Isaac Hayes: Rolling in His Grave or Digging It?

I just finished writing an important e-mail, so, as I try to do whenever I have time, I clicked away for a quick mental distraction so I could come back and reread the e-mail with fresh eyes.

This may have been the best distraction ever:



The Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain Plays the Theme from Shaft
(via Obsidian Wings)

The first minute is fun, but stick around for the whole thing. It's worth it.

Webkeeping

I've been doing a lot of housekeeping today -- scrubbing down the tub, cleaning out the refrigerator* -- and I finally fixed up my website a little bit too, updating my upcoming appearances and correcting the link to the bad-picture-book demo in the picture-book talk. If you find any other broken links or missing pieces on the website, would you please drop me a line at chavela_que at yahoo dot com? Thanks ever so!

* Thanks to my antioxidant-obsessed boyfriend, we had not one, not three, but six tubs of blueberries in various parts of the refrigerator -- four of them now dried blueberries, which I'm saving for future baking. And four packages of baby carrots. New Year's Resolution for this household: Eat the fruits and veggies we bring home.

The Arthur A. Levine Books Spring 2009 List

I just updated my sidebar with the two January-publication books from our Spring 2009 list, so now seems as good a time as any to talk about the rest:

The Snow Day by Komako Sakai. As I write this, it's cold and gray outside, with a snowflake occasionally drifting its way past my windowpane. And I have never read a book that captures so beautifully and accurately the experience of watching the snow fall as The Snow Day, about a little rabbit who gets the day off from kindergarten and the quiet day that follows, waiting for the snow to stop and Daddy to come home. Already the recipient of three starred reviews, including this one from SLJ.


Heartsinger by Karlijn Stoffels, translated by Laura Watkinson. During the editing process, I referred to this fondly as "my weird little Dutch book," because it's one of those books that challenges our traditional American expectations of what a novel should be, and so requires the reader to adapt to it rather than judging it by those traditional expectations. (See also: The Legend of the Wandering King; I'll write more about this when I do a "Behind the Book" post.) And not all readers will adapt to it, and not all readers will like it. But those that do read it will discover beautiful, lyrical, magical-realist writing; a wonderful fairy-tale-like atmosphere and story; and a deep understanding of love and the problems of love between man and woman, and parent and child. And indeed, challenging those traditional American expectations of what a novel should be is partly why we do translations, so I hope readers will be willing to meet Heartsinger halfway. The beautiful cover was designed by Elizabeth Parisi (who also created the cover for Maybe below). Starred review from Kirkus.


Tales from Outer Suburbia, by Shaun Tan. The followup to Shaun's amazing The Arrival has more text (much more, as The Arrival was wordless, and this is a collection of short illustrated stories), but just as much wonder, terror, humor, wisdom, sympathy for the human condition, and astonishing art. Two starred reviews.


Absolutely Maybe by Lisa Yee. Every time I go to Los Angeles, including my recent holiday trip, I think about this book, because -- besides being Lisa's first YA novel, a terrific portrait of a girl figuring out who she is and what she wants, and funny as heck, especially thanks to the wonderful supporting characters -- it is a love letter to L.A., in all its gritty, glamorous, car-dependent, movie-besotted, great-Mexican-food-containing glory. And as I do not generally love L.A., I am grateful to Lisa for writing a book that makes me appreciate it, especially the Mexican food . . . Seriously, it's probably not wise to read this book unless you have a good taco place within a five-minute walk or drive. (This book was called Definitely Maybe until we learned about the movie last spring -- damn you, Ryan Reynolds!) Out in February; see advance reviews here.

Celestine, Drama Queen, by Penny Ives. A little duckling diva just knows she'll be the star of the kindergarten drama . . . and indeed she is, if not in quite the way she expects! A perfect book for all fans of Fancy Nancy or darling ducks.

Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork. I wrote about this book here and I will write more about it closer to its release in March, but for now I'll just say it's about a young man with a form of autism who spends a summer working in his father's law firm; it's a love story, a legal drama, and a religious inquiry into our human response to suffering; and while that may sound dry, it's full of life, and extraordinary. We've sold rights in four foreign languages thus far (Italian, Spanish, German and French), and it too is receiving some good love over in the advance Amazon.com reviews. The lovely, perfect cover is by Dan McCarthy, who has also created posters and t-shirts for Harry and the Potters, though our designer Chris Stengel knew him from posters for other bands around Boston . . . which goes to show you never know where someone may discover your illustrations. Out in March.

