Desperately Seeking Reading

Don't let the title of this post fool you. I read plenty, and not just the random stuff that I edit for work, but real fiction. This, of course, not only includes published books, but my own work (over and over and over and over and over and...) and the work of my critique partners. So, yeah, lots of fiction.

However, in terms of the non-work (i.e., non-editing and non-critiquing) reading, I have strayed from the YA genre as of late. I've been reading all kinds of books, but none of them seem to be the standard YA that I love and adore.

Not really sure what happened there. But, seriously, it's been a while. Welcome to my YA drought.

Okay, no, I know what happened. I was given books by several people that I either need to share with others who I will see over the holidays, or I've just had them on my shelf for so long that I'm starting to feel guilty that I haven't given them back. So, trying to clean off the shelves, so to speak. 

Anyway, so in my personal pining, I just wanted to share with you what I *want* to read, especially over the holidays or as soon as we get back from the holidays.

The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. Nope, haven't read a one of 'em yet. I know. I must be the last vestige of lameness around. It'll happen. My nephew owns book one at the least (*ahem* bought it for him last Christmas *ahem*), and possibly more, so we'll see if I can speed my way through at least the first one.

UPDATE: I just discovered that the entire trilogy is available through the Kindle Lending Library for free. Granted, you can't "borrow" more than one book per month, but, heck, how awesome is that?!?

Fallen, Torment, and Passion by Lauren Kate. Maybe I'm just a sucker for a cover, but I can't tell you how much I want to read these books. Over the summer, I almost picked up the first one from the library, until I remembered the five book reviews I had promised out in the next several months, and couldn't justify it. Really, all I want is to curl up with them on my Kindle. Want to hear something ridiculous? My local library only has #2 in ebook format. I have no idea why.

Paranormalcy, Supernaturally, and Endlessly by Kiersten White. Yup, really want to read these, too. And, yes, I know that Endlessly isn't out yet. I don't care! You know, a few months ago I hosted a give-away, and ended up sending out a copy of Paranormalcy to one of the winners. Oh, that hurt, when I SOO want to read it, too. *sigh*

Okay, enough for my whining about what I want to read. Now I just need to do it. I really think that come the new year I'll be able to read more along these lines. Here's hoping, anyway. :)


What do you want to read right now? What are you reading? Is there anything you've been dying to read but haven't been able to get your hands on it?

What I'm Reading

Right now I am enjoying the art of book-juggling. This isn't something I normally flourish at, but each thing I'm reading differs so much from the others that it's working.

Plus, I'm really behind on my GoodReads Reading Challenge, and I need to get a few books added to my total pretty soon.

So...

Power Ballads by Will Boast
Written by a college friend of mine (I'm boasting about Boast), Boast's collection of short stories is the winner of the Iowa Short Fiction Award. I'll save my thoughts for later, but I'm enjoying this quite a lot.
Review and Interview with Boast coming week of September 12.

Watching Willow Watts by Talli Roland

What a fun, lighthearted read. I'm only about a quarter through it, but I'm having trouble tearing myself from it. Of course, I knew I would, after my experience reading The Hating Game, and I couldn't wait to start this. Again, saving my thoughts for later.

Review coming September 14.

Monarch by Michelle Davidson Argyle

Okay, this one I'm actually reading for the second time. My first read was too fast. It's like when I eat chocolate chip scones—I know I love them, but I eat them so fast I don't really taste them. Well, I read Monarch so fast the first time that I just got the impression of loving it, but not enough thoughts to actually write a review. So, reading it a second time. And you know what? I'm loving it just as much even though I already know what's going to happen.

Review and Interview with Argyle coming in early October.

Entwined by Heather Dixon

This was recommended to me by another blogger. So far, not bad. I can't say I'm loving it. I have my reservations. I'll think about writing a review of it when I've finished.

I have to say, though, I do love the cover.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Admittedly, I'm not reading this very fast.  Those of you who have read it know it's another WWII story, and I have difficulty reading these. Even through the poetic language and the youthful perspective, the weight of the basic content drags on my psyche. So I read a little here and a little there, and eventually I'll finish it. I'm enjoying it, but it has to be interspersed with these other books of semi-lighter content.




What are you reading? Any recommendations?

Stieg Larsson and the Art of Meta Writing

Over the past few months, I've made my way through Stieg Larsson's Millennium series, and on a basic level, I've enjoyed them. The occasional fast pace makes up for some of the details.

Admittedly, however, on first glance, the first few chapters of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (#1), and then dozens of pages at a time throughout the rest of the books, feel as if they are riddled with information-dump.

While reading the first book, I didn't notice this per se, but my critiquing skills hadn't been honed to the point they were when I began The Girl who Played with Fire (#2). I just thought it took a while to get into the story (a sign of info-dump, yes). By the time I started reading #2, several months later, I had already read a few people's comments on Goodreads. One comment on #1 caught my eye.

"Got very bored after 100 pages. Sorry. Way too much narrative." (link)

I reflected and considered his point. Yes, there's a lot of narrative at the beginning, little dialogue, less action.

So, why on earth could something with so much extraneous information be so popular? They're great books. I mentioned this to a non-writing friend, and she said she simply hadn't noticed. Can it be that the populace has more patience for info-dumping than those of us who have had it drilled into our brains NOT to write like that?

