Tag Archives: books

The Voice that Sways The Lands

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We have the long arm of the law and we have unspoken guidelines. We have the soft embrace of humanity and the harsh slap of reality. We muddle through rumors and hearsay but cling to hope and authenticity. We have politicians and ministers, news wires and gossip pages. We have the word of God, and then we have………Oprah.

Run James Run

Run James Run

Oprah, who is mighty and powerful has apologized to James Frey for publicly slaughtering him on her talk show. Well slap me silly and humble my opinions. I am impressed.

I was one of the few million who watched James first interview with Oprah when he was hailed and admired by her. I was also one of the many (many) million people who sat helplessly on my couch watching James Frey take a beating and slashing during his second interview with the Queen of Talk show. That was painful to behold.

I know he stretched his truths. I understand he ‘duped’ Miss Oprah and readers on various levels. He even blatantly lied about a few facts. I know. I get it. But honestly, I read his book long before Oprah kissed it with her golden lipstick and had my own doubts about the authenticity of many stories in the book. HOW, could someone not doubt the stories?? Seriously? How? Reading that book and believing every word is like reading the bible and believing every story written there. A bit of perspective people, really………

Stories…..key word. Memories…..Memoir……..a version of someones truth and lies. He wrote a book, a story, an interpretation of his experience, and it touched a cord with readers. His book should never have elevated him to Messiah or Prophet status, but Oprah christened it and he fell mercy to the circus.

Enter a Smoking Gun and his brutal fall from grace. When he was officially busted for his gray zone, he should have been able to live his disgrace out in blissful royalty checks and behind shuttered windows. Instead, he was called to the carpet by Mother Oprah. Through the entire second episode my mind quietly chanted, run James, run! The way I saw it, he was already ruined. He was nailed to the cross, thoroughly whipped, there really was no need for Oprah to throw the spear into his side.

I imagine some would disagree with me on this. That’s ok. To be honest, I wasn’t even routing for the guy until after Oprah smacked him around. Out the gate I didn’t appreciate his style of writing and felt it was cheating the basics of dialogue and punctuation. Some of his chapters were so outrageous, how could someone not disregard them as anything but imaginary fluff.

I think when it comes down to it, I expected more from Graceful Oprah. She put the man in the glaring spotlight in the first place. I doubt he had many choices but to go along with the ride and pray nightly his truths weren’t discovered. I know she was mad, I know she felt like she had mud on her face because of her endorsement, but the poor man didn’t commit murder, he wrote a book. Just a book……

Years ago I found her public slashing beneath her. It lacked grace, compassion and understanding. Today I find her apology admirable. What do you guys think?

That Cover Looks Divine on you

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gavDuring my daily rounds through the New York Times this morning, I came across an article that not only discussed my coveted Miss Kindle2, but it also touched on the concept of judging people by the book they have in their hand. The mood of the article leaned against the age old practice of judging a person by their cover. If a person has a Kindle2 in their hand, can they be book assessed?

My first thought was, does it really matter? Second thought, I’d think anyone that paid $359 dollars to enhance their ability to read books shows a hefty commitment to reading. Third thought (bonus Kindle realization) I could read a hot and basic, bodice ripping– muscle bulging romance in public and no one would know the difference! Cloak of mystery!

Honestly, the article had me step back and wonder….do I judge people by the book jacket they cradle in their hands?

I do know I pay attention. I spend time in the coffee shops and admit I will strain my neck in the most un-obvious ways to see what books people are reading. I admit when I’m standing in line at the bookstore I’ll tilt my head, ever so slightly, slide my eye’s to the side and try to read the spines of  books people are getting ready to purchase. Indeed. I am curious.

So what do some books visually translate as? Is Tennyson the equivalent of a fine tailored suit and  Jude Deveraux is spandex pants and a skin tight tank-top? What exactly is the judging significance of one book over the other, if any? I also wondered where I fit into that line of jury and trial. I realized I must not care what people think of my book choices considering I’ve previously admitted on this blog that I dislike many classic novels and enjoyed the Twilight series. I also love e.e. cummings and Shakespeare but I am not above reading a bodice ripping, sweat dripping romance in times of desperation. My book stock must swing wildly between beer battered chicken and a fine wine on a warm evening. Gasp, maybe I’m just the average middle class American when it comes to my reading choices.

The question they proposed on the article was, “How do you judge people by the covers of the books they read?” Do I judge? Do you?

Is it about judgement or is it actually about discovering what other people are interested in? I can’t imagine saying to someone, “I’m sorry, you have a book by Nora Roberts, we can no longer associate, that’s beneath my level of reading.” Gavel slam, Official judgement. Judging by book covers borders a snobbery with no clear definition. Basically all books are subjective to individual tastes. So whats the point?

I know (the majority of) others don’t rash judge in this manner. At least I hope not. As I’ve told my daughters over the years, I don’t care what you are reading, just so long as you are reading……something….anything….everyday……….

