My PSnarkiversary...a year flies by when you're busy reading

It's difficult for me to comprehend how fast a year whizzes by. It's not a noticeable thing really but you could argue I've had my nose buried in a book for a good proportion of it. It's been a fantastically magical year, a great introduction to a place of like minded people.

Though it's surprised a few people, PSnark is only a year old. I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing...Courtney Summers has me edging toward the former.

I don't talk about books much to my friends. This may shock you but I socialise with a lot of non-readers. Yes...it frustrates me too. Until this year, I would bore people around me with book chatter within a minute, apologise and talk about last night's Australian Idol or something else equally brainless.

Blogging gave me my brain back.

It gave me many things, nothing monetary of course (my mother still thinks this isn't right considering the hours I put in) but many things that are much more important. I thought I might make a list...

• a safe place to freely express my (sometimes too) honest opinion on books.
• an audience of friends to discuss plots, writing styles and the varying attractiveness of romantic leads.
• a growing school library
• a means in which to interview authors I admire greatly
• to share the beauty of the word - persnickety
• the realisation that I can write to a schedule
• that I have a writing voice that people seem to respond to
• the opportunity to speak to authors face to face
• the ability to more clearly share my reasons for liking (or loathing) a book
• the courage to enter NaNo and successful complete it
• a shift from saying "I'd like write something....' in an apologetic manner to 'I've finished writing something rubbish...' in a defeatist manner I am hoping this continues to slowly work it's way up to be less depressing :)
• renewed belief in the fantasy genre.
• a twitter addiction
• an allergy to vampires
• the tendency to overuse ellipsis'...thank you Alexa Young, I learned from the best.
• an unofficial book club that commutes between Adelaide and Sydney. A-, you've been great, thanks!
• A handful of great friends, lifelong friends that happen to write. Thanks to A., M., G., B., K. and C. you've made the crappy parts of this year less crappy.
• The great bloggers that encourage, comment and support...I wish I'd gone to high school with you. The library would have been a groovier place.
• Friday Night Lights...the subject of much tweeting and something I could gift to others (that didn't already know about it's awesomeness)
• the Australian YA community that really took me under their wing. From the interviews and review copies to Reading Matters to the Inkys. I've never felt more at home...a more talented bunch I have yet to meet.
• publishers - there are people that are my friends now that I've met through this blog that I absolutely adore...I think I've forced FNL on all of you and now it's spreading through the Australian publishing houses like a disease. Thanks for your kindness and generosity.

As many of you are aware, I am moving to Japan...in two days. Persnickety Snark will have some new challenges (finding reading material being the biggest) but I am excited to see where another twelve months takes me and the blog.

Thank you to all those people that have followed or subscribed. A big thanks to those of you who take the time to leave comments. Thank you to all the people that linked me in their blog rolls, mentioned a post of mine or tweeted a link.

I would also like to thank all the authors that sent me their books (whether across the ocean or not) for review, allowed me to interview them, took the time to write a guest post or pretended to be okay with me badgering them on twitter - you are classy!

Thanks...here's to another year!

Adele

PSnarkiversary: Beth Fantaskey (Jekel Loves Hyde)

Beth Fantaskey's Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side was one of my first reviews here at Persnickety Snark. It was such a touching, funny and subvertive take on vampire lore that I was instantly struck by it. Her newest book, Jekel Loves Hyde, will be in stores from May 3rd, 2010 in the US.

About one year ago to this date, my first novel, Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side, began shipping out to bookstores and making its way to readers.

Meanwhile, halfway around the globe, a very cool person named Adele Walsh was launching her own new venture – the Persnickety Snark blog.

And within weeks, these worlds collided in a way that is still having transcontinental reverberations… at least for Adele and me.

I’ll admit: I was reluctant to read a review of my work on something called “Persnickety Snark.” When the nice folks at Google Alerts e-mailed to let me know that Jessica’s Guide had popped up there, I purposely avoided checking it out. I mean, “persnickety?” “Snark?” What were the odds that I could please a reviewer who defined herself as picky and sarcastic?

