It took freaking forever to get back from Seattle this evening - because of the flooding in some areas and closed roads, I-5 was basically the only main line going north (which it pretty much is anyway). It was a like a very slow moving amoeba that stretched forever.

Forgive me if I am less than creative with this post. I lost my brain somewhere in Lynnwood, Washington.

Okay, new issue of Bookslut is up. My column is all about war books for children - not exactly a sweetheart of a topic, but a very worthy one. (I promise next month is all very fun.) It's hard to buy these sorts of titles, because they can be depressing, but I really recommend the ones I reviewed. I wouldn't necessarily buy the whole stack for a kid, (or even an adult) but there are several different areas of war, different periods, and different prespectives in the column. So take a look. I know this isn't a political blog, (but oh can I just go all giddy for a minute and say how thrilled I am that people voted and Congress and the White House now know they have to listen to the people?! It's so thrillingly democratic I can't hardly stand it. And honestly, all I want to see is constructive change - and if these people can't make that happen then at least they know now that they will be out of a job shortly as well. It's all so wicked cool.), but war is a very real thing in our world and it annoys me beyond belief to see young people thinking that a yellow ribbon will fix everything. Get them a book and let them see what it's like - get them Fire in the Hills and let them cry (or Deogratias...my God!) Then they can get a healthy reality check and think about how small that ribbon is.

I also reviewed Sippewissett by Tim Traver which is a truly wonderful natural history/biology/memoir. Traver writes about the salt marsh in Massachusetts he has known all his life with such poetry and elegance - plus there is a ton of history here about prominent scientists from Woods Hole who knew the marsh - and even Rachel Carson had her love for it as well. It's a hard book to describe, but an easy one to love.

Cheating Destiny is close to my heart as it is one of the first books I've read that really explains how hard diabetes can be. This is the book for the people in denial or with families in denial. It's a very important book and I hope it gets a lot of recognition.

And then there is Billy Boyle - a well written and enjoyable WWII mystery that has more than a few twists. As I put in the review though, what really surprised me is that Billy isn't so sure what the heck he is doing in this war - for very credible reasons. I like that author Benn went against the "greatest generation" grain here in a most realistic way. And I just loved the characters - a good read, for sure.

The issue also has interviews with Marjane Satrapi and Alain de Botton and a very interesting piece by biographer and debut writer, Kate Williams. This is a nice peek into the history of a book, and it makes me very interested in reading the final product.

Adrienne Martini is in love with Jo Walton's Farthing, which makes me want it even more (it's on my wishlist and I hope my family is reading!) and Clayton Moore has a very fun column on movies and mysteries and look - there's Billy Boyle again! We do know a good book when we find it at Bookslut - check out the issue and see what you find.

Back tomorrow with some short reviews and what's in the latest issue of Booklist.