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Writing Archives: Articles, Reviews

February 2012

January 2012

Ms Bond has a story about a famous Lost Colony getting lost all over again... Jan 31
An old photo of a box and the story it played in my family's history Jan 27
"The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" Jan 26
It's a catch-up post starring Dodie Smith Jan 24
Mr. Daniel Handler, you've impressed the hell out of me.. Jan 20
How can you not love a kid named Livingstone Columbus Magellan Crouse? Jan 19
Blackout Jan 18
Hail the Girl Detective - all grown up & still solving crime Jan 16
Seen, Heard, Passed Along: Mary McCarthy in pastel Jan 11
Just keep pounding this one into my head & maybe it will stick Jan 11
On Caitlin Kiernan's warning of that which dwells down in the dark Jan 10
Wherein I am sorely conflicted on a review Jan 09
"We just took pictures that cried out to be taken." Jan 04
Post holiday wrap-up Jan 02

December 2011

November 2011

October 2011

"Soul's Midnight" is upon us... Oct 31
"It was as though Dan still lived through their pages." Oct 28
"I was a high school science dropout" or "Falling in love - at last - with Richard Feynman" Oct 26
The men who get under our skin Oct 25
Understanding the nature of family - an interview with Sara Zarr Oct 24
It's a noisy world and we're just living in it Oct 20
Magical Thinking, not exactly a breezy piece of work, "simply wrote itself," she says. "This did not write itself." Oct 19
Calling "bullshit" when you see it Oct 17
Creepy doll automatons = steampunk goodness Oct 14
In the whirl and swirl of it all Oct 13
A return for a most stylish vampire Oct 11
One of the original cool chicks Oct 10
Go to hell, cancer Oct 06
Considering what best serves the book Oct 04
A YA rec, some recent reads and GK Chesteron is lovely Oct 03

September 2011

August 2011

The Rockettes, Desk Set, Broadway & more Connie Willis goodness Aug 30
A Status Update Aug 29
Announcing Map's very first review! Aug 26
Because I always knew Hansel & Gretel was a Holocaust story Aug 24
When no one responds to your invitation Aug 23
Most sinister book I've read in ages. Excellent. Aug 22
Not about Caitlin Kiernan or Marcus Sedgwick or Wendell Berry although it should be Aug 19
KidLit Con teams up with RIF because it is the right thing to do Aug 16
"I read with stupefaction of men who rise every morning and write until 2, then come downstairs to begin drinking." Aug 16
The Pilar Effect Aug 12
Harry Dresden gets to the bottom of the curse against the Chicago Cubs Aug 10
One absolutely killer book opening Aug 09
Catalogging FSG, Henry Holt, First Second, Feiwel & Friends and Roaring Brook Aug 08
Florence & the Machine Aug 04
"I am my hair". Oh dear lord Aug 03
How a tweet made me buy a book - a really good book Aug 01

July 2011

John Green mows his lawn Jul 30
Did Dorothea Lange ever spend a day cleaning bathrooms? Jul 28
Choosing to live in a Bardot snapshot Jul 26
Am I the only one noticing that carnivals are trending? Jul 25
KidLit Con: Authors this post is for you Jul 21
And now I am a postcard designer Jul 20
Leila the Great - smackdown version Jul 19
Curley haired girls Jul 18
SBBT Interviews for Friday!! Jul 15
Thursday at the Blog Blast Tour Jul 14
SBBT interview in which Sarah Stevenson & I discuss reading as a mixed race teen, the guilty pleasure of Sweet Valley High & if it's wrong for teens to be both capitalists & idealists Jul 13
SBBT Interview wherein Sean Beaudoin & I have an imaginary affair, mutually crush on His Girl Friday and declare noir the coolest thing ever Jul 12
SBBT Interview: "Donald Trump's father bought the land that Steeplechase Park stood on and threw a 'Demolition Party' where guests were invited to throw bricks at the amusements in order to destroy the before the park could be landmarked." Jul 11
2011 Summer Blog Blast Tour Master Schedule Jul 10
I'm so excited....... Jul 07
Someday I need to write about teaching for a community college Jul 05
"This Machine Kills Fascists" Jul 01

June 2011

May 2011

April 2011

March 2011

February 2011

Ravens and mummies and love and Lucky returns Feb 28
Movie recommendation for the week Feb 25
"...if you infuriate some and have others rising to your defense, all the better." Feb 24
From steampunk Boston to comic book poems to Nelson Mandela. Really Feb 22
100 years after the Triangle Waist Co fire Feb 21
We need to start writing books about the real point of Dirty Dancing again Feb 18
Wherein I wonder if I've stumbled upon racism in a book Feb 17
Ekaterina Sedia goes out to sea and takes us with her Feb 14
Football, Cinderella, Ms Bond Impresses and Bookslut (of course) Feb 10
Writers, Artists, Musicians: Embrace the 21st Century Feb 09
Seen Heard & Passed Along: The End of the World As We Know It (+ Desk Porn) Edition Feb 08
Snapshot Chronicles and the classic American photo album Feb 07
How to not stand up for (some) literature as explained by Bitch media Feb 02
Sometimes even my mind spins at this sort of list Feb 01

