One morning at breakfast, when she was in the first or second grade, E. L. Doctorow’s daughter, Caroline, asked her father to write a [...]]]> There’s a NYTimes piece, The Writer in the Family, that’s making the rounds right now. I don’t agree with most of the generalizations about writers. However, this part? Yes.

One morning at breakfast, when she was in the first or second grade, E. L. Doctorow’s daughter, Caroline, asked her father to write a note explaining her absence from school, due to a cold, the previous day. Doctorow began, “My daughter, Caroline. . . . ” He stopped. “Of course she’s my daughter,” he said to himself. “Who else would be writing a note for her?” He began again. “Please excuse Caroline Doctorow. . . . ” He stopped again. “Why do I have to beg and plead for her?” he said. “She had a virus. She didn’t commit a crime!” On he went, note after failed note, until a pile of crumpled pages lay at his feet. Finally, his wife, Helen, said, “I can’t take this anymore,” penned a perfect note and sent Caroline off to school. Doctorow concluded: “Writing is very difficult, especially in the short form.”

The first time I rode in [...]]]> Ever since I was little, I’ve loved maps, especially following highlighted AAA Triptiks as we drove from one state to another during family trips. I’d memorize names of strange places like Fishkill and Poughkeepsie and compare the pocket-sized maps to the large foldout ones that filled the entire backseat.

The first time I rode in a car with a GPS was as a graduate student at the MIT Media Lab. We nearly didn’t make it to our destination because we kept taking alternate routes to see how long it would take the GPS to remap our path based on our new position. (Moral: never travel with a group of hackers if punctuality matters.) Even now, I love to walk around with my iPhone’s GPS open and watch an airplane’s flight tracker to see exactly where we are. The body suggests, “I am here,” and the map confirms, “Yes. You Are Here.”

Today was a good day for maps.

First, I saw this video (via Jason Kottke) that shows how European nations and borders changed from 1000 – 2005 CE.

Then I read a fascinating piece on German and Italian exclaves in Switzerland. I love reading about history, and maps imply journeys and stories — connections and separations; identities; self. I knew the main arc of Switzerland’s history, from France’s invasion and annexation of the region, making it a country for the first time, to the Congress of Vienna’s acceptance of Switzerland’s neutrality to the actual unification of the country. I also knew that language ties Switzerland to its neighbors via cantons that predominantly speak French, German, or Italian. However, I had no idea that little pieces of Germany and Italy actually exist within Switzerland’s borders, islands from other nations, separated by geography but secured by contracts.

I became instantly obsessed with the notion of enclaves and exclaves, like China Miéville’s The City & The City except here we have a country within a country.

I continued to follow links and ended up at the article’s author’s blog, Strange Maps, where I saw another map that made me pause and rethink the concepts of state and geography:

US States Renamed For Countries With Similar GDPs by Frank Jacobs

What strange juxtapositions — Texas as Canada; Peru bordering Finland; New Hampshire as Bangladesh. I was reminded of Tim Maly‘s Border Town project and Andrew’s contribution, his Border Patrol essay on censorship and creative borders.

And of course, this brings me back to world-building. Where do your characters go? Do they avoid any areas in their world? Do their maps contain enclaves or exclaves, and do the borders and landscapes change over the course of the story? Do they create pockets of home when they feel most alienated? Do they burst free of their boundaries?

According to Andrew, I don’t read them. I DEVOUR them.

I read quickly and repeatedly — I race through the first time for plot. I want to know what happens. Then I reread for texture and to see how the author put the [...]]]> This is how I normally am with books:

According to Andrew, I don’t read them. I DEVOUR them.

I read quickly and repeatedly — I race through the first time for plot. I want to know what happens. Then I reread for texture and to see how the author put the story together. And yes, I write the same way — in layers.

This May is problematic. There are too many books coming out too quickly, and I want to read them all! But I also know that many of these books will need to be savored, even on the first reading, and I want to carve out time so I can not rush for a change.

