Finished: When Someone You Love Is Depressed by Laura Epstein Rosen, Ph.D. and Xavier Franciso Amador, Ph.D., The Devil and Tom Walker by Washington Irving, Young Goodman Brown by Nathanial Hawthorne, The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe, The Facts Concerning the Recent Carnival of Crime in Connecticut, by Samuel L. Clemens
Reading now: School of Fear, 100 Ways America Is Screwing Up the World,
Up Next: While I Was Gone, The Outcasts of Poker Flat by Bret Harte, Chickamauga by Ambrose Bierce, Crunchy Cons: How Birkenstocked Burkeans, Gun-loving Organic Gardeners, Evangelical Free-Range Farmers, Hip Homeschooling Mamas, Right-Wing Nature Lovers, and Their Diverse Tribe of Countercultural Conservatives Plan to Save America (or at Least the Republican Party) by Rod Dreher
Feeling/Doing/Eating: drinking Kombucha, everyone asleep but me, loved Twain's take on the conscience, working my way through 100 Ways
Pages read since last update: 27 -- guess I'm slowing down more than I'm aware of
Running total of pages read since you started: 566
Mini-challenges completed: Jehara's Get Up and Move Challenge, Midnight Book Girl's Drabble, Where In the World Have You Read Today?
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Mini-Challenge for Michelle at Literarily Speaking
Mini-challenge :
This is a tough one. I think I'm going to go with a book about a little orange monster. The problem being, I don't remember the title! It was a hard-cover book, orange fabric-y. I wonder where that book is now... It was sort of a short-ish chapter-ish book with pencil drawings. It's all about a little boy who is afraid of the monster that lives in his closet and the monster who is afraid of the little boy who lives outside the closet. It really is a lovely book. I remember the boy calling his mom back in for a drink of water, the monster's mom telling him there is no such thing as little boys. Clearly, I need to call my own mom tomorrow and see if she has the book. :)
In this mini-challenge, I'm asking you to tell me about the first book you remember loving. I'm talking, soul-searing, blood-boiling, can't-get-enough-of-it love. This book doesn't have to be from your childhood but it can be.
Just write up a quick post telling me what the first book you absolutely loved was and why you loved it. If you want to include some stories about your history with this book, please do!
This is a tough one. I think I'm going to go with a book about a little orange monster. The problem being, I don't remember the title! It was a hard-cover book, orange fabric-y. I wonder where that book is now... It was sort of a short-ish chapter-ish book with pencil drawings. It's all about a little boy who is afraid of the monster that lives in his closet and the monster who is afraid of the little boy who lives outside the closet. It really is a lovely book. I remember the boy calling his mom back in for a drink of water, the monster's mom telling him there is no such thing as little boys. Clearly, I need to call my own mom tomorrow and see if she has the book. :)
Hour 17
Hour # (actual time): #17 (10:12 p.m.)
Finished: When Someone You Love Is Depressed by Laura Epstein Rosen, Ph.D. and Xavier Franciso Amador, Ph.D., The Devil and Tom Walker by Washington Irving, Young Goodman Brown by Nathanial Hawthorne
Reading now: School of Fear 100 Ways America Is Screwing Up the World
Up Next:, The Tell-Tale Heart, While I Was Gone
Feeling/Doing/Eating: Daughter asleep, so probably done with School of Fear for now. Thinking about tea and toast. Husband preparing for for bed. Think I could convince him to stay up with me if he didn't have to teach Sunday School in the morn.
Pages read since last update: 93
Running total of pages read since you started: 539
Mini-challenges completed: Jehara's Get Up and Move Challenge, Midnight Book Girl's Drabble, Where In the World Have You Read Today?, Bookish Movies Challenge
Finished: When Someone You Love Is Depressed by Laura Epstein Rosen, Ph.D. and Xavier Franciso Amador, Ph.D., The Devil and Tom Walker by Washington Irving, Young Goodman Brown by Nathanial Hawthorne
Reading now: School of Fear 100 Ways America Is Screwing Up the World
Up Next:, The Tell-Tale Heart, While I Was Gone
Feeling/Doing/Eating: Daughter asleep, so probably done with School of Fear for now. Thinking about tea and toast. Husband preparing for for bed. Think I could convince him to stay up with me if he didn't have to teach Sunday School in the morn.
