December 2010
72 posts
Small Beer &c, 2010. | Small Beer Press →
Pretty amazing. Get these books, if you haven’t already.
“#4 I’ve gotta rewrite my next story. as for resolutions we should all...”
– IAmA New York Times bestselling novelist. AMA. : IAmA
The wonderful John Green answering q’s on reddit, first anonymously, then as himself after being quickly ID’d. (via Leila.) Must find this page.
“I decided to start anew – to strip away what I had been taught, to accept as...”
– Solitude and Silence | Theodora Goss
Craving Truth-telling - Room for Debate -... →
Various illuminaries on topics YA: Paolo, Scott W., Maggie Stiefvater, et more.
“Need a break from holiday commercialism? Want to send a much-needed gift to...”
– Breaking Waves showcases the fury and fragility of the sea
“Zombie Apocalypse novel - EVERYONE WHO DONATES for this prize will receive an...”
– Zombie Apocalypse Novel | Project For Awesome 2010
“The nation’s bookbinder runs his index finger over a rough cut of...”
– The public papers of the president: Low-tech, high impact
LUSH -- Dragon's Egg →
Is lovely, but will I be glittery forever? Worse fates, I suppose. (Note: Side effect does not come with fire breathing.)
“Some days you will be amazing. Some days you will not. Some days you will be...”
– seanan_mcguire: Thoughts on Writing #45: You Brilliant Hack You.
Must-reads in Romance | Kirkus Book Reviews →
Good picks from the divine Sarah Wendell.
The Top 14 Astronomy Pictures of 2010 | Bad... →
What D&D Character Am I? →
I answered this as my only D&D character (eyebrows DOWN): Jojo Pickford, the halfling rogue who freed the animals and ran away from the circus and who rarely loses any hit points, and I got:
I Am A: Neutral Good Human Ranger (3rd Level) Ability Scores: Strength-15 Dexterity-19 Constitution-17 Intelligence-17 Wisdom-16 Charisma-16 Alignment: Neutral Good A neutral good character does...
“History, for that matter, is full of stories of people who became what they...”
– Shark’s Teeth | Koreanish
Alexander Chee being v. smart about process.
Trends | The Official Site of Ally CarterTrends →
Good list of trends in YA, 2010 and looking forward.
“Regardless of Rushdie’s sense in this passage, it’s a great way to start our...”
– The Nervous Breakdown-An Interview with M.T. Anderson
Nobody rants better than Tobin.
“The way to pull yourself out of the slimy pit of Rejection Depression is to go...”
– The Debutante Ball
Wise words about rejection from Laurie Halse Anderson.
“I found early on in teaching, if you’re too blunt an instrument, the students...”
– Tim Gunn’s Advice for Making It Work - NYTimes.com
Costume Nerd: The Borgias →
If there are two things costumers tend to avoid when making Smexy History Times, it’s a nice pair of particolor hosen and some bitchin’ elf slippers, so the chances of breeches on their bottom halves are high.
- Genevieve provides color commentary on advance stills from The Borgias.
The best films of 2010 | Best Of 2010 | The A.V.... →
Straight to the netflix with this one.
“9. Practice saying “No.”
Creative energy is not finite. Seasoned idea-makers...”
– 10 Laws of Productivity :: Tips :: The 99 Percent
Good list. Obvs. no one is giving me 60K to yammer, but this is the one I have the most vexation from.
“….it does frustrate me that other examples of women’s strength are often...”
– Women, Warriors, and Gender Policing | Epiphany 2.0
Nora Jemisin: worth reading the whole thing, as always.
(I personally have soft spots for noir solo heroines AND for women leading teams. But examining why is always encouraged.)
“Anyhow, there was a totally unsubstantiated rumor (related to me as fact by one...”
– too sweet to die » Blog Archive » It’s Miller Time
Bar talk. Click through, because Dana is brilliant. And also because you must watch the BEES! Oprah video.
“For her part, Bagnulo sees the chains’ woes — and the recent news that...”
– End Of Days For Bookstores? Not If They Can Help It : NPR
Go, Booknerd!
“The letter went on to explain that before the boxes of books sold to “remainder”...”
– “The Very Best Way To Go Out Of Print” by Laurel Snyder. This is fantastic. This is just fantastic. If you find it as fantastic as I do, I encourage you to buy her new middle-grade novel, Penny Dreadful, which is one of my favorite chapter books of the year, or, if it’s more your style, Baxter, the...
“Of course there are a lot of terrible YA vampire books; there are a lot of bad...”
– Strange Horizons Columns: Teenagers with Bite, by Karen Healey
good times and noodle salad - 2010 Reading Report →
More recs from the fabulous Sara Zarr (who served on this year’s NBA young readers jury).
Books To Look Forward To in 2011 | Reading is... →
Lots of interesting stuff on bookseller extraordinaire Michele Filgate’s list.
“5. Zynga or Rovio could make a boatload of money with a game called Genre Wars...”
– Hey kids, it’s the semi-annual installment of Genre Wars (TM)!!!
Sarah, as usual, nails it. Read the whole list.
“Nrama: What are the natural connections or in-roads to Romance Novels from...”
– Newsarama.com : Dark Wolverine’s Marjorie Liu DARES You to Read Romance
I heart Marjorie Liu.
“When I was a young writer, I would jump-start the next project as soon as I...”
– Working on the Ending - The Old Writer - Essay - NYTimes.com
“Although an academic, Hilton was no “stuffed shirt”, and was widely...”
– Professor Peter Hilton: Bletchley Park code-breaker who became one of the most influential mathematicians of his generation - Obituaries, News - The Independent
“Amazon has just added Nielsen Bookscan to the perks it offers writers through...”
– theinferior4: Author Central/Bookscan
Great take on this from Liz Hand.
“I forced myself to try to have more defined arcs for my characters because I...”
– Shaken & Stirred - Andrea Seigel interviewed
My WBBT interview with Andrea Seigel over at the real blog.
“I don’t worry about the singularity at all. I think that the...”
– Shaken & Stirred - Ted Chiang interviewed
AND my WBBT interview with Ted Chiang at le other blog too.
“Rhys is a British icon, but it’s Mina who is the hero of this novel, Mina...”
– We Don’t Need Another Hero - The Barnes & Noble Review
Well said. One of the main reasons I LOVED The Iron Duke (my favorite romance read of the year, for sure)—along with the exquisite world-building.