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Current Issue
Volume 2, Issue 4
October 31, 2005
Hello all!
It’s only been a little over a month, and I’m proud of myself. Another issue out the door already! AND, the web site is almost ready for launch. I’m nervous about trying to upload all of my hard work onto the Comcast server, but hopefully, since I used Dreamweaver to create these web pages, it will work out okay. Hopefully. Please keep your fingers crossed for me.
My lack of organization is really catching up with me. I keep telling myself I need to just clean up the mess and keep everything neat, but that’s not really going to happen. You know it, and I know it. The best I can hope for is keeping my head above the sea of paperwork overflowing the surface of my desk. And occasionally get a glimpse of the floor. That’s always interesting. Oh, well, I hate this Berber carpeting, anyway. Might as well keep it covered up.
I’ve been busier than usual, and have not gotten in as much reading as I would have liked. I have a stack of books on my nightstand, just yelling at me to read them. But, by the time I go to bed, it’s so late and if I start reading, it’s hard to stop. So I’ve fallen a bit behind. And the last few books on tape I’ve tried have not really peaked my interest, so I’ve not spent much time listening to them. Not all books make good books on tape, and there are other factors, like the person who’s reading the book. That can make a huge difference in whether or not I want to listen to the book. It’s just like how some books make good movies, and others do not. It just depends on the style of writing and the subject matter.
Well, I must be off to prepare for the little ones this evening. I did not decorate my house this year, as I’ve just moved in, and haven’t even finished unpacking. But next year, when I have time to plan and arrange, well, then, maybe I will. And maybe I’ll even get it together in time to decorate for Christmas. It’s been YEARS since we’ve had the big tree out. So if I can just get that corner of the living room cleared out...
Also, I’m attempting NaNoWriMo in November, so don’t expect to hear too much from me...
Happy Reading
~Smeddley
Can’t get enough of this spooky season? Well, I found a list of “Halloween” books to keep the season going. The candy you’ll have to provide on your own...
RECOMMENDED:
Son of a Witch: A Novel by Gregory Maguire.
In a nutshell...what if the WW of the West had a son she left behind the day Dorothy melted her into oblivion? A great sequel to his fabulous book which inspired the Broadway musical.
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
Takes you through the life of one of the most misunderstood witches in all of witchy history. Follow Elphaba (the WWof theW) from her childhood as an abused green child growing up in Munchkinland through her college years with Glinda at the University, and up until she meets her untimely demise at the hands of a little girl with a bucket. Written in a style complimentary to L Frank Baum's--but with a decidedly modern feel! Don't miss this one!
Classic scary stories:
Frankenstien by Mary Shelley
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Tales of the Unnatural by H.P. Lovecraft
Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
The Tell-Tale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado, The Murders of The Rue Morgue, The Black Cat, The Pit and the Pendulum, and The Fall of the House of Usher - all by Edgar Allen Poe
Other Favorites
The Green Man by Kinglsey Amis
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
The Ghost of Hannah Mendes by Naomi Ragen
12 Irish Ghost Stories
(This list from http://www.caryn.com/books/halloween-books.html
(from www.nanawrimo.org )
National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.
Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved.
Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It's all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.
Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that's a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down.
As you spend November writing, you can draw comfort from the fact that, all around the world, other National Novel Writing Month participants are going through the same joys and sorrows of producing the Great Frantic Novel. Wrimos meet throughout the month to offer encouragement, commiseration, and -- when the thing is done -- the kind of raucous celebrations that tend to frighten animals and small children.
In 2004, we had over 42,000 participants. Nearly 6000 of them crossed the 50k finish line by the midnight deadline, entering into the annals of NaNoWriMo superstardom forever. They started the month as auto mechanics, out-of-work actors, and middle school English teachers. They walked away novelists.
So, to recap:
What : Writing one 50,000-word novel from scratch in a month's time.
Who : You! We can't do this unless we have some other people trying it as well. Let's write laughably awful yet lengthy prose together.
