Musing Monday

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about Christmas book buying ...

In these last few days before Christmas, I'm sure there are plenty of us scrambling to get our last minute shopping done. Are you buying any books for friends or family (or even yourself)? Do you expect to recieve any bookish gifts from others - books, or book-related?

Books For Christmas

Books are the one item that is always on my gift giving and wish list. I love books and I try to buy books for each family member.

This year, books are the only thing on my youngest daughter's (16 year old) gift list. Some of the books she has asked for: Kiss Me, Judas: A Novel by Will Christopher Baer, The Kafka Effekt by D. Harlan Wilson, House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski and Complicity by Iain Banks.

My hubby's wish list includes: Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd by Nick Mason,The Pythons by Graham Chapman, and Too Fat to Fish by Artie Lange. Of course, my hubby's wish list includes several DVDs.

For my mother and mother-in-law, cookbooks are always a must. This year Rachel Ray's Big Orange Book. This one also works well for my 2 oldest daughters, since they are both getting married next year.

As for me, my book wish list is always too long. I have asked for a few vintage Trixie Belden Mysteries I don't already own - I have the first 16, but I would like to have the rest. There are also a few of Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake books I don't own in hardback - these books were originally printed in paperback, but have been reissued in hardback.

Typically, I use my Christmas money to buy books after Christmas - this is also what my youngest daughter likes to do. She loves getting money for Christmas to be able to buy more books. I think we've created a book monster!

Merry Christmas to all my readers - I hope everyone has a happy holiday season!!

Cafe Writing - The Wonder, The Magic

December Cafe Writing: Option Three - Can You Picture That?

Use the following photo to inspire a piece of writing in any form (poetry, prose, whatever). Photo Credit: Konstantin Yuganov

The Wonder, The Magic

The wonder, the magic
Of reading a book
Sharing a world
Where authors have tread
Visiting places of pure imagination
Seeing the people
We create in our minds

The wonder, the magic
Of reading a book
Learning new phrases
An author has molded
Beholding new sights in imaginative form
Seeing the characters
Made-up into life

The wonder, the magic
Of reading a book
Enjoying the splendor
As crafted by authors
Rejoicing in glorious imagination
Seeing the pictures
The words bring to life

Monday Musings

Monday Musings' asks the question:

"Can you narrow down your reading to a favorite genre and author? Why or why not?"

It would be difficult to narrow my reading choices down to one favorite author or genre, because my reading tastes differ depending on my mood. Clearly when it comes to fiction, Laurell K. Hamilton and her Anita Blake vampire series and Merry Gentry series are near the very top of my list, but I also enjoy reading other things.

I'm currently on a young adult craze, devouring young adult series like popcorn. The Dreamhouse Kings is a new series by Robert Liparulo that I am thoroughly enjoying; he also writes adult books, so they are on my TBR list. I've been enjoying the City of Ember series by Jeanne Duprau, the Evernight series by Claudia Gray, and the House of Night series by P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast. I am also re-reading the original Trixie Belden Mysteries from my childhood - I'm doing Way Back Wednesday reviews of these books on my book blog.

I also enjoy non-fiction books and I'm currently interested in paranormal books: ghosts, predictions, tarot card readings and anything on the Wicca religion. But I also enjoy political non-fiction, especially recent books on President Bush and the Iraq War.

Kentucky authors are another one of my passions: Silas House, Bobbie Ann Mason, Ann Gabhart and Sue Grafton, just to name a few. The wonderful Bluegrass state is home to many wonderful writers, and I try to stay current with all the new works.

With the onset of autumn and the upcoming Christmas season, I am checking out more holiday books from the public library: cook books, home decorating, homemade gift ideas and useful traditions. I also have a tendency to "nest" during the autumn and winter, so this is normally the time I buy the most books, stocking up for cold winter nights.

For me, picking a favorite author or genre would be like picking a favorite from my three daughters - impossible! I love them all equally, and because of that I feel I am a more rounded reader.

Monday Musings

This week's Monday Musings is all about the treatment of books.

"Do you treat books carefully, or do you just reat them as any other object? Do you have certain things you refuse o do with books (write in them, etc.)? If so, what are they?"

I love books! I have loved them since I was a little girl. When I was growing up my family didn't have a lot of money, so I didn't own very many books. But the books I did own were precious to me. I treated them with respect and I cared for them much better than I did my toys.

My granny always told me to never, ever dog-ear the pages of a book and this is something I adhered strongly to. When I became a mother, this was also a lesson I taught me 3 girls. To me, dog-earing a book is as disrespectful as spitting in someone's face! (Well, maybe not that harsh, but it is something that makes me angry).

