Paige of the Book

Inspiration in ivory

2010-04-22T23:07:00.000-07:00

When I have a hard time reading through a book, I'll sometimes put it in my restroom to read when I'm taking a bath. One I struggled with for upwards of a year was Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now. I bought it because so many people had said how inspirational it was. However, it just didn't "click" my inner inspiration.

His book describes detaching from physical and earthly things in an effort to live in the now. The book's concepts are good. However, I think the presentation is what got in my way. It is written in an "argument" style, where an unnamed person representing the reader offers questions and arguments with Tolle. For me, this merely leads to frustration that I can't ask questions of my own. Better questions, at that. I think it is worth a read, even if it wasn't what I was expecting.

But as I tidied my drawer in the restroom I did find inspiration elsewhere.

I found my Ivory soap. I've used Ivory for years, but I never noticed until that day that there are quotes inscribed (in English and in French) on the wrappers.

Some of those quotes include:
"The secret to a happy life is to live simply."
"The ultimate point in life is joy."
"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things."

I smiled as I went through each one. Essentially the quotes encouraging simplicity are urging the same sort of thing as Tolle. Live simply. Enjoy the now, etc.

Turns out, my inspiration was there... just not in the form I thought it might be :)

Book fast

2010-01-30T17:07:00.000-08:00

It seems like I"ve been on a fast from reading. I've been writing so much lately I haven't read hardly anything! I did just finish The New Diary by Tristine Rainer. Although I already knew most of the techniques in it, it was a good inspiration. I've been writing in a journal nearly every night now. I wouldn't say big revelations, at least not yet! She suggests naming your journal before beginning as a sort of blessing, mantra or vision for the time recorded in the book. I named ine Verto Prosperitas Venustas. I haven't really shared that before and it seems so personal, but that is ok. I've been thinking a lot about Harry Potter and the various spells and the relation of that and the visions I have for my future. So it is a play on words from a transfiguration spell, meaning transfigure: prosperity, beauty. I suppose it is also a test of myself and my ability to work on something and stick with it. I've never kept a journal to the point that I finish an entire notebook, probably because I've always been afraid of someone reading it. Now I'm taking charge of that. I have a vision of journals lined up on a shelf chronicling my life, journal and future. :) I know this is less about books and more about MY books, but this seems like the right place for this blog.

The dead who are watching

2009-08-28T13:18:00.001-07:00

Wow. I thought there was no way I would enjoy Stephanie Kallos' new book Sing Them Home more than her first Broken For You. But it had the same haunting feeling and well-carried out themes.

It is the story of a family who is haunted by the disappearance of their mother -- Hope -- who is carried away by a tornado, and her body is never found. Her three children and husband have lasting repercussions from never having a closure on her death. That lack of closure is further emphasized by the complicated and slightly eccentric funeral rituals that is common in their hometown. The story is told in shifting points of view (although most of it is told in limited objective narrator, it allows us inside the minds of alternating characters.) We are allowed also inside the mind of the ghost of Hope as well as her younger mind through her diary (the only portion told in first-person.) What develops is a complex and sometimes surprising and sometimes predictable story on a quest for redemption and closure.

I will be anxiously awaiting anything new from Kallos.

Harry Potter

2009-08-03T21:54:00.000-07:00

I'm about to embark on the Harry Potter series! I've read the last one but the others only kind of skimmed off and on through the years. So I'm starting at the beginning and reading straight through to find out what all the fuss is about! Did you like the series? Is it all it's cracked up to be?

Into the Forest

2009-07-07T22:00:00.000-07:00

I finished Into the Forest a couple weeks ago. Most people from book club have been loving it, but my feelings are mixed. I really liked the concept and two sisters trying to make it in an apocalyptic world was immediately interesting to me. The writing was wonderful and admittedly I was obsessively thinking about what I would do in those sisters' shoes for days afterwords.

The main problem I had with the book was that it never really said what happened. My questions still continue to plague me. Why did the government collapse? Why no transportation or gas? Did it run out or international relations collapse? Also the girls in the book seemed convinced that everything was temporary. I wasn't really sure if that was because they were naive or if that was the general sentiment.

