I've been having some TypePad related issues with my "Publish On" option: basically, it isn't always auto-publishing when it is supposed to do it. I think I've figured out what was going on, but I am sorry about last week's reviews coming a little late, and will watch this week much more closely.
Last night I finally broke down and read all the blog posts that had built up in my Bloglines since Tuesday morning, and looked at all the tweets I'd been ignoring. Basically, I spent a few hours reading, a few more sobbing while my husband did his best, "there, there," and stayed up way later than I should have reading children's books. I didn't really want to write a whole new post (I think I've said everything I can for the moment), but I do want to share a few great tributes, lists, and thoughts about Maurice Sendak. I think it speaks to how amazing a person he really was that most of the tributes focus not just on what a gifted illustrator or author he was (and boy was he), but also on how -- even though they never met him -- Sendak became an important part of each of their lives.
- The New York Times wrote the best all-around obituary/tribute, if you're just going to read one.
- Stephen Colbert released some outtakes from his excellent interview in January that are a more touching, less grumpy.
- Sergio Ruzzier wrote a wonderful piece about being chosen for the Sendak Fellowship:
He is a very warm, sweet and witty person, but also very honest. He told me what he liked in my books and what he didn't like. His main concern was that some of my choices were too safe and tame. “You need to be brave,” he said to me... talking with him, while walking in the woods with his dog Herman, made me remember why I draw and tell stories.
- Neil Gaiman talks about reading Sendak to his sister and daughter, and gets the New Yorker to unlock a comic of a discussion between Art Spiegelman and Maurice Sendak. From the comic:
In reality, childhood is deep and rich. It's vital, mysterious and profound. I remember my own childhood vividly... I knew terrible things... but I knew I mustn't let the adults know I knew... it would scare them.
- The Diamond in the Window has a beautiful piece about finally getting that quiet night with a colicky baby thanks to Where the Wild Things Are.
- Laurel Snyder writing for The Jewish Daily Forward, has a lovely tribute to Sendak's unfailing honesty. She said everything that I wanted to say, only better:
Sendak’s legacy is one of gifts and challenges: The challenge to be honest with ourselves always, to see our children as people and to trust them to survive, but also the challenge to find magic in the world, or to make it for ourselves.
- And, finally, Flavorwire compiled a list of some of his best illustrations and quotes.
I have nothing now but praise for my life. I’m not unhappy. I cry a lot because I miss people. They die and I can’t stop them. They leave me and I love them more. … What I dread is the isolation. … There are so many beautiful things in the world which I will have to leave when I die, but I’m ready, I’m ready, I’m ready.
Maybe I should have just created a whole new post after all? Next week Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein, Precious Bones by Mika Ashley-Hollinger, and Dead Time by Anne Cassidy will all be up for review. There may be a few more, it just depends on how these last few weeks of school go!
My list of books to read for review is MONTHS behind at the moment, so I have basically stopped requesting anything new, and haven't went to the library in weeks. However, I did get one beautiful, wonderful, shiny, fabulous book in the mail that I have already DEVOURED. Yes, I am talking about my awesomely physical advanced review copy of Kate Milford's The Broken Lands. I know I am basically starting to sound like a broken record here, but I really love Kate Milford's writing, so if you have not yet looked into her Kickstarter project, please do.
(And yes, that beautifully multicolored silk is the curtains in my living room, and I had to do some serious decoratorial negotiating with my husband to get them!)
To find out what other bloggers are reading, check out Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer's The Sunday Post or Stacking the Shelves from Tynga's Reviews. What are you reading this week?
