"Hello, hello, hello, hello. Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye. That's all there is...."

(from Simon & Garfunkel's "Leaves That Are Green")

Goodbye to my darling Super Conquerant 80-sheet hardback spiral notebook made in Spain by Enri. For years, we've had something special, you and I... but now my trusty neighborhood stationer, Bob Slate, tells me that you've been discontinued, probably by the importer. Alas! No more will I fold you over my knee and cover you with a thousand sweet scribbles. No more will you travel with me everywhere I go, simply because I cannot bear to let you out of my sight. No more... *sniff*... will I tuck you in to sleep at night in the fireproof, waterproof safe! Oh, my darling! *weeps; rends clothing*

*.....*

So, I'm not so precious about my writing process that I'm going to try to figure out how to get my exact brand of notebook from Europe. Actually, I'm slightly that precious, but it'd be a lot healthier to just accept that the notebook is no longer available, don't you think? So this means I'm in the market for a new hardback, spiral-bound, college-ruled (those are my three priorities, from most important to least) notebook. Happily, I have 2 more of my notebooks in the supply closet, so there's plenty of time to do this search. This is something I need to do in person, not online, so if you have any recommendations for stationery stores in the greater Boston area or in New York City, please let me know! I actually had some luck with Kate's Paperie in New York last week -- found a real possibility, also made in Spain -- but I like stationers, so any excuse to poke around looking at fine paper is always welcome. :o)

Are you picky about anything the way I'm picky about my notebooks? I'm also this picky about tea, oatmeal, umbrellas, Italian pastries, and... most of my favorite things, really. ^_^

Finally, if you're enjoying the music, I'll leave you with one more Simon & Garfunkel tune, particularly suitable for a weathery day. Art, your voice is the prettiest.

"It was my candle to St. Jude"

Announcement: I ♥ librarians. Why? Because librarians love information, know how to find it, know how to use it, and know how to help other people find and use it; and because librarians love, care for, and offer us BOOKS. And school librarians, in particular, share their awesomeness with young people without condescension. Thanks so much to the New Jersey Association of School Librarians for inviting me to their fall conference this past weekend. You guys are inspiring.

Housekeeping: I got a great suggestion the other day from an audiobooker who wished she could see the maps of the kingdoms while listening. Please see my new link to the left, Maps of My Book World, which shows both the maps so far, both drawn by Jeffery C. Mathison. Click on the maps to make them bigger.

In other news, in case anyone's wondering, Spike is still beating Beethoven in the highly scientific Spike Versus Beethoven: You Decide! poll -- but Beethoven is holding his own! I'm proud. I thought old Ludwig Van was gonna get creamed.

Moving on. After my 96-book post the other day, a few people asked for some recommendations. Well, I'm always mentioning the books I'm reading, so do go back through posts and see what you find; and stay tuned, because if I trip over any gems, I'll be sure to mention them here. You could also search my blog for the tag "books" (either type "books" in the search box at the top or simply click on the tag "books" in this particular post). Also, I'm finally putting together a list of middle grade recommendations to go with the YA recommendations I posted some time ago. That should post before too long.

In the meantime, all the recent dance talk got me wanting to recommend one of my all-time favorite books: A Candle for St. Jude, by Rumer Godden. Her writing style is distinct -- you might not like it -- but I find it gorgeous and mind-opening, so much so that I've gone on to read China Court and In This House of Brede, the latter of which is a 650-page novel about nuns in an abbey, which I'll admit isn't for everyone, but I found it fascinating. Anyway. A Candle for St. Jude takes place in a dance school and is about art and power and talent and attraction, being young, being old, and growing into your own. In case this is relevant to you, there are no nuns and it's not bizarrely long :o). It's out of print; try your library; I've also bought a couple of used copies through Amazon.

While I'm at it, here are some other absolute favorites from my shelves. I'm terrible at writing reviews, so check out Amazon if you want more specific information. These were published for a range of markets: adult, young adult, middle grade. I don't have a lot of patience for the distinctions. (I would not make a very effective librarian!!) They're all really good works of art.

• Contact, by Carl Sagan. The SF movie with Jody Foster was based on this book. This never happens, but I loved both the book and the movie, despite significant differences.
• The Tricksters, by Margaret Mahy. Have you read this yet? My blog is named after it, and I'm going to keep blabbing about it until you do. Magical realism.
• The Catch Trap, by Marion Zimmer Bradley. An unconventional circus tale about love and relationships. I read the whole book, finished the last page, turned back to the beginning and read the whole thing again.
• Heat and Other Stories, by Joyce Carol Oates. If you've never read any Joyce Carol Oates, give this a try. Small Avalanches is another of my favorite story collections of hers. BTW, I say this as a person who is not a short story fan.
  