Not likely. That's the populace that may eventually clothe and feed us (if we make it past a publisher's advance, of course). That's the populace we're supposed to be pleasing. It must be something else.

As I read The Girl who Played with Fire, and later The Girl who Kicked a Hornet's Nest, I focused on the extra narrative, considering its use and purpose. And here's what I came up with:

It's not info-dumping. It's meta-journalistic fiction.

Huh?

Let's start with defining our terms:

meta: adj. (of a creative work) referring to itself or to the conventions of its genre; self-referential.

The Millennium series focuses on journalists in the throes of their journalistic lives, writing and covering the daily lives around them. Journalists don't always have the luxury of paring down their prose in the way that fiction writers do. Whatever information they've uncovered today, be it the fact that Mr. X worked for Texaco in 1987 or Ms. Y has a penchant for blue suede shoes, it could all be relevant tomorrow. Therefore, it's all worth publishing.

The difference, and why we don't notice it as much, is in the presentation: an average story covers 600 to 800 words, and if more information is uncovered, it comes out tomorrow, not as an addition to today's story. There's lots of information, but it's broken up into smaller chunks, and therefore the extra is more digestible.

Larsson takes this concept of journalistic provision of information and writes in this style. In some cases (e.g., the first 100 pages of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), maybe it's hard to get through. But the bottom line is that Larsson did something quite clever with the concept of journalism, morphing it into this meta-style of journalistic fiction. It's the reader's job to uncover which bits of extraneous information are important, as if the reader is him/herself an investigator.

In this case, if we can manage through the slow start of #1, I think these books are an excellent read. Taking into consideration what Larsson has done with this meta-style, perhaps we can gain a little more patience in enduring the exposition.

Have you read the Millennium series? What did you think? How did you feel about the narrative/exposition? Was the later action enough to make up for it?

Review: A Visit from the Goon Squad

A Visit from the Goon Squad, by Jennifer Egan, got mixed reviews from some of my cohorts on GoodReads, so I was intrigued when GoodReads decided to start their Book Club Challenge (which, btw, I hadn't heard about before this book, but I hope they continue it with other selections). If you're interested, the Book Club Challenge runs through the end of July, so there's still time to sign up.

The Blurb (from GoodReads):

Bennie is an aging former punk rocker and record executive. Sasha is the passionate, troubled young woman he employs. Here Jennifer Egan brilliantly reveals their pasts, along with the inner lives of a host of other characters whose paths intersect with theirs. With music pulsing on every page, A Visit from the Goon Squad is a startling, exhilarating novel of self-destruction and redemption.

Doesn't really tell you a whole lot, does it? And, I promise you, this blurb does not prepare you for the experience.

Author Jennifer Egan
Photo courtesy of SFGate.com

The basic concept of the book follows the two characters through time and around the world in their lives, yes. What the blurb doesn't tell you is that each story is told in a different point of view (at least two are 1st person, neither of which are from Bennie or Sasha's perspective, one in second person, and a myriad of 3rd person close narratives), only two of which directly highlight Bennie and Sasha (chapters 2 and 1, respectively). Other stories deal with these two "main" characters through tangential connects or sheer-chance encounters, though they all serve to tell the stories of these two characters in a non-traditional sense.

The question that people keep posing, though, is: Is it really a novel? Or is it a collection of short stories?

In my not-so-humble opinion, I'm going to go out on a limb and call it a novel. I really believe it is, though it stretches the boundaries of what the traditional definition entails. All the stories revolve around either Sasha or Bennie. The exceptions are, perhaps, chapters 4 and 5, in which I find no clear, direct connection, but only a tangential (in the mathematical sense of touching at one point, not in the conversational sense in which something is an off-shoot) way.

The way Egan weaves the individual stories, though, made me want to keep reading despite the initial disjunction between the stories. I had been forewarned about this apparent disunity by reading my friends' reviews on GoodReads, so I felt prepared, and I think this helped in my appreciation of the offering. If I had gone in to reading this without that knowledge, I might have been irritated by it as well.

Photo courtesy of Wiki Commons

In an interview, Egan compares the story concepts to a music album—an apt structural comparison given the subject nature behind the stories. Thirteen "tracks" that all come together to make a whole. In buying an album, we as listeners do not expect each song to have the same subject, or the same tempo, or even the same singer in the case of, say, the Beatles. Yet we feel the wholeness of the album. In this same way, Egan has compiled her stories, each individual in their own rights, which together construct a complete piece.

My only real complaint about the book is about how the stories stack together. I love the increased pace that runs throughout the book, which I believe culminates in chapter 12 "Great Rock and Roll Pauses". This chapter is powerful, not only in its plot and characters and emotional thread, but also in how it's presented: it's a visual narrative, created as a slide show diary entry from the POV of Sasha's daughter. This is, in fact, my favorite story of the book (with chapter 10, "Out of Body", as a close second). My complaint actually stems from the final story, which, after such a powerful chapter 12, seems to fall flat. I didn't feel the emotional resonance that had echoed through each of the previous stories, raising to concert levels in chapter 12. Perhaps my eardrums couldn't atune themselves to the acoustic guitar of chapter 13 after the amplified light show. Either way, it felt anti-climactic at best, and left an unsavory residue to associate with the book as a whole.

Bummer, because, otherwise, I really loved the book.

The bottom line: Read this book. Be prepared for a non-traditional novel experience. And let yourself be carried along for the ride. It's worth it.

