Reader, Writer, & Writing Teacher
Happy Monday! Who had a nice holiday weekend? I hope everyone. I rewatched (both) Bridget Jones movies last week and definitely have Darcy on the brain. I thought it’s be fun pick three versions of Mr. Darcy to marry, date, or dump this week. I decided on Mr. Darcy from the book (or traditional movie adaptation if you like!), Mark Darcy from Bridget Jones (sawoon), and William Darcy from The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. Let me know who you’d marry, date and dump in the comments!
Hi friends! I’m taking the week of the blog to enjoy a lovely break in California visiting my sister. I’m reading lots of books and thinking a lot about writing, so I’ll have lots to blog about when I’m back in New York next week. Hope everyone is doing something fun this week and that you all have a happy holiday!
In the meantime, if you want to listen to something funny and *embarrassing* I was recently a guest on the podcast 2 Girls 1 RomCom talking about The Holiday. Check it out here! They are brilliant and I am silly so many reasons to listen.
What should I read next, guys?
I believe in one day and someday and this perfect moment called now.
Jacqueline Woodson, Brown Girl Dreaming
How can the word love, the word life, even fit in the mouth.
Jandy Nelson, The Sky Is Everywhere
Hope. It’s like a drop of honey, a field of tulips blooming in springtime. It’s a fresh rain, a whispered promise, a cloudless sky, the perfect punctuation mark at the end of a sentence. And it’s the only thing keeping me afloat.
Tahereh Mafi, Unravel Me
Everything was a broken line for me in those days. I was slipped into the empty spaces between words.
Betsy Cornwell, Mechanica
She rested her head against his and felt, for the first time, what she would often feel with him: a self-affection. He made her like herself.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah
Maybe growing up means disappointing the people we love.
Nicola Yoon, Everything Everything
From an evolutionary point of view, most emotions – fear, desire, anger – serve some practical purpose, but nostalgia is a useless, futile thing because it is a longing for something that is permanently lost.
David Nichols, Us
The only way we will survive is by being kind. The only way we can get by in this world is through the help we receive from others. No one can do it alone, no matter how great the machines are.
Amy Poehler, Yes Please
You didn’t win the game of life by losing the least. That would be one of those—what were they called again?—Pyrrhic victories. Real winning was having the most to lose, even if it meant you might lose it all. Even though it meant you would lose it all, sooner or later.
Tommy Wallach, We All Looked Up
People come in and out of your life. For a time they are your world; they are everything. And then one day they’re not. There’s no telling how long you will have them near.
Jenny Han, P.S. I Still Love You
Thanks to The Broke and the Bookish for hosting this weekly book meme! I’d love to learn some of your favorite quotes in the comments!
Who’s excited for Thursday? Last year, before Mockingjay One I asked if people wanted to marry, date or dump Peeta, Gale, and Finnick. This year, I’m going a little older and want to know what you think of Haymitch Abernathy, Plutarch Heavensbee, and Caesar Flickerman. If you feel like playing, let me know in the comments who you would marry, who you’d date, and who you’d dump. Also feel free to chat about if you are looking forward to the movie or dreading it. I’m a little of both … this one gets sadder than sad so I expect a lot of tears. Continue reading “Marry, Date or Dump: Mockingjay”
How are we almost halfway through November? I really don’t know where the time goes. I’m pretty behind in NaNoWriMo right now, like more than five thousand words behind. This is something I’m hopefully going to start to remedy at a coffee/pie shop this afternoon, but it’s also something I’m okay with. I’ve written over 60 pages so far this month. More importantly, it’s been the most lovely experience to turn off my inner editor and just write. Being in an MFA program is the most lovely way to get to spend my time and intellectual energy. At the same time, my writing faces constant critique and the voices (and differing opinions) of all my classmates and professors can be hard to silence. Writing a “shitty first draft” that I know no one is going to read, at least not in this form, feels really liberating. So even if I don’t “win” by hitting 50,000 words by the end of the month, I’m still glad I’m doing this because I’m enjoying writing in a way I haven’t been for a few months. And that’s pretty close to winning for me. Continue reading “NaNoWriMo Update”
As a teenager I was a chick lit queen, and I love love loved the Shopaholic books by Sophie Kinsella. So naturally I was excited and intrigued when I heard about her first YA novel, Finding Audrey, which came out over the summer. Because the description from goodreads is both concise and better than anything I could write, I’ll include it here: An anxiety disorder disrupts fourteen-year-old Audrey’s daily life. She has been making slow but steady progress with Dr. Sarah, but when Audrey meets Linus, her brother’s gaming teammate, she is energized. She connects with him. Audrey can talk through her fears with Linus in a way she’s never been able to do with anyone before. As their friendship deepens and her recovery gains momentum, a sweet romantic connection develops, one that helps not just Audrey but also her entire family. The anxiety disorder, the fact that Audrey is only fourteen, and (of course) the romance with a boy named Linus only intrigued me more. Here are my thoughts after reading the book! Continue reading “Finding Audrey, by Sophie Kinsella”
With a few exceptions (cough Ella Enchanted cough cough) I love when books I like get made into movies. Even if the movie isn’t great it generally makes the book more popular and it’s cool to see someone else’s interpretation of it. And sometimes they are amazing! Here are some upcoming book to movie adaptations I’m looking forward to. I had to rely heavily on the Internet to find out what was in development, so don’t blame me too harshly if some of these don’t turn out to be true. I read about each of them somewhere, I promise! Continue reading “Top Ten Book To Movie Adaptations I’m Looking Forward To”
Taking a break from YA today, to marry, date, or dump characters from Girl on the Train, by Paula Hawkins. I started this book last winter, when everyone was talking about it, but it actually took me over six months to finish – so not a particularly thrilling thriller for me. Although the fault was probably that I was trying to read it on the subway (thematic!), so I didn’t spend big chunks of time with it. Anyways, today if you so choose you can marry, date, or dump (1) Rachel Hawkins, the thirty-something alcoholic still reeling from her divorce with Tom, (2) Megan, a woman Rachel spies on from the train who after kissing a man that isn’t her husband disappears, or (3) Anna, Tom’s new wife. Put your choices in the comments (if anyone decides to play … I know this is an unusual pick for me). Continue reading “Marry, Date or Dump: Girl on the Train”
Alison Doherty 