Cory Doctorow says it way better than I could articulate and I agree with every word. The uneasy relationship I have with my Kindle stems directly from the fact that I do not own the content on it. I can count on the fingers of one hand how many actual books I've paid money for on my Kindle, as opposed to downloading Project Gutenberg Kindle-friendly editions from Amazon.

As Cory says:

"There's no such thing as a proprietary book. There's no such thing as a license agreement necessary to read a book. Books are governed by a social contract that is older than publishing, older even than printing. The recent innovation of copyright in books recognizes the ancient compact between readers and writers, and protects your rights to own your books, to loan them, to give them away, to resell them, to read them in any nation, in any circumstance."

Please, please read the full blog post.

Because I'm going to forget, otherwise, just a list.

5. HONEY HUNT, Volume 2 by Miki Aihara
6. HOT GIMMICK, Volume 3--Volumes 7-9 in one book by Miki Aihara
7. THE TWISTED CITADEL by Sara Douglass
8. A COUNTESS BELOW STAIRS by Eva Ibottson
9. SHADES OF GREY by Jasper Fforde

I am understandably saddened by the fact that J. D. Salinger passed away, although my aunt's death is putting it all in perspective.

What Salinger's death did remind me of, however, is that I don't think I've ever talked about my traveling books....

When I went to college in the summer of 1999, my parents laid down the law. I could bring a ton (I literally went with a mini U-Haul trailer; I was optimistic about dorm rooms) of stuff, but I had to leave most of my books at home. I love books; I loved books then just as much, so leaving them at home was the real hardship. It didn't matter how many clothes I brought with me to school or how many melamine dishes accompanied me--it wasn't going to be home without books.

So my parents and I compromised. I could bring ten books, but no more than ten books. I had to essentially pick a set of traveling books, which would go back and forth with me every time I moved back home for the summer. It was hard, mind you, to pick the books, but these are the ones that I remember....

CATCHER IN THE RYE by J. D. Salinger
LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding
ON THE BEACH by Nevil Shute
THE BLUE CASTLE by L. M. Montgomery
TIGER BURNING BRIGHT by Marion Zimmer Bradley, Andre Norton, and Mercedes Lackey

I'm obviously missing five books, but my brain isn't filling them in right now. =) I think it essentially means that these are the books that will always travel with me, which have stuck with me through thick and thin, since I still remember them.

RIP, J. D. Salinger.

My Aunt Debbie died today, at the end of a seven-month long battle with fast-moving peritoneal cancer. She was 58.

She did everything right--she got checked regularly, since her mother had had ovarian cancer. But despite that, despite the screenings every six months, she still developed peritoneal cancer. The doctors placed it as starting in March 2009, but it wasn't diagnosed until the summer months.

And it was so fast-moving that it ignored everything medical science could throw at it. Two disastrous surgeries did nothing. A course of chemo between the surgeries did nothing. You know it's bad, when the chemo doesn't even work in the slightest.

Peritoneal cancer, for those that don't know, is cancer of the peritoneum. Your peritoneum is the lining of your abdomen, so it literally touches every organ in your abdomen. And so at the end, my poor Aunt Debbie had cancer throughout her body that they could do nothing at all about.

It's a terrible way to die. A really terrible way to die.

But she hung on for almost a month after they moved her to a hospice. She hung on enough to spend time with her three children; two girls, Sara who's in college, Lauren who's in graduate school, and my cousin, Josh, who has Down's Syndrome and doesn't comprehend it all. She had so many visitors come to the hospice that they moved her to a larger room to hold them all. She had laughter and love and the Jets to watch in her last days.

And I know it was unavoidable, but I am still terribly sad. I want to rail against the universe for taking her away from her family and her friends. For taking this woman who has been my aunt as long as I can remember, since she married my uncle when I was two. I danced at her wedding. I remember all three of her children being born. It doesn't seem fair that I'm still alive, and she isn't, but that's how life works and it sucks.

She was beautiful, kind, and funny. She rode horses in her youth and loved science fiction. She read FEDERATIONS while she went through chemo, and loved the stories in it. She was the most dedicated Doctor Who fan I had ever met. And I will miss her terribly.

I have lately been experiencing one of those weeks where I am deeply and inexplicably enthralled by certain things. I like to think this is my brain trying to dig around in its collective leaf mold, and attempt to become unfrozen. Have I mentioned that my brain is frozen lately, that I try to write and nothing comes out?

Anyway, one of the things I've become fascinated with is a Japanese TV show called Magerarenai Onna, which translates to "Unbending Woman". Which is a really, really shitty translation, but that's the literal meaning. It's basically about a rigidly-OCD woman who refuses to go with the flow in Japanese society. She won't back down; she won't do things just because that's the way it needs to be done; and most importantly, she won't give up on her dream of being a lawyer, despite failing the bar exam nine times running. It's slice-of-life, realistic, and really, really well-acted. I'm adoring it.

