Raindrops keep falling on my head…
Image from WikiMedia by Leon Brooks.
Told you so
Rain taps
lowered heads
hunched shoulders
and
playfully splashes legs
Raindrops whisper
Told you so
You should have
brought
an umbrella
I’ve been nominated again for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award! Thanks, Ileandra! Check out her blog–and her award post, too. She already got a bunch of bloggers I know that are inspiring, and I wouldn’t want you to miss out on them!
Sorry it took me so long… I had to look for new people, as I’ve already nominated the heck out of the blogs I follow.
NOTE: As I was working on this, alphabetically inclined inspired me to start a revolution. I’m cutting the nominees from 15 to 7, and encouraging everyone I nominate to do the same. I’ve seen variants in awards, anyway, so it’s a small revolution.
Go for it!
Here’s the rules
1. Display the award logo on your blog.
2. Thank and link back to the person who nominated you.
3. Share 7 things about yourself.
4. Nominate 7 bloggers for this award.
5. Notify those bloggers of the nomination by linking to one of their specific posts so that they get notified by ping back.
Thanks again for nominating me, Ileandra!
7 Things About Me:
1. My To-Read list is more than 157 books. I worry that I’ll never catch up…
2. I adore fruit-scented candles. They smell especially delicious when lit together with a chocolate-scented one.
3. I wear a puzzle ring that I no longer remember how exactly it goes back together. With enough fidgeting, I can make it work–eventually.
4. Unless they’re books for a class, I feel guilty about writing in books I’ve purchased. When I find a library book someone has written in, I automatically check their spelling.
5. I am generally opposed to hats.
6. So far, I haven’t found a food that isn’t improved by bacon.
7. No plant given into my care has survived the experience.
My Nominees:
I went to Decatur, GA, for a few days. While I was there, I went to two different bookstores. The first one, Little Shop of Stories (a spectacular children and YA section, a smaller section of ‘books for adults), I managed to control myself to one small hardback.
I successfully resisted these books, but noted the titles for later.
Bad Unicorn; Platte F. Clark.
Fox & Phoenix; Beth Bernobich.
Lies, Knives, and Girls with Red Dresses; Ron Koertge, Andrea Dezso. (Dark short stories and poems, not for everyone, but I found the other side/what really happened fairy-tale slant interesting.)
The Teleportation Accident; Ned Beauman.
You Are Not So Smart; David McRaney. (The way our brain works–it lies to us and makes stuff up. We’re not really crazy, after all–or maybe we’re all crazy in the same way?)
At Books Again…. I blame the cat for sitting on my lap while I was looking at the paperback fiction.
Buy books and pet me!
Bookstore cat, Books Again, Decatur, GA.
Left: Self-control. Right: Not so much…
(Lost Cat, Caroline Paul; My Lobotomy, Howard Dully; The Half You Don’t Know, Peter Cameron; How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, Julia Alvarez; Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd; Abstracts in Watercolor, Betty Lou Schlemm.)
- Of course I visited the library in Decatur.
The library had built-in wooden bookshelves, several rooms of books (it used to be a house), and some nice comfy chairs. A nice new book selection, too. I read half of a comic collection there while warming up from a cold, rainy day.
Little Free Library, Decatur, GA.
Little Free Libraries are a spectacular thing, a book swap for anyone who wants to share. Look at the detail on the painting! The other side is On The Road.
Is that Harry Potter I see?
I had no books to swap, otherwise I would have perused the library a little more closely. Other people’s books are interesting, aren’t they? And its location in front of a coffee shop is perfect, as plenty of people read with their coffee.
The second Little Free Library in downtown Decatur! A very literary town.
This one was done by someone with a sense of humor, in a cartoony style. Another example of a nifty arty library–some of them are more plain. (The book she’s holding is Gone With the Wind.)
And both of them had a bunch of books!
It’s a little hard to see, but there’s Obama, Gingrich, Sponge Bob, Clinton, Nixon (maybe), and Hillary all saying “Read!” Even more books in this one, but I can read when I’m not on vacation…
Jennifer M Eaton’s doing a blog hop critique–250 words (plus the end of the last sentence)–you post, critique others from the list, and critique back anyone who gives you a critique.
This is from Changeable, which will be a YA urban fantasy with two narrators. I’m experimenting farther from my comfort zone on this one, so I may fail, but I’m enjoying the effort.
