Month: February 2015

Reader Questionnaire and Random Musings

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I found this over on bluchickenninja’s blog awhile back, but I haven’t had the time to follow suit until now. It just felt like a fun little writing exercise, and I’ve been silent on the blog for a few days due to, well, life stuff (good life stuff, just stuff). Feel free to follow suit on your own writing exercise.

1. What is your favorite book?

Like most avid readers, this question is nearly impossible to actually answer. Really?! JUST ONE?! Still, I do have a few that I point to as “keystone” books for shaping who I am.  Jane Eyre, which I read in the 6th grade, remains a turning point for me as a reader.

Who DOESN'T want a Jane Eyre baby book?!

Who DOESN’T want a Jane Eyre baby book?!

Jane Yolen’s Sister Light, Sister Dark and White Jenna were equally as pivotal.

 sisterlsd whitejenna

2. What are your goals? For the year? For your life?

First, to get healthier. I know this is an ongoing goal, but I’m really focusing on it right now.

Second, reading a minimum of 48 books for this year and writing in this blog regularly. So far, I think I’ll come out ahead!

3. Are you a writer? If so, tell me about your work.

This is a bit of a loaded question. I assume it means, “are you a published or attempting to be published writer.” I’m certainly not published, and I’m not certain I’m trying, but I do consider myself a writer. A writer of poetry, critical thought, ideas, life. Aren’t we all writers of a sort on here? Words and writing feel like part of my blood and breath, and that in turn describes “my work.”  Usually spur of the moment tales, dark dreaming landscape stories and poems. I have more ideas and outlines than full creative monsters, but then again, being here is already helping me develop that further.

4. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Just one place?!  Iceland. Ireland. The Mountains (any mountains). On another train trip…maybe through the mountains.

Via Trains & Travel

Via Trains & Travel with Jim Loomis

5. What was the last movie you saw in the theatre and was it worthwhile?

American Sniper. This past weekend for my brother-in-law’s birthday. I almost went into full analytic mode about the movie here. The only thing that stopped me was getting home from the movie at Midnight. And, yes, it was worth it.

6. I’m curious, are there any books that you’ve tried to read and simply couldn’t finish? This is a no judgement zone.

Under the Dome by Stephen King. Don’t get me wrong, I like him, just NOT that book.  Middlemarch by George Eliot.

7. Are you currently working on a new book/project right now? If it’s secret, you don’t have to tell me about it. If so, however, I hope it’s going well.

Again, not a professional writer, so no. But I do have a few ideas in the work (mostly random children’s tales). Also, I need to finish editing my “poem”  A Salmon Named Ella. 

A salmon named Ella
And Nelson Mandela
One fine sunny Cape Town morn,

Deeply were talking,
While swimming and walking,
About why the fish was so forlorn.

8. If you could live in any of your favorite books, which one would you choose?

Jane Eyre, possibly or Harry Potter because, come on…

XSRcP2d

9. Are there any book-to-movie adaptations that you think are just incredible? That you absolutely hated?

Going back a bit, Contact by Carl Sagan is pretty good, though it cuts a lot of the hard core science for the movie. Also, the 2006 BBC miniseries Jane Eyre, is AWESOME. The 2011 version, not so much.  Eragon is also butchered in the film.

10. What do you look for in a book that you want to read? What’s the first thing to capture your attention?

I’ll admit it, I have a type: strong female character, unique world (dystopian/fantasy), well written prose.  I do read other things, but these are the ones that grab me first.

11. If you’re an author, what do you do when you first get an idea for a book?

Again, doesn’t apply, but my problem is that I spend hours upon hours obsessing, thinking, dreaming up the story…without writing.

12. How do you feel about different genres? Romance? YA? Sci-Fi? Poetry? Do you have any favorites? Any least-favorites?

I’m open to almost anything, but I’m not big into crime stories (Tana French’s books being an exception) or generic romance.  I do love YA, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Autobiography, & Historical Fiction.

13. If you could meet any writer in the world, dead or alive, who would it be?

Jane Yolen. Yes, she trumps Bronte on my list because she was kind enough to answer questions for a folklore project through e-mail when I was in college. SO. COOL.

14. Do you prefer Fiction or Non-Fiction?

Fiction. But I never underestimate the power of a very good non-fiction book.

15. Are there any characters that everyone loves that you can’t stand? Or vice versa?

I hate…HATE Catherine and Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights. Please…let them rot.

Also, I don’t like Twilight so I therefore despise all of the characters.

16. What do you like to do besides reading/writing?

Spinning (yarn), making soap, cooking, baking…lots of bread. Sometimes hiking, crocheting.

17. If you could be remembered for one thing, what would it be?

Apparently turning my house slowly into the witch’s house in Hansel & Gretel.

18. What is your favorite guilty pleasure book?

Anne Bishop’s Dark Jewel’s Trilogy.

