Watch out vampires, the fairies are coming.
Today’s news is full of practical advice, such as how to escape the clutches of your email address and write like Zadie Smith. Okay, this second part may be a bit more complicated, but her new book of essays lets us glimpse her influences. And if practical advice isn’t your thing, you can read about the new role of fairies in young adult lit.
- According to the New York Times, fairies are about to run vampires out of YA. In its special children’s books section earlier this week, the Times reviews five new YA books with fairies at their core. The article begins with the line, “Dawn is breaking on the Y.A. aisle of the bookstore, and the dew is suspiciously glittery.” The article then delves into the attributes of this new, popular brand of fairy and discusses each featured book. With New Moon hitting theaters next week, it might take a while for the fairies to win the war against the vampires, but it should be an interesting fight.
- Tired of e-mail running your life? You’re not alone. Granta editor John Freeman explores the phenomenon of 24/7 e-mail communication in his new book The Tyranny of E-Mail: The Four-Thousand-Year Journey to Your Inbox. Freeman traces the history of communication, from Sumerian love poems to pigeons and telegraphs, and discusses his findings with the Los Angeles Times. The takeaway message is think before you send, because “every e-mail you don’t send means there’s a message someone else doesn’t have to send, acknowledging your message.” Now please, spread the word by sending a mass e-mail to everyone you know.
- Novelist Zadie Smith is one of today’s best-reviewed writers under 40, whose first book (White Teeth, 2000) became a bestseller when she was not quite 25. Now we can peek inside her genius with her candid book of essays, Changing My Mind: Occasional Essays, out yesterday. NPR describes the book as a “brainy collection of essays about some of her influences and passions” and features one of the essays on its website.
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