January 2011

December 2010

At the Closing of the Year Dec 31
What a Girl Wants #16: Make Me Believe I Am Beautiful Dec 29
The Literary Loot (so to speak) Dec 27
A Year in Reading Dec 21
A good day for what America means Dec 18
Adjust Those Goggles, Fire Up Those Steam Engines & Take A Look Back At What Might Have Been.... Dec 17
Why I dream of an alt-history title starring Benedict Arnold Dec 16
Wherein some Alt Hist/Steampunk recommendations are made Dec 16
Hot & sexy steampunk is not an oxymoron Dec 15
WBBT Day 5: "Our best hope appears to be building a learning machine and then teaching everything you want it to know." Dec 10
WBBT Links for Thursday: "Would we keep looking for the Kraken if there weren’t so many stories about it? " Dec 09
WBBT Interview: "Do justice to the victims and tell the whole story, no matter how troubling or painful." Dec 08
WBBT Day #2 & general other what I'm doing-ness Dec 07
WBBT INTERVIEW: "I vividly recall being 16 or 17, sitting with my friends and talking about how it did seem possible that one might, under the right circumstances, find that door into Narnia or Oz or wherever." Dec 06
2010 Winter Blog Blast Tour Schedule Dec 03
Seen, Heard & Passed Along: Contains a Terrifying BACA Alert Dec 01

November 2010

Snow Story Nov 30
The one about the hamster, philosophy & Wednesday Adams Nov 29
Listiness Nov 24
Seen, Heard & Passed Along: Thoughts on Terror & Beauty Nov 22
Is it better to be a lucky writer or a stubborn one? Nov 19
Wherein my business degreed self has points to ponder on the business of writing Nov 18
Is the business of writing tougher than the craft of writing? Nov 17
What do you do if it doesn't sell? Nov 16
The gauntlet is thrown: Anyone can design better covers for these books then the ones they're stuck with now Nov 15
In the aftershocks of a first book sale Nov 12
I sold my book Nov 11
Essential reading for writers (& booklovers) Nov 09
Birthdays mean books! Nov 08
A Most Singular Hobby Nov 05
When All Else Fails, Read a Good Book Nov 03
Would You Buy a Ghost Town? (Or "what is steampunk & does it matter if I don't care?") Nov 01

October 2010

September 2010

August 2010

Navigating the lit journal world Aug 31
Seen, Heard and Passed Along: The Weather is Turning Edition Aug 31
Miss Edith Jones, how did I miss you all these years? Aug 30
A thoroughly modern "Jane" just might not exist Aug 27
Seen, Heard & Passed Along: It's a brave new world edition Aug 26
October column musings Aug 24
Writing notes to self Aug 23
Light Reading - Grownup Style Aug 20
The more things change..... Aug 18
A ton of books on the horizon for 2011 Aug 18
Seen, Heard & Passed Along: Still Playing Catch-up Edition Aug 17
Catalogging Penguin Children's Spring 2011 Aug 16
Seen, Heard & Passed Along: Your Ken Can Kiss My Barbie Edition Aug 12
When an aviation accident makes everyone an Alaska flying expert Aug 11
A close literary cousin to Veronica Mars (at last!) Aug 09
Finding your thing Aug 05
Further down the rabbit trail that is the writer's life Aug 03
Big bookish update Aug 02

July 2010

June 2010

May 2010

What Alaska flying looks like - and why it's not about me May 27
Seen, Heard & Passed Along: Lewis & Scarlett Edition May 26
Smacked in the face by a classic May 25
What She Said: Maud Newton & Jenny Davidson edition May 24
SBBT INTERVIEW: The play starts with this line: Death ends a life, but it doesn’t end a relationship.” May 21
"We might not think Grand Theft Auto is civilized, but damn, its compelling. " May 21
"What do you do if this person never lays a hand on you, but you know in your gut that something is deeply wrong?" May 20
SBBT INTERVIEW: "Moses may have brought us 10 Commandments, but he didn't give us 50 states" May 19
You read it and think, “Holy C^%^&p! This is SHANNON HALE! If she can’t make a go of it, how the heck am *I* going to survive?” May 19
"Luckily it’s not illegal, expensive or dangerous" May 18
SBBT INTERVIEW: "You come to know the road that you selected at the cost of the other three." May 17
"Oh no. Oh man. I knew it. I never should have built a robot for the science fair." May 17
Summer Blog Blast Tour 2010 Master Schedule May 14
What a Girl Wants #14: What I Should Have Been Reading May 11
Doctorow was a miss for me this time May 10
Currently Reading: Susan Glaspell envy edition May 07
The Other Side of the Mountains May 06
Recent Reads: Coolest Phantom comic ever edition May 04
A girl, a boy, some dead moths and a lot of drama May 03

