Tuesday, April 23, 2024
On Set Mishap 1928
Monday, April 22, 2024
Word Garden Word List--Thirteen Reasons Why
Hello my angsty cherubs, and welcome to this week's Word List! This week our source is Jay Asher's novel Thirteen Reasons Why. It's one of my all-time favorites. A teenage girl commits suicide, but before she does, she makes a series of tapes explaining what made her lose hope.
It's since been made into a Netflix series which I have not seen, but maybe you have. The book and series generated a certain amount of controversy, with some saying the story does more harm than good. I disagree, based solely on the novel. It does a superb job of showing how casual and seemingly minor words and actions can have a terrible impact on someone, and are really not minor at all, especially to a young person.
Wednesday, April 17, 2024
Lovin' Baby Girl
Monday, April 15, 2024
Word Garden Word List--Save Yourself
Hello my stylish scaredy cats! It is time once again for your weekly Word List, and this time our source is the novel "Save Yourself" by Kelly Braffet. I read it a few years ago and absolutely loved it. She has such a sharp eye for the nuances of relationships, and is quite good at creating an uneasy atmosphere as well.
I didn't even know, when I read her novel, that Kelly Braffet is married to Owen King, author son of Stephen King. Don't think for a minute, though, that nepotism got this one published; it's a great read. I purely lucked out in finding it in the local used book kiosk! My copy will never be in the book pound again, though. I'm keeping it in my hot little hands.
Orbit and Waterfowl
Sunday, April 14, 2024
Seaside Jump Rope Chant
Thursday, April 11, 2024
The Vivid Dead
Wednesday, April 10, 2024
April Begins In A Graveyard
Tuesday, April 9, 2024
Laika
Looking up through the trees in my yard at night,
what does it matter that the stars we see are already dead?*
I look to God as my dog looks to me.
Still there? Good. Anything you want me to do?
Sometimes I think about Laika, the Russian space dog,
so happy (as I imagine) to be rescued from a pound,
given a job and a pack. Did she look to them
as my dog looks to me and I look to God?
They sent Laika into space though there were no sticks,
no fields, no soft bed, no pack to go with her.
She must have wondered where everyone went,
and been so bewildered and lonely.
Who's a good dog? Oh, you were, Laika.
My own dog looks to me as I look up to God
in tears and asking, still there?
----
*required line written by Amy Woolard
for Dverse Prosery--Amy Woolard, hosted by my friend Dora. I don't normally write prose anymore, but made an exception.
Music: Tom Rosenthal It's OK
Monday, April 8, 2024
Nyx
Word Garden Word List--Spill Simmer Falter Wither
Hello my little runaways! It's Monday again and time for this week's brand-new Word List. This time our source is Sara Baume's superb novel Spill Simmer Falter Wither. It's about a solitary misfit and a one-eyed dog who run away from the unkind lives they've known and bond together on the road to... well, read it and find out. And the title? Think the four seasons.
Sara Baume |
"This book is like a flame in daylight, beautiful and unexpected." --Anne Enright, author of The Gathering.
Thursday, April 4, 2024
Miracle
Monday, April 1, 2024
Word Garden Word List--Pages For You
Hello my little bookworms! I've had a song in my head as I've started on this week's List. Hurt so good... come on baby, make it hurt so good. Sometimes books don't end like they should; they make it hurt so good. You say that's not the right words? Oh gosh, are you sure? Because I had a recent convo with Pearl Ketover Prilik about books that'll break your heart right in two, but somehow... you love them for it. Readers are kinda weird that way!
There have been three books that totally broke my heart and left me a mess for days after finishing them. One was the one that Pearl mentioned--Anna Karenina. Oh, that train.
Another was The Hunchback of Notre Dame. When Quasimodo goes to the graveyard and... well, I don't want to talk about it. To my mind it's the greatest, saddest ending of any book, ever.
And the third? It's one that you may not be familiar with: Pages For You by Sylvia Brownrigg. I bawled at the end. I absolutely melted down. It's a love story, a coming of age story, and a genuine heartbreaker. There is even a sequel, called Pages For Her. I own a copy--have for years--but I've never read it because how could it possibly measure up? What if it changes everything that I loved so much about the original. *Pokes the sequel with a stick* Nope. Not today. it might break my heart too!
Birmingham, 1963
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Looking For The Light
Monday, March 25, 2024
Word Garden Word List--Classic Fairy Tales
Hello my darlings! Having come through a deep dark wood filled with wonders and dangers, here you are, ready for this week's Word List! Waving my wand in a circle thrice, a bright spark and a puff of colored smoke appear, and then we see this week's source material, Iona & Peter Opie's collection The Classic Fairy Tales.