#BlogFind: Speaking of books. Recently I won 11 books *cha-ching* from this blog and I always enjoy going over to read the book reviews, enter new book contests, read Author interviews and generally expand my book mind. I suggest getting to know Drey @ Drey’s Library. Your book cover stock is bound to go UP!

Really? No, really? Blogs to Books…

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Blog To Book

Blog To Book

I have a daily ritual of slinking around the The New York Times online. This habit gets my head out of Idaho and wrapped around the realities of the rest of the world. It also satisfies my shameless pleasures/needs of reading about Arts, Literature, People and Style. In case you weren’t aware of it, Idaho is extremely sheltered. Bio-dome sheltered. I think they still do background checks at the borders in case an out of stater tries to sneak in and pollute the innocence.

During my rounds this morning I came across this article. Public provides the Giggles; Bloggers get the book deal  …..so of course, being the quote ‘blogger’ that I am, I had to read that one. Honestly, I think the cultural I.Q. points I had just built up by reading about William Yeats dropped to a deficit after reading it’s message.

Basically, the short version, if you come up with an idea that is undeniably silly and basic, and people high-5  it, you can become a sensation. This article talks about the popularity and now book deal, of sending one blogger pictures of your dignity stripped pets dressed up in costumes. Name of the blog- Pets Who Want To Kill Themselves……..Another, by the same theory is —This is why you are fat. (Now, I’ve never, not once in 5 years, slanted negative about another blog on the Internet, and I’m not doing that now. I swear. Huge Kudos’s to the authors of those blogs for achieving the elusive sensation known as Internet phenomenon. I imagine I’d laugh and smile if I visited those sites. However, this entry is about blogs to books)

Now, don’t get me wrong. I think animals dressed up like Tinker bell are funny to look at. I enjoy the pictures where cats use bad spelling and grammer captioned with snarky humor. They make me smile, laugh and I’m not saying they don’t do wonders for the mood of the Internet. I’m down with the funny, I swear.

But, honestly. Is this what people are looking for in their books? This is what tickles the fancy of a fickle public and has agents clamoring for more? Publishing houses are actively seeking this sort of  ‘off the cuff’ and entirely irrelevant material to offer up for book consumption? Really? After I read the article my heart swelled a bit and my mind raced to all the amazing writers of blogs out there….the ones that have also wrote potential books via blood, sweat and tears. Those people, who send queries and partials out, week after week, just praying for one person to take an interest. Those writers/bloggers have been officially trumped by a bacon wrapped Twinkie. There’s something wrong with that picture.

I understand some people may think I’m comparing apples to oranges here. Humor picture books do have their merit. And I suppose there is always room next to the toilet for that sort of  literature book. Maybe I’m a book snob and didn’t even realize it because next to my toilet you’ll find Shakespeare, e.e. cummings and a suduko book. (Sneaky way of introducing the daughters to good reads) The way I see it, one can broaden their mind just about anywhere~~

Maybe what I’m saddened about, is the fact I run across so many incrediable blogs out there. Blogs written, with words, that could easily make the leap from blog to book and sadly they aren’t on the radar. I think when I’m done with this, I need to go do some research. Surely there are blogs that have moved to book based purely on the writing content and I’m just out of the loop. Does anyone know of any? If there are, I’d happily toss good money to the cause.

#BlogFind: Want Humor? With Words?  Nydia is a witty, entertaining writer, I already knew that, but holy hell, her entry about “When Trains Go Bad” had my sides hurting I was laughing so hard. So if you visit, that entry is a MUST read!! Caution: Don’t drink anything while reading about her brush with death~Polymer Clay Snails

The Hand That Writes

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writing_handI’ve been feeling a bit under the weather all week. One of those, I’m not sick enough to claim “sick”  because I can’t pinpoint what feels wayward, but I’m not feeling great. I’m running a low grade fever, feel weak, headache sporadic and just something……..is off kilter.

Now, I may be a strange individual on this point, but if I’m not feeling well, I want to feel positively rotten so I have every excuse in the book to curl up in bed, round the clock. I want to be surrounded by good drinks, fabulous books, a few DVD’s and let my daughters kick into nurturing mode and spoil me like the good little nurses they can be.  

My current status hardly qualifies for mandatory bed rest, but it’s making it difficult to accomplish much. Motivation is lingering somewhere between I should be doing something, I have no desire to do anything and I’ll try to do something just to feel productive. Since I have a week of that under my belt, I can say it’s like pinging around a room with a blindfold on doing the motions of action and wondering 3 hours later what I’ve been doing the whole time.

I have discovered I do like writing in this state of mind, so a little notebook has been my constant companion. An atmosphere of thoughts that feel foggy and transparent through the mind of a semi-ill consciousness shouldn’t be ignored. Since I have no idea how other minds operate throughout the day, I can only observe my internal monologue with thoughtful observation. It seems when I’m not feeling well my mind kicks into overdrive issuing out sentence after sentence that was previously residing in thy mind vault.