April 2010

Liz is my hero Apr 30
The only one they lost Apr 29
As much about the process as the subject - and that's a good thing Apr 28
Derby girls Apr 27
What you missed, what I'm planning Apr 26
How Sweet It Is... Apr 24
And this is how we change the world; one book & one kid at a time Apr 23
Seen, heard & passed along: I wanna be Amanda Palmer edition Apr 21
This has been amazing Apr 21
It's going really really well Apr 20
Seen, heard and passed along: Pretty, pretty edition Apr 19
And another update Apr 16
Where the whole point of this project becomes crystal clear Apr 15
Wish List Psychology - or it's a lot harder than it looks Apr 12
Seen, Heard and Passed Along: Maps & Wildlife Edition Apr 12
Seen, heard and passed along: The Buy a Kid a Book Edition Apr 09
The wonders of discovering what I do not know Apr 06
And again with the fabulous Alexia Tarabotti Apr 05
The ones that got away April edition Apr 02

March 2010

Seen, heard, passed along: The Roger Ebert Smackdown edition Mar 31
Because the whole crossroads thing is just too cool Mar 30
Odds and ends of life Mar 29
Two books, two events, and let's love Ruby Booker Mar 26
What a Girl Wants #13: Because we are all daughters of Wilma Rudolph Mar 24
A bad bad love Mar 22
Things accomplished in real life Mar 19
She asked me: "Who is buried in my father's grave?" Mar 17
Thoreau fatigue Mar 16
Seen, heard and passed along: the somewhat British edition Mar 15
Seeking truth in a place where everyone reports lies Mar 11
A reviewing dilemma concerning racism by omission Mar 10
This wolf is my buddy & it's about damn time Mar 08
Some lies, some truth - not sure if it works Mar 05
The moment that her heart broke Mar 04
A castle, some spies, silence, Margaret Fox, more mountaineers and Burma Mar 03
Seen, heard & passed along: The Ryan Miller is my hero edition Mar 02

February 2010

January 2010

December 2009

November 2009

And the world just keeps on spinning Nov 30
Me at a holiday party, circa 2024 Nov 25
"I am Dhalua-Omotu-Strong, Princess of the Otu. Get up." Nov 24
Keeping the plates in the air Nov 23
"My internal editor is a cranky old Catholic nun. SO not helpful." Nov 20
"Perhaps", she suggested (and people think I have made this up but I swear it is the truth) "you could learn to be a trucker." Nov 19
WBBT Day #4: "Eating was his performance art." Nov 19
"We need more friends, more loud mouths who advocate for quality Native voices and visions and well-executed cross-cultural additions to the body of youth literature." Nov 18
WBBT Day #3: Science and story tell us mirroring truths; listen to both." Nov 18
"There was something about the moment when Gilda, played by the fabulous Rita Hayworth, first appears on screen that stopped me in my tracks..." Nov 17
WBBT Day #2: "people move. borders move. mountains endure. for a while, anyway." Nov 17
"Do you have any idea how HARD it is to write a sequel? Any? Really? I would tell you, but if I think too much about it, I have to go lie down." Nov 16
WBBT Day #1: "So the notion that heroes are defined by the strength of their opposition couldn't be more true in this case...." Nov 16
2009 Winter Blog Blast Tour Schedule Nov 13
Finding George Mallory's reasons Nov 12
Winter Blog Blast Tour update Nov 11
Quick links Nov 10
Not the Thoreau I met in the 10th grade Nov 09
Round-Up Nov 06
What a Girl Wants #9: Maybe Winona Ryder got this one right Nov 04
New York's forgotten underground Nov 03
Draw me a life Nov 02

October 2009

September 2009

August 2009

Life in the boonies Aug 30
Precocious child protagonist warning Aug 28
Still loving Binnie Kirshenbaum Aug 27
In Memorium Aug 26
Interfictions 2 Aug 25
Wallace Stegner and what the west means Aug 25
In which I recommend some books I have not read Aug 24
Do we laugh or cry? Aug 20
What a Girl Wants #6: Loving a bloodsucker Aug 19
Working girl Aug 18
Recent Reads Aug 17
Buddhist/Bad guy/Martial arts mashup Aug 13
One Shot SE Asia Round-up Aug 12
The history of Cambodia Aug 12
How to recommend a book written by and/or about a person of color (POC) Aug 10
Good decision, lame reason Aug 06
Why I love Jenny Davidson... Aug 06
One Shot SE Asia is on the horizon...... Aug 06
What a Girl Wants #5: Tell Me the Truth Aug 05
"Things to Pack When You're Bound for Baghdad" Aug 04
You've gotta love those Canadians.... Aug 03

