Via Boing Boing, author Seth Godin reminds us that no one gets talker’s block, because no one cares whether or not they talk perfectly. We talk imperfectly; we should write imperfectly as well to get past any kind of writer’s block.

Bento Books is offering a free sample of the immensely popular Japanese novel, Math Girls.  The website describes it as “Glee for math nerds” and Boing Boing notes that you get a pretty good math lesson in each book.  Sounds like something I need to read—if only for the education!

Patrick Ness has a FREE short story up on Amazon for the Kindle.  The New World describes the events leading up to Viola’s arrival from her point of view and it’s incredibly moving.

(I may have started getting a little teary-eyed while reading it in a parking lot waiting for friends.  Whatever.)

I love that this was the very first thing I downloaded for the Kindle app on my iPod.

A wonderful speech by Patrick Ness on the importance of libraries as he accepted the 2011 Carnegie Medal for Monsters of Men, which I cannot wait to read!

LOVE!  Especially this one.

“Five Sci-Fi Children’s Books” by Caldwell Tanner on CollegeHumor.

Hooray!

The lesser-known creation of Douglas Adams, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, is coming to the BBC!

Coming Soon: Dirk Gently trailer | Tor.com | Science fiction and fantasy | Blog posts.

Reading list for new science fiction readers – Boing Boing.

As the first comment notes, it’s missing <i>Dune</i>—what else is it missing?

If you follow the YA lit world at all, you’ve probably read about the literary festival in Humble, Texas that dis-invited Ellen Hopkins, allegedly because a single librarian encouraged a small group of parents to complain.

It’s ridiculous and a terrible crime that any teen lit author be censored, but it has brought some good.  Four other authors have declined to attend the festival in solidarity with Ms. Hopkins, and then Chris Crutcher left this comment on a Publisher’s Weekly post on the subject:

The point is, it’s a fight we have to wage loudly, if for no other reason than to show the kids we believe they can think for themselves and that we believe in freedom whether that particular freedom “suits” us or not. I’m watching from the sidelines here, but if any of these authors, or any authors the Humble ISD high school kids decide are worth reading, find a way to go there and stage a show for the kids, I’ll attend free of charge, having been among the “disinvited” more times than I can count.

Amen.

Two fun YA events for readers local to the Boulder County area:

And the Lafayette Public Library will be celebrating the launch of Scumble with Scumble crafts and activities, refreshments, book signings and a reading by Ingrid Law. The party will be held on August 27th from 7–9pm and a free ticket (available at the library now) will be required.

The Secret Hour (Midnighters #01) by Scott Westerfield

Three out of Five Stars

Book Source: Library

When Jessica Day moves from big city Chicago to small town Bixby, Oklahoma, she doesn’t have the first idea what she’s getting into. Here, the hour of midnight turns the world to a strange place where everyone and everything else are frozen in time—everyone, that is, except Jessica and the other Midnighters she meets, and everything except the terrifying creatures called darklings and slithers that populate this world and seem hell bent on destroying Jess.

The idea of The Secret Hour is cool, and the details totally original (the darklings are scared of MATH, how cool is that?), it didn’t feel as fully realized as the world of Feed or Uglies. But it did hook me in and keep me reading, and I’m intrigued enough that I would probably get the next one.

I felt myself rolling my eyes a little at the common tropes that Jessica doesn’t know how pretty she is, etc. Her parents felt pretty broadly drawn, but I did like her snarky little sister. The other Midnighters were cool, except Jonathan, who I’m pretty sure I was supposed to like best. What can I say? I liked Dess best, and then Rex. And Melissa scares the crap out of me, so points there.