I'll be honest: I haven't read a ton of books in 2009. And a lot of the ones I did read were about pregnancy or child care. So instead of having the ten best books I read, I thought I'd just encourage everyone who hasn't read THE HUNGER GAMES and CATCHING FIRE to go to your local bookseller and buy them. Now. Suzanne Collins deserves to be rich. Best books I've read in years. You pick them up and cannot. put. them. down.
I actually saved CATCHING FIRE to read when I went into the hospital to have my daughter, but eh, that didn't work out so well. I did read it during the first few weeks of her life, though, when I was so sleep-deprived, I was barely able to read the directions for the bottle warmer.
CATCHING FIRE is just as brilliant as THE HUNGER GAMES and leaves you in the same state--just hungering for more. Ha. Punny. I can't wait until the (final?) book comes out.
One of my big goals for 2010 is to read a lot more. I don't have anything going on this summer besides rocking out with my daughter, so I'm anticipating a lot of lazy hammock + book time. Any suggestions for great books I might have missed in 2009?
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
what makes a movie great?
I was watching Ghostbusters last night, and I couldn't figure out why I love it so much. Is it nostalgia? Or are there qualities that make it a great movie?
Let's break it down a bit:
Character: The characters are fabulous, from the arrogant Dr. Venkman to the alternatingly bored and lusty Janine. Each character is unique, and you want to root for all of them, even the ghosts! (Yay, Slimer.) Okay, well maybe you don't want to root for the guy from the EPA (mostly I remember him as "Dickless").
Plot: The plot is pretty tight. There don't seem to be any scenes that fail to move the plot forward. And that's really important in a movie (or a book).
Dialogue: There are so many great lines!
"When someone asks you if you're a God, you say yes!"
"Everybody has three mortgages nowadays."
"We came, we saw, we kicked its ass!"
And then the little tidbits here and there, like when Venkman doesn't know how to pronounce "Hittite." Some of that might be improv, but it's comic genius.
Yesterday I saw Sherlock Holmes. I enjoyed it, yes, but I'm not sure I'd call it a great movie. The eye candy factor was high (mmm, RDJ), but something about the plot bugged me. I won't go into detail, but to me it didn't hang together all that well.
My mini me is wiggling all over the floor right now, about to eat some reject Christmas candy, so I must go, but I'd be interested to hear some of your favorite movies and what it is you think that makes them great.
Let's break it down a bit:
Character: The characters are fabulous, from the arrogant Dr. Venkman to the alternatingly bored and lusty Janine. Each character is unique, and you want to root for all of them, even the ghosts! (Yay, Slimer.) Okay, well maybe you don't want to root for the guy from the EPA (mostly I remember him as "Dickless").
Plot: The plot is pretty tight. There don't seem to be any scenes that fail to move the plot forward. And that's really important in a movie (or a book).
Dialogue: There are so many great lines!
"When someone asks you if you're a God, you say yes!"
"Everybody has three mortgages nowadays."
"We came, we saw, we kicked its ass!"
And then the little tidbits here and there, like when Venkman doesn't know how to pronounce "Hittite." Some of that might be improv, but it's comic genius.
Yesterday I saw Sherlock Holmes. I enjoyed it, yes, but I'm not sure I'd call it a great movie. The eye candy factor was high (mmm, RDJ), but something about the plot bugged me. I won't go into detail, but to me it didn't hang together all that well.
My mini me is wiggling all over the floor right now, about to eat some reject Christmas candy, so I must go, but I'd be interested to hear some of your favorite movies and what it is you think that makes them great.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
when does inspiration hit?
For me, it's always during a long drive. I'll have some tunes or talk radio on, and my brain just starts to make connections. Those "what if" questions. What if students had to take a multiple choice exam to determine their life partner? That was my big one last year (that I can't do now, grrrr...). What if a girl's ghost came back to prevent a terrible tragedy? What if my drawings could shape the future?
Once I've got my idea, I always have my best luck developing it while I'm driving. I think about backstory, characters and their relationships, details about my world, ways to add suspense or interest to slow parts of the novel. Between Target and my house yesterday, I came up with a crucial detail about my current project and the title of the novel. It's a title that was used back in 1994, but a) I've recently learned that you can't copyright a title (bleeeech) and b) it is so perfect for my story!
Off topic: How hard does having a title that's been used before make it for readers to distinguish your book from another? For instance, there are pages and pages of books on Amazon called DOUBLE TROUBLE. (This is not the title I want to use. Just an example.)
Also off topic: With the millions of books that have been published throughout history, it is so hard to think of titles that haven't been used before! I suppose that's why there are all of those books coming out recently with a couple of adjectives as a title. (For example: Wicked, Lovely.) It's much less likely, if you pair a couple of unrelated words, that they will have been used as a title before.
