Our Very Own Feed!

Good news for all of us who split our time between Blogger and LiveJournal! LJer literaticat has created a feed for The Longstockings!!! This will enable our entries to show up on your LJ friends' page. (BTW, I love the idea of the friends' page because you don't have to remember to check everyone's blog individually, and you don't ever miss anything!)

Also, while you're (hopefully) adding our feed to your friends' page, feel free to add coebooth, jennyhan, and siobhan_says_so, too. We're always up for making new friends!
:-)

Thanks literaticat!

And Happy New Year everybody!!!

Holiday Research

One of the great things about writing is that anything you do, no matter how irrelevant, can be considered "research."

Take Christmas, for example. I've been hard at work on my second novel the past few months, with the goal of finishing my second draft before the new year. Coincidentally, the book takes place during the month of December and the final two chapters are during Christmas. I could write about Christmas all year (and, like Daphne, I have an extensive collection of Christmas carols), but it's so much more fun to write about it now while I'm living it! It's research heaven.

Because my husband and I live in an apartment, our Christmas tree is located conveniently next to my desk. So naturally, instead of turning on my desk lamp, I've been turning on the tree lights in the morning when I get up to write. Talk about mood lighting! Christmas cards have been arriving every few days, we've had holiday parties on the weekends, and we went home to celebrate with our families this past weekend. Nothing puts me in the holiday mood like my stocking, which my great-great aunt knitted for me.

So as I'm putting the final touches on this draft, I'm putting all my holiday "research" to good use, and giving my readers a real taste of Christmas!

Good times

Although I love and prefer independent bookstores, there's something special about the anonymity of Barnes & Noble.

Last week I was at the Union Square Barnes & Noble finishing up some Chanukah shopping. Of course I stopped at the teen section to peruse, and re-shelve books I love that aren't face out. That's one of my favorite things to do at Barnes & Noble. Anyway, so back to last week. Two teenagers were looking around the teen section and the girl said to the guy, "there aren't any good books anymore." It made me laugh because, well, it's obviously not true. And also, what is the 'anymore' they are referring to?

Of course I can't keep my mouth shut, so I go over to them, apologize for over-hearing and butting in. I take them over to the table where TYRELL is sitting, hand both of them copies. They are immediately intrigued. Then I look around to find SHUG. (The girl told me she was fifteen so I figured both TYRELL and SHUG would appeal to her.) When I don't see SHUG, all three of us walk over to the information desk, and the B&N saleswoman tells us they are sold out, but have more on order. I rave to the girl about how awesome SHUG is, and she says she'll look for it at another store. The three of us chat for a few more minutes, and both of them leave with copies of TYRELL.

I don't think I'd do that at a store like Bank Street or Books of Wonder. It's too up close and personal there. Plus the people who work at those stores are very involved in the customers' purchases, anyway.

At Barnes & Noble, I can pretend to be a bookseller. It's fun!

That Holiday Feeling

Cheesy and materialistic though it may be at times, I have to admit that I adore Christmas. I love getting a tree and decorating it, I have so much fun selecting gifts (and I confess to be one of those people who starts Christmas shopping in September) and I have a sick obsession with Christmas carols (my carol CD collection is huge and yes, it drives my family crazy.) And even now in my thirties, I find the day itself absolutely magical. I love the gifts, both getting and giving, the time with my family where we do nothing but hang out and have fun, and the big dinner. And underlying that is also this feeling, this sense of spirit and magic that permeates even the most mundane tasks of the day.

A lot of books do a good job of capturing all this that I love about the holiday, but the one that speaks to me most clearly is a Christmas celebrated by Laura Ingalls and her family in LITTE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE. The family has just settled in the rugged west and their nearest neighbor is their friend Mr. Edwards (don’t think of the guy on the show, this Mr. Edwards is much less bumbling.) Anyway, he was the one who picked up gifts for the kids in the nearest town which is like days away, and he’s supposed to bring the gifts for Christmas but the creek starts to rise and there’s no way anyone can cross it. The kids know this and are sad, but they live in all this hardship and so they put on a good face.

But lo and behold, late that night Mr. Edwards knocks on the door. He’s crossed the creek with his clothes and the gifts tied in a bundle on his head. He tells the kids that he met Santa on the way and that Santa asked him to deliver the gifts. And then they get their stockings stuffed with a cup, a piece of candy, a small cake and a penny. The kids can’t believe how incredible the gifts are. The parents can’t believe that Mr. Edwards was dedicated enough to basically risk his life to get there. And then the family celebrates all that goodness together.

Coming home

Merry Christmas to everyone who is out there reading this and celebrating! I don't celebrate Christmas since I'm Jewish, but I must say I've always had a fascination with the holiday. When I was a little kid, and my family was out at restaurants around Christmas time, the waiter or waitress would always say to me, "Have you been good this year? What do you want Santa to bring you?" And for some reason, I couldn't just answer, "Oh, I'm Jewish. I celebrate Chanukah." Instead, I stared at this nice person completely dumbfounded. Now, I love seeing people buying and selling Christmas trees on the streets of Manhattan. I love seeing everyone rushing around buying gifts. I like the lights and seeing decorated trees through apartment windows. To be honest, I like the whole thing, the season.

I recently read JUST LISTEN by Sarah Dessen, and I particularly loved the holiday, specifically Christmas scenes in the book. Ms. Dessen paints a beautiful picture when Annabel and her mother go out shopping for the ingredients for the Christmas meal. I felt like I was right there, with them, going into the grocery store. I felt Annabel's annoyance at first, and then her enjoyment.

