How to use this Page

i've been back to beak street to the excellent cards & frames shop. they stock some great card ranges by companies such as lagom, 1973, caroline gardner and noi.

Add a Comment

Book Recommendations For Boys

The Guardian asked:

What books could teachers use to get the reluctant readers in their class hooked on reading? We went straight to the Guardian's children's books editor Julia Eccleshare to get her recommendations....

Add a Comment

Excluding the heat, July is one of my favorite months of the year.  My husband is home for the summer, and there is always something going on in Utah.  Last night we watched 4+ big city fireworks shows from my backyard, and there are parades and festivals all month long.

To get in the spirit of things, I thought it would be fun to introduce all of you to some of the fun historical costumes available from Wholesale Halloween Costumes.

For the 4th -

In Utah we also have a state holiday on the 24th to celebrate when the first pioneers came to Utah.  We're big on American History here and lots of people do reenactments, have balls, and even go on cross country treks to honor our state's settlers.  So for the 24th -


I've seen a lot of pioneer costumes in my day.  Most are home made and not very attractive or comfortable looking.  I love the prairie lady costume because it looks fancier than most, but would still work for a variety of activities.

The costume has a full skirt so it does have a bit of netting, but it isn't restrictive at all.

To Buy - The Prairie Lady costume retails for just $37.90 at Wholesale Halloween Costumes and includes the bonnet, the belt, and the dress.  It comes in a standard size and is made to fit bust 34-38 and waist 26-32.  I'm pretty average in size and my measurements fall in the middle of both categories.  When I tried the dress on it was a bit roomy, but fit well when I added the belt.

It's definitely worth checking out!

Unfortunately I don't have a way to take a picture of myself in the costume but will add one when I can get my husband to take one!



Disclosure - I received a product to review from the above company or their PR Agency. Opinions expressed in this post are strictly my own - I was not influenced in any way. I received no monetary compensation for this post.

Add a Comment

Katy Perry Movie

The first woman in music history to have five Number One singles from one album, Katy Perry has scaled the heights of pop music stardom few have reached before her. So when the artist invited two filmmakers to tag along on her "California Dreams Tour," she thought it might produce something of interest to her fans. Katy said, "I could instinctively feel that something important was about to happen that year. It felt like this big wave was coming, and it felt like it was going to be a long one. So I reached out to two filmmakers and said, 'Hi, guys. I'd like to you come on the road and document the ride.'" That ride was a year-long world tour across the United States, Europe, South America and the Far East. Cameras caught her live concerts and also the reality of her day-to-day life away from the stage lights and candy-colored costumes.

The result is Katy Perry: Part of Me (rated PG), a backstage pass, front row seat, and intimate look at the real Katy Perry. Katy: "This movie is a journey. Last year, I had a year I'll never be able to recreate. . . amazing highs and some big lows, but that's life. Everyone goes through the good and the bad, but it makes you stronger. But no matter what, as with my live concerts, my ultimate goal with this movie is to make people smile."

Are you a fan of Katy Perry's music? Leave a Comment to let us know what you think.

— Sonja, STACKS Staffer

Images courtesy Paramount Pictures

Add a Comment

Thumbnail
(Click to enlarge)

Sketch
(Click to enlarge)

Unfinished illustration
(Click to enlarge)

Final art (without text): “And Georgia painted!”
Yuyi: “The first color image shows the pieces I used to assemble the final art. These were all hand-cut, painted individually, scanned, and then composed, cleaned, and ‘repainted’ digitally, until it all looked like the second color piece….”
(Click to enlarge)

Last Friday at Kirkus, I chatted with illustrator Yuyi Morales about her research for Amy Novesky’s Georgia in Hawaii: When Georgia O’Keeffe Painted What She Pleased, published by Harcourt in March. Just a few weeks ago, the book was named a Boston Globe-Horn Book Nonfiction Honor Book.

Here’s that Q & A, and let me also note that Jama Rattigan had a wonderful chat with Novesky in March of this year.

Below are some spreads from the book, as well as some thumbnails and work-in-progress images. Also included is the final question I asked Yuyi for this Q & A. I ran out of room over at Kirkus, but you can read it here.

Enjoy. (more…)

Display Comments Add a Comment

Sorry I’ve missed the last two Fridays, but at last FAF is BACK!

Okay, so Dalek Week is approaching over at Deviant Art. It runs from July 8 to 14, and is a seven-day challenge, each day with a different Deryn-and-Alek-y theme. (Click here for more details.) So I thought I’d start with a couple of entries from last year’s Dalek Week.

