Ken Tangvik is our Choices guest today. I "met" him virtually through the publisher we have in common, Aberdeen Bay, and read and loved his book, Don't Mess with Tanya: Stores Emerging from the Boston Barrios. Here is my short review: The Boston stories in Don’t Mess with Tanya, by Ken Tangvik, are beautifully and expertly portrayed. I liked every one – especially the story about Tanya, the young black woman, who gets back at a store keeper for treating her with distrust as she looks around his store. I also liked Matt’s story as he waits in a hair salon for his haircut. The women talking in the waiting area give him quite a lesson in how they live their lives. These stories show the cultural and race diversity of the Boston community by portraying immigration difficulties and the violence the people have to contend with. However, it is not all dark. Love is portrayed as well. So I'm very pleased to introduce you to Ken Tangvik and his wise words about reading and writing. The … [Read more...]
I’ve been reading and reading and reading
Since I've been reading a lot during the coronavirus shutdown, I thought I'd share a few of the books I've read recently. I usually commit to reading twenty-five books on the Goodreads yearly reading challenge, and it looks like I might surpass that goal if I keep on reading like I am now. Here's a few I liked and recommend. American Dirt: Lydia Quixano Pérez runs a bookstore in Acapulco, Mexico, where she lives with her husband, Sebastián, who is a journalist, and their son, Luca. When a man starts visiting her store, buying books and striking up a friendship, she has no idea initially that he will be responsible for turning her life upside down. But Lydia and Luca will have to flee Acapulco, setting them on a journey they will share with countless other Central and South Americans-turned migrants. ...From the colossal opening chapter to the epilogue, American Dirt is a novel of crisp writing, urgent pacing, and remarkable empathy. It deserves the attention of a large … [Read more...]
November was a busy writing and reading month
I started this month's blog posts writing about what was going to happen in November. So I thought I'd end November with a review of what I really did - that is, relative to my writing and reading. I just completed poem number thirty for the Writer's Digest poem a day chapbook challenge. And it was easy to guess the prompt. Robert Lee Brewer instructed us to: "...write a the end poem. It’s the end of the first draft phase of the challenge, so there’s that. But you can also reach the end of a book, journey, or conversation. But journeys never really end, and this challenge will continue on as well. Look for next steps tomorrow." And of course that prompt was right up my alley. I'm working on a new memoir about aging and how I'm planning for the end of my life. I know the subject is a little maudlin though it's not far-fetched. In 2020 I will turn eighty so it's on my mind. Here's the poem I wrote to that prompt - remember it's just a first draft: I’m writing down … [Read more...]
Seven days, seven books
I have accepted a challenge from Linda M. Rhinehart Neas to post seven books I love, one book per day, no exceptions, just covers on my Facebook timeline. Each day I'll ask a friend to take up the challenge. Let's promote literacy and share some good reads. Here are the covers for the seven books I'll post. Of course these are not all the books I've come to love. That would be a huge list. Please share your favorite books here, and let me know if you've read and liked any of the books I've posted above. … [Read more...]
What are you reading?
I've learned over the years how important reading is to writers. I feel I can always learn something from another author - even if I don't particularly like his or her book. So I try to keep reading and competing in the Goodreads yearly book challenge helps. Last year I committed to reading twenty-five books - yes, I know that's not a very big number, but it was plenty big for me. Even so, I overshot my goal and read twenty-eight last year. This year I've committed to reading another twenty-five books, and I've already finished my first and I'm well into my second. I'll be reviewing my first book of 2019 here on January twenty-fourth when I host the author while she's on her WOW! Women On Writing virtual book tour. As you will see from that list of books I read in 2018, I'm a very eclectic reader. I even mixed in a few politically themed books and included some poetry volumes. By far my favorite book of the whole year is Michelle Obama's Becoming. It is so … [Read more...]
A month of culture
After seeing the movie A Bigger Splash yesterday, I felt the need to discuss some of the cultural events I've been to lately. Though reading is a huge part of my writing life, so are opera, theater, museum exhibits, and films. I think authors can gain perspective and insights from watching as well as reading. The events we watch show us life, which may be harder to discern from reading a book. A Bigger Splash, starring Tilda Swinton and Ralph Fiennes, is a treat for the senses besides being a complicated love story. Fiennes, who barely stops talking, is a bundle of energy and movement throughout, while Swinton captures our attention by hardly uttering a word. The remote Italian island of Pantelleria where it is set is spectacular. Unfortunately, that's all I'll tell you except that the food looks so beautiful and delicious, you'll walk away very hungry. I don't want to spoil it for you in hopes you'll see it yourselves. Disgraced, a Pulitzer Prize and Tony winning play, … [Read more...]
Why reading is important to writing
I'm thrilled to host Ava Louise while she tours her Intergalactic Matchmaking Services series with WOW! Women on Writing. She discusses one of my favorite topics - how very important it is for an author to read. I'm always reading something - lately books by Philip Roth and John Updike. I'm notorious for buying a new book or two before I've finished the to-be-read pile on my bedside table. Before I introduce you to Ava, please make sure you enter to win the Intergalactic Matchmaking Series by commenting here about your own reading list. Here's Ava: Thank you, Madeline, for having me as a guest. I feel safe in saying that for most authors, the road to writing is paved with books. As my bio says, I came to this writing life much later than many authors. While I joke that it took me over 40 years to figure out what I wanted to do when I grew up, I've always known I needed books in my life. I don't recall a time when I wasn't an avid reader. Reading allowed me to escape … [Read more...]
John Updike writes love
I've been reading John Updike's Rabbit quartet since December 2014, and I'm finally about finished with the fourth: Rabbit at Rest. I'm dragging the last fifty pages out because I know Harry (Rabbit) Angstrom, the main character, is going to die before I turn the last page. However, I'm happy to say I have one more Rabbit book to go Rabbit Remembered a 2001 novella still there on my book shelf. I've learned a lot from reading Updike. He's a master of description and very long and detailed descriptions at that. His characters are perfectly drawn. I've gotten so I can almost predict how each of them will react to certain situations. He also knows how to write about love and sex. While he can be very graphic at times, I found the following passage quite lovely and tame. I've always felt we can write erotically without having to go into all the gory details. From Rabbit at Rest by John Updike: ¦Her eyes widen in the dim face inches from his on the pillow. Tiny … [Read more...]
Summer reading blog hop
I'm so pleased that Susan Weidener invited me to participate in this blog hop and was so generous in her praise of my memoir, Leaving the Hall Light On. I'm now paying it forward by recommending a few traditionally and independently published books for your summer reading enjoyment. Please include some of your favorite reads in the comments below. Adventures in Mother-Sitting by Doreen Cox. In this love story Author Doreen Cox shares her experience as a "care bear" during the last three years of her mother's life and how she learned to live with her mother's slow progression from a viable, interesting, lovable, and happy woman to a woman overcome by dementia unable to handle even her most basic bodily needs. And Doreen doesn't shirk away from those details. She repeatedly quotes her mother's mantra: "You just do what you have to do." Doreen gave up her as a career group counselor at an alternative school for at-risk and SED high school students to care for her mother, and she never … [Read more...]
