jimhines

Jack Sprat
by Jim C. Hines

Jack Sprat will drink your blood.
His wife will eat your flesh.
And so betwixt the two of them
They never leave a mess.

Mirrored from Jim C. Hines.

annastan

As we near the end of a decade (when did that happen??) I've been realizing how many amazing books have been published in the past ten years. At a time when people fear for the future of publishing, it's startling to think how much quality literature continues to be written.

I've also realized how many books from the past ten years have really made an impact on me, challenging me to think and inspiring me in my own writing. Here are some of the books (for children and teens, of course) that have most impacted me over the past ten years.

Feed

The City of Ember by Jeanne Dupreau (2003) - This books (and series) helped lead me toward the kinds of stories I wanted to write. I'd loved dystopian fantasy for years, but I hadn't come across much of it for middle grade readers. I was inspired by Dupreau's ability to convey such a complex world and history in such a short book; armed with this inspiration, I wrote the kind of book that I would have liked when I was young, and that book landed me an agent.

The Red Book by Barbara Lehman (2004) - This was one of the first wordless picture books I ever encountered and I was blown away. Not only does it tell a complete story without words, its metafictional elements add even more depth to the reading experience. For anyone who says picture books are simple and easy, I say read this book.

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness (2008) - This is the embodiment of what people mean when they talk about a "strong voice." It's dark and action-packed and unlike anything I've read before. People tend to have a very love or hate reaction to this book because of the strong voice and its dark subject matter, but it gripped me from the first page and didn't let go.

The Lightning Thief (and the rest of the Percy Jackson series) by Rick Riordan (2005) - When I first read The Lightning Thief, I thought it was a great premise and a fun read. But when I saw Rick Riordan speak a couple years later, I was amazed by the impact of his books. Thanks to his series, ten-year-olds knew more about Greek mythology than most adults. I realized that not only had Riordan written an engaging series, he'd also managed to create an amazing teaching tool.

Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree

Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems (2004) - Not being a picture book writer myself, I don't often talk about picture books here, but that doesn't mean I don't value them. To me, Mo Willems is one of the greats. Knuffle Bunny was the first book I read by him and it remains my favorite. The story is funny and heartfelt and the illustrations are engaging but also unexpected. It makes me laugh every time I read it.

American Born Chinese

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (2005) - The writing is amazing but the sheer scope of this book is even more so. What narrator can truly do the Holocaust justice? Death, of course. While the subject matter is heavy, the story is strangely uplifting and certainly thought-provoking. It's a bit of a hefty read, but well worth the effort.

 I could keep going, but I think this list is actually a pretty good representation of the past ten years. I hope the next ten will have just as many, if not more, amazing reads in store.

What have been your most influential books of the decade?

onegrapeshy

Still employed:                _√_

All teeth intact (see above):     _√_

Survived dog:                  _√_

Survived Thanksgiving:   _√_

Survived Christmas:         _√_

Survived New Year’s:       _√_ (pending)

Revisions completed:        ___

Oh, wait. “Revisions completed” seems to be lacking a _√_ .

Can that possibly be because I'm not finished with them yet?



"What? WHAT??? How dare you insinuate this novel is a hopeless cause?"



"Shh, it's okay, it's okay...she won't hit you again, I promise."

kenscholes

Since the itty-bitties arrived, I've been even less present here in the blog-o-sphere.  There's typically just too many other things to do between the books, the babies, the day job.  But I thought I'd throw together some bits and pieces of the last week or so.

Saw Avatar last week.  Loved it.  Yes, the writing could have been better and there were some cliches in the thick of it.  But stunning special effects and an overall message about violence, exploitation and the need to care for our environment that I can get behind.  Have we seen this movie before?  Well, yes, if you've seen Dances with Wolves or Fern Gully.  But in space.  With kick-ass special effects.

I also saw two other movies of note.  The Hangover...funny stuff.  And Funny People, which I actually found quite beautiful.  I thought Rogen and Sandler were excellent together in a story that had wit and heart.

I started back to exercising finally after a long absence.  I was walking 2 miles a day around the time that Dad got sick.  Then, with his illness and passing, all those good habits went out the window.  Now, I've got my stationary bike in the Den of Ken and I've been riding it in the mornings.  Getting ready to go ride now, actually, once I finish this cup of coffee.

While I ride, I'm re-reading Donald Maass's Writing the Breakout Novel and I'm still finding it quite relevant. 

I'm also in the final stretch on reviewing copyedits for Antiphon and should be finished today or tomorrow.  Then, I write the acknowledgements and put it all in the mail.

It's been nice to see Lamentation showing up on some other lists of noteworthy books for 2009.  I still find it hard to believe that it hasn't even been out a year yet.  Or that I'm at the front end of volume four in my production cycle.  Wacky how time flies.

In other news, it's snowed and I'm not quite sure what the roads are like.  We have between 4 and 6 inches.

Okay, time to ride before the Little People wake up.

 

alankria

For the past month or so, I’ve been working weekends (and the occasional weekday-morning) at a nice café in East Perth – Toast, by some water – which, while a fun and sometimes challenging experience, hasn’t given me enough money to save for Asia-travels. Hours plummeted on the approach to Christmas, as the café is not in the shopping area, and I’ve literally saved about $200. (I’ve been paying rent to Penny’s household, buying most of my own lunches, using public transport, plus random expenditure…) Every dollar helps, of course, but I need more.

Starting January 3rd, I’ve got a 3-week job harvesting sandalwood seeds in the countryside about 100km from Perth, which’ll give me a bit more money.

After that, I need to work for another 6 weeks or so, at the café if I must but ideally something with more hours, either in Perth or more farm-type work elsewhere in the country. I want to zoom travel all around Australia: north to Broome and the Kimberley, into Darwin and south to Alice Springs and south to Adelaide, east to Melbourne, up to Sydney where I’ll stay with my uncle for about a week, with a trip up to Queensland to see the Barrier Reef. As much Australia as I can fit into a few weeks!

See, I have a deadline for leaving Australia. My round-the-world ticket gave me a flight from Sydney to Bangkok (and a Bangkok to London flight), and I’ve adjusted the dates: I fly from Sydney to Bangkok on April 9th. I want to celebrate Songkran in Chiang Mai with two or three friends who are intending to converge there, around April 13th to 15th.

My Bangkok to London flight is on September 23rd, so I’ll have just under six months to see as much of East Asia as I can afford. (I have money besides what I earn here, but obviously the more I earn here, the less of my other money I need to use.)

I’m getting very, very excited about the experiences and sights and adventures 2010 is bringing.

Originally published at Tales and Foreign Markets. You can comment here or there.