What other non-traditionally structured novels have you read?

Lymph (#atozchallenge)

Welcome to today's post on the A-to-Z Blogging Challenge. My challenge, as I have chosen to accept it, is thus: I have asked on my Facebook and Twitter accounts for people to contribute random words beginning with today's letter. From Random.org, I have selected one of these words, and will below challenge myself to connect said word to writing.

For the letter L, I received 42 suggestions. Random.org selected number 20: Lymph.


Lymph

Can you imagine how I felt when this word was selected by Random.org? When I think of the word "lymph" I think "node". I'm not a sciency gal, so what was I going to do with that?

Just to be on the safe side, I went to Dictionary.com. And this is what I found (direct link to page):

lymph

/lɪmf/ Show Spelled[limf] Show IPA

–noun

1. Anatomy, Physiology: a clear yellowish, slightly alkaline, coagulable fluid, containing white blood cells in a liquid resembling blood plasma, that is derived from the tissues of the body and conveyed to the bloodstream by the lymphatic vessels.
2. Archaic: the sap of a plant.
3. Archaic: a stream or spring of clear, pure water.

Origin:
1620–30;  < Latin lympha  water (earlier *limpa; see limpid); pseudo-Greek  form, by association with nympha  < Greek nýmphē nymph


Interesting, huh?

Words are constantly changing their meanings. Well, words aren't in charge of that—people are. A case in point: COOL. During WWI, cool meant a low temperature, but not quite cold. Now? Or how about SQUARE? The antithesis of COOL, or just a parallelogram?

What I'm about to say doesn't so much apply to literary fiction as it does to genre fiction. Consider yourself warned :)

Writers need to be careful about their word choices in works which are intended to be "timeless". I'm thinking about science fiction and fantasy, mainly. Characters shouldn't be speaking jive, wondering about that square cat who stole his bread/dough/moola. Their words need to withstand the test of time.

Okay, maybe not the test of "pure water" becomes "nasty puss", but keep the slang OUT. Make the words as timeless as possible. Your readers in three generations will thank you, too.

Do you use slang in your writing? How do you make your work timeless?




I'm taking suggestions today for the letter S. Have any? Leave them below. Thanks!

What I'm Reading

Let me say first that all this reading—along with my schedule being a complete mess still despite attempts to smooth it—is slightly detracting from my writing. I will find the time to write more, and soon, but reading is so much easier, and more passive.

Maybe I should be reading that WIP from months ago? Hey, that's an idea. Perhaps I'll print it and start reading it again this weekend.

Well, in the meantime...

First, I'm (still) reading, on and off Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. While I kind of enjoy reading his secrets from behind the swinging door, it kind of also makes me never want to eat out again, especially being a vegetarian with other dietary restrictions.

I'm also currently reading The Hating Game by Talli Rolland. I downloaded this to my Kindle App on my computer, and so far I've really been enjoying it.  I have been taking a few minutes to wind down between working and my evening class by reading a few pages of this. Definitely a fun read.

Substitute Me by Lori L. Tharps, which I won from a contest on Charity's blog. So far I'm enjoying it. I love the dual-character focus of the narrator, among many other things.

Finally, while I was working on the latest WIP, I realized that my MC is an avid reader, and she needed something apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic and relatively classic to read. So I've been sampling, mainly pulling from my own shelves. Currently I've got my paws in Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut. After that I plan to tackle We by Yevgeny Zamyatin and The Stand by Stephen King.

What are you currently reading? Do you have any other suggestions for classic apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic lit?

Notes on Revision

As you may (or may not) recall from December, I've been reading Stephen King's On Writing. There are two major reasons why I'm still reading it. First, I went on a reading binge over winter break—7 books in 19 days—which was amazing, but I limited my reads mainly to fiction. Second, every time I pick up King's book and read a section, I want to grab my computer and write! Not too helpful in keeping up the reading stamina.

My latest insight from Mr. King has to do with WHEN to revise. He suggests leaving your baby on the sidelines until you've all but forgotten about it. It's the writer's version of the "old" adage, mentioned in the movie Swingers—she won't call until he's completely forgotten about her. King suggests a minimum of 6-8 weeks apart from your latest prodigal work.

I had promised myself at least a month away from my NaNo work before revising it, but over the break I cheated a little. I tried working on it one morning and I'll tell you, it was PAINFUL. The whole thing continually frustrated me. I didn't get very far, to say the least.

King also suggests working on something else in between the original write and the revising. Something that can easily fill in the time slot between draft 1 and draft 2. Something that's completely different from the original project in question. So I've been working on this new dystopian, post-apocalyptic YA mumbo-jumbo that, unfortunately, for the first time for me, has no set ending in my mind. I mean, the mental outline is coming along, developing some decent plot twists, and the basic stuff at the beginning isn't going to make or break the ending, but I'm in personal uncharted territory. And it's scary. And it's hard.

I'll push through, though. Don't worry.

But with all of this, the funny bit is that I did set aside something before NaNo, and I have all but forgotten about it. It didn't even occur to me to go back and revise it until I read this section in King's book. My first big piece (that doesn't fall into the FanFic category) is sitting on my hard drive, all but forgotten, waiting for me to come back and edit it up. I can read it as if it had been written by someone else, rip it up, and decide if I want to market it or not. I might be able to do a better job with fresher eyes.

