On the Pile

So people are selling their copies of Kaavya Viswanathan’s book on Amazon and Ebay for nearly $100. Is this really a collector’s item? And how unethical would it be for me to put my review copy up for auction? Any offers?

And here’s another question that perhaps Liz can answer: When a book is recalled for plagiarism, do libraries return their copies?

And how does one get one of those book packaging deals? Because I’ve got notebooks filled with ideas---I just don’t have the discipline to write a book myself.

Anyway . . . My latest review---of A Map of Glass---is up at Austinist. And here’s what else I’m reading.

Finished: Fray, as well as two other Buffy comics---Ring of Fire and Note from the Underground. I enjoyed Fray---beautiful artwork, great story, interesting twist on the Slayer mythology. The other two were rather meh. They didn’t quite capture the cadence or feel of the television show. Hasn't been a big reading week because I've been working on lots of craftyish projects.

Currently Reading: The Dead Fish Museum and Other Stories, which so far is very good. I really think short stories are much harder to write than novels. And these are very good short stories. Also reading a pile of craft books---Generation T, Subversive Cross Stitch, Kitschy Crafts, The Craftster Guide to Nifty, Thrifty, and Kitschy Crafts---for an upcoming craft-book round-up. As part of the review process, I’m trying out some of the projects from each book. The photo documentation is coming soon!

On Deck: An Omnivore’s Dilemma is still on this pile, but it’s been bumped back by Lion’s Honey and In Night’s City.* I’m also itching to get to Persepolis 2. And someday I’ll finally read A Problem From Hell, which I’ve borrowed from the library countless times. I’m also eventually going to finish The Spiral Staircase.

Added to the Pile: I gave the Austin Public Library a break this week, and it was a quiet week for review books. So nothing new on the pile.

*As an aside, Barnes & Noble needs to do some serious proofing on its Web site. I've noticed a lot of book titles that are incorrectly listed. Hey, B&N! If you're reading this, call me!