Category: Favorites Friday

Favorites Friday: O. Henry

On By cherylmahoneyIn Favorites Friday3 Comments

I have a bit of a thing for O. Henry short stories.  I trace this to high school, where I always (always) had a book, and if I finished said-book halfway through the school day, I’d dodge into the library and pick up a volume of O. Henry to last me until I got home.

The funny thing about O. Henry is that he always (always) has a twist ending.  But even when you know that, the stories and the twists are still fun.  Since they’re short stories, not novels, there isn’t much time to drop hints, and even when I know a twist must be coming, I usually don’t spot exactly what it will be.

I just picked up a lovely set of O. Henry books at my library’s warehouse sale (come back for Saturday Snapshot tomorrow if you want to see them) so I have O. Henry on the brain.  I thought I’d offer up a few my favorites today (no twists revealed).

“Springtime a la Carte” has one of the all time great openings: “It was a day in March.  Never, never begin a story this way when you write one.  No opening could be worse.”  The story goes on about Sarah, a New York girl making her way as a typist, who fears her fiance has forgotten her–and who has been reduced to tears by the sight of dandelions on a menu.

“The Cop and the Anthem” is a tale about a New York homeless man (a bum, in the old style) who resolves to get himself arrested in the fall, so he’ll have somewhere warm to spend the winter.  But try as he might, he just can’t seem to get picked up for anything!

“The Green Door” opens with a reflection on adventurers, and whether we each have the courage to pursue a strange circumstance if it confronts us.  Hero Rudolf Steiner was “a true adventurer” who finds himself one day handed a card with the mysterious words “The Green Door.”  And then–to pursue or not?

“The Last Leaf” is set in Greenwich Village, and focuses on roommates and artists Sue and Joanna.  Sue is down with pneumonia, and is adamant that she’ll die when the last leaf falls from the vine outside her window–but somehow that leaf keeps holding on…

“The Mammon and the Archer” is about a rich business tycoon who is convinced that there’s nothing money can’t buy.  His son disputes the claim; he wants to propose to his girl before she leaves for a trip to Europe, but there won’t be any opportunity.  Fate (or is it a wealthy father?) steps in.

Ever read O. Henry?  Any favorite stories?  And do you find that you like it when you know a twist must be coming, or not?

Favorites Friday: Authors I’d Like to Meet (Time Travel Edition)

On By cherylmahoneyIn Favorites Friday5 Comments

Last week I wrote about living authors I’d love to meet–and since they’re living, it’s at least somewhat possible.  Many of my favorite authors, however, lived several generations ago, putting meeting them out of the question.  Unless, of course, I had the ability to travel in time–using a TARDIS, perhaps!  If the Doctor ever showed up and asked me what time I wanted to visit, I’d know exactly what to tell him…

L. M. Montgomery would be the first person to meet, probably to no one’s surprise!  I’ve read every scrap of writing by her I can get my hands on, letters and private journals included, so more than any other author she already feels like a friend.  I know exactly when and where I would like to go–June of 1908, when Montgomery was still living in Cavendish, on Prince Edward Island.  According to her journal, her copy of Anne of Green Gables arrived on June 20th.  Besides that excitement, it seems to have been a cheerful period (not always the case).  Her journal also mentions that it was the most beautiful June she could recall–and I’m sure she said somewhere else that nothing is more beautiful than Prince Edward Island in June.  If I had a TARDIS, my first stop would be to go pick strawberries and ramble through woods with Maud Montgomery.

William Shakespeare would be my next trip (following the Doctor’s footsteps, in this case) because, I mean, Shakespeare!  I have to wonder if he sounded out loud like his plays, or not (probably not…)  And then there’s that authorship question to explore.  I’d visit Shakespeare in autumn of 1599, when my favorite comedy, Much Ado About Nothing, was debuting at the recently-opened Globe Theatre.

Brenda Ueland is a far less famous choice.  She wrote my favorite book on writing, If You Want to Write.  She also taught writing classes, and if they were anything like the book, they must have been wonderful.  If I could, I’d visit long enough to take some of her classes–perhaps in 1938, the year her book was published.

Diana Wynne Jones wrote so many amazing fantasy books, and by all accounts (and the evidence in her own semi-memoir, Reflections on the Magic of Writing) she was a fascinating woman full of extraordinarily colorful anecdotes.  I don’t know precisely when I’d like to meet her…unless possibly when she was at university, so that I could join her attending lectures by C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien.

