Friday Fifteen
May 24, 2013 § Leave a Comment
So glad it’s Friday! Let’s start the long weekend with some fifteen-word (or less!) book reviews.
1. Beauty by Robin McKinley
My favorite Beauty and the Beast novel. Love that Beauty is close to her sisters.
2. The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Excellent look at society terrorized by hate, hysteria. Would ove to see a good production.
3. Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton
Burton’s illustrations are fantastic, and I love a good inanimate object story.
4. Dawn’s Wicked Stepsister (The Baby-Sitters Club #31) by Ann M. Martin
Not everything’s ideal when your mom marries your BFF’s dad? Who could have foreseen this?
5. Poems on the Underground ed. by Gerard Benson, Judith Chernaik, Cicecy Herbert
Collection of classic and contemporary poetry featured on the Tube. Such a cool project!
Read So Hard, Libraries Try to Find Me
April 26, 2013 § 2 Comments
Dance break for your Friday, book-style. Title suggests NSFW but the song itself is pretty safe:
Usually I’m less than impressed with people who try to do hip-hop parodies, but these ladies have major skill.
The Furious Bird of the Calm Storm
March 29, 2013 § 1 Comment
What a beautiful animated interpretation of “The Me Bird” by Pablo Neruda:
I like that it’s a true inspiration piece, not a video with the poem appearing as text or read aloud. A great reminder, just before National Poetry Month, that poems can inspire all sorts of works of art.
(via NPR Fresh Air)
It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
March 20, 2013 § Leave a Comment
In honor of Mr. Rogers’ birthday today, YA author John Green shares a few cool facts about the man who helped make children’s public television a true force for learning and growth. There were lots of piece of trivia I didn’t know, so make sure to check out the video:
We should all endeavor to be as kind and thoughtful and curious as Mr. Rogers. Maybe instead of DFTBA we should say DFTBLF–Don’t Forget to Be Like Fred.
Happy birthday, Mr. Rogers!
PS–It’s also the birthday of one of my favorite children’s authors, Lois Lowry. Happy birthday, Lois! Thank you for bringing so many amazing books into the world.
Hearts on a String
February 14, 2013 § 1 Comment
Happy Valentine’s Day, everybody! I know it’s not a happy holiday for everyone, but I think it should be. Valentine’s Day is a chance to share all kinds of love–love for your friends, love for your family, love for your partner, etc. And you can do things your own way. Bake cookies, play board games, put on music and dance like crazy, go to a basketball game, curl up with a favorite collection of short stories–whatever you and your favorites like to do.
In case you’re still looking for ways to share your love, I suggest checking out these adorable bookish Valentine’s Day crafts. My favorite:
This garland would be fun to keep up year-round.
Hope you’re all having a great Valentine’s Day. Cool plans with loved ones? Share in the comments!
(image: Book Riot)
The Writing Cave
February 1, 2013 § 2 Comments
New favorite writing space:
Or course, I might be too distracted by the awesomeness of the space to get any work done. (Up the ladder! Down the ladder! More books!)
Click through for even more awesome architectural bookshelves.
(image: Freshome)(via Architizer Blog)
The Sound of Silence
January 30, 2013 § Leave a Comment
I have a very clear memory of learning about long vowels and the silent letters that often accompany them. I was in first grade, and writing in my class journal. I wanted to spell “made” and thought “Okay, I’ve got an M sound and an A sound and a D sound,” but when I tried to spell that out, it came out “mad,” which I knew wasn’t right. Fortunately, that was the day my teacher introduced long vowels. (Nice timing, Miss O’Neil!)
So I was really intrigued by this video, which demonstrates the part that silent letters play in languages like English, French, and Danish.
Language is so fascinating. As someone who has a hard time learning foreign languages, I was really interested to see their use of silent letters as well.
Click through for more information about the Silenc project.
(via The Dish)
To Thine Own Self Be True
January 25, 2013 § 4 Comments
A personality quiz based on Shakespeare characters? Just what Friday ordered!
I got Ophelia and although they don’t give any reasoning for this result, I’m going to assume this means that I’m really trying to hold it together surrounded by a lot of evil and crazy. And I like flowers.
In case you want even more Shakespeare, tonight PBS airs Shakespeare Uncovered, which explores some of Shakespeare’s most famous plays, including Hamlet, Twelfth Night, and The Tempest. And heads up, Whovians–there’s an episode in which David Tennant talks about Hamlet.
Quote of the Day
January 22, 2013 § Leave a Comment
I am not interested in the ephemeral…I am interested in those things that repeat and repeat and repeat in the lives of the millions.–Thornton Wilder, The New York Times (6 November 1961)
As you may have gathered, Thornton Wilder is a new favorite writer. I recently saw a gorgeous production of Our Town (and spent the evening crying about how beautiful and fleeting life is). Walt gave me a copy of the play for Christmas and I finished reading it over the weekend–so good.
Like in the quote above, Our Town deals with the very ordinary daily activities that are deeply meaningful and connect humans across time. I feel like this is something I want to keep in mind in my own writing–what is lasting? What is eternal? What touches all of us at our most basic human level?
Bilbo Did Write His Memoirs
December 28, 2012 § 5 Comments
Wouldn’t these Hobbit Holes make pretty awesome writing sheds?
Unless, of course, a pack of dwarves were to show up at your door and demand you go on an adventure with them instead of finishing your book.
(image: Hobbit Holes from Wooden Wonders)