First here’s one from the estimable PrinceofParties, which reminds me of a certain schoolyard taunt (containing the line, “K-I-S-S-I-N-G”).

So romantic.

And here from Sorcaron, a sorta metaphorical image of Darwinist and Clanker angels:

Those wings of Alek’s have an interesting story behind them. When Keith and I were first conceptualizing the series, Keith wanted to start with portraits of Alek and Deryn. (Those portraits appear in the original Leviathan trailer, and will be in the Manual of Aeronautics, along with newer ones of Barlow and Volger.) He spent a lot of time on frames that signified the warring powers, and which began the notion of two distinct Clanker and Darwnist aesthetics. Then Sammy Yuen, the designer for the original Levaiathan cover, used Alek’s Clanker wings on the cover. Since then, that visual motif has become the symbol of the series. So it’s great to see it here in angelic-Alek form.

And here’s Deryn doing some Clanker stuff, and I have no idea whom this is from, or where it was created. Help me!

And now some Japanese fan art! Thanks to Brita O. for sending these along.

Both from Pivix.net. I don’t know who did them, because the whole site’s in Japanese. But they’re really cool.

This one’s called “Thinking”:

Link to original.

And the text here says, “There’s no way jellyfish balloons can be that cute!”

Link to original. Kawaiiii!

And now a great Deryn poster from SarahD:

And finally, here’s some rare So Yesterday fan art from Camilla. It’s called “French Revolution,” which will make sense t

Add a Comment

Sorry for the lame image here, but the actual poll doesn’t show up in the Tumblr dashboard because whatever, so I quickly scribbled a little JPG up there. Click to see the poll!

Dear Drawn! Readers: which best describes you?

Add a Comment

Display Comments Add a Comment

Here are the first pages submitted and critiqued by Agent Susan Hawk:

The Dream Pond – MG by Eileen Balesteri 

“She’s not coming.” Emily whispered to Teague with a nervous fidget. 

“You worry too much,” he said, gently patting the tops of her knuckles, still gripped tightly on the boat’s ledge.

Emily’s older sister, Abigail, lived by her own rules, always thinking outside of the box.  That’s probably why she discovered the Dream Pond, first.

 “She’s always late.”

“I know,” Emily said, “But this time feels different.  We went straight to bed after our grandparents left Abbie’s birthday dinner, so she has to be dreaming by now, right?”

“Has anything changed at your house since last month’s full moon?”  Teague asked.  “No.  We did everything the same as we always do.  Abbie held me when we went to sleep, just like the first time she brought me here.” 

Abigail had told her about the Dream Pond months before they discovered it was actually real.  She described the peaceful, watering hole, inhabited by kids with different accents and unusual animals. When the magic of the place opened up, the wise owls would spout poetry, and the birds sang full operas in flight as they dipped and swirled in and out of the warm, clear water.

Abigail hadn’t really meant to bring her along that first time.  Emily had been unable to sleep after watching a scary movie one night, so her older sister let her share her tiny, twin bed.   They had no idea that her sister’s embrace would somehow pull Emily into Abigail’s dream, leading her to this extraordinary haven.

When Emily showed up at the Dream Pond with Abigail and the others that first night, they knew there was something special, something real about this place.  That was when they decided to exchange addresses and numbers from their different homes all over the world. 

Teague lived in England, and it was his letter that they received first in the waking hours. 

Susan Hawk:

I liked the tension here, the anxiety that Emily is feeling as she waits for her sister is palpable.  I’m also interested in Teague and Emily’s relationship.  I have the sense that he’s older than she is, given that he’s reassuring her and trying to ease her anxiety.  I’m intrigued by the idea of a Dream Pond, a meeting place for kids from across the world, who are then able to communicate in real life as well. 

I’m confused about some of the mechanics of this place.  I’m not sure how Abigail could have told Emily about the Dream Pond before knowing that it’s real.  Did she dream, or imagine, it into existence?  I’m also unclear how Emily traveled there the first time (by going into Abigail’s dream?), and if she still travels to the Pond in this fashion (if she must go via Abigail’s dreams, how can she get there before Abigail does?). 

Though I’m curious about the answers to these questions, I think you might save explanations for later in your story.  Here, in the opening, focus on the immediate problem that your character is facing, and what is motivating them in this moment, so that the reader connects to your story right away.

