tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81950706758660147702024-02-07T18:21:41.968-08:00Hack 'n Slash Monthly...barbarically blasting our way through books.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11329951121861231140noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8195070675866014770.post-48324646774687261512012-04-27T14:56:00.000-07:002012-04-27T14:56:45.117-07:00An IdeaI have an idea to help keep us from "book-stalling." We decide how many books we want to read over the course of a year (somewhere in the 6-12 range), then we each submit a list of books (number of submissions per person TBD). Then we all rate the books based on these four options: interested; not interested; read, but would read again; read, but would not read again. Based on that we come up with our titles, scheduled over the course of the year. That way we all know in advance what books we need to get and when we need to get them by. Sound good?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8195070675866014770.post-54725982542409122032012-04-14T09:27:00.000-07:002012-04-14T09:27:00.900-07:00Finding Happiness?Hi friends!<br />
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We need to figure out how to move from one book to the next without stalling. ;) Ha ha. I am partially responsible because while I really want to read Make the Bread, Buy the Butter, I've been on hold at the library ever since Lisa mentioned it, and I'm still number 24 on the waiting list.<br />
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However! I also put The Happiness Project on hold when I posted about it, and my number is up! It's waiting for me at the library, and I'll hopefully pick it up today. I have to read a different book for my 'in real life' book club by this Thursday, but I just wanted to put it out there to see if any of you want to read The Happiness Project with me. I probably won't get into it until after Thursday, so that gives you some time to decide and procure a copy however you prefer. :) Anyone in?Jenniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08068892989714561112noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8195070675866014770.post-47806131239689533072012-02-27T13:17:00.004-08:002012-02-27T13:25:48.724-08:00Code Name Verity<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin-4TzRpQDshrsnxD_9653dzEHB42VeRKWumLvVD6_aDnqnzwoRb03zqjPSBXPSoEZXV_G70K5X7iQqweAqgsTbKB9dxxAeQLmdKhlxz2LmWUn_quqJ_EljmUG8E6PEDVT9o3q_g-y0ms/s1600/verity+uk.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 209px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin-4TzRpQDshrsnxD_9653dzEHB42VeRKWumLvVD6_aDnqnzwoRb03zqjPSBXPSoEZXV_G70K5X7iQqweAqgsTbKB9dxxAeQLmdKhlxz2LmWUn_quqJ_EljmUG8E6PEDVT9o3q_g-y0ms/s320/verity+uk.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713928520556986674" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8M3eH0mIFzdSK0conRBeJPpBx56I9nhs9sAm_knATT1sEJkvJWhx4XDIVqG4DI-UM6DcwnPdmvDkJ_pRzHx8sRGLPbQ_kAz74bm9Sv5g1jJy4OjtGjcIxEU5l7lr92z5RksqA5Z7Cbj4/s1600/UK+Verity.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8M3eH0mIFzdSK0conRBeJPpBx56I9nhs9sAm_knATT1sEJkvJWhx4XDIVqG4DI-UM6DcwnPdmvDkJ_pRzHx8sRGLPbQ_kAz74bm9Sv5g1jJy4OjtGjcIxEU5l7lr92z5RksqA5Z7Cbj4/s320/UK+Verity.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713928395859453458" border="0" /></a>I'm not sure which one is the U.S. cover. Basically it's the story of two women who get shot down over France - one is a special agent for England and the other is the pilot. It's about friendship. There are SS officers and torture and apparently it will cause a lot of crying, so it's not a light read, but there is humor and lightness in it. The reviews on Goodreads are pretty compelling. It also makes me curious about Wein's other work - anyone read her stuff?<br /></div>Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11329951121861231140noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8195070675866014770.post-7637462196202448452012-02-21T10:01:00.000-08:002012-02-21T10:01:05.653-08:00The Happiness ProjectHave any of you read <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6398634-the-happiness-project">The Happiness Project</a>? One of my favorite book reviewing bloggers <a href="http://everydayreading.blogspot.com/2012/02/happiness-project-by-gretchen-rubin.html">reviewed it today</a>, and whenever she raves so much about a book, it makes me really want to read it. It was already on my 'to read' shelf on goodreads, but now I'd love to read it sooner. Perhaps we could read it together after Make the Bread, Buy the Butter? What do you guys think?<br />
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I really like the concept of finding happiness without going on some grand trip of self-discovery. I've always felt that we should be able to be happy in our every day lives.</div>
