who says you have to be crowded into the living room, kitchen, and/or dining room to hold a book club? we are ladies of the 21st century. we don’t need no stinkin’ couches. so pull up a blog and join in the conversation.

the members of the BOOK HUNGRY are (alphabetically): patty blount, kelly breakey, blake leyers, karla nellenbach, and myself. we pick a book to read. we discuss via phone. we post a review on our individual blogs the 3rd thursday of the month. click on their names above and enjoy.

this month’s BOOK HUNGRY selection is: 

GONE GIRL by gillian flynn

what it’s about from amazon: 

my opinion:

this book is SO not up my alley. it’s darker and seedier and more haunting and less laugh inducing than the books i normally choose to read. plain and simple, this book is unbelievably effed up and i hated the characters, but I FREAKING LOVED THIS STORY.

the characters are so vivid and unrelenting and flawed and malicious and wild and raw and not nice, but they remain entirely true to form throughout the whole book. it’s something i value — when the author lets the characters shine through which in turn blots out any hint of their own voice or agenda. these characters are mean and ugly and hideous and i’m sure they were delicious and horrible for gillian flynn to write. it takes some major guts to write characters that are this unlikeable and unrelatable. BRAVO, gillian flynn. BRAVO.

my very favorite part is the ending. it’s completely creepy, but absolutely spot on and exactly how the characters should/would/could have acted. i might have laughed* when it was over because i couldn’t believe flynn pulled off something this insane, this intense.

(*said laugh was of the menacing variety and also one born out of relief because if the book had gone on, it would have crossed a very dark line and i don’t know if i would have recovered from that.)

if you want a book that will take you on an incredible ride (from part II on), read this.

i’d just finished my crossfit workout and was headed home. i was walking, balancing my water bottle in the crook of my arm, and typing on my phone. (i’m not normally one to type on my phone whilst walking, but i had to put in the details of my workout before i forgot them.) i came up upon the crosswalk of danger.*

*this crosswalk is named as such (by me) because, when driving, it’s incredibly hard to see pedestrians waiting to cross, so it appears they pop out of nowhere causing you to slam on your breaks to avoid (a) hitting them and (b) breaking the law of not yielding to pedestrians in the crosswalk. having been on the driving side of that, i’m usually petrified to cross there on foot. i’m very tentative and don’t usually cross until cars have stopped completely or there’s an vast gap between cars and i can sprint to the other side.

so, back to the moment. i looked up from my phone to check the status of the cars. one was headed towards me, so i turned my attention to my phone while i waited for it to pass. two voices caught my attention. i glanced up and two men were in the crosswalk. i looked back at the car. it didn’t appear to be slowing. i stared at the men. they were continuing boldly on. i looked at the car. it may have slowed its speed a touch. i studied the men. they studied me. i studied the car.

i figured “what the heck” and stepped into the road.

man #1: we’ll protect you.

man #2: we’ll stop him.

me: THANK YOU. *walks in path between two bodyguards*

my thanks was of the sincerest variety because after the workout i’d just completed, my arms were nothing more than cubes of jello and wouldn’t help in whatever precarious situation a crosswalk + a blind spot + a speeding car could create. also, that was the first time i’ve felt safe as a pedestrian on that portion of the road. thanks to those guys, maybe it’s time to rename the crosswalk of danger?

The Journey

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice –
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
“Mend my life!”
each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do –
determined to save
the only life you could save.

-Mary Oliver

“and there was a new voice/which you slowly/recognized as your own.” GAH. those words. so amazing.

i originally wanted this post to be about that because it is those words i am aiming for — to hear and recognize and utilize my own voice both while speaking and writing, but then i realized i’m in a self-imposed writing break as i try to figure myself out, so this post can’t be about that.

then, it hit me.

those words are also relevant for college grads (yay, mina!) who are now finished with their degrees and are headed out into the big, bad world. they’ve spent four (or five or six or two) years researching and reading and listening and watching and living and learning and doing all with the goal in mind of finding their voice.  some may have discovered it, but can’t hear it over the reverberations of expectations. some may have figured it out years ago and followed it to this exact point. some may be afraid of it. some may be proud of it. some may think it’s in another language. some may be.

