Recommendation for Kelly

I asked audience members from the GWU Women's Literature discussion to tell me the kinds of books they like to read, and I promised to give them personalized book recommendations on my blog.

This one is for Kelly. She said she likes biographies/suspence/drama/Jodi Piccoult). I like Jodi Piccoult too, Kelly. I would recommend one of her books to you, but I bet you've already read a bunch of them. As soon as I saw what kind of books you like, I thought of a recommendation straight-away.

Philippa Gregory is one of my favorite authors who writes historical fiction. I think I've read all of her books. My favorites are the ones centered around the English monarchs--just because their real life stories are so sensational/dramatic. I'm specifically recommending The Virgin's Lover. It's about Queen Elizabeth's suspected long-time lover, Sir Robert Dudley. All of Gregory's books take historical info and fill in the blanks that history is missing.

The year is 1558, an especially dangerous time for England: no bishop will coronate Henry VIII's Protestant daughter, the treasury is bankrupt, the army is unpaid and demoralized. Meanwhile, the French are occupying Scotland and threatening to install Mary, Queen of Scots—on the throne. Ignoring the matrimonial advice of pragmatic Secretary of State William Cecil, the 25-year-old Elizabeth persists in stringing along Europe's most eligible bachelors, including King Philip of Spain and the Hapsburg archduke Ferdinand. It's no secret why: she's fallen for her "dark, saturnine" master of horse, Sir Robert Dudley, whose traitorous family history and marriage to the privately Catholic Amy make him an unsuitable consort. Gregory deftly depicts this love triangle as both larger than life and all too familiar; all three characters are sympathetic without being likable, particularly the arch-mistress Elizabeth, who pouts, throws tantrums, connives and betrays.

Kelly, feel free to have your friends contact me for book recommendations. You/they can contact me through my website www.girlclassified.com.

Recommendation for Jamie

I asked audience members from the GWU Women's Literature discussion to tell me the kinds of books they like to read, and I promised to give them personalized book recommendations on my blog.

This one is for Jamie. She said she likes women's literature & chick-lit (Time Traveler's Wife); some non-ficton (3 Cups of Tea). So...for you I'm recommending Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert. I read this book last year and enjoyed it. I typically go for fiction, and this is non-fiction. So it's a little out of my regular genre, but I found the story's abandon and adventure fascinating.

At the age of thirty-one, Gilbert moved with her husband to the suburbs of New York and began trying to get pregnant, only to realize that she wanted neither a child nor a husband. Three years later, after a protracted divorce, she embarked on a yearlong trip of recovery, with three main stops: Rome, for pleasure (mostly food-wise, with a special emphasis on gelato); an ashram outside of Mumbai, for spiritual searching; and Bali, for "balancing."

I also love traveling, so reading this book made me feel like I was in these three destinations.

Jamie, will you let me know what you think of this recommendation? Have you already read it? Did you like it? They're making a movie out of it, I hear, so I'm looking forward to that. I always like to read a book first and then watch the movie to see how other people portray the characters that I'd pictured in my imagination.

Please feel free to have your friends contact me for recommendations too. You can contact me through my website: www.girlclassified.com

Thanks for coming out on Monday!

Recommendation for Stephanie

I asked audience members from the GWU Women's Literature discussion to tell me the kinds of books they like to read, and I promised to give them personalized book recommendations on my blog.

This first one is for Stephanie. She said she likes chicklit but with more of an "edge"...funny, but also dealing with serious issues (family, depression, divorce), recognizable characters, even if a bit over the top.

Stephanie, I just started reading the book, Beach House, by Jane Green. I'm only in a few pages, but I thought this might be up your alley. It's about a sixty-five-year-old Nan Powell who has lived comfortably and happily in Nantucket since the suicide of her husband, Everett, so she is thrown for a loop when she learns that she is in danger of losing her beloved house. After weighing her options, Nan decides to turn her home into a bed-and-breakfast. The guests she gets for the summer are all at a crossroads in their lives in one way or another. Daniel has just separated from his wife and is facing something he has denied for years; Daff is recovering from the heartbreak of a divorce and getting a much-needed break from her anger-filled 13-year-old daughter; and Nan’s son Michael is on the run from a disastrous affair. Nan finds herself opening up to her guests and enjoying their company, but she is shocked when she discovers a person close to one of them has a startling connection to her.