<br />Jenniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08068892989714561112noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8195070675866014770.post-62096778202576464912012-02-13T14:37:00.000-08:002012-02-13T14:50:54.075-08:00Bake the Bread, Buy the ButterHello Friends!<br /><br />I went ahead and bought Jennifer Reese's book when I was buying some other stuff on Amazon. Also because I'm bad like that. It was $15 and free shipping so . . . yeah. What do you guys think of doing that book next? I know we're all done (Except Peter? Peter, come in Peter. This is Mission Control.) with <span style="font-style: italic;">Bossypants</span> and remembered that we all liked the sound of BTB. But no worries if people don't like the idea, I wanted to buy it anyway. It has a recipe for making your own almond butter and storebought that stuff ain't cheap. Plus a bagel recipe she says is better than NY bagels. I need to try it.<br /><br />I think a cookbook could be a fun one, especially if folks get into trying the recipes. I'm sad we don't live closer, it would be fun to have cooking and discussion nights!Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11329951121861231140noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8195070675866014770.post-62750487401263072172012-02-06T09:40:00.000-08:002012-02-06T09:40:18.170-08:00Am I a weirdo?Reading is coming along fine. I'm well ahead of Lisa's schedule, but I've stalled a bit on the 30 Rock chapter.<br />
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So, what's up with 30 Rock? Everyone loves it. It wins lots of awards. And, I just don't like it. Paul and I were hearing so many good things about it that we gave it a try a year or so ago. We really gave it a try, too. Normally, we give a show about four episodes before we decide it's not worth watching. We gave 30 Rock six or seven. Finally, we turned to each other and both said, "You know, it's really not funny." I think the premise is good. The actors are mostly good (although I just don't understand Tracy Morgan). I really feel like I <i>should</i> enjoy it.<br />
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Anyone with me?<i> </i>Or am I really a weirdo? (If so, at least Paul is a weirdo with me! Ha.)Jenniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08068892989714561112noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8195070675866014770.post-4499636800079188572012-01-31T09:37:00.000-08:002012-01-31T12:10:31.680-08:00Comedy & the great joke...Okay kids, I finally have had a minute to pick up the book (electronically because I'm lazier than all of you. Or more eco-friendly. Let's go with the second one) and was able to just start it today. Drawing from what you all have said, here are some of my thoughts. <br />
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Admittedly I haven't read more than 4 chapters, but thus far I'm really enjoying it. She has me laughing frequently, and I don't necessarily feel like its coming across to high-horsed or heavy handed for me. I do think she can be dry and sarcastic while skewering society and herself, but this begs the better question:<br />
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Do you think comedians are made (i.e. nature vs. nurture)? It's often thought that many comedians (like many performers i suppose) either have had or do have a lot of personal problems - whether these are causal or reactionary. Tina Fey claims not to be a victim but her awkward childhood certainly seems to play a role in how she feels about the world and subsequently her material. <br />
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I guess im asking, does their background inform their views and brand of humor? Furthermore, does ours? I know there are successful comedians out there that each of us could name that we have no love for. Why do we find funny the things we do?<br />
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Thoughts?Peteyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07885925341984738958noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8195070675866014770.post-66064257255331124902012-01-28T14:43:00.001-08:002012-01-29T09:05:55.768-08:00Many Comments and Thoughts!<span style="font-weight: bold;">Intro:</span><br /><br />I took to heart her advice that women in the workplace should "cry sparingly" because it terrifies everyone. Hahahaha. Also, what exactly is a colonial lady outfit? I know what a pioneer outfit is, I grew up in Colorado reading Laura Ingalls Wilder, but colonial lady? I'm envisioning Felicity from the America Girls Dolls. Except her clothes <span style="font-style: italic;">rocked</span>.<br /><br />It was also poignant to me that people kept asking her if it was hard to be the boss. Um - no? Why would it be . . . ? Do you ask men that question? Also, from experience wrangling other intelligent, creative, spastic adults into coherent teams that meet deadlines, I can vouch that I have never gotten to march around swinging my arms and chanting. I wish. Although, actually, that would be kind of Leni Riefenstahl <span style="font-style: italic;">Triumph of the Will</span> so probably best never to go down that road.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Origin Story</span><br /><br />Re: the scar - "I'm not interested in acting out a TV movie with you where you befriend a girl with a scar. (I assume this would be on Lifetime and also include cancer and sexual abuse, because as far as I can tell, that's a rule for getting on Lifetime). An Oscar-y Spielburg movie where I play a mean German with a scar? Yes."<br /><br />Tina Fey - not a victim.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Growing Up and Liking It</span><br /><br />"Shin fur." Lol. I had to start shaving my armpits in fifth grade after Kayla Feeney felt the need to point it out. Not a very nice girl, but perhaps she's gotten better. My mother refused to buy me pads when I got my period and suggested using a tampon. Come to think of it, WTF Mom? I should mention this to her. Perhaps I can leverage it into something . . . *Mr. Burns finger thing.