Wednesday Stuff and Items

It has come to our attention that we are woefully behind on the cake front.

So here are some we prepared earlier, accompanied by interpretive links to stuff and items of interest.

1) Hedgehog slice disguised as a CHRISTMAS PUDDING!*

Much as Kate Winslet is going to be disguised as the main character in the upcoming film version of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society to be directed by Kenneth Branagh. THIS IS VERY EXCITING.

2) A cheesecake for our Fearless Leader

Before and after:

Before and after:

In the interests of transparency, we confess that some persons in the House, and some persons allied with some persons in the House, have actually follwed the instructions in this book and felted their cat's hair.  We don't know whether to be impressed or alarmed.

3)  Walnut & Cinnamon Bundt cake 

Observe that exquisite form, and that delicate distribution of icing sugar. Look at that pretty plate. The only thing on the internet that is hipper than this cake is this photo essay, which matches women's fashion photos by The Sartoralist with Haruki Murakami covers.

4) Vanilla Panacotta with berries

Mostly... Maybe often...?  Okay more like sometimes, operations around here are as smooth as this creamy dessert. Edits slide off to the author; covers slip through the approval process; books soft-shoe out the door to the printer. At other times, operations around here more closely resemble this...

* SB made this beautiful thing for our staff Christmas party. Super clever.

A Confusion of Printzes*

The American Library Association has announced the winners and honor** books for their 2012 Literary Awards  - oh only the most prestigious youth literature awards in all the US of A.

Huge huge congratulations to and deafening cheers for...

Michael L Printz Honor Book

Bloodflower by Christine Hinwood  

(published as The Returning in the US)

Michael L Printz Honor Book

Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey 

The Printz is awarded for excellence in literature written for young adults.

and 

Stonewall Book Award - Mike Morgan & Larry Romans 

Childrens & Young Adult Literature Award

Honor Book:   

Pink by Lili Wilkinson!

The Stonewall is awarded annually to English-language children's and young adult books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience.

 

Very very well done, Lili, Craig and Christine!

Stamps, hollers, woops!

*See what we did there?  Genius, I tell you. Geeenius.
** Those American Librarians. We love them. We do. But boy, we wish they spelled honour the same way we spell it.

Attention Aspiring Authors

We may have mentioned before that we like making books. A LOT. Working with clever publishers, authors and illustrators is our FAVOURITE. THING. IN. THE. WORLD. And if you are a writer of books for children - you too can enjoy our FAVOURITE. THING. IN. THE. WORLD. Hurrah!

The Faber Academy at Allen & Unwin is offering not one, but two - YES! TWO! - Writing for Children courses in Melbourne.

One-day course
Getting Published as a Writer for Children
Rosalind Price
Saturday 31 March 2012
For many years, Rosalind Price was our fearless leader in the House of Onion. Every day, it was a tremendous privilege to learn from her, to discover her way of seeing the world, to have her assured guidance, to hear her considered and insightful observations and her joyful, passionate and irreverent approach to publishing.

We cannot recommend her highly enough.
We cannot even get close.

This one-day course offers new writers for children an amazing opportunity. You too can learn from Rosalind. And Rosalind knows all about this SECRET PUBLISHING BUSINESS. She knows it! And if you do this course - she will SHARE THOSE SECRETS WITH YOU!
Book here.

Three-month course
Writing for Children
Sally Rippin and guests Andy Griffiths & Martine Murray
Course begins on 7 February 2012

People! Do you need any more encouragement? Sally Rippin. Andy Griffiths. Martine Murray.
FOR THREE MONTHS!

Sally Rippin is the incredibly lovely and wonderfully talented author and illustrator of these brilliant books for children.
AND she can help you craft a compelling story, write memorable characters, develop authentic dialogue and create an evocative setting. AND she'll help you with themes and language suited to various age groups. AND, like Rosalind, Sally will tell you secrets - YES! SECRETS! - about what publishers are looking for and how to convince them that your books are worth publishing.

The course will include these very important items:
Beginnings!
Middles!
Ends!
Brainstorming!
Characters!
Martine Murray!
Voice!
Sense of Place!
Genre!
Andy Griffiths!
Series!
Short stories!
Drafting and re-drafting. (We'll use our inside voices for this one, just in case we scare anyone off with the idea of drafting and re-drafting and re-drafting and re-draft... oops, we got carried away.)
Secret Publishing Business!

