Our Magazine!

is finally here

Well, this was fun?

It's been a long time. And an interesting time...

Sometimes this stuff get finished at 2:00 when class ends... but sometimes it doesn't get done until 11:59 at night. And then not saved until 3 days later. Or there's always that time when stuff doesn't get done and saved until like 2:04 when people are waiting for the computers, or 12:01 which makes it officially late... Oh yeah, then there was that day when we finished like 20 minutes before class ended and didn't have anything to do.... that was fun.

So this might get posted at 2..... and it might get posted at 1:59, or it might get posted at 11:59... Noooo idea.

Although, it's Tuesday.... (Hey guys, it's Tuesday which means that this will eventually be posted), which means that we don't get out until 2:05... that's cool. This won't be finished by then.

But that’s not the point. The point is: goodbye amazing people who aren’t reading this right now. And if you are, GO YOU. Not really, if you are, you probably have no life or are really bored and have nothing to do. Or, you know, both.

So, have a great life. Bye :)

-Wenlan

So Long

I could have a long, mushy, 200-word (which is a completely random number and not at all a minimum requirement for an assignment or anything.)- goodbye post, but I don't think I can stretch it for that long.

First, though, I do have a few mushy things to say.

1.)  Caitlin and Wenlan are absolutely mental in an utterly amusing, endearing sort of way.

2.) Learning about Caitlin’s bizarre, eclectic pool of interests, including but not limited to things like wizard rock and football, getting book recommendations from Wenlan, and playing mediator for the two has been a real pleasure. Even the last bit. It kept me entertained.

3.) One last recommendation for the upcoming break: Keeping You a Secret by Julie Anne Peters. Wenlan introduced me to this book, and it was pretty heart melting. No, it's not the best novel ever, and yes, you can pretty much tell what it’s going to be from the first page (or the back cover of the paperback, if you’re good at inferring, or even just the cover). The good thing is, though, you'll figure out if you don’t like it right away. But, I must say, give it a chance. The plot may be a little shaky, but it still somehow feels real.

So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish.

If you understood the allusion above, I commend you.

--Ji

I Guess This Means Goodbye............

Hey, it's Caitlin. This, I suppose is our final round of blog posts.We are in the process of finishing our magazine and we are making all the fun little tweaks in changes in design. Jiwoon, the ever perfectionist is stressing over little dots and lines. She is making our magazine more beautiful. Wenlan is writing her ASF(alternate story form). She won't tell us what it's about, so we can only guess what it will be about. It's probably a long rant or manifesto about hate or love or belief or other abstract thing. Or, who knows? Maybe she is really writing her essay about how awesome and cool I am.(This is not in the realm of possibility. Sadly.Or maybe not so sadly) Anyways, I am sure that you, the reader, will love reading about it.

I would like to take this as an opportunity to thank the people who made  this magazine possible.
We would all like to thank Mrs. Young for working hard and providing us with constructive criticism and the knowledge and tools to create this magazine. She has been a great teacher and we will all no doubt miss this class next semester.
Another shout out goes Ms. Jones, our design mentor. She has guided us and helped make this magazine what it is . We deeply appreciate her opinions and guidance and wish her well in her blooming design career path.
I would like to express my deep, deep, gratitude towards my group members. They have been a pleasure to work with and they've been awesome. Jiwoon is incredibly patient and a great designer.Wenlan... well she's Wenlan, so she's been great to work with. They both have been. I couldn't have asked for about better group memebers.

And then there's you. You. the reader, have made this worth while Thank you for taking the time to read our magazine and blog. We hoped you liked it.

Bye, now.

Words

I remember the first time I read Looking For Alaska by John Green in middle school, a poignant story with sprinkles of romance and teen shenanigans. I definitely recommend it to those of you who like young adult fiction (I do recommend a lot of these, don’t I? ). This isn’t really about the book, though. It’s mostly about books in general.

Well, words, to be more specific.

So, I’m a bit of a crier. You know, when there’s a sad scene in a book or a movie (I haven’t quite reacted that much to a song), I get tears in my eyes.