Why : The reasons are endless! To actively participate in one of our era's most enchanting art forms! To write without having to obsess over quality. To be able to make obscure references to passages from your novel at parties. To be able to mock real novelists who dawdle on and on, taking far longer than 30 days to produce their work.
When : Sign-ups begin October 1, 2005. Writing begins November 1. To be added to the official list of winners, you must reach the 50,000-word mark by November 30 at midnight. Once your novel has been verified by our web-based team of robotic word counters, the partying begins.
Lost in Translation...
Here are the first lines of 10 classic books. Can you recognize what book they’re from? Oh, yeah, there’s a catch. I used the Google translator to translate them into German, then back into English... Good luck!
Answers to last issue’s “Misquotes”
1. “Beam me up, Scotty"
Notes: From the Star Trek science-fiction TV series. Several variants of this do occur in the series, such as "Beam me aboard," or "Two to beam up", but "Beam me up, Scotty" was never said during the run of the original Star Trek series. However, the quote "Beam me up, Scotty" was uttered in the Star Trek animated series that aired in 1973-74. The movie Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home included the closest other variation: "Scotty, beam me up."
2. “Damn it, Jim! I'm a doctor - not a..."
McCoy had several lines of this sort, except that he never said "damn it". Only one "swear word" was ever uttered on the original Star Trek series (i.e. prior to the movies) and it was by Kirk: "Let's get the hell outta here."
3. "Elementary, my dear Watson"
Correct quote: "Elementary", on one occasion; "Superficial, my dear Watson" on another. Never together - Sherlock Holmes (Note: According to the Sherlock Holmes series of books, the expression was uttered in some derivative works such as Sherlock Holmes films and television programs)
4. "Friends, Romans, Countrymen, Lend me your ears."
Notes: The quote is accurate, but is normally attributed to Julius Caesar; actually said by the character of Antony.
5. "Bubble bubble, toil and trouble."
Correct quote: "Double double, toil and trouble." - William Shakespeare (Macbeth)
6. "Me Tarzan, you Jane."
Occurs in none of the Tarzan films nor in the book by Edgar Rice Burroughs
7. "Methinks the lady doth protest too much"
Correct quote: "The lady doth protest too much, methinks" - William Shakespeare (Hamlet)
8. "Money is the root of all evil."
Correct quote: "The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." (I Timothy 6:10)
9. "Now is the winter of our discontent."
In context: "Now is the winter of our discontent / Made glorious summer by this sun of York." - William Shakespeare (Richard III). This is a misquotation because, despite the same word order, the grammar of the quotation is different from the grammar of the original, and hence the meaning lost. As misquoted, is is the main verb, and the phrase means, "The winter of our discontent is happening now." In the full quote, is is a helper verb, and might be repositioned in modern usage to clarify the meaning: "Now the winter of our discontent is made glorious summer by this sun of York."
10. "Play it again, Sam"
Actual quotes: "Play it once, Sam. For old times' sake. ... Play 'As Time Goes By'." - Ingrid Bergman (Casablanca) and "You played it for her, you can play it for me. ... If she can stand it, I can! Play it!" - Humphrey Bogart (Casablanca)
11. "To gild the lily"
Correct quote: "To gild refined gold, to paint the lily" - William Shakespeare (The Life and Death of King John, Act IV, Scene II, line 13)
12. "Luke, I am your father."
Correct quote: "No. I am your father." - Darth Vader, The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars Episode V
13. "Alas, poor Yorick. I knew him well."
Correct quote: "Alas, poor Yorick. I knew him, Horatio - a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy." - William Shakespeare (Hamlet, Act V, Scene I)
14. "You dirty rat!"
Never said by James Cagney in any film.
15. "Pride goeth before a fall"
Correct quote: "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall" - Bible (King James Version), Proverbs 16:18
16. "Do you feel lucky, punk?"
Correct quote plus context: "Ah-ah, I know what you're thinking, punk. You're thinking, 'Did he fire six shots or only five?' And to tell you the truth, I've forgotten myself in all this excitement. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself a question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, PUNK?" - Clint Eastwood as Harry Callahan in Dirty Harry
17. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned"
The correct quotation is "Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned/ Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned." by William Congreve in The Mourning Bride of 1697.
