Myths can make a reality more intelligible.
-Jenny Holzer-
Thursday, May 31, 2012
May Book #6
Book: The Wager by Donna Jo Napoli
Age-range: 13 and up
I still can't decide if I loved this book or not. I liked it, for sure, but there were parts that disappointed, parts that lagged, and parts that grossed me out. I'm going to have to get some distance from it before I can say whether I loved it or not.
Happy reading!
Age-range: 13 and up
I still can't decide if I loved this book or not. I liked it, for sure, but there were parts that disappointed, parts that lagged, and parts that grossed me out. I'm going to have to get some distance from it before I can say whether I loved it or not.
Happy reading!
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Thank You to Dorothy Parker
Dear Ms. Parker,
There was an entire summer where all I read were your short stories and poems. I devoured them daily for months on end. My copy of The Portable Dorothy Parker is well-loved and marked through and through. It was through learning more about you and your life and your writing style that I realized I would never be a good short story author and should stick to novels.
Your wit, your humor, and your amazing writing will stay with me always.
Best wishes,
Pam
There was an entire summer where all I read were your short stories and poems. I devoured them daily for months on end. My copy of The Portable Dorothy Parker is well-loved and marked through and through. It was through learning more about you and your life and your writing style that I realized I would never be a good short story author and should stick to novels.
Your wit, your humor, and your amazing writing will stay with me always.
Best wishes,
Pam
Monday, May 28, 2012
Thank You to Betty Smith
Dear Ms. Smith,
When I first read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn I felt an instant kinship to Francie. It was a book that I have come back to again and again. Every time I read it I come away with something new and a new outlook. It's one of those books that never gets old.
Thank you for writing it. It's meant a lot to me.
Best wishes,
Pam
When I first read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn I felt an instant kinship to Francie. It was a book that I have come back to again and again. Every time I read it I come away with something new and a new outlook. It's one of those books that never gets old.
Thank you for writing it. It's meant a lot to me.
Best wishes,
Pam
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Thank You to Willa Cather
Dear Ms. Cather,
I really enjoyed your book My Antonia. It was so beautiful and thought-provoking. It's one that I recommend to my friends on a regular basis. I especially loved your thoughts on prayer and the inclusion about the legend of the sunflowers.
Thank you for your beautiful writing.
Best wishes,
Pam
I really enjoyed your book My Antonia. It was so beautiful and thought-provoking. It's one that I recommend to my friends on a regular basis. I especially loved your thoughts on prayer and the inclusion about the legend of the sunflowers.
Thank you for your beautiful writing.
Best wishes,
Pam
May Book #5
Book: A Breath of Eyre by Eve Marie Mont
Age-range: 13 and up
This was our book club read for the month and it's always so interesting to talk it over with my girls. All in all I think this was a pretty good book. It's supposed to be the first in a trilogy. I wasn't drawn in enough to want to read the next books, but there were still things about this book that I liked.
If you're going to read a book, however, I would just stick with the original Jane Eyre.
Age-range: 13 and up
This was our book club read for the month and it's always so interesting to talk it over with my girls. All in all I think this was a pretty good book. It's supposed to be the first in a trilogy. I wasn't drawn in enough to want to read the next books, but there were still things about this book that I liked.
If you're going to read a book, however, I would just stick with the original Jane Eyre.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Thank You to Pam Conrad
Dear Ms. Conrad,
I was in elementary school when I first read your book Stonewords: A Ghost Story. I think I can safely say that you were the first author who inspired me to want to write. I can also safely say that your book inspired my first book Cursed With a Knife, which I wrote in 3rd or 4th grade and was just as awesome as it sounds.
Your descriptions were so beautiful that they've stayed with me all these years. When I think of certain lines in your book I get that wrapped-in-a-towel-fresh-out-of-the-dryer feeling. Even today they fill me with awe, not having lost any of their luster over the last 20 years.
Thank you so much.
