National Young Readers Week was November 7-11th, so I thought it might be fun to list the books we loved as kids. I’ll go first.

Madeline

All of the Madeline books made an impact on me. I loved the rhyme, the artwork, and the overall story of friendship and “being special.” The theme in each book has stayed with me, to the point where I even named my dog Genevieve, after Madeline’s pooch. I have a very funny story about meeting John Bemelmans Marciano, who is Ludwig Bemelmans (the man who wrote the original Madeline books) grandson. To make a long story short, my puppy ate my first edition book (the one that I was taking to the signing), and when I told the story to Marciano, he signed the book to Genevieve and said, I see you have already enjoyed my book! Classic. I love that that is written in there now.
To further my geek status with you all, I’ll even admit that I have Madeline figures that I put out at Christmastime.

Encyclopedia Brown Books
Weren’t these the best books? So many of the stories I can still remember so clearly. I loved that Encyclopedia Brown always waited a second before blurting out the answer to something, so he didn’t show off too much. Great detail.

The Catcher in the Rye
People either seem to love this book or despise it. It evokes strong emotions either way, but I fell in love with this one.

To Kill a Mockingbird
This one has been in the news a lot lately because of the 50th anniversary of the book, but it’s one that I’ve gone back to from time to time. I loved the perspective she gave this book, and when you think about when it was published, it really was groundbreaking.

Little Women
I have this really old book that I think my great-grandma gave me. I keep it because it has her handwriting in it, and I love seeing that. This book really stood out because it had a strong writing voice who made Jo and the rest of the March clan a family I wished I could have joined.

What were some of your favorite books as a kid?

Have you been watching The X Factor? It’s Simon Cowell’s new show, and a competitor of Idol. I’ve caught it here and there while flipping through the channels, and I’m glad I did. I actually really like it. One guy in particular that caught my attention was Chris Rene. This kid has been through it, you know? While he grew up in a good home, the demon of addiction still caught up with him.

But he’s clean now. I think after seeing him on TV, he’s got millions of people praying that he stays that way. Because if he does? His future is so bright… well, you know.

He sang an original song for his audition on X Factor, and normally that is an instant turnoff. But this kid is full of surprises, and one of them was that as soon as he opened his mouth and sang you couldn’t take your eyes off of him. He can work the stage, he has a wonderful voice, and his song…. his song was like poetry. I challenge you to listen to it without tearing up. It is filled with spirit, and as L.A. Reid said, with truth. He’s got something that pulls at your heartstrings.

If you haven’t seen him yet, please click over and watch his video. It starts with his background, and he sings a few minutes into the video, but watch it all because it’s worth it. I promise you.

After watching this kid I can’t help echoing what Nicole Scherzinger said that “God is good.” It feels like God’s hand is all over his audition and showing us the beauty of life if we pay attention and just appreciate it. One of the lines I like best in this kid’s song is “Life’s too short, gotta live it long.” Amen!

Praying for you Chris Rene. Those demons of alcohol and addiction might chase you, but you’ve got millions of people holding out their arms and waiting for you to accept their prayers, their emotional embrace. Just throw the struggle up to God and keep your eye on the truth. This is only the beginning for you. God is good.

I love books. No really, I love them. I love writing them, reading them, and even crafting with them. I’m not as big of an ebook reader, but I do see the value in them and know a lot of people really adore them. For me, though, there is nothing like looking over at a pile like this:

That, ladies and gentlemen, is part of my “to be read” pile. My actual TBR pile is a lot higher. I have some work stuff in there, some reviews, and then my own personal enjoyment books. The pile you see here is from Christmas. (And don’t you love the card my mom gave me? Pop up reindeer!) I got quite a few good ones for Christmas. This pile includes: The Mistresses of Henry VIII, The Confessions of Catherine de Medici: A Novel, For the King, and Elizabeth’s Women: Friends, Rivals, and Foes Who Shaped the Virgin Queen. See, they aren’t all Tudor fiction!  LOL  Some of them are about Napoleon, too.

There is something about looking over at that pile that just makes me extremely happy. It’s like knowing there is a vacation waiting for you a mere inches from your everyday life. I love that.

What’s in your TBR pile?

You know, they say that gift cards aren’t a good present to give, but I have to disagree. Here’s why.

I happened to get a Barnes and Noble gift card for Christmas this year, and I was thrilled! You know, I tend not to spend money on myself much anymore, and I especially don’t buy expensive magazines or even books sometimes. I love books, and if I really wanted to buy all of them at a bookstore I would put my family in debt. LOL!