So, to summarize:

• Monarchy's Lies (currently in search of a new title): ready for the knife.
• Demon (also in search of a new title): desperately needing some time on the sidelines.
• Underground (working title, but, knowing me, it'll probably change): causing pain and anguish; still working on the mental outline; trying my hand at chapter 4.

What's your strategy for revising? Do you wait until you can look at a piece with "stranger's eyes" before revising? Do you have any revision secrets you can share?

Goodreads Reading Challenge

One cannot be a writer without reading. But how much do you read?

I don't normally pay attention to how much I read. I read what I like (and things that I don't like—usually for school), but I don't think to myself, "Oh, it's already March and I've only read 27 books." Or whatever. I can't even tell you if that's a lot or a little. I also tend to read multiple things at once, which adds to the confusion.

I would like to challenge myself by setting a goal for the year, but I don't have any idea what kind of arbitrary number to assign myself for 2011.

So my question is this: If you were doing this for yourself, how would you decide the number? Just say 52, i.e., 1 per week? Through a dart at the board for how many you would read in a month? Pick a number from a hat? Or something more "scientific"?

Thanks :)

Review of No Place for Heroes

No Place for Heroes by Laura Restrepo

From Goodreads:
From one of the most accomplished writers to emerge from Latin America, No Place for Heroes is a darkly comic novel about a mother and son who return to Buenos Aires in search of her former lover, whom she met during Argentina’s Dirty War. During Argentina’s “Dirty War” of the late ’70s and early ’80s, Lorenza and Ramon, two passionate militants opposing Videla’s dictatorship, met and fell in love. Now, Lorenza and her son, Mateo, have come to Buenos Aires to find Ramon, Mateo’s father. Holed up in the same hotel room, mother and son share a common goal, yet are worlds apart on how they perceive it. For Lorenza, who came of age in the political ferment of the ’60s, it is intertwined with her past ideological and emotional anchors (or were they illusions?), while her postmodernist son, a child of the ’90s who couldn’t care less about politics or ideology, is looking for his actual  father—not the idea of a father, but the Ramon of flesh and blood. Anything goes as this volatile pair battle it out: hilarious misunderstandings, unsettling cruelty, and even a temptation to murder. In the end, they begin to come to a more truthful understanding of each other and their human condition. No Place for Heroes is an addition to that long tradition of the eternal odd couple—in works ranging from Waiting for Godot to Kiss of the Spider Woman—waiting for their fortunes to change, written by one of the most talented and internationally celebrated authors at work today.



I am of two-minds about this book. This is probably due to the fact that there are three stories going on at once—the main story, and two main flashback-stories. The flashbacks are wonderfully crafted, as the narrator reflects on past events with the occasional dialogue interruption from the two MCs in the present. Not only that, but those story-lines are gripping, and things HAPPEN. Unfortunately, the "present" time of the story involves only reminiscing for about 98% of the time, and feels like a gimmick to reveal the flashback stories. The final 5 pages feel rushed, as if the author realized that something needed finally to happen in the "present" and threw together a quick, unsurprising ending. I'm giving this 3 stars on Goodreads because of how much I did enjoy the flashbacks, but that's all. 

Also, a note on translation. This book was originally written in Spanish, a language I can moderately read and understand. The translations feel like Spanish with English words, which simply make the English feel full of choppy or run-on sentences. I even noticed the occasional Spanish noun-adjective word order, which is only confusing when rendered in English. Finally, the translator changed all the swearing to some of the strongest of English, which I don't believe properly carry the meaning of the words in Spanish, and felt jarring in the prose. Don't get me wrong—I love a good swear word in my reading and my own writing, but only when it flows naturally from the characters or from the narrator. None of the swearing came across as natural, which I can only attribute to the lack of ability to really translate these words properly. 

This book would have been my ideal if 1) There had been no "present" time, because I truly loved the historical time and the parallels the author drew between the relationships in the story and the struggles against the Argentinean dictatorship; and 2) I had read it in Spanish. Perhaps I'll try that in the future.


Bottom Line: Read it in Spanish, if you read it at all, but I'm not gonna push it.

Review of The Handbook for Lightning Strike Survivors

The Handbook for Lightning Strike Survivors by Michele Young-Stone.

From Goodreads:

On a sunny day in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, eight-year-old Becca Burke was struck by lightning. No one believed her - not her philandering father or her drunk, love-sick mother - not even when her watch kept losing time and a spooky halo of light appeared overhead in photographs. Becca was struck again when she was sixteen. She survived, but over time she would learn that outsmarting lightning was the least of her concerns.

In rural Arkansas, Buckley R. Pitank's world seemed plagued by disaster. Ashamed but protective of his obese mother, fearful of his scathing grandmother, and always running from bullies (including his pseudo-evangelical stepfather), he needed a miracle to set him free. At thirteen years old, Buckley witnessed a lightning strike that would change everything.

Now an art student in New York City, Becca Burke is a gifted but tortured painter who strives to recapture the intensity of her lightning-strike memories on canvas. On the night of her first gallery opening, a stranger appears and is captivated by her art. Who is this odd young man with whom she shares a mysterious connection?

When Buckley and Becca finally meet, neither is prepared for the charge of emotions - or for the perilous event that will bring them even closer to each other, and to the families they've been running from for as long as they can remember.



