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Too Much of a Good Thing?
Yes, I do think that there can be too much of a good thing. While reading Stardust, I figured out that reading four books might be too much to ask of any author. There was no reason for me not to connect with Tristran or Yvaine that I can think of, but I didn’t. I really think that I ran into author fatigue. It makes sense, too. I’m not much of a series reader because of similar reasons. I need something new. I’ll even take that a step further. I get tired of stand-alone books within the same genre or time period as well. From what I’ve been able to gather on Twitter, I’m not alone in this.
When I first conceived of Neverwhere and Beyond month, I decided that I would read Neverwhere, American Gods, Stardust, The Graveyard Book, Coraline, and Fragile Things. To date, I’ve read all by American Gods and Fragile Things. I had been saving American Gods for last because I’ve heard it is amazing. Fragile Things get’s iffier reviews overall, so I fear that reading it might put me full-fledged into a Neil Gaiman funk. I don’t want that. Also, I don’t want overload to take away from my reading experience with American Gods. More than anything else, I want to be in full-on anticipation mode when I pick up that book. I don’t want that to change.
So, I think I’m going to hold off reading those until later to give myself some time and space. This will also be a lesson learned for next year. I’m hoping to make October or November a spotlight month for a new-to-me author. I enjoyed my spotlight on Erika Mailman in 2008 and I have enjoyed Neil Gaiman this year. Going forward, I might spread it out over two months or just select fewer books. The key thing is to keep things interesting.
Leave a comment to this post for a chance to win one of the last two WWNR (I decided in the end that “What Would Neil Read” was better than WWND) bookmarks I’ve made. I promise to publish the pictures this weekend. If you leave a comment you can also enter to win one of the many prizes available during Neverwhere and Beyond Month. Use code: N&B-2Much.
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Neverwhere and Beyond: The Literate Housewife Discovers Neil Gaiman
Until I made plans to attend the National Book Festival in 2008, I had never heard of Neil Gaiman. Well, that’s not exactly true. Emily, one of the girls’ baby sitters read them The Day I Swapped My Dad for a Goldfish before then, but that doesn’t count because I wasn’t paying attention. Sometimes the damnedest things happen when you’re not paying attention. Others like Jena and my husband were so excited that he was going to be there. In fact, Jena ordered me a copy of Neverwhere and herself a copy of American Gods in hopes of getting his autograph. I was excited to get his autograph because Jena was excited. Then I discovered something about Neil Gaiman that made me freak out ever so little. Ever since I became a Tori Amos fan, I wondered who “Neil” was. Thanks to the power of the Internet and Wikipedia, I found out that Neil Gaiman is THE NEIL! If I remember correctly, I discovered this the night before the festival because I was hoping to have something intelligent to say to him. It took me quite some time and an odd look from Danny to veto the idea of bringing my liner notes from “Little Earthquakes” so he could sign them. I’m shameless, I know.
Neil was at the festival promoting his Newberry Award winning novel, The Graveyard Book. He was speaking when Danny and I arrived on site. We walked near that tent, but we really couldn’t hear what he was saying. Besides, why would I be all that interested in a children’s book anyway? Yeah, the damnedest things happen when you make assumptions, too. Honestly though, I was very intent on getting to the Fiction tent for Philippa Gregory. Regular readers will not be surprised by that one bit…
After listening to Philippa, which I loved, Danny and I headed over to the book signing area. Being a NBF virgin, I happily assumed I’d get most of the autographs I wanted, Neil’s, Salman Rushdie’s, James McBride’s, and Philippa’s with little problem. I was wrong. Very wrong. We first went to Neil’s line and I was shocked by how many snakes there were in his queue. He had initially agreed to signing books for an hour or an hour and a half. Because there were so many people wanting to meet him, he agreed to extend his book signing until the end of the festival. Even though Danny waited in his line while I got smart and got in Philippa’s, we never did get his autograph. I was impressed by him as a person all the same.
