Shopping for the Bookworm: Lit Goodies

Posted on March 7, 2012 by maedez

There’s something about the changing of the seasons that makes me want to bring new, positive, quirky and beautiful things into my life, be it a book, bottle of wine, tube of lipstick or art print. Anything that speaks to me or makes me smile is always welcome. I’m really loving these writer and word-based goodies for Spring! Here are some links if you want to make a purchase.

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A Year in Books/Day 63: Quotable Women

Posted on March 4, 2012 by maedez

Title: Quotable Women A Celebration
Editor: Molly Jay
Year Published: 2004 (Running Press)
Year Purchased: 2011
Source: A Christmas gift from my baby brother.
About: Quotes by legendary kick ass women are interspersed with vibrant artwork by female artists.
Motivation: I’m also a legend-when it comes to collecting quotes. I have been keeping quote books since I was a teenager. I’m a bit obsessive that way, actually. I find inspiration in strong, creative, intelligent women. My brother knows me well, it seems.
Times Read: 1
Random Excerpt/Page 89: “I’ve dreamt in my life dreams that have stayed with me ever after, and changed my ideas; they’ve gone through and through me, like wine through water, and altered the color of my mind.”-Emily Bronte
Happiness Scale: 10

A Year in Books/Day 62: A Treasury of Royal Scandals

Posted on March 3, 2012 by maedez

Title: A Treasury of Royal Scandals The Shocking True Stories of History’s Wickedest, Weirdest, Most Wanton Kings, Queens, Tsars, Popes, and Emperors
Author: Michael Farquhar
Year Published: 2001 (Penguin Books)
Year Purchased: 2001
Source: A gift from a friend.
About: A light, humorous and historically accurate compilation of tasty, titillating royal scandals from around the world.
Motivation: I’m a total history nerd. I usually read heavier fair but love to pepper the tougher stuff with easier non-fiction delights. This definitely fits that bill well.
Times Read: 1
Random Excerpt/Page 211: “Claudius, in fact, had a tough time commanding respect from anyone before he came to the throne. When he fell asleep after dinner, as was his tendency, the gathered guests would pelt him with dates and olive pits. He later tried to explain away his stupidity, saying it was merely an act that served him well during the reign of his vicious nephew. Few were convinced, however, including the author of a contemporary book called ‘A Fool’s Rise to Power’.”
Happiness Scale: 9

A Year in Books/Day 61: English Romantic Poetry

Posted on March 1, 2012 by maedez

Title: English Romantic Poetry An Anthology
Editor: Stanley Appelbaum
Year Published: 1996 (Dover Thrift Editions)
Year Purchased: 1999/2000
Source: A gift from a friend.
About: When you hear the term “English Romantic Poets”, who initially comes to mind? If you say anyone other than William Blake, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Wordsworth, Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley or John Keats….then you are lying. This anthology contains scores of poems by the aforementioned wordsmiths.
Motivation: My friend was cleaning out her shelves and I emerged precisely a dozen volumes richer. While this period of poetry is not my favourite, I do have a soft spot for Coleridge and find much to admire of everyone on the list.
Times Read: A few
Random Excerpt/Page x: “For many, Shelley remains the perfect Romantic: for his quest after truth and justice, for his unparalleled learning (Greco-Roman and otherwise) and breadth of scope (poems on love, politics, history and philosophy), for the dazzling variety and novelty of his meters and stanzas, for the exquisiteness of his diction and delicacy of his thought.”
Happiness Scale: 7
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A Year in Books/Day 60: The First Elizabeth

Posted on February 29, 2012 by maedez

Title: The First Elizabeth
Author: Carolly Erickson
Year Published: 1983 (St. Martin’s Griffin)
Year Purchased: 1990’s
Source: Antique Barn at The Ohio State Fair, Columbus, Ohio
About: My favourite historical personage and all around kick-ass woman receives an above-average biographical treatment here.
Motivation: See above. Also, I love my fellow redheads.
Times Read: 2
Random Excerpt/Page 187: “There were more festivities in the coming days. The queen went to Woolwich to launch a fine new ship for her navy, christened the ‘Elizabeth’, and returned to Greenwich to watch more military games-among them a “great casting of fire, and shooting of guns, till twelve at night.” The recent peace, these exercises proclaimed, had not dimmed England’s warlike spirit; let other nation’s take warning.”
Happiness Scale: 10
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A Year in Books/Day 59: Jailbird

