Friends Don't Let Friends Read Bad Books

I collect people.  There it is, the truth in four words or less. Some folks pick up stamps, comic books, or coins—not me, people are my bag.  Zac, who is an Apple Genius by day, aspiring writer by night, and a gifted sounding board in between told me so. He sees details with acuity—the ones even genuine observers miss.  And Zac would know.  I collected him years ago and I’m so glad I did—he’s undoubtedly one of my most important friends.  Irreplaceable.

So, despite the absence of almost-famous pancakes and marriage-proposal-good buttermilk syrup, I’ve been chatting with my peeps about some of their favorite reads.  I selected carefully from my crowd: one an English professor who loves the living as much as the dead, one a Renaissance man who codes despite being a true aesthete at heart, and one who is brainy and brilliant like Rae in giving the best books.  I feel good about this because I’m a believer that friends don’t let friends give bad books.  And you are fast becoming my friends—ne’er a collection too big.  

Zac’s Pick

Zac, beautiful soul, loves Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses.  He said, “it was the kind of book that I read slowly because I didn’t want it to be over. The prose was evocative (which is such a vague adjective), but the words created an amazing sense of character and landscape and how the two related.  It was the kind of book that reminded me why I care about literature.  The intimate power that a book can have to move you as an individual.”  Time to read All the Pretty Horses if you haven’t.  

Stacy’s Pick

I have known Stacy since college.  She and I got to know each other better with years.  Stacy exudes a loveliness that is undeniable.  I feel energized whenever I’m around her.  She listens long.  And invariably, she always responds with what I need to hear.  I’m not sure how she does that.  She’s taught literature classes for years.  The Professor’s House is a staple for her.  Cather’s reverence for landscape, especially of the West, is superb.  Cather’s writing is like light.  A definite must read even if you’re not in Dr. Day’s classroom!

Ted’s Picks

Ted worked on a PhD in British Literature at Auburn University.  He’s a guru when it comes to books, code, rock-n-roll and kindness. Bless him for it.  Ted is easily one of the most humble smart guys I’ve ever met. The fact that he never misses an allusion is just icing. Ted couldn’t be limited to one favorite.  Admittedly, it’s unfair to ask of a reader to choose just one.  So Ted’s top three are House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, The Brothers Karamozov (also one of Zac’s favorites) by Dostoevsky, and Wallace Stegner’s Crossing to Safety.  He loves these books because they all explain life’s messiness to him; or at least attempt to hold it up to a magnifying glass.  It will get you out of the binary world—help you to see so many shades of gray—on a socioeconomic level (Mirth), a philosophical/religious level (Brothers), and then there’s the interpersonal level (Crossing).  These reads will take your breath away.   

Eliane’s Pick

I collected Eliane nearly two decades ago.  She’s one of my best finds.  Ever.  Currently, she lives in Denmark. That fact makes me curse miles and loathe distance.  But she’s never far away. Eliane’s a voracious reader, which accounts for some of her brilliance.  One of her constants is also a favorite of mine: A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean. Eliane reads this novella every year. She said, “I love its simplicity, and its descriptions of nature and family relationships.  It is beautiful.”  A gorgeous read. 

Posted by Tracy

Buttermilk Pancakes And The Power Of A Compliment

I have learned that to be with those I like is enough. —Walt Whitman

At first glance, I thought I had a quibble with Walt. I was tempted to tweak his lovely line by replacing like with love. Who do I think I am, second guessing a wordsmith like Walt? An amateur, that's what I am. Walt knew that it can be far easier to love someone than like them. I spent the morning with my kids and four of my brothers' kids whom I not only love, but happen to like a whole lot.

We made my niece Mariah's famous buttermilk pancakes topped with her perhaps even more famous buttermilk syrup. Look out boys, these are marriage-proposal good. Although the chef that comes with them is the real prize.

We talked about an assignment my girls were given in one of their college courses to meet three new people by midnight. Everyone weighed in on how they approach people they don't know. My nephew Gavin has no problem with the direct, straight up approach. Mariah finds it easier to talk to people sitting next to her in class and she reminded us that everyone likes to have someone to talk to. Her brother, Cameron, said he's found you can't go wrong with a compliment.

