currently

Reading
The Kennedy Chronicles. If you were a teen in the 80s/90s, you remember when MTV actually played MUSIC videos and VJs were iconic. Kennedy first appeared on the airwaves in 1992, my senior year of high school, back when we scheduled nightly activities around catching the MTV Top Ten Countdown and Alternative Nation, when the reluctant grunge Gods from Seattle ruled, and when music made a difference. I needed something light and funny that would send me on a toboggan run through memory lane. {I’ll probably review this for Bookshelf Bombshells. Keep your eyes peeled.}

I’m also scanning through Noah Lukman’s How to Land (and Keep) a Literary Agent. Self-explanatory.

Next up: a dramatic shift to Meg Waite Clayton’s The Wednesday Daughters.

Listening to
Tons and tons of Dave Matthews Band. Wednesday night the hubby and I make our annual summer pilgrimage to the DMB concert. I think this will be my 16th show? But this year is different: we’re taking the kiddo. His first (and only other) concert experience was at the ripe old age of five, when we introduced him to Sir Paul McCartney. He fell asleep halfway through the amazing show, but we woke him up just in time for him to sing along to his favorite Beatles song, Hey Jude. Now, at nearly ten, I think he’ll be able to handle the late night and dancing debauchery much better. And maybe even remember some of it.

Thinking about
Finishing edits on my manuscript. All 90k+ words must be submitted for the final round of judging of the Novel Rocket Launch Pad contest by the end of the month, along with a book proposal. (Remember, I WON the general fiction category in June. Whoo-hoo!) I’m sending chapters to my critique partner as fast as she can read them, and the feedback has been pretty positive. Thinking about where I should put my query letter up for critique.

Watching
Not much. Gator Boys reruns and Of the Hook. If anyone ever told me I’d giggle watching a wild, bearded, sometimes Speedo-wearing wrestler filming his extreme fishing quests, I’d assume someone had whacked them upside the head with a spear gun. Somehow, the whole family enjoys this irreverent show. Maybe it’s the combo of animals, humor, and a tiny bit of learning? I cannot explain it.

Bummed out on
The Zimmerman trial debacle. Once again, an over-publicized trial hits too close to home. First Casey Anthony (and I can’t even go there), now this. Any of those jurors could literally be my neighbors ( I have noticed a few friends have dropped off the face of the earth these last few weeks). I didn’t watch any of the media frenzy or trial. Saturday night, while driving home from an impromptu day of fun, we passed by one of the local news stations as its news chopper took off. The hubby and I exchanged an “uh-oh” look. Sure enough, the verdict was in. I hate the polarization the media has fueled. I don’t think this trial could have had a satisfactory conclusion. Both parties made poor decisions. Unfortunately, one paid with his life. I don’t know what happened that night—none of us do—though most of people in this country see themselves as jurors. We’re not. Let it go. Rioting will not bring the boy back or change the verdict. If you want to vent your outrage, try changing Florida’s idiotic gun laws. Then move on.

As Forrest Gump said, “And that’s all I have to say about that.”

Loving
Spending time with my mom on her birthday. It’s been years since we actually enjoyed each other’s company on one of our special days. I spend so much time fulfilling obligations, it’s a joy to simply relax with a loved one, maybe savor a yummy Panera lunch, and share some stories. Love ya, Mom.

*This post is prompted by Mama Kat and So Sweet. Thanks for the idea, ladies!
**AND I’m sharing over with Shell at Things I can’t Say–join the discussion.

The World at Your Fingertips — Top 10 Tips for Taking a MOOC

Review: The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley

2 Replies

“He sent his mind in search of me that morning.”

Nicola Marter was born with a gift so rare and dangerous she keeps it buried deep. When she encounters a desperate woman trying to sell a small wooden carving called “The Firebird,” claiming it belonged to Russia’s Empress Catherine, it’s a problem. There is no proof.

But Nicola’s held the object. She knows the woman is telling the truth.

With elements of mystery and magical realism, The Firebird intertwines contemporary romance with historical drama, sweeping readers from modern day Scottland to 18th century Russia. I hadn’t read a historical fiction book in a while, so this was a refreshing change. I don’t think I’ve picked up a historical with elements of the paranormal since Deborah Harkness’s last release.

In present day London, Nicola works with fine Russian works of art. While she’s a savvy and well educated woman who excels at her position, she also has a secret: she can see an object’s past with just a touch. Nicola fears her power, for the most part ignoring it, until the day she sees—actually “sees”—the visitor’s firebird in the presence her ancestor, Anna, and the Empress Catherine. But without revealing her visionary powers, she has no proof.

Knowing she cannot control her power enough to trace the origins of the firebird and prove its provenance, Nicola seeks out Rob, a man from her own past—a man gifted with the power to envision history from just being in proximity. A man she once may have loved.

