Friday Quote

"And by the way, everything is writable if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt."

--Sylvia Plath

What are you reading?

My reading momentum came to screeching halt when I got the stomach flu followed by a "touch of pneumonia."

Whatever.

I had pneumonia. I don't do a "touch of pneumonia."

So I'm trying to get back into what I'm reading.

My goal is to read two books at a time.

Right now it's The Maze Runner and Emma. Could not be more different from each other, which is probably a good thing.

So far I'm only so so on The Maze Runner. I was hoping for a Hunger Games/Catching Fire experience, which really isn't fair since those books are AMAZING. If you haven't read them yet, stop reading this blog and get a copy NOW. (Note: you will significantly fall behind in your laundry!)

Emma is lovely. I'm really enjoying it. Also, I'm craving a trip to the English countryside...

So, what are you reading?

What books are piled on your night stand waiting to be read?

Get Lost in Sawyer's Bookshelf

Love this show. Love books. Win, win.

What meaning can be found in the books seen on the hit television series Lost? Take a look at the books Sawyer has been caught reading and more!

Check it out!

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Newbery Award Winner (2010)

This was a lovely book. I look forward to when my kids can read it.

Here is a summary from the jacket cover:

Four mysterious letters change Miranda’s world forever.

By sixth grade, Miranda and her best friend, Sal, know how to navigate their New York City neighborhood. They know where it’s safe to go, like the local grocery store, and they know whom to avoid, like the crazy guy on the corner.

But things start to unravel. Sal gets punched by a new kid for what seems like no reason, and he shuts Miranda out of his life. The apartment key that Miranda’s mom keeps hidden for emergencies is stolen. And then Miranda finds a mysterious note scrawled on a tiny slip of paper: I am coming to save your friend’s life, and my own. I must ask two favors. First, you must write me a letter.

The notes keep coming, and Miranda slowly realizes that whoever is leaving them knows all about her, including things that have not even happened yet. Each message brings her closer to believing that only she can prevent a tragic death.

Until the final note makes her think she’s too late.

I highly recommend this book. There's mystery and humor and a mother who's diligently preparing to be a contestant on The $20,000 Pyramid with Dick Clark. You just can't beat that. Miranda is quite savvy and interesting and she comes to know herself and those she cares about in a unique way.

For me, every book has a sentence in it that makes me say to myself--see, that's why I want to be a writer. Here's an example of such a sentence.

“So I had to sit there, thirsty, and then I had to put on my warm, but still-dirty coat and take the elevator down to Annemarie’s lobby, where the lamps glowed yellow and the doorman remembered my name. It had stopped raining.” p. 113

As much as I enjoyed this book, I might have loved it even more if I’d read A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle, the novel which helps Miranda figure everything out. Madeleine L’Engle spoke at my college graduation. I think it’s time I read her books.

I discovered Rebecca Stead has a blog and I have added it to my list of sites to stalk. She mentioned she’d just read Stephen King’s On Writing. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is considering being a writer. I will never read a Stephen King novel, but I found him very interesting and quite brilliant.

I look forward to more from Rebecca Stead AND hearing from you!!

Spring means Austen

It’s officially Spring, which means I can officially begin my Jane Austen obsession.

Every Spring I feel a strong desire to read and watch everything Austen. During my last semester of college, my professor told us that his wife read Pride and Prejudice every Spring. What a lovely idea, I thought. So the following year I read P&P for the second time. And that was the end of it. Then a couple of years ago when the new Pride and Prejudice came out I once again became obsessed with Austen’s classics. I decided to renew my springtime literary obligation to immerse myself in reading her love stories.

So far this year I’ve read Sense and Sensibility, watched both versions of Persuasion, saw the new version of Emma (which I adored) and started reading the novel.

After Emma, I’d like to read Northanger Abbey because I saw the movie and it was a little strange. Now I’m curious if the book is just as bizarre.

If you are not a Jane Austen fan and you don’t understand my obsession, then this quote is for you.

“Every time I read Pride and Prejudice I want to dig her up and hit her over the skull with her own shin-bone.” ~ Mark Twain, 1898

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

There are so many things I like about this book. It’s been months since finishing and I’m still thinking about it.

The story takes place in 1946. The main character, Juliet, receives a letter from a man from the island of Guernsey, part of the Channel Islands, which endured German occupation. They become quick friends. I knew nothing of Germany’s occupation of Guernsey, but I’m sure my history channel watching husband does. I just asked him. He knew.

Juliet is a writer in search of her next project. After a few letters pass between her new friends from the island, she discovers they formed a book club. She has to know more and decides this will be the subject of her next novel.

I will leave the summary there. I don’t want to spoil anything. Hopefully it’s enough to get you curious about reading it.

The book is comprised solely of letters. This worried me at first. But after reading a couple of Juliet’s letters to her publisher/friend Sidney, I was hooked. The main character, Juliet, is charming and funny and I kind of wanna be her pen pal too (if she were real, of course).

Here’s an excerpt from one of her letters to her friend Sidney:

“The sea and the clouds don’t stay the same for five minutes running together and I’m scared I’ll miss something if I stay inside. When I got up this morning, the sea was full of sun pennies—and now it all seems to be covered in lemon scrim.” p.165

“Sun pennies”—brilliant.

I appreciated the history lesson. War is horrid and after reading this book I felt like I came to know people personally affected by it. And many of the letters left me wanting to know more.

Do you want to know more?

Check it out and let me know what you think!

Fear Observed

From A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis:

"What do people mean when they say, 'I am not afraid of God because I know He is good'? Have they never been to a dentist?"