• Rebecca, by Daphne Du Maurier. Then re-read Jane Eyre, then read Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart. They make a great trio! (Intertextuality!)
  
• The Mouse and His Child, by Russell Hoban. You might think you don't want to read a book about wind-up mouse toys. You would be wrong.
• My Heartbeat, by Garret Freymann-Weyr, who has three names, none of which I can spell without looking. A book about love, sex, friendship, and family that takes place in upper-middle-class Manhattan.
  
• A Piece of Justice, by Jill Paton Walsh. A short, well-designed, and, in my opinion, LOVELY English mystery novel.

There, see? I didn't say a word about Lord Peter Wimsey, Kristin Lavransdatter, the essays of E.B. White, The Satanic Verses, or Ramona Quimby. (Age 8.)

(Also all favorites. ^_^)

What are some favorites from your shelves?

Randutiae, and Give Yourself a Treat Today

If you happened to see me at Books of Wonder on Tuesday covering my ears, singing "la la la la la la!", and seriously invading Scott Westerfeld's space, I swear, it was only because I was trying to avoid hearing the Liar spoilers happening on my other side! Justine Larbalestier was being an absolute champ trying to protect me from her conversations with her readers, but really, there's only so much an author can do! :o) Anyway, I got through unspoilered, and clearly, I need to read Liar ASAP. Oh, and the event was super. Thanks to everyone who came!

If you're a book blogger who wants to sign up for the Book Blogger Holiday Swap -- basically a Secret Santa among book bloggers world-wide -- today is the last day.

I'm having a busy week of train-riding and events -- I'm home again now, but tomorrow I'm off to New Jersey. Cross your fingers for me tomorrow evening, when I'll be giving a speech at the fall conference of the New Jersey Association of School Librarians.

A question recently batted around by my friends: How is it that Connecticut can be such a pleasure to train through but such hell to drive through?

Here's an old favorite. If you have 4 minutes, 30 seconds today, give yourself a treat and watch this again -- or for the first time. (Once it starts, I recommend clicking on the little HD.) What are your favorite locations? Mine are Gurgaon, India, just 'cuz it's beautiful, and Nellis Airspace, Nevada, because, well... I love all things outerspace. :o)

My assignment was to memorize the names of the stars."

"Which stars?"

"All of them."

"You mean all the stars, in all the galaxies?"

"Yes. If he calls for one of them, someone has to know which one he means. Anyhow, they like it; there aren't many who know them all by name, and if your name isn't known, then it's a very lonely feeling."

-A conversation between Meg and Proginoskes in A Wind in the Door, by Madeleine L'Engle

I wonder if my characters feel lonely until I've named them? How patient the characters must be whose names I keep changing! Sometimes I forget how much they depend on me, for everything.

Proginoskes and Meg are both Namers. Here's something else Proginoskes says: "When I was memorizing the names of the stars, part of the purpose was to help them each to be more particularly the particular star each one was supposed to be. That's basically a Namer's job."

Here's a FAQ about Fire. (In case you're completely spoiler-phobic: since I'm talking about the reasons for characters' names, I do refer to the general natures of some of my characters. Proceed at your own peril!)

How did you come up with the names in Fire?
Hm. Well, ever since rereading Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence, I've wanted to name a tall, handsome man Archer. I think Archer may have grown from his name, actually; his name (which is a nickname) is how I realized he was so good at archery. My sister, secret codename: Cordelia, has always despised the name Nash for various reasons, but I've always kind of liked it, so I decided to reclaim it and prove to her that it was worthwhile. Nax seemed like the perfect variation for Nash's no good father. Cansrel... a dear aunt was dying of cancer around the time I started writing Fire. The similarity between the two words is not a coincidence.

Musa was a dancer on So You Think You Can Dance whose name I liked. Mila was my dear friends' dog. Larch converted well to the thing I needed it to convert to ;). Brocker, Roen, Tess, Gentian, Neel -- they just felt right. Mydogg and Murgda... well, don't they just sound unpleasant? The horses... again, the names just felt right.

Clara, Garan, Hanna, and Brigan. I loved the way these names sounded when extended to their full royal titles: Claradell, Garandell, Hannadell, Brigandell. I particularly liked the way Claradell sounded like Clarabelle, but wasn't, and the way Hannadell sounded like Annabel, but wasn't. And Brigan's name was always Brigan (just like Archer's was always Archer's), because it sounds like brigand, and that's how I thought of him in his early appearances in the book.

