Vanda Symon has a nice review of North Pole South Pole by Gillian Turner – sounds like a great non-fiction read.

The Well Read Kitty has another review up for The Nile – and this sounds like an amazing read.

The Vicbooks blog has a great post about the news that Hodder want to update Enid Blyton. And why did I not know about the Vicbooks website – it’s fantastic, people!

The shortlist for the 2010 Text Prize for Young Adult and Children’s Writing has been announced! And it includes two New Zealand authors – Jane Higgins and Philippa Werry. Congratulations and best luck to them!

And a recommendation – Stella Matutina - an awesome book blog by Memory, who has recently moved to Auckland to live for a year. Not only do you get great book reviews but her pleasure at living in Auckland and her enthusiastic descriptions of the joys of our fair city are enough to bring a tear to the eye of the most hardened Auckland heart.

Speaking of libraries whilst visiting my library yesterday I became rather sad at the thought of the many, many library books that are probably neglected within libraries. Some books never get taken out, some get taken out once. I feel bad for them and am hatching a scheme to take every book out of my local library at least once. Just so their system shows a checkout against each book.

Not Always Right left me speechless with hilarity.

And Today is My Birthday! makes fun of what teh kidz are listening to which resulted in me doing that snorty-nose-exhale-trying-not-to-laugh-in-public thing. Love her work.

And I am reading more Dan Rhodes! Squee!

Plus – I’m still selling off them books, y’all. Please to be supporting BookieMonster in her work by purchasing.

P.S. I mean “interestingly” because it’s interesting, not “interestingly” because I influence the interwebs!

Also, I fear one day I will find New Kitty in this position…

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

It’s so comforting to know that “wearing black is within the normal range of adolescent behavior”. However I am now concerned it isn’t within the normal range of thirty-something behavior.

Backpacker Kitty – Guillaume, Laetitia and Kitty have been backpacking from North America to Tierra del Fuego – travelling on foot. Apparently Laetitia has returned to France, but Guillaume and Kitty continue the journey. The last news seems to be from December last year, but there’s a new website going up by the looks of things – but it doesn’t appear finished.

Kitty was a stray who joined them in North America – travelling with a kitty who just wants to be with you wherever you are? I could travel like that. Note – the link is to a google English translation of their site – in French it is at http://enfanceart.free.fr/miami_ushuaia/.

Of course I like this idea because the kitty is simply Kitty – like our kitty who is New Kitty. Capisce?

Speaking of New Kitty she is settling in well and seems to rather like me now. She is still a little skittish of Mr Monster and the kiddies but then she’s also quite young so is generally a bit of a bouncer. She’s also a scratcher (of objects, not people) and a player with the mousie toys. Play-ah! I will try to get more piccies for interested people soon.