How is it possible that this is the last weekend in August? Time is flying when you spend the week obsessed with Mockingjay. I absolutely must give a shout-out to the fabulous ladies (and guy) at Forever Young Adult, without whom I would have never survived Mockingjay madness. And now, onto the book news!
- Happy Birthday, Ray Bradbury! Okay, sure, technically it was last Sunday, but the thought still counts. Ray is a spritely 90 years old this year and we have much to thank him for. Thanks to his version of dystopia (where books are burned, the horror!), we have so many others that have followed. I salute you, Mr. Bradbury!
- Pretty. Entertainment Weekly (and YA blogger Persnickety Snark) pointed me toward the newly released cover for Where She Went, the upcoming sequel to Gayle Forman’s If I Stay. I like the symmetry and similarities between the two covers. It’s clear that the two are connected, but there’s also a sense of progress or growth. I’m looking forward to reading Where She Went when it’s released.
- Social media wunderkind Seth Godin has announced he will not publish any more books “in the traditional way.” I’m sure this is meant to be a strong statement against the publishing industry and for digital advances, but mostly? I think he comes off as an overly self-important ass. Sure, he can afford to release books digitally – since he’s already published 12 books “the traditional way.” And I just don’t see his announcement making a difference for anyone other than the audience he already has. What about the people who don’t always have access to technology or computers? What about those who can’t afford it and who might have read his books at a library? It seems to me Godin is being overly dramatic about the death of publishing (hint: it’s not dead) and very narrow-minded about the possibilities of the future.
- You’re probably sick of me talking about Mockingjay, but other people are sick of everyone talking about Jonathan Franzen. In what has now become something of a literary scuffle, best-selling (and female) authors Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Weiner gave a fabulous interview to the Huffington Post about the NY Times’ overt gushing over Franzen and its lack of attention to what is deemed “chick lit.” Their arguments and opinions – which I completely agree with – are too complex for me to dilute them here, so please just read the interview, but I will say that I do agree that there’s a bias against women authors and what’s deemed “chick lit” and – once again – WHY DOES IT MATTER WHAT YOU READ?!?!? I feel like I’m going to be screaming that until I die. *Sigh*
- On a completely unrelated note, Jim Carrey will apparently star in a big-screen adaptation of Mr. Popper’s Penguins. Classic children’s literature in the truest sense of the word (it won the Newbery all the way back in 1939), it should be fun to see it as a movie. And I think Carrey will do an admirable job. I can see him as Mr. Popper.
- If, like me, you’ve finished Mockingjay and are now wondering what to do with yourself, consider reading one of these books – the Huffington Post’s suggestions for the best YA science-fiction novels. I’m partial to The Giver and A Wrinkle in Time myself. How about you?
- I promise, the Mockingjay madness will cease shortly. I will, however, be publishing a “post-mortem” post of all the random thoughts I just had to get out of my head. After that, I promise to find something new to obsess about.
As always, happy reading, bookworms!
