With August in full swing, soon it will be time for the school year, and for high schoolers, that means standardized tests!  Workman just published a new edition of Up Your Score: The Underground Guide to the SAT, the for-students, by-students strategy guide for kicking multiple choice butt.  Guest editor of the previous edition Alan Hatfield (now a Princeton student) talked to our new guest editor, JaJa Liao (soon to be a Yale freshman), about test taking tips and life after the SAT.

Alan: Congratulations on your new role as the next guest editor of Up You Score! I’m so excited to meet you and I know that you’ll do a fabulous job. I’ve been on the job for a couple years now and I’ve had a great experience, getting to do a host of promotional projects, such as a radio drive, managing the FB and Twitter pages, and making an appearance on network TV.

JaJa: First off, thanks! I’m really excited about the experience ahead of me, and hopefully I’ll do a good job. So, for the readers out there, tell us about yourself (aside from the perfect score)…

Alan: I just finished my freshman year at Princeton University, which kept me on my toes, and also gave me an amazing opportunity to meet fascinating people, most of whom have amazing SAT scores and are brilliant at at least one thing. I danced on the Bhangra team, wrote for a student magazine, and competed on the Model UN Team, all of which required a lot of time to balance with my classes and the Up Your Score stuff. Your turn!

JaJa: Congrats on finishing your freshman year while doing so many extracurricular activities. I’ll be entering Yale this fall and looking at double majoring in either Chemistry/Anthropology or Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry/Anthropology though I am open to other combinations. What’s your major and what are you up to this summer?

Alan: I’m planning on majoring in public policy with possible certificates in Near Eastern Studies, East Asian Studies, or possibly Computer Science. As for the summer, I’m going to Nanjing, China for two months to teach English.

But back to Up Your Score. I’ve had a blast working with the book and I realized that taking time to reflect on the test itself gave me some crucial insights that I think are important to focus on when helping guide people’s experience with the test. Practice is CRUCIAL. I can’t emphasize this enough. The test is constructed with a specific purpose and in a specific way, meaning that there’s a definitive structure to the questions that I think can be intuited after taking enough practice questions and practice tests.

JaJa: I totally agree with you that the SAT has a definitive structure that can be decoded once you become familiar enough with it after practicing. Adequate practice allows you to see the pattern of questions that occur on the SAT, which I find only has a few tricks up its sleeve with a few variations. Personally, I found it extremely helpful to answer questions based on the magic “if.” I thought of questions in my head like “if I were a test maker, which one of these options would I have put just to trick people?” and “if I were a test maker, what am I trying to test by asking this question?” etc. I also feel that on multiple choice tests such as the SAT, you don’t necessarily need to know the material 100% to get the question right, but you do need to have good strategies. I’d love to hear your testing philosophy.

Alan: I definitely agree with your thoughts on strategy over knowledge. The SAT isn’t a test of knowledge by any means, it’s more a pressure-under-fire type of endeavor. With enough time any student can eventually come to the correct answer on any question the SAT throws at them, the only obstacle is time. That’s why I’m a big advocate of thoughtful and deliberate first-runs through questions.

I feel like testing philosophies that advocate some kind of prioritization or “skipping” of difficult questions can sometimes be counterproductive to students, because they prompt the tendency to rush or at least only half-heartedly commit to questions that may look intimidating or difficult from the very first glance. I’m much more an advocate of a testing philosophy that focuses on self-confidence in the sense that starting from the idea that for every student taking the test the correct answer is definitely attainable, students should treat every question as do-able.

JaJa: Another tip that I think is pretty helpful is to not overthink the questions. If you think about it, the SAT’s difficulty is not high at all. This is especially true for the math section. If you ever took Algebra I and Geometry, you will know all of the concepts on the math section. A lot of people freak out when they see the math section for the first time because the ETS purposefully words questions awkwardly to make things a bit more challenging. In reality, there are only so many topics that the ETS can test you on, so what I recommend for the math part would just to go over the topics thoroughly if you find that you keep on missing the same kind of problems. For example, if you discover that you are always stumped by the probability questions, just skim through a short textbook lesson on probability instead of skipping over it. Over time, you will find that there is a kind of pattern that reoccurs. This way you will be ready next time to solve all kinds of probability problems.

Alan: That’s enough test talk for today. Nice to meet you, and good luck staving off the Evil Testing Serpent!

JaJa: Thanks, I’ll try to follow in your footsteps. Viva la Up Your Score!

I should warn: This is a bit of a selfish blog post. Seeing as I will be starting college this fall, I have been gathering as much information as I can about classes, activities, social life, etc. Unfortunately, this means that I spend an unhealthy amount of time on College Confidential and Rate My Professor. This obsession is also why a book entitled College in a Nutskull caught my eye while I was perusing the book room a few days ago. If you’re not familiar with this book, it is essentially a compilation of hilarious factual errors and is quite simply, sublime.