The other thing, which is much more accessible to US readers, is NO PLACE SAFE by Kim Reid. I had never heard of the book. I had no idea who Kim Reid was. I would, to this very day, be completely unaware of the book--except for the fact that Kristin Nelson represents Ms. Reid and she posted about the book today. Kristin put up the first chapter of the book on her blog and I was hooked. I don't read memoirs; I'm not in the target audience for this book at all. But it's SO well-written and so compelling that I want to read more. I only wish I had read Kristin's blog post before I was in Barnes & Noble this evening, but hey, that's what Amazon is for. =) By all means, please go and read the excerpt on Kristin's blog; it's seriously excellent.

The ever-amusing Cat Valente has come up with a scale of science fiction famousness that starts at Trout and proceeds to Legend. For example, quoting from her post:

"Keeping in mind that two Scalzis make a half Gaiman, and at least two Gaimans are required to enter the next level, the Legend scale, which included canonical authors like Ursula LeGuin, Jane Yolen, and Ray Bradbury, this should allow us to pretty well pinpoint most authors."

It's really worth reading the entire thing. Click on the link, and then tell me what you think!

I have been woefully, woefully amiss in posting cat pictures for like forever, which makes me sad. Zoe is well. She is a giant meowyhead, when she's not posing and looking cute. I love her dearly. Here, have a cat picture.



There will be more, as soon as I read how to get the pictures off my new digital SLR that I got for Hannukah. =)

Today I started what will colloquially be known as "Jenny loses weight, exercises, and lives a longer life."

I went running, real, honest-to-god shuffling, for the first time in about seven years. My legs really, really hurt.

That is all.

Recently, I was messaged on Facebook by a nice gentleman, who explained that he would like me to read and possibly review a young adult graphic novel for him. I explained that I couldn't guarantee a positive review, but that I'd be happy to look at it, if he wanted to send it.

And it occurred to me that although I'm not getting paid to review books nor to offer representation for any (since I'm no longer an agent)... that I don't mind reading books nor reviewing them.

So, if you do have a published (NOT self-published) book which you'd like me to review on LIT SOUP, you're welcome to mail a copy to the following address:

Jenny Rappaport
15-9 Interlaken Court
Freehold, NJ 07728

Legal stuff: I do not guarantee a review nor do I guarantee a positive review. I assess each book with the publishing and writing acumen that I've gained during my career as a literary agent and writer. If you send me a book, you consent to have it photographed and appear on the blog. Any books I receive become my property and all book reviews will have a statement at the bottom that I received the book gratis from the author. After reviewing your book, I am free to dispose of it as I want, including, but not limited to contests and giveaways on the blog.

I haven't blogged about the earthquake in Haiti yet, although I'm quite aware of what's happening. I'm not going to make an impassioned plea for you to donate, although I'm happy to tell you that I've sent off $25 to a charity that works in Haiti. I briefly considered sharing interesting news about the seismology of the Caribbean because this is what I do when faced with disasters that are too vast to comprehend easily... I look for facts.

But facts don't answer everything, as much as we'd like them to do so. Whether through cosmic fate or happenstance or divine vengeance, people are in the wrong place at the wrong time. They are visiting their family members; they are elderly residents who have lived in Haiti all their lives; they are children who have nowhere else to live. And now, they are the missing.

We become obsessed with the stories about the earthquake that we hear on TV: the missionary whose husband found her under rubble, the woman who runs an orphanage for 100 children, the thirteen year old redheaded boy from Virginia who was on a real estate trip/scuba vacation with his uncle. And while these news stories get repeated from channel to channel, they often drown out those whose stories are much quieter, but just as worthy of respect and hope and the urgent, pressing need to find them alive.

The New York Times has compiled a picture gallery of people missing in Haiti since the earthquake, along with descriptions and addresses from their friends and family. It reminds me eerily of what they did after 9/11, when they diligently posted mini-biographies of each and every victim, out of respect. And just like I had to read those biographies, for some reason I can't articulate, I need to read through this picture gallery.

You should too.

You owe it to the missing.

Because my brain is pretty fried right now with personal life stuff, so I'm giving you movie trailers to watch instead. They're in Japanese, but they're both from recognizable things.

First, Space Battleship Yamato! In live action! With KimuTaku! Even my husband is excited about this one. =)




And secondly, the Japanese movie version of MEMOIRS OF A TEENAGE AMNESIAC by Gabrielle Zevin. This trailer has English subtitles.

I would seriously like to know what the point of airport security pat-downs is meant to be.

1. It's invasive. I've had pat-downs in the past, when I've been in a wheelchair for one leg injury or another, and the wheelchair was the easiest way to get through a long airport. The screeners were invariably nice, took me to a private area when I asked, and were efficient. It was still invasive. I didn't feel any safer.
2. It's leading to massive, massive lines at airports, which just about puts the final death knell into any hope the USA had of remaining an attractive international tourism destination.
3. The rigor of the pat-downs varies from airport to airport and country to country. The screeners are not trained in some places and are overwhelmed in others.
4. It's invasive. Lest I repeat that again, it bears reminding that due to the overwhelming need, passengers who have paid good money are being treated similar to criminals, and many are being forced to undergo pat-downs in public locations. I understand that there's a transition period with these new measures, but news media across the board (domestic and international) is reporting that this is happening.
5. And the bottom line is that it's not keeping anyone safer.

