Could today change your life? An Opportunity For Readers Ready to Lead

I'm taking a big risk today, but one I know will pay off for all of us.

Why?  Because I'm writing to invite you, my trusted fellow-readers and book-loving friends, to be the first to join a social movement that will change the very course of our reading lives and transform our world at the same time.  A bold claim, I know, but I have come to see that we can change the world with this simple shift.

The Opportunity:
For just one month, when you finish reading a book, take one action toward your personal evolution or for the benefit of the world.  Big or small, ten minutes or ten hours, personal or public, one action - any action that feels right - per book. 

Use whatever books you already intend to read plus whichever ones you happen upon during our trial period.  Then respond with your questions, concerns, suggestions, successes, and stumbles as you pursue your one-month action-reading experiment. 

I promise this process will also be fun, easy, and flexible so that it takes little extra time, and you feel amply rewarded for the time you do invest in ActionReading.

YES!  How do you say "yes"?!
Just email me at ActionReaders@gmail.com, or use the comment section below to let me know how best to contact you and I'll send you more info. on how to participate, plus the password for our beta site AND we'll meet each other there.

Questions? (How can I put your mind at ease about joining us?)
Email me at ActionReaders@gmail.com

Why this opportunity?  Why now?
It's a simple premise, but I suspect you're as convinced as I am that often the most basic, easy-to-execute ideas are the most powerful.  Yet so often the tough part isn't the idea, it's the follow-through - the shaping of a new habit-of-mind. 

That's why, five months ago, I started this blog to make my commitment public and to track just exactly how  this process unfolds.  I didn't know that it would work, in fact, but now I'm convinced of its power to leverage my reading life to profoundly transform everything else in my world.  This process has been an amazingly powerful ride for me these past few months (you can read about it in my "Story" posts), and I simply can't wait to share its benefits with the world any longer.

That's why I'm creating a social networking hub for readers who want to transform their lives and change the world, one book at a time. 

And I need y'all to help me make it great.  I'll use your feedback to shape the ActionReaders website, making it the most uniquely helpful, impactful, and fun book-lovers' place in cyberspace, and ensuring that the site offers all readers quick, immediate opportunities to use their passion for books to make a bigger impact on their lives and communities.

The Rewards for those ready to shape this movement right now.
If this new reading-for-change movement sounds intriguing, and you can try this process (however fitfully) for one month, I'll offer not only my gratitude, but also:
* ALL ActionReader MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS, bonuses, and materials FREE FOR ONE YEAR. That's
     * fun & easy action challenges with unique prizes,
     * book give-aways with a transformative twist,
     * networking with authors and readers and non-profits doing good in your neighborhood,
     * action booklists for transformation & world change,
     * easy action ideas and quick action links,
     * plus more features as the site expands...
* DAILY ACCESS to my one-on-one support system for ActionReaders (personalized book picks and action ideas, follow-up support to help make action easy, etc.) as you move through your first month's action steps.
* A JUMP-START ON A WHOLE NEW READING LIFE, one that ups the joy and transformation we all value so much as readers, connects us ever more strongly to each other, and helps us transform our worlds almost effortlessly, with ease.
* YOUR PERSONAL IMPRINT ON THIS MOVEMENT to change the world and transform our lives one book at a time.  You'll help shape the services and site with your feedback at the ground level, a contribution that may well change the world in and of itself.

AGAIN: YES!  How do you say "yes"?!
Just email me at ActionReaders@gmail.com, or use the comment section below to let me know how best to contact you and I'll send you more info. on how to participate, plus the password for our beta site AND we'll meet each other there.

Questions? (How can I put your mind at ease about joining us?)
Email me at ActionReaders@gmail.com

I am SO excited about offering this opportunity to all of you, because I know how much it's changing my life and the world around me and because I'm banking my next decade of life on the obvious truth that when it comes to life-changing action, mine plus yours plus the reader-next-door's will add up to a world transformation from the page to the planet.

MFB,
L

Want a run-down on the timeline for this exciting month at ActionReaders?  Or the backstory on this new social movement?
 

Big Risk, Outlandish Reward: A Reading Challenge With A Priceless Prize

I'm taking a big risk today, but one I know will pay off for all of us. 

Why?  Because I'm writing to invite you, my trusted fellow-readers and book-loving friends, to be the first to join a social movement that will change the very course of our reading lives and transform our world at the same time.  A bold claim, I know, but I have come to see that we can change the world with this simple shift.

The Challenge:

When you finish reading a book, take one action toward your personal evolution or for the benefit of the world.  Big or small, ten minutes or ten hours, personal or public, one action - any action that feels right - per book. 

It's a simple premise, but I suspect you're as convinced as I am that often the most basic, easy-to-execute ideas are the most powerful.  Yet so often the tough part isn't the idea, it's the follow-through - the shaping of a new habit-of-mind. 

That's why, five months ago, I started this blog to make my commitment public and to track just exactly how  this process unfolds.  I didn't know that it would work, in fact, but now I'm convinced of its power to leverage my reading life to profoundly transform everything else in my world.  This process has been an amazingly powerful ride for me these past few months (you can read about it in my "Story" posts), and I simply can't wait to share its benefits with the world any longer.

