Books: Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

You know how sometimes you see the cover of a book and you know right then that you want to read it?  I felt that way when I saw the front of Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor & Park but it's been unavailable at the library for some time (and it probably will be for a while). Last week, I saw her first novel, Attachments, shelved in the adult 'Fiction' section at the bookstore and decided to buy it. I proceeded to read it in less than two days. Can you tell that I liked it?

Attachments has such a fun narrative, and no matter how flawed Rowell's characters are, they're just so damn likeable. Their feelings and actions throughout the book are true to real life in so many ways.  Plus, the book takes place during the Y2K 'crisis' (did you kind of forget about that because I definitely did) and it's really accurate with regard to the pop culture references, technology trends, and preoccupations from a decade ago.

Confession: I want to spend more time with these people, ahem, characters. I can totally see myself going to the movies with Beth, who's a film critic for the local paper in the book. And Lincoln? Even though he does a few questionable things, he reads like a dream throughout the book--sensitive, caring, smart and good-looking?! Personally, I'm already married to my own Lincoln but there's still a ton of appeal with this guy.  If I met any these characters at a party or at a coffeeshop, I'd want to be friends with them for sure.

So yeah, read Attachments.  As for Eleanor & Park, I'll probably wind up buying a copy. I mean, I don't normally shy away from fighting the pre-teens to get on the E&P library waitlist but if it's anything like Attachments, I'll be happy to have a copy in my bookcase after I read it. xo



Image courtesy of Rainbow Rowell's site

Daily Lit Challange

 

As a writer, it's so important to read as much as possible. I've been concentrating on writing short stories lately so it's the perfect time to delve into the art.  I plan to read one short story or creative nonfiction essay per day in 2014. These pieces will be sourced from literary magazines and journals,  online and hardcopy, as well as from story collections, and I'll try to include a link to the original work whenever possible.  You can access the list via the tab in the right column of the main page of this blog (or right here).

And every weekend, I'll write about my favorite story of the week. Lucky you.

I'm really excited about this--I just hope I can keep it up for the entire year. Most importantly, there's really no downside to reading a wide variety of great fiction and nonfiction.  If you have any recommendations, please leave a comment or send me a message--I'd love to hear what you think! xo

One Teen Story Mention

So the One Teen Story blog mentioned one of my short stories today. Actually, an entire paragraph from my story "Thank You, Cleveland" is posted on there right now. No big deal (!) but check it out if you get a minute. Seriously, it's really exciting to have my words on this site. xo



Beautiful photo courtesy of  We the People

Finding the Humor

There's definitely some humor in the fact that I took a humor writing class this weekend. Could you really learn how to be funny? Even after this 7-hour Gotham Writer's Intensive, I remain relatively unconvinced but it's never a bad thing to learn new techniques and to practice with some writing prompts and to surround yourself with other writers.

My biggest issue is that my humor is dry and subtle, benignly snarky perhaps. This doesn't usually translate well on the page for me but I really loved the hand-outs and suggested readings that structured the class. The instructor, Ryan, was really low-key, informative and focused mostly on contemporary writers, which I appreciated. These are the people who are currently shaping and re-shaping the literary world; these are the people who are doing readings all around the city.  We talked a bit about Sloane Crosley, one of my favorites, and we read Lorrie Moore's famous How to Become a Writer, which reminded me of how much I love Lorrie Moore, which was then followed with a strong urge to read Birds of America again.

All in all, the class could have easily been condensed into four or five hours. However, I did leave with a bunch of ideas for short stories and essays, including a romance/adventure revolving around pieces of IKEA furniture that fall in love because, let's be honest, bookcases deserve to find love too. 

I think my new plan of action is to just write. I just need to get the words on the paper (or screen, my technology-loving friends) and then revise until there is some semblance of a humor essay in front of me.  In any event, there are plenty of worse ways I could have spent a beautiful Sunday in August than learning about writing on the Upper East Side.



Photo taken at corner of Lexington and 72nd Street.

Summer Reading: 'The Middlesteins' by Jami Attenberg

I finished Jami Attenberg's 'The Middlesteins' last week and I'm still thinking about the book. It ended abruptly for me, but that's only because I wanted more of the story, not because it wasn't a natural stopping place. I loved the way she wrote about her characters in the present while bringing in important things from the past and the future.  And most importantly, the book was extremely honest, which I really appreciated as a reader/writer who tries to be very rational in my own real life dealings.