And then one day – as I recall it – a person with the lovely, unusual name “Adele” e-mailed from Australia to nudge me to check out the review and invite me to maybe do a guest post or interview.

I don’t know if it was the fact that Adele awarded Jessica’s Guide not the traditional reviewer’s stars but rather flying monkeys, or whether we just sensed, instinctively, that we “clicked” somehow, but from that moment on, a friendship was born.

Over the course of 2009, Adele sent my kids awesome Australian gifts; e-mailed to cheer me on with her quirky, random humor; and patiently endured my attempts to educate her about life in Pennsylvania’s semi-Amish country.

For my part, I’ve worried as her health got dicey in the last few months, celebrated when she took her exciting new job in Japan, and failed – because how could I ever succeed? – in expressing my undying gratitude for her endless support.

After all, it was Adele who shoved Jessica’s Guide under the nose of an editor at Penguin Australia – resulting in Penguin purchasing the rights not only for that book, but for my second novel, Jekel Loves Hyde, too. (Which has resulted in me making more new friends at Penguin. Is everybody in Australia blessed with that quirky sense of humor??)

I’ve also watched Persnickety Snark evolve to become sleeker and more professional – but thankfully without losing its unique voice and appreciation for a good laugh. There’s always a ton of genuinely informative, interesting content, delivered in a way that keeps me scrolling to see what the heck will come next.

Adele – I want to congratulate you on a year of awesome, insightful blogging. You deserve the fantastic reputation that you’re getting in the publishing world.

And on a more personal note, I wish you a ton of happiness as you begin a new chapter of your life in Japan. What a lucky country to be getting an Adele Walsh for awhile! (I really think every nation needs one.)

As we start a new year across all the time zones, cheers to a great blog, a wonderful blogger, and – most of all – a fantastic friend. And may 2010 be a banner year for books, readers and kindred souls, however they connect!

Beth is a fantastic friend and it's been a honour to have her guest blog on this anniversary. Her most recent title, Jekel Loves Hyde, is available in all bookstores that know what they are talking about from May 2010. Jessica's Guide will be released in Australia from February 2010.

You can check out her website by following this link.

PSnarkiversary: William Kostakis (Loathing Lola)

It seemed only fitting that I would post Aussie author, William Kostakis, after Courtney Summers. They are delightfully quirky, of course William's a little more 'off' with his sense of humour but I like him enough to give him a free pass. His debut novel, Loathing Lola was published last year (when he was nineteen) and he's busy at work on book number two.

Adele asked me to write a guest blog about Persnickety Snark, which, to be honest, I stopped reading after she stopped talking about me. But, like any author looking for an avenue to shamelessly promote his work, I graciously accepted her invitation, on the proviso that she hyperlinked every second word to my book’s listing on an online bookstore.

But yes… Persnickety Snark. Now, whether she’ll admit it or not, Adele is important for Australian YA. And I’m not just blowing smoke.

To garner success in today’s YA industry, you need to either have a recognisable name or an unhealthy interest in paranormal abstinence porn. For newcomer YA authors with neither a name nor a penchant for dreamy vampiric leads that sparkle, people with sites like Adele’s are my saviours.

Their decision to read and review a book isn’t based on a name or how Cullen-esque its subject matter is. Their recommendations aren’t dependant on an author’s cumulative sales, their reviews are honest – sometimes brutally so – and they fight for books that they believe in.

I don’t just like Persnickety Snark because it featured a positive review of my own book. Sure, it helped, but what has really endeared me to the blog is its consistency. Every book that I have read that Adele recommended, I have loved. She has yet to get one wrong. And this is high praise coming from me, I’ve disagreed with Roger Ebert – and more than once. Her reviews make sense, her opinions are founded, and the underhanded bitchiness is an absolute delight :)

So, as Adele readies herself for Japanese shenanigans, I wanted to congratulate her on a bumper first year of on-the-nose reviews and much-appreciated snark. Here’s to many, many, many more.