some may need more time. some may find it in writing, some in mathematics, some in motherhood, some in underwater basket weaving, some in athletics, some in more school, some in cooking, some in teaching, some in whittling, some in engineering, some in music, some in luxury, some in combat, some in foreign lands, some at home.

some may call it a conscience. some may call it attitude. some may call it confidence. some may call it id or ego. whatever it’s called and whatever it is and wherever and whenever you find it, i hope you embrace it. we can’t wait to hear you.

introducing: margot wood, fauxtographer extraordinaire.

i first learned of her where i learn about everything, the twitter. someone had retweeted one of her fauxtos, which is to say, one of the scenes from a YA book she recreated and then captured on film. even i, a photography dunce, could tell the picture was stunning. granted, i’ve read or heard of most of the books that inspire her photos which makes it even more fun for me, but you don’t have to have read the book to appreciate her genius because she gives a non-spoilery account of what scene the image came from, who her model/s is/are, why she chose that scene, and any other juicy tidbits from the photo shoot.

she also has a wicked sense of humor, as is evidence by our twitter exchange with mindy mcginnis, author of the (much touted) upcoming novel NOT A DROP TO DRINK.

yet another reason why i love the twitter. it introduces me to the most extraordinarily creative, not to mention, like-minded people.

since mindy’s book isn’t out yet, let’s all sit back and enjoy margot’s fauxtographs!

*****

this past weekend, i was at a friend’s baby shower and in lieu of a card, the hostesses had requested we bring a book to start the baby’s library. this idea charmed me, but also rattled me. there are SO MANY GREAT BOOKS out there, how could i ever decide on just one for this baby?

my automatic buy for babies is usually any book by sandra boynton. the board books are sturdy and bright, but most importantly, silly. the words and pictures are crisp and clean and hilarious. how can you not love a book that caters to both babies and parents? however, the countdown to the shower was closer than i realized and i had no time to run to the store. i turned to my own bookshelf.

(why do i have kids’ books on my shelf, you ask? i used to work for a large, corporate, trade publisher in the juvenile division and kept all the best books i (and my coworkers) worked on.)

i settled on THE POLAR EXPRESS.

for me, this book didn’t hold the weight it does for others. christmas books were/are abundant in my parents’ house, but i had zero memories of reading this particular book as a child and as such, my only memories of it were the struggles i incurred while working on the 25th anniversary edition which included the book, a slipcase, a cd, a sticker, and shrinkwrap. it was my first “kit” and there were a lot of moving parts when you were in the production department…

anyways, i realized my experience with this book was in the vast minority, so i tenderly pulled the book off my shelf and prepared it for the shower. when it was time for the mama-to-be to open my gift, she held it high so everyone could see. her mother in law immediately ran over to me with tears in her eyes.

“that’s the first book [my son] picked out when he got his first library card,” she whispered.

*****

until recently, the library in sister J and BILT’s town was a tiny store at the local mall because the main building was under construction, but as soon as the newly renovated library re-opened, a family outing was planned.

it turns out you have to be four years old to get your own library card. baby mac is three. that didn’t stop her.

while sister J was registering for the cards, BILT, baby mac, and bubba mac perused the kids’ section. baby mac was overjoyed with the selection and in fact, would pull a book off the shelf, race over to sister J to show her the new option, and then return to BILT to pick out another one. she ended up selecting four books that day to take home.

four books may not seem like a lot but it’s a strong enough foundation to support a lifelong love of books.

do YOU have any book stories to add to my collection?

i was walking to work on a cloudy, cool spring morning.

man: there’s a blue sky to the west.

woman: i see it!

me: *thinks to self, they’re neighbors. how cute. i see the blue sky too, but they weren’t talking to me.*

i kept my eye on the sky and continued on my way.

boy: good morning.

me: *turns head* *realizes it’s not me he’s addressing*

girl: hi!

me: *another set of neighbors or, more likely, classmates, saying hi. i love the sense of community, but when’s it my turn?*

i clutched my coffee cup and kept shuffling towards work. i spotted my sidewalk regular and knew my turn had arrived. i couldn’t contain my grin.

her: hi.

me: good morning!

and it was, especially since my route to work kept me headed literally and figuratively towards that blue sky.

