Sherry Lewis's Blog, page 21

100 Books: #12 The Beach House

Unlike #11 on my list, I'm really looking forward to reading The Beach House by Mary Alice Monroe. I've mentioned before my love all things pertaining to beach and sand and sun and surf, and this book certainly appears to qualify.



When I first picked up this book, I'd never been to the Lowcountry, but that changed in October of last year, when I spent a week on the Isle of Palms with the Lowcountry Romance Writers. It was a truly wonderful week and I met some fascinating people while I was there. I'll be traveling back to Charleston in April to meet with them again. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to paying a visit through the pages of this book.

100 Books: #11 The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

Can I confess that I'm really not sure why this book is on my list?



I'd remove it, but it's also part of the books I listed for the 2011 To-Be-Read Challenge, so I'm stuck with it. I think I must have been watching Oprah one day--something I haven't done in a while--and she must have been waxing eloquent about this book, and I must have been caught up in the excitement because something someone said made it sound like a book I just had to read. So I probably hopped right over to my favorite online bookstore and placed an order.



That's the best thing and the worst thing about being able to shop from home. Impulses acted upon within 30 seconds. No longer do we have to wait the whole 30 minutes it might take to slip into shoes, find the car keys, and drive across town. We can act on that urge immediately!



Anyway, for whatever reason, the book is on my bookshelf and in my TBR stack, and listed as #11 in the challenge, so I'll make a valiant effort to read it.



It's not that I have anything against literary fiction. I actually like a lot of literary books. I'm not a genre snob or a literary snob or a reverse-literary snob. I don't turn up my nose at your choices, and I'd really like it if you didn't turn up your nose at mine. But even if you do, so what? You don't have to like the books I like for me to feel validated. I'm fine with it.



My hesitation comes strictly because of the time period. I'm not a fan of brown books, or brown movies -- not to be confused with black & white, which I adore. Brown means anything set during the depression, the dark ages, or or after the apocalypse. Not a fan. That doesn't mean I refuse to read books or watch movies set during those times. They're just not my favorite times to read about. And this book is set in the 1930s, which puts it on my "would probably rather avoid" list.



On the other hand, it does deal with subject I find fascinating, which is probably what made me whip out my debit card in the first place. 

Editing Mark Twain

By now I'm sure most of you have read and discussed the decision to publish Mark Twain's classic The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, replacing the "N" word with "slave." I waited a few days to post on this topic because if there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's to not go public with a statement while emotions are running hot. Were my emotions running hot the day the news about the new version broke?

You betcha.

I'm an author. Words are my medium, and I don't take kindly to the notion of mucking about with anyone's words, even that the person who wrote 'em has been dead for a while. Even if the words make me uncomfortable or offend me. I may not like what you say but, like Voltaire, I defend your right to say it.

According to my grandmother, I'm also a distant cousin of Samuel Clemens. I suspect it's true because she was heavily into genealogy and she wouldn't have made something like that up. So even though I haven't personally seen the genealogy chart that links my family line to old Cousin Sam's, my blood was boiling out of sheer family loyalty.

But now that I've had some time to think about it, I've changed my mind. Now I say, by all means, make the change!

If there's one thing this country doesn't need, it's an old, tired book reminding us how horribly African Americans were treated in this country just a few generations ago. Nobody wants to think about slavery, but if we must, at least let's take some of the sting out of the subject.

All that ugliness has caused a lot of bad feelings over the years. And all those bad feelings have caused a lot of trouble. So, forgetting entirely about the sensibilities of the world's sixth graders, I say that the very last thing we need hanging around is a reminder that race relations weren't always perfect, the way they are now.

The very best thing we can do is to shave off the sharp edges and produce a much gentler history for posterity. To hell with the truth! (Sorry Cousin Sam.) Let's make sure the past looks pretty so future generations will look upon us more kindly.

On second thought, maybe Cousin Sam would approve of this change. After all, he did once say:

"Truth is the most valuable thing we have. Let us economize it." -- Mark Twain
We can economize truth right now with the removal of one horrendously offensive word. We can soften the blow so that that this generation will grow up not knowing how bad things really were. By the time these kids grow up, they'll be ready to remove "slave" and substitute it with "servant." Or maybe "friend." Why stop short?

In two or three more generations, we'll have softened the truth so much, our posterity will be able to recycle the stuff we've removed from history and start all over again. And the best part of that is, they'll think they made it up!


