Maria V. Snyder on "Mary Sue" and Armchair Adventures

Here's an interesting post from SF Novelists, in which Maria V. Snyder is "Accused of Mary Sue" and her response to it.

St. Paul is Third Most Literate City (MPLS #1)

Reported by Michele Hauf to MFW

In the fifth annual Readers' Bowl, Minneapolis, Minn., reclaimed thetitle America's Most Literate City for 2007 while Seattle, Wash., fellto the number two spot, according to<http://news.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3618491Biz5864704> USA Today.And in what might be seen as a Twin Cities bid for national readingdominance, St. Paul, Minn., sustained its long-term momentum, having"climbed steadily, from 11th place in 2003 to third place this year."

The top 10 overall, as compiled by "researcher Jack Miller, who for fiveyears has been ranking the nation's largest cities based on theirsupport for and commitment to reading":

1. Minneapolis
2. Seattle
3. St. Paul
4. Denver
5. Washington, D.C.
6. St. Louis
7. San Francisco
8. Atlanta
9. Pittsburgh
10. Boston

The top 10 cities in the bookseller category, which ranks for every10,000 people the number of retail bookstores, number of rare and usedbookstores and number of ABA members, are:

1. Seattle
2. San Francisco
3. Minneapolis
4. Cincinnati
5. St. Louis
6. Portland, Ore.
7. Pittsburgh
8. St. Paul
9. Cleveland
10. Washington, D.C.

A complete list of the rankings is available at America's Most Literate Cities <http://news.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3618491Biz5864714> .http://www.ccsu.edu/amlc07/Overall_Rankings/Top10.htm Books-A-Million is opening its first store in Pennsylvania, in theFoundry at 439 Washington Road in Washington, Pa. The company said ithad decided on opening a store in the southwestern Pennsylvania town"based on its knowledge of this growing market," gained from its newstore in nearby Wheeling, W.Va.

Happy New Year

Sorry I've been MIA for a couple of days, but my internet connection has dried up (the nieghbors are on to my wifi stealing ways.) So, I only have a few minutes in the mornings to catch up on the news, etc. Even so, I wanted to take the time to wish y'all a Happy New Year!