* I love that Jeanne Fey mom left the "How Shall I Tell My Daughter" pamphlet in the Modess kit. Hahahaha.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11329951121861231140noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8195070675866014770.post-59531069750903661112012-01-26T08:44:00.000-08:002012-01-26T10:50:53.514-08:00"Two peanuts were walking down the street, and one was a salted."So, first impressions. When I opened up the book I was suddenly worried I was going to find it all rather obnoxious. In my paperback copy of the book there are SEVEN full pages of quotes praising the book before it gets to the title page. Really? Seven pages? It was a little ridiculous.<br />
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However, I started reading out loud to Paul last night and it wasn't long before we were both laughing hysterically. Paul even laughed at most of the girly jokes.<br />
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A question for the group: What type of person are you when it comes to her scar? Personally, I have always been curious about the story behind it. Though, if I met her in person I would probably wait until we were friends before asking about it. Paul, on the other hand, had never noticed it. I guess that means I'm more of an egomaniac than Paul?Jenniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08068892989714561112noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8195070675866014770.post-7836392473727673112012-01-19T13:39:00.000-08:002012-01-26T10:51:12.995-08:00Bossypants Reading Guide!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitM0CBsg3S6V73JfTrCxpk9bxgRFZcHXcNGy0JuAgkSoEawcD7_-KKxLZBB0hHuL8ticcaVpUfOu2JDO6ETxlBuAHTanVed0Vgyw22StvP3mHY6cHX_pFcCXnF5fSfxxAVIPSyT8GtL94/s1600/CDO+cat.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699476218534860114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitM0CBsg3S6V73JfTrCxpk9bxgRFZcHXcNGy0JuAgkSoEawcD7_-KKxLZBB0hHuL8ticcaVpUfOu2JDO6ETxlBuAHTanVed0Vgyw22StvP3mHY6cHX_pFcCXnF5fSfxxAVIPSyT8GtL94/s320/CDO+cat.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
Because I am a planner and project manager. Also because I read all books really fast and then hang around other people asking, "where are you?" and "what just happened? and trying to see if they can guess what's going to happen next without giving anything away.<br />
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Sooo, a rough guide! Feel free to say this doesn't work or you know, if you also finish the book in one day, and then we all do, we don't have to use this. And can start a new book sooner. But I thought it might help us to know what to post on when!<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Begin:</span><br />
<ul>
<li>Acquire book</li>
<li>Discuss cover art</li>
<li>Discuss jacket comments</li>
<li>Dedication</li>
<li>Any interesting interviews or links</li>
</ul>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Week 1 - Sunday January 22nd</span><br />
<ul>
<li>Introduction</li>
<li>Origin Story</li>
<li>Growing Up and Liking It</li>
<li>All Girls Must Be Everything</li>
<li>Delaware County Summer Showtime!</li>
</ul>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Week 2 - Sunday January 29th</span><br />
<ul>
<li>That's Don Fey</li>
<li>Climbing Old Rag Mountain</li>
<li>Young Men's Christian Association</li>
<li>The Windy City, Full of Meat</li>
<li>My Honeymoon, Or a Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again Either</li>
</ul>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Week 3 - Sunday February 5th</span><br />
<ul>
<li>The Secrets of Mommy's Beauty</li>
<li>Remembrances of Being Very Very Skinny</li>
<li>Remembrances of Being a Little Bit Fat</li>
<li>A Childhood Dream, Realized</li>
<li>Peeing in Jars with Boys</li>
</ul>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Week 4 - Sunday February 12th</span><br />
<ul>
<li>I Don't Care if You Like It</li>
<li>Amazing, Gorgeous, Not Like That</li>
<li>Dear Internet</li>
<li>30 Rock: An Experiment to Confuse Your Grandparents</li>
<li>Sarah, Oprah, and Captain Hook</li>
</ul>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Week 5 - Sunday February 19th</span><br />
<ul>
<li>There's a Drunk Midget in My House</li>
<li>A Celebrity's Guide to Celebrating the Birth of Jesus</li>
<li>Juggle This</li>
<li>The Mother's Prayer for Its Daughter</li>
<li>What Turning Forty Means to Me</li>
</ul>
<div style="font-weight: bold;">
Week 6 (Short week) - Sunday February 26th through Wednesday the 29th</div>
<ul>
<li>What Should I Do with My Last Five Minutes?</li>
<li>Acknowledgements</li>
<li>Final Book Discussion</li>
</ul>Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11329951121861231140noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8195070675866014770.post-82196354121760646702012-01-17T15:13:00.000-08:002012-01-17T15:13:26.285-08:00Bossypants it is!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It appears we have made a decision! Get thee all to a library/bookstore/Amazon/wherever! I will be opting for checking the ebook out from the library, as there are currently 65 people on hold for it on the library system. Thank goodness for my Nook.</div>
