Sara Ryan

Of late, certain of my acquaintance have been discussing typewriters and the satisfaction that can be derived from typing thereon; how different the act feels and sounds from the slickly responsive, quiet (too quiet?) keyboard on a laptop. My memories of typewriter-typing were vague until earlier this afternoon, when it became apparent that the machine [...]

Hello, Internet friends. How are you? I’m still consuming more than I’m producing, due to Circumstances. Circumstances that may well keep me away from here for a while. But here are some shiny things that have caught my eye from varied locales on the Internets. Laini Taylor on book beginnings and finding the story. I [...]

1. Lately we’ve been watching seventies movies: Marathon Man, Mean Streets, Charley Varrick. I hadn’t seen any of them before, but the clothes, cars, hairstyles, and interiors all felt deeply familiar. Of course; they’re artifacts of the world that surrounded me when I was tiny. 2. Charley Varrick was clearly influential to the Coen brothers [...]

Today I received an Amazing Artifact. The Mod-Mod Read-In Paperback Book List was produced in 1970, under the auspices of the Young Adult Services Division, the precursor of the Young Adult Library Services Association. From the titles, it seems to be an ancestor of both Popular Paperbacks and Quick Picks. It was part of a project [...]