–Read-a-thon Wrap Up: A Great Weekend of Book Love

Sinners and the Sea, Theras and His Town, and My Ántonia.

This is my second Read-a-thon as a reader. My first outing was a cheerleader (Oct 2011) and last fall I participated at half-speed … doing more of a ‘Read-a-5k’ than a Read-a-thon.

This time, I read three books (shown above): Sinners and the Sea, by Rebecca Kanner; Theras and His Town by Caroline Dale Snedeker; and My Ántonia, by Willa Cather.

As well as several spring poems (it is Poetry Month after all), and most of the weekend New York Times—in 24 hours. That actually makes me kind of a slacker because we 494 participants who read 588 books and over 5,000 pages! Several readers cruised through 9 or 10 books, so I was perhaps flattening out the bell curve. But the glorious weather was a worthy distraction—I do hope the October 2013 Read-a-thon is on a dismal, rainy day. (Perfect for reading!)

I also participated in my first ‘mini-challenges’: the Book Sentence Challenge and the Share a Quote Challenge. Maybe the best part: I discovered some wonderful new book blogs and had a great time tweeting, commenting, and connecting with fellow bookworms.

Oh, and did I mention, I won a prize!! A book called Villa Triste by Lucretia Grindle, so looking forward to getting that in the mail.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but I did not turn on my TV during the whole Read-a-thon. Then, because Sunday was hectic catch-up (and nap!) day, I didn’t turn it on until Game of Thrones at 9 pm. So I went from Friday to Sunday night without even thinking of the TV.

Most importantly, the Read-a-thon reminded me how much more I used to read. Pre-iPhone, I always had a book with me in case I had a few spare minutes—at the checkout, at the bar, in the waiting room. Now, I sometimes do, but sometimes I’m texting or emailing. I’ve lost those few extra minutes every day of reading. Need to rectify that … for mental health purposes.

Another takeaway: it was soooo nice to turn of the phones and simply read for a few hours. That will be incorporated as a new weekend ritual.

So thank you Dewey’s Read-a-thon for a great weekend of #booklove.

Here We Go, Dewey’s Read-a-thon April 2013

Dewey’s Read-a-thon Book Sentence Challenge

Read-a-thon or Read-a-5k?

Dewey’s Read-a-Thon

Dewey’s Read-a-Thon Start Times

History of Dewey’s Read-a-Thon

Remembering Dewey Through Her Words

A Tribute to Dewey

Check Out WordHits on Facebook

Or Follow @WordHits on Twitter

Read Full Post »

–Book Sentence Challenge: Dewey’s Read-a-thon

Death comes to Pemberley in the time of butterflies;
bring up the bodies, unbroken atonement.

Midnight Book Girl has challenged us Dewey Read-a-thoners to create a Book Sentence. Mine is more like two sentences—I wangled the punctuation—but I had fun with it.

I wish I had also partaken of the Book Spine Poetry Contest—there are some great entries to browse!

Read Full Post »

–Here We Go, Dewey’s Read-a-thon April 2013

Read-a-thon Wrap Up: A Great Weekend of Book Love

In all, I read three books, several spring poems (it is Poetry Month after all), and the weekend New York Times—in 24 hours. Read-a-thoners worldwide read over 5,000 books collectively!

Check out my full Read-athon Wrap Up.

 

7:15 am Update: Back at the Books

I actually, gulp, went to bed for a few hours (#needsleep), but woke up just after 6 am. Cosy in bed finishing My Ántonia and wondering what to start next? Luckily, the doggie is still sacked out, so prime reading time. LAST HOUR #RahRahreadathon

 

11:15 pm Update: Closing in on Book 3

Oh, I do love My Ántonia.

After seeing my post on dogs and flowers, you may be asking, “Is she actually reading?” Yes, I am, though not at the rate of many #Readathon-ers who have racked up 5 to 10 books so far. I feel that I never have enough time to read, so I have really been trying to enjoy the Read-a-thon. Also, I got part of the NY Times Sunday paper delivered today, so I had to read a bit of that.

I am closing in on book 3: My Ántonia, a favorite that I am rereading for book group. Oh, I do love Willa Cather! Off to bed with my book, more tomorrow.

