Archives for March 2012
A cheat sheet to critical reviews
Back in January, I talked a bit about why being critical matters. I’m still thinking about the things in that post and I’m always going to be an advocate for being critical and being classy.
As you know, we’re critical reviewers here. We like to look at books in depth and talk about the things that do and don’t work in a story. Something I’ve been asked often — and even more so after posting about the topic of being critical — is how I approach reading and reviewing a book. More specifically, what elements do I think about and how do I think about them then take those considerations and write a review.
This was sort of what inspired the original KidLitCon presentation last year, and when we build our presentation, one of the elements was a cheat sheet to review writing. In all honesty, I sort of forgot about it until the other night, and I thought it would be worth sharing. This was a collaborative effort, with help and insight from Abby, Janssen, and Julia. You’re welcome to borrow it, share it, and any insights you may have you’re welcome to add, as well. I hope it’s helpful not only in giving insight into what goes into a critical review, but I hope it’s helpful in shedding insight into critical reading and critical blogging, as well.
So there it is — I hope it’s helpful or insightful, and if there’s anything you consider in reading/writing critically, share away.
Audiosynced: March Edition
Before diving into this month’s edition of AudioSynced, can we take a second and celebrate the fact Abby and I have been hosting this feature for two years now? Two years seems like such a long time in the blogging world, and I am so glad we’ve been able to “meet” so many new people through celebrating audiobooks. You can check out the Audiosynced archives here.
If you’ve reviewed or blogged about audiobooks this last month, drop a link into the comments and I’ll add it to our roundup!
Reviews
- Our friend Lee at Reading with my Ears has reviews of Heidi W. Durrow’s The Girl Who Fell from the Sky, Matthew Kirby’s Ice Fall, Amanda Quick’s The River Knows, Lauren Oliver’s Liesl and Po, and Daniel Kraus’s Rotters.
- Sarah at YA Librarian Tales has a review of Ready Player One by Ernest Cline and read by Wil Wheaton.
- Beth at Foodie Bibliophile has a review of Walter Isaacson’s biography Steve Jobs.
- Michelle at Never Gonna Grow Up book reviews shares her thoughts on Anna Carey’s Eve.
- Allison at Reading Everywhere has a review of Kirby Larson’s Hattie Big Sky.
- Melissa at The Book Nut offers up a review of Tina Fey’s Bossy Pants, narrated by none other than Fey herself.
- Over at Shelf Employed, there’s a nice review (with sound sample!) of Kate DiCamillo’s Mercy Watson.
- Last but not least, Jeanne has a review of Carol Plum-Ucci’s Fire Will Fall on a blog that looks like one any audiobook lover would want to check out, Books for Ears.
News & Other Audiobook fun
- Every year the Audio Publishers Association honors the best of audiobooks with the Audie awards, and the 2012 Audies finalists have been announced. Each of the audiobooks nominated also has a sample included, so check them out.
- Want to check out behind-the-scenes stuff at Audible? They have a YouTube channel where you can check out various narrators in the process of recording their books. It’s very neat (via Publishers Weekly’s Audiobook Blog).
- Speaking of audiobook narrators, check out this great interview with narrator Karen White.
- Then check out this vlog by Jackson Pearce about recording her forthcoming book Purity.
- Gretchen Kolderup has a great post up on YALSA’s blog about her experience serving on the Amazing Audiobooks committee (just look at the pile of audiobooks from this year!). And while you’re at it, check out her post about the Amazing Audiobooks list at YALSA’s The Hub.
Twitterview: Kirsten Hubbard
This month’s Twitterview victim — err, participant — is Kirsten Hubbard, author of Like Mandarin and Wanderlove, which comes out March 13. She’s also one of the forces behind YA Highway and she maintains a great blog herself that is worth reading not only if writing interests you, but if you love traveling. To celebrate the release of Wanderlove, she’s created a fun travelogue-esque Tumblr that’s worth checking out (you’ll get your wanderlust satisfaction for the day with those images, I promise). She’s here to talk about the inspirations behind Wanderlove, incorporating her own art into the story, and how she tackles relationships in her writing. There’s also a giveaway of Wanderlove.
Pitch Wanderlove in 140 characters.
An affliction with Wanderlove.
Setting makes scenes cinematic. It can step out of the backdrop & interact with characters in surprising ways – & become its own character.
Exhilarating, intimidating & time-consuming (I watched the whole Buffy series as I drew). But truly, a childhood dream come true.
Watership Down. Still determining how it figured into my books.
Who are your top three writing influences?
Give them what they want – not what they expect.
Sit, stare, click away, Twitter, Facebook, stare, Gmail, Goodreads, stare, put on pants, walk to coffee shop, maybe get actual work done.
Red Glove by Holly Black
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