Are You a Horse? by Andy Rash. Sometimes, when I'm in need of a break at work, I will go over to my friend/our editorial assistant Emily's cubicle, hang over the side, and stare at her thoughtfully. "Emily?" I ask. "Are you a horse?" This never ceases to amuse me (though I imagine Emily might be tiring of it), and it also reproduces the process of inquiry that our hero Roy the Cowboy goes through: He has a saddle, but no horse to ride -- in fact, he doesn't even know what a horse is. So he asks a cactus, a wagon, a crab, a lion, and various other animals whether they are a horse, using their answers to come to an eventual definition of a horse. A great book for all budding scientists, and hilarious to boot, thanks to Andy's brightly colored pictures, the witty text, and the twist ending. Out in March. You never know . . . you might be a horse too.

Happy New Year!

I'm feeling blissfully lazy and so don't have much more to say than that. Wishing you all blissfully lazy beginnings -- and then productive and enjoyable new years -- as well!

The Weirdest Christmas Hiatus Post Ever

*
Yes, normally I'm so driven I literally have Ambition** coming out of my armpits.**** But as of today, I am off for two weeks' vacation in California, Missouri, and Iowa, seeing many dear friends and family. I hope to get some good thinking and writing time in while I'm gone, so I may post again******, but in case I do not: I wish all of you readers a wonderful and blessed winter-solstice season, filled with all the things you love best, and I'll see you in 2009. Happy holidays!*******
____________________________
* I swear this is a real scent of deodorant and the photo has not been Photoshopped.
** Though it's still not the funniest scent name for a deodorant I've ever seen; that would be "Sweet Surrender" from Lady Speed Stick. A deodorant that shares a name with a Sarah McLachlan song*** -- good lord.
*** Admittedly, "Possession" would be worse. Though maybe not "Ice Cream."
**** I confess I bought this product solely for the opportunity to say that. But actually, Ambition doesn't smell very pleasant, and I've moved on to Wild Freesia.*****
***** I am laughing even writing this because this has to be the epitome of bloggy oversharing/navel-gazing. (Ooh look! Bellybutton lint!) But I trust you all will forgive me.
****** I finished Twilight, and I have some things to say about that.
******* And God bless us, every one.

"Ars Poetica #100: I Believe" by Elizabeth Alexander

In the midst of a news report about President-elect Obama's inauguration today, I saw a reference to poet Elizabeth Alexander, who will be performing at the ceremony (along with Aretha Franklin, which is awesome). Obama is reinstating the tradition of an inaugural poem after our esteemed current president dropped it. Anyway, I had never heard of Ms. Alexander, so I Googled around and found her website, and I quite like this:

Ars Poetica #100: I Believe

Poetry, I tell my students,
is idiosyncratic. Poetry

is where we are ourselves,
(though Sterling Brown said

“Every ‘I’ is a dramatic ‘I’”)
digging in the clam flats

for the shell that snaps,
emptying the proverbial pocketbook.

Poetry is what you find
in the dirt in the corner,

overhear on the bus, God
in the details, the only way

to get from here to there.
Poetry (and now my voice is rising)

is not all love, love, love,
and I’m sorry the dog died.

Poetry (here I hear myself loudest)
is the human voice,

and are we not of interest to each other?

My Man in Black

If you'll permit me a brief little proud personal post, here's my boyfriend James singing "Ring of Fire" last night with his class from the Brooklyn Guitar School (video and occasional voice accompaniment by me):



James is a professional video director and editor, and he gives wonderful gifts -- for instance, these two videos for birthdays past, one from 2006 and one for this year. (And yes, those are the real celebrities.)



The signoff line in the one above kills me -- the perfect example of someone living up to his own cliche.



(James got me to walk in front of the greenscreen for this one by telling me he needed to test out the focus depth of his camera. I do still trust him -- just not with a greenscreen.)

Lastly, I uploaded some photos from Election Night at Rockefeller Center and randomness throughout the year to my Facebook account.

Hooray for Elizabeth & A CURSE DARK AS GOLD!

