Reading. Writing. Publishing. A Blog.

The Hand of the King

2012-02-11T07:38:00.000-08:00

Season Two starts in April! Can't wait! For more images from Season Two, visit George R. R.'s blog.

Revisiting Classics

2012-02-10T06:12:00.000-08:00

If you don't have the time to re-read the book yourself, venture over to Read One, Knit Too and consume this great review of a great classic - Orwell's 1984.

Book Sleuth: Couer de Lion

2012-02-09T10:31:00.000-08:00

Found via: The Rumpus

Published by: Fence Books

I don't normally find myself being pulled in by poetry, but this seems intriguing. Hop on over to the Rumpus to read some excerpts within Liz Axelrod's review - I think you'll be tempted as well.

What Makes a Good Writer?

2012-02-06T12:02:00.000-08:00

Is it humility? The sheer inability to be able to confidently say - "I'm a good writer?" Different than saying I can write. Because I know I can write, which is why I even bother trying in the first place. But in my experience, those writers who say - "I am a good writer, read what I wrote," tend to be full of baloney. Bologna.

I think the best of us are rather plagued with the potential of writing poorly. Which is why we seek editors and writing classes and feedback. Which is why we're always willing to change and grow.

This comes up, of course, because of recent experience. I'm working on a short story to submit for consideration to an Anthology. The only criteria I had was - submit something powerful. I knew I wanted to work on something new - it's been a while since I've worked on a short piece and so, rather than edit something I already had, I wanted to create. But - thought powerful stories are inspiring, powerful itself, as a word, hardly does anything to immediately conjure up a plot.

So I thought, and thought, and thought and thought. And the deadline crept closer. And closer.

Friday night, the lightening struck. I was inspired by an article about a 14 year old prostitute who exchanged sex for a hamburger. My story really has not much to do with that actual article, but the article itself was enough of a shock to get the wheels turning. So I opened up a blank sheet and I got to typing, finishing my rough draft pretty quickly, over the course of an hour or two.

That's when the anti-writer steps in. The confidence shattering devil sitting on my shoulder, effectively driving the creativity angel away. "What did I just do?" I ask. So I send it off to a trusted friend. I know she'll give me good feedback - positive or negative, she'll tell me exactly how it is. But it's Friday night. And, though I know I can't expect an immediate response, after having sent it off, I would put my life on the line just to get one. Just to know what she thinks RIGHT THEN. As can be expected, I spent the next four hours refreshing my e-mail on both the computer and on my phone.

OH GOD, MY FRIEND IS GOING TO HATE IT.
THAT WAS THE WORST PIECE OF GARBAGE YOU'VE EVER WRITTEN.
WHY DID I EVEN SHOW HER?
SHE'S GOING TO LAUGH AT WHAT A TERRIBLE WRITER I'VE BECOME.
GOD, I COULD HAVE DONE A BETTER JOB EIGHT YEARS AGO.
YOU SUCK AT WRITING!
WHY DO YOU EVEN BOTHER!?

I'm not sure how I find the strength to battle these demons and continue on to write another day. But I do, and I'm always glad for it. Because, I know I can. And so I do.

How do you fight?

Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen

2012-01-29T08:10:00.000-08:00

Rating: 3 stars
Shelf: 2012

Northanger Abbey is certainly not one of Austen's best novels. I'm not even sure it ranks among the likes of Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility or even Mansfield Park. However, as a commentary on writing and reading through the satire of the gothic novel, it's pretty good.

Catherine Morland is young and naive. Her parents allow her to travel to bath with the protective Mr. Allen and his ridiculous wife. Led astray by Mrs. Allen's judgement, Catherine befriends the beautiful and selfish Isabella. Luckily, she also meets Henry Tilney and his sister Elanor, and it is through this friendship that Catherine is eventually able to shed her naive nature.

The Tilney's whisk Catherine away from Isabella's influence to their home, Northanger Abbey. Catherine approaches the Abbey with the gothic assumptions her mind has formed from reading books like Radcliffe's Mysteries of Udolpho. After a few embarrassments that Henry sets straight, and after Isabella's true nature is uncovered, Catherine matures into a decent and good young woman.

All in all, it was amusing. The Thorpes (Isabella and her brother, John) were probably Austen's most despicable characters. Of course, they were caricatures of the vain and selfish, just as Mrs. Allen. But there was something so evil and so destructive about their way to suck in both Catherine and her brother James. So, ultimately - an Austen worth reading, but not re-reading.

World Book Night - Giving away 1,000,000 books in ONE NIGHT!

2012-01-26T12:50:00.000-08:00

I just registered to give away a mere 20 books on World Book Night - as part of the attempt to give away 1 MILLION books in one single night. You have to register before February 1st to be chosen as a book giver. World Book Night happens on April 23rd.

World Book Night List of Books

I applied to give away either Wintergirls, The Poisonwood Bible, or Hunger Games

Apply to Be a Giver

Book Sleuth: Tale of Sand

2012-01-18T06:48:00.000-08:00

Found via: Omnivoracious

Published by: Archaia Entertainment

The Joy of Books

2012-01-11T09:41:00.000-08:00

Everyone around the book blogosphere has been sharing this video. It's pretty much amazing. Watch it.

The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. LeGuin

2012-01-07T19:07:00.000-08:00

Rating: 4 stars
Shelf: 2012

This was, I think, my first foray into adult science fiction and I have to say, I found The Left Hand of Darkness to be absolutely wonderful. It's the kind of book that everyone should read. Its themes of gender, humanity, politics, religion and communication/universal understanding are poignant and thought-provoking.

Genly Ai is an envoy from outer space, on the planet Winter (Gethen) to convince its leaders to join the Ekumen - a unifying faction that hopes to trade goods and knowledge between all known worlds. Because the inhabitants of Gethen are androgynous (sliding into a gender only once a month to mate during a time called kemmer) Genly's journey is not just one in which he must cross a the unforgiving ice, but also one in which he must shed all preconceived notions of gender and, ultimately, humanity.

Some of my favorite quotes:

"A man wants his virility regarded, a woman wants her femininity appreciated, however indirect and subtle the indications of regard or appreciation. On Winter they will not exist. One is respected and judged only as a human being. It is an appalling experience."

"To be an atheist is to maintain God. His existence or his nonexistence, it amounts to much the same, on the plane of proof."

"Neither [a place of reward or punishment], child. There is just the world, it's how it is. You get born into it and... things are as they are..."

A Sick & Scary Harry Potter Love?

2012-01-04T07:07:00.000-08:00

I've mentioned before that I have Deathly Hallows on CD and that I listened to it in my car... probably 4 times in 2011. It may have also be 5 or 6 times. In the beginning, it was because I was doing a lot of travel between Long Island and Albany and I was getting bored with finding new radio stations in the mountain areas. And dealing with my old music CDs skipping because I don't have an AUX and don't feel like buying myself a new radio/iPod connector. Then, I listened to it some more because the morning shows in the Albany area are pretty... awful? Yes. Awful. Then, my friend gifted me Half-Blood Prince on audio and so, of course, I listened to both books back to back.

I took a break from the HP listening to listen to Christmas music. My HP obsession is pretty level with my Christmas obsession. But, now that Christmas is over.... Listen, I tried giving the Albany stations another chance. But I hate them all. The jockey's voices irritate me on what should be a soothing car ride. So now, I want to use the rest of my Christmas money to buy Order of the Phoenix and start again.

Is that... bad?

The Library

2012-01-01T12:46:00.000-08:00

Our diplomas on the wall. We thought it'd be super cute because we both met and graduated from SUNY Cortland. Turns out, it IS super cute!

His little corner. We bought the two small shelves for that side of the room to house our college textbooks and all of the picture books I worked on at B&N/Sterling. He didn't think we needed three shelves for that side of the room. We did.

Looking in. Happy we did blue and red! So calming.

Most of the books. We almost didn't fit them all. Me looking kind of gross after cleaning most of the day.

Book Sleuthing Pays Off: Post-Christmas Shopping

2011-12-27T05:45:00.000-08:00

For Christmas, my boss gave me an Amazon gift card with the note: Buy some fiction or non-fiction, on me. And I intend to do just that. I've already put two books in my cart, but I have room for one more and I'm having a hard time choosing. Please help me?

Currently in the cart:

Last Call: The Rise and Fall of the Prohibition by Daniel Okrent

Legend of a Suicide by David Vann

Can't choose between:

The Postmortal by Drew Magary

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

Paradise Lust by Brook Wilensky-Lanford

Portrait of a Marriage by Nigel Nicolson

-or-

How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents by Julia Alvarez

Has anyone read any of these? Can you help me choose?

Book Sleuth: Ready Player One

2011-12-22T06:27:00.000-08:00

Found via: Baby Got Books

Published by: Crown Publishing

Book Sleuth: Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage: Stories

2011-12-20T07:48:00.000-08:00

Found via: The Rumpus
Published by: Knopf

I Propose - A Book Club

2011-12-19T07:48:00.000-08:00

I read a total of 22 books this year. Which is good - but not great. It's a sad, small number compared to what I'm usually able to produce. But, my life also changed a lot this year. And it's a blessing I got any reading done at all.

Things have pretty much settled for me now and so I thought it was time to set myself a reading goal for 2012. My goal for 2012 is to double the number of books I read in 2011, for a grand total of 44.

My question for you is - does anyone want to join me in the effort to read more in this coming year or to maintain the number they currently have? I've been quite the inactive Shelfari member for quite a while now, but I could start a small group for us to share our goals and talk about the different books we're reading. Perhaps we could even read one or two together?

Happy Reading!

Top Ten Books for 2011

2011-12-12T07:42:00.000-08:00

I wish I had read more this year. It's my goal for next year to read more. And get some quality non-fiction in. Not just celebrity memoirs. Surprising though, for the so few books that I've read, there are three books that I read this year that stand out as clear favorites. I'm going to have a hard time choosing which one is the ultimate favorite of 2011. And books 9 - 5 are also pretty equally seeded. But, I'll give it a go:

10. The Elephant to Hollywood - Michael Caine
9. The Invention of Hugo Cabret - Brian Selznick
8. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs
7. The Jane Austen Book Club - Karen Joy Fowler
6. Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher
5. Life Among the Savages - Shirley Jackson
4. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society - Mary Ann Schaffer & Annie Barrows
3. Of Mice & Men - John Steinbeck
2. A Northern Light - Jennifer Donnelly
1. Geek Love - Katherine Dunn

It was so hard to choose between A Northern Light and Geek Love! I loved them both so much. But I think Geek Love was very clearly my favorite book of this year, especially with its tie-ins to last year's favorite book of the year.

First Impressions

2011-11-18T04:00:00.000-08:00

Before Pride & Prejudice was published as Pride & Prejudice, it was a manuscript known as First Impressions. And so I thought this excerpt from The Jane Austen Book Club was perfect:

Sylvia's first impression of Allegra was that no one had ever before had such a beautiful baby.
Jocelyn's first impression of Grigg was that he had nice eyelashes and a funny name, and didn't interest her in the slightest.
Prudie's first impression of Bernadette was that she was startling to look at and dull if you listened, which you hardly ever had to do.
Bernadette's first impression of Prudie was that, in all her long years, she had rarely seen such a frightened young woman.
Grigg's first impression of Jocelyn was that she appeared to think sharing an elevator with him for a few floors was some sort of punishment.
Allegra's first impression of Sylvia was blurred with her first impression of the larger world. For me? she'd asked herself back when she had no words and no way to even know she was asking. And then, when Sylvia, and then, when Daniel had first looked into her eyes -- More for me?

The Jane Austen Book Club - Karen Joy Fowler

2011-11-17T03:38:00.000-08:00

Rating: 4 stars
Shelf: Reading Now

Incredibly, incredibly surprising. I really never count on the books that are the inspirations for chick flicks to be very good. The only one I can think of actually enjoying reading was Bridget Jones. Other than that, Under the Tuscan Sun was pretty disappointing and I preferred the movie. The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood was another one I couldn't get through. Yet, I love the movie so much.

So, when I saw this calling out to me at the bookstore, I carefully skimmed the first few pages just to make sure I liked the language. I could tell immediately that it was very unlike the movie (which I love). And I could tell that THAT fact was entirely to the novel's benefit. The story is gorgeous and well-told. We get a bigger picture of who each character is. Each is much better fleshed out.

In the movie, there are lines and situations which annoy me about some of the characters. These lines were often stolen straight from the book - but removed from the context so that instead of flowing as beautifully and having as much impact as it does in the book, it falls flat.

So, in essence, I don't know if I'll ever be satisfied with a movie I had once loved so much in the past.

At least both put you in the Austen state of mind!

Life Among the Savages - Shirley Jackson

2011-11-16T18:23:00.001-08:00

Rating: 4 stars
Shelf: Reading Now

In this memoir, Shirley Jackson writes beautifully and hilariously about the growth of her family, from two, to three, and finally four children. She captures their constantly changing and charming personalities by describing often ridiculous family conversations around the dinner table.

But, what I found most interesting about the memoir was the social aspect. Shirley Jackson - author of The Lottery, The Haunting of Hill House, We Have Always Lived in the Castle (and more) - is obviously a brilliant woman. But she's often caught up in feeling guilty over her lack of housewife ability.

