By JK, on April 3rd, 2012
You’ve seen it. You’ve felt it. Spring is here. Crocuses and daffodils have been poking through the soil and unfolding in the sunlight. People are unfolding too, as winter coats (and sometimes coats altogether) have been shed with relief. Stepping outside, you’re greeted by the scent of wet earth. There have never been more dedicated cyclists or runners or dog walkers or stroller pushes. People are smiling more.
So what better way to spend the month of April than returning to the land, focusing on books on gardening, farming, and food (GFF, for short). Regular readers may have noticed I’ve become fairly obsessed with these things, and I’ve decided to dedicate this month to writing about the things I’m really excited to share, that I think need to be shared. We’ll kick things off with a post on Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, but along with review-type pieces you’ll also find an annotated list of my essential GFF, interviews, an appropriately themed Books in 140 Seconds video, and maybe even a garden song or two.
If that appeals, or you think it just might, stick around, it’ll be grand. If not, not to worry — come back in May, where we’ll be [...]
Lucky duck that I am, this week I attended Book Expo America with three of my fine ECW colleagues. To the uninitiated, BEA is an annual book industry trade show in NYC, where publishers go to hobnob with booksellers, librarians, agents, trade media, and each other. Here’s where I spent most of my three days:
But I also got some time to wander the floor now and again, which led to some great things. At the top of the list: An encounter with Tyra Banks herself when I eagerly got in line to get a signed sample chapter of the first book in her upcoming YA series, Modelland. Here’s the photo evidence:
Modelland presents a dystopian future with a modelling bent (as if the modelling industry wasn’t dystopian enough) and is sheer ridiculousness from start to finish, so naturally, I had a great time reading it. For those without this masterpiece in their hot little hands, a few examples of the aforementioned sheer ridiculousness:
The characters are named things like Tookie De la Creme (our Forgetta-Girl [TyTy's term] protagonist cursed with those slightly unusual looks that have proven such a challenge on ANTM again and again . . . [...]
By JK, on February 10th, 2011
Today was the final day of Canada Reads 2011, and rather than follow the format of the last couple days and focus on this specific episode, I think some more general comments are in order. Because you see, I’m feeling a bit despondent. There’s been a lot of talk in the blogosphere from people I really respect about why they’re giving up on Canada Reads, and I’m sad to see it, because their contributions are part of what makes me look forward to the competition. This year might not have been the best Canada Reads to date, but I think the real problem is that we all have different expectations of Canada Reads, and it can’t be everything to everyone. So what is it? And what should it be?
First: Audience. This year’s panelists were very focused on getting people reading — namely reluctant readers whose relationship with the written word is so fragile one bad book might make them stop reading street signs, let alone books. Melodramatic, yes, but is it possible this is the show’s primary audience? Charlotte Ashley says no, saying Canada Reads is a national book club, one that should be targeted to people who are readers [...]
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