The Secret Miracle

A couple weeks ago I was killing time at the library until I could pick up my son from a nearby birthday party being held in one of those hellishly loud inflatable nightmares when one book's spine caught my eye. I pulled it from the shelf and saw it was The Secret Miracle: The Novelist's Handbook. A quick flip to the back cover was all it took before I was running to check it out and I immediately began reading it. It's a unique book in that it has over fifty novelists featured answering questions about reading and writing. The range of writers is vast--writers from all over the world, some literary novelists, others known for their genre fiction. It's fun to see them answer questions side by side by side and it becomes apparent how different each writer's process is and what works for one novelist, might not for another. I found the book more entertaining than helpful, but I did pick up some useful advice as well as a list of more books I want to read... (sigh)

The Language of Flowers

I read about Vanessa Difffenbaugh's novel, The Language of Flowers, in Book Page. Actually, I saw it was about the problem of young adults aging out of the foster care system, read no further and put the book on hold. It's Diffenbaugh's first novel and the writing is absolutely beautiful. She also weaves the story well, but I had a hard time buying it. I almost put it down several times because it seemed too much of a stretch. I worked as a child welfare caseworker and it's hard for me to believe an infant could be brought into care and never get adopted. The character, Victoria, has nothing that would have prevented her finding a permanent home when she was young and it's extremely unlikely she'd have the same caseworker for 18 years. The stretches continued with the story, but it was hard for me to get past page 20 because of the basic premise of the book--I mean, if Victoria came into care when she was 10 or so, maybe even 8, I'd buy it, but as a baby?!?
I'm interested in the topic though and as I said, her writing is good so I pressed on. It's basically the story of how Victoria is able to overcome her tragic past and learn to love and accept love through working with flowers and their meanings. I can't really recommend this too highly, only because I'm a stickler for believability, but I would be interested in reading her next novel someday.

Peak

Isaac and I finally finished another book together-- one of the Rebecca Caudill nominees, Peak by Roland Smith. It's the story of a kid named Peak who loves to climb. His father is a famous mountain climber who has a business leading climbing tours up Mount Everest, his mother is a former climber herself who gave it up when Peak was young and married a lawyer. Peak lives in New York City with his mom, step dad, and twin sisters where he likes to scale (and tag) sky scrappers. When he is caught an arrangement is made for him to leave the country, meaning with his father. He soon learns his father is trying to get him up Mount Everest because if Peak did so, he'd be the youngest person to summit it (and dad's business would boom). On the mountain Peak is able to see his parents' varying degrees of loyalty to him and he is faced with a major, life-alterring decision. It was a great story, action-packed enough for Isaac, with themes and characters engaging enough to hold my interest.

Isaac ended up voting for this book when it was time to vote for which Rebecca Caudill book deserved the award. We hadn't finished reading it yet, but he said he was confident it really was the best. I said, "Really? Better than The Rock and the River?" And he slapped his forehead, saying how he forgot about that... moments later adding Where the Mountain Meets the Moon was another worthy contender. When we got to the end last night, Isaac said no, he was right. This was by far the best book on the nominee list this year. He was standing by the vote he cast weeks ago.

Blueprints for Building Better Girls

Elissa's Schappell's Blueprints for Building Better Girls is another book I found via "Book Page." It is a collection of short stories that all feature women in different stages of their lives. I loved how the stories overlapped. For example, a character who was mentioned in passing in one story would later be featured in another set ten years later. Like book ends, the first and last story both feature the same character, narrating her story in first person. I really enjoyed Schappell's prose and the stories she told. My favorites were probably "Elephant" (about two mothers who bond at a park), "The Joy of Cooking" (about a mother fretting about her daughter who has battled anorexia), and "I'm Only Going to Tell You This Once" (about a mother worrying about her son who has fallen hard for a girl that reminds the mother of herself when she was young and about how badly she hurt two men in particular). I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in women's experiences and identity.

On Writing

I've been following this agent's blog (who I don't plan to query, but find interesting). She had a contest about a month ago and gave away three of her favorite books about writing-Bird by Bird, The Forest for the Trees, and Stephen King's On Writing. I read the first, the second isn't at the library, so I picked up the last one. I can now say that I have read a Stephen King book, even if it's not one of his novels, which is what he is famous for. The problem is I hate being scared. I saw Carrie when I was around 11 or 12 and even though I couldn't say what scared me about it, I was freaked out and jumpy for an entire month. I've heard not all of the many novels he's written are scary, so I'll have to see what's out there because I'd like to check one out after reading this book.

On Writing is part memoir, part writing instruction. King explains how he began writing and how he's worked it into his life, as well as sharing the inspiration behind many of his successful books. It was interesting and also had wonderful advice. Here's one tidbit he offered that kind of sums it all up: "If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There's no way around these two things that I'm aware of, no shortcut." I found it a helpful read.

The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur

An artist friend told me she was reading Mike Michalowicz's The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur: The tell-it-like-it-is guide to cleaning up in business, even if you are at the end of your roll. She said it was very helpful with her building herself as an artist and that I'd likely find it as useful with my writing. I had to make an interlibrary loan request so there was that anticipation that builds when you're waiting to read a book. Unfortunately, I didn't find it wildly applicable, simply because of the route I'd like to take my writing. I'd prefer to steer away from the do-it-yourself, build it from the ground up model that requires marketing and networking and all that other business stuff that I believe I'm allergic to... though I did pick up some helpful tips in taking my writing more seriously and setting goals. For anyone looking to start their own business though, this book would be a great asset.

