Dark. Devious. Disturbing. Deviant … DELICIOUS!

I listened to author Tara Isabella Burton's interview on NPR during my commute home from work one day. I was intrigued ... listening to an author talk about their work adds context to the story. I added Social Creature to my voluminous "To Read" list.

When my book club buddy from eastern Ma suggested Social Creature as our next read, my response was a resounding YES!

I love this story although most folks on Goodreads HATE it ... clearly I am an outlier on this one but it is a familiar place for me. Often times I hate the titles the majority craves and love the books the majority banish to the land of one and two star ratings.

Social Creature is a dark psychological thriller with deeply flawed and interminably unlikable characters set in NYC. I loved it!

My review can be found on Goodreads!  

Exhibit Alexandra ... WOW!

A former librarian of the Westfield Athenaeum and fellow member of Goodreads recommended this book to me. Boom ... delicious!

Art imitates life imitates art ... an intriguing story about identity and pursuing your dreams and passions, all the while still trying to play it safe; a hand in both worlds that seem to be mutually exclusive for some, especially those suffering from psychological disability.

My review of this debut novel is available on Goodreads. I highly recommend this book!

Gerald Announces Book Launch/Reading Dates

Gerald McFarland has announced two book launch/reading dates for his new novel, T.T. Mann, Ace Detective.

The first date is Saturday, September 29, 2018 at 3PM at Jones Library in Amherst, MA

The second date is Sunday, September 30, 2018 at 3PM at Leverett Library, Leverett, MA

As anyone who has done a book launch and reading knows, the support of ones friends and fellow authors is much appreciated!

If anyone wants to go to one or the other and wants to ride along with me, let me know. I can take three people comfortably with me, four if one doesn't mind riding in the middle in the back seat and squashing up.

September Meeting Date Set

I contacted Blue Umbrella Books today and spoke to Joyce, booking the September Wordsmiths meeting. The meeting date is Saturday, September 15, 2018 at 2 Main Street, Westfield, MA from 3PM until 5PM. We'll catch up after taking the summer off.

Assignment: Bring your best piece of advice or writing tip to this meeting. They'll be collected and put on the blog. I'll also list them in a document titled WhipCity Wordsmiths Writing Best Tips and Advice, or something like that, and send it to everyone. If you're unable to attend, email me your bit of advice or tip and I'll see that it's included.

See you on the 15th! I will try to schedule the October meeting for an alternate Saturday so those of you who have scheduling conflicts have an opportunity to join us.

A backlog of books!

Books, books and more books! I have a gigantic backlog of books to read and three books that I've read but still need to review, including Lindsay Stenico's debut novel The Assignment.

I am always challenged with writing book reviews on many fronts. First and foremost, each book is an author's personal creation so, right or wrong, I always consider the author's feelings when crafting my review. I understand that reviews are essentially elaborate op-ed pieces but still, criticism can be painful ... or am I just projecting my own fears of criticism? Is there a psychologist in the house?

Second, as I read more and more books and gain exposure to some outstanding authors, my standards have escalated over the years to the point where I have extremely high expectations. What was a FIVE STAR read just two years ago may only be a THREE STAR read today because the bar keeps on rising!

Third, I HATE poor editing and LOATHE typos. Yes yes this may be very judgemental and perhaps petty but for me these are fundamental flaws. I can remember a few of my reviews where I asked, "Where was the editor when this mess was published?"

For me, a great book is tightly edited with sirenical language and a well developed back story that engages and captivates me with such intensity and tenacity that I think about the characters and their situation as if they are real. A five star book makes me sad to finish it because the characters leave my life!

I've read just under thirty books so far this year and just five have been of five star caliber. In 2017, I read 28 books in total and the average rating was just over 3.4 stars.

I am curious how authors view book reviews and the folks who write them!

   

Florid Language of the 1860's

About a month or so ago I found a book titled Burt's Illustrated Connecicut Valley Guide, published in 1867 sitting on the shelf in Blue Umbrella. Of course, being rather passionate about the 1860-1910 era the book had to come home with me.

This morning, while killing time waiting for John to come home from grocery shopping, I grabbed the book off the end table, plopped down on the couch and started reading aloud from it to Revere (yes, the cat) who was in the front window, and Kelly, who was in her room.

The volume begins with an apology from the editor's. Imagine that! Here is the first line of that apology-
 "In presenting this book to the public, it has been the aim of the Editor to awaken an increased interest in New England's fairest and loveliest regions, and to assist the seeker of pleasure to obtain a more perfect knowledge of the grandeur and beauty of Connecticut Valley scenery and that bordering on it."
and then he goes on to write, and I kid you not, this is verbatim from the same paragraph-
"He has aimed to discard glittering generalities for solid substance, stopping by the way only long enough to point out the piquant condiments that each may flavor to his own taste."

