A FAQ; A Holiday Question; Stuff; In Addition to Which: Things

So, I promised that I'd let you know if I stumbled across any gems in my reading. I have. The Magician's Elephant, by Kate DiCamillo, is a book about magic, love, and longing, and it is fabulous.
A FAQ.
Can you tell me when your book(s) will be released in my language/my country?
Unfortunately, probably not. If the information isn't on my Contacts, Info, and Credits page, it's because I don't know. Ask your local bookstore -- they might know better than I do. If this sounds weird to you, I understand; it was a surprise to me, too, that writers are often not in contact with their foreign publishers. I have met a few of mine, actually, but that's only because I was lucky enough to go to the Bologna Children's Book Fair last spring. Often, the only way I know a book has been released is that it arrives on my doorstep!
******
And now, a question for you. Do you like December? Do you like Christmas carols? How do you feel about the holiday season? Do you celebrate a holiday? What do you do? How do you stay peaceful in what is -- let's face it -- a supremely unpeaceful time?
Anyway. The time is nigh. I tend to counteract the suffocating Christmas-carol barrage by listening to moody, atmospheric, melancholy holiday/winter/Christmas music. For example: Christ Child's Lullaby, performed by Sheena Wellington; God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen, performed by Loreena McKennitt; Greensleeves, performed by the King's Singers. Joni Mitchell's "River," which isn't anywhere on youtube. Some other songs that aren't about the Christmas tradition that I also can't find, argh! What about you? Do you, like some people (*cough Cordelia*), love corny holiday music and own the Elvis Christmas album? Or do you, like me, find yourself wanting to impale yourself on a fir tree (or perhaps on some other pointy object with less inherent Christian symbolism)?
*looks at the calendar* In the meantime, happy Thanksgiving to my American readers. :o)
Comments
I just finished Fire this morning and I must say: A Job well done! It is fabulous. Like a Gem among stones. I discovered that Katsa and Fire have basically similar reactions to certain things. I have a theory that that is because they are loosely based off of you, even Katsa, because her strength and courage must be how you are in your heart. Also,Fire is a picture of you but add monsters. A very clever analysis on my part:P
-Jen
I'm very mixed around my reaction to the holidays. I'm an observant Jew, so I get all up-in-arms around the general cultural assumption that everyone celebrates Christmas, and the complete inability to escape it in public places. I vary in my response to the automatic "Merry Christmas" from cashiers, but my snarkiest is probably "No, thanks."
But when they're not being piped out of mall speakers, Christmas carols can be really beautiful, I often go out caroling with friends to share in bringing joy to the people who are *choosing* to celebrate the holiday. And the TV specials have always been a guilty pleasure of mine -- who can resist Rankin and Bass!
As for myself, Chanukah is a fairly minor holiday, so alone in my apartment I light the candles, sing the songs, eat some latkes, send some small gifts to my sister's kids, but generally that's about it.
--Gilly
I like any Christmas/holiday music that is well done instrumentally or vocally. I will confess a love for slightly more obscure carols than the uber famous "Silent Night" and such. It's a good thing I like Christmas music because I am a piano/voice teacher, and will be hearing QUITE a bit of it. And sometimes I think I'm married to Father Christmas himself. I have to fight to keep my husband from putting up our Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving has passed and start playing the Christmas CDs before Halloween. (Yes. I said Halloween.) Hey Kristin, one of my favorite songs that I associate with Christmas really isn't a Christmas song at all--"Winter" by Tori Amos. Do you know it?
To stay peaceful: I try to focus on the purpose of Christmas--to bring peace to earth. I also shop online, try not to overbook myself and drink plenty of wassail while reading.
I'm with you on the alternative Christmas music (although I battle with my mother (love her) who will have carols on 24-7 until Christmas day) and I prefer anything folky, darker, more traditional and such almost all the time.
Christmas in the Trenches by John McCutcheon
Shotgun Shells on a Christmas Tree by Robin and Linda Williams
Raise the Dead of Wintertime
The Frozen Logger
Voices of Winter/Red & Green all by Herman Hills and Mangsen
Carol of the Meows by Guster
Carol of the Bells by the Trans Siberian Orchestra
I do also love It's Christmas all Over Again by Tom Petty
And the version of Little Drummer Boy by David Bowie and Bing Crosby.
(Well, favorite other than the aforementioned "Fairytale of New York", of course.)