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Hooray! This should be fun.Jenniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08068892989714561112noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8195070675866014770.post-33199500144450813022012-01-16T15:19:00.001-08:002012-01-16T15:22:37.318-08:00Om nom nom nom<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0JZXoAWxq8JoOh4rcaSmEiP6P-tNUYqt0aEXbh_Yc9P_ag80f2NGWmk3u_ciA3Y_8u99iwlw7v11XCerf8f791VHoK6lRykGxLZzpERBWHDrMBAY8zjhXW4YvRrqAxcKEZ0lnFGTfVkY/s1600/makethebread.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 280px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0JZXoAWxq8JoOh4rcaSmEiP6P-tNUYqt0aEXbh_Yc9P_ag80f2NGWmk3u_ciA3Y_8u99iwlw7v11XCerf8f791VHoK6lRykGxLZzpERBWHDrMBAY8zjhXW4YvRrqAxcKEZ0lnFGTfVkY/s320/makethebread.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5698373697891326258" border="0" /></a>Also really want to read this one - the author made tons of stuff, Worchestshire sauce (is that spelled right??), marshmallows, etc. and then says which are worth it to make at home and which you should just go ahead and buy. I have a feeling all of us would enjoy this one as a book club pick somewhere down the line!Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11329951121861231140noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8195070675866014770.post-62839017471904401842012-01-13T14:09:00.000-08:002012-01-13T14:10:12.784-08:00Would You Rather...Inspired by Amanda's comment, I figured I'd put it up for a vote:<br />
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Would you rather read <i>Bossypants</i> by Tina Fey or <i>Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?</i> by Mindy Kaling?<br />
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<a href="http://minkette.rebeccaminkoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/mindy1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://minkette.rebeccaminkoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/mindy1.jpg" width="132" /></a><a href="http://persephonemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/TinaFeyBossyPants.jpg?d8bc3b" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://persephonemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/TinaFeyBossyPants.jpg?d8bc3b" width="200" /></a></div>
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For me, the answer is both but I would choose <i>Bossypants</i> first. If the rest of you are leaning toward Mindy Kaling's book, however, I'd be happy to read it first instead!</div>Jenniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08068892989714561112noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8195070675866014770.post-55636970171344936202012-01-11T16:27:00.000-08:002012-01-11T16:29:57.645-08:00P. D. James<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcOUgPifKtop3lLemYhjVIjCf1AFTHvW79N5m9yltoH10tLsFtbjsBTqwSXD-UFDR7CQNGIv87EW2O7XYgIuLliYNQfRQsJEI3A7b1Xc2aRAYk6tQN6HeDI79awiLns8w5sjgGjobAY4s/s1600/death+pemberley.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcOUgPifKtop3lLemYhjVIjCf1AFTHvW79N5m9yltoH10tLsFtbjsBTqwSXD-UFDR7CQNGIv87EW2O7XYgIuLliYNQfRQsJEI3A7b1Xc2aRAYk6tQN6HeDI79awiLns8w5sjgGjobAY4s/s320/death+pemberley.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696536047950708626" border="0" /></a><br />And after we read <span style="font-style: italic;">Pride and Prejudice</span>, and confirm our collective need for a pile of money, hot man, and a Pemberley, we can read the inimitable P. D. James' new novel <span style="font-style: italic;">Death Comes to Pemberley</span> . . . in which the villain from <span style="font-style: italic;">Pride and Prejudice</span> appears guilty . . . yes, yes, my precious, we shall read all the books.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11329951121861231140noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8195070675866014770.post-63834446511762926302012-01-11T11:51:00.000-08:002012-01-11T11:54:34.941-08:00Suggestions from JennieHello friends!<br />
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I went through my to-read shelf and bounced a couple ideas off Lisa (she seems to have read just about everything there is ;) ). Here are my top two suggestions as of right now:<br />
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/de/Knife_of_Never_letting_Go_cover.jpg/200px-Knife_of_Never_letting_Go_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/de/Knife_of_Never_letting_Go_cover.jpg/200px-Knife_of_Never_letting_Go_cover.jpg" width="127" /></a><i><b>The Knife of Never Letting Go</b> -</i><br />
A dystopia set in a world where you can hear everyone's thoughts whether or not you want to. It was recommended to me by my good friend Claudia and her sister who is a high school English teacher. It has pretty good reviews on goodreads and the added bonus that Lisa hasn't read it. The main character is male, which is a change from most recently written dystopias (ie Hunger Games, Uglies, Divergent, etc). I have heard that it is rather dark and violent.<br />
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<a href="http://diatribesandovations.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/bossypants2.jpg?w=300" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://diatribesandovations.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/bossypants2.jpg?w=300" width="200" /></a><i><b>Bossypants </b>-</i><br />