Which books? Well, Bitterblue came out a week ago. Normal me would have downloaded and read it on release day. I liked Graceling and loved Fire. I met Kristin after Fire and saw some of what she went through with Bitterblue, and I want to linger over it. See You at Harry’s by Jo Knowles came out today, and no, I haven’t downloaded and raced through it yet, either. It’s also going to need time, space, and from what I hear — an entire box of Kleenex. And Hilary Mantel’s Bring Up the Bodies is also out today. I was only able to read Wolf Hall once, but it was rich and satisfying, and I expect similar fare from the follow up.

I did race through Kelley Armstrong’s The Calling already and will probably do the same with Cassandra Clare’s latest, City of Lost Souls.

And then the double-read — I’ll race through Carrie’s book, Endure, because it’s the final book in her series and I want to know what happens, and then I’ll go back and read her series as a whole to see how she did it.

Right now I’m not reading my May books. I’m forcing myself to wait while I dig out and catch up — and there’s still so much to do. Instead I just started The Map of Time, which has been in my TBR pile for months, and I’m enjoying it — bit by bit. I’ve waited long enough that I can take my time rather than devouring it in one sitting.

Speaking of eating books, Maurice Sendak passed away today, and I’ve read several wonderful tributes and testaments about the beloved (and cantankerous) writer and artist. Andrew and I got to hear Maurice Sendak give his Arbuthnot lecture at MIT back in 2003, when I was just getting into children’s literature, and I’m so glad we had the chance to hear him live. Of all the tributes and interview excerpts, this one might be my favorite. NPR posted the following to their Facebook page:

Rest in peace, Mr. Sendak.

Here’s the official description:

Unbored is the guide and activity book every modern kid needs. Vibrantly designed, lavishly illustrated, brilliantly walking the line between [...]]]> Last summer I wrote a few pieces for a field guide for kids. Unbored: The Essential Field Guide to Serious Fun comes out in October, and it’s already available for pre-order!

Here’s the official description:

Unbored is the guide and activity book every modern kid needs. Vibrantly designed, lavishly illustrated, brilliantly walking the line between cool and constructive, it’s crammed with activities that are not only fun and doable but also designed to get kids engaged with the wider world.

With contributions from a diverse crowd of experts, the book provides kids with information to round out their worldview and inspire them to learn more. From how-tos on using the library or writing your representative to a graphic history of video games, the book isn’t shy about teaching. Yet the bulk of the 350-page mega-resource presents hands-on activities that further the mission in a fun way, featuring the best of the old as well as the best of the new: classic science experiments, crafts and upcycling, board game hacking, code-cracking, geocaching, skateboard repair, yarn bombing, stop-action movie-making—plus tons of sidebars and extras, including trivia, best-of lists, and Q&As with leading thinkers whose culture-changing ideas are made accessible to kids for the first time.

Just as kids begin to disappear into their screens, here is a book that encourages them to use those tech skills to be creative, try new things, and change the world. And it encourages parents to participate. Unbored is exciting to read, easy to use, and appealing to young and old, girl and boy. Parents will be comforted by its anti-perfectionist spirit and humor. Kids will just think it’s awesome.

Contributors include: Mark Frauenfelder of MAKE magazine; Colin Beavan, the No Impact Man; Douglas Rushkoff, renowned media theorist; Geoff Manaugh, author of BLDGBLOG; John Edgar Park, a CG supervisor at DisneyToon Studios; and Jean Railla, founder of GetCrafty.com and Etsy consultant.

(From Bloomsbury)

I just saw the proof, and it looks *awesome* — great illustrations, design, and layout. The contributor lineup is terrific — I’m excited to be part of this group.

It’s also just fun to be part of something I know I would’ve loved as a kid. There’s a huge range of projects, and I loved books that were packed with information and activities.

Unbored is available at Amazon, B&N, and IndieBound. Click through. Check it out. Order for your kid, classroom, or favorite young person

A while ago, I read Gina Trapani’s excellent Lifehacker post on her standing desk, and I was intrigued. However, I have a small writing desk [...]]]> I’ve posted about organizational tools that I like, such as Scription and Scrivener. Now I’m trying something new and a little different, which I’m going to log periodically.

A while ago, I read Gina Trapani’s excellent Lifehacker post on her standing desk, and I was intrigued. However, I have a small writing desk that I love (it was a wedding present from my husband which makes it even better!), so I never went for it. Now that we’re in a new space, however, I started considering it again because I’m desk shopping.

