In the sixth grade I convinced my friends to form a babysitting club inspired by The Baby-Sitter Club books. At first it was all about fandom and nothing about the business, another of our elaborate imagination games where we each picked parts. I remember feeling torn because the character I most wanted to be like was artistic, unique Claudia, but in reality I felt more like shy, plain Mary Anne. When it came to picking officer titles we were in a real pickle, for one because there were six of us and only four in the original books. The process of assigning offices went more along the lines of relating ourselves to the characters–“Well she has blond hair like Stacy so she should be treasurer,” “But she’s an only child like Stacy so maybe she should”–than talking about our various skill sets and what we each could contribute.… Read the rest
The world is a funny place. I sat down with my breakfast this morning and a book I’d just pulled off the shelf. I wanted something different than the thriller mystery I’m currently in the middle of (I’m not so keen on eating a poached egg while reading the description of a three-day old murdered man). When I skimmed my bookshelf for something to fit my mood, my eyes landed on The Invisible Child by Katherine Paterson. I finished my egg about two pages into one essay, but I sat there to read on, finished that essay and then read two more.… Read the rest
In which I cover three book- and/or writing-related things that have been keeping me busy since I last posted.
Part Three: Friends recently welcomed their first baby and in celebration I co-hosted a shower for them. The theme: Build Baby’s Library. The mom-to-be had made a comment many months ago that she thought one of the best gifts you can give to expecting parents are books for the baby. And of course, me being a book lover, I made a mental note of that comment. The theme worked well too, I think, because this was the last of three showers that were thrown for them so they had already received many of the baby necessities.… Read the rest
In which I cover three book- and/or writing-related things that have been keeping me busy since I last posted.
Part Two: Sara Gruen. My husband gave me tickets to the Denver Pen and Podium series, and Sara Gruen was the author I was most excited to see. I love her book Water for Elephants. She wrote a great article for Writer magazine about the research she did in preparation for writing Water for Elephants. And she’s an animal lover, so I was pretty sure I would enjoy hearing her speak.
She was initially scheduled to speak in November, but had to postpone until February due to illness.… Read the rest
In which I cover three book- and/or writing-related things that have been keeping me busy since I last posted.
Part One: The American Library Association Midwinter Meeting.This fell at a busy time for me, and I almost didn’t go, but I am so glad I did. You might think this ALA event is just for librarians and a select number of published writers and illustrators (I used to think that, anyway), but it’s not. Anyone can purchase a day pass, which is good for the whole weekend, and browse the publisher’s stalls where they have what seemed like their entire current catalog of books on display.… Read the rest