Nicola easily enlists Rob to join her in her quest to prove the firebird’s provenance. Rob, a kind-hearted policeman, is more interested in developing Nicola’s talents and possibly rekindling their relationship. Together they travel from seaside Scottish ruins, to rainy streets where a Belgian covenant once stood, to the palaces of St. Petersburg.

Anna’s story is more intriguing than Nicola’s present day quest. A child born during the Jacobean Rebellion, she’s been hidden away from her parents’ powerful enemies. Allies faithful to her family’s cause—a grandfatherly colonel and a mysterious soldier— whisk her away when danger nears. Clever Anna makes her way in her ever changing worlds, finding strength, family, and love in times where no one is who they seem.

I found the tales of the Jacobites who fled to Russia to serve Their King James in the Russian courts of Peter the Great interesting, as that is a slice of history I don’t recall studying thoroughly. And, as you may know from my previous reviews, I love learning something while engrossed in a work of fiction.

Kersley supposedly continues some story lines from her previous novel, The Winter Sea. (I’ve yet to read it, so I won’t mention anything as it may be a spoiler.)

The Firebird will appeal to lovers of historical fiction. It’s elements of paranormal and romance are far from overwhelming, and this would be a lovely read to pair with a cup of tea on a chilly day.

The Firebird is the She Reads July book club selection.The wonderful women at She Reads are giving away FIVE copies of THE FIREBIRD. One reader will receive this book and four more of Susanna’s novels.(Again, thanks to the wonderful people at Sourcebooks). Visit SheReads.com today for your chance to win, and throughout the month to discover more about the book, the author, and other fabulous summer reads!

The Firebird
by Susanna Kearsley
Sourchebooks
530 pages

Monarch Madness: Attracting & Raising Butterflies in Your Yard

Should Authors Write Book Reviews or Stick with Book Promotion?

3 Replies

Last week, Kirsten Lamb (leader of the #WANA Writer’s Tribe and author of #1 best-selling books We Are Not Alone—The Writer’s Guide to Social Media and Are You There, Blog? It’s Me, Writer) stirred up some controversy in the writer-sphere. Her blog, a wealth of writerly words of wisdom, is one of the first I read daily (and if your a writer, you should read it, too). Like most of her readers, I’m an aspiring novelist, and her post made me wonder if by posting book reviews I’ve written myself into a corner.

The Three NEVERs of Social Media (for writers) via Kristen Lamb

1. Never be nasty in a blog comment. Agree. Unless the blogger is an ass-hat writing about raping and pillaging as a hobby or something else ridiculously offensive.

2. Never be nasty on twitter. Yes. Though I’d never intentionally be nasty to another tweeter, I should cut down my snarky commentaries about celebs and politicians (unless they fall into the “fair game” category). Maybe even then.

3. Never write a bad book review. Yeah, but… What constitutes a “bad” review?

“This doesn’t apply to book bloggers and book reviewers. That’s your job and we love that you give us guidance on what to read. But, as authors? I believe in what Candace Havens calls Writer Karma. If I can’t give a book a five-star rave review? I just don’t review it. Again, publishing is a small world and we all need each other. The world is already out to throw us under a bus. We need each other to keep from turning into cutters.”

What if someone is a book blogger AND an aspiring author?

How many books truly worthy of a five-star review are out there? Reviewers seem to base their star ratings on a sliding scale. Some dole out stars like cheap Halloween candy, whereas I hoard my fives. In my imagined ratings scale, a three-star is book good, not amazing, but decent read if you happen upon it. A four-star is excellent, a book I recommend. A five-star is blow-me-out-of-my-chair, go buy this in hardback NOW, then pass it along to all of your friends and family.

I read many good books, even more excellent novels I’d wholeheartedly recommend for others read, but very few works that take my breath away.

So, should I only review those few? Are my expectations too high? Should I revise my ratings scale? Or is that shifting from a review to book promotion?

On my blog, I refuse to give star ratings. I prefer to discuss what I loved about the book. By highlighting the positives—the way the author wove subplots, developed character, or uniquely captured ideas that resonate— potential readers can decide if this book is for them. Most books I review are character, not plot driven, and sometimes I explain what drove me nuts about a particular character. But nicely. Subjectively. It’s just my opinion. And infuriating characters are often a part of a damn good (four or five-star) novel. Anyone who’s a member of a book club knows how amazing books often open our minds to different ideas and occasionally heated debate. Passion leaves an impression.

In the comments of Kristen’s follow-up post Should Authors Write Bad Book Reviews many commentators discussed correcting grammar and critiquing technical issues “so the author could learn from their mistakes.” Whoa. Stop the presses. Publishing critiques?

A BOOK REVIEW and a BOOK CRITIQUE are not synonymous.