____________________________________________________________________ 

Untitled by Barbara Gold

 Black sky moved over us. Soon the moon would be h

Display Comments Add a Comment

More from this Blog | Email This | Add a Tag

20. Rentrée littéraire preview

Add/View Comments | Previous | Top | Next

Posted on 7/5/2012
Blog: the Literary Saloon (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  Add a tag

       The French 'rentrée littéraire' -- the fall season, when the year's biggest titles are all thrown on the market in a relatively short period -- begins next month, and the first previews are out; see, for example, those in Libération and Le Figaro.
       This year it will feature 646 novels, down from 654 in 2011 (and 701 in 2010). More worryingly, there are only 69 first-timers -- down from 74 last year (and 121 in 2004 ...).
       Both previews list a number of the most anticipated titles, which include new books by Jean Echenoz, Florian Zeller, Laurent Binet, Amélie Nothomb (Barbe Bleue), and Eric Chevillard (L'auteur et moi). The foreign offerings don't impress quite so much -- The new J.K.Rowling ? soemthing by Chuck Palahniuk ?
       France TV also offers a list of les sept romans les plus ... -- pointing also to the longest novel on offer, Sylvie Taussig's massive (1752 page) Dans les plis sinueux des vielles capitales (see also the Galaade publicity page, or pre-order your copy at Amazon.fr).

Add a Comment

More from this Blog | Email This | Add a Tag

21. Bookselling in ... Yemen

Add/View Comments | Previous | Top | Next

Posted on 7/5/2012
Blog: the Literary Saloon (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  Add a tag

       In the Yemen Observer Fares Anam reports that Erotic Literature makes its way to Yemen, as:

"There are three kinds of book that spread on the sidewalks of the streets of Sana'a and got popular among Yemenis -- books related to religion, sorcery and sex"said al-Sharjabi.

       No word whether 50 Shades of Crap or whatever it's called has hit those sidewalks yet ..... And I'm not too sure what to make of the success of those sorcery titles ... though I suppose that's preferable to the spread of religious literature (properly derided as: "very shallow and loaded with wrong mobilization").

Add a Comment

More from this Blog | Email This | Add a Tag

22. Summer Reads Giveaway Hop

22 Comments | Previous | Top | Next

By: Inspired Kathy, on 7/5/2012
Blog: I Am A Reader, Not A Writer (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  Add a tag

Summer Reads Giveaway Hop

July 6th to 11th

Co-hosted by Rex Robot Reviews

My Giveaway: 
Your choice of anyone of Marcia Lynn McClure's currently available titles.  
Paperback open to US only, Ebook open Internationally

22 Comments on Summer Reads Giveaway Hop, last added: 7/9/2012

Display Comments

Mystica said, on 7/6/2012 12:41:00 AM

For some reason I am not able to go to the rafflecopter widget and get it to open? is anyone else having this problem or am I doing something absolutely wrong. Happened on all the blogs which have the widget.

Disincentive said, on 7/6/2012 2:45:00 AM

^Mystica, if you use Internet Explorer change it to Chrome or Firefox :)

Disincentive said, on 7/6/2012 2:50:00 AM

I don't see a giveaway on Krazy Book Lady (6) page. Hanging with bells is adult only blog (13) :)
Checking next sites. :D

Disincentive said, on 7/6/2012 3:25:00 AM

Mary @ Sweeping Me has INT giveaway :) (21)

Disincentive said, on 7/6/2012 3:38:00 AM

(25) and (26) are INT!

Disincentive said, on 7/6/2012 3:45:00 AM

(30) is US only, not INT :)

Disincentive said, on 7/6/2012 4:03:00 AM

(42) and (43) have no giveaway :(

Disincentive said, on 7/6/2012 4:08:00 AM

(48) has no info if it's US or INT. (49) is US, not INT :o

Disincentive said, on 7/6/2012 4:09:00 AM

^ wait, nope. I messed something. 49 is INT. 51 is not.


/I'm trying to help o.o

Disincentive said, on 7/6/2012 4:10:00 AM

52 is US, not Int

Disincentive said, on 7/6/2012 4:12:00 AM

56 is US, 57 is INT /no info in the linky

Disincentive said, on 7/6/2012 4:15:00 AM

58 has no giveaway (or I'm blind)

Disincentive said, on 7/6/2012 4:40:00 AM

72: No info in the linky, but it's INT
77: No info if it's US or INT, in the linky and on the blog
81: it's US, not INT
82: no giveaway
84: No giveaway. Yet?
92: No info in the linky, but it's US
94: No info in the linky, but it's US
95: no info in the linky, no info on the blog :(
98: no info in the linky, but it's INT
100: no giveaway


Okay, now I'm going outside but I'll be back :D
I hope I help you, not annoy.

