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.

Free Speech: Use and Abuse

If free speech was a drug, would you get addicted to it? Or would you use it in small quantities, like caffeine? http://www.reallifecomics.com/archive/001005.html On the other hand, I drink a lot of caffeine when I need to, or when I want to. (Since I've started this journalism workshop, it's been a case of desire more than genuine need.)

Seriously, though, where is the limit to free speech? Does it stop at the end of the world, or the place where zombies go after they die again?

The abstract limit is either "when you violate another person's freedom of speech" or when "you shout 'Fire!' in a movie theater." In another words, when you are a hypocrite or when you lie and cause unnecessary chaos.

Here is the question about the "fire" thing: what if you have to shout "fire"? If someone had shouted "fire" and pulled the alarm at Virginia Tech, maybe less people would've died. If someone had evacuated Columbine under the pretense of a fire drill, then maybe the two shooters would've hit less people. On the other hand, the opposite could've occurred as well.

Evil Books

There's an anthology where you have to write about "books gone bad". I am definitely submitting.

But here are a list of books that I don't recommend, of books that went REALLY bad for me personally:

1) Kim- by Rudyard Kipling. In this book, Indians are called the n-word. That's the point at which I stopped reading the book. Kipling knew nothing about Indians.

2) The Rosemary Tree- by Elizabeth Goudge. Come to think of it, The Little White Horse is Goudge's best novel, the one that heavily influenced J.K. Rowling.

3) Hatching Magic- by Ann Downer. I know people like this story, but it doesn't make sense historically (yes, America was not discovered until 1492 people, and the likelihood of a woman carrying on the family line into the 1990s is pretty small). Not to mention that most of the jokes are a little mind-boggling.


The list will be continued, assuming that I remember the other books that I don't recommend.

Further thoughts on the Uglies trilogy

I've mentioned that the Uglies trilogy was good because it was original. That is partly true. (The covers on the right are the German covers, which I think look better than the American ones.)

The first book, Uglies (I know, the trilogy and the first book share a title; I didn't write the series), is actually the classic betrayal plot that appears in Over the Hedge, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, Gargoyles, you name it. The ending, unfortunately, is not a happy ending; I actually liked the ending and didn't want the series to continue.

As for the cover, I think that the girl posing for the cover could be a pretty, so that's why I don't really like the cover because it then implies that the pretties in the novel are super-beautiful like Barbie dolls. Which they are, but I don't think the pretty standards should be raised more than they are already.

Pretties is a different story, both literally and cover-wise. It's the story we never hear of how the remorseful betrayer actually pays huge consequences for her actions and how her friends suffer as well. The story ends on one of the most twisted cliffhangers that leads straight into book number three.

The cover is the best of the American covers because it actually nails down what pretties should look like. The problem is that this new Tally bears little resemblance to the old Tally. (Tally is the protagonist.) They even change her eye color. That may be intentional, but I still don't like it.

Specials brings the story to a thrilling climax. Tally is not a betrayer, but now an enemy. The world and Tally's ethics turn upside down more than once during this book and she again has to pay for her actions' consequences. This is the first time such a novel has been written. The ending leaves possibilities open
This cover is better than the one for the first book, but it's still a disappointment. Yes, Tally is pretty and she looks arrogant and artificial, but the artist didn't nail her, though he did a good job. When I see this cover I think of a regal queen, not a cruel empress. Once again, you cannot see the previous stage Tally was in, partly because the camera angle does not allow it and because they changed her eye color AGAIN. How do we know that this isn't Shay or Dr. Cable?

That bring said, you can't judge a book by its cover. You'll do yourself a favor if you read this book and the companion to the Uglies trilogy, Extras. And no, I'm not going to post up the cover until I read the book.

A better picture of Death and thoughts on fantasy

I like this picture of Death better with her brother Dream.

Something I was thinking about: why people don't read fantasy but they read Harry Potter. My sister told me on the phone that it was because Harry Potter is very mainstream since it's very funny and most fantasy isn't.

Also, Harry Potter is the most famous fantasy out there. That's why Diana Wynne Jones isn't mentioned among the famous fantasy authors although she has an international fanbase and she is a hilarious writer.

The biggest problem is that there is this stigma that only people who are obsessed with fantasy read it. To an extent I am obsessed with fantasy, but I also read sci-fi, children's fiction, the classics (sometimes I like 'em, sometimes I don't) and a little bit of nonfiction.

I also write fantasy the best out of these categories, but that's because I like to make stuff up. It's so much easier because you can be more original in fantasy. In science fiction there has to be some basis in SCIENCE, which is hard to come up with. I've recently come up with an idea, and there are some sci-fi stories that I'm proud of, like "Black Emily," but so many science-fiction writers have used all the good and original ideas. Even though the best sci-fi classics, Ender's Game and the War of the Worlds, are not original (alien invasions), the current sci-fi good stories include The Uglies trilogy by Scott Westerfeld and Dr. Who, which are both VERY very original.

The doctor does look like he could be a sci-fi writer if he ever gives up being a Time Lord:

Then again, maybe I'm biased because he's good-looking and he looks intelligent, which he is.

SPOILER WARNING: Why Neil Gaiman is better

So my brother sent me a surprise birthday present: the seventh Harry Potter book! I hadn't even asked for it, but I read it in a day, neglecting my writing and daily exercise. (Then again, I'm neglecting them anyway with the journalism course.)
I can't believe that J.K. Rowling did such a cop-out at the end. It makes sense, and the book is the best out of the seven, but-
WE INTERRUPT THIS BLOG TO TELL YOU THAT FROM HERE ON THERE WILL BE SPOILERS ABOUT THE SEVENTH BOOK. READERS BEWARE.
What J.K. Rowling did is what Neil Gaiman did in Neverwhere and American Gods. Why Neil Gaiman is better is that when he revived Shadow and the Marquis, it was not as simple as getting up. The Marquis has his throat cut (he has to bind it) and was coughing up seawater. It was painful for Shadow to come back, and he wanted to stay dead.

Neil Gaiman is the best author on reviving the dead. I mean, he did create Death, or at least Death from the Sandman comics.

No offense to Ms. Rowling, but when I read the scene in the Harry Potter books, I felt like it was a rendition of the scene in Happy Feet when Mumble finds himself in the aquarium. In fact, there was only one death in the book that touched me. But I'm not saying who it is.

A rule for writers: if you are going to revive the dead, it has to come with a price. The revived has to pay a price, not someone else.

Ten More Hours

Harry Potter comes out in ten hours, or more like ten hours and fifteen minutes. How many people will go and wait till midnight? Who will go? Will it be just kids? Will it be adults? May it even *gasp* be a politician?

Here are my thoughts: I DON'T CARE.

That being said, I do love Harry Potter and I can't wait to read the last book, but I have thought about it and I think that I can wait. It is just a book, after all. It's not like it's going to disappear if we don't read it.

I think that Mary GrandPre should've looked at this Photoshopped cover:

When I look at this, I think, "DIE HARRY, DIE!!" It would be cool if J.K. Rowling actually killed him off- that would be the ultimate tragedy. And Harry is a tragic hero- his parents died, his godfather has died, and now his best mentor is dead. Who next? Why, him of course!

I'm writing a Harry Potter parody where the person who's supposed to be Harry, Calliope "Carrie" Nutter, dies. I will not try to publish it as it's only for my own enjoyment to make fun of the series as it should be made fun of. No Tanya Grotters for me!