18. “Badges? We don’t need no stinkin’ badges!”
This is a trick question, because it is an accurate quote from Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles (1974) . However, he was paraphrasing from the original quote John Huston's The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948): "Badges? We ain't got no badges. We don't need no badges. I don't have to show you any stinkin' badges!"
Reviews
Alpine for You by Maddy Hunter
I was desperately in search of a Stephanie Plum fix (why can’t these authors write faster?!) when the staff at a local bookstore recommended this book – and it was perfect! The quirky but lovable main character, the eccentric improbable sidekick, and more twists and turns than a roller coaster make this book a must-read. Caution: may be addictive. As soon as I finished it, I was off to the store to get the second book in the series...
Top O’ the Mourning by Maddy Hunter
Book two of the Passport to Peril series was just as good as the first, with slightly more romance involved. Throw in another quirky sidekick (a girl has to have backup!) and you have a wonderfully funny, action-packed book that will keep you reading – and guessing. Once again, at the end of this book, I was compelled to run out and get the next book in the series.
Pasta Imperfect by Maddy Hunter
The only bad thing I can say about the third book in the series is that, for the time being, it’s the last one! And, of course, there is a huge cliff-anger ending. The thing I most loved about this book is that it showed than sometimes you jump to suspect things when there is no cause – and don’t notice a murder right under your nose! This one will keep you guessing until the very end, and in the case of Etienne – beyond! C’mon, book four!
Death of a Bore by M.C. Beaton
Another day, another Hamish Macbeth Mystery... I have not read these in chronological order, so on occasion I get a little confused as to the current state of his love-life. But other than that, these mysteries stand on their own, and you can pick and choose which books in the series you want to read. This one was a bit slow in the beginning, but picked up in the middle. The end left me a bit... wanting, I think, as it was all wrapped up quickly and neatly, but then the book continued on at some length, giving you more “Hamish” story than I’ve seen in the others. And while this was interesting, giving you more character development, it really changed the tone of the story, and made the end drag a bit. Overall, I’d still recommend this series as a whole, though it probably is much better read in chronological order.
Eleven on Top by Janet Evanovich
You’d think that by book 11 a series would start to wear on you, and most of the time I’d say you’d be right. But the Stephanie Plum series is still going, and while not as strong as it was in the beginning, it’s still an interesting read. Our heroine, Stephanie, is once again plunged into a whirlwind of chaos that will make most of us feel much better about our lives. She tries to give up sugar, quit the bounty hunter business, and settle down… but some things just aren’t meant to be. The latest installment was not as fast paced as some of the earlier ones, and makes for a nice, enjoyable read. I don’t think most Plum fans will be disappointed, and I would still recommend the series as a whole. If you enjoy mystery with a touch of romance and a dollop of humor, this series is for you.
Double Shot by Diane Mott Davidson
*Groan* Why do I keep reading this series? The main character, Goldie, annoys the living crap out of me, especially by now. For the first few books I read she was okay, but now she’s just so... whiny. And the way she deals with her son... ugh. That aside, the mystery portion of the book was decent, if a little over done. I’m not sure I buy a few of the “key elements” of the mystery, but, hey – it’s fiction. I’ll suspend a little disbelief, I guess. If you are a big fan of this series, I think you’d enjoy it. If not... this is not one of the books in the series that I would highly recommend.
