I am feeling ill today – sympathy please – so this Top 10 will be brief to the point of brusqueness!

1) Do you like tattoos?

Lurv a la Mode is getting really tired of the tattoos all over book covers right now! Is this one of your pet peeves? Are there any other cover conventions that you find difficult to take?

2) In celebration of authors

A couple of Wednesdays ago I introduced you to the Author Fan Letter blog crawl that was occurring – it has now all wrapped up and there is a handy summary post to show links to all the blogs who participated.

3) Why Sex and the City 2 is a science fiction movie

You’re getting this link because it amused me thoroughly – I watch Sex and the City, and have been to see the second movie (that public confession makes me squirm), so I found this an entertaining little foray into how it can be imagined as a science fiction movie!

4) The Price of Spring

A Dribble of Ink brings us the news that Daniel Abraham‘s book The Price of Spring is not receiving a paperback release. This is the final book in The Long Price Quartet, which is widely deemed to be criminally under-read, and Aidan bemoans the fact that quality does not always equal success. Read our reviews of this epic.

5) Reader Expectations

So, when you pick up a book, how much are your expectations governed by factors you know about the author and the way in which their book was sold. For instance, if you knew an author had received a seven figure advance for a book, would it affect the way you then read the book? Babbling About Books wants to know.

6) Limitations of Genre Coverage

In another of his ever-interesting blog posts, Larry (OF Blog of the Fallen) addresses the limitations of genre coverage in certain recent lists that have been produced of speculative fiction that *must* be read.

7) Legends of the Red Sun Interviews

I am a real sucker for unusual interviews, and, with the release of Mark Charan Newton’s City of Ruin, Dave Brendon showcases his interviews with three of the characters from Nights of Villjamur.

8) The Silence of the Dying

This particular link made me very tearful: Sara Douglass is incredibly ill with cancer and speaks out about her experiences with the silence of dying. It is poignant and powerful, and gives a lot of food for thought.

9) Send Diana Wynne Jones best wishes

This is more sad news – it feels like we’re losing so many of our best-loved authors. Diana Wynne Jones is extremely ill and it is asked that we all send her our best wishes. One of my very favourite books is The Tough Guide to Fantasyland, and her YA fiction has led to many films such as Howl’s Moving Castle. She is incredibly talented and the world will lose a wonderful writer when she goes. Please go and say nice things.

10) Do you have to like the main character to enjoy a book?

This is an interesting topic: in many of the fantasy books we read these days, the main characters are not always the more likable, so Steve’s Fantasy Book Reviews poses the question: do you have to like the main character to enjoy the book?

Well, I’m off to spend some time on the sofa in front of Friends (always my viewing choice while ill!) Have fun this week, y’all!