Young-Stone has an amazing gift of craft when it comes to both language and time. This book takes the reader on not one, but two adventures for over 300 pages until the stories finally converge. Maintaining interest in two protagonists for such a long time can be a difficult and daunting task, but Young-Stone has done a beautiful job. Each person is appropriately human, and the reader loves or hates them as if they had walked out of real life and settled on the page.


I was extremely lucky, because I won this book from Therese Walsh's 50+ book contest in August. I suspect I wouldn't have read The Handbook otherwise, as it's not within my personal realm of genre fiction. So, thank you to Theresa for holding the contest, and thank you so much to Michele for including her book and sending the copy to me.

Bottom line: Read this book. You won't regret it, unless it makes you more prone to lightning. I seem to be safe so far :)

Update

I have temporarily extracted myself from cyberspace, and will be AWOL for a few more days, but I wanted to let you all know that I'm still alive and kicking.

1) Got the awesome hair treatment done, and I LOVE it! If you have hair like mine, I highly recommend the Global Keratin treatment (as well as Erin at Rocstar Hair in Chicago).

2) Drove back from Chicago in nasty, horrible snow. I was a little traumatized from the drive, but arrived home safe and in one piece. I have no desire to do any driving for a while, though.

3) My husband, my mother, and I are flying to Phoenix today to visit my in-laws for the holidays. I'm really looking forward to the break and time to eat cookies and work on writing.

4) Future blog posts will include a review of The Handbook for Lightning Strike Survivors by Michele Young-Stone (which I started in October and finally finished this week), and a review of Scrivener, which I got to use for NaNo. Preview: I loved both. Stay tuned.

5) Upcoming reading for me includes: No Place for Heroes by Laura Restrepo, Junction 2020 by Carol Riggs, The Hating Game by Talli Roland, and finishing On Writing by Stephen King. I'll post reviews of these, too, as I finish them.

What are you reading right now?

Happy Thursday, folks! :)

August Contests!

It's contest time, folks.  Here are just a few that I've come across lately:

Laura Eno is giving away two signed copies of her new release Prophecy Moon (and a third to s/he who writes the most adoring/feet-kissing comment :)  Enter before Tuesday, August 17.

Accompanying a great interview of the author, Charity at My Writing Journey is giving away Substitute Me by Lori Tharps.  Contest ends Friday, August 13.

Angelique at Vampires and Tofu is having a birthday give-away.  Prizes include Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers, Shadow Hills by Anastasia Hopkus, and Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare.  Her birthday is August 30, so I think that must be the deadline... ?

Alexandra at The Publication Follies of Alexandra Shostak is giving away a copy of MATCHED by Ally Condie, or BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, sequel to BEAUTIFUL CREATURES.  **Edit** Deadline is Monday, August 30.

Okay, that's it for now.  Good luck!

Delinquent Me: Eat Pray Love - Love +

A week late is better than not at all, right?

Finish Indonesia and discuss general feelings on the book. How did it affect you? I read this book at a time in my life when I was really struggling and it had a profound effect on me so I am curious to see what others thought of something so deeply personal. 

Will you go see the movie? Will you read Committed which is Gilbert’s follow up to Eat Pray Love?

What are some of your favorite quotes from the book?

 
I really enjoyed the book, and the Pray section impacted me the most.  In fact, I would go so far as to say my deep love of her time in India got me hyped up enough that her time in Indonesia was a real let-down.  That's not to say it was bad, but it wasn't amazing in the way I'd anticipated.  That being said, I loved our medicine man and his Bali meditation:  have every part of your body smile, even your liver.  I need to work on that.  I'm not sure my liver is accustomed to smiling.


Will I see the movie?  Probably not in the theater.  Netflix will send it to me in six to eight months, and by then I will have enough distance from my reading that one will not affect the other.  

Will I read Committed?  Again, probably not, mostly due to my disappointment in the last section, and assuming Committed is based on her time with Filipe.  Don't get me wrong.  I'm thrilled that Liz found true love and could move on with her life a healed woman, but the healing was more interesting to me than the love she allowed herself in the end.


Most of my favorite quotes can be found in my last post on Pray.



Award!

Thank you, Medeia!

I've decided to follow a theme in passing on this award.  I'd like to share this with the EPL book club, since I have so enjoyed reading the book along with other people.  It was a fantastic idea, and I am especially grateful to The Book Vixen for organizing it.

Jamie at Three Cheers for Literacy
Nicole at Home Grown Me
Charlie at Life Happens
Lily of Darkness at Lilium's Realm
Erika at Kiss My Book
Jamie at The Book Junkie's Bookshelf
The Book Vixen


Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the book.  It's been delightful reading along with you.

ACK! Book Overload!

So, this should not be a problem.  It just shouldn't.  I shouldn't have to complain about this at all, but here it is anyway.

I have too much to read.

And it's all stuff I want to read—meaning, it's not for research or homework! :)

*sigh*

1) Eat Pray Love, of course.  I need to keep up with that for my book club obligations.  And I'm loving it even more now that we're into the Pray part.  I'm really interested in her spiritually journey.

2) I still have my copies of Lizard and Kitchen, both by Banana Yoshimoto, from the library.  Lizard is due tomorrow, so I think I'm going to try and get through that tonight (I've already renewed it once).
Update: Already finished Lizard.  Still haven't started Kitchen.

