Ethical Blogging

I had planned on posting about a book tonight, but as I sat down to log into blogger and post I did my blog hopping first (why yes, I am a procrastinator, why do you ask?) and I read a post by Janet over on Dear Author that got me thinking. In the post Janet poses some great questions about bloggers and what the responsibilities and standards (if any) we should have. Should there be a standard set of rules (so to speak) that all bloggers should follow? Certain ethics that all bloggers should agree to?

I don't really think so. I think one of the greatest things about blogs (as with books) is that there is something for everyone. I can't speak for every blogger out there, only for myself, and I will say that when I started blogging, I went through some internal debates about what I would post about and how I would do it. Probably most bloggers do this. Or maybe not, how do I know. What I see as the biggest obstacle in putting up a standard Blogger Code of Ethics, is not everyone has the same idea of ethical, and who are we as readers and writers of blogs to try and push our own set of ethics on others? Can you imagine the work and debate and headaches that would happen just trying to pick the bloggers who would head the Ethics Committee?

I thought I'd share tonight my own personal set of "rules" I play by here and the reasons for them. It's not a long list, only 3 items, but it's all I've got.

ChariDee's Blogging "Rules" for Novel Reads

1 - Every post does not have to be about books. While most of the posts here on Novel Reads is about books or authors, there have been a few times where I veered off that path just to talk about what's going on in my life. I do this because a) I just don't have the time to keep up my personal blog and I do have friends that aren't readers that check in here and b) because my outside life does play a great part in what I'm currently reading and how I feel about it.

2 - I will post about books I don't particularly like, though I will try and be objective when I do it and not personally attack the author. For a long time I thought about only posting "reviews" on books I liked. I figured it didn't do a bit of good to say I didn't like a book because that could hurt some one's feelings. But the truth is, I don't like every book I read (though I do like most of them), no one does, so as long as I refrain from personally attacking an author (calling names, insulting their hair, that kind of thing) I'm good with stating how I really feel about the book.

3 - Since I also read blogs, if I want to discuss something I read on one, I will. I did this very thing a couple of weeks ago and look where it got me. However, rule number 2 applies to these posts as well. I may not like what another blogger has to say (be it an author or reader blog) but I will do my best to never personally attack the poster. I will also do my best to not over-exaggerate what I read and am blogging about.

That's it. Those are my own personal set of "rules." I'm sure that as time goes on and I continue to blog, I will cross the line one day. I hope, that if that time comes I will be blogger enough to admit it.

Take Care

Back Tomorrow

Will be back tomorrow with a post. Sorry for the silence, but it's been a crazy couple of days. Was gonna post tonight but I'm so tired I'm repeating phrases, I'm so tired I'm repeating phrases (couldn't help it, sorry).

I will let you know real quick though, that later this week I'll be kicking off a week of celebrating with Marta Acosta for the third release in her Casa Dracula series. I'm super excited, because not only is Acosta absurdly talented, but she's agreed to an interview and we'll be having a contest. So check in Wednesday for the details on that.

Take Care

The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle

I just want to take this time to thank each and everyone of you that has made a comment in support of all that has happened these last few days. It has been an insane time. I especially want to thank you for all of the wonderful and informative links I have been given for information about the similar situations. I will be spending the week-end doing research. Unless something more comes to pass or I am asked to comment on what has happened, I will be moving on with Novel Reads in my usual fashion. THANK YOU ALL! READERS and Bloggers are the best!

The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle
(BCC)

"Hey you," said the grouchy ladybug. "want to fight?"
"If you insist," said the yellow jacket, showing its stinger.
"Oh, you're not big enough," said the grouchy ladybug and flew off.

The grouchy lady bug is looking for someone-anyone to fight, no matter how big. From sunrise to sunset the ladybug badgers and bullies, until finally it meets its match.

We're big Eric Carle fans in our house. Ever since Bear and Miss Beautiful were introduced to The Very Hungry Caterpillar they look for books by their favorite (maybe second, since we also lurve Dr. Suess) author.