As funny as this book is, I had expected a how-to book and was surprised when it turned out not to be. So I figured, why not seek how-to advice about college from Workman people? The following is a short list of great advice. You may not be in college anymore but hopefully you find this pertinent to some aspect of your life (for example, knowing how to do laundry is very important).

Some wise nuggets:

I think anyone would agree—this is sound advice. Workman people must be pretty smart!

Also recommended to me for my college transition were The College Cookbook  and The Girl’s Guide to Absolutely Everything, which may conveniently go missing right around the time I leave Workman for school this fall…

 -Zatio (Rising Frosh)

Hi There,

I’m Zatio. I’ve been interning at Workman for a few weeks, spending time in various departments, and helping out with different tasks. I’ve worked in special sales, gift sales, and now, editorial. This has been a wonderful experience that has given me a glimpse of what real, adult life is like. I just graduated from high school and am heading off to college (already!) in August.

I have lived in New York for my whole life. It would be fair to call me a true New Yorker. As a result of this, I know how to get around the city. I am accustomed to crowds, small spaces, smog, and traffic. And there is nowhere else I would rather live. This also means that I am often impatient, easily incensed, and quick to complain—especially about New York City. These characteristics are why I found this particular project so interesting. As you’ll see from the following survey, everyone has different feelings about this city. But, I think, even through our gripes and frustrations, we love this place for all its quirks.

In the spirit of a pair of Workman books: Don’t You Just Hate That? and 14,000 Things to Be Happy About, we’ve decided to make a special Workman collection of loves and hates related to New York City. The following is a list of some funny, some serious, and some curious pet peeves and best things about the Big Apple.

—Zatio (a proud New Yorker)

In honor of Superman’s birthday, we asked Randall Lotowycz, author of The DC Comics Super Heroes and Villains Fandex, to weigh in on this significant anniversary.

Action Comics #1, by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster

On May 3^rd, 1938, a strange visitor from another planet with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men first arrived on newsstands across the country in Action Comics #1 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. I’m talking about Superman, of course, the lone survivor from the planet Krypton who, as an adult, decided to “turn his titanic strength into channels that would benefit mankind, and so was created ‘Superman’, champion of the oppressed…” The initial printing of the comic was 200,000 copies, but the series went on to sell in the millions.

These days, the relevancy of this iconic character is often called into question. He’s seen as old-fashioned, or even cheesy, compared to hipper, darker characters like Batman. His clean-cut image often does not jive with modern sensibilities. But still his appeal endures, and people still seem to care about him, and not just loyal comic book readers.  Last week, in the milestone 900^th issue of Action Comics, Superman decided to renounce his American citizenship in order to best service the interests of the entire world, not just the USA. And news of this comic book story—an imaginary tale—spread like wildfire, with articles in Time, The Huffington Post, The New York Post, and Fox News, to name a few.  Everyone seemed to have something to say about it, either supporting his decision or finding it alarming.

This isn’t the first time Superman’s exploits crossed over from the comics to the real world. When Superman died (it’s comics, they do that sometimes) in 1992, the world took notice. People who weren’t reading comic books went out and bought the issue. Why is that?

The milestone issue, Action Comics #900

I believe it’s because we all have deeply rooted connection to Superman.  For some people, it was watching George Reeves wink at the camera in the 50s television show. For others, it was Christopher Reeve showing us a man could fly, in the 70s film. Others turned to the cartoons, and some have just been loyal comic book readers over the years. I never picked up a comic book before he died in 1992. The ten-year-old me actually had little interest in comics, but something as momentous as Superman dying had to be seen, and read, and discussed. It made me into a lifelong comic book fan. And regardless of how people are introduced to Superman, they all can connect to him. He’s the archetype of modern American mythology, a Paul Bunyan or Johnny Appleseed for a new era. And the fact that he’s renouncing his citizenship in the comics now doesn’t change that. He’s doing what he’s always been doing, serving as a beacon of hope to the world. I’d like to think most people strive, or at least secretly wish, to be the best person they can be. And I believe a large part of that is realizing what makes you who you are and how you can use your unique abilities to make the world a better place. We don’t have to have superpowers or be from another planet. Superman shows us to take what we have and use it.

To quote Superman’s father Jor-El in Superman: The Movie:  We (not just Americans, but all mankind) “can be a great people . . . if they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you, my only son.” Messianic allusions aside, the message is strong and clear. It appeals to all of us, and will always be relevant and never cheesy. After 73 years, Superman is still around to bring out the best in us. Here’s to another 73 years!