Recently, I’ve also read a slew of articles highlighting how terrible sedentary lifestyles are for humans (including this hard-hitting infographic). We sit when we work, when we watch television, when we eat, and then we lie down to sleep. Sure, people go to the gym for their 30-60 min. workouts, but that isn’t nearly enough. I’m a writer and I have a tutoring company. Guess what. I sit a lot. When I went from teaching to an office job, I immediately gained 5-7 lbs. This for a girl who was 85 lbs when she went to college and couldn’t break 100 lbs until she was in grad school (which wasn’t a good thing — my pediatrician told me whenever I got hungry, I should eat peanut butter or ice cream — I ate, but I was still a size 14 kids and didn’t look healthy).

So as of 5/1, I began a standing experiment. I haven’t bought a desk yet, which is a really good thing because I would have bought the wrong height — it’s really important to test this out before actually purchasing something unless it’s adjustable. Right now I’m standing at our kitchen buffet counter with my laptop on a low box so that my wrists lie flat, my arms are relaxed, and I don’t have to bend to see my screen.

I’m not completely hardcore — standing for 8 hours at a time or anything. I listen to my body. When I’m tired, I sit. When I start falling asleep at my desk, I stand again. Right now I’m doing a few hours on and a few off and alternating. Thus far, I really like it.

It’s physically tiring if you aren’t used to it. Also, I’m constantly hungry, so I’m grazing throughout the day (which is supposed to be better than eating a few giant meals anyway). But the real secret to a standing desk? It’s impossible to stand still — I’m constantly moving and shifting and yes, taking impromptu dance breaks when songs like this come up on my Spotify playlist:

A year later, Gina’s still standing. I wonder how this will go for me!

1. Kirkus Reviews

- Jo Knowles has a [...]]]> Over the past few days, I’ve been reading all sorts of exciting news, so here it is, pulled together in a Friday Five. (PS — Yes, I know I cheated in how I structured this list, but there was too much good stuff to share!):

1. Kirkus Reviews

- Jo Knowles has a new book coming out on May 8th, and See You at Harry’s just got a starred review from Kirkus! Hooray!! I met Jo through NESCBWI conferences and LJ, and the words that come to mind when I think of her are kind, generous, thoughtful, and brave. From all of the buzz, this book is infused with her spirit. Congratulations, Jo — can’t wait to read it

- Everyone probably knows that Kristin Cashore has a new book coming out this spring. Bitterblue will be released on May 1st, and it also received a starred review from Kirkus! Twitter has been full of feedback from people reading Advanced Reader Copies of Bitterblue, and the comment I’ve seen most frequently is that it’s amazing how much Kristin grows as a writer with each book. This doesn’t surprise me at all –  Kristin is one of the most disciplined people I know. Writers always ask about things like social media platforms and whether they should blog or tweet or be on Facebook, etc. Kristin has a blog, but it isn’t open to comments. She doesn’t tweet. She isn’t on Facebook. All of that brain space (and there’s a lot of it!) goes to research and writing. She unplugs entirely and immerses herself in her work, and all of the time she takes to get her book just right from overall structure to individual word choice shows. I couldn’t do it, but I admire her for it.

2. New Books

- Deborah Kops has a new book out — The Great Molasses Flood — and she just discussed it on WBUR. She captures one of the weirdest moments in history, simultaneously sad and surreal, and walks a fine line of conveying what happened without making it ridiculous. Congrats on the book launch and the interview, Deborah, and I hope the NPR effect is kicking in right now!

- And a huge congrats to Kelly R. Fineman on the publication of her first picture book, At the Boardwalk. Jama Rattigan has a *wonderful* post about Kelly and her book. Kelly has been racking up awards for her poetry, and I’m delighted that we can now hold and touch an illustrated poem of hers.

3. Women in Tech

- Mass High Tech named Jenn Thom to their 2012 Women to Watch list. Yay, Jenn! This is an *impressive* group of women. Jenn studies culture, collaboration, and ownership in the context of social media — super important research, especially today. Huge congrats and well-deserved.

