Hangovers

• At Slate, Stephen Metcalf provides an interesting meditation on John Knowles' A Separate Peace, on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. The piece is well worth reading, though unfortunately devolves into a sadly misinformed commentary based on a narrow and thus suspect idea of what YA was rather than what it actually is. He also seems to think that modern YA lacks voice–WOW. So perhaps best to skip the section after the jump. That said, here's a nice little tidbit: "To posterity it offers up a minor curiosity: its portrait of Brinker Hadley, a cunning verbal torturer based on Knowles' Exeter schoolmate Gore Vidal. (Vidal has publicly admired the novel.) Hadley is a campus cynic-dandy of a style Exeter specializes in developing. Taking the type broadly, James Agee, Dwight MacDonald, Gore Vidal, and George Trow all attended Exeter, all experienced the splendor of its reproving coldness, and each, in a way, spent a lifetime writing his way out from under it."
• Nicola Griffith waxes thoughtful on the topic of blockbusters, a topic I've been thinking about too lately, given Avatar and all the commentary about its predictable storyline. Complexity and mass accessibility may not be natural enemies, but they do seem to come into frequent combat.
• I can't wait to nab a copy of the current Believer issue, which contains Sarah Weinman's two-and-a-half-years-in-the-making essay about Don Carpenter.
• Erin recommends some of her favorite stories published in online mags this year. Good stuff (check out the Moorer story!). 
• Carolyn Kellogg reviews Alan DeNiro's Total Oblivion, More or Less for the LA Times.
• Jed Berry on the Pinkerton National Detective Agency (and showing off the new cover the paperback edition of The Manual of Detection will sport. One of my favorite reads of last year, by FAR. Pick it up.)
• The New York Times profiles the new ambassador of young people's literature, the one and only Katherine Paterson: "She has never considered writing for adults. "When people say, 'Don't you want to write for adults?' I think, why would I want to write a book that would be remaindered in six weeks?" Ms. Paterson said. "My books have gone on and on, and my readers, if they love the book, they will read it and reread it. I have the best readers in the world."
• My favorite maven Lauren Cerand on the Alias Man Ray show currently on at the Jewish Museum.
• The Watcher's winter TV round-up. Nothing like below freezing temps to make you pick up some new shows.

• It's official: van Gogh was kind of a drama queen.
• Paging Dave Schwartz: Do you already read The Urban Pantheist LJ? If not, here's an elephant-full post for you.
• Via Deb Coates, a pointer to Kristin Nelson's end of the year post in which she reveals her agency got 38,000 queries last year. It's no wonder Colleen Lindsay is making wise resolutions about balance and fun and boundaries, because, wow. That's a lot of aspiring writers out there.
• Ed Park has some fun reviewing the Peter Straub-edited American Fantastic Tales: Terror and the Uncanny.
• Christa Faust writes about crime fiction's obsession with the woman in distress. (via Sarah.)
• Elizabeth Genco establishes The Lost Symbol Drinking Game.
• Over at Jacket Knack, Julie Larios picks her favorite children's book covers of the year, and Carol Brendler does likewise.
• Finally: Preach it, J.L. Bell: "Originality is overrated. … Or, rather, our literary and artistic culture has, probably since the Romantic period in literature and for over a century in the visual arts, valued originality more than highly competent reworkings. If we look back on the art and literature of previous centuries, we see artists and writers unabashedly exploring the same topics and tales. The competition among artists over the same ground fueled both technique and creativity." Execution is (nearly) everything.

Hey y'all–it's true! I still exist. And am back from the tundra-like, cannibalism-inducing conditions that struck Manhattan on Saturday. I hope everyone I like there is still alive and was not taken down by the zombie horde that was clearly set to emerge based on the tenor of the local news reporting. I kept an eye out for demons and shufflers at the Jersey airport, but mostly it was just desperate people looking to get home, with the occasional cute companion animal to add a little visual interest. By the way, those Jets fans? They like to drink on the train out to Secaucus. (Why am I not surprised that spell check doesn't recognize the word Secaucus?) I'm just saying.

So, a few teensy hangovers, since I've been remiss. Really, I've been remiss all year. But all this will change next year, when I vow to start posting again, especially more recommendations.

