French Fries, Salad, and How This Post is Actually About Books

I’ve said time and time again that I prefer novels to “literature” because novels tend to contain plot, whereas much literature focuses on language.  That’s true, and I stand behind that.  However, many classics and literary fiction, I’m finding, also contain ideas.  I love ideas and thought exercises.  In looking at the books I most enjoy, they blend plot and character with ideas.  The books aren’t just about Jane Doe who does something and interacts with Jack and Jill and does some stuff.  The books I love most are about concepts.

The Fault in Our Stars, for example, was laced with existentialism.  I read complaints that teenagers don’t really talk the way August and Hazel do, but I disagree.  As a teenager, I was an amateur philosopher, discussing grand ideas with my friends.  As two teens intimately acquainted with dying, I can believe that August and Hazel would look to symbolism and philosophy to find their place in the world.

I’ve realized recently that many of the books I read most are not the ones I actually enjoy the most.  I really like reading romance novels.  They’re easy to get through, fun to read, and fast.  But on the enjoyment scale, most of them hit around a 3 out of 5, meaning I liked them but didn’t love them.  Same with many YA novels.  In contrast, books like Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, The Martian by Andy Weir, and Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel are among the books I enjoyed most last year, because they’re about concepts and ideas as well as plot and character.  They’re about racism, loneliness, isolation, the characters’ places in the world while being narrated by an engaging person in an interesting plot.

One of the things I like best about my book club is that the other women pick books I’d probably never choose to read on my own.  Some of those books have ended up being favorites of mine.  Or if not favorites, have made me think.

Now, how does this post relate to the title?  Well, French fries are my favorite food.  I could eat them all day, every day, except that they’re not actually that good for me.  I love salad, but it never seems as appealing to eat as French fries do.  Yet, sometimes when I dig into a salad and taste all those fresh flavors, I’m reminded of why I love them so.

Books are kind of like that.  While there’s nothing wrong with junk food novels, when I fill up on them, I don’t have any room left over for the good stuff.  Yeah, sometimes those other books end up being bland and flat, but every once in awhile, I find one that’s so fresh, full of invigorating ideas, that it causes me to look at the world differently.

I live for those books.

 

If You Do It, Someone Will Judge It

It doesn’t matter what “it” is.  If it can be done, someone will judge it.

On that note, welcome to Wellness Wednesday.  Every Wednesday, I post something related to personal wellness.

Sunglass Cat- Find her on Facebook!
Austin, Texas
Photo credit: RJS Photography

I recently read an article about a woman who likes to read books.  She talked about being new to reading romance books, and gave some of her recommendations for books along with stating that despite the bad reputation romance books get, some of them are more well-written than others.

Then the post got weird.

She then wrote about not being afraid to tell others that you read romance novels, that some people will judge you for it, but that talking about romance novels is the only way to find other people who read them and get recommendations.

Say what?  People will judge you for reading a book?!?

Yes, dear reader.  People will judge you for what books you read.  It doesn’t matter that they haven’t read anything other than a cereal box in 10 years; others will judge what you read.  People judge Twilight and 50 Shades of Gray without having read them.  I’m not saying they’re literature; I’m just calling shenanigans on judging them based on an article someone else wrote about them.

Look, I’m a fan of doing what makes you happy.  Those people who are judging you?  They aren’t going to be around in 10 years, 10 days, and sometimes not even in 10 minutes.  They don’t pay your bills.  They haven’t lived your life.

Not caring what people think is an art form that few master, but when I see someone who obviously doesn’t care what others think, I want to applaud.  The happiest people know that flying under the radar is overrated.  I say that as long as what you do doesn’t actively harm anyone, do what you want to do.

Some people will say that you “harm” them when they really mean “offend.”  I’ve heard people say that being gay, having tattoos, wearing things with swear words, having a certain hair color is “harmful” to morality or some nonsense.

I call shenanigans.

Harm is what you do to someone else, not what you do to yourself.  If you hit on someone who isn’t interested (after they’ve told you), that’s harm.  If you hold someone at gunpoint and force them to get tattoos, that’s harm.  If you swear in someone’s face, that’s harm.  If you throw hair dye on someone else, that’s harm.

Being you… not harmful.

So today, remember that all the things you like and dislike make you uniquely you.  They make you cool and interesting.  If someone else doesn’t like those things, then that’s cool.  It means that they’re different from you.  Maybe you can even learn things from one another.

Go forth and be uniquely you today, no matter what that means.  And don’t judge others for being who they are.  Embrace it.  Enjoy it.

Live it.

Books I Read In 2014

On Spontaneous Saturdays, I post something on whatever topic comes to mind.