I'm all for civil liberties. I proudly support the ACLU. I understand that profiling is not a desirable option, don't get me wrong. But if I have to choose between profiling and being subjected to a pat-down, I'm going to choose the profiling. Even if I'm the one who one day is profiled, for some unknown reason.

And yes, I'm going to try to keep track of the books I've read this year, as I did last year. I'm never going to equal my beautiful gross of books from 2005, am I?

Anyway, a note on some particulars... some of these early books were started in 2009, but weren't finished for some reason or another. Some of them on the list will have been reread entirely from the beginning, some of them were literally in progress as the year turned, and some of them I read until I could pick up where I was. I'll try to remember to note where things are, but honestly, I've decided to cut myself some slack here. =)

1. EYES LIKE STARS by Lisa Mantchev
Lisa is one of my con buddies, an always vivacious person who rocks a corset. I bought this book of hers awhile ago, but I was so busy that I never got the chance to really read it. I started it just at the end of 2009 and devoured it. While I will admit that the beginning was the tiniest bit hard for me to get into, I'm really glad that I stuck with it. For the record: Team Ariel, all the way. =)

2. HOT GIMMICK, Volume 2--Volumes 4-6 in one book by Miki Aihara
Yes, I'm obsessed with this series, leave me alone. It's wrong and it's good and I like the art. It's one of those things where you pick it up and you just can't stop reading.

3. HONEY HUNT, Volume 1 by Miki Aihara
Based on my addiction to HOT GIMMICK, I decided that it would be worth it to pick up this manga too, since it's by the same author. It's a different sort of manga than HOT GIMMICK, but I'm liking it just as well. The subtle spoofs on Japanese entertainment culture are very amusing, such as Puma Puma being the variety show, instead of SMAPxSMAP. And she made the main character a Johnny's boy, which amuses me to no end. I'm being a very good girl and not buying the next volume until next month...

4. OOKU, Volume 2 by Fumi Yoshinga
If you pick up any manga series or graphic novel this entire year, OOKU should be it. It's rich and detailed with literally heart-breaking images. Yoshinga doesn't pull any punches in this volume; it's deadly serious and she doesn't care if you love a character--she kills her darlings, quite literally. It's seriously worthy of its Eisner Award, and I'm eagerly awaiting the next volume translated into English

(Note, unless I specify, all the manga I read is in English because my Japanese is too slow for me to bother reading things in it at any discernible speed.)

Since I plan on traveling light to Japan, at least in terms of books, I'm going to try to take as much as possible on my Kindle.

If you had to pick the top ten e-books I should buy, what would they be?

Keep in mind that I like science fiction and fantasy, young adult, and romance, plus a smattering of other genres. What I've been reading the last year should give you a good idea of what I like, mostly.

Any and all suggestions are very welcome. =)

It's that time of year again, so I'm going to do one post about what I'm eligible for, based on my 2009 publications...

I'm eligible for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Science Fiction Writer, which is given with the Hugo Awards at this year's Worldcon.

I am eligible for the Hugo Award for Best Short Story, for my short story, "The Sock Thief" and also for "Fever".

If you can nominate for the Rhysling Awards, I had two poems published last year:

"The Warriors of the Dark" and "Lucifer Defiant"

And that's it for me, but I do encourage you to nominate some of my past clients, including David J. Williams for the Campbell Award and Ted Kosmatka for his fabulous short fiction.

Well, west of me, actually. =)

You know how I was querying the hivemind about going to Tokyo? It turns out that I am going to Tokyo this spring.... just for a lot longer than I anticipated in that post.

I'll be in Tokyo from April through the beginning of July, studying Japanese at a language school and running around the city and the country. To say that I'm happy that I have the funds saved up and the time to do this is an understatement... I am freaking thrilled!

I'll post lots of pictures when I'm there, as I'm taking my camera with me and will have internet.

Of course, I'll miss Zoe and my husband, Chris. But they're both good with me going for three months, and Zoe is going to leave me video cat postcards through Skype. Which will most likely consist of her being held up to the web cam and struggling to get down.

And I think that's about it. =)

Questions? Comments? I'm obviously planning on getting the rest of the agency work wrapped up before I go.

Dear Cablevision.

This is an open letter to inform you that I am not pleased that you have failed in your negotiations with Scripps Networks. I no longer have HGTV or Food Network through my cable system, as of midnight on January 1, 2010. I would like to remind you that I pay you more than $140 a month, with internet and phone included. You may think this is a paltry thing, to lose two channels.

But lest you forget....

The super, two hour Iron Chef America with MICHELLE OBAMA AS THE SURPRISE GUEST JUDGE is set to air on January 3, 2010 at 8pm EST.

If you do not restore my Food Network by then, please be prepared to face dire consequences.

Sincerely,
Jenny Rappaport

Now that we're firmly in 2010, I'd just like to say that it's pretty cool living in a science fiction novel. =)

Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!