Nothing in 'The Middlesteins' was sugar-coated except maybe for some of Edie's unhealthy snacks (oh yeah, see what I did there?)  The story rotates around Edie, the Middlestein matriarch who is slowly killing herself with a food addiction. With all of the essays I've seen around lately on likeable characters in fiction, I can honestly report that I didn't really like any of the main characters, meaning that I don't want to be best friends with any of them. But they were all flawed and rounded-out in wonderful ways, and I felt like I was reading about actual humans, people who exact in the same world that I do. People are not perfect; it isn't fun to write about problem-less characters.

Every single person in the book reminded me of someone that I know or used to know. I'm not entirely sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing but Attenberg's beautiful writing made me want to keep reading about the Middlestein family. xo



Photo courtesy of Attenberg's Tumblr account. Such an awesome display in Amsterdam.

Funny Ladies

Last year, I fell in love with this little sitcom on NBC called BFF, written by and starring Lennon Parham and Jessica St. Clair. It was extremely funny with snappy dialogue and realistic, relatable characters.  Right after I saw the first episode, I started looking into comedy writing classes and rules for improv so that I could try to infuse my own work with a few laughs and maybe some day write something just as wonderful as BFF. That's how good it was.  And like all good shows lately, it was cancelled after a mere six episodes. 

I'm obsessed with funny ladies lately. It's so hard to create 'good' comedy and there is nothing more satisfying than witty humor and smart writing, which brings me to the most exciting news of my week: USA has just ordered a new pilot from Parham and St. Clair. That's right, a new show from these thoughtful, hysterical comediennes. Yeeeesss.

I can't wait for this show and I hope that USA ultimately picks it up. And yes, there is a little bit of me that is expecting to see little Q pop up with some new, awesome insights. xo



Via Splitsider

"Carry On" In the Rain

The Grammys aren't my favorite awards show (ahem, Tony Awards) but the performances this year are spot on so far. The best one for me has been Fun.'s  "Carry On," complete with a cityscape emerging behind the band mid-song, followed by an onstage rainstorm.

I read an essay a few months ago about current music trends and the author made a comment about how Fun. should be embarrassed by their music, and that they probably will be down the road.  It's too confessional, too immature.  I immediately felt like I needed to defend the band.  I think it's hard to put yourself out there for the public to pick apart.  Maybe the band will be embarrassed in the future by their spoken word section in the song "Some Nights" but at least they are being true to themselves. And they can perform live, that's for sure. We should support different styles in mainstream music; not everyone will like every song ever recorded but it's brave to expose yourself to that possibility as an artist.  xo

Libraries, Book Love and Party Dresses

One of the things that bothers me most about living in Connecticut is how isolated I feel from the literary world, even though I'm quite close to New York City.  There are so few local readings and signings, so few writer groups.  It's like there's this huge community so close, but yet so far away, and I'm lucky if I can travel in to attend one event per year.

With that, I guess I don't really need to tell you how thrilled I was to learn that Emma Straub was going to be at the Darien Library.  She's the author of one of my favorite short story collections and just came out with a novel that I cannot wait to read called Laura Lamont's Life in Pictures.  The reading was fabulous (Emma read two passages from her new book), and I loved the question-and-answer session at the end.  The questions were thoughtful and interesting, and honestly, Emma was so sweet and nice that I think she would have answered questions all night if people kept asking (you know you like how I'm saying 'Emma' like we're friends, right? ha!).

So at the end when I lined up with all of the extremely beautiful and well-dressed (lots of leopard print in the crowd) Darien ladies (yes, I was wearing corduroys and using a tote bag as a purse, why do you ask?), my shyness ruled and I became an awkward fangirl.  I think I told Emma how much I loved her short story collection.  I think I told her how much I enjoyed her reading. But I didn't tell her which of her short stories were my favorites (Puttanesca and the Franny stories) and I didn't gush about how exciting I think it is that she worked with Lorrie Moore.  I didn't even ask her if she liked writing short or long fiction better.  Social anxiety is no joke, my dears.

