This week we had our monthly Nightlighter book club meeting to discuss the YA book, If I Was Your Girl, which lead to an enlightening literary and cultural discussion. Obviously as a writer/author (The Travelers), I think books are very important. It's not a stretch to say that I think book clubs are important. So let's talk about why I love my book club and why every person should be in one!
With all the swirl around Beauty and the Beast lately, I thought it might be fun to talk about fairy tales. Disney has done a laudable job of Disney-ifying classics with positive messages and happy endings. And while I remember obsessing over Disney's Aladdin well into my teens, I also remember going to Blockbuster and renting videos (yes I predate even DVDs) called Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre. And Shelley showed the truth about those fairy tales - they were dark.
My husband says my blog posts whip drastically into two extreme directions - happy fun blogs (usually somehow related to books, writing, stories or the arts) and dire "what is wrong with America" blogs. It's a fair and accurate assessment. My blogs are a reflection of me.
Almost everyone, at least in the US, watches TV daily. We consume shows and movies like they're candy that our parents might suddenly take away. We all have our favorite genres and actors.
It's Saturday, so I thought I'd have a little fun storytelling time. As a writer and an author (The Travelers), I tell stories. That's basically the essence of a writer. I thought it would be fun to write down some of my oft told stories. When I think about this story, it feel a little like a fable in that there is a moral embedded in here somewhere. So I'm going to write it that way. Once upon a time....
Have you ever heard people say women just aren't as funny as men? (Usually it's the men who say this.) Luckily, I am a woman and I find women very funny. And, since it's Friday and by Friday I'm always read for at minimum a laugh, let's talk about funny women and, in particular, their funny books.
I've been wanting to read March: Book One for quite a while now. The concept intrigued me, a graphic novel series chronicling the life of John Lewis...
You often hear people say "That's not my type of thing" or "He wasn't my type" or "That's not a type of food I like." Whether you're talking about people, food or, yes, even books, everyone has a "type." Some people are romance types, some people are non-fiction types, some people are memoir types, science fiction, fantasy, young adult...there are many book types to choose from and many ways to pigeon hole yourself.
Everyone wants a smart kid right? But how do you raise a smart kid? And can you or is it just genetics?