Pages read since last update: 93
Running total of pages read since you started: 539
Mini-challenges completed: Jehara's Get Up and Move Challenge, Midnight Book Girl's Drabble, Where In the World Have You Read Today?, Bookish Movies Challenge
Guest Blogger for The Lost Entwife
In answer to The Lost Entwife's minichallenge, I've called in this blog's first guest blogger -- My husband, Jeremy, a former drama major/actor and current doctoral candidate studying pop culture and its intersections with religion and spirituality......
Dan Simmons' Hyperion series is one of the great underappreciated masterpieces of contemporary science fiction. Ten voyagers on a starship, telling their life stories while they approach a planet where the most terryifying life-killing force known to humanity is silently decimating the planet Hyperion. It's bawdy, Shakespearian, reflective on the great religious themes of modern life, terrifying, violent, and an updated version of the Canterbury tales. What more could you want? A really good movie of it with really good actors. Because otherwise it would suck.
My nomination for the foul-mouthed Shakespearean poet Martin Silenus is Wallace Shawn . Most of us probably know Shawn as Vizzini, the devious Sicilian from The Princess Bride (Never start a land war in Asia!). But Shawn is a consummate actor who doesn't look like other Hollywood actors (that's a plus); see My Dinner with Andre or Vanya on 42nd Street if you don't believe me. And he's perfect for the part. Here's a tidbit from the first few pages of Hyperion to indicate Silenus' personality in a nutshell - just picture Shawn in your brain:
He's immediately crazy - you get the picture. Please, if you are a science fiction fan, a literature fan, or consider yourself at all well-read, and have not read Hyperion yet, dive in immediately. And Hollywood - you've got the technology, you've got the actors - let's get this done. I'll start writing the script immediately.
Dan Simmons' Hyperion series is one of the great underappreciated masterpieces of contemporary science fiction. Ten voyagers on a starship, telling their life stories while they approach a planet where the most terryifying life-killing force known to humanity is silently decimating the planet Hyperion. It's bawdy, Shakespearian, reflective on the great religious themes of modern life, terrifying, violent, and an updated version of the Canterbury tales. What more could you want? A really good movie of it with really good actors. Because otherwise it would suck.
My nomination for the foul-mouthed Shakespearean poet Martin Silenus is Wallace Shawn . Most of us probably know Shawn as Vizzini, the devious Sicilian from The Princess Bride (Never start a land war in Asia!). But Shawn is a consummate actor who doesn't look like other Hollywood actors (that's a plus); see My Dinner with Andre or Vanya on 42nd Street if you don't believe me. And he's perfect for the part. Here's a tidbit from the first few pages of Hyperion to indicate Silenus' personality in a nutshell - just picture Shawn in your brain:
"The Consul sighed ... 'Who knows what the Ousters will do? They no longer appear to be motivated by human logic.' Martin Silenus laughed loudly, spilling his wine as he gestured. 'As if we f---ing humans were ever motivated by human logic!' He took a deep drink, wiped his mouth, and laughed again."
He's immediately crazy - you get the picture. Please, if you are a science fiction fan, a literature fan, or consider yourself at all well-read, and have not read Hyperion yet, dive in immediately. And Hollywood - you've got the technology, you've got the actors - let's get this done. I'll start writing the script immediately.
Hour 14
I'd like to pretend I skipped Hour 13 cause it was unlucky, but really I just didn't want to post the ridiculously low number of pages I've read and so decided to wait another hour to post. :)
Hour # (actual time): #14 (7:36 p.m.)