J. M. Barrie is probably no surprise either.  Like Montgomery, I feel as though I know him, because all of his books (and plays, somehow) feature a most charming narrator.  I can’t help feeling like that narrator is Barrie himself.  I’d like to meet Barrie and the Davies boys (the inspiration for Peter Pan) in April of 1904–in Kensington Gardens, of course.  George, the oldest boy, was twelve, and Barrie had just finished writing the play version of Peter.  The other advantage to April is that the daffodils would be blooming in the Gardens, and I love daffodils.

So if the Doctor came to your door and invited you for a literary spin in the TARDIS, what authors would you go to meet?

Favorites Friday: Authors I’d Like to Meet

On By cherylmahoneyIn Favorites Friday9 Comments

Book Expo America is going on this weekend, and lots of lucky, lucky bloggers (or ones who planned carefully and put effort in to make it happen…) are attending.  I’m not attending (maybe one of these years!) but reading everyone else’s updates has me thinking about which authors I’d most like to meet.

Oddly enough, they aren’t necessarily my top favorite authors.  Some, like Robin McKinley, would horribly intimidate me, and others, like Susan Kay, would just send me into spinning babbles about how much I love their book(s).  But here are a few I would love to meet, and imagine that I could live to tell the tale without too much embarrassment!

Geraldine McCaughrean tops the list, because I once wrote her a letter and got the most amazing, personal letter back.  She obviously read and valued my letter, and wrote a genunine response in reply–if any part of it was a form, I couldn’t tell.  So I almost feel as though we’ve already met.

Tamora Pierce probably would send me into babbles about how her books changed my life, but they were so very life-changing that I think it would be worth any resulting embarrassment.  Besides, I have a really good story to tell her.  I met one of my best friends because we were both reading Pierce’s books in a high school class, and that gave us the courage to start talking to each other.  I feel like gushing babbles are a bit more okay when you actually have something unique to say…

Neil Gaiman is never likely to top any favorite authors lists for me–I like his books quite a bit, but…we all have our favorites.  However, everything I hear, and as far as I can tell from his Twitter, is that he’s just the coolest of authors to meet.  Very nice, very friendly, graciously poses for pictures…  He is at BEA this year.  Ah well.

Gail Carson Levine writes a lovely blog with writing advice, and on the whole just seems so friendly and pleasant that I don’t think she’d scare me a bit in person (unlike some blogging authors!)   I consider her Ella Enchanted to be a literary ancestor to some of my own writing, and if I can get an accurate judge from her blog, I think she’d like hearing that.

Nicholas Meyer is the most random one here–but he directed Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, AND wrote The Canary Trainer, a Phantom of the Opera/Sherlock Holmes crossover.  What other author is going to hit on so many of my interests?  His Phantom retelling is the only one I’ve found that makes the Phantom less sympathetic than Leroux and, given the opportunity, I’d quite like to ask about the thought process behind that…

At the moment I don’t have any plans of meeting any of these authors, but I do keep my eye out for signings.  If it ever happens, you’ll hear about it!  In the meantime, what living authors would you like to meet?  We’ll get to the dead ones another week!

Favorites Friday: Nonfiction Edition

On By cherylmahoneyIn Favorites Friday7 Comments

If you pay any attention to the books that get reviewed around here, you’ll know that I rarely read nonfiction (although I did make efforts to branch out last year).  However, there are at least a few nonfiction books that have made a big impression on me…

LM Montgomery (3)The Journals of L. M. Montgomery – This has to be closing in on 2,000 pages, putting all the volumes together, and forms a powerful account of one woman’s life.  Montgomery had such a flair for character and description in her fiction, and that comes into her journal as well.  It is nonfiction, and she wrote it over the span of 50 years, but it often reads like the most fascinating (and at times, heart-wrenching) of stories.  I know that Montgomery died over 70 years ago, but after reading her journals, I can’t feel it.

Nonfiction BooksIf You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland – Ueland doesn’t discuss the practical side of writing, and certainly not the publishing side, but she beautifully explores the spirit of writing.  Encouraging, uplifting, almost spiritual, she explores the meaning and the inspiration of writing.  If you have a passion for writing (or any creative pursuit), let no one ever tell you that it isn’t important.

The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff – This one has a bit more fiction in it than the others, considering it’s an exploration of Taoism through the characters in Winnie the Pooh, and Hoff includes conversations with the characters.  An odd but very appealing blend of Winnie the Pooh and philosophy, it’s charming, sweet and will actually make you think in very serious ways.  Anecdotally, I knew a girl in college who was Taoist, and she recommended this book.