A CRITIQUE should be done before a book is published, in private, so the author may find issues within a manuscript before publication. Here’s where one can point out homophones and misplaces commas, plot holes or factual errors. It can also be used in the classroom (and many English Lit majors spent years dissecting everything from Shakespeare to Shel Silverstein). Trust me. My work in progress is in the process of being ~~critiqued~~ shredded so I can piece it back together. I invite knowledgeable readers/writers to constructively dissect it so it can improve. Without claws and in private, please.

Reading through her post’s comments I was shocked how many writer/readers have sent emails to authors gigging them on grammar. I could never EVER imagine sending an author a note of criticism, constructive or not, about what I disliked about their published work. Some authors wrote how this skewed their heart. Others said they appreciated the constructive criticism.

A BOOK REVIEW is an impartial commentary, written so that others can decide if they would like to read the book. Reviews should be written from a reader’s POV, not a writer’s. It should be helpful, mentioning a plot summary and character sketches. It should discuss setting, themes, readability, and memorable scenes. It should explain who the book would appeal to and why. It can discuss issues that might have rubbed the reviewer the wrong way. But it should be cruelty-free.

And it should be honest. If a reviewer gushes about every single book, their credibility evaporates.

The Book PROMOTER vs. REVIEWER

Some book blogs and reviewers primarily promote books. Now, in today’s world where authors (even traditionally published) are often responsible for 100% of their own book promotion, they NEED people to write about their books. If no one is reviewing them, posting about them, or singing their praises over their social media networks, no one will know their baby is “out there” in the seemingly infinite book market. But a book promotion post is often not a review—it may be a summary, book blurbs, author Q&A, or funny antidote. Many times, the blogger may not have even read the book. And it’s overwhelmingly positive. That’s all good, so long as readers understand it for what it is.

Again, authors desperately need straight book promotion. And they need reviews, good reviews, with at least four to five stars to get anywhere with Amazon’s ever-fluctuating algorithms. Reviews help sell books. Writer’s need to eat.

And maybe, in this touchy world of book reviews, Kristen is suggesting authors (published & non-published) become more promoters than reviewers? Writers have vast and enduring memories. Friends can be hard to come by, and enemies hard to shake. So why make any? We’re all in this together, right?

Then there’s the whole issue with karma…

Buy this shirt at cafepress.com

Kristen spurned so much discussion with these posts, she kept the dialog open with a third installment, Is It FAIR for Authors to Review Other Authors? Do We Ruin the Magic? If you’re a writer or a book reviewer, these posts and their comments (each as over a hundred) will get you thinking. Even though I didn’t agree with the whole “Only Five-Star” bit in the first of the series, I loved the dialog these posts stirred up.

I won’t be writing any more negative reviews. (I think I’ve only written one, as I had to express my disbelief about the Fifty Shades phenomena. Oh wait—I didn’t care for Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy either. Both authors made enough moula that I don’t believe my rant hurt their sales much.) I’ve received many books from publishers which I’ve declined to review. If I couldn’t say anything nice, I chose to say nothing at all. But I think I must review more than just the lofty five-star works. There are too many authors out there who deserve praise and publicity … and hopefully a few more sales.

What do you want to learn from a book review?

Should authors review books?

Do you write reviews or base you book buying on reviews?

photo credit: orangeacid via photopin cc

Review: The Mermaid of Brooklyn by Amy Shearn

4 Replies

“For a woman in my state, a free afternoon was a dangerous proposition.”

Jenny Lipkin is an average, stretched-too-thin Brooklyn mom, tackling the challenges of raising two children in a cramped Park Slope walk-up and bonding with other moms about breast-feeding while spending endless hours in Prospect Park. All she really wants is to survive the sweltering New York summer with a shred of sanity intact. But when her husband, Harry, a compulsive gambler, vanishes one evening without a word, Jenny finally reaches her breaking point. And in a moment of despair, a split second decision changes her life forever. Pulled from the brink by an unexpected (and, as it turns out, sometimes annoying) supernatural ally, Jenny is forced to rethink her ideas about success, motherhood, romance, and relationships. Confronting her inner demons—of both the mermaid and non-mermaid variety—is no easy task, and eventually Jenny has to come to terms with who she truly is, for better or worse.

~~from The Mermaid of Brooklyn reading guide

I loved this book, even though it drove me nuts sometimes.

Shearn perfectly captures the endless doldrums of parenthood: those days when a mother can be stretched to the breaking point by the self-perpetuating demands of society and by the episodic little terrorists of our her creation. How a mother can completely loose herself as her mind withers and she can’t even pick up Cheerios from the floor or comprehend how they keep ending up there. How she can love her kids, yet sometimes be afraid of who they may be.

Everything in the story happened to Jenny. She let herself fall into this pit of despair, in a way not taking any responsibility for how she fell into this pit (and later “fell” off the Brooklyn Bridge). Her husband, who isn’t the greatest guy, goes out for a pack of cigarettes and never comes back— and she’s kind of okay with that. She’s depressed and/or struggling with postpartum depression, but even after contemplating suicide, she won’t go back on her meds. Perhaps she’s just weak or overwrought.