One of my favorite scenes in the book is when Shirley describes going to the hospital to have her third child. The nurse asks her for her name and occupation. Shirley can't at first remember her name and tells her that she is a writer. The nurse insists that she "just put housewife." When the nurse asks for her husband's occupation, Shirley tells her to just put housewife.

An Exercise (For Me)

2011-11-08T08:29:00.000-08:00

I'm busy cranking away at NaNoWriMo. I fell a little behind over the weekend, but not so far behind that I couldn't easily catch up. The goal for today is 13,336. I'm currently at 10,759 - a difference of 2,577 words. Not too shabby, I think.

I got a little stuck on the chapters that I'd decided to get out of the way because I knew I was going to hate writing them. These chapters are located in the middle of the book and are the only three that are semi-based in reality. I always get tripped up on this. I think I've written about it before. I become so focused on getting it right, getting it exactly how it happened, that the narrative suffers for it. Greatly. I finally "finished" (I'm about 3,000 words short of where I wanted to be with each chapter) 2 of the 3 pseudo-reality chapters and decided to go back to the beginning, which is all make-believe. I'm much happier there.

Still, for all that I hate writing memoir, or memoir-ish chapters, I started thinking back to dear old Anabel & Paul - the novel I was working on for last year's NaNoWriMo and which I'm currently editing/polishing/finishing(?). I started taking a writing class Wednesday's after work and decided to use the class to aid in my editing, to try and get reactions from an actual audience about my characters. In re-reading Chapter One, I realized how much I use from my own life to flesh out the characters and the home.

So that's why this exercise is for me. I wanted to go through and see how much of myself I insert and, from there, try and determine how I can better work/edit the memory-based chapters I'm working on now.

- “Ana,” he grumbled.: Ana is a name I use for a lot of my characters. It has everything to do with my work with and study of eating disorders in college.

- The door had its knob in the center instead of to the side,: The door to my Grandfather's second house had the knob in the center. I loved it.

- and a multicolored granny square blanket that her Nana had crocheted when she was a little girl.: I don't think my Nana ever actually crocheted me anything. But she did crochet and she was my Nana. Actually, she taught me crochet basics, so I guess that's something.

- but since he disliked being baited, he said nothing and continued fiddling with the part in his dark corner.: I HATE being baited and will often make situations extremely uncomfortable if that's what you're trying to do, just by simply not asking. I was working on a project with a girl in class once, someone I had only just met, and she kept hemming and hawing over something semi-tragic that had happened to her that weekend. But, she wasn't actually coming out and saying what it was. She definitely wanted me to ask. I didn't.

- She put down her copy of Little Women on the bench beside her: I read Little Women for the first time around this time last year and resolved to make it a yearly, Christmas time read. I already have the movie on constant rotation during the holidays.

- Anabel’s eyes were one blue, one brown. The pupil in her brown eye was shaped like a lima bean, disfigured from the time her younger brother loaded a snowball with a rock and aimed for her face.: Weird that I attributed this to a female character when it comes from a boy who I was in (puppy) love with in grade school. His eyes were the same and I believe it was because his brother threw a snowball at him that was loaded with a rock.

- and a bag of peppermint tea from the tea canister on the wooden shelf above the stove.: Peppermint tea is my favorite!

- she smiled, tilting her head in his direction: Not that this is personal, but I picture the way that Rachel McAdams looks at Mark Brendanawicz (who cares what his real name is?) at the end of The Family Stone, when they're hanging the last ornament on the tree.

What about you? How much of your own personality do you tend to insert in your writing? And if you don't, if you prefer to keep your writing solidly based in fiction, why? What's your process?

NaNoWriMo Launched!

2011-11-02T09:53:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again. When I resign myself to writing 50,000 words in a mere thirty days. When I actually take the time to write. Make excuses FOR my writing, instead of against it. Every year the process is horrifying, daunting - overwhelming. Yet somehow, by the time fall hits each year, I've forgotten the pain and can only look towards November and NaNoWriMo with anticipation.

My past two years were a... failure? Year One, I abandoned pretty early on. I didn't like what I was writing coupled with the fact that I was using someone else's personal experiences to write the story. It was all just wrong and devastating. Year Two, I plodded along full steam ahead until about 35,000 words. I only quit because of a different, more lucrative opportunity. Year Three? I've finished editing the gargantuan ms. I've moved to a new place - a happier place. A place more conducive to my creative exploits. I'm taking writing classes with women who foster my creativity. And - I have a decent idea. I think I'll make it.

Yesterday, East Line Books hosted a launch party. Launch party it shouldn't be called, actually. Because a few people showed up expecting a PARTY and were a little more than disappointed to find us all silently working at our tables. How is this fun? Seriously, though. How did I have so much fun?

For me, it's wonderful just to be in that environment. Surrounded by other writers who are silently working, silently struggling, silently hoping. It's universal. And not only that, to write in one of the most gorgeous bookstores I've ever been in, surrounded floor to ceiling by books! The smell of them! How could that not be fun?
----

Excerpts from "A Kentucky Love Story"

One I love:

Tobacco mixed with saliva in his mouth. Instead of aiming for the rusty tin can which had been set next to his rocking chair for just such an occasion, Brent Engell chose to careen the sloggish brown mixture toward the bushes at the edge of his porch. The spit hung precariously from a barren branch before slowly stretching itself thin and falling to the ground with a satisfying plunk. A lone fly, quicker on the uptake than its brothers who buzzed incessantly in Brent’s ear, alighted from the can and hovered over the freshest dropping. Brent grunted and continued to clean his rifle.

It was hunting season in Kentucky for the muzzleloaders.

And another not so much:

A hawk took off into the sky from somewhere deep within the woods. A smaller bird fretted around it, seeming to fight off the larger, more dangerous bird. Brent watched as the hawk soared high and away from its tiny prey. The smaller bird settled back into the treetops and the hawk began to circle, giving the area where the bird had disappeared an extremely wide berth at first, but gradually coming in, ready but willing to wait. To lull its prey into a false sense of security as it burrowed safely back into its warm nest amongst the already changing leaves.

Ugh... how do you even fix that? But that's what so freeing about NaNoWriMo. I stared at that for a while and started to try and edit it. But I thought, NO. I've written it. It counts for my NaNo count and that's that. When November's over and done, then I'll edit. Move on. Keep writing.
----

Are participating this year? What are some of your strategies for staying on task?

Visit my profile if you'd like to be writing buddies. I'd love to hear about what you're working on!

As An Editor

2011-10-31T10:35:00.000-07:00

Last night, I finally finished my work on the three book manuscript I was hired to edit last November. Total manuscript length was 887 pages and well over 200,000 words. That's nearly 11 months of laboriously pouring over all those words and all those pages. Countless hours and one extremely edit-filled Saturday as I raced to the finish line.

I have to say - I enjoyed the entire process immensely. The book is good and I really think he'll get picked up. The money was pretty good too. Helped to cover a few errant doctor's bills and the like.

There were a couple things I learned about myself as an editor while working on this project. I thought I'd share them:

- I'm controlling and I know it: This is actually a very good attribute. I think anyway. You can't just be controlling - you have to also know it. Controlling in the sense that - I'm OCD about grammar and consistency and 'show don't tell' and cutting unnecessary slog. And I know it in the sense that - I try not to go overboard. With each edit that I make, I agonize over whether or not it's the right decision for the manuscript. Or, do I just want to change it because I'm queen? I think the end result of this is relevant, well-thought-out edits.

- I'm a much better editor than I am a writer: I love to write. But I think that the only reason my writing has any strength at all is because I'm (see above). OCD about grammar and consistency and... blah blah blah. Yadda yadda yadda. Someone remarked on this in my writing class. That my writing is incredibly tight and well constructed, and how do I do that? The answer is, I don't. I don't do that while I'm writing. Unedited, my writing is full of garbage. There's a woman in my class who writes the most fantastic stuff. Her structure is horrific, but her words and her imagery. I can't do that! Edited, though. It's perfection. (Just... let me think it's perfection, okay?)

What about you? Are you a better editor, or better writer? Do you enjoy structure, or do you just need to get the story out of you?

The Invention of Hugo Cabret - Brian Selznick

2011-10-28T08:01:00.000-07:00

Rating: 4 stars
Shelf: Reading Now

Absolutely incredible. A mixture of mediums/genres - YA lit, graphic novel and historical fiction - Brian Selznick weaves a wonderful tale using everything he has at his disposal. The result is a fast paced novel that pays with all of the reader's senses, and draws us in more quickly than any traditional book could.

Hugo is an orphaned and abandoned young boy, living within the walls of a train station in France, and maintaining the station's clocks. He works diligently to bring an automaton to life - one that his father had been attempting to fix prior to his death. It isn't until the day that he meets an old toy-store clerk, his goddaughter and a mystery drawing is unveiled that the wheels and cogs of Hugo's life start to click into place.

Scott Westerfeld Answered Me - and Why Twitter Brings People Closer Together

2011-10-26T06:38:00.000-07:00

I'm a bit behind writing this post and I'm going to blame all the travel. Indiana (ugh) followed closely by Texas (awesome).

While I was bored out of my mind in Indiana and sad because my rental car had been towed the night before and then I got stood up for a professional lunch (which later turned out to just be a misunderstanding, but at THIS point, I thought I couldn't even complete my ONE GOAL in traveling to Indiana and so I was feeling pretty sorry for myself). So, I took to Twitter. I take to Twitter a lot while I'm traveling.

Scott Westerfeld had tweeted that he was doing a book signing in San Francisco.

Since I was feeling really sorry for myself, and wishing I was anywhere but Indiana, I decided to reply.

And then he answered me!

I was pretty excited. I've tweeted at several authors, Meg Cabot for one. I've even tweeted furiously at Levar Burton. But - Scott Westerfeld was the first to answer me. The Uglies series is one of my favorite YA/Teen series as evidenced by this photo:

Where I proudly rock my "I'm an Ugly" t-shirt and shock little old ladies into shouting - "Why would you wear a shirt like that!?" So you can imagine the sort of dance I did when I saw this wonderful author's response to sad and dejected tweet.

I know everyone is really terrified of everything digital these days. It's the death of the book, which I really don't think it is. It's the death of communication - which. I think I communicate MORE with people from all over than I ever did when there was just a telephone, or handwritten letters. Because I hate the phone and handwritten letters are awesome and romantic before they get tedious and boring. And what is better than the ability to connect and communicate with your favorite authors?

Looking at Mr. Westerfeld's account, I can see that he very often responds to fans. And I think that's pretty awesome of him to take the time to do that. I hope that he knows he's truly brightening people's days/evenings. And, by being so accessible, probably keeping all those social network junked up kids reading real books.

Do you use Twitter? Have you ever gotten a response from an author or an actor that really made your day?

Bossypants - Tina Fey

2011-10-25T05:52:00.000-07:00

Rating: 3 stars
Shelf: Reading Now

I can't believe I read ANOTHER celebrity bio this year. I think my brain is turning to mush. Anyway - this was okay. I had high expectations going into this and I don't think they were really met. Sure it was cute and there were moments when I chuckled and I'm glad she finally satisfied my insane need to KNOW about her scar... but - and I'm sure I'll get crucified for this - I'm sort of getting tired of the same old Liz Lemon/Tina Fey.

Also, I need to read some non-fiction, stat.

Feast for Crows - George R. R. Martin

2011-10-23T05:50:00.000-07:00

Rating: 3 stars
Shelf: Reading Now

Very, very slow going and not the best out of the series. Still - it's George R.R. and it's Song of Ice and Fire and I read the whole thing. Luckily it picked up at the end and I was able to really enjoy it. I can't wait to read Dance with Dragons and I'll still love this series truly and completely, but ... someone should have edited this.

The End of Something - The Start of Something New?

2011-09-23T04:34:00.000-07:00

I've spent the better part of this past year editing a three book, 887 page, YA dystopic fantasy novel. The author had approached me during NaNoWriMo 2010 and, since it was a paid gig, I dropped working on my manuscript and started working on his.

We're nearing the end now and the author just wrote to ask if I thought it was feasible to finish the whole thing before the end of October so he could reach his goal of having the whole thing polished and done by the end of November.

Of course I can, I said.

It's actually perfect timing. With NaNoWriMo 2011 fast approaching, I'd begun to think about getting back to my own writing. I haven't even looked at the Ana & Paul manuscript since I abandoned it last year. I started getting back into it by bringing a portion of Chapter 1 to my writing class this past Wednesday, letting them know that there were many things I liked about it and many things I hated and that I was counting on their feedback to get the manuscript where it needs to be. I've also been reading through the rest of the chapters, now a year distant from the story - and I really like it. I'm glad.

I've also got an outline worked out for this year's NaNoWriMo based on a crazy incident that happened in Vegas. I can't stop thinking about it, speculating what went wrong, or what makes a person do the things they do. I'm really excited to start it.

So, it just so happened that - the author and I are on the same page. We're both ready to be done and we're both ready to move on. Isn't that scary? His project is the biggest project I've ever worked on - including anything I've ever written myself. I've become so close to it, to the story and to his characters. I've worked so hard and loved every minute of it.

Of course I can, I said. I feel so, so sad that I can.