What I can say now though is that I had a great time last night listening to wonderful fiction surrounded by people who love books.  Thanks so much to the Darien Library and to Emma Straub for such a wonderful event.  xo

P.S. Emma was rocking an adorable pink party dress and brought a batch of homemade brownies to the reading. I don't think she could have been sweeter.

Newly Minted

I never thought that I would need business cards, but the last few times that I gave my contact information to someone on a small, crumpled scrap of paper, I wondered if that was really the best way to exchange email addresses and urls.  I'm not a professional writer, but maybe I will be, someday.  Perhaps I should start trying to network more effectively and efficiently.

Enter these really great calling cards from Minted.  I had a credit that I needed to use and when browsing the site, I came across grown-up versions of casual business cards.  I went ahead and ordered a bunch and I hope I get to give one out someday soon.  At least it's more professional than jotting my phone number on the back of a receipt from Bertucci's.  Also, I'm kind of in love with both stripes and the color peach so I couldn't have found a more perfect design.

Do you have business cards? And check out the Minted site; the invitations are gorgeous. xo

Turning Thirty: Improving

I'm turning thirty years old on July 6th so for the next five weeks, I'm embracing life and trying to do at least one new and/or enjoyable and/or spectacular thing per day. Click here for more Turning Thirty posts.

This past Thursday night, I was watching tv with Anthony and telling him about the AltSummit class that was starting at 9:00pm, the one I had been looking at for weeks but never registered.  Then, I thought to myself (or maybe these were Anthony's words...), "Why don't I just sign up for it now?"  Literally four minutes before it started, I ran to my computer, punched in my info, and entered the online classroom.  Seize the moment, right?

This was the best AltSummit class that I've taken so far (my third one overall), and I really loved Victoria from A Subtle Revelry.  She was just as fun and sweet as I thought she'd be from reading her blog, and boy, is she impressive!  She juggles like 8 calendars, many different jobs and has 3-year old twins! Victoria also does something that I do not: she utilizes several online organizing tools in order to make sure she is in top of everything.  I'm kind of ashamed to admit this but I have hundreds and hundreds of bookmarks, which are totally unorganized, and every time I see something that I love, I copy the link and email it to myself.  Disaster.  There couldn't have been a better class for me to take at this point.

As a casual but dedicated blogger, I'm excited for the opportunities that AltSummit provides, and thanks to Bing, I have the opportunity to take a couple more classes free of charge this summer.   Now, excuse me while I go and make friends with Evernote and Thoughtbox, per Victoria's suggestions.

#thanksbing


The beautiful image above is courtesy of A Subtle Revelry (I love this idea!)

A Night of Wonder

Last night, I saw Ann Patchett at the New Haven Free Public Library.  Yes, that Ann Patchett.  Simply put, her reading was one of the best I've ever been to.  She was sweet, charming, intelligent and funny.  Actually, she was very funny.  Ms. Patchett spoke for a solid hour about everything from marriage to her new independent bookstore in Nashville, from her writing process to the time she met Rhianna.  And she truly appreciated that we had all turned out on a Tuesday night to hear, which was my favorite part of the night.

I stayed after to have my books signed (yes, I brought two: her new book, State of Wonder, and my favorite book, The Magician's Assistant) and was able to speak with Ms. Patchett for a few minutes.  She took her time at the signing (there were only a few people who actually wanted to talk with her while she signed their books; most people just wanted her signature so they were delegated to the 'express line') and she was more than happy to take pictures and answer questions on a one-on-one basis.

Here I am posing with the great Ann Patchett (please excuse my appearance--I kind of look like I just rolled out of bed but this is merely what happens to me after a stressful day at work).

 
Also, I just love the way she signed The Magician's Assistant:

 
Now, I'm headed off to finish State of Wonder, which has been beyond captivating so far  Has anyone ever attended an Ann Patchett reading? What's the best reading you've ever been to?

AltSummit Class: Round One

So in January, I realized that all of the blogs that I read were posting about AltSummit, with accompanying pictures of adorable ladies, cute hair buns, awesome photobooths and glittery decorations.  Where were they and why wasn't I there too?

It turns out that AltSummit is a conference held in Utah, which is for bloggers and social media peeps.  And I wanted to attend every class on the itinerary.  Growing readership?  Creative content?  Every session sounded wonderful, and I was envious of everyone there and their fabulous wardrobes (totally a reason I can't go to AltSummit anyway: I'll never look half as lovely as any of the attendees there and will stick out like a sore thumb, in the worst way). 