July 2009

June 2009

From the case files of Hope Jones*, girl detective Jun 30
Riding the rails with T.S. Spivet Jun 29
My childhood, SE Asia One Shot request and working with your hands gets you a job Jun 26
Girl reads, etc. Jun 25
What a Girl Wants #2: The Girl Detective Edition Jun 23
Peering over the fence Jun 23
What she said Jun 22
Dying for your country Jun 20
Sending a message Jun 19
A Fantasy-oriented W.P.A. project Jun 19
Pass this one on....... Jun 18
Judge Me Jun 18
"Something has happened in Iran" Jun 17
Picture of the day Jun 16
Hopefully getting around to the point Jun 16
Picture of the day Jun 15
Observatory Mansions Jun 15
History in real time Jun 14
Announcing ONE SHOT Southeast Asia Jun 12
Deconstructing Susan Orlean's twitters Jun 11
An Anne Frank Denier...... Jun 10
Money quote on the bloggers, tours and ARCs question Jun 10
What a Girl Wants #1: The Books We Can't Forget Jun 10
Round-up Jun 09
In the line of fire Jun 08
A Map of the world as you see it Jun 08
What a Girl Wants - Introduction Jun 05
You know what? I'm done. Jun 04
What it means to be professional Jun 04
BEA notes from everyone else Jun 03
Girls, Boys, Books and Writing Jun 02
Are we really still writing this kind of thing? Jun 01

May 2009

Books on the horizon May 29
Judge Me May 28
Catalogging Candlewick Fall 2009 May 27
Reflections May 26
Jenny Davidson Interview: "...I love research – I suck up books and facts and that process is a big part of what stimulates my imagination. " May 22
SBBT 09 Day 5:"The zombie haiku from Billy Collins actually arrived by mail, and when I opened the letter I almost cried. " May 22
SBBT 09 Day 4: "So I realized writing a picture book would be wonderful and worked very hard on that for a number of years - and truly sucked at it." May 21
SBBT 09 Day 3:"The first chapter of A Swiftly Tilting Planet does it all: the Murray family contentedly enjoying their Thanksgiving dinner, which is interrupted when they find out that the world is about to end in a nuclear war. " May 20
Melissa Wyatt Int: "At a time when we are regularly discussing the importance of teen readers “seeing themselves” represented in their literature, you have to wonder what the shop kids and retail workers think of being left out of the conversati May 20
Running both literally and otherwise May 19
SBBT 09 Day 2: "Superpowers scare me. " May 19
SBBT 09 Day 1: "I also learned that a lot of people come to the door naked and occasionally you will meet a psycho killer." May 18
Andrew Mueller Interview: "This is the great unsayable, I suspect - that we have wars because people like them, on the grounds that war makes people feel important and useful." May 18
Summer Blog Blast Tour 2009 Schedule May 16
It's a beautiful day........ May 15
Laying it all on the line May 13
Be a man May 12
Pilot error all the way May 11
A peek into the future May 08
What's so appealing about a 12 year old? May 07
Round-Up May 06
So, is this the ultimate mean girl book or what? May 05
It's all in the organizational skills..... May 04
The ever presence of history May 03
Sedia's advice and notes on recent reads May 01

April 2009

March 2009

Observations from the road Mar 31
Understanding the west and telephone poles and Clark Kent Mar 30
Travel reading Mar 27
Round-Up Mar 26
One Shot: Over the Fence Great Book Rec Mar 25
Night Witches - true story, swear to God Mar 23
White reviewing black (is it really that black and white?) Mar 20
Alaska's wolves Mar 19
Round Up Mar 18
"And what makes magic is that we choose to create or help, just as we choose to harm." Mar 17
Canadian oil Mar 16
How my mother kicked some haunted house ass Mar 13
On book shopping and book stores Mar 12
Judge Me Mar 11
"The Red Piano" by Delia Sherman Mar 10
Are you reading this wrong? Mar 09
Appreciating Mr. Poe Mar 06
Smatterings Part 3: The writing Mar 05
World history as experienced by one book Mar 04
Smatterings Part 2: Reviewing for Bookslut in particular Mar 03
Naming the beams Mar 02
Smatterings Part One - The Reviewing Edition Mar 02

February 2009

January 2009

On happy lives Jan 30
But what if a taboo YA subject is horribly common among teens in real life? Jan 29
I've traveled so hard... Jan 28
Books on the horizon Jan 27
Literary real estate Jan 26
Literary geographies of war and natural disaster Jan 23
The post Inaugural edition Jan 22
How dreams are born Jan 20
Reading The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction & Fantasy Jan 18
Catalogging Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Spring 09 Jan 16
"Ardent Clouds" by Lucy Sussex Jan 15
Because some of us do talk to dead people Jan 14
With thanks to Ms. Presley among many other subjects Jan 13
Wilde and Shakespeare this spring Jan 12
The myth of the dog that could not be saved Jan 09
A rant about the same old thing Jan 08
By the numbers Jan 07
Tuesday Round-Up Jan 06
Monsters and poetry (and Thoreau) Jan 05
From the department of really really bad cover choices Jan 04
Long story short Jan 01

