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Odds & Ends on the Web: April 14th Edition

4/14/2012

11 Comments

 
Picture
Happy Saturday everyone and welcome back to Odds & Ends on the web!  We made it back for a second week!

Diving right in: the big news that you may have missed if you were living under a rock this week.  J.K. Rowling's forthcoming adult novel now has a title!  The Casual Vacancy will be published September 27th, 2012 from Little, Brown.  Here's the blurb:

"When Barry Fairweather dies unexpectedly in his early forties, the little town of Pagford is left in shock.  Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty facade is a town at war.  Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils...Pagford is not what it first seems.  And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?"

Oooookaayyy.  We wish J.K. Rowling the best of luck with this new venture, which seems to be quite a bit different than her fantasy novels.  It's getting quite a lot of hype (apparently thousands of people added it to their virtual shelves on the day it was released), but is that a good thing?  Our friend Chachic over at Chachic's Book Nook wrote a great post about the hype that many debut authors receive and why she chooses to read mainly older titles.

For the vast majority of debut authors who are not picked up by a major publishing house and hyped here, there, and everywhere - there's an interesting new(ish) way of getting your book published.  The website Kickstarter, which is known for allowing every day citizens to donate toward nonprofit, entrepreneurial, and creative causes now has unpublished novels on it, just waiting for backers.

And before you say that the internet has killed reading - check out this article from The Atlantic.  (Although - note that this chart says approximately nothing about the quality of literature being produced these days.)

Some of our favorite  authors were among the nominees of The Hugo Awards - announced this week, including Mira Grant, China Miéville, and Catherynne M. Valente. 

Catherynne M. Valente also got spit firin' mad about the state of affairs for women this week and wrote a blog post all about it, which of course we loved.  AND, she posted the long-anticipated cover for the sequel to The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, titled The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There.  (Last minute awesome addition - Amy over at Turn the Page has an interview with Ana Juan, the illustrator for these books, today!)

The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There
Daughter of Smoke and Bone cover
Also released this week is the cover for the U.S. paperback version of Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor.  We are loving the creepy, frost-covered doorway.  It's a nice change from the feathers and faces and seems much more relevant to the book.

Ever wonder how starred reviews are given or why?  And what they have to do with awards like the Printz?  There was a great introduction to the topic on School Library Journal this week.
Huffington Post had a list of up-coming YA dystopian novels for 2012 (titled "Life After The Hunger Games" - as if) that looks sorta promising - we're hoping for a little more grit and a little less dystomance.  (Catie is very excited about For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund =  Persuasion in space!!*)

The ALA released its list of the most challenged books for 2011 this week and The Hunger Games was #3!  The book was challenged for, "Anti-ethnic; anti-family; insensitivity; offensive language; occult/satanic; violence."  We're really struggling with "occult/satanic." 
Katniss Barbie
Barbie  got a little more badass this week, with a Katniss reboot.

And other signs that the world is ending:  Nicholas Sparks has started his own production company and already signed a deal with Warner Horizon to "develop and executive produce series projects with an eye toward the cable marketplace “that will bring to television many of the core elements of my books and films: romantic love, family bonds, and the universal human dramas that move us all.”

Perhaps sensing the coming apocalypse, google maps has handily provided the map of the dead - a tool for seeking out hospitals, food, and shelter during the zombie apocalypse.

And lastly, here's a hilarious list of "rejected young adult series" to keep you all laughing as the world ends (much thanks to the brilliant Rachel Hartman for posting this list). 

See you next week!

*Correction: For Darkness Shows the Stars is in fact NOT Persuasion in space but is actually "post-apocalyptic Persuasion."  We apologize! 

11 Comments
Chachic link
4/13/2012 11:58:30 pm

Thanks for linking to my discussion post! I added JK Rowling's latest title in my Goodreads wishlist but I have a feeling I'll wait for reviews to pop up in the blogosphere before I read that.