Lisa has read this one, but she said it's hilarious and good and that she is willing to reread it. We were talking about the Mindy Kaling book, and I realized that if I were to pick a book written by a female comedian to read, this would be it.<br />
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I'm excited that we're resurrecting the good old Hack n' Slash blog!Jenniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08068892989714561112noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8195070675866014770.post-12964831718349311532012-01-11T11:16:00.001-08:002012-01-11T11:19:01.853-08:00Annnnnnd We're Back!Thank you Jennie for your mad template skills. A few books I have in mind:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Pride and Prejudice</span> (Jennie hasn't read it. Um what? I'm gonna need those high school and college diplomas, thank YOU. Don't worry, it's very short and very funny. And free on ereaders I think.)<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Hobbit</span> before the movie comes out (much smoother and quicker read than LOTR)<br /><br />Other stuff I forget right now.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11329951121861231140noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8195070675866014770.post-20718078144345501372009-12-29T11:15:00.000-08:002009-12-29T11:16:08.931-08:00Kill the King...So once upon a time I had all these thoughts about On Writing. After <br>finals and school and holidays and all that, now I can't remember them.<p>Anyone else finish it?<p>Oh and Lisa, did you attempt Nanowrimo this year? I could post this <br>on the Cupcakes blog but nobody reads that one anymore.Peteyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07885925341984738958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8195070675866014770.post-8620869152849253482009-10-06T14:15:00.000-07:002012-01-11T16:12:23.704-08:00Telepathy or Schmelepathy?What do you think about King's idea that he is communicating telepathically to us through his writing? (Sorry, I would have a quote here but I don't have my book with me. Perhaps I'll add one when I get home.)<br />
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I am of the opinion that it is more a matter of teleportation (beam me up, Scotty!) because while reading we are often transported to another place (and sometimes even another time). Perhaps telepathy is more applicable with textbooks or other writing designed for learning purposes. Either way, I like his point.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8195070675866014770.post-33181104261391815762009-09-21T19:28:00.000-07:002009-09-21T19:30:41.720-07:00We interrupt this program......to point out that today is Stephen King's birthday.<div><br /></div><div>Happy birthday, Stevie King!</div><div><br /></div><div>Alright, I'm off for the night. I'm going to comment on your post in the morning, Lisa. I was totally going to post that TV quote. How funny. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8195070675866014770.post-91934417945819323972009-09-20T20:41:00.000-07:002009-09-21T10:40:47.287-07:00TV and Storytelling"I am, when you stop to think of it, a member of a fairly select group: the final handful of American novelists who learned to read and write before they learned to eat a daily helping of video bullshit."<br />pg. 22<br /><br />How do you think watching TV helps or hurts writing and storytelling? I took a screenwriting class in college and I think film and writing can have some overlap - plot, characterization, show don't tell, etc.<br /><br />"Let's get one thing clear right now, shall we? There is no Idea Dump, no Story Central, no Island of the Buried Bestsellers; good story ideas seem to come quite literally from nowhere, sailing at you right out of the sky . . ." pg. 25<br /><br />I'm sure we'll get more into this later, but as an occasional writer, I think this is soooo true. And it means that if you want to write, you have to show up. You have to make the time to sit down in front of the Glowing Screen of Doom, and see what decides to visit, and then write it down. And sometimes it doesn't show up in front of the screen, so having something to write on at all times is important. Very important. <br /><br />I think a lot of things in life are like that - if you show up, and sit down, certain things will take care of themselves.<br /><br />"I was ashamed. I have spent a good many years since-too many I think-being ashamed about what I write. I think I was forty before I realized that almost every writer of fiction and poetry who has ever published a line has been accused by someone of wasting his or her God-given talent. If you write (or paint or dance or sculpt or sing, I suppose) someone will try to make you feel lousy about it, that's all." pg. 39<br /><br />So true. And most of us take it too much to heart. Of course, we can tell our friends what we need to hear - that the people who are out there doing it need to keep on doing it, and ignore the peanut gallery. How do you ignore the peanut gallery in life and get on with business?Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11329951121861231140noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8195070675866014770.post-19688029384800887912009-09-18T10:52:00.000-07:002009-09-18T15:13:10.250-07:00Writing on Writers who are WritingI've been reading the chosen selection.