That's why I'm creating a social networking hub for readers who want to transform their lives and change the world, one book at a time. 

And I need y'all to help me make it great. 

All you need to do is to try this simple process for one month,  more if you wish (and I'm betting you will because it makes reading even more joyful and life-changing than it already is), using whatever books you already intend to read plus whichever ones you happen upon during our trial period.  Then, offer your questions, concerns, suggestions, experiences, and successes as you pursue your one-month action-reading experiment.  (I promise this process will also be fun and easy.)

The Prizes:
* You'll receive to all ActionReader materials and membership bonuses free for one year, and - if you wish - receive them in advance in exchange for your honest review. That'sYou'll have daily access to me for all the personalized, one-on-one ActionReader coaching you desire (action ideas, follow-up support, book suggestions or lists, etc.) as you move through your first month's action steps.

     * fun & easy action challenges with unique prizes,

     * book give-aways with a transformative twist,

     * networking with authors and readers and non-profits doing good in your neighborhood,

     * action booklists for transformation & world change,

     * easy action ideas and quick action links,

     * plus more features as the site expands...

*

* You'll get a jump-start on a whole new reading life, one that ups the joy and transformation we all value so much as readers, connects us ever more strongly to each other, and helps us transform our worlds almost effortlessly, with ease.
* Your imprint will shape this movement for the better, at the ground level,

YES!  How do you say "yes"?!  

Just email me at ActionReaders@gmail.com,
or use the linky below to let me know your URL and I'll be in touch right away...
Then I'll send you the password for our beta site so we can begin to take action individually, correspond about our journeys, and together we will no doubt transform our lives and alter our worlds for the better.  The first 10 people who respond will become our beta band of world-changing book lovers!

Questions? (How can I put your mind at ease about joining us?) Email me at ActionReaders@gmail.com

FYI: The Red-Hot Latest Developments
Tomorrow, April 1, expect the first ActionReaders "Changing the World, One Book At A Time" challenge, with some nifty books for prizes.  (Hint:  It's not only April Fools' Day, but the first day of National Poetry Month.)

On May 1, 2011, the www.ActionReaders.ning.com launches (beyond our beta band) as a hub for book events and reading challenges (think giveaways that change the world); author interviews; easy action ideas and life-changing reading lists; support for your personal action-reading practice; space to share your own triumphs, tips, and tricks for easy but impactful actions; and community conversations & connections with other world-changing readers!

A few months from now, expect a bestselling ActionReaders' book or two to hit the shelves for those who crave pages-in-the-hand.  So exciting!!

MFB,
L

p.s. Here's a quick recap of WhatSheRead's missson and focus that inspired me to found the ActionReaders movement:
* Every book, I take an action - creative, reflective, connective, inquisitive, communicative, or humanitarian.
* Every book, I blog to share my reviews and support my actions by commiting to them in a public forum (not necessary for all ActionReaders, perhaps, but a useful tool to embed the habit quickly).
* Every month, I create a reflection in the form of a tale for you in which I review what I did and how it's changing my life or saving the world. 

And I'm banking my next decade of life on the obvious truth that when it comes to life-changing action, mine plus yours plus the reader next door's will add up to a world transformation from the page to the planet.a contribution that may well change the world in and of itself.

What She Read: Undersung Writers You Simply Must Meet

Today's blog hop from The Broke and the Bookish this... Authors Who Deserve More Recognition.

Johnson.

Charles Johnson, author of Dreamer.  This novelist-professor should not be missed, and the book indicated is one of the most shocking and rich explorations of duality and fame and goodness and evil I've ever read: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has a doppelganger who appears to be a multiple-murderer.  And that's just the opening gambit...He's a fine speaker too, so if he reads in your town, go see him.

Erdrich.


Louise Erdrich, author of The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse.  I'm still surprised at how few folks seem to have read this prize-winning and reliably chart-topping writer.  If you love passion, surprise, mystery, darkness, and hint of miracle, plus all the messy, imperfect complexity and grace of characters who - over the course of many books and within each novel - feel like real people you would love to meet, at least once, you simply must give Erdrich's work a try.  The most approachable might be Tracks, but the favorite among my family and friends is The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse. 

Susan Power, author of The Grass Dancer.  Another writer who offers up gripping novels in a Native American context.  Try her work.  (And what I wouldn't give to share her last name...)

Spanbauer.

Tom Spanbauer, author of The Man Who Fell in Love with the Moon.  The trend in my recs. above appears to be novelists whose work will cause you to think and feel differently about your life and the world.  For me, the best books don't simply enthrall and divert, they challenge and change us.  Spanbauer's work will do the same.

 Walter Wangerin, author of The Book of the Dun Cow.  For complex fantasy with depth that young adults and their adult friends will enjoy equally, and to provoke a rich conversation among them, try any of his work, but start with the novel indicated above.  You should find him both at online stores and in your excellent neighborhood used book store.


Miller.