The latest book by Carle to line our shelves is this one, and we absolutely adore it. From the author's website, " A grouchy ladybug who is looking for a fight challenges everyone it meets regardless of their size or strength. How this bumptious bug gets its comeuppance and learns the pleasures to be gained by cheerfulness and good manners is an amusing lesson in social behavior. Die-cut pages add drama and dimension."

First of all, Carle's illustrations are amazing. True works of art. Painted tissue paper? My God, the man is a genius. Second of all, the pages are designed to grow from big to small as the animals that the grouchy ladybug challenges become bigger. There is also a clock at the top of each page, so that the children can see the time of day it is on the clock, which also helps us illustrate to our children, that one bully wasted her entire day by being mean, when she could have gotten what she wanted and enjoyed a wonderful day, had she just started out by using common decency and manners.

As this book was first published in 1977, I think it just proves how timeless the lesson it involves is. In his dedication, Carle gives a small lesson on ladybugs and their nature, which is both entertaining to read and educational.

If you are looking for a great book to read with your children, pick up any book by Carle, you won't be able to go wrong. And for some great ideas on ways to use Carle's books to further your child's experience, head over to his website and find ideas listed that have been sent to him over the years from teachers and parents.

For those of you lucky enough to live in or near Amherst, MA, be sure to visit The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. Miss Beautiful and I spent quite a bit of time on their website last night making a wish list of things we'd like to see when we get a chance to go.

Take Care

In The Immortal Words of Tom Petty...

... I WONT BACK DOWN!

So, aside from the fact that I got zero hours of sleep last night, today started just like any other. I got the kids to take their baths, I made their lunch, I drove them to school, walked them to their classroom, went to work, had a day where everything that could go wrong - did, left work with just enough time to pick up the kiddos, said "Thanks" to their teachers for learning them yet another day, and went home.

It's the after I got home part where things start to get interesting. Usually when I get home I have a few e-mails from friends and family to tend to and an occasional e-mail from some one who visited my book review blog (ya know, NOVEL READS, the one you are reading right now). On a typical day, I would respond (or not) to these e-mails, throw a load of laundry in the machine, cook dinner, read with my kids, kiss them goodnight and snuggle with The Hubs. Today, however, was anything BUT typical.

Most of you are reading this because you heard about the letter I received from an attorney representing Victoria Laurie and the subsequent post on her blog http://www.victorialaurie.com/blog/ (OOPS, her entire blog has been taken off her website, I tired to link her).

Anyway, in an attempt to make sense of this madness for myself, I have decided to break down events.

On January 21, 2008, while blogging for another site, I posted this blog. Notice, I state how much I enjoy Ms. Laurie's books. Notice the fact that while I don't personally like her on-line behavior, I will continue to read her books.

Shortly there after, I leave dee & Dee Dish...About Books.

I am silent in the blog-o-sphere for a few months. I post to my personal blog (not often mind you, but some) and read a LOT. I continue to read my favorite blogs, but use that time to re-group.

May 15, 2008 (Happy Birthday A!), I decide I miss this small world of readers I belonged to. Mind you, I've never been a big addition to the fiction world, but I did have my own corner, and even when I had only myself for company I enjoyed it!

Fast forward to August 11, 2008 and Victoria Laurie is back on my radar. Please note, that the post I have linked there is the Original Post with minor changes. The minor changes include the addition of "AKA I QUOTED Victoria Laurie" and the little "Update" at the start. Otherwise, I left the post in tact.

That same day, I post to two Yahoo! Groups I belong to and post the question about the author's behavior.

August 12, 2008, starts like any other day, only the kids are still on Summer Break and my babysitter is NOT. SO, I'm home and still receiving e-mails (some very hateful) about my post of (at the time) a particular author - OK, it's Victoria Laurie. I don't have to pretend anymore! Since my question to the Yahoo! Groups gives me some good food for thought, I do another post.
I will adress this post again shortly, if you aren't already asleep, bear with me ;).

After hitting "PUBLISH POST", I think to myself, " Go ahead and be brave! Try and contact this publisher for a quote!" So, in all of my, I AM WOMAN (erm, READER!) HEAR ME ROAR glory, I work up the nerve to call the publishing house. I ask to speak to Laurie's editor. I am transfered to voice mail. I leave a message, and trust me, we'll discuss this in more detail in a bit, asking for a quote. I DO in fact say that I was "deeply disturbed" about something I read on her blog. I say this, because I am, in fact, deeply disturbed by this behavior.