 

9:45 Update: Dangerous Distractions

Not only did my rascally dog Baci lure me outside for walks and games of fetch, but every time we came in … she took over my reading spot on the couch!

Dog odalisque.

Today in the mail came the two most tempting junk mail magazines, including the ‘Most Beautiful’ People. I don’t even subscribe to People, so why would the gods of junk reading send this to me today …  of all days. (I do subscribe to Entertainment Weekly—great book reviews and everything else!)

Hard to resist … but I did!

 

7:30 Update: Spring Poetry

It has been glorious out today. I’m not going to lie—I snuk out for a few dog walks. But, in keeping with Read-a-thon spirit, I first read one of my favorite spring poems, Today by Billy Collins.

“If ever there were a spring day so perfect,

so uplifted by a warm intermittent breeze …”

If you need a poetry break, try these lovely Spring Poems, via the Poetry Foundation. I also savored a reread of Tintern Abbey, by William Wordsworth.

My own azalias are at their peak, but I also saw vibrant forsythias, blooming magnolias, and the last of the daffodils.

Spring in flowers and poetry.

 

5:50 pm Update: Book Sentence Challenge

I’ve had some fun checking out all the Mini-Challenges as part of the Dewey’s Read-a-thon. Such vibrant book and readerly creativity!

Check out my entry to the Book Sentence Challenge.

 

4:30 pm Update: Two Books Read

This is a GREAT book for kids!! Educational and so much adventure.

Just as I suspected, I have gone off-piste and selected a book not from my  #Readathon TBR. How can you really know which book you feel like reading until you are about to start?

I chose a children’s classic that was one of my repeat reads as a kid,  Theras and His Town, by Caroline Dale Snedeker.

Theras is a young boy growing up in Athens who has  all sorts of adventures. (It would make a great  Disney film!)

Also, er, I took a nap. Something about allowing yourself a day of reading is soooo relaxing!

 

12:30 pm Update: Got Physical

The Read-a-thon website said “Let’s Get Physical!” I took my dog Baci to the park for an intense game of fetch. She loves tennis balls the way I love books, so I couldn’t deprive her. Also, this is the nicest Saturday we’ve had this spring. Throwing is a good way to open up the muscles and stretch after a morning hunched over my book. I try not to hunch, but one does get sucked in.

Baci is indefatigable!

 

11:00 am Update: One Book Read

Yes, I get a buzz from decaf.

 

One book down–Sinners and the Sea. I’m not reading as fast as some (who have knocked off two or three), but I have been  distracted by all the fun #Readathon updates on Twitter.

Woo hoo, #Readathon has trended to the TOP spot!!! And I am loving reading everyone’s blog updates … I was told that this counts .

Also, had to finally make coffee! Didn’t get to it due to pre-start dog walk and eagerness to get cracking, spine cracking that is.

Now, which book next?!

 

9:15 am Update: Love the first book!

I was so excited about the day of reading that I woke up early at 4:30 am—like on Christmas! Woke up for real at 7:17 am and feeling great after a night of dreaming about books!

I’m starting with Sinners and the Sea, by Rebecca Kanner—the tale of Noah’s Ark told by his unnamed wife. I had peeked at the first few pages last night. So far I am really liking this book—lovely but spare writing and so readable! I’m on page 217 out of 337.

Bookmark from Barrett Bookstore, featuring their mascot Riley, the Golden Retriever.

 

Friday Preparations: the Stack to choose from … but not limited to!

 

My Read-a-thon Stack: mostly rounded up from
independent bookstores and the public library.

I’m psyched for the Dewey’s Read-a-thon tomorrow, Sat April 27. It’s not too late to sign up if you want to join more than 400 bookworms in this worldwide read-in.

Dewey’s Read-a-thon starts at 8am for me, that’s Eastern Standard Time. Here’s a link to all the Read-a-thon Start Times around the globe.

Above is the stack of books I will be choosing from, though I’m not sure I can get through them all. (Unlike most participants who mow through stacks much taller than this!)

I am soo excited to have a great excuse to sit and read … and read and read!! Last time, I Read-a-5k, but hoping to crank tomorrow. More later, as I will be updating as I read…

Read-a-thon or Read-a-5k?