<br /><br />That doesn't sound like a good beginning, does it? It's funny how much sentiment may or may not be conveyed through lines on paper. Or a screen. Oh communication. But isn't that what writing is all about? <br /><br />I am enjoying it. <br /><br />But. Yes, there is a but. First I should clarify that I have never read one of Mr. King's books. Never. I know, that makes me a terrible person, or a lousy book-club member or humanitarian, or whatever. Even I, given my natural propensity to things dark and twisted, view it as an oddity. And perhaps I shall pick one up and read it (suggestions? What is the best, or most important fictional work of Little Stevie King?).<br /><br />Until then, I have only this nonfiction piece to go on - which is, no doubt, different than a writer's fictional work - and thus I wonder about your comment, Jennie, that Lisa was correct about the author's nonfiction writing. Please explain, if you don't mind. <br /><br />Back to the but. But, I find I like his accounts of the actual writing experience best. Perhaps that's what I'm most interested in, given it is a book by a writer about writing. Some of the early accounts of his childhood experiences seem a little... derived. <br /><br />I mean yes, children certainly do stupid things. Everyone has tales of their ridiculous childhood (at least most boys do, I'm not sure about the female population). But some of the moments were predictable and contrived to me. The poison ivy, for example. Every boy scout has a tale of someone they knew doing some such, true or not. It's a childhood urban legend, and I saw it coming a mile off. Perhaps these moments are completely true, but I also have to guess at the nature of a writer, who is by definition, a liar. Writers might like to pretend that they're achieving truth through recombination of experience, of art, of ideas - and in a metaphysical sort of manner, yeah that may be accurate. But life doesn't make for great art, great story arcs, or encapsulated themes. That's why it requires recombination by someone with a sense of the desperation innate in humankind to search for meaning in the chaos. And so, writers lie. It works better on paper. And the best of them stab something close to truth, and others... don't. <br /><br />My point here is, I really like his moments about his ideas, his writing, his creation because to me, those bits feel real. Some of the others that emerge from his foggy childhood read a bit like stories one tells at dinner parties to provoke a reaction, and nobody really cares whether the details are intact since everyone's had a bit too much to drink anyhow. <br /><br />There. That said, I am enjoying the book. Comments?Peteyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07885925341984738958noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8195070675866014770.post-67843246479300663982009-09-09T14:32:00.000-07:002009-09-09T22:28:48.266-07:00Born WritersI picked up my copy of <span style="font-style: italic;">On Writing</span> last night, and I've only just begun reading it, but I already found something that may be worth a bit of discussion. In the introduction of the first section (after the hilarious forwards), when King is explaining his purpose in writing this book, he says this:<div><blockquote>"It is, rather, a kind of <i>curriculum vitae</i>--my attempt to show how one writer was formed. Not how one writer was <i>made</i>; I don't believe writers <i>can</i> be made, either by circumstances or by self-will (although I did believe those things once). The equipment comes with the original package." (pg. 4, Mass Market Paperback)</blockquote>I pretty much agree with this idea. However, it also somewhat confirms to me what I have long feared about myself. I am not a writer, and I will never be a writer. I wasn't born with the "equipment". King goes on to say that the equipment is not unusual or unique, and that many people have it to varying degrees. I have enough of the skills needed to write a coherent paragraph or even an essay (college proved that to me), but beyond that, I'm pretty sure it's just not there. As much as I wish it was. Ah well. One thing I do know--I am definitely a <i>reader</i>. I'm very much enjoying the book so far. You're right about Stephen King as a nonfiction writer, Lisa.</div><div><br /></div><div>What are your thoughts? Do you agree with Stephen King on this subject? Or do you believe in the power of self-will? ;) There was an LDS prophet--I think it was David O. McKay...or maybe Spencer W. Kimball--who believed that you can learn to do anything if you work hard enough and practice it enough. He had terrible handwriting and worked and worked on it until he won a penmanship award at school. I don't know...if that were true, wouldn't there be more olympic athletes in the world? More Picassos and Beethovens? Clearly, natural ability plays a huge role in things. But I guess there really is part of me that believes (hopes?) that if I tried hard and long enough, I could excel at almost anything. What do you think?