 Brenda Miller, author of Season of the Body. Brenda writes and teaches creative non-fiction.  And she does so beautifully.  Her scope reminds me of Annie Dillard in that each piece seems to contemplate particular details of daily life that in some way wax universal under her sharp eye.  She draws on many traditions, travels, and travails to craft short works that produce those bursts of insight that feel like epiphanies.  For a quite-brief sample her prose, try "Swerve".

Maile Meloy, author of Both Ways Is The Only Way I Want It.  Yes, it's those brief fictions that cause you to breathe out sharply at the last period and then linger with you all day.  She creates a world and rich characters in just a few pages, and she does so reliably.  Check out my recent review for more...

Martha Beck, author of Steering by Starlight.  Yes, she's the Oprah Show/O Magazine  psychologist, and I don't always agree with her thinking, but wow can she use humor and commonsense to help you rethink how you're conducting your life.  Try her.
                                                 
And I'd include Camilla Lackberg, whose novel The Ice Princess makes its North American debut today, but I'm feeling fairly certain that she'll burst onto the scene with plenty of fanfare.  Why?  I'll tell you... (Just take a peek below.)

I need two more undersung writers to taut today:  Which two would you suggest?

MFB,
L

The Ice Princess: "What She Read" Review

Get it at betterworldbooks or indiebound...

Most of the time, finding an angle for my reviews takes little effort. Almost always.

This one is different.

The Ice Princess by Camilla Lackberg, a crime novel set in contemporary Sweden, has stumped me. And perhaps it shoudn't.  In this story of two violent deaths fueled by the simmering resentments and psychopathologies of similarly violent childhoods, Lackberg skillfully weaves multiple perspectives and characterizations to keep the reader guessing up until the bitter end.  So what's the issue?

Is it the scores of characters who weave their way in and out of this 400ish page tale of an amatuer writer-detective whose childhood friend is brutally murdered, then left to bleed out and freeze over in her own bathtub?  (I counted at least a dozen different perspectives in the first chapter alone...)

Is it the brief descriptions of myriad Swedish exteriors and interiors for which I have no visual reference points?  (I'll look them up now.)

Is it that I was expecting an action thriller but got a highly psychological and moderately paced mystery instead?  (Possibly.)

I don't know.

I do know that if this is considered a suspense novel, as it was described by its publishers, then my previous generalizations about the state of the genre (based on a current bestseller) must be seriously amended.  In fact, The Ice Princess stacks up quite favorably against the current bestseller by a famously prolific author from which I drew my conclusions.  Does this bode well for Lackberg's career and her future novels?  One hopes it does.

Did this novel pass the time pleasantly?  Absolutely.  Was the 'Bridget Jones without the humor' heroine reasonably believable and sympathetic?  Indeed.  Did the plot move forward at a steady pace with occasional twists and turns and blind alleyways for good measure?  Yes.  Subplots in which the protagonist's personal life repeatedly intersects with her sleuthing?  Check.  Satisfying romantic developments?  Check.

So if you're looking for those qualities in your next light read, and especially if you've ever held a fascination for Swedish culture and scenery, Lackberg's debut on the North American scene will suit the bill nicely.

MFB with a fresh perspective on a popular genre,
L

Transform-My-Life Action:
I'm going to research Sweden and then find out what it might cost to travel there.  Lately, I've met quite a few new Swedish pals, so I do believe that this novel has propelled me toward making more lasting acquaintances out of them.  I will FB and email two today.

Change-The-World Action:
I'll post this review to Amazon and Goodreads and open a reviewer account on Betterworldbooks.com so I can post there too.  (FYI: I don't reliably post reviews so this book will help me make a habit of sharing honest information with more people.)

For my "What I Learned About Thrillers" premises, and how The Ice Princess stacks up:

Leaping into Fiction: 'What She Read' Is Winne The Pooh

In answer to the Crazy for Books blog hop question, "If you could physically put yourself into a book or series, what would it be and why?", I'd have to say Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne.

Why?  In these challenging times rife with natural disasters, civil wars, growing economic inequity, and all manner of other ills escalating at an alarming rate, leaping into the world of Pooh will provide instance solace. 

A world without danger in which living from moment to moment is the only possibility:  It sounds transcendentally appealing right about now. 

And it's going to be sunny there when I meet Eeyore and Tigger and Kanga and Roo and Christopher Robin and Pooh and the Hephalumps...

There are days when a leap back into the world of childhood is the only sane move one can make.  Today is one of those days.  Will you join me?

MFB,
L

p.s.  And the world of the contemporary thriller is perhaps the last place I'd like to land.  Why?  Check out my earlier post below!

Beatrice & Virgil: "What She Read" Review

Get it from Amazon or indiebound!

Almost a week later, I'm still pondering the ending of Beatrice and Virgil, the most recent novel by Life of Pi author Yann Martel. For Pi alums, that won't entirely surprise you.  To me, a book that grabs you on the first page, keeps you moving steadily and with increasing intensity, shocks and surprises and offers you intriguing glimpses into an array of human endeavors, and then leaves you rather gratified yet stunned and moved at the end:  All that rolled into one spells one fine book.