Dewey’s Read-a-Thon

Dewey’s Read-a-Thon Start Times

History of Dewey’s Read-a-Thon

Remembering Dewey Through Her Words

A Tribute to Dewey

Check Out WordHits on Facebook

Or Follow @WordHits on Twitter

Read Full Post »

–Kate Middleton Decried as Jane Austen Character?

In an attempt to criticize Kate Middleton, British radio host Sandi Toksvig has dismissed her as being ‘very Jane Austen.’ Now I cannot even begin to fathom how that could be construed as negative, but it gets worse. Toksvig complains of Kate, “I cannot think of a single opinion she holds—it’s very Jane Austen.”

Clearly Toksvig has never actually read any Jane Austen, because her books are almost entirely composed of characters giving their opinions.

In fact, Austen’s novels were actually rather progressive in her day because her heroines were so expressive. Spirited Elizabeth Bennet readily speaks her mind, much to the discomfiture of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, who remarks “upon my word, you give your opinion most decidedly.” Mr Darcy notices this also, and it’s one of the things that draws him to Lizzy.

Emma Woodhouse also shares her opinions eagerly, even when, as noted by Mr. Knightley, they are completely off-base. “Mr Knightly loves to find fault with me,” she tells her father. “We always say what we like to one another.” Indeed, Emma dislikes Jane Fairfax precisely because “there was no getting at her real opinion. Wrapt up in a cloak of politeness, [Jane] seemed determined to hazard nothing She was disgustingly, was suspiciously reserved.”

Marianne Dashwood, aka ‘sensibility,’ is most demonstrative about her romantic ideals. Her sister Elinor, who has more ‘sense,’ is equally ready to counter with arguments for reason. To Colonel Brandon she worries that Marianne’s openness is “setting propriety at nought.”

Also in this novel, the respectable and educated Edward Ferrars realizes that he cannot love Lucy Steele when her letters contain flattery but no substance.

While Persuasion’s Anne Elliot may be reserved, her opinion is well-regarded (except by her unkind father and sister). After Louisa Musgrove’s accident, both her brother Charles and war hero Captain Wentworth turn to Anne for advice and leadership. “‘Anne,’ cried Charles. ‘What is to be done next?’”

Even Fanny Price, the ‘Most Likely to be Voted a Pushover,’ takes a stand when her cousins plan to perform a risqué play. She also, despite enormous pressure, refuses to marry the disingenuous Henry Crawford, which gets her banished from Mansfield Park. Both Fanny and Lizzy Bennet decline financially advantageous proposals from foppish men, despite the very real threat of indigence and homelessness.

If Kate Middleton is like a Jane Austen character, it is because she exhibits a similar tempered resolve as well as much grace under challenging circumstances. Why all this Kate bashing? Ahem, Hilary Mantel.

In addition to strong heroines, Austen liked to poke fun with a variety of foolish, ill-informed, and opinionated characters. Lady Catherine de Bourgh, though she has never studied piano, determinedly criticizes the finger work, style, and execution of anyone who plays for her. From the tiresome Mr. Collins, to the know-it-all Mrs. Elton, to the pompous Sir Walter Elliot, these caricatures opine confidently, and often nonsensically, on topics they know nothing about. Does this not seem rather like Sandi Toksvig in her disparaging of Jane Austen (and of Kate)? Perhaps it is Toksvig who is the Jane Austen character after all.

British Radio Host Hits Out at Duchess of Cambridge as ‘Very Jane Austen’

Author Hilary Mantel Calls Kate Middleton ‘Plastic’ and ‘Designed to Breed’

Hilary Mantel Defends Kate Middleton Comments

Royal Bodies — A Lecture by Hilary Mantel

Jane Austen Bio and Links via JaneAusten.org

Follow @WordHits on Twitter

Or Check Out WordHits on Facebook

Read Full Post »

–Change the Clocks, Change the Books

I don’t know what it is about ‘Spring Forward,’ but I always find myself reshuffling my TBR pile. During winter, the early darkness and the cold winds prompt me to reach for heavier, atmospheric tomes. I started off November with Bring Up the Bodies, Hilary Mantel’s study of Thomas Cromwell versus Anne Boleyn. I followed that with mostly moody fare like G.R.R. Martin’s A Storm of Swords, Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë, and one of my favorite Shakespeare plays, Richard III (after they found him in a parking lot in Leicester). Shakespeare’s histories and tragedies feel like winter reading, but the comedies seem more apropos to spring and summer—except of course, Twelfth Night and A Winter’s Tale, which I should really put in my rotation next December.