Most of all, I think Sarah Dessen shows the concept of "coming home" exceptionally well. And that's what I love most about holidays. I love the anticipation, the excitement, either to come home, or for someone else to come home. In JUST LISTEN, it is Annabel's sister Kirsten that is coming home, and there's a great deal of anxiety and anticipation surrounding that. I think that's usually the case, no matter how harmonious the family. There's always that nagging question in the back of our heads, "what will this holiday be like?" "Will everything go as planned?" And usually, it does.

I hope everyone is cozy, smiling, and warm. I hope everyone is happy about coming home, or happy that someone else has come home. I wish it was a white Christmas here in New York. For some reason that's always been a big deal to my mom and to me. I hope it's a white Christmas where you are!

QoW: Corny Beginnings & Bad Endings

Question of the Week: What are your reading pet peeves?

I don't really have a whole lot of reading pet peeves probably because if a book irks me, I just stop reading it, even if I've invested a lot of time and money into it, or if I'm ten pages from the end. It doesn't matter to me. There are too many great books out there (and too much writing to do!) to be tortured by the bad ones.

But here are just a few pet peeves that come to mind:

1. I can't stand when books begin with main characters waking up in the morning (UGH), especially when (in the first two pages or so) they look in the mirror and describe everything about themselves for no earthly reason. You know what I mean. The main character stares at herself in the mirror and thinks: My long brown hair, which fell to my shoulders in thick ringlets, accentuated my green eyes... SHUT UP! Who are you telling this to? Yourself?

2. And just to add to #1, another pet peeve I have is, after the main character goes to all that trouble to describe him or herself in a whole paragraph or two of detail, I can't stand when the cover photograph/illustration looks nothing like that. I know it's not the writer's fault, but still. Can't the writer and publisher agree on what this person looks like and make it consistent?

3. My third pet peeve is an absolute OFFENSE! I can't stand when characters smile/talk or laugh/talk. Here's an example: "You're the best," Jim smiled. Or "That's funny," Mary giggled. All I have to say about that is, AARGH!!!

4. Last, but not least, I can't stand BAD ENDINGS, endings that seem rushed (probably because of a deadline, which I understand!), but as a reader I hate when the characters need to figure things out quickly so all of a sudden everything comes together for them and they realize everything they need to realize just when they need to. This makes me feel so cheated, like I just wasted a chuck of my time in this book only to be let down by a really unsatisfying ending. It sours the whole reading experience. Endings are very, very important. I want to close the book and feel like the whole trip was worth my while.


Happy Holidays to everyone!
:-)

QoW: Over-quirking

Question of the Week: What are your reading pet peeves?

It really irks me when authors try to be too clever--when they try to be too foxy or too smart about some detail of their book and it ends up feeling false. An example is when authors go overboard giving their characters names that are overly cutesy, like an art teacher named Mr. Colorwheel or Miss Palette. Ick! I'm willing to admit that some younger kids might enjoy the wordplay, but for me it's just uncomfortable.

I also get peevish when an author gives a character an amazingly odd habit/personality trait to make them feel original, rather than simply creating a wonderful, unique voice for them. Example: a character who loves old movies, so they relate every facet of the plot to some old movie, or have an improbable knowledge of old movies that an eleven-year-old simply wouldn't have. I'm not saying this type of thing can't work, but it takes a skilled and self-aware author to do it. And sometimes too quirky is just too quirky.

Flappies Update

The Longstockings will be deciding on the Flappies Awards soon after the new year, so get your nominations in by January 15, 2007. This gives you a whole holly jolly holiday to check out flaps, so no excuses, people!

QoW: Hmmmm

Question of the Week: What are your reading pet peeves?

I came to an interesting conclusion when I was thinking about this week's question. It seems as if many of my reading pet peeves appear in my own writing. It's probably along the lines of that whole "we criticize in others the faults that we see in ourselves" thing. Or something like that.

First of all, repeating. I hate when I'm reading a book and I'm thinking, "Okay, I know that already." "You said that thirty seven times so far." "Yes, I get it. The girl hates her mother. "We know; he's depressed." And on and on. You get the point. But the thing is, I have been told zillions of times that I repeat myself in my writing. I belabor the point. I hit readers over the head with things. I hate it, yet I do it. But it is something I am aware of, and something I am working on.

Second of all, trying too hard. I know this is sort of a vague pet peeve. But I hate it when I can tell that an author is forcing a character to be deep or sensitive, when really the particular situation doesn't merit that level of emotion. It bugs me when an author writes too much in a certain scene, and doesn't let the reader come to his or her own conclusion because the character basically tells the reader what to think. But I do this too. Sometimes I worry my readers won't get it. And I want them to get it. So, I put in too much. I over write. Yet, I detest books that are over written. Hmmmm. Strange.

Finally, I get annoyed when I feel that a character is saying things only for a reader's benefit. Spelling things out. I guess this ties into the trying too hard category, and what it comes down to (again) is not trusting that the reader will get it, not trusting that the writing is good, and that the point comes across.

Well, they say acceptance is the first step, right? I know that I do these things. I know that I don't like them. Now, the question is: will I stop doing them? I hope so!

