Gwenda, Author at Gwenda Bond

Busted

Science Project / By Gwenda / December 22, 2006

An article in the NYT about why messiness and clutter are golden, in which my neatness strategy is revealed as a sham:

It’s also nice to remember, as Mr. Freedman pointed out, that almost anything looks pretty neat if it’s shuffled into a pile.

Ouch. There’s a glossary o terms. In addition to the vertical mess, I may also be guilty of the cyclical mess, the minimess, the heaped mess, and the satellite mess. In other words: all of them. And, yet, our place is always fairly inhabitably tidy-ish. Go figure. Maybe if it were Even Messier, we would be Even More Productive.

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Happy Holidays from

Memes Upon Memes / By Gwenda / December 21, 2006

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is:
Honourable Lady Gwenda the Bewildered of Hardy St Thomas
Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is:
Lord Christopher the Wholesome of Larkhill under Porton
Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

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Japanese Snow Monkeys!

Miscellany / By Gwenda / December 21, 2006

Live Cam! (Via Jenny D.)

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Hardly Seems Scientific

6 Comments / Scientifiction / By Gwenda / December 21, 2006

I am:

Gregory Benford

A master literary stylist who is also a working scientist.

Which science fiction writer are you?

(Via Tricia Sullivan.)

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Thursday Hangovers

2 Comments / Hangovers / By Gwenda / December 21, 2006

There was _another_ gratuitous Shower of the Future scene at the end of the book. Now I read Norton’s Anthology of Children’s Literature for two weeks. (Ironically, I may well make the 75 after all — thank you, picture book section!)
Graham Sleight has a great piece at Strange Horizons on The West Wing, and how it’s science fiction(al).
Speaking of things edited by Niall Harrison, he gives a rundown of the latest issue of Vector.
Snails!
J.L. Bell on "humanity’s wish list," and fantasy stories.
Fourth Temeraire out fall 2007, and a return of all the great English dragons. Yay!
Get your name in Joe Schreiber’s next novel AND finish your holiday shopping at the same time. Limited time offer.
Moles on novels and various related things.
The Clan sounds quite wonderful; hope it’s accessible here at some point. (Via whirlwind dervish Gavin.) I heart Sylvain Chomet (despite Alan’s woefully cruel interpretation of the Triplets of Belleville).

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Wednesday Hangovers

Hangovers / By Gwenda / December 20, 2006

Aetiology on the NYT piece on the continuing hurdles for women in science.
Justine Musk on avoiding the Mary Sue and other elements of characterization.
The Boston Globe has an excellent profile of M.T. Anderson.
The WashPost looks at the New York Review’s Children’s Collection of reissues. I am so seeking out The Magic Pudding now.
Cecil on being an elf at Macy’s when she was in college.
Cynthia Leitich Smith excerpts pieces from many of her interviews with writers, editors, agents and other publishing types from 2006. Go see what you may have missed.
One Rob over at John Green’s blog is vehemently Team Karen-ing it up. Head over there and convince him to join Team Pam or, as I like to think of it, the Forces of All That is Good and Right.

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Things That Drive Me Batty in Science Fiction, No. 1 (in an occasional series)

17 Comments / Scientifiction / By Gwenda / December 20, 2006

Futuristic showers.

I’ve read several science fiction novels lately and actually this sin was only committed 1.5 times in the course of three books. Still, I’ve encountered it enough now that it makes me want to hurl a book across the room, then jump and down while yelling at it.

Here’s the thing: Showers actually work pretty well. Water sprays out onto body, body gets clean (add soap in there somewhere). Do we really believe that there is a far better way that technology will find? I don’t. If showering changes, my guess is it will be for the worse, because of lack of energy or fresh water. And that’s okay, that would be interesting, but any time a character in a science fiction novel is luxuriating in a fancy shower with multiple sprays or a weird door or whatever? It’s just gratuitous window-dressing. And it makes me want to kill.

That is all.

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Underrated 06

Books / By Gwenda / December 19, 2006

Jeff Bryant has masterminded the Underrated Writers 2006, the second annual collection of writers some litbloggers have recommended as deserving more love. I sent mine in under the wire, or no doubt I’d have gushed even more. My picks this year were: Joyce Ballou Gregorian (dead), Jeff VanderMeer (alive), Caitlin Kiernan (alive), and Elizabeth Hand (alive). Three out of four living ain’t bad.

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Fantastical Beginnings

3 Comments / Books / By Gwenda / December 19, 2006

Ursula Le Guin has a truly phenomenal essay about fantasy and children’s literature in the New Statesman. I highly encourage you to read the entire piece. The conclusion:

The Harry Potter phenomenon, a fantasy aimed at sub-teenagers becoming a great best-seller among adults, confirmed that fantasy builds a two-way bridge across the generation gaps. Adults trying to explain their enthusiasm told me: "I haven’t read anything like that since I was ten!" And I think this was simply true. Discouraged by critical prejudice, rigid segregation of books by age and genre, and unconscious maturismo, many people literally hadn’t read any imaginative literature since childhood. Rapid, immense success made this book respectable, indeed obligatory, reading. So they read it, and rediscovered the pleasure of reading fantasy – which may be inferior only to the pleasure of rereading it.

(Via Maud.)

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Tuesday Hangovers

1 Comment / Hangovers / By Gwenda / December 19, 2006

Some information about the difference between types of paper books are printed on — and why different books are done on different kinds.
Katamari Damacy cake! Wow! (Thanks, Alan!)
Lisa Yee is torturing holiday peeps again, so there must be a deadline.
Turn the Page, a newish library web comic. (Via Fusenumber8.)
Tamora Pierce on why she writes female heroes. See also: Janni Simner’s comments in response. I wholeheartedly agree that it’s selling boys short to assume they simply won’t read a book with a female protagonist.
The books that won Jenny Davidson’s heart this year. Now THAT is a list.
Best NYT headline ever: "Please Let It Be Whale Vomit, Not Just Sea Junk." Ambergris, that is. Or is it?

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