Great news, though: AltSummit started offering online classes, one-hour webinars taught by popular bloggers who are more than willing to share lots of blogging wisdom for a very low fee.  Yesterday was my first class, and I really enjoyed learning about "Bringing Home the Bacon When Your Blog Isn't Huge" with Melanie Blodgett of You Are My Fave.  She was honest and extremely sweet, and so willing to help that she provided her email address several times for leftover questions.  I definitely think I will take another one of these classes in the future.

My blog isn't large, nor does it have a huge following, but I really love it.  I post about things that I think are important or fun or exciting (sometimes all three!) and my favorite part is that it's all mine.  I closed out of Melanie's class yesterday and was extremely inspired to writewritewrite.  Mission accomplished. 



Alt logo courtesy of Altitude Design Summit blog

Weekend Highlights

 
The weekend went by quickly, as all long weekends tend to do.  It was uneventful for the most part, and we didn't even attend a barbecue (I actually kind of missed that but am anxious for a day when we can have our own barbecues).  Some highlights:

• I received several emails from Anthropologie about their 'Huge Holiday Sales' so on our way to Greenwich on Saturday to see Anthony's mom, we stopped.  Not only didn't I get anything, but we banged into a table that had about 100 mugs stacked high and managed to knock a few off so that they crashed and broke into a million pieces.  Major props go out to the salespeople--we felt so badly and offered to pay for the merchandise about ten times (four broken mugs=$32), but they were calm and collected and wouldn't take our money. I'm not sure I can ever go back to that store though. 
• Anthony's mom took us to a new place that opened in Portchester called BarTaco for lunch.  It was right on the water and even though we all got a bit more sun than we expected, the food and company were really great.  They serve mini tacos and tamales in fresh corn tortillas, and I almost felt like I was in San Diego, which is a wonderful compliment.
• Speaking of San Diego, all I've been thinking about is going on vacation.  Just a day or two near the ocean would be ideal.  Anthony and I aren't able to get time off together until August but maybe I can find a last-minute deal and we can actually take a trip this summer.    
•  Last year at this time, I was planning a surprise trip to Baltimore for Anthony's birthday, but this year, I still don't have any concrete ideas.  I'd love to take him on a day trip to celebrate, but I can't decide on a location.  Any ideas?
• There were a few moments this weekend that were perfect.  On Saturday night, we spent time with my college roommate and had a great time, talking until we were the only ones in the coffeeshop, and then moving outside to talk by our cars for another two hours.  Some of the best times we've ever had have been when we are doing nothing of importance, and I forget sometimes how much I miss that.  
• I also sat out on our balcony for the first time and was able to almost finish a story I've been working on while balancing my laptop on my knees.

How was your holiday weekend? Did you enjoy the sun and humidity, or did you feel like you were melting like I did?


Image courtesy of weheart it/yourhousecat.tumblr.com

Ponderings...

I think every person has that one thing that he or she does really well, like sew or garden or repair cars.  Me?  I'm still trying to figure out what my 'thing' is.  I know what I want it to be, but I'm not so sure my writing is good enough to be considered the best thing I do (in the running for my 'best thing:' making funfetti birthday cakes, writing thank-cards, finding awesome sales at Target, and reading maps).  It doesn't look like applying to MFA fiction programs is possible right now, so the plan is to writewritewrite and then writewritewrite some more and actively try to get my work published. 

It occurred to me lately that I don't have any friends or colleagues who are also writers. I think that being part of a community would be really helpful and encouraging, and maybe that's what I'm missing.  When I see programs like OneStory's summer workshop, I get unbelievably excited at the prospect of one, having great writers work with me on my fiction, and two, surrounding myself with like-minded peers who could teach me so much.  Maybe not this year for me, but perhaps next year, and it makes me feel better to have something so great floating on my horizon. 

Share: Have you attended a great writing workshop?  And what's the 'thing' you do best?




Photo courtesy of weheartit's odessa

Round-Up: Day 3 at AWP and Closing Thoughts

I'm back from the AWP Conference and even though I had a great time, I'm happy to be home.  I learned a lot, read a lot, walked a lot, took lots of notes and introduced myself to many people (and had almost everyone ask me to repeat my name--sometimes I forget how much of a mouthful 'Crystal Patenaude' really is).  Surprisingly, I actually enjoyed the sessions on the last day the most (see my round-up of Days 1 and 2 here). 

