100 Book Bucket List (2 Ways)

March 24, 2014March 24, 2014 / still a dreamer / 8 Comments

Aside from the general appeal of a great list or two, who doesn’t love a good list for books?

Here’s one for all you book lovers – Amazon’s 100 book bucket list, chosen by their own book editors as the 100 books everyone should read in their lifetime. Although mostly adult books, they aren’t all for grown-ups, but a bunch for children and the child in all of us. Among their choices are Beloved by Toni Morrison, The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein, Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White, and yes … Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling. The list is packed with classics and more recently published books.

And here’s the variation on a theme – Goodreads readers have chosen their own top 100 books they feel everyone should read. There is a great deal of overlap in the two lists, but I loved seeing some wonderful books here and on Amazon that are so worthwhile. I was very happy to see the highly deserving The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak as well as The Help by Kathryn Stockett, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, Watership Down by Richard Adams, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine Engle, and many, many more.

I was also quietly happy to see how many of these books I have already read, those in the past thanks to a good education along the way, and how many I have already read or have right here waiting to be read. But best of all, I see some new titles that I look forward to getting and reading. And the good news about that? Next month is the Friends of the Hunterdon County Library’s huge annual book sale!! Woo hoo! That’s April 26th and 27th, details here.

If you are in driving distance of southern Hunterdon County, make the trip, fellow readers. This year it’s at the South County Park Fairgrounds on Rte. 179 in Lambertville, and on Saturday it’s hardcover $2, softcover $1, and in Sunday it’s all half that! I have books on my list for friends, some for the silent auction of the equine rescue I work with, and some just for me. I seem to be the only person left on the planet who has not read To Kill a Mockingbird, so that’s on my list as well as some others on these top 100 lists that intrigue me.

Feel like curling up with a good book? These lists may point you in the right direction. Me? Watching my list go off the paper. It’s easy to go overboard at this sale, but I’ll only bring 2 canvas bags, promise. Okay, mayyyybe 3.

Horse Sketch – Keeping My Hand In

February 9, 2014 / still a dreamer / 4 Comments

Sometimes there is just too much to do … as I’m sure any of you can attest. Between work and shoveling snow … and shoveling snow … and shoveling snow … and just taking care of day to day life, things that really matter can sometimes be sitting on the sidelines. Children’s books are always in my head, so if I don’t have the time to be writing or dummying, illustrating or prepping something to send to an agent or editor, I can do something else … I can turn out a sketch.

This sketch is of a bay pony at water’s edge and from a calendar given to me by a friend who is so helpful in keeping me inspired to write. Well, this time, I drew, but that’s OK, because I’ve still got my hand in.

The Joy of Children’s Books

January 25, 2014January 25, 2014 / still a dreamer / 4 Comments

You can Kindle all you want, but I think I will always want a book in my hand. And the joy of reading with a book in hand is never more important than for a child.

I subscribe to an e-mailed newsletter from the biggest children’s bookstore in NYC, Books of Wonder. Each week, into my Inbox comes a colorful announcement of the latest books for children across all genres, and photos of authors and illustrators who will be doing book visits and signings. I don’t subscribe to many things like this because I am already overwhelmed with work-related e-mails, but I always look forward to their newsletter. The Books of Wonder e-mails keep me in touch with children’s books, where I continue to devote time to writing and illustrating, whet my appetite for something new, and keep me apprised of what’s selling in picture books. middle grade, YA and more.

This Friday, something even more exciting arrived, a video … a video of a young girl perusing the shelves of the bookstore, running her fingers along the spines of the books. (This so reminds me of Liesel in Ilsa Hermann’s library in The Book Thief and makes it even more meaningful, but that’s for another post.) When the girl picks up a book, we hear the sounds of the subject, a train whistle from a locomotive story, the whinnying of a horse, cackling from the Oz books, and all with Strauss in the background. It’s brilliant.

I believe you’ll enjoy the YouTube video from Books of Wonder, and please visit their website for the latest that’s happening in children’s books, and/or to sign up for their newsletter:

Leaving A Book

November 20, 2013 / still a dreamer / 2 Comments

Does it sadden you to give up on a book? Frustrate you? It does me, and I find it something very difficult to do.

I’ve finally given up the ghost on The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. This book has received such high praise in so many reviews, and I started it with high hopes. The subject and plot seemed like something I would love, and Wroblewski’s writing is beautiful. So why, after reading about 1/4 of the book, am I putting it aside? It’s just not grabbing me. And it’s a very long book.

Why giving up on a book saddens me, I believe, is that I really look forward to a good story; I want it to take me to another place and enrich my life in some way, even if simply fabulous entertainment. I have nothing against a “quiet story,” but it still has to pull me in. I want to feel, sometime during the day, that I am looking forward to delving back into that novel. Is this your experience as well?

I also realize that there are times in our lives when we want a change, where the subject matter or depth of emotion in a novel may be different than what we’ve sought out in the past. Lately I have been drawn to urban fantasy, thanks to my friend’s husband who introduced me to the genre and who has been kind enough to entrust me with a nice selection from his own library. So now I begin An Artificial Night by Seanan McGuire, the third in a series.

The main character, October (Toby) Daye is a private investigator and a changeling, half fae and half human, which brings many of its own problems. The stories are a bit on the dark side, but when they take place in the world of faerie, which is most often, you can see that McGuire has thoroughly researched the entire mythological world of the fae, as all the characters are entirely believable and well-developed. There’s mystery, suspense, and a look into a world invisible to the human eye. Works for me.

So Edgar … I’m sorry. Maybe some other time, but for now I’m off to roam the darker side of San Francisco with Toby Daye.

Journaling

November 6, 2013 / still a dreamer / 4 Comments

While I try to blog as often as I can, I truly try to do this every single day … journal. I’d been journaling in the past, but what cinched my greater commitment to it was when I read The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. She gives her creative readers two assignments, the first of which is to journal daily. I start early and journal first thing before life about me is afoot. Well, right after making coffee and feeding very insistent animals. I curl up and prepare for my day … journal, some spiritual work, enlightening reading … whatever gets me on track.

Journaling and blogging have two entirely different functions. When I blog, I try to bring something enjoyable, enlightening and/or perhaps educational to my visitors. I’d like to make your stopping by worth your while, always knowing not everything I write will appeal to everyone. I enjoy writing and love photography, and hope that what I share appeals in some way.

When I journal? I am doing what Julia Cameron refers to as a “morning dump,” that is, getting rid of all the crap that is running around in my head – whatever needs to be pulled out and gotten rid of. She suggest writing – always by hand, of course – 3 full pages. I have no strict limits, but write until I’m done, when I’ve committed to paper what I don’t want in my head. It’s surprising what a difference it can make to leave our trials and tribulations on the page. It’s quiet when I journal … most are not yet up … this time is mine. And so my day begins.

What do I journal in? That has varied as well, but what I’ve found I prefer most is something with a spiral binding so I can fold it back and write easily while balancing a coffee mug and maybe an earlier-mentioned animal who has their own additions to make to the journaling process. These journals can be had inexpensively at the local supermarket, (see above), or at times I’ve treated myself to a more exotic journal in gold and what looks like silk that I’d gotten from Two Buttons awhile back.

I wholeheartedly recommend journaling for anyone. You don’t have to like writing nor be good at it; you only have to want to clear out your head for the day ahead. It can make a difference. Do I go back and read what I’ve written? Rarely. My journal also isn’t a memoir. Merely a way to make my day a happier and/or more sane one, and who wouldn’t like that?