Category: Books

Friday Fifteen

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Another Friday Fifteen already? Get your dose of fifteen reviews in fifteen words or less:

1. The Popcorn Book by Tomie dePaola
Don’t remember a lot of story details, but I remember the art.

2. Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin
Try to remember the kind of September before you fell on the steps…

3. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Dresden parts very moving; the time travel/sci-fi aspects didn’t work for me.

4. The Vile Village (The Series of Unfortunate Events #7) by Lemony Snicket
The series starts to expand to include the Snicket side of the Baudelaire mystery.

5. The Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry, Volume 1: Modern Poetry ed. Jahan Ramazani, Richard Ellmann, and Robert O’Clair
Nice variety, found some new favorites. Got to use this in class with Ramazani!

6. The Stories of John Cheever by John Cheever
Required reading (aka peer pressure) for the MFA.

7. Little House in the Big Woods (Little House #1) by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Mom read this aloud. I made her change Mary’s name to Anne. I was invested.

8. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
And you thought middle school was bad.

9. Curious George by H.A. Rey
I was always a little nervous when George got in trouble.

10. Leonardo – A Scrapbook in Words and Pictures by Grace Catalano
I thought Leonardo DiCaprio and I were going to get married. Sorry, Leo.

11. Stitches: A Memoir by David Small
Very thoughtful, moving graphic novel. A fellow book clubber got my copy signed!

12. The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean
Chilling is pun-esque but also appropriate. Really enjoyed this one.

13. A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
Dynamic, but for some reason I remember it less than I do Woolf’s novels.

14. River Secrets (The Books of Bayern #3) by Shannon Hale
Probably my least favorite in the series, but it doesn’t miss the mark by much.

15. The Braindead Megaphone by George Saunders
One essay made me laugh hysterically on the El. Others very moving.

Leave Debtor’s Prison to the Dickens Characters

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Over at her blog, Hazel Mitchell has probably one of the smartest posts I’ve seen about writing and finances. She says writers need to have a level of financial stability in order to write well.

“I am here to tell you that this career can be a money pit. And if all it is doing is sucking your resources and leaving you in crisis it’s not a career and you may need to back off a bit.”

Blunt? Maybe, but it’s excellent advice. Even lots of really successful writers can’t afford to just be writers. They can’t travel to all the conferences or go to all the workshops. In fact, I wonder how most people afford these kinds of things anyway. Being at the SCBWI conference in New York was fantastic, and I’m planning to attend the New England version as well, but I don’t think this is something I could do every year. It’s not quite the same, but as Hazel mentions, having the internet is an extremely useful substitute. You can still connect with writers on a daily basis and get inspiration without paying for a hotel room.

The Rake's Progress, Plate 7 by Hogarth

Hazel also mentions that writing is not like being a doctor. Doctors have to pay a lot for med school, but eventually they have a more secure financial living. (Although I’m sure lots of doctors could reply and tell me otherwise.) Even if you’re extremely talented and hardworking, there’s no guarantee that you’ll ever make it as a financially viable writer. So why go into debt over something that most likely won’t make you money?

I think it comes back to that job/career balance. It can be really tempting to say you’re going to give up the day job and just write, and things will eventually come together. But I know I tend to stress about where money for heat/rent is coming from if I don’t have a job and health benefits. It can be frustrating to lose major hours of your day to something that’s not your chosen career, but in the end it might be better to go to work everyday and write whenever you can and not be crushed by debt.

I’d really recommend checking out Hazel’s whole post. It’s not gentle advice, but it’s really worth hearing.

Posts About Books About Books

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It’s Read Across America Day, so it feels very appropriate to see this post by Kate Goodman at GoodLife Eats, Etc., in which she talks about books about books. Book-ception!

She focuses on picture books, most of which I haven’t read but sound fantastic. I definitely want to check out That Book Woman by Heather Henson.

On the novel side, I’d suggest Inkheart by Cornelia Funke, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, The Princess Bride by William Goldman, and When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. Any other ideas?

A Terrific, Radiant Anniversary

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This October, Charlotte’s Web is turning 60. I’m guessing that kids reading it today are still charmed by Wilbur, Charlotte, Fern, and the rest of the cast. It has a wonderfully timeless feel, and this trailer to celebrate the upcoming anniversary got me teary:

Might have to reread this one before the anniversary! It’s been a long time.

PS–I hate spiders. I can’t even look at pictures of them. But Charlotte is okay by me.

The Perks of Being a Wallflowe-R

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The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky is a perennial YA favorite. As you’ve probably heard, it’s going to be a movie, starring Harry Potter fav Emma Watson. I think this is a hard book to adapt, since so much of it is internal, but based on the casting I’m very hopeful. Another potentially good sign is that it’s gotten an R rating.

Why should that make me hopeful? Isn’t it bad for teens not to be able to actually see the movie? First of all, teens see R-rated movies all the time. It’s not that hard to get into one or buy/stream it later. Second, it’s not a fluffy book. It covers a lot of mature topics, from sex to drugs to drinking. That’s not all the book is about, but I’m kind of glad to hear that things won’t be watered down. It’s all part of a very real teenage experience. (Okay, my teenage experience wasn’t quite that rock-and-roll, but it exists.)

Are you looking forward to the Perks movie?

Links Galore

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Lots of good links today!

Get Going, Take Notes

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Check out this fun list of writing tips from Liz Kessler. One of them:

Tip 1: Get out from behind your desk
If all you have in front of you is a computer screen, you’ll never find the inspiration you need. Get out in the world. Go for a walk in a wood, along a beach or even just round the block. If you keep your eyes open, you’ll always see something interesting. And make sure you have a notebook with you. (Buying new notebooks is half the fun of being a writer.) Even the best idea in the world can be forgotten if you’re not careful. Think of your notebook as a net to catch your ideas in, so there’s no danger of them slipping away. I’m not suggesting you write an entire novel while you’re sitting on a park bench – but if you jot down the essential ideas as they come to you, you’ll have a starting point when you get home and get down to work.

I actually really like running without music because a lot of times I end up thinking about a story I’m working on. You never know what can come up if you’re letting your mind wander without lots of other distractions.

Also, I used to be really good about keeping a notebook, but in the last few years I’ve let this lag. Liz has inspired me to get back on it. Who knows what I’ve lost by this point?!

Cool Graphics

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I don’t read a lot of graphic novels, but based on this list of suggestions it sounds like I should venture into those waters more often. One that looks especially cool:

For fans of young adult: ‘Friends With Boys‘ by Faith Erin Hicks (writer/artist). First Second, 2012. Softcover. Black & White. 224 pages. $15.99
An energetic and thoroughly engaging story about a teenage girl headed to high school after being home schooled her whole life. Though her three older brothers are already installed safely at high school, Maggie faces her own challenges, especially as their mother has recently vanished, with no sign of returning. With incredibly expressive art and vivid character design, Hicks’ story leaps off the page with its enthusiasm and sweetness, tinged (as all high school stories probably should be) with just enough darkness to keep things interesting. There’s also a supernatural element to Friends With Boys, and the way it resolves is decidedly unexpected and strengthens the book’s metaphors even more powerfully.

They know their target audience! Lots of other great suggestions, too.

What literary-leaning graphic novels would you suggest?