Pickings

While trying to catch up on some back listserv reading, I came upon a number of juicy bits.

I really don't know what to make of James Frey Collaborating on a Novel for Young Adults, First in a Series. I've never read any of Frey's books and didn't get all that emotionally involved in his past troubles. This article just seems odd to me for other reasons. The novel is being submitted anonymously, yet The New York Times is doing an article about it?If I understand this correctly, the film rights have been sold before the book has found a publisher. If it doesn't find a publisher, can the people who have the film rights simply arrange for a screen play and forget about the book stage?

I started shouting, "Yes! Yes! Yes!" and pounding my desk at the end of Buffy vs. Edward.

I think the actor playing Kyle in the film adaptation of Beastly looks too old for the part.

Julius Lester is also a photographer.

I've always wondered if I would have liked Catcher in the Rye more if I'd read it when I was a teenager instead of when I was thirty-something. Given when I was a teenager, maybe I would have. But I certainly have great sympathy with those teen readers today whose attitude is Get a Life, Holden Caulfield. Does this mean that we'll be seeing fewer Catcher in the Rye wannabes being published? Please?

I'm nowhere near done with my listserv reading, but it's time to call it a day. As with most activities in my life, I'll just have to accept that I'll never get to it all.

My Mail

I've spent a chunk of my evening trying (and not succeeding) to catch up on the back reading in just one of my listservs. I've found a couple of juicie things to share, though.

A discussion of graphic novel picture books led me to the title Ug: Boy Genius of the Stone Age. What struck me as particularly interesting about this is that the author, Raymond Briggs, also wrote the graphic novel When the Wind Blows, which I had never heard of until this very afternoon. How weird is that?

Then I found out about another one of those terrific Slate slideshows. This one is on Books to read to your children during a financial crisis. It's from back at the beginning of October, so I'm kind of late with that. But the financial crisis is still here, so it's all good.

It's Official

I've joined The Association of Booksellers for Children. What does this mean? I'm on another listserv! This makes five. I can't wait until my computer guy finds out I need another folder for my mailbox.

Quite honestly, one of the listservs I hardly ever hear from. But things can get very exciting with some of the others.