After my phone call, I do my blog hopping. One of my first stops is Dear Author. A site I miss visiting on a regular basis, but ya know, life happens and I must work for the money. I see that Jane has outed the author in question (and seriously, why am I still referring to her as "the author in question?" We all know who the heck I'm talking about!). I then check out one of my favorite author's blogs and find out that she is thinking about quitting blogging. More hate mail to novelreads at gmail dot com ensues.

August 13, 2008, I link to the Dear Author post outing Laurie. The same day I moved on.

August 14, 2008, I address (in a general way) some of the letters I received about my initial post. And again, I get on with blogging as usual.

August 15-18, 2008 all is business as usual.

August 19, 2008, I receive the following letter in my in-Box, (IN-BOX, people, not even through regular mail) upon returning home from work:

Dear the owner of email address titled “novelreads@gmail.com” (a.k.a. “ChariDee”),

I represent Victoria Laurie, an author which you recently address in a posting titled, “Authors Getting Even” on http://novelreads.blogspot.com. In this posting you excerpt from a website that is copyright protected, thus violating federal copyright law. There is and has been an existing disclaimer on Ms. Laurie’s website, (www.victorialaurie.com), which states that; “No part of this website may be directly copied or duplicated and all of the content herein is copyright protected.” These quotes you have posted to your blog should be immediately removed or Ms. Laurie will be forced to take appropriate action.

In addition to the above violation of law, on Tuesday, August 12, you contacted the voice mail of someone you thought to be Ms. Laurie's editor at Penguin Group USA and left a voice mail claiming that you were "deeply disturbed" by a blog posting and requesting a comment (a copy of which we have in our possession). Please consider this letter a cease and desist letter. While you are free to express your opinion under the First Amendment, taking impulsive and inappropriate action with the attempt to interfere with a contractual relationship is unacceptable; therefore, in addition to the above Ms. Laurie is requesting that you not contact her, her agents, editors, business representatives, or assigns personally at any time now or in the future.

Feel free to contact me at the above post office box should you have any questions regarding this letter and its directives.

Sincerely,

Lindsay Gustafson

I immediately freak out, thus causing me to make one of the best decisions of my life, and contact Jane at Dear Author. I needed advice from another blogger. I'm a guppie in the blogger pond, I've never claimed to be more. So getting a letter like this is flippin' scary.

Later that day, Jane stands up for me (God Bless Jane!).

And that brings us to today. Are you as exhausted as I am yet? Today, I work all day. I have no idea of what happens until I get home. What happened? Well, Victoria Laurie totally bashes me on her blog. I'd link, but her entire blog has been removed. I do, however, happen to have a cached version of the post. Since Laurie found it OK to fling accusations my way, I find it OK to defend myself. I will not post the entire blog entry here, I will however, as allowed by Fair Use, quote her post for comment and criticism.

Quote:

ANYhoo, to catch you all up, last week I got a very upsetting phone call from my editor who was really creeped out. She said that some crazy woman had called the voice mail of another editor in her department. The caller clearly thought that editor was my editor and had demanded to be called back saying she was “deeply disturbed� (mental diagnosis or state of mind?) about a blog that I’d written and she demanded a comment from my editor.

First of all, I demanded nothing. Laurie's editor and attorney claim to still have the VM, they can listen to this again and see that I in no way demanded a thing. I called Penguin Group and asked to speak to her editor, I was transfered and left a message.

Quote: My wonderful editor was so freaked out that she became concerned for my safety and wanted to alert me that there was a crazy cyber stalker out there and maybe I wanted to increase my own security.

If I ever get the cash flow to hire an attorney, I want that voice mail released. If this editor read anything "crazy" into my simple voice mail, I don't know what it could have been. Laurie also states that I did not leave my name. I call BS on this one. I most certainly DID leave my name. Not only did I leave my name, I left my telephone number, e-mail address and blog address.

