RIASS stuff:
A'giveaway of'Preloved'by Shirley Marr.
A review of the very funny, very rude Mounting Desire'by Nina Killham (Rating: 
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A review of'The Wedding Season'by Su Dharmapala. (Rating: )
Im over on Reading Teen chatting about my audiobook habits.
Are you a nerdy type? My husband is looking for a top-notch web developer to join his company. Details here.
To say thanks to my lovely subscribers, Ive started up a weekly giveaway. This weeks winner is'sharon3960, wholl receive a bookish prize in the post shortly!
Other bookish stuff:
An interview with Jeff Sparrow, editor of Overland: Orwell says that writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. For me, the most significant moment is always finishing the project, though sometimes that feels less like recovering from a sickness and more like succumbing to it.
Interview with Laura Buzo, author of Holier Than Thou'on character amalgams & lovely, looping story'The time looping was very intuitive. I just closed my eyes (in a manner of speaking) and moved back and forth in the best way to advance the story. I think I was drawn to this device, as many writers have been, because I believe the past informs the present. Come to think of it, that's probably why I majored in history too.
A writer's processes ' Deborah Biancotti: For novels, I write to the end, I stick to one project, I research BETWEEN drafts, not during ' if I can. Then I start again, edit from top to tail. Once I've edited as much as I can on-screen, I print out the manuscript & do what Holly Lisle calls a 'write in': a long-hand edit of the printed novel (with pen, scissors and tape, if necessary). Once that edit's complete, I do the 'type in', where I type the edited manuscript back into a Scrivener file.
An interview with Katherine Webb: The only ' and I mean only ' thing I miss about going out to work is that extra bit of human contact and company. I generally love being by myself, and certainly love working by myself, but there comes a point when you need human interaction too, or you risk going a bit peculiar! My last cottage was so remote that I started trying to keep the postman on the step in the morning, just for the conversation'
The problem of the African reader:'It is not the writers but the readers who ultimately interpret and decide how valuable any brand of literature is. The truth is that western readers are crucial for any African writer who is looking for success today, and it is inevitable that the west will continue to determine the value and worth of literature from the African continent. As such this literature will continue to be judged and valued by western perceptions.
Middle grade books that break the mould
Ten Books to Read When Mad Men is Over
Novelist Margaret Atwood'raising funds for app connecting artists and fans
Christopher Healy on what the princes in The Heros Guide to Saving your Kingdom'would read
Shades of amazement as erotic novel flies out door
Amazon & Bowker are both vying for control of the .book domain extension on the Internet
Locus Roundtable on Ray Bradbury
Everyone needs a tent that looks like a book.
Indigo Magazine, a magazine designed to boost girls self-esteem, needs rescuing.
Jobs and opps:
Chronicle books is hiring a National Account Manager, Trade Sales'
Video:
This rap composed of book titles is kind of awesome:
And on the topic of book raps, heres a Jane Austen-inspired one:
Send to Kindle
Are those Jane Austen ladies dancing . . . in snow?
Theyll never get the deposit back on their formal hire gowns now!
Oh, darling, but surely Mr Darcys ten thousand a year could cover the cost of a mere gown or two? *flaps hand*
Interesting interview about audiobooks. Im a fan of them and Ive never understand people who think so little of them or people that listen to them
Im a fan as wellcertainly some books dont lend themselves to audio format, and Im not sure how I feel about abridged editions, but otherwise Im not sure how theyre a lesser medium.
I dont do abridged audiobooks, I want riser the full story.
As far as I know everything Ive listened to has been the full version, although sometimes its hard to tell.
Read your review of The Mountain, btwshall be over with my thoughts a little later on (yes, I finished the thing at long last!)
I enjoyed reading your audiobook interview. The only audiobook Ive encountered was Memoirs of a Geisha while lying in the sun calming a brides pre-wedding nerves. I always mean to try them, but then I look at my tbr pile and I think, once I get through that I will. And of course, I never do. :)