I hope your leg heal quickly <3

Mystica said, on 7/6/2012 4:57:00 AM

Sorry to be a clunk but how on earth do you change!!!!!

Disincentive said, on 7/6/2012 5:57:00 AM

101: no giveaway
105: no giveaway
106: It's actually INT /no info in the linky/
111: no info in the linky, but it's INT
112: it's not a giveaway really, just a 62% discont for everyone. Does that count?
113" no giveaway but I think YE because she always has them :)
114: no info on the linky but it's INT. my antivirus is saying there is a virus on this page btw oO maybe just an error.
115: no giveaway :x
116: no info in the linky, but it's INT
123: no info in the linky, but it's US
128: no info in the linky - no info on the blog
132: no info in the linky but it's INT
133: no info in the linky, bt it's INT


I'm going away next time. : O

GW said, on 7/6/2012 10:10:00 AM

Giveaway book hops are interesting to enter

Carol L. said, on 7/6/2012 11:19:00 AM

Thanks for this opportunity. I have yet to read one of Marcia's books but I know I'm missing out.
Carol L.
Lucky4750 (at) aol (dot) com

Disincentive said, on 7/6/2012 11:58:00 AM

I'm happy I helped! :)

Next...

122 and 124 is the same blog.
125 was already listed as 121,
125 has no info if it's INT or US - in the linky and on the blog.
127 - no giveaway
129 is INT /no info in the linky/
131 - no info in the linky, no info on the blog
136 - no giveaway
141 is INT
144 - no info in the linky, no info on the blog
148 - no info in the linky, no info on the blog
151 is INT
152 is INT
153 is US only
156 is US only
157 and 158 is the same blog but second link is correct. It's different blog from 156 but the post is the same... Huh?
161 is US only.
164 - no giveaway
165 - no giveaway
171 - no giveaway
174 is US only
176 - no info in the linky, no info on the blog
177 - US only
178 - INT


I'm going to check those US only too, just to help. :)

Disincentive said, on 7/6/2012 12:42:00 PM

3 - it's US but the prize is an ebook too - huh?
16 is from The Book Depository but it's stated as US only, in rafflecopter too. o.O Kind of confusing.
18 moved to new site.
29 - no giveaway
32 is INT, not US/CAN
35 is INT too!
37 is stated as US but has a choice of ebooks too. Anyway, they have 3 mandatory entries.
38 - no giveaway
46 - no giveaway :(
63 - no giveaway
69 - no giveaway
73 - no giveaway but in the post before they said there will be a giveaway and they even wrote what book. SO I guess they will post it later...
78 is US and CAN, not US only.
80 has rafflecopter set to wrong date - giveaway not started yet
98 no giveaway
104 is INT :)
113 is US but they say winner can choose an ebook too. I wrote them a comment :)
147 - no giveaway, bt they have a butten on the blog
149 is INT!
150 is US/CAN but it's Amazon giftcard which can be accepted Internationally i think...


The end. You can count on me next time too. I have nothing to do. :P (i should write reviews... Oh well >< Too hot.)

June said, on 7/8/2012 3:55:00 AM

Cedar Fort Books - Publisher (USA)has the wrong link up--August hop.

jenzen69 said, on 7/8/2012 5:54:00 AM

Oh darn I wanted to enter this one but I am at my twitter follow limit like many others

cleemckenzie said, on 7/9/2012 12:36:00 PM

Missed out and I had it on my to do list. Next time. But in the meantime I'm entering to win some books! Great giveaway!

Add a Comment

More from this Blog | Email This | Add a Tag

23. old sketches of violinists

0 Comments | Previous | Top | Next

By: martín (dibujandoarte), on 7/5/2012
Blog: drawings & sketches - dibujandoarte (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  Add a tag

I just found this in an old email, it's a couple of sketches from 2004 I had made after a magazine or newspaper photograph

.:: dibujandoARTe ::..

0 Comments on old sketches of violinists as of 1/1/1900

Add a Comment

More from this Blog | Email This | Add a Tag

24. If you don't understand what the Higgs boson particle is you're not stupid

11 Comments | Previous | Top | Next

By: Janet Reid, on 7/5/2012
Blog: Janet Reid, Literary Agent (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  Add a tag

You just haven't heard it explained the right way.

[I hate that so many people feel stupid about math and science. Math and science are beautiful]

Gary Corby, my amazing client, who writes mysteries set in the mean streets of ancient Athens also writes beautifully about matters of the modern age.

Here's his blog post on  the Higgs boson.  Since I'm one of the folks who tweeted to Gary about this a while back, I take 15% of the credit for his fun elegant explanation.