Our conversation then turned to where so many of them do: books we love. Here are some top picks from some of the people I like most:

Cameron's Pick

Cameron, the consummate capitalist, loves how Ayn Rand, who wrote Atlas Shrugged in the 1950s, so accurately depicted some of the economic events that have shaped today's society.

Chad's Pick

Chad, who spent two years serving a mission for our church in South Korea, is a huge fan of the Pulitzer Prize winning The Orphan Master's Son.

Gavin's Pick

We were able to distract Gavin long enough from his upcoming nuptials to find that one of his favorites is a favorite of mine as well. I am so glad Gavin reminded me of Peace Like a River. This one is due for a re-read. Another favorite of Gavin's is also by Enger: So Brave, Young, and Handsome. A book, that according to its title, Chad is certain must be about him.

Mariah's Pick

Mariah wants to make it known that Harry Potter is and forever will be her top pick. (My kids' picks come with the same disclaimer.) She once wrote a paper for Tracy's Beginning Writing course advocating Harry Potter be added to the canon. A more recent read Mariah likes is The Life of Pi.

Emma's Pick

My daughter Emma especially loves the Peter and the Starcatchers series. I think she read her first one in 6th or 7th grade. She's in college now and still goes back to that series when asked about books that matter to her. Shannon Hale's The Goose Girl series makes that list as well.

Susannah's Pick

Susannah is by far my biggest reader. She's responsible for a large portion of our Kid Lit and Young Adult picks. She was aghast to find I'd left one of her favorites, The Mysterious Benedict Society, off the list. She recommends the entire series for ages 9 and up. For a real treat, after your kids read the book have them go here.

Ben's Pick

What can I say about Robot Wars except that he's found a book he likes so I'm not complaining. If you have a boy that loves robots, Mars, and action-packed prose, this book is a sure bet.

Posted by Rachel

There's A Skip In My Step Today

It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn't use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like "What about lunch?" —A.A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh

Heading to Utah today to get in some much needed Tracy time and join in welcoming home her sweet girl from serving a mission for our church. We'll eat great food, laugh real laughs, and see a movie in a theater we're sure sells Coke. And we'll work on that Gift Guide we've been promising.

In the meantime, here's a peak at what we're reading now and will be reviewing soon:

MY LATEST LISTEN

WHAT I'M READING

WHAT TRACY'S READING

Posted by Rachel

Cats, Heathcliff, And American Pie

Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.

This week's throwback is one of my favorites, Wuthering Heights—hence Tracy’s gift for my unborn (years out) grandchild.

Those Brontë girls knew how to write a wicked tale, didn't they? Charlotte was a bit more subdued; she kept her crazy in the attic. But Emily. Ah, Emily. She hurled it about with reckless abandon. You want a love story, she asked? I'll give you one so twisted and heartbreaking and haunting that you'll weep at the wonder and the ugliness of it all. Happy endings be damned! Turns out love is a many tortured thing.

No Mr. Rochester here. And most especially, no Darcy or Captain Elliott. I can hear Heathcliff's dismissive scoff now: "If he loved with all the powers of his puny being, he couldn't love as much in eighty years as I could in a day." And love his Catherine he did—albeit with a brooding, obsessive, downright dangerous kind of love that unleashed a quest for revenge so ruthless and cold-blooded it would have given even Edmond Dantès pause.

From what I've read of Emily's life, of all the tales of love she could have written, this one rings most true. Preferring solitude and wondering moors to social society, she appeared to care little for convention. Her one novel, much like herself, was vastly misunderstood and under-appreciated at the time of its publishing. Charlotte said of her: "an interpreter ought always to have stood between her and the world."

Spend a little time on the moors near the Brontë home in Haworth, where Emily was said to roam for hours on end, and you'll understand even further why conjuring a Heathcliff was more doable than a Darcy. While Tracy and I were studying in London, we did just that, staying with our group in a large, eerie hostel smack dab in the middle of the moors. It was a late winter evening when we arrived, making the scene all the more foreboding as we headed out in search of Catherine's ghost and her haunted Heathcliff. What we found instead were hundreds of cats combing the moors, and worse, our hostel, and a local band playing "American Pie." Now that's the stuff literary dreams are made of.

