• Election Sexism Watch - Cath posts the first in what will no doubt be a depressingly long series.
• The New Humanist asks what the three main political parties have to say to atheists/humanists.
• Monique Roffey, author of The White Woman on the Green Bicycle, on the realities of a writer’s life. And she linked to my review!
• Amanda Craig on literary prizes, judging and being judged.
• What Claudia Wore – a blog about the fashionista that is Claudia Kishi. What, you never read The Babysitters Club?!
• So you didn’t read The Babysitters Club. That’s OK. Now you can catch up.
• Via OUPblog – The Book, the Scroll, and the Web.
• The Surreal World of Mervyn Peake.

• A new report suggests that there should be more focus on the care of rape victims.
• The F Word on women in TV/film.
• Via The Huffington Post, the ‘Little Billy’ letters and the famous people they fooled. I *really want to read it*.
• Bookslut asks: is Monster Lit worth unearthing?
• Anthony Gormley has a new installation in New York City. The Gothamist asks whether people will panic seeing human figures on the tops of buildings. Well, to my knowledge, no one’s called 999 about the fellow on top of Blackwell’s Art Shop in Oxford. (h/t OUPblog)
• Nymeth from things mean a lot writes about the appeal of the Victorians.
• Amazon.co.uk has launched author pages.

That is all. I’m in dire need of coffee.

So, while I recover a little more, why don’t you lot pop off and read some of these interesting things. Come back when I’m less contagious.

• The Iranian government has apparently banned Gmail.
• Ada Lovelace Day is 24th March. Helen at The F Word Blog has the details on how to sign up.
• Top Ten Literary Stepmothers
• A school in Weston-Super-Mare has banned Valentine’s cards so as to protect pupils from ‘rejection trauma’. How about banning Valentine’s cards because it’s a lot of commerical twaddle?
• Not the TV Book Group now has a fan page on Facebook - join, and make us feel popular.
• The greatest ever literary hoax?
• I really want to read this book on music by women in the nineties.
• DGR on reading in public places
• Happy 6th Birthday to Flickr!

• From OUPblog: Meeting Muriel Spark
• Catherine reviews Charles Dickens and the House of Fallen Women. I really want to read it too.
• From Christmas Eve, a Borders Insider blogs for The Bookseller about the final days of trading.
• The Guardian’s Top 10 Victorian detective stories.
• Snowy Britain from above.
• The feminist year ahead, according to The Guardian.

• A Beginner’s Guide to Joining the Book Blogging Community by Farm Lane Books
• JK Rowling lost out on a US medal because of ‘witchcraft’. *headdesk*
• Shut Up, Bands. Unsigned bands being stupid/arrogant/generally ridiculous.
• PZ Myers on Basava Premanand.
• LitLove on EM Forster.
• The Times has a new column on sexism in daily life. This is my “favourite”:

When I phoned BT to complain about a fault with my digital freeview box, I didn’t know which transmitter we were picking up our signal from. The woman answering my complaint advised me to phone back later when my husband was at home to help me. Thanks, BT.

• Now that Ruth Padel has resigned as Oxford Professor of Poetry, who should get the job?
• Along with the rest of the blogosphere, I have recently become obsessed with Awkward Family Photos.
• From The F Word, an open letter to Carol Sarler.
• Catherine on Marie Corelli.
• From OUPblog, scientists without beards – great women scientists.
• DGR on The Taste of Sorrow by Jude Morgan. Recently bought this, and am desperate to read it. Damn you dissertation.
• Stewart at Booklit on The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet. I have a copy of this too, and promise I will get round to reading it soon.
• I think this is pretty.
• Lookshelves. Bookcase porn.
• The Lebanese Feminist Collective launches a campaign against an election poster which translates as “Be Beautiful and Vote” (h/t The F Word). They say:

Are you implying that women are too stupid to engage in real-life politics? That the only way you can appeal to their voting power is by reminding them to look pretty?