The Lates

That's my new way of saying "The Latest News." You like?

Lots of stuff going on, but not lots of brain to remember it all. Matt, baby and I drove to Cleveland Friday (over six hours of driving = at least 8 hours car time with baby) to the GLIBA conference. I was there to sign books (and barely made it to my signing), and Matt was there to attend a dinner of booksellers and authors. It was a whirlwind, and we drove out the next morning. Matt and I both met some lovely booksellers that we will hopefully see again in the future at their respective bookstores. Honestly, I was so tuckered that I mostly recall how I knocked on the door of the room next door to ask if they thought they were going to be loud all night so I could change my room if they were. They, of course, said they weren't going to be loud, and then proceeded to wake me up numerous times throughout the night with their door slams. When I was able to sleep, that is. Romy slept like a, ahem, baby. On the drive home we stopped in Amish country and had a miserable time at a restaurant where I a) couldn't help notice everyone was coughing and sneezing and b) had to give Romy the baby Heimlich because she choked on an ice cube (AWFUL) and then had to deal with the fact that NO ONE asked if she was OK. I lost it completely when we finally left the restaurant, my food barely touched, at how horrid people can be. Man.

In tralala much happier news, here is another great review for INTO THE WILD NERD YONDER from Horn Book:

When her two longtime best friends show up for sophomore year all punked out, Jessie feels betrayed—not that she would’ve shaved her head, like flamboyant Bizza, but still. Turns out, the betrayal runs deeper: Bizza is after Van, Jessie’s forever crush. So where to find new pals? Fans of everything geek will adore Jessie’s induction into the world of nerds, one that includes the band geek lunch table, Dungeons & Dragons, and a genuinely fun-filled weekend in a field immersed in a medieval role-playing game. Halpern’s story may not hold surprises, but readers aren’t hoping for any; besides, Jessie’s narration is the real draw and is as witty and true-to-herself as she, conveying, among other things, her anxiety about joining the geeks (“I suddenly panic. I just helped a dork study for a math test. Wouldn’t that make me an even bigger dork?”). While Van turns out to be a big loser (he gives Bizza gonorrhea), Jessie comes out a winner, scoring the coolest nerd friends ever, entrée into the brainy, creative world of D&D, and—bonus!—a cute, super-sweet geekster guy to call her own. (Reader warning/appetite spoiler: a discussion of the glaze on a certain brand of donuts is hilarious but may result in a strong aversion to said donuts.) j.m.b.

Thank you, Horn Book! Speaking of HOOOOOOORRRNN!-- the final book in the Georgia Nicolsen series by Louise Rennison is out today. I can't wait to read it, and yet, I don't want it to end. I love the Ace Gang! No one tell me how it ends!