Now, the changing of the clocks and all that extra daylight are teasing me with spring fever. I’m aching for sunnier, lighter reading. I particularly enjoy reading Jane Austen in the spring. I love the brightness and delicacy of her writing. Over the weekend, I reread Pride and Prejudice (for the 200^th anniversary!), which Charlotte Brontë decried as “a carefully fenced, highly cultivated garden, with neat borders and delicate flowers.” But, that’s exactly what I am craving right now: literature that can fill the flower gap while my daffodils inch out of the ground.

One of my ritual spring reads is usually the newest No 1 Ladies Detective Agency novel. Alexander McCall Smith’s descriptions of, “the clear and constant sun,” the acacia trees, and Botswana’s dry, dusty plains work almost like a few hours in front of a sunlamp—a literary jolt of vitamin D. I am so vexed that the latest title has been pushed to November. I got a similar escape to desert heat, when I read The Wandering Falcon by Jamil Ahmad, which takes place in the tribal regions of Pakistan.

This spring, I plan to finally reach for The Lacuna, Barbara Kingsolver’s novel about Diego Rivera in Mexico. I’m embarrassed to admit that I will be digging into the hardcover, which I bought ages ago. (Sigh, the perils of the TBR.) Kingsolver’s Animal Dreams, The Bean Trees, and Pigs in Heaven are also great reads for the sun-starved.

Finally, spring fever makes me crave page-turners, so both Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and the new Sophie Kinsella, Wedding Night, will be at the top of my pile. If only I didn’t have to wait until April for Sophie!

Follow @WordHits on Twitter

Or Check Out WordHits on Facebook

Read Full Post »

–Tony Romo as Red Herring

I’m not sure about all this Tony Romo bashing. It seems rather obvious and easy for everyone to point to him. It’s sort of like blaming the character holding a bloody knife over the dead body in an Agatha Christie novel. Except that person is never the one who did it.

Books are rife with such red herrings, dubious characters who turn out to be just the opposite in the end. There’s the cast-off but ever-faithful Cordelia in King Lear. The men who challenge d’Artagnan to a duel turn out to be The Three Musketeers. The scruffy Strider eventually becomes the king in The Lord of the Rings. Jane Austen was especially fond of offering up red-herring suitors: the simple farmer Mr. Martin in Emma, the not-dashing Colonel Brandon in Sense & Sensibility, and, most notably, the pompous Mr. Darcy of Pride and Prejudice.

Now I am *not* comparing Romo to Mr. Darcy. Robert Martin, maybe. But the point is that these red herrings distract us from the real villains at work: Mr. Willoughby and Mr. Elton respectively. Or, in Romo’s case, Jerry Jones.

Yes, it looked like Romo choked against the Redskins. (Ok, it always looks like Romo chokes.) He threw three interceptions. But some of the NFL’s best quarterbacks have had the most interceptions: Brett Favre holds the record with 361. Fran Tarkenton and Dan Marino are also in the top 10, with John Elway ranked 13^th overall. The fewest are by Damon Huard and Joe Ferguson—ever heard of them?

Also, it wasn’t Romo who gave up 361 yards and 28 points to the Redskins. It’s easy to blame Romo, but doesn’t that sidetrack us from the bigger, more insidious problem? After all, the Cowboys have been floundering for about 15 years now, ever since owner Jerry Jones inserted himself into the coaching process. Jones has not relinquished full control to a coach since Jimmy Johnson in the early ‘90s, coincidentally the last time the Cowboys won a Super Bowl or won the Division. (Really, Switzer was mostly coming off Johnson’s coattails in ’95). Current Redskins coach, Mike Shanahan (who took the Denver Broncos to two Super Bowl wins) is one of many notable coaches rumored to have declined an offer from the Cowboys because of Jones.