Stephanie, will you let me know what you think? Also, feel free to have any of your friends tell me the kinds of books they like, and I'll do a recommendation for them too. You can contact me through my website www.girlclassified.com

GWU Speaking Engagement

Today I was a speaker at George Washington University on a panel discussing women's literature and chicklit. It was a great experience! Published authors always talk about the importance of networking and marketing yourself. I saw it first hand today. I met some great people who had ideas on how I could move forward with my writing projects.

The other speaker on the panel was a GWU teacher who did her dissertation at Delaware on Chicklit (although, her professor wouldn't let her use the specific term in her dissertation's title...) She is introducing me to her friend who's a published author and who is starting a writer's circle. A writer's circle is a group of writers who give each other constructive critism and tips on writing/publishing. I've been looking for a circle that includes authors focusing on women's fiction.

An audience member also gave me a great tip. She's the Director of Engagement at GWU's Hillel. She would like me to speak again with her specific contingent. I'm looking forward to that! She also said that Lilith Magazine is looking to do a story on Washington DC writers, so she is planning to give them my name. Lilith magazine features award-winning investigative reports, new rituals and celebrations, first-person accounts both contemporary and historical, entertainment reviews, fiction and poetry, art and photography--all with a focus on Jewish women.

Third, another audience member talked to me about Book Expo America. The next conference is in NYC on May 26th. Many authors, publishers, and agents congregate at the BEA to trade ideas and network. I hadn't heard of the conference before, but I'm looking into new avenues for networking, so it was a great tidbit of info.

All in all, the speaking engagement today was a fulfilling use of time...and fun! It was interesting to discuss favorite authors with other women. We also had an intellectual conversation about why the term chicklit is a bit dirty in the publishing world--why the genre went downhill after an influx of poorly written books in the beginning 2000's--an how chicklit writers are reinventing themselves under the term "women's fiction" or just plain "literary fiction" instead.

Thank you again to Erica for setting this up and inviting me!

There's No Place Like Here

I just finished reading a classic, great chic-lit. It's written by Cecilia Ahern, the author of P.S. I Love You. She's also the Irish Prime Minister's daughter. (I've always thought that was cool tidbit of her biography.)

There's No Place Like Here is classic chicklit because it's written in the first person by a female protagonist. The narrator is discovering something about herself in the book, and a background (yet important) plot element is the acknowledging of the main character's true love. It's about a thirty-something woman, Sandy Shortt, whose job it is to find missing people until she herself goes missing. What I like best about Cecilia Ahern's books is that most of them include an element of Irish folklore/magic. I know that sounds strange for chicklit, but it's what makes Ahern's books different and special.

Five stars for this novel, Ahern's latest, which was published in 2009.

The Help

The Help by Kathryn Stockett was discussed on NPR yesterday as I drove in to work. It's about the desegregation of America from a young caucasian girl's perspective as she talks to African-American maids. I had seen this book on the bestseller list and not thought much of it. It sounded an awful lot like the Secret Life of Bees. However, the NPR show made the book sound very thought-provoking. I'm looking forward to reading this novel now. Has anyone else read it yet?

Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol"

Right now I'm reading Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol". It's the third book in the Robert Langdon saga, and this one takes place in the Washington DC area. That's pretty cool because I can recognize all of the sites discussed in the novel. (Although, I will say that some of the info is wrong...There are certain government agencies sited in the book that far reach their real-life authorities.)

LOST

I know this is a blog about chicklit and books in general, but I'd like to deviate for just a few postings to talk about theories on the tv show LOST.

What do you think of the following?

1. The man in black and Jacob are like yin and yang. One has faith in the human race to evolve and get better. The man in black believes that the human race will always be inherently evil and will use violence to solve situation. Remember when Jacob and the man in black were sitting on the beach watching the ship Black Rock come in. Man in black says, "why are you calling them in again. You know it'll always be the same. More violence. They never learn." Jacob says, "each time it gets better."
2. I think that the very last scene of the series will be that scene again. I think that it goes over and over in a circle.
3. MIB is being kept at bay on the island. If he escapes, humanity will get worse.
4. The MIB was the one trapped inside the hut. When they thought it was Jacob saying, "help me", it was actually the MIB.
5. Juliet was dying and said to Sawyer, "let's have coffee. We can go dutch." He thought she was just hallucinating as she was dying. But...she was seeing the alternate life. That's how she knew, "it worked".

Girlfriends' Guide

This book is dedicated to all of my friends who are pregnant right now! I just found out that a good friend of mine is 3 and 1/2 months pregnant, so this posting is dedicated to her. I won't out her name now, just in case there are others she'd like to tell.

The book is Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy by Vicki Iovine. Supposedly, this book tells you info that the doctors don't necessarily have time to impart, the non-clinical types of things you might want to know.