Some observations from Day 3 at AWP:

• By the final day of this conference, everyone seemed exhausted.  People were starting to leave (I actually had an older woman tell me that the last night of AWP is a 'letdown' so she always heads home early) and the ones who stayed seem tired. I myself went to four back-to-back sessions before heading home mid-afternoon, and I was so over it all that I could barely get myself to the train station. 
• There is always one person in every session who drives me crazy.  The worst was the woman who kept mmhming and moaning in agreement while the panelists were speaking.  It took me at least 20 minutes to figure out who was making the noises, some of which were so loud that I couldn't hear what the presenters were saying.  If you have to express your agreement/pleasure/displeasure while people are talking, stick to silent movements like nodding or head shaking until question time at the end.  I guarantee that it will improve everyone's experience. 
• I have short legs so walking from the a basement ballroom in one hotel to a small room on the opposite side of an adjoining hotel in 10 minutes is a real challenge.  Yesterday, despite my best efforts, I was five minutes late to a panel that I was really looking forward to.  I forced myself to walk in and take a seat though and really enjoyed the talk.  And when a woman walked in 40 minutes late, I felt much better about my own tardiness.
• I didn't make it back to the bookfair before I left and I really regret that.  I wanted to visit the tables I missed the first time and maybe collect a few more bookmarks, contest notices, calls for submissions, etc.  Also, I found it funny that several journals and magazines were handing out temporary tattoos with their logos.  They are adorable and I fully support the giveaway, in case the editors aren't sure if they were well-received.
• My ride home on Amtrak was so much better than the trip to Washington, mainly because I wasn't in a quiet car.  Also, a really nice dude helped me put my suitcase up in the baggage rack.  This was awesome since the first time I tried to do this, I realized too late that I am not strong and it fell on my head.  Boo. 

Overall, my first experience at the AWP conference was a success.  At times, it was quite isolating; I didn't know anyone at all and even though I talked to tons of random people at the bookfair and at sessions, I still felt alone a lot of the time.  By being alone though, I was able to concentrate on the craft of writing and really immerse myself.  I learned a ton and even got to see a few of my wonderful (non-writer) friends who are now living in DC. 

My personal AWP highlights:

• It was amazing to be so close to such wonderful writers.  One morning, I even walked up the hill to the Marriott next to Yusef Komunyakaa.  At the hotel bar, I felt like everyone looked vaguely familiar.  And the readings were fabulous.  It meant a lot to me as a writer who is trying to 'make it' to listen to authors that I love and admire.  The panelists and readers were all unbelievably generous with their time, and I truly appreciated that.
• I loved the 'Women Writers and How to Get Out of the Slush Pile" panel I attended on Saturday morning.  There was such a great vibe and the speakers, all editors of wonderful lit magazines, were beyond knowledgeable.  They not only gave tips on submitting and writing, but also provided advice on keeping positive and staying confident.  It's hard to express how empowered I felt when I left that ballroom. 
• Richard Bausch is obviously a great writer but it was easy to tell how wonderful of a person he is from the one-on-one interview with Jennifer Haigh.  Haigh is incidentally one of my favorite authors so it was thrilling to see them both together on stage, laughing and conversing about writing and life.  Richard Bausch's students are incredibly lucky because I can tell he is a fabulous teacher. 
• I met one of my favorite short story writers, Danielle Evans, at a great panel entitled "The Myth of Relevance."  The talk and the panelists were both thought-provoking and interesting, and I wanted to run to my laptop as soon as I left to work on a new piece.  Danielle Evans was so gracious and kind when I approached her after the event was over and even told me to feel free to email her if I had any questions about the American University MFA program.  That totally made my morning. 
• I am now following a ton of new people on Twitter after either meeting them or hearing them speak at AWP.  I feel almost unreasonably excited to have their cool tweets show up in my timeline. 
• On a personal note, before I left DC, I visited Hello Cupcake, which is a cupcake bakery right near my hotel in Dupont Circle.  I'm extremely proud of the fact that I bought three cupcakes for Anthony and that after a Metro ride, a taxi ride, a 5 hour train ride and a car ride home, they are still in relatively good shape.  After all of that, I hope they taste magnificent. 