FOURTEEN SESSIONS!
Book Here.
Quick! Sticks!

We got a little shouty there. Forgive us. You might not be paying proper attention and we wanted to make sure you heard us. We don't want you to miss out. DON'T MISS OUT!

BETTER YET - GO HAVE DRINKS!
At Moat, below the Wheeler Centre.
6-9pm. Feb 8

Talk to the people! Ask questions! Imbibe the atmposhere (and the drinks)!

Ask a Silly Question - 2012 edition

It's the time of year when we sit down to examine the service we provide here at Alien Onion. We ask ourselves important questions. We give ourselves a Performance Review, if you will...

What are our Business Objectives?
To talk about cake and to talk about books.

Are we meeting our Key Performance Indicators?
Have we talked about cake? TICK. Have we talked about books? TICK. Okay, we're good.

Have we birthdayed any new initiatives or sunsetted any poorly performing ones?
Okay, we have no idea what this means. But for birthdays we usually have cake, so we're calling this a pass.
 
Are our clients getting what they expect from our service?
Well, here we may have fallen down. Because, once again, people have come to Alien Onion searching for something we didn't provide. We'd like to take this opportunity to make that right.


What is the address for YA?
We know it's not 1313 Mockingbird Lane.
It's not 221B Baker Street, London.
Nor is it 221 The Esplanade, St Kilda.
It's probably not Number 1, One End Street.
And we don't think it's The Hundred Aker wood, under the name of Sanders,
or Green Gables, Avonlea, P.E.I., Canada.

It might be somewhere in Forks, Washington.
Or c/- The Hopewell Hotel, New York, NY.

Any mail to District 12, Panem would probably be intercepted, so I wouldn't bother with that.

Did you try 4 Privet Drive, Little Wingeing, Surrey or 12 Grimmauld Place, London?

Or maybe the White Pages?


What is an onion covering called?
A hat? A blanket?


What is the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2011 for?
It is for Shaun Tan, y'all. It is for Shaun Tan!


What type of guinea pig is the nicest?
We like this one:


















 He's from Beatrix Potter's Appley Dapply's Nursery Rhymes.

But you might prefer, say, a guinea pig in a dinosaur costume?

Photo via


"Zombie biscuit barrel"
Did you find one? It sounds awesome! Does it say braiiiiinnnns whenever you open the lid?


"Woman's Day articles on Cameron Daddo"
Actually, this is not covered in our Core Business Objectives. So we won't be providing, like, a list of these or anything. But here, this might be worth your while.


What to use instead of cardamom?
You could try cardamon. Many people prefer cardamon.*


The most effective technique Barry Jonsberg has use to engage his audience?
The greatest trick Barry Jonsberg ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist. Oh, wait, no, that might have been the Devil.
Perhaps he used the Force? No, wait, that might have been Luke Skywalker.
Was it that he was a shy, clumsy boy who became a handsome young wizard who courageously destroyed the final Horcrux and saved the world? No, perhaps we're thinking of Neville Longbottom.
Okay, so in the spirit of trying to satisfy our clients we concede that the most effective technique Barry Jonsberg has used to engage his audience was ... to write a slew of brilliant books.  There. See. We can be helpful.


How to spell marshionnn
You know, you're even colder than the last time you asked.


Does snakes like onion farm?
Lots of open space? Nice rustley onion tops to hide in? Sounds ideal. Why wouldn't snakes like onion farm?


What is the book Singing My Sister Down about?
Okay - so it's about these twin sisters who live in small-town America. Renee and Esme both dream of being pop stars, but when Esme fluffs her audition for SensationMaker USA and only Renee is chosen for the nation-wide singing competition, trouble ensues. Esme vows to do whatever it takes to bring her sister down. When she meets a handsome young warlock, Gerald, who promises to give her the voice of an angel, Esme doesn't hesitate - and soon her debut single is battling with Renee's to be top of the charts. But then Esme discovers the real-life angel, robbed of her voice and languishing in the dungeon of Gerald's semi-detached, and she has to start examining what she has sacrificed for fame. Esme realises she will need her sister's help if she is to restore the angel's voice and bring down the wicked Gerald. Renee is at first resistant - but eventually the sisters realise the most important thing they have is each other. Together they are an unstoppable force for good, and who knows, maybe a duet is just what the market is ready for?

