For Book Week. I am reading a book by National Book Award finalist, Laini Taylor, and Daughter of Smoke and Bone has renewed my hope and faith in fiction. It’s the story of Karou, an art student in Prague. Karou has just discovered that her first boyfriend, Kaz, cheated on her with a mutual acquaintance.  She has broken up with him, but he isn’t taking no for an answer. He shows up to her art class as, surprise, the nude model she has to sketch. However, Karou was given a beaded necklace of wishes by her guardian, Brimstone. These beads represent the smallest available wishes, and with them Karou can make minor wishes. Some of her previous wishes have included the blue hair that flows straight from her scalp and the bushy eyebrows that she wished on a romantic rival — and in this case, Karou is so incensed that she uses her wishes to make her ex itch in some embarrassing places. She straddles two worlds: the world of mortals and the world of wishes and chimera. This book thrills me and I haven’t even read a quarter of it yet. Taylor spins an incredible otherworld full of women who are part snake and messengers who are part crow and part bat. This is the world of the chimera, creatures that appear to be the composites of several different types of animals. Brimstone sells wishes and he raised Karou. “[His] arms and massive torso were the only human parts of him, though the tough flesh that covered them was more hide than skin. His square pectorals were riven with ancient scar tissue, one nipple entirely obliterated by it, and his shoulders and back were etched in more scars: a network of puckered white cross-hatchings. Below the waist he became else-thing. His...

. A blogumn by Delia Hauser We’ve all done it.  We’ve all stood in front of a mirror examining a hat, scarf or new piece of jewelry and asked the BIG question.  “But…Is It Me?” This madness has to stop.  We ARE whomever we please and we should allow ourselves to change our look everyday if we so choose. I know, I know; this can be hard.  We get into style holes and we stay there.  We decide early on that we are “old navy” girl or “earthy” girl or “gothic chic” girl and that’s where we stay until we wake up one day questioning the things we really like.  So, I’m challenging you to shake it up tomorrow with your accessories.  Style yourself into a new person for a day. Every morning I go through the same routine.  My boyfriend calls it my “private time”.  Indeed it is; and should probably stay that way considering what strange things happen behind those closed doors.  After an outfit is formed and the shoes are chosen, it’s time to decide what character I am that day.  I try on jewelry, scarves, bags, I make faces and strike poses that I might make during the day in that particular outfit to see if the decoration matches the mood.  My simple dress or jeans and a t-shirt could become seriously chic, sexy, silly, quirky, bold, or whatever feels right in the moment. Next time you go shopping, try buying something different; gold instead of your silver (or vice versa), something a little chunkier, crazier, or even sleeker than usual. As you grow more accustomed to stepping out of your shell, you can mix things up a bit, but the beginner stylist should start with a clean palette (a...