Finished: When Someone You Love Is Depressed by Laura Epstein Rosen, Ph.D. and Xavier Franciso Amador, Ph.D., The Devil and Tom Walker by Washington Irving, Young Goodman Brown by Nathanial Hawthorne
Reading now: School of Fear 100 Ways America Is Screwing Up the World
Up Next:, The Tell-Tale Heart, While I Was Gone
Feeling/Doing/Eating: Red Cabbage/Kidney Bean/Sweet Potato Soup. Need more tea, lots more tea. Husband getting daughter ready for bed and for church in the morning, then I'll go up and read to her, probably finishing School of Fear. Want to get to The Tell-Tale Heart very soon.
Pages read since last update: 25 (picture me rolling my eyes at myself)
Running total of pages read since you started: 446
Mini-challenges completed: Jehara's Get Up and Move Challenge, Midnight Book Girl's Drabble, Where In the World Have You Read Today?
Hour # (actual time): #14 (7:36 p.m.)
Finished: When Someone You Love Is Depressed by Laura Epstein Rosen, Ph.D. and Xavier Franciso Amador, Ph.D., The Devil and Tom Walker by Washington Irving, Young Goodman Brown by Nathanial Hawthorne
Reading now: School of Fear 100 Ways America Is Screwing Up the World
Up Next:, The Tell-Tale Heart, While I Was Gone
Feeling/Doing/Eating: Red Cabbage/Kidney Bean/Sweet Potato Soup. Need more tea, lots more tea. Husband getting daughter ready for bed and for church in the morning, then I'll go up and read to her, probably finishing School of Fear. Want to get to The Tell-Tale Heart very soon.
Pages read since last update: 25 (picture me rolling my eyes at myself)
Running total of pages read since you started: 446
Mini-challenges completed: Jehara's Get Up and Move Challenge, Midnight Book Girl's Drabble, Where In the World Have You Read Today?
Mid-Event Survey
Mid-Event Survey:
1. What are you reading right now?
School of Fear by Gitty Daneshvari
2. How many books have you read so far?
One book, two short stories
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? I'm looking forward to reading more short stories in The Norton Book of American Short Stories
4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?
Asked my husband to be more "on" as a slightly early birthday present to me. We are house-sitting so it's been fun to have more space to spread out. I started a blog for the first time ever.
5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
I selected a book ahead of time to read aloud to my six year old daughter for times when she really wanted to be with me. That has been working fairly well. There were men with power tools in the kitchen but I closed the door to the room I was in. :)
6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
It took me quite a while to finish my first book (When Someone You Love Is Depressed) but I think it was because it was non-fiction in a pretty hard-core way. :)
7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
No -- I think you guys rock. Thanks for all you are doing!
8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?
Good question... I might include even a bit more fluff reading and I would
like to do more cooking/baking ahead of time.
9. Are you getting tired yet?
not too bad -- but I think I do need to keep drinking water.
10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?
Just that I appreciate Google Reader to keep up with the blog.
1. What are you reading right now?
School of Fear by Gitty Daneshvari
2. How many books have you read so far?
One book, two short stories
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? I'm looking forward to reading more short stories in The Norton Book of American Short Stories
4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?
Asked my husband to be more "on" as a slightly early birthday present to me. We are house-sitting so it's been fun to have more space to spread out. I started a blog for the first time ever.
5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
I selected a book ahead of time to read aloud to my six year old daughter for times when she really wanted to be with me. That has been working fairly well. There were men with power tools in the kitchen but I closed the door to the room I was in. :)
6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
It took me quite a while to finish my first book (When Someone You Love Is Depressed) but I think it was because it was non-fiction in a pretty hard-core way. :)
7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
No -- I think you guys rock. Thanks for all you are doing!
8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?
Good question... I might include even a bit more fluff reading and I would
like to do more cooking/baking ahead of time.
9. Are you getting tired yet?
not too bad -- but I think I do need to keep drinking water.
10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?
Just that I appreciate Google Reader to keep up with the blog.
Hour 12
Hour # (actual time): #12 (5:35 p.m.)