• Laura Miller on quotation markless fiction, something that I must admit does usually make me want to strangle: "What, exactly, does anyone gain aesthetically from the chore of sorting out lines of dialogue? If the intention is to make the thing harder to read, why not disemvowel it and really give 'em a good workout? Notwithstanding such avant-garde stunts as Georges Perec's "A Void" (written so as to avoid using the letter "e"), the proposition that you can improve the literary quality of a text by arbitrarily cutting out some expected element to reduce its readability is, when baldly stated, just plain silly." YES.
• AL Kennedy on rewriting in the Guardian: "No one can teach you how to write, or how you write or how you could write better – they can assist you in various areas, but the way that you learn how you write, the way you really improve, is by diving in and reworking, taking apart, breaking down, questioning, exploring, forgetting and losing and finding and remembering and generally testing your prose until it shows you what it needs to be, until you can see its nature and then help it to express itself as best you can under your current circumstances." Also, YES.
• Margo Rabb has a new piece in the NYT, this time about book thievery and how it hurts indies. She has some additional thoughts at her blog. My own misspent youth book thievery has been chronicled elsewhere; Liz, you should probably not follow that link (I know! I'm sorry!).
• Some don't miss thoughts on what the past decade has meant for children's lit (and more broadly for the whole literary world): from Betsy Bird and from Monica Edinger. Perhaps I will do a ponderous post; it seems as if a decade is worth mulling, and I so enjoyed reading these thoughtful ones. At any rate, I declare that the next decade will be excellent. How can it not be? The century was just getting warmed up for the past ten years, right?
• "I am a teenage elf" essay. (Via Jenny D.)
• A typically brilliant and hilarious post from Dana about her father's list of "People He Would Kill if He Discovers He Has Only Six Months to Live." Let me know if you're taking requests, D.
• Alan DeNiro on the present and future of the interactive novel (Choose Your Own Adventure now style).
• Jackie Dolamore's delightful debut fantasy novel Magic Under Glass (Amazon | Indiebound) is just out today. So now you know what to do with your gift cards.
• Baby tapir. Don't say I never gave you anything.

• Catching up on LJ friendslist after a few days edition.
• Just read this Jeff Ford gem; it is to laugh.
• Cyn has an affecting remembrance of Norma Fox Mazer (there are so many out there). I had no idea that Norma Fox Mazer wrote the novelization of the Supergirl movie.
• Jo gives an update on the Montgomery County book censorship situation, which is just enraging on every level. And speaking of censorship, Adam Selzer's How to Get Suspended and Influence People* is now getting the enraging treatment.
• The subjectivity of reviews by way of the subjectivity of how Tessa Gratton feels about Kenneth Branagh. Heart this post.
• Karen rounds up some compelling stuff about communication and discourse from here and there.
• Alana Joli interviews Stacy Whitman about Tu Publishing, her new press that will focus on multicultural fantasy and science fiction for young adults.
• And now I'm off to attack the fiction, assuming the cat stops stepping on the keyboard.

*That totally would have been my high school memoir title.

• Laurie Halse Anderson on the basics of writing picture books. 
• The sad news began circulating over the weekend that Norma Fox Mazer had passed on after battling invasive brain cancer. She will be remembered and celebrated throughout the week over at the VCFA children's/YA alum blog, Through the Tollbooth.
• Meghan has some great writing quotes.
• More love for Whip It! Which you really must see if you haven't. And, semi-related at least, Betsy tosses out some children's lit-themed roller derby names and asks for more. (See also: The more general ones in the comments on this post. My fave's OLIVIA NEUTRON BOMB.)
• Carolyn has a great profile/interview of Sherman Alexie in the LA Times.
• N.K. Jemisin offers wise words about southern racism.
• Kate Messner has more fun with Scrivener. What a great idea on the color coding of the index cards.
• Liz has a must-read summary of the FTC's clarification of its new "guidelines" at KidLitCon (oh, wish I could have gone). Sounds practically, gasp, sensible.
• Excellent news from Cat Valente–she sold Fairyland to Feiwel and Friends. Huzzah!
• The thoroughly awesome Bill Schafer gets interviewed about what nefarious and amazing hijincks Subterranean Press is up to over at Omnivoracious.

• Maggie Stiefvater with a butt-kicking post about questions that writers can only answer for themselves.
• Someone has reposted the entire Sci Fiction archive without permission. Ellen Datlow has links and contact info for writers who would like their stories removed.
• The real missing link? Her name is Ardi.
• Both Colleen Mondor and Sara Zarr offer some perspective on banned books week and crimes involving young women. (If you are defending Roman Polanski, just UGH. What is wrong with you? You like rich people's privilege that much?)
• Alana Joli offers some interesting thoughts about urban fantasy, and then about literature and genre fiction and the Great Divide.
• That New York Times' essay by Arthur Krystal–in case you missed it–about the differences in thinking when writing vs. speaking.
• Jeff Ford recently asked for his blog readers' favorite ghost stories (short story length) for a top ten he's compiling for a class he's teaching this semester. You could do worse than reading any of the resulting stories. Any you'd add?
• Speaking of which, Ron Charles gives a good review to Audrey Niffenegger's just-out Her Fearful Symmetry, and offers a round-up of this year's best creepy, literary-flavored reads so far.
• The Elizabeth Taylor biography sounds like the chronicle of an absolute nutcaseSPLENDID.

