Oh, they also showed the hilarious clip which you’ll find on the Guys Listen <\/a>site that promotes Jon’s new Guys Read <\/em>collection of funny stories.\u00c2\u00a0 The clip is of the writers of the funny stories all telling parts of a joke.\u00c2\u00a0 I want that book!<\/p>\n After that session, I tried to get to the session called Move Over Dick and Jane: Reconsidering Books for Beginning Readers, about how beginning readers are changing.\u00c2\u00a0 However, in that room, there were no seats left, and I learned three years ago that it’s no fun to go to an ALA session and sit on the floor.<\/p>\n So instead, I went to hear Sue Monk Kidd and Anne Kidd Taylor talk about collaborating together on their book Traveling With Pomegranates<\/em>.\u00c2\u00a0 It was wonderful!\u00c2\u00a0 I’ve recently been reading several meditative books by Sue Monk Kidd, so it was a thrill to meet her.<\/p>\n Some things she said that I liked:<\/p>\n Memoir is about backward understanding.<\/p>\n It’s always a reach for wholeness when you write memoir.<\/p>\n Memoir can create wholeness in the reader as well.\u00c2\u00a0 [That says it for me.\u00c2\u00a0 When I join an author on her journey seeking wholeness, it indeed helps me find it myself.]<\/p>\n To write memoir, you need an authentic willingness to be known, a unilateral disarming.<\/p>\n Aging is about the process of letting go of what is leaving anyway and letting something new grow.<\/p>\n After their talk, I got in line, and the publisher gave everyone a free copy of Traveling with Pomegranates<\/em>,\u00c2\u00a0which both authors signed.\u00c2\u00a0 I was completely inspired and uplifted by the time I walked away.<\/p>\n Next on my schedule was the Margaret Edwards Award Luncheon, honoring Jim Murphy for his lifetime achievement in the field of literature for young people.\u00c2\u00a0 Jim Murphy writes amazingly immediate nonfiction for children.\u00c2\u00a0 There was a copy of\u00c2\u00a0one of his books on our chairs.\u00c2\u00a0 I got to sit next to blogger Liz Burns, and Fairfax County Librarian Shannon Seglin was nearby, sitting at the School Library Journal<\/em> table.<\/p>\n After a yummy lunch, Jim Murphy spoke about his process of writing and getting at primary sources, and his innate curiosity that fuels his great books.\u00c2\u00a0 He had some nice stories of serendipitously discovering material that later became the meat of his classic books.<\/p>\n After lunch, I went to a session called, “Everyone’s a Critic: The Future of Book Reviewing.”\u00c2\u00a0 The panel included the founder of GoodReads, a New York Times Book Critic, and a blogger and librarian, moderated by a reviewer from Booklist.<\/p>\n The session was interesting and fun to listen to.\u00c2\u00a0 All the panelists agreed that there is room for everyone, that the different review sources have different purposes.\u00c2\u00a0 They did point out that one of the strong points of professional book reviewers is that they are excellent essayists.\u00c2\u00a0 Their reviews are good reading, whether you want to read the book or not.<\/p>\n Next, I\u00c2\u00a0rushed down to the exhibits and got two books signed by Diana Peterfreund.\u00c2\u00a0 I met her back in October at the Kidlitosphere Conference, a few days after I had written a review raving about Rampant<\/em><\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0 One of the Advance Reader Copies I was the very most excited to get was her sequel, Ascendant<\/em>.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s not out until October, and now I don’t have to wait!\u00c2\u00a0 I also bought my own personal copy of Rampant\u00c2\u00a0<\/em>for her to sign since I liked it so much.\u00c2\u00a0Killer unicorns rule!<\/p>\n And right next to Diana, who should be signing but Sarah Blake, the author of the excellent book sitting on my bedside table at the time, about three-quarters done, The Postmistress<\/em>.\u00c2\u00a0 While I was there, I got a signed copy.\u00c2\u00a0 Very cool!<\/p>\n After that, I went to “Science Fiction and Fantasy: Informing the Present by Imagining the Future.”\u00c2\u00a0 This wasn’t so much a panel discussion as it was five distinguished authors speaking on that topic.\u00c2\u00a0 They were good!<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Anne-and-Sue.jpg\" "\\"Anne")
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