Posted on February 29, 2012 by maedez

Title: Jailbird
Author: Kurt Vonnegut
Year Published: 1979 (Delacorte Press/Seymour Lawrence)
Year Found: 2009
Source: It was on the giveaway table in our apartment building.
About: It’s Vonnegut, and it’s awesome. Walter F. Starbuck is a classic character and this novel makes for a wonderful albeit quick (as is the Vonnegut way) read. Of course, it is always better to read Vonnegut than to try to explain his work. So, you should go do that now.
Motivation: I love Vonnegut-the-writer and adore Vonnegut-the-person. He made it look easy and it is never easy. The book was also free. The back cover photo of the writer, taken by his wife Jill Krementz, is one of my favorites.
Times Read: 2
Random Excerpt/Page 127: “About the young man and his radio. I decided that he had bought the thing as a prosthetic device, as an artificial enthusiasm for the planet. He paid as little attention to it as I paid to my false front tooth. I have since seen several young men like that in groups-with their radios tuned to different stations, with their radios engaged in a spirited conversation. The young men themselves, perhaps having been told nothing but “shut up” all their lives, had nothing to say.”
Happiness Scale: 9

A Year in Books/Day 58: Angela’s Ashes

Posted on February 27, 2012 by maedez

Title: Angela’s Ashes
Author: Frank McCourt
Year Published: 1996 (Scribner)
Year Purchased: 1997
Source: Unknown
About: This is one of the most famous memoirs of all-time-I certainly don’t need to illustrate its contents or expound on its merits. I’ll just say that it is harrowing, lovely and every bit as good as all of the press it received back in the 1990s insisted it was. McCourt deserved the towering heap of praise-and the Pulitzer-that he was given.
Motivation: I was alive when it came out. Seriously, this is one of the few books that almost everyone I know has read; this includes the few hard-core non-readers in my wide orbit. It also came highly recommended by a friend, who read it as soon as it hit the shelves of the bookstore she managed.
Times Read: 2
Random Excerpt/Page 59: “The room had a fireplace where we could boil water for our tea or an egg in case we ever came into money. We had a table and three chairs and a bed, which Mam said was the biggest she had ever seen. We were glad of the bed that night, worn out after nights on floors in Dublin and Grandma’s. It didn’t matter that there were six of us in the bed, we were together, away from grandmothers and guards, Malachy could say ye ye ye and we could laugh as much as we liked.”
Happiness Scale: 9

A Year in Books/Day 57: Inside Oscar

Posted on February 26, 2012 by maedez

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Title: Inside Oscar The Unofficial History of the Academy Awards 10th Anniversary Edition
Authors: Mason Wiley and Damien Bona
Year Published: 1986/This Edition: 1996 (Ballantine Books)
Year Purchased: 1996/1997
Source: Birthday gift
About: Everything that you could ever want to know about Hollywood’s most important event in one ridiculously long volume (nearly 1200 pages). It includes data up to 1994. It’s a reminder that the Oscar telecast is a gaudy, self-congratulatory but mostly entertaining display of vanity gone wild.
Motivation: You’re going to get sick of me telling you that I am a film buff and write about old movies. However, I am and I do! This is just one of many handy reference books in my library.
Times Read: Cover-to-cover: 1/As reference tool: Countless
Random Excerpt/Page 50: “Louella Parsons was upset at what she considered Hepburn’s indifference to the honor. “Katy was not very gracious,” Louella wrote in her column. “She didn’t send a telegram of appreciation when unable to attend. Someone at RKO realized this and sent one.” There was mail waiting for Best Director loser Frank Capra when he returned home-his relatives from Sicily had sent letters of congratulation, mistaking his nomination for a victory.”
Happiness Scale: 10

A Year in Books/Day 55: Girl in Hyacinth Blue

Posted on February 26, 2012 by maedez

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Title: Girl in Hyacinth Blue
Author: Susan Vreeland
Year Published: 1999 (Penguin Books)
Year Purchased: 2006
Source: A bookstore in Buffalo, New York
About: Another book revolving around the Dutch painter, Vermeer. This is a lovely, intimate novel with a surprisingly large, sweeping historical scope. It is, more than anything, the story of a single painting as seen through the eyes of its creator and subsequent owners. It jumps through time yet is seamless, never jarring.
Motivation: Jan Vermeer is one of my favourite painters. I was looking for a brief, well-written novel to read while on vacation.
Times Read: 1
Random Excerpt/Page 82: “Now, it’s not wise to be shocked. It makes one’s face blotchy and you don’t want that. I wouldn’t tell just anybody, because there are parts, there are parts-but since you asked for counsel in such matters, I will tell you. The truth, that I did not love the husband my father chose for me, I had concealed more carefully than a breast.”
Happiness Scale: 7 1/2

Book Spree

Posted on February 25, 2012 by maedez

As a writer, I naturally spend a lot of time writing. Shocking, I know! On my down-time, I can usually be found reading a book or four. I’m always cycling amongst a weird combination of disparate volumes. If I’m not engaged in those activities, there’s a very good chance that I am thinking about one or the other. Writing and reading are the fuels that fire my passion for life. Continue reading →

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Announcing the 2019 Reel Infatuation Blogathon!

This is one of my favorite events of the year, and not just because I’m the co-hostess. It’s simply that good. And fun. Oh, so much fun! Here’s my original announcement. ANNOUNCING THE 2019 REEL INFATUATION BLOGATHON I hope you’ll join us!

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