John Green's Weblog

Eventful

2008-05-07T12:50:00.002-05:00

1. Hank and Maureen Johnson and I will be speaking together in Grand Rapids, Michigan this Thursday.

2. If you would like for Hank and/or I to come to your city, request us at Eventful.

Question Tuesday

2008-04-29T11:44:00.002-05:00

So last night I was at this dinner with these really interesting artists, and we were drinking champagne. I told the story about how when Dom Perignon invented chamagne, he is supposed to have told one of his fellow monks, "Come quickly. I am tasting the stars."
And then one of the artists said, "Tasting the stars--that's what Britney Spears does for a living." Hey-o!

Here are your questions from last week, only now, they are answered:

Which Paper Towns cover would YOU choose if you were perusing a bookstore looking to buy a book?

It's hard to say. Probably the blue. But I like both, and I think they both reflect common misconstructions of contemporary teenagers.

You have a great fondness for Walt Whitman. What other poets do you like? Any current poets?

I answered this in last week QT video also, but yes, of course. Among contemporary poets, I like this book Atlas by Katrina Vandenberg in a somewhat obsessive way.

Will you please, please go on a book tour for Paper Towns?

Yes, I will.

Why do teachers make less than actors?

Most of the actors I know make precious little, but I do think that teachers and librarians are the most underpaid people in the American workforce. I mean, on the one hand, I would like to live in a world where teachers and librarians are feted like celebrities. On the other hand, that George Clooney sure is dashing.

Do you think Pam and Jim will get engaged?

Yes, although sitcom engagements fail about 92% of the time.

So which cover of Paper Towns should I get for my library? I suspect the answer will be "both". ;>D

My answer is, in fact, that you should get several of both.

Do you think it's true you have to lose yourself in order to find yourself?

I'm not totally convinced that the self is findable in any kind of lasting way.

John, do you consider yourself lucky that you get to be a writer for a living, or do you think it's something anyone can do given the right amount of talent and perseverance?

I consider myself very lucky, but I also think that there are many, many people who write for a living (I worked for Booklist for six years, and we reviewed hundreds of books every other week--all of them were written by somebody).

Who would win in a fight? Numbers or words?

w0rd5

I've found myself wondering what college you (and Hank, for that matter) went to?

I went to Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. Hank attended Eckerd College in Florida. We both like both schools.

Favorite city?

Amsterdam. Then Chicago. Then New York.

Blue or black ink?

Green, a habit I learned from my boss at Booklist, Ben Segedin.

What happened to that book you were co-authoring with David Levithan?

We're working on it. It'll come out in 2009.

What is your favorite poem of all time?

Tough one. Song of Myself, I guess.

Can you explain its origins, purposes, and any other clarification junk about nerdfighters. Like, Are you against nerds or what.

It's not possible to understand the whole thing unless you watch our 288 videos (which will only take you like fourteen or fifteen hours), but basically, nerdfighters fight _for_ nerds. (The name is based on a common misreading of an old arcade game.)

Why on EARTH do all YA writers have Mac computers?!

Well, there are a number of reasons. They're faster, more stable, and better for video editing (which is important to me, obviously). And there are really cool Mac-specific writing project managers that people like Maureen Johnson and Scott Westerfeld swear by.

Also, they are cooler.

Do you have a PO box that I could send my copy of the book to? If I include postage in my package, could you sign my copy and mail it back?

I can't do that at the moment (I don't have a PO box), but we are going to try to set something up before Paper Towns comes out.

If Hank, Libba Bray, Carroll Spinney, Mel Brooks and you got in to a fight, who would win?

Libba would win. Libba is a tiger!

How do you like living in Indy? Also, what are favorite places to eat in Indy so far?

We like it. It's an adjustment, but we like it. I ate last night at Meridian; it was excellent. I'm also pretty high on Elements, a restaurant downtown that mostly uses local ingredients.

I'll continue to answer questions with (hopefully) regularity, so leave them in comments. Thanks for all your questions!

Clinton's Big States and Obama's Big States

2008-04-25T10:42:00.005-05:00

I swear I am going to blog less about politics once the nominating contest has come to an end, but friend and excellent author Lara Zeises had a thoughtful post in comments I want to pull out:

"What I want to know is, why are Obama supporters so quick to dismiss the "big states" argument. Isn't the overall goal to get a Dem back in the White House? Haven't we learned from the Bush/Gore debacle that electoral votes are EVERYTHING?"