How To Really Lose Weight Without Dieting - Week Five

2011-09-22T06:28:00.000-07:00

Weight: 154
Down: NO

A week with no guidance wasn't the greatest thing. And having no clue what my second portion size should really be had me wandering off the path more often, though I was still very aware of when I reached 'full'.

This next chapter is about letting yourself snack - and so, starting yesterday, I introduced small, healthy snacks throughout the day. We'll see how that goes and if it helps with the persistent hunger I was feeling last week.

I really need the next step to kick this up a notch so that I feel motivated again. Unless hovering around 153 is just where I'm supposed to be for my ideal body weight... but I kind of doubt it.

Can you tell I'm feeling discouraged?

Writing Class & Memoir

2011-09-15T08:01:00.001-07:00

I had my first writing class this week and it was really very interesting and fun. And AMAZING to be in a room with writers and readers again. I didn't realize how much I missed it until I was there, critiquing other's pieces and having my own critiqued.

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I'd worked on a memoir for this week. I was encouraged to write it by a co-worker who also attends the class with me.

I thought I'd share some of their favorite excerpts first:

It's amazing, really, what stays with you and what disappears over time. If I close my eyes and try to conjure your face or your voice - all I get are snippets, like overexposed slides. Brief. Fleeting. I can't quite grasp it. Can't make you stay no matter how hard I will myself to remember and to hold on. But sometimes - and it doesn't matter when. It isn't a 'when the moon is full,' sort of sometimes, or a 'when the rain falls on a summer's day' sometimes. Just sometimes, I can hear your laugh. High and clear. And happy. That laugh.
Six years now. Six years since you tried to die. Six years since that week we waited, hoping that seven minutes without oxygen wasn't actually seven minutes too long.
It was.

But suddenly, your mother was standing in front of us, looking nothing like the woman I’d known my entire life. She started to speak and her words hardly made any sense. How it couldn’t have been over something so silly, she always told you that you could talk to her. She didn’t know why you did it. How could you have done it? She wandered back into the family waiting room as abruptly as she had come, leaving those words echoing through my head.
Done it? Done it?
Done it. Done it with the rope from the tire swing we played on as kids. Done it over a girl you’d screwed over at least five times before. But when she was finally through with you, you decided you were through with life. Done it because you’d pushed us all away over the past year but was poisoned by your own depression into thinking that it was us who pushed you away.

Their constructive feedback:

- Describing why I was at the hospital that day: I go on for a little too long giving the background of why I was even at the hospital that day. (I had gone to be with my dad while he had a routine surgery.) I talk about my mom and about being home from school and it being the summer before my senior year. I talk about the kind of surgery he's getting. The feedback was that all this backstory really isn't necessary. I can mention my dad going in for routine surgery and my deciding to take him and move on. One sentence. Otherwise, this paragraph follows the "It was" from the excerpt above and so interrupts and takes away from the flow of the story.

- Clarity is sometimes a problem within the memoir. I've always had trouble writing memoir because I feel too attached and too close to the subject. I can't determine what's part of the greater story and what isn't, because I feel like ALL of it needs to be jammed in there. And then there's the problem of the things that I know that I think other people MUST know too. For instance, I use "she" when referring to the person that is the first to call me and alert me to the fact that my friend is in the hospital. My only description is that when she calls, I recognize her voice and I don't use a name. However, in the paragraph prior, I'm describing being confused by having seen my friend's mother crying. It's easy to think that maybe I'm referring to her and not a different person.

I heard a woman wail and my eyes moved to the door. She was blonde, her hair a curly mass, tied to the top of her head. The people she was with placed their hands gently on her arms and carefully led her out the door. I couldn’t be sure from just the back of her head – Mrs. Leh…?
My phone rang. This time, I recognized the voice.
“Did something happen to Dave?” she sounded worried. She was our director, our teacher – our good friend.

How do you guys feel about writing memoir? Is there anything about it you find difficult?

How to Really Lose Weight Without Dieting - Week Five

2011-09-14T05:52:00.000-07:00

Weight: 153
Down: 0

This is just a brief update as I don't start the next phase of the program until next week. I've gone to the lower portion, but I'm having a lot of trouble with it, which is why my weight is probably still remaining steady (though my pooch - excuse the term - seems to be considerably smaller than usual.). I do REALLY well all day, breakfast, lunch and dinner.

But I find that I'm still incredibly hungry after dinner. Like - stomach protesting loudly type hungry. I drink a lot of water and try to ignore it, but then end up snacking. Still hungry. So more snacking. Last night, after my pasta dinner (about a 1.5 cups of pasta with butter, garlic and thyme) I had a pudding cup and then 1/4 of Chef Boyardee Spaghetti & Meatballs - a leftover nonperishable courtesy of Irene. We are a little tight on cash right now, hence nothing better to eat. Luckily the Chef Boyardee was nasty, so I ended up putting most of it in the fridge for the boy to devour.

Anyway, I hope Week 5 introduces something to help me combat this need to eat everything in my kitchen right before bed so that my number can start to drop again.

Why Listening to Audio Books on Roadtrips is Awesome

2011-09-12T05:58:00.001-07:00

The only audiobook I've owned up until a few weeks ago was Harry Potter Book 7, Deathly Hallows. I've listened to it 3-4 times already. My hometown is 3.5 hours from where I live now and instead of spending most of my drive time trying to find new radio stations to listen to (I lost my iPod, or it was stolen, a while back and I refuse to buy a new one), I like to spend my time with Harry & Co.

A friend of mine recently gifted me Book 6, Half Blood Prince on CD. I went home this weekend and brought it with me. 7 hours of Harry Potter = awesome.

Now, I've read each book in this series more times than I can count. But there's something about having it read to me that helps me to pick up on certain things that I may not have noticed just reading through.

Like when Slughorn tells Harry that he has his mother's aptitude for Potions and I realized one of two possible/likely things:

1) Snape tutored Lily in Potions (I mean, we knew that already, right - from the flashbacks in 7?)
2) Snape's notes in his book were written with Lily in mind (since he was older) and she also used the HBP's text in Potions class.

I travel to Long Island again this weekend for my cousin's 13th birthday and I plan on having Harry accompany me again. I hope to have many more awesome revelations.

How To Really Lose Weight Without Dieting - Week Three

2011-09-08T04:53:00.000-07:00

Weight: 153
Down: stayed the same
Waist Size: 32 3/14
Difference: 1 1/4 inch

How have I done with each of the goals?

1) Portion Control: I've stuck true to cutting down my original serving to my Weeks 1-2 goal. Doing this has helped me pay more attention to my body's hunger signs. There's been times when I've realized I'm full BEFORE even finishing my new portion! That spells success to me. And the one day this week (Fantasy Football Draft Day) that I went overboard because we had a bit of a chili and beer party - I felt so gross after overdoing it (mind you - the NEW overdoing it, not the old, during which I probably would have scoffed down A LOT more) that I became more mindful of what I was eating for the remainder of the week. However, I've not yet eaten outside of the way I'd normally eat. I'm making/ingesting the same foods, perhaps bulking them up with veggies a bit - just controlling the portion size. At no point during this program did I ever feel like I was depriving myself of anything I wanted. Even icecream. You know, instead of eating the entire pint in one go, I made it last over 4-5 servings.

2) Light Exercise: I've been every [sunny] day with my friend at work. It's about a mile and it really gets our hearts pumping in the middle of the day. I've also been trying to get up off my butt more frequently, talking to people in person rather than calling or e-mailing. I also moved my car further out in the lot so that I have a longer walk in the mornings/afternoons.

3) Fruit: I've been trying to find ways to sneak it in and so far, so good - with fruit juices, pears eaten for breakfast, and dried fruits when I'm snacking. I would like to include smoothies, but they seem to be so calorie rich, no matter where you go to get them.

4) Water: I've always been a heavy water drinker, so no problem there. Chapter 4 involves methods for tricking your body into thinking it's already slightly full before you begin your meal. I've been doing that by drinking a couple full glasses of water to give my stomach that heavy feeling. Chapter 4 has other really awesome suggestions as well.

So, now. What does Chapter 5 and the kick off to Week 3 entail?

Not sure, really. This chapter got a little vague. It's really a pump it up chapter, don't get down on yourself for indulging. Don't decide to eat an entire package of cookies just because you slipped an had a couple. Indulging isn't failing. That sort of thing.

I'm also supposed to start my new, new portion size. Except the book doesn't go into detail on how exactly I find my new portion size. So I'm going to go ahead and make my own assumptions as to what it should be.

Goals:

1) More water/tea.
2) Pump up the exercise a bit. I had started a pushup, curlup challenge a little while back that I sort of abandoned once a physical trainer gave me a routine to do to help my back pain. Guess what? I abandoned that too! So I think I'll just get going on all of that again. Requires 3 days a week.
3) Small portion size
4) Keep up with more fruits and veggies

I don't start Chapter 6 until Week 5, which is when the second part of the program begins. I honestly thought I'd have lost more weight by now, but I was really happy to see that my stomach changed an inch and a 1/4.

Book Sleuth - Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition

2011-09-06T06:15:00.000-07:00

Found via my boss, during our Labor Day reading discussion

Published by Scribner

My boss thought it was great, that he'd learned alot that he didn't know about that time period and thought I might like it a lot. Any other opinions out there?

What I'm Reading Weekly Roundup

2011-09-03T04:41:00.000-07:00

Thought it was time to bring this ol' gem back.

In Blogs

An Awesome Quote on Writing by Nabokov
Game of Thrones House Posters my favorites are House Stark, obviously. But I really like House Baratheon as well. There's something about that image and the words - ours is the fury - that gets me.
This is Major Tom to Ground Control having my kids grow up on Bowie is a must.
A Selection of Great Books to Read when you're BROKE which I am.

In Books

Drowned Sorrow Vanessa Morgan
Feast for Crows George R.R. Martin

In The Pile
Under the Tuscan Sun Frances Mayes
The Three Weissmanns of Westport Cathleen Schine

Book Sleuth - Legend of a Suicide

2011-09-02T04:08:00.000-07:00

Found via The Millions

Published by Harper Perennial

Anyone who follows me via Google Reader may have caught the post I deleted sometime last June, regarding the five year anniversary of my good friend's suicide. I was pretty hammered when I wrote it, which is why I deleted it almost immediately after. We'd just all been out together sharing our memories of him and I got home and decided it might be a good idea to watch this videotape I'd made our last summer before college, in which he features prominently. It wasn't poorly written or anything, it was just... incredibly raw and heartfelt.

Luckily, the post still showed up on my feed and I was able to save it and turn it into a short story I'll be sharing with my writing class in a few weeks. Once I do, and once it's been critiqued and edited, I'll share it with you.

But anyway, I have thought a lot about writing a memoir of sorts, containing a series of short stories about my most vivid memories with this group of friends. It would just be snapshot after snapshot of our years together, all coming together to describe our different relationships with this passed friend and how we all handled the hurt and the anger. I don't know.

That's why this book caught my eye.

Book Sleuth - Ten Thousand Saints

2011-09-01T04:25:00.000-07:00

Found via Baby Got Books
Published by Ecco

I'm anxiously awaiting the review on BGB - but has anyone else read it?

How to Really Lose Weight without Dieting - Week 2, Day 1

2011-08-31T03:46:00.000-07:00

But first - a recap of the first week.

I've stopped taking photos of my food. Fell a little by the wayside when the hurricane hit. But I've definitely stuck to my new portion size. I've also only eaten off a plate and I've increased my water intake.

Last night, the boy brought home Chipotle, which is, surprisingly, not all that bad for you as they use fresh veggies and free range, veggie fed meat. Normally, I can eat an entire bowl. But - last night, I removed part of the dish as normal to get to my new portion size. And - what I think was most telling that this is working - I was able to tell when I was full. I ate less than 3/4 of what I normally scarf down like it ain't no thang.

Chapter 3 involves light exercise - basically working it into your daily routine. I've started by parking farther from the building and going for afternoon walks with a colleague.

It also involves upping fruit intake. Not doing great on that one. I'm not big on fruit and I don't usually keep a lot of it in the house. I do usually keep grapes, some sort of melon and blueberries in the house - but that's all gone and ... we're a little strapped for cash at the moment. Oh well. I'd still like to work a piece of fruit into every day if I can. I have a much easier time working in the veggies. But, I won't move on to Chapter 4 until I master Chapter 3, so I really need to take charge there.

It'll be another week before I measure myself again, but for now, here's my Week 2 weight:

Weight: 153
Down: 3

And aligned goals -

1. Continue light exercise
2. Drink more water
3. Eat at least a serving of fruit every day

Anyone have any tricks for getting in that serving of fruit for a picky eater?

Book Sleuth - The Postmortal

2011-08-29T07:28:00.001-07:00

Found via GeekMom
Publishing by Penguin

Interesting because I absolutely love Drew Magary - he's one of my favorite bloggers to follow.

How To Really Lose Weight Without Dieting: Week 1, Days 1-3

2011-08-27T05:07:00.000-07:00

Weight: 156
Waist: 34 inches

I was supposed to take a picture of the measuring tape I used to measure, but I don't have one of those. So I decided to do it the ghetto way, with yarn that I cut and measured later using a straight ruler. Then I realized - what if I kept each piece of yarn throughout the weeks and could hold them up against each other? Suddenly, ghetto idea is ingenious! So, first piece of yarn is labeled Week 1 and you'll get a picture of it once I have the next measurement to hold it against. Next measurement is happens on Week 3, Day 1.

