She Is Too Fond Of Books …

Last week I wrote about One Story the magazine that brings subscribers one piece of short fiction every three weeks.

At their booth at the Boston Book Fest, One Story encouraged attendees to create an ever-changing collaborative short story; each passerby was invited to add one sentence.  You can read the results, the completed Exquisite Corpse collaborative story on the One Story blog.

Wouldn’t it would be fun to see what we (you, me, readers of She Is Too Fond of Books, people who happen onto this post via a Google search) would produce running a similar experiment?!

I’ll start with a sentence, and everyone who comments will grow the story by adding a sentence of their own.

As the day goes on, I’ll transfer comments to the main part of this post, so we see some continuity, but you’ll have to read down through the comments before you add your sentence, in case I’m not caught up.  I’ve turned comment moderation off, so everything should come through in order.  Let’s see how we do; jump on, join in!

I tried getting the starting sentence through one of the many random sentence generators that are online, but, they were just silly!  Let’s start with:

“Ugh, Monday again!” I thought, as I rolled over and hit, literally hit, the snooze button on the clock-radio.

Your turn!

Update 5pm 11/9/09:  Please have fun with this, but keep fairly mainstream.  I reserve the right to edit anything that I wouldn’t write (anything I wouldn’t want my kids to read), and to delete attempts to shanghai the storyline for a personal agenda.

Here’s the work in progress:

“Ugh, Monday again!” I thought, as I rolled over and hit, literally hit, the snooze button on the clock-radio. Why was I feeling so aggressive this morning? Then the gut-wrenching horrors of yesterday came flooding back.

Not even wishful thinking could make the sight of my husband in the arms of my best friend a dream.  Losing both of my best friends in one fell swoop was simply not a good way to start a week.

But, hey, it’s not like I didn’t know it was coming; I’ve been fooling myself for quite some time.  What interesting creatures we humans are, able to see so much, or so little, depending on our psychological needs.

I’d convinced myself the perfume I smelt on his shirts was just the cheap kind counter girls attacked shoppers with, to be fair it probably was, Sandra had a cheap streak.

Forget about the snooze button – I reached out again and turned off the alarm. The last thing I wanted to do was get out of bed, but it was pretty unlikely that I’d fall asleep again now…although that was the ONLY thing I wanted to do.  Well, not the only thing, but castration was frowned upon in my small town.

And then it hit me, glue was what I needed — the horrible once-it-comes-in-contact-with-the-skin kind that’s impossible to remove without surgery. I closed my eyes and smiled.

I listened as my husband turned on the shower in our newly renovated, completely decadent bath/spa/suite, a project which had gone well beyond our original budget by far, and which we had just started to enjoy last week. This room had become an all consuming project in the last year. The shower was amazing, with multiple-positioned shower heads and a marble bench, a japanese soaking tub (which was well worth the $8000 we had spent on it), heated floors, towel racks and a sauna. This room had a majestic view of the Malibu coastline, with floor to ceiling windows which had to be installed via an enormous construction crane. Our neighbors would probably not be speaking to us any time soon. Not that we cared.

My husband came into the room and said, “Honey, get in the shower and stop having those dreams about home improvements, or we’re going to be late.”

I sat up and realized it had been a dream. I looked at my husband angrily and said, “Stay away from Sandra or I will tell her how your large hands don’t mean at all what she thinks they do.” John’s face twisted in anger,” You’re having that dream again too. I told you I only like Sandra as a friend.  I could never see her THAT way.”

Tags: collaborative writing, One Story

This giveaway is, as always, open to all, but may be especially interesting to those working on the Women Unbound Reading Challenge.  I say this because there are several themes of interest to feminists, including:

• promiscuity by a man (but not by a woman) is acceptable
• a woman’s virginity (but not a man’s) is considered ideal
• differences in the ways mental illness is perceived and treated between and by the sexes

Here’s the publisher’s synopsis of the book:

Esther Greenwood is brilliant, beautiful, enormously talented, and successful, but slowly going under—maybe for the last time. In her acclaimed and enduring masterwork, Sylvia Plath brilliantly draws the reader into Esther’s breakdown with such intensity that her insanity becomes palpably real, even rational—as accessible an experience as going to the movies. A deep penetration into the darkest and most harrowing corners of the human psyche, The Bell Jar is an extraordinary accomplishment and a haunting American classic.