This is a fair question, and I think it's one of the main reasons that Clinton's supporters feel it's important for her to be in the race: The idea is that Obama can't win states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, which means that he'll lose the election in November regardless of the popular vote.

For the sake of argument, let's put aside that I think overturning the pledged delegate count would infuriate the base of the party and just discuss the electoral college facet of the electability argument:

History can't always be your guide for such things, but I looked at the last few competitive Democratic primaries, and there may be some correlation between primary performance and general election performance (For instance, in 1976, Carter lost primaries in California and New York; in the general, he won New York but lost California.) But let's talk about it state by state:

1. Important states that (currently) favor Clinton over Obama in a general election scenario: Arkansas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Mexico. (I don't include Michigan; some would say I should, but 40% of Democratic voters voted for no one over Clinton.) I think Obama can win all these states except maybe Arkansas, which I don't think Clinton can win either, but no matter. 52 electoral votes.

2. Important states that (currently) favor Obama over Clinton in a general election scenario: Colorado, Virginia, North Carolina, and Wisconsin. 47 electoral votes.

In short, I think the "big states" argument is kind of a wash, at least from the perspective of the electoral college. If Obama doesn't win Ohio or Pennsylvania, he might be in trouble. If Clinton doesn't win Wisconsin or Colorado, she might be in trouble. (You will note I have given up on Florida. Sorry, Florida.)

Okay. Answers to questions to come soon. Oh, and if you're a dork like me, you can look at some state-by-state head-to-head general election polling at the (annoyingly conservative but nicely laid out) realclearpolitics.

Three Things

2008-04-23T09:39:00.003-05:00

1. I don't understand why people are acting like the democratic presidential nomination is still a race.

Here's how the delegate math is going to work out: Clinton will net 14 (maybe two more, maybe two less) delegates out of Pennsylvania, meaning that she is still well more than 100 delegates behind). As I've said before, if the positions were reversed, I would be begging Obama to get out of the race. As it is, I am begging Clinton to get out of the race. There is nothing to be gained at this point: Her five percent chance of winning the nomination does not go up if she campaigns through June.

By the way, I only mention this because it is a well-known fact that Hillary Clinton reads my blog.

2. The paperback of An Abundance of Katherines will be published in August of 2008. With a fancy new cover! And an incredibly low price! (Seriously. Incredible.) More information to come.

3. The loyal few who frequent this blog but for whatever reason refuse to join the Nerdfighting juggernaut have been asking: You answer dozens of questions weekly in your vlog; why can't you do something similar over here?

Fair enough. Leave your questions in comments. I will post the answers here and as a blog post at the ning.

Paper Towns

2008-04-14T20:06:00.002-05:00

In which I discuss the dual covers of Paper Towns in video blog form. If you want to put your name in the hat for the advanced readers copy of Paper Towns, comment at nerdfighters.com or at youtube.

The Covers of Paper Towns

2008-04-02T08:09:00.007-05:00

So for those of you who didn't navigate the wilds of omnictionary to find the covers of my new book, Paper Towns, which comes out on October 16th:

(I am sure that you already know this and everything, but just in case my grandparents are visiting my blog: You can click on the image to make it bigger. No, Nanny. Click on the image! Right, with the mouse!)

I am really psyched about the covers, and really psyched that there are two of them. And now, to celebrate, I will have a conversation with my 11th grade self.

Me: Hey, John.

11th Grade Self: What's up? Other than your cholesterol, I mean. Jesus, you are possibly even fatter than the last time spoke.

Me: Right, yeah. Listen, I wanted to show you the cover of the new book, Paper Towns.

11th Grade Self: What's it about?

Me: Orlando. Whitman. That kind of stuff.

11th Grade Self: God, I hate Whitman. He was such a tool. I'm a leaf of grass. No, wait. I am many leaves of grass. Oh, whoops. Now I'm just one leaf of grass again. I mean, come on. I could write that.

Me: No, you couldn't. Trust me. You come around to Whitman eventually. Anyway, check out the covers.

11th Grade Self: Wait, which one is the cover?

Me: They're both the cover. Same book, two different covers.

11th Grade Self: Dude, why not just have one freaking cover like a normal freaking book?

Me: A lot of reasons. First, because they look kind of awesome next to each other. Also, we felt like they'd each appeal to a different audience. And we wanted the cover design to be part of the book in a way it too often isn't; we wanted it to capture the ways that this person is wrongly imagined by the people all around her.

