A Children's Book Almanac

Drop everything, hop online, and check out this new project by Anita Silvey:

A Children's Book Almanac

Both an online resource and later (next spring) to become a book, this project is perfect for your daily dose of children's lit information. Anita Silvey - former publisher for Houghton Mifflin, children's non-fiction author, professor, and all-around children's and young adult literature expert - is writing daily posts about a children's book or author, something relevant to that date. Giving current information, background stories, historical context, reading audience, and any other tidbits that pop up, you'll find a treasure trove of information from this exalted, knowledgeable source.

While I think this is a brilliant project in its own right, I can't help but be proud of the behind-the-scenes research done by Alison A. Ernst of Alison Ernst Associates, a fellow graduate of the Simmons MFA program in Writing Literature for Children, and librarian extraordinaire-turned-consultant.

Congratulations, Anita and Alison!

New Book Porn

Hi all,

I apologize for the long hiatus. For the past 2 weeks, I have been busy settling into my new role as Sales Assistant/Receptionist for Beacon Press, and figuring out where my blogging life fits into that. This is the first position I've had in 5 years where I wasn't required to read something for work. It's an odd feeling - I work for a publishing company, and yet my opinion on the books published isn't sought.

Not that I'm the end-all-be-all in opinions, but whether it was as a bookseller, book blogger, book buyer, or editorial intern reader review writer (say that 5 times fast), I was encouraged to give a well-thought-out opinion on the books I came into contact with on a daily basis. Now as the sales assistant-slash-receptionist, I am required to process book orders via computer, phone, and fax, and above all, have a friendly smile in place while greeting Beacon Press and UUA visitors. Where do book reviews fit into all of that? For the first time, my professional life isn't directly linked to my personal interests, my academic pursuits, or my reading/blogging passions. Eek! Identity crisis in the works!

Not that I have anything to complain about, really. At Beacon, everyone has been incredibly nice and welcoming. I've joined twice-weekly lunchtime yoga and a once-a-week lunchtime knitting group. What's not to love about that? In addition, they were charming and understanding about the one sick day I already had to take. (And can I pause for a moment here to give thanks to the bizarre blessing that for the first time in 2 years, I could actually afford to take a sick day - make that a sick weekend - without getting behind in either grad school homework or employment home work.)

In the meantime, while I get adjusted to my new schedule and figure out where blogging fits in, check out some new book porn in the sidebar, and don't forget to hit up the links of other favorite blogs to see what they have to say. I promise blogging will fit back into my life soon.

Stay tuned for a final "What I Learned From My Fall Internship" post and a hopefully a true Beacon Press introduction.