Finished: When Someone You Love Is Depressed by Laura Epstein Rosen, Ph.D. and Xavier Franciso Amador, Ph.D., The Devil and Tom Walker by Washington Irving, Young Goodman Brown by Nathanial Hawthorne
Reading now: School of Fear
Up Next: 100 Ways America Is Screwing Up the World, The Tell-Tale Heart
Feeling/Doing/Eating: Still enjoying reading with Fiona, and read the preface (written by Howard Zinn) to 100 Ways and think it should be a very interesting read.
Pages read since last update: 40
Running total of pages read since you started: 421
Mini-challenges completed: Jehara's Get Up and Move Challenge, Midnight Book Girl's Drabble, Where In the World Have You Read Today?
Prize you’ve won:
Finished: When Someone You Love Is Depressed by Laura Epstein Rosen, Ph.D. and Xavier Franciso Amador, Ph.D., The Devil and Tom Walker by Washington Irving, Young Goodman Brown by Nathanial Hawthorne
Reading now: School of Fear
Up Next: 100 Ways America Is Screwing Up the World, The Tell-Tale Heart
Feeling/Doing/Eating: Still enjoying reading with Fiona, and read the preface (written by Howard Zinn) to 100 Ways and think it should be a very interesting read.
Pages read since last update: 40
Running total of pages read since you started: 421
Mini-challenges completed: Jehara's Get Up and Move Challenge, Midnight Book Girl's Drabble, Where In the World Have You Read Today?
Prize you’ve won:
Hour 11
Hour # (actual time): #11 (4:31 p.m.)
Finished: When Someone You Love Is Depressed by Laura Epstein Rosen, Ph.D. and Xavier Franciso Amador, Ph.D., The Devil and Tom Walker by Washington Irving, Young Goodman Brown by Nathanial Hawthorne
Reading now: School of Fear, 100 Ways America Is Screwing Up the World
Up Next: The Tell-Tale Heart
Feeling/Doing/Eating: Lots of yummy carrots, apples, celery and dip that my husband prepared. Salt & Vinegar chips that my daughter opened. Husband still napping. Enjoying reading School of Fear aloud to my daughter after several hours of solitary reading.
Pages read since last update: 14
Running total of pages read since you started: 381
Mini-challenges completed: Midnight Book Girl's Drabble, Where In the World Have You Read Today?
Prize you’ve won:
Finished: When Someone You Love Is Depressed by Laura Epstein Rosen, Ph.D. and Xavier Franciso Amador, Ph.D., The Devil and Tom Walker by Washington Irving, Young Goodman Brown by Nathanial Hawthorne
Reading now: School of Fear, 100 Ways America Is Screwing Up the World
Up Next: The Tell-Tale Heart
Feeling/Doing/Eating: Lots of yummy carrots, apples, celery and dip that my husband prepared. Salt & Vinegar chips that my daughter opened. Husband still napping. Enjoying reading School of Fear aloud to my daughter after several hours of solitary reading.
Pages read since last update: 14
Running total of pages read since you started: 381
Mini-challenges completed: Midnight Book Girl's Drabble, Where In the World Have You Read Today?
Prize you’ve won:
Hour 10
Hour # (actual time): #10 (3:50 p.m.)
Finished: When Someone You Love Is Depressed by Laura Epstein Rosen, Ph.D. and Xavier Franciso Amador, Ph.D., The Devil and Tom Walker by Washington Irving, Young Goodman Brown by Nathanial Hawthorne
Reading now: School of Fear
Up Next: 100 Ways America Is Screwing Up the World, The Tell-Tale Heart
Feeling/Doing/Eating: Husband napping, daughter playing with marble roller dealiebob, me wanting a butler. Feeling pretty decent energy-wise and the construction people are gone.
Pages read since last update: 14
Running total of pages read since you started: 367
Mini-challenges completed: Midnight Book Girl's Drabble, Where In the World Have You Read Today?
Prize you’ve won:
Finished: When Someone You Love Is Depressed by Laura Epstein Rosen, Ph.D. and Xavier Franciso Amador, Ph.D., The Devil and Tom Walker by Washington Irving, Young Goodman Brown by Nathanial Hawthorne
Reading now: School of Fear
Up Next: 100 Ways America Is Screwing Up the World, The Tell-Tale Heart
Feeling/Doing/Eating: Husband napping, daughter playing with marble roller dealiebob, me wanting a butler. Feeling pretty decent energy-wise and the construction people are gone.