Posted by Rachel

So Far Behind I Think I'm Ahead

My best friend is a person who will give me a book I have not read. —Abraham Lincoln

I’m a gift giver by nature.  It won’t surprise that I relish finding an impeccable read for an unsuspecting or celebrating friend.  Acquaintances are no exception.  Like fantasy/sci-fi writer Vera Nazarian, I believe “whenever you read a good book, somewhere in the world a door opens to allow [for] more light.”

Rachel is one of my favorite people…to shower with books because she’s an insatiable reader. No white lies here—it’s hard to keep up with her.  (Sometimes I’m so far behind I think I’m ahead.)  I gave her Ordinary Grace after she’d read it, too kind to tell me so.  Recently, my defeated self resorted to asking have you read The Rosie Project, The Secret Keeper, or They Came to Baghdad?  Yes. Not yet. No.

But I have my victories—big ones too.  The ones where I surprise her with an enchanting read she has no knowledge of.  Before the leaves started to change color, we met at a quiet cabin to refuel and laugh out loud.  Happily, I handed Rachel The Snow Child.  She delved into Ivey’s world morning, tried at noon, and night.  Like The Rent Collector I sent to her door, she’s written a post about it.  And so, I vigilantly search for pages she hasn’t plumbed through. 

Last year, I picked up the Little Miss Bronte version of Wuthering Heights (a Weather Primer) for Rachel’s unborn grandchild (years out). She can put it near her big girl copy once Emma or Zannah give their mother the opportunity for inexhaustible delight. If you can’t wait for a bambino to enjoy charming illustrations that describe the different types of weather Heathcliff and Catherine encounter while crossing the moors, we’ll totally understand.

Posted by Tracy

Playing Fast and Loose with Literary Magic

A while back, Buzzfeed, a source for all things pop culture, and my college-aged daughters' only source for news (does that give you pause like it does me?), asked their readers to submit their favorite lines from literature. Now there's a request to send me reeling. Choosing a favorite line is akin to choosing my favorite child, or worse, my favorite book. Impossible. 

What makes a sentence speak to us, stop us in our tracks, jump out of the page and into our very soul? I suppose it's different for each of us, and each instance is different as well. Some lines conjure up a memory, dust it off, and make it sparkle. Some shine a light on a darkness we didn't know existed or a speck of beauty otherwise overlooked. Some are a balm; others a deep belly laugh. And some leave us in awe at the simple beauty of the thing.

Whatever it is, I know I can no more choose a favorite, or even 100 favorites, to save my life. That's playing fast and loose with literary magic. Buzzfeed published their 51 favorite submissions here. That they ended with an odd number, rather than a clean fifty, tells me a whole lot of wrangling took place as they whittled down their list. An impasse was clearly reached.

So rather than attempt something so brazen or haphazard as a list of favorites, here are few I love, for all the various, glorious reasons. Please know there are hundreds more. I would ask Tracy to submit some of hers as well, but today her head is spinning with only one: "The brothers in orange are undefeated and unbowed."

SOME BUZZFEED SUBMISSIONS I LOVE

“She wasn’t doing a thing that I could see, except standing there leaning on the balcony railing, holding the universe together.” —J. D. Salinger, A Girl I Knew

“What are men to rocks and mountains?” —Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

“In spite of everything, I still believe people are really good at heart.” —Anne Frank, The Diary of Anne Frank

“I would always rather be happy than dignified.” —Charlotte Brontë , Jane Eyre

“It frightened him to think what must have gone to the making of her eyes.” —Edith Wharton, The Age of Innocence

“I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded; not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up, and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night.” —Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner

“It does not do well to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that.” —J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

"At any rate, that is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great."—Willa Cather, My Ántonia

"Isn't it pretty to think so?"—Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises

"Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same."—Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights

“‘Dear God,’ she prayed, ‘let me be something every minute of every hour of my life.’”—Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

SOME OTHERS I LOVE, HUGE EMPHASIS ON SOME

"It is those we live with and love and should know who elude us." —Norman Maclean, A River Runs Through It

"We can love completely what we cannot completely understand." —Norman Maclean, A River Runs Through It