It has been ages since I’ve read The Bell Jar; my recollection is so sketchy that I need to re-read it before I offer a review.  In the meantime you can check out reviews by these bloggers (results compiled via Fyrefly’s Book Blogs Search Engine):

• 1 more chapter
• My Cozy Book Nook
• Bending Bookshelf
• Padfoot and Prongs

The edition being offered by Harper Perennial is “an Olive Edition—a lower-priced small format edition with a hip and beautiful package design.”  I have to agree; that cover is fantastic, isn’t it?!

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment below suggesting another title for me to add to my Women Unbound reading list.  I have to get cracking on that list, so I’m soliciting your help .  Giveaway is open to US/Canada mailing addresses only, and will accept entries until midnight EST on Saturday, November 14.  I’ll draw a winner randomly and post the name here on November 15.

Tags: book giveaway, Harper Perennial, Olive Edition, Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

The three winners of Jess Walter’s The Financial Lives of the Poets, drawn using random.org, are:

• #1 – Amanda (A Bookshelf Monstrosity) – It’s a good book trailer. The beginning of the trailer is especially engaging. Definitely grabs the interest!
  Thanks for the giveaway
• #13 – Stacy – I’d love to win this book.
• #14 – Jason – I like how the trailer went with the comic book/graphic novel style preview. It made me more interested

Congratulations to the winners!  Please email your US/Canada mailing addresses and I’ll pass them along to HarperCollins.

Tags: giveaway winners, HarperCollins, Jess Walter, The Financial Lives of the Poets

I was happy to be able to share the concept of the remembrance table in my review of Margot Theis’ important picture book, America’s White Table.  Her prose and Mike Benny’s illustrations are a winning combination to deliver this story.

Sleeping Bear Press offered copies of the book to three readers of She is Too Fond of Books.  The winners, drawn randomly, are:

• #4 – Angela D. – I would love to share this book with my 4th grade class. I think it is important teach about our men and women in the military and how important they are to our freedom. I will use this book to also teach symbolism and use it in a creative writing lesson.
• #7 – Heather S – This book would be for my Mother, she would adore it, and no I hadn’t heard about it before here!
• #15 – gwendolyn b. – This book would be primarily for my niece and nephew, but also for myself! I had never heard of the White Table and would like to learn more. It sounds like a wonderfully gentle way for children to become aware of the sacrifices and achievements of our veterans. Thank you!

Congratulations to all!  Please email your US/Canada mailing address to me and I’ll send it along to the publisher.

Tags: America's White Table, giveaway winner, Margot Theis, Mike Benny

I’m joining Beth Fish’s Weekend Cooking series – where she invites people to post on anything food-related.  She has a Mr. Linky over on her blog to connect your post with others who are writing about a wide spectrum of foodie topics – book and cookbook reviews, photos, kitchen gadgets, baking techniques, tips and tricks, recipes, etc.

Today I offer our Best Meatloaf Recipe (really!).  Now, if you have Grandma’s secret recipe, or you’ve perfected your own special mixture, I won’t try to sell you on this one.  I know that meatloaf, like Thanksgiving stuffing (or dressing, if you prefer) is one of those foods that, once you find a recipe you like, you stick with it.  But, for those of you who have been searching on MeatloafMatch.com, look no further! It’s the combination of ingredients and technique that set this apart, IMHO!

Literary connection? I know you’re looking for one, and here it is:  During these long months of winter, I need recipes that I can fix early in the day and pop in the oven while I’m running around taking kids to piano lessons, art class, swim team practice, etc.  Casseroles and Crock-Pot recipes save time and stress; with dinner in the oven I can chop up some salads and sneak in a little reading time while the kids do their homework.