I am currently only following the steps in Chapter 2. Chapter 1 is a guide to how to work the program (or programme, since it's British, and we all know how much I LOVE that!) The first two weeks will consist of the steps in Chapters 2, 3 and 4. BUT - I'm not to move on to Chapter 3 until I've mastered Chapter 2. Since Chapter 2's step is really just basic portion control, I think I'll give myself a couple days before also incorporating Chapter 3. I'd like to master all three before the end of Week 1 so that by Week 2 I can be working on all three together.

Here's a photo of my Day 1, Week 1 flab: (yes, I use Dove. Soft underarms!)

And here's how I did with portion control for all of my meals. Side by side comparisons are my original portions and new portion as described in Chapter 2 of the book. Snacks were measured outright and I didn't take photos of those. But trust me - I stayed within the serving size and was still able to satisfy my craving without going overboard. I think these first few days were really about not denying myself while also changing my paradigm about how much and what I put into my body.

I guess you have to have a magnifying glass to read what I wrote there. Mostly just to do with the fact that something made me feel barfy at the wedding and so I didn't eat much. Some cheese cubes and a red potato and that was about it. The barfy feeling didn't keep me from DANCING, though!

Time for Chapter 3!

How to Really Lose Weight Without Dieting

2011-08-26T09:04:00.000-07:00

I know I promised an update today, but I completely forgot I'm leaving work and heading directly to my friend's wedding. I won't be back until the wee hours of the morning.

So instead, I'll post my first 3 days early on Saturday. The post is pretty much completed, photos of my food (and me) my start weight, waist size and initial thoughts. I'll just need to add a photo of my wedding dinner plate and then...

... all sorts of TMI. In a good way.

See you tomorrow!

Book Sleuth - Cults in Our Midst

2011-08-25T11:24:00.001-07:00

Found via Celebitchy

Purchase here.

Another random find on a blog that you wouldn't expect. Has anyone read this? I think I'd be into it since I loved Raven so much.

Somewhere Off the Coast of Maine - Ann Hood

2011-08-24T04:11:00.000-07:00

Rating: 3 stars
Shelf: Reading Now

Beautifully written, even if it did leave me feeling a little disappointed, a little left out on a limb. I was so taken in, entranced by Claudia, Elizabeth, Suzanne and their families, following their hopes, dreams and tribulations from the 60's all the way through to the mid 80's. But then the book just seemed to end. And I suppose each of their stories was brought to a point of closure - Claudia leaves, Henry gets his girl, Rebekah realizes that her life is good, Elizabeth goes into remission, and Sparrow comes to understand all that her mother, Suzanne, has fought for. But I still wanted MORE. I was brought to what only felt like the middle of the story and then the characters just left me. Abandoned me.

I wanted more.

How to Really Lose Weight Without Dieting - Anne Lyken-Garner

2011-08-23T12:10:00.000-07:00

I'm going to do something a little different.

Recently, I started really caring about what I eat. Or, trying to care, anyway. I'm a bit of a compulsive eater, with good intentions that I throw to the wind as soon as I see pizza, icecream, chicken wings, cake. But, I went through food bootcamp with a friend who taught me about buying a lot of good types of food - kicking out the HFCs and opting for all natural, corn-fed - healthy.

Then, I met Anne via Blog-Jog Day and she asked if I would like to review one of her books. She blogs on A Blogger's Books and The Relationship Supermarket. I just recieved How to Really Lose Weight Without Dieting from her - it couldn't be more perfect timing.

The book is a program and so, in order to really review this book, I'm going to follow the program week by week and update you all on my progress. I'll give a brief review of the chapter(s), just enough to give you an idea of what I'm doing but not enough to give away the essentials of the program. I'll even update you on my weight and waist size, something a girl rarely ever does.

The first step is to start a journal. THIS will be my journal. I'll post the first round-up of journal entries this Friday.

It's going to get really real up in here.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs

2011-08-22T09:22:00.000-07:00

Rating: 4 stars
Shelf: Reading Now

A new and unique YA fantasy series that is incredibly well written and spellbinding.

Jacob, an American teenager, has only just stopped believing the fantastical stories his Grandpa Portman used to tell him about World War II - a lovely, sunny mansion in Wales, invisible boys, floating girls, and a bird who liked to smoke a pipe watching over them all. It isn't until tragedy strikes the Portman family that Jacob finds out the truth about his grandfather and himself.

The book is loaded with a dreamy, eerie sort of mystery - aided by real photographs brought together by the author through various peculiar photograph collectors. Even beyond the photographs, the details and beautiful storytelling make this book truly come to life.

Book Sleuth - Rules of Civility

2011-08-16T08:24:00.000-07:00

Found via Omnivoracious

Published by Viking Adult

Has anyone read this? Loved it? Hated it?

Book Sleuth - Paradise Lust

2011-08-12T04:56:00.000-07:00

Found via FilmDrunk

Published by Grove Press

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

2011-08-11T04:26:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5 stars
Shelf: Reading Now

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society is the story of a literary society borne from the Occupation on the Channel Islands during World War II. It is told in a series of letters to a London writer, Juliet, who then travels to Guernsey to meet and write a story of all of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society's colorful characters.

It is both funny and extremely heartfelt - I laughed out loud as often as I had to wipe the tears from my eyes. It was so beautifully written and so alive. The characters and the authors and writings that gave them hope in the darkest days of the war - Oscar Wilde, Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Anne Bronte.

I wish I could meet these fictious people of Guernsey and Juliet. I have fallen in love with this book.

My Own Field Trip to Borders

2011-08-10T12:54:00.000-07:00

Wasn't really even that great. I'm surprised, this late in the game, that the books are still so expensive. I was hoping for some real steals. Not so. 30% off is good, but not great.

For $20 bucks I ended up with two paperback novels:

World War Z
Pretty Little Liars

I feel like I should have been able to buy at least four paperbacks for that price, what with the situation. Don't you?

Blog Chicks Rule!

2011-08-09T09:33:00.001-07:00

A friend of mine posted this link to his facebook page, stating - "Like I didn't already know this, thanks to:..." and listed a wonderful list of other social media ladies. Me included!

The article is about the power of women in social media. Check out the article and the lovely infographic here.

A Passage from The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

2011-08-09T04:56:00.000-07:00

"Later, I came to see that Mr. Dickens and Mr. Wordsworth were thinkin gof men like me when they wrote their words. But most of all, I believe that William Shakespeare was. Mind you, I cannot always make sense of what he says, but it will come.

It seems to me the less he said, the more beauty he made. Do you know what sentence of his I admire the most? It is 'The bright day is done, and we are for the dark.'

I wish I'd known those words on the day I watched those German troops land, plane-load after plane-load of them - and come off ships down the in the harbor! All I could think of was damn them, damn them, over and over. If I could have though the words 'the bright day is done and we are for the dark,' I'd have been consoled somehow and ready to go out and contend with circumstance - instead of my heart sinking to my shoes."

And the Winner Is...

2011-08-08T05:43:00.000-07:00

Using random.org to generate the winner .....

Congratulations Vanessa Morgan!

Thanks to all of you who visited my blog and deemed me worthy enough to follow. I've said it about a million times - I'm a rabid blog follower. Nothing could have made me happier than sifting through all of your blogs this Sunday and adding them all to my Google Reader. I hope I find my next Book Sleuth book or next review on one of your sites.

Welcome to Blog Jog Day!

2011-08-07T00:00:00.000-07:00

Hey you guys! Thanks for stopping by my blog on this blog jog day! Please peruse use the link cloud under the banner to hop around and enjoy my thoughts on reading, writing and publishing. A new feature you might enjoy is my Book Sleuth feature, where I find new and interesting books throughout the blogsphere and post them here.

Once you're finished enjoying my blog, then click over to The Wildcat's Victory to see what the next Blog has to offer!

Lost in the links? You can always go back to the main Blog Jog Day Blog and find a new link to jog from.

Follow my blog AND leave a comment on this post to let me know what you're favorite book is and why, OR what features you'd like to see here at Reading. Writing. Publishing. A Blog. Comments enter you for a chance to win a $10 gift card to Barnes & Noble. Winner will be chosen at random and posted tomorrow, August 8th.

Thank you for stopping by my blog!

Book Sleuth - Matterhorn

2011-07-28T07:54:00.000-07:00

Found via Baby Got Books

Published by Grove Press

Blog Jog Day

2011-07-27T06:02:00.000-07:00

Definitely easier than a real jog on a hot day that you realize you were absolutely not prepared for about 1/4 mile in, a Blog Jog!

What is it, you ask? Blog Jog Day is a one-day event where Bloggers are joining together for a pyramid effect promotional rally. We all post on the same day with each post leading the visitor to the next Blog, and so on full circle. That’s it! Visitors explore your Blog, and then click on to the next one bringing potentially thousands of unique visitors to your site. Nearly 2,000 joggers showed up last November!

The jog this summer will be happening on August 7th. If you'd like to participate, the paragraph above will bring you right to all the information you need.

See you at the finish line!

Book Sleuth - Portrait of a Marriage

2011-07-25T07:42:00.000-07:00

Found via The Hairpin
Published by The University of Chicago Press

New York, Phew York

2011-07-22T09:58:00.000-07:00

I saw this first on the illustrator's, Tim Probert, blog. I always knew his art would lend itself well to a children's picture book and what could be more fun that a New York City Scratch & Sniff!? The Proberts are a family I've known since the first day of kindergarten, so you can understand my delight when I caught the book on Gothamist.

Congratulations, Tim!

Borders Officially Closing Its Doors

2011-07-22T08:02:00.001-07:00

I feel like this has been going on forever and a day, but now it's official.

I've never shopped at Borders because 1) I worked for B&N for so long and, 2) I always thought it was kind of dirty. And I'm not really the best when it comes to figuring out what this means for economy.

But the fall of Borders seems an omen for the fall of the giant brick & mortar stores, including B&N. If you've walked into any Barnes lately, you'll notice the large, large amount of floor space NOT dedicated to books. Toys, Games, Gifts for Readers, and DVDs claim more room than those things made up of a lot of paper.

Digital is the way things are headed. Not just e-books, but stores like Amazon & bn.com have really great online offerings that require you not having to leave your home in this heat as well as super fast delivery. If you live in NYC, bn can get you your book SAME DAY. That's just crazy.

Still - I don't think this spells the death of the print book and of book stores in general. There will always be those people who crave the bookstore experience. I think the recent surge in new independents is a good sign of what's to come. And these new independents focus on an expanded consumer experience. One amazing store here near where I live offers book clubs, writing classes and even writing retreats - not to mention rows upon rows of books that smell like books and not toys & games.

Imagine that.

Book Sleuth - On Hitler's Mountain

2011-07-18T07:22:00.001-07:00

Found via Barnes & Noble Bookstores

Published by William Morrow

Harry Potter - The End

2011-07-11T06:45:00.000-07:00

Thank goodness for Pottermore. Shit must be seriously saving lives. Because without the anticipation of what's in store for J.K.'s newest initiative, this Friday would have been the saddest day in all the days of Potter fanatics.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 premieres.

I wish I could go see it Thursday at midnight, but as I'll be in Pheonix and as I'll have a 7am flight home the next day, I don't think I'll be able to. We'll see. Who needs sleep anyway? NOT ME.

I've been preparing, though. Have you?

- Listened to Deathly Hallows audio book not once, but TWICE in the last six months. It's no easy feat, let me tell you. Especially when you're trying to drive and sobbing all at the same time.

- Hit up abcFamily's Harry Potter weekend marathon. It was a slow, boring weekend because the boy is on a cruise. So I literally watched every movie except Half Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows 1. I even watched Goblet of Fire TWICE (once on Saturday, then again for the full sweep on Sunday).

- I might bring Sorcerer's Stone with me on my flight to Pheonix. I've got my re-read of Song of Ice and Fire to get through prior to Dances with Dragons (um. That comes out TOMORROW), but it might be nice to revisit the first book in the HP series as a nostalgia factor prior viewing the final movie.

Book Sleuth - Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

2011-07-07T08:17:00.000-07:00

Found via Geek Mom
Published by Quirk

Skills USA

2011-07-05T10:51:00.000-07:00

Last week, I attended a competition/conference known as Skills USA. If you know nothing about the organization, you should really go to their website and check them out. Skills USA events are annual and begin with state level championships in a multitude of vocational studies - from machining to cosmetology; masonry to crime scene investigation; welding to culinary. The state champions move on to compete in the national championship, which was held last week in Kansas City, MO.

It was, quite literally, one of the coolest things I've ever seen. The competition floor was upstairs in the conference hall and was pretty much just a three block long area of uninterrupted space - filled to the brim with vocational study after vocational study.

Photos of the event:

The convention hall is to the right. The competition took place on the top floor of that entire building.

A Diesel engine with the truck it came from in the background. Shit was huge.

Masonry competition. I stood and watched this kid for a good 20 minutes. I thought it was pretty amazing.

Culinary competition. I think this one gives you the best idea just how big each competition space was.

