March 03, 2010

Random Notes & Errata

Good Morning Bookfans! Need a little something to get the juices pumping? Try this Black Eyed Peas cover from the happy Floridians at Ocoee Middle School -- I Gotta Keep Reading (Cause This Book's Gonna Be A Good, Good Book). Happy Wednesday dance party to you. (Hat tip to Susan @ Chicken Spaghetti!)

"It is important to me that African American youths know they need not look to a castle in England to find magic; there are wonders to discover and adventures to be had right here at home (and in other parts of the globe)."

Our girl Zetta is in The Horn Book. Decolonizing the Imagination. Wow.

SFF Errata:
It's Malinda Lo Day. Did you miss it? Tarie of Color Online Malinda Lo. Also, Malinda guest posts at Justine Larbalestier's blog on The Woman Warrior. On her own blog, she discusses Asian-ness, or, lack of, in Ash. Go. Read. Discuss.

Yet another film adaptation: I'm a huge fan of Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy. If you've never read it -- wow. It's brilliant, and I don't mean that in the British sense of reflexively saying everything is brilliant. I mean it in the fullest definition of the word -- the man had an astounding intellect, and it shows in that sprawling, layered, centuries long, Earth-to-space-and-beyond... epic.

You know they're going to completely screw up the movie adaptation of it, right? Oh, promises, promises, Mr. Emmerich. Sadly, you all know how much I HATE book adaptations... but hope springs eternal (because Earthlings are blind and foolishly optimistic). Maybe it'll be good...

FREE! We like that word: I love the work of author Kelley Armstrong, and this year's Cybils introduced me to the second book in her Darkest Powers trilogy? series? I went back and read the first book -- and am DYING to read the third. You can now read the first book, The Summoning, for free for a limited time. Thanks, HarperCollins! The opening chapters of the following two books are there as well.

A writing question: Can you actually start a novel with theme as a jumping-off point? Do people actually do that? Is that like teaching to a test? Inquiring minds want to know.

(My personal answer? I can't. It seems a lot like writing a book with a "message," if you write to a theme... and I like Samuel Goldwyn's idea about books with messages: "If you want to send a message, call Western Union.")


Just FYI: Tanita's blog has now moved to [fiction, instead of lies] at WordPress. Apologies to all who tried to comment on blog posts and were completely stymied over the weekend.

7 comments:

E Wein said...

whoa, is that eagle-and-book cover meant to evoke this Third Reich imagery, or is it just me???

http://picasaweb.google.com/barbo333/WW2PaperItems#5364574592098783394

E Wein said...

...why yes, i guess it is--a backlash response to it!

tanita✿davis said...

Okay, what fun are you if you come up with all your own answers???

The Printing Trades was actually a book about how tracts, pamphlets, etc., throughout American history has changed minds; the quote is in fact from President Roosevelt, and the War Office made some really nifty posters quoting that, and saying "Pfffft!" to the Nazi's habit of burning books and imprisoning people.

Tarie Sabido said...

Thank you for the link love! =D

E Wein said...

I was looking at Gestapo seals and signatures (like you do) earlier this week and that really leaped out at me.

tanita✿davis said...

Um, yes, Liz, I look at those seals and signatures over breakfast, usually. Each morning.

Sarah Stevenson said...

You guys crack me up.

That image makes me want to go do some block printing...which I don't have time for right now, ARGH...