Busy Week!

Seek

by Paul Fleischman

(5 Scoops)

Cathy's Book- If Found Call (650) 266 8233

by Sean Stewart and Jordan Weisman

(3.5 scoops)

Ella Minnow Pea

by Mark Dunn

(3.5 scoops)

Patti Smith: An Unauthorized Biography

by Victor Bockris

(2 Scoops)

Snow Day

An article in the book section of the NY Times had this picture of philosopher and mathematician Rene Descartes.

I say, throw a mullet wig on Robert DeNiro

and he can play Descartes in the movie!

Look at me! Look, look! Are you looking?

Woooo-hooooo!

I'm a guest blogger.

I feel so important. So cool.

Oh yeah. Look at me, celebrating small victories.

Yeah, you can hate if you want to...

but we all ought to take more time

to celebrate the small victories.

For those big victories, at least when it comes to the act of writing, feel few and far between.

So, check me out!!!!

I reviewed one of my favorite books,

Nick Burd's The Vast Field of Ordinary,

with one of my favorite people, Kathryn Holmes.

Please Don't Read This Book

is an awesome blog run by the lovely and talented

Marirosa Mia Garcia and Julie Sternberg.

They review amazing books and run fabulous contests.

So you should follow them too.

Cool Contest

Hi, I wanted to pass on information about a blog contest going on at bildungsroman to win a copy of the graphic novel Smile by Raina Telgemeier. They want to hear your embarrassing dental stories. As someone who has had teeth removed so the others could be squished together, a pink plastic retainer, a permanent metal retainer and braces twice, I love the idea for this book and this contest! I do not, however, like the idea of ice skating or anything else that has the potential to knock out my front teeth!!!

Grumpy

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed today and can't quite shake the grumbles. I'm not feeling motivated to write and instead of forcing it, I am giving myself a free pass today. I've played some Lexulous, some Tetris, and read some blogs. I've scrolled through pictures of Alexander McQueen, sent some emails, and watched some SNL sketches from the 70's. I've listened to yahoo music's Big Hits of the 90's station, had some lunch, and paced. And I've been amusing myself by typing random word combinations into Google images. Here are some of my favorite results...

CHICKEN FREEZER

JERMAINE DIAPER

ZEBRA WATER CHAPSTICK

BIRTHDAY CAT

Pushing the envelope?

I hate this expression. Every time I hear it, regardless of context, I picture a little man in an oversize suit moving white envelopes around a desk and some big, bald boss chomping on a cigar standing in the doorway, tapping on his watch, yelling at him to "push the envelope."

I have never understood the origins of this phrase. And I'd imagine that most people who use it don't actually understand it. Yet they continue to use it. Grumble, grumble, grumble.

After reading The Grammarphobia Blog, which gives a clear etymology of this phrase, I have a new appreciation for it...but that doesn't mean I want to hear Joe Schmo use it to motivate someone on a reality show. Nor do I ever want to hear "throw me under the bus" again.

My name is Will Grayson...

... and I appreciate this book.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson

by John Green and David Levithan

(5 scoops)

* I was so excited to get my hands on a copy of this book that as soon as I did I dropped everything and began reading. And reading. And reading. At 6:00 am when I finally turned out the light I was hardly able to sleep for thinking about the characters and wondering what would come next.

Most reviewers have singled out the character of Tiny as being the one that stole their hearts, but for me it was will grayson, the uncapitalized one. There was a truth to his fear that was deeply compelling. Of course, this did not surprise me, for I have come to expect David Levithan's writing to beautifully convey the complexities of feeling. His characters always seek connection and a sense of community, yet they struggle to accept the very thing they most want. will grayson is no exception; he is so scared of being overcome by feeling that for much of the book he refuses to feel anything. Yet I was completely invested in his journey.

As I'm sure you all know, John Green and David Levithan are two of my favorite authors- Levithan for his rich characterization and talent for revealing emotional truths through simple, honest moments, and Green for his quirky wit and playful use of language. However, I was afraid that reading the book would feel like riding a DNA strand, two separate story tracks merging only once in awhile; but that was not the case. The characterization was seamless and each chapter moved the plot forward. So, I would say that, just like the theme of the book, they were strengthened by their relationship with one another.