Everlasting Natalie
"You really have to love words if you're going to be a writer, because, as a writer, you certainly spend a lot of time with words. A suggestion for someone who wants to start writing? Be a reader. It's the only real way to learn how to tell a story. Readers are lucky -- they will never be bored or lonely." -- Natalie Babbitt
Natalie Babbitt, author of Tuck Everlasting, Knee Knock Rise and The Moon Over High Street died Oct. 31, 2016. She was 84 years old. Babbitt is probably best known for Tuck Everlasting, a novel written for children and also enjoyed by adults.
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Published in 1975
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from Tuck Everlasting: "Closing the gates on her oldest fears as she had closed the gate of her own fenced yard, she discovered the wings she'd always wished she had."
An Evening with...Candice Millard
"I've always been interested in the idea of self-reinvention."
--Candice Millard
Great leaders are born, not made and one name stands alone as a virtual synonym for leadership - Winston Churchill, said Candice Millard, introducing her newest book, Hero of the Empire.
"Winston Churchill was a master politician and one of the most famous people in history but we don't talk about what created him," she added, speaking to a large audience at Unity Temple in Kansas City, MO.
As a way of discovering what drove Churchill to such political heights, Millard researched his early years. By the time Churchill was 24 years old, he had been in three wars. He loved the gallantry of the military and was fascinated by power. "He (Churchill) was the first to sign up and the first to show off," Millard said. "He worked as a journalist and was a very good writer." Hero of the Empire is the story of what happened when Winston Churchill was hired to cover the Second Boer War as a correspondent and was subsequently captured and held as a prisoner of war. Churchill hated every minute of captivity, said Millard.
After his escape and return to England, Churchill was nearly unstoppable. He ran for a seat in Parliament and won. As a man and leader, Churchill was far from perfect, Millard said. He could an elitist and arrogant, but from him "we get lessons on grit and the power of words," she added. "He lived for 90 years. It was a crowded life."
His crowded life is well documented. Millard traveled to England and South Africa to research Churchill's life during the Second Boer War (1899-1902) and his rise to political power. She was happy to find a wealth of primary sources which are "important for narrative non-fiction," she said. "This is such a great story."
Digging into history isn't new to Millard. Her first book, River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey chronicled TR's exploration of the Amazon River. Her second book, Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President examined James Garfield's presidency, assassination attempt and later death, largely because of deplorable medical care. Hero of the Empire joins these earlier books as a New York Times bestseller.
When the former National Geographic editor isn't researching or writing, she enjoys reading novelists Ian McEwan and Hilary Mantel. Millard's favorite non-fiction writers are no surprise - both are noted historians - Stacy Shiff (Cleopatra) and Nathaniel Philbrick (Valiant Ambition). Millard said it was "a thrill" to meet acclaimed historian David McCullough (The Wright Brothers) at the National Book Festival in Washington D.C.
There are already ideas for the next book but a final decision will be made in early 2017 when her book tour is finished, Millard said. Although the topic will almost certainly be history, Millard maintains she is not a historian, instead, she "writes about history."
For more information about the life of Winston Churchill, browse the website of the Churchill Museum in Fulton, Missouri: https://www.nationalchurchillmuseum.org/
"Writing a book is an adventure" - Winston Churchill
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Pencil, Paper, Plot...Go!
"Here is a lesson in creative writing. First rule: do not use semicolons."
-- Kurt Vonnegut
Sharpen your pencils. Settle into your chair. Organize your thoughts. Take a deep breath. Write.
It's almost time for National Novel Writing Month, or as it is affectionately known, NaNoWriMo . Every November, the good folks at http://nanowrimo.org/ encourage us to get busy with a goal of writing every day. By the end of the month, a 50,000 word novel is born.
In 2015, more than 430,000 people heeded NaNoWriMo's invitation to write.The annual challenge has paid off for novelists. Sara Gruen's Water for Elephants, Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, and Eric Morgenstern's The Night Circus are NaNoWriMo creations.