Summary:
Evelyn’s POV: At the beach, Evelyn is watching two dolphins when her friend Mabel yells that they need to go. Both spot a swimmer headed to shore, and wait. The tide washes seaweed on Evelyn’s bare foot and she does a ‘get-it-off’ dance, which the swimmer makes a snarky comment about. Ev starts to leave, but when he yells ‘Run, that’s what they all do!’ after her, she scolds him for being rude. He reveals that he was one of the dolphins she watched–and one of the Changeable. When Mabel tries to apologize for her friend, he interrupts.
Anthony’s POV: Anthony and his sister Cynthia went swimming that morning, hoping to have the beach to themselves. When he spotted Evelyn watching them, he changed to human and confronted her. Evelyn tries to apologize a few times, following him when he retreats to the ocean, and finally redirects him by asking his name. They introduce themselves, and Cindy comes out to join them. Ev and Mabel leave, and Tony heads to his job waiting tables.
* * * *
I clocked in at one on the dot, and headed out to check on the tables handed off from another server. One table, three men and two women sitting at a table for four, caught my eye. They showed off Surf-Fins shirts, chatting about a performance they’d seen by those mutie sell-outs.
Tourists…
I straightened my tie, plastered on a smile, and went to refill their drinks.
You don’t have to like what other people do, Cindy says, but when your dislike sticks to you, you only hurt yourself. Just let it slid off you like water.
EVELYN
Breathless from our jog from the beach, Mabel and I skidded into the front door for the monthly Mothers and Daughters Together luncheon. It ‘promoted family togetherness,’ which Mabel and her mom manage pretty well. They don’t need fancy china, doilies, tea, and cookies to be a real family, though. They just are.
My mother and I, not so much. She hovers over me at home, worried about how I’m dealing with life’s challenges, relating to people, and planning my future. She means well. I love her, but sometimes… The gap between the two of us stretches too far.
But Mabel and I go to the luncheons, anyway. The colorful cookies aren’t bad, and the tiny sandwiches are tasty.
“Girls!” Mother’s voice rose in pitch and volume. “The luncheon starts in ten minutes! You promised to help, but Nicolette and I had to do everything.”
“Sorry, Mother,” I said.
“Sorry, Mom,” Mabel said.
* * * *
Click on over to these great writers to check out and critique what they’ve posted!
http://mermaidssinging.wordpress.com/
http://caitlinsternwrites.wordpress.com/
http://jennykellerford.wordpress.com
http://richardleonard.wordpress.com
http://letscutthecrap.wordpress.com
http://itsjennythewren.wordpress.com/
http://wehrismypen.wordpress.com
My May book for the Pride & Prejudice Bicentenary Challenge:
Darcy’s Story; Janet Aylmer.
Whenever I see a P & P sequel/spin-off from Darcy’s point of view, I’m pretty much guaranteed to read it. The original tells you a little of what Darcy thinks, but not enough for most fans.
This book had enough Darcy for me to like it, but not enough for me to adore it. For the most part, this story is P & P–with the sentences slanted to take out what Elizabeth thought. A few scenes get inside Darcy’s head, and they are the scenes you’ve likely wondered about, but the exploration is pretty shallow. The drop quotes annoyed me–they repeated not once or twice, but three or more times. Since this book is so close to the original, they feel unnecessary at best.
Any Darcy fan will probably like the book well enough, but I’d recommend a different choice first.
Anyone who has read Charlaine Harris has probably seen the fuss over her last Sookie Stackhouse book, Dead Ever After. Others might recognize it as the base for True Blood, though the ‘based-on’ is fairly loose.
I haven’t read it yet, no spoilers, please!
If you click on the link to Goodreads, you will see some fan rage. In fact, I’d call it fan hate. Some people are very, very angry at Ms. Harris for this book. Fair enough.
Some are descending to personal attacks, which isn’t acceptable in my opinion.
On Amazon, the book has 2.1 stars; on Barnes & Noble, 2.73 stars; and Goodreads, 3.44 stars (as I’m writing this, I’m sure the numbers will change.) Every site has vitriolic comments and enthusiastic raves.
Reviews are personal opinions, but people are taking this too far.
I agree that calling it the ‘final’ novel and then publishing a ‘coda’ is… odd. You can’t please everyone–many fans wanted the series to have ended some time ago, while others wish it would continue to infinity.
Books are a good to be sold, so writers need to make them commercial. But what obligations do writers have to their fans? Should they change endings to please as many people as possible?
Part of me says ‘Yes!’ Especially when a writer chooses and ending that makes me upset. As someone who writes, I mostly feel the answer is ‘No.” It’s the writer’s story, after all, a dream that’s lived inside their heads for months or years and sometimes decades. How can a writer let someone significantly alter that?
Personally, I was less happy with Ms. Harris’ last few books, which is why I didn’t pre-order Dead Ever After. I’m waiting to read it at the library. I’ll likely get the ‘coda’ the same way.
