The become best friends with Mindy project

I really hope all of you are watching The Mindy Project on Monday nights (Monday is the best night for TV. There's Up All Night, Don't Trust the B in Apartment 23, The Mindy Project and Parks and Recreation all in a row). It's hilarious and I highly recommend it. If you're into The Office, 30 Rock or any of the shows listed above you will love it.

Unfortunately we don't have the DVD of The Mindy Project in the library yet as it's still on TV in NZ. (9.30 Monday Nights, channel Four) but we do have Mindy Kaling's book Is everyone hanging out without me? (and other concerns).


"Mindy Kaling has lived many lives: the obedient child of immigrant professionals, a timid chubster afraid of her own bike, a Ben Affleck–impersonating Off-Broadway performer and playwright, and, finally, a comedy writer and actress prone to starting fights with her friends and coworkers with the sentence “Can I just say one last thing about this, and then I swear I’ll shut up about it?”

Perhaps you want to know what Mindy thinks makes a great best friend (someone who will fill your prescription in the middle of the night), or what makes a great guy (one who is aware of all elderly people in any room at any time and acts accordingly), or what is the perfect amount of fame (so famous you can never get convicted of murder in a court of law), or how to maintain a trim figure (you will not find that information in these pages). If so, you’ve come to the right book, mostly!

In Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, Mindy invites readers on a tour of her life and her unscientific observations on romance, friendship, and Hollywood, with several conveniently placed stopping points for you to run errands and make phone calls. Mindy Kaling really is just a Girl Next Door—not so much literally anywhere in the continental United States, but definitely if you live in India or Sri Lanka" (from Goodreads)

I really enjoyed this book so if you're after a bit of a laugh and a light read request it today!

P.s. Happy birthday Harry Potter and JK Rowling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
P.p.s Happy birthday Dad. 

For would-be writers

All my life I've worked in jobs that seem to attract people who want to write. First, there was my student job in a bookshop (that turned into 10 years, on and off), where I met a guy whose success in actually completing a draft novel encouraged me to give it a try. He stopped speaking to me after mine was published and his wasn't. Then again, he was a bit of a prat.

Then I went into journalism, trying to turn my creativity into a career. I very quickly worked out - by day two of my diploma - that I wasn't going to do that in journalism, unless it meant being creative with facts rather than style. But again, I met a few fellow journos who secretly yearned to be writing for themselves rather than The Man from Oz.

Now I work with books again, obviously, and there's a veritable plethora of us. Every time I think I'm struggling alone, I receive a reminder that I'm not as unique as I'd like to think. So here are a few resources for you, the fellow scribblers. You poor baskets.

Literary Rejections: http://www.literaryrejections.com/uk-literary-agencies/
Contains some uplifting stories about the authors who made it big, after breaking records for the number of rejections received (about 300). Apparently the average wait till the big break is eight years. Also contains useful listings of agents around the world, by country.

The Writers' and Artists' Yearbook 2014
THE essential guide to agents and the publishing industry, with listings and tips. Comes out every year with updated information.

The Best Writing on Mathematics
Whoops, how did THAT get in here? Hahahaha.

Scrivener for Dummies
A book about ME! Actually no, this is a guide to a software programme that helps writers get their thought processes into some semblance of order, and write a fantastic work. Computers can do everything!

Self-editing Fiction That Sells
Writing and editing are two very different things. Once you've got everything down, you need to know how to make it BETTER. This book tells you how.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inspiration for Writers

When things are at their Eeyorest, these stories may help pick you up. Remember: Jack Canfield, creator of the Chicken Soup series, was told his books would never sell! The first book was rejected by more than 140 publishers, before going on to establish a series that has sold more than 100 million copies around the world.

Writing Children's Books for Dummies
Pretty self-explanatory, but if you want to be the next J. K. Rowling, this book might well help.

The Writer's Internet: A Creative Guide to the World Wide Web
A guide to how to promote yourself online, where to find fan fiction sites, how to do online research, internet resources for writers and more.

100 Ways to Publish and Sell Your Own E-Book
There are many more ways to get published now than ever before. This book tells you how you can make money without an agent or a traditional publisher. No more rejection! But just in case...

The Positively Productive Writer
Subtitled "How to Reject Rejection". Unfortunately, it's going to happen. This book tells you how to deal, and how to keep going, setting realistic goals and moving your writing forward.

And finally:

77 Reasons Why Your Book Was Rejected (and How to Make Sure It Doesn't Happen Again)
Your mission has been assigned. It's up to you to see it through.

Don't forget writing competitions, writing courses, assessment organisations like Writers Workshop or Elseware and joining networks like the Society of Authors. Good luck, one and all.

Stalking the catalogue: Secret identity

"Superman was an authentic American dream - he simply outclasses all rivals and seemed to thrive on having enemies. Indeed - the dark side of the myth - he seemed to almost generate them."
 - Dennis Dooley, Superman at Fifty (1988)

It's amazing the number of discussions I've had with people about this book who deem the art inside as some of Shuster's worst, as if Superman was all he had to give and that it defined him in some way. Yoe's book is more than a salacious recount of serial killers inspired by fetish comic art and makes for quite fascinating reading - after all, who could resist reading about a war against comic books that involved '...psychiatrists, senators, religious leaders and parent groups...'?

