Tag: books

My (Home) Desk

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As promised, here’s my home desk.

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For starters, I love my desk so much. It’s big and bulky and dark wood. Incidentally, I have found two people who share the same desk – one of which being my best friend. It was originally my grandfathers, and he gave it to me before he passed away. There are secret compartments behind the drawers where I like to think he hid presents for my grandmother.

Top: IKEA clock (which I never wound, but I thought was cute), tiny toys (good luck cat and mini typewriter from my friend Colure; shell turtles from my friend Katie; Chun Li, Harley Quinn, and Joker action figures from my friend Hunter), The Ataris CD (I listen to high school pop punk when I need writing inspiration-seriously) moving calendar (because that’s important), mask from my trip to Venice, Little Prince figure from my trip to Paris, cube of Jewish phrases that used to belong to my grandparents, old camera, pile of old books*.

Drawers: A ton of random things, including four filled moleskin notebooks, circus greeting cards from Michaels, my letter from my agent(!!!), stamps (because I still mail letters), post-its, and a golf ball that almost hit me in the head when I was 16. I keep weird things.

Desk: Penguin mug from London (S got me The Big Sleep because we met while reading that book in class-awwww), notebook, hard drive, camera, post-it with my to-do list, laptop, pile of edits.

And because I love it, my cork board beside my desk has a mess of things, including: buttons, a Helga Hufflepuff card, a picture of my puppy Jetta, photostrips of my mom and I and my friend Meg and I from the day I bought my wedding gown, bookmarks, drawings from my friend Shannon, a picture of S and I, and a bookmark from a haunted ship (yep).

And here’s the wall above my desk:

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I like to frame random things, so here you go. Clockwise from top: painting from Florence, a print that says Hope, a photograph of my great aunt and uncle**, a postcard from Papa Please Get the Moon for Me***, a painting from Venice, a print my friend Shannon got S and I of two owls reading.

* – Books: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Dick Tracy, The House at Pooh Corner, Andersen’s Fairy Tales, Peter Pan, Through the Looking Glass.

** – Photo: My Great Aunt Faye and Great Uncle Julius were flamenco dancers in Spain. It was a Huge Deal because she was just a little Jewish girl from Brooklyn who followed her heart to another country for a guy. First interracial marriage of my family! The story ended well, though, because they were married until he passed away (when I was in 5th grade). She passed away when I was a senior in high school, and it broke my heart. She was such an amazing woman. In the end, she left me her rings, which are now my engagement and wedding bands.

*** – Postcard: There’s an ongoing joke in my family that my dad will do anything for me. So when he (willingly!) went with me to an Eric Carle exhibit, he bought me the postcard because, yeah, if I asked for the moon as a child, he would have done his best to get it.

RTW: Best Book of January

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This week’s Road Trip Wednesday: What’s the best book you read in January? 

Probably this one:

Peter and the Starcatchers

by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

S bought it for me back in December right after we saw Peter and the Starcatcher on Broadway. I adored the musical more than words can say, so I felt the need to read the original material. And it was fun! It’s Peter’s story before he was The Peter Pan. I enjoy recommending it at the library now.

I’ve always been fond of the Peter Pan story, which is why we saw the play in the first place. The play was magical in the sense that it wasn’t magical. There were no special effects, no crazy Spiderman-esque wiring to make the characters fly. No, it asked for you to use your imagination and pretend the ladder was really a mountain, the rope was really a wave, the girl was flying, and not just sitting on a see-saw. I loved that so much because it, as cheesy as it sounds, reminded me of being a kid. When a blanket was a Batgirl cape, a princess dress, a ninja turtle belt. When a covered corner was a cave, a secret hideout, a magical palace. The show reminded me to dream, believe, imagine, and try. So, to me, the show felt magical.

And I might have teared up at the end.

“Pity the child who lives in a fact-based world.”

Time is a Goon

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Over a year ago I was given a copy of A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. It has sat on my shelf since, not because I didn’t want to read it, but because I never found the time and heard it was quite the time-consuming read.

Well I just read it in probably three days. Because while it might be confusing at times, it’s also absolutely brilliant. WHY did it take me so long again?

The book is loosely about the lives of Bennie, a record executive, and Sasha, his troubled assistant. I say loosely because really only two chapters are singularly about them, even though the entire book tells their story. Good Squad is made up of 13 individual stories that can be read on their own (some have been published on their own prior to the book’s released), or, in this case, together. On their own they’re great snippets of various lives, but together create a tapestry of a story. Because each short story reveals another layer of Bennie or Sasha. The story may be about the life of an aspiring actress, or a dying producer, but each person passed through one of their lives, and contributed to who they were, who they are, and who they become. Through these stories about other people, we learn what happens to Bennie and Sasha over the years – where they came from and where they end up.

And I found that absolutely fascinating, and novel way to, well, write a novel.

Most importantly, while each story changes narrator, they also change time. Going from the late 1960s (ish) through the future, the stories jump back and forth in time as each unfolds. While the first chapter takes place in current time, the next jumps back…but then the fifth catapults you much further forward in time.

It’s this storytelling that brings out one of the neatest things – there aren’t many surprises because most moments are mentioned early on and then unfold later. For instance, in a later chapter you wonder what will happen to Bennie and his wife, who are in the midst of a quarrel. But you don’t have to wonder, because in chapter 2 you already learn that they’re divorced with a son. It’s like…a big plot element is revealed, and then chapters later you get it completely explained. And there’s an “ah ha!” moment of you putting two and two together. It’s experimental writing at its best.