Best wishes,
Pam
I was in elementary school when I first read your book Stonewords: A Ghost Story. I think I can safely say that you were the first author who inspired me to want to write. I can also safely say that your book inspired my first book Cursed With a Knife, which I wrote in 3rd or 4th grade and was just as awesome as it sounds.
Your descriptions were so beautiful that they've stayed with me all these years. When I think of certain lines in your book I get that wrapped-in-a-towel-fresh-out-of-the-dryer feeling. Even today they fill me with awe, not having lost any of their luster over the last 20 years.
Thank you so much.
Best wishes,
Pam
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Thank You to Sylvia Plath
Dear Ms. Plath,
I first read your book The Bell Jar when I was in high school. I had been having my own struggle with depression and I'm still not sure whether your book helped or made it worse. All I know is it became embedded in the fabric of who I am and I still carry passages from it within me.
After reading your novel I discovered your poetry and other writings. Then I became intrigued by your life. It always makes me sad to think about how much you must have been suffering to kill yourself even when you had children. I look at my boys and I know I could never leave them in such a way.
So much of what you wrote has a sense of humor, yet you're mostly known for your depression. I wonder if that bothers you or if you're able to accept it. I know that, for me, your writing has meant a lot and I know, and admire you, for more than just your suicide.
Best wishes,
Pam
I first read your book The Bell Jar when I was in high school. I had been having my own struggle with depression and I'm still not sure whether your book helped or made it worse. All I know is it became embedded in the fabric of who I am and I still carry passages from it within me.
After reading your novel I discovered your poetry and other writings. Then I became intrigued by your life. It always makes me sad to think about how much you must have been suffering to kill yourself even when you had children. I look at my boys and I know I could never leave them in such a way.
So much of what you wrote has a sense of humor, yet you're mostly known for your depression. I wonder if that bothers you or if you're able to accept it. I know that, for me, your writing has meant a lot and I know, and admire you, for more than just your suicide.
Best wishes,
Pam
May Book #4
Book: The Antelope Wife by Louise Erdrich
Age-range: 16 and up
This is one of those books that's going to take a long time to settle in my brain. I don't even know how to describe it. To be honest, I'm not even sure if I liked it or not. It intrigued me, for sure, or I wouldn't have finished it, but did I like it? Hmmm. I'll have to think about that.
The story is about these connected families over generations. It's very broad-sweeping and, at times, magical. There are uncomfortable moments, heartbreaking instances, and events that left me shaking my head. But I enjoyed learning more about the Ojibwa tribe of American Indians/Native Americans (whatever the PC term is right now).
But like I said, this book is going to take some time for me to come to terms with and maybe once I do that I'll know if I liked it or not.
Happy reading!
Age-range: 16 and up
This is one of those books that's going to take a long time to settle in my brain. I don't even know how to describe it. To be honest, I'm not even sure if I liked it or not. It intrigued me, for sure, or I wouldn't have finished it, but did I like it? Hmmm. I'll have to think about that.
The story is about these connected families over generations. It's very broad-sweeping and, at times, magical. There are uncomfortable moments, heartbreaking instances, and events that left me shaking my head. But I enjoyed learning more about the Ojibwa tribe of American Indians/Native Americans (whatever the PC term is right now).
But like I said, this book is going to take some time for me to come to terms with and maybe once I do that I'll know if I liked it or not.
Happy reading!
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Thursday Thought
You learn the rules. You learn the discipline. And then you break the rules to find your freedom.
-Marco de Luca-
-Marco de Luca-
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
May Book #3
Book: Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
Age-range: 10 and up
As good as the first time?: You betcha!
In my quest to read all of Austen's works this summer I have now read two: Emma and Pride & Prejudice. I've read P&P a lot. In high school my friends and I read it simultaneously and then discussed it. I read it every summer for awhile (more as an excuse to watch the A&E movie with Colin Firth than anything else). After my great disappointment in Emma, however, I was wary.
There was no need to be. P&P was just as good on this re-reading as it has been in years past. And, although it is so prosaic, at this point P&P is my favorite Austen novel.
Happy reading!