Photo by Philippe Matsas
Later on, our beloved Dewey passed away. She was a huge Neil Gaiman fan. I’m not sure how it came about, but those involved with the movie “Coraline” sent Dewey’s family a box of memorabilia. When her husband posted about the box, he mentioned that he wished that Neil knew how much his wife loved him. I wish I could link to this, but her site is no longer available. Neil left a comment on his post and I will never forget that. It was then that I decided I needed to make reading his work a priority. So many people think he’s a brilliant writer. From the little I have observed of him, I think he’s a wonderful human being.
After learning that his birthday is in November (11/10 to be exact), I decided that I would dedicate November of 2009 to his work. Since I had never read any of his work, I could easily devote an entire month to reading his novels. I originally planned to post only Neil Gaiman-specific content this month, but I’m not sure how practical that is. “Neverwhere and Beyond” will, however, most definitely be my theme for the month. I will be reading and reviewing the following books:
The Graveyard Book (finished early)
Neverwhere
American Gods
Fragile Things
Stardust
Coraline
I will also be reading the following to my daughters this month:
Crazy Hair
The Dangerous Alphabet
The Day I Swapped My Dad for a Goldfish
Blueberry Girl
I cannot tell you how excited I am now that November is here! Tuesday I’ll post a little more about how others are getting involved in Neverwhere and Beyond and, of course, prizes. If you haven’t already gotten to know this author, why not join me?
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To enter for a chance to win these prizes, go to the Neverwhere and Beyond page and use the following code: N&B-I.
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The Sunday Salon ~ October Frenzy
My kids are driving me to drink this weekend!
Emma had a sleep over Friday night with one of her after school friends. Danny and I were sure to do something special with Allison because she cried so hard when she realized that she was not invited. Allison enjoyed her solo trip with Mom and Dad to the pet store and to Famous Anthony’s – a local family restaurant. We topped off Friday night with a “camp out” in the basement. She really loved that, but woke up at one point crying because she missed Emma. When we picked Emma up, we spent some time at Heidi’s house. From the moment we arrived, Emma made sure that Allison was not included in the play. Apparently the older girls were going into Heidi’s room and locking Allison out. Heidi’s older brother thought it was so wrong that he locked Heidi’s door so no one could go in. Allison had a hero and didn’t even know it. LOL! The rest of Saturday was spent listening to whining, bickering, fighting, and crying. There was a short respite from that when we forced Emma to take her first nap in probably 2 years. Today hasn’t started out much better. [Note - in fact it got much worse since I started writing this post. Could it be the weather? The excitement about Grandma and Grandpa coming? Their birthdays?] I am indulging in some adult beverages tonight.
My parents are arriving early this week and I’m looking forward to their visit even though it meant I had to miss out on a Blacksburg get together with Kathy, Jaime, and Miriam from Hatchette Book Group yesterday. In the midst of all the drama, it’s shopping and cleaning in preparation for their arrival. This then begins the girl’s birthday week. Allison turns 5 on Thursday and Emma turns 7 on Friday. The party is at Chuck E. Cheese on Sunday. Yeah, this is going to be quite some week.
On to bookish news…
I am very sorry that I haven’t been on the blogs much this month. October is busy both at work and at home. I’m hoping that will clear up after this week. I would like to take a moment to congratulate Meghan from Medieval Bookworm on her wedding. Stop over her way and congratulate her (although I really think her new husband is the real winner…).
I did read two books this week:
This novel was sent to me by the author in February. I’ve been meaning to read it and have tried to several times before. I put it on my must-read list for October because I’ve had it for so long. Also, although their is no tie in to Halloween or this time of year, I thought the cover, which I love, was a good fit.
It took me a while to get into it and read slowly for me because the pacing and the dialect and pacing of the language was very British. For example, there was no “the” in front of hospital (I’m going to hospital instead of I’m going to the hospital). I kept tripping over that and other word choices. I am happy to have finally read it. I feel that I’ve stretched my horizons and, when I make it over to England myself, I’ll know to ask for veg at tea. It’s a nice story about two single parents struggling to keep their children happy and safe. I liked the premise and thought that Mina and Peter were sympathetic and honest characters.