In my world, every story I write is born through a single sentence. That is my ultimate starting place.  I’ve read that other people who write, see an entire timeline of a story or envision characters engaged in an action or reaction. I’ve read some see a scene inside their head like a clip from a movie while others take a circumstance they want to focus on and build around it. That is their beginnings, the  ’it’  that triggers a novel, or poem, or anything they tell others.

 I hear sentences, words piling on top of each other. Inside my head there is a word puzzle thrown on a table, each puzzle  piece is a word and my thoughts are constantly (and I mean, insanely relentlessly) trying to link them up to form a sentence that grabs my attention. Once that sentence is realized, all sorts of creative imaginations start to go from liquid to solid form around. Sentence first…..imagination next.

Now, these sentences can be slippery little suckers. Once the words line up into a single sentence, they march out of my mind in single file formation that I usually get one chance to claim.  I have to be quick to catch them or they’ll escape and fly away from me like wordbirds escaping their cage. (Think word on the tip of  your tongue, but can’t quite recall) This is one of the reasons I usually appear like a super spy with my notebook and pen on my person at all times.

I’ll be out to dinner with a group and one of those sentences will make a break for it and if I don’t capture it on paper, there’s a good chance I won’t remember it an hour later. I’ve had to explain occasionally why I’m listening to someone and rudely start sifting around in my purse for writing utensils, then with a smile and a nod to encourage the other party to continue on, I’ll chicken scratch a sentence down while keeping my eyes trained on them. Makes me wonder how often someone has thought, “Damn, I was talking and she just started writing without even looking at her paper, strange lady” ……..

So that’s it. The starting motivation to all my writing. A single sentence I can build from. Some sentences have inspired short stories, some sentences have 50,000 words behind them and more. Some of my escaped sentences I find beautiful, some I find downright strange and some motivate me to venture forward. Some make it into my online journal and some remain forever barren and alone…..Makes me wonder, does anyone else start stories, books, poems, etc in this manner?

And since I’m sharing today, here are some examples of sentences that have tried to fly away from me but I captured within my notebook………

  • The unexpected embrace of a smile…..
  • The Crucifixion of an idea…….
  • What is the currency of a well intended idea……
  • I bevel my thoughts into the fallacy of memory. Truthful illusions…….
  • I dare not let time be the erosion of my identity…….
  • Umbrella imaginations, that is the world of a child’s mind, and my own? Blanket possibilities…….
  • The fraudulent behaviour of lavender fields……..
  • Wicked world and mercy streets. I’ve often thought those words as the circle in which my truths were based and my all illusions compared…..
  • In the Shadow of the Iris……
  • Provocation of Mine (d) …………(I caressed that one for awhile until it decided it wanted to be a journal name)

Winning is…

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win_love1Winning is……11 books at my doorstep in a big box from Hachette Books. 

Courtesy of Drey from Dreyslibrary(By the way, el potential competition, she’s gives away books, all the time, so if you want a piece of the action, I’d suggest getting over there)

Now, here’s the problem with being politically correct in winning. One is supposed to accept their award/prize with grace and humility. They should keep the understanding and sociable norm dangling an inch from their nose and be respectful of those that clearly came up short. Basically, winners should shut up, smile politely and refrain from gloating, yelling, or displaying any form of the electric slide, moonwalk, or rump shaker.

The good news is, no one was home when I got my prize in the mail. Therefore, there is no audio or visual evidence of any such actions on my part. The bad news is I can’t resist this one little outburst. ” I won, I won, I actually (insert exuberant cuss word here) WON.”

Speaking of winning. I’ve got my eye on another prize out here in Internet Land. The fun thing about this contest is the blog owner ((and I’m sure Heather didn’t expect a few of us to come up comment swinging like we have)), opened her contest up to as many comments as one makes, that’s how many entries they get. ~~Comment Frenzy~~

Now, in case you feel the urge to visit this contest once your done here, let me give you a hint. At the top of said entry it says two things. 1) If your 18 …do not scroll down and 2) If your uncomfortable about the topic of sex, move along…. to another warm and cozy atmosphere. All right, I added that last part. I do think she should have added a number 3…no boyz allowed. But I’m sure I’m just saying that because of some of my more uncensored comments. Anyway….Go Forth and see what the buzz is about. Here’s your last hint via linkage~~>~> Goodbyetobatteries  Ladies, don’t be shy,  there’s plenty of spray cans to go around and time to catch up. (just call me the instigator)   

So now that I’m basking in my book winner status, and I have my eye on the prize over at Heathers. The only thing left for me to do is find a contest somewhere that is giving a Kindle2 away. Does anyone that comes by my little space here have one? Anyone? I’m trying to decide if my current desire is fleeting, or if it really would be worth the money to pay $360 dollars for the ability to tote multiple books around electronically………..Damn technology, always something to lure and tempt us into the next curve on the horizon…..

Oh, and did I mention, I’m a winner~~

~Thank you to everyone that left birthday wishes for my daughter Shelby. It was much appreciated and a huge bonus to our special day.~