3) Today in the mail I got my copy of Lindsey's Leavitt's Princess for Hire.  What I didn't realize is that I would ALSO get a copy of Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick.  I thought the other winner from that drawing would get it, not me.  How excited was I when I opened the box?!?!

Admittedly, I'm going to wait at least a little bit on Princess for Hire.  I'm going to read it along with my sister-in-law.  It's a YA book (Disney/Hyperion), so it would also be appropriate for my niece.  I think it would be fun for us all to read it together.  But she needs to get the book first :)

4) We got a notice today from the library that The Passage by Justin Cronin is waiting for me.  With all the hype around this book, I just couldn't wait.  I just get giddy for vampires, what can I say?  The problem is that it's 766pp, and since it's so hot and there's a waiting list as long as Rapunzel's hair, I won't be able to renew it.  That's going to be pretty intense, I think.

So there will be more book reviews in my future.  I can't tell you which will come first, but keep an eye out.  And keep your fingers crossed that I get enough sleep and get my homework finished :/

A Review, a Review-Like Rant, and Other Book Related News

Actually, I think I'll start with my non-review news.  A couple of weeks ago I won two books!  Woohoo!  First, I won Princess for Hire by Lindsey Leavitt through her Impact Initiative series, and I'm really excited to read it.  Second, I won a copy of No Place for Heroes: A Novel by Laura Restrepo from Goodreads.  I haven't received either, yet, but I'm really excited.  I'm sure you'll hear all about it when I do.

Princess for Hire (from Goodreads):  When a well-dressed woman steps out of a bubble and wants to know if you'd like to become a substitute princess, do you

A) run
B) faint
C) say yes?

For Desi Bascomb, who's been longing for some glamour in her Idaho life, the choice is a definite C). Desi has a rare ability: with the help of "Royal Rouge," she can temporarily transform into the exact look-alike of any princess who needs her subbing services. Dream come true, right?

Well, Desi soon discovers that subbing involves a lot more than wearing a tiara and waving at cameras.... In this winning debut, one girl's dream of glamour transforms into the desire to make a positive impact. And an impact Desi makes, one royal fiasco at a time.

No Place for Heroes: A Novel (from Goodreads):  During Argentina’s “Dirty War” of the late ’70s and early ’80s, Lorenza and Ramon, two passionate militants opposing Videla’s dictatorship, met and fell in love. Now, Lorenza and her son, Mateo, have come to Buenos Aires to find Ramon, Mateo’s father. Holed up in the same hotel room, mother and son share a common goal, yet are worlds apart on how they perceive it. For Lorenza, who came of age in the political ferment of the ’60s, it is intertwined with her past ideological and emotional anchors (or were they illusions?), while her postmodernist son, a child of the ’90s who couldn’t care less about politics or ideology, is looking for his actual  father—not the idea of a father, but the Ramon of flesh and blood.

Anything goes as this volatile pair battle it out: hilarious misunderstandings, unsettling cruelty, and even a temptation to murder. In the end, they begin to come to a more truthful understanding of each other and their human condition.

No Place for Heroes is an addition to that long tradition of the eternal odd couple—in works ranging from Waiting for Godot to Kiss of the Spider Woman—waiting for their fortunes to change, written by one of the most talented and internationally celebrated authors at work today.



Now, on to the reviews:

Review: I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder

From Goodreads:   
Girl meets boy.Girl loses boy.
Girl gets boy back...
...sort of.

Ava can't see him or touch him, unless she's dreaming. She can't hear his voice, except for the faint whispers in her mind. Most would think she's crazy, but she knows he's here.

Jackson. The boy Ava thought she'd spend the rest of her life with. He's back from the dead, as proof that love truly knows no bounds.

My take:  This novel is beautifully crafted, written in verse.  It's written in such a tight fashion that I read it in two sittings of about a half-hour each.  But don't let the speed fool you.  This story is a continuous emotional ride.  Every word has shade and substance enough to redirect your emotional compass.  It's been a long time since I've read a book so beautifully written and so powerful that I cried.   It is truly an amazing read.

WARNING:  This is not a book to be read in a park, on a train, while driving, in the library, at your friend's house (although, your boyfriend's place might be okay if you want to induce extra snuggling), or any other public venue.  You will cry.

The bottom line:  You must read this book!

Want to know more?  Check out this interview with Lisa Schroeder.

Review/Rant:  The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer

From Goodreads: Bree Tanner can barely remember life before she had uncannily powerful senses, superhuman reflexes and unstoppable physical strength. Life before she had a relentless thirst for blood... life before she became a vampire.

All Bree knows is that living with her fellow newborns has few certainties and even fewer rules: watch your back, don't draw attention to yourself and, above all, make it home by sunrise or die. What she doesn't know: her time as an immortal is quickly running out.

Then Bree finds an unexpected friend in Diego, a newborn just as curious as Bree about their mysterious creator, whom they know only as "her". As they come to realize that the newborns are pawns in a game larger than anything they could have imagined, Bree and Diego must choose sides and decide whom to trust. But when everything you know about vampires is based on a lie, how do you find the truth?

My take: Stephenie Meyer said recently that she was burnt out on vampires.  After reading this, so am I.  Well, her breed of vampires, anyway.  While this novella was surely not written of the fly in the past six months to be released—coincidentally—just in time for the release of Eclipse, I can't help but wonder if this was past of the idea eighteen months ago or two years ago, following the instant success of Twilight.