![Cover of Perks of Being a Wallflower]](http://literatehousewife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Cover-of-Perks-of-Being-a-Wallflower.jpg "Cover of Perks of Being a Wallflower]")
As I posted Friday, a parent at a local high school became upset when his son came upon a copy of The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky at school. Because he pitched a fit, the school took both of their copies off the shelf.
I cannot believe that one parent feels that his objections about a book should dictate school policy. I further can’t believe that the school would cave to this single parent. So, I decided right then and there that I would read this book and encourage as many other people to read it as I can. I can’t say that I’ve ever even heard of this book before this incident. It definitely was not on my radar and, prior to this bruhaha, I’m not sure I would have thought twice about it after seeing its association with MTV (I had no idea that they published or at least used to publish books). I’m happy to say that I am one person turned on this book because of this parent. Well, I started reading it Saturday morning. I finished it before I went to sleep. Yes, I enjoyed it that much. No, I cannot say I could understand someone who has read this book wanting it removed from school property. The rest I’ll leave for my discussion in the Facebook book club I have set up specifically for this book and my review.
This week I’m reading…
I am serving as Victoria Hislop’s book tour host on Tuesday for her TLC book tour for her second novel, The Return. I haven’t read her first novel, The Island, but after reading the first section of The Return, I’ll planning on it. What’s even better is that I know I haven’t even gotten to the good stuff yet. I’ll be getting back into this novel as soon as I finish this post.
My best friend gave me The Shack for my birthday (shh, last year, please don’t say anything). This past spring, my dad asked me if I’d read it. I told him that I had a copy but just don’t often read Christian fiction, so I don’t think to pick it up. When I went home this summer, he asked me if he gave me a copy of the book on audio if I would listen to it. So, in honor of the fact that my best friend sent it to me (wh and that my father really wants me to read it, I’m going to read this while he’s in town. That way, we can talk about it, too.
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I Challenge You to Read a Challenged Book
In 2008 I saw all of the wonderful coverage of Banned Books Week by other book bloggers and vowed to myself that I would participate this year. This year, I was sick and wasn’t even able to squeak out a post on Lolita, which is one of my personal favorite novels. Last week, after receiving a complaint from a single parent, William Byrd High School in Vinton, VA removed two copies of The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Steven Chbosky from their school library. This parent, who admitted to never reading the book, was very concerned that a teacher gave a copy of it to a student who, in turn, gave it to his son. This high school is about 15 minutes from my house. It’s in the county next to ours. Here is a link to the story.
When my husband sent me this link, I was appalled that one parent’s issue can have a book removed from a school library. While he is free to raise his children as he sees fit, who is he to decide whether another child should have access to a book? I decided that if one parent can attempt to discourage people from reading a book, I would try to encourage as many people as possible. I tweeted about the article and posted about it on Facebook to see if anyone else would be interested in reading it with me. One of my best buddies Mark agreed to join me almost immediately. Susan from my Historical Fiction Lovers book club also bought the book. Others have either already read it or expressed interested, so I decided to forge ahead.
My initial thought was to start a Facebook event and leave it open for a month. The problem with events is that they just have a wall. A wall is fine, but hard to read through. Instead, I created a Facebook Book Club just for this book. That way people can review the book through the Discussion Guide, can post on the wall, and topics can be created for specific conversations. If you would like to join us, here is a link to the book club. It’s easy if you are already on Facebook. If not, joining Facebook doesn’t take long – especially if you’re only interested in using the Book Clubs feature.
This book club is open to anyone and I would love to have you take part in our discussion!
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Beautiful Birthday Flowers & eCard
Okay, okay, this is the last thing I’m going to share about my birthday.
