Sure is spring-like around here. This No Blogging thing is intensely peaceful, but I thought I’d break in with a few things that’ve been piling up. First, the Horn Book Magazine asked me what’s the strangest children’s book I’ve ever read… so I wrote them a little piece about Moomins. If you can’t get your… Read more »
This American Life
More Randutiae (Extra-Random Edition)
I’m proud to report that Bitterblue is a New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association Book of the Year, along with Rules of Civility by Amor Towles (for fiction), Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo (for nonfiction), I, Too, Am America by Langston Hughes and illustrated by Bryan… Read more »
Working Conditions, Part Two
Sometime in January, This American Life broadcast a show called “Mr Daisey and the Apple Factory,” about what Mike Daisey, creator of the theatrical piece “The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs,” claimed to have seen while visiting a factory in China that made iPhones and iPads. It was a hugely popular show, and… Read more »
Another Plug for This American Life
I liked This American Life‘s approach to the tenth anniversary of 9/11. Instead of focusing on the day itself, they interviewed people affected in different ways by 9/11 who’ve appeared on the show at various points in the past ten years, and talked to them about how the world has changed, and where we are… Read more »
Linky Randutiae
I cannot recommend last weekend’s This American Life, called “DIY,” strongly enough. Here’s the description from the website: “After four lawyers fail to get an innocent man out of prison, his friend takes on the case himself. He becomes a do-it-yourself investigator. He learns to read court records, he tracks down hard-to-find witnesses, he gets… Read more »
Up There Orbiting the Earth
My subject heading is from my most favorite This American Life ever. It’s spoken by John Hodgman (who is, among other things, that wonderful man who plays the PC in the Mac ads) in a piece he did about the strange phenomenon of fame. The episode is called “Nice Work if You Can Get It”… Read more »
Stepping in with Some Recommendations
I’m still on my blog break, but some things need to be shared. Have you ever read any Alice Munro? I’m not usually a short story reader, but Munro is one of those writers whose collections I can’t put down. I just finished The View from Castle Rock, which was as good as a book… Read more »
In Which the Author Is So Grateful She Falls Over. Also, Here’s What to Do if You Have a Few Minutes
Today I’m starting with a thank you to my readers. THANK YOU for making Graceling a bestseller in Germany, and THANK YOU for putting the American paperback of Graceling on next week’s (Sep 27) New York Times bestseller list! I am overwhelmed. I am staring blankly like a slow loris. And giggling. *flops* So, how… Read more »
On Originality; On Freaking Out; and On the Universe
I guest-posted at Magical Musings on the topic of originality a few days ago. For my post today, I’m referring you to what I wrote over there. In case that bores you, this weekend’s This American Life explained the banking crisis in a simple and understandable way that was funny, kind, and only slightly COMPLETELY… Read more »
This American Life; Also, a Prayer
Do you listen to the NPR show This American Life? It’s my favorite radio show ever. I turn down invitations if they cut into my weekend routine of drinking a cup of tea and listening to This American Life. It’s hard to describe the show — the people at the show themselves admit this —… Read more »
