For Avid Readers: Books That Recommend Themselves

From Kate’s Writing Crate…

All of these books have characters or the author recommending many other books. As an avid reader, I can never have enough book recommendations. Enjoy!

Memoirs:

          Ann Hood’s memoir, Morningstar: Growing Up with Books, is a perfect example. As she shares her childhood memories of growing up in West Warwick, RI, she also discusses books she read that expanded her horizons. As the daughter of immigrants that couldn’t or didn’t have time to read, there were no books in her home so Hood cherished any book she could get her hands on at school, the library, or, joy of all joys, a bookstore.

When she was only four, Hood had one thought: “I want to live inside a book.” Later, she decided to be an author and make her wish come true.

          Join her as she reminisces about Little Women, Marjorie Morningstar, The Bell Jar, A Stone for Danny Fisher, The Harrad Experiment, Rabbit, Run, and many more books that impacted her life and career.

          Pulitzer Prize-winner Michael Dirda shares his love of books in Browsings: A Year of Reading, Collecting, and Living with Books. In his essays, Dirda covers favorite authors, books, and thoughts on writing and the times we live in as well as what he reads while traveling. His On Conan Doyle memoir is also a great read. (See post dated 11/23/15.)

         

If mysteries are of interest:

The Secret, Book & Scone Society, by Ellery Adams, is set in Miracle Springs, a delightful town that is known for a healing spa that attracts many tourists. There is also a bookstore run by Nora, a bibliotherapist—a person who knows just which books customers need to read—and a bakery owned by Hester that specializes in off-the-menu comfort scones—original, made-to-order scones with the fragrance and taste guaranteed to bring back fond memories to each customer.

One visitor who meets Nora on a bench in town needs her help, but first he takes her advice to buy a comfort scone then head to the bookstore for recommendations, but he never arrives—suicide or murder? The disreputable and misogynist sheriff deems it suicide without much of an investigation. Nora, Hester, June, a worker at the thermal pools, and Estella, a beauty salon owner, are determined to get answers and so the Secret, Book & Scone Society is founded.

          Ellery Adams has written many other books including a book retreat series, starting with Murder in the Mystery Suite, set in a small town in Virginia. It’s the home of Storyton Hall, a 50-bedroom mansion privately owned, but run as a hotel for bibliophiles. There are several libraries and reading rooms for visitors including the Jane Austen Parlor, the Ian Fleming Lounge, the Isak Dinesen Safari Room, the Daphne du Maurier Morning Room, and the Beatrix Potter Playroom.

          Owned by Aloysius and Octavia Steward, their widowed grandniece, Jane, manages the hotel as well as her six-year-old twin boys. She is also planning a murder mystery event which, of course, turns deadly seemingly over the book given to the winner of a scavenger hunt.

          Jane is shaken by this event, but her life turns upside down when her aunt has a stroke and the Steward family secrets about Storyton Hall are imparted to her.

          The adventure continues in Murder in the Paperback Parlor and Murder in the Secret Garden.

          The Three Pines series by Louise Penny is set in a tiny village in Canada just north of the Vermont border. Centered around a village green, there is a gourmet bistro, a B&B,  a general store, a bakery, and a bookstore owned by a retired therapist.

Residents are friendly as most have lived there their whole lives, but how well do people ever really know each other when one of them is a murderer? Inspector Gamache and his big-city homicide team are going to find out in Still Life.

          The 13-book series continues with crimes that lead back to or take place in Three Pines, but Inspector Gamache and his team are also under attack from within the police force. Mistakes are made. People die. But through it all, Inspector Gamache stands for justice. (See post dated 8/14/17).

Poetry:

          Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver includes poems she has written during her over 50-year career. Known especially for her poems about nature, this book gives readers a feel for her work as each section is based on one of her previous books. If you enjoy any of them, you can read even more by going to the original books. As a dog owner, I am a big fan of her pieces from Dog Songs, but most of her poems speak to me so I’ve read a dozen of her books.

          I also recommend Blue Pastures for all writers. Selections from this book are not included in Devotions, but Blue Pastures tells the story of how Mary Oliver came to be a writer and poet. (See posts dated 3/21/16 & 4/4/16.)