—Randall Lotowycz is the author of The DC Comics Super Heroes and Villains Fandex.

This coming week will be my first Passover without my mother, so excuse me if I’m a bit farklempt. She left us this past September at age 93, and for the first time I am making her famous chicken soup without her.

For many years her soup was her province, a closely guarded secret. If Seder was at our house, she would simply appear with her 16-quart pot, and no one was the wiser. How does she do it?, we’d all exclaim between slurps. Such flavor, such comfort. No one could beat it.

In later years, as her hands became shakier and her memory a bit slower, we worked together, and finally the many secrets of this celestial brew were revealed.

Yes, yes, I know what you’re thinking: YOUR mother’s soup is the best. Sorry. No, it’s not. My mother’s is the best on so many levels, and here’s why. She put the whole produce market into that soup!

How she would laugh when she would see chicken soup recipes from famous cookbook authors calling for two carrots and a stalk of celery. My mother used two POUNDS of carrots in that soup.

Most chicken soup recipes instruct you to add water to cover. No, no, no, said my mother. Two-thirds is plenty. The vegetables cook down and will be covered soon enough, because what you are looking for is that deep, dark, richly flavorful brew. Resist the temptation to add a cup of water to get another cup of soup, she advised.

Even if you’re not Jewish, you must use kosher chickens. The jury is still out on why they taste so much better. Is it the method of killing? The freshness? The salting? The blessing? Who knows, but there really is a difference. (Note: Kosher chickens are salted, so watch that shaker!)

Pack it in! Use as much chicken and vegetables as you can pack into your pot, or conversely, use as little water as possible, to produce the most intense flavor.

You must use fresh dill, and lots of it.

After cooking, reserve the carrots to be sliced into the soup later. Then squeeze the remaining vegetables well through a strainer for extra flavor. Purists will say, “But the best soup must be clear.” I say, give me a choice between clarity and flavor, and I’ll take flavor any day!

Lillian “Honey” Bart’s Famous Chicken Soup
While her exact ingredients would vary as the mood hits her, here is my mom’s recipe from a typical day.

2 chickens (3 1/2 to 4 pounds each) with giblets (no liver), quartered
2 pounds carrots (yes, 2 pounds, not 2 carrots)
2 large onions, cut in half
5 large ribs celery, cut in half
2 large parsnips
1 small sweet potato (6 ounces), cut in half
1 turnip (6 ounces), cut in half
1 rutabaga (6 ounces), cut in half
1 small celery root, cut in half (optional)
1/2 large green bell pepper, stemmed and seeded
1/2 large yellow pepper, stemmed and seeded
2 bunches dill, coarsely chopped (about 1½ cups)
1/2 bunch curly-leaf parsley (about ¼ cup)
3 cloves garlic
Kosher (coarse) salt and black pepper to taste
Chopped dill, for serving (optional)

Makes about 3 quarts

1. Place the chicken in a 12- to 16-quart stockpot and add water to barely cover. Bring just to the boiling point. Then reduce the heat to a simmer and skim off the foam that rises to the top. Add all the remaining ingredients (except the optional chopped dill) and only enough water to come within about two thirds of the height of the vegetables in the pot. (Most recipes will tell you to add water to cover. Do not do this! You want elixir of the gods or weak tea? As the soup cooks, the vegetables will sink and will be covered soon enough. Eight to 10 cups of water total is plenty for this highly flavorful brew.) Simmer, covered, until the chicken is cooked through, about 1 1/2 hours.

2. Remove the chicken and about half the carrots from the pot, and set them aside.

3. Strain the soup through a fine-mesh strainer into another pot or container, pressing on the vegetables to extract all the flavor. Scrape the underside of the strainer with a rubber spatula and add the pulp to the soup. Discard the fibrous vegetable membranes that remain in the strainer. If you’re fussy about clarity (and we’re not), you can strain it again through a fine tea strainer, but there goes some of the flavor. Cover the soup and refrigerate overnight.

4. When you are ready to serve the soup, scoop the congealed fat off the surface and discard it. Reheat, adding more dill if desired (and we do). Slice the reserved carrots and add them to the soup. Serve the soup with matzoh balls and mandlen (soup nuts) for Passover and lukshen (thin noodles) after the holiday.

–Judy Bart Kancigor

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Judy Bart Kancigor is the author of Cooking Jewish: 532 Great Recipes from the Rabinowitz Family and the recently released Workman Short The Perfect Passover Cookbook: Family-Tested Recipes for Matzoh Ball Soup, Kugel, Haroset, and More, Plus 25 Desserts. A freelance food writer and columnist for the Orange County Register, Judy started Cooking Jewish as a family project. To find out more, go to http://cookingjewish.com.