• Just a few little links for today.
• Slate proposes some possible extinction methods for America. (Via the lovely and brill Karen.)
• Kate Messner featured on L.K. Madigan's Authorial Intrusion series. 
• As usual, the Enchanted Inkpot has an interesting discussion going; the current topic is the historical roots of fantasy, particularly sources of magic.
• Two of the most generous, fabulous writers I know, Nicola Griffith and Kelley Eskridge, are announcing a new editing, mentoring and coaching service for writers. Visit Sterling Editing or Nicola's blog for details.
• Dawn has a post on the agonies and triumphs of revision. I tend to find revision the hardest and best part of writing, simultaneously. At least, I think I do. I'm off to workshop for a week on Sunday, and when I get home I'll be digging in to the revision on the new book. This is the only time I can ever remember taking a full month (and a couple of weeks more, actually) off from working on a project before launching into revision mode*. I'm eager to get back inside that story, too, and am beginning to feel impatient about it. I take this as a good omen.

*Of course, I was working on another revision during that month, but it's been a busy time and slowish going. I have a feel for how the rest of it will work now that those first bones have been broken and reset. And I'm sure it Will All Be Okay. After all, C is making fish tacos tonight.

• M.J. Rose on authors and marketing efforts and compensation: "We should be involved in marketing and PR — in every aspect of our careers. And if we want to pay for extra marketing or publicity, as long as we do it right, it’s a smart investment. But it is not now and should never be our obligation. And if we are going to make these investments, publishers need to acknowledge that commitment."
• Boy, Lev Grossman sure got everyone worked up, didn't he? I just don't see the hanging offense here, especially since the main point of this piece has been reiterated over and over in recent years without inspiring the same furor*. Am still looking forward to The Magicians.
• John Crowley forgets an encounter with an admired author, then reads about it later.
• I have been following the inquiry into runner Caster Semanya's gender closely. Lauren says it. 
• The Venn Diagram of Mythical Creatures that's been floating around. Want wall poster.
• Finally: The cusp of fall TV season. Yay. Perhaps we'll need a new discussion thread for something–V or Glee? True Blood is my favorite at the moment, but it's a little late to give it one now. 

*Mentioning Twilight was a misstep, because it muddies the point he's trying to make in a way that pointing to The Hunger Games doesn't. Twilight demonstrates the ability of women and girls to fuel a major blockbuster, whereas The Hunger Games and Harry Potter don't break down so cleanly along gender lines and get more to the heart of people's hunger for good storytelling. (Yes, I know there are boys who've read Twilight**, but I don't think we'd argue they are the reason it's so huge.)

**In our long lost gaming group, one of the younger, single guys told us once that he loved Twilight. We all looked at him and ::boggled:: Then he explained that before it came along being a quiet guy who wears a lot of black didn't get him nearly as much attention from the ladies.

It's as if I've abandoned the site lately, but I haven't. I've just been exceedingly busy. (This is also why you haven't gotten e-mail from me, if I owe you one.) I'm going to aim for some actual books posts this weekend, even. Promise. And there are so many books I love coming out in the next month or two, and I'll be hosting some of the wonderful writers who wrote them on blog tours too, and doing a giveaway or two. Sound fun? I think so.

• Books Inc. has a new kids' book blog that you should be checking out.
• Justine Musk on "The Art of the Start."
• I totally missed posting about Jackie Dolamore's Magic Under Glass ARC comp while it was on, BUT you should make a note of the title because you'll be wanting to get yourself a copy when it comes out.
• Shannon Hale's excellent, much-discussed post about how reviewing impacts reading and vice versa. See also: John Green on times he was being a wronghead about certain books. (And so agree about The Fountainhead–the only place it belongs is as a character grace note in Dirty Dancing.)
• Stephany on how Shirley Jackson's fictionalized family-centered nonfiction confused the memories of her children.
• Want.
• Bennett Madison's The Blonde of the Joke is finally out. This book is AMAZING. Please read it. I loved it all the way back in 2008: "It is SO good. With this book, he's pulled off something so difficult to do; as I told a friend in e-mail, it satisfyingly blurs the line between realism and the fantastic in a way that's still rare. It's a realistic novel, but flirting with being something else, flirting heavily, and in the process becoming its own unique, perfect thing. Beautifully written, too." And it does, in fact, pair excellently with Frankie Landau Banks.
• Do not miss Tempest's list of Mindblowing SF by Women and People of Color.

• Bill Clinton's been checking out Carolyn.
• Kassia with a post on reading in an age of distraction: "The competition for books isn’t necessarily other books as much as everything else in life."
• A good post on basic book structural issues.
• An interesting discussion over at the Enchanted Inkpot about the dynamics of stories where the love interest is WAY older than the protag (or vice versa) due to supernatural factors.
• A modern kid tries to figure out the walkman and replace his iPod with it for a week: "It took me three days to figure out that there was another side to the tape." Suddenly, I am ancient.
• The ultimate dead letter.
• Cherie Priest on steampunk.
• Rachel Aaron on villains.
• An essay about John Hughes from the potential inspiration for Ferris Bueller, now a government attorney.
• Bitch magazine is adding a YA column–the first one features Sara Zarr.
• Make sure you don't miss the posts from yesterday's southeast Asia one-shot day in the kidlitverse.