I read a lot. Because I love it. To keep up with the industry. To keep up with my author/illustrator friends. To keep my Web site and this blog updated.

Something I’ve noticed over the years is how much I bring to the process. Many books I’ve set down because I just couldn’t get into them or because they seemed “slight” take on a whole new appeal at a second or even third glance. Sometimes I’m just tired or cranky or the story hits too close to home.

If something doesn’t strike me right away, I slip it back in the to-be-read pile. I figure if people deserve opportunities to redeem themselves, so do books. After all, it might be just me.

Nifty Links

Deanne Durett: Non-Fiction Pro: an author interview by Sue Reichard from Writing For Children at Suite101.com.

Writing For Children at Suite101.com also features previous recent interviews with Janice Levy, Avi, Susan Albert, Max Anderson, Amanda Jenkins, Vicki Cobb, Chris Crutcher, Sue Bradford Edwards, Jeanne DuPrau, Tanya Lee Stone, Simon Rose, Toni Buzzeo, Michelle Stimpson, Jane Kurtz, Frances Dowell, Susanna Reich, Wendie Old, Kathleen Duey, Suzanne Lieurance. Archived interviews include: Kezi Matthews, Jennifer Armstrong, Dottie Enderle, April Pulley Sayre, Kelly Milner Halls, Linda Joy Singleton, and Verla Kay.

2005 Orbis Pictus Award Winner And Honor Books for non-fiction picture books from NCTE. Also features eight recommended titles.

Random Readings from Greg’s blog about books we’ve recently read and loved, including Naming Maya by Uma Krishnaswami. See The Story Behind The Story: Naming Maya from Uma’s Web site and a booktalk from Nancy Keane’s Booktalks — Quick and Simple. Also, at the top of Uma’s site, there is a lizard. Find out why.

Sketches of the 2005 SCBWI Mid-Winter Conference in New York City from Ruth McNally Barshaw. Next best thing to being there!

Note: the Walker catalog is looking better all the time, both in terms of the list and the design. I look forward to reading (among others): Once Upon A Cool Motorcycle Dude by Kevin O’Malley, illustrated by Kevin O’Malley, Carol Heyer, and Scott Goto (Walker, 2005); Houdini: World’s Greatest Mystery Man and Escape King by Kathleen Krull, illustrated by Eric Velasquez (Walker, 2005)(also don’t miss Krull’s recent A Woman For President); and Shelf Life by Robert Corbet (Walker, 2005). Read a sample chapter of Shelf Life.