Blogger appreciation: authors

In my first edition, I talked about book bloggers I really enjoy. In this edition, I’m talking about authors whose blogs I really enjoy. Please note that is specifically authors whose blogs I enjoy! There are a couple who I really like on Twitter (I’ll get to that later) and some of my favorite authors don’t blog at all (Megan Whalen Turner! Which would be tragic except that it would take her 12 years to write a book).

I love Sarah Rees Brennan! She’s hilarious, and she’s full of interesting thoughts about books and movies and writing and life. Luckily, she has not one but two blogs, both with different content. Plus, she wrote this review of the Attolia books.

Robin McKinley’s blog was one of the very very first I found when I was first venturing, hesitantly, onto the internet. I used to be a much more active reader and commenter than I currently am, but I can’t not include Days in the Life* just for sheer nostalgia’s sake. It’s very daily life oriented, with a serial fiction that’s going on and occasional guest posts.

* with footnotes

I haven’t been following Rachel Neumeier‘s blog for very long, but I’m enjoying it quite a bit. I had no hesitation over jumping in and commenting, and overall I’ve had a very warm personal feeling from reading her blog. There are great book discussions over there as well, which I really enjoy. And occasional recipes! I am a sucker for recipes.

On the flip side, I am very intimidated by the commenters at John Scalzi’s Whatever, and so I don’t normally comment there. But the essay posts are always thought provoking and it’s easy to see why Scalzi is such a juggernaut in the SF community.

Cat Valente is someone who I don’t always necessarily agree with–in fact I actively disagree with her quite often. But I really value her voice and the issues she brings to light. Besides, there are times when she says exactly what I needed to hear.

I love the metaphorical (? maybe not quite the right word but the closest I can come) resonance in Theodora Goss‘s short stories. And I feel like that carries over to her blog. I am constantly inspired and challenged by what she writes there.

Kristin Cashore is another smart, thoughtful writer. I have found her thoughts about writing to be interesting and, in the case of a series about revision, really helpful.

Zoe Marriott blogs at The Zoe Trope, and I like her mix of discussions about books, genre, and writing. Again, I may not always agree with her, but I find the topics she talks about to be fascinating.

Links from around the web 2/12/2013

- Maggie Stiefvater has announced the title and cover of the second Raven Boys book. Eeeeee!

- Changing fashions in the Regency era (via Nancy Kelley)

- This is a fascinating, and somewhat depressing, interview about writing diverse YA books

- I waaant this shirt. *eyes longingly* (via darcybear on Twitter)

- Speaking of Doctor Who, I find this alternate history of Doctor Who in which the Doctors have been women really interesting, not so much as a criticism of the show, but as an exercise in might-have-beens.

- Valentine’s Day seems to inspire the Megan Whalen Turner fans. Who I am to judge, or complain? Exhibit 1, exhibit 2, exhibit 3, exhibit 4, exhibit 5,exhibit 6, and okay I’m done now.

- Adorable baby tapir is adorable! (via Rachel Neumeier)

- A great look into the head of an INFJ (which I am). (via Kelly Jensen)

- Speaking of introversion, there was a quite a conversation this week, starting with an article in the Atlantic. Lots of people had responses, which Liz B collected. Susan Cain had a nice rebuttal, and I especially liked Kelly’s post, which has a fascinating, albeit contentious, discussion in the comments.

- If Downton Abbey took place on Facebook (spoilers through the latest episode)

- Speaking of things that I need…

Links from around the web

- Did you all hear about the Librarian Stress thing? If you haven’t there’s a decent recap at the beginning of the post I’m linking to, which I think has good things to say, especially about a certain blog I dislike.

- Modern Parenting may hinder brain development. I wish I knew more about parenting research, but this was an interesting article and, profession wise, made me wonder about library programs as a way to off-set some of the issues that are touched on.

- Fantasy of Color. “We’re here to share art, pictures and stories of people of color in fantasy or steampunk settings.” Very cool. Also, this is amazing. (via Miriam Forster)

- This Isn’t the Petition Response You’re Looking For. If the US government receives a petition with over 25,000 signatures, they are obligated to respond to it officially. This is the official response to the Build a Death Star petition. It is hilarious. You should read it right now. (via LeVar Burton’s Twitter)

- This is cool and creepy and cool. An online version of 20 questions. It got Harry Crewe, Chrestomanci, Cassandra Mortmain, Miles Vorkosigan, and Julie Beaufort-Stuart, but not Maddie or Rupert Venables. (Via Miriam Forster)

- Ego Thy Name is Librarianship is honestly a more interesting/insightful post than the title gives away. It touches on a number of library-related topics and I found myself nodding more than once. (via Liz B & Kelly J)

- Charlotte wants recommendations of adult fantasy for mg/YA fantasy fans.

- Shelvers Anon has a great post about the numbers game, which I am totally guilty of.

- If you’re a writer considering submitting queries to an agent, at least you’re better off than these folks. (via Rachel Neumeier)

- School Library Thrives after ditching print collection. Or as it should read, School “Library” “Thrives” after ditching print collections. Just no. This is so wrong on so many levels, I can’t even tell you.

- On the other hand, there is this WSJ article! Which paints a very rosy picture of the future. I hope it turns out to be true and I see no inherent reason why it couldn’t. But then I think that if ebooks take over completely, it’ll be because everyone freaked out and assumed they would.

- Speaking of Star Wars, here’s a hilarious letter from Alec Guinness.

- Nice list of YA historical fiction. Some I’ve read, others I haven’t.

- Rants about Rants about YA. Excellent stuff here.

And now this has gotten really long! Would help if I did it more regularly, I suppose. At any rate, I am always interested in interesting links about books, history, the world we live in.

