A Single Layer

I feel like I should have written something, here or on Twitter or Facebook or somewhere, about the epic season finale on Castle a few weeks ago. Monday nights won't be the same for a while - at least, not until we find out that Beckett miraculously is okay but mysteriously remembers nothing of the last few moments before blacking out. Not that the show is in any way predictable... I also said nothing about the NCIS season finale, probably because it wasn't nearly as epic as Castle's. It did, however, answer the soon-to-be-tiresome question of how they will let DiNozzo be a grown up without leaving the team. The fact is, much as we love Playful Tony, we prefer it when he acts like a man. It was the only good thing about the Jeanne Benoit season, and we're glad to see that has an opening again. I don't watch much else, except maybe House every now and then on Hulu. I'm still catching up to the last season of The Office (U.S.)... So I have no other remarka...

I have been editing a lot lately, several books at once, in fact. And there's something interesting that happens when you have a lot of work to do that is almost creative but not quite. You start having really deep urges to create your own work, projects that will take a lot of time and mental energy that you simply don't have. There are two particular novels that I someday want to write, both related to one another, but which I always imagined in two distinct genres. The first would be literary fiction, and it would be about a young woman to whom not much happens (I've never been very good developing plot). The second would be a fantasy novel about the first novel's main character's sister. Lots happens to this girl, though I never could quite figure out what exactly. I know she gets imprisoned, more or less, and that she goes on a journey which involves a train and a walrus and a small raft in the middle of the ocean right above the Marianas Trench (work with me...

GAH!!!!! First photos for The Hunger Games have made their debut on Entertainment Weekly, and I am so distracted with excitement I almost can't remember what real work I'm supposed to be doing right now. See that look in her eye?? See that?!? It says: "Don't matter who they cast next to me, I'm gonna make this movie rock your world."

This blogger responds to the article that got passed around a couple days ago claiming that we're hard-wired to reject scientific data that contradicts our beliefs. I was skeptical of the original article, mostly because it was intentionally titled and tagged to annoy people who believe things. Have a faith? Well, watch out, 'cause neuroscience proves you're a fool. It was good to read a response that was a little less annoyed and a little more coherent than my own skepticism. The blog post also reminded me of how intertwined our scientific programs and our public policies are. There's nothing wrong with having an agenda, but there's definitely something wrong with ignoring the influence your agenda has on your results. This doesn't just apply to science.

The trouble with loving Pinterest as much as I do is that it can be hard to marry my activity there with my activity here, on my home of internet homes. Yesterday's very small collection of a few of my favorite fireplace shots was so much fun to compile that I thought I'd share a few springtime pictures today. Where I could, I have included their sources. Sometimes original links can get lost on Pinterest (especially with photos from tumblr). Most of them are flowers, which is actually very odd for me. Hope you enjoy: I have always wondered if there was a creative and untacky use for doilies. The DIY community has recently answered my curiosity with a host of options, this wreath being one of my favorites. Details on how-to can be found over at Martha Stewart . Origin unknown. I am also not very good at identifying flowers, but I have a feeling that all the flowers posted here are ranunculus. Perhaps they are my favorite. Who knew? I can get carried away with decor...

From FreshHome.com , an amazing collection of bathrooms with a happy bias toward tubs with fireplaces.  From Simon Dale 's incredible hobbit hole home built by hand in Wales. Maybe next year's birthday present for me? Definitely should be HGTV's inspiration for the Dream Home 2012. Speaking of HGTV, a fire in the kitchen! From their collection of rustic spaces.

The past few months saw the wonder and franticity (made-up word) of my obsession with the HGTV Dream Home , an odd sort of obsession, since I mostly spent my time figuring out how I would completely renovate the place to make it better. Okay, not completely renovate, but I had ideas. For example, I deeply resented that there was only one fireplace, and that despite the grandeur of its presentation in the living room, it was so very very small. I moved it to the master bedroom, replaced it with a larger one, and installed a third where the television sat in the guest room. I also mentally replaced the very small master tub with a spa tub and opened the guest room windows onto the jacuzzi patio with French doors. The most impractical room of the house, the awesome eight-bed dorm room, I left as it was. Go figure. Needless to say, I did not win the house. Which is just as well, since I would have spent every penny of the cash prize on renovations instead of banking it for next year...

More videos!! via Ayjay

Having already tweeted, "liked," and double-"liked" this video, I shall now embed it here, adequate thanks being due entirely to Bookshelves of Doom .

I am so very excited to get to work with Jessica Therrien, new author over at ZOVA, in large measure because she is a very excellent blogger. She's only just barely begun blogging (and I mean she's got like five posts), but she's a natural. Since I simply love reading blogs from writers, and YA writers in particular, I'm super excited to ride the waves of her future. Take a look at it here .

No comment needed: http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/03/17/hunger-games-gary-ross-jennifer-lawrence/

If you're a fan... Cassandra Clare and Holly Black will be answering questions from readers over at Amazon's amazing book blog, Omnivoracious , in anticipation of their upcoming book releases next month. Holly Black will be releasing Red Glove , the second in the Curse Workers series, and Cassandra Clare will be releasing the much-awaited follow-up to her Mortal Instruments series, City of Fallen Angels . I'm already debating whether or not to attend their Southern California appearance at the Mission Viejo Library following the release - debating, not because I don't enjoy these authors (because I do) but because I predict some hefty crowds.