Here, Martel returns to his explorations of inter-textuality and of our human drive to recreate our messy lives in somewhat tidier or at least more fathomable stories.  And again we begin in one fictional reality and then journey with his central character, in this case a writer named Henry who echoes Martel himself, into an allegorical world of uncertainty, challenge, wry humor, and even violence, and finally return to a reality parallel to our own to reflect on the horrors that leach into our workaday lives no matter how carefully we strive to deflect them.

And it will come as no surprise that in his attempt to bring renewed immediacy to literature of the Holocaust, Martel reaches back to the Absurdists to frame some of his allegorical commentary.


For a surprisingly fine illustrated review of Beatrice and Virgil
click this link: B & V Illustrated Review.

The world within a world here is not a high-seas adventure as in Life of Pi, but rather a Beckettian play starring a donkey and a howler monkey within the frame of a writer's attempt to recreate his life in a foreign city when his writing career stalls.  The questions Martel explores with us include a Life of Pi-esque focus on  the cruelty of humans toward not only their own species but toward all other animals as well. 

Yet what makes all the difference here is protagonist Henry's central question:  How might one write about the Holocaust in a manner that offers the philosophical & historical depth of an essay and the freshness of narrative fiction?  Beatrice and Virgil acts as a vehicle to explore this question, and although certainly we see some comparable concerns and devices to those in Life of Pi, neither the intention nor the result is in any way similar.

When it was first released, some critics railed at the very thought of a non-Jew writing a book attempting - in any way - to address the Holocaust.  If you are willing to move beyond that concern to embrace a novel that respects its content utterly but takes a unique tack in attempting to make us re-see an everpresent and understandably oft-treated topic, then you would do well to set aside a few hours for Beatrice and Virgil.  In my estimation, better to stretch toward greatness on a challenging subject than to set one's writerly sights low and create a neatly constructed but depthless work.  After all, "more 'fail better'" (MFB) is my What She Read motto.

In truth, saying any more than this would spoil your potential experience of Beatrice and Virgil, and I want you to read it.

MFB,
L

Change-The-World Action:  Attend a local amateur theater production and/or link my first ActionReaders Challenge & Book Giveaway to an animal-elevating charity.  I welcome suggestions for organizations and will set up the challenge for the beta launch of my new ActionReaders.com website in May.

Transform-My-Life Action: Redouble my efforts to meditate on the wellbeing of all species - spirit loves variety after all - and to notice and offer active positive regard to every human and non-human being I encounter in the next month.  Long-term goal: to develop this as a habit of mindfulness.

Top Ten Tuesday: Pet Peeves

This week's blog hop from The Broke & The Bookish is:  Top Ten Bookish Pet Peeves (all those things that annoy you in a story, with book covers, bookstores, etc.

This was a fun one, and I'm quite surprised at how I started out thinking I had no pet peeves, and then quickly worked myself into a rant! 

I present to you the edited version, in no particular order:

*  Stereotyped stock characters as protagonists or antagonitsts.  Yes, there's nothing new under the sun, it's true; but at least give it a shot, wouldja?

*  Yet another vampire book or dystopia riding on the coat tails of Twilight and The Hunger Games. 

*  Bookstores with snooty salespeople who make you feel that you're interrupting their precious reading time when they have to help you or who sneer if you get a name or title slightly off.

*  Seemingly obligatory and unmotivated yet graphically described sex scenes in YA books, esp. the current trend to throw in a masturbation scene at some random moment.  What's with that?

* Books written to capitalize on/make money from TV shows, like the recent Glee series. 

* Books that can't stand alone because they're in the middle of a series.  To my taste, every book ought to have its own merits and - if it's plotted - some sort of closure.

* Writers who are out solely to make a buck rather than to serve the world by helping us enjoy and/or understand ourselves & that world at the same time.  I have little patience for anyone in any profession who's only in it for the cash.   (Not that cash is a bad thing.  However, I do believe that just about any job can offer the opportunity to do good while you're making a living.)

*  When writers start off in close third person following the protagonist, then shift perspectives abruptly for a few paragraphs due to carelessness rather than craft.  I've seen a few of these annoying errors in mass market paperbacks from rather famous but clearly a tad too prolific authors of late.

* Print that's so small or pages so thin that you get a headache after just a few minutes' reading.  I've recently chosen among 3-4 versions of classic texts with these concerns making the pivotal difference in where I invest.

* When, at author events & readings, audience members ask long 'questions' that are really rambling, discursive attempts to impress the author.  Ugh. 

There.  Glad I got all that off my chest.  See you over at The Broke and the Bookish's blog hop!

MFB,
L

Words & Music: Maura O'Connell & in just - / spring

A belated nod to the Irish this week...AND HAPPY SPRING, everybody! (check out the bonus e.e. cummings at the bottom)

Introducing the stellar chanteuse, Maura O'Connell.  If you ever get the chance to hear her live, I highly recommend you take it.  She typically sings contemporary tunes, but I've hunted up two traditional Irish ones for you in honor of St. Patrick's Day just past.  The first is from her Wandering Home album, the second on Walls and Windows.

