October Book of the Month

I didn't read as many books last month, even though I realize that I still read more books than "normal" people do in a month. Instead of reading, I spent two weeks with Baby E (she's wonderful!), and then I decided to apply to grad school (ack!) which meant that a lot of my time has been taken up by the grad application. And this month time will be taken up by studying for the GRE. Sigh. Life never slows down.

Without any ado, here is this month's book.

Size 12 is Not Fat by Meg Cabot. Heather Wells was a teen pop sensation. Now she's an assistant director of a college dorm . . . excuse me, residence hall. Just three months on the job and a student dies. The police are certain it was an accident, but Heather isn't so sure. With the help of her ex's brother, Heather sets out to prove it was murder.

This is the first book in the Heather Wells series, and I liked it well enough to get the second one. Heather is a fun character--a little ditzy, but with heart and a love of food. There are interesting secondary characters, and the plot is good. There is also very minimal swearing and sexual references. I like a good murder mystery (which is probably the cause of half of all my strange dreams), and this was a good one.

Read a good book this November! It's a great alternative to going out in the cold!

Letters of Intent

I'm applying for grad school right now. It's a little stressful, but exciting at the same time. I'm hoping that in the next couple of months everything comes together, I do well on the GRE, and I have everything turned in by the deadline. The thing I'm not looking forward to writing is my letter of intent. I'm just not good talking about myself in a professional way (I really have no idea what that says about me . . .), so I thought I would write what I wish I could say here on my blog to maybe get it out of my system, and then I can write a professional letter to send to the University.

Dear Admissions Board,
Yo, I like to write, let me into your program.

Okay, okay, that's probably not the best way to phrase it, even for this kind of thing.

Dear Admissions Board, 

I love stories. I love stories told in the form of art, music, movies, theatre, and dance, but mostly, I love stories told by the written word.  

From a very young age, I started creating stories in my head. At first I used books and stories that I already knew, and I would insert myself into them as a character. As I got older, I started writing things down: character bios, lineage, even a few sentences. I started creating my own little stories, spending Sunday afternoons writing them down in notebooks, on the computer, or on loose pages of notebook paper. Some of these stories I submitted to my elementary school's "Reflections" contests, and then later to my high school's literary magazine, Tabula Rasa, where I was also the prose editor my senior year. 

Sometimes I would forget how good writing would make me feel, until I would stay up late at night writing down my ideas, or pieces of stories. Once I got to university, I became an English major because I wanted to learn about more stories. And I did! Diverse stories that I never thought of reading before. I started deciding for myself what I liked about different types of story telling, and I branched out in how I read. Even when my schoolwork became overwhelming, I always made time for personal reading, because, like Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird, "until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing." Stories are like breathing to me--an essential part of my life that I take for granted until they are not there anymore. 

While at university, I took two creative writing classes. The way these classes made me think about creating stories and characters, it was an eye-opening experience for me. And being able to get honest feedback, not just from a professor, but from my peers, that was something I had never experienced before. In my "Writing for Children and Adolescents" class, I heard from published authors who had written the kind of books I would like to write, to the audience I want to reach. I learned by trial and error, so different from the lecture and test routine I was used to. It was inspiring and challenging. It was hard.  

This is why I want to be accepted to your program. I want to learn even more how to tell the stories that are in my head, and to be able to grow stronger and more confident in my writing. In the three years I have been away from school, I have felt the lack of the learning environment in my life. I had been searching for knowledge through other means, which is satisfying in itself, but I have felt the desire to be back among my peers, sharing the learning experience with them. In my work as an editorial intern, and a part time worker, I have learned about telling different kinds of stories, and how to make them better. As I aspire to become an editor, I think it is important to know how writing works, to experience the kind of criticism that someday I may be giving. The most exciting thing about your program is that you encourage your MFA students to write the things they want to be writing. I want to make my career in young adult fiction, and learning to write it will help me in my career goals. 

Thank you for your consideration of me to the Creative Writing MFA. I hope that you can understand my passion for stories, and that I plan to bring that passion with me to your university.  

Sincerely, 

Whitney

That's better than the first, but still not what I think the admissions board is looking for. Guess I'll keep trying until I get it down pat.

Dreamland and Other News

These past two weeks I have been having some weird dreams. Have you ever had a series of dreams that are all related to each other? That even take place in the same "dreamland"? The majority of my dreams always did seem to take place in the same world my brain created, but not it has shifted to something much worse.

School.

Yes, I have been having school dreams. The school is a strange amalgam (sidebar: I love that word and try to use it whenever I can) of my high school and BYU. And for some reason I am taking art and math classes. But I can never find my classes, and I've forgotten my schedule, don't know my locker number or combination, and then there are all these people from high school or TV shows/movies I watch. Basically, they aren't the most comfortable of dreams.

Anyway, in other news.

I've decided to take the GRE. I'm looking into grad schools, but I haven't really decided if that's what I should do, but since the GRE lasts for a few years, I decided I should take it, and maybe even apply to a program or two and see what happens.

