Blog Bits, In Brief (the finest in book related blog posts, stolen whole)

BigBadBookBlog's Technicalities, Schmecnicalities:
"Manuscript preparation is a strange little detail in the publishing world. It’s the bane of authors, editors, and production artists alike. Today the majority of writers are working on computers, not typewriters. They’re working in sophisticated word processing programs, not simple-format software with few options. And as wonderful as these advances are, they’ve caused a bit of confusion and consternation, particularly for the editors and production artists who work with the manuscript down the line. So if you want your manuscript to be publisher-friendly or if you want your submission to be taken seriously, here are a few tips."

Bookslut's Jessa Crispin:
"A little book in France is causing a stir: Corinne Maier's No Kid: 40 Reasons Not to Have Children. And by "stir" I mean "annoying reviews written by women who feel they have to defend their decision to have children or point out how Maier is scarring her own children with the book." (And a few men.) She's also the author of Bonjour Laziness, a guide to working as little as possible. I think I like her."