But overall, I did enjoy the book, despite my lack of connection to the characters. Worth a read if you like apocalyptic survival stories!

All Quiet on the Western Front

2009-06-13T22:40:00.000-07:00

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque surprised me as a teenager. I was sure that a book about war wouldn't appeal to me. I was much more enchanted with other types of books. But when we read this my sophomore year in high school I loved it. The melancholy rhythm has stayed with me through the years, but this weekend I picked it up again to fall in love all over again.

The cover of my copy proclaims "The Greatest War Novel of All Time." Now, I'm not a fan of war novels so I don't know if that is true, but I do know it is my favorite war novel. I love the characters and the way they are transformed.

I think this book impacted me even more this time around because of the men that I know who have been in war. In high school I never even knew someone who had been in the military much less in a war. I have seen how my friends have been transformed. So much more then it breaks my heart the plight of the men in the book. This quote in particular from the intro touched me.

"This book is to be neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of all an adventure, for death is not an adventure to those who stand face to face with it. It will try simply to tell of a generation of men, who even though they may have escaped shells, were destroyed by the war."

I also love that this was written by a German soldier. Although they were our enemies in both WWI and WWII I think he captures how many soldiers felt -- as if the decisions were not their own but those above them were making all of their decisions; as if their enemies might be more like them than they first imagined.

Weekend reading!

2009-06-05T21:04:00.000-07:00

I love nothing more than to stay inside during a truly hot day with the wind blowing through the window and reading on my couch in comfort. I recently finished two books by Madeleine Wickham. One called Swimming Pool Sunday and the other Cocktails for Three. I enjoyed both, but missed the wit and hilarity of her books written under her pseudonym Sophie Kinsella.

I will probably read more of her "serious" books, but perhaps without the anticipation of her other books.

Swimming Pool Sunday is about what happens to a family and group of friends when a tragedy happens during a swimming party. The divides and bonds the tragedy creates are intricately woven albeit predictable. My favorite scenes were the ones featuring the children, which there weren't many of.

Cocktails for Three was also fairly predictable, and there is one "moment of revelation" which I found hard to believe that three women who work together and are best friends wouldn't have picked up on. There were several of those moments. Who knows, maybe one day I'll find myself in a similar situation and take it all back. In all it made me long to have a group of friends that I could have cocktails with on a regular basis. The bonds of friendship is another aspect of Wickham's books (even her ones as Kinsella) that are always masterfully done. She captures that unspoken bond very well.

Plain Truth

2009-05-27T22:34:00.001-07:00

Yay, I am starting Plain Truth again. It was the first of Jodi Picoult's books I've read and maybe my second favorite one (after Salem Falls.) I am starting it again, though, because it is the book club book this month! (My choice!) I'm excited not only because I get to host, but also because it will make for some good conversation. If you've read it help me out with some questions to get the conversation going!

With work taking up a lot of time lately, I'll concentrate primarily on this book for the next several days. Looking forward to it, and I'm hoping to make some new Jodi converts!

Money, money, money

2009-05-17T16:42:00.000-07:00

I'm now reading Overcoming Underearning by Barbara Stanny. I like the clear concise way she writes and also love how she incorporates metaphors without making the whole book a metaphor (and thus convoluted.) Interestingly, she lives very near by in beautiful Port Townsend. I wrote her a short letter saying I find her inspiring. Maybe I'll hear back and maybe I won't, but it would be great to meet someone who I admire. I think one thing that I respect about her is she is talking about being financially stable (as in her other book Secrets of Six-Figure Women) and she understands where I am coming from because she, too, was once a journalist.

Perma Red

2009-05-12T21:19:00.001-07:00

So I've started Perma Red by Debra Magpie Earling and am slugging through it. I can't say that I hate it, but a few times I have rolled my eyes at the descriptions. For me as a writer it is difficult to balance having enough description with having too much. I am a huge fan of parallelism and also with using contrasting things in parallel formats to jarr the reader a bit, but I think this book convinced me never to do it again.

On another note "Angels and Demons" comes out this weekend! I enjoyed that book much more than "The DaVinci Code" so hopefully the movie goes that direction too (didn't like the DaVinci movie very much at all.) I'm getting a group of girls to go to the movie together on Friday and am excited about that :-) I'll just have to refrain from comparing the book to the movie too much.