             

And on that note, it's been great and I'm looking forward to applying everything I learned to my own work.  Hope to see you next year in Chicago for AWP 2012!

Round-Up: AWP Day 1 & 2

 
I'm here writing from Washington DC, already two-thirds of the way through the AWP conference.  As a first-time attendee, I'm really enjoying myself, although I'm a bit overstimulated.  At any given moment, there are thousands of people gathered in the Marriott hotel lobby either walking around, talking with friends or waiting in line for a $4 bottle of soda.  The sessions I've been to have been crowded, lively and informative.  My bag is ready to break from all of the things I got from the bookfair.  Here are a few things that I've learned so far:

• The sessions fill up quickly.  Every one that I've been to so far has been full along with dozens of people standing in the back.  I like to show up early so I haven't had any problems but even the panelists and speakers are surprised by the turnout.  Are the rooms smaller than normal?  Are there more attendees at the conference overall?  It's crazy but in a good way, like writers are so cool that people will stand out in the hall just for a listen. 
• There is NOWHERE to find fast, affordable, decent food at this hotel conference center.  I stood in line today for 25 minutes for a sandwich which wound up being a pre-made saran-wrapped sandwich on soggy bread for $10.  I declined, bought a bottle of water and waited until I was finished for the day to get some real food. 
• All of the presenters and readers have been so awesome.  They are happy to be at AWP, excited to share their knowledge in fiction and poetry, and seem so approachable.  I have an entire list of new authors I want to read merely based on their personalities on a panel. 
• There are more presses, literary journals and writing programs with tables at the bookfair than you could ever imagine.  I met lots of great people who were more than willing to tell me all about their organizations or universities.  I now have a bunch of contests to enter and journals to submit work to that I would never have known about if I didn't visit their table. 
• I went to Adams Morgan tonight for dinner and had Turkish food for the first time at Meze.  It had an upscale but relaxed vibe and there were half-price drinks.  My friend and I really enjoyed the meal (it was like Mediterranean tapas).  I kind of wish that I stopped in the Black Squirrel (which is a bar, not a pet store) but next time for sure. 

I'm getting ready for tomorrow, which promises to be a long day.  Any must-sees in Dupont Circle before I head home?

Looking forward to Washington DC

 Aeriel shot of Dupont Circle

I'm finally starting to get excited about my trip to Washington DC for the AWP conference next week.  Even though I'll be in conference rooms listening to writers and professors talk for three full days (can't wait!), the fact that I'm going to be in a city that I love hasn't escaped me.  Even better, I have wonderful friends that live in DC who I'm hoping to see while I'm there. 

In preparation, I've dug out my Metro map and am booking my train tickets.  I'll be on the search this weekend for a new messenger bag to carry around from session to session since mine is almost ten years old and looks like it was attacked by wild dogs.  And Anthony surprised me last week with a brand-new iTouch so that I can keep tabs on my email, etc. while I am away without having to lug my laptop everywhere.  How lovely, right?

I found this round-up of the best hot cocoa places in the Washington Metro area and I can't wait to try some of them.  One of them is kind of close to where I'm going to be too.  Also, writer/blogger Leslie Pietrzyk has a post on places to eat while in town.  The conference schedule keeps looking better and better to me--now, all I need to do is get there. 

Any suggestions for surviving my first AWP conference?  Any favorite Washington DC destinations to share?

Movies: The Kids Are All Right

  
As soon as I realized that The Kids Are All Right was out of theaters, I put it on our Netflix queue.  Anthony wasn't interested in seeing it so I planned to watch it on one of the long, cozy afternoons between Christmas and New Year's Day.  Of course, those days flew by without offering a long, cozy afternoon so this weekend, on a Saturday that was surprisingly relaxing for a change, I popped in The Kids Are All Right.  Persuaded by all of the Golden Globe/Oscar buzz surrounding the movie, Anthony watched with me.  In the end, we both really enjoyed it and I was happy we watched together. 

From the previews, this looks like a movie about a lesbian couple meeting the sperm donor who helped them conceive their children, but that's only the tip of the iceberg.  In this film, every character is flawed, no one is perfect no matter how hard they try, and it's very clear to the audience that these characters may not even know what perfect actually is (who truly does?).  The dialogue is realistically witty and the emotions are raw.  Without giving anything away, I was surprised by the turning point of this movie, and it takes a lot to surprise me.  It was lovely to be enveloped in a real story, and watch a family grow and break and love all at the same time.

