Freaky Friday

Friday's list of randomness:

1. I have a new nephew!! Whoo-hoo! Liam Sebastian. I'm probably a bit biased but I think he's super cute!

2. Maureen Johnson wrote a very interesting post on "boy books" and "girl books" and all that nonsense. It's fantastic. Read it here.

3. This weekend I'm attending the 7th Annual Anderson's Bookstore YA Literary Conference. Kody Keplinger will be there, along with John Green, David Levithan, and a whole bunch of other cool folks. Check back next week for my full report.

4. I'm an allergic sort, which means every spring and fall I suffer from sneezing, wheezing, and yes, eczema, those small patches of dry, itchy skin. I sway towards natural remedies, and eating raw honey has done wonders for the respiratory stuff, but has been unimpressive as a skin salve. I've switched over to Wild Oregano Oil for skin issues and Oh, man! It works so well. The only problem is I now smell like a pizza.

5. Speak Loudly--I've written about censorship before, but I have not yet written a post specifically about Wesley Scroggins' call to ban SPEAK and TWENTY BOY SUMMER. I've read some pretty phenomenal posts (C.J Redwine and Veronica Roth come to mind, as well as essays written by Laurie Halse Anderson and Sarah Ockler, the respective authors of the two books mentioned in Scroggins' complaint.) and I feel if I'm going to add to the conversation I want to add something of value. I'm not quite sure what that is yet.

Well, enjoy this first weekend of fall! Drink cider! Eat something with pumpkin in it! Get ready to plant your garlic!