Tag: fun

Love-ly Reading

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The Horn Book has some fantastic suggestions for YA novels to get you in the Valentine’s Day mood. They’re not “romance” novels, but they all deal with love or heartbreak. A few suggestions of my own:

Dangerous Angels by Francesca Lia Block
When I was in high school, Weetzie Bat had one of my favorite descriptions of a kiss: “A kiss about apple pie a la mode with the vanilla creaminess melting in the pie heat. A kiss about chocolate, when you haven’t eaten chocolate in a year. A kiss about palm trees speeding by, trailing pink clouds when you drive down the Strip sizzling with champagne. A kiss about spotlights fanning the sky and the swollen sea spilling like tears all over your legs.” Swoon! The whole series is fantastic, too, especially in how it looks at love.

Searching for Dragons by Patricia Wrede
The whole Enchanted Forest Chronicles series is fantastic, but this one is a compelling take on the Prince (ahem, King) meets Princess (ahem, (Chief Cook and Librarian to the King of the Dragons) story.

Feeling Sorry for Celia by Jaclyn Moriarty
Mostly a book about friendships, but Moriarty also handles budding romance and heartbreak really well. Elizabeth Clarry gets letters from imaginary organizations like the Young Romance Association telling her she needs to stop being such an embarrassment and get a boyfriend already. Probably one of the most hilarious and relatable novels for teens without a lot of relationship experience.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Technically not a YA novel, but it’s about teens at a kind of boarding school, so I think it counts. A great example of a love triangle, with a creepy dystopian backdrop and gorgeous writing.

The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Also technically not a YA novel, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a reason not to put it on a teen reading list. It’s got a dashing pirate, a beautiful princess, a giant, a fencing expert, miracles, an evil prince, an evil-er count, and Rodents of Unusual Size. What more could you want than true love and high adventure?

What are your favorite novels about love?

In 1996, I Was Still a Middle-Grade Reader

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Found on the free table at work:

Needless to say, there’s no information about establishing an author’s online presence. Also no references to Harry Potter. But they do have an interview with Chris Crutcher, who talks about why teens need to read about ‘hard’ subjects. Glad some things don’t change!

Social Butterflies

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At SCBWI, there was a lot of talk about how writers can/should engage in social media and marketing. At one point, I was talking with a couple of women who balked at the idea of having to tweet/blog/be on Facebook. One of them said she saw it as a fad and didn’t want to waste that much time on something that would be worthless eventually. At the time I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to argue, but I actually enjoy the social media aspect of being a writer. I was blogging/tweeting/tumbling before I thought about it as a “tool.” It’s a fun way to connect with readers, other writers, editors, librarians, and book-enthusiasts. And even if the next big thing comes along in ten years, it doesn’t mean that what you do now is useless. Maybe everyone you used to be friends with on MySpace (flashbacks?) is now friends with you on Facebook and will follow you to the next online forum.

My advice for writers leery of of social media:

  • Assuming that having an online presence is a necessity for writers, it’s important to make sure you’re doing what works for you. Don’t start a blog if you hate writing posts. Maybe Twitter would be a better option since it’s only 140 characters.
  • Don’t worry about posting brilliant and astoundingly original content, or having to share all the intimate details of your life. (In fact, you probably shouldn’t share the intimate details of your life.) A lot of the internet is just about sharing and getting in touch with people who have similar interests.
  • Don’t feel like you need to have a million followers or commenters at once. It’s like writing fiction–sure, you could assume that maybe no one will ever read your work or you won’t win any major awards, so you might as well stop. But if it’s something you care about, you’ll do it anyway.

For more advice from actual professionals, make sure to check out the blog posts from the SCBWI Marketing Intensive:

Also check out this interview with Laura Barnes, MG writer and marketing consultant. Some of Laura’s tips for effective blogging/author sites:

1. Have your name in your title. Even better, have it in your address. Next best would be to have it in your subtitle.
2. Include your contact information. You’d be surprised how many people have blogs with no means of contacting the owner.
3. Have a message or a mission statement. I don’t mean to post this for people to see, but know what you’re blog is about. Are you giving authors writing advice? Are you sharing your love of books through interviews and reviews? Are you rambling your way through life? All of those are okay as long as you are consistent. This can be a confusing concept to grasp because it doesn’t mean that your writer advice blog can’t contain an anecdote about your Thanksgiving Dinner. It just means that a new visitor should be able to read one or two posts and be able to get what you are about.

#3 is very good to think about in particular. I like to think my blog is focused on writing/reading YA lit (or fiction in general), with a little random fun thrown in there.

What are your favorite social media tools? Least favorite? Suggestions for newbie bloggers?

Friday Fifteen

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Live from New York, it’s the Friday Fifteen! Here’s my weekly review of fifteen books in fifteen words or less.

1. The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
They were fools to leave the boxcar. Fools!

2. The Boxcar Children Houseboat Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner
Didn’t know it was a series, then picked up this. Didn’t read the rest.

3. The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti
Lovely writing, fun plot, Dickensian feel. Ending didn’t quite hold for me.