True Blood

I'm currently reading the 4th book in the True Blood Sookie Stackhouse vampire series on which the HBO television show is based. The series is by Charlaine Harris who must be writing like mad because I believe her 10th book in the series just came out. I don't love these books, but right now it's what I wanted to read. I feel like the writing isn't very good, so I get tired of the book and put it down a lot. It's taking me awhile to go through this 4th book, which I started a couple of weeks ago.

Pretty Good for a Girl

This posting is dedicated to all the women out there who are looking at the snowboarders on the Olympics and seeing lots of tough men doing jumps, spins, and tricks. Pretty Good for a Girl: The Autobiography of a Snowboarding Pioneer, written by Tina Basich, is about a girl who heard comments like, "you're pretty good for a girl" and pushed harder to be the best.

When Tina Basich grabbed her rented snowboard and headed to the mountains in Lake Tahoe, snowboarding wasn't even considered a sport ... yet. It was the beginning, and could have easily gone the way of many other sports and become dominated by male-driven competition.

Representing for women everywhere, she became a snowboarding all-star, started her own signature board and clothing lines for women, founded Boarding for Breast Cancer, and followed her heart.

Vancouver Winter Olympics

Since we're smack in the middle of the winter olympics, I thought it only fitting to recommend a book on the subject. The Winter Olympics: An Insider's Guide to the Legends, Lore and Events of the Games--Vancouver Edition written by Ron Judd is Amazon.com's most popular book when you type in a search of "Winter Olympics". I haven't read this book, but it looks interesting.

Here's some info about it:
From alpine skiing and figure skating to luge and curling, Judd devotes a chapter to each competitive sport, examining its history, key competitors in past Olympics, the newest athlete contenders, how the sport is played and judged, and more. Anecdotes and fun facts about the Winter Olympics give the reader a true sense of being at the games. And for readers who want to hit the slopes or rinks of British Columbia, Judd includes a round-up on outfitters and access to the Olympic venues. The Winter Olympics also includes a chapter on the Paralympic Winter Games.

This recommendation is dedicated to Tyler W. who's at the Olympics with my friend Kristi right now! Hope you guys are having a fantastic time!

What to read when you're in a cast...

That is the question of the day. My husband had a snowboarding accident this weekend...thus, my lack of blogs on Sat and Sunday. He broke his leg in three places, tore his meniscus, and stretched his ACL out of whack. So even though he's going to be watching a lot of Olympics, I also recommended a very long book for him to read...Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Book 7 of J.K. Rowling's masterpiece.

How to Survive a Robot Uprising

Guest recommendation from Leif J:

This is the book I talked to you about for your blog: How to Survive a Robot Uprising by Daniel H. Wilson.

You can learn a lot from this book, like warning signs to watch out for from your robot servant. As Roomba owners, I thought this would be especially pertinent for you:

Sudden lack of interest in menial labor.
Unexplained disappearances.
Unwillingness to be shut down.
Repetitive 'stabbing' movements.
Constant talk of human killing.

I think it would make a great addition to your blog, as a classic example of chick lit.

http://www.robotuprising.com

Lack of Fiction Coming out in the Spring of 2010

I perused Amazon.com's list of fiction books coming out in the Spring of 2010. There's a sorry lack of books by our favorite authors, and there weren't very many books coming out at all. I wonder if that's due to a bad economy. Good, established authors aren't putting out books right now because they don't think their books will sell as well as usual. And new authors aren't getting picked up by agents and publishers because in a bad economy no one is willing to take a chance on new writers. The only fiction book coming out that I'm mildly looking forward to is one by Jodi Piccoult. But nothing from Stephanie Meyers, Sophie Kinsella, Philippa Gregory, etc. I will say that James Patterson is putting out at least one new book this spring, but I'm not into that genre. For those of you who are, though, happy reading!

Revolting Rhymes

This is a book recommendation for Jeanette and Jeff, our friends who have a young son. I chose this book for you because I think Will will be thrilled by the grossness of these twisted tales. Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes cleverly turns Cinderella, Snow White, Jack & The Beanstalk, and Little Red Riding Hood upside down and reverses the way we view the "villains" and the "heros". If you read these stories with different voices for the ogres and wolves, etc., Will is sure to love these bedtime stories.

I read one of these stories in forensics (public speaking) competitions throughout high school, and I always made it into the finals with this pick. I was 6th in the state of NJ for reading Jack and the Beanstalk.

