WWW Wednesday (2012-April-4)

The tornados are here, saving the world is here, Authors4Trayvon is here, and the garden is here.

Now. Wednesday! From shouldbereading:

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

• What are you currently reading?

Dissolution  The first in a mystery  series set in the time of Henry VIII, with Matthew Shardlake sent by Cromwell to root out papist sin and debauchery (plus straighten out some financial issues that should result in more money for the Crown, natch) from a problematical abbey. This has been highly recommended to me.  So far I’m greatly enjoying it.

It’s an interesting contrast to Nancy Bilyeau’s The Crown. The more I listen to Dissolution (I’m listening to the audiobook) the more I appreciate the tale Bilyeau told from the more unusual point of view of a young Roman Catholic nun who loves her faith and her Church, and yet also loves England and her King.  This doesn’t take away from Dissolution at all. I’m enjoying it very much. Two sides of a coin, but mysteries, both taking place at about the same moment in time–Henry’s marriage to Jane Seymour.

• What did you recently finish reading?

The Book Thief. Five stars.

What was it like to be German during the Fuhrer’s reign? Not a member of the elite, but one of the powerless? How many times have people outside Germany pondered whether or not they would have gone along with the crowd, whether they would have drunk the Kool-Aid? The Book Thief explores that idea in unexpected and deep ways.

This is a gorgeously written book. The prose sometimes stopped me cold just long enough to savor it before moving forward. Not so often that it got in the way of the story, just often enough to make this book of difficult subject matter lush and beautiful.

Death’s point of view is fascinating. It gives just enough distance and subjective thought to keep the story from getting too intense. Yes, I love intense emotion in books, and this had its moments. But the use of Death as a character was a profound and appropriate choice, for he brought vision and distance in moments when it was needed. Again, five stars.

• What do you think you’ll read next?

Tough question.  I have shoved several aside that were top of my list in order to read library books, and I still have a couple of library books to read. New books are popping into the queue. I can see I’ll never go back to my “must read NAO!” list if I keep this up.  Stay tuned until next Wednesday to find out which book shouldered its way to the top of the stack!

What about you? What are your WWWs? If you post on your blog, leave a link below! Otherwise answer here.

My Imaginary Me Doesn’t Live Here Any More

I have spent an entire unproductive morning combing the pages of estate agents and letting agents for affordable little cottages or flats with pretty vistas in Cornwall and no such thing exists. [Although letting--renting for you Yanks--is much more approachable than buying.]

Why am I doing this?

I. Don’t. Know!

And since I am not going to move to Cornwall or even spend an extended period there, meaning, I don’t have to actually be able to afford anything I see, thus could find a gorgeous manor with sea vistas and hopping distance from the coastal path, you’d think this would be a pleasant morning’s diversion.

But no, oh no, not for me. I have to complicate things by looking for something I could almost maybe afford so that it tantalizes with the, “You know, you really could do this…” siren song.

I may have to write a book about a woman who lives my imaginary life in Cornwall.

Which leaves me wondering, do I plot sex or murder?

Will this be romance or thriller?

I do not have time for this book that I am not going to write just so I can live in an imaginary flat with a gorgeous sea view in Cornwall which I cannot afford which means I will probably have a view of the garden [if I am lucky] or step straight out the door into the street [if I choose a place in the village so I'm walking distance to pub, chippie and shopping].

[bookmarking all pages so can return to daydreaming research work this afternoon]

Where does your imaginary you live?

WWW Wednesday, February 1, 2012

From shouldbereading:

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

• What are you currently reading?

I’m currently reading Farthing, by Jo Walton. A mystery set in a 1949 England where the English (and Allies) did not win WWII.  The US stayed isolationist and an English peace was negotiated with Hitler, who was able to maintain his grip on Europe and concentrate his efforts on the USSR.  Jews in Europe wear identifying stars and are persecuted, but in England they are legally, technically, free. But there is still much prejudice and so when upper-crust Lucy married a Jewish man, it was not well-received by her friends and family.  When they are invited to a weekend at her parents’ house with many other notables–the Farthing set–they go, on the off chance that perhaps her mother is finally accepting David.  Alas, evidently not. Rather, he was invited to be a convenient Jewish scapegoat to pin a murder on…

The most fascinating (and horrifying) aspect of these books is that they feel very real, and represent a bullet dodged, a future we are very fortunate not to be living.