</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8195070675866014770.post-68855674744473214722009-09-09T14:29:00.000-07:002009-09-09T14:31:39.206-07:00Under ConstructionPlease excuse the appearance of the blog right now. Lisa and I were experimenting with new backgrounds, and found this one that we both like. However, that leaves us with color and banner issues to be resolved. Paul is going to help me out with it soon, but until then, do any of you have any input? Opinions? Ideas? Let me know.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8195070675866014770.post-18619340891731000632009-09-06T21:09:00.000-07:002009-09-09T14:32:14.233-07:00Why We Crave Horror Movies<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8RMu8p_N9f_C0jqcCjrDzXb3BfkPGBAPnlNRBz5XfarfBA5kf9fZOZSYDe_qXrC-KADztTC5NnygTJQp71N_Rs-bjd7_uX6z6vvXLeUnsji5hrE1VLooVKvXlHCAUULaIRT6YD3-g5XA/s1600-h/alligator.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8RMu8p_N9f_C0jqcCjrDzXb3BfkPGBAPnlNRBz5XfarfBA5kf9fZOZSYDe_qXrC-KADztTC5NnygTJQp71N_Rs-bjd7_uX6z6vvXLeUnsji5hrE1VLooVKvXlHCAUULaIRT6YD3-g5XA/s320/alligator.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378576532959917538" border="0" /></a><br />So, I actually teach a shortened version of this essay by Stephen King to my MCATers, and the subtle genius of the whole thing is lost on them. Le sigh. Oh well, we want them to be competent at diagnosing weird diseases and removing funny moles or ingrown toenails, I guess it's ok that they don't always get the intricacies of human nature . . . well, hopefully the future psychiatrists understand this essay.<br /><br />Personally, I adore it. I think it showcases King's talent in a way his fiction can't. (You can only do so much when your sentences have to be at 8th grade reading level. I'm just saying. Semicolons and dashes rock.)<br /><br /><br />"Why We Crave Horror Movies"<br />By Stephen King<br /><br />I think that we’re all mentally ill; those of us outside the asylums only hide it a little better – and<br />maybe not all that much better, after all. We’ve all known people who talk to themselves, people who sometimes squinch their faces into horrible grimaces when they believe no one is watching, people who have some hysterical fear – of snakes, the dark, the tight place, the long drop . . . and, of course, those final worms and grubs that are waiting so patiently underground.<br /><br />When we pay our four or five bucks and seat ourselves at tenth-row center in a theater showing a horror movie, we are daring the nightmare.<br /><br />Why? Some of the reasons are simple and obvious. To show that we can, that we are not afraid,<br />that we can ride this roller coaster. Which is not to say that a really good horror movie may not surprise a scream out of us at some point, the way we may scream when the roller coaster twists through a complete 360 or plows through a lake at the bottom of the drop. And horror movies, like roller coasters, have always been the special province of the young; by the time one turns 40 or 50, one’s appetite for double twists or 360-degree loops may be considerably depleted.<br /><br />We also go to re-establish our feelings of essential normality; the horror movie is innately<br />conservative, even reactionary. Freda Jackson as the horrible melting woman in Die, Monster, Die! confirms for us that no matter how far we may be removed from the beauty of a Robert Redford or a Diana Ross, we are still light-years from true ugliness.<br /><br />And we go to have fun.<br /><br />Ah, but this is where the ground starts to slope away, isn’t it? Because this is a very peculiar sort<br />of fun, indeed. The fun comes from seeing others menaced – sometimes killed. One critic has suggested that if pro football has become the voyeur’s version of combat, then the horror film has become the modern version of the public lynching.<br /><br />It is true that the mythic “fairy-tale” horror film intends to take away the shades of grey . . . . It<br />urges us to put away our more civilized and adult penchant for analysis and to become children again, seeing things in pure blacks and whites. It may be that horror movies provide psychic relief on this level because this invitation to lapse into simplicity, irrationality and even outright madness is extended so rarely. We are told we may allow our emotions a free rein . . . or no rein at all.<br /><br />If we are all insane, then sanity becomes a matter of degree. If your insanity leads you to carve<br />up women like Jack the Ripper or the Cleveland Torso Murderer, we clap you away in the funny farm (but neither of those two amateur-night surgeons was ever caught, heh-heh-heh); if, on the other hand, your insanity leads you only to talk to yourself when you’re under stress or to pick your nose on your morning bus, then you are left alone to go about your business . . . though it is doubtful that you will ever be invited to the best parties.<br /><br />The potential lyncher is in almost all of us (excluding saints, past and present; but then, most<br />saints have been crazy in their own ways), and every now and then, he has to be let loose to scream and roll around in the grass. Our emotions and our fears form their own body, and we recognize that it demands its own exercise to maintain proper muscle tone. Certain of these emotional muscles are accepted – even exalted – in civilized society; they are, of course, the emotions that tend to maintain the status quo of civilization itself. Love, friendship, loyalty, kindness -- these are all the emotions that we applaud, emotions that have been immortalized in the couplets of Hallmark cards and in the verses (I don’t dare call it poetry) of Leonard Nimoy.