Fave Reads of 2011

After connecting with many book bloggers via Twitter and Goodreads last year and being part of a book group and always, always discussing books I enjoy (Hunger Games!) I figured I should join in and note some of my fave books that I read in 2011. I made a goal to read 50 books in 2011 and read 54, which was somewhat disappointing but hey I surpassed my goal. *Please note that not all of these books came out in 2011 and that I may have read ARCs or galleys of said titles that I got from Book Expo.

These are in no specific order of awesomeness. But overall I really enjoyed and would highly recommend them.

• When She Woke by Hillary Jordan (Fall 2011) - This was a phenomenal tale about a woman coming into her own after being betrayed by her beliefs and society in a dystopian setting where the highly religious and conservative rule with a heavy hand. It's a sci-fi take on The Scarlett Letter in which the main character is branded by the color red, and those that commit crimes are branded by colors also. It starts and ends with "when she woke" and you get chills reading some of the things the protagonist has to go through.
• Erasure by Percival Everett (re-released 2011) - One of Everett's earlier works and a great one. It mocks the literary elite and what is considered the 'Black Experience' by others. What happens when a very educated man writes what can be considered ghetto or urban lit and it is widely lauded by those who have no idea what it's like to be African American? Well, the way things go is intriguing and you don't quite get a final answer which makes you wonder where things are going in the literary world and outside of it where money talks and sometimes the subjectivity of art is questioned.
• Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (Fall 2011) - I feel like Laini is one of the most literary and illustrative authors, not just YA authors, around. She brings you into her world and keeps you there and frankly you don't want to leave it. The worst part of a Laini Taylor book is finishing it. But she strikes gold again with the tale of a young girl raised by demons who are at war with angels and how deep things go when starcrossed lovers suffer a great betrayal.
• Domestic Violets by Matthew Norman (2011) - A debut from Norman and a really good one. Usually I get kind of urked by writers writing about writers but this delved into the reality of being a struggling, emerging writer trying to find your voice amidst real life responsibilities and day-to-day disappointments. As someone who works and writes and works I felt like Norman really captured the life of someone toggling between what they want to be and what they are. While a job shouldn't define you, it often does.
• Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (2010) - This was a book club pick and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved the details and textures within this piece though it was kind of heartbreaking in the end. We had a good discussion about the characters and that's what stood out for me most throughout.
• Touchstone Anthology of Contemporary Creative Nonfiction (2007) - I am a fan of anthologies. Last year I read the Touchstone Anthology of Contemporary Fiction also edited by Michael Martone when I saw him again at the Postgraduate Writers Conference. What I love about anthologies is that they can introduce you to a slew of writers you weren't aware of in snippets. There are hits and misses with any collection but I always enjoy the range of stories and reading various genres.
• Lit: A Memoir by Mary Karr (2009) - I'd heard a lot about Karr's latest memoir. She's considered one of the best at the genre. After Lit I was hooked and am eager to read her two previous memoirs. She has a way of delving into things with a clear head looking back and capturing people, facial expressions, times as though they were a snapshot.
• The Given Day by Dennis Lehane (2008) - My first read of Lehane's. I've seen films based on his books but had yet to actually delve into one of his novels. I was invested from the first pages. He has a few too many POVs I felt but the core story between the White Boston cop and the Black man on the run and the friendship formed as America came apart and got back together again all the while having snippets of Babe Ruth (not as lovely as you may like to think) weaved in was amazing. And the fact that for me he didn't lose me at any part after more than 600 pages is a feat in itself.
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (2010) - Another book club pick but also something I had been wanting to read for awhile. I was glad when I finally got to read it and discuss with others. It's funny that when I was reading it a woman came up to me and said "You wanna read a book that will REALLY make you hate White people? Read Medical Apartheid." Henrietta Lacks is a tome that does make you ashamed of how medical professionals treated patients, or color and in general. People were not people but test subjects and to some still are. It was eye opening really and heartbreaking to read of the Lacks family tragedies that went on for years with their mother in the ground and them in the dark about her cells contributions to science and the advancement of medicine.
• Beauty Queens by Libba Bray (Spring 2011) - A friend is the publicist for Libba Bray and highly recommended her book. After hearing her, Meg Cabot, and Maggie Stiefvater speak at a This is Teen event sponsored by their publisher Scholastic and hearing how funny and endearing Libba was I was happy to snag a copy. This woman is hilarious and really captures the voices of her characters. You have to go with the world she creates but her characters are not caricatures. They're endearing as much as the author is and so you go with it and kind of fall in love with each of them.
• Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey (2011) - Amy Garvey is one of the coolest authors I've had the honor of tweeting with and sending baked goods! I snagged a galley of Cold Kiss at Book Expo and boy was I glad I did. This is a well written character driven, literary young adult novel with fantastical elements. Some may say not a lot goes on action-wise but a lot goes on emotionally and I love the scenes she drew out of true love.

Other books I enjoyed this past year were The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones, The Apothecary by Maile Meloy, The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler, The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson, and A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan.

2011 Project: Cookies Inspired by Books!

I know, I know. I already have a 2011 project. And that project is a character blog for my literary fiction collection. Of course going to the 'Family Album Blog' tab on my new website design you'll be taken to a 'coming soon' page. And it is coming! I swear! But this new project is something that can be done much quicker and is tastier in nature. Yes, it involves dessert, but also my next favorite thing books! And this may not be just a 2011 project but an on-going one.

