Sunday Blog Roundup

I am incredibly behind on reading blog posts, so please excuse the fact that these are all several days old. Apparently I'm not spending the requisite four hours a day on blogs that I should be! (Link via Fuse #8) I also had a rather eventful weekend that resulted in being out of the house pretty much all day Friday and Saturday, but one kidlit-related thing did happen to me while I was out, at a party last night at the house of one of my husband's co-workers. I found out during casual conversation that the co-worker whose house it was, Brian, has a twin brother who happens to work for Maurice Sendak. That's just bizarre. Anyway, on to the links.

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Via Cynsations, some interesting thoughts about writers' conferences and whether it's actually possible to make personal connections with editors or agents there. Also, the ups and downs of getting an MFA, by writer Sarah Aronson.

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Congrats to fellow bloggers Little Willow, Jen Robinson, Jackie at interactivereader, Miss Erin, and new blogger Alexia, who have all been named as postergirlz for readergirlz--"an advisory council which will generously lend their YA lit expertise to guide our book choices." Hooray! (Thanks to Jen Robinson for the link.)

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Lastly, there's been more interesting discussion on Fuse #8 about whether bloggers should post negative book reviews. There are some really well-written and thought-provoking comments beneath the post, so don't miss those. Our philosophy at Readers' Rants has generally been similar to that of Saipan Writer--we want to review books that jazzed us, and generate enthusiasm for them. In a way, it started as a venue for recommending books to friends and to other members of our writing group. But maybe it is time to rethink our initial philosophy...I don't know.