The Reading Room (20)

The Reading Room is a weekly update on books I'm reading and planning to read, posted on Tuesdays. It was inspired by the feature On Myshelf at the blog All By Myshelf.

The past week or two has been incredible for book buying. I've collected a massive pile and spent far more money than I intended to, and it's been completely marvelous. It started with the trip to Barnes & Noble I mentioned in a previous blog post, and as soon as I walked into the young adult section, I realized it has been way too long since I've visited a bookstore. There were so many new books, and of course I wanted to buy them all. Since I didn't have the funds for that, I settled on three. 

The first was The Complete Sherlock Holmes: Volume One, which I already mentioned and was kind of an obvious choice. The second book I saw was I Am The Messenger, by Markus Zusak, which I snatched up the moment I saw it. Oh my goodness. I was thrilled to find this book. Markus Zusak is the author of The Book Thief, which beat contenders like The Lord of the Rings and To Kill a Mockingbird to become my favorite book of all time. It was original, chilling, and beautifully written, and I would be crazy to say no to the opportunity to read more by its incredible author. I can't wait to start this book. 

It took me awhile to make my final choice; there was a lot of rereading the inside jacket covers of books, flipping through the first few pages, and debating plots and authors, but I finally decided on Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore. Graceling and Fire were both fantastic, and Bitterblue looks just as interesting. Plus, it's a beautiful book, which made me glad I bought the hardcover edition instead of the eBook. I'm sure no one else except Mo Folchart from Inkheart would be excited about this, but - the end pages are gorgeous.

My Wonderful Week of Book Buying didn't end there, however. Have you ever been in a college bookstore? They're glorious places to be. As I mentioned in my last Inspire post, I spent last week staying at a college campus attending a writing program. What I didn't mention was that I spent at least a third of my free time with a group of other students in the bookstore, discussing what we'd read and liked and trying to restrain myself from buying everything. 

I did manage to limit myself to two books. The first was The Complete Sherlock Holmes: Volume Two, completing my collection of Sherlock Holmes novels, short stories, parodies, and essays. I also own a play adaptation (not written by Arthur Conan Doyle) and am considering having a Sherlock Holmes Marathon in an attempt to watch all the movie and television versions of Holmes and Watson. Yes, I'm a little obsessed. 

The other book I picked up was Night and Day by Virginia Woolf. I haven't read any of her writing before, but I've been meaning to, and this book looked interesting. Hopefully she'll be another author to add to my list of favorites.

Off to start in on this pile of books,

~blackandwhitedreamer

Inspire (9)

Inspire is a weekly writing prompt or exercise, posted on Mondays. Anyone who's interested can participate, and you're more than welcome to share what you've written by posting a link in the comments.

Last week I attended an incredible writing program at a nearby college, which is why I wasn't able to make any posts. It was an incredible experience and I learned so much about writing, so this week's prompt is taken from one of the writing exercises we did in class: Write abstractions - things that aren't solid, tangible objects, like "love", "fear," "hope," et cetera - on index cards. Put them all in a box, hat, or pile, pick one at random, and write down the image that comes to mind when you think of that word. It can be anything - it doesn't matter if it's generic or mainstream, influenced by pop culture or memories, just write down the image. Include sensory details and be as descriptive as you want.

That's the end of the writing exercise, but there is one more thing I want to share. I love quotes, and wrote down quite a few last week, but this was something one of the instructors said on the first day of the workshop, and it really stuck with me.

"There are so many different ways of communicating in writing. It's not narrow. It's not straightforward."

With that in mind, enjoy this exercise, and follow your writing wherever it takes you.

~blackandwhitedreamer

Adventures in Barnes & Noble

One of the main downsides to living in a ridiculously small town is that there are no - and I mean no - decent bookstores nearby. There's the slim selection at Walmart, a few Hallmark stores that also happen to sell books, and a tiny used book store that sells almost nothing but self-help books, none of which are  closer than a half hour's drive. This means that when I do make a rare trip to civilization, skipping Barnes & Noble is absolutely out of the question.

Yesterday's trip was particularly eventful, and included some of the following occurrences:

1. I saw "The Complete Sherlock Holmes" in a leather-bound, gold-leaf hardcover on the display. I then found the same book (different publisher) downstairs for less than half the price. Epic win.

2. The "down" escalator wasn't escalating, just sitting their like a set of stairs. I walked up it, fulfilling a lifelong goal to walk up a down escalator.

3. As I paid for my books, the salesperson made the following comment: "I love coming here. It's kind of dangerous, though. Do you ever feel like you have a problem? Like, 'I should go to AA meetings, but for buying books?"

I wanted to hug her and proclaim joyfully that I wasn't the only one with this problem. There was a counter in the way and several people nearby, though, so I settled for nodding vigorously and discussing the various methods to store such a large amount of books.

Just more proof that books - and the places that hold them - are full of unexpected adventure.

~blackandwhitedreamer

Tuned In To (4)

Tuned In To is a weekly feature discussing albums I've been listening to, songs that have been stuck in my head, or artists I've discovered, and is posted on Fridays. 

First, I'd like to apologize for this post being a day late; I was out of town until late last night, and didn't have the energy to write anything before dropping into bed. Secondly, this post is going to be a little different than normal. This week, I'm talking about a song that fits perfectly with the plot/characters of a book. 

