Jamie over at Fiction Scribe was kind enough to point me to an article over at DegreeTutor.com called 33 Reasons Librarians are Still Extremely Important. As a public librarian, I would just like to say…yeah…what they said. Check out the article. It is very well thought out. Thanks, Jamie!
The other day, Jamie over at Fiction Scribe posted on the subject of fanfiction, and it got me to thinking about the genre. I have read a great deal of fanfiction in my time. At one point, I even wrote a bit of it. I have some friends who are writers of magnificent fanfiction. (Frankly, I think that they’ve spoiled me with their Stargate SG-1 fics…but I digress.) I have even read fanfiction that became an official tie-in novel (Susan M. Garrett’s Forever Knight tie-in Intimations of Morality. I have both versions.) Lately, I have been reading way too much Doctor Who fanfiction. (No surprises there.) There is such a variety of skill level and topic out there, even within just the one fandom. I have encountered some incredible imagery and several well-plotted adventures. Of course, there are also those stories that make you want to tear your hair out, but after a bit you get a feeling for authors that you like. Then, as with any other genre, you can find similar authors, and go from there. For me, the allure of fanfiction is the chance to see what might have been, or to get into the mind of the character. In case you are interested in reading some fanfiction yourself, Fanfiction.net has a wide variety of topics, and is bound to have something for everyone. What is your opinion of fanfiction? Do you read it?
Fiction Scribe, fanfiction, Susan M. Garrett, Intimations of Morality
I finished Doctor Who: Aliens and Enemies by Justin Richards yesterday, and I ended up reviewing it over at watchingdrwho.com. I enjoyed it. It was the same blend of information and entertainment as Doctor Who: Monsters and Villains, that featured many of the Ninth Doctor’s foes. This new tome of The Doctor’s enemies (and a few friends) was worth spending my gift certificate on. If you want to hear more of my views on the subject, read my full review.
Well, I have another book-related silly link for you today. It’s called Peep Research A Study of Small Fluffy Creatures and Library Usage. So, imagine that a bunch of marshmallow Peeps go to the library for the first time and need to try out their research skills. They get a few things wrong as you might imagine. I mean, what do they know about proper library behaviour? If you like libraries and Peeps, you should check this out.
So, I just took another silly quiz that one of my friends pointed me to. It’s called Which Science Fiction Writer Are You?. It turns out that I’m Gregory Benford. I wouldn’t trust the results too much, though, as apparently Gregory Benford took this quiz once…and it told him that he was Arthur C. Clarke. Just so you know, the quiz is a bit US-centric. Enjoy, and be sure to let me know who it thinks you are.
Which Science Fiction Writer Are You, Gregory Benford, Arthur C. Clarke
Take the book quiz and find out which book you are!
(I am Ulysses by James Joyce for some reason…)
I’ve talked about my favorite library-related comic strip Unshelved and their interesting book reviews before. Well, I was just over in the section of their website dedicated to The Unshelved Book Club and I noticed something at the bottom of the page:
“Have a current or upcoming book you’d like us to feature? Please send it to:
Overdue Media LLC
Attn: Unshelved Book Club
2518 Royal Ct. E
Seattle, WA 98112-2248″
So, if there are any authors out there who would like Unshelved to review your book in their illustrated fashion…you may just get your chance. Consider yourselves informed.
Have you seen the trailer for Eragon yet? It looks yummy. Seriously, the hair on my arms stood up. The scenery is lovely, by the way. All sorts of mountains in either Slovakia or Hungary. Head over to the IMDB and see it for yourself: Eragon Trailer. I’m going to go watch it again.
Also, as suggested by the mighty Keith, I have set up a group over at LibraryThing called The Book Stacks. So, if you are curious about what books I have, would like to talk about books you have, just want to talk about books, or want to say “hi”, stop on by. I’ll see you there. (I think I may end up paying for a lifetime subscription, by the way. I have way too many books for the free part to me enough.)
I’ll bet you would like a list of your books. Your own personal online library. Well, I do, but then I’m a librarian.
LibraryThing is an interesting website that allows you to make your own personal online library catalog, add tags to your books, discuss books with others, write reviews, and even give books ratings. You can have up to 200 books on your account for free. Stop by and take the tour. I found out about this site in a meeting today and I couldn’t wait to blog about it. Have fun.
Well, I tried to post this before I left for work, but just as I was saving the text my browser crashed. So, here is approximately what I said: headbutler.com is a site which features in depth reviews of books, music, and more. It’s a bit light on the genre fiction, but it does include some classics, non-fiction, and even poetry. If you like long reviews, this is the place for you.
Okay, I admit that the relationship between msdewey.com and books is tenuous, but the site is fun. Sometimes the site gets stuck while loading and needs to be reloaded, but it’s worth the effort. I have yet to see the same intro twice. It’s supposed to be a search engine, but it’s easily stumped by “The Boston Tea Party.� Enjoy!
[Edit: links fixed. note to self: don't try coding in MSWord]
Do you like libraries?
Would you like to know what it’s like to work there in an amusing format?
Really?
Well, then you may enjoy Unshelved, a daily comic strip about life working in a library.
Sundays are reserved for book talks. Seriously! Check out the one for Airborn by Kenneth Oppel or A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin.
One of the most useful book-related websites that I have found is www.stopyourekillingme.com.
If you love mysteries, this is a site that you need to get to know.
Need to know what book comes next in your series?
Want to know who won this year’s Edgar Awards?
Does your favorite author have a pseudonym?
You can access information by author’s last name, or character’s last name at the top of the page.
They even offer read-alike suggestions.
The page for Elizabeth Peters is a great example of the sort of information that this site offers. There you will find the names that she writes under, a link to her website, her books divided out by main character (complete with publication date), and even a notation about an award that she won. So head over to www.stopyourekillingme.com and have some fun!
book-related websites, www.stopyourekillingme.com, mysteries, book
November is National Novel Writing Month.
What is National Novel Writing Month? Well, the goal is to write a 50,000 word book during the month of November. Difficult? Yep. Exhausting? And how. Fun? You betcha. I have participated in NaNoWriMo a couple of times so far, and no, I have not yet managed to finish in time. I have a couple of solid starts, though. I’m going to attempt a spot of non-fiction this year. Hopefully, all of this blogging will help improve my writing skills. Either way, I’m sure to have fun.
For more information, and to sign up check out: http://www.nanowrimo.org .
Now, get out there and give me something new to read. 
If you think that books are beautiful, you will want to check out this link to a blog post that I ran across.
http://thenonist.com/index.php/thenonist/permalink/hot_library_smut/sdk
The photos of libraries that they show are kinda like library smut for the book nerd. They are from a book by Candida Höfer called Libraries.
The Book Stacks is the place to go for everything
book-related. Here you will find librarian humor,
books that are moving to the big screen, cover art,
random trivia, reviews, news, games, videos, the
occasional interview, and anything else I run across.
What are you reading? Have a favorite book? Let me
know.
The Book Stacks Author(s)
» JM