How about you? Do you compare/contrast movies and books? Or do you let them stand on their own? If you do, how do you keep the two seperate enough to enjoy both?

My Sister's Keeper

2009-05-04T11:41:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I read this, so I thought I would read it since it has been super busy around here lately. Reading a familiar and beloved book is always a way to settle into my evenings. Every time I read one of Jodi's books I'm astounded at how strong the voices are. It really forces me to think about the character development in my own writing. Almost from the instant you open her books you feel like it is a new person. No questioning when the voice changes either. I love these books.

Sizzlin'

2009-04-22T21:18:00.000-07:00

Wasn't sure which one to post this in! So here it is in the book blog too!

Today I ordered three cookbooks from Paperback Swap. I love that site. I can satiate my desire for books and also not spend any money! It is awesome. The wait stinks, but other than that it is all good. I got a few "healthy" cook books because I have been craving some lighter food -- which is usual for me as the weather warms (I always crave heavy fatty foods in the winter....)

I ordered The Organic Gourmet: Feast of Fields, Healthy Eating: Chicken (Cole's Home Library Cookbooks), and Family Circle Step by Step: Healthy Eating (Step-by-step Series).

I think they should be good. :-)

So hopefully they get here soon and I can test them out! I'm also trying to save a little money on food and not eat out so I think if I can spice things up at home it will be better. I think I'm going to do the SlimFast thing so that I have a regular breakfast (cereal usually) and then a slimfast and snack for lunch and then a real meal for dinner. It is the only logical way I can make it through my stressful day. I simply do not have the energy to come home and make a whole thing for lunch so I think some of these recipies will be good for the dinners. One is an all healthy chicken recipe book, so I think that will be intersting! We'll see how it goes when they get here!!

Book club

2009-04-15T21:18:00.000-07:00

Yay! I love book club, and now it is my turn to pick!!!!! Such a responsibility, but since I have been thinking about this since I joined six months ago, I already had an idea of what I wanted to pick. So here they are along with my take on the books -- and spoiler free... I PROMISE!!
It is so hard to pick and I wish we could read all of these because I would LOVE to hear what everyone at book club thinks about each one.
For a summary click on the title of each book. I'm just including why I picked them!

Gilead
This book is what I think of when I imagine modern great literature. Winning the Pulitzer in 2005, Gilead is literary and beautiful. Although the plot doesn't move forward quickly -- it is more of a contemplation than a story -- one becomes attached to the characters so that the changes and revelations of each are just as surprising and entertaining as plot revelations in other books.

Plain Truth
By the author of acclaimed My Sister's Keeper, Jodi Picoult (pronounced Pee-ko) I was skeptical when I picked up this book but I was hooked almost immediately. I think Jodi uses the perfect blend of commercial and literary. Though I guessed the ending at one point, she did a great job of making me second guess every single one of my assumptions. Who can resist a court thriller (a la Law and Order) blended with a study of the Amish?

Broken for You
This book -- set in Seattle, YAY! -- a hint of the supernatural and a little about how people relate to each other. Add a touch of redemption and anyone who knows me well knows this is the recipe for a book that I will love! I loved the idea of a kind of "hermit" woman who invites people into her home at the end of her life and it didn't disappoint. I was also happy to find an author whose writing I enjoyed. I haven't picked up her newest book, but I am looking forward to it!

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister
A retelling of the Cinderella fairytale from the perspective of her step sister, Maguire has a decidedly darker tone than even the Grimm's telling. If his Wicked -- a retelling of the Wizard of Oz -- was a study on what goodness and wickedness really are then Confessions is a study on the place of women in the world, family relations and he can't resist pondering wickedness again. A few surprise twists and some ambiguity that I'm still not sure what the real truth of the matter was in some cases just add to the "real life" feeling of this book.

Peace Like a River
This book was recommended to me by a former co-worker who I didn't like at all. I was semi-determined to hate it but I just couldn't. I think the other review said it is the father who haunts you in the end and I think that is very true. I think Enger shows us the father's torment and the injustice of the situation so clearly that one can't help but feel just as torn as the father. The writing is beautiful and the plot enticing but it is the character development that I think really shines in this book.