This gets me thinking, though, about the power that words have over us, and not just prose. Everything that we say to others elicits some kind of emotion. Wenlan recently made a post about hate, and how it affects people. And what is that? Hate is just a word. H-a-t-e. One syllable. Four letters. Yet it’s so powerful.

This is especially true in novels. You know, on some level, that what you’re looking at are just flat, two-dimensional symbols on a flat, not-quite-two-dimensional piece of paper. It shouldn’t mean anything, but it does. Somehow, we’ve made them mean something. We’ve given them emotional value.  We’ve given them the ability to paint pictures, to create people, and to put words in their mouths.

That’s why I think the craft of writing is amazing.

It seems so simple, when you look at it, but somehow it makes people feel.

--Ji

P.S. A bigger version of the picture at the top can be found here.
You can make your own here.

What Pop Music is Doing to Become More Iratating

Pop music. Isn't this stuff supposed to be easy on the ears? Usually I don't mind the pop station on the radio  but lately I've been cringing at the majority of the songs that they've been overplaying.

1. All of the songs are about the same thing it seems like- getting drunk. 

 Under this category falls the songs Like a G6 by the Far East Movement, Raise Your Glass by Pink and Bottoms up by Trey Songz. All of them glamorize how fun it is to go and get drunk. That's not nessecarily a bad thing, but having every. single. song. (or so it seems) about it is not. In fact, it's annoying. And it's just sad that artists can't come up with anything else besides "sipping sizzurp"

2. Lots of songs have the artist's name somewhere in them. Really? How much more arrogant can you get? Tons of artists just take a new song as permission to scream their names all over the airway. Songs are not advertisement oppurtunities! Songs are for the listeners and fans! We already know who you are, if you're good enough to be known. So don't force your names down are throats, please!

I'm looking at you Jason DeRulo, Ludacris, Usher B.O.B.and Nicki Minaj. 

3. Instead of putting out new songs, artists are simply putting out continuations of other songs that did well. Instead of putting out new fresh songs, they put out copies basically with the same chorus, same everything. Namely these are Airplanes by BOB and Hayleigh Williams and Love the Way You Lie by Eminen and Rihanna.

HUMAN.

Hey guys...

I know this is for ezine, and no one actually seems to read these blogs, or care... but if I'm gonna have to post something on the internet, it might as well be something I care about... maybe?

So, there's this little thing called hate, and it's everywhere.

Here's the thing about it, when you hate someone, it may not effect you all that much, but it effects them.

Think about it--does it make you happy to know someone hates you, to hear mean comments about you?

And not even behind your back, sometimes it's right in front of your face.

Part of our culture has become this obsession with online social networking websites and such. Many people seem to spend their whole life on places like MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, Formspring, Yahoo, GMail, Tumblr, and there are so many others. One thing that most people seem to notice is that 5 of these are blocked on AISD internet... but people still use them all the time. I'm not saying it's a good thing or a bad things, it's just a thing. But it tends to end up badly when people get on places like this and comment very hateful things to people they may not even know--because these websites can allow anonymous commenting/posting on other people's stuff, so if you say something mean, no one can actually trace it back to you.

So why not?

Well, because those people have to see all those things when they log onto their account on whatever, and they have to be reminded everyday that you don't like them for whatever reason. No, not everyone does this, and I'm not trying to say that everyone does.

I'm just saying that going to strangers pages on whatever and telling them how much you don't like them isn't gonna make them feel better about them self. I mean, does that make you feel better about yourself? Not make you feel better in general, but make you feel like a good person or whatever.

It's okay to hate people, sure. And it's okay to tell people. But do you have to?

Because in the end, no matter what we look like or what we act like or who we like or anything... we're all human. We are all different, but we are also all the same...

But in the end, it doesn't matter that I'm writing this because people are gonna hate. So that's not why. I'm not writing this to necessarily tell people not to hate--because I know that I cannot change them, and I shouldn't waste my time trying.