I finished The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater yesterday, and since I was in a slightly noisy environment when I was reading, I had my headphones in and was listening to Coldplay's album X&Y while I read. As I was reading and listening, I was struck by how perfectly their song Swallowed in the Sea fits the book.

To me, this song perfectly captures not only Sean and Puck's personalities and their relationship, but also the bond between Sean and Corr. I don't want to spoil the book incase you haven't read it, but I will say that the last scene was so moving, it almost brought it to tears, and when I think of it combined with this song, I get chills at how perfect it is.

What do you think? Have you read The Scorpio Races? Do you have any songs you think fit the book?

~blackandwhitedreamer

Song Wars (4)

Song Wars is where I compare two songs with similar titles, meanings, or lyrics, different versions of the same song, or an original song and the covers that have been made. I'll discuss what I like and dislike about both songs, then decide which one, overall, I like better. 

This Week

"50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" by Paul Simon vs. "50 Ways to Say Goodbye" by Train

What They Have in Common: Very similar titles and meaning

Titles: The titles of these songs are so similar it's almost impossible to compare them; however, I have to say I like the title of "50 Ways to Say Goodbye" just a little bit more - it's a bit more catchy and memorable. 

Lyrics: I love the verses of the Paul Simon song. Something about the way they rhyme, the way they're sung, and the beat to them just makes them really amazing. I don't care for the chorus as much - it's tolerable, but the way he uses so many different names sort of annoys me and the lyrics aren't as well-written as in the verse.  I have a similar problem with the Train song - certain parts, especially in the chorus, are really awesome and I love them, and then there are other parts that I don't like or that leave me kind of confused, like, "Why would you put that there? What does that have to do with this song." While neither song has flawless lyrics, "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" wins this round for me because at least all the lyrics make sense, even if I don't like all of them. 

Music: Train wins this one partially by default - there's not a lot of noticeable music in "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover", while "50 Ways to Say Goodbye" is instantly recognizable. But I also like the music - I'm not madly in love with it, but it's catchy and unique. 

Singing: I honestly don't have a strong opinion in either direction for this category. Both songs are well sung, though neither jumps out at me as being outstanding. I do like the softer way Paul Simon sings the verses of "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" - like I said, something about the way it combines with the lyrics just makes it really awesome - so because of that, "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" wins this category. 

Meaning: This is another category where the songs are so similar, it's difficult to compare them. In fact, based on meaning alone, it's almost impossible, but I really love the tone and attitude of "50 Ways to Say Goodbye" - I'm not sure whether to describe it as sarcastic or something else, but whatever it is, I love it. It definitely has more bounce and energy than "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover", which is why it wins this category. 

So "50 Ways to Say Goodbye" wins for me. Which song do you like better?

~blackandwhitedreamer

The Wish List (2)

The Wish List features one book from my wish list each week, along with why I want it. Thanks to Jill at Breaking the Spine and Ren at All By Myshelf for the inspiration for this feature. 

The Raven Boys

By Maggie Stiefvater

"There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark's Eve," Neeve said. "Either you're his true love...or you killed him." It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive. Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them - not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her. His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Anglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Anglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble. But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can't entirely explain. He has it all - family money, good looks, devoted friend - but he's looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little. For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.

I absolutely love Maggie Stiefvater. Everything I've read that she's written has been fantastic beyond words. I was blown away by Lament and Ballad, loved Shiver, and am in the middle of The Scorpio Races right now and can't put it down. I was really excited to learn she has a new book coming out. It sounds mysterious, intriguing, thrilling, and magical, and I can't wait until it's released. 

~blackandwhitedreamer

The Reading Room (19)

The Reading Room is a weekly update on books I'm reading and planning to read, posted on Tuesdays. It was inspired by the feature On Myshelf at the blog All By Myshelf. 

Today was one of those, "It's so hot I can't even breathe," sort of summer days. That, of course, meant it was time for a trip to the Land of Free Air Conditioning and Books - the public library. It seems a lot of people had the same idea I did, because the place was packed, but I managed to make my way past the old men reading newspapers, the cluster of people at the computers and several babies in strollers to the bookshelves.

The first book that jumped out at me was Switched by Amanda Hocking, so I grabbed it and then hightailed it out of the Young Adult section, because it was one of the most crowded areas in the entire library - and the nearest baby-in-a-stroller was asleep and snoring ridiculously loud for being so small. Anyway, it looks really interesting - plus, I absolutely LOVE the cover. 

The other book I grabbed before leaving was The Throne of Fire, by Rick Riordan, the second book in The Kane Chronicles. I love Rick Riordan's books, and The Red Pyramid, the first book, was fantastic. I can't wait to start reading this and see what Carter and Sadie are getting up to. The only problem is that the library doesn't yet have a copy of The Serpent's Shadow, the third book in the series, so once I've finished this book I'm going to have to find someone to borrow it from, or fork over the money to buy my own copy. 

The next few days are supposed to be just as ungodly hot as today was, so I have a feeling I'll be spending a lot of time sitting in front of the air conditioner, reading...

~blackandwhitedreamer