For those of us not interested in writing a novel, daily work on a memoir, poem, essay or children's picture book is also good exercise. Think of it as pilates with a pencil or keyboard.
Let those nouns and verbs flow from brain to paper or screen. Don't edit as you write - get the first draft written. All of it. As William Wordsworth said, "Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart."
Most of all, have fun writing in November. Imagine yourself as a writer in a threadbare sweater drinking gallons of hot tea and searching for the perfect verb while writing the next Great American Novel. You won't be alone because according to Cornelia Funke, "all writers are lunatics."
Indeed.
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If you need a gentle shove in the right direction, get to a bookstore or library and check out these helpful guides.
Writing and Illustrating the Graphic Novel - Dan Cooney
The Writer's Digest Handbook of Novel Writing - Tom Clark
Zen in the Art of Writing - Rad Bradbury
Lawrence Block's Writing the Novel
On Writing - Stephen King
Element of Style - William Strunk Jr.
Escaping Into the Open - Elizabeth Berg
Writing Fiction - Gotham Writers' Workshop
Writing Fiction - Janet Burroway & Elizabeth Stuckey-French
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Going Old School in October
Autumn was upon them. Here and there, leaves struggled to turn color, and the day was cloudy and cool. from Karen Cushman's Grayling's Song
It started with buying a journal (or two) embellished with photos of old typewriters or QWERTY art. Then I rediscovered a vintage Underwood typewriter in our basement. My husband reminded me that his mother bought it at a garage sale and toted it home for her five children. It now sits in our living room with various black and white postcards (Samuel Beckett, Flannery O'Connor, et al) dressing it up.
I have typewriter stickers and artwork. I have books about typewriters. When I text, the sound is a clickety-clack straight from a 1950s typing pool.
After hemming and hawing for a few months, I reached a decision today. Sitting in the back seat of my car is a typewriter. Black. Metal. Not electric. It has an ink ribbon. It won't self-correct. It won't offer suggestions of similar words.
Why is there a typewriter in my back seat? I'm not a total Luddite. I depend on the Internet for wide-ranging searches. For news updates. For shopping/browsing. But I also feel sad when I scan a restaurant and see entire groups seated together, heads down and texting, posting or searching. Or people taking selfies continuously during a concert while not paying any attention to the singer/musician on the stage.
We're incredibly connected and totally disconnected at the same time.
Why is there a typewriter in my back seat? I want to hear the clickety-clack and see words magically appear on paper, not just on a screen. I want to reverse decades and be 17 again with a typewriter, crisp white paper, a plot and a dream. I want to hear the crank as I roll in the sheet of paper and listen to the ping(!) of the carriage return lever.
It may be another whim that I'll regret by the end of the year. But it'll be fun getting there.
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October is Children's Magazine Month, Emotional Wellness Month, National Art and Humanities Month, National Cookbook Month (yum), Photographer Appreciation Month, National Go On a Field Trip Month and National Stamp Collecting Month.
If that doesn't keep you busy, look for new thrillers/mysteries by John Grisham,Stephen King, Vince Flynn, John Sandford, Stuart Woods, Tana French or Charlaine Harris. If you enjoy tales told by celebrities, this is your lucky month. Check out books by Dolly Parton, Bryan Cranston, Brian Wilson, Phil Collins, Elvis Costello (new in paperback), and Princess Leia herself - Carrie Fisher. More ideas? Try Randy Wayne White, W.E.B. Griffin, Jennifer Weiner, J.K. Rowling, Jodi Picoult, George R.R. Martin, Maria Semple, Elin Hilderbrand, Karen Kingsbury, Alexander McCall Smith, Pat Conroy, Debbie Macomber, Mary Engelbreit, Laurell Hamilton, Nancy Grace, Iris Johansen, David Macauley and Stan Lee.
