Literary Links

Posted by Jennifer Baylor at The Writing Cocoon.  
Filed under "The Sunday Paper: SFF Links"

I confess, when I go to read the news, I often get side-lined by tabloid headlines and pictures of royal wedding clothes. The serious news is too damned depressing, and my brain is all-too-ready to be distracted. So, in an effort to add some non-Posh, non-royal, non-gossipy "news" reading,  I've been trying to include more book-news.

Here are a few of the articles I've come across, hope you enjoy the links:

• Apropos of the legalization of gay marriage in New York:  The Huffington Post gives us a list of great gay couples in literature. I've read a couple of these. Do you have any additions to the list?
• Just when I thought I couldn't feel more disheartened by my fellow citizens of the planet: More book banning in the US. I simply can't understand why anyone would spend their time in banning books - any books. The last thing people need is fewer voices in their reading material. Scroggins' quote, near the end of the article, where he expresses his concern about exposing children to "such immorality" made me laugh. I wonder what he would have thought of the reading material of my teen years. What did you read as a teen? Should children be limited in what they can read and who makes the decision?
• Validation for the sf&f fan and writer: I found myself nodding in agreement when the author describes the moment where he tells a stranger that he writes fantasy. The message is, be proud my fellow sf&f fanatics! Do you feel like you are judged for your addiction to Battlestar Galactica and write your fantasy novels in secret?
• More controversy: I've started studying linguistics on my own, a subject becoming nearer and dearer every day, and I've come across some of the work of the controversial John McWhorter before. Here's an article where he talks about language and Shakespeare,  and whether or not the language should be modernized for readability. I find this stuff fascinating and while you may cry "sacrilege" at the thought of changing the bard's words, I can't say it isn't worth thinking about some of McWhorter's arguments. Read the comments, too, which offer some nice observations, criticisms and more links. Do you read Shakespeare? See it performed? Would you prefer some modern language?
• Nominate your favorite book for inclusion in 2012's World Book Night.
• The popularity of thriller novels: This article at the Telegraph explores the popularity of the thriller novel. The information and stats on the thriller novel's popularity were interesting, but I found his discussion on the reasons for their popularity a little shallow. What do you think?
• Hope for the debut novel: There are four debut novels on the Booker longlist this year. This article highlights the stellar success of Stephen Kelman's first novel. Twelve publisher bidding war, high six-figure advance - are you going to read it?