Having anticipated the corniness of what I’m about to say next, I figured it best to say it in lolcat:

Yep, he's a keeper...he made me my own LOLcat.

A big thank you to the snarkalicious William Kostakis for his guest blog. Loathing Lola is available in Australian bookstores and also through the variety of online stores you can find here. You can find out more about this scallywag by visiting his website.

PSnarkiversary: Courtney Summers (Some Girls Are)

It's hard for me to put into words how fantastic I consider Courtney Summers' writing to be and so I won't. I'll let the CYBIL nomination she received earlier this week speak for me. Courtney knows how to use a keyboard to good effect. Her novel Cracked Up To Be was a smashing debut and is highly regarded by the YA blogosphere, her sophomoric title Some Girls Are was released yesterday and is sure to make a similarly big splash!

When Adele asked me if I was interested in writing a guest blog in celebration of Persnickety Snark's one year anniversary, I must admit: I was perplexed. Not that it was already a year since she stepped onto the scene, but that it had only been a year since she stepped on the scene. I mean, it truly gave me pause (and FEW THINGS give me pause, I have decided). A year--really?

I think part of my ???? was due to the fact that, when Persnickety Snark arrived on the Internets, it asserted itself with its thoughtful and wonderful reviews and insights on YA Lit SO WELL, it was as though it had always been here. It's hard to picture a time before it and I can't think of a greater testament to Adele's passion for YA novels and their authors than that.

Adele is also particularly committed to Australian YA authors (with good reason) and in about a year of knowing her, I've watched my Australian YA To-Read List (say that five times fast!) grow. In fact, I just recently finished one of her book recs--Everything Beautiful by Simmone Howell and it was AMAZING. Adele is obviously going to be the first person I consult when it comes to Aussie YAs and I'm hoping when Persnickety Snark's second anniversary rolls around I'll be able to present you with a LONG LIST of YA Aussie Titles Adele has introduced me to that I've loved and what I loved most about them. Until that point, however, I'm going to talk a little about my favourite thing about Adele's blog: the voice.

As an author, you hear a lot about voice. A good novel HAS to have it. A novel IS voice. I think the same goes for bloggers, and what keeps me, personally, coming back to a good blog is the voice. Voice, voice, voice--and what is voice, anyway? The answer to that question is infuriatingly vague: you know it when you see it. You know it when you read it. That said, it was Adele's voice that started me reading her blog and it's Adele's voice that keeps me reading her blog.

So in celebration of Adele's voice I've pulled some quotes from various reviews by her--lines I liked, with a little commentary about why I liked them. Adele, I apologize for putting you under this kind of scrutiny, but how often does an author get the chance to do that to a book blogger? EXACTLY.

Mwahahahaha.

And hereee we go....

"War is an ugly business. And let’s face it, it destroys everything and everyone. It’s universal in its destruction, an equal opportunity employer if you will."

- How I Live Now (Meg Rosoff) review

COURTNEY COMMENTARY: You know when you're reading something and you start nodding your head at the beginning of the sentence and you stop when it's done? This line is like that, amirite?

"I needed to read a book like this so bad that I couldn't even put it into words. With an industry over saturated with paranormal inter-species falling in love left, right and centre, it was a welcome change to focus on two relatively normal people."

- Lovestruck Summer (Melissa Walker) review

COURTNEY COMMENTARY: 2009 was a time of MUCH paranormal reading for me. I am now going on a contemporary YA binge just to level off (don't worry paranormal YAs, I am not done with you yet!!!!). As I was filling up my internet shopping cart to high heaven with contemporary YAs, Adele suggested Lovestruck Summer. I immediately went to her review and saw this line and it was like. She saw. Inside. My soul.

"Ryan's writing style is paced slow, the story furls up like paper in a fire and when you're not expecting it, the paper is fully ablaze and mesmerises you."

- The Forest of Hands and Teeth (Carrie Ryan) review

COURTNEY COMMENTARY: Isn't that gorgeous imagery?! You mean I get to read a review and have this gorgeous imagery taking up space in my brain? COURTNEY APPROVES.