So last weekend we were out and about and decided to pop into our favorite bookstore. My hubby immediately pointed out The Tudor Chronicles, a massive book that weighs about five pounds and has just about everything you’d want to know about the Tudors. It was on sale, and my hubby says, “You know you want this.” I hem-hawed, as I usually do when it comes to spending money, and then he reminded me about my gift card. YES!

Not only did I get that book, I also picked up Cloth Paper Scissors and Artist’s Cafe. Both these magazines are pretty pricey, but they have so much great stuff in them. I’m always looking for some artistic inspiration, and as I get more into mixed media I’ve been reading magazines like this a lot. Normally, I would not have picked them up because of the price, but with a gift card? You bet I did!

Best of all, I still have a little left. Hmmm…. what should I buy next??

How was your New Year’s? I have to say we had one of the best New Year’s ever this year. The week leading up to it was good, too. We had family over for a late Christmas dinner, we met some dear friends for a night out (and then went back to their house to play Mexican Train – have you ever played this game? So fun!), and then we had lunch with hubby’s family New Year’s Eve day. We had such a great week, but we were really looking forward to our New Year’s celebration.

When my hubby and I were dating, we decided to forgo amateur night and stay in and watch movies. We made lobster and steak, and had a really nice, romantic evening. We talked about our year, what we did, the silly things that made us laugh, and what we wanted to do going forward in the new year. It felt like the perfect finish to one year and start of the next.

Except for a few years, we’ve continued to do the same thing. It’s something we really cherish. A few months ago we decided to have a theme movie night of some sort. In the past, we’ve watched silly movies or animated flicks, but this time we started talking about which movies we’ve always wanted to see and yet for some reason haven’t. We settled on Casablanca and Maltese Falcon. A Bogey New Year’s!

I have to say that Casablanca really held up. I loved the characters, the writing, it was all fab. We watched that one first and then Maltese Falcon. Maybe if we had watched Maltese Falcon first we would have liked it more, but after Casablanca it was a bit of a letdown.

Still, the food we made was fabulous! I made these little cheese crackers from this book called Williams-Sonoma Foods of the World: Paris: Authentic Recipes Celebrating the Foods of the World. I’ve made these in the past and they are really easy to prepare and go really well with a glass of champagne. We also had shrimp, brie, and rumaki. For dessert I made a fruit tart recipe that DH really likes. It’s not my favorite dish, but can I ever say no to him?

We had a lovely night, snuggled up on the couch. Ah….

About seven years ago I first got hooked on Tudor fiction. My mom had given me The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory, and I couldn’t get enough. I started reading and viewing everything having to do with the Tudor time frame in history.

I found out I’m not alone! There are many of us out there. Here are a few things I’ve rec’d over the years that I’ve really appreciated.

Action Figures

I’m slightly in love with my Tudor action figures. I have a Henry VIII and an Elizabeth I that I got last year for my birthday. I keep them right in front of me on my desk so I can see them all day. My sister said, why do you have those stupid toys on your desk, and I said, those aren’t toys! They are action figures!

Tudor Books

There is no end to books about the Tudors, and I can’t tell you how many I’ve read over the years. Seriously. For a while I had 20 books piled on my nightstand and they all involved the Tudors. I still read tons of Tudor fiction.  Just when I think, okay I’m going to branch out…. I ended up reaching for another Tudor book the next time we hit the library or Half Price Books.

Here are a few of my favorites:

• The Other Boleyn Girl (but really, anything from Philippa Gregory – all of her Tudor books rock)
  
• The Queen’s Governess (Karen Harper is one of my favorite Tudor authors of all time)
  
• The Tidal Poole (Elizabeth I Mysteries, Book 2) (There is a whole series of these mysteries and they are great. One year my hubby found like five of them and I was overjoyed to get them all at once.  I scooped them up and he didn’t see me again for days.)
• The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn (I love a lot of Robin Maxwell’s work, and was thrilled to have interviewed her last year.)
• Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII (There is also a video that goes with nonfiction book by David Starkey that is also great)
  
• The Sixth Wife: The Wives of Henry VIII
• The Secret Bride: In The Court of Henry VIII (Loved this book and also had a chance to interview its author, Diane Haeger.)
  