Pages read since last update: 14
Running total of pages read since you started: 367
Mini-challenges completed: Midnight Book Girl's Drabble, Where In the World Have You Read Today?
Prize you’ve won:
Hour 9
Hour # (actual time): #9 (2:43 p.m.)
Finished: When Someone You Love Is Depressed by Laura Epstein Rosen, Ph.D. and Xavier Franciso Amador, Ph.D.
Reading now: School of Fear, The Devil and Tom Walker
Up Next: Young Goodman Brown by Nathanial Hawthorne
Feeling/Doing/Eating: Beginner's Mind Green Tea, wanting something more substantial to eat. Glad to finish up the When Someone You Love and get to some fiction. There were some valuable things in it, but I'm ready for narrative for at least a short while.
Pages read since last update: 37
Running total of pages read since you started: 353
Mini-challenges completed: Midnight Book Girl's Drabble
Prize you’ve won:
Finished: When Someone You Love Is Depressed by Laura Epstein Rosen, Ph.D. and Xavier Franciso Amador, Ph.D.
Reading now: School of Fear, The Devil and Tom Walker
Up Next: Young Goodman Brown by Nathanial Hawthorne
Feeling/Doing/Eating: Beginner's Mind Green Tea, wanting something more substantial to eat. Glad to finish up the When Someone You Love and get to some fiction. There were some valuable things in it, but I'm ready for narrative for at least a short while.
Pages read since last update: 37
Running total of pages read since you started: 353
Mini-challenges completed: Midnight Book Girl's Drabble
Prize you’ve won:
Drabble for Midnight Book Girl (since I have Gone-Away on the brain this week)
idea from Midnight Book Girl's mini-challenge:
Portia and Julian watched the rain streaming down the windows. It was too wet out even for Foster and Davey which meant no visits to Gone-Away to see Aunt Minnehaha and Uncle Pin. Of course, it also meant no pulling weeds for Julian's mother.
"Say, Porsh" -- [I do wish he wouldn't call me that, Portia thought] "What about Dewey's Read-a-Thon!?"
And so, they settled in to read the rest of the rainy day [and night], Portia with Wuthering Heights, Julian with a lepidoptery book, and the little boys with their space books, occasionally adding their own sound effects.
Portia and Julian watched the rain streaming down the windows. It was too wet out even for Foster and Davey which meant no visits to Gone-Away to see Aunt Minnehaha and Uncle Pin. Of course, it also meant no pulling weeds for Julian's mother.
"Say, Porsh" -- [I do wish he wouldn't call me that, Portia thought] "What about Dewey's Read-a-Thon!?"
And so, they settled in to read the rest of the rainy day [and night], Portia with Wuthering Heights, Julian with a lepidoptery book, and the little boys with their space books, occasionally adding their own sound effects.
Hour 8
Hour # (actual time): #8 (1:32 p.m.)
Finished:
Reading now: School of Fear, When Someone You Love Is Depressed
Up Next: Short stories by Washington Irving, Nathanial Hawthorne, etc.
Feeling/Doing/Eating: Daughter and husband back from bookstore. Daughter now has a new book to read, one of the Sisters Grimm. This should ensure that by my next update I've finished When Someone You Love ;)
Pages read since last update: 25
Running total of pages read since you started: 316
Mini-challenges completed:
Prize you’ve won:
Finished:
Reading now: School of Fear, When Someone You Love Is Depressed
Up Next: Short stories by Washington Irving, Nathanial Hawthorne, etc.
Feeling/Doing/Eating: Daughter and husband back from bookstore. Daughter now has a new book to read, one of the Sisters Grimm. This should ensure that by my next update I've finished When Someone You Love ;)
Pages read since last update: 25
Running total of pages read since you started: 316
Mini-challenges completed:
Prize you’ve won:
Hour 7
Hour # (actual time): #7 (12:37p.m.)
