Simon ,'Out Of Gas'
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
I just read a book that's pure fun--THE RULES OF GENTILITY, by Janet Mullany. It's a parody/spoof of both chick lit and Regency romance, but amid all the parody and the slapstick the author takes her characters seriously enough that the reader cares what happens to them, so it works as story as well as spoof.
I don't claim it's in any way Deep or Important, but if you're looking for best-quality froth, I recommend it highly.
Oh, that does sound like fun.
Oh, that's sad! She's one of my mom's favorite authors.
R.I.P. Grace Paley
Awww, she spoke at my college and got overwrought (in a sweet way) about nuclear disarmarment.
YA readers: Have you any recommendations for good urban lit? I've done the Bluford series with the juvie kids and they're looking for more urban fare. Any ideas?
Man, I saw Grace Paley speak once, too, and I remember being blown away by her passion and wit. She was a sharp observer of the human condition and a hell of a writer, but she must have been older than original sin by this point.
Very sad about Grace Paley.
Enormous Changes at the Last Minute is one of those books I pick up every few years and re-read and am continually blown away by. ETA:(That title is also the tagline for my LJ.)
Tangentially, (to another favourite author) the Broadway adaptation of Joan Didion's Year of Magical Thinking is closing this weekend. I know it got mixed reviews, but I really wish I had gotten a chance to go there an see it. I'm having a week of wishing I was in New York.
YA readers: Have you any recommendations for good urban lit?
Walter Dean Myers has a bunch of great urban YA books, like Monster and Street Love. Which reminds me of Janet McDonald's Harlem Hustle, which I haven't read yet but is supposed to be good. Coe Booth's Tyrell was one of the best-loved YA books of the last year and won a bunch of honors. Paul Volponi has several good urban YA books; I read Black and White and thought it was really interesting & thought-provoking.
Enormous Changes at the Last Minute is one of those books I pick up every few years and re-read and am continually blown away by.
I love that book. It has one of my favorite book titles of all time. Sad about Grace Paley.