DVDs

My favorite Tudor videos are the nonfictional variety, such as David Starkey’s Monarchy series. I couldn’t stop watching these disks, they were so darn good. The trouble I have with most of the fictionalized movies is that they take too much liberty with the facts.  Still, I do enjoy watching The Tudors, even though they are widely inaccurate the series is so well done that you completely forget that Henry VIII really did have red hair, he got fat, old… LOL… all those pesky details that the writers of the show have overlooked. It’s done really well otherwise, and has really drawn in a lot of Tudor fans.

In addition to the nonfiction DVDs, I have also enjoyed a few fictional accounts:

• The Other Boleyn Girl (2003 BBC Version) (This was the BBC version, which came out about five years before the Hollywood version. I didn’t care for the Hollywood version as much because the facts were really out there. But I did like the BBC version.)
  
• Elizabeth and Elizabeth and the Golden Age (Man, they did a great job casting Cate Blanchett in these movies. She does a wonderful job with Elizabeth’s voice, her hand movements – because Elizabeth was so very proud of her long fingers – and her actions. I loved both these films.  Again, they take a few liberties with the facts, but it’s very well done nonetheless.)
• Lady Jane (This one is over 25 years old, and Helena Bonham Carter and Cary Elwes both look like they are kids, but I liked it because it highlighted a period of time that often gets overlooked. Jane Grey was the “9 days queen” and this movie helps highlight her close relationship with Edward VI, her manipulation by her step-father and father-in-law, and her marriage to Guilford Dudley.)
• Henry VIII (This one was such a great flick, mainly because it had so many wonderful British actors. To this day, I think Ray Winstone gives the best portrayal of Henry VIII that I have ever seen.)

I could go on and on, but I think this sums up my favorites.  Are you a Tudor fiction fan?  What’s your favorite book, movie, figure, or other item?

It’s gift giving season, which means some of you are looking for suggestions on what to get people.  You know poetry is one of the best gifts ever, right? I read poetry books here and there, but my favorites have stayed pretty much the same.  Here are some of my favorite poetry books.

• The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou.  I got this book for Christmas one year, and I have had many hours of enjoyment reading it. I love the soulfulness of Angelou’s poetry, and it’s one of the best presents I ever received.

• Phenomenal Woman: Four Poems Celebrating Women.  If you know of someone who isn’t into a large book of poetry, this mini-book is just the ticket. It contains four poems especially about women, including the title poem, which as you know is one of my favorites.

• I mentioned The Prophet the other day. Even though I just read it, it’s quickly become one of my favorites. I know you’ll love it too.

• The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson. Okay, Emily Dickinson’s poems are just fun to read. They have fabulous metering, are about great subjects, and are so original even now all these years later that you’ll marvel at this talented lady!

• Ten Poems to Change Your Life.  If you have someone that is new to poetry, this could be a good book for them. Roger Housden chose exactly the right collection of poems to highlight here. The other “10 Poems” books are excellent, also, but this one stands out.

• The Poetry of Robert Frost. A lot of people enjoy Robert Frost’s most famous poems (including me), but when you read his earlier work it shows a wonderful progression. Frost was really prolific, which for a fan of poetry is really a gift.

• Let’s face it, everything Mary Oliver writes is great, but I have two favorites of hers: Why I Wake Early and New and Selected Poems. Last year, I got her audio book from Santa, and hearing her read her works was really a treat.

• Okay, now for the very best gift I have ever received: Poetry Speaks. I got this for my birthday one year, and just sat and listened to it all day. My husband said it was the first time he had ever seen me just sit and relax. Some of the poets reading their work on these disks are:

James Joyce reading “Anna Livia Plurabelle” from Finnegans Wake alongside the original text from the book

T. S. Eliot reading “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”

Sylvia Plath reading “Daddy” and “Lady Lazarus”

Jack Kerouac reading from “MacDougal Street Blues,” accompanied by Steve Allen on piano

May Swenson rehearsing “The Watch” prior to a reading

H. D. reading a part of “Helen in Egypt” from a rare recording made shortly before her death

Ted Hughes reading “February 17″ during a BBC interview

A never-before-published recording of Alfred, Lord Tennyson reading “The Charge of the Light Brigade”

W. B. Yeats explaining his reading style and why he chooses to read that way

Robert Frost reading “The Road Not Taken” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”

Great stuff, right?  So what are your favorite poetry books?

For years now people have told me that I should read The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran.  They have used words like “brilliant” and “favorite book” and “beautiful poetry.” Hey, I’m all for beautiful poetry! But I never read it.