Age-range: 10 and up
As good as the first time?: You betcha!
In my quest to read all of Austen's works this summer I have now read two: Emma and Pride & Prejudice. I've read P&P a lot. In high school my friends and I read it simultaneously and then discussed it. I read it every summer for awhile (more as an excuse to watch the A&E movie with Colin Firth than anything else). After my great disappointment in Emma, however, I was wary.
There was no need to be. P&P was just as good on this re-reading as it has been in years past. And, although it is so prosaic, at this point P&P is my favorite Austen novel.
Happy reading!
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Thank You to Jane Austen
Dear Miss Austen,
I don't remember when exactly your books came into my life, but it feels as though they were always there. My sisters and I would read Pride and Prejudice and watch the Colin Firth movie every summer at least. I've read all your books at least once (except Sense and Sensibility, though I plan on trying again very soon). The more I've learned about your life the more satisfied I am with your works.
Thank you for writing, even though you had to hide that part of yourself for so long.
Best wishes,
Pam
I don't remember when exactly your books came into my life, but it feels as though they were always there. My sisters and I would read Pride and Prejudice and watch the Colin Firth movie every summer at least. I've read all your books at least once (except Sense and Sensibility, though I plan on trying again very soon). The more I've learned about your life the more satisfied I am with your works.
Thank you for writing, even though you had to hide that part of yourself for so long.
Best wishes,
Pam
May Book #2
Book: When Women Were Birds: Fifty-four Variations on Voice by Terry Tempest Williams
Age-range: 16 and up
When I read Ms. Williams books it always takes me awhile to absorb them. Days, weeks, years. Her most famous book, Refuge, was the first one of hers that I read at a time when I desperately needed to read it. I feel that in all of her later works she hides behind words more than she did in this first one.
When Women Were Birds is no exception.
It feels as though she wants to talk about something, but is unwilling to reveal what. Perhaps on further readings I'll be able to better tell what, exactly, this book means. Definitely worth the effort, though.
Happy reading!
Age-range: 16 and up
When I read Ms. Williams books it always takes me awhile to absorb them. Days, weeks, years. Her most famous book, Refuge, was the first one of hers that I read at a time when I desperately needed to read it. I feel that in all of her later works she hides behind words more than she did in this first one.
When Women Were Birds is no exception.
It feels as though she wants to talk about something, but is unwilling to reveal what. Perhaps on further readings I'll be able to better tell what, exactly, this book means. Definitely worth the effort, though.
Happy reading!
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Thank You to Virginia Woolf
Dear Ms. Woolf,
It wasn't until college that I first learned about you. I was an 18-year-old girl trying to find my purpose. When I learned about you, your books, your life, and your death I was intrigued. I began learning all I could about you.
Fast forward to a few years later. I'm at university, married, and I've changed my major from Theatre to English. One of the required classes for my major (taught by the incomparable Francois Camoin) discussed your book To the Lighthouse. I'd never read it before. I have since read it many times. With the help of my professor, I found depth and meaning in your books in ways I had never experienced before. I understood your wit, appreciated the way your writing changed the trajectory of writing ever after.
Thank you for your writing. I wish you could have known how much you would inspire women writers all over the world.
Best wishes,
Pam
It wasn't until college that I first learned about you. I was an 18-year-old girl trying to find my purpose. When I learned about you, your books, your life, and your death I was intrigued. I began learning all I could about you.
Fast forward to a few years later. I'm at university, married, and I've changed my major from Theatre to English. One of the required classes for my major (taught by the incomparable Francois Camoin) discussed your book To the Lighthouse. I'd never read it before. I have since read it many times. With the help of my professor, I found depth and meaning in your books in ways I had never experienced before. I understood your wit, appreciated the way your writing changed the trajectory of writing ever after.
Thank you for your writing. I wish you could have known how much you would inspire women writers all over the world.