Love the new cover for Daughter of Smoke and Bone, I agree that it looks better than the feathers and mask of the old cover. I hope they reveal the cover for the sequel soon!

Reply
Tatiana (The Readventurer) link
4/14/2012 01:21:35 am

If not for JKR's name attached to this project, I belive much less people would be interested in it. The summary just doesn't sound that exciting.

I feel that the new "Daughter of Smoke and Bone" cover reflects the mood and story much better.

Reply
michelle link
4/14/2012 12:08:23 am

One of my favorite published authors, Kate Milford, is actually using Kickstarter to publish novellas that are sort of companion books to her traditionally published works, but not really of interest to her publisher. I LOVE the idea because we--the fans--get more from her than we otherwise would have, and it only happens if the fans actually have enough interest. Kickstarter is awesome.

And, is it just me, or does the description for Rowling's new book sound a little boring? I am not saying that the idea or concept is boring, only that the description doesn't do much to create interest for me.

Reply
Tatiana (The Readventurer) link
4/14/2012 01:28:36 am

Kickstarter is a new concept to me. I've always thought that if a writer has a work that his/her publisher not interested in, she/he can always self-publish. With Kickstarter you sort of have to pay for the pleasure of future reading in advance. It certainly requires much more fan dedication. But there are more perks that come with participating in something like Kickstarter as well.

No, you are not alone. This book doesn't sound that exciting.

Reply
Tatiana (The Readventurer) link
4/14/2012 01:28:43 am

Kickstarter is a new concept to me. I've always thought that if a writer has a work that his/her publisher not interested in, she/he can always self-publish. With Kickstarter you sort of have to pay for the pleasure of future reading in advance. It certainly requires much more fan dedication. But there are more perks that come with participating in something like Kickstarter as well.

No, you are not alone. This book doesn't sound that exciting.

Reply
Maja link
4/14/2012 01:47:50 am

I actually WAS living under a rock this past week and I still heard about The Casual Vacancy, so that's no excuse. I'm very curious about the book, but not at all optimistic.
Oh, and this cover of Daughter of Smoke and Bone is my favorite so far. Just like last week, I'll be back tomorrow morning with coffee and check out all the links.

Reply
Catie (The Readventurer) link
4/14/2012 02:44:31 am

Maja - I'm actually worried that all of this hype will do a great disservice to her novel. Judging from the blurb alone (which, granted, is very scant) this novel seems to be written for a completely different audience than the Harry Potter books. My guess is that there will be a lot of disappointment come September.

I think I love that cover too! (I did like the feathers.) The doors have so much more to do with the story. That part with the feather mask is only a small scene.

I'm glad you're enjoying these! Tatiana had a great idea here.

Reply
VeganYANerds link
4/14/2012 05:47:13 pm

Really enjoying this feature! I laughed at so many of the rejected YA novels, especially Dystopiary and The Sinister Door!

Reply
Maggie, Young Adult Anonymous link
4/15/2012 03:25:59 pm

I know of a few sports bloggers who've used Kickstarter to fund a new venture, but I was still surprised to see that MK Hobson was the author in question using it. I assumed it would be an author who had never been published before. More power to her though.

I'm really excited for The Casual Vacancy. It reminds me of the Mapp and Lucia books I used to read.

Nicholas Sparks.... WHYYYYYYYYY?!?!?! I try not to judge people on what they read, but what they watch is fair game, right? JUDGING SO HARD.

Reply
Tatiana (The Readventurer) link
4/15/2012 08:59:50 pm

Same here, Maggie. Hobson is an accomplished, award winning author, why not self-publish instead?

As for Sparks, isn't there a channel already dedicated to his type of material, called Lifetime?

Reply
Tatiana (The Readventurer) link
4/15/2012 09:00:05 pm

Same here, Maggie. Hobson is an accomplished, award winning author, why not self-publish instead?

As for Sparks, isn't there a channel already dedicated to his type of material, called Lifetime?

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