August 05, 2008

Of claws, loyal spiders, strange plots and swans

Last week, in a moment of exasperation, I referred to an activity I was doing with my writing group as "herding cats." And then I saw this on Ananka's Diary, and just about fell over. Please set down your tea before viewing.



So, here's to you, fellow writers. We may not be able to agree on a single book we've read with any degree of competence, but now we KNOW there's a solution to that...

An awesome sounding book that sounds like a nostril -- Norstrilia, on Guys Lit Wire...

There is nothing, nothing, NOTHING like Charlotte's Web. There is also nothing, nothing, nothing like listening to Charlotte's Web read by E.B. White... hat tip to Jules for the lovely NPR link. Oh, that voice! Oh, that slight East Coast tang... and imagining that voice wavering and clouding with grief, just as all of ours did, when Wilbur was safe, at the end. The words, "No one was with her when she died," which I recall undid my fourth grade teacher, still bring me to tears. I am so grateful that E.B. White left that in, under pressure. Unlike so many of those "Dead Dog" novels, this death didn't ever feel manipulated or loaded with morality -- it just was.

Jules may be right. Best Novel EVER might just be the right description.

Sarah Beth Durst has yet another of her bizarre little obscure fairy tales -- it's those six swans, and they're strange and hilarious.

4 comments:

Kelly said...

Are you talking about us, Tanita? Funny ad, though. I've never seen it before :)

Sarah Stevenson said...

That ad is GREAT. My favorite part is when the cats ford the stream.

Also, I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought Norstrilia sounded like a nostril. That was my initial reaction when I posted the sidebar blurb. But yes, it sounds like a good read...

Jules at 7-Imp said...

YES! I just loved hearing him read it.

The annotation is really great, too. You might enjoy that.

eisha said...

I am HOOTING over that ad. Perfect!