I'm delighted to share the news that Elizabeth C. Bunce's A Curse Dark as Gold is one of five nominees for the ALA's William C. Morris Award, for a debut work of young adult fiction. Elizabeth and I are both pretty pleased, as you can imagine, though it's hard to find a book-specific way to celebrate . . . I mean, we could go out and buy ourselves dresses made from gold thread, but that seems a little creepy in context. (And Elizabeth would probably prefer to make her dress anyway!) So I simply lift a glass of cider to her across the states. The winner will be announced at the ALA awards ceremony in January.

• Elizabeth's website and LJ
  
• Q&A with Elizabeth here at Brooklyn Arden
  

The other nominees (and editors) are:

• Graceling by Kristin Cashore, edited by Kathy Dawson
• Absolute Brightness by James Lecesne, edited by my excellent friend (and an author herself) Jill Santopolo
  
• Madapple by Christina Meldrum, edited by Michelle Frey
  
• Me, the Missing, and the Dead by Jenny Valentine, edited by Stella Paskins of HarperCollins UK

Cheers to all!

HP, Jane Austen, Twilight, Recipes, LOST, Movie Pitches, Baseball, Cassons, Words, and Old Ladies/Politics.

In other words, everything ever in the history of the world! AND the results of the great Socks vs. Underwear debate.

• I had the great pleasure of being a guest on PotterCast this week for a live discussion of The Tales of Beedle the Bard at Books of Wonder. You can listen to the audio here. Thanks as always to the PotterCasters for having me on the show!
  
• During the discussion, I start to articulate a theory of what I think might be a personality test based upon which tale you like the best. "The Wizard and the Hopping Pot": You are cheerful and enjoy seeing justice done. "The Fountain of Fair Fortune": You're something of a romantic and probably supported Barack Obama (since we are the change we've been waiting for). "The Warlock's Hairy Heart": You have an unexpected Gothic streak. "Babbitty Rabbitty": You also enjoy seeing justice done, but by rabbits. "The Three Brothers": You like contemplating the big questions of life. (This is only the start of a theory, mind you . . .)
  
• A must-read if you're an Austen lover and/or Facebook member: AustenBook. (Thanks to Christina and Suzi for posting this on FB in the first place.)
  
• A very smart review of Twilight from the British newspaper The Guardian. I'm trying to read the novel this month (after not being captured by it back when it first came out), and so far this review seems spot-on. Do people who genuinely love the book and think it's good (as opposed to the legions who know it's bad but read it anyway) actually find Bella and Edward interesting as people? Hmm. (via child_lit)
  
• If you're having a holiday party, I highly recommend both this Hot Spiked Cider and the Caroling Wine.
• LOST fans, the videos posted beneath the comic here are hilarious, and for you.
• A list of Endangered Words (via Judith Ridge on child_lit). The voting on this is now closed, but the words are excellent: embrangle, nitid, skirr, fubsy . . .
• A seven-year-old plots Jurassic Park IV -- this time with Nazis!
• A fascinating essay about George Steinbrenner by my favorite sportswriter, Joe Posnanski.
  
• If you love the Casson books by Hilary McKay -- Rose has a blog! (via GraceAnne DeCandido on child_lit, which is where I evidently get everything)
• But this one is via Andrew Sullivan: Two old ladies, best friends for sixty years, blog about politics, Sarah Palin, family Christmas letters, and breastfeeding. Meet Margaret and Helen.
• Finally, I am very pleased to see that Underwear trumped Socks for both women and men in our highly scientific poll. Thank you for confirming my faith in humanity.
  

Silly Poll: Socks or Underwear?

While packing for my Thanksgiving trip home last week, I flashed back to a conversation held over the breakfast table on my junior-year study-abroad term in England. We students were preparing to head out for a week backpacking around Europe, and we were all trying to marshal our dwindling clothing resources in the most efficient manner possible. Thus the conversation turned to the following question: Which was the more essential item to pack: socks or underwear?

All of the girls at the table swore that underwear was by far the more essential -- two days in the same pair, ewww. But all the boys were equally vehement that a fresh pair of socks was required every day, and you could double up on underwear if absolutely necessary. I'm curious to know whether this division is a true reflection of gender attitudes, or whether I was just dining with some particularly granola-ish boys that day.

So, if you were forced to choose between taking a clean pair of socks or a clean pair of underwear on a trip, what would you do? Please read the poll choices carefully, and include not just your choice but your gender in your vote -- clearly an incredibly scientific and accurate polling method, as you can tell. And thank you for helping me to resolve this burning question, as I honestly have wondered about it occasionally for a whole ten years now: Socks? Really, guys? Hmmm.