For those of you who follow YA news, film adaptation news, or popular media news in general, you should be at least vaguely aware of the significant casting decisions currently being made by our Hollywood brethren in regards to the upcoming film adaptation of Suzanne Collins's bestselling Hunger Games series (previous posts on the first , second , and third books here). One of the most pervasive conversations in the blogosphere is the question of Katniss' race. The most recent acknowledgment of the problem that I've read is Gwenda Bond's article over at Heroes and Heartbreakers. Katniss is described as having dark hair and olive-toned skin, yet none of the actresses considered have been people of color. What gives? Despite our outrage at other instances of whitewashing (anyone remember the original cover of Justine Larbalestier's Liar ?) this is one I'm just not getting behind. In the first place, most people who have a problem with the casting of a blon...

I really should be over the moon with excitement for the release of Jane Eyre this week, but I confess I am not. If there's anything I love in the world of film adaptations, it's the obsessive recreation of Jane Eyre every five to ten years. I have watched and rewatched nearly every Jane Eyre adaptation, carefully and giddily comparing the portrayals of Rochester and Jane to determine which - if any - adequately convey the complexity of the literary originals. Until recently, I would have been waiting with baited breath for this release. Until recently, every adaptation fell short. William Hurt, brilliant though he can be, was no Rochester; Orson Welles was too . . . Orson Welles; Timothy Dalton was fabulous, but his companion Jane was so painfully unappealing. They were all good of course, but each left such a wide window for improvement. Then there was the 2006 BBC adaptation . Surely this could be the last. Toby Stephens and Ruth Wilson were perfect. The length was just...

I've been thinking lately of how I miss having the opportunity to read advanced copies of new books on the market. I read the now ubiquitous Hunger Games as an advanced reader (the original ARC is still on my shelf) and even blogged about it once upon a time. I still read books in advance of when they come out, but they are now always the books my company publishes. There is a sense of anxiousness about those readings; they are as much to catch unnoticed errors as they are to become familiar with the material. At one time, I almost considered myself a sort of book consultant, offering a broad literary perspective for uncertain readers. Pointing the way toward as-yet-undiscovered works of fiction (or non-fiction) for those who have not learned the careful art of browsing. It was arrogant, I know, but I was a bookseller. As with so many things, it was always so much easier to choose for others than for myself, and I was often amazed at how many books my friends could read throu...

I have run out of free episodes of Castle to watch on Hulu. This is just the sort of day to waste on mindless entertainment, because there was a busy week before, and there will be a busy week after - and I woke up tired and chilly and yearned to curl up under a blanket for the first several hours after waking. Which brings me back to Castle, and why there are no more free episodes to watch, and how that's very frustrating to me. I am thinking about downloading the free one-week trial of Hulu Plus just to finish off the season, but I'd really like to start from the beginning (Hulu doesn't have the first two seasons). So I should just get in my car and go buy a gallon of milk for tomorrow and tidy something so that I can consider the day not a total waste.

Thanks to Emily for sharing this video on Google Reader. I love it! And have discovered a few new fonts I didn't know in the process of brushing up on my alphabet. This is how my children will learn their ABCs; in fontastic good form. The Alphabet from n9ve on Vimeo .

Just a few: There's been a fiery to-do over recent book list posted by an online magazine of questionable name. The list was 100 Young Adult Books for the Feminist Reader, and it included some very good titles. When some people objected to a few on the list, the objectionable titles were removed and replaced, causing a comment-war of defense and a slew of reactionary blog posts. I started posting several links for you here, but they are all listed over at Bookshelves of Doom , along with a very interesting list of authors who have requested that their books be removed. So, I was about to pack my bags to head to the Cairo Book Fair (I wish), but it's been canceled . Huh. Didn't see that coming... Not quite book related, but an interesting development in internet reading habits thanks to the Rise of the App (is anyone else annoyed by that word?). Every writer should read this, a collection of shorts on why writers write , from such greats as Flannery O'Connor, Jo...

My dad has a lot of books sitting on the shelves of what we call the "man room," books that nobody reads but him - and even that I'm skeptical of. Some of the books are actually mine, but the generalization remains: he's still the only one who reads them. One of them, though, I plucked from the shelf a while ago in a rare attempt to educate myself on the internet phenomenon I so regularly take part in. It's Hugh Hewitt's book Blog , and it's sitting next to me right now. Somehow it managed to land on a different bookshelf - my own - and has been there for over six months. Most of it is geared more toward political or current events blog-dom, but it does provide an interesting, Hewitt-esque perspective on the history of similar social phenomena. The most interesting aspect of the book is it's current relevance - and irrelevance. Published in 2005, the book is self-consciously outdated at six years of age. While most of the things Hewitt acknowledges...

I am biased about this book for a number of reasons. For one thing, I obviously published it. For another, the author is a good friend and once roommate, so of course I am more than supportive. But the fact remains that if you are looking for a good adventure story, fantasy novel, or general children's series, East to Adonia is a perfect choice. The story begins with a fascinating character, twelve year old Mercator Robinson, who has a unique ability to draw maps of anything and everything that exists. He cannot map a place that is not real, but he can map literally everything that is - from his sister's closet to the wastelands of Siberia. So it is odd, to say the least, when he finds himself using the new mapping kit his uncle brings him for his birthday to draw an island he's never heard of before. Suddenly hurled headlong into a new and mysterious world, Mercator finds himself standing on the very landscape he has been mapping with no idea how he got there - or how to...