People should just love. "The opposite of love is not hate, it's indiffernece" (Elie Wiesel). Both hate and love tend to be very strong emotions, and I think that in general, the world might just be a better place if people who channel all that emotion, all that hate, to love. Not that you have to go and love the people you hate, but maybe just love the people you love more and hate those other people less.

And this is already over 500 words, so I'm gonna stop typing right about now.

But... there's probably a whole lot more I could rant about, and I really could relate this more to culture and stuff... but...

So, you can read another whole part of this whole idea here. It is more about the effects of what you say on the people you say whatever to, and how it just pushes them.


Everything I have said so far is about you hating, but the truth is, with all those other people in the word, you've probably been hated before as well. And maybe that's why you hate someone, maybe it's not related. But the truth is, sometimes, there's nothing you can do and you have to just ignore it. Don't let it become a part of you. Don't hate yourself because of what other people say. Love yourself for who you are. Dislike what they say. And in the end, it makes you stronger.

Now that this is almost 700 words now... So maybe I really will stop typing now. (698 words...)

- Wenlan (701)

HEY LOOK. IT'S A POLL.

And you should take it.

click here.

- Wenlan

Take my survey please

a super short survey about the upcoming Harry Potter movie. click here. Thank you !

Language Survey

Speak more than one language (fluently)? Tell us all about it in this poll here.
(Humor us, okay?)

--Ji

13 Sides To Every Story

"There are thirteen sides to every story."

At least there are according to Hannah Baker, the dead girl.

Hannah baker is in high school... no, Hannah was in high school, she committed suicide... two weeks before you (as the reader) get to meet Clay Jensen, who was her classmate--he was kind of her friend, and apparently he had a crush on her... oh, and he supposedly was one of the reasons Hannah choose to end her own life.

What happens is that everyone who is in the tapes needs to end up listening them, and if the tapes stop circulating though these people before all 13 get them, then Hannah gave someone a second set of identical tapes, and if everyone who's on the tapes doesn't listen to them, then the person with the second set is supposed to let out the tapes for everyone to hear, which is the 13 people's motivation to keep passing the tapes on.

And Clay wants to listen to them because he is dying to know why his name is on the list of people somehow related to Hannah's suicide.

To see "Hannah's Reasons", a blog made by "hannahsfriend13", that has blog posts that follow the plot of the book, and audio-video recordings of "Hannah's tapes", click here. And to go to Jay Asher's website about the book (the website includes some of the same videos and attachments as the blog), click here.

OH yeah, and hey, I may or may not be doing NaNoWriMo... if I ever start writing something, let alone finish it...

- Wenlan

Insane Endeavor

Two weeks ago, I wrote a blog post about the sweat, tears, and caffeine involved in NaNoWriMo. But here’s a little tidbit I didn’t include: I myself am participating this year, and I’m not the only LASA student. Now that November’s arrived, you can hear the word “NaNoWriMo” sprinkled through various conversation in the halls.

I can, anyway. If you can’t, perhaps you’re not listening hard enough (which, in retrospect, is probably a good thing).

Some of the best motivation for this event, I’ve heard, is the knowledge that other people know that you’re trying this insane endeavor and the potential that those people will deem you a failure if you don’t reach the goal (50,000 words in thirty days). This is the reason that I’m announcing this in this post and why I recommend other participators do this, as well. (If you think this’ll motivate you, that is.)

So, if you’re reading this and you’re participating in NaNoWriMo this year, shout it out to the world (or the maybe three people that actually read this blog) and post it in the comments. Or, if you like, you can vote on the poll just to the right of this post.

--Ji

Quirky Useless Websites To Waste Time On!

    1. Do you ever get incredibly annoying songs stuck in your head? I know I sure do. What sucks even worse than that is when you have a song stuck in your head and you don't know the words. Thankfully , there is hope! If this sounds familiar, unhearit is for you!It gets the song you had in your head by playing an equally catchy song, so that song will replace the old song. Only problem is now you have another song stuck in your head! AHHH!

2.http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/ This is a sampling of crazy walmart goers. You can avoid getting on this website if you shop elsewhere. Really, shop elsewhere!

3. I had never really wondered what kind of interesting things are kept in eighteen wheelers. But, thanks to  truckspills.com I'll be up half the night.