"Down by the Sally Gardens".

It was down by the Sally Gardens, my love and I did meet.
She crossed the Sally Gardens with little snow-white feet.
She bid me take love easy, as the leaves grow on the tree,
But I was young and foolish, and with her did not agree.

In a field down by the river, my love and I did stand
And on my leaning shoulder, she laid her snow-white hand.
She bid me take life easy , as the grass grows on the weirs
But I was young and foolish, and now am full of tears.

Down by the Sally Gardens, my love and I did meet.
She crossed the Sally Gardens with little snow-white feet.
She bid me take love easy, as the leaves grow on the tree,
But I was young and foolish, and with her did not agree.

                                                                    by William Butler Yeats

Plus "Blessing".

The Irish Blessing (traditional)

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your fact,
and the rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

For more information about this extraordinary singer, click this link:  Maura O'Connell .

Please support the poets and musicians who - like Maura O'Connell and Nobel Prize winner William Butler Yeats and the inimitable e.e. cummings - change us with their art.

MFB,
L

BONUS: 

in Just-

spring       when the world is mud-

luscious the little

lame balloonman

whistles       far       and wee

and eddieandbill come

running from marbles and

piracies and it's

spring

when the world is puddle-wonderful

the queer

old balloonman whistles

far       and       wee

and bettyandisbel come dancing

 from hop-scotch and jump-rope and

it's

spring

and

     the

             goat-footed

balloonMan       whistles

far

and

wee

    - e.e. cummings

"What She Read" Review: The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore... Kissing Cousin Holds A Mirror Up To Nature

And it's way more than a mouthful from a chimp with attitude.

The premise:  Bruno the chimpanzee, born and raised in zoos and a primate communication lab in Chicago, rises in the human world due to his particular gift for interacting with humans via speech.  After a long and reasonably happy period living freely out in the wide world, he commits murder and is then confined to a center somewhat like the Yerkes National Primate Research Center in Georgia.  With plenty of time on his hands, Bruno decides to dictate his memoirs to amanuensis Gwen, hence the novel.

So you must go with the premise from the get-go or let the whole book go.  Here’s a chimpanzee who can walk and talk and think deep thoughts with a genius-range vocabulary peppered with literary and semiotic allusions, and who’s murdered someone yet now lives a life of relative ease, despite his continuing captivity.  He’s dictating his memoirs, because the physical act of writing is about the only human skill he hasn’t mastered.  If you can accept all that and you relish the ramblingly intricate philosophical rant powered by the mystery of not “Who done it?” but “Who it done to and how?”, AND you’ve got plenty of time to immerse yourself in a challenging but often rewarding novel, you might just want to pick up a copy of The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore.

And if, like me, you’ve nurtured a lifelong fascination with the great apes, their intelligence, their psychology, their communication, and their social structures, especially as they provided insight into humans, then you’ll find Bruno not just challenging but fascinating.  He’s brilliantly askew for sure, and an unrepentant narcissist, and in his exuberance to use his powers of description he can tend to ramble through sometimes excruciatingly minute details of his surroundings, but, all in all, Bruno’s also an unforgettable character. 

And the book’s a novel you’re quite likely to remember your whole life, not simply on account of the bravado it takes for a first-time novelist to offer up such an unusual first person narrator or on account of the sex scenes that are at times quite unsettling, but also considering the moxie of his publishers (the Twelve imprint of Hatchette Books) in taking a chance on such an unlikely tale.  And if at times Benjamin Hale prevails upon our patience and stretches our credulity a tad too much, the overreach seems engendered by enthusiasm for the encyclopedic and the piling upon of small noticings that eventually agglomerate into a lifetime of the mind (think Infinite Jest or A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius rather than some thin but hefty potboiler).

Sometimes a close comparison is the most illuminative.  This appears to be one aspect of Benjamin Hale 's purpose in offering up this great ape's memoirs. So the first chimpanzee to speak, read, act, paint, and live a life in almost all ways human tells us his life story while unmasking the animal nature beneath our thin human veneer of civility.  And he celebrates the manifold glories of the arts and culture and literature in this rambling rant of a novel.

What’ll I Do?

1.  Go back to my favorite chimp-related research and protection groups, esp. the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute at Central Washington University in Ellensberg and of course the Jane Goodall Institute to see how I can help preserve great apes in the wild.  From there, I will take at least one step to contribute to their well being.  Join me?

MFB,
L

A caution:  If you are squeamish at all about sexual content, then this book might not be for you.  Hale and Bruno explore all aspects of what it means to be human, and in graphic detail at times.

p.s. Hale also provides an exhortation to help save wild primates, especially great apes, in the afterward to the early review copy I received.  My hope is that it finds a more prominent position in the hardback, e-, and eventual paperback copies of this work, as it would be a shame to use a chimp – even a virtual one – for one’s own literary and financial purposes, and then leave it at that.  I certainly want to believe that this young author will prevail upon his publishers and reading audience to do some good for our nearest relatives.