Oh, and I love this paragraph to death!
"An occasional anecdote and reminiscence, many of them never before in print, have been culled from the way-side and are here presented, to enliven and relieve the monotony of description, as too much of a good thing is apt to weary the best of tastes."

The apology concludes with this paragraph-
"The Guide is at your service, Reader, and it is hoped you will find in it a help to your enjoyment of a tour through the Connecticut Valley, where it is confidently believed you can find increased health and a pleasant life-long remembrance."

At first I thought, what pompous language...but then I remembered that this was written in 1867 when we didn't have television, social media, or even radio. People spoke to one another, and people read. This was their form of entertainment. Yes, the language is florid and not what we're used to in today's world of abbreviations, acronyms and emojis- we try to communicate in the least possible amount of words or key strokes. We've dumbed down our manner of communication, and even executives cannot write a coherent, literate email.

Have we progressed? I don't think so.

Sunday Morning at Dunkin Donuts

Just about every Sunday morning since it opened you will find Kelly and me stopping into the Dunkin Donuts at Hampton Ponds for breakfast. We usually sit in the corner booth and just unwind a little from our busy weeks.

This morning Kelly had on her NaNo WriMo T-shirt from last year. She was an ML (Municipal Liaison last year and accepted the role again this year.

It was our turn to be served so the girl took my order, then she looked at Kelly and her face just lit up. She mentioned that she had tried to do NaNo but she has ADHD and has difficult buckling down and writing. We told her that Kelly is this area's ML again this year, and that we held a write-in right here at her Dunks last November. She was excited to hear that and couldn't stop smiling. I handed her a WhipCity Wordsmiths card and told her to contact me and we'd see what we can do to help her focus and stay on track writing something- maybe not a novel, but something that would build her confidence and keep her writing. She tucked the card in her pocket and said she wasn't going to lose that!

I came home after breakfast and did some research in regards to writer's with ADHD and found some good tips to share with her.

I know Kelly and I can both be easily distracted by our cellphones, by what John is watching on TV in the other room while we're trying to write in the kitchen, by conversations and activities going on in the places we might be writing (bookstore, donut shop, library, etc). It's hard enough to focus when you don't have ADHD. I can't imagine how difficult it must be when your brain is jumping around from this to that and the other thing (we all have an overload of input these days into that fantastic computer called our brain...it's so easy to short circuit and give up on what you planned on doing because it's just too much effort to stay focused!)

Anyway- the point today is that Kelly's wearing a writer's T-shirt to breakfast sparked a brief but enthusiastic conversation with a young lady that brightened her day and ours. Hopefully she'll be in touch and we can pass along tips to her that may help her get something written.

All writers have something to say, a story to tell. Getting it written is a challenge. Having a support network and a writing mentor is beneficial because they can help you get something done, even if it involves taking you to a quiet place, like a picnic table in a nature reserve and encouraging you to put down one word after the other, sentence by sentence...even if it's just for ten to fifteen minutes. Then take a little walk to reboot and maybe write again for five more minutes or whatever. If that's what t takes, that's what a mentor and supporter should do to get a writer started and build her self confidence, and to give her a few tips to train herself so her wings can unfurl and she can fly independently.

My other thought from this experience this morning is that we really do live in a wonderful world, if we just take a moment of our time to smile and respond to people face-to-face. The social isolation that social media and our ever present cellphones have created...it's like we're individuals living in self-absorbed bubbles. People walk out in front of traffic focused on their phones and not what is going on around them as if they are protected and invincible within that sphere of focus on their phone. Who's to say the driver of the vehicle approaching you as you step off the curb, frequently not even within the "safe zone" of a sidewalk, is not also focused on their phone while operating what is basically a killing and maiming machine, usually at an excessive rate of speed? Are you that ignorant that you think the whole world is going to alter physics to allow you to cross the street?

I miss the not so old days before we became obsessed with cellphones. We talked to one another. We showed courtesy and respect to one another. We looked one another in the eye and communicated with glances, body language, gestures (not just the one singular, predominant, rude gesture of today's society of all ages). Technology has sucked the basic humanity out of human beings. Thank God all species of wildlife don't have cellphones glued to their noses/paws/hooves/talons! It's ironic that we walk around this planet thinking we're the superior species- are we?

I am stepping down off my soapbox now and wishing you all a good Sunday. I'll be having coffee and conversation with some friends at another Dunkin Donuts this afternoon-always a nice respite in an otherwise busy, hectic life!