December 2008

At the closing of the year.... Dec 31
Ekaterina Sedia Recommends Dec 30
Tim Gallagher Recommends Dec 30
Jim Ottaviani Recommends Dec 29
Thankful Dec 24
Ben Towle Recommends Dec 24
Holiday picture books Dec 22
Eric Kimmel Recommends Dec 22
Terese Svoboda Recommends Dec 21
Oranges Dec 20
Pardon my Star Trek moment Dec 19
Lewis Buzbee Recommends Dec 19
The "Baby it's cold outside" edition Dec 18
Tim Bradley Recommends.... Dec 17
Positively massive round-up and look at books down the line Dec 16
Book Recs for Holiday Shopping from around the litblogosphere Dec 12
12th Day of Holiday Recs: A few of my favorite things Dec 12
11th Day Holiday Recs: Real lives told well Dec 11
9th & 10th Day Holiday Recs: Because sometimes the girl wins big Dec 10
8th Day Holiday Recs: For all the wicked girls saving themselves... Dec 08
7th Day Holiday Recs: Misunderstood Alice (and Mr. Carroll...) Dec 07
6th Day of Holiday Recs: Books for Curious Minds Dec 06
Tired, tired, tired Dec 05
2008 4th day Holiday Recs: Because I want to be like Laini Taylor Dec 04
2008 3rd day Holiday Recs: Literary Films Dec 03
Comment woes Dec 02
2008 2nd Day Recs: Fantastic short stories Dec 02
2008 1st Day Holiday Recs: I've always loved naturalists Dec 01

November 2008

A long season ahead Nov 26
"The Goosle" by Margo Lanagan Nov 25
Round-Up Nov 23
WBBT Day 5: "The book, while not a fantasy, is sort of fantastical, if that makes any sense. And any book that sends me to Hershey Park in the name of research is one worth writing!" Nov 21
Mayra Lazara Dole Interview: "As a teen, I was a gay club kid. I, and my gay male best friend who posed as my boyfriend, won every gay dance contest in straight clubs." Nov 21
WBBT Day 4: "I didn’t wreck a minivan, and I did not break into Sea World. I don’t think I’ll say anything more about the research I did do until the statute of limitations is up." Nov 20
Martin Millar Interview: "Many of the things the unfortunate young werewolf suffers from have been taken from my real-life experiences." Nov 20
WBBT Day 3: "The 1940s appears to be the only five-year decade in American history. The war ends, and boom -- now it's the Fifties. At least according to most history books." Nov 19
WBBT Day 2: "I think the Half-Continent is my desire to live in a world with a little more lyric in it, where even the most hardened soul still speaks and lives with a lilt of poetry and song in them." Nov 18
Ellen Datlow Interview: "We began our adult fairy tale series with the intention of redressing the trend of Disneyfying fairy tales." Nov 18
WBBT Day 1: "Mordred was the most Hamlet-like of Arthur's family, I suppose. I hated him quite vehemently at first, and, like Guinevere, was eventually seduced." Nov 17
Lewis Buzbee Interview: "But most mysteries, that is, life’s mysteries, don’t have solutions, they only deepen and expand. " Nov 17
That wasn't my point at all Nov 15
2008 Winter Blog Blast Tour Schedule Nov 14
Winter Blog Blast Tour & Holiday Recs Announcement Nov 13
Chris McCandless, nature writer? Nov 12
Cherie Priest's Fathom, running with wolves (but real this time) and a plea to the masses for literary assistance Nov 11
Bookslut and Booklist make recommendations Nov 10
Murder in Armstrong Dome, 2nd printing for NOLA, more adventures in the cold, etc. Nov 06
Well... Nov 05
For some Americans, this election means more than most of us can imagine Nov 04
Blog the Vote 2008 Nov 01

October 2008

Blog the Vote post - What teaching history to soldiers taught me about America Oct 31
More reasons to vote Oct 30
Small towns, a coyote's story, Congo's sorrow, Simmone Howell gets religion and more Oct 29
"North American Lake Monsters" by Nathan Ballingrud Oct 28
Why vote Oct 27
Keeping your head above water Oct 24
Sarah Vowell, Nick Jans, Seth Kantner all with political opinons Oct 23
I love Richie Cunningham Oct 23
The good pilot Oct 23
The war in Afghanistan and not reading books Oct 22
Blog the Vote graphic Oct 21
"Sonny Liston Takes the Fall" by Elizabeth Bear Oct 21
Light Reading Oct 20
Why some teens need to write Oct 20
List of things accomplished Oct 18
Climate notes from a polar explorer, World War II in graphic novel form and observing the human condition Oct 15
Tell them why it is wrong Oct 14
Sara Ryan's vision Oct 14
Faces in the crowd Oct 13
Because it made me laugh a lot Oct 10
How my day started....... Oct 09
Rural vs Bush Alaska Oct 09
It's about the future Oct 08
Teen titles for October - both spooky and political Oct 08
Minx, The Great Gatsby, Kelly Link, Sarah Vowell, Samira Bellil and Newbery issues Oct 07
Eric Kimmel & Greek myths Oct 06
Oh my.... Oct 02
One Shot Announcement: "Why Voting Matters" Oct 01