QoD: Browsing the World

Question of the Day: If you could visit any country and browse the children’s books, what would it be?
Our question of the day comes from Earthie Girl- thanks! This is a fun question in a couple of ways. First, I remember one of our teachers from the New School showing us one of his books in Thai. It was so wild to see this gorgeous script and know the story that it told. So just to see how cool stories looked in other languages, I’d have to choose Thailand or China. I know some basic Chinese so this would be extra interesting because it’s such a different language from English that there would have to be certain changes to retain the thrust and feel of the story.

Which leads to the next thing that makes this a fun question: it’d be really neat to see how a story had shifted in translation in any language. But my answer is still the same, Thailand or China. There are such basic differences in thinking between East and West that to see how a story is told for that different audience would be fascinating.

But the last way this question is fun brings up a different kind of issue- where would I like to be hanging out and reading right now? For this I’m going to have to say a beach town on the Mediterranean, perhaps Cannes so I can catch a movie later. I’d stretch out on a beach chair (even if it was a little chilly) and indulge in the French versions of all my favorite books!

QoW: Please Don't Talk to Me

Question of the Week: What are your reading pet peeves?


The number one thing that bugs me when I’m reading is when the narrator or a character in the book address me, the reader. Now I know some people find this charming and engaging, but for me it feels like a violation of our reader-narrator bond. I am reading this book to get lost in it, to leave my world and live in his/hers for a while. When I open a book on the subway, I want to escape the subway and be walking down Klickitat Street or mixing potions at Hogwarts. But the second the narrator talks to me, there I am, back on the subway hearing the annoying conversation across from me and feeling squashed because the person next to me is shoving their back pack into my side. This is not what I signed on for when I opened the book.

The saddest thing about this pet peeve is that some of my very favorite authors do this. Dickens for example, whose work I worship can lapse into. Kate DiCamillo, whose books I love, did it many a time in THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX. So, as with so many pet peeves, it’s just one of those things I’ve got to live with.

QoW: I'm going to get in so much trouble for this...

Question of the Week: What are your reading pet peeves?

It's all Laurie Halse Anderson's fault. She writes fantastic books--Catalyst warmed my geeky preacher's-kid heart, and I absolutely adored Prom. But before any of those, she wrote Speak.

My friends, if I read one more teen novel where the rape at a party is alluded to throughout the book without being revealed until the very end, I may have to find a new line of work.

Don't get me wrong--I do love a good twist at the end. Ditto a mystery that the main character finally solves. And I'll forgive a nostalgic tone where the narrator won't tell you more than the narrator knew at the time, while alluding to events we will find out about later.

But a reveal is not a twist! A reveal means the author's hanging around for a a hundred or two pages taunting "I know a secret" while you try to get absorbed in the book. And to me, at least, that "Don't you wish you knew, too? Want me to tell you? Oh, no, I can't spoil the surprise, you'd better keep reading" weakens the hold of the character I care about, the setting I want to learn the rules of, the story that's not letting me go. Yeah, I'll keep reading, but I'll be really, really annoyed.

My fellow writers, if your character knows something crucial, tell me what it is. Trust me to go along with them while they deal with it. Trust yourself to write a story that will absorb me without resorting to my nosiness. If your character gets raped before the book starts, don't wait 'til the penultimate chapter to tell me about it.

QoW: 555-PEEV

Question of the Week: What are your reading pet peeves?

I can't think of much I like more than getting lost in a good story, but every once in a while something happens in a book that makes me a little bit, well . . . peeved. We all have our own pet peeves when reading -- those needly little plays on words or cliched plot twists that make us groan. Here are a few of mine.



1. Characters with similar names. I get confused very easily, so I like it best when people in BookLand have names that all begin with different letters. This helps me keep track of people. I may be alone in this one (I also occasionally become confused in movies when two actors have the same color hair, so obviously I have some problems), but I don't think most books should require a cheat sheet of character names for me to follow along. The worst offender in this category? Wuthering Heights. Good book, waaaay too many people named Catherine. (Ispiration for this book, perhaps?)

2. Too many similes or metaphors. A few good similes or metaphors here and there can be like rainbow sprinkles on vanilla ice cream. Too many can be like passengers jammed into a crowded subway train in Manhattan during rush hour, when you're dying for a seat because your legs are achy and that guy with the giant backpack keeps ramming into you and you feel like you're going to fall over at any moment and that girl keeps sneezing on you and . . .

3. Phone numbers that begin with 555. While I completely understand the need for this device (and, okay, yes, I use it in my book,too), it still bugs me for some reason. I think the idea of knowing that the phone number in the book you're reading is not and could never be real draws me out of the story. That said, check out this cool list of fictional phone numbers from movies and TV shows. It's quite the compilation.

QoW: Paranoid Park

Question of the Week: What is your favorite book of the year?

This year, as I mentioned in a previous post, I discovered the awesomeness that is Blake Nelson. And his newest novel, PARANOID PARK, is hands-down my favorite book of the year.

Here’s how Pub Weekly put it:
Nelson breaks new ground with this psychological thriller tracing the chilling consequences of an impulsive act of violence. Tormented by nightmares, questioned by the police and toying with the notion of telling the truth to his father or the authorities, the narrator remains paralyzed, trapped by his feelings of guilt and paranoia. While effectively conveying the intensity of his protagonist's emotions, the author refrains from passing judgment. It is left up to readers to decide if the narrator is a criminal or a victim, and how he will be affected by his final decision.

