Bygone era

Card catalogs. Check-out cards in the back of books. Marginalia.

For some reason, there seem to be a lot of stories out there lately about the book world of the past. It's making me nostalgic :)

MY RUBY SLIPPERS

I had the pleasure of sitting next to Tracy Seeley one day at lunch at the Nonfiction Now! conference in Iowa City in November. I can't wait to read her memoir, MY RUBY SLIPPERS: THE ROAD BACK TO KANSAS, published by the University of Nebraska Press. Looks like something right up my alley: Midwestern, quiet, lyrical. Long live the quiet memoir, huzzah!

Follow Tracy on Twitter: @tracy_seeley

Excited about new book!

A YA novel featuring female cyclists? What a great idea! Love, love, love books that showcase strong girls. I've already read parts of CHASING ALLIE CAT (available in February) and I'm so impressed by the characters, the plot, and the mystery. Another reason why Minnesota should be so proud of its authors. And Becky Fjelland Davis (JAKE RILEY: IRREPARABLY DAMAGED) has given us another reason to read.

Matt Foley: So you want to be a writer

Matt Foley: So what do you want to do with your life?

Teen: I want to be a writer.

Matt Foley: You want to be a writer? Well, la-dee-frickin' da!

Man on Wire

This documentary was absolutely spellbinding. It only strengthened my admiration for the documentary and nonfiction story. With stories like this in the world, why would we need to make anything up?

MAN ON WIRE had all the requirements for an amazing story--unique characters (especially the main character--what a charmer!), love story that goes awry, faithful friends, a seemingly impossible journey. I just cannot believe that something like this actually happened.

Before I watched this, I oftened wondered why it wasn't titled "Man on a Wire" or something like that. I found out that the police report which was filed after the World Trade Center highwire act actually said "man on wire" for the nature of the complaint. Ha!

Nanowrimo recap

My Nanowrimo went a little off track; I'm sure that's been said before by others! I wasn't sure how it would work out, though, since I'm not working on a novel or a book at the moment.

Instead, I wrote an essay. I started the month not even thinking about essays, and now I have an essay that I'm sending to a contest today. Overall, I consider that productive. It's been good practice.

FULL DARK, NO STARS

I highly recommend the new Stephen King story collection. I totally breezed through it. What struck me is how he is the master of the first paragraph. You have no choice but to keep reading. Three of the first paragraphs in the four stories are just great. Here's a sample:

"The one thing nobody asked in casual conversation, Darcy thought in the days after she found what she found in the garage, was this: How's your marriage? they asked how was your weekend and how was your trip to Florida and how's your health and how are the kids; they even asked how's life been treatin you, hon? But nobody asked how's your marriage?"

Gaaaah! Like, what did she find in the garage? We must find out! But just look at how much you can surmise in that one little paragraph.