Hi everyone,
The HBC's currently working hard on our annual holiday gift suggestion list, and we appreciate all of the interesting entries you've e-mailed us so far. Keep 'em coming!
Don't forget that for each person you tell us you need a gift for, you get extra entry into our book giveaway. More info here.
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Here's a li'l something for those insane souls who have taken up the National Novel Writing Month challenge (a.k.a. the completion of a 50,000 word novel in just 30 days). It's a collection of famous authors' Tweets re: your unwieldy undertaking. Some of their tips will surely help you with your writing, the others will simply kill a couple seconds. Either way, they'll prove a temporarily distraction from your writer's block.
 @C_Bushnell #NaNoWriMo tip:Use SpiceGirls speak.Instead of "Whaddya want?" say "Tell me what you want,what you really really want" +8 words!
 @Steph_Meyer #NaNoWriMo tip: @C_Bushnell: I have one, too!!! Use "oh my god" instead of OMG. +2 words!!!
 @JRR_Tolkien #NaNoWriMo tip: My favorite word count cheat? Write a poem in Elvish, then, in the next paragraph, translate it in2 English.
 @JimCarroll #NaNoWriMo tip: It's not easy to stay awake and writing for 30 days straight. I recommend crystal meth and frappuccinos.
 @AnneFrank #NaNoWriMo tip: Avoid distractions! When I wrote my book, I locked myself in the attic & refused to let any1 in.
 @S_Palin #NaNoWriMo MEMOIR tip: My real life sex w/ Todd lasts a minute & a 1/2. To add Xtra words I lie about 4play ;)
 @JK_GrrRowling #NaNoWriMo tip: Pacing 1self is 4 muggles. Finish all 50k words by the 15th, leaving plenty o time for sequels & lawsuits.
 @Maya_Angelou #NaNoWriMo tip: In 'Aliens from Planet Zyx' I had a character recite the 1st act of Hamlet on a dare. Hella word count bump
 @PlaywrightGibson #NaNoWriMo tip: Deaf characters r great. They force other characters 2 constantly repeat themselves, thereby adding words
 @TheRealMelville #NaNoWriMo tip: Give a character a peg leg. You'd be surprised how many extra words U can get from sound effects alone!
 @$tephenKing #NaNoWriMo tip: The number 1 tip for increasing word count? "Adverbs," he said slowly, succinctly, solemnly.
Related:
Tuesday's Tips for NaNoWriMo Writers
Top 10 Night Before NaNoWriMo Tweets
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Here's a li'l something for those insane souls who have taken up the National Novel Writing Month challenge (a.k.a. the completion of a 50,000 word novel in just 30 days). It's a collection of famous authors' Tweets re: your unwieldy undertaking. Some of their tips will surely help you with your writing, the others will simply kill a couple seconds. Either way, they'll prove a temporarily distraction from your writer's block.
@C_Bushnell #NaNoWriMo tip:Use SpiceGirls speak.Instead of "Whaddya want?" say "Tell me what you want,what you really really want" +8 words!
@Steph_Meyer #NaNoWriMo tip: @C_Bushnell: I have one, too!!! Use "oh my god" instead of OMG. +2 words!!!
@JRR_Tolkien #NaNoWriMo tip: My favorite word count cheat? Write a poem in Elvish, then, in the next paragraph, translate it in2 English.
@JimCarroll #NaNoWriMo tip: It's not easy to stay awake and writing for 30 days straight. I recommend crystal meth and frappuccinos.
@AnneFrank #NaNoWriMo tip: Avoid distractions! When I wrote my book, I locked myself in the attic & refused to let any1 in.
@S_Palin #NaNoWriMo MEMOIR tip: My real life sex w/ Todd lasts a minute & a 1/2. To add Xtra words I lie about 4play ;)
@JK_GrrRowling #NaNoWriMo tip: Pacing 1self is 4 muggles. Finish all 50k words by the 15th, leaving plenty o time for sequels & lawsuits.
@Maya_Angelou #NaNoWriMo tip: In 'Aliens from Planet Zyx' I had a character recite the 1st act of Hamlet on a dare. Hella word count bump
@PlaywrightGibson #NaNoWriMo tip: Deaf characters r great. They force other characters 2 constantly repeat themselves, thereby adding words
@TheRealMelville #NaNoWriMo tip: Give a character a peg leg. You'd be surprised how many extra words U can get from sound effects alone!
@$tephenKing #NaNoWriMo tip: The number 1 tip for increasing word count? "Adverbs," he said slowly, succinctly, solemnly.
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Has anyone read Margaret Atwood's companion to 'Oryx and Crake,' 'The Year of the Flood'? I just finished it and am so satisfied. It answers a lot of questions and more from the original book, and if you're obsessed with 'Oryx' like I am, it'll be like eating chocolate-covered candy corn :).