I love novels where a single decision changes the entire course of a character’s life. And I also love ambiguous endings and shades of moral grayness. Obviously, Blake Nelson wrote this book for me.

The breakneck pace of the plot coupled with the quiet, heart-wrenching internal musings of the unnamed main character is an absolute feat. I suffered though all the paranoia, the regret, the helplessness. I could completely understand how the violence occurred but was still angry and frustrated with the aftermath. I wanted to protect the main character. (and smooch him too. Nelson always creates boys I want to smooch) But I also wanted to slap him across his fool head.

This is a great novel for anyone writing a very emotional, internal, character-driven piece. Two thumbs up!

QoW: Infinitely Great!

Question of the Week: What is your favorite book of the year?

There were so many books I loved this year, but none so much as NICK AND NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. [Note: I was a little hesitant to write about this book because David is my editor and I didn't want to be accused of ... well, whatever it is I could be accused of, but honestly, this was my favorite book, so I had to choose it!]

Here's what School Library Journal had to say about it: What happens when two witty, wise, but vulnerable teens meet by accident at a chaotic punk rock club? They fall in love, of course. While both are dealing with the fallout of failed relationships and the infinite hurt that accompanies them, they are questioning everything about themselves, their friends, and their future paths. The passion and intelligence of these characters, along with the authors' intimate knowledge of and complete respect for their audience, make this novel unique.

What I really liked about this novel is that the whole story takes place in one night. However, since both characters are at turning points in their lives, a lot of action and self-discovery happen in a short period of time.

Through alternating chapters, the reader gets to see how both characters experience this one whirlwind of a night from their own point of view. I love all of Rachel's characters (especially Cyd from GINGERBREAD) -- they are always so real and relatable. And David's prose is always so beautiful (especially in his new book, WIDE AWAKE!)

NICK AND NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST is so immediate, fast-paced, and full of music and food and fun! Anyone who reads this book will be rooting for Nick and Norah to get together despite their being from two different worlds. It's a great book about two great characters!

Oh yeah. Good news! Rachel and David are teaming up again. Look for NAOMI & ELY'S NO KISS LIST in August!!!

Flap Happy

Just a reminder to put in your nominations for the first-ever Flappie Awards. And a big thanks to everyone who has emailed us their nominations thus far -- keep 'em coming! The Longstockings will be convening in early January to decide upon the winner. If we pick the flaps you suggest, your prize may or may not include one or more of the following:

1. A big pile o' cash
2. A walk-on role in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
3. A big thumbs up from the whole Longstockings gang

So what are you waiting for? Flap on over!

QoW: I'm a cheaty cheater

Question of the Week: What is your favorite book of the year?

As I was asking myself this week what my favorite recent read was, it wasn't a 2006-er, it was actually an OLD book, from 1942, that came to mind.

Maureen Daly's SEVENTEENTH SUMMER has been credited with launching modern young adult literature. And even though the story is 64 years old, it reads as perfect and true today as it did in the 40s. The author passed away in September, at the age of 85, and my mom remembered the book so well from her own childhood, that she sent me a copy.

Daly, who wrote SEVENTEENTH SUMMER before she was 20 years old, manages to catch every nuance of a girl's first love. From the feeling of a boy noticing her for the first time, to realizing that she's a different person when she's out with him and away from her family (a more grown-up, independent person), narrator Angie Morrow takes the reader through her entire summer meeting and getting to know Jack Duluth. One of the most powerful and mature aspects of Daly's writing are her descriptions. She creates a breathtaking setting in Fond du Lac, WI, beginning the book with Angie in the garden, picking vegetables. She describes sunsets, meals, dresses, smells, the moon-- every possible facet of the story--with beautiful and unusual detail. I was so sad when it ended, that I picked it right back up and reread the first chapter.

SLJ reviews new "Charlotte"

I'm very nervous about the new Charlotte's Web movie. Possibly because Dakota Fanning and Julia Roberts are both in it, and, frankly, I feel those two need to sit down and take a break. If you want to hear someone's extremely articulate thoughts on the new movie version, please check out Lisa Graff's post from her own blog. It's really something.

And take a gander at SLJ's review of the new movie.

P.S. I've chosen to include a picture of E.B. White on this post because I like him.

QoW: More from a National Book Award Finalist

Question of the Week: What is your favorite book of the year?

I'm not sure I have a favorite book of 2006. It was such an exciting year book-wise; SHUG and TYRELL were published, and that's what stands out for me. But putting those two literary masterpieces aside, BETWEEN MOM AND JO is definitely one of the best books of the year.

I'm going to quote a starred SLJ review, because I'm having a hard time explaining exactly why I find this book so extraordinary.

"Nicholas Nathaniel Thomas Tyler has four first names and two mothers. As the only child in his class with gay parents, he endures the taunts and prejudices of classmates and adults over the years as best he can, drawing reassurance and strength from his parents… This novel is a timely exploration of the struggles faced by same-sex couples and their children, and while the issues are significant, the story is never overwhelmed by them… This coming-of-age novel powerfully portrays the universal pain of a family breakup.”

Young readers---with two moms, two dads or one of each---will be able to relate to Nick's story. That's what I love most about this book. That's what is so extraordinary.

Julie Anne Peters' newest isn't preachy or over the top with sappiness. It's a story with a brilliant, sensitive narrator, who cringes when his parents' fight (a feeling I'm sure most of us have had) and truly relishes moments of family harmony.