Marjorie, one of my co-wokers, made me a pick-me-up pink princess birthday card. I wish I had thought to include it in my Birthday Bash post from yesterday (check it out for all of the goody bags!). Here is her creation. It just made my day on Wednesday:
Because I flip-flopped about working from home yesterday, my darling hubby had to change his plans for my birthday present. It arrived on my desk today while I was in a meeting. Aren’t they just gorgeous?
I’ve never received sunflowers before and they are just perfect. They remind me of Sunflowers, a novel about Vincent Van Gogh by Sheramy Bundrick that I received recently:
I might just have to pick that up and read it this weekend with my beautiful flowers in the background. After all, Van Gogh is one of “my people.”
Literate Housewife’s Birthday Bash!
Today is my birthday and I want to celebrate in grand style. You’re only 38 once, right? What better way to celebrate than to spread the joy? First, let me tell you about my presents and then I’ll talk about the goodie bags:
My Gifts
Yesterday was a great day. My team lead called a meeting with me for 9am. I walked into the meeting and settled down into the work day only to discover that he called it just to have my co-workers bring in a cake and wish me a happy birthday early. What a way to start the day! After being sick, I have to say I’ve been a little down – nothing big, but just sort of blue – this was just what I needed. Why a day early? Well, I normally work from home on Thursdays and they wanted to be sure that to catch me by surprise. Boy, did they ever. It was great.
I wasn’t going to work from home, but then I thought, why not? Well, that kind of messed my hubby up, so I’ll be waiting until Friday for my birthday present from him. Oops! That’s okay, though. Why not spread the celebration over several days, right? My girls are more excited about my birthday than they ever have been and that will be fun all on its own. Their school has started a walking program on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7:30, so we’ll start the day out together getting (me)/staying (them) healthy. I just know it’s going to be a great day.
When I got home from work, I received an email from Amanda at Regal Literary. My review of Audrey Niffenegger’s Her Fearful Symmetry was selected as one of the top 1o submitted to them. SQUEEEEE!! I cannot believe it! Because I was selected, I get a signed and personalized 1st edition of the novel. Did I say I cannot believe it? I can’t. That was by far the hardest review I’ve ever had to write. I’m honored that they selected it. They will be highlighting all of the top 10 reviews on Her Fearful Symmetry’s Facebook page over the next few days. What a great (who cares if it’s unintentional) birthday present!
The Goody Bags
I’ve got some bookish goody bags organized for this special day. I wish I had one for everyone stopping by because I appreciate each and everyone of you. For a chance, please select a goody bag and let me know in your comment which one you’d like. Please leave additional comments for each Goody Bag you’re interested in. It’s that simple. I will keep a list of who would like which goody bag and through the magic of List Randomizer, I will choose a winner. There are 8 goody bags since my birthday is October 8 and 8 is my favorite number. Curious to see what’s in the goody bags? Here they are:
Goody Bag #1
Danielle at Sourcebooks has graciously offered one copy of Margaret Campbell Barnes’ The Tudor Rose to one of my Birthday Bash readers in the United States. Thank you so much, Danielle and Sourcebooks!
This book was just reissued this month and I reviewed it on Monday. Here is a link to my review. It tells the story of Elizabeth of York that begins just before her father’s death. I really enjoyed it and found it was a great follow up to Philippa Gregory’s The White Queen.
Goody Bag #2
Danielle from Sourcebooks is offering a second Goody bag for my Birthday Bash readers in the United States – a copy of A Match for Mary Bennet by Eucharista Ward, O.S.F. Thank you again, Danielle and Sourcebooks!
This book was published this month and I reviewed it yesterday. Here is a link to my review. It tells the further story of Mary Bennet, Elizabeth Bennet Darcy’s quiet and serious younger sister. This is a really charming Pride and Prejudice sequel with a nice sense of humor.
Goody Bag #3
The Trials of Honorable F. Darcy by Sara Angelini is another book I requested from Danielle at Sourcebooks. I fell in love with the cover. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t get into it. If you like Pride and Prejudice sequels and modern romance, you should give this a try. This Goody Bag is for my ARC copy, open to any of my Birthday Bash visitors. I know that there is a reader out there for this novel.
