My BVC blog today is about age appropriate reading, and how to define it--something I've talked about here off and on over the past few years ( Read more... )

This came to mind recently when some people were talking about the Percy Jackson books. (I haven't seen the movie.) When the first one came out I read it. I thought, this writer knows junior high. Turned out I was right--the author has been a sixth grade teacher for a long time, what's more, he'd aimed the story to engage his own kid, who has some ( Read more... )

Before I leap madly into catching up with chores around here, a few explanations and so forth ( Read more... )

We'll be hitting the road in a couple of hours or so, so last report ( Read more... )

Saturday morning at WFC--I'm down in the lobby with tea and borrowed laptop so my roommates can sleep ( Read more... )

coppervale, or James A. Owen, who was such a wonderful guest of honor at Mythcon last August, has just released his fourth book The Shadow Dragons, in his series called the Imaginarium Geographica. He does his own cover art, and illustrations that are in themselves works of art.

Here's the first book in audio format.

Warning: Spoilers below for The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, and Susanne Collins' The Hunger Games

Recently Abigail Nussbaum discussed both books hereSo many friends loved the Ness book (whose title I adored) that I thought I was the only one who hated it so much I wish I could have that time back. Nussbaum touches on some of its ( Read more... )

Sarah Rees Brennan, whose The Demon's Lexicon came out a few months ago, has posted an adjacent story. You don't need to know the book to read this--but I hope that this lovely story will lead more readers to the book.

I've seem some complaining here and there that urban fantasy is dead as a subgenre--nothing new--same boring vampire angsty boys and even more angsty fae all grim and Gothy. It could be that adults are seeing some retreads in tropes and ideas that appeared in the eighties . . . and those of us who are oldies and moldies have seen patterns reaching ( Read more... )

Mary Pearson, the author of The Adoration of Jenna Fox, is launching a most unusual idea for her upcoming book, The Miles Between. Four ARCs (advanced reading copies) are making a road trip. One of those ARCs only made a short hop, from San Diego to here; each recipient promised to take the book to a favorite spot, especially if it's quirky, and ( Read more... )