Tag Archives: Literature

Hey, Book Fans! Do You Character Crush?

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That’s a rhetorical question.

Of course you do.

Or, at least you have at some point in your life…

and will likely do so again.

You can’t help yourself. Neither can I. Neither can anyone.

Why not have fun with it, then?

***

As most of you know, I created Reel Infatuation and co-host the blogathon with Ruth of Silver Screenings.

Here’s a little refresher/introduction excerpt:

Reel Infatuation is a reader participation virtual cyclopedia of character crushes. It’s a symbiotic, interactive platform built on the old-fashioned notion of give-and-take. We want to hear all about your film, television, and literary loves! Are your stories sweet, silly, embarrassing, or seemingly inexplicable? Share ’em! First crushes, old crushes, new crushes? Bring ’em on. You show us yours, and we’ll show you ours!

And this:

Remember: the character is the thing. We want to hear about specific character crushes.

Sounds entertaining, eh? (It is. Trust us!)

Although it is pretty straightforward, I’ve noticed that one detail seems to get lost in the process. I’m not surprised. Between the name (Reel Infatuation) and the fact that most blogathons focus on film and television, it’s pretty easy to overlook the bookish element inherent in RI. In other words…

this one is for you, too, book lovers!

Literary characters are just as crush-worthy as their movie and television counterparts. Maybe more so. And we want to hear all about yours! This is one time that bringing a book to a party is expected, accepted, and celebrated.

I may or may not totally own this shirt (and wear it to places where I cannot read a book, but want to. I’m passive-aggressive, but compliant.)

If I Can’t Take My Book T-Shirt from Look Human

So…

the moral to this post is

that we

MOST DEFINITELY

WANT YOU TO

BRING YOUR BOOK CHARACTER CRUSHES

TO OUR SUPER-FUN PARTY!

It wouldn’t be the same without you.

Since A Small Press Life is nothing if not a book blog, this is where I’ll be talking about my slightly unhealthy love for Archie Goodwin. (My discussion of television’s Hamilton Burger and Carl Kolchak will take place at our sister-site, Font & Frock.)

We hope to see you in June!

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP.

A Reading List a Mile Long: Daedalus Books Late Spring 2017 Edition

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Today is the start of a new season (hello, spring!), which I think is the perfect time to share a new reading list! Let’s jump right in!

  • City of Fortune: How Venice Ruled the Seas by Roger Crowley ($6.98) #70307
  • Centuries of Change: Which Century Saw the Most Change and Why it Matters to Us by Ian Mortimer ($7.98) #64307
  • Underworld London: Crime and Punishment in the Capital City by Catharine Arnold ($4.98) #70519
  • The Last September by Elizabeth Bowen ($4.98) #70327
  • On London by Charles Dickens ($3.98) #53757
  • West’s World: The Extraordinary Life of Dame Rebecca West by Lorna Gibb ($4.98) #53607
  • Beethoven: The Man Revealed by John Suchet ($6.98) #61107
  • The Stardust Revolution: The New Story of Our Origin in the Stars by Jacob Berkowitz ($6.98) #62330
  • The Great War in 3D: 1914-1918–A Book Plus a Stereoscopic Viewer and 35 3D Photos of Men In Battle by Jean-Pierre Verney ($7.98) #70594
  • By the Book: Writers on Literature and the Literary Life from The New York Times Book Review Edited by Pamela Paul ($6.98) #70043
  • The Fool’s Tale by Nicole Galland ($4.98) #70176
  • Why Homer Matters by Adam Nicolson ($6.98) #70041
  • The 40s: The Story of a Decade (The New Yorker) Edited by Henry Finder ($6.98) #70288
  • Recollections of Virginia Woolf by Her Contemporaries Edited by Joan Russell Noble ($4.98) #63001
  • Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland’s History-Making Race Around the World by Matthew Goodman ($4.98) #70315
  • A Midwife’s Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812 by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich ($4.98) #70336
  • The Year 1000: What Life was Like at the Turn of the First Millennium by Robert Lacey & Danny Danziger ($5.98) #70129
  • Mildred Pierce by James M. Cain ($5.98) #70337
  • Just One Catch: A Biography of Joseph Heller by Tracy Daugherty ($4.98) #33185

I Read a Lot of Books in 2016, But Still Didn’t Reach My Goal…

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I read 82 books in 2016, but fell 28 short of my (rather ambitious) goal of 110. My year was way too busy to read as much as I would have liked. I finished the majority of the books during the first half of the year, as life obligations slowed my pace after summer. On the bright side, 2017 will get off to a good start reading-wise, as I am close to finishing half a dozen books.

Here’s a list of every book that I finished in 2016, with some very loose ratings.

KEY:

*=Read as research for my novella

**=This designation means that I liked the book in spite of myself, but as such find it too hard to assign a fair grade

1=You are my enemy

2=We’ll stay acquaintances, thanks

3=I like you, but I don’t like you like you

4=You are my friend, but not my best friend

5=You are my love match, but don’t expect fidelity Continue reading →