9.13.2007

Bits and Pieces

I'll launch right in. The sooner I get this done, the sooner I can keep working on my Best of 2007 (so far) list...

  • First, the kidlit blogsphere comes through again. Grace Lin’s husband Robert passed away recently, and the wonderful ladies over at Seven Impossible Things are rallying kidlit bloggers to bring attention to Robert’s Snow: for Cancer’s Cure. Get involved for a great cause!

  • Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin, Illinois has a conversation with a space station. A 10-year-old boy was quoted as saying “This is a once-in-a-lifetime event!” Now that is a cool programming idea!

  • Some workman – some poor schmuck who will never live this down – broke a sprinkler pipe in the National Library of Scotland. Luckily, no irreplaceable, valuable books were damaged. The original manuscript of Origin of the Species? Phew! It’s safe. Nevertheless, my heart did a thump-thump while reading this article, asking, “What if? What if? What if the books hadn't been saved?”

  • The Online Education Database listed the top 25 librarian bloggers, by the numbers. The bad news is that Fuse #8 isn’t on there, which is criminal in my eyes. The good news is that MotherReader is (#27). Huzzah!

  • Roger posted a Newsweek article about the over-diagnosing of disorders in children. I’ve known so many of these “quirky” kids in my lifetime – I was one, my daughter is one, and countless kids we see in the library are quirky. It makes me that much more grateful we have just a few characters in children’s literature to guide us through: Ramona, Harriet, Olivia, Lily… But why am I drawing a complete blank on boy characters? I know they're out there. I'll mull that over...

  • Not Your Mother’s Book Club has a lovely summary of an author event with Jerry Spinelli. I’ve had the honor of meeting him a couple times now, and they described his charm and warmth so well. With his gentleness, smile, and eyes, you can’t help but blush when you’re talking to him. And oddly enough, every time I’ve talked to him, I seem to end up talking about his wife’s books more. And, of course, he never seems to mind.

  • Neil Gaiman’s online journal is another one of my new favorite author blogs as well.

    However, I have a confession to make.

    Come closer.

    I don’t want everyone to know this.

    Okay, ready?

    *I have never read a Neil Gaiman book.*

    It’s just a weird fluke-y sort of thing, but I haven’t (well, unless you count Wolves in the Walls. But everyone has read that). My initial impression is that his stuff is sort of "out there". Not to mention that the cover of Coraline scares the stuffing out of me. But oh, how I love his online journal. I’m developing quite the crush on him. Particularly since he just changed the picture of himself and he’s looking cuter than ever. I know, I know. What a rotten way to go about evaluating children’s literature and its creators. But I’m just being honest.

  • Speaking of being honest, check out Justine’s rejection letter for Henry Miller's Tropic of Cancer. Oh, if only she really had been an editor at the time and rejected it then. It would have saved me so much trouble in college.

4 comments:

Anali said...

Actually, I haven't read Wolves in the Walls. But I HAVE read Anansi Boys, so I'm still safe in my sci-fi/fantasy cred.

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fusenumber8 said...

I think I was screwed on the caveat that my blog could, "not be hosted on a subdomain of a domain whose purpose is not primarily related to a blog written by a librarian." SLJ would cancel me out. Alas, alack, oy vey.

Now go read Coraline. It'll do you good. Put hair on your chest. Then read the Sandman comics, but bear in mind that it improves after numbers 1-3.

Unknown said...

Grump - "Wolves in the Walls" is a picture book so you should be able to zoom through it. Totally creepy, cool stuff.

Fuse - That's okay. Everyone knows you're a stud. You don't need no validation! And I'll add "Coraline" to my ridiculously lengthy list of books to read...but I don't want hair on my chest. Ew.