New Post @ PopMatters – Getting Inside the Book Review
We’ve all done it — bought a book based on a good review, passed over another because of a bad review. But why do reviews affect us? And how do they do it? Once upon a time, only professional reviewers wrote book reviews. The greater the number of publishing credits and letters after your name, the greater your chances of being taken seriously. Of course, it doesn’t take a degree to work out if you like a book (though in the case of Edward Bloor’s Storytime, you might need an...
Read MorePlaying With The iPad Comes Easily To A 10 Month Old
Over the weekend, I had a chance to play with an iPad in the Apple store. The selection of apps available was limited, though I did spend some time reading (tiring on the eyes) and typing (surprisingly easy, though I spent a lot of time watching my fingers). One kids’ book app had a demo: Dora the Explorer Coloring Adventures (pictured left). From the iPad app store: “It’s time to explore and color in “Dora the Explorer Coloring Adventures!”. Kids can go on adventures in...
Read MoreCleanliness is next to…
Indians are very clean–does my untidy house make me less of an Indian? I like neatness. I enjoy seeing things in their proper places, and baking in a clean kitchen. Most NRIs I know are the same, house proud, well-groomed, and neat as the proverbial pin. Sometimes, though, cleanliness has to go. Read more @ The NRI…
Read MoreOnline Presence Linkage for Writers
This Saturday past, I facilitated the Online Presence Special Interest Group at the New England Regional SCBWI (#nescbwi10) conference in Fitchburg, MA. The group was filled with marvelous people with great questions, and we talked about everything from Twitter lists through the difference between LiveJournal and WordPress. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be writing up articles based on the things discussed, but in the meantime, here’s a collection of links for folks still sorting out how to...
Read MoreShades of Grey: A review (at SFWP.org)
My review of Shades of Grey, by Jasper Fforde has been published over the the Santa Fe Writers Project. There’s something compelling about a Jasper Fforde novel, something that sucks you into the story, tossing you alg until the end when it finally grinds you up and spits you out before you even know what’s happened. Fforde is a true satirist, not just pulling apart the way we tell stories, but pulling apart accepted critical conventions and putting them back together again,...
Read MoreIndian Women are Perfect (at the-NRI.com)
I am a perfect mother, a perfect wife, a perfect daughter. How do I know this? Because I’m Indian. Perfect Daughter When my parents give me unasked for advice about Baby, I put on my best phone smile–the all-encompassing, “Of course!” followed by a slight-to medium lilt as I expound on the many reasons I should have thought of such a valuable idea but did not and how I, a first time parent, am in awe of their expertise. Read...
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