New Newbery Medal! And an R. I. P.

Congratulations Neil Gaiman! I haven't read The Graveyard Book, but it's always nice when someone who lives (kind of) locally wins an award. I've only read Coraline and American Gods by Gaiman. I thought American Gods was really pretty amazing, but I had major trouble with Coraline: it was so terribly unsettling. It figures that it is now a Major Motion Picture, one that I probably will not see.

On another note, John Updike just died of lung cancer. It's like the passing of a national treasure. Dude wrote SIXTY-ONE books! I didn't always like his stuff, but he sure knew what he was doing. And, despite the fact that it was pretty fluffy, I did like The Witches of Eastwick, so there.