- Speaking of important research: we all know that danah boyd’s an academic rock star who stands up for the rights of at-risk youth. Her latest project? Teaming up with pop star Lady Gaga to launch the Born This Way Foundation. What I love most about their work is that they’re focusing on positive change — reinforcing individuality and creating a community of support. It’s easy to look at bullying as a black and white issue with a good guy (the victim) and the bad guy (the bully). Rarely is life so simple, especially when all of the participants are children. (As a side note: the New Yorker takes close look at both sides of the Tyler Clementi-Dharun Ravi case at Rutgers that’s a must read for anyone who cares about these issues.) I am beyond thrilled that danah’s research is turning into action and that the Berkman Center has teamed up with Gaga. The partnership makes sense and has the potential for massive impact. Congratulations on launching the foundation this week!

4. Golden Kites

SCBWI just announced their annual Golden Kite Awards. Congratulations to all of the winners! Special congrats to NESCBWI author, Kate Messner, who won a Golden Kite for her picture book Over and Under the Snow and to VCFA alumn, Trent Reedy, whose novel Words in the Dust received an honor.

5. TED Week

And a second congratulations to Kate Messner, who is giving a TED Talk this week! She is just rocking the world so hard right now. I mentioned that Kristin is one of the most disciplined people I know — danah and Kate are two others. I have so much admiration and respect for the way they approach their work and want to make the world better, whether through education, feminism, or activism. Kate is talking about the power of world-building in dystopian fiction and how students can apply those same techniques to solve future problems. Her dystopian novel, Eye of the Storm, came out this week — as if she didn’t have enough going on already

6. And, as usual, a bonus point…

On a more personal note, the Boston Business Journal profiled me as part of their Outside the Box series. The article is only available to subscribers, but it was fun — a mix of personal and professional questions regarding my background and TheWritingFaculty.

Happy Friday, everyone! Clearly we are ROARING into March.

Ten days ago, I posted some questions regarding the role of writers as reviewers. Today, [...]]]> Of course now that I’ve declared a blog pause, I’m breaking it. Isn’t this how it always goes? But — I got called out on Twitter! And it made me think. Which means a long form follow up.

Ten days ago, I posted some questions regarding the role of writers as reviewers. Today, I had direct experience with it.

I have a family friend who is a writer and reviewer — and before we go any further, let me state up front that I haven’t spoken with him about any of his reviews let alone the book I’ll mention. Last night when I was catching up on Google Reader, I noticed a NYTimes book review by James Parker. I thought — oh, I wonder if it’s our James. He’s the entertainment writer for The Atlantic, but I didn’t know he reviewed for the Times, as well. So of course I clicked through, and within a paragraph realized it was written by the James I know — his writing style is completely over the top and hilarious. His voice, whether in fiction, nonfiction, or email, is unmistakable.

The review was tough. But it also kind of made me want to read the book — The Technologists by Matthew Pearl. I love genre fiction — whether crime novels or paranormal fiction — I think a childhood filled with Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, and Tom Swift novels did it — and this sounded like a potentially fun genre piece. As James describes it:

There is romance, there are fisticuffs. Laboratories explode. The manliest of the Technologists is haunted by his memories of the Civil War. “Say, what puts you in such a brown study this morning? That little social call yesterday from the men in blue?” Somebody says that. You see the elements assembling. What we have in “The Technologists” is basically a ripping yarn with some war-of-ideas apparatus and plenty of period furniture, the whole accompanied by a distracting space-junk drone of bad writing. Like this: “Entering the college’s study room, Marcus and Frank were pre-emptively hushed by a table of students in the corner before they even said anything.” And this: “He lifted his hand to his hat, but she simply looked the other way with a crimson bloom tainting her pale cheeks.” Now that’s Victorian melodrama — Victorian pornography, almost. In a more ironic text, or one more aware of the possibility of pastiche, it might work; but Pearl appears to be using his 19th-century setting as a license to write extra-badly.

As I said, a tough review where the writing is concerned, but the plot sounds fun, right? After all, fisticuffs! Exploding laboratories!

Reader, I tweeted it:

James P’s review kind of makes me want to read this book. Incredulously enough: nyti.ms/yWB3ff

— anindita (@anindita) February 25, 2012

James’s wife, who is also a friend, happened to be on Twitter and wrote back. We exchanged 2-3 tweets and then took our conversation offline. And that was that.