Jenny snaps, and in a moment of darkness, dies. Or she thinks she dies. She slips off the Brooklyn Bridge only to be brought back from the depths of the with the soul of a rusalka (a menacing mermaid from Slavic lore) who strives to live vicariously through Jenny. She returns to her hum-drum yet precarious life refreshed and ready to regain control of her two undisciplined young daughters, sew magical reproduction dresses, and aim her pent-up sex drive at the neighborhood stay-at-home dad.

At times, I wasn’t sure if Jenny was possessed by a supernatural being or if she was bipolar. The mermaid who supposedly roamed the East River (excuse me—ruskala —one of the “the unavenged spirits of suicides, forsaken girls, betrayed brides, unwed mothers-to-be”) acted as the polar opposite of Jenny, so she may have been an easy out for Jenny to release her impulses. Or she could have been a fairy tale creature. I’m still not sure. And I don’t know if it matters to the plot. The story is painted as “magical” so I guess we’ll go with the modern fable twist.

All of Jenny’s issues bring me back to the issue of likable characters, a point that has been driving me crazy in my own writing lately. Sometimes I wanted to hug Jenny, help her get through the day. Sometimes I simply wanted to smack some sense into her. When Jenny’s apartment grew to call-child-services messy (just clean up the spilled milk already!), I wanted to calmly explain how it IS possible to shower with kids. But she touches on ideas that modern moms think but don’t dare say—“I hated that I felt like I had to be unhappy in order for it to count as important.” Yes. We never utter this aloud, but stress,contentment, and importance form a sticky web many moms can’t untangle.

I don’t believe we need a character to be our best friend for us to find her story compelling and readable. A real character is not necessarily always nice, even in Women’s Fiction. I empathized with her as if she was a friend or relative who I still liked, though I may not approve of her choices. And I wanted to discover where those iffy choices would lead.

Which makes it a good story.

Shearn’s writing is insightful, sharp, and sometimes wickedly funny. Though the Park Slope stay-at-home-mom is a slightly different breed from my own suburban Florida variety (and she skewers us weak suburbanites often), she nailed the frantic ennui. Jenny, and the story, possess a depth and cleverness that sometimes borders on literary without being pretentious.

You may want to hug Jenny, you may want to toss her off a bridge, but you’ll have to decide for yourself. Whether you’ve enjoyed or endured the traumas of this generation’s touchy-feely-parenting, this story will resonate with modern moms. The Readers Guide at the end is excellent—The Mermaid of Brooklyn would make a fabulous selection for some feisty book club discussions.

The Mermaid of Brooklyn
by Amy Shearn
368 pages
Touchstone, April 3, 2013

Amy Shearn Writes | Twitter | Facebook

Launching from the Depths

11 Replies

If anyone is still out there…I’m still here.

I haven’t been posting much lately. My brain has been fried nightly grading standardized student MATH exams. Did I mention I hate math. Grading 500 4-part algebra/trig/geometry problems an hour has been penance for every wrong I’ve ever committed or considered. The quality of work truly made me fear for the students of this generation. No, I cannot reveal which state’s horrible exam I graded, but if your kid is in summer school or flunked a grade becasue of me, I’m sorry.

Wait. I’m not at all sorry. If I marked it wrong, it was WRONG and the kid needs to learn. Ack, the guilt.

But it was a temporary paycheck.

And lately, I’ve been in dire need of some cashflow. Would you believe that being an unpublished aspiring novelist doesn’t pay well?

Recently I’ve felt as if the Fates have been messing with me. Everything is breaking down. Dear family friends passed away. The car brain (and several other cranky parts) fizzled out. Our main a/c broke again and must be replaced. The kiddo’s tween hormones and attitude kicked in. So it shouldn’t have been too much of a surprise that my blood pressure spiked higher than an obese senior’s with a 50-year smoking habit, right? Even though I’m thin. I eat my veggies. I do yoga for cripes sake.

Too much.

So I set my writing and blogging aside in a sudden reprioritizing of my life. I ignored social media, my immense list of unread blog posts, and my floundering manuscript.

Well, after I tidied that manuscript up for a contest.

The contest’s word limit was a scant 4,500. My first two chapters weighed in at about 7,500. Crap. I whittled and slashed and sometimes squeezed my eyes shut as I hit delete repeteadly. But I nitpiked that sucker down.

Then I discovered the place in hell they save for those crafting that nasty little Two Page Synopsis. (For those not in the industry, imagine condensing a 100k novel into 450 words including all relevant characters, plot, subplots, tone, voice, everything.)