(1) Go to the extreme north of the globe, towards the North Pole, for ideal viewing. This is where the aurora borealis is magnetically drawn. The ideal locations for spotting the aurora are north Finland, Scandinavia, Siberia, Alaska and Greenland.

(2) Visit these locales from October through March. Since the rest of the year is dominated by day-round sunlight, seeing the aurora is more difficult during that time.

(3) Keep up with ongoing solar activity to find out the best times for viewing.

(4) Watch for reports of unusually high solar activity if you live farther south. When solar activity is unusually high, the lights can often be seen at much lower latitudes than usual. Chances for viewing would be especially good throughout Canada and mid- to northern regions of the U.S. and Europe. It even may be possible to see the aurora farther south.

(6) Practice the art of patience when waiting to see the lights. You may have to wait several hours before finally catching a glimpse, so be ready to put your skills of endurance to use when aurora hunting.

and, you guys. YOU GUYS. this book. THIS BOOK! it’s everything every second book in a series should be. it deepens our knowledge of the main and supporting characters. it’s got new twists and turns. it stands alone. it’s complete. it leaves us begging for more, especially that love scene. it may very well be the sweetest (and sexiest) love scene around. i may have put my hand over my heart when reading it, because, awwwwwwwwwwww.

i’m not sure i can talk about how funny this book is, how real the characters are, and how unique the premise is without melting into a puddle of gushiness and re-forming back into a proud mama. (what? i “know” linda via twitter. i’m allowed to take credit for her writing successes. ;)

instead of subjecting you to my incoherent albeit happy babbling, here, have a review by patty blount and here, have some cover copy (from amazon):

i was scurrying to work on a blustery morning. i was on the later side of things and was already pondering my to do list for the day. meetings and projects and decisions and more meetings mounted in my head and i stopped paying attention to what my feet and hands were doing. as such, my thermos o’ decaf coffee hit my thigh and in direct opposition to my own clumsiness stuck its landing gracefully and upside down.

“huh,” i thought, pausing, studying, and laughing before leaning down to pick it up.

“that doesn’t happen twice,” a guy said.

i looked up at where i was; at the junction of where an apartment complex’s entrance hits the main sidewalk. of course this would happen in front of an audience. “no, it does not,” i said, smiled, and hoped the rest of my day would follow the trajectory of my thermos — graceful, albeit upside down.

it’d be better than me stumbling upright through the remaining hours.

who says you have to be crowded into the living room, kitchen, and/or dining room to hold a book club? we are ladies of the 21st century. we don’t need no stinkin’ couches. so pull up a blog and join in the conversation.

the members of the BOOK HUNGRY are (alphabetically): patty blount, kelly breakey, blake leyers, karla nellenbach, and myself. we pick a book to read. we discuss via phone. we post a review on our individual blogs the 3rd thursday of the month. click on their names above and enjoy.

this month’s BOOK HUNGRY selection is: 

CITY OF BONES by cassandra clare

what it’s about from amazon: 

my opinion:

i’d read this book before, but it was so many moons ago and i didn’t remember enough about it to be able to participate in the monthly call, so i requested it again from the library.

as i re-read it, i recalled my initial reaction was “meh” and the end was “eww.”

those impressions didn’t change with a second re-read.

i mean, this book was fast paced and interesting up until the end. i didn’t like the end at all. it doesn’t make me want to read the other books, of which the gals informed me, there are four more, not to mention a movie coming out. i realize there’s a huge following of this series (and her other one) but i don’t see the appeal here. maybe i’m tired of paranormal? maybe i’m not a huge fan of what the ending suggested?

blake did tell us not all is as it seems, but again, with my bookshelf overflowing with books i’m desperate to read, i don’t think i’ll be sticking with the mortal instruments series. maybe later i’ll try the infernal devices series…?

have you ever read a very popular book and felt the opposite way from public opinion?

p.s. during our call, i learned that cinnamon and cayanne pepper are two spices that help increase metabolism. who knew? well, karla did and now i do too!