The four principles of successful publishing are a core idea in The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published by Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry. The third point is: WRITE. To inspire you, here’s a guest post on getting started from National Novel Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo) founder Chris Baty!

Top Five Reasons Why You Should Do NaNoWriMo This November

1. You deserve a creative adventure. We get so focused on paying the bills and taking care of people around us that we forget how important it is to make time to make stuff. Think of NaNoWriMo as a thirty-day writer’s retreat plunked down in the middle of your busy life. It’s a chance to recharge your creative batteries and explore your imagination. Whether the book you write is ultimately genius or dreck doesn’t matter. Making stuff just feels great, and tackling big, fun projects helps make life more magical.

2. Absurd deadlines are easier to hit than realistic ones. Human beings are amazing procrastinators. Give someone two years to write a 50,000-word novel, and what you’re really giving them is two years to feel guilty about not writing their 50,000-word novel. Give that person 30 days to write the same book, and they’ll get it done, no sweat. Tight deadlines bring focus and build momentum, which ultimately makes them much easier to achieve than their open-ended cousins.

3. The quality will be better than you think. There will be beauty. There will be hilarious plot twists. There will be moments of unexpected synchronicity and rushes of writerly euphoria. There will also be a lot of crap. But such is the nature of first drafts. A novel is just too complicated to nail on the first go-round. If you want to write a book, the most important thing you can do is get a beginning, middle, and end down on paper. As a wise person once said: you can revise a bad novel into a great novel, but you can’t revise blank page into anything but a blank page.

4. Novel-writing is actually a great social activity. The fact that 200,000 people around the world will be tackling this ridiculous challenge alongside you makes it exponentially easier to get it done. NaNoWriMo’s forums are bustling with support and encouragement, and NaNoWriMo write-ins will be taking place in your city and town throughout November. Having company on your month-long writing adventure creates accountability and opens up exciting opportunities for literary smack-talk.

5.  If not now, when? With everything else going on in your life, November is probably not a good month to write a novel. But there will never be a good time to write a novel. Do it now before another year slips away. It’ll be easier than you think! And come December you’ll have a great new novel to read—your own.

Chris Baty is the founder of National Novel Writing Month and the Executive Director of NaNoWriMo’s parent nonprofit, the Office of Letters and Light. Chris is the author of No Plot? No Problem! A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing Novel in 30 Days. He’s currently hard at work revising one of his ten NaNoWriMo novels, and looking forward to writing his eleventh novel with you this fall.

Below is a guest post from the winner of a private baking lesson with Anne Byrn, Cathy Seiple, who won the trip and tutorial as part of a PARADE magazine sweepstakes.
Click here for even more photos from the trip!

My name is Cathy Seiple and I was the lucky winner of the “Winner Bakes the Cake Sweepstakes” featured in PARADE magazine. As the winner, I chose to take my husband, Bob, with me to Nashville, Tennessee to meet Anne Byrn, the author of the Cake Mix Doctor cookbooks. As we had never been to Tennessee, we were excited about my win.

We arrived at The Viking Store located at The Factory in Franklin, TN on Saturday, July 17, and were warmly greeted by Anne and her assistant, Diane, at the Cooking Studio kitchen. We also met the ever charming Rebecca Carlisle, from the Workman Publishing publicity department.

After introductions were complete, we donned our aprons and got to work. Anne had chosen three yummy cake recipes: (1) a Cinnamon Breakfast Bundt Cake which we drizzled with a simple glaze; (2) a Lemon Lover’s Layer Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting garnished with fresh blueberries and thin lemon slices; and (3) a Chocolate Chip Layer Cake covered with a Bittersweet Chocolate Ganache.

Over the years, I found that baking is a wonderful stress reliever for me. I have now learned that using cake mixes doctored with simple ingredients can be a quicker and less complicated way of achieving an attractive and rather tasty finished product. I was especially thrilled to pick up many simple garnishing ideas from Anne that will prove useful in my future baking projects. Anne is an easy person to work with so preparing and baking the recipes she chose was fun. Making the ganache was simple and I wondered why I had never attempted it before.

The highlight in the kitchen that afternoon was seeing Bob with an apron on, completing tasks that Anne asked him to help with, and enjoying himself. Of course, he could not wait to taste the finished products. He and I both favored the cinnamon cake which would be perfect at any time of day.

Meeting and baking with Anne, being able to benefit from her baking skills, combined with the camaraderie shared by all of us working in the kitchen that afternoon, proved to be a fun time and one that I will remember with fondness. So, a big THANK YOU to everyone involved. I feel fortunate to have won such a great prize.