"Reading this novel is life being swallowed by a warm, calm wave. It's all encompassing, soothing and moving."

- Saltwater Moons (Julie Gittus) review

COURTNEY COMMENTARY: Again with the gorgeous imagery. What about that line ISN'T fabulous?

"Kostakis' characters are all realistically flawed. It's these flaws, and that of the protagonist, that provide most of the basis of the insults that induced my too-loud cackling. What can I say? I have a mean sense of humour."

- Loathing Lola (William Kostakis) review

COURTNEY COMMENTARY: Hee!

Adele, THANK YOU for bringing your unique voice to the blogosophere. THANK YOU for a year of great reviews and fun discussions! Here's to many more!

A big thank you to the fantastical Courtney Summers for her guest blog. Her most recent title, Some Girls Are is available in all bookstores that know what they are talking about. You can check out her website by following this link.

Psnarkiversary: Simmone Howell (Everything Beautiful)

The first Australian author to contribute to the celebration of Persnickety Snark's first birthday is the Gold Inky (2008) recipient, Simmone Howell. Author of Notes from the Teenage Underground and Everything Beautiful she has created complex, intriguing, smart mouthed protagonists that make your feel many different emotions, not all of them entirely pleasant :) It's my great pleasure to have Simmone guest blog!

"It's Annie Hall meets Avatar": YA and the Hollywood Pitch

I write this guest blog on the first anniversary of Persnickity Snark.

Adele, you are gift to YA writers and readers! You’re a wit and a card and I’ve found many a fine book from reading your blog. I often moan about the loneliness of the long-distance novelist but the rise of the book blog makes me feel less stinky. Blogs like El Snarko’s make me think that anytime anywhere in the world someone is opening a book, and that makes me supremely happy.

Now. Anyone who knows me knows I like movies. Books and films consume me. I can write draft after draft but it’s not until I see it like a movie that I know it’s working. My first novel Notes from The Teenage Underground was my attempt at an OZYA version of a three-girls-plot film. I referenced Three Coins in the Fountain, but it could just as easily have been How to Marry a Millionaire or Valley of the Dolls.

My second novel Everything Beautiful isn’t overtly movie-ish. Main character Riley Rose doesn’t like movies because of the rampant misrepresentation of overweight girls … but I got to squeeze in a nod to John Hughes and to Times Square, the film that I loved most when I was 14.

Publishing marketing departments, reviewers, the world, generally, tend towards the 'Hollywood pitch' descriptor ( X meets Y). It's kind of lazy, kind of arse, but also kind of fun. Notes from the Teenage Underground was supposed to be Heathers meets I Shot Andy Warhol. Everything Beautiful was Juno meets Saved. My third and forthcoming book Girl Defective will be Veronica Mars meets High Fidelity with a bit of David Lynch thrown in for the those who get bored easily. (At least, it will be in my mind.)

So I’ve thinking about other books and movies that match each other’s moods:

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers & Heathers *


Broken Glass by Adrian Stirling & Wake in Fright**



Punkzilla by Adam Rapp & My Own Private Idaho



The Push by Julia Lawrinson & Georgy Girl



Hollywood Ending by Kathy Charles & Sunset Boulevard



Andromeda Klein by Frank Portman & Séance on a Wet Afternoon



Split by a Kiss by Luisa Plaja & Sliding Doors***



Dear Swoosie by Kate Constable & Penni Russon & Romy & Michelle’s High School Reunion****



I could go on and on, but I'm going to open the floor. Throw some back at me please …


*ok, I stole that one, but it sooo fits
** it should be noted that Wake in Fright is a book in it’s own right. Kenneth Cook wrote it and Text recently republished it.
*** I stole that one too
**** Disclaimer: I haven’t read Swoosie yet, but I’m dying to.

A big thank you to the delightfully whimsical Simmone Howell for her guest blog. Her most recent title, Everything Beautiful, is available in Australia/NZ (PanMacmillan) and the USA (Bloomsbury). You can check out her blog by following this link.

