Thought for the Day:
"Don’t bend; don’t water it down; don’t try to make it logical; don’t
edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your
most intense obsessions mercilessly."
~ Franz Kafka ~
Gifts for My Writer Friends:
Janice Hardy did a guest post HERE on The Seekers blog that is soooooo good. I especially like the section on narrative distance, but the whole thing is terrific.
I love this post at The Mixed Up Files of … Middle-Grade Authors HERE that talks about how writers get ideas for stories.
Rhay Christou guest blogs on Writers in the Storm about Diving Deep into Deep Point of View HERE. These are great tips.
Last week, I offered a copy of The Best Man by Richard Peck to one of you. This week's winner is Liz! If you don't know Liz Steinglass, she is a wonderful poet and blogs HERE, although I think she is on a break right now. Congratulations, Liz. I will get your book out to you this week.
This is my annual LAST MINUTE SHOPPING SUGGESTIONS. There is no giveaway, just some hopefully helpful information. This is a shock -- all my suggestions are books! Here is this year's list. If you click on the title, it will take you to a review of the book or the link on Barnes and Noble. The San Francisco Book Review and Manhattan Book Review had a terrible crash this year and some reviews were lost, so no way to link to them.
CHILDREN'S PICTURE BOOKS
Stories from Bug Garden by Lisa Moser, illustrated by Gwen Millward
When Green Becomes Tomatoes by Julie Fogliano, illustrated by Julie Morstad
Now You See Them, Now You Don't by David L Harrison, illustrated by Giles LaRoche
A Friend Like You byAndrea Schomburg and Barbara Rotten, Illustrated by Sean Julian
MIDDLE GRADE AND TWEEN BOOKS
Mayday by Karen Harrington
Sweet Home Alaska by Carole Estby Dagg
Dragonolia by Chris Barnardo
All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook by Leslie Connor
The Thing About Leftovers by C. C. Payne
YOUNG ADULT -- Okay, I just didn't read many of these this year, but all the ones in the MG and Tween category would be great for YA.
P. S. I Like You by Kasie West
ADULT
Rain Dogs by Adrian McKinley
The Atomic Weight of Love by Elizabeth J. Church
Drinking from the River by Chip Dameron
by Bryan Kozlowski
I wish all of you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukka, Happy Kwanza, and/or Delightful Winter Solstice and a Happy New Year. I hope this was helpful to you for your last minute shopping. I will be taking a couple weeks off to relax and spend time with family. If you need a shopping break, my daughter Maggie Hollinbeck's first TV show will air Wednesday, Dec. 21. It is an episode of Investigation Discovery called Grave Secrets. (She will, I believe, be brutally murdered, but, hey, it's a paying gig.) I will be back here after the first of the year with more reviews and giveaways. Hope to see you here. And don't forget to check out Shannon Messenger's blog HERE for Marvelous Middle Grade Monday links.