Back to Romo, I do wonder what he could do under a coach like Shanahan. Ok, so Romo’s not Darcy or d’Artagnan. He’s more like Professor Snape, the ultimate red herring who seemed to foil and thwart Harry Potter through all seven books, which I guess rather aptly makes Jerry Jones “He-who-must-not-be-named.”

Read Full Post »

–Read-a-thon or Read-a-5K?

Started my Readathon off right! Coffee and savoring a pore through the Sunday NY Times

I’m SO excited about the Dewey’s Read-a-thon on Saturday, Oct 13, starting at 12:00 pm GMT, which is 8:00  am EST in the US. Hundreds of people around the world will devote a whole day just to reading! If you are interested in joining, sign up here! Or you can sign up to be a Read-a-thon Cheerleader. Yes, it’s a sport and we have cheerleaders.

Make no mistake—these folks are not fooling around. They prepare meals in advance so they won’t have to take time off for cooking, and they stock up on caffeine to fuel them for 24 hours. Full disclosure: there are some people (like moi) who will take breaks and actually stop to sleep. But there are an impressive number of readers who go the distance. And they go through a crazy amount of books!

My Read-a-thon stack. JK!

I know because they post (via blogs and Twitter) pictures of the aforementioned swollen—towering—stacks of books. Check it out via #Dewey or #Readathon hashtags. Most impressive, and er, intimidating. Alas, I will be a teense of a Read-a-Thon slacker—hence my not-quite-a-stack, pictured right. It’s not by choice, but I have to work for several hours tomorrow. Also, I’ve had a trying couple of months in which I’ve only managed to sneak reading in hurried bursts on the subway, over lunch, or staying up late. It’s been so rushed, and, honestly, I’m just not in peak perusatory form.  (E.g., I’m pretty sure that’s not a word.)

But I want to join in spirit. So I am approaching the Read-a-Thon as an exercise in savoring the read, the peruse, the pore. I will take it slow and enjoy. On deck: one of my favorite poets—Edward Thomas, at times called the ‘British Robert Frost‘ (apologies to the Brits who would say Frost was the ‘American Thomas’). I’ll linger over his poems, like Adlestrop, October, and The Sun Used to Shine (about him and Frost).

Beyond that, I’m going to wing it from my embarrassingly-tall and not-shrinking-fast-enough TBR. Also, I am definitely going to allow myself a leisured, every-section read of the Sunday New York Times, which I haven’t had the luxury of enjoying in months. So instead of a marathon, for me, it will be like a fun run. A reading 5K, if you will. You don’t really need to train. You can just cruise along and enjoy the ride—or read.

Here We Go, Dewey’s Read-a-thon April 2013

Dewey’s 24-Hour Read-a-Thon

Sign Up to Read

Read-a-thon Start Times

A Tribute to Dewey

Check Out WordHits on Facebook

Or Follow @WordHits on Twitter

Read Full Post »

–Happy 30th Anniversary to Banned Books Week!

It’s Banned Books Week (Sept 30- Oct 6), organized each year by the American Library Association (ALA). The awareness campaign was founded in 1982—the same year the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a New York school district could not remove Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five from its middle-school and high-school libraries. Well, barely. The court was sharply divided over this decision, split 4-4 as to whether limiting the books would violate the students’ First Amendment rights. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger actually sided with the book banners. The swing vote was cast by Justice Byron White, who concurred with the four that wanted to limit the school board’s ability to withhold books, but he refused to comment on the First Amendment issue. Er, I’m no lawyer, but denying books to students seems a pretty clear violation of both “freedom of speech” and “freedom of the press.”

It was close call, but that ruling hasn’t stopped Slaughterhouse Five from being barred repeatedly from school bookstores and libraries, as recently as 2007 in Howell, Michigan. Other frequently banned classics include high-school favorites like A Separate Peace, by John Knowles; As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner; The Catcher in the Rye, by JD Salinger; The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding; and just about everything written by Hemingway, Orwell, and Steinbeck. Check out the ALA’s list of the Most Frequently Banned and Challenged Classics.