“A single person is missing for you, and the whole world is empty.”  —Joan Didion, The Year of Magical Thinking

"Between the wish and the thing the world lies waiting." —Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses

“It is a lovely oddity of human nature that a person is more inclined to interrupt two people in conversation than one person alone with a book.” —Amor Towles, Rules of Civility

"So how, children, does the brain, which lives without a spark of light, build for us a world full of light?" —Anthony Doerr, All the Light We Cannot See

"No bathroom on earth will make up for marrying a bearded man you hate." —Dodie Smith, I Capture the Castle

"I longed for the cushion of family that was theirs." —Ivan Doig, Last Bus to Wisdom

“With him, life was routine; without him, life was unbearable.” —Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

“No hour is ever eternity, but it has its right to weep.” —Zora Neal Hurston, Their Eyes were Watching God

"It's come at last, she thought, the time when you can no longer stand between your children and heartache.” —Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

“Men are more interesting in books than they are in real life.” —Mary Ann Shaffer, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

“I believe that if we are going to write about life and death, we should not do it from the cheap seats.” —Rick Bragg, All Over but the Shoutin'

If I don't stop now, I never will. Although it induces great anxiety over the many I've left out. It's your turn: what sentences speak to you?

Posted by Rachel

Portable Magic

I feel like cutting in on Rachel’s dance with Stephen King.  May I, please?  I just want to sashay for a moment.  That’s all.  (Actually, cue the disco ball.) Whether you like to get your creep on or not, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft is well worth the read.  I do not exaggerate when I say that it’s thoroughly fascinating.  Indeed, it will make you a better writer; in fact, it has become the most popular book about writing ever written.  Writing tips aside, On Writing is keenly interesting because it chronicles King’s rise to fame.  He’s published more than 50 best-selling novels—at times, he did this against addictive odds.  

King doesn’t consider writing a chore—he finds joy in his craft.  His enthusiasm will inevitably find its way into your head.  And even if you don’t aspire to put pen to page, your curiosity will be piqued.  A supernatural force may possess you to the point of unwittingly purchasing a King novel.  After that, you’ll undoubtedly be entranced.  

Remember this fact: the master of the macabre did craft non-frightening stories as well.  It’s the softer side of King that has me rapt.  I’m told The Running Man is particularly good.  The Green Mile and The Body (filmed under the title Stand By Me) both made it onto the silver screen, which speaks volumes about well, these volumes.  My favorite, hands-down, is Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. King’s writing is exquisite. For me, it’s hard not to feel enchanted by a novella with the subtitle Hope Springs Eternal. If you can handle some of the awful scenarios prison-life promotes, you’ll be grateful for the reminder that, “hope is a good thing…maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”

Posted by Tracy

Kill Your Darlings

Kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart, kill your darlings.

Who better to spend a little time with on this All Hallows' Eve than the master of fear himself, Stephen King? While I've yet to read any of his fiction, some of which scares me off by its sheer scariness, I am a huge fan of On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.

I've read my fair share of books on writing and this is the most dog-eared book I own—it practically falls open to his Toolbox section. This, along with Anne Lamotte's Bird by Bird, and The Elements of Style, by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White, are all the books that need line a writer's shelf.

You don't have to want to write to love this book. The first half is a memoir: a look into the life that built the writer, and when it's the writer behind the likes of Carrie, Misery, and The Shining, you know you're in for quite a ride. You'll learn that King is part of a writers-only rock band, along with Amy Tan, of all people, and how he wrote his first best seller in the eighth grade, The Pit and the Pendulum. Selling it for a quarter a copy, he had three dozen sold and was riding high with nine dollars in change weighing down his book bag, before he was summoned to the principal's office for turning the school into a marketplace. You'll be regaled with tales of poison ivy, potentially lethal science projects, how his first national bestseller was saved from the trash bin by his wife, and that in the end, it was his compulsion to write that brought him back from the brink of death.

I'll leave you with this early piece of advice from his mother, who encouraged King to get his teaching credentials as a backup, should the whole writing thing not pan out: "You may want to get married, Stephen, and a garret by the Seine is only romantic if you're a bachelor. It's no place to raise a family."

Posted by Rachel