It’s not very often that I reread a book. I’m really trying to think of which books I’ve reread recently and I can’t think of a single one. I’m not the type who has a particular book that they love so much that they read it once a year.
I have begun to reread some books that I maybe read when I was a child, but to tell you the truth I don’t remember anything about them. I do want to reread all of Harry Potter (I did read and then listen to them all - does that count?) and unlike the almost daily comments I get from Twilight fans, I’ve only read the series once.
So that begs the question: why is it that I like to keep my books? If I’m not going to read them again, why devote so much space to them? I love to OWN books. I must admit that it’s not very often that I buy brand new (but more now then ever since book blogging!), but I often come home from library book sales and thrift stores with huge piles of books. I just can’t help myself. I am also a large user of my library. And let me tell you, if I really liked a book, it pains me to return it!
I’ve decided that the reason that I like to keep the books that I’ve read and enjoyed, even though it’s unlikely that I’ll read them again, is because I just like to look at them. I mean, is nothing better then perusing your own shelf and remembering a particular story or characters? I like to reminisce.
Plus, this is what people see when they walk into my home (full tour)
If that isn’t screaming READER! I don’t know what is. I like to be surrounded by good books. I grew up in a home that way and I have fond memories of simply browsing our home library for my next read. I want the same for my boys. If books hold a place of importance in my home, then my boys will know that they matter.
If you are like me, why do you keep your books? I’m talking fiction here. Do you keep them because you’ll reread them? If you aren’t ever going to read a book again, why hang on to it? Or if you don’t reread and don’t hang on to your books, is there a reason why? Is it simply a lack of space issue or what? I’m not sure that my questions make any sense. Perhaps I’m trying to justify my ever growing collection and defend myself from my husbands ever growing laments of “But you’ll never read them again!”
Set in the 1930’s during the great depression in the dust bowl of Oklahoma, Out of the Dust is told as a diary in free verse form, a style of writing that I love more with every book I read. Billie Jo is fourteen and loves to both write and play the piano. She’s also eagerly anticipating the birth of her baby brother.
But that all changes when an accident leaves her hands wounded and her mother and brother die in childbirth. Billie Jo’s father is emotionally unreachable:
I don’t know my father anymore.
He sits across from me,
he looks like my father,
he chews his food like my father,
he brushes his dusty hair back like my father,
but he is a stranger.
I am awkward with him,
and irritated,
and I want to be alone
but I am terrified of being alone.
We are both changing,
we are shifting to fill in the empty spaces left by Ma.
I keep my raw and stinging hands
behind my back when he comes near
because he
stares
when he seems them.
September 1934.
Dust is just as much of this story as anything else. It’s everywhere and non-relenting. It makes for a bleak and harsh environment. Billie Jo wants to escape it all but when she does she comes to realize that the landscape is more a part of her than she realized.
Out of the Dust is a great historical fiction novel for young readers and I loved the free verse. Recommended.
Genre: Historical fiction, ages 9-12.
Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks. October 1, 1997
Paperback, 240 pages. ISBN: 0590371258
Out of the Dust is available from your local independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.
That’s the first response I keep hearing from readers of the actor and the housewife. I wondered if the title or jacket was misleading, or the jacket text. Or all. They may be. But as I’ve listened to these readers, I’ve come to realize that, at least in part, it’s something more ephemeral than all that: this book doesn’t have a genre.
This is what Shannon Hale says about her newest book The Actor and the Housewife and this is exactly the response I had when reading it.
Not. What. I. Expected.
I am not sure what I was expecting, but I certainly wasn’t expecting myself to have a bawl fest over this book. And I never cry! Just look at that cover. Would you cry over that?
Shannon goes on to say in her blog post:
Some reviews have called it “chick lit,” because there are elements of that, I suppose, and austenland could fit that description. But I think readers who expect chick lit will be surprised, and some might be disappointed.
So if it’s not chick lit, then what? Fantasy? Sorta, but not really. There are no magical elements, no hero’s journey or perilous adventure, no mythical creatures. But if fantasy is a genre that says, “Here’s what’s possible in our world–now let’s add a little more…” then yeah, it is fantasy. Though not in the traditional sense. So again, readers expecting fantasy like my other books will be surprised, and perhaps disappointed.