I don't gear up for the holidays with songs. I focus on remembering everyone on my shopping list, and keeping up with the kadrillion birthdays that are this month and next. And almost all of my teachers are cracking down on homework and such, so I have almost no time to breathe!
Happy Thanksgiving, Kristin :)
Eat lots of turkey!! :]
Holidays for me are actually quite fun.... Most of the time... Sometimes I do get a bit stressed, but that's hardly ever. I'm not in charge of everything yet! My mom still has that responsibility. :) But, I am working on a super secret "santa" present for my sister.... And I'm beginning to think that I better spend some more time on it!
Christmas songs... I get so sick of them!! I am SO happy when the regular songs come back on the radio. Sometimes I like them, but not all the time..
Oooohhh... The Magician's Elephant sounds good. I'll have to check it out. Magic, love, and longing are definitely my idea of a good book. ;) Action is always a welcome edition too though.
Hope you have a wonderful day and holiday season!
All I need for Christmas music is Carol of the Bells by Trans Siberian Orchestra and A Muppet Christmas Carol.
Amanda, tomorrow I'm planning to observe "Buy Nothing" day. :o)
Allen, glad to hear about all that COOKING!!
Gilly, thanks for that explanation, that makes perfect sense. And Melissa, do you have any carol recommendations?
Artemis, thanks for the recs -- and you reminded me that I also LOVE the Bing Crosby/David Bowie "Little Drummer Boy!"
I like to bake cookies and sit by my fire listening to Christmas music with my family. But alas I'm away at graduate school so I have to wait until after Dec 19th to get into the spirit!
There is just something so wonderful about it being snowy outside and getting to snuggle inside by the fire with a good book, I think that is what brings the Peace of the season to me!
On a more important and exciting note, I FINALLY GOT A COPY OF FIRE!!! Yay, for me. I'm soooo happy and I can't wait to read all of it!
Happy Turkey Day! ^_^
you ask such fun questions..i like to think about them before i answer, but i wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving. My family and friends think I am crazy this year...i have chosen to spend the day alone with the Lord. So much superficiality in everything around us anymore. I wanted to give a day just to Him. He has given me so many blessings!
It seems thanksgiving is becoming more about selling and sports...
Just this one year... I'd like to give to Him. not a sad thing.... a reason to dance!! :-)
i love your questions :-)
cant wait to come back and answer more :-) your bloggs are fun!
from the heart...
So, I was actually singing the cheesy Christmas songs like "All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth" last night, with some of the younger kids at my church during our Christmas Shoes play practice. As much as I love to sing them, I for some reason, hate to listen to them on the radio...weird isn't it? Oh well, I guess they're only fun when you're involved.
Also, I believe that people often tend to forget about what the true meaning of Christmas is: the celebration of Jesus's birth and giving to others. It's alright to decorate and be excited about presents and stuff, but nowadays, especially with kids, all they say is "Ooh, I want this, and this, and this...." and never once do they think about giving and such...On some notes you can blame the parents, but some children, no matter how many times you tell them, just don't care about anything but theirself.
I explained to Him...we have to take time to read more of 'fire' as i cannot put it down! i am completely absorbed in it!!
from the heart...
jeanie
I love Christmas Carols. I consider myself a recovering Catholic/Buddhist so for me, they brings back memories of the people I cherish, the innocence of youth, and the wonder of the holiday. I love most of them but my three favorites this season seem to be: Grown Up Christmas List, River (Joni is great but I love Sarah Mc's version too), and O Come O Come Emmanuel. My family is very musical - although not classically trained. They can harmonize on just about anything. Wish it were that easy for me! :-)
I do look forward to this time of year but for me and my husband, it's a time of renewal - of forgiveness, for ourselves and each other, for the things we should have done better and the chance to begin fresh (a wise do-over) to be a peaceful part of this wonderful world we live in.
Our celebrating is traditional - thanks to a certain 3 year old in the house - we try to be respectful of the religiousness of the holidays but we do not attend services. We are very blessed to have family that's Christian and Jewish - and explain that in toddler terms.
As far as keeping sane, well, I only shop on-line, keep lots of great merlot in the house, and try to walk everyday even though it's freezing outside. I also try to keep a positive outlook - that every moment is a lesson.
Bet you're wishing you didn't ask such good questions! LOL
Happiest of Thanksgivings to all of you!
I do believe I'm going to have a book list a mile long by the end of the month. Why is it that I find all sorts of books I want to read in the middle of November? ^.^
I don't actually celebrate the holidays so I just tend to float through the season blissfully unaware. Or at least, as blissfully unaware as one *can* be when being bombarded with Christmas carols, hehe. Until a friend wished me a happy thanksgiving I hadn't even realized what day it was. I'm terribly absentminded sometimes.