While the pictures in my office to get me in the mood all look like this:

I may as well have been staring at this:

Christ In Limbo by Hieronymus Bosch, 1575. Image: http://www.imamuseum.org/art/collections/artwork/christ-limbo-bosch-hieronymus

But I did it. I submitted my chopped 4,500 first chapters and my synopsis. (Which never would have made any sense without the brilliant guidance of my critique partner–thank you!!)

And…

I won.

Well, I won the General Fiction category.

Someone besides me (after a few glasses of wine) thinks my manuscript is not total crap.

Sometimes that’s all a girl needs to get back in the game.

Novel Rocket Launch Pad Competition

First Choice General Fiction

{If you happen to follow this link you’ll find the first duly edited version of my entry. Edited once because, as stated before, I hacked the hell out of my first two chapters to fit it into the wordcount. And twice because it’s a Christian affiliated website, and my characters tend to swear. So no, my Ivy doesn’t say “Cuss” — some situations call for the f-bomb.}

Lauren Graham’s Debut Novel & Rory Gilmore’s Reading Challenge

4 Replies

Lauren Graham wrote a novel—sharp, poignant, snort-coffee-out-your-nose funny novel that you do not want to miss. Her debut SOMEDAY, SOMEDAY MAYBE earned my Buy It NOW rating over on Bookshelf Bombshells. I absolutely adored this book. Rush over there and read the full review.

But here’s a quick synopsis from Goodreads:

Franny Banks is a struggling actress in New York City, with just six months left of the three year deadline she gave herself to succeed. But so far, all she has to show for her efforts is a single line in an ad for ugly Christmas sweaters and a degrading waitressing job. She lives in Brooklyn with two roommates-Jane, her best friend from college, and Dan, a sci-fi writer, who is very definitely not boyfriend material-and is struggling with her feelings for a suspiciously charming guy in her acting class, all while trying to find a hair-product cocktail that actually works.

Meanwhile, she dreams of doing “important” work, but only ever seems to get auditions for dishwashing liquid and peanut butter commercials. It’s hard to tell if she’ll run out of time or money first, but either way, failure would mean facing the fact that she has absolutely no skills to make it in the real world. Her father wants her to come home and teach, her agent won’t call her back, and her classmate Penelope, who seems supportive, might just turn out to be her toughest competition yet.

Someday, Someday, Maybe is a funny and charming debut about finding yourself, finding love, and, most difficult of all, finding an acting job. ~from Goodreads

Since Ms Graham’s delightful novel left me to twitching in Gilmore Girl withdrawal, I decided to jump on the Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge.

You’ve probably seen this make the rounds, as I’m always a few years late to the party, but I’m a sucker for book lists and reading challenges.

I’ve had a huge hole in my television viewing pleasure since that smart and sassy show went off the air years ago. {If you never watched it, go back and buy the entire series on dvd. NOW. You won’t regret it.}

Rory Gilmore was a breath of fresh air in a TV world dominated by brainless bimbos fighting over boys and their fifteen minutes of fame. Between her brains, bookworm tendencies, and her witty banter she broke the Hollywood mold of what a typical American teenage girl should be and gave a generation someone to emulate.

And she got the hot guys anyway.

This meme/challenge lists 250 books mentioned by Rory during the show’s run. I didn’t count them to verify.

The books in orange I know I’ve read. I’m embarrassed to admit that there are many on the list I can’t remember if I actually read or just saw the movie. (I’ve been reading for a loooong time…)

How would you do?

