End of an Era

I just finished the most wonderful book:
Twilight at Monticello: The Final Years of Thomas Jefferson by Alan Pell Crawford.
At just 264 pages, it is a quick but moving read.
My favorite section is Chapter 38, "Is It the Fourth?" which details the final day of both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, who both died on the 4th of July 1826, the 50th anniversary of America's founding. Two leaders of the Revolution were gone.

Daydreaming

of Ireland this summer...

Here is a music video from my favorite Irish musician, Luka Bloom.

Travel on my mind

So I booked a trip to Ireland this morning. It was such a great deal, and surprisingly in the SUMMER, I just couldn't pass it up. Tom and I were in Ireland in October of 2006 and traveled throughout the East coast of the island so this time we are flying into Shannon and focusing on the West coast from the Dingle Peninsula to the Aran Islands and Galway. The best part, Tom and I are traveling with my son, my parents and 2 other couples for their first trip to the Emerald Isle. It's time to refresh the delights of Ireland's West coast so I am happily reading some of my favorite travel books.
DK's Ireland

Lonely Planet Ireland

Let's Go Ireland





I love travel books and am happily researching Ireland as well as Germany for my September trip to Octoberfest.
I'm flying to Punta Gorda Florida next week for a girls week with my mom, we're going to plan our Ireland trip, swim in her pool, hit the beach and bring flowers to my Grandparent's graves in my hometown of Gulfport. I can't wait to walk the streets and the beach of one of my favorite places in the world. Hopefully I can also play in my step dad's new RV, just like the Griswald's!

Artists' Books

I had a class at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago last night which was a great opportunity to poke around an academic library. We were admitted to the Joan Flasch Artists' Book collection, the 16 mm film collection as well as the 6th floor John Flaxman Library in the Wabash building. The Artists' Book collection was an extremely unusual library of books in as many styles and materials as you can imagine. I read one book made and contained in a man's dress shoe, another made of leaves, another was a music box, and my favorite a pop up book about Brooklyn done by the Brooklyn Public Library. Besides the access to the one of a kind books last night, it was entertaining to be in a Chicago college to watch the flow of students entering and leaving the building. I finished my undergrad degree at another popular "arts" school in Chicago, (Columbia College) and standing in the library of SAIC last night made me feel nostalgic. The students were so young and so unique, dressed in a combination of clothing that was resale and funky as only college kids can. I stood in the lobby and watched a veritable parade of colors and styles go buy, young Asian women who looked more like manga characters than students, and young men in tight black jeans, combat boots and clothes from a generation they weren't born into. It made me feel old especially thinking that my own son will be off to college in 3 short years. It also made me giggle, thinking that no matter how much my own life may change including my happiness to have left the days of rammen noodles, thrift store shopping and "artsy" boys behind, the college student ideals remain the same.

Looking for Holden Caulfield

On of my great joys is my son's love of reading. He enjoys series, especially the Cirque de Freak books by Darren Shan and the Harry Potter 7. Yesterday he requested that I bring home from work the J.D. Salinger teen angst classic The Catcher in the Rye. Interesting choice I was thinking to myself, but then again he is approaching the age of the character Holden Caulfield. Apparently he found a copy in study hall, picked it up, started reading and was hooked. I believe he will finish the book today which might make for some good "book talk" over dinner this week.
If you haven't read The Catcher in the Rye, you should. The character of Holden Caulfield has long been the poster boy for teen rebellion and anger, most famously to John Lennon's killer Mark David Chapman who was carrying a copy of the book when he shot Lennon. A friend of mine was in a relationship for too long with a guy who was a complete slacker, his line, "My hero is Holden Caulfield". I kept asking her, "Is that the attraction...good lord WHY?"
I read in an interview once that J.D. Salinger has famously denied ALL attempts at acquiring the rights to turn the book into a film, even from Harvey Weinstein and Steven Spielberg. Personally I think the long dead River Phoenix or the recently deceased Heath Ledger would have been great as Holden. As long as Salinger is alive,and he is 89, there won't be a movie made.
However, once my boy finishes the book, we will have some great discussion about unforgettable characters. Maybe we should discuss on a carousel?

When Librarians Get Creative

This short YouTube clip was created by 2 librarians in Kansas. It is a 90 second review of one of my favorite books, Austenland by Shannon Hale. It's silly but a creative way to think outside the typical written book review.

Got Book?

So after years of sporadic writing on my first book, I joined a writing group that meets twice a month. My first meeting was Wednesday night and I think the group will be helpful with my procrastination on getting my ideas down on paper. My book is a young adult novel that I started a few years ago when the main character literally popped fully formed into my mind. I wrote the first couple of chapters with ease, setting up my main characters, the location and the conflict she will wrestle with. I have a general outline as well as ideas for additional adventures featuring my main characters that I plan to incorporate into a series of books. After my first writing group meeting, I am confident that with the opportunities to read my work to the other members, as well as receiving feedback and criticisms, they will help keep me on track. While I didn't read my first 2 chapters on Wednesday, I plan on reading at our next meeting. One of the authors involved recommended the book Hooked: Write Fiction That Grabs Readers at Page One & Never Lets Them Go by Les Edgerton which I just started reading.