mysteries, and this is a Christmas one, apparently.
Halfway there! We can do it!
Still too many mysteries. Let's say goodbye to Serpent's Tooth. I like Jonathan Kellerman, but I've never read Faye before, so I don't know if I'd like it.
Okay, Friday's Child is out. Same thing with Heyer as with Christie--I love her, but only in the right mood.
Almost there. Of the seven left, I think I have to eliminate the Binchy, just because I really really want to bring the rest of them, and she gets only one "really."
I did it!
The pile looks so . . . little. It makes me nervous. Ack. Nah, it'll be fine. I'll bring a few magazines too, just in case. :-) Now . . . which for the plane on the way there? Hmm. Cryptonomicon and Murder on Astor Place, I think. Of course, if I start reading Cryptonomicon first, it might well take me the whole trip, as it's 1152 pages. That would be kinda funny, after all this.
Now off to put bookmarks in all six books (yeah, I repeat, I told you I'm insane)! And to pack the carry-on, including knitting!
May 01, 2004
Well, it's that time of year.
When the weather starts getting warm, for some reason I find myself wanting to read genre fiction in general, and big, sweeping fantasy in particular. Perhaps it started when I would read Bradley's Mists of Avalon series every summer. Perhaps it's because summer was when I had tons of free time (well, before I started working, at least) and could read for hours every day. Whatever the reason, it happens like clockwork, and it's fun. Maybe this summer I'll get through the Robert Jordan books, finally. (Hey, a girl's gotta have a goal.)
Given that mood, I was rather amused to find this: Top Reasons to Read Fantasy. It's by one of the main editors of Luna Books, Harlequin's new fantasy line. It's an interesting line--fantasy aimed at women. I've read the first they put out, The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey. It was surprisingly good. I've been meaning to write a review, of course, but haven't quite gotten to it. In any case, I'll be looking for more of these books.
And the list of "reasons" is quite good. My favorite is the "learn from others' mistakes" one, but numbers one and six are pretty good too.
I'm thinking of writing something to submit to Luna. I had one idea, but I think it's a bit too dark for them. I'll have to keep thinking. But that could be a good summer project.
April 28, 2004
March 23, 2004
Everyone should go read Bust.
Apparently, librarians are the new "it" girls. Aren't you thrilled? Go to your local Borders and read the article, and the rest of the issue while you're at it. I'd never really read it before, but I liked Stich 'n Bitch so much that I decided any magazine co-founded and edited by Debbie Stoller was worth a read.
On a slightly related note, I must have this shirt.
November 05, 2003
No, you think?
Newsflash: Reading for hours can result in headaches! They just sound so . . . surprised.