• What did you recently finish reading?

The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie, by Jennifer Ashley. I gotta say, I really liked this romance a lot. And it’s pure historical romance, steamy, sexy, and one friend who started it said she had to scrub her head with a brillo pad and bail out in the middle. So okay, if you aren’t a romance reader, this one probably isn’t for you.  But if you are a romance reader or at least like the occasional foray in that direction, I suggest you give this one a try.  I was drawn to this by reading that the hero had Asperger’s Syndrome.  I was relieved when a friend who has a family member with Asperger’s tweeted to tell me that she’d read this book and thought it was very well done.  Behaviour that could be boorish and worse–and yet is often considered sexy and romantic in historical romance–in this case comes out of the hero’s inability to cope in social situations, his inability to be subtle, to do anything but state bluntly what he wants, to sit too close, and yet–he will not meet the heroine’s eyes. I found it sexy, charming in an oddly unexpected way, and compelling.  I particularly enjoyed meeting the MacKenzie men, each different and bearing his own set of scars from their childhoods, and look forward to reading the other books in the series.

• What do you think you’ll read next?

I don’t know! My piles (figurative, since most are on my Kindle) and shelves (still have a couple of shelves of real books waiting) are filled with books I want to read. Not a TBR list. To-Be-Read indicates a duty.  Mine is a WTR list.  Want. To. Read.

And it all depends on the mood I’m in when I finish Farthing and am ready to dive into the next.

What about you? What are your WWWs?

What should I read next?

I’m listening!

[This art is from Ephraim Rubenstein. I am now craving some of his book art.]

Late to the party, as usual.

What is it about me? As soon as I see that something is really, really popular, I kind of sneer to myself and ignore it. There was this book people were talking about, and I kept hearing about it from my friends who keep up with all things England, and that book was something Harry Potter.  Does that sound at all special to you? Nor me. And the more I heard about it, the more I ignored it. Then it was a huge best seller in the US and that kind of sealed the deal. No way was I interested in whatever “trendy” bandwagon everybody was hopping on.

Oh hush.

It has happened many times, whether it’s television shows or books or movies. (Oh, did I mention how long I held out before I finally went to that movie I knew I’d hate, that one called Star Wars? I mean, how silly is that?)

I got on the Twilight bandwagon early, if you count reading the first book when it was new. But I kind of missed the “bandwagon” part, if you count the “couldn’t remember if I’d read it or not” by the time the third one came out.

It’s happening again, I’m pretty sure.  Everybody in the world has read The Hunger Games and now the movie is coming out, and I know–KNOW–that if I ever actually read the books I’ll be just like everybody else, telling anybody who will listen, YOU HAVE TO READ THESE BOOKS.

All that said–right now I’m listening to the audiobook, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie.  I’d seen it here and there, mentioned everywhere, popping up on various best seller lists, but I ignored it.

Then one of my students told me it was set in England. That got my attention.

Two days ago I started listening to it.

I’m in love.

I am in love with “eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce, an aspiring chemist with a passion for poison.”  She has stolen my heart.  And did I mention she lives in an old pile of a Tudor manor house with her eccentric, grieving father and two older sisters, and a shell-shocked chauffeur/gardener/man-of-all-trades who sometimes flashes back to war so that Flavia has to [figuratively] cover his back until he feels safe again?

And that she finds a dying man in the cucumber patch, who breathes his last word into her face before expiring?

By the way, the reader, Jayne Entwhistle, is a delight.

This is one of those books that is so wonderful, with this turn of phrase, that use of language–that I am going to buy it in hardcover to put in my personal library of favorites.

Yes, it’s that kind of book.

[Oh decisions, decisions, which one? The green US edition or the UK edition? No contest. I want the UK spellings on this one, I think.  Sorry, just talking to myself here.]

I’m late to the party on this one, but better late than never.

Have you read it?  Or The Hunger Games? Have you ever resisted something that seemed too trendy, only to discover that it was worth the hooplah?

Or is it just me?

