Friday Update 6/11

Most Fridays, I update my library and share what new books I bought or received during the past week.


I got my second book for the Nerds Heart YA tournament: Donut Days by Lara Zielin. (The other book was The World is Mine.) Stayed tuned for next week, when Angela of Bookish Blather and I reveal our pick to move on in the tourney!

I also got Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table by Ruth Reichl. It came from a friend who shares my love of food books ( I had lent him one of Reichl's other books, Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise, which we both loved.)

In other book news: As I'm sure you've heard, The New Yorker is publishing a 20 Under 40 Fiction Issue. Looks like a pretty interesting list, but I was most interested in one name: Daniel Alarcón. Congratulations, Daniel! As you may recall, I reviewed War By Candlelight quite some time ago and enjoyed it. I wasn't sure until I read the New Yorker interview with him that I was allowed to mention this, but I have gotten a sneak peek at Alarcón's next project and it looks awesome. From the interview:

I’m in the final stages of a graphic novel, with the artist Sheila Alvarado, adapting a short story of mine called “City of Clowns,” which appeared in The New Yorker in 2003 [and is my favorite story from War By Candlelight - Lorin]. It will be published this summer in Peru, Mexico, and Chile.

I hope it will be published in English at some point as well, since I don't read Spanish. But the illustrations look great. All you Spanish speakers out there should look out for it.

On a personal note, I know I've been a spotty blogger recently. Because of the tendinitis in my arm, I've mostly stopped using the computer at night. This means I only do any writing on the weekends or on my lunch break at work. And when I'm busy at work or out of town for a weekend, that means blogging is the lowest thing on my priority list. Many thanks to all of you for continuing to stay tuned, despite the lack of posts.

Happy weekend!