September 2008

A day in the life of a 21st century lit blogger and book reviewer Sep 29
The only thing in this post to do with Kidlit is the cast of characters... Sep 29
Long weekend Sep 26
More from the YA trenches Sep 25
Scary stories and a lost Canadian town Sep 24
Doing what your favorite author wants you to do Sep 23
What they want from us Sep 22
A Katrina survival story and call for submissions Sep 18
The way Terese Svoboda's journey ended Sep 18
National Geographic titles that caught my eye Sep 17
A Jewelbox title Sep 16
Questions and answers on energy policy Sep 15
David Foster Wallace Sep 15
Books on the horizon Sep 15
Catalogging Penguin Young Readers' Group Sep 14
On the interview Sep 13
Terese Svoboda's search for truth Sep 10
You have to recognize nature in order to see it Sep 10
When we almost detonated atomic bombs in Alaska - on purpose Sep 08
The ultimate animal encyclopedia Sep 07
Where I'm at Sep 05
A 21st century cowboy story Sep 04
The whole wide world, plus Haven Kimmel Sep 03
The "Where did my summer go?" edition Sep 02

August 2008

Anniversary from hell Aug 30
Banksy appearing all over New Orleans Aug 29
A few days for catch-up Aug 28
Round-Up via the Mayflower Aug 27
A historical fantasy mash-up Aug 26
Southern vamp lovers, a duchess, a poet and more Aug 25
It's a Monday..... Aug 25
Ain't that America Aug 25
On teens and reading Aug 23
My American Prayer Aug 22
New Orleans after the storm Aug 22
The value of the color gray Aug 21
The Journal of Mythic Arts Aug 20
When art and vandalism collide Aug 19
Monday, Monday Aug 18
But she says being a model is the best we can do...... Aug 16
Science Fiction YA scares people Aug 16
"...it was a sign of people who worked with their hands and left pieces of their labor wherever they lived." Aug 15
"How to Save Afghanistan" Aug 13
Coming around again........ Aug 12
Catching up Aug 11
When fantasy and history collide Aug 08
Round-Up Aug 07
Lewis Buzbee makes me reconsider John Steinbeck Aug 06
Thinking Politically Aug 04
Overlooking African history Aug 04

July 2008

Still running and something for the Amelia Peabody fans Jul 30
Catalogging Tundra Fall '08 Jul 29
Out in the ocean, finding his way home Jul 28
ARCs and soapboxes Jul 25
My own soapbox moment: depicting class in contemporary lit Jul 24
A green idea Jul 23
Soapbox continues Jul 22
Pullman, Nix, Burgess, Fowles & Burke - or how Jenny Davidson writes a YA novel Jul 22
Margo Rabb, YA and why this issue is more complicated then you might think Jul 21
Soapbox Day#1: We've got reactions and opinions Jul 21
Get ready to stand on your soapbox.... Jul 18
Itchy, twitchy days of summer Jul 17
What I'm reading, reviewing, and looking forward to Jul 16
The importance of boundaries: Ninth in a Series on Reviewing Jul 15
Still running Jul 14
Catalogging Candlewick Jul 14
On changing cities Jul 11
Many secret histories Jul 10
Of werewolves and running and ladies on bikes (and Catherynne Valente and Theodora Goss....) Jul 09
For your planning purposes Jul 08
From the department of sweet relief.... Jul 07
Modern myths in Cambodia Jul 07
Why we go north Jul 03
Round-Up (And yes, I am a bookslut) Jul 02
Myths both Russian and Krakauerian Jul 01

June 2008

Dear Harper Collins... Jun 30
Beasts, living and dead, and those who love them Jun 26
The World is on Fire Jun 24
Round-Up Jun 22
It's not about the book Jun 22
More on boys and girls Jun 20
Not my kind of water baby Jun 19
Catalogging Counterpoint & Soft Skull Jun 18
Teen boys need to save the girl, period Jun 16
The world we live in today (among other topics) Jun 16
The heart of an explorer Jun 13
Oh, ick Jun 12
With Theodora Goss in "The Forest of Forgetting" Jun 12
Building Credibility: Eighth in a Series on Reviewing Jun 11
Round-Up Jun 10
Bringing organization to my mind's chaos Jun 09
Not the way we do things Jun 06
I think the moment is historic Jun 05
Ms Diski is traveling Jun 05
Writing the same story Jun 04
Alternate histories Jun 03
The creativity of Louis Armstrong & Joyce Carol Oates Jun 03
Looking back on May and forward to June Jun 02