Berry Springs Park and Preserve
Photo Credit: Doree Weller

In 2013, I started keeping track of the books I read.  I did this partly because I was curious, and partly because I do read a lot of books.  It got to the point that I couldn’t remember what books I’ve read and which I haven’t, so I thought that keeping a list was a good way to figure out if I’ve read a book before or not.  It’s not terribly sophisticated; I just keep a Google docs list so that I can update it anywhere, and I also like to keep track of the amount of time it takes me to read something.  Because I’m almost never without a book, people always asked me how much I read, and I used to tell them it was on average, 5 books a month.  I can see now that I was very much underestimating that.

I started reading 87 books this year, and only didn’t finish two.  One, I stopped reading, and the other, I’m still working on.

Forty of the books were rereads, and 6 of them were from the 100 Classic Books I’m working my way through.

My favorite new books from this year were The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, On Little Wings by Regina Sirois, Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl,  The Unfortunate Fairy Tale Books by Chanda Hahn, and Every Ugly Word, Aimee L. Salter.  Interestingly, I didn’t find any new books to go into my all time favorites list, but these are all good, and worth reading.

I tried to read more “smarter” books this year, in addition to the classics.  I learned that while “smart” books might be good for my brain, I hate them.  I’ll stick with the classics, which at least make me feel like I’m accomplishing something, and if nothing else, help me get some references made by other authors.

What was the best book you’ve read this year?

* This is a book I’ve read before.

+ This is a book I didn’t finish

# From my classics list

X This was a book recommended by my book club.

1.  #1984, George Orwell (12/23/13- 1/4/14)
2.  The Book Thief, Markus Zusak (1/5- 1/7)
3.  Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict (1/12)
4.  *Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen (1/12- 1/18)
5.  +The MELT Method (1/20-
6.  *Mr. Darcy’s Diary, Amanda Grange (1/20)
7.  *Christy, Maud Johnson (1/23-1/24)
8.  *Starting from Square Two, by Karen Lissner (1/27- 1/30)
9.  X Boy’s Life, by Robert McCammon  (1/30- 2/22)
10.  On Little Wings, by Regina Sirois (2/2- 2/3)
11.  *Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire (2/16-2/17)
12.  Orange is the New Black, Piper Kerman (2/22- 2/28)
13.  Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (2/28- 3/3)
14.  *Black Dawn, LJ Smith (3/11)
15.  *Witchlight, LJ Smith (3/11)
16.  The Dogs of Christmas, W. Bruce Cameron (3/13- 3/14)
17.  *The Chosen, LJ Smith (3/16)
18.  Hollow City, Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children, Ransom Riggs (3/18- 3/25)
19.  Doomed, Chuck Palahniuk (3/26- 4/5)
20.  *Carolina Moon, Nora Roberts  (4/3-4/4)
21.  *Genuine Lies, Nora Roberts (4/5-4/10)
22.  *Red Dragon, Thomas Harris (4/11- 4/15)
23.  Island of Fire (The Unwanteds 3), Lisa McCann (4/16-4/17)
24.  *The Host, Stephanie Meyer, (4/18- 4/20)
25. #*The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, CS Lewis (4/21-4/22)
26.  *Hannibal, Thomas Harris (4/24-4/28)
27.  *The Fault in Our Stars, John Green (4/30-5/2)
28.  The Heartbreak Pill, Anjanette Delgado (5/4-5/12)
29.  *Baby Island, Carol Ryrie Brink  (5/16)
30.  X The Glimmer Palace, Beatrice Colin (5/18- 5/26)- boring, read like historical fiction
31.  #The Golden Compass, Philip Pullman (5/28- 5/31)
32.  *Anne of Green Gables, LM Montgomery (6/1-6/2)
33.  *Anne of Avonlea, LM Montgomery (6/3-6/4)
34.  A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers (6/5- 6/15)
35.  The Cold Dish, Craig Johnson (6/6- 6/10)
36.  The Broom of the System, David Foster Wallace (6/17- 7/6)
37.  *Blue Dahlia, Nora Roberts (6/24-6/25)
38.  *Black Rose, Nora Roberts (6/25-6/26)
39.  *Red Lily, Nora Roberts (6/26- 6/30)
40.  *Jewels of the Sun, Nora Roberts (7/6- 7/7)
41.  *Tears of the Moon, Nora Roberts (7/7- 7/8)
42.  *Heart of the Sea, Nora Roberts (7/8- 7/10)
43.  House of Leaves, Mark Danlewski (7/11- 8/ something)
44.  *Beautiful Disaster, Jamie McGuire (7/17- 7/19)
45.  *Born in Ice, Nora Roberts (7/27-7/28)
46.  *Born in Shame, Nora Roberts (7/28-7/29)
47.  *Born in Fire, Nora Roberts (7/29-7/31)
48.  *Sea Swept, Nora Roberts (8/1- 8/2)
49.  *Rising Tides (8/2- 8/3)
50.  *Inner Harbor, Nora Roberts (8/4)
51.  Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl (8/5- 8/18)
52.  Timebound, Rysa Walker (8/18- 8/22)
53.  *Pride and Predjudice, Jane Austen (8/22- 8/28)
54.  Four, Veronica Roth (8/28)
55.  Unenchanted (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale Book 1), Chanda Hahn (8/28- 8/29)
56.  X While I Was Gone, Sue Miller (8/29- 9/2)
57.  Fairest (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale Book 2), Chanda Hahn (9/2-9/3)
58.  Fable (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale Book 3), Chanda Hahn (9/3)
59. X  The Promise: A Tragic Accident, a Paralyzed Bride, and the Power of Love, Loyalty, and Friendship, Rachelle Friedman (9/4- 9/7)
60.  *Walking Disaster, Jamie McGuire (9/8- 9/11)
61.  Notes to Self, Avery Sawyer (9/11)- A girl with a head injury has to learn about herself and remember what happened the night of the fall.
62. Broken Promises, Dawn Pendleton (9/13- 9/15), meh… poorly written, no conflict
63. It Started With Dracula: The Count, My Mother, and I, Jane Congdon (9/15-  9/21)
64. Broken Dreams, Dawn Pendleton (9/22)
65. Broken Pieces, Dawn Pendleton (9/23- 9/24)
66. Broken Valentine, Dawn Pendleton (9/24- 9/25)
67. Every Ugly Word, Aimee L. Salter (9/25- 9/26) Young girl being bullied, Older Self, excellent.
68. Kiss a Girl in the Rain, Nancy Warren (9/29-9/30)
69. Iris in Bloom, Nancy Warren (9/30- 10/1)
70. The Mad Tinker’s Daughter, JS Morin (10/2- 10/10)
71. *Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte (10/14- 10/15)
72. Loving Lauren, Jill Sanders (10/24- 10/25)
73. X The Light Between Oceans, ML Steadman (10/25- 10/29)
74. Ghost in the Bedroom, MA Harper (10/30- 11/3)
75. #Dracula, Bram Stoker (11/4- 11/11)
76. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, Fannie Flagg (11/12)
77. Reign, (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale Book 4), Chanda Hahn (11/13)
78. #The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath (11/14 -11/15)
79. X #A Farewell To Arms, Ernest Hemingway (11/16- 11/25)
80. The Crying Lot of 49, Thomas Pynchon (11/28- 12/18)
81. *Divergent, Veronica Roth (12/4)
82. *Insurgent, Veronica Roth (12/5- 12/6)
83. *Allegiant, Veronica Roth (12/6- 12/7)
84. *Blood Brothers, Nora Roberts (12/10- 12/12)
85. *The Hollow, Nora Roberts (12/12-12/14)
86. *The Pagan Stone, Nora Roberts (12/14- 12/15)
87. X +The Night Circus, Erin Morganstern (12/30- present)