4. Circling the Drain by Amanda Davis
Eerie stories with a fantastical feel. Sad to lose Davis so young.

5. On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Loved the wild ride in 12th grade; wonder if I’d see it differently now.

6. Ballistics by Billy Collins
Worth it if only for the poem Hippos on Holiday. On holiday from what indeed?

7. Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
Based on his stories, I was expecting something a little quirkier.

8. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
Interesting ideas, but I didn’t much care about the characters. Prefer The Handmaid’s Tale.

9. The Witch Down the Street (Tale from the Care Bears) by Stephanie Morgan
Spoiler alert: the “witch” is a nice old lady. I know. Shocked.

10. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Let’s all get drunk and watch the bull fights, shall we?

11. The Periodic Kingdom: A Journey Into The Land Of The Chemical Elements by P.W. Atkins
I couldn’t even learn chemistry when it came in fantasy form. Good try though.

12. About a Boy by Nick Hornby
Funny, poignant, and real. Maybe it’s not high literary fiction, but I love it.

13. A Raisin in the Sun  by Lorraine Hansberry
The only reading in tenth grade with a moderately happy ending.

14. Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Scotland, witches, murder–what more could you want from the Bard? My favorite tragedy.

15. Intensely Chocolate by Carole Bloom
I love chocolate. Bloom writes fantastic cookbooks. A match made in heaven.

And there you have it! Enjoy the weekend everyone.

Links Galore

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A few more fun links for Thursday:

Let it Burns

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A lot of times, people see my red hair and guess that I’m Irish. In truth, the red hair comes from my 1/16th Scottish side–not much, obviously, but it’s a good excuse to swell with Scottish pride. And so of course I need to mention that today is the birthday of Scottish poet Robert Burns. Happy Birthday, Robert! In Scotland, this means celebrating Burns Night and taking part in the Burns Supper. (Any dinner where you pipe in the meal gets my support.) I’ll be packing for SCBWI tonight, so I don’t think I’ll be having any haggis, but I can share my favorite Burns poem.

My Luve is like a Red Red Rose

O my Luve’s like a red, red rose,
That’s newly sprung in June:
O my Luve’s like the melodie,
That’s sweetly play’d in tune.

As fair art thou, my bonie lass,
So deep in luve am I;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a’ the seas gang dry.

Till a’ the seas gang dry , my dear,
And the rocks melt wi’ the sun;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
While the sands o’ life shall run.

And fare-thee-weel, my only Luve !
And fare-thee-weel, a while!
And I will come again, my Luve,
Tho’ ’twere ten thousand mile!

(poem via BBC)

Punctuation Fans, Unite!

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I’m a punctuation nut. When others argue against the Oxford comma or the semicolon, I get personally offended. So I love this list of 14 punctuation marks you might not have heard of. (If you’re in the writing/editing world, I bet you can pick out at least a couple.)

The Exclamation Comma. Finally, a way for me to express excitement without ending a sentence! The Snark is also wickedly delightful, but I think I’d end up using it too often.

Which punctuation mark is your favorite?

I Really Need a Hammock

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A little old, but still fun: a glimpse inside famous writer houses. Truman Capote’s might be cool to hang out in, but I like Norman Mailer’s layout the best.

Apparently he used to have a trapeze swing, a rope ladder, and hammock strung between the rafters. I’m not sure I’d ever get any writing done with that kind of potential around me. Check out the full list of writer’s rooms here. What’s your ideal writing space like?

 

Friday Fifteen

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Welcome to the third Friday Fifteen, in which I review fifteen books in fifteen words or less. Onto the books!

1. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Creepy, well-written. Love it even more every time I read it.

2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling
I was very proud to have figured out what the deal was with Crouch.

3. Waiting for the Rain by Sheila Gordon
7th grade, learned about apartheid. I remember kids go to the movies and share chocolate.

4. A Certain Strain of Peculiar by Gigi Amateau
Very sweet, gets the small Southern town vibe. Made me want to say y’all afterward.

5. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Scarlett is the tragic protagonist. You’re not supposed to like her.

6. The Winner (The Gymnasts #4) by Elizabeth Levy
Another 90s tween series. I read one or two instead of taking gymnastics.

7. Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh
Three mice discover red, yellow, and blue can make other colors too. Blew my mind!

8. Just as Long as We’re Together by Judy Blume
Read this a zillion times. Judy gets the weirdness of shifting friendships in middle school.

9. Women Artists: An Illustrated History by Nancy Heller
Won this as part of the art award in high school. Lots of cool images/info.

10. Snow in August by Pete Hamill
Assigned in 9th grade. I liked it until the end, which went off the rails.

11. The All New, All Purpose Joy of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, Ethan Becker
Want to cook bear? That’s in here, along with pretty much everything food related.

12. Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle by Stephen Dunning
6th grade, first foray into poetry that didn’t necessarily rhyme. Didn’t understand most of it.

13. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss
Very clear memories of reading this at my desk in first grade.

14. A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table by Molly Wizenberg
Wizenberg combines the best of food writing with a touching memoir.

15. Where’s Waldo? The Fantastic Journey by Martin Handford
He’s on a boat! Or the beach…

Feel free to share your own Friday Fifteens in the comments. Happy weekending!