We hope that's all the info you'll need to ace your lit essay on 'Singing My Sister Down'.

----------

So that about wraps up this Alien Onion Performance Review. We will endeavour to meet all your needs in the coming year.**

*Fisticuffs ensue in the House of Onion because of reasons.
** Although keeping this promise is not one of our KPIs.

Happy New Year!

We have been...

eating ham,
watching the cricket,
marvelling at how there is no one on the tram*,
reading, reading, reading,
hiding from 35-degree heat,
sheltering from massive hailstones**,
and gearing up for a year of very exciting things.


What things, you ask?***
Well, here are just a few key things you can expect more about in 2012.

1) Forget the NBN ****. 2012 is the year of the NGN: a New Garth Nix!  Can you believe it? Can you bear to wait until April? Here are some key facts you need to know:

• There are ten million princes in the galaxy, but only ONE can become emperor.
• Our edition will have a special never-before-published, exclusive-as-all-get-out, awesome-beyond-the-bounds-of-the-known-universe Garth Nix short story.
• Yeah you read that right.
• The NGN is called A Confusion of Princes.
• We will have more to say on This Subject.

2) Lili Wilkinson is bringing it in 2012.
What is she bringing? Well, apart from the home-made tonic water and the honey-and-ginger infused whisky, she is bringing A NEW BOOK IN APRIL. It's called Love-Shy. And here is everything you need to know: girl meets boy meets East Glendale Secondary College Gazette.

3) October will see the third and final volume in the Keepers series by Lian Tanner. Path of Beasts. It is, quite simply, a triumphant conclusion. If the series had to end (and quite frankly I would have been happy reading about Goldie and Toadspit until the crack of doom), then it had to end like this. More on this by-and-by - maybe even a sneak preview of an illustration or two QUITE SOON.

4) Two Words: Margo. Lanagan.
Two more words: Sea. Hearts.
Two further words: Read. It.
Two more further words: No. Really.


And that, friends, is all just the tip of the iceberg. There is so much goodness in the House this year. It's bursting out the doors; it is streaming out the windows; it will flow through this blog at least semi-regularly, because we just can't contain it.

BRING ON 2012!



***SPOILER ALERT***

Also, we will eat cake in 2012.

In fact, the cake eating has already begun. And how!

* Because everyone else is still on holiday. *sob*
** Oh Melbourne, don't ever change.
*** Those of you who aren't at the beach do, anyway.
**** What's that, you already have forgotten it? Sshhhh, we're trying to make a joke.

On the twelfth day of Christmas...

my true love sent to me...

Fourteen Onions posing,
Twelve steps to penguin,
Ten unsuitable books for teenagers,
One French Hen,
Eight Harry Potters,*
Seven books a-shortlisting,
A bunch of guys a-hugging,
One golden man,
Four posts of funny,
Three months to go!
Two Children's Laureates,
And Santa hats on a brownie!**

* Yes, we KNOW there are only seven books. But there are eight films, and we chose the moment of the eighth film to say our farewells - so eight Harry Potters it is. 
** We confess that (sadly) we didn't get to eat the gorgeous Santa-hat brownies as they were made by J-WI in the Mothership, who borrowed the idea from  daisy's world who adapted the recipe from Erica's Sweet Tooth.

A Very Onion Christmas - Teen & YA

O come, all ye faithful, 

Joyful and triumphant, 

O come ye, 

O come ye to another Onion Christmas list... 

Behold - books that are sure to tempt the teenager in your life...

The Wilful Eye (Tales from the Tower Volume One) & The Wicked Wood  (Tales from the Tower Volume Two) Edited by Isobelle Carmody and Nan McNab  

First of all, we'll just give you a moment to be bowled over by the covers of this wondrous pair of tall volumes with their beautiful be-winged women... You won't even have to wrap them - they look almost exactly like Christmas presents already in their red and green finery. Now, on to the stories themselves - how to encapsulate the breathtaking result of combining the forces of a dozen formidable storytellers? Each story is a treat to savour, an escape to a different reality: dark, passionate, bewitching tales of obsession and mystery, and loaded with the remorseless resolution of fairytales. They're kick-arse stories, there's no denying it. Kick. Arse.