• Ingredients:
• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 3/4 cup quick oats
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 large onion, diced (optional)
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon mustard
• sharp cheddar cheese, sliced
• dash pepper
• dash cayenne
• barbeque sauce

.

• Directions:
• Mix all ingredients except cheese and barbeque sauce
• Shape half of mixture into loaf form on prepared broiler pan (I “Pam” it), lightly indent the center of the loaf, 1/2 inch from edges
• Lay sigle layer of sliced cheddar cheese in indent; breaking or cutting to fill the space
• Top with remaining mixture, making sure the edges are sealed
• Cover top and sides with barbeque sauce
• Bake at 350′ for 1 to 1 1/2 hours

.

• Other secrets that make this The Best Meatloaf Recipe (really!):
• Use 85% lean, not the super-lean ground beef.  85% has more flavor, but you lose a good amount of the fat by baking on a broiler pan
• If you can stand it, mix by hand (rather than a wooden spoon).  The ingredients won’t get mashed and tough.  I’ve used clear vinyl gloves (from the Food Services aisle at BJs or Costco), or clear storage baggies over my hands
• Best with the onions, but our kids won’t eat them.  I omit them now, and this is still the Best Onionless Meatloaf Recipe (really!)
• If you’re prepping this ahead of time, cover with plastic and refrigerate after the second half of the meat mixture has been added.  Top with barbeque sauce just before you put it in the oven
• Product plug: we lived for five years in Syracuse, New York, home to Dinosaur Bar-B-Que (”A Genuine Honky Tonk Rib Joint” with locations in Syracuse, Rochester, and Harlem).  Their Sensuous Slathering Sauce (what we call barbeque sauce) and Bar-B-Bleu Schmearing Sauce (great on burgers!) are amazing, and may be available at a store near you; Wegmans carries the entire line, and Stop and Shop has the barbeque sauce.  Pick up a bottle and try it.
• I serve the meatloaf with tossed salad and roasted potatoes:  halve red and white baby potatoes, onion wedges (the kids can pick them out!), toss in olive oil, season with salt and pepper, roast on another rack for about an hour while meatloaf cooks.
• We have a fancy cheese shop in town (wine and cheese pairings/tastings every Saturday starting at noon; I suggest walking down!), but this is what I put in that middle layer:

Yup!  Processed Cracker Barrel cheese; what can I say?  That’s a big part of the comfort in comfort food!

No pictures this time, but I’ll add some back in the next time I make it.  Go ahead, try it, and tell me – isn’t this The Best Meatloaf Recipe (really!) ?!

Tags: meatloaf, Recipe, Weekend Cooking

The Random House Book of Bible Stories retold by Mary Pope Osborne and Natalie Pope Boyce; illustrated by Michael Welply
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 176 pages
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (September 22, 2009)
ISBN-13: 978-0375822810

Back-of-the-book blurb: More than 50 stories from the Old and New Testaments come to vivid life, ready to captivate readers and listeners of all ages. Each story is crafted for reading aloud, so the whole family can share the experience.

She is Too Fond of Books’ review: I haven’t yet posted one of those “25 Things About Me” (or 50, or 75 … how many can you stand?!), but I think you could cobble together an impressive dossier by combing my blog.  Here’s one fact you might not know … I teach Sunday School … to Kindergartners.  Talk about pressure!  It’s tough enough to instill a sense of faith in my own children; to teach and lead a group of 5-year-olds is a big responsibility, really!

It has been a pleasure to have this book at Sunday School and at home this fall.  We used it in church during our lesson on “The Parting of the Red Sea.”  After telling the story verbally, then making props and acting it out (I wish I had pictures to post – stellar cotton ball clouds and construction paper columns of fire; the Red Sea was made of two blue tablecloths that parted easily – and closed before the Egyptian army could cross), we settled in to a quiet circle time so I could read the story from The Random House Book of Bible Stories.

