Category: Books

And You Don’t Need Any Quarters

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I can’t remember the last time I used a pay phone. It might have been in high school. Since they’re not getting a lot of public use anymore, it’s cool to see some New York pay phones getting a literary update.

John Locke (I’m going to imagine him like this) is the man behind the project. He hopes that people will pick up a book while they’re about down, or maybe drop a another off when they’re done with it. One part of the project I find especially cool:

Is there any screening process for the books? For instance, do you try to include great works of literature, or perhaps focus on more accessible and popular novels?

I want everything and anything. I don’t have much of a budget, so all the books are donated from people that live nearby and off my own shelves, so everything from Oprah-approved to Jane Jacobs. And obviously as people leave their own books, I’d want the collection to become a record of the interests of that particular site. A next site I have in mind is near a public school, and I’m trying to get a good collection of children’s books.

I’d be interested to see what books kids share without any guidance from adults. School libraries are obviously fantastic, but something about children being able to run their own library really intrigues me.

Make sure to check out the full interview with Locke. Have any of you seen any pop-up libraries around town?

Bookish Birthday Bash

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I have a theory that being in your 30s is awesome. 3 is my favorite number, so I can only assume that a whole decade of 3 is just about the coolest decade ever. And this Wordy Thirty birthday party is just adding more proof.

The hosts used literary references for the food and drink served–from Turkish Delight (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe) to fried green tomatoes (Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe) to the Vesper martini (Casino Royale). Pages from books and Scrabble pieces went toward decorations. What a fun idea!

I’m a sucker for costumes, so I’m probably be tempted to ask guests to dress up as their favorite authors or literary characters. If it’s your birthday, they have to agree, right?

Are You There, Oscar?

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Don’t know who to root for on Oscar night? Judy Blume is here to help. Along with being one of the most famous MG/YA authors ever, she’s also a huge movie fan. The New York Times talks with Blume about her picks. For major awards, she’s pulling for The Artist, which I haven’t seen yet but sounds fantastic. The only point on which I have to disagree with Blume is The Tree of Life, which she thought was pretentious and I really enjoyed. It’s not necessarily a movie I’d watch over and over, but I thought it was a compelling look at how we form memories as children and how insignificant personal struggles are amid the universe.

Blume also talks a little about what she’s working on now:

Q. Is it a young adult novel or is it for adults?
A. I don’t know, it’s one or the other. It’s probably both. It’s too soon to know. Did you see that thing with Maurice Sendak and Stephen Colbert, it’s on YouTube. [Bagger’s note: It is really worth watching. Especially when they get to the marker-sniffing.] Colbert says something about, ‘So did you always know you were going to write for children?,’ and Sendak says: “Write for children? I just write, and they decide where it should go.” I will have to decide, but I’m on a first draft of an intricate novel, it’s a complicated story for me to tell.
Glad to see another writer who sees their work for children as just a natural part of the creative process, not a major deliberate choice.
Who are you cheering for at this year’s Oscars?

The Music of District 12

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If you’re like me, you’re unreasonably excited about the upcoming Hunger Games movie. The soundtrack was recently revealed, and I’m happy to see some favorite artists on the list, including:

  • Neko Case “Nothing To Remember”
  • The Decemberists “One Engine”
  • Glen Hansard “Take The Heartland”

It looks like the overall vibe is folk with an edge, which I think is perfect. (Frankly, I wish Neko Case could write the whole album; her sound matches the books perfectly.) Even though I don’t listen to much Taylor Swift, I actually like her song for the movie. You can see the video here:

Not as bouncy as a lot of her hits, and it has a nice mountain feel. So I’m very hopeful going into the movie. Any artists you like/dislike on the soundtrack, or anyone you wish were on the list?

There’s No Easy in Writing for Children

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Another fantastic look at the difference between writing for children and writing for adults over at Literary League. One part I particularly liked:

“Children are a very discriminating audience. “None of this nonsense,” as Patricia C. Wrede’s Enchanted Forest witch Morwen likes to say. Adults will, as Neil Gaiman notes above, put up with a certain amount of fluff in the way of scene setting, background explanations, historical side notes, prosy descriptions that are there mainly because the author was feeling literary, preaching that is there because the author has a moral or political point to make, and the like. Children want to get on with the story, so you have to hook them right from the start and keep them hooked.”

The Wrede quote made me cheer. And this is one of my favorite aspects about writing for young readers–they want the story. They don’t have any pretensions about what a novel should be or what they should be getting out of art. If it doesn’t work for them on some level, they’ll set it aside, so you’d better make sure your writing is as crisp as possible.

Bonnie Juettner’s thoughts on appropriateness of language are interesting, too. She mentions two schools of thought on writing for children: one suggests that you need to keep language and content at the child’s skill level so they don’t get overwhelmed; another says you should feel free to write above the child’s skill level if the content is interesting enough to keep them absorbed. Juettner notes:

“Of course, both types of books for children are necessary. Children need books that challenge them, books that delight them, books that make them laugh, books that make them think seriously and philosophically, and books that make them feel secure.”

This means there’s an opportunity for lots of stories and different kinds of writing to connect with lots of different readers. And even the same reader looking for different experiences. (I know that sometimes I’m in the mood for a cozy book and other times I want something that will stretch my brain a little more.)

Make sure to check out the whole post. Do you think writing for children is harder than writing for adults?

Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves

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Loving this post about strong female protagonists over at Christina Farley’s blog, Chocolate for Inspiration. One point I like:

“The heroine must have internal and external motivations that push the boundaries and up the stakes.”

This is probably a good rule for any protagonist, but it’s one that’s easy to forget. I want to read about people who make specific choices to overcome their challenges, not people who get kind of shuffled along until the end. That said, the protagonist doesn’t have to fight dinosaurs. Little struggles can be just as moving, but they have to be deliberate choices. I also like the emphasis on internal and external motivations. Part of being a strong protagonist is having a vivid internal life. Jane Eyre, for example, is quiet but very determined and consistently stands up for herself.

I do wonder at Farley’s point that the heroine must save the day. I am totally into characters who don’t need to be rescued, but I also like books that have a balance of “saving the day.” In real life, sometimes you do need help. Sometimes the victories aren’t so clear. The heroine should play a major role in saving the day, but I don’t think that should come at the cost of any other victories any other characters could have. For example, I love Patricia Wrede’s The Enchanted Forest Chronicles. In the second book, Searching for Dragons, much of the success is due to both Cimorene and Mendanbar. I like that they’re both strong characters and ultimately work well as a team.

What do you like to see from heroines in novels?

The Novel Title Mad Libs Game

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Titles are hard. How are you supposed to sum up the emotional content of your work while still making sure it’s memorable and will catch a reader’s eye? Wouldn’t it be easier to turn some lead into gold while we’re at it?

Fortunately, NPR has provided us with a handy guide for how to name your first novel. Not really YA-specific, but here’s the closest match:

If Your First Novel Will Be A Withering Teenage Quasi-Memoir

How I Flunked [YOUR WORST ACADEMIC SUBJECT] But Passed [THE FIRST MUSICIAN YOU SAW IN CONCERT]

The memoir part doesn’t really work, but with this in mind, my first novel should be How I Flunked Chemistry But Passed The Four Tops and the Temptations.

I also like:

If Your First Novel Will Be A Harrowing Historical Account

The [A COLOR] [REPEAT THAT COLOR] [A FLOWER]s Of [A CITY IN EUROPE]

It’s that double color that makes it stick out, of course. Feel free to share your titles in the comments!