Will I own it/them? That I don’t know yet.
As readers, we vote with our money.
We pre-order expensive hardbacks, or wait for the cheaper paperback. Sometimes we buy both. Or hunt for the book in a used book store. Or read it once from the library and never buy it at all.
We may buy related merchandise–we need a t-shirt with our favorite character, or a necklace with a recognizable symbol. We may recommend a friend buy the book, or buy extra copies to give as gifts.
How do you show your support of the authors you love?
Top Ten Tuesdays are hosted by The Broke and The Bookish, and feature lists related to all things bookish–characters, authors, titles, and favorites.
May 7: Top Ten Books When You Need Something Light & Fun.
1. Catfantastic; Andre Norton, Martin H. Greenberg, eds. A collection of stories about cats. Short story collections are good for light, fun reads.
2. Chicks in Chainmail; Esther M. Friesner. Ignore the woman showing skin on the cover, and notice the man lying defeated in the background. These ‘chicks’ mean business.
3. Emily the Strange; Buzz Parker, Brian Brooks. Emily is perpetually thirteen, but these books are meant to amuse the young-at-heart with a dark sense of humor.
4. Going Postal; Terry Pratchett. Pretty much everything Pratchett writes is funny, though there’s a deeper meaning under his books. Moist von Lipwig, the reformed criminal, is a little more focused on the surface.
5. Hello, Gorgeous!; MaryJanice Davidson. The words ‘Super-spy cyborg’ appear in the description. What more do you need to know?
6. James, Fabulous Feline; Harriet Hahn. This is the second book, but this cover is awesome. A smart, crime-solving cat with a taste for fine food.
7. Love in the Afternoon; Lisa Kleypas. I adore the whole crazy Hathaway family in this book series, but Beatrix is my favorite. What’s more light and fun than a romance?
8. One For the Money; Janet Evanovich. Or anything in the Plum Series. Stephanie Plum is the worst bond enforcement agent. Any success is due to luck or stubborn persistence. Her life is a chain of monumental disasters, sometimes helped and usually hindered by the outrageous characters that are her friends and family.
9. Quozl; Alan Dead Foster. The Quozl are incredibly lovable aliens, which is probably for the best, because when they came to settle Earth, they didn’t know there were already people on it!
10. Size 12 Is Not Fat; Meg Cabot. Heather Wells, failed teen pop star turned dorm director, is another hilariously accident prone protagonist.
Jennifer M Eaton’s doing a blog hop critique–250 words (plus the end of the last sentence)–you post, critique others from the list, and critique back anyone who gives you a critique.
This is from Changeable, which will be a YA urban fantasy with two narrators. I’m experimenting farther from my comfort zone on this one, so I may fail, but I’m enjoying the effort.
Summary:
Evelyn’s POV: At the beach, Evelyn is watching two dolphins when her friend Mabel yells that they need to go. Both spot a swimmer headed to shore, and wait. The tide washes seaweed on Evelyn’s bare foot and she does a ‘get-it-off’ dance, which the swimmer makes a snarky comment about. Ev starts to leave, but when he yells ‘Run, that’s what they all do!’ after her, she scolds him for being rude. He reveals that he was one of the dolphins she watched–and one of the Changeable. When Mabel tries to apologize for her friend, he interrupts.
Anthony’s POV: Anthony and his sister Cynthia went swimming that morning, hoping to have the beach to themselves. When he spotted Evelyn watching them, he changed to human and confronted her. Evelyn tries to apologize a few times, following him when he retreats to the ocean, and finally redirects him by asking his name. They introduce themselves, and Cindy comes out to join them.
* * * *
“Some people don’t have someone to be that close to,” Evelyn shrugged. “Nice meeting you, but we’ve got to go.”
“We’re almost a half an hour late, Ev,” Mabel said.
Evelyn sighed. “Oh, that’s great. Mother’s going to kill me.” She waved at me and Cindy, “See you around, Anthony.”
She took off across the sand, Mabel racing after. They stopped at a pile of towels on a rock, brushing off sand and putting on shoes, and disappeared over the hill.
“That was weird.”
“Norms,” Cindy waded into the waves, heading deep enough to change.
“Yeah.” I followed. But these two acted differently from most norms who knew what we were. I couldn’t dismiss them like she did.
I’d lost the mellow feeling from our morning swim, though. Awkward in my other skin, like I usually felt on land, I left the water soon.
I tried to put the weird norm girl’s flashing pale brown eyes out of my mind, but the argument we’d had kept intruding as I got ready for my job waiting tables at Melisende.