The Kids Are All Right is about family, after all.  The confusion that all five of the main characters feels at one point or another is so relateable and portrayed so beautifully that their pain is palpable.  As someone who is older than the kids in the movie, but not yet a parent, I truly was affected from all sides.  After I saw this movie, I wanted to curl up with a pen and write my own screenplay, one that bravely explores the truth about growing up and making mistakes that any viewer could understand.

Books: "Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self" by Danielle Evans

A few years ago, I read a short story entitled "Virgins" that appeared in the Paris Review.  I'm not sure if it was her well-developed characters or her writing style but Danielle Evans's story stuck with me.  When I looked her up, I was excited to learn that she was working on a short story collection and a novel.  Last week, I finally got my hands on a copy of her collection, Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self.  It took me about a week to read it, only because every time I finished a story, I realized I was closer to the end and made myself slow down. 

I rationed the stories because I knew early on that these were stories that I would remember for a long time.  Sometimes, when I read a collection, I find it difficult to recall all of the individual pieces after I am finished.  With Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self, I remember all of the characters and the details of their lives.  I'm still worried about CeCe at the end of "Robert E. Lee is Dead" and I want to know what happened to Angel from "Harvest."  Evans is so honest, sharing the best and worst of all characters with her readers, and I appreciated that so much.  These stories are about people that I know--I empathized with them, identified with them, pitied them and even envied them.  But the best part was that I never doubted that they were real and I loved that.

Danielle Evans is about a year younger than me.  Right now, she is teaching at American University as part of the MFA program that I so desperately want to attend.  I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read honest, thoughtful fiction that deals with life, laced with some realistic humor.  Real issues are the true focus of this collection, including race, abortion, drugs, poverty and death, and the stories reflect so much of what I am trying to do with my own work.  If my stories turn out half as well as hers, I'd be a very lucky writer.  Until then, I'll keep reading Danielle Evans's work and hope to work with her someday in the future.

Books: The Opposite of Me

 
When I was younger, I used to read two or three books a week.  No matter what was going on around me, I could block it all out as I turned the pages and got deeper and deeper into the story.  Now, I'm lucky if I read a book every other week.  I spend my time doing other things, and, even though I hate to admit this, the internet definitely takes up a lot of the time that I would normally spend on reading.  Recently, I decided that I am going to start reading more, aiming for one book per week.  So far, I've been keep up with it and I even went to the library this past weekend to stock up on books that I've been wanting to read but couldn't find at the bookstore (honestly, I was shocked by what Barnes & Noble didn't have in their massive store.  No Joan Didion? No Zoe Heller?  No wonder people are reading less literature--there is hardly any in the stores!).

Last week, I devoured a book that a good friend loaned me called The Opposite of Me by Sarah Pekkanen.  From the summary of the book, I didn't think I would like it.  It's seemed too light, with a gossipy quality that I tend to avoid.  I'm so happy I gave it a chance.  The Opposite of Me is about a pair of twins who are so different from one another that they are barely even friends.  The story is narrated by Lindsey, the 'smart' twin, and follows her from a high-powered advertising exec job in New York City back to her childhood home outside of Washington DC.  Her sister, Alex, is beautiful and popular and always has been--she's engaged and living near Washington DC too.  Even as an adult, Lindsey finds it hard to compete with her perfect sister.

But things change and this becomes a book about relationships and life, not about petty arguments with siblings.  Pekkanen is a great writer, clear and concise, and she knows what's important to a reader.  Her characters are familiar but only to a point--she distinguishes them just enough to make them real, flawed but relatable.  I felt like Lindsey and Alex grew as individuals as they grew closer as sisters, which the type of character development that I love.  The Opposite of Me had a satisfying ending, too, which left me feeling happy but a little sad because I wanted more.

Overall, Sarah Pekkanen's first novel brought me back to my late teenage years, a time when I would get so caught up in what I was reading that I would forgo sleep just to finish the book.  I only got three hours of sleep last Tuesday night because I couldn't wait to finish The Opposite of Me, but I went to bed content.


Image courtesy of Sarah Pekkanen's website