Until this morning. When Matthew Pearl, best-selling author of The Dante Club, whose books, as James noted, have been published in over 40 countries, responded on Twitter:

@anindita I’m sure your friend would love to be treated with that level of unprofessionalism. Luckily, no human beings involved.

— Matthew Pearl (@MatthewPearl) February 25, 2012

My response?

@MatthewPearl Apologies! I thought the review was over the top & funny but you’re right. Wouldn’t want to receive it. I enjoyed Dante Club.

— anindita (@anindita) February 25, 2012

Now here’s what made me pause: I apologized, which implies that I was at fault for something. So what did I do that was wrong?

Tweet a link to a tough review? Isn’t that okay? I mean — this is an internationally best-selling author, and he was reviewed in the NYTimes. If that isn’t okay to tweet, what is?

Is it because I thought the review was funny and referenced one of the toughest sections of the review in the tweet? Does that make me a bad person? But I always enjoy James’s writing, whether he’s interviewing Stephen King or writing about Diary of a Wimpy Kid. My amusement with James’s verbal pyrotechnics wasn’t personal.

But that, I think, was exactly the problem. To me, Matthew Pearl was a random celebrity whose book was the subject of a review by someone I know. To Matthew Pearl, I wasn’t a random person who happened upon a review. I was a friend of the reviewer piling on.

Let’s break down Matthew’s tweet: (1) I’m sure your friend would love to be treated with that level of unprofessionalism. (2) Luckily, no human beings involved.

I can’t get into whether or not the review was “unprofessional” — I’m not a reviewer. This isn’t my field. I do know that James writes for publications like the NYTimes & The Atlantic which indicates a certain level of professionalism. I’m also undoubtedly biased toward James, whom I know to be a solid guy who doesn’t get his kicks from writing tough reviews.

However, I was struck by the second part of the tweet. I felt bad that Matthew felt bad, and I didn’t want to add to that — regardless of who reviewed his book and how. It’s the human aspect that bothered me.

Prior to his tweet, Matthew Pearl was the internationally best-selling author of a couple of books — one of which I read and enjoyed. He’s a celebrity outside of my sphere of influence. For him, the review was personal. It’s his work, after all.

Was it right for him to tweet his dissatisfaction with the review at me? After all, he has no idea whether James is my best friend (he’s not) or someone that I met 2 1/2 years ago and like and hang out with on occasion, usually at parties or dinners (he is). Either way, I’m not responsible for James’s opinions, nor do I have his platform.

Because he’s an author, Matthew’s work is out there to be reviewed. That’s part of the publication process. And James has a job as a reviewer — to give people an idea of what they’re about to pick up, his thoughts on it, and why.

And me? The only reason this feels at all complicated is because as a writer, I feel for Matthew. The review hurt. I don’t want to add to that, and as I said in my tweet to him, I wouldn’t want to receive a review that was so critical of my writing. At the same time, James wrote a thorough review with examples and analysis. As a reader, I think he set my expectations and therefore did his job as a reviewer. He hasn’t prevented me from picking up the book — if anything, his review will make me pick it up.

Would I have tweeted the review if it hadn’t been written by a friend? Probably not. I read one of Matthew Pearl’s books nearly ten years ago, and while I remember enjoying the book, I only clicked on this review because someone I know had written it, not because of the subject of the review. Would I have tweeted the review if it had been written about a friend’s book? Probably not, unless I wanted to call out the reviewer and stand up for my writer friend.

Ah, subjectivity.

The social media lesson of the day: every tweet lacks context for at least one of your readers. That doesn’t mean you should self-censor, but anyone could be reading, and you have to be ready for it. I get why Matthew responded to me even though I feel like a rando in this situation, and I hope he gets that I didn’t mean to make him feel bad.

But when it comes to reviewing, what’s a girl to do? Stop tweeting and/or writing reviews? Ignore personal feelings because this is a professional domain and reviews go with the territory? Stop over thinking the matter? Your insights and experience would be much appreciated! The community is tiny, and balancing honesty, politeness, the personal, and the professional can be challenging.