Things I Love Friday

First thing I love today, Friday: Titling this entry “Things I Love Friday,” which makes me sound like I might be organized or have structure or a plan for my blog or something.

Second thing I love today, Friday. OhMahFreakinGee, I found the best urban homesteading blog. Ever. Okay, I know I told you to sign up for my blog through email (and it’s not too late, it’s there in the sidebar, seriously, do it!) but today, Friday, I’m telling you, GO SIGN UP FOR THIS WOMAN’S BLOG.  First, read her about everything page.  Bad Mama Genny rocks. How hard does she rock? Well, maybe it’s just the mood I’m in this morning? But she describes it as:

Like a mommy blog. Except I’m not a mommy. And it’s about extreme DIY and homesteading. And food, food, food. And gardening in fishnets. And moonshine makin’. And the fine mess I’ve gotten us into this time. So not at all like a mommy blog. Ok, you know what, just read the damn blog.

She had me at fishnets and misfits and green hair and– just read the damn blog.

Third thing I love today, Friday. Persephone Books in London. Okay, I’m not at all certain I would love the books themselves because they are all dove grey. I am not a grey woman. [Can I get more shallow than that? I'm sure I can. But a row of dove grey books does not inspire me as a build my library.] However, they really do look cool. And here is the best thing about them ever (besides the fact that they are published in England and we all know how I feel about that):

“Persephone Books reprints neglected classics by C20th (mostly women) writers. Each one in our collection of 96 books is intelligent, thought-provoking and beautifully written, and most are ideal presents or a good choice for reading groups. Persephone prints mainly neglected fiction and non-fiction by women, for women and about women. The titles are chosen to appeal to busy women who rarely have time to spend in ever-larger bookshops and who would like to have access to a list of books designed to be neither too literary nor too commercial. The books are guaranteed to be readable, thought-provoking and impossible to forget. We sell mainly through mail order, through selected shops and we have our own shop.”  But they also have beautiful fabric endpapers and bookmarks; each title has its own design. They sound lovely, with so much attention to detail.  I may have to buy one, just to see. Amazon.com has the Persephone Classics in paperback but if I decide I want one, I may bite the bullet and get hardcover.

Fourth thing I love today, Friday.  The webcams at Sennen Cove. Anytime I want, I can look and see what the weather and the sea looked like today at that place I’d love to be. Sometimes the images can be pretty darned amazing.

Fifth thing I love today, Friday. Dogs.

Of course I love dogs everyday, all day and all night.

I just love dogs.

What do you love today, Friday?

Rollin’ the blogs!

I have discovered an eclectivity of blogs to read this past year or so. [And made up a word. Eclectivity. Use it. I dare you.]

Once upon a time blogs were more popular and there were a number that I read.  I followed them by RSS feed and sometimes if I missed a few days, the feed was so overwhelming I’d just ignore it for weeks.  Not a very efficient method of doing something I actually enjoyed doing.

These days it’s easier. As I’ve pointed out before, all you have to do is sign up [see top of sidebar on right] to get a blog in email.  It doesn’t pile up unread. I can glance and delete quite easily if I don’t have time or am not interested.  Or read and enjoy.  And frankly, all of the blogs I’m following this way are ones I read and enjoy.

Without further ado, let me share a sampling of blogs I enjoy enough to have them delivered via email.

An on the nose title for an off the charts blog. English History Fiction Writers Blog. I discovered it via Nancy Bilyeau, whose Tudor-era mystery will be out in January and I can’t wait. This entry gives a glimpse of the heart of her book, and I’m already salivating.

Speaking of eclectic, Bill Chance is. If you’re from Dallas, I can almost guarantee that this Detroit-transplant has found places you don’t know. His reading and movie-watching are definitely off the beaten tracks and his exploration of the world around him is definitely worth checking out.

Ah, and then there is Peggy Isaacs. I am trying to remember if she let the snark fly when she was taking my classes and honestly don’t recall, but she definitely shares her attitude freely in her blog, and I am vastly entertained. Watch out for the animals. Her Man vs Beast feature is out to get you.

