Lucy Adams's Blog, page 4

Bookshelf ABC - O

On Writing by Stephen King is one of the best books he's written in his wildly successful career. He proves that persistent plugging away at a passion pays off, and he shares his wisdom with other writers and the world. You don't need to be a writer to read this book. You don't need to love King's genre to read this book. All you need is curiosity about what goes through the mind of a man who writes novels like Carrie and Amityville Horror and Cujo.

As an added bonus, King includes a list of his favorite books, and they're not all macabre tales of fear and foreboding.


Offer me a suggestion for an O book.

Bookshelf ABC - N

The Naked Bus Driver: An evening spent perusing a bookstore's shelves makes me happier than a goose on a golden egg. But I have a weakness for buying books based on title alone. Sometimes I get lucky and pick a winner, but the night I brought home this paperback was not a lucky night. The title is the best thing about the book.

I really hate saying that about another author's work, but I also feel responsible for warning naive readers like myself. There are things that a person shouldn't have to find out on her own.

 
Surely there's a book that begins with N that I must read. What is it?

Bookshelf ABC - M

Memoirs of a Longshot retells the wonderful life of Cot Campbell, owner of the 2013 Belmont Stakes winner, Palace Malice. With grace and humor and honesty, Campbell shares the lows of alcoholism and the highs of Thoroughbred racing and the people and places he has known on his journey.

 
I had the good fortune of interviewing the illustrious Cot Campbell last Fall for an article I wrote for Aiken Homes and Lifestyles . He was generous with his time and incredibly entertaining.


Share an mmm-mmmm good M title with me, please, especially if you have a personal story behind it.

Bookshelf ABC - L

The Little Friend by Donna Tartt is mesmerizing. Fans of southern literature will love it. In the book, a young girl and her friend determine to identify the person who killed her older brother when she was just a baby. The humorous logic of children juxtaposed against a family's screen of grief, characters who pose danger and a decaying southern way of life create a spellbinding novel.

The cover of the novel disturbed me, though, and I had to keep it turned face down on my nightstand.


After the April A to Z challenge, I'll make a final list of all the Bookshelf ABC titles I've posted plus the ones suggested by readers. What L title would you like to add?

Bookshelf ABC - K

The Kite Runner seems an obvious choice for K. I didn't read the book, but I saw the movie. It tore out my heart, so I rest assured of the powerful prose in the book.


 Kick me a K book to add to my collection.

Bookshelf ABC - J

The Joy of Family Traditions is chock full of fabulous ideas for adding fun to family life. The repetition of activities whether yearly, monthly, weekly or daily makes children feel secure. Traditions give life predictability. Unfortunately, we adults sometimes get bored doing the same things over and over. So why not infuse your routine with new ideas?

The Joy of Family Traditions gave me the idea of instituting a winter hibernation day at our house. Since the day our fourth child was born, my house has been a hive of constant activity. As the children have grown older the radius of activity has expanded, making us ever more crazy. After many years of never slowing down, I realized what a gift a day off would be. Now we take one winter Saturday a year to wear our pajamas all day, eat popcorn, watch movies, play board games and cards, and chill out.

 
Okay, your turn. Throw out your best J title to me.

Bookshelf ABC - I

If Mama Don't Laugh, It Ain't Funny will have you giggling until stuff comes out of your nose. The universal antics and anxieties of family life get to the core of why our relatives, the crazy ones and the cool ones, define who we are.

Combine this book with a bouquet of flowers for a heartfelt Mothers' Day gift.



I'd love to know what I titles have resonated with you.

Bookshelf ABC - H

The Hotel New Hampshire confirmed for me that I would be a writer. Though I primarily write non-fiction, I can pinpoint the beginning of inspiration with the cracking open of this book. It wasn't John Irving's mad cast of characters that stirred me so much as it was his prose. I wanted to string together words like he did and suddenly I knew I could.

By the by, my favorite part is when the dog dies, not because the dog dies, but because of what happens next.



A bonus H book to check out: Help Me, Jacques Cousteau

How many H titles can you name?

Bookshelf ABC - G

Ghosts of Grandeur captures the disappearing antebellum homes, people and places of the American antebellum South, specifically the state of Georgia. The primary purpose of this coffee table tome is to preserve the history and memory of antebellum structures that time has left behind since the Civil War.

As an extra treat, the pages are filled with  stories about the people who called these gracious buildings home and the places now transformed by their absence. No matter how you feel about the pre Civil War South, you'll appreciate the architecture of the lives and homes of the people who occupied it.

 
What G title have you read lately (or ever)?

Bookshelf ABC - F

Fahrenheit 451 , by the master of science fiction, Ray Bradbury, is a throwback classic. I gave it to my oldest son to read last summer. He never opened it. When will accept that anything I suggest to my children will be automatically rejected? One would think I'd be more savvy by now.

In summary, this book is about the unthinkable prospect of the extinction of the book and the rise of the television as the predominant form of entertainment. Who says science fiction is stranger than real life?


Wow me with your own suggested F title.