Finished:
Reading now: When Someone You Love Is Depressed, School of Fear
Up Next: (changing this one in the hopes of participating in this mini-challenge) short stories in The Norton Book of American Short Stories.
Feeling/Doing/Eating: dates are such a solution to wanting something sweet. Husband and daughter walked to local bookstore, leaving me with a "quiet" (if you don't count the 3 men with power tools in the kitchen). Husband is definitely polishing his halo today. Feeling a little sleepy, should probably be drinking more water and tea.
Pages read since last update: 30
Running total of pages read since you started: 291
Mini-challenges completed:
Prize you’ve won:
Finished:
Reading now: When Someone You Love Is Depressed, School of Fear
Up Next: (changing this one in the hopes of participating in this mini-challenge) short stories in The Norton Book of American Short Stories.
Feeling/Doing/Eating: dates are such a solution to wanting something sweet. Husband and daughter walked to local bookstore, leaving me with a "quiet" (if you don't count the 3 men with power tools in the kitchen). Husband is definitely polishing his halo today. Feeling a little sleepy, should probably be drinking more water and tea.
Pages read since last update: 30
Running total of pages read since you started: 291
Mini-challenges completed:
Prize you’ve won:
Hour 6
Hour # 6(actual time): 11:43
Finished:
Reading now: When Someone You Love Is Depressed, School of Fear
Up Next: 100 Ways America Is Screwing up the World
Feeling/Doing/Eating: Ack! the internet has been out all of this time! Probably a good thing, as it allowed me to concentrate on reading! Been reading School of Fear aloud to my daughter and When Someone You Love to myself. Drinking water and green tea and my husband brought me some cheese and crackers. :)
Pages read since last update:
Running total of pages read since you started: 261
Mini-challenges completed:
Prize you’ve won:
Finished:
Reading now: When Someone You Love Is Depressed, School of Fear
Up Next: 100 Ways America Is Screwing up the World
Feeling/Doing/Eating: Ack! the internet has been out all of this time! Probably a good thing, as it allowed me to concentrate on reading! Been reading School of Fear aloud to my daughter and When Someone You Love to myself. Drinking water and green tea and my husband brought me some cheese and crackers. :)
Pages read since last update:
Running total of pages read since you started: 261
Mini-challenges completed:
Prize you’ve won:
Read-a-thon starts in half an hour!
I'm such a dork that it took me a while to get to sleep last night -- because I had that same feeling one gets before a trip -- exciting, trying to think of anything I've forgotten, etc.
But I'm awake now and eating some yogurt & cereal and have the kettle on for tea! Everyone else is still asleep, so I'm hoping to get a bit of reading done in a very quiet house. :) I'm going to start with When Someone You Love Is Depressed because I think it's one of the drier ones on my list but I'd really love to get it read today as it's been on my shelf forever. I also have a giant anthology of short stories that I'm planning to intersperse throughout the day as lovely little breaks.
The form I'm planning to use:
Hour # (actual time):
Finished:
Up Next:
Feeling/Doing/Eating:
But I'm awake now and eating some yogurt & cereal and have the kettle on for tea! Everyone else is still asleep, so I'm hoping to get a bit of reading done in a very quiet house. :) I'm going to start with When Someone You Love Is Depressed because I think it's one of the drier ones on my list but I'd really love to get it read today as it's been on my shelf forever. I also have a giant anthology of short stories that I'm planning to intersperse throughout the day as lovely little breaks.
The form I'm planning to use:
Hour # (actual time):
Finished:
Up Next:
Feeling/Doing/Eating:
Friday, April 9, 2010
Blogging for Cathy -- Portia and Julian are my friends.
My friend Cathy has promised to share occasional writing prompts/blogging ideas with me in an attempt to blog vicariously.
Her recent question(s):
What book(s) would you like to see a sequel, series, or see the series continue and why. Is there a chance the author might write one? Have you read fan fiction or other books that continue the series but not by the author? Do you like them? Would you want to write one?