4. listverse.com is like my new favorite website. Fascinating information in written in lists! And lots of them! 

5.  This is more pointless than a broken pencil:http://www.sometimesredsometimesblue.com/ Confused? Hit refresh a few times.

6 Wow. Funny. Sad. Different. kind of like FML but not necessarily bad http://www.onesentence.org/ 

7. I couldn't resist:) YOU JUST LOST THE GAME!

Caitlin

No Shame in Sarah Dessen

Young adult literature is one of my favorite genres (most probably because I’m part of the target demographic), and recently, I've discovered a liking for the works of Sarah Dessen.

In the past week, I've read two of Sarah Dessen’s books, namely This Lullaby and Just Listen, and found her characters flawed but likable. Her books aren't the easiest of books to read, containing a lot of sometimes heavy introspection. However, there's a lot to like about these books and are definitely worth reading.

One of the interesting quirky aspects of her books is the allusions Dessen makes between her books. For example, the main character, Remy, along with the band Truth Squad from her book This Lullaby make surprise cameo appearances in one of her later works, Just Listen. Looking back on it, both books deal with the importance of music in a female protagonist’s life, so the connection between the two is obvious and easy to make. Still, I was pleasantly surprised when I stumbled upon the scene, especially because, by pure coincidence, I’d started reading Just Listen right after finishing This Lullaby.

I’ll admit that Sarah Dessen’s works won’t tickle everyone’s fancy (honestly, I think Dessen’s books will interest girls more than boys), but, then again, what book does? For any readers out there that enjoy young adult literature), I recommend picking up any of Sarah Dessen’s books if you happen to see one on the shelf.

Judging by their covers, Dessen’s books look like chick-lit, but they contain more depth than you’d think at first glance.

To read more about Sarah Dessen and her work, click here.
--Ji

One of the Million Ways to Fall

"What if you only had one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?” Before I Fall, Lauren Oliver

There are probably a million ways to fall, and a million metaphors using the word fall… but what if falling meant dying?

I found this book a few weeks into the summer at a bookstore shortly after it was published. At first I didn’t know if I would actually want to read it though because, being a new book, there was only a hardback copy, and it wasn’t actually at the library yet (but it did appear there towards the end of the summer…). But in the end, I decided to get it because it seemed a little different than all of the other new books that were about mythical creatures falling in love with humans and such… This book also was not about the main character searching for a way to fit in with everyone else, so I assumed the end would not be like all those other books where the person figures out that they are perfect the way they are and stuff, which was a relief because so many books just seem to be the same now a days…

After pretty much sitting down and reading it without stopping (and it’s a fairly long book, depending on your idea of long, but it’s almost 500 pages), I figured out that I loved the book. It’s not that I identified with the character or the story, but I kind of identified with the writing. I’m not saying it was amazing good and out of the ordinary… that’s up to whoever reads it. But it was mostly written the way I think. Almost in circles, making everything connected and stuff. But that’s probably not that interesting… SO. To summarize this book without giving away the ending…

Sam Kingston and her 3 best friends are the most popular girls in their school. Sam has what could seem like a perfect life, and she’s happy… but then on 12 February she dies. She doesn’t see herself after her death or anything, she just knows the second before she dies that she is about to. And it’s clear that she’s gone forever… Except that she wakes up the next morning, and it’s 12 February again. This happens 7 times. She gets 7 chances to go through this one day of her life, but more importantly, she gets 7 chances to go through her death. She gets 7 chances to figure out why she has to die.

