Bookish thoughts 20 Sep: the ebook generation, correcting fairytales, disappearing books & more!

RIASS stuff:

Book Review: Speechless by Hannah Harrington'(Rating: ) (a thought-provoking book about homophobia and the voicelessness of minorities)

Book Review: The Mask of Ra by Paul Doherty'Rating: '(an intriguing Ancient Egypt setting, but the writing in this one didn't work for me)

Giveaway: A Brief History of Montmaray by Michelle Cooper'(open to all)

Other bookish stuff:

Want your story published in the Indiana Review? Dont write about eccentric professors, garage sales, sick people, or old folks homes. Obviously its not a blanket ban, but the editor has pointed out these story types as ones that recur frequently in the slush pile. The Missouri Review follows up with some thoughts on the matter: Transform, inverse, reverse, convert'doing that with your work, your characters, your prose, is what will get your story beyond the slush pile. Always! Well, according to this editor.

Paper, schmaper. This generation of kids may be the first to be more accustomed to reading from screens than traditional paper books.'Childrens books have lagged behind books for adults in e-book form, but it seems like theyre quickly catching up. Meanwhile, sales of physical childrens books have been falling. (Though this may also be to do with the fact that the present blockbuster titles have moved away from YA and into, er, erotica.) What does this mean for the way that kids read? Can kids get the same reading experience out of an ebook as a physical book?on the other hand, parents arent necessarily impressed about this whole digital books bizzo, with 34% saying that reading with kids using an ereader is just too hard.

An interview with Umberto Eco:'Since my grandparents had thirteen children, the family struggled to make ends meet, and my father couldn't afford to buy books. So he went to the book kiosk and stood reading in the street. When the owner was tired of seeing him hanging around, my father made his way to the next kiosk and read the second part of a book, and so forth. This is an image I treasure. The dogged pursuit of books. I also had a giggle at Ecos description of teenage poetry as masturbation.

On undertaking major revisions with your editor:'I also know that editors see the big picture. They have to consider the quality of the work, what it will compete with on the market, whether it will appeal to its intended audience, whether it's different enough from what already exists, and a zillion other factors that wouldn't occur to me.

Gigi Amateau on her inspirations and influences:'While writing my historical novel for young readers,'Come August, Come Freedom, that imagines Gabriel's life, I was inspired by the conspiracy's trial testimony, which illuminates the role natural landscape played in the rebellion. A fascinating read in which Amateau compares and contrasts the Virginia of the past and present.

Gabrielle Prendergast on correcting fairytales:'Prendergast points out how abominably women are often treated in fairytales, with even the sanitised versions being problematic at best. So how can this be fixed? Bringing in a tough heroine can be a start, but often its that the entire story needs to be rewritten from the ground up if its to fit in with present day sensibilities.

10 classic childrens series that deserve a reboot.''Hmm, really? Or, of course, we could just let them remain classics

ML Stedman on writing'The Light Between Oceans'I believe that people are born with a strong instinct for good. Of course, views of what 'good' looks like differ wildly. But I think it's usually possible to find compassion for even the most misguided of individuals: that's different from condoning harmful behavior. It's just recognising that the business of being human is complex, and it's easy to get things wrong. (see our review)

How beautiful are these new Penguin dropcap classics editions?'There are 26 books in the collection, one for each letter of the alphabet.

Do you believe these publishing myths?'These include the lack of impartiality of freelance editors, that people are only in publishing for the money (oh, the lolz), and that people think that they have a right to be published.

John Saturnalls Feast'author Lawrence Norfolk shares his top 10 seventeenth-century food books

How to make a book disappear'What did happen to Jonah Lehrers latest book? Its completely vanished, as it turns out: run a search for it, and its as though it never existed in the first place. Of course, according to the author: The more pressing question is: What is the best way to retract a book in an age that is increasingly digital?

Happy 30th birthday, emoticon! :)

Jessica Shirvingtons books are being turned into a TV series by Spielberg (see our reviews)

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