Tomorrow...Canadian author and recently announced CYBIL award finalist, Courtney Summers drops by.

Adele's BIG Move: Japan

A lot of people have been asking and I haven't really explained what's going on. I am moving to Japan!

I am going to be teaching in an English pre-school in the Japanese city of Shizuoka. The excitement hasn't exactly hit me yet as I don't leave for another 5 days (but initially I was leaving tomorrow, don't ask).

Here's all the answers to your questions...

Where am I going?
Shikuoka which is in the centre of Japan on the coast which is a 5 hour train ride from Tokyo. Temperature is very like Adelaide's except it rains more, no snow. It's known for it's green tea production, responsible for half of that coming from Japan. Population is approximately 700,000.

Why Japan?
Why not? Japan has always interested me but was never the number one on my 'must do' list. Two of my co-workers, the lovely H. and R., have taught in Japan through the schools I am teaching for so there's a certain level of comfort. I am getting lots of advice and H is already hooking me up (via Facebook) with some of her friends still in Shizuoka. I wouldn't be brave enough had H not continued to tell me stories about her time at the school and in Japan.

Why I am going?
Well two months ago I was a 28 year old with no passport. Question answered. The last two years have stressful professionally and had begun to take it's toll on my health and sanity. After surgery this month, I figure why not? I want to see the world.

Teaching
I will be teaching a class of fifteen five year olds. They will be getting taught the fantastic tradition of ABCs and mathematics in English. I am unbelievably excited as I have been teaching upper primary/lower secondary (10-13 year olds) for the past few years and I look forward to teaching little ones like in my first year teaching.

How long?
I leave January 11th and will be there for the year. If I like it, I may stay longer.

What about your blogging?
I will still be reviewing YA (Young Adult) literature at Persnickety Snark but obviously publishers will no longer send me review copies. I will be relying on any English YA in the local library (I've been warned this will be soul destroying), international online booksellers and the kindness of strangers. It won't be as busy but it will still be happening. (Yes this makes me nervous, it's like starting all over again).

I have started a blog for all my Japanese adventures and there aren't any topic boundaries on that one. I will be posting my preparation for Japan, my trips, teaching ideas (and failures), cultural revelations and everything in between. Follow me if you will :)

A big hearty thank you to all those that have expressed well wishes for my new adventure. Never fear, I don't plan to be abandoning YOU or Twitter any time soon.

PSnarkiversary: Melissa Walker

At this time last year, Persnickety Snark came into existence at the insistence of a snarky, persnickety individual who loved reading, taught English and desperately needed new reading material for her school's library.

My how things have changed...I am snarky, persnickety, more critical than ever, still a teacher but changing locations. No longer will I be one of those few Aussie YA bloggers but a random Aussie YA blogger by way of Japan. Better yet, I have a whole host of mates across the world and I even dipped my toe in the inkwell (that doesn't sound quite right but I will stick with it.)

In celebration of my lovely blog's first anniversary I have asked many authors and bloggers to contribute something on the blog or Aussie YA - after all that has been my intent these many months, to promote the amazing quality of Australian produced YA.

Though the actual milestone falls on the 9th of January I will be posting contributions either side of this day. Why? I am moving to Japan for a year this week and as such will be a little out of circulation. Hence the extravaganza of delight.

My first ever review was of Melina Marchetta's Finnikin of the Rock, which seems very right on many levels. Firstly I wanted to promote the cause of Australian YA authors and Melina is amongst the best. Secondly, she's one of my favourite authors in the world (and a lovely person). Thirdly, fantasy was my Achilles heel at the start of YA reviewing and throughout the year I learned that fantasy can be well written! See the 'persnickety' really suits after all.

I am kicking off a week or so of guest posts with the magnetic Melissa Walker. A big thank you to Melissa for her enthusiastic support of bloggers which never seems to fail. She's proof that if you put positivity and good will out, you get it back in droves. (Can you tell I am smitten?)