So is it literary fiction? No. There are elements of that, but some of the plot and the fact that one of the characters is an A-list gorgeous British actor means that this book wouldn’t be allowed in the literary fiction club.
Romance? Sorta…but sorta not.
Wish fulfillment? Sorta…but sorta not.
Comedy? Sometimes.
Drama? Sometimes.
So, no genre. It’s just a novel. For some readers, that’s enough. But for others, that can be confusing and upsetting. This has made me look at genre, what that means, why we like it.
I absolutely love what Shannon has to say about genre being a contract between the author and the reader:
Genre is a kind of a handle to hold, a way to manage the story. Genre does tend to follow a certain formula, though I don’t think it’s fair to say that all genre fiction is formula fiction. But as a reader I can understand the desire to have an idea of what I’m reading before committing to the book. I’ve had a few experiences where I’m reading a book by a fantasy author that doesn’t turn out to be fantasy, and I’m like, Wait! We had a contract here–I read a book and you deliver some magical stuff!
Exactly! I was expecting to laugh my way through The Actor and the Housewife. And I did! I totally did. But, I was totally blindsided with the touching, sappy, cry like a baby moments.
Now, that I’ve reprinted most of Shannon’s blog post, what exactly is The Actor and the Housewife you ask? Well, Becky is a Mormon housewife and is seven months pregnant with her fourth child. Somewhere between keeping house and being a mom, she has managed to write a screenplay which will cause her to travel from her home in Utah down to Los Angeles. While there, she chance meets the celebrity of her dreams: Felix Callahan. Felix is so out of her realm and is Becky’s complete opposite in every way, but they have instant chemistry.
Thinking nothing will come of their meeting, Becky goes back home to her family and loving husband Mike. So it’s with complete surprise and confusion that Felix shows up on her turf and they fast become best friends. Not crushing on each other friends. But best friends. Call each other all the time, playful banter, joke around best friends.
Felix has brought a whole new dimension to Becky’s life that she didn’t know she was missing. While both of their spouses are supportive of the odd platonic relationship (because really a rich, good-looking atheist British actor and a frumpy, conservative Mormon housewife?), Becky’s extended family, friends and neighbors are not so sure. Can Becky and Felix’s relationship really endure?
The Actor and the Housewife is a story of friendship, love, marriage, faith, family, happiness, and sorrow and ultimately a fairy tale of sorts that answers the question: what happens when your celebrity heart throb crush walks into your life, settles down into the nearest couch? And don’t we all need a bit of a fairy tale in our life?
I want to say that The Actor and the Housewife is really “cute” because it is, but cute is not a word that seems appropriate here. I was touched with it’s tender moments. I also thought it was brave of Shannon Hale to write a novel with a Mormon housewife as her main character. I thought it was fun to see the type of community I grew up and currently live in portrayed in a mainstream novel. Although I must admit that I don’t know a single Mormon housewife who bakes three pies a week! (And let it be noted that there are all kinds of Mormon women just as there are all kinds of different women in different faiths. Becky is very conservative and while she falls into the Mormon woman stereotype, one cannot judge an entire population from one member.) Hale is in no way preachy though, Becky is simply living her life and makes no excuses for it. The same could be said of Felix.
I believe that some people will find fault with the book - most likely along the lines of the “no way is a hot, famous British actor going to see anything in a Mormon housewife” story line, a few character quirks, and the ending not going quite like they hoped. But really, how likely is it for a married famous actor to hook up as best friends to a married Mormon housewife? Not likely. But I certainly wasn’t putting this book down. It’s not for everyone (which book is?), but it took me completely by surprise and I can’t wait to let all my neighbors borrow it.
I laughed. I cried. I loved it.