While we're discussing the subject, let's forget that Twain wrote political and cultural satire that wasn't intended for sixth graders in the first place. So let's dumb down the books a bit further and remove all the other poky-out parts that might jab somebody else in the conscience. No sense letting the old man get a dig in now that he's not around.

And maybe when we're finished with Twain, we can take a swipe at Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. I'm pretty sure there are some things we'll want to soften in the history of the holocaust, as well.

"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." -- Mark Twain
"Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please." -- Mark Twain 
"The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug." -- Mark Twain
"All right, then, I'll go to hell." -- Mark Twain
_______________________________
from the blog On My Mind Today

Stony Stratford Strikes Back!

In between sentences in my current work-in-progress, I've been wondering what to blog about today. Yeah, I've been working on my list of 100 Books I Want to Read, but I don't plan to subject you to 100 uninterrupted days of me thinking about my massive TBR stack. I swear!

I was having a little trouble coming up with a topic that knocked my socks off ... until I saw this article scroll past.

First, major kudos to the folks in Stony Stratford for caring enough about the library to do this. It's amazing. At first, when I saw the image of the completely empty library, my heart sank. I thought the shelves were empty because the library was closing. But as I read on and realized that the library was completely empty because people in that village checked out all 16,000 books in the library to protest the possible closure, I experienced a huge feel-good moment.

I love the library, and have since I was a little girl when my mother took me there. I still remember the thrill of climbing the metal stairs into the Bookmobile when it came to my school and the joy of walking up and down the stacks, looking for books I wanted to read. The library meant that no matter how much money we had or didn't have, I could always get a book. The library meant that I could read thousands of books if I wanted to, and the only thing standing in my way was how fast or slow I read the books I had.

Librarians knew and understood the books. If I liked this, they could recommend that. If I couldn't figure out the Dewey Decimal System, they showed me where to find the book I wanted. As I grew older and my book needs changed, I discovered that the library meant even more than just good books to read. It means research materials, access to old newspaper archives and past issues of magazines. And if I needed a book that I couldn't find on the shelves, all I had to do was request the book and my library would get it from another library.

Sadly, that service is no longer available to me due to budget cuts. I'm not pointing fingers here or trying to place blame. There's entirely too much of that in our society already, and my thoughts today aren't about who's responsible and who's not. I just wish that more people valued books. I wish more people would realize how amazing the library is. I wish we'd put our money where our mouths are. When we claim that education of our children is important, let's not take away their ability to find a book to read, even if their parents don't have money or their parents don't especially like to read. (That's another thing that makes me sad, but it's a topic for another day.)

Everyone I know is struggling in this economy. There's not as much money for entertainment and travel. Food budgets are being slashed and people are downsizing. But at the library, you can always get a book to read. Even in my small community, where services are being cut, I can still access any book in the county-wide system, and they still provide monthly e-mails about the new books they've put on the shelves every month.  And that's a good thing.

Have any great library memories or just thoughts about their status in the current economy?  I'd love to hear what you think.


_______________________________
from the blog On My Mind Today

100 Books: #10 Flamingo Diner

Number 10 on my list of books I want to read is Sherryl Woods' Flamingo Diner . I think I picked this one up shortly after my youngest daughter and her husband moved from Utah to Florida, taking with them the wonder child who was, at that time, my only grandchild.

For months after they left, I picked up everything I could find that had a palm tree on it or some connection to Florida. Made me feel closer to them in some odd way. Until I started writing this blog post, I wasn't even sure what the book was about. Another instance of cover art swaying my book-buying habits.

Today, I actually read a blurb about the book, and I'm relieved to say that it sounds like something I'll like. A few key words appear, such as, small town, secrets, tragic death, and questions. And, oh yeah, there's a romance involved. I'm always relieved when an impulse buy turns out to be a good thing.

How about you? Are you an impulse buyer? If so, do you ever regret giving in?
_______________________________
from the blog On My Mind Today

100 Books: #9 Quite a Year for Plums

 I'm fond of claiming that I'm not swayed by book reviews, but this is the book that proves the exception to the rule. I picked this book up several years ago because I either heard or read a review that convinced me I'd like this one. I'd never heard of the book or the author and hadn't been book shopping in far too long, so I'd had no occasion to run across it. But someone raved about it somewhere, and their enthusiasm for the book left a lasting impression.

I've never read anything else by Bailey White, but I love books set in small towns. Put that small town in the South, and I'm doubly hooked.Though I only recently moved to the South myself, my dad was born in Arkansas, and my grandmother had enough of the South left in her to create a little tug in my heart for all things Southern. I'm waiting for the day when I stop sweating through the long, hot, humid summers and start glistening instead. Then I'll know I've truly arrived.

