17.4.11

Bookish Links (1)

Things to read. Things to listen to. Things to ponder. Things to love.


  • The 5th anniversary issue of Goblin Fruit is out, and it is wonderful. Goblin Fruit is an online journal that publishes poetry "that treats mythic, surreal, fantasy and folkloric themes, or approaches other themes in a fantastical way". If you do not know about it, it is well worth to explore and go back in the archives. There are real treasures there. I also love that you can listen to some of the authors reading their poem. It adds another dimension to the poetry, as I think it is meant to be read out loud. I am particularly fond of "Crowfunded" by J. C. Runolfson and "The Making of Witches" by Paul McQuade. 
  • Author Theodora Goss writes about vampires in folklore and literature at the Realms of Fantasy website. A very interesting read, expecially since vampires are very popular right now in fiction, and especially in young adult literature.
  • Gwenda Bond talks about dystopia in YA fiction in an article called "The Future's Not Bright", at Tor.com. Also very relevant, since  dystopia has, it seems, almost eclipsed the vampire trend in YA literature now. I like the genre a lot and find the questions raised and the discussion very interesting.
  • Magazine and Publisher Tin House has an incredibly fascinating and beautiful podcast with Karen Russell, author of St. Lucy's Home for Girl Raised by Wolves, and Swamplandia! (read my review of the book here) entitled "The Cartography of Imaginary Places". Highly recommended.
  • Did you know you could listen, and watch, to the entirety of The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman? For Free? Done during his national book tour, he also answers questions from the audience. Read by the author himself, it is absolutely awesome and delightful. 
(first three links found via Terri Windling's blog)
Image credit: mine :)

    1 comment:

    1. Wonderful links, MJ :)

      My theory on the popularity of vampire fiction (like the Twilight series) is that it represents the ultimate teenage 'true love' fantasy. By becoming immortal, a couple can literally have true love forever. I think they really connect with feelings of insecurity and mortality that all people have- which is one reason why the vampire is such a popular figure throughout literature. (That said, I think Twilight is complete drivel and try to pretend it doesn't exist, heh).

      And I love the idea of dystopian fiction becoming more popular in YA novels. It's one of my favourite genres and it has so much possibility and depth.

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