I'm still not sure which all purpose holiday wish to use though. So... have a happy winter season? Hm. Back to the drawing board.
~Lauren
I get annoyed at overcommercialism, at starting Christmas the day after Halloween and ending it on Dec 26 because it's all about selling stuff (FYI shopping centers and general public: the Twelve Days of Christmas are traditionally the days AFTER the 25th, not before!). I don't particularly like dumb gimmicky radio holiday songs and hate oversentimentality (sorry, above commenter, I can't STAND "Christmas Shoes"). But I learned to block out Commercialism a long time ago, because I can't afford it anyway, so I'm pretty good at taking from it what I enjoy and leaving the rest of it be.
I too LOOOOVE the old darker carols, Greensleeves particularly-- actually "What Child Is This" is my favorite carol, since I don't actually know the original "Greensleeves" words. But my absolute favorite Christmas album is a bit odder: it's "A Christmas Together" by the Muppets and John Denver, and my favorite songs from it are the obscure mellow ones I've never heard anywhere else. I always post the lyrics to one of them as a Christmas card to readers of my lj each year!
Is it weird I've linked to my own blog so much in one comment? It's just a subject I discuss a lot.
Sufjan Stevens recorded a bunch of Christmas music, which I listen to all year round. I particularly enjoy That Was The Worst Christmas Ever!.
or live:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtBiqVEyJfQ
i personally think corny xmas music should be outlawed!!
some of my favorites are the ones you mention as well as many many more. I like the beautiful music that seems to sing straight from my heart what Christmas means to me....What Child is this?, Drummer Boy, Silent Night, so so many..
i love the concerts that have been put together beautifully to sing the praises of the season as it was meant to be. Sentimental heart that i have, it will usually leave tears rolling down my face.
So..yeah...i love xmas.I just wish it was a season of giving more love and less material things... i wish people did not see material things as love. but such is the way of the world...we can always hope that the meaning is never lost as time goes by as we remind those around us what Christmas is really all about!
I love Christmas :-)! not the gifts/commercialism...just the silent glory of special Christmas Evenings...
anyway...
Really, it is best to stay out of the mall during Christmastime.
My kids love to spend the day with their cousins playing, and I relish that time after we've cleaned up dinner and all the grownups sit down with dessert and coffee to just talk and catch up on life. I wish I could freeze all those moments and step back into them whenever life gets too stressful.
As you can tell, I have a close family and we live close by each other as well, and any holiday that lets us enjoy each other is great in my mind.
I can't stand the commercialization of Christmas to the extent it is now, but I do have three young boys, and it's hard to be a grinch when they revel in the magic of Santa and colored lights decorating a tree. :) Instead, I do my shopping early (just about done already!) and skip yucky days like Black Friday - the money I would save couldn't buy my sanity back! Then I make sure I do the really rewarding things like making cookies with my kids, the really messy ones with icing and colored sugar :) And as anyone with kids will attest, that's not exactly a peaceful activity, but I'll be sad when those days are gone. My oldest didn't help us with yesterday's cookies until near the end, and it made my heart pang to think he wanted to do something else, that someday I'd be left to make them myself. Cherish every day because you can't get them back.
~Jen
you are so very correct about cherishing the moments. our thanksgivings used to be that way...they were so much fun!! such fond memories of loved ones now gone your comment brought to my heart!! thanks for sharing...
such a truly special time the holidays are when they are cherished for what they are supposed to be...
God Bless...
'JW'
Christmis is upon us and I am getting very excited! My birthday is two days after christmis and for for bday present from my parents, I want to go to one of your appearences or signings. I live on the pacific side of Costa Rica and so you can imagine traveling that far is hard and expensive, especially if you belong to a family of 5! Just to let you know, I am Canadian and my home town is Calgary, Alberta. It is an extremely long story of how I ended up in Costa Rica. I love your books and I am in the process of reading Fire right now. Let me tell you this, it has captivated me. It is also very hard to get REAL english books down here. Sigh.
Something really funny happened the other day though. Every 3 months I get throen out of the country because I am not a real Costa Rican so I traveled to Miami. All I wanted to do since I arrived there was go to Barnes and Noble. The one in Miami is HUGE!!!!!! It is like two floors of books, books, books. When I saw saw it I looked at it like it was too good to be true!(=. Anyways, I got 23 books there! It was insane. When I run out of books here I enjoy reading your blog, so keep going!