The Corset Diaries by Katie MacAlister
This was written in the style of a “diary,” but was far more readable than the Bridget Jones series. This is probably because the Jones series was written with a lot of abbreviations and shorthand, whereas this book was written in a first-person narrative style. It was well written and humorous, and while I did really like the main character, there were some character features that I just didn’t think… gelled. Case in point: she’s very self-conscious about her weight, and yet, in bed she’s a really wild woman. I just couldn’t really see that, I guess. But the story was lively and entertaining, and I kept reading – in one sitting – so I’d recommend it to anyone who likes romance and wouldn’t be offended by a little gratuitous… you know.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
Hercule Poirot strikes again! The plucky little Belgian is in fine form in this old-fashioned whodunit, gleaning clues where there seem to be none. Unlike other Agatha Christie mysteries, I’m not sure the reader is really given all of the information to be able to deduce the solution themselves. You could guess, true, (though I did not) but there weren’t the concrete clues left lying about for the reader to grasp and assemble into a coherent scenario. Still, it was an enjoyable old-fashioned mystery, and I would recommend the Poirot stories to all mystery fans (Miss Marple, on the other hand, grates on my nerves).
Bergdorf Blondes by Plum Sykes
Complete and utter fluff, but in a good way. Though the “predicaments” some of the ultra-rich set find themselves in may set your teeth on edge the characters are still basically likeable, the plot predictable (so utterly predictable!) but humorous, and the storylines moves along nicely (granted, I was listening to an abridged audiotape). I would recommend this for readers of romance and “girly” comedies. Great for a drizzly Sunday afternoon pick-me-up.
Texas Cooking by Lisa Wingate
This book was one I set down, picked back up, set down… lather, rinse, repeat… more times than I could count. There wasn’t anything in particular I can point out that was really bad (except the ending, we’ll get there) but, there was also nothing I can point to and say “that was good!” The main characters are unbelievable and shallow and the plot is a bit on the thin side. I didn’t buy it, didn’t like it, and was really turned off by the sanctimonious, preachy ending. It was just “eh” until then, but the last 20 pages really turned me off. I would not recommend this book to anyone.
Undead and Unwed by Mary Janice Davidson
A vampire story with a comical twist! Plus the requisite smidgen of romance… The main character’s take on becoming a creature of the night was lighthearted, funny, and unique. The characters were completely unbelievable, but in a fun way, and the storyline kept me reading. There are portions that are a little raunchy, so parental guidance is suggested. I would say that if you’re looking for a fun, fluffy tale to read, this is a good book to choose. However, if you’re very into “real” vampire lore, I’d stay away from this book. It doesn’t have the hard, gritty feel of your typical “horror” vampire story.
Dance of Death by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
The last book ( Brimstone) left you dangling, and this one picks up the thread. Surprisingly, Special Agent Pendergast does a complete 180 in this story. No longer the annoying, egotistical know-it-all, he turns into someone almost human. There is a lot of action, even a slight touch of humor, but the overriding story is dark and fast paced. A great plot with a *sigh* dangling end… Now I’ll just have to wait for the next book , as these have turned into a true series! I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys action and suspense.
Review by “Sparklebaby”
Enchanted Inc. by Shanna Swendson
Katie Chandler has heard how weird and wonderful New York City truly is; she never realized just how weird. This small-town Texas girl, cannot believe whether her eyes are deceiving her or not. What's worse is that nobody else seems to notice these weird goings-on. And to top it off her life is dull and ordinary, her boss is ogre, and she wonders if she has made a mistake moving to New York City.
Like magic, she's offered a job offer from Magic, Spells, and Illusions, Inc., a company that sells spells and more to the magic community. Katie's ordinariness is just what MSI, Inc. needs. Katie learns she is an "immune", one lacking any bit of magic and quickly becomes a company asset. She can easily spot magic spells being used, catch hidden clauses in competitor’s contracts, and detect magically disguised intruders. Katie's life suddenly becomes interesting and exciting.
On the way to success, Katie quickly learns that office politics are as complicated as other places, especially when your new boss is a real ogre, who turns green with anger, and you have a crush on the sexy and extremely shy R& D department head, who is busy fighting an evil competitor threatening to sell black magic on the street. Can Katie accomplish the impossible - save the city, get her man, and live happily ever after?
This is what I call a "fun" book. It's very interesting as you follow Katie and try to decide what's real and what's an illusion. It's a cross between Monsters, Inc. and Harry Potter– adult style! However, I must say the title never reflects the company name nor is it in the story, perhaps it’s just an illusion. I really like this book and would recommend for a light and fluffy read.
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