Reading from the book was a nice way to reinforce the lesson.  Like all the “retellings” in this volume, it is short, just two pages.  One full-page illustrations of the Israelites crossing the parted Sea spills over onto a second page.  The realistic watercolor shows the size and power of the Sea in relation to the 600,000 people.  I intentionally held off reading until the end of the lesson, so the children would first have to opportunity to conjure up their own imagined images.

Our Red Sea story is a retelling of Genesis 1-2; the text is easy to understand for even this young age group.  I did need to define a few words that were an integral part of the story; aside from names and places, pillar and chariot stand out.

At home, we call this simply “the book of Bible Stories.“   My 7-year-old (who is a voracious reader and enjoys making connections between her world and the books she reads), leafs through it each week to see if the lesson from her second-grade Sunday School class is retold here.  The vocabulary and font size are appropriate for her to read alone, but I like to sit and listen to her read it aloud.  The publisher cites the reading level at 9-12, but I would place it lower, both for read-aloud and read-alone.

The Random House Book of Bible Stories is a comprehensive collection of all the “biggies” – those impactful stories from the Old and New Testaments that we learn as children.  The length of each story, ease of retelling, and vivid realistic illustrations combine to make this an appealing collection for home or church school.

About the authors: Mary Pope Osborne is the author of the bestselling Magic Tree House series.  Co-author Natalie Pope Boyce is also co-author of the non-fiction Magic Treehouse Research Guides.  Michael Welply has illustrated over seventy books in Europe and the United States.

FTC disclosure: review copy provided by the publisher.

Tags: children, family, Mary Pope Osborne, The Random House Book of Bible Stories

• The Puzzle King by Betsy Carter
• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Algonquin Books (August 25, 2009)
• ISBN-13: 978-1565125940

Back-of-the-book blurb: On a gray morning in 1936, Flora Phelps stands in line at the American consulate in Stuttgart, Germany.  She carries a gift for the consul, whom she will bribe in order to help her family get out of Hitler’s Germany.

This is the story of unlikely heroes, the lively, beautiful Flora and her husband, the brooding, studious Simon, two Jewish immigrants who were each sent to America by their families to find better lives.  An improbable match, they meet in New York City and fall in love.  Simon—inventor of the jigsaw puzzle—eventually makes his fortune.  Now wealthy, but still outsiders, Flora and Simon become obsessed with rescuing the loved ones they left behind in Europe whose fates are determined by growing anti-Semitism on both sides of the Atlantic.

Inspired by her family’s legends, Betsy Carter weaves a memorable tale; she explores a fascinating moment in history and creates a cast of characters who endure with dignity, grace, and hope for the future.

She is Too Fond of Books’ review: Betsy Carter has combined family legend, historical research, and creative fiction to produce a wonderful story of family.   She examines what it means to be a family – whether a biological family or a pseudo-family created from happenstance.  What are our obligations to, and expectations from, either type of family?

The novel opens in 1892, when Simon Phelps, age 9, boards a ship from Lithuania to New York; his mother has sent him to find a better life in America, and promises that she and his six siblings will follow soon.  Simon has a talent for drawing, and loses himself in his art, among the squalor of the ocean crossing.

A network of immigrants helps the newcomer to find housing and a job as a newsboy; he is treated like family by his landlords, and attends school with their son.  We read the story of his courtship with Flora Grossman, and learn about her family.  Her sister, Seema, who changed her name from Grossman to the more neutral Glass, also lives in New York, the mistress of a married Episcopalian man.  Another sister, Margot, stays behind in Germany, far from the optimism and opportunities of America; Seema thinks that Margot and their mother are:

old trees who’d sunk their roots into the German soil to which they would cleave until the day they died.

Over time, Simon’s talents lead him to a rags-to-riches story of his own, succeeding in the advertising business with innovative ideas.  But, despite this apparent success, Simon fails to find any news of his mother and siblings, from whom he has been separated for decades.  He places such importance on the bonds of family that, in addition to searching for his own, he insists that he and Flora do all they can for her extended family.