Abby Skaug.
Merry Christmas :)
MC
http://www.amazon.com/Music-O-C-Mix-Merry-Chrismukkah/dp/B00063MCT8
You can listen to samples at this amazon site.
:)
Enjoy the silly season - it's going to be a hot one downunder!
MC
wow.... really awesome... i wish i had a river...
And whoever said they love the reflection, I feel the same way. My birthday is New Year's Eve, so that's always felt like the ideal time for reflection.
I've had a tradition since I was in jr. high: every New Year's I write three wishes for the coming year and seal them up. Then I open the previous year's wishes and write about them -- did they come true? Do I even still want them? A lot can change in a year, and there's nothing like a letter from the past to give you perspective.
Joni Mitchell's "River" is one of my favorite songs! I love all her work but "River" and "Case of You" are just incredible.
All I need to do is listen to "River" or "Better Days" by the Goo Goo Dolls while drinking cider and I know that it is December and I will see my family soon.
I love Joni Mitchell to pieces.
I was so happy to stumble upon your blog a few days ago, and to find out that you are a published author!! Fantastic! I'm so happy for you!! I will be buying your books for my nieces and nephews for the upcoming holidays, plus copies for myself. I can't wait to read them! Hope all is well with you. Congratulations..what a dream come true!
- An "old" NEPA friend, Marianne (DiStefano) Talarico
Now I just have to figure out the proper way to display such an awesomely signed book. I'm thinking a blown up picture of the title page and a glass case for the book. That way the signature is visible in the picture but the book is safe. Hmmm...I'll have to work on that.
Jess, you're cracking me up. Really, the bookstore's got the best deal, because every time I go in there to sign/personalize a book, I buy something for myself. I just signed a couple more today, and now I seem to own 5 board books I didn't own before. (They aren't for me, technically. I probably don't need to explain whom they're for.)
I want to thank everyone for the holiday music suggestions! I've been having fun looking things up.
jeanie
'grandma got ran over...' is corny...
but songs from these classics including the before mentioned muppets are priceless in my book.
jmh
Here in Costa Rica I go to a international school so we speak English there. We are going to have a Christmas concert! It is just our luck though that our music teachers favorite Chiristmas song is "A White Christmas". I swear, if we are going to sing that, I think we will die. :( . I just can't imagine singing about snow in COSTA RICA! Hopefully someone stands up to him. I'm getting nervous.
-Abby
DECEMBER IS HERE, which means NaNoWriMo is over! I only got to 32214, but I'm extremely happy I did it. Thanks again for the pep talk! :)
- Hazy Shade of Winter - The Bangles (this song made me want to be a drummer when I was younger...actually, it still does!)
- Winter Light - Sarah Brightman
- Cool Yule - Louis Armstrong
- Auld Lang Syne - Barenaked Ladies
- Christmas is a Pain in the Arse - The Accelerators (seriously!)
- Baby, It's Cold Outside - Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
- Cold - Tears for Fears
- Linus and Lucy (of course)
- Christmas Day - Dido
- The Muppets & John Denver album is a MUST.
- O Mio Babbino Caro (I'll listen and love any version)
- A Long December - Counting Crows
- Christmas in Hollis - Run DMC
Just a sampling...and thanks to your other readers, I have lots of music to buy tonight!
P.S. I love Joni's "River"...and it may be blasphemy, but I adore Sarah MacLachlan's version too.
"Do They Know It's Christmas" --a great, contemplative song about the famine in Ethiopia in 1984. You have to watch the video! There are some familiar faces with amazing hairstyles. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jEnTSQStGE
"Christmas Wrapping" by The Waitresses
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QVeW7qPSGw
This song is very 80s and kind of funny. I LOVED it! If my student was older (she's 13) I'd let her do this one.
"Carol of the Bells" by Gary Hoey
The music speaks for itself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ElLtgZXX30
"Father Christmas" by The Kinks;
HI-larious.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjaPXihbORk
"Don't Shoot Me Santa" by The Killers
Come, you know you want to see this video just because of the title. This one is so funny and irreverent. I'm still chuckling.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MwdEzYkT8c
The Killers have another good Christmas song--"Great Big Sled"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzMeZI7fNJg
I'm ridiculously tickled that you're a Loreena McKennitt fan, by the way. I've loved her music for years. Do you have any other of her CDs?
-Alexi