May 2008

Reflecting on books we looked forward to May 30
Round-Up May 29
Catalogging Small Beer Press, Unbridled Books & Harper Collins Childrens May 28
Being brave enough to make a list May 27
The only logical way to go May 23
"I tried to hang around with early teen girls which is hard because I'm 58 and it's sort of inappropriate." May 23
"There was something so potentially cool about the idea – a year in a high school! " May 22
"The truth is, Madonna had just entered the world of picture books, and I didn't want to get any of the Superstar backlash that she got. " May 22
"Like mortal New York, fairy New York is built on layers of history." May 21
"Unless a story has real meaning, I tend to think, what’s the point?" May 21
"The real point, though, is that all the facts about any event are never going to be known, and this presents a particular problem for visual media like comics." May 20
"If the reenactment involves actual actors from the film, then I would definitely pick the love montage from crazy/beautiful so I could have some intimate time with Jay Hernandez." May 20
"Children accept stories in all kinds of forms, often in forms that might be seen by adults as too difficult, too whacky, too strange." May 19
2008 Summer Blog Blast Tour Schedule May 14
First paragraph May 14
On so many small things...... May 14
Reading Round-up May 13
The history of the sled dog... May 12
Hercule Poirot with fangs May 09
Lost rivers, found gardens, lake studies and more May 08
Notes........ May 07
Lady Artists May 06
An author who knows a good story when she hears it May 05
Two stories of note May 02
A Modest Proposal May 01

April 2008

My father's best friend Apr 30
Books on the horizon (Tor & Penguin Kids Fall 2008) Apr 29
Recent Reads Apr 28
"Big Black Dog Syndrome" or Wolves Redux Apr 25
Round-Up Apr 24
Which Blogs Matter? Seventh in a series on reviewing Apr 22
And yet more on the books... Apr 22
Nostalgic visions of the card catalog Apr 21
Understanding Gaza Apr 19
The naming of things Apr 17
Cool books on the horizon Apr 15
The New York Times does AK aviation Apr 15
Why I wrote my thesis Apr 15
"There Lays That Steel Drivin' Man" Apr 14
The literary purpose of the internet Apr 11
Round-Up Apr 10
A YA mystery plot or two Apr 09
Big Bad Wolf Apr 08
Remembering Margaret Fox Apr 07
Where for art thou teen detectives? Apr 04
Some books for you...... Apr 02
But what about the books? Sixth in a Series on Reviewing Apr 02
The one about the twenty something girls Apr 01

March 2008

February 2008

January 2008

A Crash of Rhinos Jan 31
Of pigeons and pilots Jan 30
An obsession put to good use Jan 29
Reconsidering Kiki Strike Jan 29
A truly amazing discovery Jan 28
Druids are everywhere....... Jan 27
Shift in plans Jan 24
Out of Town edition and yes, I know about "Guys Read" Jan 23
Flying Cars and Lost Cities Jan 21
The endless lure of Joseph Banks, love and lost birds Jan 20
Christmas Carols, aliens and love (or yet another example of Connie Willis brilliance) Jan 18
The snake lady, Virginia Woolf and rebuilding a truck... Jan 17
Flying weather Jan 16
Books I'm looking forward to - UPDATED!!! Jan 15
Looking for Ben Eielson Jan 14
Future Fears Jan 10
Must we always blame the cheerleader? Jan 09
Round-Up Jan 07
Set This House in Order by Matt Ruff Jan 07
Resolution #1 Jan 06
What a boy wants... Jan 04
Catalogging Tor for Summer 2008 Jan 02

December 2007

Richard Scrimger Recommends... Dec 31
Danica Novgorodoff Recommends... Dec 30
David Mack Recommends... Dec 29
Liz Noland Recommends... Dec 28
Margo Rabb Recommends Dec 27
Matt Ruff Recommends... Dec 27
Kelley Eskridge Recommends... Dec 26
Nicola Griffith Recommends.... Dec 26
Nick Abadzis Recommends... Dec 25
Kristopher Reisz Recommends... Dec 23
Cherie Priest Recommends... Dec 22
Loree Griffin Burns Recommends... Dec 21
Matt Beynon Rees Recommends... Dec 20
How cool is this? Dec 20
Jen Robinson Recommends... Dec 19
Jason Rodriguez Recommends... Dec 18
Lisa Ann Sandell Recommends... Dec 18
Nicholas Christopher Recommends..... Dec 17
Why I'll never read The Thorn Birds again and other bookish thoughts Dec 16
Sharyn November Recommends... Dec 14
12th Day of Christmas: Those expensive books Dec 12
11th Day of Christmas: I Have a Secret... Dec 11
A ton of holiday recommendations for kids and teens Dec 10
10th Day of Christmas: The Dazzling Mind of Barbara Hodgson Dec 10
9th Day of Christmas: Fearless Smart Women Dec 09
7th & 8th Days of Christmas: Believing you can do it Dec 07
6th Day of Christmas: Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My! (and dogs...) Dec 06
5th Day of Christmas: "I've lost things too. But, as you know, in another way those things become the very things that never leave you." Dec 05
4th Day of Christmas: Graphic novels aimed at the young Dec 04
3rd Day of Christmas: Please take note of Timothy Decker Dec 03
3rd Day of Christmas: Books to read, books to watch Dec 02
1st Day of Christmas - Under mysterious circumstances Dec 01