Who for? Well, not for the fainthearted! Any fan of fabulous fairytale retelling, aged 16 to 96, will luxuriate in this enchanted collection.

Drink, Slay Love by Sarah Beth Durst 

Pearl is your average teenage girl. Partial to car theft and high-speed driving. Confident unicorns DO. NOT. EXIST. And highly flammable in direct sunlight. Which is perfectly normal. For a vampire. Well, that is until a were-unicorn stabs her in the heart with his sparkly horn and her whole vampire world is turned upside-down. Tolerance to sunlight. Sympathy for her victims. Family conflict. High school politics. In other words: T-R-O-U-B-L-E. Twists - tick! Turns - tick! Clever - tick! Entertaining - tick! Funny - tick! Well-played, Ms Durst. Very well-played indeed.

Who for? 12-16 year old girls who are looking to escape into somebody else's life over the Christmas break.

Only Ever Always by Penni Russon 

Sometimes a gift is unwrapped, briefly regarded, then cast unceremoniously onto the I-will-never-care-for-that-item pile (otherwise known as ebay). But there are other times when a gift is so loved that you feel you may never be able to part from it - even if it's something you should have grown out of by now. Particularly if it was given to you by someone truly special.

In Only Ever Always, Clare has a music box given to her by her adored Uncle Charlie, and she's not sure she's ready to let it go - even though the intended recipient is Charlie's imminent new baby. Clare wants to cling to the music box, to childhood, for just a little longer. But then Charlie is in a terrible accident - and his life hangs in the balance. In her grief, Clare retreats into dreams and the music box transports her to another place, a broken place, where there is another girl, Clara, who is almost exactly like Clare, who is trying to survive in a broken world. Clare. And Clara. The dreamer and the dreamed.This book will stay with you long after you close the last page.

Who for? Any curious, thoughtful or philosophical reader in your life, especially those aged 12-16, and even more especially if you can sneak it off their Christmas pile - while they are distracted by post-gift-giving activities - and slip away somewhere quiet and curl up to enjoy this beautifully crafted little book.

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Warning! If this is the first book you open on Christmas day, you may be in danger of missing Christmas lunch. It is intensely addictive! Once you start reading, you won't be able to stop. Set in a crumbling dystopian world, it is the story of 17-year-old Juliette, who possesses inexplicable powers. Electrifying romance. Heart-stopping adventure. IN-CRED-IB-LY high stakes... Now. Anxiously. Awaiting. Sequel!

Who for? 14-18 year old girls who once upon a time may have loved Twilight,* but have moved on to romance in any genre they can find it. Okay, and girls in their 20s. And we *ahem* definitely know girls in their 30s and 40s who would love it...

The Coming of the Whirlpool: Ship Kings 1 by Andrew McGahan

 If you're reading this book on a boiling hot Christmas day, you will still shiver as the cold wind the whips down the sand dunes.
If you're surrounded by annoying siblings and too many cousins, you will still feel Dow's solitude in your bones.
If you're reading this in the heart of a continent, you will still smell salt on the breeze and hear the treacherous roar of the ocean in turmoil.
Because Andrew McGahan's writing is so good it will transport you from the Land of Too-much-potato salad to the mysterious world of the Ship Kings. This is a brilliant sea-faring tale - there's blood on the decks and death in the wind. There's a mysterious girl. There's treachery and destiny and following your heart even when it seems impossible. And Dow's adventures are just beginning, so get on board, people.

Who for? 15-18-year-olds, mariners - ancient or otherwise, and Andrew McGahan fans of all ages everywhere.

Taken Away by Celine Kiernan   

On Christmas day, when everyone else is snoozing after eating too much, somtimes all you want to do is to escape. So be transported to Ireland. 1974. 15-year-old twin brothers Pat and Dom are living in their seaside holiday house after their demented nan burned down their actual house. It's not the same without all the cousins and aunts and uncles crammed in, and things soon take a turn for the CREEPY.

