One day behind but I'll be caught up later today. In the meantime I've read some fabulous books lately (Oh how strongly I recommend Cherie Priest's upcoming werewolf drama, Dreadful Skin) and I was also delighted to hear that Charles de Lint has a new Jilly novella coming out from Sub Press this winter. (I'm a sick De Lint fan - it's almost as bad as my Bradbury fascination.)

Neil Gaiman shows why he is the coolest Dad on the planet with this post (I swear - it's like watching one of those damn Hallmark commercials; it makes you want to cry) and oh how I hope I find his latest, Fragile Things under yonder tree in a couple of weeks. (I highlighted it and put stars around it on my list - even my husband will get that hint!)

The Escapist is the best comic I've read in ages and it will be in my February column - on books about characters writing comic books which includes four good books for YAs, although Kavalier and Clay is not among them (just seemed a bit too long for a 13 year old.)

I also just finished writing about Midnight Sun for my next polar books column. Can you believe there is a comic on Arctic exploration? How cool is that? (And yes - it is great!)

And I got the Houghton Mifflin Children's catalog for Spring which includes a new and fab sounding book from Daniel Pinkwater, The Neddiad. The best part is you can go read the first fifteen chapters or so online and see if you like it as well. He had me in the first paragraph - funny but not silly. I'm looking forward to this one.

And via Sarah Weinman - holy crap there's going to be a sequel to The Eight! This is one of my all time favorite books and I'm thrilled and worried at the same time. Oh how I hope this book is good....really hope..really really hope. You get the idea.