Not what I needed right now.
Showered and dressed in the uniform of black shoes, black slacks, burgundy long-sleeved shirt, and tie, I hopped on my bike. At the back of the restaurant, I chained my bike next to the others, where people sat for smoke breaks.
Inside, one of the managers scolded a new server for wearing a tie that clashed with her shirt. Past them, the lunch rush steadily grew.
* * * *
Click on over to these great writers to check out and critique what they’ve posted!
http://mermaidssinging.wordpress.com/
http://caitlinsternwrites.wordpress.com/
http://jennykellerford.wordpress.com
http://richardleonard.wordpress.com
http://letscutthecrap.wordpress.com
http://itsjennythewren.wordpress.com/
http://wehrismypen.wordpress.com
Because Marcia thought wereowls would be fun. Warning: Apparently, the two of us have a tendency to wander down a mass-murder kind of path.
Fluffy murder!
from Wikimedia by Bert de Tilly.
* * *
Mike and Brooke’s husband Will had already helped themselves to the beer, so they laughed and yelled from Tommy’s truck bed, while Brooke clutched the warm metal sides silently. She wondered why Allie got to ride in the front. Sure, she was Tommy’s wife, but she fished and camped. Allie wouldn’t mind the dusty toolbox digging into her back, or the beer-filled cooler bumping her legs.
At their usual picnic spot, Tommy regaled them again with the story of his ten-point buck as he cooked. ”Guns are fine, but real sportsmen use bows.” He set down his spatula to take a swig of his beer as the burgers smoked on the grill.
“Tommy, the burgers,” Allie said.
“Shoot,” Tommy flipped each patty on a waiting bun. “Eat ‘em while they’re hot!”
They each grabbed a plate, pouring out chips and piling on the condiments. Over the bonfire, they ate, drank, and talked past sunset, stuffing empty plates and cans into garbage bags.
Mike stumbled off, and returned several moments later. ”Saw something weird… out watering the bushes.”
“What’s that?” Allie giggled. “A bear?”
“Birds. A bunch of ‘em.” Mike said.
“Huh.” Tommy shoved himself up from the weathered bench, and strode past Mike, placing his feet with careful precision.
White shapes floated from the shadowy trees.
“What the-” Tommy planted his feet, leaning back to stare. A white blur plummeted towards his exposed throat.
Blood sprayed.
The gigantic white owls dove at the rest of the group, sharp talons raking arms flung up to protect their faces. Clothes ripped like paper.
“The barn!” Will ran to Tommy’s crumpled form, stumbling to his knees and throwing up when he saw the red ruin of his friend’s throat. He scrambled away on his hands and feet. “Go!”
They raced to the wooden structure, a little used storage shed. Will stumbled in last, and slammed the door, dropping the metal latch.
“Oh God, what was that?” Allie crumpled against the wall. “Tommy!”
Mike tried to comfort her as Brooke examined Will’s deep cuts.
The door rattled, and the latch jiggled, then fell. Slowly, the door swung open, revealing a pale, slender young girl. She smiled at them, and pushed the door open further.
Behind her, owls swooped into the barn.
Brooke saw the girl transform into an enormous snowy owl, and felt a moment of wonder before she screamed.
As a central Texas girl, I drive most places. Not that public transportation doesn’t exist, but that I hardly ever/never used it. After the week-long trip I took near the end of April, I can’t say that anymore. I’ve now taken:
Buses:
The less said about my attempts to figure out bus schedules and routes, the better. Sometimes it was easier to walk.
Cabs:
Expensive, smelled like upholstery cleaner.
Streetcars:
How do they drive those things without running into the cars on the road? Also, not meant to be gotten on with a wheeled suitcase. At all.
Subways:
It’s kinda cold and dark down at the platforms. Also, learning how to brace yourself while standing on a subway is quite an experience, isn’t it? I very nearly fell over once or twice.
The artwork will keep you warm? Nope, bring a jacket.
Trains:
Two days on the train (one way), and two days back. I spent one more day traveling than I did at my destination! Alright, it was actually two different trains, both leaving in the morning and arriving at night.
Walking on trains is also exciting. You can grab a seat back if the train moves, but the most fun bit is in between the cars. You hit the push button on the door, and step into a loud, rattling area, hit the next door button, and step through again.
Exciting.
Double-decker train stairs. I learned to grab the railing and look down, to see if someone was coming up.
The windows come out in case of emergency, which is somehow less reassuring than it should be.
The train had a lounge car, with large windows to look out of. And a little prison for your cups.
View of the stopover city, New Orleans, from up on a bridge.