A few weeks ago I was tweeting with author Amy Garvey. Her new YA book Cold Kiss released on September 20th and I had a chance to read it since she was at Book Expo. Cold Kiss is a beautifully textured book about a girl with powers who brought her dead boyfriend back to life and must deal with the repurcussions. (Amy is currently doing a virtual blog tour so check out her Twitter and Facebook page to find out more details.)

Amy is a baking enthusiast just as I am. And I mentioned I would like to create a cookie based on her book. She said "YES!" (just as enthusiastically as I typed it too.)

I read another Book Expo find with the much hyped and well-deserved lauded Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. (DSB came out just this past Tuesday and Laini is currently on tour.) I loved Laini's National Book Award nominated book Lips Touch: Three Times and had a chance to meet and eat dinner with her and her super-talented artist husband Jim after the awards ceremony with my friend who was their publicist and Laini's agent. I still remember the lovely world of Prague that she created and suddenly had an inspiration for a cookie inspired by her book.

So, my project is to create cookies based on books I really enjoyed! I've already created one for Cold Kiss and will be doing one for Daughter of Smoke and Bone next week. I may have another idea for a book to do soon, but may not. Either way I am going to post results on these two as my next 'baking' post. And if I have any more inspiration I'll make sure to let you and the authors know.

Feel free to let me know of any suggestions you have whether for books and/or for cookies!

Spread the word, people! I am getting inspired!

The "Working" Writer

As artists in general we strive to have our work seen, heard, read, and understood the world over. We don't necessarily seek fame and fortune (though that doesn't seem like a bad perk), we mainly want to have our voices (i.e., our work) available to the public, critically acclaimed perhaps. There are many ways to do this, especially in today's world of blogs, e-zines, self-publishing (something I'll get into in an upcoming post), the vast array of literary magazines (available in print and online), and so on and so forth.

We aim to become a working artist--in my case a working writer. While I consider myself a "working" writer this term conflicts with the one posed at the beginning of this paragraph (notice the nice quotation marks).

What I mean by the difference is that I consider a working writer to be someone along the lines of Jennifer Egan, Stephen King, Laini Taylor, Suzanne Collins, Toni Morrison, Junot Diaz, Jonathan Lethem, and the list goes on and on and on. These writers primary occupation is, you guessed it, to write. Many of them may teach and go on to do lectures or work as facilitators at conferences or write articles for various publications or do anything that is in line with their primary occupation, but they can also afford (in the financial and possibly even spiritual sense) not to do these things and focus solely on creating. Authors such as those listed have achieved a following, a longevity that allows their names to pull in interest from fans old & new and to proceed to write with deals already under contract even if they have no idea what the next project may be. These are the authors that may draw a crowd at readings, but also have some guaranteed sales and following and critical acclaim. (The ones I have listed are more high-tier authors, ones that wouldn't be considered mid-tier or low-tier because of the revenue generated from the sales of their books alone.) Being a high-tier author is what many "working" writers aspire to.

In contrast, I, among many others, am a "working" writer. Meaning, I am working in a separate career to help me fund and establish myself as a writer. The "working" writer is a jumping point for all of us, the authors listed above included, as we start off and progress to become that sought after figure people will wait hours or at least several minutes in line to get a copy of your work signed and sealed just for them.

The "working" writer has a job, maybe even several, but the primary one is the one that pays the bills, covers the cost of utilities and internet and Microsoft Word or any word processor program and eating and drinking and fees for Netflix or late library books. A "working" writer may or may not loathe said paying job. The "working" writer's secondary or tertiary job is the art itself (often unpaid).

The "working" writer spends money on graduate degrees and post-graduate degrees and probably continuing education classes as well as money on workshops, conferences, and residencies (be they the event itself or just on the application fees alone). The "working" writer pays contest fees and postage to submit their work for consideration by someone who deems it 'powerful' or 'enlightening' and may win a cash prize to balance out the costs, but often not. The "working" writer makes ends meat, but is willing to pay hundreds of dollars to have a professional review their work before they send it out for serious consideration.

The "working" writer may choose to self-publish their book and from then on spend much of their time and cash on publicizing something with little or no help from outside sources. The "working" writer makes time to write and doesn't have that luxury of doing so at any time of day or solely when it strikes them, no the "working" writer has to squeeze in that time before, after, and maybe even during work to get in a word count taking them that much closer to the conclusion of their piece (or pieces).

The "working" writer networks and schmoozes and has self-made business cards to hand out at any and every given turn, just in case. The "working" writer has the gall to ask you to look at their work and hound you until you fulfill that passing promise of "getting back to them when you can." The "working" writer will hold onto every contact they have, just in case. The "working" writer will take whatever time off they have from their paying job to go to attend something related to that secondary non-paying gig that we hold so dear it almost suffocates in our grip. The "working" writer doesn't quit, just keeps going, keeps writing, keeps revising, until they know in their heart they're done.

So, yes I am a "working" writer. I'm a writer working to have the story collection I've been daydreaming and evening dreaming about for the past several years come to fruition in a nicely bound book for the masses. I'm a writer working to strengthen their voice and their message so that not a page is wasted on a potential reader. I'm a writer working to entertain and enlighten while receiving the same from both working writers and "working" writers.

In aspect to the art itself and seeking to produce to engage an audience there is not much difference between the working writer and the "working" writer. Yet, from the perspective of the "working" writer the grass seems much greener on the other side.