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Hi all. I'm going to Tennessee for my honeymoon — yeah, you heard me — and I'm finding it surprisingly tricky to find good books set there.
So far I have Davy Crockett's autobiography, Faulkner's <i>Sanctuary</i>, a Mary N Murfree novel...and that's it. Surely there must be more!
I don't know how much reading we'll actually get done.... but I do like to read up on a place when I'm away. So any further fiction or non-fic suggestions for the Volunteer State gratefully received...
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Hi,
Can anyone recommend any books that might be a nice gift for someone visiting SF. They were inspired to travel there by Armistead Maupin's Tales Of The City series, so that is ruled out.
Thanks
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Check out the new HBC update. Here's what's inside:
- We're giving away books by David Foster Wallace, Aleksandar Hemon, Shawna Yang Ryan, Ron Currie Jr., Brian DeLeeuw, and more.
- Tod Goldberg talks about his latest short story collection, the Burn Notice books, and getting a Starbucks in his living room.
- Marie and I check out the adaptations of Brief Interviews with Hideous Men and Where the Wild Things Are
- Merge Records is big enough to have books written about them.
- Books on Chinese politics and Japanese aesthetics.
- Reviews of books by Audrey Niffenegger, Eliot Weinberger, Amanda Eyre Ward, etc.
- Zombies write haiku.
- Lots of other things. Go see for yourselves.
It's also time to start gathering things for our annual holiday gift guide. Send us a list of the people you need to give gifts for, and we'll do our best to suggest a suitable book. Best of all, the more people you tell us about, the more entries you get in this year's book giveaway. More info here.
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Here are the books I read in October. My thoughts on them can be found at ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) bookfrog.
Everyday Matters, Danny Gregory
Speaking of Journals, Paula W. Graham
Hellblazer, Bloodlines; Garth Ennis and others
The Moments, the Minutes, the Hours; Jill Scott
Where I Live, Eileen Spinelli
The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs, Jack Gantos
Locomotion, Jacqueline Woodson
Gambit, Rex Stout
The 1000 Journals Project
Grendel, John Gardner
Secrets, Jacqueline Wilson
Darkfall, Stephen Laws
Princess in Love, Meg Cabot
Pulp Masters
The Poison Place, Mary E. Lyons
The Tarantula in My Purse, Jean Craighead George
Our House, Pam Conrad
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The Hunger Games
Suzanne Collins
YA fiction; fantasy; series
374 pages
Sixteen-year-old Katniss is smart, athletic, and fast. She can take down a rabbit with a bow and arrow, hitting it straight through the eye. Will these skills be enough to survive the Hunger Games?
Suzanne Collins, the author of the middle-grade fantasy series The Underland Chronicles begins anew, exploring a future landscape that will be familiar to devotees of science fiction's dystopic strain. In a nation called Panem, which occupies the landmass that is the present United States, a parasitical fascist Capitol dominates 12 conquered districts. There was a thirteenth district but it was obliterated during a rebellion. The totalitarian government keeps the subjected populations in line by threatened devastation, starvation, and brutality.
I found this book and concept to be utterly fascinating. I love the post-apocalyptic feel that was conveyed throughout the entire book. It is interesting that this country, Panem used to actually be the United States and the history of what happened because of the country's rebellion against the Capitol was interesting as well. I thought that the characters and the plot were astounding. I really felt for Katniss throughout the book and I cannot wait to read Catching Fire soon!
**There are some things that I would love to talk about in the book and even one thing that I didn't like, but I feel that it is spoilery, and so if you have read the book and wish to discuss it, please do so with me in the comments. Thank you!**
Books read this year: 44/50.
Pages read this year: 14843/15000
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 Author Anne Rice exclaims, "Angels are the new vampires!" (But maybe that's cuz they're what she's currently writing about.)
 Looking for good books by great authors that were credited to non-writing no-names? Abe Books has the Top 10 Ghostwritten Books.
 Got a hankering for tentacled toffees? Check out McSweeney's Selections from H.P. Lovecraft's brief tenure as a Whitman's Sampler copywriter.
 Halloween is here, and the only sheets you're willing to cut holes in are stained with bodily fluids. Don't worry, I've got you covered. Print, cut, wear: literary-themed paper masks.
 Want to drop $50 on comics in less than 5 minutes? Then read The Comics Reporter's David Welsh and a Few Friends on Recommended Spooky, Scary and Supernatural Manga.
 Frightened that a small breach in copyright will open the floodgates to, say, an unauthorized lexicon, the lawyers in charge of protecting the Harry Potter(c) brand have put the kibosh on a "one-off" (and yet twice a year for the past few years) Harry Potter(c)-themed Halloween dinner party.
 Alright, so this last one isn't Halloween-themed at all (in fact, there's probably an argument to made that it's the polar opposite), but I thought I'd toss out a link to it anyway: The Top 10 Reasons Book Club is like Church.
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