I also read these tales to some of the homeless children in VA through the Reading Connection (a non-profit started by VA teachers). These rambunctious kids, who no doubt had some emotional and learning disabilities, actually sat still to listen to these tales. If that's not a recommendation for this book, I don't know what is!!! :)

Model Student? Model or Student...she had to pick one.

Model Student...a tale of coeds and cover models...by Robin Hazelwood is my book recommendation for my high school friend Lisa L. It's just a fun book about a girl who has the smarts to attend Columbia University and the looks for modeling. It's her quest to pursue both at the same time, even with the immense pressures on the modeling industry to eat nothing, take cocaine to stop being hungry, and add a couple cup sizes to her bust. In the end she realizes she has to pick one, and the reader is kept in suspense until the very end. I thought it would be an easy decision, but Robin Hazelwood keeps the attraction between both model and coed equally compelling.

The Geography of Bliss

Guest Recommendation by Julie P.

The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner is a man's search around the world to define happiness and discover the cause. He visits some "happy" countries (Netherlands, Bhutan, Qatar, Thailand) and an absolutely miserable country, Moldova.

Having worked for years as an NPR foreign correspondent, he'd gone to many obscure spots, but usually to report bad news or terrible tragedies. Now he'd travel to countries like Iceland, Bhutan, Qatar, Holland, Switzerland, Thailand and India to try to figure out why residents tell positive psychology researchers that they're actually quite happy. At his first stop, Rotterdam's World Database of Happiness, Weiner is confronted with a few inconvenient truths. Contrary to expectations, neither greater social equality nor greater cultural diversity is associated with greater happiness. Iceland and Denmark are very homogeneous, but very happy; Qatar is extremely wealthy, but Weiner, at least, found it rather depressing. He wasn't too fond of the Swiss, either, uncomfortable with their quiet satisfaction, tinged with just a trace of smugness. In the end, he realized happiness isn't about economics or geography. Maybe it's not even personal so much as relational. In the end, Weiner's travel tales—eating rotten shark meat in Iceland, smoking hashish in Rotterdam, trying to meditate at an Indian ashram—provide great happiness for his readers.

My question is how does he pick the countries in the first place? Obviously, right now at least, the U.S. isn't one of the happiest countries because of jobloss and the economy. And we work ourselves into the ground anyway. But why Iceland, etc? If I were picking countries, I'd pick the Netherlands (cause they're having sex and smoking pot there legally) and New Zealand (cause it's off by itself, not in any wars, and has big grassy hills for movies like the Lord of the Rings).

What countries would you pick as being "happy countries"?

Birthdays

When I was turning 30, I turned to my husband and said, "I can't believe my 20s are gone. I'll never get them back."

He looked at me hard and said, "Yes, that's true. But think of all the great things your 30s have in store. These are the years when you might publish your first novel. It'll probably be in your 30s when we have our first kids too."

I thank him now as I'm turning 32. Instead of fretting unneccessarily about my birthday, now on each Feb 7th, I'm excited about all that's to come.

I also wanted to publish the funny and senitmental note my parents wrote to me in this year's birthday card. For anyone who knows my parents, see if you can guess which one is from my dad and which one is my mom's words.

Birthday Wishes
1. Iron Chef Chocolate Kitchen
2. Stephanie Meyers signs on as blog follower
3. 2nd bathroom installed
4. Nice new neighbors
5. Early spring
6. Delicious, lactose free ice cream
7. Snow and skiing in Bermuda (best of both worlds)
8. Gerry and Misch bonding
9. Jason's furniture arrives
10. My company raises all salaries 10%

You are:
-A good chef of memorable meals (delicious) eg. pizza cassarole, egg and cheese buns in orange sauce, various salads, cran-apple crisp
-an excellent author (move over, Ms. Meyers)
-a perfect party installer
-a nice neighor eg. helping Bob with food
-able to create the light and easy feeling of spring in your home all year
-to me, what ice cream is to a cone
-capable of planning complicated world-wide trips
-a responsible, caring pet owner
-married to a great guy
-worth some combined salaries (heehee, I won't write this whole one out)
Most of all, you are my beautiful, sweet, wonderful daughter!

Thanks, Mom and Dad for all your kind words!

Ode to Snow (Guest Blog from my Dad)

"I was going to read a book tonight but we have 18 plus inches of snow and my wife has been out shovelling for close to 3 hours; I can't see her anymore in the high drifts.

I sent our black lab out to find her about 2 hours ago, but he has not returned.

I sent our cat out to find them both about an hour ago but he also has not returned.

Maybe I will go and read that book now that the house is so quiet."

Witty, Dad. Very witty.