Now that I'm older, my home library has grown by leaps and bounds. I have bookshelf after bookshelf full of wonderful books. I keep bookmarks in every room of my house, plus I also use those dang inserts from magazines as book marks (they're made of cardboard, so they work nicely).

I don't write in the majority of my books unless it is an inscription of who bought me the book or when I received it. I also have many autographed books. I do have a tendency to write in "self-help" books or in text books that are my own - this helps me if I'm studying something new. Other than that, I never write in a book.

I try very hard to keep the book jackets with the books, but sometimes this is hard, especially if it is a book that I like to reread. In that case, I'll take the book to my public library and have them laminate the jacket cover - just like they do for library books. This keeps the cover nice and clean and I don't have to worry about tearing the cover every time I reread a book.

When it comes to checking books out of the library, I try to follow the same rules as with my own books. I always use a bookmark and I never dog-ear the pages. It makes me so mad to check out a book and find half the pages have been dog-eared at one time or another. I would also never think of writing in a library book, or any one else's book.

Books have always been my friends, so they deserve the same kindness and consideration that I would give to a living friend. Books are our legacy and they will endure long after I have left this world.

Write On Wednesday

This week's promt from Becca at Write On Wednesday concerns writing practice

"How about you? Do you have a writing practice? What’s it like? How has it helped you become a better writer? If you’re thinking about starting a writing practice, how do you envision it? What would work for you?"

Occasionally, Write On Wednesday will offer a writing activity to use in your writing practice notebook, or as an idea to blog about. Here’s one to start you off…

"Writing Practice Idea: Write about a time in your life when you were learning a new activity - a musical instrument, a sport, a language - and how you went about practicing it."

I typically write for 15 to 20 minutes every morning before work, but the bulk of my writing comes in the afternoons. I work parttime, so when I come home for lunch every day, I start writing. I consider this my second "job", though, right now, I'm not getting paid for it. Sometimes I will work on short (1200 words) articles for my monthly column, other times I may be working on one of my books.

For anyone who reads my blogs, you are probably aware of the fact I have ADD, so I have trouble concentrating on one project at a time. It is easier for me to work chapter by chapter. This week, I'm trying to work on my young adult book ("Charlie" is the working title), but I keep getting sidetracked when something reminds me of another book I'm working on ("Deep Creek"). I keep separate notebooks for each of my larger writing projects, so sometimes I'll have several notebooks spread out in front of my, jotting down notes in each one. I try to write at least 4 pages every day - that is the minimum I allow myself. Of course, this is only Monday through Friday; anything I write on the weekend is free pages!

The practice of have separate notebooks for each project has helped keep me on task. I used to worry about the fact my attention span was all over the place, but the separate notebooks have brought a calm peace to my writing world. Now I don't feel like I'm shortchanging one thing for another. I'm also a list making, so the separate notebooks are like a big list for me!

The greatest writing advice I have learned came from Stephen King's book On Writing. He says that writers write, every day, no matter what. When I was younger, I didn't think of myself as a writer because I couldn't stick to one topic. Now, I've learned how to channel that energy to improve all my writing. It may take me longer to finish a project because of the ADD, but when I am finished, I know it's the best I can do.

Of course, blogging is also a way to practice writing. I have become obsessed with blogging and it is helping me to hone my focus. Hence the reason I have so many blogs! Just like my separate writing notebooks, I have separate blogs for my different interests. Now it's a juggling act to keep up with all of them, but it makes me happy!

In addition to the notebooks I keep for each project, I also have a general journal that I write in daily. This usually has ideas, quotes, observations or anything else that catches my fancy. I will start using this journal as my practice notebook, so for today's assignment, I'm going to write about learning how to knit.

The Pity-Me Party Is Over

Okay, I finally redeemed myself on Sunday. After spending part of the weekend throwing a "pity me party", my muse rallied and I was able to get 6 more pages on the book I'm writing. Yeah for me!

The main problem with my writing is the fact I have so much going on at one time. I'm not content to just be working on one project - I get bored working on the same thing all the time. So I usually have several things going at once:

--my column for the paper
--my blog enteries
--updating my journals and the journals of my 3 girls
--2 short stories I'm working on
--3 books I'm trying to finish

I realize, if I would just put my nose to the grind, I could finish some of these projects faster - but what's the fun in that?

I write for me - not to get published or draw attention to myself. So, if I want to work on several projects at once, that's what I'm going to do. I'll eventually get everything finished.

Another new project that is swimming around in my crowded head - wedding books for my oldest 2 daughters. Both my oldest daughters have weddings planned for next year - one in June and the other in September. I really want to put together a photo album/journal to give them as a wedding present. I'm jotting down notes and collecting photos, but I haven't done much beyond that. Hopefully this winter I can get started on this in earnest.

Till next time ...