Top Ten Tuesday: All In The Family

Today's blog hop from The Broke and the Bookish asks us to name our "Top Ten Book Characters I'd Want As Family Members (All those characters you think would be awesome moms, dads, sisters, uncles, grandparents etc.)."

Well, I'm actually quite happy to stick with my real-life family members, but if I lived in a literary landscape, here's who I'd choose...

Brothers: Pi from Life of Pi & Harry Potter & Haroun from Haroun & the Sea of Stories.  This trio would challenge and inspire me to step up my world-changing game, plus I know they'd always have my back!


Sisters: Olivia from the Olivia children's books.  She'd probably drive me nuts, but I'd adore her anyway.  And Hermione from the Harry Potter series.  A kindred spirit and, again, a sibling to spark my own genius.  And Esperanza from The House on Mango Street, a poet of fanciful dreamings and compassionate acts to inspire and to offer solace in times of change or struggle.

Eccentric Uncle: Hagrid from the Harry Potter series.  Wouldn't it be a kick to visit his house over summer vacation?

Inspirational Aunts: Janie from Their Eyes Were Watching God and Elinor Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility.  The boldly strong-willed and the sweetly pragmatic, they'd make quite a pair in conversation over holiday dinners and make outstanding confidantes and mentors.

Admirable Grandmas & Grandpas:  Atticus Finch from To Kill A Mockingbird or Elie Wiesel, author and central character in Night (Wiesel calls this famous work a novel rather than a memoir.)  Ma Joad from The Grapes of Wrath.

Just imagine the animated conversations this group could conjure around the Thanksgiving dinner table!


MFB,
L

Oops: Too many relatives!  Ah well, abundance is all.  Now offer me your favorites too and then hop on over the The Broke and the Bookish to find other blogs to sample.

Words & Music: Rufus Wainwright & William Shakespeare

Here's a streamlined Sunday offering for you:

What do you get when you take the most famous sonnet from a 16th-17th century English poetic genius and put them in the hands of a 20th-21st century American song-morphing phenom?

Mo' genius, mo' genius, mo' genius, of course.

Take a listen...

Rufus Wainwright sings Sonnet 29.

Sonnet 29 by William Shakespeare:

When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes,
I all alone beweep my outcast state
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries
And look upon myself and curse my fate,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featured like him, like him with friends possess'd,
Desiring this man's art and that man's scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least;
Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,
Haply I think on thee, and then my state,
Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate;
For thy sweet love remember'd such wealth brings
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.

Rufus Wainwright grew up in a musical family: He's the son of the late great Kate McGarrigle & Loudon Wainwright III - and has more than carried the torch.  Composed an opera? Check.  Scored a ballet? Check.  Sung film soundtracks?  Check.  Acted in major motion pictues? Check.  Environmental and political activism?  Check.  Serious solo career?  Check.  Mesmerizing in concert, brilliant at the composer's bench, and still at the start of what promises to be a long and distinguished career.  Give him a listen, starting at his site linked above.

William Shakespeare grew up in England and wrote some of the most brilliant works in history.  You know who he is! 

And finally, step into the WayBack Machine for a trip to 1987 in this BONUS track: 

For a hard-to-forget and somewhat grin-inspiring two minutes, go ahead and check out an utterly fab performance of Sonnet 20 by Ian McKellen (way, way before he was a "Sir") accompanied incongruously by The Fleshtones... Mint.

Please support the poets and musicians who - like Rufus Wainwright & William Shakespeare & Sir Ian McKellen - change us with their art.

MFB,

L

$80 Shopping Spree!

Today's blog hop at Crazy for Books asks:

If I gave you $80 to shop at a bookstore right now, what would you wind up with when you got to the till?

With a windfall like that, I'd pick out one of those big, glossy books that I would never buy otherwise.
Just this past Tuesday I saw two books at the American Museum of Natural History that I would love to buy but probably couldn't/wouldn't with my meager cash on hand:

Birds of North America (paperback edition) - a big, beautiful bird-per-page book with plenty of photos, clocking in at 714 pages!

OR

Body and Spirit: Tibetan Medical Paintings - gorgeous tankhas and paintings plus fascinating text about ancient Buddhist practices and theories for maintaining health.

They would be wonderful books to return to again and again, and so your generous donation, Crazy for Books, would be honored over and over in the re-reading, and I would think of you every time I paged through these books.

And I just read the list of National Book Critics Circle Award winners over at The Millions, and since I've read Jennifer Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squad (review coming soon...), I checked out the winner for biography:  How to Live; Or, A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer by Sara Bakewell. It reads fluidly and the 'answers' all seem well worth considering, so I'd put that one in my shopping basket too.

And if I had a few bucks left over,  I'd wander the aisles 'til I found a few of those wonderful hadta-haves that only present themselves when you allow them to find you.

Thanks, Crazy-for-Books, for allowing us to indulge in this fantasy of biblio-abundance!

MFB,
L

One more dystopia? Really??

It has SO been done and done and done and done.  And yet, it seems to go on and on and on and on...

