- So we’re still clear of the stomach bug, but both seem to have colds and general yuckiness. Blech. I do actually want to make a little post about a couple of Wiscon-related things, mostly to say how excellent it was to get to participate in such fabulous discussions about The Carhullan Army/Daughters of the North and the rest of the Tiptree list, and natter about a panel or so. (The best part, as always, was hanging with peeps new and old.) But that will not be happening today, not until I’ve managed some serious couch time. In the meantime, some links, mostly to obvious stuff…
- Emily Gould’s confessional piece about the dangers of internet celebrity and oversharing (sometimes I really hate things online being open to comments).
- Saint Death in Chi-town: For decades Santa Muerte has been present in the tough neighborhoods of Mexico City, where prostitutes and drug traffickers worshiped her mostly in secret. Last month, a group devoted to the icon made her over, giving the figure long, brown hair and a rose to hold in an attempt to change her image and win Mexican government recognition.
- Of female fantasy writers and double standards. Over at the Horn Book Blog, many people are wishing the writer in question had chosen an example other than Rowling to make the case.
- The Salon piece about The Death of Literary Criticism that has some people talking. Yawn.
- Jeannette Winterson opens the Sydney Writers’ Festival. (Via Jeff.)
- Stephany Aulenback is compiling an interesting list of books for adults about childhood. I’d add Jeff Ford’s latest, The Shadow Year.
- Salman Rushdie returns to the fantastic, and the fantastically real: As the eight page bibliography in the back of the book reminds, much of this story is actually factually true – and not the parts one might think. "The people of this time were more interested in magic than in religion because they thought of it as real," Rushdie said. And then there’s the history itself. "At one point, I had to research what the Turks were up to, and they were going to war with Dracula!"