Through another blog, An Austin Homestead [she has a spinning wheel and a Corgi, how cool is that?] I discovered Nude Soap. Primarily because the blogger makes it, and owns the company. I bought some soap and creams for Christmas gifts and everything is getting raves. I can’t say enough about it, and will add it to the pooks recs page. But I have to point out that An Austin Homestead is no longer in Austin. She moved to Oregon! But I’m sure she’ll continue to make me drool over her vegetables and fruits and chickens and what-nots, just like I did when she was in Austin.

This is the impact she had on me this Christmas. Because of her blog, I, pooks, the not-very-domestic-goddess, baked cookies.  And not just cookies–drop cookies that anybody can manage. The roll-and-cut-with-cookie-cutter cookies. I was inspired by cookies on her site, and used the directions from this video, and ended up with gingerbread Texas cookies!

I was going to post a picture.

I can’t find my cable to download the pics.

User your imagination.  They were big!

Meanwhile... Saved! Found the cable!

PS Time is running out. If you want a chance to win a book of your choice in my contest, subscribe to this blog and comment here before midnight Dallas time, January 6!

All I Want For Christmas Is…

I love Christmas. I love the UK. I love when they come together in such amazing ways.

For fun:

And for the other side of the coin:

May all the fighting end and all the military come home. That’s a Christmas wish I think we can all get behind.

Stumbled across another piece of research.

A

And yet, after all this time, I'm writing about my dreams?

Yes.

But a different kind of dream.

Once upon a time I had a wish, a desire, a dream. If someone had given me a short time to live, I would have put my first priority on going to England. I would have put it ahead of food and medicine, I think, because the idea of dying without ever having been there was deep tragedy to me.

Fortunately, we went to England without such a dire threat hanging over my head. And went back again, and again.

The dream of “England” has never faded, never died, and every trip (five so far) has just made it stronger.

And finally, I found myself writing about England. It was a romp of an action script (science fiction, but that’s a tale for another day). It had a subplot that was set in 11th Century England, complete with castles and lords and ladies and swords and danger and passion and such. Because the entire script was parody, I found that dabbling in the dialect and culture was rockin’ good fun. I didn’t worry over it, the way I would have if I’d been writing a novel set in the same time period. The research was done, but not fretted over. And that script (DREAMERS) was a finalist in the Nicholl in 2000.

A couple of years later I wrote another script set in England, but this one was much more challenging.  This one was contemporary, was populated with many English characters and the idea of writing English characters speaking English dialogue that was believable was daunting.  And yet, it was exhilarating and fun. This script ended up under consideration at the BBC, and was received really well there.  I have that rejection letter in a special file because it was a personal success on several levels.

And finally, a story seized my heart and soul that demanded even more of me.  It demanded that I not just write a script, but that I write a novel. Not just a novel, but a trilogy. That I immerse myself in English history, religion, literature, and life. It terrified me and demanded everything I could give it, and more, and that’s where I’ve been living, writing and dreaming for the past couple of years.

Dreaming. Yes, dreaming. The research is a thrill and a joy. The trip we took this spring was heaven itself. I am immersed in this dream of mine, this dream of England. I am writing my dreams, living my dreams.

I have created a magical universe set in an alternate England, and populated it with people who never lived. And yet this universe exists, and these people live. And what sets them apart from any others I’ve written about is that it is all woven with the threads of my most passionate and beloved dream, with the essence of the England that is in my heart.

This has nothing to do with what happens when I close my eyes at night, and everything to do with how I spend my waking hours.

I waited twenty years to discover this bit of magic. Honestly, it took me that long to absorb enough from the movies, books, television shows and friends I adore to feel comfortable writing this. But I am here now, living in my dreams, and writing them.

Tomorrow, a practical application of dreams.

Happy birthday, Georgette Heyer!

One week only–46 Heyer title for only $1.99!

From Sourcebooks:

That’s 46 books by Georgette Heyer, plus the fabulous reader companion, Georgette Heyer’s Regency World by Jennifer Kloester, available for $1.99 from August 15-August 21.

Available from the sourcebooks site.

Or if you have a Kindle and prefer to buy straight from Amazon, here.

The special sale only applies to the 46 Heyer titles published by Sourcebooks, and to Georgette Heyer’s Regency World.