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin – Somewhat story-like, somewhat a how-to, Gretchen describes her year of exploring ways to be happier.  It wasn’t that she was unhappy, precisely, or that there was anything truly wrong with her life–but she decided to seek out ways to appreciate, value and improve her daily life.  It may make you want to start your own happiness project, trying different ways to make life better–everything from making your bed in the morning to making new friends.

Stillness Speaks by Eckhart Tolle – This is a lovely book with very small snippets of wisdom.  Few pieces go on for a full page, so it’s easy to dip in and out, and I never lose the thread of a theory.  Tolle offers insights on mindfulness, getting over your own thoughts, and learning to really know yourself.

I have a general sense that most of you reading this are also fiction fans…but do you have any favorite nonfiction books to share?

Favorites Friday: Disney Women

On By cherylmahoneyIn Favorites Friday6 Comments

You may have been seeing the buzz lately over Disney’s induction of Merida into their pantheon of Princesses–and even more buzz about the make-over that went with that.  It’s a fascinating and disturbing discussion (read more here).

It has me thinking about Disney women.  And I think it’s doubly unfortunate that Disney has a tendency to focus on the pretty, sparkly princesses, and not on the girls’ other qualities and abilities–because there are awesome Disney women.  Disney gets a fair amount of criticism in general for weak heroines, but there were already amazing Disney women before Merida–princesses and otherwise.  Here are my favorites:

Belle from Beauty and the Beast – Sure, she’s a princess, but only in the last minute of the movie.  Mostly, she’s an ordinary girl who loves to read and has big dreams.  She doesn’t let society dictate what she should be interested in (since they think she’s strange for reading) or who she should be dating (refusing to marry the immensely popular Gaston).  She sacrifices her freedom to rescue her father and stands up to the Beast when he bellows at her.  She’s brave, intelligent, inquisitive and yes, she has a pretty yellow dress…but there’s a lot more going on than that.

Katie from Darby O’Gill and the Little People – Lest you think Disney has no positive female characters before recent years, I point you to a live-action example, Katie O’Gill, whose movie came out in 1959.  She has immense force of will, there’s a clear sense that she’s running things in her family, and she’s not going to brook any nonsense from anyone, be it the local bully, her father, or the handsome Michael McBride (a very young Sean Connery, by the way).  She’s not waiting around for a prince–when Michael asks her once if she gets lonely, she remarks that she keeps busy, and seems to be sincere.  It’s not a perfect example because she doesn’t get to do much in her movie, but she has a strong personality and is a very long way from a sparkly, useless princess.

Chicha from The Emperor’s New Groove – Chicha, Pacha’s wife, is an absolute delight.  For one thing, she’s a pregnant animated character (how often do you see that?) and more importantly, she’s clearly as smart and as capable as her husband (probably more so).  To a certain extent, she’s stuck at home with the kids–but the villains come to call and Chicha swings into action.  She doesn’t wind up kidnapped or need to be rescued.  Instead, she becomes a participant in the efforts to foil the villains.  Love it.

Dejah Thoris from John Carter – I’m not denying there’s some issues with this one…like how she gets kidnapped, or her distinctly scanty attire.  But having read the original book, A Princess of Mars, I can assure you that they really tried to make her a stronger, more capable character.  I mean, she gets to use a sword–and she’s a scientist!  Big leap forward from the original source material.

Ellie from Up – Merida isn’t Pixar’s first amazing woman.  We also have Ellie, who is adventurous, daring and immensely confident in herself.  Even better, she marries a man who obviously loves those qualities in her.  It’s true she was only in the movie for ten minutes, but it seems to be a near-universal opinion that those were the most powerful ten minutes of the movie.  That’s a girl who’s having an impact.

It would be amazing if the debate around Merida sparks off some larger realizations for Disney.  Enough with the Princesses marketing campaign.  Yes, little girls like sparkles and pretty dresses and that’s fine, but Merida already has a sisterhood of Disney women who have qualities beyond their prettiness.

I think the problem is less the stories that are being told than the way the marketing campaign is handling them.  I mean, besides the women above, there’s Mulan, who rode off to war and found confidence in herself; Pocahontas, who saved John Smith from execution; and Jasmine, who inspired her father to change the law in a way that gave women more rights.  So I think it’s fair to give Disney credit for having some amazing women characters–and to hope that they’ll notice that fact!