The blurb I read for this book promises love, family and idiosyncrasy. Does it get any better than that? I love quirky characters, unreliable narrators, people obsessed by chickens who dream about chicken feet. I'm of the belief that quirky people make the world go round. 

If you've read this book, I'd love to hear your opinion of it. I'll be sharing mine once I've read it. 

100 Books: #8 A Thousand Acres

Number 8 on my list of 100 Books I Want to Read is A THOUSAND ACRES by Jane Smiley. This is probably the first book I'm hesitant about. The premise sounds interesting: 

A successful Iowa farmer decides to divide his farm between his three daughters. When the youngest objects, she is cut out of his will. This sets off a chain of events that brings dark truths to light and explodes long-suppressed emotions. An ambitious reimagining of Shakespeare's King Lear cast upon a typical American community in the late twentieth century, A Thousand Acres takes on themes of truth, justice, love, and pride, and reveals the beautiful yet treacherous topography of humanity.

Sounds great, right? I love the themes of truth, justice, love and price, and I don't mind navigating the treacherous topography of humanity. I couldn't be a writer if I shied away from that particular journey.
I love Shakespeare and am fascinated not only by how his work is still relevant today, but by how often modern writers, playwrights and movie-makers remake his stories.
But the thing is, I think I know what the dark truths are in this book, and I'm not 100% sure I'm emotionally ready to tackle this book. Whether or not I actually read this one is going to depend on a couple of factors. First, how I'm feeling when it comes time to start reading; and, second, what other readers have to say about it. Is it graphic? Is it a difficult read? 
If the author handles this subject one way, it could be the very thing I need to read. If she goes another way, it could be a very bad choice. If anyone out there has read it, I'd be very interested in your opinion. 
_______________________________from the blog On My Mind Today

100 Books: #7 Magnificent Obsession

I'm not going to lie. I love commercial genre fiction. I write commercial genre fiction. But that doesn't mean that I don't also love classic literature or even literary fiction. I love to read, and my tastes aren't always the same. Which is why I've added MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION by Lloyd C. Douglas to my list in the #7 spot.

I've heard good things about this book, but must confess I know absolutely nothing about the storyline. I haven't even seen the movie, starring Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson. But, hey! It's Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson. How could it go wrong? Plus, Agnes Moorhead appears in a non-Endora role.

I do know that it's supposed to be: 

An engaging and dramatic story of personal redemption and private sacrifice.

Now, I'm all for engaging and dramatic. Nothing's worse than picking up a book that you want to be engaging and dramatic, only to find it dull, repetitive, and boring. I love books about personal redemption and private sacrifice, so this books sounds like it's right up my alley.

Lloyd C. Douglas also wrote THE ROBE, which I've also never read. But I have seen that movie.

So I'm looking forward to reading this one, but I'm also wondering if anyone out there reading this blog has read the book or seen the movie. If you have, I'd love to know what you thought of them.

100 Books: #6 Up Island

One of my favorite books of all time is Anne Rivers Siddons' COLONY. I love the story and am head-over-heels in love with her writing. It's lush and evocative and so beautiful that today, years after I read the book for the first time, I can still call up images formed in my imagination when I read it for the first time. Add to that a long-time fascination with the sea and lighthouses, and you may be able to guess why this book ended up on my list.  Even better, according to the blurb on goodreads.com, it deals with a couple of subjects I find endlessly fascinating: family dynamics and how we cope when the world we've so carefully built implodes. I'm hoping for another magical ride through a richly drawn setting.

100 Books: #5 Don't Tell

Number 5 on my List for the 2011 To Be Read Challenge and my own list of 100 Books I Want to read is DON'T TELL by Karen Rose. A few years ago, I was walking around in a publisher-sponsored book signing at the Romance Writers of America annual conference. As I rounded a corner in the crush of people, I spotted one of Karen Rose's books sitting on the table and I knew I had to have that book. Dark. Mysterious. Compelling. 

I found the covers so intriguing, in fact, I stopped and got a book. Maybe two. I can't remember now. I do remember that I also came away with a bookmark which ended up on my desk a few weeks later. 

My daughter sat down to use the computer, spotted the bookmark, and had the same reaction I'd had. She just had to read at least one of Karen Rose's books. And of course, after one, she was hooked. I guess great cover art does make a difference--at least with some people!
_______________________________from the blog On My Mind Today