I didn't promise her I had any instant answers or ideas to these specific questions but I do want to ponder them. It's probably a good exercise to try to answer something that doesn't come instinctively.
A series I've enjoyed as a child and again as a parent is Gone-Away Lake and Return to Gone-Away, both by Elizabeth Enright. They are just so lovely. My daughter is six and I'm guessing that, between reading them on her own and being read to, she's gone through them at least 5 times each (though I'm a terrible estimator). I believe they were first published in 1956 -- the year my mother was born -- surely not a coincidence. The illustrations are by Joe and Beth Krush who seem to have illustrated quite a few children's books in that era. Two main characters, cousins Portia and Julian, spending summer vacation together. Sadly, Elizabeth Enright has died, so there will be no more stories from Gone-Away by the original author. I often find spin-off books written by other-than-the-original authors disappointing. But if I was going to choose an author to try for more Gone-Away (which feels sort of like choosing what actor one would like to play Jamie Fraser) the first name who comes to mind is Jeanne Birdsall who has written two books about the Penderwick family.
{Thinking of you, Snozz} I was prepared to say that I can't imagine there is fan fic out there. But with a minimum amount of searching I found a review (of Return to Gone-Away) on Amazon that ponders the age-old questions of how close the Villa Caprice (one of the houses surrounding Gone-Away Lake) was to the Four-Story Mistake (the house in the Melendy Quartet, also by Enright) and goes on to suggest some crossover fan fic. There are just days when you have to love the world you live in, aren't there?
I would be interested, in another year or so, to see what kind of spin-off stories my daughter would write about Portia, Julian, Foster, Uncle Pin and Aunt Minnehaha.
On the subject of fan fic in general, my only experience is with Harry Potter fan fic. I read a lot of it for about 6 months or so and enjoyed it.
Well, I feel like this is an incomplete assignment, but I think I'll stop for now. How'd I do, Cathy? :)
{Thinking of you, Snozz} I was prepared to say that I can't imagine there is fan fic out there. But with a minimum amount of searching I found a review (of Return to Gone-Away) on Amazon that ponders the age-old questions of how close the Villa Caprice (one of the houses surrounding Gone-Away Lake) was to the Four-Story Mistake (the house in the Melendy Quartet, also by Enright) and goes on to suggest some crossover fan fic. There are just days when you have to love the world you live in, aren't there?
I would be interested, in another year or so, to see what kind of spin-off stories my daughter would write about Portia, Julian, Foster, Uncle Pin and Aunt Minnehaha.
On the subject of fan fic in general, my only experience is with Harry Potter fan fic. I read a lot of it for about 6 months or so and enjoyed it.
Well, I feel like this is an incomplete assignment, but I think I'll stop for now. How'd I do, Cathy? :)
Thursday, April 8, 2010
The Friday 56: The Bunny Hop Walker
The Friday 56 is hosted by Storytime with Tonya and Friends
RULES
Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
Turn to page 56.
Find the fifth sentence.
Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like).
Post a link with your post to Storytime (and here!)
This is a memoir that I picked up on Paperbackswap. The author entered the convent in 1960 at the age of 19. I'm enjoying reading about her experiences and how she perceived things at that time. The last section is entitled "Turning to the World" which I can only guess is foreshadowing. :)
Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
Turn to page 56.
Find the fifth sentence.
Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like).
Post a link with your post to Storytime (and here!)
The Tulip and the Pope: A Nun's Story by Deborah LarsenThe Bunny Hop Walker -- we smiled at one another when we saw this -- went walking and bouncing on the balls of her feet.
This is a memoir that I picked up on Paperbackswap. The author entered the convent in 1960 at the age of 19. I'm enjoying reading about her experiences and how she perceived things at that time. The last section is entitled "Turning to the World" which I can only guess is foreshadowing. :)
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Blame the Goat
Blame
I wrote such a beautiful book for you
'Bout rainbows and sunshine
And dreams that come true.
But the goat went and ate it
(You knew that he would),
So I wrote you another one
Fast as I could.