11th Grade Self: Weird.

Me: Yes, well, it's not unprecedented or anything.

11th Grade Self: Uh, well, I like them. I like the blue better, I guess.

Me: And I the yellow.

11th Grade Self: Hey, while I have you here, when do we really marry Sarah Urist or were you just screwing with me?

Me: We really marry her.

11th Grade Self: Christ, that's so awesome. Now that I know she's a chubby chaser, I think I'm gonna go hit the Taco Bell. I'll see you later, fatty.

S-S-Something from the Comments

2008-04-02T07:44:00.003-05:00

Milowent writes: "I am suddenly struck with remorse for counseling Brotherhood 2.0 NOT to make a presidential endorsement early in 2007. if they had, clinton would probably be out by now."

It's true! Blame Milowent!

Sandy writes: I also still have a little bit of a problem with Senator Obama. I'm a Michigan Democrat, and it still bothers me that he pulled his name off of my ballot when there was no cause for him to do so.

The primary system in this country is so screwed-up I don't even know where to start, but the solution to the screwed-upedness is certainly not for all the states to start moving their primaries up. All the candidates signed a pledge, at the behest of the DNC, saying they would not "participate" in the Florida or Michigan primaries. They couldn't remove their names from the ballots in Florida (it's illegal), but everyone but Senator Clinton and Dennis Kucinich interpreted "not participating" as "not being on the ballot." I don' t think this constitutes ignoring Michigan or leaving Michigan behind. If anything, Obama's economic stimulus plan is better for states like Michigan than it is for states like New Hampshire. Also, the Obama campaign has backed several efforts to seat the delegates from Michigan at the convention. I agree with both Clinton and Obama that we need to find a way to seat the Michigan and Florida delegates at the convention, and I'm confident it will happen.

Devin writes: "Hey Umm kinda off subject but i just read looking for alaska and i would just like you to thank you for writing such a good book it has helped me."

Hey, Devin, thanks for reminding me that this blog is about books and writing and not about Presidential politics. Also, compliments are never off-topic. And thanks for reading Alaska. And thanks for making my day with the last four words of your comment.

Indiana Matters (But Shouldn't)

2008-03-31T10:02:00.004-05:00

Here in Indiana, there is a lot of excitement over the Presidential primaries, because for the first time in a very long time, Indiana will play a role in deciding the Democratic nominee for President.

We vote on May 6th, along with my parents in North Carolina. Hank and Katherine, out in Montana, don't vote till June. To hear Senator Clinton tell it, Hank and Katherine will matter, too. I'm all for the Green family having a say in this election. But Indiana and North Carolina and Montana shouldn't matter.

The race was fair, and it is over. Senator Clinton will not win enough delegates to tie or overtake Senator Obama, no matter what happens in the states yet to vote. Clinton's campaign has emphasized how close the race has been (and it has been very close), but there comes a time at which the race--despite having been close--is over. We've been there since Texas and Ohio voted. I have supported Obama throughout this campaign, and if he were in Senator Clinton's position, I would be very disappointed. But I would still want him to bow out.

Many of my friends support Clinton (and a few work full-time for her campaign). I know how hard it is when a candidate you deeply believe in loses a close election. But if we examine the main arguments coming out of the Clinton campaign, none really holds up:

1. "The superdelegates might break for Clinton even though Obama will have a lead in pledged delegates." This is ridiculous, and everyone in the Democratic party knows it.

But if Obama were to become utterly unelectable for some reason between now and the convention, the superdelegates could STILL break for Clinton and give her the nomination, even if she suspended her campaign.

2. "The race is very close." True, but the few remaining contests cannot change the outcome. They might make it slightly closer (although I think not), but so what?

3. "The decision to keep running is a deeply personal decision." Oh, hooey. (The ostensibly neutral) Howard Dean had this to say today: "Nobody tells you when to get in, and nobody tells you when to get out. That's about the most personal decision you can make..."

Except it is not a personal decision. It's not about you. It's about the war in Iraq and climate change and the world economy. It's about issues bigger than Sen. Clinton, and bigger than the Democratic party, and bigger in fact than the United States.

Now, many people believe that Clinton is self-centered and disingenuous. Some will say she's continuing because she thinks the election is about her. I disagree. I believe, in fact, the opposite: She is continuing because she knows the race is about more than her, and because she believes she is better-equipped to lead the United States than her remaining opponents. She's staying because of those issues that are bigger than her, because it's not a personal decision.