WOW!!! Lots of books!

2009-04-12T11:08:00.000-07:00

Hehe. So this weekend I have finished: (finally) Augusten Burroughs' Magical Thinking, Jodi Picoult's Change of Heart, Martha Beck's Steering by Starlight, Sophie Kinsella's Remember Me and started Laurie Viera Rigler's Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict (what can I say I needed something light after all that!)

Magical Thinki ng

As I said before, I was able to get past the crassness in the book and really came to enjoy it. It really has rather inspired me to try writing some short stories of my own. I had always thought of short stories as not enough time to develop a character, but had never considered doing a collection of short stories that were autobiographical in nature. In fact, I've already started! I have to say Burroughs' humor is what I found most engaging. There is one story about how people read his memoir Running with Scissors and because it addresses some deeply personal issues -- such as sexual abuse and his very damaged family life -- people who would recognize him on the street started to confess their secrets to him. Some of them are horrifyingly funny. Some of them are just plain sad. But throughout it all he is hilarious. The inner monologue is awesome (but, um, I would never approach him if I happened to run in

Change of Heart
Ok, Ok. I admit it right now. I am Paige and I am addicted to Jodi Picoult's books. I can't even put my finger on what sucks you into them so much, but I think it is the character development. In Change of Heart, a man Shay is convicted and sentenced to die for the murder of a small child Elizabeth and her step-father Kurt. Claire is Elizabeth's sister who was born after their deaths to mother June. The book centers on Shay's fight to give his heart to Claire, who is dying of a heart defect. As in many of Picoult's books there is the underlying tone of atonement, a mystery you don't find out about till the end and an ending that will haunt me for weeks. I can't read a lot of her books in a row because my brain continues to obsess about them long after I've turned the last page. A book I previously read Salem Falls left me unable to read for a few days -- and anyone who knows me that is something in itself!

Steering by Starlight
I read Beck's Finding Your Own North Star a couple years ago, and although I enjoyed it, it didn't resonate with me in the same way this one did. I am not really sure why, but it quite inspired me. I read through it, and sometime in the next couple weeks I'll go through it and do the "workbook" stuff. I can't say that I know for sure exactly where I am in my journey, but this gave me hope that it is possible. What I love about Martha Beck is that she acknowledges that there is something mysterious and powerful about our thoughts and beliefs. That there is a way that we in a way "create our own reality." Yet, she doesn't go so far as people in The Secret to say that if you really, really believe you can sell all your possessions and buy lottery tickets and because if you know you'll win you will. She also points out that The Secret is ridiculous because there is no way for so many people to have attracted cancer, or for Anne Frank to have attracted the Holocaust. I like that because I, too, believe that the thoughts have power -- but not ultimate power. So I'll let you know if doing the workbook parts helps me discover what I should be doing.

Remember Me
Another author I just can't get enough of is Sophie Kinsella. Her books always feel like a best friend when I'm reading. (Yes, I really do think of books in terms of how close we are as friends....) In this one Lexi Smart wakes up in a hospital one day only to discover she has forgotten three years of her life. She is now successful, rich and, oh yeah, married to a man she had never met three years ago. She's smart and funny, just like most of Kinsella's heroines. I really enjoyed this book -- probably more than the Shopaholic series. My favorite is still Can You Keep a Secret. One part that made me crack up out loud in this book is when Lexi's husband Eric makes her a "marriage manual" complete with an index! The plot is slightly predictable, but I enjoyed every step of the way. I did think it was a bit unreasonable that some major, major details were not revealed to Lexi until the end when she had basically figured it out herself. I just can't believe that a family would be that ridiculous to NOT tell someone suffering from amnesia some of the events that had transpired -- then again, her mother also failed to tell her she was married until her hubby was coming into the room.

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict
Really, I'm only a couple chapters in, so I can't say much about this one yet. I don't think it will be one that will stay forever on my bookshelf, but it is a fun read after several intense books. I guess I'm not really into the whole "time travel" thing, but it would be interesting to see what it was like back then.

