Thursday Thought

Myths can make a reality more intelligible.
-Jenny Holzer-

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!

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

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

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

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.

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