          Just for Fun:

          I’ve discovered a series of inspirational paperback journals (Write Now Journals) with fun and/or thoughtful quotes and drawings on the covers and throughout. Among my favorites are: “I must be a mermaid..I have no fear of depths and a great fear of shallow living.” –Anais Nin; (a dog-themed journal) “…our friend for always and always and always.” –Rudyard Kipling; and “Quiet the mind, and the soul will speak.” –Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati.

These are fabulous pages for jotting or recording books you’ve read or books you want to read. 

Better Ways to Spend Your Days?

From Kate’s Writing Crate…

          I read a lot so I cannot remember where I read about someone questioning whether there were better ways to spend your days than writing. I do remember thinking I should answer that question.

          For many, the answer is yes. Otherwise there would be many more books and blogs. On Kristen Lamb’s blog, WarriorWriters, she recently wrote that only 5% of writers finish their books.

          For me, the answer is no. I’m a writer. I’ve always been a writer. I’m sad/cranky/bored when I don’t write.

          Writing makes me think, makes me observant, makes me connect life’s dots.

As I go through my days, I take note of moments I want to write about later. As I pay more attention to my surroundings, my subconscious picks up on things I may miss at the time.  

When I have blank pages to fill, I rack my brain for these moments. My thoughts and observations help me make sense of life, especially my life.

That’s living at a deeper level than when I worked 9-5 at jobs I hated. I wasted time after work doing mindless things and being angry because I was unhappy—not better ways to spend my days.

          Is it difficult to fit writing into your days? Yes, there are often more fun things to do or more important things or more necessary things—laundry and dishes come to mind. Most ways to spend your days make your life a blur. You remember milestones, special events, tragic moments, but not a Thursday in September eight years ago. But if you write, you have a journal, a notebook entry on that day.

When I look back at my early notebooks and articles, part of me cringes. I hadn’t found my voice. I wasn’t organized. I used awkward phrases. I made mistakes—lots and lots of mistakes. But I can also see over many years of filling notebooks that I did find my voice. I organized my thoughts. My writing became less awkward and I made fewer mistakes.

Writing makes you a writer. If I’d been writing more through the years, I’d be an even better writer.

I had plans. I was excited about writing several different genres, but I gave in to unhappiness, anger, and exhaustion and gave up. My notebooks contained more whining than writing for a while.

For the last ten years, between writing articles and now blogging, I’m writing more. The more I write, the more I want to write. The more I write, the faster I write which creates time for even more writing. Want proof? I used to spend four or five hours on each of my posts when I was a new and nervous blogger. Now I write three posts in that same amount of time.

Recently, I’ve branched out into two other genres which I will write about in future posts because writing is a better way for me to spend my days.

The Joy of Writing

From Cheryl's Writing Crate

When I'm feeling rushed and overwhelmed with too many commitments, I am always reminded that the main reason I love being a writer is because it makes me happy.  Though many times I must physically write amongst chaos, noise, and dozens of other nuisances, when I am focused and deep in thought I am instantly transported to my own little world, a world that I control with my ideas.

I call this my "writer's happy place", and each time I am in this zone, I feel calm, content and able to handle just about anything that comes my way.

While writing in my "happy place" I experience moments where I laugh out loud, sometimes cry, or when I'm really tapped in and turned on I might discover something new about myself or the world around me that I never would've realized had it not been for my love of the process of writing.

So, if writing can evoke such a plethora of amazing feelings, what could possibly be the hang up?  Real life, that's what!  I don't mean to keep returning to the "I'm a busy mother of eight" scenario, but it is the truth.  And every writer I know is juggling a career, household, families and pets, never mind raising kids, so at least I'm not alone.  Because of our passion to write, we find creative ways to make it a regular part of our lives despite the odd hours we keep or the eclectic rituals we follow to make it happen.

Through the years I've saved an on-line journal of my favorite writing advice from other writers.  I visit this collection when I'm feeling uninspired as well as when I'm on a writer's high and my words just seem to flow.  By doing this I allow myself to glean new ideas on a host of topics regardless of how many times I've read the same advice because my needs at that particular moment are different than they were last year when I read the same piece.

