Thu, 25th Feb 2010
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You know, back in the days before I started working in publishing, you really couldn’t get me to shut up online; I blogged with such frequency it was ridiculous. Now that I have actual substantive things to say, I can’t corral my undergrad expository paper-writing tendencies enough to distill my thoughts into short, byte-sized informative posts, so I often don’t bother. Not to mention I lack the time. So kudos to all the industry professionals like Rachelle Gardner, Nathan Bransford, and Kristin Nelson for blogging every day! (Although I haven’t yet read an editor who blogs everyday…maybe that in itself is quite telling…)
Anyway, I was going to review MAGIC UNDER GLASS, discuss storytelling and craft, dissect the idea of literary fiction with a commercial bent, and write about half a dozen other topics, but didn’t have time. So you know what? I’m going to blog about the first thing that comes to mind today.
Which is The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
And specifically the Disney version. Because I rewatched it last night. And I kind of love the movie and have developed a newfound appreciation for it.
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Thu, 11th Feb 2010
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Um, can we just talk about this for a second?
MOCKINGJAY by Suzanne Collins
From the Scholastic Corporate Communications blog.
Do you hear that? That’s JJ squeeing from her desk in the Flatiron Building.
Tue, 12th Jan 2010
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I have (perhaps stupidly) committed myself to another blog, in which my roommate and I will document our progress as we train for the 2011 marathon. Last night Psychic Roommate and I completed our first run around the Reservoir in Central Park.
New post at Running Roommates!
Read about it here! It’s a good thing we’ve started training. There are 5lbs of post-holiday pudge I need to get rid of, 10lbs altogether I’d like to lose. Tonight I will do a nice, restorative yoga practice to recover. Running is really hard on the body! Doesn’t help I have one flat foot, loose ligaments in my shoulders, and one bum knee. I’m a young and decrepit, how sad.
But you know who isn’t young and decrepit and is instead young and awesome? Astrid Llewellyn from Diana Peterfreund’s RAMPANT. I read this novel months ago, but never got around to giving it a proper review. Hopefully White-Harp will be chiming in with her thoughts as well via vlog. (We are ambitious, White-Harp and me.) Review follows beneath the cut.
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Sun, 27th Dec 2009
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Last night I went to the 10 year reunion of my High Point Academy classmates and had an amazing time (but then again, we always did). I went to a small private school–36 of us in our graduating class–so in effect, these were kids with whom I grew up. For nostalgia’s sake, Mandi brought our 8th grade yearbook and I immediately turned to our “Remember When” page.
Remember when…Sarah didn’t use big words.
Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Although I went by Sarah in those days; it could because I was the only Sarah in that class and was thus able to avoid sharing the name with another girl.
Looking at my Remember When, I suppose it came as no surprise to anyone that I now work in publishing. 
Speaking of which, I finally got around to reading FIRE by Kristin Cashore, the review for which follows beneath the cut.
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Thu, 17th Dec 2009
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Every year I look forward to Christmas for several reasons, not the least of which is going back home to California to get warm see my family. One of the nice things about working in publishing is that the industry takes a break between Christmas and New Year, freeing up time to read without having to worry about writing scary editorial letters (scary for me, not the author), scheduling meetings with agents, or socializing myself to death.
Husbands rest here. Photo by ColorMeKatie.
Note: I celebrate Christmas (the secular bits, anyway), hence why I name that holiday. Seasons greetings, happy Yule, happy Chanukah, happy Kwanzaa, and happy holidays to everyone who doesn’t!
One thing I don’t like about Christmas is shopping for gifts. I’m notoriously terrible at thinking of what to give people and even worse at receiving presents. My relatives asked what I wanted for Christmas this year. I was about to put down my usual answer (books or a gift certificate for books), when I realised my new job makes asking for books sort of moot. I actually couldn’t think of anything else.
However, this year, I have decided to foist my favourite books I’ve read in 2009 upon the people I love. As far as presents go, books are relatively inexpensive (compared to, say, a Nikon D60, which is what I actually want but don’t dare ask for). What follows is a JJ’s List of Awesome Books To Give People.
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