I don't remember thinking up Fire's name. I think I must have always known it.

Here's a question for YOU: Do you like your own name? What would you name yourself if you could choose?

(To hear me and other authors talking about our own names, go here. ^_^)

(Oh! And to see me, Suzanne Collins, Justine Larbalestier, Libba Bray, Scott Westerfeld, and Michael Grant, go to Books of Wonder tomorrow, November 10, from 6-8pm, at 18 West 18th Street in Manhattan!)

Reminder: I love Finland. (And SYTYCD, too!)

It's been a while since I've shown you a brand new cover for Graceling. Behold!


This is the Finnish cover. What do you think? I love it to pieces, and nothing you say will stop me from loving it to pieces, so do your worst. In particular, I love finally seeing a short-haired Katsa, and -- the mountains and castles in the background -- *flops* -- ! Maria Lyytinen, who is the translator, tells me that the back cover shows a scene of mountains at sunset/sunrise. She also explained that the word "Syntymälahja" encapsulates the idea of a gift received at birth.

Reminder: I love Finland. Dear sister, secret codename: Apocalyptica the Flimflammer: I cannot wait to give you a copy of Syntymälahja!

In other news... who saw this week's So You Think You Can Dance? How about that Bollywood number? I almost cried at the end when Mollee gives Nathan back his sword. My favorite was the Stacey Tookey "fear" dance with Kathryn and Legacy. I also enjoyed the Wade Robson Van Gogh thing. (And didn't really understand why the judges thought it was controversial. Can anyone enlighten me? Did they mean it was tacky because of Van Gogh's history of mental illness?) Cat's "I'm crying but I'm going to smile anyway" expression is so endearing. The choreographed kisses between Jakob and Ashleigh were, IMO, Fox's deliberate and stoopid attempt to create drama, since Ashleigh is married to Ryan, another contestant. Fox, stop being stoopid! Finally, could you BELIEVE it when Ellenore danced practically that entire Argentine tango with her heel stuck in the hem of her dress? Wowza. She deserved that standing O from the judges!

One more thing: thank you, choreographers, for fewer "woman=victim/loser/nutcase" dances so far this season. (It doesn't usually bother me when I look at particular cases. Dancing mirrors life; bad crap happens in life; and a beautiful dance is a beautiful dance. The creepy addict dance last season, for example, was powerful and gorgeous. But... I've said before that when I look at SYTYCD as a whole, I feel like it's uneven sometimes. And when every dance is danced by one man and one woman, and when most of the dances are about the way the man and the woman relate, there have to be just as many representations of other situations, too, including the opposing situation [in which the man plays the part of the victim/loser/nutcase], or the show starts to put out an icky message. Ya know? Hey everyone, man=strong and woman=weak. Which is a message that does NOT mirror real life -- it distorts it. Anyway. *steps off soapbox* The dances this week made me happy. ^_^)

For a taste of Stacey Tookey's choreography, check out the video she posted on her facebook of Karla and Jonathan's beautiful dance last season. (The dance starts at 2:15.)

Tu Publishing; Stuff and Things; and, Our Books Are Watching Us Jealously

Via Deborah: Stacy Whitman, freelance editor and Simmons Center for the Study of Children's Literature grad, is trying to start a new publishing company. Tu Publishing will be "a small, independent multicultural SFF press for children and YA." A small press devoted to multicultural fantasy/SF -- good idea! But -- it will only get off the ground if it gets enough funding. Care to help? There are benefits to pledging, and you'll only pay your pledge amount if the project actually launches. Go here for more info. You can give as little as $5, and you can do it using your Amazon account, if you have one. If Tu Publishing can raise $10,000 by December 14th, they'll start accepting manuscripts in January.

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I know that some of you will have fun trying to recognizing books without their dust jackets on the blog of Sarah Miller, author of the marvelous Miss Spitfire. (Who knew so many books had such cool undercover decorations?)

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To those who've been wondering: the Kindle edition of Fire is now available.

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Over the weekend, I found myself having a small freakout about my To Be Read pile. (Well, it used to be a pile; recently it's evolved into a series of shelves.) At first I thought it must be because the pile was full of books that I didn't actually want to read, pressuring me. "Read me, read me, even though I suck!" But then I went through all the books and realized that that wasn't it; they're all books I'm excited about; the problem is, very simply, volume. I counted them: 96. Now, everyone has different TBR methods, so I'm sure that's a perfectly normal number of unread books for some people to have sitting on their shelves, watching jealously with beady book-eyes as their humans wander around doing non-reading things like watch TV or water the plants... but for me, that's a LOT of unread books. These days, if I read one book a week, I'm doing fabulously well, and -- 96 books! HELP! That's enough books to last me until I'm 35!