This has been about 6 months in coming. I received news that I would need to find a new job by the end of the year, which was heartbreaking but at the same time I knew that it is best for me. I'd been feeling for a while that I should start looking for a new job, but something would happen, and I would just brush the feeling away. But, here's the thing, Heavenly Father doesn't give up. In a way, I feel that everything that led up to me having to be let go (which no one really wanted that, but things happen and departments need to downsize) was really just God being like "Okay, Whitney, you wouldn't listen to me before, so now I'm forcing you into it. It's really for your own good." There was definitely some comfort in that, until I started looking for a job.

At first it seemed that I had a lot of options. I even applied for a great, entry-level position. But I kept getting turned down because other applicants had more experience and higher education. Which kind of got me started thinking about going back to school. And now I'm only coming across part-time jobs, even though I've broadened my search terms. The only thing I know is that I want to work with books, in some way or another; they are my passion.

This past week or two I've been thinking more and more about getting my MFA. Maybe it's because of these school dreams I've been having, or maybe because Roommate M has decided to go to grad school, but whatever it is, it's a different path I'm looking down. I feel as though the paths are dark and winding, and I have no idea of which I should go down or where they will lead. But maybe opening myself up to going down different paths, one will become more clear.

Growing up I never thought I would get my master's. That was back in the days when I thought I would be married at 21 and be having kids. My senior year of college, that thought changed. I found out about a creative writing MFA, and I became really interested in doing that. But even then I thought that I would do it once I had a job (hopefully one that would help pay for it), or maybe even years down the road. To be thinking about it at this stage in life is not what I was expecting, even though I know I should stop expecting things to happen when I think they should.

The good news is that my work has decided to keep me on (with reduced hours) until next June, or I find a job. I'm so grateful for them to be willing to help me and give me a lot of time to find something. They have even been working with me to sharpen my skills by giving me different tasks, and telling me about any job opportunities they know of. General Minion, my mentor, has even offered to help me on the GRE, and listens to me when I get down because I can't find a job. She was the one who proposed keeping me on for another 6 months, and she has sent me job listings I qualify for. It's been stressful, and it's been hard, and sometimes it makes me wonder about my talents and whether or not I have what it takes, but there are so many people in my life who are there to support me and to give me encouragement. Everyone goes through this at least once, right? It's just my turn and I know things will be better for it--if only I knew when!

September Book of the Month

I spent a lot of my reading time in the Regency period this last month, including this month's book. The book comes from an author I have read before, Georgette Heyer. A girl I work with suggested this book, knowing that I had enjoyed other books by Heyer.

Heyer basically created the genre of historical romance, but her books aren't heaving bosoms or shirtless men. Instead, they are exactly true to to period. In fact, Heyer became known as an expert on the Regency period, including a lot of information. Sometimes there is a bit too much information in some of her books, but the book I'm recommending, Arabella, is just right.

Arabella follows the oldest daughter of a Yorkshire vicar to London for her season, but on the way there, her impetuous nature causes her to make an influential man think she is someone more important than she is. Now all of London believes she's a rich heiress, which could get in the way of finding a good match.

This book, like my other favorite of Heyer's, Regency Buck, is very fun, with dry English humor.  I wouldn't say that people who like Jane Austen would like this, because the style is very different, but I would definitely recommend giving Heyer a go, especially if you enjoy historical fiction.

Banned Book Review

Okay, so I meant to do this Saturday, but I got distracted by cuddling with Baby E, who is in town, and spending time with Sis and Mom.

Banned Books week is over! I hope everyone read a banned book and fought for the freedom to read! Here is a little review of Looking for Alaska by John Green.

There were a lot of things I really liked about this book. One of my absolute favorites is the metaphor of the labyrinth that is introduced near the beginning of the book and is carried through until the end. The book is also organized into two sections, "before" and "after" and it's interesting to see the change between the two. It's a good look at grief, friendship, and intimacy. It also touches a bit on religion, belief, and life after death.

There was a great part that I liked in the second half of the book where the religion teacher is telling a story about a Sufi saint:

Karl Marx famously called religion "the opiate of the masses." Buddhism, particularly as it is popularly practiced, promises improvement through karma. Islam and Christianity promise eternal paradise to the faithful. And that is a powerful opiate, certainly, the hope of a better life to come. But there's a Sufi story that challenges the notion that people believe only because they need an opiate. Rabe'a al-Adiwiyah, a great woman saint of Sufism, was seen running through the streets of her hometown, Basra, carrying a torch in one hand and a bucket of water in the other. When someone asked her what she was doing, she answered, "I am going to take this bucket of water and pour it on the flames of hell, and then I am going to use this torch to burn down the gates of paradise so that people will not love God for want of heaven or fear of hell, but because He is God." (p. 174)

I just thought that was thought provoking, especially as a devout Christian.

There were some things that I didn't particularly like/enjoy. I do have to admit that of Green's novels, this is probably my least favorite. There is the sex scene, as well as the use of drugs and alcohol by teens, and some language.