1984 by George Orwell
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Archidamian War by Donald Kagan
The Art of Fiction by Henry James
The Art of War by Sun Tzu
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Babe by Dick King-Smith
Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women by Susan Faludi
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Beowulf: A New Verse Translation by Seamus Heaney
The Bhagava Gita
The Bielski Brothers: The True Story of Three Men Who Defied the Nazis, Built a Village in the Forest, and Saved 1,200 Jews by Peter Duffy
Bitch in Praise of Difficult Women by Elizabeth Wurtzel
A Bolt from the Blue and Other Essays by Mary McCarthy
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Brick Lane by Monica Ali
Bridgadoon by Alan Jay Lerner
Candide by Voltaire – read – June 2010
The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer
Carrie by Stephen King
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger – read
Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
The Children’s Hour by Lillian Hellman
Christine by Stephen King
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse
The Collected Short Stories by Eudora Welty
The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty by Eudora Welty
A Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare
Complete Novels by Dawn Powell
The Complete Poems by Anne Sexton
Complete Stories by Dorothy Parker
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Cousin Bette by Honor’e de Balzac
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber – started and not finished
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Cujo by Stephen King
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon – read – 2009
Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende
David and Lisa by Dr Theodore Issac Rubin M.D
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
The Da Vinci -Code by Dan Brown
Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol
Demons by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
Deenie by Judy Blume
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson
The Dirt: Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Rock Band by Tommy Lee, Vince Neil, Mick Mars and Nikki Sixx
The Divine Comedy by Dante
The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells
Don Quijote by Cervantes
Driving Miss Daisy by Alfred Uhrv
Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Edgar Allan Poe: Complete Tales & Poems by Edgar Allan Poe
Eleanor Roosevelt by Blanche Wiesen Cook
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe
Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters by Mark Dunn
Eloise by Kay Thompson
Emily the Strange by Roger Reger
Emma by Jane Austen
Empire Falls by Richard Russo
Encyclopedia Brown: Boy Detective by Donald J. Sobol
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
Ethics by Spinoza
Europe through the Back Door, 2003 by Rick Steves
Eva Luna by Isabel Allende
Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
Extravagance by Gary Krist
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Fahrenheit 9/11 by Michael Moore
The Fall of the Athenian Empire by Donald Kagan
Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World by Greg Critser
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
The Fellowship of the Ring: Book 1 of The Lord of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien (TBR) – read
Fiddler on the Roof by Joseph Stein
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
Finnegan’s Wake by James Joyce
Fletch by Gregory McDonald
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Franny and Zooey by J. D. Salinger
Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers
Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut
Gender Trouble by Judith Butler
George W. Bushism: The Slate Book of the Accidental Wit and Wisdom of our 43rd President by Jacob Weisberg
Gidget by Fredrick Kohner
Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen
The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels
The Godfather: Book 1 by Mario Puzo
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy – started and not finished
Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Alvin Granowsky
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
The Good Soldier by Ford Maddox Ford
The Gospel According to Judy Bloom
The Graduate by Charles Webb
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
The Group by Mary McCarthy
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (TBR)
Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry (TBR)
Henry IV, part I by William Shakespeare
Henry IV, part II by William Shakespeare
Henry V by William Shakespeare
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon
Holidays on Ice: Stories by David Sedaris
The Holy Barbarians by Lawrence Lipton
House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III (Lpr)
The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
How to Breathe Underwater by Julie Orringer
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
How the Light Gets in by M. J. Hyland
Howl by Allen Gingsburg
The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
The Iliad by Homer
I’m with the Band by Pamela des Barres
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Inferno by Dante
Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee
Iron Weed by William J. Kennedy
It Takes a Village by Hillary Clinton
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
The Jumping Frog by Mark Twain
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
Just a Couple of Days by Tony Vigorito
The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar by Robert Alexander
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini –
Lady Chatterleys’ Lover by D. H. Lawrence
The Last Empire: Essays 1992-2000 by Gore Vidal
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
The Legend of Bagger Vance by Steven Pressfield
Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis
Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke
Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them by Al Franken
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
The Little Locksmith by Katharine Butler Hathaway
The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Living History by Hillary Rodham Clinton
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
The Lottery: And Other Stories by Shirley Jackson
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
The Love Story by Erich Segal
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
The Manticore by Robertson Davies
Marathon Man by William Goldman
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter by Simone de Beauvoir
Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman by William Tecumseh Sherman
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
The Meaning of Consuelo by Judith Ortiz Cofer
Mencken’s Chrestomathy by H. R. Mencken
The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Miracle Worker by William Gibson
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
The Mojo Collection: The Ultimate Music Companion by Jim Irvin
Moliere: A Biography by Hobart Chatfield Taylor
A Monetary History of the United States by Milton Friedman
Monsieur Proust by Celeste Albaret
A Month Of Sundays: Searching For The Spirit And My Sister by Julie Mars
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall
My Lai 4: A Report on the Massacre and It’s Aftermath by Seymour M. Hersh
My Life as Author and Editor by H. R. Mencken
My Life in Orange: Growing Up with the Guru by Tim Guest
Myra Waldo’s Travel and Motoring Guide to Europe, 1978 by Myra Waldo
My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin
Nervous System: Or, Losing My Mind in Literature by Jan Lars Jensen
New Poems of Emily Dickinson by Emily Dickinson
The New Way Things Work by David Macaulay
Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
Night by Elie Wiesel
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism by William E. Cain, Laurie A. Finke, Barbara E. Johnson, John P. McGowan
Novels 1930-1942: Dance Night/Come Back to Sorrento, Turn, Magic Wheel/Angels on Toast/A Time to be Born by Dawn Powell
Notes of a Dirty Old Man by Charles Bukowski
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Old School by Tobias Wolff
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Opposite of Fate: Memories of a Writing Life by Amy Tan
Oracle Night by Paul Auster
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
Othello by Shakespeare
Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
The Outbreak of the Peloponnesian War by Donald Kagan
Out of Africa by Isac Dineson
The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
The Peace of Nicias and the Sicilian Expedition by Donald Kagan
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Peyton Place by Grace Metalious
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Pigs at the Trough by Arianna Huffington
Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain
The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby
The Portable Dorothy Parker by Dorothy Parker
The Portable Nietzche by Fredrich Nietzche
The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O’Neill by Ron Suskind
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Property by Valerie Martin
Pushkin: A Biography by T. J. Binyon
Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw
Quattrocento by James Mckean
A Quiet Storm by Rachel Howzell Hall
Rapunzel by Grimm Brothers
The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe
The Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset Maugham
Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Rescuing Patty Hearst: Memories From a Decade Gone Mad by Virginia Holman
The Return of the King: The Lord of the Rings Book 3 by J. R. R. Tolkien (TBR) – read
R Is for Ricochet by Sue Grafton
Rita Hayworth by Stephen King
Robert’s Rules of Order by Henry Robert
Roman Holiday by Edith Wharton
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
A Room with a View by E. M. Forster
Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin
The Rough Guide to Europe, 2003 Edition
Sacred Time by Ursula Hegi
Sanctuary by William Faulkner
Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay by Nancy Milford
Say Goodbye to Daisy Miller by Henry James
The Scarecrow of Oz by Frank L. Baum
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand
The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Secrets of the Flesh: A Life of Colette by Judith Thurman
Selected Hotels of Europe
Selected Letters of Dawn Powell: 1913-1965 by Dawn Powell
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Several Biographies of Winston Churchill
Sexus by Henry Miller
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Shane by Jack Shaefer
The Shining by Stephen King
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
S Is for Silence by Sue Grafton
Slaughter-house Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Small Island by Andrea Levy
Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway
Snow White and Rose Red by Grimm Brothers
Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Lord and Peasant in the Making of the Modern World by Barrington Moore
The Song of Names by Norman Lebrecht
Song of the Simple Truth: The Complete Poems of Julia de Burgos by Julia de Burgos
The Song Reader by Lisa Tucker
Songbook by Nick Hornby
The Sonnets by William Shakespeare
Sonnets from the Portuegese by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Sophie’s Choice by William Styron
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
Speak, Memory by Vladimir Nabokov
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
The Story of My Life by Helen Keller
A Streetcar Named Desiree by Tennessee Williams
Stuart Little by E. B. White
Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Swann’s Way by Marcel Proust
Swimming with Giants: My Encounters with Whales, Dolphins and Seals by Anne Collett
Sybil by Flora Rheta Schreiber
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Tender Is The Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Term of Endearment by Larry McMurtry
Time and Again by Jack Finney
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
To Have and Have Not by Ernest Hemingway
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Tragedy of Richard III by William Shakespeare
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
The Trial by Franz Kafka
The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Elisabeth Robinson
Truth & Beauty: A Friendship by Ann Patchett
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
Ulysses by James Joyce
The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath 1950-1962 by Sylvia Plath
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Unless by Carol Shields
Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann
The Vanishing Newspaper by Philip Meyers
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
Velvet Underground’s The Velvet Underground and Nico (Thirty Three and a Third series) by Joe Harvard
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
Walden by Henry David Thoreau
Walt Disney’s Bambi by Felix Salten
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
We Owe You Nothing – Punk Planet: The Collected Interviews edited by Daniel Sinker
What Color is Your Parachute? 2005 by Richard Nelson Bolles
What Happened to Baby Jane by Henry Farrell
When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka
Who Moved My Cheese? Spencer Johnson
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire – started and not finished
The Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