Dark-Jewels

19. Do you have a reading goal set for this year?

Stated earlier: 48 books! On numbers 8 & 9 for the year right now.

20. Tell me anything about yourself that I haven’t asked. Random fact. Weird human trick. Whatever.

I am obsessed with weird animals. I want a random animal farm one day. Sheep, alpaca, chickens, goats, you name it.  I’ve wanted a pet skunk since I was a kid. I would name him Broccoli. I also think armadillos are awesome and want an armadillo basket (a taxidermied basket).

Oh yeah, I like weird taxidermy…Just look at the hat in my profile picture.

Book #7–The Walls Around Us, by Nova Ren Suma (due out March 24, 2015)

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As you may or may not know, I had the privilege to attend the American Library Association’s Midwinter Conference last week (more on that whole trip soon). During this wonderful train-snow-book-filled adventure, I acquired a whopping 47 books. Of course, most of them were free Advanced Reading Copies, and of course, I couldn’t wait to dig into them! And honestly, I cannot recommend you pre-order this book enough:

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The Walls Around Us is a fast paced tale about  two girls: one on the outside and one on the inside. Violet is a ballerina preparing to leave for Julliard who will let nothing get in the way of the future she has planned.  Amber has spent the last 3 years inside a girl’s detention center, just trying to survive each day. A third girl, Orianna, holds the keys to unlocking mysteries for all of them.  You see, as the story begins, she’s already dead.

The prose flits between place and time deftly. Employing first person narration, Suma creates distinct voices and experiences, allowing the reader to make the switches easily.  Violet, ever independent and strong willed, speaks in first person, as an “I” never a we.  Amber, on the other hand, does not distinguish herself from the rest of the prisoners. Suma gives her a third person narration, a “we” an “us” mentality.  Right from the start, these girls are set to be apart, and yet, as you must know, they are neither what they seem.

The smoothness of the text also pulls you into the story and creates an easy way to read between the lines without using jarring neon lights.  As always, I’m a sucker for language, and though it isn’t the lilting, descriptive tone I usually wilt over, The Walls Around Us employs a lively prose which fits the tense, mysterious and slightly supernatural tone of the book and ropes you right in.

Overall, The Walls Around Us is about more than ghosts or prisons or ballerinas. It’s about decisions, motivations, friendship, fear of facing reality, and about finally facing who and what you really are on the inside.

The walls are what we make of them.

Now, I leave you with the lovely view of where I finished the book…cuddled up with my oh so graceful sleeping greyhound, Prince.

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Books #5 & #6: “Kitty & the Midnight Hour” and “Kitty Goes to Washington,” by Carrie Vaughn

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We’ve finally stumbled onto one of my guilty reading pleasures. Usually, I’m not a big on urban fantasy or werewolves, but Carrie Vaughn’s Kitty Norville series caught my attention a few years ago. I must admit, I was hooked quickly.  I’ve never finished the series, but I have the first four as audiobooks, and I’ve listened to each multiple times. In fact, #5 & #6 on my list for 2015 are the first 2 of the series and my third time through each.

KittyMidnightHour KittyWashington

Carrie Vaughn’s series follows Kitty Norville, a radio talk show host who also happens to be a werewolf.  The Midnight Hour traces the rise of her show, the public outing of her werewolf-ness (though most don’t believe it) and the the power struggle with her Alpha and her pack.  Kitty Goes to Washington takes her to a Senate committee hearing in DC where she encounters a different way to live as a werewolf, a good vampire ally, and the political and religious trappings of it all.

The series is not particularly complex, but it is one of those “candy” series, as I call it. Addicting, quick, and heartpumping stories (especially as audiobooks). They make for something lighthearted to read when you don’t want to think too much.  I picked these up for their third read because after finishing Rothfuss, I didn’t want to quite get his world out of my brain right away.

Kitty is a fairly independent character, and Vaughn paints her struggle for independence and self value very realistically. I think that is part of what draws me back to the stories. Kitty isn’t a superhuman hero or weak, sexually hungry animal.  Instead, she’s clever with a sharp tongue and a calm demeanor (when she’s focusing). She’s a great listener, thus the radio show success, and she works to build a tight knit group around herself for support.  Of course, there is some ass kicking, a little bit of sex, and a lot of wolfishness, but Vaughn doesn’t really overdo the wolf nature of her characters.  The two bleed together cohesively.  The action, however, can be a bit unbelievable. I mean really, just how many problems can one person encounter?  However, I guess I can say the same thing about Buffy or Angel or Supernatural.  When you’re in the limelight or at the center of some larger mythological plot, the trouble often looks for you.

Like many of these long series, the Kitty Norville series does run the risk of getting repetitive, which is the reason I’ve never gone past book 4. I can tell the action and the relationships may start to struggle. I still want to know more, see where it leads, one day.  For now though, it’s time once again to move onto other books.

If you want something lighthearted, quick, and just plain fun, pick up Vaughn’s books.