Welding.

Collision Repair. Next to the this was Finishing - they had like 6 or 7 cars lined up. I couldn't get close enough to take a good picture, whatever they were using to finish the cars smelled too potent to get too close.

Machining. My machinists. Okay - well they aren't mine, per say, but most of them will be using the book I published next fall. Because of my relationship with the people running this competition, I was actually allowed inside this one. I have about a million pictures of these kids programming and of the CNC machines on the floor.

Next up: Pheonix for the HTEC conference. I'm a little nervous about this one because I won't know as many people as I did at Skills USA and I won't have anyone else from Cengage with me either. Also - it will be about 120 degrees and, apparently, if I forget eye drops my contacts are screwed.

A Game of Thrones Series in Review

2011-06-30T12:45:00.000-07:00

I'm a little late to this party, mainly because I've been doing so much non-blogging lately. But since I anticipated this show for two years and posted many photos of my boyfriend Tyrion Lannister/Peter Dinklage, I think it would be good to let you all know whether or not I even liked the damned thing.

Just a warning - this post WILL ABSOLUTELY contain spoilers.

At the start, I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this series. The first episode was pretty slow and I wasn't sure if it was because it was actually moving incredibly slow or if it was because I spent most of the time anticipating the next move from the book. Catelyn was OLD - much older than I'd pictured her in my head. Jon was incredibly moody. And we hardly saw the direwolves at all, even though they are a major part of all the books. I mean, the kids found six direwolf pups, 3 males, 2 females and a little albino runt one for the bastard Jon Snow. That doesn't just happen everyday! It's fate and a connection that the show hardly played up at all.

Of the scenes they cut or changed or added: From the beginning, I was upset with the way they handled Dany and Drogo's first sexual act. In the book, she's terrified and Drogo, a mostly silent and brooding figure up until then, shows her a more gentle side, using the only word he knows in her language - No - as a way to ask her permission and calm her. In the series, it was rape. And it isn't until later that Dany sees the man behind Khal Drogo. I LOVE the Drogo and Dany relationship and was pretty much waiting eagerly for the wedding night scene. I hated it right up until I read this: Emilia Clarke defends the decision to change the scene and I buy the explanation. AND I think I agree - the relationship's progression and end result is much stronger and much more believable for it. The two characters were able to believably shape and change each other.

The only scene that I'm still pissed wasn't there was the scene in the book between Mormont and Jon, when everyone except Sam (who, btw - was wonderfully cast!) is ready to take their vows. Up until this "graduation," Jon and friends have been protecting Sam from much of Thorne's cruel ways. If the boys graduate without Sam - Jon knows Sam won't make it. So he goes to Mormont and explains that every man has his worth and just because Sam can't fight and will never be able to, doesn't mean he isn't valuable to the Night's Watch. This scene is extremely pivotal in the book because it's basically the reason Mormont later appoints Jon as his steward. He sees the leadership quality in Jon.

Everything else matched up pretty well. I cried like a baby when Ned died and I liked the way the show handled it. I love that he and Arya saw each other and that the show changed it so that it was Ned who sends Yoren to take Arya and protect her, just by mouthing her location to him. It was also a little more drawn out than in the book, which was good. I didn't feel Ned's death in the book because - it happened so gd fast! And I was so shocked that I spent the next however many pages are left denying that it ever happened. I mean - who kills off their MAIN CHARACTER in the first book??? Now, as a wizened old fan, I get it. Ned's death is necessary to understanding their world and in triggering other events.

And the final episode. Thank god I watched it alone. I sobbed through the ENTIRE episode and CLAPPED at the end. And I hate clappers! I couldn't help it. I just thought it was so beautifully executed. Robb is named King of the North and he and Catelyn vow to kill all the Lannisters. Jaime Lannister is captured by Robb and Catelyn has that pivotal conversation with him that is SUPPOSED to happen in the dungeons of Riverrun in Clash of Kings, but I'll forgive them that. I thought it was well placed. Arya heads north with a band of thieves destined for the Nights Watch, not as Arya of Winterfell, but Arry, the boy. Sansa gets all not annoying and completely BADASS in a matter of mere seconds as her expression changes from one of grief and terror to strength and stoicism as she realizes that her life has basically turned to shit. Tyrion heads South to Kings Landing to act as Hand of the King in his father's stead. Jon rides North of the wall to fight off whatever strange thing is terrorizing the wildlings. And Dany. Dany! After losing Drogo, she sacrifices herself to her beliefs to either die by them or rise again. And when the burning pyre dies and cools, her men find her alive and surrounded by DRAGONS. Sir Jorah (hottie) bends at the knee - my queen.

Oh god. Shivers. I mean - wouldn't YOU clap??

Oh! I hardly mentioned Tyrion at all! My boyfriend, my love. Peter Dinklage was AMAZING. He stole every scene he was in. He's just such a perfect Tyrion. I couldn't have been happier. While we're on the subject of actors being perfect - while there are a lot of others who fit their roles well (Jaime, Tywin, Robb, Theon, Cersei, Varys, Littlefinger, Dany, Drogo, Jorah, etc), I was REALLY impressed by Jack Gleeson who plays Joffrey Baratheon. He is very, very good. I want to punch his smug little face all over the goddamned place. Well done, Jack, well done!

My Friends are SO COOL

2011-06-30T07:27:00.001-07:00

I've mentioned, probably a million times before, that Marian Schembari is one of my favorite bloggers. So, while I was busy watching this video on my good friend's success and know-how in the comic book world - I was surprised to see Marian flash by on the screen. I was also equally surprised by how creepy and stalkerish I am that I immediately recognized this woman whom I've never met. But still, excitement.

So I e-mail the wonderful Illidge this: MARIAN SCHEMBARI WAS THERE??? (I mean, I followed that with praise...)

And he responded with the link to an interview he did with Schembari a couple months ago regarding his truly unique gossip blog, ExpoWeekly. Unique because all of the writers are fictional characters. It gives a fresh and exciting new twist to gossip blogging - and believe me. I follow my fair share of gossip blogs.

*** Update: Because I work in publishing and never have any clue what year it is - that interview with Schembari happened over a YEAR AGO. 4/29/10? Definitely only a couple of months ago.

First, An Award

2011-06-28T05:51:00.000-07:00

I don't usually do these blog awards, but I was awarded one today by one of my favorite people and favorite blogs - Little Mrs. Stranded over at Stranded in Cleveland.

If you've never visited her ever-more-popular blog, you seriously should. It's a mix (aka a "versatile" mix) of recipes, home decor ideas, hosting how-tos, book reviews and more! Basically, if you're a non-native trying to make a home in a strange land - you know, or not- this blog is for you. Or for anyone, really.

Okay, so - to accept this award I have to tell you 7 things you may not already know about me. Here she goes:

1. I danced for most of my life - ballet, tap, jazz, and kickline. From about pre-school to my senior year of high school. And even still, I'm fairly uncoordinated. But the costumes! Oh the costumes! And being on stage! My favorite was probably when we danced to The Addams Family and wore these black and white jumpers with red leotards underneath. We had jailhouse knee highs and striped fingerless gloves and an amazing pageboy cap. That was the shit. Here's me circa 1989. My brother added Richie Tenenbaum and the quotes you see from The Royal Tenenbaums.

2. My sister and I (and sometimes my brother too) can carry on conversations using only movie/television/musical quotes. Into the Woods, Arrested Development, Hook, Old King Cole's Wee Sing-Along and the 1980-something Alice in Wonderland are some of our favorites to use. Just some. What's unfortunate about this ability is that it often doesn't translate to other people. And then I get the - who is this girl, she's so awkward - stare. Our favorites from each:

Arrested Development: Yeah, Mom's great. Let's call her.
Hook: Oh, THERE you are, Peter! -or- Just give'im a chance! -or- Me, Me, Me, Mine, Mine, Mine
Old King Cole's Wee Sing Along: Puhhh-leeeeassseeee

I can't think of anything off the top of my head from Into the Woods and Alice. These things just HAPPEN sometimes. But! This past Christmas, unbeknownst to either of us - we each used a different quote from the movie Elf on our Christmas Cards. I did, "Smiling's my favorite!" and she did, "I love you, I love you, I loooooove youuuuuuuuuuuu!"

3. I own A LOT of movies. Matt and I counted this past weekend as we sorted them, and we have 208 movies. This doesn't count TV box sets. I actually thought we had more. Anyway - when I'm having a boring Saturday, I'll watch them by theme. So, I could have a Sandra Bullock movie marathon. Or a Cinderella themed marathon. Or, most recently I played a 6 degrees-ish type game where someone from the current movie had to be in the next movie I chose. It was an awesome game. I'm a loser.

4. Though my green thumb is black, I still dream of one day - when I own my own house - starting a very serious vegetable garden. I want fresh tomatoes, fresh basil, fresh strawberries, fresh stringbeans. Maybe even pumpkins! Zucchini. Cucumbers. So many good things. Before my grandparents moved further east on the Island, basically to follow their children and grandchildren, my Grandpa has the BEST vegetable garden that took up a huge corner of their yard. I loved being in there with him and would love to have a Joe Buongiorno Vegetable Garden of my own someday. This is if I can stop killing all the plants.

5. I'm a pretty damn good cook but a truly awful baker. I really enjoy being inventive with what I have or changing recipes as I go. I dreamed up a salsa once that was to die for, though I'm not sure I could make it again. I think it had 3 different peppers, onions, tomatoes, lots of red pepper flakes, honey, lime juice, and fresh chopped mint. It came out really good, whatever it was that I did. Then I have these porkchops that I make that I personally LOVE and often crave. Here's the recipe that might make those of you who like to measure cringe. Except for the honey, each of these "measurements" is per side, per chop. So like, I do all of this for each chop and then I flip them around and do it again.

Pork chops - I like the thin sliced best.
Honey - works best with the kind that's already infused with cloves.
Salt & Pepper to taste
Garlic to taste
2 shakes cayenne pepper
3 shakes cinnamon
2 shakes allspice
Thyme (I probably shake a little less than a tablespoon over each side)

Let sit in this concoction for, at the very least, 4-6 hours, or, at the most, a full day/overnight. You can bake, pan fry, or BBQ.

6. Uhhh. Holy Crap. This just keeps getting harder. Okay. I am a walking contradiction in a lot of things. I am probably the pickiest, non-picky eater around. I'm also probably the sloppiest control freak around as well. For the first, I will eat almost anything. Or, I'll try almost anything. I love all sorts of different regional dishes. But I don't like tomatoes. I love the flavor of peppers, but I can't eat them unless they are cut super thin because I don't like the meaty yet crispy consistency. I put watermelon in the freezer before I eat it because I don't like it to be room temperature. And other things. As for being controlling, it's things like - I'm a pretty big mess, but my clothes in my closet are arranged by color, in rainbow order. And then for the 'non' colors it's Brown, White, Gray, Black. Gray is in the middle because mixing black and white together makes gray. And all of the hangers HAVE to face the same way. And in the kitchen, I have patterned bowls, and solid bowls. They need to be stacked 3 to a stack and the stack should ALWAYS be pattern, solid, pattern.

7. I'm a rabid blog follower. According to my Google Reader Trends page, I follow 193 blogs. They range from comic strips, to book review blogs, to home decor blogs, to blogs about science, to celebrity gossip blogs, to blogs about boogers. Everything. I keep trying to cut it down, but for every one that I'm like - I don't read this - there are 2 that pop up that I just HAVE to add. Over the last 30 days, I've: read 1,346 items, clicked into 27 (this is where I find more blogs), starred 39, shared 2 and e-mailed 41. With that in mind - here are my five award winning bloggers:

(also - please do not feel obligated to participate. It was pretty fun though)

Hither and Thither
David Maybury
The Perpetual Page Turner
Walk While Reading
Etsy Item of the Day

That's just a fraction of the great blogs I follow. And of course, if she hadn't already done me, I would so totally award Mrs. Stranded. She's got everything and every post is fun to read.

Packing & Unpacking

2011-06-20T05:05:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, remember me? I used to blog here?

I mean, I still do. And I'm hoping the posting will become more frequent as I settle in to the job, the apartment, the life. All I've been reading - or re-reading - is the Song of Ice and Fire series in preparation for Dances with Dragons due out next month! NEXT MONTH!!! And I've been reading it verrrrrrrrrrrry slowlllyyyyyyyyy....

Part of the reason for the career change was the fact that my new position allows for a decent amount of travel. That excites me - I've always wanted to travel. But - so far - I feel like all I've done is travel. Not that I'm really complaining. But since we moved into the apartment, I feel as though all I've really done there is pack (my new & fabulous pink Vera Bradley duffel!) and unpack.

In May/early June:

On top of having to go to Long Island two or three times and up to Canton once, I went to:

Pennsylvania: To visit two of my authors and some machining and welding programs in the area. It was my first trip by myself, but luckily the area sales rep offered to pick me up from the airport and show me around. It was also my first business dinner and I was nervous as all hell. But the rep said I did a good job and that it seemed like my authors really took to me. I hope so. I'm seeing one of them again soon ... tomorrow in fact!