Almost straight

It feels strange to be back here and ready to talk about books, after the last few weeks. But, well, I am. I want to. I’ve been reading quite a bit lately and there are several books I want to talk about. So I’m trying to use this as a way to bridge the gap.

The funeral was beautiful, as was the burial service in California. There are so many little wonderful details that I won’t try to name them here. But they were a great consolation in the middle of our sorrow.

Today I’ve been reading a number of interesting posts. There’s one on the Morris Prize rules which, since it focuses on one of my favorite books from the year (SERAPHINA!) is fascinating. Brandy captured how I feel about The Sea of Trolls. And Chachic has a great post about finding your passion in life.

There’s also the Cassandra Clare-Maureen Johnson-Sarah Rees Brennan news. I am not the hugest TMI fan in the entire world, though I don’t also have fiery hatred for it the way some do. But SRB! And MJ! Who I both love! So…mixed feelings?

And that’s it for now, though I’ll try to have some new reviews up soon.

It’s good to be back.

Blogger appreciation: reading edition

I don’t keep a proper blog roll, but I know it warms my heart whenever someone mentions BSL elsewhere. So I’m going to do a series of some of my favorite blogs in different categories. Today–book blogs!

Leila @ Bookshelves of Doom: Bookshelves of Doom was one of the very first blogs I ever read and, well, I’m still reading. Leila’s mix of smart and funny is great, and since we have fairly similar tastes in books, I get a lot of good recommendations from her.

Chachic @ Chachic’s Book Nook: Chachic is a fellow Sounisian and one of my favorite bloggers. She’s great at being warm and welcoming and since we love many of the same books, I’m always excited to find new recommendations from her.

Brandy @ Random Musings of a Bibliophile: Another Sounisian (I love Sounis!). Brandy is great at discussing books that I might not have heard about otherwise, and pulling out aspects of books that might not have thought about before.

Ana and Thea @ The Book Smugglers: The Book Smugglers are so smart that, even when I completely disagree with them, I can see why they reacted the way they did. Moreover, although some of their reviews are negative, I don’t feel like they’re gratuitously negative, or confuse the book with the author. If you want smart, critical reviews, look no further.

Queen Ninja Revenge is a new blog, but one of my good friends posts there and I know that she’s brilliant. So far they have a nice mix of genres and styles, so I’m looking forward to more from them.

Liz B @ A Chair, A Fireplace, and a Tea cozy: Liz has a great mix of middle-grade and YA books, in addition to some great discussions of current issues in the kidlit world. I always learn something from her.

Charlotte @ Charlotte’s Library: Another Sounisian, and another blogger I’ve read for a looong time now. Charlotte has an emphasis on middle-grade sff, though she regularly reads other types of books. While I tend to be a bit more on the adult side, I really appreciate her blog and like the way it helps me be aware of what’s going on in that field.

The Black Letters: I really wish they updated more regularly, because I am a big fan of Emera & Kakaner’s blog. (Guilt, guilt, guilt. ) They have a speculative fiction focus, but post all kinds of things, with interesting features and smart reviews.

Links from around the web

Things I’ve collected recently that I thought others might be interested in:

-N.K. Jemisin on The Unexotic Exotic (at Book Smugglers). One of the best worldbuilding posts I’ve ever read, especially in the context of writing about a culture not your own.

-Oh my goodness, people, this is why I read Cat Valente. THIS: “After all, if you grow up loving fairy tales and King Arthur and saints who battle monsters, you want the British Isles the way some kids want boyfriends.” And the last few days I keep returning to the idea of never naming what you’re writing about. I’m terrible at that, but it’s so right.

-A Code Name Verity spoiler-full discussion!

-Theodora Goss has a really interesting series about the immigrant class up: part 1, part 2, and part 3.

So…

I was going to be all productive and post a review today. But then I stumbled upon THE WORST TIME-SUCK EVER, which is the Tudor dolls website and proceeded to spend way too much time making up characters and clothing them. If you like costume history and/or the Tudor period at all, you may want to check the site out. But be warned, you may also be sucked into the void, never to return.

Links and such

Say Something in Welsh–i.e., learn Welsh for free online! This is super exciting.

Lots of authors making new book announcements! Bitterblue has a cover and a release date. Sarah Rees Brennan and Justine Larbalestier co-wrote a sekrit project. And Holly Black has a new YA book (about vampires).

The Cybils nominations are open. I haven’t done any nominating yet, because I have not had time. Monday and Tuesday are my days off. cybils.com

Why I love the Columbus Library

1. It was the library I went to for thirteen years.
2. They have a fantastic system, including some of the nicest librarians ever.
3. They had a flash mob.

Thank you to Fuse #8 for the amazing link! I miss that place and it’s fun to see what they’ve changed and what’s stayed the same.

Bits and pieces

Poster and trailer for the new Jane Eyre adaptation. I think it had potential, but I’m having trouble believing that it could possible top the Ruth Wilson/Toby Stephens miniseries from a few years ago. (I have a recent interest in late 1830s-early 1840s clothing, so I’m interested to see that this new one is much more 40s than 30s.)

A song about a girl who works in a library? Um, yes please! (Bookshelves of Doom)

An awesomely hilarious letter from T.H. White. (Fuse #8)

Sarah Rees Breenan put up her first snippit from Demon’s Surrender, which nearly induced me to hysteria. Not the aha-aha-this-is-so-funny kind. The Mrs. Bennet you-have-no-compassion-on-my-poor-nerves kind. Spoilers at the link, obviously.

A webcomic about The Thief? Why, yes! (kudos go to my friend Barratt on this one.)