Looks like I might be caught up with these just in time for my vacation next month…    I could, of course, brutally not mention over half the things I keep finding, but that would take all the fun out of these bits!

• Quiz! Yay, I’ve missed my Guardian quizzes, and I’ve found two recent ones I hadn’t linked to yet:  Literary heatwaves (I scored only 3) and a Bloomsday special (ack!  Scored 6 on pure guessing though).  One of these days they’ll make one on a subject I know everything, surely.

• Don’t like someone’s review of your book? Just post their email address and phone number online and call them idiots, like Alice Hoffman did.

• Then again, you can just bribe your reviewers with gift vouchers.  Like we do right here on this blog, too.

• Lists! Must… be… near… end… of… summer… reading… lists… soon…  Right?  We’ll see.  Here’s the Times with their predictions (as opposed to recommendations).  The Guardian lists the 50 best summer reads ever.  And, to prove there’s more to life than summer reading lists, here are 10 recommended young adult books.

• Literary ringtones are surely the thing of the future – and here’s one featuring Philip Roth: Jewish Shouting Mix 3.

• Awards! The Locus Awards for science fiction and fantasy were handed out.  Click here to see all the categories – book winners were Anathem by Neal Stephenson (Science Fiction), Lavinia by Ursula K. Le Guin (Fantasy), Singularity’s Ring by Paul Melko (First Novel) and The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (Young Adult).  Cory Doctorow and Ian MacLeod had to share the honors for the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best science fiction book for Little Brother and Song of Time, respectively.

• And finally, the Espresso Book Machine.  Northshire Bookstore in Vermont has one called Lurch on their premises, and it prints the book while you wait.  That would be cool to have in the store, wouldn’t it. 

Tags: awards, bribes, Children's Books, espresso books, Fiction, idiot, lists, lurch, quiz, red flags and bulls, reviews, ringtones, Science Fiction/Fantasy, summer reading

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