Anaheim, CA: For the WINDPOWER conference. Again, I met up with two of my authors (different authors than the first time). This time I was completely on my own, but I had a great time. And I learned that connections can be made ANYWHERE around a conference. So, some simple rules I intend to follow when in a conference city from now on:

1) Always look professional and presentable. Not necessarily in a suit, but shouldn't look like a piece of junk.
2) Always behave as though the president of your company is in the room. So... professionally?
3) Always strike up a conversation. Ask - What do you do? & Are you here for the conference?

I made two really great connections this trip and BOTH were outside the conference hall. One was in the hotel bar (yes, but - they wouldn't let me check into my room and I had to go SOMEWHERE! I did work and ate food. For real.) The second was on the plane on the way home. That one became a reviewer for us and invited me climb a wind turbine in Oklahoma next spring. I'm SO going.

LA: This one was self-inflicted. But the boy's movie premiered in LA and I realized - I had to be there. Even if it meant flying to California twice in the matter of days.

Up next:

Kansas City, MO: For the Skills USA conference. I leave early tomorrow morning.

Apologies, Updates & Travel Plans

2011-04-29T17:00:00.000-07:00

Heeeyyyy, you guys! Looks like I took another hiatus! I've just been so busy adjusting to the new life up here in Albany - being with the boy day in and out and conquring my new job. Since all my things are still in storage, I haven't really found the time or inclination to read much - hence the shortage of reviews.

Anyway, here's what I've been up to:

The Job: It's really great so far, though a lot to learn. Running my disciplines is like running my own small business - I have to pay attention to sales and patterns and how to constantly improve on what I already have. I've been focusing a lot on market research and on reading through my work library. My boss also suggested I make it one of my goals to call a few instructors a day and just speak with them about their programs. And so I have - calling around to get to know not only my authors, but possible future authors and/or adopters.

The Boy: Well - we haven't killed eachother! And we've both been living with his parents for the past month, so that I could get adjusted to my job (and to my paychecks!) before finding an apartment. Actually, it's been better than just not killing eachother. It's been pretty perfect and awesome. So... we're moving in together, despite how fast and crazy it is. I've never lived with a boy before. I'm pretty excited and also pretty nervous. I lived by myself for three years on Long Island. I've grown accustomed to myself.

Reading: I've just been re-reading the Song of Ice and Fire series because of the show (WHICH IS AWESOME!!!) and because the next book comes out in July. It's been good to re-read it - it's good enough to fly through and I can just get lost in it. The boy finished Game of Thrones just in time for the series - and he loved it!

Freelancing: Still reading and reviewing manuscripts for a YA publisher. I'm glad I've kept this going. I love doing it and it helps me keep in touch with that part of the publishing world. I do really like what I'm doing now, but I would have been super sad if I'd had to disappear from the children's/YA world completely. AND I've been editing a manuscript - something that was tossed my way by a friend of a friend. It's YA sci-fi fantasy and has been really fun to work on.

Travel: I get to do a bit of traveling for work. In two weeks I travel to Pennsylvania and then possibly Anaheim at the end of the month. In June, I'll be in Kansas City, MO and in July, I'll be in Pheonix, AZ. I'd also like to go to North Dakota to visit their aviation program in the fall. Very excited to travel!

So, all of this is keeping me uber busy. Even in spite of the fact that I get home about 3 hours earlier than I used to when I worked in New York City and had to take the train. I've been using my extra time semi-productively!

We move in on Saturday and so I'm hoping for something resembling normalcy, regarding getting back to posting and reading on a regular basis.

Big BIG News!

2011-03-15T07:57:00.000-07:00

I've got a new job! And I'm moving!

My new title is Associate Acquisitions Editor.
My new town is - well. It's in the Albany, NY area. Not sure yet EXACTLY where I'll be living, so we'll just say the Capitol Region.

I'll be working for an educational publisher, doing some traveling, and really just - making a difference with the books I publish. I'm very, VERY excited about this opportunity, even though I am a little sad to be leaving children's books behind.

I'm still going to try and keep up on my YA though. So - the blog won't change any, but this at least explains my absences? My hiatus and then, my comeback that was really wasn't a comeback at all because I haven't been posting as regularly as I wanted to?

Anyway - my last day at Sterling is the 25th. I'll have a lot going on - packing my life and such. But I should be back to regular posting soon enough, once my life is at least a little bit settled.

Geek Love - Katherine Dunn

2011-03-10T04:47:00.000-08:00

Rating: 5 stars
Shelf: Reading Now

Not at all what its title implies - even when you find out exactly what Katherine Dunn means by Geek. Should have been called Freak Love, but I think the mystery and the - "Oh my god, this isn't about two nerds falling in love?" is half the attraction.

Concerning a traveling carnival whose acts were bred instead of hired - the story is told by Olympia Binewski, a bald, albino, hunchback dwarf and the youngest daughter of Lil and Al Binewski. Olympia records her memories of the freak family - which included a boy with fins, Siamese twins, a telekinetic, and a host of baby experiments gone bad and preserved in jars - so that her daughter, Miranda, might one day understand not only why Olympia had to give her up, but also why Miranda is so special.

The book focuses on freak as norm and norm as freak. The reversal not only aids in highlighting familial relationships, but also, and more importantly, shines a light on the problems with social constructs and cult-like, follower, behavior. For one - the Binewskis seem to value their more messed up children higher than those who could pass for "normal." Olympia is told that she herself is barely a keeper, though she meets none of the standards of normal in our culture.

Dunn was, apparently, influenced by the events of Jonestown at the time she was writing this book. Having just read Raven by Tim Reitermann, I was really drawn to these comparisons and their power over all of the characters - both immediate and secondary. Arty - the boy with fins instead of hands and feet - forms a cult that is strangely reminiscent of The People's Temple. Jones' followers gave up their entire lives for him, cut themselves off from their worldly possessions to follow Jones to the promise land - Arty's followers gave up their limbs, quite literally, to become more like him and to be able to shake societal norms and become their most pure.

But mostly, I just loved the characters and the language. The Binewskis, for all their troubles, are an incredibly close family who rely on their differences to keep them safe and keep them together. There were moments when Dunn painted such a beautiful, emotional - and normal - scene - especially those which depicted Olympia interacting lovingly with her siblings- I was moved practically to tears.

The future of my reading endeavors for 2011 seems so bleak, now that I've already read what will most likely be my favorite book of the year.

Song of Ice and Fire Series Continues - FINALLY!

2011-03-09T11:07:00.000-08:00

Okay - okay! I have to calm myself down right now, because I just saw this on Omnivoracious:

George R.R. Martin fans, take note: A Dance with Dragons, the newest book in his A Song of Ice and Fire series, will publish on July 12. It's over 1000 pages long and six years in the making -- the previous book, A Feast for Crows, published in October of 2007--and according to Martin's official website, he's still tinkering with A Dance with Dragons. But he assures everyone that the publication date is firm: "Barring tsunamis, general strikes, world wars, or asteroid strikes, you will have the novel in your hands on July 12."

Oh my god, you guys! THE NEXT BOOK IS COMING OUT! So that means - HBO series due out in April followed by the next book in the series, oh my!

Actually, I haven't read A Feast for Crows yet, because I didn't want to be finished with the series and have nothing but a bleak future of promises from Mr. Martin. Running out to purchase that one and gobble it up before A Dance with Dragons comes out. Hrm - since I re-read Game of Thrones recently - perhaps I'll just re-read the entire series this year?

Sounds good to me!

A Lion Among Men - Gregory Maguire

2011-03-01T07:40:00.000-08:00

Rating: 1 stars
Shelf: Reading Now

I struggled with whether or not I should finish this book. I'd read so much that it seemed, how could I not finish? Can I even review it if I don't finish? A friend told me I could review it, but I'd have to let all of you know that the book was so horrible I couldn't find it in me to finish it.

This was incredibly disappointing because I absolutely LOVED both Wicked and Son of a Witch. But this was... it wasn't even written in the same tone. It didn't hold any of the same magic as the first two. It's sole purpose for existing seemed to be to explain whatever gaps existed in the first two books - but I didn't need any of that. I wasn't curious. The "gaps" were intentional and added a sense of literary mystery to the books.

In short, I wish A Lion Among Men had never been born.

Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher

2011-02-24T09:18:00.000-08:00

Rating: 4 stars
Shelf: Reading Now

What a challenging book to read. At the start, it made me angry. It didn't really seem as though Hannah committed suicide because she just couldn't face another day - it seemed as though she committed this tragic act as a means to get revenge on the 13 people who are forced to listen to her tapes. I thought that this book was going to be a book about bullies. And while the kids that affected Hannah's life weren't the nicest, many of them didn't quite deserve to get the brunt of Hannah's own obvious emotional problems. How dare she do this to those kids?

Then by the end, I sympathized more with Hannah. Her story started to change and as the dots connected, from one person to the next - it was easier to see that she wasn't really blaming the individuals so much as trying to teach them to see outside of their small box. I mean - she did out some of them for some truly terrible actions. But, mostly she finally admits: "No matter what I've said so far, no matter who I've spoken of, it all comes back to - it all ends with - me."

I mostly have to wonder what Jay Asher's purpose was with the story and with the characters. Were we supposed to sympathize with Hannah straight away? Or did he want us to feel the true range that all of us feel that have been affected by something like this? Because - I have and... it was fairly spot on. When my friend killed himself I was extremely angry and confused. There were times when I really hated him for what he did. But I was also so sad and I missed him terribly. And I wished there was more I could have done. And, like Clay, I started watching everyone around me so that next time, I will be able to reach out, reach beyond.

Good work, Mr. Asher. Good work.

Top Ten Tuesday - Top 10 Movie Adaptations

2011-02-22T06:59:00.000-08:00

Brought to you by: The Broke & The Bookish

Boyfriend and I should probably do a similar theme for our Top Five on our movie blog. In no particular order:

1. Harry Potter (I love them all, but particularly The Order of the Phoenix )
2. Pride & Prejudice (sorry. I know y'all LOVE Colin Firth as Darcy, but the BBC version puts me to sleep. So this is the Keira Knightly version, which I LOVE)
3. Jane Eyre (The TV series where the little girl who played Lucy Pevensie plays young Jane Eyre)
4. The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe (ESPECIALLY because Jim Broadbent plays Professor Kirke)
5. The Golden Compass
6. Jurassic Park
7. Bridget Jones' Diary
8. Into the Wild
9. Princess Diaries (even though the books are way different and way better - I still love the movies for what they are)
10. Sense & Sensibility (I LOVE Alan Rickman as Colonel Brandon)

My Horizontal Life - Chelsea Handler

2011-02-22T06:16:00.000-08:00

Rating: 3 stars
Shelf: Reading Now

A moment of weakness! My nook had run out of batteries (and so I was introduced to this video by my friends) and I needed something to read on the train ride home from the Bronx. So I went into Penn Books and I held True Grit and My Horizontal Life in my hands. I came so close, so close to buying True Grit. But then I read the first page and it was entirely too close to the movie dialogue, and while that's great, I hadn't been particularly in love with the movie. So. My Horizontal Life it was.

Not as entertaining as Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang, but still a nice piece of brain candy. I can hardly believe that I've now read TWO books by Chelsea Handler, a woman whose show I despise and humor is a bit off putting. But I did. And I liked them both! And would definitely recommend both if you are, like me, feeling as though thinking (right now) is too much of a bother.

What do you do when you HATE a book?

2011-02-21T11:00:00.001-08:00

Do you stop reading? Or do you torture yourself and finish?

I tend to finish. Because, I feel like, if I don't, I can't say I've read it. And then all that torture was for nothing.

I'm in the middle of A Lion Among Men right now... and. It's just awful. Awful. Sad too because, I loved Wicked and Son of a Witch. This third book seems to solely exist to fill whatever gaps the first one had and also to introduce the subject of FGM. So basically, it didn't need to exist at all. I want to stop reading it so bad, but then - where would I be?

What I'm Reading Weekly Roundup

2011-02-19T04:52:00.000-08:00

In Blogs
This is going to be two weeks worth of shared blog stories, as I missed last week. Life is still proving hectic, but I'm trying to make the most of it!
Northern Light Ever since I finished reading this book, it's been popping up everywhere. Nonfiction Challenge I like to read a few nonfiction books each year. This seems like a bit too much for me, but interesting nonetheless.
The Anatomical Very Hungry Caterpillar
The Story of Medusa as told by T-Rex
RIP, Brian Jacques
How to WORK a Trade Show We just went to Toy Fair at the Javits Center and I completely forgot to bring business cards. FAIL.
Scott Westerfeld talks the LIST I know that this whole Bitch Magazine thing is old news, but I really liked this interview and I really like Scott Westerfeld.
Nancy Drew Cookbook
The Children's Hour I want to see!
Tim Probert's Etsy Shop now OPEN! He's going to be famous one day so get your hands on these prints ASAP.
Best Literary Pick Up Lines
World Read Aloud Day I'm guessing you have to read aloud to children for this to count. But I do really enjoy reading aloud to myself. In a fake accent. Shhh....
Ugh. A Twilight Room
Rope Bridge Bookshelf
Books for Birthdays Middle Grade birthdays, probably the hardest to buy for. Or to buy quality, attention grabbing books for boys and girls. This post is also favorited so I can refer back.
Bring a Book back from the DEAD I voted on the only book I know out of this year's bunch.
Don't start reading too young?
McSweeney's launches Children's Imprint Okay. I just don't get McSweeney's. I try to get it, but I just don't. What am I missing?
More Chelsea Handler? Didn't know they were making a TV show based off of Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea.
Borders files for Bankruptcy
List of Borders Store Closings
Borders Bankruptcy for the laymen
75 more Borders stores closing than originally reported
Super Computers and Dave Eggers
"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."
The Fantasy World Map LOVE that Westeros is on here!