Back in 1918 when James Joyce’s Ullysses came out it was banned from publication in the U.S., Ireland, Canada, and England. Sylvia Beach famously came to the rescue by printing and selling the book from her Paris bookstore, Shakespeare and Company. In 1940, U.S. Post Office actually declared Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls “non-mailable.”

But censorship is not something of the past. Right after the first The Lord of the Rings movie debuted in 2001, a pile of Tolkien’s books were burned outside a church in Almagordo, New Mexico, for being “satanic.” Clearly, these people had not actually read the books (or seen the movie). In 2010, a California school district banned Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary owing to “explicit definitions.”

Last year, the ALA reports there were 326 attempts to remove books from school curricula and/or libraries. The Top Ten Most Challenged Books of 2011 include To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (both repeatedly challenged in the 21^st century). Of course, the list includes The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, just as a few years back the target was on J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. I confess, I feel a bit squeamish about younger children reading The Hunger Games, but that’s a decision for their parents—not the state … or the local town council, seriously?

So celebrate our right to read this week by reading a banned book … or any book. Check your local library for Banned Book Week events. Also, don’t miss the Virtual Read-Out on YouTube. Passages from banned books will be read in video clips by celebrities, famous authors, and just about anyone who wants to upload to the channel. Read on.

30 Year Timeline of Banned Books Week

Top Ten Banned Books of 2011

List of Most Frequently Challenged Classic Books

Banned and Challenge Classics: History by Book

BBW Virtual Read-Out on You Tube

Bookman’s Does Banned Books on You Tube

Flashback Post: Banned Books Week 2011—Celebrate  Celebrate our Right to Read

Check Out WordHits on Facebook

Or Follow @WordHits on Twitter

Read Full Post »

–Reading on the Road: Escapist and Indulgent

I do have an e-reader, but still mostly like to lug around the real deal.

Now that everyone has Kindles, Nooks, and iPads, it’s much easier to bring books on a trip. But the question remains … exactly what to read? I find that my book tastes change dramatically when I am on the road—trending towards escapist and the potboiler. Last weekend, I brought 1Q84 (well, volume 1) to my college reunion. Let’s just say that Murakami is extra trippy after a late night out. I quickly had to put that aside in favor of (gasp) Brad Meltzer’s faux history thriller The Inner Circle. (Full disclosure, I only lasted about 50 rather dreary pages in this before I quickly flipped to Phillipa Gregory’s engrossing The Lady of The Rivers.) It’s not that I wasn’t enjoying 1Q84—so absorbing and intense—but I find it harder to read (and to appreciate) literary fiction in snatches. I get that feeling that I’m missing something. I also tried to read The Cat’s Table, by Michael Ondaatje during my travels, but I couldn’t really get into it until I was home for a few days. Loved it, by the way! Ondaatje’s writing (like that of Murakami or, say, that of Gabriel García Marquez) is so dense, so beautiful—these are words you want to sink into with a chunk of time.

Plus there’s something about travel that makes me crave book candy: chic lit, suspense, or cozy fiction. Basically, I pack books with short, episodic chapters, and (mostly implausible) page-turner plots. Or, I turn to humor. I breezed through the most hilarious e-book spoof, A New Financial You in 28 Days (A 37-Day Plan) on my iPhone. Also, anything by Sophie Kinsella or P.G. Wodehouse makes excellent road-trip fare—especially on those long-haul flights. I was once stuck on the tarmac at DFW for nearly an hour AFTER landing, but barely noticed because I was deep into Right Ho, Jeeves.

I think it’s the stress and discomfort of travel—overcrowded planes, arduous delays, and the fatigue of packing and unpacking—that make me want something indulgent. It’s sort of a bookish equivalent to chocolate, a glass of wine, or a bubble bath.

‘Airport Lit,’ is what Dominique Browning dubs it in a humorous essay for the New York Times. She goes on to describe the sisyphean agony of trying to get through Ulysses while her plane was repeatedly deiced at the gate. Things got much better once she picked up G.R.R. Martin. The hassles were still there, but she no longer cared.

On the other hand, great writing (and thus great literature) tends to stir one up, making you more viscerally aware. That’s not necessarily ideal on a bumpy flight when the people next to you are arguing over the armrest.