Melissa's Lovestruck Summer is a fun read that is sure to make your heart race and your belly rumble with laughter. Her blog is also a great place to check out the evolution of cover art in the YA world.

Tomorrow...Australia's Own Simmone Howell talks about the connection between YA and film.

Reviews - The Cruel, The Bland and Everything in between.

To a large extent my central purpose as a blogger is to review. It's a tricky thing to do, to write my subjective thoughts down about another's blood, sweat and tears. I do admit to it becoming easier in reviewing somewhat diplomatically though my friendships have made it more difficult in other ways. To be honest in your thoughts on a book is also to leave your prejudices bare. People can tell what kind of reader you are and how insightful or technically minded you are. They can also interpret your sense of humour, how jaded you are and worse, how cruel you can be.

Honestly, a reviewer shouldn't be cruel. Ever. Even if the work is a complete mess beyond redemption. But we all have bad days and sometimes that badly written title has the misfortune of being read on one of those days. It's happened to me once and the review is short because I couldn't stand talking about the book at any length. It's not my finest moment.

I don't read many bloggers reviews. There are only a small number that I will make the time to check out. Why? My tastes in book reviews are just as select as my YA preferences. I like a detailed (but not necessarily long) review with exploration of characterisation, plot and pacing. I like a reviewer that has a way with words, an interesting voice, appropriate humour and honesty. I want a critical review. If the book is outstanding or atrocious, I want to know why. The why is so important and many reviewers forget this, or their why is largely 'fun', 'cool' or 'awesome' which doesn't cut the mustard with me. (Though everyone who reads this blog knows that I love the word awesome.) Most importantly, I don't want to read spoilers in the contents of the review. It's a big no no, don't do it.

Bad reviews have a horrible affect on a person's self esteem. You may receive ninety nine glowing reviews but it's the scathing one that you learn line for line and carry around in your heart. Sometimes they are justified, sometimes not. But it's the tone of the review that separates cruel from negative. Negative reviews with justification are a part of being creative that people need to be able to respond to civilly (or not at all). It's not fun but it's part of the job. However, no one should have to deal with reviews that attack the creator with outright cruelty, it's these reviews that speak so much more about the reviewer than the creator.

That being said, nice reviews are problematic too. A reviewer that likes everything isn't reviewing all that much. Choosing to be nice, over being honest, is a less than admirable reviewing trait. It lessens the strength of your opinion - I don't read some blogger's reviews as I never feel like I know what they genuinely feel about the book. You can give good reviews without being blandly nice, try pointing out specifics of the book that were fantastic and why. Be detailed in your thoughts. If you've found yourself writing the same sentence about a multitude of other books, then you're not looking at it critically enough. All books aren't the same and neither should your reviews be.

I want to leave you with an example of how a cruel review can be beyond hurtful. Having recently seen and fallen in love with Jane Campion's film, Bright Star, I went immediately into a John Keats fact finding mission. I have always responded to his poetry, I thought he was enormously talented and have taught his work to my students in the past. He died at twenty-five thinking he was a failure. This was due in large part to the unfavourable reviews his work received.

It's terribly sad that a man of such beautiful sentiment, died thinking his work was rubbish.

Reviews like this didn't help...

"To witness the disease of any human understanding, however feeble, is distressing; but the spectacle of an able mind reduced to a state of insanity is of course ten times more afflicting. It is with such sorrow as this that we have contemplated the case of Mr John Keats. ... He was bound apprentice some years ago to a worthy apothecary in town. But all has been undone by a sudden attack of the malady. ... For some time we were in hopes, that he might get off with a violent fit or two; but of late the symptoms are terrible. The phrenzy of the "Poems" was bad enough in its way; but it did not alarm us half so seriously as the calm, settled, imperturbable drivelling idiocy of Endymion.[...] Back to the [apothecary] shop Mr John, back to ‘plasters, pills, and ointment boxes.’"

It's a particular nasty derivative of don't give up your day job.

Something to think about when you're writing your next review.