The debate went much the way I thought it would go. Both of these men are senators and just as Obama and Clinton were professional until the very end in their meetings, I'm sure Obama and McCain will be as well. McCain attacked a bit more which didn't seem to go over well and I liked Obama's explanation about his health care policy (it was easy to understand and if you don't understand it now then you are determined to be confused). McCain should have elaborated more on this bailout of mortgages idea and the whole Pakistan thing really blew my mind. Obama nailed that one and I don't understand why McCain kept insisting that Obama wanted to invade or attack the country when he has been clear for months on his position. Not a blowout win, but a win on points and not what McCain needed. Back to the trail now, where dear Governor Palin will likely try to incite more people to violence against Obama.

I can't begin to say how much I look forward to November FIFTH. (When our long national nightmare will finally be over and we can watch nature specials and Roseanne reruns again with happy abandon.)

My new column is up at Bookslut with several appropriately creepy titles for October. I've written about Cherie Priest here before, and especially her wonderful new novella Those Who Went Remain There Still. This was published by Subterranean Press for the adult audience but is great for teens and features Daniel Boone and some very real American history. I highly recommend all of Cherie's books.

Also in the column are reviews of Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book (as good as expected - he makes it look so easy to write this well), Kelly Link's Pretty Monsters (coolest creepy short story collection for teens this year - she leaves all those "I'm a Buffy wannabe" writers in the dust), Steinbeck's Ghost by Lewis Buzbee (I've written repeatedly how much I enjoyed this mystery/ghost story/homage to L'Engle, Bradbury and Steinbeck mash-up), The Secret of Laurel Oaks by Lois Ruby (MG ghost story/mystery based on one of the most haunted places in America), The Ghosts of Kerfol by Deborah Noyes (truly gothic stories linked together by a common theme and place), The Mystery of the Fool and the Vanisher (hard to describe combination of photography and fairy story that fits firmly in Holly Black territory and looks incredibly cool) and Spirit by JP Hightman (also gothic and has the biggest twist ending I've come across in ages).

My Cool Read is the art and nature title Theater of Insects by Jo Whaley - too gorgeous not to devote an entire post to, so more on this later.

And over at Eclectica Magazine, also this week, my article on political books for teens went up. That one includes This May Help You Understand the World by Lawrence Potter (one of those great books on national and world events that includes brief explanations of everything everyone is talking about), Sunrise Over Fallujah by Walter Dean Myers (as good as you expect and the war book every teen should read), From Baghdad to America by Jay Kopelman (a follow-up that explains how Kopelman and the dog he rescued from Iraq both suffered from PTSD when they got to the US), The Betrayal of Africa by Gerald Caplan (a Groundwork Guide that is an excellent entry into understanding the relationship between Africa and the West - a must for report writers and homeschoolers), The End of the Game by Peter Beard (even more important now than when it was first written and an excellent art/history/environmental title for teens - the man is incredibly gifted in so many ways), No Choirboy by Susan Kulkin (the tragedy of the US prison system from the eyes of teen victims and criminals - very significant), Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (for all its faults, still the biggest SF title for teens this year), Under My Roof by Nick Mamatas (the SF teen title that everyone should have been talking about two years ago), Janes in Love by Cecil Castellucci (begs the question of just what you would do for art) and Bomb the Suburbs by William Upksi Wimsatt (a cross between urban and suburban culture that includes everything from hip hop to graffiti - a true social history).

Hard to pick favorites out of all of these although if pressed I would go with Pretty Monsters, Steinbeck's Ghost, Those Who Went Remain There Still, Theater of Insects, End of the Game, Under My Roof and Sunrise Over Fallujah. But really - those are just my favs; there are plenty of titles to choose from here for everyone else. (And that is the beauty of reviews and recommendations - we throw the titles out there and everyone gets to pick what they want to read!)

[Post pic - an example of Peter Beard's work.]