Just returned from Colorado Whitewater's yearly training camp for kayakers, held on the Arkansas river near Cotopaxi, CO! I took skills/drills classes for advanced beginners and learned a lot, got a little bruised from all the rocks I ran into (the Arkansas river is running low, so it was a bony ride), and had a great time, despite being scared out ( Read more... )

( Read more... )

Here's the list of books I read in April with basic ratings that I'm just ganking from Goodreads. I'll probably add short book reviews later, since I don't think I'll be able to post long book reviews of every single one in a timely manner. Then again, maybe I'll go on a LJ-book-review binge, who knows?

ETA: I finished one more book on April 30, so ( Read more... )

( Read more... )

Fuse #8 did a poll for the top 100 children's novels a few weeks ago, which I completely missed as it was going on, but some other librarian bloggers took it upon themselves to turn the list into a meme, whereby you bold the ones you've read. Obviously, I had to do this here, as I happily have read lots of them. It appears that lots of kids and ( Read more... )

( Read more... )

( Read more... )

18. Audrey's Door, by Sarah Langan. Horror. 412 pages. Read ARC. Review here.

19. Vibes, by Amy Kathleen Ryan. YA Fiction. 249 pages. Review here.

20. Lips Touch: Three Times, by Laini Taylor. YA Short Stories - Fantasy. 272 pages. Review here.

21. Blackout, by Connie Willis. Science Fiction/Alternate History. 491 pages. Review here.

22. A ( Read more... )

26. Let's talk art! Do you draw your characters? Do others draw them? Pick one of your OCs and post your favorite picture of him!

Nope. I have mental pictures of them, so I guess I could have someone else draw them, if only I knew someone who could draw. I know somebody who uses famous people and "casts" them as characters in their stories, and I ( Read more... )

23. How long does it usually take you to complete an entire story-from planning to writing to posting (if you post your work)?

Forever. No, seriously. I start a story, I get distracted by a new, shiny story idea about midway through, and I start THAT story, rinse, repeat. My YA novel has been in revision for three years now. I do eventually finish ( Read more... )