Best wishes,
Pam
Friday, May 4, 2012
May Book #1
Book: Emma by Jane Austen
Age-range: 12 and up
As good as the first time?: No, not even close
I first read Emma when I was in high school and I LOVED it! It was my absolute most favorite Austen book of all time ever until the end of the world. The last time I read it, however, was about 5 years ago. I've had such a hard time finding good books lately, so I decided to re-read some old favorites. I began with Emma.
Was it always this boring? So Emma is divided into 4 books: The first book is soooo boring. The second book is good. The third book is soooo boring. The fourth book is good. There were entire pages I skipped over. Every time Miss Bates spoke I had to skip it. Knightley was not in it nearly as much as I remembered. There were huge passages where she just told what was going on instead of putting it in dialogue or action. This was my favorite book?
What was I thinking?
So now I have to re-read all of Austen's books to re-determine my favorite one. What's your favorite Austen novel?
Age-range: 12 and up
As good as the first time?: No, not even close
I first read Emma when I was in high school and I LOVED it! It was my absolute most favorite Austen book of all time ever until the end of the world. The last time I read it, however, was about 5 years ago. I've had such a hard time finding good books lately, so I decided to re-read some old favorites. I began with Emma.
Was it always this boring? So Emma is divided into 4 books: The first book is soooo boring. The second book is good. The third book is soooo boring. The fourth book is good. There were entire pages I skipped over. Every time Miss Bates spoke I had to skip it. Knightley was not in it nearly as much as I remembered. There were huge passages where she just told what was going on instead of putting it in dialogue or action. This was my favorite book?
What was I thinking?
So now I have to re-read all of Austen's books to re-determine my favorite one. What's your favorite Austen novel?
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Thank You to Baroness Orczy
Dear Baroness Orczy,
When I was a junior in high school my English teacher, Mrs. Brandt, showed us the A&E movie version of The Scarlet Pimpernel. I was smitten immediately. I went immediately to the small library in Manti, Utah and checked out a very battered paperback version of your book. I don't remember much about that first reading experience, just that I was so caught up in what was going on in the book I can't even remember where I was sitting as I read it. It didn't take me long to finish it.
I would not be overstating it to say that book changed my life.
I've re-read it at least once every year since then. I recommend it to anyone who will listen. When I'm blocked in my own writing I will pull out my beautiful library bound copy and let it fall open to the most-read part of the book. The chapter entitled Richmond. I read it again and get so caught up in your beautiful words that it helps inspire my own.
I want to thank you for turning a small, quickly-produced play into one of my favorite books of all time. My life would not be the same without Marguerite and Percy in it.
Best wishes,
Pam
When I was a junior in high school my English teacher, Mrs. Brandt, showed us the A&E movie version of The Scarlet Pimpernel. I was smitten immediately. I went immediately to the small library in Manti, Utah and checked out a very battered paperback version of your book. I don't remember much about that first reading experience, just that I was so caught up in what was going on in the book I can't even remember where I was sitting as I read it. It didn't take me long to finish it.
I would not be overstating it to say that book changed my life.
I've re-read it at least once every year since then. I recommend it to anyone who will listen. When I'm blocked in my own writing I will pull out my beautiful library bound copy and let it fall open to the most-read part of the book. The chapter entitled Richmond. I read it again and get so caught up in your beautiful words that it helps inspire my own.
I want to thank you for turning a small, quickly-produced play into one of my favorite books of all time. My life would not be the same without Marguerite and Percy in it.
Best wishes,
Pam
May: A Month of Reading Gratitude
I have decided that every day in May I'm going to write to an author who I admire. I am pretty shy about telling authors I love them because I'm afraid they'll think I'm a dork. That all changes now!
Of course some of my favorite authors are long gone so I've decided that in those cases I will write them a letter on my blog! I won't post every letter, of course, because that would be embarrassing, just the ones to authors who are dead and won't mock me publicly. ;)
Who are your favorite authors?
Of course some of my favorite authors are long gone so I've decided that in those cases I will write them a letter on my blog! I won't post every letter, of course, because that would be embarrassing, just the ones to authors who are dead and won't mock me publicly. ;)
Who are your favorite authors?
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