Goody Bag #4
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know that I fell in love with Foreign Tongue by Vanina Marsot. It was one of my favorite books over the past year. I can’t say enough about it. Here is the link to my review. Not only is the novel wonderful, so is its author. I interviewed Vanina Marsot and had a wonderful time doing it. She sent me a signed copy of her novel and made my day. I’d like to pass my ARC copy on to one of my Birthday Bash visitors in Goody Bag #4. Maybe one of my favorite books during my 37th year will be one of yours in the upcoming year.
Goody Bag #5
Another one of my favorite books of my 37th year was Capote in Kansas: A Ghost Story by Kim Powers. Here is a link to my review. If you are a fan of Truman Capote and/or Harper Lee, you will love this novel. If you’re not, you will, too. I had previously read Lee, but not Capote. I couldn’t put it down. Goody Bag #5 is for my hardcover copy of this novel.
Goody Bag #6
Tomorrow I will be reviewing David Liss’ third installment of his Benjamin Weaver series, The Devil’s Company. I haven’t read any of the other books in this series but it wasn’t necessary. I really enjoyed Benjamin Weaver and the mystery in which he found himself in this novel. This hardcover novel, which was sent to me thanks to Random House after I snagged it as part of LibraryThing’s Early Reviewer program, is Goody Bag #6.
Goody Bags #7 and #8
The last two Goody Bags are for books I am looking forward to read during my 38th year:
Goody Bag #7 is for a paperback copy of Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross. This is a book I’ve heard so much about and I happen to have two copies.
Goody Bag #8 is for my second hardcover copy of Sorrow Wood by Raymond L. Atkins. This is the author’s second novel. I read and loved his first novel, The Front Porch Prophet. Here is a link to my review of that novel. I’m really looking forward to Sorrow Wood.
Thanks for stopping by. I enjoyed spending part of my birthday with you! The Goody Bags are up for grabs until Thursday, October 22nd (Ally’s 5th birthday) and I’ll announce the winners on Friday, October 23rd (Emma’s 7th birthday). Since October 25th is my 12th wedding anniversary, I cannot guarantee that they’ll make it in the mail until Halloween. 
The Sunday Salon ~ Tough Week
It’s been quite a week here at The Literate Houseswife Review:
- Had to move from a semi-private cube to an open area workspace at work. I don’t like it, but I didn’t have much time to worry about it because…
- The strep throat and cough that I treated the week leading up to the National Book Festival turned into walking pnuemonia “territory” by Tuesday. I was off work from Tuesday afternoon until Thursday morning.
- Danny’s leg has been bothering him and it seems like it might be a nerve thing.
- Thursday morning I felt better, but quickly felt feverish and wore down after only a few hours at work. I worked from home Thursday afternoon and today.
- Emma, who had a cavity filled Thursday afternoon, came home from after school with a lip full of infection, a sore spot on her check at the sight of the injection, and her jaw on that side of her mouth is still swollen. The dentist didn’t call back, so I spent Saturday morning in the emergency room with her. She is on an antibiotic for the infection and the mark on her face was apparently an abrasion from holding her mouth open during the procedure.
- I’m now six reviews behind and still haven’t written anything about the National Book Festival (fabulous!). I think that it is a combination of being so tired and having had such a hard time writing my review of Her Fearful Symmetry.
At least I can report that I’m feeling better today and hope to go back to work tomorrow. I’m hoping this afternoon I’ll be inspired to write a few of those delinquent reviews.
I hope you had a healthier week than we did. Here’s to a better week ahead!
A Parenting Book that Makes Me Happy to be a Mom – Finally!