October Days
2-8- Great Books Week
4- National Taco Day (perfect for National Cookbook Month)
5- In 2000, series premiere of Gilmore Girls
6- American Libraries Day
7-9- National Storytelling Weekend
13- Silly Sayings Day
16-22 National Friends of Libraries Week
17-23 Freedom of Speech Week
25-31 International Magic Week
28- National Chocolate Day
30- Checklist Day
31- Boo!
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September
"They say that all good things must end someday. Autumn leaves must fall...when the rain beats upon my window pane, I'll think of summer days again. And dream of you."
Chad & Jeremy, "A Summer Song" *1964* Metcalf/Stuart/Noble
The air smells a little of change. Change in routine...getting up early for school with only memories of afternoons at the neighborhood pool. Change in season...in the Upper Midwest the nights are getting cooler and a few leaves are starting to turn yellow. Road trips have
been swapped for bumpy rides in a school bus. Store shelves are brightly decorated with crayons, markers and binders. This is a season of fresh starts and good intentions.
September is Be Kind to Editors and Writers Month, Baby Safety Month, Update Your Resume Month and Library Card Sign-Up Month. Whatever your reading taste, there's a new book for you this month. Looking to update your house? Books by Chip & Joanna Gaines or the editors of Good Housekeeping magazine can help. If the brisk air invites you to try a new recipe, Ina Garten or Alton Brown offer ideas. Did you grow up listening to the Boss, Bruce Springsteen? Read his autobiography, September 27. Other singers share their stories: Mike Love of the Beach Boys and Maurice White of Earth, Wind and Fire. Mysteries and suspense will keep you awake - Harlan Coben, Joanne Fluke, Margaret Coel, John Grisham, J. D. Robb, J. A. Jance, Karin Slaughter, David Baldacci, M.C. Beaton, Mary Higgins Clark and James Patterson.
This is a busy month for book releases. Use your library card to check out new books by Candice Millard, Ransom Riggs, Ursula LeGuin, Nicholas Sparks, Carol Burnett, Carl Hiaasen, Ann Patchett, Craig Johnson, Jonathan Safran Foer, Ian McEwan, Berkeley Breathed, Dave Barry, Clive Cussler, Jim Henson, William Kent Krueger, Norm MacDonald, Nancy Tillman, Jennifer Weiner, Max Lucado, Margaret Atwood, Anne Trubek, Elizabeth Vargas, Emma Donoghue, Mary Pope Osborne and Mo Willems.
September Days
1-7 - International Enthusiasm Week
4 - Newspaper Carriers' Day
8 - International Literacy Day
&National Ampersand Day&
9 - Opposite Day (thanks, Spongebob!)
16 - Anne Bradstreet Day, poet, 1612-1672 (My love is such that rivers cannot quench...")
17 - International Eat an Apple Day
18-24 - International Keep Kids Creative Week
19 - Talk Like a Pirate Day, arrrgghhh
22 - Dear Diary Day (find your old diary or start a new journal)
23 - Love Note Day (write your own or read David Lowenherz's The 50 Greatest Love Letters of All Time)
24 - National Museum Day
26/10-1- Banned Books Week (Frequently challenged authors include Judy Blume, Aldous Huxley, Toni Morrison and Lois Lowry)
30 - Ask a Stupid Question Day
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August
"Let me enjoy this late summer day of my heart while the leaves are still green..." John Bohrn, "Late August"
This is one lucky month. Not only is August the eighth month of the year with 31 glorious days, it is also an adjective. And might I add, a superb adjective.
August (aw-GHUST). Inspiring awe, reverence or admiration; imposing, eminent. (from Roget's Thesaurus of Words for Writers)
Find a hammock or comfy chair, pour some iced tea, and read a new book by Amy Schumer, Jeffrey Toobin, Ann Hood, Nicholas Sparks, Louise Penny, Catherine Coulter, Stuart Woods, Eric Van Lustbader, James Andrew Miller, Janet Evanovich, Lisa Scottoline, Susan Wiggs, Caleb Carr and James Andrew Miller. If you enjoy coloring, watch for new books by Johanna Basford and Disney.