'It was a boy. Maybe ten years of age. White face. Dark, dark eyes, underscored with deep lines, surrounded with purple shadows...It took a moment for him to register my presence. Then his eyes jumped to mine. I flinched, terrified by the certainty that we'd done this before: me looking up at him; him looking down on me - a solemn-eyed boy of ten, untouched by the wind and rain...'

Who for? 13-16 year-olds and anyone who loves un-put-downable ghost stories, historical mysteries, fabulous characters you can love to pieces, or all of the above.

 Sensitive Creatures by Mandy Ord

If you have not yet had the heart-lifting-ly wonderful experience of meeting Mandy Ord's One-Eyed Girl, get thee to a book shop immediately. Read snippets in the store, then buy it and have it expertly wrapped and ready for your favourite someone to enjoy on Christmas day. Mandy is truly special - one of Australia's most exciting young comic artists, and this collection of stories offers an intimate portrait of her attempts to make sense of the world. Herewith rave reviews over at The Book Show, in The Age, twice.

It's about dogs and girlfriends and bums and hoodies and bogans and bearded men and one of our all-time favourites: mean people on trains.

Who for? Comics and graphic novel enthusiasts, Melbourne-reflected-on-the-page enthusiasts, wonder-of-life enthusiasts... and anyone who is inspired by vivid visual storytelling.

Always-and-ever favourites

Yellowcake  by Margo Lanagan

A Pocketful of Eyes by Lili Wilkinson

The Shattering by Karen Healey

Being Here by Barry Jonsberg

The Golden Day By Ursula Dubosarsky

* Yes, dear reader. Contrary to what the interwebs may have you believe, there are, like, eleventy bazillion readers out there who LOVED Twilight - regardless of what they may have said about it in public...

A Very Onion Christmas - younger readers

We continue our Christmas gift extravaganza with books for younger readers, or, as we like to call them, People Born After Bear Grylls Became the Youngest British Climber to Scale Mount Everest But Before Kanye West Released His First Album.

Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas!

City of Lies - The Keepers 2 by Lian Tanner

Do not give this book to your young person if you want to see them at all in the days immediately after Christmas. Because once they've begun, finding out what happens to Goldie and Toadspit and Bonnie will wait for no Boxing Day Test; it will wait for no Sydney to Hobart start; it will wait for no visit to Great Auntie Beryl's; it will wait for nothing. The second in the wonderful Keepers series, City of Lies is full of suspense, and invention and new characters - plus the old favourites in a whole new scrape.

Who for? 8-12 year-olds who love to have adventures of their own. And you, if you can prise it out of their hands.

Darius Bell and the Crystal Bees  by Odo Hirsch

Everyone loves a bee - and everyone loves a spot of bee dancing. But the bees on the Bell estate are not dancing. They are dying! And we all know what that means... No more honey! No more glorious summer fruits! No more freshly harvested vegetables for Mrs Simpson to make into mouth-watering pies! Darius Bell is determined to get to the bottom of this impending disaster, and he and his friends do so in a completely captivating fashion. Clever co-operation, delightful determination, and  stellar storytelling. Delicious from start to finish - just like Christmas dinner.

Buzzwords: bee-rilliant, bee-eautiful, bee-guiling

Who for? 8-12-year-olds, especially those who loved Darius Bell and the Glitter Pool.

Crow Country by Kate Constable

This book. Oh, this book. It's a beautiful thing, inside and out. You want to hold it in your hands; you want to carry it in your heart. Sadie's story is about righting old wrongs, learning new things, getting to know new people and becoming a new person yourself. It's also a roaring good tale with a strong mystery and an amazing sense of place and time. We love it into a million pieces, and hope that lots of kids are lucky enough to find it in their stockings.

Who for? 9-13-year-olds. If you'd give them Playing Beattie Bow, you could give them this.

You Can Draw Anything  by Kim Gamble

You may know Kim Gamble from such beautifully illustrated books as the Tashi series. He's a superb artist, and a teacher who can help anyone see the lines and shapes that things are made of, things like tigers. How cool would it be to learn to draw a tiger!

Who for? The member of your family who is always clutching a pencil.

K-Zone Crazy Sports Facts - Extreme Edition by Tony Davis

 Have you ever ridden a motorcycle while being attacked by a monkey? Or pedalled a BMX bike off a cliff before popping your parachute? No? Well have you ever had a child read to you from the Guinness Book of World Records while you're trying to cook dinner? That child will want this book.