I'm getting ready to sign off on this post, but before I do, I want to address one more thing that Laurie says in her blog post: Quote: but don’t start making phone calls that will end up costing you your kid’s college fund. To this I say, I will take a lot of shit. However, the minute you threaten my children and their future, is the minute I start to take the gloves off.

I have much more to say on the topic, and I probably will blog more about it tomorrow. Right now, I'm going to get in some comfy PJ's and get some sleep.

I want to thank each and every one of you that has commented on my blog and on Dear Author showing your support. I am humbled by your kindness and cannot express how much it has meant to me.

I promise that I will post more on the subject when I get some sleep and can make some sense. I also promise that my posts will remain here on Novel Reads until such time the law dictates otherwise.

Take Care

Where In ChariDee Is Threatened by an Author that Wanted Revenges Attorney...

That's right, you read the post title correctly, I, ChariDee received a rather threatening letter today from one attorney "claiming" to represent Victoria Laurie. I admit that I am (like they had hoped) scared spitless. I am a very small blogger in what is a very small reader world on the World Wide Web.

For the most part I try very hard not to rock the boat. Not because I feared something like this would happen, but because it is in my nature to keep the peace. I "talked" to Jane at Dear Author today after I received the e-mail. I needed advice from another blogger. Jane made it clear that she would not think less of me for taking the post down or for removing the quotes (Jane posted a very wonderful blog tonight about this letter I received today, check it out here). However, the more I read up on Copyright Law, the more I felt that I did nothing wrong. I did however edit my post, I have since added the name of the author in question. I would have linked to the post in question but it was removed shortly after the posts went live.

I have also contacted a lawyer who is versed in Copyright Law for my state. Since the business day was nearly over by the time I received the e-mail, I will have more information from this lawyer tomorrow.

I don't like being scared. I don't like being bullied. BUT, should it be necessary that I take the post down, I will. Until the time comes, however, that I am forced to take down my post, it will remain up.

I will keep ya'll posted.

Take Care

The Elite by Jennifer Banash

The Elite by Jennifer Banash
(BCC)

It's the most exclusive luxury apartment building on New York's Upper East Side. If you don't live there, you don't know how to live...

When Casey McCloy steps into The Bramford, she's overwhelmed by the sophistication and elegance of it all. Fresh from the Midwest, she's moved to New York City to live with her grandmother and attend the prestigious Meadowlark Academy. Here, all that matters is who you know. The designer to know is Zac Posen. The girl to know is Madison Macallister: popular, pretty and platinum blond. She's not just Casey's new classmate and neighbor; she's an icon. So Casey aims to get in with Madison and her gorgeous gal pals from the start. As the reigning queen of coolness, Madison is capable of destroying reputations with one well-times whisper. Better to be on her good side.

After a haute makeover from her new frenemy Madison, Casey is wearing the right clothes, saying the right things, and meeting the right people. Including Drew, the boy-about-town Madison thinks belongs to her and her alone...

Casey McCloy finds herself moving from Normal, Illinois to New York City, which is anything but normal, to live with grandmother while her mother heads to London. Casey's grandmother lives in The Bram. Only the most exclusive apartment building in town. She's nervous. She's sweating bullets (what an embarrassing habit!) and her hair won't behave. On her way to her grandmother's apartment, Casey runs into Madison Macallister and her friends Phoebe and Sophie. It's obvious by the looks of the girls that they are only the most popular IT girls. So when they invite Casey to join them across the street to sunbathe, Casey jumps at the chance to hang out.

When Drew shows up and starts flirting with Casey she's immediately smitten. But Madison is less than thrilled. Drew is hers, and hers alone. When the heat starts to really ratchet up between Casey and Drew so does Madison's anger. Casey knows these girls have the power to make or break her in her new life, the problem is, Casey's not so sure she wants to be made but she is sure she doesn't want to be broken.

I'm not really sure how I feel about this book. It's been a long while since I've picked up a YA novel and felt that it was less than fabulous. Unfortunately, I just didn't really connect with this one. For one, when I read books in this genre, I always think about the young ladies I know and would I feel comfortable giving this book to them to read. The answer with this one was No.