**I’ve caught dozens of books that I should have read, yet they somehow slipped by. I think a few may even be on my bookshelves. I’ll add them to the never-ending to-read list. . .

Super Simple S’mores Bites

6 Replies

These are so easy, we can’t consider this a “recipe.” Instead, let’s call these “directions.” Super simple directions. Like, you can train your kids to make these themselves directions.

But dang, these things are good.

Last Saturday Kiddo celebrated his last soccer match of the season with a party at the Springs. We were supposed to bring our own picnic, but since my hubby is the assistant coach, I thought it would be nice to bring an extra treat for the team.

Thursday night after work I combed through Pinterest for something super simple to make. Note: I did not write “bake.” I haven’t been getting home until nearly eleven p.m. and my Saturday morning was booked. Oh, and I needed to have all ingredients on hand. No time to hit the store.

Complicated was out — but cute was in.

I found several versions of these adorable little dudes. Call them S’mores Bites, S’mores Cookies, S’mores Treats—I call them delish. And so did everyone at the party.

Seriously, these things were a hit. I stuck them on a recycled catering tray. (NEVER throw a catering tray away. I reuse them for everything.) The ooohs and ahhhs hit immediately. The kids hovered around the tray, begging me to let them attack. Three dozen treats disappeared in two minutes. I barely snagged one.

All the parents asked me where I bought them. {giggle giggle}

Total crowd pleaser. These baby’s are my new potluck go-to.

They are simple enough to make for an after school snack or late night attach of the munchies. THREE ingredients. I happened to have caramel-filled Hershey’s Kisses in my freezer (leftover from some Christmas project, I think) and they worked perfectly, adding an extra layer of oozy-gooeyness to each bit. Heaven.