One reason was time. There are only so many books a person can read in a year. The other is that the cover slightly creeped me out. I thought, what the heck kind of poetry is going to be in this book? Still another reason is that, I wondered if this would be my kind of poetry. You know? I can’t stand poetry that is overly dramatic or so incredibly deep I don’t get it. I think I’m probably like most people in that respect, even though I write poetry myself.

One time I was reading this interview with a poet who said she wrote her first poem and then threw up, because it was so incredibly moving. Eeek – what a crock. Listen, I’m all about poetry that shakes you to your core, I write it, I read it, I enjoy it because it makes me think… but let’s not get dramatic people. You threw up because you wrote a poem? Then perhaps you need some Pepto.

Anyways, so for all those reasons I feared that The Prophet would not be my cup of tea. But recently I was at a second hand bookstore and picked up a copy for $1. (Cuz you know…. I’m cheap.) And lo’ and behold, I loved it. I couldn’t stop reading it. So that just goes to show you, never shy away from picking up poetry because you think it will be too hoity toity. Some of the lines that have stayed with me are:

“Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters
of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
and though they are with you
yet they belong to you…”

“You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward
nor tarries with yesterday.”

Also:

“Would that you could meet the
sun and the wind with more of
your skin and less of your raiment,
For the breath of life is in
the sunlight and the hand of
life is in the wind.”

That last stanza reminded me a lot of a Story People print I have on my wall that says:

“She left pieces of her life behind her everywhere she went. It’s easier to feel the sunlight without them, she said.”

By the way, if you haven’t yet checked out Story People by Brian Andreas, please do! He is so talented. I love his stuff and find it very inspiring.

Blogger Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen sent out a request on Twitter recently for favorite Christmas movie ideas. I responded with two, both of which she included in an article on her blog. (I used my other Twitter handle – Working_Writer – to respond. You knew I had two Twitter names, right? The Working_Writer handle deals more with writing, and brrbach tweets about everything else.)

My first recommendation was The Holiday. I adore this movie so much. It was kind of a sleeper. I didn’t hear a lot about it and then I rented it one weekend and watched it about five times. I love movies that are sweet and have that “classic” and slightly old-fashioned feel to them, and this one fits the bill perfectly.

The other movie I recommended was Bridget Jones’ Diary. We watch this one every holiday season because it’s a family favorite. I love anything British to begin with, and when the book came out I couldn’t get enough. I read it, laughed, and read it again. I was single at the time and the thoughts Bridget had were so darn funny. I could relate. I also loved the soundrack, which I still listen to occasionally.

What are some of your Christmas movie favorites?

]]> http://cherieblogs.com/2010/11/21/favorite-christmas-movies/feed/ 0 http://cherieblogs.com/2010/11/01/about-that-lisbeth-salander-2/ http://cherieblogs.com/2010/11/01/about-that-lisbeth-salander-2/#comments Mon, 01 Nov 2010 10:03:16 +0000 Cherie http://cherieblogs.com/?p=143352

This past weekend my husband and I both took off work (a rarity for us!) and went to see The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest. We’ve really gotten into these books by Stieg Larsson (along with the rest of the country) and couldn’t wait to view the third installment. All I can say is: seeing this movie (and reading the final book) made me want this series to continue! Darn, it’s so good.  (I have to believe that someone will take the remaining notes from the fourth version and bring it to life.)

This past week on Jeopardy (cuz you know I can’t miss a day of that show, right?) they actually had Stieg Larsson as a final Jeopardy question. (To be in a question on Jeopardy is, by the way, of the things that would be most cool if it ever happened. A girl can dream.) The question was about how Larsson modeled Lisbeth Salander on a grown up Pippi Longstocking. I knew this from reading his website, but I found it very interesting that it was a question on a game show!

The movie, incidentally, was fabulous. Once again, there wasn’t near enough coffee drinking for my liking, but the movie does open with a coffee brewing scene, which made me very happy. (Because those characters are constantly slugging down the coffee.) The movie (which would have been an enormous challenge to adapt from these particular books) cuts a few things from the book which are unnecessary to the telling of this particular story. I think some of the details in these books are meant for the original ten book series, so when you read them as a trilogy it almost comes off a bit unedited. No complaints though, because this series of books is one of the best I’ve read in a while.

Now that I’ve seen the Swedish version of these movies, I’m curious to see how the American versions turn out. I think they did a great job of casting Lisbeth, but I’ve gotten quite used to seeing Michael Nyqvist as Blomkvist, so I’m wondering what it will be like with Daniel Craig instead. Looking forward to it!