Superman was all about heroism and justice, interestingly enough none of which can be found in the Nights of Horror images highlighted in Secret Identity.  The drawings seem to show people at their worst. No, that's not right. Perhaps it's more accurate to say that they depict fetishists as 'bad' or 'kinky' people.  A value judgement that would have been underlined by the fact that these publications were sold 'under the counter' at the time. (These days I don't know if it would be so shocking, or if we would be so quick to make such a judgement of people. Maybe we're at the point where we can own our 'kinks' so as not to be made to feel vulnerable about them? I don't know).

There's an introduction at the front by Stan Lee, who writes, 'Joe Shuster eventually found himself in a position where he had to accept any art job that was offered to him because of his need for funds.'  Money issues aside, the artwork is spectacular - if unusual.  Or at least, not something we talk about in polite company - which is probably why I read this in the first place.

One more thing - don't be surprised when you realise that some of the characters in the fetish images resemble Lois Lane or Clarke Kent.  Whether that was intentional or not I have no idea.

If you're after cheap thrills and pictures of scantily clad men and (mostly) women in compromising positions then this is definitely your kind of book.  However...if you're a longtime fan of graphic novel art and can separate the aesthetics (and the talent) over the subject, then you'll get a kick out of this title.

Title: Secret identity : the fetish art of Superman's co-creator Joe Shuster
Author: Craig Yoe
Published: Abrams ComicArts, 2009

Review: A Kiwi Fisherman's Guide to Life by Ian Chapman and Mike Rendle [Jan]

From a Californian native to a celebrity psychic, this book interviews many people and asks why they enjoy fishing, as well as getting them to share tales, tall and otherwise!  This book has snapshots of people’s lives – specifically kiwi fishermen.  The look at their lives is fascinating and they all share a positive outlook on life, enjoying doing what makes them happy. There are some real characters out there and this book lets you view some of them.

Attractively laid out with stunning photos of the New Zealand coastline and rivers, this book looks good and is easy to read.  The format of short interviews with different people telling good stories let readers pick it up and put it down without losing the plot of the book.  You can dive in anywhere and be captivated by a story.

Preferring my fish to be already cooked and on a dinner plate when I see them, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book.  This is a must read for the fisherman in your life and for anyone who enjoys a good yarn or two.  Anyone with an interest in New Zealand will enjoy the beautiful photos that accompany each story.

Title: A Kiwi Fisherman’s Guide To Life
Authors: Ian Chapman and Mike Rendle
Published: HarperCollins, 2012
Reviewer: Jan

Young Adult (actual books, not the movie. Sorry).

Anna and theFrench Kiss by Stephanie Perkins  

"Anna was looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. So she's less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris, until she meets Ètienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful Ètienne has it all, including a serious girlfriend. But in the City of Life, wishes have a way of becoming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss?"

Stephanie Perkins sure knows how to write a love story. Very cute and sweet filled with ‘will they, wont they’ moments. This one is defiantly written for teenage girls but if you love a good romance novel then give it a go. I liked it. 

You will like this if you liked: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight 

Wither by LaurenDeStefano 

‘After modern science turns every human into a genetic time bomb with men dying at age twenty-five and women dying at age twenty, girls are kidnapped and married off in order to repopulate the world.’

Despite the blurb above this book is essentially the light, teenage version of ‘The HandmaidsTale’ by Margret Atwood. Set in the future in a dystopian society (they’re all the rage right now) Rhine Ellery is kidnapped to be sold the bride of a wealthy and powerful scientist’s son. Wither has 2 sequels called Fever and Sever.

You will like this if you liked: The Hunger Games

Inside Out byMaria V Snyder 

‘I'm Trella. I'm a scrub. A nobody. One of thousands who work the lower levels, keeping Inside clean for the Uppers. I've got one friend, do my job and try to avoid the Pop Cops. So what if I occasionally use the pipes to sneak around the Upper levels? The only neck at risk is my own…until I accidentally start a rebellion and become the go-to girl to lead a revolution.’

This is another futuristic dystopian book but unlike ‘Wither’ this one is science fiction. I won’t give too much away because figuring out what’s going on with Trella is super fun but I will say that it’s an interesting concept with great characters and well worth a read. The sequel of this book is called ‘Outside In’ is available now.

You will like this if you liked: Uglies

Daughter of Smokeand Bone by Laini Taylor

‘Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky. In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low and in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war.’

Set in the beautiful city of Prague this dark and mysterious book is a fresh twist on the ever so fashionable supernatural teen novel. A little bit gothic and what would have been emo five years ago. This book made me want to pack a bag and head off to Europe and then not talk to any strangers once I got there.

You will like this if you liked: Hush Hush.