*.....*

Hang on.

Guys? Suddenly I find myself seeing this from a different angle.

I have enough books to last me until I'm 35!

*is happy*

:o)

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To those embarking on National Novel Writing Month: Godspeed. Breathe. And DON'T FREAK OUT!

Spike versus Beethoven: a Poll

This is a long post. Don't feel pressure to read everything. But at the very least, I encourage you to listen, watch, and vote!

My FAQ post the other day lent itself to some Buffy discussion in the comments -- Spike quote-sharing, favorite and least favorite characters, etc. -- if you've seen Buffy, feel free to contribute. And I've started Season 5 and couldn't be happier. I'm thinking way too much about it, really, and want to talk about this show more here someday. And maybe particularly about Spike, because while I continue to love his humor, his insight, his large yet despicable heart, his twisted approach to relationships, and his reliably terrible decisions... I KNOW there must be some Spike dissenters out there who'd like to express themselves. HOWEVER. Now isn't the time to get into it, because I'm only on Season 5, so I don't have all the data yet. So. Maybe we could talk about Buffy more sometime in the future? :)

(NOTE: please feel free to comment now as much as you like! I know the plot of Buffy in general and Spike in particular all the way through Season 7, and I don't mind Buffy spoilers. [It's the only thing I don't mind spoilers for, actually!] All I mean to say here is that I don't feel qualified to contribute to the discussion myself yet. Knowing what happens is different from watching how it plays out. For example, I know the facts of what happens with Buffy and Spike in Season 6, and let me tell you, I'm prepared for the possibility that it's going to be fabulous OR the most horrible, creepy thing ever. -- Feel free to tell me what you thought.)

Now, stand back, because I'm about to geek out about Beethoven. (Again.)

Behind this link is one of the most beautiful movements of a piano sonata ever written, IMO: the second movement of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 23, Opus 57 (the "Appassionata"). (If you want to hear the whole sonata, just click on the first movement and it will carry you all the way through.) What I love about the second movement is its simplicity. It presents a single melody, plays it through once, and then repeats it, faithfully, four more times, but in four beautiful variations. Listen for yourself. The melody is played through the first time in the first 1:40. You'll notice that it itself contains repetition: a simple melody; repeat; a second simple melody; repeat. Then, at 1:41, we start the whole thing over, with minor variations, and play it all the way through. The version that makes me want to die of happiness is the third go-through, which starts at 3:05. The fourth go-through starts at 4:18, and the final, which very much recalls the original, starts at 5:28.

Much of music is about repetition and variations on a theme... but, well, I guess I love how simply it's all played out in this lovely little movement. Plus, for me, with Beethoven, it isn't just the way he repeats and plays with his melodies and themes. I love the way he repeats notes within his melodies and themes. Have you ever hummed or whistled a melody and suddenly realized you've been humming/whistling the same note over and over again? This happens a lot with Beethoven; it's a thing you might notice now and then in the Appassionata. He is so good at repeating the same note over and over again and making it beautiful!

Oh my goodness. I just went off to find a youtube of the second movement of his Seventh Symphony, intending to try to explain what I mean in words -- so guess how excited I am that I found THIS?

Press play and watch along; it shows just what I mean about Beethoven repeating the same note over and over, while using other instruments to weave all around the repeating notes. It's characteristic of much of the movement, but the most glaring example is probably from 6:00 to 6:22 -- note the places where a single color remains stuck in a horizontal pattern, a straight or dotted line. Gorgeousness and gorgeosity made flesh! The Fifth Symphony has some other good examples. Especially go to 3:28 or 3:55 or 6:51 here.

Okay. Some of you have been very patient today, humoring me and the Beethoven squee. Others have decided to drop me from your blog readers. Regardless, it's now time for a highly scientific poll. In the interest of fairness, since I've stuck so much Beethoven in your faces, I need to stick some Spike in your faces before asking you to vote, especially for those of you who've never met him. Context: Buffy has just found Spike lurking behind a tree outside her house, and has punched him in the face.

And if you care to see the next part of the conversation:

And now, please vote! (If you can't see the poll, click here!)

Have a nice weekend, everyone :o). Coming next week: short posts!