But anyway. We were talking about inspiration. When and where do you get yours? A certain time of day? Are you in the shower? In bed, almost asleep? Making a frozen pizza? I'm interested. Let me know!
Once I've got my idea, I always have my best luck developing it while I'm driving. I think about backstory, characters and their relationships, details about my world, ways to add suspense or interest to slow parts of the novel. Between Target and my house yesterday, I came up with a crucial detail about my current project and the title of the novel. It's a title that was used back in 1994, but a) I've recently learned that you can't copyright a title (bleeeech) and b) it is so perfect for my story!
Off topic: How hard does having a title that's been used before make it for readers to distinguish your book from another? For instance, there are pages and pages of books on Amazon called DOUBLE TROUBLE. (This is not the title I want to use. Just an example.)
Also off topic: With the millions of books that have been published throughout history, it is so hard to think of titles that haven't been used before! I suppose that's why there are all of those books coming out recently with a couple of adjectives as a title. (For example: Wicked, Lovely.) It's much less likely, if you pair a couple of unrelated words, that they will have been used as a title before.
But anyway. We were talking about inspiration. When and where do you get yours? A certain time of day? Are you in the shower? In bed, almost asleep? Making a frozen pizza? I'm interested. Let me know!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
a different kind of kiss
*dusting off DTY and waving hello to Shawna*
Shawna didn’t mean for the kiss to happen. She was still feeling raw from her breakup with Donnie, and Elijah just happened to be there.
It was after a Sea Monkeys show. Donnie had just shipped off to Iraq. Shawna went to Pour Richard’s alone and stood in the back, watching Elijah try to sing Donnie’s words. He was nothing compared to Donnie. But as he sang and strummed on his guitar, he raised his eyes and met her gaze. Just like Donnie used to do.
After the band’s first set, Shawna curled her finger for Elijah to come and talk to her. But they didn’t talk. There were no words, only tongues. After she had enough, after the hole inside of her didn’t feel quite so gaping, she pushed him away. And left without saying a word.
Shawna didn’t mean for the kiss to happen. She was still feeling raw from her breakup with Donnie, and Elijah just happened to be there.
It was after a Sea Monkeys show. Donnie had just shipped off to Iraq. Shawna went to Pour Richard’s alone and stood in the back, watching Elijah try to sing Donnie’s words. He was nothing compared to Donnie. But as he sang and strummed on his guitar, he raised his eyes and met her gaze. Just like Donnie used to do.
After the band’s first set, Shawna curled her finger for Elijah to come and talk to her. But they didn’t talk. There were no words, only tongues. After she had enough, after the hole inside of her didn’t feel quite so gaping, she pushed him away. And left without saying a word.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
christmas break: spitup and storylines
I am officially on Christmas break, and it feels so great to sleep in until 8 a.m. Last week was my first back at work since having my little precious, and it was brutal. Up at 5 a.m. to get us both ready for our commute, drop her off at daycare (heartbreaking!), pump breast milk during my prep period and lunch, pick her up for our long drive home, snuggle on the couch for a bit before the bedtime routine. And then I'd just fall into bed to get a few hours of sleep before it all started again.
Can I just tell you, I got about ten hours of sleep last night, and it was heavenly! Little cupcake must have been wiped out as well because she slept that whole time with just a few brief nighttime snack wakeups. This is what I love about being a mom: dancing to commercials and watching her laugh; the smell of her little head; seeing her grin her big, gummy smile at her daddy. Wow. Just awesome.
But there has definitely been less time for writing. I've been brainstorming, though. I have a few ideas up my sleeve. All YA. I think I'll use this break to flesh out one of the ideas and start writing. In March, I believe, I'll be doing a NoWriMo with my Creative Writing class. I need to get back into this, get back into the habit.
Also, I am so proud of the members in my writing group who have gotten agents and book deals! It really shows what hard work and dedication can accomplish! Congratulations!
Can I just tell you, I got about ten hours of sleep last night, and it was heavenly! Little cupcake must have been wiped out as well because she slept that whole time with just a few brief nighttime snack wakeups. This is what I love about being a mom: dancing to commercials and watching her laugh; the smell of her little head; seeing her grin her big, gummy smile at her daddy. Wow. Just awesome.
But there has definitely been less time for writing. I've been brainstorming, though. I have a few ideas up my sleeve. All YA. I think I'll use this break to flesh out one of the ideas and start writing. In March, I believe, I'll be doing a NoWriMo with my Creative Writing class. I need to get back into this, get back into the habit.
Also, I am so proud of the members in my writing group who have gotten agents and book deals! It really shows what hard work and dedication can accomplish! Congratulations!
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