- Wenlan

An Interesting Find

 While surfing the interwebs this past weekend I stumbled across a delightful website.
Imagine inner portals to other peoples lives. Their secrets. You'll never meet these people but here are their innermost thoughts, poems and grocery lists. You can read their heartbreaks, triumphs and secrets.  Look at old pictures that capture a moment. Wonder who these people are.
This is a website where people send in scraps of paper that they found on the ground.
Now, that might not sound that interesting at first, but some are so intriguing.
Of course you get boring things like grocery lists and random doodles of dinosaurs (scratch that; dinosaur doodles are awesome.)  There is some really deep stuff though.... diary entries and love poems. People also submit random photo they find too. Those can be just as interesting as the notes.
However, grammar Nazis, be warned! These notes and documents are jammed packed with spelling and grammar errors(as they should be; the beauty of it is that these are that they are unscripted and raw! But some people are just so touchy about spelling!)
So anyway enjoy this little gem.
cick here for the site

 

Caitlin :)

Sweat, Tears, and Caffeine

With November quickly approaching, people nationally are stretching their fingers in anticipation of "thirty days and nights of literary abandon."

Starting on the first of November is National Novel Writing Month, or, as the participants affectionately call it, NaNoWriMo. Since it started in 1999, more and more people have joined this somewhat insane event, during which the goal is to write a 50,000 word novel in thirty days and thirty nights, starting as soon as the clock strikes twelve on October 31^st, signaling the start of November 1^st, and ending on midnight on November 30^th, as soon as December rolls around.

However, as an article written in 2006 for the New York Times points out, not everyone makes this goal. Anyone planning on trying out NaNoWriMo for the first time should know that it isn’t for the faint of heart, especially students who have homework and midterm exams piled onto them throughout the month of November. It’s understandable that people wouldn’t be willing to take on the added stress of writing out an entire novel in a month. I’ve always wondered this as well: why, out of all of the months in the year, does NaNoWriMo occur in November?

Regardless, though, 20% of the people that participate (as of 2006) reach their goal. This is, in part, because of the support that novel-writers find from fellow participants on the NaNoWriMo website. During the event, there are numerous write-ins in various locations, during which participants get together and write.

As the article points out, during NaNoWriMo, quantity counts over quality. 50,000 words in 30 days and nights is your goal and you do everything you can to reach it.

Click here to read the article that I discuss that describes NaNoWriMo at length.

--Ji

Books That Aren't Books

This is a picture of a book, an old one, yes, but a book. Everyone would agree on that....

But "online, the definition of a "book" grows to include blogs, research papers, and many other forms of writing"

What?? How is a blog a book? It's just short entries about the blogger's thoughts, it doesn't have a plot, or theme, or climax, or anything... And what about a research paper? How is a paper a book? There are books that are about research papers, and there are probably research papers about books, but how are the two the same thing? It just doesn't make sense.

Anyways, according to Mathew Ingram, the author of the article "Evolution of the E-Book: When Is a Book Not a Book?", the line between what people say is a book, and well, what people don't think is a book is a very thin line that's starting to blur around the edges.

Borders and Bookbrewer have decided to provide a service to allow bloggers, or basically anyone, to write and publish what could be considered an e-book, but it could be considered a long blog post. This idea is like the idea of Amazon's Singles: books that aren't books published by people who aren't authors.

but when you think about, the Borders and Bookbrewer and Kindle Singles aren't bad, they will provide many writers with a way to publish short pieces without having to go through a publisher and everything else it would take to publish a book.

to read the article "Evolution of the E-Book: When Is a Book Not a Book?", click here.

-Wenlan

LeakCon2011

I know what I want for Christmas! Airline Tickets to Orlando and passes for LeakyCon 2011, por favor!
Okay, ever since the Harry Potter World opened, I've been dying to go! Two of my favorite things in the world (Harry Potter and Roller Coasters) brought together in one beautiful place.
My excitement only intensified when I learned that LeakyCon 2011 was to be held there.
For those of you who don't know, LeakyCon is a charity conference held by the staff of the Leaky Cauldron, a popular Harry Potter fansite. The charities that will benefit are Harry Potter Allaince ( a charity that fights for equal rights far all ) and BookAid International. The conference will take place July 13 through 17th and is geared at young adults.  Several of my favorite Wrock (wizard rock: a whole genre about Harry Potter. Look it up!)bands will be playing. The official line up is

• Harry and the Potters
• Draco and the Malfoys
• The Whomping Willows
• The Ministry of Magic
• The Remus Lupins
• Tonks and the Aurors
• The Parselmouths
• The Moaning Myrtles
• Gred and Forge
• MC Kreacher
• House of Black
• Justin Finch-Fletchley and the Sugar Quills

And if that isn't enough for you the famous Potter Puppet Pals are to perform!!!!!!!!!! You know your Potter Party is cool when the PPPs perform at it! Below is one of their best known videos!

