Everyone is complaining about the cold, damp weather, but I haven't minded it yet. I'm so involved in two of my own projects that I'm glad there's no gorgeous weather compelling me to play hookey.

I found a 2002 fiction title at the library that has slipped by me until now. The Stars Can Wait by Jay Basu is a short novel about a fifteen-year-old Silesian boy living in German-occupied Poland in 1940. Basu's imagery has been grabbing me, although I feel less sure that he's in control of where he's going with the story. (I'm half-way through.) It's Basu's first novel; I'll give him a break. The author blurb on the cover says very little about him and notes that he was born to an Indian father and a half Polish, half Russian mother. Does that piece of information serve as a credential for writing the book or what?

Ahhh! A googling reveals that The Stars Can Wait was nominated for the Los Angeles Book Prize. It's also now available in paperback.