In Books

A Lion Among Men - Gregory Maguire (I'm not even halfway through and I HATE this. Anyone?)
The Yiddish Policeman's Union - Michael Chabon
Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

In The Pile

The Eye of the Dragon - Stephen King

Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher

A Million Little Pieces - James Frey
On Writing - Stephen King

Into the Land of the Unicorns - Bruce Coville

Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang - Chelsea Handler

2011-02-16T06:21:00.000-08:00

Rating: 3 stars
Shelf: Reading Now

I've been having a hard time concentrating on some of my more serious books and so I decided to finally read Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang. It was exactly what the doctor ordered. The book was absolutely nonsensical - none of the chapters had anything to do with each other. The story was not cohesive in the least... actually, there wasn't really a story to speak of at all. Unless it was the story of how Chelsea Handler is a crazy person that I wish I could drink with and laugh at on a semi-irregular basis.

I read this on my nook on the train and I looked like a loon - sitting there, covering my mouth every time I had a hysterical fit of laughter, which really only resulted in some truly spasmodic behavior. It's a wonder no one ever asked me if I needed an ambulance.

Read it if you need a good, hearty laugh.

Top Ten Tuesday - Broke & the Bookish

2011-02-08T05:48:00.001-08:00

I decided I want to participate in this one. It's Top Ten literary characters/authors that you'd name your kids after. I'm going to include pets in this as well. Here's the skinny from her blog:

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND post a comment on our post with a link to your Top Ten Tuesday post to share with us and all those who are participating. If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. If you can't come up with ten, don't worry about it---post as many as you can!

1. Joe - I'm getting off really easy with this one. It's my brother's name and my grandpa's name. And I've always planned on naming my first son Joe. But, there'd also be a bit of Joe Kavalier from The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay in there too. And that's important.

2. Tyrion - I'd probably name a pet after Tyrion, it's too strange of a name for a child. But still, one of my favorite characters. It'd be after my boyfriend, Tyrion Lannister from the Song of Ice and Fire series.

3. Ernest - Along the same Hemingway lines as our Top Ten creator, the dude is my favorite author and I would certainly give his first name, or last name, as a middle name to a son.

4. Catelyn - I've gone all boys so far. It's hard for me to pick girls names. All of the characters I want to pick are just my favorite characters. Like, Lizzie Bennet or Charlotte Doyle or Hermione Granger. I don't really ever want to name a daughter Elizabeth or Charlotte or Hermione. Catelyn I like though. After Catelyn Stark, from the Song of Ice and Fire series.

5. Daenerys - again from Song of Ice and Fire. This name would need to go to a pet though. And most likely a cat. It's a great, fierce name. If only I could own a dragon.

6. Prim - from The Hunger Games. Either for a child or a pet. Though I think Primrose, as a middle name, could be really pretty.

7. Mathilda - aka Mattie from A Northern Light. I don't really like Mathilda, but I do really like Mattie. So this is an option.

8. Diggory - after Diggory Kirke (aka, Professor Kirke) from The Magician's Nephew (Chronicles of Narnia). This would probably also go to a pet, but he'd need to be a real roly-poly dignified sort of fellow.

9. Sophie - a serious contender. After Sophie from Howl's Moving Castle. I've always wanted a Sophia just as I've always wanted a Joe. I think I can still name my daughter that, even though one of my best friend's just named her beautiful baby that?

10. Bella - just kidding. Total joke. I would never name my kid after Twilight.

For real - maybe Tana, after Tana French author of The Likeness and others. She doesn't even write the kind of fiction that I typically like, yet I love her. And her name is so unique and Irish. It'd add it to the list.

What I'm Reading Weekly Roundup

2011-02-05T04:27:00.000-08:00

In Blogs

Wintergirls Another, really good review. Mine, which is, you know, pretty good too, can be found here.
Borders. It's sad. I know I have a crazy loyalty to B&N, but I think competition is a healthy party of our economy.
100 Young Adult Books for the Feminist Reader This list caused so much backlash this week. See below...
Feminist Rant 1 Really good and new favorite blog.
Feminist Rant 2 A list to beat the list.
Feminist Rant 3 Where does censorship begin?
Children's Book FAIL 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 7
Doodles By Famous Authors Of course my favorites are Vonnegut's.
Cover Love a variety of teen/middle grade covers around the world. What's your fav?
More Cover Love this time The Millions takes a look at US covers versus the UK.
Bookshelf Envy I think I finally found a boy who will give me this some day. At the very least I know he knows how to mend roofs, so bookshelves shouldn't be too far behind?
Lies for Writing This reminds me of Melissa's Myths. Very interesting and all very true.
Don't ever interrupt me when I'm reading a book!

In Books

A Game of Thrones - George R. R. Martin (a re-read before the show!)
Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

In The Pile

The Eye of the Dragon - Stephen King

Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher

A Million Little Pieces - James Frey

The Yiddish Policeman's Union - Michael Chabon

On Writing - Stephen King

Into the Land of the Unicorns - Bruce Coville

Viewers & Game of Thrones

2011-02-04T11:11:00.000-08:00

So I've been getting - a ridiculous amount of views on my blog as of late. From referring sites I've never heard of. In the Netherlands. Well. They aren't all in the Netherlands. But still. Who are you guys? Please tell me...

In other news - I'm almost through Game of Thrones for the second time and I can't stop looking at stills from the upcoming HBO special. I just want to take some time to post some photos of my boyfriend, Tyrion Lannister/Peter Dinklage:

Maybe they're on their way to the Eyrie!

And here, I bet he's Lysa Arryn's prisoner. Mother, I want to see him fly! Ahhhh! "Lord" Mord in the background!

I am BEYOND excited for this entire thing.

What I'm Reading Weekly Roundup (Late...)

2011-01-31T12:54:00.000-08:00

In Blogs

How many spaces after a period.? The people who still think it's two kill me. Unless they are using a typewriter. Then it's fine.
What's YOUR childhood trauma? Babysitter's Club fashionista.
Battle of the Kids' Books 2011! And I'm completely out of touch.
Who loves Tim Gunn? I do!
Our Lives I mean, I try to make it not so. But I'm just so darn addicted.
True Grit I knew it was a John Wayne movie but I never realized it was also a book. It's also a really good movie review on my ... other blog.
Kindle Singles I actually think this is a great idea.
Why kids love Dystopia Which might also explain why I love Dexter so much. Or I'm just sick and twisted. You know. Whatever.
Philip Pullman is AWESOME.
Huckleberry Wordle Apparently 'warn't' is a bigger offender than... that other word.

In Books

A Game of Thrones - George R. R. Martin (a re-read before the show!)
Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

In the Pile

The Eye of the Dragon - Stephen King

Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher

A Million Little Pieces - James Frey

The Yiddish Policeman's Union - Michael Chabon

On Writing - Stephen King

Into the Land of the Unicorns - Bruce Coville

The Russian Debutante's Handbook - Gary Shteyngart

2011-01-24T06:09:00.000-08:00

Rating: 2 stars
Shelf: Reading Now

This wasn't horrible, it just wasn't that great either. It wasn't all that the 5 or so pages (overkill?) of good reviews inserted at the front of the book said it was going to be. It was hipster lit that poked fun of hipster lit. I hate hipster lit.

Shteyngart failingly and smugly attempts to hide how smart and profound he thinks he is behind not so funny double entendres and the outlandish scenarios in which he inserts his unlikable hero.

What I'm Reading Weekly Roundup

2011-01-22T04:00:00.000-08:00

It's back! I think this was my post popular regular weekly feature, so this is what I'm bringing back. It also helped keep me on top of book news - which is a must. I'm hoping to bring back some other features and start some new ones, but little by little. Slow and steady.

In Blogs

A Wrinkle in Time in 90 Seconds Now I want to read the book again.
Game of Thrones Trailer omg, omg, omg, omg, omg!
An Incomplete Education That completely kicks ass. Including revisiting the Alot - an animal we all love a lot.
How to Build a Blog I don't know - there's some sort of Blog-fest. Or Blogfiesta. Or something like that. And everyone is fixing their blogs and writing tons of content for their blogs and making love to their blogs.
Everyone was doing it, until they weren't A great article about how all these blog people want quick recognition and then when they realize how much time needs to be put into a blog and how little reward there actually is - they quit. I've thought about quitting a few times. What am I doing this for? But then I realize - it keeps me writing. And I've made at least two random and amazing internet blogger friends because of this. And maybe I'll randomly make more?

A new Sherlock Holmes? Probably because the movie and the BBC series helped the estate realize how much more money they could be making?

The Amazon Alphabet A strange exercise, but ridiculous how well it displays today's reading/publishing trends. I'm tempted to do a Google Alphabet. (Ha! A is for Amazon! B is for Best Buy! Geez - if we're so consumer driven, what's the deal with this economy?)
Why do YOU blog? Again with the blogging theme, but as always - Marian raises some good points and gets some good feedback in the comments.
Death of another format? Pimp My Novel seems to think that e-books, while they might not necessarily spell the death of all "p-books" (god, how I hate that term!), the new digi-book (makin' up mah own) will mean death for certain formats. Large Print for one - and I agree with him. But I sort of think it's okay? I mean - I feel like Large Print books are sort of a waste to make.
Artwork I LOVE Done by a good friend. But seriously - I wish I didn't do co-editions because I'd sign him up to illustrate a picture book IMMEDIATELY!
2011 Notable Children's Books

In Books

Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

The Russian Debutante's Handbook - Gary Shteyngart

In The Pile

A Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin

The Eye of the Dragon - Stephen King

Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher

A Million Little Pieces - James Frey

The Yiddish Policeman's Union - Michael Chabon

On Writing - Stephen King

Into the Land of the Unicorns - Bruce Coville

A Weekly Feature?

2011-01-14T04:14:00.000-08:00

I need to bring back a weekly feature, now that things aren't so crazy anymore. I mean - they're still pretty crazy. But, for a while there I was trying to help my father as well as trying to help myself and it was all too much for just one lady! But now dad is all set up and happy. And while I'm still planning on moving in the spring to help my finances - I think I'm in a place where I can blog regularly again.

So what do I bring back?

What I'm Reading Weekly Roundup? In which I give you all the things I've been reading on the internets, in real live books and give you a peek at what's sitting in the pile precariously placed on my tiny night table.

Wishlist Wednesday? In which I tell you what new books I've discovered in my travels that I really want to read and ask for your opinions?

Or something new? Something you can make up for me, maybe? I know y'all are creative.

Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

2011-01-13T06:51:00.000-08:00

Rating: 5 stars
Shelf: Reading Now

I'm not sure what took me so long to read this classic. I hate that. When a book this good slips out of my reach year after year for one reason or another. Then I absolutely love it and I'm all - where have you been all my life? Anyway, joking aside - I loved this. Steinbeck really has a way with words and characterization. Because the book is so short, you have to immediately understand George and Lennie - their dreams, motivations and personalities. And you do, within the first few pages. Also because this is a novella - not a single word can be wasted. There is no beating around the bush or time for extravagant prose, unless it lends itself to the feel and meaning of the entire work. This is something Steinbeck does magnificently.

(SOME SPOILERS) When I finished, the boy asked - how do you feel? I answered - sad. I was lost in the ending of this book for quite a while, actually. Some describe it as violent, which I guess it is. But - while it shook me (and probably George) to the core - I also found the ending incredibly humane and moving. Humane because, what other options did George have? None of them seem any better than what actually happened. And moving because - well, firstly - I loved Lennie. And because, Lennie is the symbol of the American dream. Even though he's the reason it inevitably can't come about - he's also the hope that keeps it alive.

Persepolis - Marjane Satrapi

2011-01-12T05:21:00.000-08:00

Rating: 3 stars
Shelf: Reading Now

Boyfriend should be bringing me Persepolis 2 to read over the weekend. I feel as though I need to withhold judgment until then. Not that this was bad or anything - it was quite good. Moving, funny in a heartbreaking way. Some of the illustrations were spot on gorgeous and meaningful. But it ended incredibly abruptly. And I wasn't all that blown away by it.

A Northern Light - Jennifer Donnelly

2011-01-11T07:47:00.000-08:00

Rating: 5 stars
Shelf: Reading Now

Fabulous. Wonderful. Incredibly well written. Fantastic dialogue. Characters that immediately capture your heart. A plot that is engaging and beautiful - young Mattie is an intelligent girl growing up in the Adirondacks in 1906. A farmer's daughter during the drought, her prospects are slim - until a teacher invests enough time to help her get her highschool degree and get into college in New York City. But leaving her father and family seems nearly impossible. Her duties are too great. It isn't until Mattie gets caught up in a tragic murder one summer (which is based on a true murder investigation, real letters and all) that she is finally able to find her voice and her freedom.

I loved this.