<br /><br />When we exhibit these emotions, society showers us with positive reinforcement; we learn this<br />even before we get out of diapers. When, as children, we hug our rotten little puke of a sister and give her a kiss, all the aunts and uncles smile and twit and cry, “Isn’t he the sweetest little thing?” Such coveted treats as chocolate-covered graham crackers often follow. But if we deliberately slam the rotten little puke of a sister’s fingers in the door, sanctions follow – angry remonstrance from parents, aunts and uncles; instead of a chocolate-covered graham cracker, a spanking.<br /><br />But anticivilization emotions don’t go away, and they demand periodic exercise. We have such<br />“sick” jokes as, “What’s the difference between a truckload of bowling balls and a truckload of dead babies?” (You can’t unload a truckload of bowling balls with a pitchfork . . . a joke, by the way, that I heard originally from a ten-year-old.) Such a joke may surprise a laugh or a grin out of us even as we recoil, a possibility that confirms the thesis: If we share a brotherhood of man, then we also share an insanity of man. None of which is intended as a defense of either the sick joke or insanity but merely as an explanation of why the best horror films, like the best fairy tales, manage to be reactionary, anarchistic, and revolutionary all at the same time.<br /><br />The mythic horror movie, like the sick joke, has a dirty job to do. It deliberately appeals to all<br />that is worst in us. It is morbidity unchained, our most base instincts let free, our nastiest fantasies realized . . . and it all happens, fittingly enough, in the dark. For those reasons, good liberals often shy away from horror films. For myself, I like to see the most aggressive of them – Dawn of the Dead, for instance – as lifting a trap door in the civilized forebrain and throwing a basket of raw meat to the hungry alligators swimming around in that subterranean river beneath.<br /><br />Why bother? Because it keeps them from getting out, man. It keeps them down there and me up here. It was Lennon and McCartney who said that all you need is love, and I would agree with that.<br /><br />As long as you keep the gators fed.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11329951121861231140noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8195070675866014770.post-36920752930363206052009-09-06T20:43:00.000-07:002009-09-06T21:08:04.167-07:00Stephen King's On Writing<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVybG9CAbtqLqHmhuCE8KSf-mejCzxNwrz1im7jJSNEYmzEFReSPyRP3fIPRCGxOTpr4IBvQH3CCM7x1glrDFCih1b4Dbx5rt7-STP-MJZSVd1zI7LskcuX-DGxaZiUUkglWrqvCXUAoQ/s1600-h/on_writing_stephen_king.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 124px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVybG9CAbtqLqHmhuCE8KSf-mejCzxNwrz1im7jJSNEYmzEFReSPyRP3fIPRCGxOTpr4IBvQH3CCM7x1glrDFCih1b4Dbx5rt7-STP-MJZSVd1zI7LskcuX-DGxaZiUUkglWrqvCXUAoQ/s200/on_writing_stephen_king.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378572410022222114" border="0" /></a><br />Alright - our current book is Stephen King's <span style="font-style: italic;">On Writing</span>, a book I have read but which the rest of you have not. I've been wanting to reread it anyway, so I'm not complaining. :-)<br /><br />As far as editions go, I have the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Writing-Stephen-King/dp/0743455967">mass market paperback</a>, copyright 2000. It has the image Jennie has graciously posted for us under Now Reading of the chair and rejection letter. However, I have some sort of hazy memory of a Barnes and Noble shelf with a trade paper version of the book with an identical cover . . . we can always reference sections and numbers within sections, but the book has no table of contents, so if you have the flexibility, grab the mass market edition for ease of referencing stuff.<br /><br />Actually, here, I made us an incomplete Table of Contents (mass market):<br /> C.V., sections 1-38, pg. 4<br /> What Writing Is, pg. 95<br /> Toolbox, sections 1-5, pg. 102<br /> On Writing, sections 1-16, pg. 134<br /> On Living: A Postscript, sections 1-7, pg. 255<br /><br />I say incomplete because there are three forewords, a page with amusing contradictory quotes, and an example of editing . . . you shall see. Be sure to look at all the pages, I think you'll enjoy them.<br /><br />Peter has suggested that when King has a writing exercise suggestion, we gamely try it out. I recall something about a sentence/story starter that King said he would read if you finish it out and send it to him - and I love the idea of being able to whine on the blog about how Stephen King is failing to respond to correspondence. Peter and I will partake in those, perhaps over on the Cupcakes blog, and Jennie can harangue us a teensie little bit every now and then, when she feels like it. Or write too. :-)<br /><br />So - sally forth and get your paws on a copy and jump in. Post whenever something tickles your fancy or annoys you. And remember to check the blog and comment on others' posts with salient points, or stories of creme brulee disasters, or whatnot.<br /><br />Over and out, L.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11329951121861231140noreply@blogger.com1