Who for? Everyone has someone that would eat this up as a post-Christmas-lunch snack before rushing outside for a bracing game of backyard cricket, or an afternoon spent building a jump for their new skateboard. It's also perfect holiday-house reading.

A Very Onion Christmas - picture books

It's summer here,
so bring on the Christmas cheer!

In the meadow we can build a snowman...
But only if it's made out of something other than, you know, snow.

Baby, it's cold outside...
If by cold, you mean 28 degrees Celsius then, sure, put on a jumper.

The holly and the ivy, when they are in full bloom ...
We don't know when that might be, but it ain't around the summer solstice; I've got some jasmine if that helps.

Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright...
This is getting warmer...

How'd you like to spend Christmas on Christmas island...
Actually not even a little bit. Not even at all. But at least it's geographically in the ballpark.

All I want for Christmas.... is you!
If by "you", you mean "books" we got you covered - right here, right here! Oh this has turned out marvellously.

We begin with a selection for the youngest people.


Bom! Went the Bear by Nicki Greenberg

He's just a small orange bear, carrying a big bass drum, wanting just to play it.
Uh, oh. Giraffes are hitting high notes! Turtles are singing low!
Frogs! On the xylophone! A brass band of black sheep! Tap-dancing pink elephants!
Good grief. It's beginning to look a lot like a school nativity musical around here...
But our little orange drummer bear is at his happiest marching to the beat of his own drum. BOM! BOM! BOM! BOM! BOM!

Who for?* Small people aged 0-4, particularly those who like to sing and dance and make as much music as they can (or not). 

  Parrot Carrot  by Jol and Kate Temple and Jon Foye

This is a book that looks like... a chook, a shepherd's crook, a crochet hook, like it's totally hilarious. Because IT IS. It's also supercool and lots of fun to read aloud. And as if that wasn't enough there is an app. AN APP, PEOPLE! LOOK AT HOW AWESOME THIS IS!!


Parrot Carrot Safari from Parrot Carrot on Vimeo.

Who for? The 2-5-year-old hipster in your life.

Lazy Daisy, Busy Lizzie by Mary Ellen Jordan and Andrew Weldon

Come on, how can you resist that big cow on the front cover? That's Daisy, she should eat grass, but she's too lazy. Instead she eats jelly, spoon after spoon, all through the morning to late afternoon. Lucky Daisy! And lucky small person who recieves this brilliant picture book on Christmas morning. (PS It has a puffy cover!)

Who for? Any 2-5-year-old misbehaver you know and love.

Ten Blue Wrens  by Elizabeth Honey

This is simply the most beautiful counting book. The pictures are stunning. And only Liz Honey would have you count potoroos, pavlovas and bower-bird treasures.

Who for? Any 4-6 year-old, especially if they live overseas and would love a little bit of Australia - but also extra-especially if they live in Australia and would love to see their own world on the page.

The Little Refugee  by Anh Do, Suzanne Do 

and Bruce Whatley

It's quite likely that you got or gave a copy of Anh Do's The Happiest Refugee for Christmas last year. The funny, moving, inspirational story of Anh and his family's escape to Australia from war-torn Vietnam has been so loved. This is a beautiful picture-book version. We can't really say it better than Sinead, age 7: 'Awesome. I liked how it was sad in the beginning but it was happy in the end.'

Who for? 4-8-year-olds everywhere.

All the Way to W.A. by Roland Harvey

Uncle Kev is at it again. He went looking for the rare Bearded Night Parrot, but now he's lost and someone has to find him. Roland Harvey is always welcome in a stocking.**

Who for? 6-10-year-olds whose hobbies include: being silly, finding Wally, holidaying with family.



* Well the dedication says it's for Poppy and the baby - who we now know to be the delightful Coco - but they are nicely brought up little girls and I'm sure they are more than willing to share with all small people everywhere.
** He's also a man who appreciates a double entendre. So we thought we'd give him one. (Oh, mercy.)

Friday stuff and items to be thankful for

People in other parts of the world have been celebrating Thanksgiving.

Here we come, late to the party, but willing to stay late and drink the champagne.

Thank you to all our hardworking designers and typesetters and printers. Without you - the ugly and the unreadable.