From Elephant to Hollywood - Michael Caine

2011-01-09T19:37:00.000-08:00

Rating: 3.5 stars
Shelf: Reading Now

Not spectacularly written - but it didn't need to be. Reading this felt as though I'd just sat down to tea with Sir Michael Caine and he'd decided to grace me with well-told and enrapturing stories of Hollywood, old and new. Michael Caine is a good, good man who funny in a way that is heartfelt and sweetly sentimental. His career has spanned old Hollywood, where he worked alongside actors like Danny Kay, Peter O'Toole, Laurence Olivier, Cary Grant - to name a few. And new Hollywood - where he works with the newer up and coming actors and is always recognized and loved no matter what character he's playing. So - I enjoyed this. A lot. Again, I'd give it a 3.5 if those things were allowed.

2011 Resolutions

2011-01-02T19:15:00.000-08:00

This worked fairly well for me last year. I think last year was the first year I actually tried to carry out some of the promises I made for myself. Maybe it was writing it out and then updating it for all to see that helped me stick to it. So here we are again, both bookish/writerish resolutions and not:

- Finish Les Mis and read War & Peace. Slow down completely on all other reading and don't put too much pressure on myself.

- Finish writing my book in time for 2011 NaNoWriMo, so that I can begin something new by then.

- Continue to post all book reviews on my blog.

- Add one weekly feature back to my blog. The time for personal crisis is over and I miss my blogging friends.

- Comment more.

- Lose weight - back to the weight I was after I lost all my college weight. I don't have as far to go as I did back then, so I think it's manageable so long as I stay focused. Using my old livejournal as a dieting journal to hold myself accountable.

- Start running again in the spring.

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius - Dave Eggers

2010-12-24T08:38:00.000-08:00

Rating: 3.5 stars
Shelf: Now Reading

Eggers is a fantastic writer. Both humorous and deep. I laughed just about as much as I cried. I mean, I didn't really cry - but AHWOSG was heavy enough to make my heart hurt. And there were moments that... I was laughing at the same time my heart was hurting. Because that's life, you know? And Eggers presents life - his life - perfectly.

Still, because it was so heavy at times, I had a hard time getting through it. And unlike Raven (which was so heavy it took me over a year to finish), there wasn't anything about it that affected me deeply enough to stay with me for weeks (or months, in Raven's case) on end.

Top Ten of Twenty Ten

2010-12-23T07:49:00.000-08:00

Though I haven't yet finished the last of my four books to finish before the end of the year, here are my Top Ten favorite books of this year. While From Eternity to Here is good, it isn't going to make this list. So I don't need to worry. This is seriously my favorite post of the year, every year.

10. Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett
9. Faithful Place - Tana French
8. Valley of the Dolls - Jacqueline Susann
7. The Ear, the Eye and the Arm - Nancy Farmer
6. Howl's Moving Castle - Diana Wynne Jones
5. The Giver - Lois Lowry
4. Hunger Games (trilogy) - Suzanne Collins
3. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
2. Freedom - Jonathan Franzen
1. Raven - Tim Reiterman

Also - a year end review of my resolutions:

- Read between 35 and 50 books this year. 35 being the final total of 2009 and 50(something) being the number I burnt myself out on in 07 and 08. I ended up with 34. Not too shabby. I read some good quality books this year.

- Stop using my credit card and fix my debt (it's already been two months since I last used it. Huzzah!) I got rid of the crippling debt on my credit card by applying for a personal loan and am no longer freaking out about the state of my finances. Now if I only had a million dollars....

- Read at least two works of non-fiction - filling out my notebook as I go along. I read Raven and I'm halfway through From Eternity to Here. I should finish before the end of the year.

- FINISH Les Miserables. I believe I have something like 3 or 400 pages left. No, but I'm considering focusing on TWO books only in 2011. This and War & Peace.

- Keep my apartment neat. Well, I kept it clean the week I was kitten sitting...

- Write a review for every book I read this year.

- Update my blog with all of my book reviews. That I definitely did.

- Write. Anything. I participated hardcore in NANOWRIMO this year. Didn't finish, but still made it to 30-something thousand words. I'm happy with my creative output this year.

Masks & Daggers - Jennifer Hopkins & Jason Salfali

2010-12-22T08:53:00.000-08:00

Blurg. Crazy days, these days. On top of being, busy busy busy - my Google account was hacked and it took me way too long to get it back. Okay, it really only took me a day. But I was DYING inside.

Anyway, my friend wrote a book! And then she wrote a short prequel! It's self-published using Barnes & Noble's pub it program. I'm not huge into the whole self publishing thing, but she's gotten good support on it and has made a fair amount of sales.

I reviewed her first book a while back. Some of the writing is a teeny bit amateur, but there are sections that are written so well, it'll knock your socks off. Not to mention - her story telling is pretty great. It's also refreshing - to have a paranormal romance that is so unlike anything else there is out there. That can just as easily be enjoyed by boys and girls, men and women. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

Now, by popular demand, Jennifer and Jason have released a short story chronicling the history of Julian Edwards - a character in Book One that everyone wanted to know more about. It's available for a buck, ninety-nine and very good.

My short review is featured on the website.

Also, here:

“Masks & Daggers is a magical thrill ride. Complete with complex characters, clashing weapons, and magic on every page – this story hooks you in and leaves you begging for more. If you are new to the Immortal Champions Saga, what a fantastic place to start! If you have already read Sleight of Hand, Masks & Daggers is a must read to satisfy your Julian needs while you are waiting for Book Two.” –Nicole

I strongly urge you to try it out. For a $1.99, why not? And if you like it, read SLEIGHT OF HAND.

I'm super proud of her!

Freedom - Jonathan Franzen

2010-12-13T09:17:00.000-08:00

Rating: 5 stars
Shelf: Now Reading

This book was... nothing short of a struggle. I breezed through the first couple hundred pages only to get stuck on the banality that was Walter. I don't get all the hype, I said. I'm not really liking this book, I said. Only to pick it up again a month or two later and breeze through the last two or three hundred pages. And when I finished and when I realized I'd just been bested by Jonathan Franzen, I was angry. Because I'd fought against loving this so hard. And so I argued with myself. I'd give the book a 3.5. How could I really give it any more since I'd struggled through? Fine, okay. I'll give it a 4. Only to finally allow myself to accept the fact that I loved this book. That this book is indeed a freaking masterpiece.

I loved this book so much I want to write an essay. A thousand essays on its themes and characters. An essay on freedom - how the freedom to decide, to choose our own paths, can both destroy us and lift us up. How sometimes, to even obtain freedom, one must build a cage. On the characters, and particularly that of Jessica, who is the only character in the family to not get her own chapter yet her sanity seems to have ground them all.

Read it. Just. Read it.

Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett

2010-12-09T06:17:00.000-08:00

Rating: 3.5 stars
Shelf: Now Reading

It's not really superbly written. At all. Ken Follett overstates to the point of absurdity. His dialogue is weak. The characters, while they had depth... that depth only went so far. For instance, I loved and understood Jack the boy. But as the years went by and Jack became a father and a older man - I had trouble imagining him as so. It was as if Follett had a strong vision of his characters in their prime and then failed to grow with them, even though he insisted his novel span decades.

Nevertheless - the story telling was sublime. It took me a while to get into the book because of the sub par writing, but once the story captured me, it was hard to put it down.

It really doesn't live up to all of the "masterpiece" hype that it has gotten over the years. But it was definitely a good, emotional, and engaging read.

Yawn & Stretch

2010-12-07T11:42:00.000-08:00

So. I didn't finish NaNoWriMo. But I was close! 37,000 something words. Chapters 1-7 finite as well as chapters 11-13! I think that's very good. I'm not disappointed in the least. I accept my failure but don't really think it's a failure at all. Good things!

My silence now can only be explained by the mad dash I started on December 1st to finish all of my unfinished books. (I'm dropping Tiger's Curse. No time!)

- Pillars of the Earth: will most likely finish tonight.
- Freedom: erg. But I will finish. I just don't get it. It won't make my Top 10 list.
- Heartbreaking Work: I plan on finishing this one on Saturday when I visit my parents house to do laundry.
- From Eternity to Here: science and space and nerdy things. Want to finish so bad.

Writing Is Painful?

2010-11-22T06:34:00.000-08:00

I was true to my word and holed up in my apartment for an entire day and a half to write, leaving only to have dinner with my parents on Sunday and even writing through that, much to my mother's enjoyment. "Nicole, will you please get that thing off the table?" - that's my mom referring to my laptop. Anyway, she made pasta with ricotta and sauce. So. It was worth it.

ANYWAY. I wrote - and I did the math. And I'm not good at math, so I checked it with my calculator. I wrote 13,338 words this weekend. And it was basically the most painful thing I've ever done. But also the most rewarding? To see my counter move past the halfway point. There's so much blue now and so little gray. Look I'll show you:

Ah! So pretty!

I'm all caught up now and ready to hit my 50,000 words on or before November 30th! Rock on, WriMo'ers!

A Schedule

2010-11-17T06:48:00.001-08:00

Okay. Here's my schedule for my weekend of nothing else but writing. I mean. I'm also eating. But I'm not showering. So. Gross. And. Lots of writing!

Saturday -
7 - Rise. Stretch. Eat.
8/11 - Write. Work on Chapter 6. Goal - 3,000+ words
11-1 - Break. Lunch. Clean? Start Eastern Promises?
1-3 - Write. Finish Chapter 6. Goal - 2,000+ words
3-4 - Break. Go for a walk?
4-5 - Write Start Chapter 13. Goal - 1,000 words
5-6 - Break. Eat Dinner.
6-9 - Write. Work on Chapter 13. Goal - 3,000+ words
9-10 - Call boyfriend?
10-12 - Finish Chapter 13. Start Chapter 7. Goal - 2,000+ words

Sunday -
7 - Rise. Stretch. Eat.
8/12 - Finish Chapter 7. Goal - 4,000+ words
12/1 - Break. Lunch. The Cut stuff.
1/4 - Write. Work on Chapter 8. Goal - 3,000+ words
4/the rest of the evening - go to parents for dinner and continue writing there. Finish Chapter 8 before you go to bed!

This is assuming I finish Chapter 5 and Chapter 12 (I've been working out of order. It's been working out for me) prior to the weekend. If I do that, and if I follow this schedule, I should be well ahead of Sunday's word count goal of 35,007.

Keep Going At All Costs!

2010-11-11T06:02:00.000-08:00

So. I'm behind in NaNo. NaNoWriSLOW. Haha. Okay, I really need to stop with the NaNo puns. Anyway, not so far behind that I can't catch up. Just, you know, 5882 words behind. No big deal, right?

Are any of you as far behind as I am? Is being that far behind daunting or motivating? How do you motivate yourself to keep going and reach the end target of 50,000 words by the end of November? Or are you more inclined to admit defeat and bow out of the struggle?

I'm going to keep trying, I think. I was a failure last year for a number of reasons. The story I'd chosen to write too closely matched the real life of a well-loved family member and he was none too pleased that I was stealing what was emotionally his. And my boyfriend had broken up with about a week into the month and while the tears came quick and swift, the words just weren't. Though, I think I probably wrote 50,000 words worth of unsent letters, pouring my heart out to him in love, anger and pain. I should have submitted that.

But this year, things are looking up! I have an idea born of original thoughts and emotions that are not those of others. I have a wonderful new boyfriend who read my first four chapters (the first three, of course, not part of the challenge) and encouraged me to keep on writing. So though I paused, for a hot minute, really in NaNo time if you think about it - I'm going to go full steam ahead.

Current NaNo Count: 12,452
Grand Total: 26,610

Need Your Input!?

2010-11-05T12:11:00.000-07:00

I'm having trouble finding really great suggestions for Beginning Readers/Early Chapter books. I'm talking really strong, stand alone titles. I'm aware of the series - Judy Moody, Mercy Watson, etc.

Anyone have a top five?

Shit. It's Almost the End of the Year.

2010-11-05T08:13:00.000-07:00

And I still need to finish -

From Eternity to Here - Sean Carroll
Freedom - Jonathan Franzen
Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett
Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius - Dave Eggers
Tiger's Curse - Colleen Houck

Can I do it in 2 months?

P.S. Happy Guy Fawkes Day!

NaNo-Rhino

2010-11-04T06:14:00.000-07:00

So I took this cute little guy from Melissa who in turn got it from its owner, Kate Higgins. He makes for a good buddy, I can tell you that much.

As of last night, I'm ahead of the count. The totals are:

Day 3 Word Count: 2,120
NaNo Total: 5,492
Grand Total: 19,650

I've been on a really good schedule - 600 words on the train (300 coming, 300 going), 500 words over lunch and the remainder in the evening.

What's shocking to me is that by the end of today, I'll be done with Chapter 4. Done!! It took me how many months to write three chapters? Also - if I stay on track, I'll have through Chapter 13 finished (but unedited, of course) by the end of the month. Craziness!

Anyway, I'm already exhausted. Since I was ahead last night, I took the time to nap on the train this morning instead of write. I really needed it. I always get a little cold at the change of the seasons. The fact that NaNo is happening at the same time is probably not good for my health. But I'll soldier on!

I'm planning on posting an Unedited Piece of My Soul at week's end.