N is for (Books About) Nostalgia #atozchallenge

A note for regular readers. I’m going to suspend my updates on book challenges until April is over. I’ll do a summary post for the first Monday in May.

For A to Z 2018, my theme is Books About ____. If you’re stopping by from your own A to Z blog, feel free to leave a link. If you need help with how to do that, you can look here.

If you’re someone looking to read a lot of great blogs, here’s the link for the A to Z challenge.

I grew up in the 80s and we didn’t have the sense that our weird hairstyles and freaky clothing were anything strange. It seemed normal to layer two pairs of neon socks. I never jumped on the big hair bandwagon, but I did wear the huge glasses for far longer than I should have.

The 80s seem to be one of those time periods that are easy to be nostalgic about. We did have great music, iconic movies, and memorable video games. It’s no wonder that contemporary books go back in time to be set there, and that people love them.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (science fiction): This movie is set in the future, but thanks to a massive multiplayer video game, there are a ton of callbacks to the 80s. Both the book and movie are fabulously fun with tons of references. Even if you lived through it, it’s probably impossible to catch all the references… but it’s fun to try.

Eleanor & Park, by Rainbow Rowell (YA romance): Eleanor and Park first bond over music and comic books. He lends her his Walkman and a tape of music he thinks she’ll like, like The Smiths. She doodles on her paper bag-covered schoolbooks. It’s a lovely story and I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting the 80s.

How to Build A Girl, by Caitlin Moran (YA): Okay, technically this was set in 1990, but though times did change, they didn’t change that fast. Johanna wants to remake herself, so she starts writing about music and turns herself into Dolly Wilde. It’s an interesting coming of age novel,

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10 Books to Read If You Need a Break From Politics

My social media feeds are still full of politics and politician bashing from both sides. The election is over, and I need a break. If you do too, here’s my list of recommendations to take you away from it all for awhile.

1. If you like horror… Bazaar of Bad Dreams, by Stephen King. It was an anthology of short horror stories. They were little bite-sized pieces of madness.
2. If you like short science fiction… Six Days, Three Months by Charlie Jane Anders. This was such an interesting premise, about a couple who both see the future and the end of their relationship, but date anyway.
3. If you like YA… Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon. When I read this, I was vacationing with a friend, and I couldn’t put it down. It’s about a girl who’s allergic to literally everything, and she has little contact with the outside world. Until a boy moves in next door, and she starts straining against her boundaries.
4. If you like urban fantasy… The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern. This was an original idea with lots of great imagery. My only caution is to read the book version. I originally read it on my Kindle, and because the story isn’t told in a linear way, I got frustrated that it was hard to skip around and refresh myself on what happened when.
5. If you like books with a paranormal element… Graveminder by Melissa Marr. After the death of her grandmother, Rebekkah Barrow returns to her hometown and learns that in order for the dead to stay put, a Barrow woman must tend to the graves. It was a fun, immersive read.
6. If you like characters struggling with mental health issues… The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick. I read this because I saw the movie, and it’s somewhat different. I liked both, but in a different way.
7. If you like memoirs… Traveling to Infinity: My Life With Stephen Hawking by Jane Hawking. I’ve always been interested in Stephen Hawking and his life. When the movie came out, I went looking for a book on his life. This was a fascinating read.
8. If you like books that will make you a little crazy trying to figure them out… John Dies at The End by David Wong. Yes, there was a movie. No, it didn’t do the book justice. Read the book. It was better.
9. If you like serial killers… Dexter by Jeff Lindsey. Again, it’s only somewhat like the TV series, and the series didn’t do justice to my favorite part of the books, Dexter’s Dark Passenger. The books are full of dark comedy.
10. If you’re feeling nostalgic… Remember Me by Christopher Pike. This is still one of my favorite YA books ever.

What are you reading to avoid getting too caught up in reality?

Weekly Photo Challenge: Nostalgic

This one is coming at a perfect time for me.  My parents just moved from my childhood home in PA to near me in AZ.  I didn’t think too much about how I’d feel about them selling it, until they did.  Not only did they move, but it’s under contract and probably going to sell soon.  Yes, of course things have to change, and it’s a good thing that they’re here.  I love living in AZ, though I do miss a lot of things about home.  (Pennsylvania will always be home to me)

I love my new home… but it sure is a lot different!

Friday Writing Prompt- Nostalgia

My pretty garden. 🙂

Nostalgia is a funny thing.  It makes us look at some point in the past through mostly rose colored glasses.  It’s a bit like “the grass is greener,” but refers to actual past events rather than wishful thinking in the present.  I always wonder why people crave something different than what they have, and I suppose it’s human nature.  I don’t generally suffer from “grass is greener” syndrome, but I am a frequent victim of nostalgia.  I crave a time when things were simpler and people were more in touch with the environment, living off the land.  Don’t get me wrong; I’m a techno-junky.  I just wish that it was easier to spend more time outside.  In the case of children, I’m sad that today’s children don’t get to roam and explore the way I did when I was little.

I’ve been reading the Little House on the Prairie series,and I’ve got to say, some things about living in the late 1800’s/ early 1900’s sounds pretty great.  People lived off the land and were grateful for what they had.  I realize that this isn’t everybody, and people were people back then.  Can you imagine the Facebook statuses that would have come out of that time?  Yes, it was really hard work and the life expectancy was way shorter.  I’m not saying that if I had a choice that I would live in that time instead of the present… But I would certainly think about it.

So, on to today’s writing prompt… What are you (or your character) nostalgic for?  Is it a time from your own life (or your character’s), or perhaps a time that you never lived in but sounds pretty great?  If you don’t have any nostalgia yourself, what about “grass is greener” syndrome?