Of course it could never be
Nearly as great
As that beautiful book
That silly goat ate.
So if you don't like
This new book I just wrote-
Blame the goat.
~From A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
For many years now, my friend Tamie and I have used this poem as an alibi to excuse the quality of our writing -- to say that it would've been this amazing and marvelous thing if it just hadn't been for that darn goat!
I find myself thinking of Shel's (he and I are on a first-name basis, did you know?) words whenever I lose an e-mail or a document, especially one that I've particularly toiled over and/or one that was fairly emotionally wrenching to get down in the first place.
Amy, this is the long way of telling you that I wrote such a beautiful facebookmessage for you but that goat went and ate (you knew that he would) so I'm off to try again -- I'd made it all the way up to 1992, too!
Amy, this is the long way of telling you that I wrote such a beautiful facebookmessage for you but that goat went and ate (you knew that he would) so I'm off to try again -- I'd made it all the way up to 1992, too!
Monday, April 5, 2010
Preparing for the read-a-thon
The read-a-thon is quickly approaching. Some books that are on the list of possible reads:
While I Was Gone by Sue Miller (recommended by my friend Jessica)
Crunchy Cons: How Birkenstocked Burkeans, Gun-loving Organic Gardeners, Evangelical Free-Range Farmers, Hip Homeschooling Mamas, Right-Wing Nature Lovers, and Their Diverse Tribe of Countercultural Conservatives Plan to Save America (or at Least the Republican Party) by Rod Dreher (should be an interesting read)
100 Ways America Is Screwing Up the World by John Tirman (you know, for when I want something cheery)
Everyday Blessings: the Inner Work of Mindful Parenting by Myla and Jon Kabat-Zinn (has been on my shelf for a while)
The Shack by Wm Paul Young (if Jeremy and I get a chance to read aloud together)
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (a re-read for me)
The Norton Book of American Short Stories edited by Peter S. Prescott (thought this one would be good for breaks between books)
When Someone You Love Is Depressed: How to Help Your Loved One without Losing Yourself by Laura Epstein Rosen, Ph.D., and Xavier Francisco Amador, Ph.D. (this has been sitting on my shelf for quite a while as well)
Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crises, and a Revolution of Hope by Brian D. McLaren (another re-read)
School of Fear by Gitty Daneshvari (for Fiona and I to read together during the read-a-thon)
It's a fairly diverse list of books that made it onto my TBR pile for various reasons. I may read others that are not on the list, but I hope to read at least five on the "set-aside specifically for the read-a-thon pile" before I move to something else. We'll see. :)
While I Was Gone by Sue Miller (recommended by my friend Jessica)
Crunchy Cons: How Birkenstocked Burkeans, Gun-loving Organic Gardeners, Evangelical Free-Range Farmers, Hip Homeschooling Mamas, Right-Wing Nature Lovers, and Their Diverse Tribe of Countercultural Conservatives Plan to Save America (or at Least the Republican Party) by Rod Dreher (should be an interesting read)
100 Ways America Is Screwing Up the World by John Tirman (you know, for when I want something cheery)
Everyday Blessings: the Inner Work of Mindful Parenting by Myla and Jon Kabat-Zinn (has been on my shelf for a while)
The Shack by Wm Paul Young (if Jeremy and I get a chance to read aloud together)
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (a re-read for me)
The Norton Book of American Short Stories edited by Peter S. Prescott (thought this one would be good for breaks between books)
When Someone You Love Is Depressed: How to Help Your Loved One without Losing Yourself by Laura Epstein Rosen, Ph.D., and Xavier Francisco Amador, Ph.D. (this has been sitting on my shelf for quite a while as well)
Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crises, and a Revolution of Hope by Brian D. McLaren (another re-read)
School of Fear by Gitty Daneshvari (for Fiona and I to read together during the read-a-thon)
It's a fairly diverse list of books that made it onto my TBR pile for various reasons. I may read others that are not on the list, but I hope to read at least five on the "set-aside specifically for the read-a-thon pile" before I move to something else. We'll see. :)
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