“A good book on your shelf is a friend that turns its back on you and remains a friend.”

~Author Unknown

Bad Endings

Photo Credit: Doree Weller

We’ve all seem movies or read books with bad endings.  I still haven’t forgiven Lionsgate for the original Saw.  Great movie, no ending.  Don’t even get me started on Hannibal.  Thomas Harris wrote a great book, but they ruined the ending for moviegoing audiences.

I’ve just heard that they re-filmed that last 4o minutes of World War Z after it got bad reviews from test audiences.  Is this really how Hollywood does things?  They take a book that people enjoyed, and make it into a movie because they have a built-in audience, but change the ending because now, suddenly, people didn’t like it?

Sometimes we have to take risks.  As authors (and presumably readers), we know what feels right as far as endings.  I’ve read books and watched movies that seemed to have discordant endings at first, but on further reflection, were just right.  I love it when I have to think it through.

That being said, I don’t want to have to think about things when I’m reading or watching things I consider “junk food” for the brain.  I love romance novels, but they’re not exactly cerebral, and I don’t want them to be.  If I’m reading a romance novel, it’s because I want a sexy, strong hero, a stubborn, strong woman, and a happily ever after ending.  If I’m reading a horror novel or watching a horror movie, I don’t mind as everyone dies, as long as it fits.  And my biggest pet peeve is that I want it to end!  Not everything has to be tied up neatly for me, but the ending has to feel purposeful, not lazy, and not as if they’re gratuitously leaving it open-ended so that it it’s popular, there can be a sequel.

Personally, I think endings are just about the most important part of the book/ movie.  Because if I dislike the ending, even if I loved every other bit of the story, I write off the whole thing.