Of books and authors

Philip Pullman, in case you don't know, is the author of The Golden Compass, a book that's just been made into a movie (it's one of the ones I'm looking forward to, if you recall). I've read a little about the religious controversy his books and the movie are raising, and I also read a really interesting article in Publisher's Weekly that I wanted to share. My favorite line of his in the interview is:

The space that opens up between the reader’s mind and the book is a private space.

That really struck me: so true, and neatly said. You can read the full article here, and if you're at all interested in the movie, the book, or the debate, I encourage you to do so.

I've read a couple of other good books lately, too. I got the new one in Laurell Hamilton's Merry Gentry series, A Lick of Frost, which I powered through in a night. The action in these books tend to happen only over a day or two, which I find slightly disorienting, because A Lot Happens ... but I can't put them down, either, so she's doing something right. I slightly prefer the Anita Blake series, though that's gotten increasingly weird, but basically if she writes it, I'll read it.

In a bit of contrast, I also recently (finally) read Crazy Aunt Purl's book, Drunk, Divorced, and Covered in Cat Hair. It was fun! If you like her blog, you'll like the book, so go buy it if you haven't already.

I have so many books on my pile or list, I expect I'll be writing another post along these lines before long. Read happy!