A quick hit today (I'm busy writing, writing, writing; things I can't quite tell you about yet, but it'll be exciting, trust me).  Today's hit is particularly for Canadians.  CBC Radio has a book programme called The Next Chapter, and this week they did children's book recommendations and had a nice little natter about The Knife of Never Letting Go and The Ask and The Answer, which is very cool.  You can dowload the podcast here (it's "The Next Chapter", 14 December). 

I've always liked Canadians.

And a quick hello to the new commenters, from Z to A:  Zelda, Amber, Jessica, Annemarie (always great to hear from parents), Zead (always great to hear from France), Emma, Sam, Jolene (great to hear from Singapore, too), and Ayaat.  You guys are great, really, I love hearing from you all.