2006 was a good year. Well, at least in the childrens' book publishing world.

QoW: How Sweet It Is

Question of the Week: What is your favorite book of the year?

I read a lot of great books this year but my number one favorite was definitely Catherine Murdoch’s DAIRY QUEEN. There’s so much to love about this book that I barely know where to start, but I guess the heart of the book is the fantastic voice. DJ’s voice is so true that I think she exists. Really. Like I’m convinced that DJ is actually out there in Wisconsin, milking cows, playing football and writing her English assignments, one of which I was lucky enough to read.

So aside from the awesome voice, DAIRY QUEEN also boasts some terrific characters. The parents are real and alive, the family dynamic hits home (haha), and best of all, the guy is just the kind of guy I wanted to date in high school. The story is perfectly paced and deeply satisfying. And the cherry on the sundae for me is the football- I am a big football fan and getting a good girl coming of age story with football? Ideal!

Best of all- the brilliant Ms. Murdoch has a sequel coming out this spring- based on that I am already predicting my favorite book of 2007.

QoW: Dystopia for Two Days

Question of the Week: What is your favorite book of the year?

I don't know if this is my favorite book of the year, but Pete Hautman's Rash has definitely stayed with me.

I pledge allegiance
to the flag
of the Safer States of America
and to the Republic
for which it stands
one Nation
under Law
with Security
and Safety
for All.

The epigraph pretty much sums it up. It's late in the 21st Century, but instead of electing a gay Jewish president (thank you, David Levithan), the USSA has systematically illegalized every possible way to get hurt. Most people, especially teenagers, take mandated drugs to slow their reaction times and calm their tempers. Safety equipment and special squishy tracks have slowed the record for the 100-metre dash to around 11 seconds. Bo Marsten gets probation for name-calling (a class-three misdemeanor), and sent away for hard labor when he takes a swing at a guy.

In my last post, I talked about how you can tell a good dystopia by how much sense it makes. The USSA pretty much takes the cake in that regard, and it made the book one of the scariest I've ever read. Hautman lays out his world with such eloquence that it's actually frustrating to read. You know that what he's describing is wrong on every level, but the arguments in favor of making the new rules sound so cool and logical, compared to the solid but inarticulate conviction that you really don't want to live in this world. Days after I finished reading it, I was still trying to figure out how to stop it coming true, how you could possibly argue with someone who thought football should be outlawed and track meets should be run in pads and helmets.

There are lots of reasons to read this book, besides losing yourself in a fully-realized (if uncomfortable) fictional world. Bo and his family are a hoot, and his what happens to him kept my heart racing. It was one of those books that kept me up late--first finishing it, and then mulling it over.

QoW: Flying High

Question of the Week: What is your favorite book of the year?

She dreamed of a world where books did not rot or give way to green blot, where words and ideas were not things you were despised for treasuring.

My fellow Longstockings' work aside, my favorite book of 2006 has to be Frances Hardinge's amazing Fly by Night. It has everything, really: smooth-talking con artists, rollicking fight scenes, gorgeous prose, and a goose with a vengeance. All that, and humor, too -- Fly by Night is one of the funniest books I've read in a long time.

Packed with an astonishingly large cast of characters and subplots, and set in an alternate-England-type-world of somewhat-long-ago, the book is rather hard to sum up succinctly. The Booklist review does a pretty good job, though, so here's a snippet:

Taught to read by her scholar father, orphaned book lover Mosca Mye is an anomaly in a culture where literature is highly suspect and tightly controlled. When silver-tongued poet-spy Eponymous Clent passes through her village, the word-starved 12-year-old stubbornly installs herself as his traveling companion, serving as his uneasy accomplice in a mission that exposes the cutthroat intrigues roiling the surface of her troubled fantasy realm.

To get a better taste of this utterly unique and wonderful novel, take a gander (har-har) at the book's website. They have a really cheesy computer game you can play, too (I love cheesy games!).

QoW: The Only Way to Have a Pet in Brooklyn

Question of the Week: If you could spend one day in a novel's fictional world, which would you choose?

When I was a kid, I was obsessed with the world of The Indian in the Cupboard, one of my very favorite books.

I had this little plastic pig that was part of a farm animal set my grandma had bought me. I remember dreaming about Omri's magical cabinet and turning the key once to bring my little pig to life. He'd be so tiny and cute and helpless. I'd put some hay down on the floor of the toy barn and set up a pen for him with the plastic fencing. I'd feed him milk with an eyedropper. I had the whole thing planned out.
Even as an adult, that fictional world still has major appeal. See, I realllllly want a pet--specifically an Airdale terrier. He could be my writing buddy, my office manager. I could take breaks from typing to take him for a walk, and moments of story genius would no doubt flood my brain. Only my teeny tiny Brooklyn apartment is way too small for a pet. I don't even have room for my own desk!

But if I could get my hands on that cabinet...

QoW: Living it up Littles-Style!

Question of the Week: If you could spend one day in a novel’s fictional world, which would you choose?

Oh, to spend the day with The Littles! This was all I wanted when I was a kid. To be so small I could live in the walls with my whole teeny tiny family. The joy!