I admire that, but from here on out, Senator Clinton's campaign will not bring us closer to the America she envisions.

And in my opinion, that's when you have to hang it up. But maybe I'm wrong. let me know in comments.

Omnictionary.com

2008-03-25T14:32:00.003-05:00

Those of you who yearn for the bygone days of the Brotherhood 2.0 Scavenger Hunt (or are looking forward to the release of my new book Paper Towns) should check out omnictionary.com, a new site Hank and I have been working on. (Click on "Major Facts" to get started; if you poke around long enough, you'll find the answer to that question people keep asking.) If you find the Easter Egg, feel free to discuss in comments (I hope you think it's as awesome as I do!), but please don't spoil the hunt for others.

(To answer the question that will be asked the most: Yes, Paper Towns will have two different covers! Cool, huh?)

Eine Wie Alaska

2008-03-18T16:43:00.004-05:00

I know exactly two words of German: sitzpinkler and spiegel.*

So I cannot say this is true with any authority, but apparently Looking for Alaska (aka Eine Wie Alaska) has been nominated for two prestigious awards in Germany. I am of course thrilled about this, and honored to be nominated alongside people like Kevin Brooks, David Levithan, and Rachel Cohn**.

But for the last day or so, I've been thinking: To what extent am I responsible for this very pleasant turn of events? I wrote the book, but it never would have received critical attention if it hadn't been so well translated by Sophie Zeitz. (I don't know Ms. Zeitz, but I already like her, since she obviously made me good in German, and also because I believe that surnames can never have too many z's.)

And for that matter, Eine Wie Alaska would never have existed if my German publisher, Hanser, hadn't been excited about the book, or if the scouts who brought it to them hadn't recommended it.

This reminds me once again that as much as we love the image of the rogue author sitting alone in her basement sweating over a keyboard, the contemporary novel is collaborative at its very core. My story. Julie's suggestions. Sophie's words. Hanser's book. The thing does not belong to any one of us. But that's a good thing: The work benefits so much from collaboration, and anyway, it's always more fun to share in good fortune***.

*The former is in An Abundance of Katherines; the latter will become clear when Paper Towns comes out.
** I'm sure many of the other nominated authors are great also, but I don't know for sure, because so few European books are published in the United States, which is just another symptom of Why We Aren't Doing So Well, but anyway.)
*** I mean, except when you're winning the lottery. Then you want to hog it all.

Politics

2008-03-12T07:50:00.002-05:00

1. The federal government shows again that they can be trusted with our money, so long as it is spent on defense, with their plan to save World of Warcraft from the terrorists. (Really.)

2. Everyone is so upset about Geraldine Ferraro's bafflingly stupid argument, "If Obama was a white man, he wouldn't be in this position." (Because, like, you know, white men have traditionally fared so poorly in American elections.) Anyway, everyone's outraged about the content of the remark, but where is the outrage about Geraldine Ferraro's terrible grammar?

3. Over at nerdfighters.com, many interesting things are happening. (I don't know why I even bother to mention that, since more people visit nerdfighters.com a day than visit this blog in a year). Anyway, in my next video, I believe I'm going to show the cover(s?!?!?!) of PAPER TOWNS.

Spitzer

2008-03-10T21:51:00.002-05:00

Everyone keeps talking about how awful it is that Eliot Spitzer apparently broke the law repeatedly by paying a lot of money to prostitutes. And it is awful, definitely. Many questions are still unanswered, but perhaps the most important is this:

When did Eliot Spitzer's teeth fall out?

Did they fall out as a result of hiring prostitutes? (Let that be a lesson to you! Do not hire prostitutes! You only get one set of teeth, after all!)

Related: Lindsay points out that Fred Armisen will be the next governor of New York.

Thank You, Depew

2008-03-05T13:28:00.002-06:00

"The Depew Board of Education voted, 6-0, Tuesday to approve a controversial coming-of- age novel for 11th-grade Regents English classes."

I'm linking to that story in the Buffalo News because I thought it was so well-written and so fair. I have to say that I've never encountered a newspaper that handled a book challenge issue with such thoughtfulness and thoroughness before; when she read the first story they wrote, Sarah said it was "inspiringly fair." I feel the same way, and thanks to the paper for its excellent reporting.

Thanks also to all the members of the Depew School Board, particularly Board President Steven Carmina. Their commitment to the teachers in the students in the district is apparent (and I would feel that way whether they voted for the book or against it).

