Tab Clearing: April/May 2013 Part 1

I haven't done a tab clearing in a while and this one is mostly tabs from April. How is 2013 going by so quickly? Anyway, in case you missed these:

Read an interview: New Voice: Liesl Shurtliff on Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin By Cynthia Leitich Smith for Cynsations:

But at the end of the day, I think what I really love about fantasy is the connections between the fantasy and the real world. It isn’t really the strange and different things that make fantasy so wonderful. It’s the way those strange and different things are similar to the ordinary. They give a lens for us to view our everyday lives in a different way, and hopefully come away transformed.

Doctor Who, fairy tales, children's literature and strong female characters at Doc-in-Boots:

Recently I've been musing about how female fairy tale characters are rewritten as 'feisty' and how this seems to be a response to a perception that the default for female characters is 'passive.' Perhaps once we rewrite the default for female characters, we can start to better enjoy the spectrum of strong female characters?

What I Mean by "Merrie England" at Spinning Straw into Gold:

A lot has been said about why fairy tales take place "once upon a time."

The consensus, at least as I have seen it, is that the vagueness allows the fairy tale to take place at all times and any time, making it accessible to all people throughout the ages.

It also shows that the "once" and the "time" of the story are parallel places and times, a fantasy world where we are asked to suspend our disbelief and play along with the magical, absurd, and pure evil things that can and do happen.

Princess Culture and Consumerism at SDSU CHILDREN'S LITERATURE:

But before I sign off, I do want to pose the question of why fairy tale wedding dresses and jewels are so popular. What is it about the pervasiveness of princess culture that these items exist for grown women to purchase? As someone who was never wildly into Disney princesses, I'll admit that I have no personal connection with this. Is it because it evokes childhood happiness? Is it because in spite of our progressive times, many women still subconsciously want to be beautiful princesses who are revered for their exquisiteness, because that's what we're so often taught in mainstream children's media?

April 14, 1961: Robert Carlyle is born. Bookshelves of Doom celebrated it by highlighting A Curse Dark As Gold by Elizabeth Bunce.

Anyway, in honor of his birthday, I'm pointing you back to my old post about Elizabeth C. Bunce's A Curse as Dark as Gold, winner of the 2009 Morris Award:

Curse has loads of atmosphere and the story feels familiar but, at the same time, new and different and surprising. Elizabeth C. Bunce's spin on protective circles was simple and just (I can't believe I'm about to say this, but here goes) lovely, and her Author's Note provides not only suggestions for further exploration but also her issues with the original story.

LOVE. THAT. BOOK.

Interview with Mette Ivie Harrison of THE ROSE THRONE at The Enchanted Ink Pot:

I don’t know that I would really wish to change any part of my career, but one of the most important lessons I have learned along the way is to write the books that you think will never sell. For one thing, it’s really hard to know what will sell or won’t sell, but for another, constantly chasing sales numbers can make you artistically bankrupt. I really like to toy with weird ideas that no one else would dare try, and I love to break rules.

Fairy Tale Tabs 12/27/2012

Janet and Anne Graham Johnstone

Read Guest post: Christie from Spinning Straw Into Gold on Little Match Girl at Tales of Faerie

I enjoyed All I Want For Christmas... at Doc in Boots. Hope some of the wishes are fulfilled.

I'm especially eager to read Fairy Tale Queens. There's a chapter, "The Queen's Wardrobe: Dressing the Part," which could have been written especially for me! Although I'm also intrigued by "The Fairest of Them All: Queenship and Beauty." Every chapter looks fascinating and I have high hopes.

Read On The Snow Queen, Part 2 at Spinning Straw into Gold:

Though the devil's mirror and the Snow Queen are not direct accomplices, their methods are similar. The glass shards make Kai blind to the living beauty of the roses and only able to appreciate the inorganic geometry of the snowflakes.

And also Snow White's Stepmother at Spinning Straw into Gold:

I never tire of reading about, writing about, and watching Snow White. That said, I'm late to viewing this 90's film, Snow White: A Tale of Terror, but I liked it.

It's grounded in a historical medieval Europe (there is mention of Paris and the Black Plague) and earned its title with suitably nightmarish scenes and plot details. There's definitely the elements of a horror film at work. Not to mention, A Tale of Terror preceded the dark fairy tale remakes now in vogue over a decade later. Think Red Riding Hood, The Brothers Grimm, and Snow White and the Huntsman.

Fairy Tale Tabs 12/17/2012

It's way past time for me to clear out some tabs:

Read On "The Snow Queen," Part 1 at Spinning Straw into Gold.

Read Why Stories are Important at Something to Read for the Train.

Read The Gingerbread Man at Fairy Tales for Twenty Somethings.

Not fairy tale related, but I definitely relate: The Book Hangover at All About Romance. Actually, I've been craving one of these. Need a book hangover badly. They are purging and I come out feeling refreshed, after I catch up on sleep, like a great vacation was taken without leaving my cozy home.

And, finally, wow, SurLaLune's CafePress site was recommended by Sycorax as a place for gift buying at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. Thanks!

Sycorax says, "One of my favourite places to find presents for like-minded people is the Sur La Lune shop. It has products with old illustrations from fairy tales on them. You can look at these by fairy tale (which to my delight includes some of the less well-known ones), by illustrator (they have about twenty) or by product. I was already in love with Arthur Rackham's work, but this place made me discover the gorgeousness of Kay Nielson, Ivan Bilibin and several others."

Once you see a design you like, you can have it placed on just about anything, from tshirts to waterbottles. They also have journals with illustrated covers, as well

Fairy Tale Tabs 10/17/2012

Is your computer overrun by tabs? Mine is. All the time. Eventually I either:

a) finish and close them
b) give up and close them
c) bookmark them hardly ever to return to them
d) have a computer freeze and lose them.

There are other scenarios, too, but those are the most common. So I am thinking about starting a new regular feature on the blog of rounding up my fairy tale related tabs and sharing them here. Many of these will be links to other blog posts, short news bits and other miscellaneous stuff. Then you can decide if you want to click through yourself.

So here are tabs from the last few days:

I wrote about the book yesterday, but here's a review at The Enchanted Inkpot for Two and Twenty Dark Tales: Dark Retellings of Mother Goose Rhymes.

At Spinning Straw Into Gold, there is a discussion of two different Little Mermaid poems, "The Mermaid Loses Her Voice" by Jeannine Hall Gailey and "The Mermaid Sets the Story Straight" by Debra Cash. There is also a post sharing "Nina Faces Reality" by Alex Schattner.

At Tales of Faerie, there is Jerry Griswold on Frog Prince and Fairy tale retellings and subgenres.

At Something to Read for the Train, there is Baba Yaga Returns to Poughkeepsie.