Okay, there's the constant danger... Some people may consider it a drag! But for me, "Coe Little," that will only add to the fun of it all. My one-day adventure will only be enhanced by all that heart-thumping danger lurking on the other side of the wall. There's the cat, of course, the big orange one that always seems ready to eat us alive. And there's the family, the Biggs. What would happen to us if they found us living in their walls? I'd have to make sure I don't do anything stupid that would put the existence of my new family at risk. Why, can't you just hear the spine-tingling music playing now?

But being a Little would be a great way to spend the day. I'd learn to crawl out from the electrical socket under cover of darkness and help the family grab all the food the Biggs don't want and won't miss. Then I'd scurry back into the socket so fast even the cat won't see me. And I hope there's a big family event going on the day I'm visiting, like the fancy wedding when cousin Dinky got married or when Mrs. Little had the baby during the big snowstorm.

But even if nothing exciting happens, I'd still love hanging out with the kids, Tom and Lucy, and seeing how they live. I'd help the family work, maintaining all the wiring in the Biggs' house and, when the work is done, maybe we'd all go exploring in the Dark Woods together. Because the Littles love adventure!

Yes, it would be a lot o' fun living in a wall and fixing electrical wires while a Littles-eating cat licks his lips in eager anticipation just a few feet away. Well, for one day, anyway!

Every Friday Needs a Laugh

And if you need a BIG laugh today, check out this hysterical post from Meghan McCarthy at The Blue Rose Girls. It's her list of "Truths About Being a Children's Author."

My favorite is "[Being sick of] reading that Madonna is now hiring Rembrandt to illustrate her new book because her spiritual advisor brought him back to life for the very occasion."

Priceless.

QoW: Gimme BFG

Question of the Week: If you could spend one day in a novel’s fictional world, which would you choose?

I've given this a great deal of thought (one of the advantages of being the Thursday poster), and I'm pretty certain I'd want to live in Roald Dahl's world. In his books, children are always smarter and more powerful than the adults, and they can move easily from "ordinary life" to the most extreme situations in seconds flat, without blinking an eye. I want to be Sophie, traveling around in the BFG's ear, using words like snozzcumber and whizzpopping, and trying to save human beans from being eaten. Or Charlie winning the Golden Ticket. Or to be the young boy in THE WITCHES, trapped in a hotel on the English seaside during the annual global witch convention. And Matilda? I want to sit next to Matilda in class.


Bit of Longstocking trivia: Jane Yolen commented on our Flappies Nominations post yesterday that while working as an editorial assistant, she wrote the flap copy for CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY. That is COOL.

Second Bit of Longstocking trivia: Our own Lisa Graff, editorial assistant extraordinaire, wrote the flap copy for two books that are being talked about on mock Newbery blogs. Ahem. Graff-tastic.

QoW: Dystopia for a Day

Question of the Week: If you could spend one day in a novel’s fictional world, which would you choose?

It's taken me lots of serious musing to come up with an answer to this question, because I kept thinking of what fictional world I'd like to live in, and frankly there aren't many--I kind of like this one. The only thing I could think of was going back in time, to hang with Anne Shirley on PEI or Betsy Ray in Deep Valley, MN, or even the March sisters up in Massachusetts. I'd finally learn to dress my long hair properly, and get to use my extensive knowledge of calling cards and hand-written correspondence. I'd play the villainess in all their amateur theatricals and when the muse struck I'd run up to my steamer-trunk desk and write for days and no one would bother me. It'd be great.

If it's just for a day, though, I don't want to spend the whole time getting dressed and being polite. I want fun! adventure! parties! I want, in short, to go to Prettyville.

The thing about a really effective dystopia is, you can usually see how engineering society in that direction probably seemed like a good idea at the time. In Prettyville, everyone is beautiful and your job is to have as much fun as possible, and not worry your pretty little head about a thing. You take calorie-burners after you eat too much; when you don't like an outfit anymore you throw it into your closet and it gets recycled into a new one.

You don't even have to worry about using energy responsibly, or "living simply so others may simply live," because all of those nasty social issues have been smoothed away by universal beauty. And, oh yeah, you've had minor brain surgery to make sure you don't get too curious or use your imagination about anything, so the social engineers can keep right on engineering society. Probably in really cruel ways that if you knew about them would bring back all of that guilt you escaped by not using any fossil fuels.

So you can see why I wouldn't want to live there permanently (or, if I secretly did, wouldn't admit it in public). But come on, for a day? For one day, to eat whatever and not worry about living on oatmeal and salad for the next week to make up for it. To drink as much champagne as I could find because (a) it's free and (b) I don't have to be coherent for anything tomorrow, anyway. A day of really fun party after really fun party, in really great outfit after really great outfit.

I wouldn't want to stay too long. It'd probably get boring after a while. And there'd be that whole "fiddling while Rome burns" aspect, for anyone who stayed around long enough to figure out how the town was actually being run. But it would be a really fun day. And then I'd come back here, and be a responsible adult again.

The Flappies: Call for Nominations

There may be a whole heck of a lot of mock awards (and Cybils too!) going on at the moment, but nonetheless, we Longstockings have come up with an award all our own:

The Flappies.

That's right, The Flappies. See, we here over at the Longstockings have realized something. The books themselves get a lot of praise (sheesh, what's that about?), and there's always some talk about great book jackets, too, but in between the jacket and the story there is something very important--the flap copy. A great cover design will make you pick a book up, but the flaps have to grab your interest and make you want to BUY that book, make you want to never put it down. In just a few hundred words, the flaps have to tell you the plot of the book (but not too much! Spoilers are for losers!!), set the right tone, and capture just the right style. Yep, it's a tough job, but someone's got to do it. So let's sing our praises to the nameless editorial assistants of the world with the first-ever FLAPPIES.