Go Tell It On The Mountain

I've been writing this blog for about five months now, yet you wouldn't be able to tell I have a deep passion and love for African-American literature—especially from the 40s-60s. There was a time I couldn't get enough of works by Richard Wright, Gwendolyn Brooks, Ann Petry, Ralph Ellison, James Baldwin—and though their work came after the 60s, I'll go ahead and include Toni Morrison and possibly my favorite of all, Gloria Naylor. I find all these writers to have exceptional talent at crafting the written word, but they also can strangle the reader with deep emotion. Reading about the racism hurled at these writers' characters bring to life the issue in a way that changes you. It makes you more empathic and aware of the atrocities of our country; it's a lesson in humanity.

Yet for all my love for this 'genre' I had not yet read James Baldwin's famous Go Tell It On the Mountain. It wasn't because I didn't want to, or hadn't tried. I must have checked out the book from the library a dozen times over the years. I even cracked it open once or twice, but couldn't get past the first page. I decided to give it another shot—just twenty pages; Baldwin had twenty pages to pull me in or I was walking away. But I was his by page ten or so.

Go Tell It On the Mountain tells the story of a preacher and his family, spanning the lives of four characters over two generations. It's a difficult book to sum up quickly without giving too much away, but like other books by the authors I mentioned, it contains a portrait of racism and the black experience before the Civil Rights era. I enjoyed the book a lot. It's been about seven years since I read a book by Baldwin. (The first and only book I had read by him was Giovanni's Room.) I don't plan on letting so much time pass before picking up another book by him.

The Mighty Miss Malone

I very rarely buy new books. I've squelched the desire because I simply can't afford to buy them with the way I read, not to mention there is no need when you have a library card. (But what pacifies me is knowing that if I wait long enough, I'll eventually be able to find any book I want for a quarter somewhere. Because my hunger and love for books is so great that I want to own every book that I love, to have it always near--just in case.) Ah, but what does one do when a beloved author comes for a book signing? For me, I scrape up the money (or in this case, husband's old gift card) and buy it.
Christopher Paul Curtis came to town in January. Isaac and I debated which book to buy to have Curtis sign, but eventually chose his new novel, The Mighty Miss Malone.

The Mighty Miss Malone tells the story of Deza Malone, a character that appears in Bud, Not Buddy. Isaac and I began to read it together, but stopped shortly after he was reading it in school. (It was a bit repetitive for him to read it both places.) I enjoy Curtis's writing and Deza is a lovable character, but I didn't feel pulled into the story too strongly. I certainly cared what happened to Deza and her family, which is why I did eventually finish the book, but it didn't have a strong pull on me. I put it down for several weeks before picking it back up. I'm glad I read it as Curtis is a great author. He is also a wonderful speaker and if you ever get a chance to see him, you definitely should. I found a video about this book. His humor and personality doesn't shine through as much here, but it is interesting and well done... just like his books.

The Power of Now

A friend recommended Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment and I decided to give it a chance. The overall message is about being present and aware of the now--rather than looking behind at the past or forward to the future--a lesson we all need to be reminded of because of the positive impact doing so can have on our lives.

It's funny how your mood can affect your reading experience. Sometimes when I'd read this I'd be into it and feel like, 'yes, this makes perfect sense' and I liked the tone of it. Other times I'd roll my eyes and think how silly it sounded. Overall, I did like the book. It is similar to a book I read years ago called Awareness by Anthony de Mello. Awareness is more in your face and blunt though, perhaps so much that some might find it too abrasive. I think I may prefer that approach to Tolle's sometimes willowy style, but Awareness didn't have any kind of commercial success the way The Power of Now has. People (and Oprah) tend to like a gentler touch.

A Long Walk to Water

 

I wanted to read Linda Sue Park's A Long Walk to Water because all the elementary classes at my children's school read the book and it has since inspired what I'd call a movement. The book is the account of two Sudanese--one a boy beginning in 1985, the other a girl in 2008-- and tells of the journey and struggle for clean water. It is a heartbreaking book, but also inspiring to hear how much lives can change with something as simple as a well to bring people clean, safe water.

The 'movement' I mentioned above began after the first classroom read the book. One sixth grade girl was so moved she decided to raise money to get a well built. Her and her friends began making wallets and hair bows and selling them at recess. Their efforts spread to a classroom initiative, which spread to the entire school working with a goal to raise $5,000. It is pretty awe-inspiring to watch kids work so hard for such a humanitarian goal. Isaac told me yesterday that he and his friend are starting a magazine and all the money will go for the Water for Sudan Project. I hadn't started reading the book when he told me his plan. I read about half last night and the rest this morning. (It's a short little book.) I'm proud of my son (and all his peers and their teachers) for caring so much about people on the other side of the world. I'm looking forward to helping the students with their fundraising efforts as I truly believe this project can transform lives.




Note on label: I had a difficult time determining what genre to classify this book as since it is based on a true story. Eventually I looked on the title page and it said "a novel" so that's what I'm putting.