Tamale Hut Cafe Reading Series, Tonight, July 27

Hey, it's time for my once-a-month social excursion!

The subject line pretty well sums up what I'll be doing this fine evening, but if you're curious about the readers (plural!) that the reading series I help coordinate will be featuring tonight, you can find out more information by clicking here.

The Dead Robots' Society, or, What to Do When Stuck at the Computer

With the exception of the times I've been in class or, you know, at some place like the grocery store, it's been rare for me to be away from the computer this year. (You wouldn't know that by looking at how infrequently I update this blog, but anyway...) I have to confess that the times when I don't have a computer-based project hanging directly over my head, like last night/this morning, are kinda glorious. I basically just sit with my notebook and whatever books I'm reading and binge.

However, during the most recent stretch of computer work, I did make a discovery for myself that made the work go by much more pleasantly. I have to emphasize that it's a discovery only within the confines of my little world, because The Dead Robots' Society podcast is up to 280 episodes as of this writing, which makes it safe to say that other people already have found and enjoyed it. But I enjoyed it, too, enough that I wanted to write about it. The show's regular contributors are all writers who are working diligently at getting their work out there, and they speak candidly (yet warmly) about how the process is going. It's heartening to hear people talk honestly about their experiences with the writing life yet also remain encouraging.

So if you're looking for an engaging podcast that discusses writing, I recommend The Dead Robots' Society. It's good enough to make me turn on my computer when I don't have to.

Glen Ellyn School District Lifts Its Ban on 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower'

From NBC Chicago: Glen Ellyn Lifts Ban on "Wallflower" Book

"No book is right for every student. Classroom libraries serve a unique and important role by offering students reading choices according to their own interests, experiences, and family values. Parents are free to supervise what their children select and request an alternative if they object to a particular book. However, removing a book restricts the rights of other students and parents who may want their children to be able to read books such as 'Perks' with the benefit of a teacher‟s guidance." -from a letter from the National Coalition Against Censorship 

This article explains how the brouhaha started and ends with what I think is a perfect quote from one of the parents of a student in the school district:

"'It was really touching to hear the kids have such passion for the book,' Blyth said. 'Personally, I think books are a pretty safe way to encounter some of life's more difficult situations.'"

I Write Like

This is something fun to play around with, courtesy of my friend Jeanine Vaughn. Copy and paste a bit of sample text, and see which famous writer's writing your prose resembles! I pasted in two different writing samples and got Stephen King and Margaret Atwood.

Analyze your writing at I Write Like

I write like
Margaret Atwood

I Write Like. Analyze your writing!

A reading with Robert Rodi, tomorrow at 7 p.m.!

Tomorrow night is May's entry in the Tamale Hut Cafe Reading Series. I've got hosting duties, and the awesome Robert Rodi is our featured reader. Come join us!

Tamale Hut Cafe Reading Series presents Robert Rodi, Saturday, May 25, at 7 p.m.

Black Gate Reviews 'The Book of Horrible Stories'

A confession: A few days back, I went e-stalking Michael Penkas. Kind of. He's a talented Chicago-area writer, active in various reading series throughout the city, and I wanted to see if he had a website or blog or anything where he talks more about what he's been reading and writing. (He does: michaelpenkas.blogspot.com) In doing this, I found that he wrote a really kind and fantastic review of The Book of Horrible Stories for Black Gate. So Mike, thank you.

The Book of Horrible Stories reviewed at Black Gate

More About 'The Book of Horrible Stories'

It looks like a photo that I used in other posts on this blog, but this is actually a shot of the last copy of The Book of Horrible Stories that I made with the materials I originally bought. It went out in the mail a couple of weeks ago, which left me a little sad, oddly. I imagined myself feeling a little bit like a mother watching her youngest child graduate: "You go out into the world and shine, now!" *sniffle*

I guess it's funny, in a way. When I began making the physical copies last year, I really didn't think I'd sell enough of them to use up all the materials I had selected. And that was good, because one piece of the puzzle was something I had purchased off the clearance shelf at the local craft store.

The last copy that you see above was sold through the Open Books bookstore; much to my surprise, a customer requested it. When Lizzy, the store's super-fantastic assistant manager, contacted me about getting that for her customer, she also suggested that I should make a few more copies for their "Local Authors" shelf, to which I said, "Yeah! Awesome!" or something similar.

Then I checked what materials I still had left and said, "Oops." It had been a while since last I made any, and... oops.

So below you see the second edition? printing? incarnation? of The Book of Horrible Stories.

Pretty much the same, just with a slightly different green strip on the cover. Seems like it should have been radically different, now that I've typed out that whole explanation, but there it is.

And there it is on the shelf.

They've got all four of the copies I made last week; according to Lizzy, I'm next to Gillian Flynn in the alphabetical list of local authors and on the shelf below, which is bewildering. I'm not Gillian Flynn; I'm nowhere near Gillian Flynn (except on this shelf). But I am at Open Books, which is a wonderful bookstore, no matter whose book you're buying. Hope you can see it for yourself sometime!