Celebrate August - American Artists Appreciation Month, Get Ready for Kindergarten Month, National Read a Romance Month and What Will be Your Legacy Month.
August Days
1-7 - Simplify Your Life Week
2 - National Coloring Book Day
3 - Friendship Day
6-10 - National Scrabble Week
7 - Sisters' Day
9 - Book Lover's Day
12 - Vinyl Record Day
18 - Bad Poetry Day
20 - International Geocaching Day
21 - Poet's Day
26 - Women's Equality Day
28 - Pony Express Day
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Happy Birthday, Dear America
"Saturday in the park, I think it was the Fourth of July. People talking, really smiling, a man playing guitar, singing for us all. I've been waiting such a long time for today. Every day's the Fourth of July...a real celebration for us all." Robert Lamm's Saturday in the Park performed by Chicago, July 1972
Americans have many reasons - 240, actually - to celebrate this Fourth of July, according to Time magazine. For many Americans, that number could be pushed to 241 if you count that the latest issue is "99% politics free." The list is wide-ranging and fun. It's filled with ideas of where to travel and what to cheer. Midnight sun baseball in Fairbanks, Alaska? Yes! Artisanal bread in all 50 states? Sure. The national park system turning 100 years old? Great! Iowa's funky bicycle ride (RAGBRAI) from the Missouri River to the Mississippi River that also features pies at each stop? Sweet and delicious!
Our reading habits and books also made the list. It's good news for all Americans that bookstores, especially independent stores, are not disappearing. Time calls their death "greatly exaggerated" (# 64) while touting the success of Tattered Cover in Denver, Colorado and R.J. Julia in Madison, Connecticut. Americans are still reading up a storm, buying both e-books and hard copy books. We love our traditional novels (# 164) such as Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, Humboldt's Gift by Saul Bellows, and Birds of America by Lorrie Moore. Children's classics (# 177-185) remain close to our hearts, Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin, The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats and The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
And we pack up our lawn chairs and picnic baskets whenever we get the chance to enjoy any staging of Shakespeare under the stars (# 212).
There are new books to keep you reading all summer. Watch for: J. K. Rowling, Daniel Silva, Liane Moriarty, Danielle Steel, James Patterson, G. B. Trudeau, Peter Lovesey, Hannah Pittard, Delia Ephron, Marcia Muller, Linda Castillo, Alexander McCall Smith, Susan Mallery, Ace Atkins, Iris Johansen, Lenny Dykstra, Lauren Weisberger, Lisa Scottoline & Francesca Serritella, Gregg Olsen & Rebecca Morris.
Three upcoming books that have gotten a lot of pre-publication buzz: Mary Mann Hamilton's The Trials of the Earth; Nicolaia Rips' Trying to Float; and Kate Summerscale's The Wicked Boy.
In honor of our Independence Day, I'll be reading Gail Collins' America's Women: 400 Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates and Heroines.
J*u*l*y is Cell Phone Courtesy Month, National Blueberries Month, National Ice Cream Month and Dog Days (of summer) Month.
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3 - Superman Day
7 - Chocolate Day
10 - Clerihew Day (Not sure what a clerihew is? Check out The Lost Clerihews of Paul Ingram.
11 - Bowdler's Day (Thomas Bowdler - famous for removing offending passages from books)
13 - French Fries Day
14 - National Mac & Cheese Day
20 - Moon Day (In honor of July 20, 1969 and Neil Armstrong's "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind..."
22 - Spooners' Day (William Archibald Spooner - often got his words mixed up such as "Can I sew you to another sheet instead of can I show you to another seat?"
- Hammock Day
23 - National Day of the Cowboy (Read Louis L'Amour, Zane Grey or Max Brand)
24 - Amelia Earhart Day (East to the Dawn by Susan Butler)
26 - National Talk in an Elevator Day (Ask what book he/she is reading)
27 -Bagpipe Appreciation Day
30 - Friendship Day
- Paperback Book Day (Great for packing along on August vacations)
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