November 2007

Twelve Days of Christmas Nov 30
How much of the history has to be correct? Nov 29
On John Wayne, Vogue and all the reasons why I only read what I want Nov 28
Notes of a historical nature Nov 28
"She was in every respect a true pioneer... Nov 26
In which some serious subjects are discussed Nov 26
So what are you going to do about it? Nov 21
On the Importance of Finding Your Tribe Nov 20
On embracing an underrated book: Fifth in a Series on Reviewing Nov 19
On saluting Sam Elliott and saving Kevin Bacon (among other things) Nov 15
I was hoping for this one...... Nov 14
Catalogging Harcout Spring/Summer 2008 Nov 14
This one has some serious twists and turns Nov 13
Lady Florence Baker Nov 12
Post Blog Tour Round-Up (Kipling, Moby, Reverte, Hill, Chang and Where You Can Hang a Flag) Nov 11
Final Winter Blog Blast Tour Entry Nov 09
"The part of the book that grabs their attention is the same part that seems to grab adults: the Garbage Patch." Nov 09
"Unlike Hamlet, Horatio is practical and down-to-earth. He’s so down-to-earth that Hamlet even gives him crap for it..." Nov 08
"It is about imagination, and it is about helping outsiders in a way that is complimentary to their uniqueness." Nov 08
"Oh, God, no, I never thought I'd be anybody. I was just hoping to have a good job. " Nov 07
"I think stories are about the human experience of the world, and happily ever after isn't the experience a lot of people have of it. " Nov 07
Politically, I want all those folks, Indian and not, who celebrate me to realize that they are also celebrating the fact that I left the rez. All of my books and movies exist because I left." Nov 07
"She stayed with me through the years, as I always wished I could give her a better story, a better ending." Nov 06
"Stinky came together as a combination of my love of metafictional writers like Cervantes and Borges and Barth and Pynchon and my experience of seeing kids crack up when they found obvious mistakes." Nov 06
"...I think creating this book was almost an answer to my child-self, distant in time but still wondering about Laika’s fate" Nov 05
"I have been working on a Victorian Gothic; I am working on a Victorian Gothic; I shall be working on a Victorian Gothic…" Nov 04
Happy Anniversary, Laika Nov 03
2007 Winter Blog Blast Tour Schedule Nov 01
Questions that must be asked Nov 01

October 2007

September 2007

August 2007

"These are the damned circles Dante trod..." Aug 30
"It is also the story of his famous father, Rudyard Kipling, and why he urged his son to go off to war, and how much he suffered because of his naive ideas about glory." Aug 30
"And he said: History is an angel...Being blown backwards into the future..." Aug 30
"Do any of us truly know everything that’s going on under our own roof, let alone next door?" Aug 29
"My name is Beckett, and this is not a dream." Aug 29
"To bleed without a wound...it's very chilling." Aug 29
"Stories Change. They change too easily and too often." Aug 28
"Best of all, and this is what really sets Inas apart for me, she's a bull-vaulter. She goes into a ring with bulls, allows them to toss her into the air, and performs acrobatic stunts on their backs as they flip her. You got that? Bull. Vaulter." Aug 28
"I'm sixteen years old. It's been five years. My name is Dorothy." Aug 27
"WE might be be grossed out to eat raw horsemeat, warmed and tenderized by the sweat of our horses, from beneath our saddles -- as our hero does. But when he does it, it's just another day on the steppes." Aug 27
Radar Book Recs Schedule Aug 24
Shining a light on some truly wonderful books Aug 22
"The only thing I understand anymore is that I couldn’t save my friends and I couldn’t save my father. Maybe all I’m doing now is looking for a miracle so I finally can save myself." Aug 21
"Good dog. You can trust me." Aug 20
"the first significant protest in words and music, the first unmuted cry against racism." Aug 19
"Remember what it was to be me: that is always the point." Aug 17
From the depths below and other literary news Aug 15
One Shot World Tour: "Best Read With Vegemite" Edition Aug 15
The Real Ending Aug 12
First One Shot World Tour Schedule Aug 11
Ghost Stories Aug 08
"He said, She has a lovely face;" Aug 08
Round-Up Aug 06
Zombie Ass Kicking Edition Aug 06
Does it matter to the story if it's a man's world? Aug 03
I'm all about the original content, baby..... Aug 01

July 2007