After I finished it, I was talking to my mom who was a middle school librarian, and, obviously, is a parent, and as such has a different perspective on things. Through talking with her I decided that I think this book would be most appropriate for 17/18+, and, if I were a parent, I would prefer to have it be a guided reading. I would probably read along with my child (though, depending on the child, I may or may not wish them to wait until they read this book). There are some pretty adult things in the book, and that requires a certain maturity. Not that I'm going to go out and ban this book (obviously, because I'm against that), but it's my own personal observations and decisions. Maybe my experience with it will help form someone else's decision on whether or not they feel the book is right for them or their child.

I'm not a parent, so I don't want anyone to think I am stepping on toes, but my advice to parents is to read whatever book you think offensive before making a final decision. Get other people's views on it (possibly even the author's, as I did for Alaska) and make an educated and informed decision about it.

Well, that's it for this year's banned book week, but don't let that stop you from continuing to read banned books! Book of the Month post will be up tomorrow!

Banned Book Week 2013

It's that time of year again! Banned Book Week! Join me in fighting against censorship and read a banned book. (For my thoughts on censorship and the banning of books, please read all previous posts from the years. I just end up saying the same things over again.)

 Below are a few websites with information about banned book week:

Here is the ALA's website for banned books where they discuss the freedom we have to not only choose what we read/watch/listen to, but also the freedom to express opinions "even if that opinion may be considered unorthodox or unpopular."

Here is a list of books challenged or banned in 2012-2013. This list includes the book I will be reading for BBW.

The book I'm read this year is Looking for Alaska by John Green. When this book was first banned (five years ago), Green posted a video defending his book and addressing the banning of books. He gives a lot of the same thoughts I have about it (which I will quickly sum up here in case you didn't click on the link above), which is that no one should be able to tell anyone else what not to read. This is a personal decision. It is a decision that should be made using your own moral and religious standards as a guide. I welcome people warning me about something in a particular book, but I will ultimately make the decision to read or not to read it by myself. I am not against putting a book down if I don't like it.

Green also talks about why he included the sex scene in the book. This is a perfect time to talk to teens about intimacy and what it really means. Books (and movies, TV shows, music) should open conversation. This is something my own mother did. I remember a specific time in my childhood. We had been watching a TV show (possibly "Diagnosis Murder," but I'm not sure) and it was about physician assisted suicide. The next day, Mom and I were in the car and she asked me what I thought about it. I honestly answered that I really didn't understand what was going on. So she explained it to me and we talked about. A couple of years later I was watching a TV mini series about Anne Frank. The images of the Frank family arriving in Auschwitz were so disturbing I turned off the TV and ran upstairs crying. My mom asked if I wanted to talk about what I had seen.

There was always open conversation between my parents, and part of that was that they used media to broach subjects that were difficult to understand or deal with. I totally understand that parents want to protect their own kids, but it is not up to them to make sure everyone else's kids receive the same kind of protection. There are books that I won't read. And I'm sure when I have kids, I may wait to let them read certain books until I feel that they are old enough to understand. To each their own. But don't force your views on the rest of the world, because the rest of the world sees things differently.

This ended up much longer than I meant. But choose a book from the banned book list, and fight against societal censorship!

August Book of the Month

Oh geez, guys. So this month I reread some really great books, but I already kind of wrote about them! But I think I just want to talk more about why I love these books so much.

So, I reread The Wednesday Wars, which I had read several times before. Then I picked up the companion novel, Okay for Now, which I'd only read once before I was worried. What if I didn't like it as much as the first time? What if I didn't have the same emotional reaction to it? And then I did and all worries disappeared!

I think . . . now that I've put some thought into, I think that what is so amazing about these books can come down to about 3 things.

1) The innocence of the narrators.
I think there is definitely a difference between innocence and naivete, and this book really does show that difference. They tell the story in simple terms, bringing you into their lives, but not revealing anything they don't want to until they feel like it. They portray growing up in the 1960s so clearly, without a lot of thought about the outside world, because, let's face it, they are 12. But at the same time they are completely aware of what is going on with the Vietnam War, and everything else going on at that time period. It's amazing.

2) The presence of good adults who are not parents.
Usually one of the main factors of the YA "genre" is the lack of adults/adult interaction. But what makes these books so good is that there are good, caring adults, and that they come in the form of teachers and librarians. I think it's great to show teens that there are people that they can trust and that will help them, even when it seems like everyone else isn't there.

3) The deliberate writing of Gary D. Schmidt
It is so obvious while reading these books that Schmidt (tangent: anyone think it's a little unnatural to have so many consonants in a row? Seven letters and only one is a vowel? Sorry, I was just looking at it and thinking, that is such a weird name.) wrote everything so deliberately. I guess a lot of what I wrote on number 1 can apply here. The way these books are written, they are written to show you exactly everything that you need to know to emotionally connect to these characters. Schmidt is a master of showing, not telling. And it seems that every character grows and changes throughout the books, even the minor ones. There is no character that remains the same from beginning to end, even though it might seem like it at first. The relationships between the main characters and their siblings, and between their friends, their parents, their teachers, mentors, etc., are all very carefully crafted.

I'm a little bit of a hypocrite because I hate people giving me expectations, because then I feel disappointed if those expectations aren't met, and here I am going on and on about how much I loved these books. But there you go. I'm a hypocrite. :)