SLJ's Battle of the Books

[sondysue.livejournal.com]

Conspiracy of Kings is a part of School Library Journal's Battle of the Books this year.  And the Undead Poll is now open!  Last year, The Frog Scientist got all kinds of scientists to vote in the Undead Poll to bring that book back from the dead.  (For the Undead Poll, one book that has previously lost a round will be brought back in the final round.)

I joined Sounis just to harness the power of this community to propel CONSPIRACY OF KINGS to win the Undead Poll!  Here's the link:
http://app.fluidsurveys.com/surveys/laura-z/2011-slj-undead-poll/

Now go over and vote!  (But one per person.  We won't cheat here.)

Of course, mind you, I AM hoping that CONSPIRACY OF KINGS will never ever lose a round.  But last year I learned that many judges definitely don't see things the same way I do, so let's give it the insurance of winning the Undead poll!

Hey everybody! Here are a few thoughts about emeralds and things

[deirdrej.livejournal.com]

Well, anybody who knows me even slightly probably believes me to be a book geek. But if you would like proof....

I am now officially at the stage where books remind me of other books, not just of real life!

For all you Sounisians who love Lord Peter Wimsey, have you checked out Jill Paton Walsh's latest, The Attenbury Emeralds? I'm in the middle of it right now, and enjoying it very much. An added plus: passages and informative tidbits that bring other books to mind! Consider this bit: Freddy Arbuthnot is talking about jewels, explaining why emeralds are so much more expensive than diamonds.

"There's lots of fun in diamonds," he was saying. "And they do come in various tints and colours. But the fashion is for clear-water stones, so the more valuable they are, the less distinctive. Whereas .... There's no such thing as a flawless emerald. Emeralds have flaws and inclusions. Little crystals of pyrite, calcite, and acualité. Drifting veils within the stone &emdash; the French call this jardin. Lots of personality. Someone who has looked closely at an emerald could tell it again even if it has been re-mounted, or carved or re-cut.

And Freddy also explains that a carving or inscription, if well done, adds to the value of an emerald, too, because emeralds are extremely difficult to carve, especially if they have inclusions.

So...Eugenides, Thief of Eddis, knew exactly what he was doing (but when doesn't he?) when he took an emerald seal ring, with a flaw like a breaking wave, from the trap in Hephestia's underwater temple....

Which gives rise to another question, of course. What about the seal ring Eugenides is wearing in KOA? Is it the same one, perchance? I like to think so!

I'll end with a pretty picture -- here's a seal ring I can't quite picture Eugenides wearing -- but isn't it great?