This is the sixth installment of my aptly-named series “Books on the Shelf,” in which I take any title or object from one of my lovingly alphabetized shelves and write a short post about it. I really hope by the time I make it to installment 2.6 that this shelf will look very different. I’mContinue reading “Books on the Shelf 1.6”
Author Archives: Elizabeth
This isn’t about the pandemic.
Well it is. And it’s not. I wasn’t going to post anything about the pandemic, because currently, we’re all being flooded with emails from corporate entities eager to tell us about how they offer 5 days of sick leave and a bottle of hand sanitizer to their employees (or they will once it’s not back-orderedContinue reading “This isn’t about the pandemic.”
Books on the Shelf 1.5
This is the fifth installment of my aptly-named series “Books on the Shelf,” in which I take any title or object from one of my lovingly alphabetized shelves and write a short post about it. Short commentary this time. Right there in the middle, in the shadows, is Gay Gavriel Kay’s Ysabel, which takes placeContinue reading “Books on the Shelf 1.5”
Books on the Shelf 1.4
This is the fourth installment of my aptly-named series “Books on the Shelf,” in which I take any title or object from one of my lovingly alphabetized shelves and write a short post about it. I’ve noticed something about Lev Grossman’s Magicians trilogy: a lot of wannabe sci-fi/fantasy writers love to hate on it. It’sContinue reading “Books on the Shelf 1.4”
Books on the Shelf 1.3
This is the third installment of my aptly-named series “Books on the Shelf,” in which I take any title or object from one of my lovingly alphabetized shelves and write a short post about it. (Yeah, I know, the mass markets throw off the alphabetizing scheme. I was running out of room so I stackedContinue reading “Books on the Shelf 1.3”
The Milford Method, Reconsidered
The Milford Method of critiquing has become so ubiquitous at writer’s conferences that it’s become the default. It’s also terribly flawed, and it needs serious reconsideration. There’s a lot to be said for the Milford Method, of course. Let’s pretend there’s a brand-new writer who’s never attended a critique group before. He has his shortContinue reading “The Milford Method, Reconsidered”
Books on the Shelf 1.2
This is the second installment of my aptly-named series “Books on the Shelf,” in which I take any title or object from one of my lovingly alphabetized shelves and write a short response. Can you make out the title of the second book from the right? It’s Peter Ho Davies’s The Ugliest House in theContinue reading “Books on the Shelf 1.2”
Books on the Shelf 1.1
I am the only person I know who alphabetizes her private library. I do it with a sheer and unrelenting joy. I know how to find things, and I don’t have to remember where they are. Oh, you want to borrow my copy of Night Circus? Here you go! Feel like looking up that passageContinue reading “Books on the Shelf 1.1”
What Happens at Viable Paradise
Hi! If you’ve landed here—which also happens to be the inaugural post on my blog—I’d guess it’s because you’re thinking of applying to Viable Paradise, you’ve been accepted to Viable Paradise, or someone you know has been accepted, and you’d like to know what it is. The Viable Paradise website does a great job ofContinue reading “What Happens at Viable Paradise”