And finally, thanks to the many, many kids at Depew High School who went to school board meetings and got involved as participants in the educational process. You guys are pretty much made of awesome.

Best Wishes!

2008-02-26T17:16:00.002-06:00

If you live in or near Spartanburg, South Carolina, come see me on Saturday. (I'll be speaking at 2 at the library at 151 S. Church Street.)

Live in Chicago

2008-02-06T11:56:00.000-06:00

If you live in or near Chicago and you're over the age of 21, you should come down to the Hideout this Friday at 6:30. I'll be participating in The Interview Show with noted American genius Mark Bazer. The Hideout's at 1354 W. Wabansia; the show costs five bucks, and it'll be worth it.

Also: Stephen Colbert likes one of my favorite bands.

Furthermore: The Buffalo News reports with great fairness and thoroughness on the "Looking for Alaska" situation in Depew. It turns out that 97% of the parents in the eleventh grade signed the permission slip saying their kids could read "Alaska." 97 percent!

And speaking of overwhelming majorities: It looks like even the Clinton campaign is acknowledging that Obama won more delegates yesterday than Clinton did, albeit by about 10. (845-835 or so.)

I Am Not a Pornographer

2008-01-30T19:31:00.000-06:00

Two teachers at Depew High School outside of Buffalo, New York would like to teach my novel "Looking for Alaska" to 11th graders. (ELEVENTH GRADERS!!!!) A letter was sent home to every parent explaining that the book contained controversial content. Parents could either give written permission for their kids to read "Alaska" or not reply, in which case the kids would read a different book.

This seems to me an extremely well-reasoned and thorough way of approaching the complexities of 'edgy' (I hate that word) books in English classes. Even so, a few members of the community of Depew have objected to the book's presence in the curriculum on the grounds that "Looking for Alaska" is "pornographic" and "disgusting." They feel that parents should not be allowed to choose for themselves whether the book is appropriate in a high school English classroom.

There are many supporters of the book among teachers, administrators, librarians, and the school board in Depew. To help them, I'm asking people to email letters of support for the book at sparksflyup--at--gmail.com.

Also, if you live in Depew, the book will be discussed at the Depew Board of Education meeting on February 5th at the Depew High School Auditorium at 7 PM.

Corey Worthington Is an Australian Boy and an American Metaphor

2008-01-16T08:11:00.000-06:00

Sometimes I wonder why there are so many amazing young adult novelists working in Australia. (I mean, to name but a few: Markus Zusak, Sonya Hartnett, Melina Marchetta, Justine Larbalestier, Margo Lanagan, and 2008 Printz honoree Judith Clarke.)

Right now I am thinking that maybe Australia has so many amazing YA novelists because Australia has so many amazing teenagers. Ladies and gentlemen, meet 16-year-old Corey Delaney:

(Thanks, Lindsay! And thanks, Radar!)

To answer your questions:

1. Yes, he is for real.

2. No, I am not going to say whether I think Corey Delaney is amazingly good or amazingly bad. I am just going to say that I think he is amazing. I think he distills what is important and hilarious and tragic about contemporary adolescence. Corey Delaney is the reason Scott Westerfeld had to write Extras.

3. Yes, I agree that the newscaster is kind of a square. I mean, doesn't she get it? HIS GLASSES ARE FAMOUS. WHY WOULD HE TAKE OFF THE FAMOUS GLASSES?

The Printz, Nerdfighting, and Airports

2008-01-14T11:43:00.000-06:00

This blog entry comes to you in four parts:

Part 1: The Ning. Brotherhood 2.0 may be over, but Hank and I are still making videos with some regularity. You can watch those and join the community of nerdfighters at the Ning. I'll still post some of our videos here, like:

Part 2: Airports. Hank and I must have filmed at least a dozen videos in airports over the last year. This one is my favorite, and it also seems to be the favorite of The People, since it is currently the Top Rated video on youtube and the most discussed comedy video of the day.

Part 3: The Printz Awards. I've been a huge children's literature award nerd for many years, so of course I got up bright and early this morning to find out the winners. (In case you are not a huge children's literature award nerd, the winner was The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean. Honors went to Dreamquake by Elizabeth Knox, One Whole and Perfect Day by Judith Clarke, Repossessed by A. M. Jenkins, and Your Own, Sylvia by Stephanie Hemphill.) Congratulations all around.