The kids in this book are starting their Junior Year of high school, and let me tell ya, the way they drink alcohol (and apparently have been for some time) and the way they casually talk about lust was just a bit scary to me as an adult. All of the characters save Drew have horrible relationships with their parents.

The Elite is written in Third Person, and there are five, yes five, POV's. While this isn't unheard of, the book is but 237 pages long and I didn't really have enough time with any one story line to really connect to the characters. I realize that this is a first book in a new series, but there was just too much set up for what I think must be future story lines, for me to really feel the major plot (the Casey-Drew-Madison plot).

I'm not a big fashion kinda gal. My wardrobe is fairly basic and consists mostly of jeans and tee shirts. There were so many name brand and high fashion names being thrown at me in the pages of this book my head was spinning. I realize that the book is set in Upper East Side New York, where fashion is a big deal and money is no issue, but I'm from the real world, and well, I didn't like all the name dropping.

The Elite is getting rave reviews all over the 'net these days, and you should really read up on them and decide for yourself on this one. It just didn't fit in with my idea of what good YA fiction is all about. I don't like reading about over-privileged poor little rich girls, that have a mean streak wider than their parents bank accounts. I think that Casey could have been a superior character, but her growth was really more told than shown, and with so many POV's the characters all fell flat.

Will I read the next book in the series? I just don't know. I'd like to see Madison grow up a bit, and I'd like to see a bit more of her friends, Phoebe and Sophie and how they deal with some of the things going on in their lives. But I just don't think I'll be able to bring myself to do it. With so many wonderful YA titles out there yet for me to read, I'll probably pass on this next one.

Take Care

Not So Much About Books

Okay, today has been an extremely busy day! First of all, I haven't worked much this week because my babysitter is in a different school district and she started school this week and mine don't until next. So I've been home with them (which I have to admit, I sure as hell have missed that this summer!) but today, I enlisted the help of a dear friend and she kept the kids so that I could go in early and give my boss the day off with her kids before school started. So, it was tough to be gone all day, I'm just not used to that.

Then, as soon as I got off, I ran home, grabbed the things I needed to mail, and headed straight to the Post Office. I sent off SEVEN priority mail packages this afternoon. That means, tee shirts, and Fantasyland and Brandy your books should all be arriving Monday (Tuesday at the latest).

Then I rushed to Wally World to grab a few last minute school supplies because tonight was Meet The Teacher night at the kids school. For those of you that don't know, Bear is dyslexic yet extremely, well let's just say near genius level IQ, and we've had a few struggles with teachers in his short school career, so this is always a bit of a nerve wracking day. Miss Beautiful will be in 1st Grade, and well, she's a bit ahead of her time, both in style AND in brains, so once again, getting a teacher that is willing to challenge her more than the rest of the class has been our main concern. Well, I can say with all honesty we are very much optimistic about this year. Miss Beautiful is going to be in a veteran teachers class, a teacher that is known for her individual approach to teaching. We are most definitely blessed with this! Bear will be in a classroom with a fairly new teacher, and all I really know is that she is very kind and her former students seem to adore her. Bear needs more structure than most, so while we're very optimistic, if she cannot administer to his needs, we may need to switch. We are going into it with much enthusiasm though, and she was very easy to talk to tonight, very open to hearing what we had to say, so all should be well! I'm just so EXCITED about this!

Then of course, we ran and fed the kids (Chinese at our favorite resteraunt that was seriously a disappointment tonight :(), because God Bless my friend, but she invited the kids to stay the night. I imagine we will be getting a call in a few hours telling us the kids are ready to come home. They just don't do sleepovers. We usually have kids spend the night at our house, and our friends who have them tonight have three boys we adore who have spent the night here, but our kids just don't do well away from home. We'll see. Our friends know the kids are like this, and they are great people, so we'll see how the night goes.

So, no kids right now and how sad is this, but I miss them! The Hubs is playing poker on his laptop, I'm typing this with a cold beer in hand, and then I'm going to get back to reading a book I've started. Another YA title, that I think I'll like, I just have to get over all the designer names and such being thrown at me, and the alcohol intake of the kids. I think I like where to story is headed, but we'll see. After all, I'm a small town girl, what the hell do I know about the upper crust of society?!

Take Care