Magical

2009-04-07T21:35:00.000-07:00

I'm continuing on reading Magical Thinking which was the book club book last month, but I hadn't finished it. Even though he is ridiculously crude sometimes, I find myself really enjoying it. So much bad stuff happens to him and yet he seems to be one of those people who can look back and make fun of himself. I often get "in trouble" from those close to me for being too self deprecating, but I think he is a good mix of that and confidence. Perhaps I could learn something from that.

Murderously Wonderful

2009-03-28T21:04:00.000-07:00

I just finished the last in the Dexter series. I cannot WAIT for the next one to come out. It is out September 13, just after my birthday (Happy Birthday to me!) I will reiterate that this is certainly not high literature, but it is contemplative and a wonderful story. The one thing I still contend with is Dexter's constant assertion that he has no feelings. All the while using words like happy, sad etc. Even after three books I'm not convinced he doesn't feel anything. Meanwhile looking forward to. Oh. Hm. I'll try and avoid spoilers. I look forward to the next book!

Rita and the kids are great additions, as is Deborah's boyfriend. Deborah is maybe a little bit of a caricature, but hopefully that will begin to improve. Any one else ever read these books??

Narnia-land

2009-03-18T22:09:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I read the Chronicles of Narnia (probably since I read them in college), but at work we were talking about them today.

If you have read them do you think they are all overtly allegories?

******* SPOILERS BELOW IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THEM ALL**********

How many of you have read "The Last Battle"?
What do you think Lewis was trying to say about Susan not getting into the "New Narnia"?
What do you think he was trying to say about the boy who worshiped the other god but was seeking truth getting in?
How about the dwarves not knowing they were in the New Narnia?

I have theories of course which I'll post in comments if you guys comment first!

It just kills me

2009-03-13T02:30:00.000-07:00

I just finished Dexter. I love the feeling I get after reading a good book -- a sort of sleepy, happy feeling. Books are my drugs, I suppose. ;-) I wouldn't want to spoil anything but I would recommend this book for sure, as long as you can handle gruesome details. The first book had a few details here and there about what Dexter was doing to his victims, but this one has a lot of details about another serial killer who does quite unthinkable things to his victims. It was quite disturbing.

I am not sure how it is possible, but I still sort of love and like Dexter even as he is admiring the technique and skill and "sense of humor" of the other serial killer. Good character, I guess. I'm anxious to see if the TV show takes on this rather radical twist. I'm not sure it would work on TV with a mass audience the same way as it works in the book. Anxious to start the next one though! I wonder if there are more books to come . . . I sure hope so!

Overwhelmed.

2009-03-12T00:11:00.000-07:00

I have so many books on my TBR pile! For efficiency (and sanity) I have decided two books at a time is enough. So I am currently reading Dearly Devoted Dexter which is number two in the Dexter series and Magical Thinking. I'm pretty easy on books so you probably won't hear me say I hate any very often, but I think there is something to be found in every book -- even ones that I don't like!

Dexter

So far I'm loving it. Jeff Lindsay isn't exactly high literature, but the books read so well. I have heard a spoiler (hehe don't worry I won't spoil it for you... unless you beg!) which I am anxious to see how it develops. I do believe it is true now that I have read some of the book. One thing I'm interested in is the "moon motif" in the books. I haven't quite figured out if it is an actual phase of the moon that he reacts to or if he views the moon differently when he is with the Dark Passenger. If anyone has read it let me know your thoughts! I do like the image of the fat, blood-colored moon. It might not be an original symbol, but it is effective. And the pacing of the book is amazing. I have a hard time putting it down. Who doesn't love Dexter with his wonderful sarcasm, cunning and smarts? I also have the third book in the series so we'll see how quickly I get through them.

Magical Thinking
Augusten Burroughs cracks me up. Crass? Yes. Unbelieveable? Absolutely. But yet I can't stop reading this book of short stories. I'll continue when I finish, but even just a few stories in I am enjoying it. One of the first ones "Vanderbilt Genes" is hilarious because he is a kid who becomes convinced that his parents had kidnapped him. I think most kids have wondered what their lives would be like, but with his outrageous nature I can believe that he actually became convinced of it. The best parts of this book are the tidbits of Augusten discovering himself. Those are the things I'm obsessed with in all art. The moments where we find our commonalities and our differences.

I can't wait to finish them!!