11 Comments on If you don't understand what the Higgs boson particle is you're not stupid, last added: 7/6/2012

Display Comments

GillyB said, on 7/5/2012 9:31:00 PM

I have never read an article on a subject with which I am wholly unfamiliar (I'm one of those math-science-dumb-people... I really wish I weren't) and understood it so thoroughly. I just love the idea that physicists everywhere were going, "Nope, we're done, this is the tiniest unit in the universe... oh wait." And that everything is made up of something else, which is made up of something else...!

Well. My mind is blown.

And now I can actually hold an intelligent conversation with one of those freaky math-science people and not seem like a total idiot! I can actually go, "Oh, the Higgs boson? I happen to know all about that" instead of quickly changing to topic to books or something.

Wry Wryter said, on 7/6/2012 4:04:00 AM

Higgs Boson Particle, amorphous blob...if anyone told me that at 6:30 in the morning on July 6th I’d be reading about this stuff, and liking it, I would have told them to have another treacle and screw the drive home.
The whole thing sounds like a foggy day at a Chicago baseball field in Boston.

This was like listening to NPR. I love NPR you get to learn stuff you never thought you’d be interested in, like quarks and sharks.

stacy said, on 7/6/2012 4:40:00 AM

If only Mr. Corby had been one of my Physics teachers in high school and/or college. Might have gotten better grades. : )

Bill Plante said, on 7/6/2012 4:42:00 AM

Yowza - familiar?

Patchi said, on 7/6/2012 5:52:00 AM

Check out the rap video for a variation on the theme:
http://youtu.be/j50ZssEojtM

Cheers from a science geek :)

Steve Stubbs said, on 7/6/2012 6:24:00 AM

Tell Gary a Higgs Boson is a guttersnipe who sells flowers until she gets tutored on how to be a lady in a play by George Bernard Shaw. Shaw cleverly left his playgoers hanging and people were asking him for years afterward if Eliza and Higgs ever got married. Sort of like Carly Simon reusing to tell who is the subject of her song "You're So Vain." It is a clever gimmick for making sure your work is never forgotten, but the catch is, the work has to be unforgettable in its own right.

Janet Reid said, on 7/6/2012 6:25:00 AM

Patchi, that may be the best Youtube video ever! Certainly the next track at our office dance party!

thanks for the link!

Rachel Schieffelbein said, on 7/6/2012 6:27:00 AM

Very cool. Thanks for the link.
(Is it bad that the only reason I'd heard of the Large Hadron Collider was from watching Big Bang Theory?) :)

Steven J. Wangsness said, on 7/6/2012 7:19:00 AM

I still have trouble with the whole light is sometimes a particle, sometimes a wave thing.

And my dad is a theoretical physicist. I have him explain all this stuff to me -- the other day I forced him to tell me what "quantum foam" is -- but it still doesn't help...

The Writer Librarian said, on 7/6/2012 11:03:00 AM

Very useful, understandable scientific info. I've always believed that most anyone can understand left-brained concepts like math and science if they are explained in the right way. I'm reminded of the following quote:

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

― Albert Einstein

Amber, Storytime Librarian said, on 7/6/2012 1:52:00 PM

Enjoy this excellent explanation too:
http://vimeo.com/41038445

Add a Comment

More from this Blog | Email This | Add a Tag

25. Best Books of June 2012

Add/View Comments | Previous | Top |

Posted on 7/5/2012
Blog: Little Willow - Bildungsroman (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  Add a tag

Every month, I post a list of the best books I've read that month. Having spent most of June filming series on location or rehearsing and performing musicals in theatres, almost everything I read last month was a script of some kind. The majority of these scripts were fantastic, but they aren't why you are at this particular blog, so I won't ramble on about them here. Let me recommend to you two of the novels I squeezed in last month:

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate, a verse novel from the POV of a captured gorilla. For ages 9 and up, and for families to share and read aloud. Bring plenty of Kleenex.

Parallelogram, Book 2: Caught in the Parallel by Robin Brande, the second volume in a creative series about a girl who travels to a parallel universe and befriends her alternate self. I anxiously await the next volume. Give this series to people who watch Fringe. (I am now imagining these books on Olivia and Peter's bookshelf...)

Check in at the end of July/beginning of August to discover my picks for July. In the meantime, check out my other booklists (organized by topic, age group, time period, etc) and click through the "Best of" tag on my blog.

Add a Comment

More from this Blog | Email This | Add a Tag

View Next 25 Posts