Sunday, February 10, 2008

The Writer is mightier than All Others, Except Maybe Paper Shortage

The strike as we all know it is over. The negotiations have been made, the sword has been exchanged for the pen.

But what I'm really interested in is what happened last Tuesday at 7:15 PM.
...I saw Shannon Hale! She wrote the wonderful; Bayern books, Newberry Honor Princess Academy, and the hilarious Austenland. And she recognized my name from the comments that I've posted on her blog (It's a small world when you've got the Internet) and gave me a big hug. And I won a charm bracelet for remembering that she owns a plastic pet pig.

In other news, Neil Gaiman finished The Graveyard Book, which is supposed to be The Jungle Book set in a graveyard. I hope that he manages to surpass Rudyard Kipling in terms of racism. I'm going to read The Jungle Book anyway because it's been weeks since I read a classic, and I liked the Disney movie. And I probably should give Kipling another chance because I like Margaret Mitchell, who owns racism about African Americans. And seriously, who can resist the Disney version of Mowgli?
Definitely not me.

I also recently read The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson, the one banned in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. I only found it disturbing that high school juniors were drinking and that relationships at this age could be so volatile. And the story ended too happily. If anything, I'd complain about it being one of the reasons to NOT get involved in a relationship while in high school. But ban it? It makes as much sense as banning high school relationships.
Honestly, book banners should meet Neil Gaiman's little friend:A cute dog will win anyone's hearts and erase the evil in their hearts that wants to eliminate free speech. Unless, of course, they're terrified of dogs like my little brother.