I don't know what I was expecting.  This novella doesn't have the tortured, forbidden romance or the overwhelming fear of impending doom, or, hell!, even a suspenseful, surprise ending—unless you haven't already read Eclipse, in which case I wonder why you're reading Bree Tanner.  Anyway, Meyer's writing style is consistent throughout her four Twilight novels and this novella and, well, as was well put by Alan Rinzler, some people are great writers and others are great storytellers (he mentions Myers (sic) specifically).

While I do not contest that Meyer is a great storyteller—I love Twilight as much as the next vampire junkie—I did not connect to Bree's story at all.  In Twilight et al, I can connect with Bella.  I don't necessarily have to like her, or agree with her actions, but having two X chromosomes and having been to high school and remembering what it's like to fall in love really puts us on the same plane.  On the other hand, I've never been a vampire, I've never seen myself sparkle in daylight, I've never bounded through trees so that someone else wouldn't catch my scent, I've never fallen in love with someone while hiding in a cave, and, well, I've never eaten anyone.  Call me petty, but I couldn't find the love or sympathy for Bree anywhere inside me.  And I wanted to.

I wanted to like the latest addition to the Twilight Saga.  But, sadly, I feel like it's simply a rushed marketing tool to help up the ticket sales at the box office—as if they needed any help!  Twi-hards have long memories, just like their vampires.  They wouldn't have forgotten to see the movie, folks, I promise.

Anything positive?  Sure.  I really appreciated that the whole Twilight team decided to put the e-book online for free, even if it was only for a limited time.  If I had paid for this, I would have been upset and not simply disappointed.  Of course, that's also part of the marketing tool, right?  Make it available to as many people as possible right before the movie....

I need to stop.

My not-so-humble bottom line:  This one should have stayed on the shelf.


PS—None of my complaining will keep me from seeing the new movie.

Eat Pray Love - Part 2

Thanks again to the Book Vixen for organizing this book club.  I'm really enjoying reading EPL.

Please check out our other book club members (in no particular order):  Charlie at Life Happens, Jen at Jen's Corner, Jamie at Three Cheers for Literacy!!, Nicole Rene at Home Grown Me, Erika Lynn at Kiss My Book, LilyofDarkness at Lilium's Realm, Jamie at the Book Junky's Bookshelf, and, of course, the lovely Book Vixen.


After reading the book for a week what are your first impressions? So much of this part of the book is about Liz’s battle of modern vs. traditional, where do you fall on the spectrum. Are you married with children or do you never want to get married, or like most I would guess are you somewhere in between?

First impressions:  I was really enamored by the structure of 3x36.  It's a small detail, and simple, but there's something very romantic about it.  Plus, when I'm busy, it's easier to pick up the book, read 2 story-ettes, and set it back down without feeling like I need to keep reading at that exact second.  But it's also engrossing enough that I want to keep going back to it.

And her word choices frequently make me smile.  That's all.

Modern v. Traditional:  I recently read the vignette in which Liz discusses the Italian love for passion versus the American inability to really experience it.  This hit home with me.  Sleepy reflection showed me that I am, indeed, one of these poor souls (those of you who know me in person are probably giggling right now at my overdue realization).  I rarely want to sit on my porch and drink a glass of wine just because (the fact that our yard is a mosquito's heaven doesn't help).  I don't always get the idea of taking a walk just because the weather's nice.  I even remember one time a friend and I were driving through the country to our classmate's isolated home, and she remarked (something to the effect of), "This is so beautiful, driving through this tunnel of autumn leaves in every hue."  Honestly, I hadn't even noticed.  I glanced around quickly while also trying to keep my eyes on the windy road, but I took almost no time to savor it.

So, I tried to imagine myself in Liz's shoes, alone in a foreign country, desperately trying to learn a language, meet new people, and find my way.  And I couldn't imagine myself able to avoid finding "work" of some kind.  Something to keep me busy.  Something to keep me from sitting on the edge of the fountain and staring up at the cathedral and wondering at it's centuries-old architecture.

What I find amusing about this is how I relate to characters in film and fiction.  For example (especially for anyone out there who's a Joss fan), I must admit that Firefly/Serenity are not my favorites.  But, of all the characters in the show/movie, I don't love River—the subconsciously trained, psychic superninja—or Mel (though I won't deny the hotness... sorry, honey).  But I love Kalee—the carefree, naive mechanic who finds pleasure in everything she does.  Or maybe it's fitting that two of my favorite literary characters are similar:  Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's and Natasha from War and Peace.  Now, I'll happily admit that Holly's got all kinds of baggage, but don't we all?  But both of them simply enjoy being, living, celebrating the people around them... pleasure.  They may not call it as such (especially in reference to Tolstoy), but it is what it is.

If I'm so drawn to these characters, why aren't I more like that myself?  I feel like I'm the antithesis of it, really.  I know I've made huge steps in moving away from my OCD, type A+ personality over the past couple of years, but I do have a long way to go.  Having Liz's example will hopefully help.

The Significant Other:  Yes, I have one.  And he's amazing.  I'm super lucky, and believe me, I know it.  Obviously, it's not all roses and candy, but he's supportive in my mental teeter-totter when I feel like others would have gotten fed up with me long ago.  Thank you, honey!