I just finished a string of trips that had me on and off the road off for almost two months. Here are the books that kept me entertained en route:

A New Financial You in 28 Days (A 37-Day Plan) by Brian Foley
Hahaha. Loved this e-book—silly, funny, clever. Perfect kindle or smartphone read for when you are stuck in the airport.

A Clash of Kings by GRR Martin
Addictive—biblio crack. This is epic storytelling with such memorable characters. Note: beware of GRR Martin books when changing time zones … they will keep you up all night!

I’ve Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella
So fun and hilarious! Not only did I laugh out loud, I dropped the book. It’s right up there with her original Shopaholic books—most genius chic lit.

The Inner Circle by Brad Meltzer
Alas, this is supposed to be a thriller about secrets passed down by US Presidents. As much as I balk at dissing books, I must say this was a giant snoozer of a disappointment. Nothing remotely exciting happened for the first 50 pages except the narrator whining (seriously whining) about how he was a geek in high school. Who cares?! The geeks rule the world now. Anyway, finally around page 52 someone dies, and the main character’s reaction was so histrionic (comic) that I could not take it, or the book, seriously. Chilling pot-boiler, this is not.

The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory
More frothy fun and a bit of bodice-ripping as Gregory, known for her Tudor Court Novels (‘historical’ fiction) now turns to the Wars of the Roses. I highly suggest reading this prequel first of the four books in the Cousins’s War Series, as it really explains and lays a groundwork of understanding for what became an infamous period in English history.

The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection by Alexander McCall Smith
I just LOVE all the No. 1 Detective Agency novels. The latest is simply delightful, like a cheering cup of bush tea—charming, heart-warming, and everything always turns all right in the end.

“Learning to Love Airport Lit” via The New York Times

How About Liking WordHits on Facebook?

Or Following @WordHits on Twitter?

Read Full Post »

–Post-Poetry Month Withdrawal

Has anyone else been dragging a bit this week? Perhaps it’s the five straight days of grey Dickensian mizzle, but also, I am missing the fanfare of Poetry Month. It seemed that every morning there was something fun on twitter or in the news about poets and poetry. (OK, there still is if you follow the #poetry and #poem hashtags, but last month’s pop was exponential.)

One thing I learned is that reading (and writing) poetry is good for the brain. Not a revelation, but still gratifying to hear that the time I spend idling about poetry websites can be chalked off as mind-sharpening. Writer Alan Heathcock also argued that poetry is important for one’s mental health in a piece for NPR’s All Things Considered.

So if you too are suffering from Post-Poetry Month depression, here are some ways to put some poem in your routine. The USPS has just issued Forever stamps that honor ten American poets: Elizabeth Bishop, Joseph Brodsky, Gwendolyn Brooks, E. E. Cummings, Robert Hayden, Denise Levertov, Sylvia Plath, Theodore Roethke, Wallace Stevens, and William Carlos Williams. So now we can all be a little bit inspired when we mail our letters, or at least when we pay the electric bill.

Three of my favorite websites offer a poem-of the day:

Poetry Foundation
Poets.Org
The Writer’s Almanac

All three also have wonderful twitter feeds. Also on Twitter, there is a delightful tweep called @Pomesallsizes, who samples poets ranging from Charles Bukowski to Rainer Maria Rilke. Last Tuesday featured a translation of “Venice in Winter,” by Bakhyt Shkurullaevich Kenzjejev—a Kazakhi poet whom I’d never read.

Finally, the Poetry Foundation offers an amazing free mobile app with an extensive searchable database, as well as a very cool, interactive, spinning poetry roulette that clusters poems via themes like love, youth, frustration, joy, and grief. After all, in the words of Gwendolyn Brooks, “poetry is life distilled.”

USPS just issued Poets “forever’ stamps.

‘A Mad Obsession’: Poetry on the Brain

A Poem A Day: Portable, Peaceful, and Perfect

Poetry Foundation

Poets.Org

The Writer’s Almanac

@Pomesallsizes on Twitter

Poetry Mobile App for iPhone and Android

Like WordHits on Facebook

Follow @WordHits on Twitter

Read Full Post »