I was thrilled to attend a reading/party for The Actor and the Housewife at The Kings English Bookshop in Salt Lake City and take some short videos. In this first video, Shannon talks about where the idea for The Actor and the Housewife came from:
Shannon Hale on writing The Actor and the Housewife:
Shannon Hale reading from The Actor and the Housewife:
Shannon Hale and fan mail (seriously, LOVE this letter!):
There is a karaoke scene in the book, so now way were Shannon and her husband Dean going to pass up a chance to sing:
Oh yes, and the lovely Shannon Hale and I (Shannon had a cutest Apron contest earlier - thus her adorable apron):
Is it bragging to much to say, that when I walked in to the event, Shannon looked up and said, “Hi Natasha!” Oh yes, that would be Shannon and I on a first name basis. Sigh . . . I love this blogging thing And last, I’ll end this post, with another excerpt from Shannon’s blog post:
I hope that readers can set aside ideas of genre and expectations and go on this reading adventure with me. I really hope so. Because I am terrifically proud of this book. Genre would have sucked the life out of this particular story. Maybe my publisher should put on a label: WARNING: This is notwhat you’re expecting. Contains no genre. Read at your own risk. Maybe. And then again, sometimes, maybe surprise is a good thing.
So spill it. If you could be best friends with any famous, heart throb of an actor/actress who would it be? And if your married, would your significant other be okay with that relationship?
Frankie Pickle and the Closet of Doom written and illustrated by Eric Wight is a spoof of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom but in this case Frankie’s nemisis is his messy room. Pair that with his nagging mom and he’s got a problem! Luck turns his way when Frankie’s mother agrees that he no longer has to clean his room. Perfect! Will he now live in bliss or will his dirty room create a monster that only Frankie himself can fight off?
Frankie Pickle is half chapter book and half graphic novel, a format that works well especially for its intended audience: young boys. It’s a great balance between the comic book form and text and will appeal to both type of readers, those who need the visual and others who are more comfortable with text. My initial reaction what that the book is heavy on the preachy side, “It’s better to have a clean room than a messy one.” Looking back on it now I’m not as bothered and think that kids won’t even bat an eye over the storyline. Who knows. Every parent needs a little bit of subliminal messaging don’t they? And the illustrations are entertaining.
A fun book for the young boy in your life.
What type of kid were you? Could your room have been described as a “closet of doom?”
Links of interest: Book Dads has a great in-depth book review. Eric Wight website.
Genre: Juvenile Fiction/Graphic Novel approx ages 4-8
Publisher: Simon & Schuster. May 5, 2009.
Hardcover, 96 pages. ISBN: 1416964843 Frankie Pickle and the Closet of Doom is available from your local independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.
You may remember me recently blogging about how I made tomato aspic for my Children’s Literature Book Club when we read World War II themed books. Tomato aspic was eaten by the characters in the book Jimmy’s Stars by Mary Ann Rodman, so even though I knew it would be nasty I couldn’t help making it. Mary Ann knew it was unlikely that I would actually tomato aspic, so during our author interview, she also included a recipe for a family recipe for a chocolate cake, which was a popular holdover from World War II rationing. I knew my book club wouldn’t appreciate tomato aspic being the only refreshment, so I also made the cake!
In this photo the chocolate and milk are being mixed in a double boiler.
Afterwards, it’s blended with the dry ingredients and I baked it in a bunt pan.
The funny thing was that the recipe said to sift the flour not once, not twice but four times! After sifting it twice, I mentioned on Twitter than my hand was seriously aching. Everybody said to stop sifting and move on! Move on, I did.
Mary Ann Rodman also provided a glaze recipe and I obviously didn’t know how to drizzle it on, as I totally overdid it and it pooled all over the plate. But I’m creative! I just covered it with strawberries.
Overall, it was an okay cake. The taste was great but it was on the dry side. I honestly don’t know if it was the fault of the baker (which would be easy) or the fault of the recipe. But nobody complained!
Our book club has a reputation of themed refreshments and everybody seemed impressed I could come up with a World War II ration cake. Making a recipe like this would be fun for kids who are learning about the home front during World War II or other such historical fiction books. I said the same thing when I made Shauna Burg’s Butter Bean cookies, but it’s true, it’s so much fun to make a connection in such a tangible way!
It’s not very often that I reread a book. I’m really trying to think of which books I’ve reread recently and I can’t think of a single one. I’m not the type who has a particular book that they love so much that they read it once a year.
