Mulholland Books

Little, Brown has a new crime fiction imprint called Mulholland Books, which sounds very interesting. No YA though, which is a bummer.

Get the scoop at Sarah Weinman's blog .

Reader Mojo

It’s book burnout time here for the YA Sleuth. I’m at that dreaded point where every new book seems to disappoint—even though I know it’s me, not the book. I’ve just lost my reader mojo.

But I’ve been there before. And figured out that I just need a little vacation, some time with my favorite books that remind me of the things I love in mystery. Like When the Women Come Out To Dance by Elmore Leonard, Rat Life by Tedd Arnold, and a few short story collections that I keep for just this kind of reader slump. Books that show how great great can be.

How about you? Any old standby books you read over and over?

And by the way: such a delightfully tacky bookcover, no?

Follow That Sound

Good song to start your week with. It's the title song for The Cleaner; the TV show kind of lost me after a while, but the song is just too deliciously moody not to share.

For Teen Writers

For my budding teen writer friends: check out YPulse's list of online teen writing communities. What a great resource!

Fresh Hell

There's an article, Fresh Hell, in The New Yorker by Laura Miller, analyzing YA dystopian fiction. I'm not sure I agree with it all, but it's interesting all the same.

Read it here.

BEA YA Buzz

Want to know what the latest (BEA) buzz is about YA books coming this fall? Find out in this PW article.

Anthony Nominees

The Anthony nominees are here! No YA, sigh...

Neo-Frugalist Teens

An interesting article in the NYT on today's teens and their buying habits: they're waiting for sales, buying used, and being smarter with their money.

They call it neo-frugalism, I call it Dutchness. Being cheap is cool again. Lucky for me.

Advice for Young Writers and Editors

For you young writers and editors: PW's Rose Fox has advice on her Genreville blog. Check it out here.

My Taste in Books

Patti asked an interesting question: what image sums up your taste in books?

For me, it's Hopper's Nighthawks. Not a very original choice, but it does it for me.

Household Announcements

I know, I know: household announcements are boring. But for you YA Sleuth followers (I heart you!), there are some updates to the regular content, so bear with me.

First, I’m no longer posting YA reviews (which you’ve probably noticed already, since they’ve been absent). This is in part because there are already so many websites and blogs that do this (and much better than me), and in part because it gets awkward when the author is someone you know. I’ll still review the Edgars, because someone’s gotta do it, and we are all about the mystery here after all. And I’ll still recommend the occasional YA mystery when the mood strikes.

Second, Thursday YA News will be taking a summer hiatus. I’ll still post news items as I find them, but no more long weekly roundup. Freelance work is picking up, and my freckles are fading, so time to get out and catch some rays.

That’s it. You can go outside and play again.

Pondering Sidekicks

With most TV shows at season’s end, I’m at a bit of a loss. No more Lost, no more Fringe. It’s like my favorite people just went and left me—in the case of Lost, permanently, too. And they’re not real people, I know this. I should spend time with my friends anyway, get out and conquer the dandelions in the yard already. But I still think of my favorite characters.

So this has me pondering character, and what makes some characters so great. And I’m not talking about the leads either—it’s the sidekicks I love the most. They get to be over-the-top, fun, crazy, interesting—all the things a grounded series protagonist usually doesn’t get to be. I love Hurley, adore Walter. What makes them so great? I’ve yet to figure it out.

So how about you? Who’s your favorite sidekick?