In the world of me, I've just read and adored Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell.

OOh! I just finished his Ghostwritten and, except for how it was confusing and didn't really hang together at the end, thought it was fantastic.

This is the same sort of thing that drove me insane with Time Traveler's Wife-- that and the horrible authorial intrusion.

I wanted to love the Time Traveler's Wife but couldn't because the main characters were so freakin' irritating!

Barb, can you explain this wrt Time Traveler's Wife ? I know you didn't like it the way I did, but I'm not sure what you mean here.

Amy is me!

I still haven't even opened New Moon. It's hard to pick up a book when all you want is to find out how bad it is.

Yep. Also me. I haven't been able to bring myself to buy any otherssince reading Twilight, although I do feel a sort of car crash curiosity. Much like with LK Hamilton, actually. Only I think I disapprove of Twilight considerably more than I disapprove of Anita Blake. I HATE that Bella Swan could be anything like a role model for young readers. Hate hate hate hate hate hate hate. Ack. Really, there is no lack of interesting, capable girl heroes out there in YA fantasyland. It just slays me that it's this insipid little cypher who's the new It Girl - little Miss 'Agency? I don't need no stinkin' agency! I've got sparkly vampires! Also, my sex drive is wicked and bad, and if I get raped it will all be my own fault for driving my lovely perfect sparkly boyfriend beyond the point of endurance by my wanton ways - if I WILL go kissing him back, then I've only myself to blame if he rips my throat out and drinks my blood'.

Seriously. She's like the antiBuffy. It sort of breaks my heart - I want to make all the Twilight fangirls go and read something by the Brontes for their brooding hero fix, and then have them mainline at least the first 3 sesasons of Buffy.

Skulduggery Pleasant, on the other hand, is delightful. I am loving 12-year-old Stephanie, with her guts and joie de vivre (...which I can't spell). And Skulduggery himself is cracking. So far Tanith has had only one chapter, but I was entirely enamoured of her. I do hope that she isn't evil/doesn't get killed off in an untimely fashion.

Oh, man. I have no intention of reading the sparkly sparkly thing, but Cleolinda is totally making my day.

So, we have a 14-year-old intern here who said she's into the Twilight thing. Of course I was like, "Isn't that about vampires? And they're sparkly or something?" She looked at me like I was not only ancient, but also on crack. Do the vampires not actual sparkle?

Do the vampires not actual sparkle?

In the sunlight rather than burning up, they sparkle.

In the world of me, I've just read and adored Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell.

I loved the holy hell out of this book. Black Swan Green is also delightful, although you should be forewarned that it's more of a straightforward narrative.

In the sunlight rather than burning up, they sparkle.

Is there any downside to being a vampire in this verse?

I knew there had to be actual sparkling!!

Black Swan Green is also delightful, although you should be forewarned that it's more of a straightforward narrative.

I like a straightforward narrative!

They do indeed sparkle. God help us. That's why they don't go out in direct sunlight - because their twinklywinklysparklywarkly marble skin would be too glitteringly obvious.

sighs.

If she's into Twilight, she should check out Holly Black, Cassandra Clare (yes, that one) and Melissa Marr. Also Melissa de la Cruz. And although I've not yet read Claudia Gray's 'Evernight', I bloody love her writing and venture to suspect that the novel will be awesome.

t /stealthy attempt to point 14 year old intern to YA urban vampire/fairytale fic that ISN'T PANTS. And that features interesting young women complete with spines, initiative, agency and personality.