Miscellaneous thoughts
November 12, 2008
And some linky-links.
The Giller Prize was announced last night and it’s Joseph Boyden for the win! WOOHOO! Just when I was starting to think that all the lit prizes in Canada have their heads stuck up their butt they go and do something right. Now I really need to finish reading Through Black Spruce. It got set aside in the face of library due dates (which are building again…).
By now you all know how I feel about headless women on book covers. It’s a running joke around here and just about anywhere I play on the internet. It seems that in tough economic times men get heads but sometimes not their own.
Some authors need to grow a pair.
Hmm it’s a busy week and I’m tired which seems to make me snarkier than normal…go figure. 
Philadelphia is cutting libraries and library jobs – 220 library jobs. I’ll let Smart Bitch Sarah’s profanities speak for my own. I’ll also offer up a reminder that during the holiday season it would be really nice if people remembered to give a small token to librarians. Think of how much money their services save you. You can afford to give them a gift card to a coffee place or local pizza delivery place or chocolates or something.
Nothing snarky about the one of the latest books Danielle posted about – The Perfect Summer. I have to read it now. Danielle has a way of doing that to me with her non-fiction picks.
I think I’ve decided not to participate in any more reading challenges. Maybe. Mostly. We’ll see. Why? Because I SUCK AT THEM.
Calling all foodies – the Toronto Public Library has a real and virtual exhibit called “Local Flavour: Eating in Toronto, 1830-1955.” Hat tip to Melanie, who posted about it first.
Alanna is talking about Thanksgiving sides at BlogHer. I cannot have such a dinner without mashed potatoes. And stuffing. Mmm stuffing. But what I’m interested in at this exact moment is sides that you hate. Loathe even. For me it’s turnips, which we had ALL THE DARN TIME when I was growing up. Most of the time I could avoid it except when my stepfather was annoying and mashed the carrots and the turnips together and made me eat them. Ick, ick, ICK. My friend’s mother, however, makes a yummy Turnip Puff that is yummy because it tastes nothing at all like turnip thanks to the wonderful mix of brown sugar, bread crumbs, butter and nutmeg. (It also has baking power hence the “puff”.)
So tell me – what veggie side do you hate?
November 12th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
Great linkies. I especially like the discussion of the crazy self published author that freaked out. I hope to have an author guest blogger posting about that on Estella’s Revenge for December. Time shall tell.
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November 12th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
I decided to stop participating in reading challenges earlier this year. I CANNOT get through them. I lose interest, and then feel guilty about not finishing them. And reading should not be about guilt.
My family makes brussel sprouts for every holiday dinner, and I absolutely will not eat them. EWW. (My dad mashes up turnips and carrots too. It IS rather disgusting.)
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November 12th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
I love ALL veggie sides, as a good vegetarian!
Actually, I love turnips – but not with carrots, so much. Just plain and mushy…
The only one I hate is overcooked and bitter brussel sprouts. My sister-in-law roasts them and then they are really good. I can’t seem to accomplish that, though. Mine are gross.
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November 12th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
My mom makes something called “Sister Mary’s Zesty Carrots.” I think she got it out of her church’s cookbook (published back in the early 80’s, when it was still MY church, too). All I know is that it contains some combination of carrots and horseradish (and probably some other stuff that I don’t know). Um, yeah, I said horseradish. I love raw carrots, but am kind of meh about cooked ones. Add in the horseradish, and it makes me want to vomit.
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November 12th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
I stopped doing all but *one* challenge (and I’m failing that one), this year. Some people love them. I’ve discovered I can do without.
There’s a blogger who regularly posts regurgitated cover art. It’s wild how they use and reuse those stock photos. Not a big fan of headless covers, either, *except* when I think that using a model’s face would ruin the mental image, as in Mozart’s Sister. There’s a photo of a painting of Nannerl Mozart inside the cover, so you can kind of mentally merge the two. That works for me.
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November 13th, 2008 at 3:26 am
Yipe! I was so excited when I heard that Joseph Boyden won! I haven’t read Through Black Spruce yet, but I was amazed with Three Day Road!
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November 14th, 2008 at 11:25 am
Andi – I hope you do. I’ve seen some bad, bad author behaviour this year and I’m starting to feel disillusioned.
Court – exactly how I feel about the guilt thing. My boyfriend swore he didn’t like brussel sprouts but I made some recently and he declared them “good”.
Melanie – my mother loves turnips too. I just can’t get on the turnip train.
Alexis – carrots and horseradish? I think I’ll pass…
Bookfool – I’ll admit there are times when I can be ok with headless cover art. But for the last few years they kind of ran rampant with it.
Teddy – yes! Three Day Road was fantastic. I’m really happy that he won.
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October 22nd, 2009 at 1:08 pm
After giving them several different ideas of what they could do and after each one of those ideas were not considered seriously very long, I was just about to give up. ,
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