The Rules of The Flappies:

Nominations are open to the public (huzzah!), so give us your shout-outs for best flap copy of the year. Leave a brief-ish snippet in our comments section, or email us (see sidebar on the right there) and let us know what makes that particular flap copy so stellar. Longstockings members may nominate flaps, but we swear up and down we'll be impartial when voting (we're very trustworthy gals).

**UPDATE: Nominations should be for 2006 book flaps only, but we'll also accept nominations for backad on 2006 paperback originals.

The Longstockings will then vote upon the nominations, based on a highly scientific set of criteria that we have yet to come up with, and then THE WINNER will be announced some time, um, when we do all that deciding and stuff.

Thanks to fuse#8 for all the awards links.

QoW: Part of the Sisterhood

Question of the Week: If you could spend one day in a novel’s fictional world, which would you choose?

The jeans are magical, but the rest of the world of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants seems more ordinary. But when I read the books, I thought, "I want to be friends with Tibby, Carmen, Lina and Bridget."

Perhaps it's the neighborhood that Ann Brashares sets up in these books, or the concept that all of their mothers were friends before they were born (though they aren't really anymore.) There's a genuine friendship between these four girls. They accept each other and appreciate the others' differences. I hate to get all sappy, but as we get older, it's harder to keep that going. People get married, move away, drift apart, and let's face it, we're just not meeting in an old dance studio in the middle of the night anymore.

I'd like to join that Sisterhood, maybe only for a day or two, but I'd like to be able to run over to their houses and show up without calling first. And let's be honest, I'd really like to try on the jeans.

QoW: Expelliramus!

Question of the Week: If you could spend one day in a novel’s fictional world, which would you choose?

This one's a total gimme. A duh squared kind of moment. Which fictional world would I pick? Why, Potter world, of course! I would totally be at Hogwarts. I think I might be a Ravenclaw or well, a Gryffindor. I would be BFF with Cho Chang because we're the only Asian girls. I would probably date Oliver Wood, because he's Scottish and cute and he is a great Quidditch player. He could teach me how to play, and we'd fly around campus as the snow fell softly upon our heads. Tres romantique. Also, I would wear that Invisibility Cloak all around Hogsmead and drink butterbeer and probably achieve a butterbeer gut. Although, with my mad magic skillz, I could zap that butterbeer gut away and be nice and svelte. And, I'd wear different glasses every day-- red, horn-rimmed, gold, cat-eyes. Whatever mood I was in, I'd make my glasses match! And some days, I might not wear glasses at all.

I think my best class might be Transfiguration. I would be McGonagall's pet. I think my animus would be... a merekat! Or a cheetah! After I graduated, I might try to get a job in the Ministry of Magic. I've always enjoyed politics. Or I could take Rita Skeeter's old job, except I'd actually have integrity. And then, Wood and I would be married in a traditional Scottish wedding with magical bagpipes that actually sound good.

QoW: Who?

Question of the Week: If you could spend one day in a novel’s fictional world, which would you choose?

Technically, it's not from a novel, but if I could live in one fictional world from all of children's literature, I think I'd have to pick Dr. Seuss's Whoville. Why? Several reasons.

1. Even though every Who down in Whoville likes Christmas a lot, they still know what Christmas is really all about. (SPOILER ALERT: It's not the presents.)

2. Who-pudding and Who-roast-beast. I don't know what that is, exactly, but it sure sounds delectable.

3. When times get tough, like say some nasty kangaroo brothers are threatening to dunk your entire planet into Beezle-Nut juice, those Whos sure know how to work together and make things happen. And they value even the smallest and youngest of their citizens. Everyone is important in Whoville.

4. The real estate -- bright buildings, massive staircases, tons of windows . . . Really now, what New Yorker wouldn't kill for that kind of square-footage?

YOPP!!

QoW: Living with Possibility

If you could spend one day in a novel’s fictional world, which would you choose?
Most of my favorite books have worlds that I’d love to check out for a day, but if I had to choose one (which I do) I’d have to go with Madeleine L’Engle and the WRINKLE IN TIME trilogy.


I wouldn’t want to travel to the places that the Murray kids go to so much as I’d like to live with the possibility of traveling to them. I love my life but it’s pretty grounded in practical things: laundry, work, kid care, cooking dinner, etc. These were all realities for the Murrays, but at the edge was always the possibility of more. Magic was always around them, incredible adventures beckoned where their actions could change the course of humanity. They lived in our world yet were visitors to many others. Each day contained the possibility that the next phone call, the next knock at the door, could lead them on an incredible journey. And when they were called upon to act, the stakes were high. I think that living with that possibility would infuse your life with such wonder and spirit. And on days when I need to run fifty irritating errands and mop the floor, that sounds absolutely sublime.

Books of Wonder!

***Cross-posted from my personal blog, just another bronx girl, over at LiveJournal.***

Okay, just a reminder: Tomorrow, I'm going to be reading and signing books at Books of Wonder at 18 West 18th Street (between Fifth and Sixth Avenues) in NYC at 5:00. It's going to be a fun event with a group of excellent teen authors. I still can't believe I'm part of this!

