Tag Archives: Writers

A Year in Books/Day 80: An Encyclopedia of British Women Writers

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  • Title: An Encyclopedia of British Women Writers Revised and Expanded Edition
  • Editors: Paul Schlueter and June Schlueter
  • Year Published: First Edition/1988; This Edition/1998 (Rutgers University Press)
  • Year Purchased: Early 2000s
  • Source: Unknown
  • About: From Eliza Acton to E.H. Young, every British woman writer of note, ever, is discussed here; comes complete with important life dates. It’s a rich source for many little-known wordsmiths.
  • Motivation: I write a lot about female writers. I’ve seriously dedicated tens of thousands of words to the ladies who came before me. They remain a huge source of personal inspiration. I bought this book to use as a reference tool.
  • Times Read: Cover-to-cover/1; As reference tool/countless.
  • Random Excerpt/Page 57: “B. (Hester Biddle) published nothing after 1662, although she was still an active speaker. Records show that in 1664 she was seized, punched, and imprisoned at Bridewell. And the following year she was sent to Newgate Prison for speaking in the street. She also had three sons between 1663 and 1668. Few details of her later life remain, although in 1694, only two years before her death, she visited France in order to meet King Louis XIV and plead for peace.”
  • Happiness Scale: 10

[From My Archives]* On Shaw, or How a Dead Playwright Transformed My Adolescence and Altered My Life

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When I set out to do this essay, I realized that writing about George Bernard Shaw would be rather like writing about my first (real) love: a little daunting, a little dangerous and, ultimately, mostly about me, for we tend to see ourselves reflected in others as steadfastly as we implant ourselves firmly in what we read. Continue reading →

A Year in Books/Day 71: Passionate Pilgrim

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  • Title: Passionate Pilgrim The Extraordinary Life of Alma Reed
  • Author: Antoinette May
  • Year Published: 1993/First paperback edition,1994 (Marlowe & Company)
  • Year Purchased: 2000/2001
  • Source: Barnes & Noble clearance rack
  • About: This is one of those books whose front cover tag line lets you know exactly what you are in for: Heroine of Mexico, Pioneer Archaeologist, and Acclaimed Journalist. She certainly had one of those rollicking, magically adventurous lives that makes even the highest of achievers look like dull, stay-at-home types.
  • Motivation: See above. I was also sucked in by the fabulous photographs of her no-less fabulous exploits. I adore kick-ass ladies!
  • Times Read: 1
  • Random Excerpt/Page 82: “It took nearly ten minutes of spirited cranking before Alma’s car was galvanized into action. As it jolted down the road, the jungle closed in around them. Distance ceased to exist, as strangely contorted trees, towering plants, feathery ferns, and spongy fungus all crowded together. Then, the last corner turned and instead of another vista of unchanging forest, a clear straight road led for another mile or so to a sight of breathtaking grandeur. A great white pyramid towered high above the forest, capped by a temple. There was a moment of stunned silence, followed by excited gasps, and then the crew were pummeling one another deliriously.”
  • Happiness Scale: 7

A Year in Books/Day 67: Literary Feuds

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  • Title: Literary Feuds A Century of Celebrated Quarrels from Mark Twain to Tom Wolfe
  • Author: Anthony Arthur
  • Year Published: 2002 (MJF Books)
  • Year Purchased: 2005-2007
  • Source: Unknown
  • About: There are writers who spend their lives and careers building a literary community: where everyone is helpful and supportive of one another, where advice and camaraderie abound, where failures and successes are shared. Unfortunately, reality decrees that some people aren’t meant to get along. This same reality also dictates that some people are just jerks. I’ll leave you to decide how to categorize the titans covered in this book. At least wordsmiths lace their rancorous verbal wars with plenty of wit; unlike feuds involving reality “stars” or athletes, you’ll walk away from these encounters with all of your brain cells intact.

    Lewis-Sinclair-LOC

    Sinclair Lewis-Image via Wikipedia

  • Motivation: Writers. History. Obscure facts. Intellectuals fussin’ and fightin’. Bring it on.
  • Times Read:1
  • Random Excerpt/Page 75: “Fortunately, a revised picture of Lewis is now available from Dreiser’s biographer, Richard Lingeman. Written with sympathetic insight instead of disdain, Lingeman’s ‘Sinclair Lewis: Rebel from Main Street’ was published early in 2002; although it adds nothing to our understanding of the quarrel between the two writers beyond what Lingeman had already described in his earlier works about Dreiser, it should help Lewis toward the literary resurrection he deserves. At the least, Lewis should be placed side by side as a literary giant with Theodore Dreiser, the difficult man he admired so much, and from whom he got so little in return.”
  • Happiness Scale: 10

A Year in Books/Day 66: Marcel Proust

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  • Title: Marcel Proust A Life
  • Author: Jean-Yves Tadie (Translation by Euan Cameron)
  • Year Published: 1996/Translation Copyright: 2000 (Penguin Books)
  • Year Purchased: 2005
  • Source: Barnes & Noble clearance rack
  • About: This is one of the most complex, obsessively detailed and clear-eyed biographies I have ever read. Don’t let the hefty 779 pages deter you; it’s a smooth read and well worth your time.
  • Motivation: Proust fascinates me like few others. I first came across his name as a teenager, when I discovered that I share a birthday with the great writer. That was all it took for me to decide to find out more about the Frenchman (yes, I’m that kind of self-absorbed). Fortunately, I never looked back; my life is infinitely richer for that decision. He is one of my favourite authors. I ended up reading this biography in 2006 whilst on a cruise. This is definitely my idea of vacation reading!
  • Times Read: 1
  • Random Excerpt/Page 577: “This explains why, shortly after 24 December, Proust asked Louis de Robert if he would take his book to Ollendorff, pointing out that he would offer to have it published at his own expense; the choice of this publisher, whose list consisted mainly of books on nature study, was scarcely a fortunate one; his response was to become famous.”
  • Happiness Scale: 9
    Marcel Proust in 1900

    Image via Wikipedia

     

Shopping for the Bookworm: Lit Goodies

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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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[News] Spring Fling Podcast

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Now that we are on the edge of Spring, I expect every day to be as wonderful as yesterday was: balmy and lovely and energizing. When I kicked open the door at work at 12:40 and skipped out onto the sidewalk (yes, this really happened), it almost felt as if I was playing hooky from my pesky work-a-day obligations. Instead, I simply transitioned from one self to another, from something practical to something vital and necessary.

I spent a couple of happy, creative and stimulating hours in the company of a dozen talented women (and my husband!), as we recorded a Spring-themed podcast for Women Writing for (a) Change. Regular readers of this blog will recognize my piece as one that originally posted here, ‘Intermezzo: The Sky is Flaunting Itself‘. The podcast will be available later this month. It is a must-hear for anyone eager to push away the cobwebs of the dying dark season. You will be inspired by words of regeneration, beauty and clarity. I will update you with the particulars as they become available.

 

 

Book Spree

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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 →

Wanted: One Resourceful Book Lover

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  • Wanted: One resourceful book lover
  • Your Mission: To invent an easily removable price sticker that does not require any of the following: a razor, solvent or 20 minutes spent digging with a fingernail.
  • Requirements: Patience and excellent sales ability, as you will need every book shop in the world to use your product.
  • Your Reward: Eternal glory and the genuine thanks of millions of readers everywhere. Oh, and lots of cash, as you will doubtless become filthy rich in the
    Paradise Ruined by Another Cheap Label

    Paradise Ruined by Another Cheap Label

    process.

  • Signed: Maedez