The characters are well-developed with traits that make them endearing.  For example, Simon removed his eyeglasses the first time he and Flora were physically close (he was a bit shy, this may have given him a barrier); as they became more comfortable with each other and their roles as husband and wife, the removal of Simon’s glasses (by either Simon or Flora) became a signal.  I thought this was an adorable detail:

She was the only one …to see him as he was.  “Take off your glasses.”  In the years to follow, those four words became their code for wanting each other.

Several of Carter’s characters are based on real family members, and significant plot turns on family lore.

This is the focus of the novel, the bit and pieces of family lore that Carter has mined to produce this narrative.  I really enjoyed it, as I, too, have snippets of stories that have been passed down (nothing as interesting as being descended from the inventor of the jigsaw puzzle!), and an ultimate goal of tying them together in a background that will bring these ancestors to life for my own children.

Those of you looking for a strong history of the era might want to read The Boston Bibliophile’s review of The Puzzle King.  She feels the book is appropriate for “readers of light fiction, Jewish fiction and immigrant stories” but that Carter “spends too much time on ordinary and unremarkable elements of the story and rushes the most interesting part.”  I can’t argue with her assessment, except to say that the format worked for me, perhaps due to my goals with my own family history.

About the author:  Betsy Carter is the author of two previous novels, Swim to Me and The Orange Blossom Special, and a memoir, Nothing to Fall Back On.  More information can be found at Betsy Carter’s website. Read the “about” page for a Q&A with the author, and the “image gallery” for some fantastic photos and pictures of “The Puzzle King”’s creations.

FTC disclosure: review copy provided by the publisher.

Tags: Betsy Carter, book review, The Puzzle King

Here’s something neat I discovered at the Boston Book Fest … One Story!

One Story is a small press in Brooklyn (the address is “The Old American Can Factory” – you can’t make this stuff up!).  They publish ONE STORY for subscribers every three weeks.  The reasons for delivering in this format are many – the publisher believes short stories should be read and digested singly; the stand-alone issues allow the spotlight to shine on that one author and his or her fiction; the stories are portable, easier to tuck in a bag than a bulky hardcover.

They have a policy of publishing each author only once, allowing for a continuous influx of new voices.  As each issue is published and sent to subscribers, One Story simultaneously posts an interview with the author on their web site.

Maribeth Batcha is publisher and co-founder of One Story; Hannah Tinti (yes, author of The Good Thief) is editor.  The staff also includes a handful of readers who vet the stories submitted to One Story.

Braving the elements, One Story was one of dozens of tents set up around Copley Square on October 24.  In addition to sharing their story with attendees, One Story invited us to collaborate on an interactive short story.  As people stopped to chat at the booth, we were encouraged to add a sentence to the flip chart and to be part of the story that emerged; it was a lot of fun to watch the story grow.  The rains and high winds eventually took their toll; read about One Story’s battle with the weather and Copley Square’s version of “mall cop” at the One Story blog. The completed Exquisite Corpse collaborative story can also be found on the blog.

This is a non-profit organization whose mission is “to save the short story.”  Are you interested in helping them in that mission by subscribing or purchasing a few back issues?  Here’s a look at the bundled collection I purchased at the Boston Book Fest – five stories with a local Boston flavor:

• King of the Empty Kegs by Steve Almond (5 published books, and an LOL header on his website)
• Villanova OR: How I Became a Former Professional Literary Agent by John Hodgman (funny, funny guy!)
• The Strings Attached by James Scott (yikes! This is the leader of the Writing Workshop I’m attending … I’m not worthy [bowing down and grovelling])
• Archangel by Andrea Barrett (enjoyed her The Air We Breathe!)
• Desiderata by Jennifer Haigh (I have yet to read The Condition, it’s on my wish list)

Have you read any new-to-you short story authors this year?