Did you ever force yourself to finish a relentlessly bleak action-ish book that had no particularly interesting or dynamic or richly developed characters and no humor to speak of either and no particularly interesting thematic elements, holding on all the while for some sort of redemptive payoff at the end?  Not a shallow 100% twist-of-fate/everybody winds up OK in the end/"and she woke up, and it was all just a dream" sort of ending, but merely a smidge of added depth & dimension on the part of any primary character, or an ironic or truly surprising twist in the plot, or some sense that the writer - especially when he or she is writing for young adults - was attempting to offer up more than a (yes, suspenseful, but also quite violent) soon-to-be-a-major-motion-picture-on-paper?

Well I held on, wishing for something more, I did.  And quite recently too.  More than once.

And I'm getting sick of wishing.

In fact, for this "review", I hesitate to name the book title or author, because I want to act with compassion toward the writer, who's probably just trying to make a living like anybody else.  Yet failing to warn people about this book might also constitute a breach of compassion toward would-be readers.  So I'm torn.

For today, instead of a strict review, I'm going to lament - briefly - the abominable overload of dystopian fiction for young adults that the marketplace can't seem to stop pushing.  Is it not indeed enough that many movies nowadays are simply chase-fests or compilations of violent scenes?  Must we feed this same soulless drivel to our children via their books, upping the ante of violence and bleakness and moral vacuity with each passing year?  Really?

Fresh on the heels of The Hunger Games trilogy, this recent read to which I'm alluding is just more of the same dystopic action, but with less depth.  And I did read and enjoy The Hunger Games, but it was on the leading edge of this trend and offered more in terms of character development and thematic resonances.  Now we're just seeing novel after novel playing out progressively darker visions of the future with progressively thinner character development, and I ask, "Why?" And, "Should writers and publishers for young adults hold to a higher standard, offering quality novels with at least a smidge of depth and perhaps some occasional cause for hope amid the horror?"

MFB with this issue, and I hope to begin a conversation, so please write back!
L

What'll I do?
Write to the ALA/YALSA/Prinz committee with a link to this review and request a response, while urging them to consider additional criteria for nominations and/or recommended reads in the future.

p.s. Maybe one day I'll publish the name of the book.  But right now, I'm too disgusted with writers and publishers who are apparently happy to make their living by wallowing in and - to some degree - glorifying the worst of human nature, studiously ignoring how their actions reinforce passivity and fatalism while simultaneously playing to the most shallowly thrill-seeking impulses of our youth.

Top Ten Tuesday: Dynamic Duos

Batman & Robin, Lucy & Ethel:  Stand back.  We got your top ten literary pairs right here...

Lennie & George in Of Mice & Men.  The ultimate literary foils and - perhaps - America's first proletarian tragic hero.

Pi Patel & Richard Parker from Life of Pi.  Could either have made it without the other?  And what were they to each other exactly:  antagonists or two aspects of the same being?  Let the debates begin!

Elinor & Marianne in Sense and Sensibility.  Again, these gently comic foils draw us in.  In this case, perhaps because almost all of us can see some aspect of ourselves in these two sisters.  Same might perhaps be said of Elizabeth and Jane in Pride & Prejudice?  Nah, not really.  Still, they're a wonderful pair as well, no?  Go, sistahs!

Vladimir & Estragon in Waiting for Godot.  I've said it too many times to count now: It's the beauty of the way and the goodness of the wayfarers.  And if you haven't seen Godot performed by actors who get it, you haven't really encountered Godot.  Like The Importance of Being Earnest, it's best taken in as it was intended: as live theater.  So go seek it out.  You'll never forget these tragi-comic frenemies trapped in the limbo that is our human existence.

Algie & Jack in The Importance of Being Earnest.  Two charming cads make deception rather attractive and earnestness not so much... Who'da thunk?  Go rent the Firth/Everett version, or better yet, see a local production.  For this one, as for so many others, live theater is the best way to go!

Lady and Mr. MacBeth.  Bad juju, memorable mayhem.  The very model of the modern dysfunctionally codependent couple?  Out, damn spot! 

Griffin & Sabine from the novel of the same name.  Across years and miles and maybe even dimensions, they somehow "complete each other".  Luckily, not in smarmy sense.  To discover how so, open this interactive visual-verbal text and start puzzling out the mystery...

The Boleyn girls, Mary and Ann.  Again with the memorable foils, no?  And talk about sisters trying to do it for themselves.  But in a patriarchal age, we can only applaud their bravado and lament their fates. (Thanks to my cousin Mo for offering this one!)

Bottom & Quince in A Midsummer Night's Dream.  The clowns, the mechanicals, the buffoon and the micromanager.  Both utterly naive and useless without each other. 

Fred & George Weasley from the Harry Potter series.  Adorable mischief-makers offer comic relief, big-brother reality checks, loyal assistance in times of need, plus dramatic bravado when the going gets toughest.  Go Weasleys!

MFB, and thanks again to The Broke and the Bookish for hosting all these Tuesday blog hops. 
L

"What She Read" Review: Briar Rose (briefly)

It was kismet:  First, I noticed as I was commenting on a Facebook post that a Jane Yolen had also participated in that thread, and thought:  Is that the same Jane Yolen whose writing I've read about but never sampled?  It was.