John Soares from www.productivewriting.com is a writer I turn to when I want to shake things up with my writing.  Here are three thoughts of his that I have found very helpful in keeping the joy alive and well in my “writer’s happy place”.

Staying inspired with an on-line journal of quotes from writers helps me keep the joy in my writing.

Move From One Writing Project to Another

If you’re like me, you have multiple projects going at one time. You must pay attention to deadlines and make sure you meet or beat them, but within the structure of your project completion dates, you usually have some flexibility. If I find myself growing weary of one project, I switch to another on a different topic, or to one requiring different skills. This brings back my enthusiasm and my ability to get high-quality work done quickly.

Practice Present-Moment Awareness

Frequently associated with Buddhism, Taoism, and other religious traditions, present-moment awareness means staying focused on what you are doing this moment. Don’t think about anything that happened in the past. Don’t think about what you’ll be doing in the future. Just relax and give your single-minded attention to your writing.

Vary Your Writing Location

You can do this in many ways. I frequently write on my laptop on the back deck of my house in rural northern California. I also like to write in coffee shops and libraries. In summer I go camping with my laptop (and DC-AC inverter that allows me to recharge the laptop battery using my car battery). And I also get to write in the beautiful homes where I house sit.

 

What do you do that keeps the joy in your writing life?

Encouraging Kids to Write

From Cheryl's Writing Crate 

Long before they go to school, before they even know the alphabet, children begin to write. In fact, for most children, literacy begins at home with a crayon. Young children who are encouraged to draw and scribble stories will learn to write more easily and confidently once they head off to school.

I noticed with each of my eight kids who was interested in books and writing from when they were toddlers. Some of them easily gravitated to books and loved to sit and point at the pictures. Most of them couldn’t wait to get their hands on crayons or markers and create non-verbal masterpieces whether it was on paper or not! Two of my children had no desire to spend extra time drawing and looking at picture books unless I engaged them, which believe me, I did! 

There are dozens of opportunities for children of all ages to get excited about writing, especially if you make it fun for them. Here are a few ideas that have worked with our family:

Infants: 
From infancy on, reading books aloud to your children is the single most important way you can help them get ready to both read and write. Hearing you read aloud gives them their first meaningful experiences with printed words and makes them aware of how stories work.

Young Children: 
Take advantage of your regular household activities for putting children's writing skills to good use.

Shopping Lists.  Ask a child to write out your list or have your children add their personal items to the list you've already made.

Foster your children's interest in writing by making it fun!

Family members can also leave each other notes at a message center. Each of my kids has their own “communication log” that they leave in their bureaus. My husband and I take turns writing things back and forth with them. This is great for teens who hate to share out loud!

Ask your children to write in their own appointments and dates on a family calendar. Very young children can draw picture reminders.

Have your children make cards. People in retirement homes or sick children in local hospitals will appreciate them. Not only do your kids get practice writing, they will really brighten someone’s day. 

Older Children and Teens: 

Journal writing. A gift of a journal or diary is a way to get young people into the habit of writing daily. A journal begins the writing process and may be the source of ideas for poems or stories. Journals also provide  private outlets for emotions.

Join a school newspaper.  Because writing is my passion, I was thrilled when my children’s middle school asked me to start a school newspaper. The Mariners’ Catch is an authentic 16-page publication printed on real newspaper, and is now in its 5^th year. We have an enthusiastic staff of 30 reporters who are learning everything it takes to produce a professional newspaper.

Visit the library and find books about writing. Ask the librarian to help you find books for your child about plot and character development, mystery or humor genres, or perhaps how to write magazine articles.

     A Holiday Newsletter.  Around the winter holidays, some families send all their distant friends and family copies of one long letter recounting events of the past year. Your children can contribute to this kind of holiday greeting.

Keep an area in your home stocked with writing supplies such as stationery, birthday and greeting cards, post cards, envelopes, and stamps. This is a great opportunity for your child to take charge of sending grandma a birthday card specially from her rather than a parent just signing the child’s name to the card.

How to you encourage the young writers in your home?  Please leave us a comment.