Brussels Sprouts, Favorite Painters and "From Scroll to Screen" Lev Grossman's article on Pubbing Revolutions

I'm posting random treats!

First, thanks to Sam de la Pena and Mel Corbett for gifting me with two Versatile Blog Awards. Sam describes himself as an author/nursing student/bleeding heart heretic. I've really been enjoying his posts. Visit his witty blog here. Mel writes speculative fiction. Take a look at her blog here. As for the Versatile confessions that I'm supposed to reveal when granted this award, I'll give you a few. Um... I love Brussels Sprouts sauteed with peanut butter; I love the shows Louis CK and Celebrity Rehab (I know, I should be ashamed of the latter, but Dr. Drew is addictive). And, some of my favorite artists are Janet Fish, Charles Burchfield and Alexis Rockman, two of whom have seen my paintings, which is amazing in itself. One of my prized possessions is a Burchfield drawing of thistle my hubby gave me. Above, from left to right, is Burchfield's Four Seasons, and a Janet Fish painting. On the bottom, is an Alexis Rockman, who speaks to bio-tech and climate change.

Next, here's a link to author, Lev Grossman's New York Times article "From Scroll to Screen" on revolutions in reading that include the ancient use of scrolls, the invention of the Guttenberg Press that spawned an explosion in "codex" literacy, and the rise of eBooks that democratize the publishing playing field. Read it here. Lev has written The Magician and The Magician King.

Parsnips, eBooks, and the Upside of feared apps

It’s fall, and I spent last Saturday getting all the last gems out of the weekend garden in the Catskills. I’m an earth sign, so I love the vegetables that grow in the soil best: carrots, potatoes, beets, turnips and my absolute favorite: parsnips.

They’re hard to get out of the ground. They’re warm and protected down there, and it takes a pitchfork or a trowel to unearth them, as well as strong arm and hand muscles. Parsnips are long and spindly, and even after the soil is loosened you have to twist them and yank them up. It’s always exciting to see that rosy potato or fat carrot first peek out.

And then there are apples on the trees to be picked before the frost. They’re spotty and rough on the outside, but are much spicier and fresher than store-bought on the inside, and can last a whole winter in the fridge. Tonight, I’ll make chutney, with apples, cinnamon and raisins. Goes well with ham or anything, really.

Why write about food when I could write about books? Well, why not? I very recently opened this Idea City link on blogspot when I decided update my website, and then felt frozen about what to post first. Too many possibilities!

Now that I’m warmed up, I can talk about writing too. I was pleased to see my YA historical fiction, Refugees, selling on so many eBook formats. And it’s back in stock on Amazon. When I wrote it, a few people said, “It’s too early to write about what happened in Afghanistan.” Well, it wasn’t, and isn’t. Unfortunately, war is still raging in 2009, and will be in 2010. Besides, Refugees is more about the history over there, and the culture, and about trying to find some common ground with the west. Still apropos to global concerns today. And as much as authors and booksellers are rightly worried about the effects of eBooks on the market, I clearly see the benefits of the eBook with this, because anyone anywhere—in Egypt, in Iran, in Turkey, in freaking Timbuktu can download it, no matter that the foreign paper rights weren’t sold in those countries. It was always my hope, and my intention for the eastern parts of the world to have access to the story.

While I'm on the subject of the upside of most feared apps, I encourage you to read this New York Times Op Ed entitled “A Library to Last Forever” by Sergey Brin, published October 8^th, 2009:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/09/opinion/09brin.html

Happy treasure hunting, parsnip-picking and, of course, writing.