I could never be a writer....

I love to write, I do.

But I love to do it when I want to do it.

Writing on demand has never been my forte.

When I was writing my dissertation, I would plan certain times that I would write…set aside certain day and set hours. It didn’t work. It would take me three hours to rework a paragraph and in the end I typically reverted to my original words and thought. It took a looming due date before I glued my rear to the chair and banged out the pages.

Before my dissertation, I loved to blog. I would come up with what I’d like to think were some pretty funny stories told in a pithy style. Again…the dissertation ruined that for me. It was forever before I was able or interested in blogging again. Or writing in general.

But…I am hoping maybe the bad taste has left?

This weekend I wrote a short synopsis for a chapter proposal, fleshed out three grant proposals and started seriously working on converting my dissertation to a paper*.

Ok…so it’s not pithy, but it is words on a page.

*Taking 200 pages and reducing it to 20 is not as easy as you might think. I was taking the actual file and deleting stuff and it just wasn’t working for me. So now I am highlighting the good stuff from my paper and lifting it. I know it sounds weird, but it feels less negative. Taking instead of deleting.

I need a sign.

Photos coming soon...

From New Orleans and my recent author visit with Gail Carson Levine.

Gail Carson Levine at the Library today...

Another author visit this week....

Author Visit with Rebecca Stead

 

 
We had a lovely time at the Valley Ranch (Irving) Public Library with Newbery Award winning author, Rebecca Stead.  Rebecca read from WHEN YOU REACH ME (Newbery winner) and her most recent work, LIAR & SPY.

We had a great crowd (about 85) and Rebecca was delighted that most were young people who had read her books. So often, she explained, her library events are attended by teachers, librarians and future writers, so it was a treat to be able to discuss her books with readers who brought along their dog-eared, highlighted and annotated copies.  There were some well read tomes present that now include another line of text...Rebecca's signature.

Refreshment table.
















Custom water bottles and bundtinis with cover art work.

Custom cookies based on two key elements of WHEN YOU REACH ME

Backdrop based on the cover art of WHEN YOU REACH ME

















Rebecca speaking

The crowd

Rebecca with kids
































Me and Rebecca

I like this one because we are laughing...and you can't see my face...(ha)

"No flash photography please....!"

I learned it by watching YOU!

Recently I had a conversation with my son about reading.

As a librarian and avid reader I always tell my patrons, and friends, and children, that if a book doesn't grab you in the first couple chapters (say 50 pages) it probably isn't the book for you.  Not to worry...there are plenty more and life is too short to read a book that isn't right for you.

This theory was tested this summer when my son Owen, entering 11th grade, had to read IN COLD BLOOD by Truman Capote.

Now, I understand the importance of this book and appreciate the ground broken by Mr. Capote.  I also think the movie adaptations of his research fascinating.

But.

I don't like the book.

There, I said it.

Here is a case where the movie depiction is better than the book. IN MY OPINION.

Again, I can appreciate the build up and the pains taken to paint the close knit rural community.  I understand the shift in narrator.  I really do appreciate this as the birth of a genre.

But.

I still don't like it.

The overly descriptive, overly long set up drove me bat shit crazy.

I am a fan of voice and I appreciate good pacing, so it is easy to see how Capote's treatment of each of these elements jarred with my personal reading preferences.

So...back to Owen.

Me:  "Owen you have to read this book for summer.  It is a ground-breaking book that birthed a whole genre!" 
Owen: "I hate being assigned books to read."
Me: "I understand, but you are a good reader.  You can knock this out in a week."

Three days later
Me: "How's the book coming."
Owen: "Holy crap, what is this book even about?  I don't understand.  Nothing is happening."
Me: "Well, Capote uses this literary style to make a point and allow the reader to view things differently. It also is unique in that you have sympathy for the killers."
Owen: "What killers?  I haven't even gotten to that part yet."
Me: "Be patient."

Three days later
Me: "So, do you like the book any better?"
Owen: "I stopped reading it.  I don't like it and don't want to finish it."
Me: "Owen, you HAVE to finish it."
Owen: "Actually, I don't.  You always tell us that we have to read a book for the first 50 pages and if it doesn't work for me, I can put it down.

"I LEARNED THIS FROM YOU MOM. I LEARNED THIS BY WATCHING YOU."

No one ever tells you how hard parenting can be.  There is a constant war within your head.  There is the correct reply to this arguement and then there is the right reply.

The correct reply had me parceling out pages for him to read by certain dates. Not continuous pages, but samplings of chapters.

The right reply had me agreeing with him that I too thought the book kinda sucked and then purchasing SPARKNOTES.

In addition to IN COLD BLOOD he also had to read another recent nonfiction title. He read FREAKONOMICS, which he finished in two days and then asked me for more books like it.

He got a C on his back to school quiz on IN COLD BLOOD.

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For your viewing pleasure...other cases where kids learn "bad" habits from their parents:


Do you remember this?





And then there was this...of which I am totally guilty.