About a week ago, I received a copy of comedian Elizabeth Beckwith’s spoof on parenting book Raising the Perfect Child Through Guilt and Manipulation
I am so over the seemingly endless supply of oh-so-serious books on growing, birthing, and raising children. I’ve found that I leave those books feeling guilty and inadequate, especially those I read about childbirth and breast feeding. I decided to no longer read them. A prime example of this was when Allison was extremely colicky. After days and days of trying whatever I could think of help her, I was at the point where I wanted to jump out the window. I put her in her crib and picked up a book on breast feeding and caring for infants published by a pro-breast feeding organization. In it I found the tiniest of sections about the subject. I wish I had chucked the book against the wall as soon as I read the first line in that section. It went something like this: “I’ve never raised a baby with colic, but… ” In the end it basically said, “Don’t put your baby in the crib and walk away. What if the very next thing you try is the thing brings your baby the comfort needed?” Talk about guilt and manipulation! How could it possibly be beneficial for my children to bring them up when I feel that way?
While I’m sure that it is never the intent of the author, I truly believe that some of those pregnancy and parenting books do more harm than good. There are those in which the agenda becomes more important than the individual. This is not the case with Raising the Perfect Child Through Guilt and Manipulation. I just knew that it would be right up my alley when I read the prologue about her childhood and how her parents raised her. As a mother of daughters 5 and 7, I can take it all to heart. The scene where Elizabeth’s father talks her out of a trip to Mexico without forbidding her to go gives me hope of making it through my daughter’s teen years. I wish I had the moxie to put my thoughts about parenting on paper like Elizabeth Beckwith has. Reading through it I am reminded of a pregnancy book, The Girlfriends’ Guide to Pregnancy
I haven’t finished reading this book yet, but after laughing my way through the first three chapters (and bits and pieces of the rest), I feel so much better about myself and my parenting. While guilt and manipulation may work to make your children behave better (ha!), Elizabeth realizes that it doesn’t do much at all for parents. There is no need to feel miserable in the most important role of one’s life. When it comes to parenting, I’m definitely on Team Beckwith.
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Please Help Find Makenzie
I just found out today that Makenzie Williamson, the 17-year-old daughter of one of my co-workers, went missing last week. How Jolynne was even able to come in to office today is beyond me. They are uncertain as to whether she ran away or was lured away. She is a young woman looking forward to Homecoming and all the other things that teenage girls do and she needs to come home.
Please read Makenzie’s flyer. It contains the details about her and the person she may be with. Jolynne said that she may be in California and that this week is critical. I know I have readers throughout the country. I ask that you pray for safe return and keep an eye out for her.
If you do see her, please call (540)562-3265 and refer to NCIC Case # 09-060057.
Makenzie, your mother loves you and misses you so terribly. She wants her to come home. We all do.
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National Book Festival!
I’m packing up tonight to head out early in the morning to travel to the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C.! I cannot wait. After an exceptionally tough week at work and being treated for strep throat, this is exactly what I need. I’m making plans to listen to John Irving, Judy Blume, Jeannette Wells, and David Wroblewski speak. I’m going to try to get John Irving and possibly David Wroblewski’s autographs, but after my experience last year, I know that anything might happen.
In addition to a wonderful day of books and authors, I am going to get the opportunity to meet some of my wonderful book blogging friends! That, to me, is almost more exciting than the books and the authors. So many of them have become my friends and I can’t wait until I can say they’re my friends IRL as well. We’ll all be celebrating at one book festival or another (there’s one in Baltimore this weekend, too!) and then meeting up for dinner at 6. You are sure to hear all about my experience on Sunday.
A special thanks to my dear husband Danny for taking one for the team and staying home with the girls tomorrow. I owe you one!
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Book Blogger Con
Have you heard about the 1st Annual Book Blogger Convention that will be held in NYC during the BEA? You should check it out. I know it will be a fantastic experience. Unfortunately I won't be able to attend due to family obligations, but I'll be trolling blogs for up to the minute news.
WE Magazine’s A Woman Blogger to Watch
Literate Challenges
What's in a Name? 3
Random Reading Challenge