Tags: Boston Book Fest, One Story

Thanks to the generosity of Sleeping Bear Press, I’m able to offer copies of America’s White Table to three readers of She is Too Fond of Books.

This moving and poignant picture book (appropriate for ages 4 and up) tells the significance of the “white table” or “remembrance table” originally set to honor Prisoners of War or MIAs.  The ceremony of the white table has been extended to honor all veterans who have sacrificed for our freedom.

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment below indicating who the book would be for – your own children or grandchildren? the family of a neighbor who is in the military now? yourself?  Had you known about the white table ceremony before reading my review of America’s White Table?

Giveaway is open to US mailing addresses only, and will be open until midnight EST on Saturday, November 7, 2009.  I’ll announce the three winners (drawn randomly) on Sunday, November 8.

update 11/8/09: The winners, drawn randomly, are:

• #4 – Angela D.
• #7 – Heather S
• #15 – gwendolyn b.

The post is now closed to comments.

Tags: Giveaway

America’s White Table by Margot Theis Raven, illustrated by Mike Benny
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 48 pages
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press; 1 edition (April 21, 2005)
ISBN-13: 978-1585362165

Back-of-the-book blurb: The White Table is set in many halls as a symbol for and remembrance to service members fallen, missing, or held captive in the line of duty. Solitary and solemn, it is the table where no one will ever sit.

As a special gift to her Uncle John, Katie and her sisters are asked to help set the white table for dinner. As their mother explains the significance of each item placed on the table Katie comes to understand and appreciate the depth of sacrifice that her uncle, and each member of the Armed Forces and their families, may be called to give.

She is Too Fond of Books’ review: Well, it’s true – you learn something new every day!  Thanks to America’s White Table, I now know about the ceremonial table set to honor those members of the military who are MIA or have been prisoners of war.  I didn’t previously know about this tradition, full of symbolism, which a character describes in part:

“We use a small table, girls,” she explained first, “to show one soldier’s lonely battle against many.  We cover it with a white cloth to honor a soldier’s pure heart when he answers his country’s call to duty.

We place a lemon slice and grains of salt on a plate to show a captive soldier’s bitter fate and the tears of families waiting for loved ones to return,” she continued.

We push an empty chair to the table for the missing soldiers who are not here.”

Margot Theis Raven’s prose tell the story of a fictional 10-year-old girl, Katie, whose uncle is coming for dinner on Veteran’s Day.  Katie’s mother explains the importance of the ceremonial table, and its special significance to Uncle John.  He served in Vietnam and lost his friend Mike there after the two were taken as prisoners of war.  Uncle John and his friend eventually gained their freedom; but Mike’s injuries were too severe and he didn’t survive.  Katie puts the story in book format as a promise to Uncle Mike and others that she will never forget the gift of freedom that veterans have given her.

The inner story of John and Mike as POWs in Vietnam is brief and poignant.  Imprisonment, injuries and death play a brief, but vital role in the flashback.  It is not graphic, nor does it dwell on this aspect of wars; it is necessary, though, to introduce the concept of sacrifices made in the name of freedom.  I felt it appropriate for the ages of my children who read the book with me (5, 7, and 11), and was able to address whatever questions they had in my usual manner (that is, with as little age-appropriate information as needed to satisfy their curiosity about a sensitive subject … similar to the way I’ve handled the birds and the bees!).

Mike Benny’s illustrations are expressive, colorful (but not overly bright, as befits the subject), and clear.  The vignette flashing back to Vietnam is done in sepia tones, visually distancing it from the contemporary story.  The lyrics of “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” run in short phrases through the book, across the bottom of the pages.

I’m happy to add America’s White Table to our family’s library.  My kids have already asked if we’ll be setting a remembrance table this Veteran’s Day.  I feel that J and I shelter them from so much that’s going on in the world, honoring veterans in this way is one way we can gently start to bridge that gap.

FTC disclosure: review copy provided by the publisher.

Tags: America's White Table, children's, Margot Theis Raven, Mike Benny