When it comes to awards, I don't think we should make broad statements about trends. There will be some discussion about how all five awards went to women this year, and about how two went to novels with fantastical elements, and so on. But the Printz really only reflects one trend: Good books getting published for teenagers. And the fact that there was no overlap between the National Book Awards and the Printz Awards shows again that there are a lot of books being published for teenagers that deserve to be taken seriously.

Speaking of which, Part 4: I don't think I've read dystopian fiction as good as Scott Westerfeld's Extras since I was hanging out with Orwell in ninth grade.

Electability

2008-01-04T06:55:00.000-06:00

This is not a political blog, but if you take a moment to watch these two speeches, I think it's very difficult to argue that Obama is less electable than his opponent.

One thing worth nothing in the aftermath of this: It's interesting to listen to the way Clinton and Obama talk about moderate Republicans. Clinton teases them (as having "seen the light"); Obama welcomes them without chastising them.

On the Brokenness of My Blog

2007-12-12T08:08:00.000-06:00

You may notice that for the moment, the layout of the blog has changed. You also may notice that it has changed for the worse. This is because someone or something has destroyed large swaths of my site. (In my mind, it was an oversized sentient locust. It also may have been hackers. But if it was hackers, I have an important question: Out of all of the web sites on all of the Internet, why would you hack mine? No one even visits here. They are too busy watching Brotherhood 2.0 and discussing how much cuter Hank is.

Anyway, at some point, my hard-working webmaster and I will get together and talk about how to fix the site, but it is a little challenging when you are not allowed to textually communicate with your webmaster.

Oh, and also: The movie rights for "An Abundance of Katherines" have been optioned by the production company East of Doheny:

Now if we can just get this strike to end. Also, thanks to all the Nerdfighters who helped make the above video the top rated comedy video on youtube yesterday (and also the third most discussed).

John's Writing Advice

2007-11-27T09:29:00.000-06:00

Lately I've been asked a lot if I have any writing advice, particularly for young aspiring writers. The video below contains about the only writing advice I feel that I can provide with any kind of confidence:

My publishing advice to teens is: Generally, don't. What is the point of trying to publish now? There is so much to be gained from waiting and so little to be gained from not waiting. I think that not worrying about publishing a novel by the age of 16 will free young writers from the constraints of the literary marketplace. And if you write a novel that's really wonderful, then you can always revise it and publish it later. (See, for instance, M. T. Anderson's Whales on Stilts.)

Okay, back to Paper Towns.

Sticking to the Union

2007-11-15T13:14:00.000-06:00

This is great stuff.

It's a Fugging Shame

2007-11-10T10:04:00.000-06:00

Norman Mailer, the man who invented the word "fug" (as noted in "An Abundance of Katherines"), has died. My boss at "Booklist" used to eviscerate me whenever I conflated a writer's writing with a writer's politics, so I'll remember his work not his misogyny: Much of his stuff was a little puffed-up for me, like a wiry seventh grader who wants to show you how many pull-ups he can do. But I think "The Naked and the Dead" is a really good novel.

Anyway, Mailer's fug-invention is acknowledged in this obituary as being a "noteworthy" facet of his famous first novel.

Talk to Me

2007-10-15T10:49:00.000-05:00

I should have blogged about this forever ago, but in case you have not noticed, I am the world's laziest blogger.

HOWEVER. I will be chatting for a while this evening at the Readergirlz myspace forum beginning at 8 PM eastern time. If you're a myspace member, and I know that you are, just join the group and then join the conversation with me this evening. I will answer questions about pretty much anything.

In other news: Noted American nerdfighter Sara Zarr is a finalist for the National Book Award. Huzzah.

It Depends on What Your Definition of Moral Is

2007-10-09T10:32:00.001-05:00

The debate over the moralizing (or immoralizing) in "Looking for Alaska" rages on Amazon. (And when I say rages, I mean that there are two posts, but I find them interesting.) What say you, readers? Is "Alaska" too moral? Not moral enough? Or the only truth in fiction is inherently amoral? (My views on the subject, as Rudy Giuliani would say, have evolved.)

In other debating news:

The debate between zombies and unicorns has moved from Justine Larbalestier's brilliant blog to the small screen of Brotherhood 2.0.

The debate between whether Hank or I is the superior vlogger continues in My Pants. And best of all, now that Brotherhood 2.0 has made the switch to a new server, we can handle more traffic. So head over and get back to commenting.