When I was in middle school, there was this author called Lurlene McDaniel who wrote all these books about children my age with dreadful diseases who fought courageously against them and then died. I didn’t read any of them (because ugh), but I’ve always had her pegged as the Nicholas Sparks of the YA world. (Oh, God, has Nicholas Sparks written any YA novels yet? Let’s stop that from happening at any cost. I don’t care about the books themselves, but I don’t want to read the sanctimonious interviews Nicholas Sparks would certainly give about how his books are different…
23 CommentsReading the End Posts
Unspeakable Truths is a read for Nonfiction November, hosted by the marvelous Kim (Sophisticated Dorkiness), Leslie (Regular Rumination), Katie (Doing Dewey), and Rebecca (I’m Lost in Books). Kim’s the host for this week, so head on over to her blog to see the nonfiction other bloggers have been reading and recommending! Some time ago I got the idea in my head that I wanted to learn more about a fuzzy thing I could not quite define that was related to shifting from a terrible, warry society to a less-terrible not-war society. As with so many things, it was tricky to…
12 CommentsWhen I read non-speculative fiction, I like for there to be a Premise; for the book to be what they call high-concept. Like a girl was raised side by side with an ape, and here is what her life is like as an adult. Or a man’s personality completely changes following a traumatic brain injury. Or a British soldier assumes a secret identity to find his friend’s murderers. For me to pick up a book with a premise as quiet as Byrd‘s–a woman in her early thirties falls pregnant and gives the baby up for adoption–someone usually has to have…
11 CommentsConfession: Apart from the RIP Challenge, there’s nothing about Halloween that I enjoy. I don’t eat candy anymore, and having to put together a costume stresses me out horribly. So none of these links have anything to do with Halloween! Down with Halloween! Oh, except for this one: Lory of Emerald City Book Review is kicking off an awesome new blogging event, Witch Week! This year, we’re celebrating the inventor of Witch Week (the week between Halloween and Guy Fawkes Day) with a week-long appreciation of Diana Wynne Jones. Lory will be hosting guest posts from me and a number…
22 CommentsThis week, we welcome special guest star Robyn (my sister!!) to talk about the books we’d add or subtract from the canon of children’s literature. We review Jean Merrill’s wonderful book The Pushcart War on the occasion of its fiftieth anniversary, and we play a way-too-hard game about Newbery winners. You can listen to the podcast in the embedded player below or download the file directly to take with you on the go. Episode 31 Or if you wish, you can find us on iTunes (and if you enjoy the podcast, give us a good rating! We appreciate it very very…
4 CommentsNote: I received a copy of Horrorstör from the publisher, Quirk Books, for review consideration. I almost missed RIP once again this year! I always have the best of intentions about participating in R.I.P., but then I forget to read scary books, or I do read scary books but I forget to call them RIP reads or schedule them while RIP is running. Not this year! This year, I have squeaked one in under the wire! Horrorstör was acquired with the express intention of qualifying for Carl’s wondrous R.I.P. Challenge (now in its ninth year). Amy works at Orsk, an…
23 CommentsOh how I love a book that can speak unhysterically about the hysterical awfulness of living with a severe mental illness. Em and the Big Hoom (affiliate links: Amazon, B&N, Book Depository) is a son’s story of his manic depressive mother and his family’s life with her. Through conversations with his mother, Em, about how she met his father and the course of her mental illness, we see the toll that Em’s illness has taken on her and on her family. Hat tip to Shannon for the recommendation! Though the book is occasionally disorganized, as Pinto jumps around in time…
10 CommentsLindy West recently departed Jezebel for GQ, a move about which I said, “Huh.” But it all seems to be gold so far; here she is on the “BASICALLY SEX CHRISTMAS” represented by the new standards for consent in California colleges. JK Rowling, presumably missing the days when she got to fuck with us regularly, took some time out of her busy schedule to fuck with us last week with the following confusing tweet: Cry, foe! Run amok! Fa awry! My wand won’t tolerate this nonsense. — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) October 6, 2014 I let the internet get on with…
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