PPP and the mysterious ticking noise
It just couldn't  get any better really...... BUT WAIT!!!!!!!!!
July 14th you say? Doesn't that day sound famiar?
Oh, Yes Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part two opens that day!
AND THEY WILL BE SHOWING A MIDNIGHT SCREENING!!!!!
So this is pretty much the most excited I've been in a while. So if someone could find it in their hearts to by me passes, I would be most appreciative:)

more details here!


Caitlin

A New Type of Single

It seems like people are still mad at Amazon for changing e-book prices, or at least they seem slightly annoyed… but now they seem to be excited again, for this new thing that Amazon is calling “Kindle Singles.” These are not the music singles that you might find on iTunes, but instead they are meant to be about the length of a magazine, or a few chapters in a book, which is about 10 to 30 thousand words, or 30 to 90 pages long.

Amazon wrote in their announcement of the release of Singles: “[Singles are a] perfect, natural length to lay out a single killer idea, well researched, well argued and well illustrated—whether it’s a business lesson, a political point of view, a scientific argument, or a beautifully crafted essay on a current event.” Theoretically, anyone can submit a piece of writing to become a Single, but Amazon is really looking for serious writers, thinkers, scientists, business leaders, historians, politicians, and publishers to submit their writing.

The idea of having these short entries, according to Amazon, opens a whole new market for new writers because of the length of Singles, someone would not have to sit down and write a whole book to be able to get their writing published.

To read a short article about Kindle Singles on TechCrunch, click here

-Wenlan

Feast For the Return of the Hero

Following my last post, another sequel has been released this week. Rick Riordan, the author of the famed Percy Jackson and the Olympians series has written a sequel to the series called The Lost Hero, released today. With its release comes a premier party at BookPeople (an independent bookstore in Austin, if you happen to live out of town).

According to the BookPeople website, the event will include chariot races and rock climbing, in honor of the mythical nature of the books. You can also look forward to food and, of course, a chance to meet and get a book signed by Rick Riordan I’ve been to a few events at BookPeople, but never to one featuring Rick Riordan. The book signings that I have been to have all taken place inside the bookstore and have been fairly quiet affairs but the Percy Jackson series’ popularity, not just in Austin but nationwide, calls for a big celebration, and it sounds like it’ll be a loud but exciting event.

For all the Percy Jackson out there, this party might be worth taking time off of busy schedules to attend and enjoy the festivities, which start at 4 P.M today, and then the book signing at 6.

Click here to learn more about the party and signing.

-Ji

Funnies Aren't Funny

Happy 10/10/10! This day only happens every 100 years (well, duh).

Anyway, I woke up this lovely Sunday morning, stumbled down the stairs, threw something edible in the toaster, and flipped through the paper searching for that section. The comics. I read on silently. On the third page I noticed a new comic that took the place of Cathy. And it was soooo not funny. So I took a moment and thought When was the last time a comic made me laugh? Really laugh? A comic that I remembered for days, maybe even clipped it out of the paper and hung on the fridge? It has been a while. The funnies just aren't that funny any more. And this new one, this one called Freshly Squeezed was anything but fresh. I must say that some do make me chuckle or smile occasionally. Namely Pearls Before Swine and F-minus. Pooch Cafe was hilarious but then the creator decided to make that stupid Poncho's First Year story line. I look at the flashiest section of the paper (tinted pink for breast cancer awareness) and I see far too many strips that have to do with parents raising children:Dustin, Stone Soup, The Pajama Diaries Cul de Sac, Edge City, and now Freshly Squeezed. And I realize that none of these has ever made me laugh. The story lines are over used and a long shot from original. Yes, teens text sooo much. Oh, and yes, moms work so hard and multi task until the point of exhaustion. Oh, ha, ha. Comic strip artists need to stop being predictable and start using their imaginations! Emulate my favorite cartoonist Bill Waterson of Calvin and Hobbes and be different! Create interesting characters with unique situations. Please. I mean wouldn’t Family Circus be more interesting if it took place on the moon? 

