Bookish thoughts 24 Sep: ampersand love, walking & writing, rewriting the Grimm bros & more!

RIASS stuff:

Book Review: Newes from the Dead by Mary Hooper'Rating: '(the true story of Anne Green, who was hanged, pronounced dead, and then later revived)

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

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

Im back from a weekend away, so do excuse me while I play catch-up!

Other bookish stuff:

Jayne at The Australian Bookshelf asks whether Fifty Shades of Grey is getting non-readers reading again'Jayne says that everywhere she goes people are asking her whether shes read Fifty Shadesit seems that everyones at least given a shot (oddly enough, everyone other than most of the book bloggers and habitual readers that I know!). In the comments, Marg from the Intrepid Reader asks whether readers of Fifty Shades are likely to continue to read beyond the phenomenon, or whether theyre reading as a one-offa good point, I think.

On work-life balance (or lack thereof) in the publishing industry'This is something pertinent to any freelancer, as well. In my first year out on my own I was working twelve hour days, seven days a week. As the author says, theres'always more to be done. The trick is realising that it doesnt all have to be done right now. And its also easy to run around chasing the money rather than pursuing your true career goals. Which is why this year Ive cut back on the copywriting and article writing in favour of my fiction. I am very poor. But very happy.

Mike Mullin on writing and walking'Oh, this is so me. I swear, Im going to have worn my feet down to stubs by the time I turn 30. I clock up 10k a day walking to and from work, add a 5k run to that, and habitually wander around all over the place. Walking and running are brilliant for nutting out ideas. And also for listening to audiobooks.

The man who turned his home into a public library'If I didnt live in a teeny-tiny flat, Id so do this. Donating my books will have to do for now.

Adults are devouring kids books for good reason'Among the reasons given for adults reading YA are that they help us step away from our own fraught lives, and that they remind us who we were and who we want to be. The latter is something I touched upon in a blog post for Walker Books a while ago.

Ebony McKenna on the fact that the shelf life of books is shorter than the shelf life of milk'And on what to do if you cant find the book youre after.

Zadie Smiths ten rules for writing'One of my favourites is this: Avoid cliques, gangs, groups. The presence of a crowd won't make your writing any better than it is. I think this is true for any professional, but particularly for the creative arts, where ones career is heavily tied with ones identity. Its very easy to get caught up in politics and power struggles and conversations that involve putting down others, I think.

Thoughtful Alphabets: Edward Gorey's Lost Cryptic 26-Word Illustrated Stories'A is for Alarming Behaviour. C is for Corpse. These are just brilliant!

Philip Pullman talks rewriting the Grimm fairytales'(and on the Grimms contribution to philology. Go, First Germanic Sound Shift!) Pullman says that hes interested in the Grimm fairytales as'stories, and wants to be able to rewrite them in a way thats clear and free of clutter. Pullman then goes on to discuss the simplicity of the telling of fairytales: flat characters, simple language and descriptions, black and white motivations and so on.

China Mieville on writing'Railsea, a retelling of Moby Dick. With moles.'How can you not love someone who loves the humble ampersand so? I love ampersands, which is the utterly beautiful name for those utterly beautiful & signs, and I always have. I love their sweep and height, I love that such a tiny word has such a splendidly rococo alternative, I like everything about them. In addition, I associate them with 18th century maritime narratives in my mind, ships logs from that time use them in big ink swirls which I wanted my story to echo off, so it seemed a perfect excuse to use them.

Whats the etiquette regarding using long words in conversation?'For me to say intercalation and not explain it would be irritating; its bad form to use a word youre pretty sure the other person doesnt know. And for me to say it and then explain it would be pedantic. I often find the use of big words in speech overly calculated and false. It feels like bad form because, really, its a matter of not knowing your audience. Big words in a lecture at a university? Sure! Big words while having a casual chat? Cue the eye-roll.

Black youth culture and reading'The author of the article is a young black boy who talks about his peers responses to his reading, and how reading is considered passive and introverted, or a white thing.

Hyperion wants you to design a new cover for Dan Krokoss'False Memory

In New York? Head along to KidlitCon. Its free!