If you have young children, chances are you have at least one book by Richard Scarry in your house. Why not celebrate his birthday today (June 5) by sitting down to read it together? Richard Scarry was born in 1919 and died in 1994. He wrote and illustrated over 250… Read more »
Random House and mystery author Laurie R. King are giving away twelve advanced reading copies (ARCs) of her forthcoming Mary Russell novel, Garment of Shadows. To enter this contest, you have to have a Facebook account. (There may be other giveaways in the future, including one on Twitter.) Go to… Read more »
Photo by Modern Arts Studio, Oakland, California. From the Marion Zimmer Bradley Literary Works Trust website. Marion Zimmer Bradley, best known for her Darkover novels and a series of Arthurian fantasies beginning with The Mists of Avalon, was born on this day in 1930. She died in 1999. Bradley’s Darkover… Read more »
If you’re interested in books, ebooks, libraries, self-publishing, or even book blogs,there’s quite a lot to interest you this week: The Nation has published a long, thoughtful piece on “The Amazon Effect” by Steve Wasserman. A history of Amazon’s rise as well as an examination of its tactics and its… Read more »
Want to know whose birthday it is? I’ve added a page of author (and illustrator) birthdays to this blog. For the most part, the authors listed are a mix of classic literary types, children’s authors, and authors of fantasy, SF, and mystery. They appear by date. You’ll find the page… Read more »
Magic Under Glass blends elements of fantasy, steampunk, and the gothic novel: orphan girl swept into a high social milieu, mysterious and romantic sorcerer, hidden wife, enchanted clockwork automaton, missing fairy prince. Dolamore melds all of these into a cohesive, intriguing, but oddly spare whole. I have very mixed feelings… Read more »
I’ve been a fan of Aunt Dimity almost as long as the books have been around. Aunt Dimity’s Death is one of my comfort novels, the books I turn to when I’m tired, overwhelmed, or feeling blue: the reading equivalent of a nice cup of tea; and several of the… Read more »
Fantasy author Patricia Wrede recently posted a piece on her blog in which she recalls hearing Judith Merrill, the noted SF author, challenging another panelist’s assertion that a fiction author shouldn’t try to send a message – shouldn’t preach. “Why not?” responded Ms. Merrill. “What better place is there?” A… Read more »
Sorry for the late posting! Here are some of the articles that caught my attention in the past week: On audiobooks: “Let’s Go Reading in the Car” (Judith Shulevitz, New York Times) Shulevitz links audiobooks to storytelling, and recommends some good choices for families. On libraries:“Connecticut Library to Use Overdue… Read more »
If you’re not familiar with the work of Margaret Wise Brown, your childhood was the poorer for it. Brown wrote the now-classic titles Goodnight Moon, The Runaway Bunny, as well as The Little Fur Family, A Home for a Bunny and nearly one hundred other titles. Margaret Brown was born… Read more »
