Via AS IF, Simon & Schuster have posted a video responding to the controversy about Susan Patron’s novel The Higher Power of Lucky. In addition to some great, supportive quotes by other authors, the publisher, and fellow Newbery Award winners, the video features snippets of Patron reading from her work as well as an interview with Patron by Cynthia Kadohata.
Via Fuse #8, an interesting little discussion on Mitali’s Fire Escape about whether it’s right to discuss books you haven’t actually read. Having just done it in the paragraph above, I guess it’s clear what side of the camp I fall on! In all seriousness, I try not to pass judgment if I haven’t actually read something, but I reserve the right to mention it in casual conversation… Also on Fuse #8, a thought-provoking discussion prompted by a Bruce Sterling article on what he sees as the limited future of blogging.
Still from Fuse #8 (she’s a blogging champ!), a little something to encourage our continuing judgment of books by their covers: a website of book covers where you can see who the cover designer is and leave a comment with your opinion. I only wish they were categorized by genre or had a specifically children’s/YA section…
Last but not least, thanks to Bruce at Wordswimmer for an insightful new post about navigating the rough waters of the writing career (and for plugging Finding Wonderland). He’s got some great observations on the ideas of effort, despair, and letting go, and how these apply to creativity; there are also links to good articles in Yoga Journal. If you’re having a rough patch, you might want to check it out. Just knowing you aren’t alone can help.