~Caitlin

Behemoth Released

Behemoth by young adult author Scott Westerfeld comes out today, October 5th, 2010. This is the sequel to Westerfeld’s novel Leviathan, which came out almost exactly a year ago, on October 6^th of 2009.

In even more exciting news, Westerfeld’s tour for his new book stops by in Austin on Saturday, October 16^th, less than two weeks from today. If you’re a fan of Levithan, Scott Westerfeld, or historical steampunk fiction set during World War I in general, be sure to pick up this book and make your way to his appearance at the author’s appearance in the city at the sanctuary at First United Methodist Church (the exact address is listed on the author’s blog below).

I myself haven't read Leviathan or dabbled in the author’s other books such as The Uglies series (something you might want to try if you enjoy Leviathan and Behemoth), but am a big fan of the young adult literary genre, and have heard nothing but good things about Westerfeld’s books from fellow fans of the genre. I definitely plan on picking up one of his books eventually, and I recommend that fans of the young adult genre reading this blog do the same.  

To find out more about Scott Westerfeld's books and upcoming tour, check out his website:
Scott Westerfeld's Blog

-Ji

60 Cents Can Make A Huge Difference

People have been getting really angry because books being sold on Amazon, for example, "Fall of Giants" by Ken Follett, and "Don't Blink" by James Patterson and Howard Roughan. This fight isn't about anything such as banning of books because of their content, this isn't even about the actual books or the content of them, but instead, it's about the price of these books--both the price to order one of them, and the price to get one on a Kindle. The price to order "Fall of Giants" is $19.39 for a hardcover copy, but instead of the regular price, $9.99, for the e-book version, it costs $19.99, not only $10 more than other e-books, but about 60 cents more than the hardcover version. "Don't Blink" is also causing the same problems, seeing as the hardcover version is sold for $14, and the e-book version is $14.99. People have been enraged by these prices, both people interested in buying the e-book and people wanting the hardcover. People just don't think that it's fair, and that if Amazon is going to change prices for books, then they (the customers) should not, and will not buy them, as one customer wrote, "Amazon cannot bait and switch us and keep its customers."

The article about this also says: "The whole dust-up is perhaps a healthy reminder to both Amazon and publishers that the ultimate negotiating table is the marketplace." Which is a good point to make, because right now, people are controlling the sales of books from Amazon, namely these two, and if Amazon doesn't negotiate, then they might run into major problems selling any books, because people aren't buying the hardcover books either in protest for Amazon to lower the prices of e-books; but more than that, people are questioning buying Kindles because if they have to pay more than they would for the book in the first place, then what's the point on getting something to read the book on that will make it even more expensive.

Article: Angry Amazon Customers ask: "How can they charge more for an e-book then a paper one?"

-Wenlan

J.K Rowling interview with Oprah

I waited all week for Friday. J.K. Rowling , my personal hero and author of the Harry Potter series was to be on Oprah . I ran home from the bus stop just to see it, because JK seldom gives interviews. I learned some new things about her (I didn't know that she was afraid of cars!) and parts of it were bloody brilliant( "Rock Bottom can be used as a platform to jump") but over all it was disappointing. For a large part of the time it just seemed like the two women sat and talked about how rich they both were. I felt like Oprah interrupted JK a lot and that she dumbed it down for the audience.I mean Oprah had to explain what a "queue" was for us Americans. And for all of those who felt as JK had hinted that she might write another book about Harry Potter, I must disappoint you. JK has said that that she could write more, but she feels that the books are finished. I think she's right. Part of what makes the Harry Potter series special is that they are the only books J.K. Rowling written. I think that the series cement the saying "quality over quantity"( I am not by any means saying that the books are small. I'm just glad she wrote seven and not thirty books. )

Anyway,check out the interview and tell us what you think!

 interveiw here!

~Caitlin