(I will fully admit that while reading this, I jotted down each character I met because I knew they’d probably appear again later on. Many did. I realize how dorky that was, but it was also quite fun.)

I think the way the whole story was written really showcases the main theme – how time is a goon, a bully. Whether you want it to or not, it pushes you along from stage to stage in your life. You’ll have some ups, you’ll have some downs (and these characters have many, many downs),but you’ll keep going.

You’ll grow up.

Giveaway: The Starboard Sea

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It’s time for another giveaway! This one is to celebrate the beginning of a new year. (Or, 18 days into a new year, but details.) I was sent a brand new copy of The Starboard Sea by Amber Dermont, and since I’ve already read it, I’d love to give it away.

A powerful first novel about life and death, friendship and love, as one young man must navigate the depths of his emotions.

Jason Prosper grew up in the elite world of Manhattan penthouses, Maine summer estates, old-boy prep schools, and exclusive sailing clubs. A smart, athletic teenager, Jason maintains a healthy, humorous disdain for the trappings of affluence, preferring to spend afternoons sailing with Cal, his best friend and boarding-school roommate. When Cal commits suicide during their junior year at Kensington Prep, Jason is devastated by the loss and transfers to Bellingham Academy. There, he meets Aidan, a fellow student with her own troubled past. They embark on a tender, awkward, deeply emotional relationship.

When a major hurricane hits the New England coast, the destruction it causes brings with it another upheaval in Jason’s life, forcing him to make sense of a terrible secret that has been buried by the boys he considers his friends.

Set against the backdrop of the 1987 stock market collapse, The Starboard Sea is an examination of the abuses of class privilege, the mutability of sexual desire, the thrill and risk of competitive sailing, and the adult cost of teenage recklessness. It is a powerful and provocative novel about a young man finding his moral center, trying to forgive himself, and accepting the gift of love.

It was a notable book of The New York Times Book Review, and most importantly, I quite enjoyed it. So read it and let me know what you think.

TO ENTER: Comment below by Thursday, January 24th, letting me know where you were in 1987 (I’m totally okay if the answer is “wasn’t born yet!”) I was in NY, accepting the fact that I was officially an older sister. This relationship was not perfect at first, as my mom had to give birth to a boy instead of a girl, but eventually I learned to accept and – shhh – like my little brother. (Who is, WOW, now 25. Weird.)

Books of 2012

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Books I’ve read in 2012:

  1. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
  2. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
  3. Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
  4. The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour
  5. Hana by Lauren Oliver (eBook)
  6. Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
  7. Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber
  8. Dramarama by E. Lockhart
  9. Fracture by Megan Miranda
  10. The Rivals by Daisy Whitney
  11. So Shelly by Ty Roth
  12. Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
  13. The Boy on Cinnamon Street by Phoebe Stone
  14. Spin by Catherine McKenzie
  15. Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
  16. The Downside of Being Charlie by Jenny Torres Sanchez
  17. Arranged by Catherine McKenzie
  18. Unbreak My Heart by Melissa Walker
  19. When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle
  20. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
  21. The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger (graphic novel)
  22. Wanderlove by Kristin Hubbard
  23. Wonder by RJ Palacio
  24. The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
  25. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
  26. Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake
  27. My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick
  28. One Perfect Summer by Paige Toon
  29. Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead
  30. Every Day by David Levithan
  31. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
  32. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (re-read)
  33. The Space Between Us by Jessica Martinez
  34. Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone by
  35. This is Life by Dan Rhodes
  36. One Perfect Christmas by Paige Toon (eBook)
  37. Rose of Fire by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (eBook)
  38. Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookshop by Robin Sloan
  39. WinterTown by Stephen Emond
  40. Let it Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle (re-read)

Also read:

  • A full manuscript by my friend Joe! 

Favorites of 2012
Unlike most years, many of the books I read this year were actually published in 2012. This is most likely because I have a tendency to bring home EVERYTHING from the library. So, as it turns out, my favorite books of the year were also published this year. I’m categorizing them only because I cannot actually choose a favorite. 

Favorite middle-grade novel

  • Wonder by RJ Palacio – Who DIDN’T love this book? Due to Auggie’s facial deformity, he’s never gone to school. Until now. This is Augie’s story, and his sister’s story, and his friends’ stories about the power of acceptance and bravery and friendship.

Favorite young adult novel

  • The Fault in Our Stars by John Green – Honestly, this doesn’t come as much of a surprised. This book became my favorite by Green due to its beautiful writing and compelling story. There’s not much else to say – every Best Of list has already said it. But basically, it’s a story about two teenagers who happen to have cancer, who fall in love and learn a lot about the ideas of immortality and life and living. Runner-up: Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein 

Favorite novel

  • Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookshop by Robin Sloan – If you’ve spoken to me in the past month, you’ve probably heard me wax poetic about this book. It’s just so good. When Clay starts to work at Mr. Penumbra’s, he finds archaic books, a cryptic code, and a secret society. It’s a book that shows the intersection of today’s technology and the beauty and love of old books. Also, the cover glows in the dark. Runner-up: This is Life by Dan Rhodes