Thank you to all the booksellers, especially in a tough market. Without you - the unsold and the unhappy.

Thank you to the teachers and librarians. Without you - the lonely books without their one true reader, the lonely readers without their one true book.*

Thank you to all of the Onions, the ones in the House, in the Mothership, in the UK, in NZ, and on the road. Without you - no cake, no expertise, no support, no shop-talk, no one to complain to, no one to laugh with... no us.

And the hugest of all thanks to our wonderful authors and illustrators. Without you - nothing. Nothing at all. Blank pages. Empty minds. Echoing hearts.

Thank you all!

And while we're in the mood for the thanking.

Thanks to MP at Hardie Grant for drawing our attention to  Marcel the Shell with Shoes on.

Thanks to whoever compiled the Christmas Dogs of Flickr. 

And thanks to PD James for being the magic combination of brilliant crime writer and passionate Jane Austen scholar. 

The Darcys and their guests are preparing to retire for the night when a chaise appears, rocking down the path from Pemberley's wild woodland, and as it pulls up, Lydia Wickham, an uninvited guest, tumbles out, screaming that her husband has been murdered.

Who could resist  Death Comes To Pemberley after that?

*NB We are in no way suggesting that it's cheating to have many One True Books, even *ahem* at the same time. Racy.

The Gauntlet

Not content with the harbour, the bridge, the A&U terrace and occasionally dining at Quay, The Mothership now wants a piece of the cake pie*.

And, to be honest, they are doing it right.

SC took it to the next level with a salted caramel cheesecake and caramel sauce. And KB kept it there with a nectarine cake with almond meal.

Ladies and gentleman, I think this just got real...

(pic via juliamarchese flotsam and jetsom)

*Mmmm, cake pie

Tuesday Stuff and Items

The weather is getting warmer.
There are Christmas decorations on the streets and in the shops.
Social calendars are filling up.
It must be time to get down to some serious planning...

It's not just Father Christmas who makes lists at this time of year. It is our feeling that you can't expect to get the most out of your summer if you don't carefully itemise what you intend to do. 

Herewith the beginnings of a list...

1) Watch THIS MOVIE*

Charlize Theron plays a writer of young adult fiction? SOLD!

Also, did you know Diablo Cody is deep in development of a Sweet Valley High movie?? *squeals*
Will they cast real twins to play Jessica and Elizabeth? Or will they pull the starring-Hayley-Mills-and-Hayley-Mills routine, also known as the Winklevoss Ploy.


2) Go to TJUKURRTJANU - Origins of Western Desert Art at the Ian Potter.

3) Read ALL THE BOOKS.
A nice, gentle, easily achievable goal this one.

4) Swim.

5) Swim.

6) Eat.**

7) Watch trailers for the Hunger Games movie as they are released. Comment loudly to anyone who will listen about what we think are the likely pros and cons (based on 2.36 mins of footage and some magazine articles).***

8) Devise (and consume) literature-inspired cocktails.

The Anne
2 parts Marilla's best current wine
1 part vodka
lemonade
Garnish with carrot tops.
If you're going to set your friends drunk, you might as well do it in style.

The Margo Lanagan
1 part champagne
1 part Gosling's Black Seal Rum
ice
Slice of lime or scattering of fresh sea wrack.
If you drink enough of them, you too will be seeing selkies.
 

The Fantasy shaker
1 flagon of mead (butterbeer will do in a pinch)
2 shots whisky
A dash of ichor
Serve with Lembas or whole suckling pig.

The Justine Larbalestier
Assemble a basic Manhattan.
Serve in a Vegemite glass in front of the cricket.****

The Renesmee
Pour tomato juice over ice cubes.
As you drink, crunch the ice between your teeth to simulate Bella's cracking ribs.
Make sure you put the empty glass in the dishwasher before your best friend can imprint on it. Cos that would be awkward.


What's on your list of things to do over summer?



* NB Australian release dates may make this *ahem* seemingly impossible. But we're with the US Army Corp of Engineers on this.
** At least an hour after swimming.
*** Pros: Lenny Kravitz, Woody Harrelson, the look of the thing, the vibe of the thing, Prim, Rue, Effie, Katniss, Peter.  Cons: Gale
**** Good work, Pat Cummins!