Then I saw her Briar Rose recommended by a blogger on Sarcastic Female Literary Circle as a YA read with a strong female lead.

And I had $20 to trade at the used bookstore when I looked down at a pile in the current Young Adult Fiction section to see this cover.  Done deal.

So what is Briar Rose?  The myth of Sleeping Beauty translated into a fiction about the Holocaust.  Surprising.  And beautiful.

Jane Yolen's modern take on a classic tale offers a depth not often found in many current day remixes of old myths. 

She chose to go this genre one better, offering up her formidable skills as a storyteller - you're in the palm of her hand from page one - to shed new light on a rarely-viewed aspect of Polish history during World War II.  In so doing, Yolen honors people who might otherwise have been forgotten and reclaims the Sleeping Beauty tale for a new generation of men and women.

It's the story of Becca Berlin who makes a promise to her dying Gemma that she will seek out Gemma's murky history and bring it back to her family.  Really, that's it.  Except: There are actually two settings (Massachusetts in the 90's & Poland in the '30's and '40's) and three layered stories here:  Gemma's retelling of Briar Rose/Sleeping Beauty, Becca's modern hero's journey to discover Gemma's true history, and then Josef's story of survival in Poland during the Holocaust that reveals his version of that history. 

They're woven together naturally and skillfully: any reader growing up today or familiar with a variety of fictional forms will have no problem moving among these tales, all told with confidence by a master. 

I highly recommend it.  And I think it might be my first five star YA book of this blog.

What'll I do:
1. Friend Yolen on FB and take a look at her other YA works. I'd like to keep in touch with her, esp. with regard to supporting young women in their personal development.
2. Recommend this book to my teacher-friends & book group.
3. Research and read the "real" version of the Sleeping Beauty tale, which is one I missed growing up.  Perhaps check out some feminist perspectives on it too...

MFB, wide awake,
L

And it wins a perfect score for the Bechtel Test:
1. Two or more women?  Yes, a grandma (Gemma), three sisters (Shana-Sylvia-and-Becca constitute a Regin-Goneril-Cordelia-ish triad, lite version as the older two sisters are merely obnoxious rather than deadly), and a best female friend, plus a number of ancillary male and female characters.
2. Do they converse for more than a minute or two?  Yes.  They talk a lot about history, friendship, family.
3. Do they converse about subjects other than men?  Absolutely.  They are seeking to understand Becca's family history, so little of the story focuses on romance. (OK, a little, but it's in the backdrop, not a central issue.)

A caution:  Do know that even though the book is considered young adult fiction, Yolen does not evade or avoid sexuality - a trend now typical in YA lit..  In fact, one character's sexual acts are described pretty specifically.  Just a heads-up for younger readers.

Words & Music: Poetry 180 & KFOG's Acoustic Sunrise

Let's try something a little different this time:  A wee scavenger hunt for poetry on a Sunday morning (or afternoon or evening) with the best soundtrack ever.  Of course, if you're like me, you'll want to listen to the lyrics of the tunes, so just relax and meander through the poems...

First, grab a nice warm cuppa, put your feet up, and click the pic to enjoy KFOG.com's Acoustic Sunrise or Acoustic Sunset.

It airs (streaming) on Sunday mornings from 7a.m.-12p.m. Pacific Standard Time and on Sunday evenings from 6p.m.-8p.m., hosted by the queen goddess DJ of the San Francisco Bay Area, Rosalee Howarth.  (There's a link for the basic player beneath the icon for the more advanced player; both work just fine.)

Who might you hear?  Off the top of the play list, just this morning...
Israel Kamakwiwo 'Ole singing "Somewhere Over The Rainbow"
Girlyman performing "Easybake Ovens"
Rufus Wainwright covering "Across The Universe"
Habib Koite performing "Wassiye"
Great Big Sea singing "Good People"
Sundays covering "Wild Horses"
Van Morrison singing "Tupelo Honey"

Plus 'can't hear anywhere else' live KFOG performances by Josh Ritter, Dave Matthews, Blame Sally, Taj Mahal, and too many more to list.

Once the tunes are crankin', it's time to troll for treasures over on Billy Collins's Poetry 180 online anthology...

Yes, yes: Collins created it for high school students while he was the United States Poet Laureate.  But all the poems work for adults as well.  Seriously. 

A possible approach:  "The savoring". 
Just start at the beginning and read the first ten 10 poems slowly, leisurely. 
Pick your fave and read it a few times more.  Aloud, if you possibly can.
Between each reading breathe, mull, smile.
Done.

Still too much?  Try the very first one.  It's a perennial crowd pleaser with the hip young set:  "Introduction to Poetry" by Billy Collins himself.
And as always, please support the poets and musicians who change us with their art.

MFB,
L

p.s.  Do you know of a terrific streaming radio station or a (legit) site with full versions of a great musician's work?  Got an idea for a pairing?  Let me know:  I'll do my best to pass it along here in the weeks to come...