PS--After reading a few other people's posts, I want to add to mine.  I think I'm connecting to this on many levels, including the depression and the always putting other people before myself.  It took twenty-eight years and the death of my father (yeah, I was definitely daddy's little girl) to finally look at myself and focus on me first, all through the "therapy" of bawling on the bathroom floor/the kitchen floor/in bed/everywhere.  I'm not too good at focusing on me yet.  It's a daily struggle, I admit.  This is yet another reason that I am happy to be reading this book right now, and trying to follow Liz in her quest for passion.

Broken

*sigh*

What was supposed to be a relaxing weekend—with a camping trip and a bridal shower—wasn't.  Actually, the bridal shower was fine (minus one of those people who just keep talking and you try to walk away but they follow you to keep talking to you...  a pat-yourself-on-the-head, Seinfeld kind of moment).  And the camping was fine, too.  It was me that wasn't fine.

I am a chronic migraine sufferer.  In December I finally went off my daily, preventative medication that I had been taking for four years.  That was a huge breakthrough, to not need that anymore.  And, usually, I don't.  Since December, I've now taken three trips of note—one to a conference, one to visit family, and one camping.  And each trip has found me gripped by migraines almost every day.  Luckily, I have my Wünderdroge (sumatriptan to the rescue!), so normally this isn't much of a problem.  Get migraine, pop pill, stir, wait one hour, and serve up to social obligations.  No problem.  It does make me as loopy as a slinky, but hey, I'm not in pain.

So, Saturday?  No problem.  I drove with my migraine (it wasn't too intense yet) to the bridal shower (1hr 30m), and took it when I got close enough that the loopy after-effects wouldn't inhibit my driving.  Twenty minutes in to shower, and migraine was gone.  No one ever had to know.

Sunday?  Uh oh.  The pill I took yesterday was my last one.  And it's a long weekend.  And the pharmacy with my scrip isn't open on Monday...

*sigh*

So, I spent most of Sunday handling a slowly growing migraine, only tempered by over-the-counter baby meds.  I spent most of Monday lying on my couch with an ice pack on my head (it really doesn't do much, but it makes me feel like I'm doing something proactive).  Usually my migraines can last up to three days, so I was planning a trip to my walk-in clinic to ask for the insta-shot this morning.

The other thing about my migraines: if I don't move much, they're not quite so bad.  Bending over, shaking my head, walking can all cause spikes of pain.  But sitting on the couch or lying in bed make it "better".

So, grouchy?  Yes, I was pretty grouchy.  And so not only was my head kind of broken, but I also broke my pledge from Friday:  I opened Word.  It was easier to focus on the glowing screen than on the pages of the book, and I had had a few ideas over my two computer-free days.  Fifteen pages later, I have no idea if it's decent, and I don't care.  Sometimes you have to do things to help your soul, and I needed Anabelle and Marcus in my time of grouchy pain.

This morning, I got up later than expected, and my wonderful husband drove me the pharmacy.  The migraine wasn't as bad as the past two days, so I didn't think the shot was necessary.  I picked up my scrip and took a pill before I even left the place.  Then I went to class.  I couldn't concentrate, almost fell asleep, couldn't remember vocab in Macedonian that is IDENTICAL!!! to it's Russian AND Polish counterparts (which means I have absolutely no excuse whatsoever for not knowing it).  And so I went home early and slept a few more hours.  And then spent some more time with A&M.

It's a fun scene, and there's a ridiculous amount of sexual tension.  Who wouldn't want to work on it?

Starting tomorrow, though, I'm going back to my pledge.  I will close Word.  I will not write about A or M.  I will read.  I will clear my mind for creativity.  And, to add to my pledge, I will study my Macedonian vocabulary.  I pledge this in the name of all the spirits who guide... well, not me, but Anabelle and Marcus.  They're the ones who need convincing, anyway, right?

But feel free to remind me.  I might need it.

Eat Pray Love - Part 1

I've decided to join an online "book club" for the month of July.  Well, I'm not sure book club is the correct term.  Together, we're reading Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert over the course of the month.  First, I'd like to thank The Book Vixen for organizing this.  I've been wanting to read this for quite some time, and I'm happy to have the push.

Five times this month, our dear Vixen will post questions pertaining to the book.  I'll respond here, so you can read my thoughts (I make no promises for deep and insightful comments), and I'll back to the Vixen's page with my post.  Maybe I'll even get a little more foot traffic. :)  Chances are good that *I'll* end up adding another 10 blogs to my reading list....

So, to kick it off, here are today's questions:

What have you heard about it? 

Two very important women in my life have read this book (yes, you both know who you are) and have had quite positive things to say about it.  They both follow my blog, so I hope they'll join in the discussion.

I actually met another woman this morning who happened to be in the office when I picked up the book.  She got so excited talking to me about it, asking if I would finish it before the movie, etc.  It definitely helped raise my excitement level (not that it needed much help).

What preconceived notions do you have of the book as a first time reader?
I don't think I really have any, except that I should enjoy the read.  I haven't met anyone who's read it and not liked it.

What do you anticipate going into it? I'm not sure.  That it will make me hungry, make me want to focus on my spirit more, and make me appreciate the love that I have.

A little corny, huh?  Oh well.

Why do you want to read it?

Why not?  It's good for the soul. :)

Okay, I'm off to get started now.  Anyone else who wants to read along, the plan is to finish the Eat part by July 11.  Happy reading!