I also just so happened to have a biscuit cutter on hand to make the rounds. No idea why. I’ve never made or intend to make a biscuit from scratch. Ever. Cutting the graham crackers into rounds is not necessary (especially if you’re making these for a quick snack) but it does make them appear a bit more professional. Just in case you want to impress the other soccer moms or your kid’s teacher.

Kiddo helped make the first batch (without complaints!) and could have done the whole bit by himself. You can make four or four dozen in minutes. And if you’re making a small batch, just pop them into the toaster oven—as I did just minutes ago.

Easy-peasy.

Super Simple S’mores Bites

makes 24 (but you’ll want more)

12 graham cracker sheets (or 24 digestive biscuits)
12 large marshmallows
24 unwrapped Hersey’s Kisses (the caramel-filled are PERFECT, but use any variety)

Using a round cookie or biscuit cutter, cut 2 rounds from each full graham cracker sheet.
Cut each marshmallow in half keeping the flat sides whole. (Put them in the fridge first. Makes much less sticky.)
Place graham crackers on cookie sheet. Top with marshmallow (cut side down).
Broil for about 2 minutes. Depending on how hot your oven gets, they could brown up quicker. I’d suggest checking every 30 seconds.
Take out of oven and immediately press a Kiss into the center. Make sure to press, because that’s what glues it all together.
Cool. Enjoy warm or room temp!

*I based this off directions on Classy Cooking, but there seem to be many versions of these out there.

Review: Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline

7 Replies

From Harper Collins: Orphan Train is a gripping story of friendship and second chances from Christina Baker Kline, author of Bird in Hand and The Way Life Should Be.

Penobscot Indian Molly Ayer is close to “aging out” out of the foster care system. A community service position helping an elderly woman clean out her home is the only thing keeping Molly out of juvie and worse…

As she helps Vivian sort through her possessions and memories, Molly learns that she and Vivian aren’t as different as they seem to be. A young Irish immigrant orphaned in New York City, Vivian was put on a train to the Midwest with hundreds of other children whose destinies would be determined by luck and chance.

Molly discovers that she has the power to help Vivian find answers to mysteries that have haunted her for her entire life – answers that will ultimately free them both.

Rich in detail and epic in scope, Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline is a powerful novel of upheaval and resilience, of unexpected friendship, and of the secrets we carry that keep us from finding out who we are.

My review:

From a historical standpoint, this book captured my attention. Before I read Laura Moriarty’s The Chaperone earlier this year, I’d never heard of the “orphan trains.” Between 1854 and 1929, thousands of orphaned and abandoned children were packed up like damaged goods, shipped from the East Coast to the Midwest, then passed off to any adult with an interest in a child. Didn’t matter what that interest might be—older boys sometimes became field hands, older girls might end up (as in this book) as nannies or seamstresses. The infants and toddlers most likely went to families who actually wanted a child to become a part of their family, but often the older kids (I’m talking eight-ish and up) sometimes ended up as nothing more than free labor.

We know going into this, the now 91-year-old Vivian Daly must not have been one of the lucky children. After a tragic fire kills her family, she’s shipped to Minnesota, and due to hear age and red hair, found hard to place. Life is hard—harder than almost any modern day middle class kids can imagine—as she’s bumped between “homes” where she’s treated not better than a slave. She’s exposed to a life no 9-year-old girl should know. But things like that happened back then—and in some parts of the world today, they still do.

I almost wanted this book to be a middle grade or YA novel. Something about adult novels told by children and in narrated first person point of view throws me off. Several chapters in, I realized Vivian (then Niamh—her name is changed several times thought her childhood) is the same age as my son. And she was about a thousand times more layered, eloquent, mature, and verbose than he could aspire to be on his best day at age nine. But as the story is told in rotating present tense, every time Vivian had these profoundly beautiful thoughts, I stuttered over the prose a bit, remembering she’s only nine. And her only education came by her poor Irish migrant mother teaching her some reading.

If I didn’t currently have a kid this age, I don’t know if this would have phased me, but…

Now Molly, the 17-year-old modern day foster kid, rang more true to me. Her voice was distinctive. There was a clear shift in point of view. Even though she was older than the young flashback Viv, she seemed far less mature, yet age appropriate.

I enjoyed the way Vivian and Molly’s relationship grew together, and how by discovering their similarities, they discovered their strengths. Though the times described were often tough, this book was a short, easy, engrossing read. I couldn’t help but be drawn into the story, knowing that since present day Vivian seemed not only wealthy, but content, things would eventually turn out for her—but how?

You’ll have to read it yourself to find out.

Orphan Train is the She Reads May Book Pick.

To WIN ONE OF TEN COPIES visit SheReads.com.

Orphan Train
by Christina Baker Kline
William Morrow, 304 pages

Christina Baker Kline’s Website | Facebook| Twitter