Jun 20, 2006 | Uncategorized |
Continuing the theme from yesterday, here's a list from NPR on great summer reads. Also, the gals at LC have another list here.
USA Today's list is pretty interesting, too. The Washington Post has a best of list for kids, which is pretty cool don't you think? Heck, some of these books sound good to me.
Summer reading group ideas and guides can be found here.
Ms. Magazine gets into the act too. How about Steamy Summer Reads from Richmond.com?
Hot summer reads in Audiobooks can be found here.
UC Berkeley's faculty and students have their own recommendations to make (from last year, but the books are old anyway).
It's apparent there's no shortage of recommendations out there. Do you pick up books from lists, or do you decide based on cover copy or store positioning? Or a combination of factors? Last year, I picked up Julie Kenner's Carpe Demon based on a) the cover, b) its position on a table at the front of the store, c) the kickass blurb, and d) vaguely remembered hearing about it elsewhere. (It was a great read, btw.)
Jun 19, 2006 | Uncategorized |
Romancing Paradise, soon to be renamed Romancing the South or Romancing NASA or Romancing Forrest Gump, is not defunct. I swear it's not! 🙂 But, the author has been taking care of a sick spouse this week, which takes much time and energy, and hasn't had time to think of anything to say.
Sue informs me in the comments section of the previous post that Absolute Write is back in bidness, so that's good. Whew.
I've been touring the blogs, albeit quickly, and there are lots of good conversations happening in all the usual places. Check out Miss Snark for the answer to what high concept means.
It's also time for Summer Reads, which you'll see talked about everywhere from the Borders catalog to NPR. What's hot this summer? What are the must reads? The ladies over at Lipstick Chronicles have some recommendations.
Me, I'm still trying to catch up on all the other books I want to read, so I never specifically go in for the summer market. But, I'm definitely planning on picking up a copy of Diana Peterfreund's Secret Society Girl. It just sounds too cool, and Diana's a neat lady — which you already know if you read her blog.
I am woefully out of the loop on recent books, mostly because of the last couple of months of soul-searching and plan-making, so if you have any recommendations, let me know in the comments trail. 🙂
Other books I'm reading right now are mostly due to my book group, whom I love and will miss like heck. 🙁 We're reading Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, which I don't particularly care for. It's like being forced to sit in Plato's cave and listen to him ramble on and on and on. Just give me the point already!!
Ahem. I know people love this book, and I guess I see the point, but it strikes me as clumsy. Just me.
We're gearing up for The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory, and for T.E. Lawrence's Seven Pillars of Wisdom (which I have read once before and loved). I also have a slew of romances to read, and it really is put up or shut up time for my thesis. No more procrastination. 🙂
What about you? What are you reading?
Jun 15, 2006 | Uncategorized |
Imagine my surprise, after being a bit out of touch recently, to learn that the Absolute Write website is gone. For details, see this post by Teresa Hayden. I wasn't a frequent visitor to Absolute Write, though I did get their newsletter and I did enjoy perusing the articles from time to time. Apparently, the site was yanked after a complaint by one of the agents on the 20 worst list. Check it out, y'all (I'm dusting off my Southern lingo…..ha!).
Jun 6, 2006 | Uncategorized |
Hey, y'all! It's been a while since I've posted, and my only excuse is that life has been demanding more of my attention lately. Big things happening in the next few months here in Hawaii! For one thing, my husband is retiring from the military. For another, we've decided that Hawaii is not the place to hang our slippahs on a permanent basis. I love Hawaii, and I'm sad to be leaving, but it's for the best.
We have tossed the continental U.S. into a hat and drawn a place. No, not really. 🙂 In fact, we've decided to go where the computer/tech jobs are awesome and where we have family. We've chosen Huntsville, Alabama as the new location. We won't be making the move for several more months, but things are going to get hectic around here very soon.
And that's the news with me. I hope to get back to posting on a regular basis. We've had company this past month, which always messes up my online time, and I've been pondering some other things lately. You ever notice how life throws you curve balls when you least expect it?
Take care of yourself while pursuing your goals, or you may find yourself in a place you didn't expect. Women have a tendency to put the kids and spouse first, which leaves little left over for ourselves. Put yourself first for a change, and the rest will fall in place. That's my cryptic wisdom for the day. 🙂
Aloha, friends.
May 26, 2006 | Uncategorized |
So what do you do when you have the writerly blues? I just can't seem to get back to work lately. We've had company, which has been a blast, and summer's coming (not that that makes a big difference in Hawaii, but it's a mental thing). I had a new idea last week and wrote several pages, but I'm still stumped on SEDUCING EVANGELINE.
In other news, saw MI 3 and THE DA VINCI CODE. MI 3 was okay. I' m not a big fan, but it wasn't too bad. DVC was pretty good, I thought, but I didn't have the book interfering with my viewing pleasure. I have no idea if the movie takes liberties or not, but I liked it.
What about you? Any big Memorial Day weekend plans? Summer fun getting in the way of the writing? Is it permissible to take time off, or should you spend every free moment you can manage to grab working on something?
