Overall, it’s been a much better year for picture books than novels, but I just got a healthy stack of mucho promising picks:

11,000 Years Lost by San Antonio author Peni R. Griffin (Amulet, 2004);

Unexpected Development by first-time author Marlene Perez (Roaring Brook, 2004);

Death By Eggplant by Susan Heyboer O’Keefe (Roaring Brook, 2004);

Busted by Betty Hicks (Roaring Brook, 2004).

Yes, the RB books are in, including some picture books I’ll tell you about soon.

More personally, it’s been a great day. I got my stitches out, wrote two scenes, went to lunch at Suzi’s China Grill & Sushi Bar (Hunan shrimp) with my honey, picked up comics at Dragon’s Lair, and bought a couple of journals at BookPeople. Tonight I’m planning to watch “Smallville” and/or the presidential debate.

Tips for journal shoppers: make sure you get spiral bindings so you can lay the book flat and actually write in it; make sure the pages are lined (unless you’re also an artist); don’t get anything so pretty that you’re too intimidated to use it.