Here's the lineup:

John Green (AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES)
Maureen Johnson (DEVILISH)
E. Lockhart (THE BOY BOOK)
David Levithan (WIDE AWAKE)
and moi (TYRELL)

We also have a funny little surprise planned, so if you're in the area, please stop by! And there should be lots o' authors in the audience to mingle with as well.

Books of Wonder is a wonderful independent children's bookstore. As Jenny Han posted here yesterday, we all need to support the independent bookstores. So if you come to our reading, why not buy some books for the kids while you're there? Books make great holiday gifts!!!

QoD: Ramona to the Rescue

What are some other great books for Pippi lovers? This question comes from Stephanie whose daughter has just finished all three Pippi books and is needing something fabulous to read next.

It’s so hard when you’re done with a fabulous book or set of books. There’s terrible let down that it’s over and then the dread that you will never find anything as wonderful again. Pippi is a tough act to follow but I’ll offer you my very favorite heroine: Ramona Quimby.


While Ramona does not possess Pippi’s extraordinary powers, she is spunky and plucky and fun. Her problems are very real and she tackles them with zest. Beverly Cleary is my favorite author in large part because she is never condescending about the experiences of kids. Her characters have dignity even when they think that the ‘Star Spangled Banner’ is a song about a lamp. I’d recommend starting with RAMONA THE PEST and going from there.

Thanks for the question, Stephanie!

i do love me some indie bookseller

Saw this depressing yet informative little article via literaticat.livejournal.com-- it's called, "How to Kill a Career in 3 Easy Books." It discusses the perils of the chain bookstore and the merits of the indie bookstore, of which there are many. I used to work at independent children's bookstore Books of Wonder, and I loved it there. People work really, really hard. They love children's books, and they hand-select books for any kid, adult, whoever walks into the store with such care and thoughtfulness. I'm going to Books of Wonder's holiday party tomorrow night, which will be sort of surreal-- the last time I was at their holiday party was when I was working the coat check, and now I'll be going as an author. I'll probably still want to hang by the coats, though. : )

Here's an especially depressing tidbit from the article:

Here’s how chains kill books and careers. When chains order, Corporate Buyer orders a number of copies of Midlist Writer’s New Novel for the entire chain, and these are distributed per a computerized formula to the various stores. They are shelved. Frequently, chains will only get one or two copies which will be spined out, dooming them to invisibility. Even if they are not, though—even if Local Chain receives seven copies and sells six, Local Chain WILL NOT REORDER THE BOOK unless it sells above a set number chain-wide. Most midlist novels are ordered in quantities too small to ever reach this number, and unless a miracle happens, are essentially stillborn. From the day the first copy of the first novel ships, these series have no chance (barring the aforementioned miracle) of selling more than their initial order. From that first day, their authors are Dead Writers Walking, but won’t know it for three books.

la link

Lisa Graff Knows Trivia

From this week's PW's Children's Bookshelf:

"The third annual Children's Book Council Trivia Challenge took place earlier this month, and the winning team was called The Five Senses, comprised of (from left) Heather Scott (Bloomsbury), Lisa Cheng (McElderry), Lisa Graff (FSG), Samantha McFerrin (Harcourt), and Schuyler Hooke (Random House). Author/illustrator Mo Willems hosted the event, which had 60 players."

Big kudos to Lisa Graff for representing not only FSG, but The Longstockings as well. I suggest a Children's Bloggers Trivia Tournament? Perhaps in tandem with our Kidlit Drinks Nights?


P.S.- You can read about Lisa's experience at the trivia challenge on her blog. (You have to scroll down a bit.)

Between Alaska and The Bronx... Love?

Question of the Week: Which two characters from children's or YA literature would make the perfect couple?

***Note from Coe Booth: I could not think of any answer for this Question of the Week, so I asked a close friend of mine to be a guest blogger today.

So, without further ado, I give you... Tyrell:



First up, to be honest, I ain't even up on all this Longstockings and blogging stuff. It ain't my style, know what I'm saying? Brotha like me got things to do. I can't be sitting at no computer all day trying to type. So I'ma keep this short, then I'ma bounce. A'ight?

So y'all wanna know what female I wanna hook up with, right?



Well, y'all pro'ly know I ain't all into books. I ain't even read the book that lady wrote 'bout me. But outta the books I did check out, I'ma hafta say, no doubt, I coulda kicked it with that hot shorty, Alaska.

Yeah, I know what y'all thinking. She was all messed up and everything, but man, there ain't nothing like a fly honey with problems. You don't never get bored with them kinda girls 'cause you don't never know what they gonna do next. That's what I liked 'bout Alaska. When she wasn't all depressed, she was all 'bout having a good time. She always be actin' wild, rolling up in people rooms and messing with they stuff. And she be breaking all the rules all the time. Like me.

And she was smart, too. Y'all seen her room, right? All them books in there like she running a library or something. And if y'all know me, y'all know I'm into them smart girls. Something 'bout them. Can't help myself.

Now, I know I ain't never gonna go to no boarding school 'cause that ain't my thing. But if Alaska grew up in the projects like me, she never woulda bugged out like she did 'cause folks 'round here always got your back. Know what I'm saying? And, no, I ain't never went out with no white girl before 'cause, straight up, I'm all 'bout the sistahs. But that girl Alaska was a'ight. And if I was her man, I coulda took care of her. Never woulda let nothin' happen to her. Them boarding school chumps couldn't do that. But me and Alaska together, we woulda been for real.

Too late for that now, right?

Man.